With Fern sitting on the table behind him, Sean picked up the phone again. He dialed his older brother, Thomas' number from memory and pushed back the wave of anxiety that rolled over him. He had always gotten along with Thomas. Thomas had been the one to jump out of the closet and literally knock the mutant out of him when he was a kid, but the idea of telling him (or anyone in his family, really) that he was dropping out of college was a daunting one.

After a few seconds, a familiar, lightly accented voice answered, "Hello?"

"Thom!"

"Hey, Sean- shouldn't you be studying?" His brother teased good naturedly. It was his standard greeting. It was everyone in his family's standard greeting and Sean felt his stomach drop even further.

Rubbing the back of his neck, the younger brother groaned. "Yeah, see, here's the thing…"

"Oh, god, did you get expelled?!"

"No! I quit."

"You quit?" There was a pause over the line as the elder Cassidy considered the words.

For Sean, it felt like forever, but Thomas' eventual laugh made his shoulders slump with relief. They tensed again at his words.

"Ma's gonna kill you."

The younger man groaned. "I know!"

With a hint of curiosity, his brother asked, "What were you thinkin' kid?"

"Well, here's the thing…" A light tinkling behind him caught his attention. Sean chanced a glance back at Fern, who was still on the table, but now held a bowl of cereal in her hands. When she motioned for him to continue, the redhead rolled his eyes and did just that. "I'm actually living with a professor now."

Once again, Thomas was quiet a moment before he spoke. His voice calm and a bit hesitant, he asked, "Oh?"

"Yeah, you should see this place," Sean gushed. He looked back at Fern and grinned impishly. "The view is amazing."

She flicked a bit of milk from her spoon at him.

Scowling, he brushed it off his white t-shirt as his brother spoke. Thomas' tone was still uncharacteristically gentle. "I…I didn't know you were one of those fairy types, Sean."

"What?!"

"You could've told me," Thom added with a bit of hurt in his voice. "I wouldn't have told anyone. I never did tell anyone about that other thing."

"I know you didn't- and it's not like that!" The boy shrieked. His hysteria earned a chuckle from the young woman behind him. A sound which only served to make his cheeks even redder and his voice even higher. "I like girls! There are girls here! There's a whole group of us!"

His elder brother hummed with doubt. "Sure there are."

"There are!" Sean swirled back to look at one of said girls. "Fe! Fe tell him I'm straight."

Not knowing and not caring what straight was, Fern just stared at him as she, like Alex before her, took another slow, condescending bite of her cereal.

His blue eyes narrowed on her. "Goddamn it, Fe."

Grinning, Fern licked the back of her spoon and said nothing.

Watching her scaled skin twirl with delight (central to her chest and face, he noticed, although her arms still flickered to a lesser degree), Sean forced back a smile of his own. Into the receiver, he said, "There are girls here, I swear. They're just really inconsiderate."

The girl rolled her eyes.

Curious (and no longer doubting his little brother's sexuality), Thomas asked if he had met them at school.

Once again Sean faltered. "Well, not exactly. They approached me at the aquarium."

"They approached you?" His elder brother repeated, voice heavy with skepticism and dread.

"Yeah, they're like me."

"Like- oh, oh! They can…you know, too?"

"Well, not exactly…" Sean rubbed the back of his neck. The heat was slowly draining from his face and his cheeks had paled completely as he continued, "But they're unique in their own ways."

A soft laugh from behind him made his cheeks flare up once more. "Nice save, Cassidy."

"Shut up, Fern."

On the other end of the line, Thomas chuckled with relief. "And here I thought you'd joined some kinda cult!"

Sean rolled his eyes. Behind him, Fern set her bowl down.

"I'm happy for you, little brother, no matter what your lifestyle is."

When the redhead only glared ahead of him a few seconds, Fern took it upon herself to pluck the phone from his clenched hand. She slipped between him and the wall and fiddled with the stupid rotary dial. Voice nonchalant, she told Thomas, "He likes girls and if he doesn't he has a lot of explaining to do."

Behind her Sean wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her temple. Fern's skin flickered with embarrassment and discomfort (over her cheeks and neck especially), but she didn't move from his hold. Voice teasing, he gave her a light squeeze, "Thanks, babe."

Fern shoved his face away from her own. "Shut up, Sean."

"Oh," Thomas chuckled over the line. "You sound like a keeper."

"I am, thank you," The girl replied with a hint of pride. Spinning to face the boy behind her, she smirked at him. Planting her foot on his stomach, she gently pushed him back a touch.

Fingers circling her ankle, Sean leaned closer to the receiver. "What'd he say?"

"He said shut up, Sean."

The redhead glared at her and ripped the phone from her hands. Knocking her away with his hip, he bid his brother a quick goodbye before he hung up. Head thrown back, Sean whined, "He thinks I'm a homo."

"A what?"

"A homo- you know, a homosexual?" When Fern only shrugged with confusion, he explained, "Someone who only likes their own gender?"

Fern's blue eyes drastically widened. "That's an option?!"

A bit put out, Sean pouted. "Uh, yeah, but I don't think it's something you get to choose, Fe."

The girl's shoulders slumped with disappointment. Outside of Sean, she seemed to get along better with women than men. "Oh."

"Why…are you…attracted…to women?" The young man asked with the worst attempt at nonchalance Fern had ever seen.

Lifting a thin brow, she pushed him back a bit further. "No."

Expression considerably bright, he asked "So you like men then?"

The grey skinned mutant lifted an uncommitted shoulder. "Not many of them. I mean, you're okay."

Sean leveled his gaze and pursed his lips in an exaggerated pout. Knocking her foot away from him, he turned away from her. "Thanks, Fe. You really know how to make a guy feel special."

"Well, I try." Fern plucked the forgotten receiver off the hook and grabbed the boy by the collar of his white t-shirt. Yanking him back to the phone, she ordered, "Dial for me."

Sean grunted but did as he was told. Ticking off the numbers as she dictated them, he pouted. When Fern saw, she checked their shoulders together. The boy glared at her, but stayed quiet as she greeted her mother.

Muttering under his breath about someone's lack of tact, the redhead drifted over to the fridge. He snatched the bottle of milk and began to chug it down. His blue eyes drifted over to Fern.

She was absently twiddling the cord between her fingers as she rocked on the balls of her feet. His gaze drifted from her toes to her legs and he remembered how she looked in her underwear. A blush rose on his neck as he recalled the lean muscle of her thighs and the strange blocky glands on the outside of her legs and most importantly, her ass. When he realized he was staring, he quickly righted his stare to the ceiling. His thoughts turned to more innocent things, like puppies and rainbows and nuns- and yep, that did it.

"So, learn anything interest today?"

"Yeah…" Fern frowned and glanced back at Sean, who was staring pointedly at the ceiling. "Teenage boys are gross."

Affronted, Sean turned to glare at her. "I'm twenty."

"Shut up."

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

Over the line, Josephine chuckled. "Well, I could'a told ya that, baby."

"Hm. Well, it's getting late, I just wanted to check in before I go to bed."

"Alright. Love you, kid."

"Love you, too." The young woman hung up and glared at the boy a few feet away.

Sean arched his brow as he fiddled with the mouth of the milk bottle. "Your parents tell you they love you?"

"Uh, yeah? Well, my ma does, I never met my dad."

"Oh."

"Do yours not?"

The redhead shrugged. When she kept eying him with interest, Sean forced himself to brighten. Wiggling his eyebrows at her, he asked, "Wanna tuck me in?"

"Wanna get the hell away from me?" Fern replied with an impish grin that flashed her sharp teeth.

His forwardness didn't bother her as much as she would have expected. In fact, it was kind of flattering. Maybe it was because (unlike Erik), Sean didn't seem serious about his flirtations. They were playful and benevolent, with no real weight behind them. He didn't seem to mean them, at least as far as she could tell, and that made them considerably easier for Fern to swallow.

The boy frowned at her. "Harsh."

Rolling her eyes, she nodded to the mouth of the kitchen. "Come on. You can walk me upstairs."

"Well, if you insist." Sean sighed dramatically and offered his arm to her. With a shake of her head, she slipped her arms through his. "No gloves tonight?"

Fern lifted an apathetic shoulder.

As he led her up the stairs, the redhead bumped their shoulders together. "How'd your ma take the news?"

"What news?"

"That you're making friends and falling madly in love with me."

Sighing at his lack of game, the grey girl shook her head. "I'm starting to see why you were striking out at the aquarium."

Sean chuckled. Shrugging his gangly shoulders nonchalantly, he told her, "Well, you win some, you lose some." With a wink, he let go of her arm. "You'll come around eventually, Fe."

"Yeah, whatever." Slapping his hand away when he went to pinch her side, Fern quickly made her way to her room.

It wasn't empty. Inside, Raven sat on her bed with her hands in her lap. The blonde smiled softly at the brunette, completely undeterred by Fern's surprised features. "Hi."

"Hi…" The grey girl gently shut the door behind her. Sticky fingers reached out to grab the wooden chair and she spun it under her. "What're you doing in here?"

Tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, Raven cleared her throat delicately. A bit awkwardly, she told her, "Charles- he wanted me to see what size you are." At the disturbed expression on Fern's face (and how her skin swirled with distaste), Raven explained, "I guess he's ordering us workout clothes, or something."

"Why?"

"I…have no idea. I don't understand half the things he does." Raven stood. Her hands brushed over her skirt, smoothing it as she cleared her throat. "So, um, if you want to tell him yourself, it's fine."

Fern bit her lip. Squeezing her eyes shut, she spoke as Raven opened the door to leave. "Wait."

The blonde paused. Curious, she glanced at the grey skinned girl's back. "Yes?"

"I just…" The Ailey woman swallowed and sniffed. Apologies had never been easy for her. "Wanted to say that I was sorry. For how I acted before Shaw attacked. I shouldn't have yelled at you." Stubbornly, Fern pursed her lips before adding, "Or that stupid traitor, Angel."

Raven shook her head. Expression soft and understanding, she offered the grey girl a weak smirk. "Don't worry about it. It's in the past."

"I still shouldn't have said it. Maybe if I had kept my mouth shut…" Fern shrugged and fiddling with her sharp fingernails.

The blonde frowned and came back around to the bed. Sitting on it, she put her hand on the grey girl's knee. "It's not your fault- Angel still would've gone."

"You don't know that," Fern whispered. Her skin shifted, slowly and subtly, but she could feel it and she cursed her weakness. Angel was supposed to be dead to her. She was supposed to forget all about the laugh they shared in the bunk or how it had been so easy to bond with the pixie. Not being able to push those memories away frustrated Fern to no end and she clamped her sharp teeth down on her bottom lip.

The blonde nodded firmly. Pretty features tense and sad, she sighed. "Yes, I do." With a helpless shrug, Raven told her, "Angel…she'd been objectified for a long time. She was looking for a chance to prove herself."

Fern swallowed. "Ya think?"

Raven nodded.

"Thanks. I'm still sorry." The brunette stood as the blonde did. "I don't blame you for hiding. I wish I could. Seeing you and Angel and everyone else who could pass for normal…it's hard."

"I know." Offering the taller girl a bright smile, Raven drummed her fingers on the door frame as she reached it. "It'll get easier, Fe."

With a dramatic groan, Fern covered her face and flopped onto the bed. "Don't call me that!"

"What? I" The shapeshifter asked innocently. "Is it not as cute when I say it?" Growing taller and paler and considerably more freckled, the now redheaded young man asked in Sean's usual slow drawl, "How 'bout now, babe?"

"Get out of my room!" Fern shrieked. Reaching above her head she grabbed her pillow and hurled it at Raven.

Sean's doppleganger chuckled. "What? If you want I could show you his-"

"That's it!" The grey girl bounced into a sitting position and snapped, "Apology revoked!"

"What? Fern!" Raven gaped at her as she shifted back to her usual blonde form.

The brunette glared at her. "Raven."

"Fern!"

"Raven!"

The blonde stomped her foot. "You can't just take it back!"

"Yes I can!"

"Fern!"

"Raven!"

"Oh my god!" Alex screamed from somewhere down the hall. "Will you both just shut the hell up already?!"

The girls stared at each other a long moment before screaming, "ALEX!"