Ok, no more gibber-gabber…You guys don't read these to hear me talk, so I'll get right down to it... This is chapter two, and DON'T FREAK OUT! I'll get back to Charles and Hank and everyone you love in a few chapters, but for now the story is following two other mutants. As always, ENJOY! And comment! Please comment!

There are certain students that are to be avoided at any cost in order to maintain one's social status…The nerds, the weirdoes, the smelly people, and Andy Clarkson. If you were seen talking to Andy Clarkson you were immediately shunned from any social group you attempted to take part in. There was a very clear explanation for this; Andy Clarkson had scales.

Everyone knew it…it was just one of those things. No one knew why Andy had scales; no one bothered to ask. Among his list of classic nicknames were: Crocodile, Iguana skin, snake sucker, Crocson-Clarkson, and Alligator Andy.

They were hardly scales, they were just tough bits of skin in the shape of small octagons that covered his legs, back, and stomach, then made their way up his arms, over his neck and around his face. Thankfully they didn't get much further than that and didn't impede his speech at all…not that he ever dared to speak anyway. His voice was distinctly reptilian. He hissed instead of laughing or crying. His voice was sharp and cutting, but slightly entrancing at the same time. It had always been like that, despite the years of speech therapy. Eventually the teachers just gave up on him, and don't even mention his dad… He was the most lazy and useless man on the planet in Andy's opinion. He lived on the sofa (One of the only pieces of furniture in the trailer they shared) and didn't work. He paid for the trailer by slowly selling off Andy's mother's things; her jewelry, her clothes, her books, and any other position that Andy hadn't hidden.

In short, Andy was one of those kids with nothing to lose, nothing to gain, and nothing to make him noteworthy…apart from one thing… Andy was a little more reptilian than he let on. Not even his father knew about his "special skills". For one thing, Andy was cold-blooded. He had found that out on his first visit to a doctor when he was five years old, just before his mother had died. The doctor had insisted that the thermometer was broken, Andy's scaly skin was warm to the touch, but when Andy tried the thermometer at home he reached the same conclusion. He was a few evolutionary steps away from being a lizard. His doctor had put down his skin as an unusual epidermal condition and had left it at that. (This was a budget doctor)

The second thing that was definitely not normal about Andy was his teeth. They were like small meat hooks, and luckily for him they seemed to fit perfectly in his mouth. Thankfully this prevented him from slicing his gums every time he tried to eat something. Certain that this would only lead to more ridicule should anyone find out about it, he was careful to never speak and if he had to he spoke with his lips hardly parting.

Andy was different and suffered for it to no end for it…especially when he entered high school. It was the first day of his freshman year. He had all the normal concerns of a new student…What's my locker combination? Where are my classes? Where will I sit at lunch? But he also had some very special problems. It had taken all of his three years in middle school to get the teachers to understand the fact that he had to wear long sleeves and a hood or large hat every day to hide his reptilian appearance. All of the students knew about him, but the teachers didn't.

As Andy walked down a hall in the huge school, he tried to remember how he had dealt with middle school. Of course, that had been completely different. In high school, he knew, kids were already driving and had jobs and were adults. Unfortunately, most were adults that still acted like children.

Andy pictured himself and tried to make himself as unlikely a target as possible. His baggy sweatshirt and hood that covered his face were definitely something that wouldn't score him any points with teachers, but he was sure that it would help him blend in a bit more. The one thing he couldn't hide was his hands. His "scales" covered the top of his hands and were the same faint green tint as the ones on his face and were painfully visible to anyone who happened to glace at his hand while he was writing in class.

Andy turned a corner and thanked the Lord that he had gotten to school so early. He hadn't run into anyone yet, student or teacher, so he would be able to find his homeroom in peace.

112, 113, 114, 115… Geeze, how many classrooms were there? Andy studied his class schedule with extreme concentration broken only when he nearly ran into someone. In fact, he did run into someone. There was a moment of comic realization as his eyes slowly tracked up the enormous senior before him. The guy was huge, 6 foot 4 at least. Two other tough-looking characters were on either side of him.

"Where you going freshy?" He said in a voice that suggested an underage smoker. His breath confirmed this. He was dressed in a black leather jacket and had slicked-back dirty-blond hair. His jeans were adorned with chains that made an uncomfortable amount of noise as he turned and grinned at his two companions that were dressed in a similar fashion.

"Homeroom." Whispered Andy trying desperately to hide his distinctive hiss.

"What'd ya say freshy?" Said the second kid, taking a step forward. Andy realized that he was close enough to see his face and looked at the ground, but he was too late. "Oh crap man! Look at this kid's face!" There was a sudden jerk on his hood and he winced as all three on them saw his skin and bright green eyes.

"Whoa! What the heck?" He heard one of them say in surprise.

"He looks like an iguana!" Another added with a laugh. The other two joined in and Andy took the opportunity to turn to run, but a strong hand grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Where you going Scaly?" Said the kid. Andy was thrown back against a locker, hitting the back of his head as the three seniors howled with laughter. He tried to run again and pull his hood back up, but a fist to his left eye threw him back against the metal locker.

"Hey, he's green! Let's see what color his bruises are!"

"Hey, stop." Said a cool female voice. Andy opened his uninjured eye. The three boys had turned away from him and were looking at someone at the end of the hall.

"Oooh, Iguana's got himself a sweetie!" Now in sight was girl, clearly the same age as Andy dressed in a denim jacket and red skirt. She had long black hair that covered one of her eyes. The other eye was a stunning golden color. It made her look like a hawk, especially paired with the look she was giving to the three seniors. "I said get lost." She demanded in a harsh shout and taking a few more steps toward them.

"Look Baby, we're kind 'a busy here, so if you could get outt'a here, maybe you and me could get together some time…" The guy was clearly hitting on her, but from what Andy could see with his eye that wasn't swelling up, she was having none of it.

"Yeah, that's never gonna happen." She said tersely. She was close enough now that she was in danger of being grabbed by the boys, but she seemed extremely confident about the whole thing. The two other boys laughed at their rejected comrade. He frowned threateningly at her.

"Fine then. I don't need your permission Baby…" He made a grab at her arm which was deflected with unbelievable speed by the girl. The guy pulled back his hand in surprise.

"Geezes, you're quick!" She grinned.

"No, you're slow." The two other boys jumped in and each one was dealt a painful punch to the side of the head, but it didn't appear to be the punches that hurt them. They grabbed the places they had been hit in, and a large red welt was forming on both of them. They looked like they had been burned.

"What the Hell?" One of them gasped.

"Geeze, Jack, this is stupid. Let's go."

"Oh come on!" The ring-leader laughed. He tilted his head and grinned greedily at the girl who returned the look. He approached her, but with astonishing strength she shoved him back into the locker beside Andy who slid to the floor in a crouch. The girl held the squirming kid against the lockers with one hand and with the other pressed hard on his face. He screamed in agony until she stepped back, letting him drop to the floor beside Andy. In amazement, he saw that the boy's face had a perfect red imprint of her hand in it, blistering and turning red. The kid stood up suddenly and made a run for it, his companions close behind.

The girl waited for the three boys to disappear around the corner before turning her attention to Andy. She kneeled down in front of him and smiled sweetly, in great contrast to whatever she had just done to the senior.

"You alright guy?" She asked. Andy was holding his left eye and felt exceedingly foolish. He was also confused. She wasn't staring at his exposed scales the way anyone else would. She looked genuinely concerned for his wellbeing.

"Yeah, fine." He said quietly. She looked unconvinced and lightly pulled his hand away from his eye. Her fingers were warm, no, hot. Andy winced as she touched him and she jerked her hand back.

"Sorry." She said, shaking her hand as if to cool it off. She put her fingers just under his left eye and the pain was lessened considerably. Embarrassed, Andy glanced both ways down the hall. She must have caught on because she smiled and said, "Don't worry, those three are the only people that ever get here this early. Just stay in the back halls and you'll be fine." He nodded a little and looked back at her.

She was pretty, but it was her eyes that drew his attention. Now that she was close he could see them clearly. They were like a pair of small flames inside two glass bowls. Red, yellow, and orange spots swam through where her irises should be like fire-colored lava lamps. She must have seen him looking at her.

"Yeah, I've got weird eyes."

"So do I."

"Yeah." They lapsed into an awkward silence. The girl finally pulled back her hand. Andy's face suddenly felt very cold. She offered her hand and helped him up. She smiled, completely at ease as Andy squirmed uncomfortably.

"So, you um, burned those guys. Literally."

"Why do you whisper?"

"Huh?" Andy asked in surprise.

"You're hiding something. Why?" Andy frowned and squinted at her. Was she for real, or was she just messing with him? He swallowed and for the first time in months said something in his real voice.

"Because I sound like a snake with a head cold." He waited for her to laugh, but she didn't. She did smile though. It wasn't the one she had given to the seniors, this was a real smile.

"Wow."

"Geeze, thanks."

"No, really! I mean it! You're cool, dude." Andy blushed through his green scales. He tried to smile without showing her his teeth. She suddenly turned to go and spoke to him over her shoulder. "Come on. I like having company." He hesitated, not sure about whether or not his was some elaborate trick. She noticed his unease and stopped. "Come on, I'm different, you're different…Do you really think I'd just let you walk around alone?" Andy slowly walked over to her and she put out her hand.

"Vanessa, Vanessa Viorenza."

"Andrew, Andrew Clarkson, but you can call me Andy."

"Nice to meet you Andy."

From that moment on, Andy Clarkson was completely and totally in love with Vanessa Viorenza.