To Cheyy: I just couldn't let it be that easy for her. Just had to toss in a little intrigue in the poor girl's direction.

FYI:
I do not own the X-Men. I do however own Allison. She's sort of like the child I hope to never have in real life. You'll better understand and appreciate this statement later. Maybe not this chapter, but at some point. I promise.

Chapter 6: Some Advice From Your Shrink

Allison leaned against the driver's door of her truck waiting for Sam so that she could get to the school and become an official Bayville student. She wasn't looking forward to the necessary evil of the registration process but she knew that the sooner she got it over with the sooner she'd be eligable for athletics.

In the not-so-back of her mind, she was mulling over what the girls had been talking about in the locker room after training. She didn't want to admit that there was any truth to what they were saying, but she'd be lying. It had certainly been an interesting training to find herself waking up in his arms. Perhaps they were right that he'd taken a liking to her, but she wasn't so sure about where her own head was. It had been just barely a full day since she'd last seen Mark. Just barely a day since he'd kissed her for the first time and gone and changed everything. Allison liked knowing where she stood in the world. That kiss however had turned her world upside down.

She waved when she saw Sam come into the garage and he hesitantly waved back, but there was no smile. Just as the girls had described him earlier, he was wearing a denim jacket and his hair was hanging long around his ears. And from the look of his long face, he'd apparently been on the receiving end of some harassing too. Allison chewed her lower lip as he walked around the truck and climbed up into the passenger seat. As she started up the engine, the radio went to static and Allison quickly turned down the volume. "So what are the good stations around here?" she asked seeing if it would break the silence and get some kind of converation going again.

"Depends what yo' in to," he said with a small shrug.

"Anything but the classics and oldies…and Britney." Allison shuddered at the last and Sam laughed as he started to fiddle with the knob. He tuned it in to a radio station that was currently spitting out Marshall Mathers and Allison nodded in agreement to his choice. He sat back wordlessly as Allison negotiated the truck out of the garage and down the long drive. By the time they'd reached the gate, his silence was already grating on her nerves. She glanced sideways at him and vowed that she'd force him to talk. "Hey, don't forget your my navigator. I don't know where I'm going."

"Right. Sorry," he said rousing from his thoughts. "Turn left."

Allison just raised an eyebrow but turned as directed. We're gonna have to expand on those answers. However, he didn't say much more the entire way there unless it was to point out a direction to turn in. Once they got to the highschool he pointed to a parking lot near the gymnasium and she parked in the closest spot available next to the gym.

They climbed out and crossed the lot together to find a way into the gym and then find the bulletin board where the sign up sheets were located for the girls' soccer and football teams. Already, fifty names were on the list for football and so directly underneath of Sam Guthrie, Allison jotted down Al Williams so that her name wouldn't get scratched off by the very next guy who signed up.

"I'll walk ya down to the office," he offered thumbing towards another exit from the gym and the walked past several trophy cases and empty classrooms on their trip.

"A guy like you, I'm surprised you even know where the office is," Allison joked but could see that Sam's brows were knitted in thought.

"Trust me, you'll get to see plenty of Principal Kelly by the end of your first semester. He likes to keep an eye on the 'mutant menace'," Sam said with finger quotes around the last part. There was a slight edge to his voice that made Allison realize how much he resented being stuck under that header.

"I thought this place was to be some kind of a safehouse," Allison commented as she could see the office coming up. It was a large, well-lit glass box near the front doors of the school. From where they were, it looked to be empty.

Sam just shrugged. "The institute is the safest place there is. Trouble is that once ya leave the grounds…no one really cares anymore." They reached the office door, and Sam waved Allison to go ahead in as he waited out in the hall.

She glanced back briefly at him but he gave her a reassuring smile as he dug his hands into his jacket pockets. Allison walked up to the counter and after a quick surveilling glance realized there was no secretary in sight. She leaned over the counter slightly to gaze back down the hall towards the principal's and vice principal's offices. "Yoo hoo," she called. "Anybody home?"

There was the sound of papers being shuffled down the hall and she rocked back on her heels to wait for the person to show themselves. She was eventually faced by a stern looking man with glasses. "Can I help you with something?" he asked without any form of a salutation.

"Yeah...I'm new," Allison said slowly as she eyed him up.

The man adjusted his glasses as if to get a better look at her and she shuffled her feet nervously under his gaze.

"We normally don't deal with the new students until a week before school starts."

"That's cool and all, but I wanna play football. And I think tryouts are Friday, so I kinda need to register now." He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and took a good hard look at her. "Yeah, I'm a girl and if you take a picture, it'll last longer. Can you get me registered or am I wasting my time now?" Allison asked boldly.

He ducked behind the counter and returned with a clipboard and pen. "Fill these out. I'll be back for them in a minute or two." He cast her a glare before turning on his heel.

Allison took the items and watched as he disappeared down the hall again. She shook her head before taking a seat and began to fill out the forms. She glanced back through the glass a few times to see that Sam was anxiously pacing back and forth. When he noticed her looking, he stuck out his tongue and she returned the favor with a smile to boot.

She finally focused on the forms in front of her and began filling out all of the required information.

Name: Allison Williams
Birthdate: August 16th, 1987
Hair Color: Brown, Red, Blonde
Eye Color: Green, Blue
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 145
Address: 1407 Graymalkin Lane
Completed Courses: Accounting I & II, Various Computer Courses, Latin I & II, American Literature, AP American History, Mythology, Honors English, Biology, Physics, AP Chemistry I, Statistics, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus

She stood up and returned to the counter with the pen clipped to the board and cleared her throat loudly. The man return looking rather annoyed by her behavior but Allison just smiled as she handed over the form. He glanced through her answers quickly and then set it down on the counter, slowly spinning it so that it faced her. "You missed a question," he said tapping the pen to the paper.

"I did?" she asked, her brows arching up in surprise. She couldn't imagine what else they'd wanted to know. She allowed her eyes to follow the line of the pen down to the bottom of the page and Allison frowned as she read.

Check all that apply:
Caucasion
Hispanic
African American
Asian American
Mutant
Non-Mutant

She looked back up at him and smiled brilliantly. "Why don't ya take a guess?" she asked. He didn't look at all amused. "I'm Irish/German," she said pushing the clipboard back to him.

"Only freaks live at the Xavier Institute," he said smiling thinly. "And if you don't complete this form truthfully, I'll have no choice but to ban you from extracurricular activities." Allison glared at him bedgrudgingly and checked the boxes next to Caucasion and Mutant. "Welcome to Bayville High, Miss Williams." Allison did not miss the ice in his voice as she exited the office.

"You okay?" Sam asked as the office door closed behind Allison and he got a good look at the simpering glare on her face.

"Just peachy," she snarled casting a backwards glance over her shoulder at Principal Kelly who was still smirking at the counter.

"'S jus' a guess, but ya met our esteemed Principal Kelly." Sam realized that Allison was already halfway down the hall without him and he jogged to catch up. "So are ya gonna be allowed ta try out?"

"I guess so," she muttered digging for her keys in her pocket. She climbed in behind the steering wheel and leaned across to unlock his door for him. As Sam climbed up into the cab, she dropped her head onto the steering wheel causing the horn to blast. When she raised it again, she paused before looking at Sam. "I need ice cream. Please tell me this town has ice cream."

"We have ice cream?" he answered hesitantly and a smile finally crossed her face.

Sam stood back and watched as Allison moved slowly along the ice cream counter like a critic. In fact it seemed as though she were trying to not only memorize the selection but also assign each flavor the correct Crayola color shade.

The girl working behind the counter was cleaning and Sam swallowed a groan when he recognized her as the new head cheerleader at the high school. She might as well have also been the captain of Principal Kelly's fan club too. When she looked up into the mirror behind the counter her smile fell upon recognizing Sam for herself. She turned towards the counter and shot him a nasty glare that made him wish he could melt into a puddle like Allison was able to. "What do you want, freak?" she snarled.

Allison's eyebrows popped up in surprise at the rudeness and she glanced back at Sam as he ordered. "A tub of cookies n' cream," he replied calmly.

She scooped out the ice cream and slammed it down on the counter and held out her hand expectantly for payment. Sam was about to dig into his pockets when Allison quickly sidestepped between them. "I'd like a milkshake from orange sherbert and some extra pineapple topping, please."

"That's a smoothie. We don't do smoothies," the girl said crossing her arms over her chest.

Allison's smile was bordering on falling but she managed to keep it up. "You do serve milkshakes as the menu states in any flavor. And for an extra dollar I get to add whatever topping I want." Allison pointed to the large menu hanging on the wall behind the girl's head and all she received in return was a snarl as the girl begrudgingly set to work making her smoothie/shake.

The smoothie/shake made it's appearance on the counter much the same way that Sam's icecream had and Allison smiled as she picked it up. "Six ninety-five," the girl sighed.

Allison dug out a ten dollar bill from her pocket before Sam could respond and while she waited for her change, she dug back into her pocket for a penny. When she got her change back, Allison pocketed it and pitched the penny into the tip jar with a smile and a small wave.

Sam turned towards the corner booth unable to hide his surprise at the way that Allison had handled the girl. Apparently she wasn't used to taking no for an answer. "I could have paid for my own," he said as he slid into the booth.

"Consider it payment for the ten cent tour," Allison responded as she slid in across from him and promptly began unsheathing her straw.

"Expensive ten cents," he joked as he played with his ice cream.

Allison shrugged. "Inflation." She took a long drag from her smoothie and smiled for real for the first time since getting to the high school.

Sam glanced over at the girl behind the counter who was still glaring daggers at the pair of them. "Here's a tip. Don' go 'round makin' enemies with all the cheerleaders. You'll have ta put up with Becca Johnson an' her goon squad later on durin' football season."

Allison just shrugged it off. "It's not my fault she was acting like a real soda-jerk." She took another sip from her smoothie as she watched Sam continue to push his ice cream around the bowl without eating it. "Penny for your thoughts."

"Would that be the same penny you tipped with or is this gonna be an inflated penny?" he asked giving her a sideways glance.

"She was a smart ass with me, she deserved a crappy tip. Lord knows I've gotten my share of bad tips." She poked at her smoothie/shake with a straw then decided it was drinkable. After she finished her sip she went right back to her question. "So what's on your mind?"

"Not much," Sam said with a shrug.

"Right…let me guess. Girl trouble?" Sam started at her assumption causing Allison to grin. "You're as easy to read as my friend, Mark, back home. Both of you are cursedly girl shy."

"Old boyfriend?" Sam asked suddenly worried that once again he was going to be on the losing end of interest.

Allison missed the twinge in his voice as she considered her answer. "I'm actually still trying to figure that one out," she said finally with a weak smile. And she really was. They had been best friends it felt like since forever and then on the morning he leaves, he goes and kisses her like that? "And don't go trying to change the subject." She took another sip of her smoothie and rested her chin on her fist in thought. "So who's the lucky girl? Jubilee? Amara? Or someone I haven't met from the high school?"

"First off, none of the above. Secondly, Jubilee is datin' mah best friend, Ah'm not nearly good enough fo' Amara, an' Ah don' talk ta many girls at school. Ah hardly talk ta the girls at the institute except for at dinner an' training."

"Verdicts in," Allison said slapping her hand down on the table. "Guilty of girl shy and self-bashing. You need a confidence boost, besides you're talking to me."

"What are you, my shrink?" he asked raising an eyebrow and not at all missing the irony that she of all people was giving him advice on dating.

"Hon, you wouldn't be able to afford me." She grinned as she poked at the shake some more. She burped and laughed at herself, causing Sam to give her a strange look. It wasn't one of those girly embarrassed giggles but one that a guy would have. "Sorry, not very girl-like of me. Then again, I'd have to kill myself if I acted like that." She jerked a thumb at Becca and laughed again. She blushed a little when she saw Sam's reaction and took to stabbing her smoothie again. "So tell me about yourself. I'm sure you've got some great qualities that you just don't let others know about."

"Ah'm really not that good at talkin'," Sam admitted.

"Yeah, well, I'm not so hot of a listener either. But eventually we have to learn so we'll both get that outta the way here and now." She waited impatiently for him to start talking as he pushed the melted ice cream around the bowl. "Okay, so what do you like to do…other than football?"

"Ah used to ride dirt bikes a lot back home." She smiled and waved her hand for him to keep talking. "Horses too. Well, everyone in Kentucky rode horses," he said shrugging his shoulders.

She caught his lull and popped another question at him. "I rode dirt bikes and four wheelers back home too. Any good spots around here?"

"There used ta be this great canyon, but they dammed it up an' flooded it. There are some other areas too. Mostly though if we go on some kinda road trip, we go ta the beach. You'll probably learn ta surf like the rest of us."

Allison rested her cheek in her hand as she listened to him. "Sounds cool. Ever go water skiing? I'd love to try that sometime."

"No…but we've tried ta talk Logan into it. Eventually we'll get 'im outnumbered or just bug 'im into it." Sam took a few bites of his ice cream and was starting to feel a little more at ease now. She was a little odd compared to other girls, but it wasn't in a bad way.

"Sounds like a plan, my man," she said laughing

"So what about you? Ya know 's the newbie's job ta spill their guts ta ev'ryone."

"Really? Since when?"

"As of…" he said glancing down at his watch and paused a few seconds. "…now."

She laughed but started talking anyway. "Well, you already know that I like sports-a lot. When I'm hanging out with my friends, we usually go bowling or see a movie, go swimming, horseback riding, whatever. Once we went cow tipping out of pure boredom. Of course they were Mark's own cows. Um, what else? I was working in an ice cream parlor before coming here. That's why I didn't appreciate Miss Prissy Pants over there. I like to play guitar." She paused for a moment thinking and then continued. "Then there was the normal array of high school clubs: student council, student government, school paper, etcetera, etcetera."

"That's a lot," Sam breathed.

"It gets boring in a small town and everyone thinks it's sooo wonderful when they look at it from the outside. There was a time we had tourists pull up to our softball game and ask us where they could find an Amish farm. They had a tour book and everything. It was down right creepy," she said with a shudder. "So are they planning to do any of these li'l trips you mentioned anytime soon?"

"We'll probably do somethin' this weekend," Sam said with a shrug. "Most likely the beach."

"Sounds like it'd be a good time for you to make your move," Allison said with a wink.

Sam turned a shade of pink and Allison laughed lightly as she drank from her smoothie. "Ah think that was a shot," he accused.

"Nah...just a free piece of advice from your shrink."