August 9, 1992
Rahne finished her test and got up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. She gnawed her tongue and walked up to the front of the classroom. She placed her test on the teacher's desk and all but fled from the classroom.
Once she was in the hallway she wiped the sweat off of her forehead, trying to calm down. She wiped her forehead again and saw Sharon coming down from the other side of the hallway.
Sharon smiled when she saw her.
"Hey, I was hoping I would catch you," she said, "There isn't much going on right now, and I was wondering if you wanted to go out and catch a movie or something."
"I'm uh, not really in the mood to go out," Rahne said.
"That's okay," Sharon said, nodding.
She paused and frowned.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Just a little nervous," Rahne said.
She glanced back at the classroom.
"I just had my first test," she said.
"Oh," Sharon said, "How'd you do?"
Rahne shifted her backpack.
"I don't know," she said.
Sharon gave her an understanding smile. She put her hand on her shoulder and started to lead her away from the classrooms.
"Know how that feels," she said.
"You can't," Rahne said, "You're smart."
"I was a thirteen-year-old who was taking classes with sixteen-year-olds in physics and biology," Sharon said, "Every single time I got a test back I worried that everyone was going to suddenly find out that I was stupid."
Rahne blinked. Sharon shrugged.
"Was it really that bad?" she asked.
"Well, there are three kinds of reactions to a student who's taking classes with people older than she is," Sharon said, "There's 'Oh man, she's really smart,' 'Whatever,' and 'Who does she think she is?'"
Sharon led her into the kitchen.
"There weren't that many of the first two types where I went to school," Sharon said.
"Oh," Rahne said.
She sat down at one of the counter chairs, slinging her backpack onto the ground. Sharon jumped up onto one of the counters and began digging through the cupboards.
"How'd you deal with that?" Rahne said.
"My dad went through the same thing when he was younger," she said, "He graduated from Harvard when he was fifteen. Then there was David. He was kind of going through the same thing with history and literature."
"David," Rahne said, grinning, "Your boyfriend."
She remembered when she had first met David. She'd immediately seen what Sharon had meant about him having beautiful eyes. There was a strange air about him though, something a little closed off despite how free he seemed with Sharon and his brother.
Sharon paused for a moment before pulling out two sodas.
"I think he tried to kiss me a few days ago," Sharon said.
Rahne gaped.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," Sharon said, "But...he was giving me this strange look...and he was tilting my head up..."
She shook her head.
"I haven't been kissed before though, so what would I know about it?" she said.
"You haven't been kissed before?" Rahne asked.
Sharon slid down the counter and sat on it for a minute.
"Why are you so surprised?" Sharon said.
Rahne chewed on her tongue. Sharon seemed to be the opposite of Rahne. She was a social creature, quick to use her wits. Rahne had never been allowed to have friends, let alone a boyfriend. She had just assumed that Sharon would have gotten out more.
"You're pretty and confident," Rahne said, feeling awkward, "I just assumed."
Sharon shook her head.
"I've had a thing for David since I was fifteen," she said, "And...with my mother in a coma, I tended to stay pretty close to home."
She shrugged.
"Don't get me wrong," she said, "I've had a few casual dates, but nothing serious. Nothing where I would let them kiss me. To me..."
Sharon looked to the side.
"Kissing just seems special," she said, "I mean, it's gross when you think about it, but everyone talks about it like it's great. It means that there must be reason for it to be special. I think the person has to be really special and..."
She trailed off and scratched her head.
"So, yeah, I haven't been kissed."
Rahne looked at the counter top, feeling awkward. When she looked up again Sharon was making a face.
"Of course, I know David had a few flings in college," she said, "I wasn't jealous though...mostly because I think I knew that it wouldn't last."
"How did you know that?" Rahne asked.
"David didn't really...he doesn't connect with a lot of people," Sharon said, "And I didn't see him relaxing it any then."
"He does seem to have a wall there," Rahne said.
"Yeah," Sharon said.
She crossed her arms.
"Then again, I think we all do to some degree," Sharon said, "It kind of comes with the territory of being different, and I think that it definitely comes with the territory of being a mutant."
Rahne couldn't argue with that. She remembered the walls that she had built herself, walls that she had only taken down because Sharon had been someone like her. She'd hoped that Sharon would be able to understand her. It was the greatest risk that she had taken in her life, and it had been the best.
"What's happening now with the two of you?" Rahne asked.
"I don't know," Sharon said, "He hasn't brought it up, and that doesn't really make a lot of sense to me."
"Me neither," Rahne said.
She cocked her head, thinking about a line she'd heard off of TV.
"Men, huh?" she asked.
"Men," Sharon said.
She got off the counter.
"You really shouldn't tease me about that around here though," she said, "I'm not even sure if we should talk about it."
She passed a soda to Rahne.
"Why not?" Rahne asked.
Sharon chuckled.
"The walls tend to have ears for that sort of thing," she said, "And when you're in a mutant college, those ears are seldom figurative."
Rahne glanced worriedly around. When she turned back Sharon burst out into laughter.
"Don't tease me about that kind of stuff!" Rahne said.
"Sorry, sorry. You know I kid," Sharon said.
She clinked her soda bottle against Rahne's. Sharon immediately started drinking hers and but Rahne paused.
"When are you going to go back home?" she asked.
Sharon paused.
"A few more days I think," she said, "My parents are already calling. They're still dealing with some of the fall out from the Mutant Registration Act, may it rot in legal limbo forever more."
"You think there's more trouble coming?" Rahne asked.
"I have no idea," Sharon said, "I have no idea why Kelly suddenly decided to change his mind. From what I saw of him it doesn't make much sense. The guy was a bastard, about as cold-hearted as they come."
She shook her head.
"Never mind," Sharon said, "I suppose that people can change sometimes, although this change seems kind of fast and sudden. Either way, I know that my parents want me down there."
"Of course," Rahne said, "Give them my regards, or whatever it is I'm supposed to give."
She threw her hands up.
"Just tell them I said hi I guess," she said.
Sharon smiled and nodded. Rahne remembered meeting Sharon's parents for the first time. She'd recognized Sharon's father from the news. It had been intimidating, but he had seemed so understanding. The very next day he had come to talk to her about taking legal steps to take her away from Craig. She had been scared, but he had made it all seem so doable.
Sharon's mother had been so kind. She hadn't even asked questions when Sharon had brought her home. All Carly had done was usher her to the kitchen where she'd started to wash her face and clean the cuts on her face with rubbing alcohol. Once she had cleaned her up she'd given her something to eat and led her to the guest bedroom. Everything was clean and soft and Rahne had fallen asleep in seconds.
It made sense that Sharon would have parents like that.
"They're glad to know that you're at the Institute," Sharon said, "My dad said that it was the safest place he knew."
Rahne looked at the soda bottle. She morphed her hand before popping the top off. It went much easier when she did that. She looked around the kitchen before turning back to the soda bottle.
"Why weren't the sodas in the fridge?" Rahne asked, "It seems like it's the logical place."
"Oh, the professors don't like having too much glass in there," Sharon said, "Not with students being kind of clumsy with their powers. Some of them are too strong for their own good, and they end up breaking things pretty fast. If you reach for the milk but use too much force, you could get a whole fridge full of broken glass."
"Huh," Rahne said.
She took a sip of her soda.
"This place is going to take a while to get used to," she said.
"That's what I felt," Sharon said.
Rahne nodded. When Sharon had originally told her about the Institute she'd told Rahne that she'd lived there for a while when her mother had gone into a coma. She told her that it was big and beautiful, and that there were people who would understand her.
In many ways it had lived up to its promise. The building was beautiful, and there were people who would understand her. The entire building seemed to be built to keep her and everyone else with a mutation safe. The professors had been kind and helped her move in despite the recent upheaval. Sharon had told her so much about the Institute, and it was all true.
Of course, there were a million other things that she couldn't have told her, like how hard the classes could be and how noisy the hallways got at times. She felt out of place in a building with so many people. There had been other people in the orphanage that she had lived in, but she had been kept away from them. Now they were all around her, chattering away and acting normal.
It was a strange feeling.
"Sometimes I feel..." she said.
Sharon leaned over the counter.
"What?" she asked.
Rahne shrugged, feeling helpless.
"Sometimes here, around all these people who are so proud of their powers," she said, "Sometimes I feel...damaged."
Sharon took her hands.
"You're not damaged Rahne," she said, "You just got dealt a difficult hand. You've played it well. And, whether you know it or not, a lot of people here had difficult hands too. They understand."
"Do you mean that?" Rahne asked.
"About not being damaged or about the people here?" Sharon said.
She squeezed her hands.
"Because they're both true," Sharon said, "And you're going to do just fine here."
Rahne looked gratefully at her friend.
"Thank you," she said.
"What for?" Sharon asked.
"Saving me, bringing me here, being you," Rahne said, "Take your pick."
"You didn't need saving," Sharon said, "All you needed was a nudge."
She grinned and let go of Rahne's hands. Rahne cocked her head.
"You know what?" she asked.
"What?" Sharon asked.
"David's the biggest moron in the world if he doesn't like you," Rahne said.
Sharon threw her head back and laughed. Rahne joined in, feeling more at home than she had felt in a long time.
