Tap.
"Hey."
Tap. Tap.
Go on, do it one more time. She was about to snap.
Tap. Tap.
"Hey."
"WHAT!?" Charlotte spun around to face whoever it was that had been prodding at her attention (and her back) for the past 5 minutes. She had tried unsuccessfully to ignore them and focus on the lesson in front of her. Her first lesson at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. A school for mutants. Just a few days ago, she had no idea such a place existed.
Just a few days ago, she had no idea she was a mutant either. Back then, she was human. Normal. The word stung the back of her eyes as if she'd never hear it again. It also didn't help that memories of her friends came flooding back. Friends who dragged her along on weekly, if not daily, 'mutie bashing' run arounds. She'd witnessed far too many, some of the victims being once loved members of their tight-knit group. They'd all known eachother since childhood, and when some of them began to 'change', things grew to be very different. They weren't friends anymore, they were mutants. They had a disease. They weren't right. They were outcasted, and how easily depended on how willing they were to accept that they weren't welcome anymore. It was just one of the factors that caused Charlotte not to hesitate the moment she knew something was different about her. She grabbed what she could, tossed it into her backpack, and ran.
Two busses later, she arrived in New York City, tired, scared, and very alone. That would explain why when a husky guy with a denim jacket and an irritable demeanor nudged her awake and told her he had a safe place for her to go. Discussions in a pick-up truck had never been so informative - or frightening.
The boy she saw sitting behind her said nothing, but put a finger to his lips and looked past her with a smirk on his face. His dark blue eyes were wide with excitement, like he was proud he had just gotten her in trouble. It suddenly dawned on her how loud she had just been, and she slunk back in her chair while knowingly under the watchful glare of a slightly irritated Professor Munroe. Her face began to grow slightly warm, despite the chill in the room.
Focusing her attention once again on the textbook in front of her, the professor's voice slowly tuned back in and began reciting quotations and discussing them with the students. She had read all but two sentences, when her focus was halted yet again.
"Hey." Tap.
Charlotte gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to spin back again. She gave in and responded to him, her voice barely above a whisper and her eyes not leaving the book.
"What do you want!?" She wanted this over with as soon as possible.
"You the new kid?"
Charlotte's eyes glazed over momentarily in bemusement and annoyance. That was what couldn't wait until class was over?
"Yes." She rolled her eyes and attempted to continue reading.
"So what can you do?"
Now he had her attention. She sat up slightly, still facing forward. It was bad enough she found out she was a mutant, now she had to explain it to some random boy?
"Nothing. Leave me alone." A rather childish response, but at this point she didn't care.
"You wouldn't be here if you couldn't do anything. Come on." His voice resembled that of a 10 year old asking his big sister to buy him candy without his mother hearing.
"I said leave me alone!" She snapped, keeping her eyes on the professor. She hadn't heard their conversation just yet. Hopefully she wouldn't.
The bell going off caused a wave of relief through Charlotte's chest. Without looking back, she picked up her book and her backpack, and turned to leave the room, grimacing as she noticed the boy standing up after her out of the corner of her eye.
They reached the hallway, and Charlotte immediately spun around, almost causing him to run right into her. His eyes widened in suprise and he backed up before she had a chance to speak.
"Will you fuck off!?" She said angrily. The boy raised an eyebrow, the smile on his face fading.
"Easy, princess, I was just..." He was cut off when a young looking girl with white streaks in her hair came between them.
"John for christ's sake, do you have to harass everyone?"
He suddenly had a much less appealing look on his face.
"Oh shut up Rogue, all I did was ask her what her power was, not my fault she had to be a bitch about it." The two obviously knew eachother, but it was unclear if they actually got along.
Charlotte shifted nervously and Rogue looked back at her with a questioning gaze.
"I said it's nothing. There's nothing wrong with me." She really hadn't meant to sound so afraid and angry. Rogue had retreated at Charlotte's outburst, and looked away with a sad expression. That, however, was nothing compared to John's reaction. His eyes had suddenly appeared slightly darker, and the playful smirk he once wore left no trace on his now tight-lipped mouth. She noticed his jaw clench, and she could almost feel the heat radiating from him as he stared at her with the utmost anger.
"Fucking humans. You're all the same." John adjusted his backpack quickly and shoved past her, dissappearing into the now crowded sea of students. Rogue had also gone, leaving Charlotte once again in the state she had been before she got here.
Alone.
A/N: you know the drill, please read and review! Thank you. :)