If You Can't Stand the Heat...

[Anu]

It was just another day for the teen. Just another day of silence, inner turmoil, and having no friends. The only interest he got from other people, were those damn girls that followed him when he was in town. They’d look at him, and just stare, then whisper about him. Then when he would glance at them, they’d turn away and giggle like school girls. Oh how the French boy hated that. He didn’t like it one bit, but he supposed it was because he was foreign and pretty good looking. But just because of that didn’t mean girls had to do that. Oh how confusing the mind of a woman was to Atticus.

But enough of that, it was getting late, and it was time for dinner for the 17 year old. Cooking was one of his hobbies and he was rather good at it. But what to make… what to make. Then something came to Atti’s mind and he smiled. He wasn’t real hungry, so he was simply going to make a bigger dessert. Crepes, he loved those. That meant he would also need to make some chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and get some chocolate chips. No problem for the mutant. As he stood in the kitchen, all his needed tools gathered around him.

Multitasking his way through the needed items, he walked to the table with plates and bowls floating around him. One plate had five thin crepes on it and in three bowls was the whip cream, chocolate chips, and pudding. Relaxing in a chair as the setting sun glimmered outside, he pulled a crepes off of the top and rolled it up. He mentally picked up a scoop of pudding and layered it atop the crepe, then topped that with whipped cream, and then sprinkled it with chips. Taking a fork full of the crepe, Atticus smiled, he loved them. Cooking always helped calm him down, and had delicious results. Maybe someone would come in as well? Atticus didn’t want anyone to though, he didn’t really enjoy strangers company.

[Lily]

Lily's stomach growled hungrily as she walked into the kitchen. She would've been slightly embarassed if she had noticed that someone was in there, but she didn't, so no embarassing blush crept up on her cheeks. She yawned tiredly, but was completely caught off guard by the fact that the kitchen was fixed. The school really was fast at reparing damage... George would be pleased to know. That, and the fact that there was a boy she had never seen before cooking. SHe had no clue what it was exactly, but she herself hated when others stared at her, so she looked forawrd at the cabinet.

Without a word to the boy, she opened the cabinet and pulled out the Fruit Loops. She hadn't the slightest idea how to cook, and cereal just seemed to be the next best option. She sighed dissapointedly though as she picked it up. It was very light, and when she peeked inside she was dissapointed to find only enough cereal for one fourth of a bowl. She hated it when people used most of the cereal, but didn't finish it off. It irked her.

She placed the practically empty box in the trash, and searched through the remainder of cereals, dissapointed that none of the others suited her fancy. She watched the boy out of the corner of her eye. Whatever he was making, it sure looked good. She wondered how he had learned to cook so good, but she wasn't the type to just strike up a conversation, she was much too shy for that. She sighed and directed her gaze back to the cereal, picking up a box of Coco-Puffs, and reaching up in the cabinet for a bowl. She blushed slightly by the fact that the bowls had been pushed to the back of the cabinet, and being as short as she was, she couldn't reach one.

[Anu]

The girl who had come into the kitchen while he had been cooking hadn't bothered him. So in turn, he wasn't going to bother her, it was the polite thing to do. But he laughed inside his head when she was out of luck with the Fruit Loops. Maybe he could offer her some of his crepes? No, he didn't need to feed her. The teen seemed quite able to do it herself. She then located her new target, Coco Puffs. Atticus took another nibble of his food and turned his eyes away from the girl.

But eventually, he looked back at her, she was now trying to get a bowl. But her height restricted her from reaching her goal. Atti couldn't physically help her, since they were about the same height. But he was able to reach by help of his power. Taking another bite of his food, he shrugged. She seemed to not be one of those mindless girls who drooled over him, so he might as well attempt to be nice to her. He wasn't so cold that he wouldn't help her after all. Giving a small cough he asked, "I zee you arre having zome problems mademoiselle, would you like me to get eet forr you? ... Atticus looked down at his own food then sighed. It was quite rude to just eat his food while he made her eat cereal. "Orr..."

His eyes glowed yellow has the chair next to him moved out a small bit for her to sit down. Well if she pleased to. He had plenty of food to share. "Would you carre to have zome of mine?" He asked softly. His piercing green eyes looked at her in question. He didn't usually do this, but he was feeling nice today. Atticus looked away from her and went back to eating. If she wished to join him, she could walk herself there.

[Lily]

Lily was just about to reach the bowl when she heard the guy speak. "I zee you arre having zome problems mademoiselle, would you like me to get eet forr you? ... Orr... Would you carre to have zome of mine?" the boy spoke in a soft, but rich french accent. He was quite kind for offering, and she guessed that he was pshychis or telekenetic in some way. It was cool how he moved the chair. She looked back at him and smiled softly.

"Thanks for offering, but I'd hate to intrude....." she said, just as soft. Her manners had taken over, but the growl of her stomach told her that her stomach thought otherwise. She sighed softly. Despite her mannerly attitude and her refusal of his offer she sat down in the chair. "Despite the fact that I just refused your offer..... my stomach is slightly close to devouring me if I don't eat something.... I'm Lily." She said politely. She hated intruding like this, it just felt wrong. And besides, she didn't even know his name. A small smile still resided on her face, to keep herself from looking, as George described "Grim-Reaper-ish". She blushed, slightly embarassed by the fact that she had just contridicted herself, he probably thought she was mental or something.

[Anu]

Atticus continued to look at this girl. She quite polite, a refreshing change from all the brats of society. Or, in other words, the normal ones. Atticus never really met a real mean and condescending girl in the school, well at least to him. Atti's power wasn't anything real odd, so he never got looked at differently because of it. But other students had harder times he was sure. He then looked into her crystal-blue eyes as she smiled softly at him.

"Thanks for offering, but I'd hate to intrude....."

Well someone had some manners. Not even being able to take him up on offer, when his food was quite good. Atticus blinked and looked back at his crepe, taking another bite. Well if she didn't want any, he wasn't going to force her to eat them. He knew she wasn't accepting his offer because she didn't think his food looked good. It was because she didn't want to be rude. At least that was Atticus' view on it. But despite her refusal, she still sat down as her stomach growled. Atticus chuckled softly and looked at the teen.

"Despite the fact that I just refused your offer..... my stomach is slightly close to devouring me if I don't eat something.... I'm Lily."

Atticus couldn't help but chuckle at the oxymoron message she was sending out. As his eyes glowed yellow again, another crepe was brought together on another plate for Lily. "Pleaze dig in Mizz Lily. I rreally don't mind." Atticus reasured. He smiled and finished off his own crepe. They were quite filling, something the French boy always seemed to forget. It was nice to share them with someone, instead of wasting them. "Since you gave yourr name, I zhould give mine..." Atticus spoke, "My name iz Atticus Adalane, and the rreason I'm herre zhould be eazy enough to zee." Atti looked at Lily and smiled, he wouldn't force her to say why she was here. If she wanted to, she would say it without him pushing her.

[Lily]

Lily's cheeks glowed red as he looked at her. She felt so embarassed for intruding like this... I suposse it was a part of her introverted nature. The boy just smiled as his eyes glowed a bright yellow. Some would probably be alarmed or weirded out by it, but she thought the golden color was actually quite nice, besides when you are in a school full of mutants, nothing surprises you really. All of a sudden another plate with a crepe appeared in front of her, she was rather glad it came along with a fork, she really wasn't much into finger foods for she hated taking off her gloves.

"Pleaze dig in Mizz Lily. I rreally don't mind." the boy said in his accent, he seemed rather polite Lily thought. And she was glad he had laughed at the fact that she had contridicted herself, rather than thinking she was odd. "Thank you. It really is kind of you, sharing your food like this..... I hate intruding..." she said, her head lowering in embarassment as her black gloved right hand picked up the fork and took a small chunk from the crepe. She ate it hungrily, and looked up at him as he spoke.

"Since you gave yourr name, I zhould give mine..." he began, obviously finished with his crepe. "My name iz Atticus Adalane, and the rreason I'm herre zhould be eazy enough to zee." He was obviously wondering what was the reason she was here, but was polite enough to ask indirectly.

[ccolor=yellow]"Nice to meet you Atticus...... I remember that name from a book I had to read for school a few years ago...."[/color]

She smiled softly, and held up a gloved hand. "The reason I'm here, My power" she said this while making qoutation's in the air. "isn't as easy to recognize, I suposse..... and that's a rather good thing, because if you see it first hand it's extremely lethal..." she sighed softly as her smile vanished. She took a small bite, swallowed, and began again. "If you've ever heard around campus of a girl that could kill just by coming in contact with her skin, well they were talking about me....... Most people here... well they don't like me very much." she quickly added, "Not because I've tried to kill anyone or anything like that.... I suposse they just think that if they got too close I would harm them..... though not a single one of them has tried to actually get to know me, save George of course..." she realised that she had been dominating the conversation, and blushed softly, quieting immeadiately, and take another bite of her crepe. It was quite filling, and much better than the Coco Puffs which still resided on the counter. She made a mental note to put the box away before she left later.

[Anu]

"Thank you. It really is kind of you, sharing your food like this..... I hate intruding..."

Atticus shook his head at her, it was no problem for him. Rarely having others try his food, it was a welcome change. After all, he seemed to operate on a very different schedule than most students and almost always ate alone. A conversation once in a while was refreshing if it was with a nice person. Having contact with a brat made Atticus want to ignore people more, which was rather bad for him. After all it was healthy for students to socialize with others.

"Nice to meet you Atticus...... I remember that name from a book I had to read for school a few years ago...."

"Ah yez, it iz a classic." Atticus replied. He was never sure why his mother named him Atticus, but one of his thoughts was from that book. But his mother was never one for reading, so he wasn't sure. It could have also been from a relative, not that he knew any of them on account they were all in France. Turning his gaze back to Lily, it seemed she was going to share. Atti listened in carefully, despite his not wanting to push her, he was very interested.

"The reason I'm here, My power" she said this while making qoutation's in the air. "isn't as easy to recognize, I suposse..... and that's a rather good thing, because if you see it first hand it's extremely lethal..." she sighed softly as her smile vanished. She took a small bite, swallowed, and began again. "If you've ever heard around campus of a girl that could kill just by coming in contact with her skin, well they were talking about me....... Most people here... well they don't like me very much." she quickly added, "Not because I've tried to kill anyone or anything like that.... I suposse they just think that if they got too close I would harm them..... though not a single one of them has tried to actually get to know me, save George of course..."

Atticus was amazed, he didn't think she could be the one that kid's talked about. But he wasn't scared of her, just shocked that she could have such a power. It was a good thing Lily wasn't evil. "That iz zome powerr you have Lily. And it iz zad that I have hearrd of you, teenagerrs can be zo hurrtful and blind to people who arre differrent..." Atticus said softly. She must of had a horrible experience when he power first showed itself. Sure Atti had his own issues, but nothing that killed people so quick. The worst thing that happened to him was his outburst of bottled up power, and cruelty from his mother that followed. She was a crude and simple minded woman, Atticus disgusted her. But then he realized he had been glaring down at his plate. Shaking his head to snap out of his thoughts, Atticus softly looked at Lily.

"Lily, you zhouldn't let people talk about you like that. Just letting them continue will make it worrse... Atticus spoke lightly, then he thought. Lily didn't seem like the type to simply tell people off and make people see that they're wrong. Atticus wasn't sure what to do, he could offer to help her, but he was sure she would say no. He simply waited for her to speak again, then he would decide what move to make.

[Lily]

"That iz zome powerr you have Lily. And it iz zad that I have hearrd of you, teenagerrs can be zo hurrtful and blind to people who arre differrent..." He said softly.

Lily nodded, she herself, had come up with that explanation some years ago. It didn't really surprise her that he had heard of her... Mostly only the newer students hadn't, her powers were all over school. They had treated her like a disease ever since her arrival, when she was naive enough to tell anyone about it..... "It's alright, most people have heard of me, so it really isn't any type of shock..... Even mutant students, who are different from the rest of the world will alienate mutants who's powers are dangerous....... I just wish that they could realize that I mean no one any harm..... And there really isn't the slightest possibility of me accidentally touching them. I'm always in long-sleeve shirts, pants of some sort, and my gloves only come off when I shower......" she sighed, and shutup as she realized she had, once again, been dominating the conversation. She tended to ramble.

She took the last bite of her food, and set the fork on the plate. "It was really really good. Thank you... you are an excelent cook." she said as she stood up. She picked up his plate also, and loaded them into one of the many dishwashers. The particular one was basically full, so she ran it.

"Lily, you zhouldn't let people talk about you like that. Just letting them continue will make it worrse..."[/i]

She smiled softly, and shrugged. "You sound alot like one of my new friends, George. She's always telling me to stand up for myself, and whatnot...... But all the years of isolation have pushed me so far introverted that it's rather hard to stand up for myself.... I'm slightly pathetic.." she sighed, and grabbed the box of Coco puffs, closed the lid, and put it back in the cupboard. She then walked back over and sat down in the chair Atticus had pulled out for her earlier.

"I'm sorry...... I've dominated the conversation entirely too much.... For being rather shy I talk alot when I met new people who are kind to me.." she immeadiately blushed, and her pale cheeks turned a faint pink. She sighed and stared at her hands, embarassed.

[Anu]

"It's alright, most people have heard of me, so it really isn't any type of shock..... Even mutant students, who are different from the rest of the world will alienate mutants who's powers are dangerous....... I just wish that they could realize that I mean no one any harm..... And there really isn't the slightest possibility of me accidentally touching them. I'm always in long-sleeve shirts, pants of some sort, and my gloves only come off when I shower......"

Atticus nodded his head slowly. Despite her kindness and what seemed to be an inability to do anyone harm, nobody saw it. All they'd see was someone that could kill them. There were also rumors, Lily was probably was being played up as a cruel monster who only acted nice until she would strike. "Yez, therre iz alwayz discrimination in society, whetherr it iz human to mutant or, zadly, mutant to mutant." Atticus spoke. It was a sad truth. But there would never be equality, everyone would always find a reason to hate someone else. Atti looked down, in a slight depression. Maybe if there weren't any mutants who used their powers for bad deeds, humans wouldn't hate mutants so much. Then again they were different, and humankind always had a hard time with that.

"It was really really good. Thank you... you are an excellent cook."

Atticus brightened up and smiled at Lily, chuckling softly. As she went to the dish washer and loaded her plate in, Atti said, "Merci Lily, a cook alwayz likez to hearr his food iz apprreciated." This was quite true. Atticus didn't have much of an ego, but when it came to cooking, he knew he was good. It didn't make him overconfident though, it just made him want to cook more.

"You sound alot like one of my new friends, George. She's always telling me to stand up for myself, and whatnot...... But all the years of isolation have pushed me so far introverted that it's rather hard to stand up for myself.... I'm slightly pathetic.."

Atticus shook his head softly as Lily returned to her chair. "Do not think like that Lily, you arre anything but pathetic. All you need iz zome people to brring you into a pozitive light, zome frriendz." Atticus spoke. She needed to be pulled out her shell, and gain some confidence in herself. Lily was a very nice girl and if it wasn't for her powers, she'd be living happily somewhere else. It was times like this that Atticus truly hated the mutant gene. But then again, if Lily and him didn't have the gene... well they would have never met. This made Atticus smile a bit more as he looked at Lily.

"I'm sorry...... I've dominated the conversation entirely too much.... For being rather shy I talk alot when I met new people who are kind to me.."

"I rreally don't mind, I do not get the chance to talk to such beautiful perrson zuch az yourrself." Atticus meant she was a beautiful person as in her soul and personality. He then realized how that sounded, making his checks feel hot, but the blushing wasn't quite visible on his tanned skin. Not that he didn't think Lily was pretty. This was a true sign that Atticus thought of her as a friend. He could only get embarrassed around friends, or by friends. Atti coughed lightly, and quickly said something else. "Uh... I supoze I could tell you about me if you'd like me to." Atticus proposed.

[Lily]

Atticus nodded slowly. "Yez, therre iz alwayz discrimination in society, whetherr it iz human to mutant or, zadly, mutant to mutant."

Lily sighed. "And unfortunately, despite how much we wish it would end...... I think the enmity between human and mutants won't. I mean the guy who founded this school, way back when... he was trying to get it to stop.. and it still hasn't after all of these years." It was sometime depressing to think about how humans treated other mutants.... It was just sad to think that people couldn't accept everyone as equals.

As Lily got up and loaded the dishwasher with their plates, she turned around to see Atticus smiling. He seemed to take pleasure in getting compliments on his cooking. "Merci Lily, a cook alwayz likez to hearr his food iz apprreciated." She nodded as she sat back down. "That's true... though I can't say I'd know.... I can't cook at all.." she laughed and thought of tthe first month here at the school when she tried to make pancakes and almost burnt down the kitchen. She was an awful chef.

"Do not think like that Lily, you arre anything but pathetic. All you need iz zome people to brring you into a pozitive light, zome frriendz."

She nodded, smiling softly. "Yes, unfortunately for me, most students don't want to be friends with someone that could kill them in four minutes just by coming in contact with their skin..." she shrugged slightly. It didn't bother her much anymore.. she was used to it.

"I rreally don't mind, I do not get the chance to talk to such beautiful perrson zuch az yourrself."

Lily smiled, tho was embarassed when she felt that familiar sensation of a blush creeping up on her cheeks. He probably didn't mean it the way that it first sounded... probably in some other way.... But she didn't think about that. It seemed as if she had made yet another new friend. She saw that his statement had made him embarassed as well, so she didn't comment on it, or else she would've most likely said thank you.

"Uh... I supoze I could tell you about me if you'd like me to." Atticus offered, rather quickly.

Lily nodded, it would be nice to let him talk for a change... she hated dominating the conversation. And besides... it would be nice to know a little bit more about her new friend, than just his name and power. "Only if you'd like to..." she said, she didn't want to force him. She knew that she wasn't the only mutant in the world with a sad past.