Evening Bus into Town

[Legacy]

The bus pulled away from the stop, leaving behind a tall young man sitting on a bench with his large pack by him. The bus ride from North Carolina was a long one, one that kept Johnny sitting in his thoughts for far longer than he cared to think about. Instead, he spent much of his time whittling away at a block of wood with his whittling knife that his Grandfather gave him.

Whittling was one of the skills that he could call his own, something that he learned because of his Grandfather. They used to sit for hours and whittle all kinds of figures: people in the town, cars, animals, boats, and absolutely anything else that came to mind. For all those hours, he mindlessly whittled a boat out of the block of wood, similar to the small sailboat that he used to take out with his friends and his Grandfather.

Johnny tossed the bag of wood shavings into the garbage next to the bench, moving the small sander in his hand to smooth out the edges. He had concentrated especially hard on it, refusing to allow his mind to wander and think about everything that had happened. He had yet to grieve properly according to Pastor Thomas, who had overseen his work at the Church. Johnny wasn't ready to get through it yet, he preferred keeping himself busy and useful than to dwell on things that he could not change.

With going to Xavier's, a mutant school, well he knew that there would be plenty to keep him busy. He had no idea that the place was actually real, though he had heard rumors about it for a long time, ever since he found out he was a mutant. From now on, his new home would be in a place of people who had extra abilities just as he did. Johnny had no idea what that would be like, though he was reminded of when he first came to live with his Grandfather whom he'd never met when he was ten. He remembered being really nervous and having no clue what to expect, but then his Grandfather greeted him at the airport wearing a Hulk mask. It made Johnny laugh and had all his worries leave him instantly.

He doubted he'd have a greeting like that at this school, but he would take it in stride. At the moment very little was phasing him, with the last couple of months and the endless nights of worrying, there was little that bothered him. Now as Johnny sat on one of the benches at the bus, going over the little boat he whittled, he realized that he wasn't as nervous as he should be. He wasn't even in a rush to get there, though he was tired from the bus ride. It was a nice day and the weather was pleasant even though he went up North, and sitting outside was a pleasant treat. As he smoothed the little wooden boat in his hand, his hazel eyes glanced up periodically to lookout for his ride.

[Shift]

'Well... That went well, I think.' Willow frowned. She hadn't expected much of a goodbye, but she had hoped for something more than the event that had occured - or rather, hadn't occured. After nights and days of worrying about going to a new school, with completely different people, teachers and locations, Willow had felt happy, and relieved that her family would drive her to the bus depot for the last leg of her journey. She wouldn't be getting the bus, she was just being picked up there. And what she had wanted was a proper goodbye. Of course, things rarely turned out as Willow hoped, turned out her mother and step-father actually just wanted to go shopping in the area, and not give her a send off. Hearing that she had been, well, shocked definitely. The worst feeling though, was knowing that something like that was going to happen. And as she walked to the depot, her mind wasn't lingering on happy thoughts. Not the new start she had planned.

What her family thought of her... That meant a lot to Willow, and to be so low down on whatever kind of chain this was that she didnt get a proper goodbye from her own mother, that had hurt. Her dad, she had gotten an e-mail from him the other day. Wishing her good luck. It was strange how he seemed to know so much about the place, yet she, the soon to be student knew nothing.

She sighed, moving her bag slightly, slinging the strap across her shoulder. Repeatedly the bag hit against her side, a reminder of what was to come, what she was giving up.... A new Willow. Though she didn't know if that was good or not yet. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she felt for the shiny, cool, metal surface of the coin hidden away in it. Grasping it in her hand, she pulled it out, her gaze looking over the 50pence piece. It was left over from the last visit she had made to her father. And when she got to worried, or stressed out, she would take it. Flipping the coing in between her finger, making the light gleam of it. If she got too stressed out or upset, she would go as far as to 'shift' the coin on each turn.

There... it was now a green coin, then a blue one. Turn it into a button perhaps? A different coin? The one good thing about being a mutant as far as Willow was concerned, was definitely her shifting ability. Other than that... It hadn't been a smooth ride. 'And this school?' She flipped the coin. What was it about? Would I fit in? A flip of the coin and it turned to a black button. Willow noticed this, and quickly snapped out of the train of thoughts. At this point she knew she was near to the pick up point, and as she rounded the corner, it came into sight. But instead of an empty bench, someone was there. She hesitated for a moment, she didn't do well with people. Ever. 'I'm not a people person...' Taking a deep breath she continued on, however, getting nearer and nearer to the guy on the bench. Bench Guy. She clenced the coin in her hand, as the approaching bench was suddenly next to her. She never usually felt nervous about taking a seat. This was the perfect chance to make sure shy Willow stayed behind. Confident Willow would be the one arriving at the school, if she ever awoke from the life-time slumber.

She tucked a loose strand of hair under her hat, and quickly sat down, shoving her bag under the bench. She glanced around, looking for her lift - unsure of exactly who would be picking her up. She just hoped she had the place and time right.

[Legacy]

Johnny barely acknowledged that someone sat next to him, let alone looked up from his work. He minded his own business, and frankly he was just too lost in his thoughts to care about anyone else right now. His mind shifted between thinking about his home and thinking about what the school had in store for him. He was told that it was a chance for him to start over, to shed the weight of his old life. Of course it was easier said than done, and at this point he didn't think it would be all that easy.

While sanding and smoothing his little wooden boat, Johnny glanced to the side, observing the girl she now shared his bench with. She looked pretty young; he figured around thirteen or so and was probably waiting for her parents or something. He had no idea who was coming to pick him up, but at this point it didn't matter though. As far as Johnny saw it, the world was open to him now. He didn't know if he was going to go back to classes, he had never been good at school anyways. The only reason he didn’t go off on his own anywhere was because he was still too young and his parents insisted that Xavier’s was the best place for him.

Even though he was supposed to start a new life, Johnny didn’t really know if he wanted to start over like that. His life back in North Carolina wasn’t bad at all. He had a lot of friends, a good deal of things to do throughout the day, and the family that he made with the Church staff that helped his Grandfather. For now he wondered if he should just wait it out at this school for a year and then go back home. There were so many things that Johnny could do so he wanted to keep his options open, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have an idea of what he wanted to do.

In the meantime, there was nothing for him to do but wait and see who would come and get him. It seemed the girl was waiting for someone too, which was expected since this was the drop off/ pick up area. Johnny felt kind of bad for her, being so young and traveling on her own. He was used to it, he had been on his own a lot as his parents were working, but he remembered being pretty freaked out a few times when he was little. Johnny was too concerned with his own thoughts to think to talk to her. Besides he had never been one to make friends with strangers out of the blue.

[Shift]

Willow relaxed slightly on the bench, she wasn't very good at waiting. And it was...strange. Going out alone. A good strange though. Her eyes strayed from her coin to the work he was doing, slightly curious. She didn't particularly think it would be a good idea to ask about it, and her shyness wouldn't let her speak anyways. Willow also thought that most people tended in situations like these to stick to their own thoughts. A nice quiet time before whatever bus, or whatever car or anything came to pick them up.

She smiled slightly, looking back at her coin, twisting it again. She wasn't sure about what lay ahead of her, but anything, anything, surely, would be better than constantly being ignored like back home. New faces were always good, no one judging her either. She liked that part. As her mind wandered away from the two of them sitting on the bench, she gave a small, almost invisible frown. She really was glad to be going, the last few days at home had been... Especially tense. Half the time she was ignored, the other half being shouted at. Having some time away would certainly be a good thing. She wanted to stay sane. On the outside, she was getting good at pretending things were fine. That she had perfectly happy, and normal parents. She was getting good at convincing herself of that too. Things weren't seriously bad. And she knew many people were in much worse of situations than her. Being considered a disgrace and often as if she never existed was definitely better than how some parents treated their kids. She shouldn't complain. She never had to anyone.

She absent-mindedly shifted the coin as she twisted it, and for a second she froze, hoping the guy next to her hadn't seen anything. She shook herself, lightly, 'Why would he have? Right? It was just a coin...turning to a button... Oh.' But it was only a slight shift, and the now-button was still in her hand. Perfectly safe, as was her little secret. But to be extra safe she moved her hand out of view and stole a quick glance at the guy. He was older than her. She was pretty sure about that. Not a whole lot older. But a few years at least. Willow briefly wondered what his story was. From someone else's point of view, she she knew she appeared to be very young.

She turned slightly in her seat, moving back from her little perch on the very edge, and as she did so, the button fell from her hand, on to the gorund below. Her eyes widened, and she quickly tried to reach it. She couldn't let the guy see it. Any time soon, the button would shift back to a coin. She winced, searching about. She knew in the back of her mind she must appear on the outside crazy - and who could blame anyone for thinking that? Inside she was probably crazy too. The other part of her knew that the outward craziness needed to be shown, she needed that coin/button back quickly.

[Legacy]

Though Johnny had been solely focused on his wood carving, he was broken from his revere when he felt something roll and hit the side of his shoe. Glancing over, he saw the girl frantically looking for whatever it was on the ground, which was enough to earn a resigned sigh out of him. His grandfather raised him right, and he wasn't going to dishonor him now and not be a gentleman, even when he really didn't want to.

Leaning down, Johnny picked up the coin palming it in his hand and moving it to his fingers to hand it to her. He held up the coin between his the tip of his two fingers casually, moving his hand closer so she could take it. Then, just like that, the coin in his hand was suddenly a button!" Johnny stared at his hand and blinked, thinking he had lost his mind. Ok I didn't get a flashback, that couldn't have been me... oh crap what if I'm like those mutants with two powers and I just discovered this one? Crap, crap, they told me never to use my powers in front of humans if I can help it! he thought now both panicked and pissed as he looked over at the girl.

Oh damn, she saw it too. I gotta try and play it off or something, maybe just make it look like we're both seeing things. Yea, she's young, it'll work. Just gotta play it cool, Johnny took a deep breath and gave a slight smile handing her the button. "Uh, did you drop this? It might have fell from your jacket or something," he said lamely, having no idea where else to go with it. He really hoped she didn't freak out cause this was the very last thing he wanted to deal with, and Johnny prayed that this wasn't another mutant power, as he could barely handle the one he had without being overwhelmed at times, let alone take on another power. Aw man, can this day go downhill anymore? I probably just jinxed myself.

[Shift]

Willow froze momentarily as she watched him bend down to pick something up. Not the coin, not button, not any of them, she silently prayed, but no luck there. He held out the coin to her and she quickly unfroze reaching out to take it. She watched horrified as the the coin turned to a button. Her mouth open she stared at it for a second. No, no, no. No! That didn't happen, he didn't see that. Please...

But on glancing over at him, she knew straight away that he had seen the shift. What surprised her was the fact that, yeah, he looked a little freaked out but... He didn't do anything, just gave the coin back. He didn't run away, shout at her for being a mutant freak. Just a hurried hand shoved under face. So she quickly took the coin back and gripped it tightly in her hand. She clenched her other fist, and kept her head down. She didn't want to look at him. Didn't want to see the disgust that would surely be forming on his face. The anger, which she had seen on his eyes as he passed back the button. Just shout at me... Run away... Whatever... Just get it over with.

She knew that anyone finding out about her little 'gift' would just end up hurting her. And for some total stranger to find out like this. This new start wasn't turning out too good. But why? Why isn't he doing any of that? Shouting? Moving away? I'm a freak, surely he knows that now. She was being hard on her self. That had always been her problem. Willow was in shock.

[reMOVE]

The drive from West Milford, New Jersey to the bus depot in The City was a long despite how short the actual trip was. He knew that this new school would be his last chance or it was military school. His father pulled the Lexus up to the curb and the Sands got out as Nick popped the trunk. Sarah cried slightly as she pulled Vincent into a hug, her baby boy was going to a school where he couldn’t simply come off a bus stop and walk home. Vincent hugged back and breathed in deeply, he was fourteen he had to be strong for his mother. “Vince.” The voice of his father, with his travel bag and backpack came from behind him. “For the love of god son, be good and don’t get expelled from this school also.” Nick did the unexpected and pulled his son into a hug. “I love you son, I really do. Maybe this school will help you get control of this freaky curse you have.” Sarah gasped and stroked Vince’s cheek. “You do not have a curse Vincent, like Mrs. Frost said you have a gift and they can help you with it.” Vince shouldered his backpack and picked up his travel bag. “I love you guys, and I promise to be good.” He kissed his mom on the cheek and she said. “We will send out the rest of your stuff, soon and we already have your DJ equipment on its way to you, it should be there a few days after you get there. I love you.”

Vincent walked to the depot and saw three other people, a mixed bunch, but he doubted they were there for the same reason. They would see Vincent dressed in baggy black jeans, a New York Yankees shirt, under a button down Derek Jeter jersey and a black fedora on his head. He smiled brightly at the three, “Seems we are all looking to get road dust on our shoes huh. Anyone want to listen to some music?” He sat down, flipped his fedora off his head and unzipped his backpack and pulled out an Alienware M17x laptop and let it boot up after plugging a pair of Logitech Z5 USB speakers into it. He looked at the other three and smiled. He hid growing sense of dread with a cheery disposition and music. If these three were in fact like him, then they too would be going to the same place. He looked around as he fingered the touch pad of his laptop to double tap into Virtual DJ. Once his laptop was set up and waiting to be fed music to play, he flipped his fedora back onto his head.

As he waited for the answer and go ahead to play music, he double tapped into the internet and checked his facebook and emails from his friends back home. He would miss those most of all, going to a new school was nothing new to him but it got hard to maintain close friends except for of course his friends who lived in his neighborhood. He smiled reading his friends’ comments and well wishes and the occasional ribbing from one of his closer friends. Once he finished checking facebook and email, he closed out of the internet and looked from person to person.

[reMOVE]

Vincent looked from person and noticed the boy in the hoodie was trying not to be noticed. He sighed slightly and then smiled gently. He didn’t want to make anyone angry, so he kept to himself and accessed the internet once again. Once here Vincent went to blogster and began to type out a new entry in his blog.

Just a few days after my fourteenth birthday, I was told that I would be moving away from home and to a new school. A boarding school, at least it isn’t military school like dad threatened. Over all these years getting shipped from school to school you would think I would be used to it by now. Not this time, this I will not be able to go home after school, it will be good for mom and dad. They have a baby on the way and they don’t need the stress of me getting in trouble all the time. I am hoping that this new school is everything the lady said it was going to be like. A place for kids like me, I will keep everyone updated

Much Love Vincent

Once he finished typing his blog, he looked at everyone again. “So where is everyone headed to tonight?” The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. He didn’t like that, he wanted the tension gone. Also he wanted to know if he was traveling to this new place alone. Vincent again resided to looking at his laptop screen and fiddled with Virtual DJ. When he looked up he saw a man on the other side of the station do some crazy tricks, without looking away he his mind memorized the movements and shifts of the muscles. It was as if his mind was prepping his muscles to do something similar, he shook his head. No I can use my gift here, that will freak people out.

[Shift]

Willow winced slightly, as soon someone else arrived. She´d already caused her powers to be shown. But glancing around, no one else was letting on to what had happened. Trying to be the ´New Willow´she gave a brief smle to the newcomer, moving along the bench to give him room, but also trying to make sure she was sitting right next to anyone. She gave a soft sigh looking down at the ground. Her ride would be here... Well, it should be here soon. Willow just had to wait this out.

She turned around to face the new arrival. Just loking over him she guessed he was around her age. If he wasn´t, he couldn´t really be all that older, or younger. She made no movement at the comment about music. She took longer to glance at the laptop, she always had liked machines. If she had thought things through a little better she would have brought a leptop with her. ´Ý´know, if I had one.´ At least with another guy sitting down, who didn´t seem as if he wanted to be quiet and get away from her, things might be looking up a little. Maybe. She rolled her eyes to herself, looking over her sneakers. They were getting a little worn she noted to herself. And she was getting a little off track, again. As usual. She was a little startled when another attempt to make conversation was started.


Tilting her head to the side, in a small movement she was barely aware she had made, she chose to answer the next question posed to the group. Shesaid in what she hoped was a bright voice, "Oh. Well, I´m off to school. What fun." she was sure her lopsided grin was now in place on her face. When nervous unsure, or anything like that, a grin always appeared on her face. "Uhm.. You? Anywhere, uh, exciting?" She twisted her coin again in her hand, careful not to shift it.

[reMOVE]

Vincent blushed when the girl spoke to him, out going as he was; he was still a nervous wreck around females upon meeting them for the first time. The answer was straight forward and bright, but just by looking at her face, he could tell she was nervous. Her muscles were tense to anyone else she would seem cool and collected but to Vincent who‘s brain automatically picked up muscle twitches and movements in others he knew. In a shaky almost stuttering voice he answered the question pitched to him. “Sch…sc..school, also, n…not that exciting.” As he said this, his hand fished into his pocket and extracted a quarter. Without realizing what he was doing, his hand flipped the coin between his fingers just like the girl was doing, it was almost as if the muscles and fibers and nerves in his fingers were acting like hers.

Vincent smiled as best as he could, he could feel the sweat building; it was always like this around girls the first time. During the conversation, he noticed the eye movement, of her checking out his laptop. Good, this is good, give me something I am comfortable with so that I can get the nerves calm. He thought and then he breathed in to calm his shaky nerves. “Would you like to try my laptop out?” He smiled a bit warmer as he started to relax. He knew he shouldn’t trust strangers, but something told him he could trust this person. But there was still the problem of him doing her coin trick out of no where. Maybe she hadn’t noticed him doing it, or so he was hoping.

Vincent then noticed what he was doing and quickly palmed the coin, his muscles still twitching wanting to let the reflexes take over again. His dad may have been right, the power was a curse and if this girl caught him doing what she was doing, she would think he was freak. Or so he told himself, he frowned for a fraction of a second and then smiled his best cheery smile.

[Shift]

Willow tried to keep up her bright smile, but she was unsure if her efforts were working. Okay, maybe she was a little nervous. Nothing she couldn't handle. She just wasn't good with guys. Or talking to people in general. She listened patiently for his answer. She may have been nervous, but her natural curiousity was starting to shine through. She nodded, and gave a small smile. 'Wonder what school he's going too... Can't ask though. That would lead to him asking me which school I'm going to, right?'

Willow tilted her head away again slightly but still watching the boy next to her. He seemed a little nervous. Not as anxious as her, but she relaxed when she realized he was that little bit tense. For some reason she felt better when she knew she wasn't the only nervous person on the bench, was that wrong of her? She was off on her own thoughts when the question reached her. She blushed lightly, "I uh... Sorry I was just..." She bit her lip and gave a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of her neck. "I like computers and laptops. I'm good at fixing them anyways. I like that so..." At this she turned her head away. 'More information than was needed there, huh? Great.' She gave a frown to herself before turning around and sticking out her hand. Oh well, she had probably already given out a real bad impression of herself, so, might as well have some fun while she could. "Willow. ...Uh, would be me. Hi.''

[Iceman]

The van pulled up to the bus station, honking loudly to get the attention of the three kids sitting on the bench. ~HONK~ ~HONK~ Bobby pulled up to the sidewalk near the bench and rolled down the window, full on grinning at the kids. "Johnny, Vincent, and Willow right? Sorry for the wait guys, but hop in and I'll take you guys to your new school," he said with a big grin and unlocked the car door, keeping an eye out for any upcoming buses that might pull up. "Name's Bobby, and I'd help you guys with your bags, but I don't wanna leave the driver's seat in case any buses pull up. Don't worry Willow, I'm sure these gentlemen will help ya out with your bags," he added with a wink.

Reaching down, he unlocked the trunk and gave the new kids a once over, trying to get a first impression of them. He would probably have one by the time the car ride was over but he figured he'd start with first glance. They all looked really normal, which probably meant that it wasn't a crazy hectic situation they had a couple of times where they literally had to go and rescue the mutants, which was good for them. "I wouldn't take my time if I were you though, they look for any excuse to give me a ticket around here, so let's move it guys." His tone was laughing as the kids scrambled to get into the car.

[Legacy]

The van pulling up was what finally made Johnny look up from his whittling. He was never a very talkative guy with strangers, and to be honest the two kids looked really young and as nervous as ever. He had no patience and no inclination to play nice with anyone. Johnny read somewhere that there was a stage of grief where an intolerance settled in for anything outside of their sphere of grief. Personally, he didn't know how true it was since he was raised in a way that wouldn't exactly call for that. There were times though, like today, that he found that he wanted little to do with anyone and anything.

A part of him was still in shock in how fast everything was happening, where just last week he was working on the half finished stained glass windows in the church that now stood proud and shone brightly in a multitude of colors in the Church. A month before that he was numbingly standing at his grandfather's funeral staring with vacant eyes as they lowered the casket into the grave. Now he opened up the trunk for the two kids and put his own bag in before helping the others put their bags in. He opened the door to the front seat and hopped in, buckling himself in the minute he closed the door.

"Thank you for picking us up sir, I'm Johnny," he said politely introducing himself but not offering anymore conversation. He felt slightly nervous, and truth be told just wanted to get everything over with so he could be alone again. Whether or not he'd get a room to himself, it didn't matter since he had his headphones and his whittling. Sitting back, he proceeded to stare out the window and stay in his own world.

[Shift]

Molly grinned brightly to the guy - Bobby, right? - as she stood up to help put their bags away. Hers wasn't exactly big, she didn't really need all that much. And now this was it.... She was off. Well, nearly. She'd better have everything she needed, no chance to get it all now. Some part of her was still nervous. Wanting for the quiet life back home. Another part of, a part she hadn't ever listened to was excited. This was it. She was going away, and yeah, course she was gonna be nervous! But it was also something new and she was sure she'd like it. If not... Modesty aside she was a good actress, she could pretend to her parents. Though it'd better not come to that.

With their bags all away, Willow passed by the drivers side on her way to her seat. She smiled again, at Bobby as she passed, "Hey. I'm Willow. But, heh, you already know that. Thank you for picking us up." She gave a last smile then hurried to get a seat in the van, though there wasn't a chance of her being left behind. 'Wonder if it's a long trip... I'm still not even sure where this place is exactly. Mom probably knew everything bout the place and just didn't say. Wanted me to make a fool of myself. But I can do that myself thank you very much.' She bit her lip, looking down at her lap as she settled in her seat. Nah, even her mom wouldn't be as mean as that. She rolled her eyes, and waited patiently for them to be off.

Everyone here seemed nice enough, and it was a, uh, pleasant surprise that everyone at the bus stop was heading to the same place as her. So, she knew some people at the school now. That was enough to ease her butterflies. She narrowed her eyes a little taking care to notice the little things about her companions now as the thought hit her. So... They were mutants too! She was a little ashamed she hadn't thought of that earlier. Oh well. She would find out. Anyways that didn't matter all that much, I mean if she was staying with these people she had to make sure at least a couple of them were nice!

[reMOVE]

The van to school had finally pulled up, he frowned wanting to show off his laptop but as Bobby had said, he had to be quick. So with no time to spare, he packed stuff back into his bag and looked at everyone. “Thank you, for picking us up, sir.” He said with a smile and boarded the van after the other people got on and sat in the open spot. Hugging his backpack to himself after putting on his seat belt, he smiled to the others then realized in an instant they were all heading to the same place.

He looked at willow, “Seems we are heading in the same direction?” He pulled out his laptop again and powered it up. “I didn’t get to let you look at it before, here.” He passed the laptop to her. Vincent smiled and turned forward in his chair, and looked out the window, wondering what it would be like at the new school.