A Perfect Place to Hide

[Rhetoric]

There wasn’t going to be a big breakfast today. No way in hell. Liv had skipped the kitchen entirely, opting to visit the cafeteria for the first time since her arrival at Xavier’s, but she didn’t stick around. The petite Paragon had grabbed her fifth cup of coffee for the day and disappeared down to the laundry room. She was content to cater to her caffeine addiction as she sat cross-legged on a folding table in the laundry room, flipping idly through the history course book she’d taken out of the library the night before. Liv was only rereading everything she already knew about the Industrial Revolution, but the familiar information was oddly soothing. Her own course book had been one of the many casualties of Frostbite’s temper tantrum, but the dog-eared copy from Karma’s library was just as good for a little light reading with her coffee. It had been another early morning for the farm girl, despite the fact she wouldn’t have any classes. She had no skill, nor any interest, in computers so the tech elective was out and the closest she got to the French were fries and an occasional Johnny Depp movie. A free day to heal up was just what she needed and she planned on taking complete advantage of it.

Liv couldn’t help but smile as she turned the page of her book. She’d been a very busy girl that morning and an accomplished glow lit her whiskey eyes as she read silently. Before she’d gone to her new room, Liv had ‘borrowed’ a few things from the art room. An art sponge, dry and light as air, and as many blue Sharpie markers she could get her hands on. She’d made a hell of a mess in her bathroom, but Liv had broken every last marker, soaking the sponge in Sharpie ink until it was totally sodden. She had made the quick trip down the hall from her new room to the old one while Lorelai was sleeping and stuck the sponge up inside the showerhead. Frostbite would not be enjoying her next shower. It was hardly her best work, but Liv was working with time restraints and in unfamiliar turf. Turning the bitch into a Smurf was the best she could do on such short notice. Liv made sure to leave a note to Echo warning her of the rigged shower and collected what frozen, icy clothes she could grab without waking up the Snowbrat. Liv had gone to bed rather satisfied with herself and happy with her new roommate. Willow was kind of quiet, but the kid didn’t seem like any trouble.

Glancing up from the history book, Liv looked over at the dryer that was rattling around, loaded with her things. This was the third time she had put her frozen clothes through the stupid machine in an attempt to thaw them out. She couldn’t very well walk around in the t-shirt she’d borrowed from Jax forever. She was practically swimming in the black shirt that had been a pretty serviceable PJ top and was now acting as a loose mini-dress. She had had to cinch the waist with her belt, improvising a makeshift outfit. The shirt hung off one of her pale shoulders, far too big for her small frame, giving Liv all the excuse she needed to hole up in the laundry room until her things were dry enough to wear.

No way in hell did she want to be seen in anything that even resembled a dress.

[Shift]

Willow had woken late - for her, at least - that morning, and her feeling of being late was amplified by the fact that her roommate already was gone. The only reason she could find for waking up now was the long day she had had yesterday. But that seemed such a childish excuse and silly, so she didn't feel the need to voice her thoughts on that to anyone just yet. As the day progressed she could only hope the tired feeling would decrease and not get any worse. She could cope with being just a little tired. Willow was usually the first one up in her own home, preferring to do things on her own with no one else about. But today, waking up in the school she was sure she heard others going about their own stuff. At this point she remembered the class that Kitty must have started. That was going on today right? She had completely forgotten about that - not a good start. As soon as she had fully woken up, and managed to get rid of the random thoughts rushing about in her mind, after falling out of her bed, and rushing to find some coffee - which wasn't to her taste, coffee never was, it was mainly just to keep her awake; she had searched through the small bag she had brought with her. Most of her clothes were all crumpled and dirty because at home it was her job to clean her things a lot of the time. And Willow wasn't exactly lazy she just had never seemed to have the time needed to get all the chores and all the work done.

With a sigh, she had lifted her bag, rather awkwardly, and wandered about the school. She had no idea where she was going - but she had been told about the laundry room situated in the school. She was also certain Emma Frost had given her directions on how to get there, but once again Willow was going to have to use the excuse of yesterday being a long day and that she had been to tired to take everything in. She rolled her eyes a lot during the time she spent wandering the school, she blushed heavily when she nearly walked into a room full of students in her very old and rather baggy clothes, and at one point she even thought about shifting her clothes so that they looked clean and neat. But that wouldn't have gone down to well. After two hours or so they would have been back to normal - dirtier than normal. For a moment her mind wandered back to what was happening in the classes going on that day... Surely they had started by now. The tech class she might have have enjoyed, but she just didn't feel up to it. She could join later, right? Maybe the next lesson. It just didn't feel like something she could get into just then. French? No way was she any good at that. The best she could come up with was 'Oui.' She shook her head lightly, and rolled her eyes.

As she at last reached the room she had long searched for, the wonderful laundry room, she stopped just inside the door, hesitating. Another student was there, and Willow being quiet and shy wasn't sure exactly what to do. It wasn't just any ol' student, it was her new roommate. Willow wasn't sure what to make of Liv just yet. They hadn't really talked yet, and she didn't know what to make of her. She seemed alright though, and Willow - hoped - she wasn't a person to just dismiss someone and not talk to them. Gathering up her courage determined to make a great new start, a brand new Willow, she put a smile on her face. "Hello. Hey there."

Not the best start but whatever. She quickly walked round, past Liv, hoping she would be able to work all the machines in this place. Domestic machines weren't really what she was used to. She could hear the rattling and shaking of the dryer that Liv was using in the back of her mind, always there.

[Rhetoric]

Liv looked up from her book, ready to tell whoever had invaded her hiding place to f*ck off, but bit her tongue at the last moment. Willow had just come in, looking wiped out and uncertain and Liv couldn’t fault her for that. She already knew first hand that the school was exhausting, and bewildering, and a dozen other more colorful things, so Liv refrained from throwing a snarky comment at the girl and instead offered her younger roommate a grin. “Kid, if you wanted to do laundry, you should have told me. How long were you wandering around this place looking for the washers? We could’ve, at least, gotten slightly lost together.” Liv had been pretty lucky. She’d had Ian to show her around the day before and Nightcrawler had bee very specific during his initial introduction. She’d still gotten lost, but it was a hell of a sight better than going blind. Willow had only just arrived the night before and Liv doubted she had had much time to go exploring around the mansion.

Tugging the sleeve of her ‘dress’ up over her shoulder for the hundredth time only for it to slide right back down again, Liv studied her roommate, her expression more devious than accepting. They hadn’t had a lot of time to really chat the night before what with Liv cackling like a hen after her night with Joce and Jax, followed by her immediate disappearance to go be tricksy against Lorelai. No, to be honest, Liv had been a pretty shitty roommate so far. Part of the problem seemed to be that Willow was so quiet. Not skittish or nervous, just hesitant, sort of timid even. That was the polar opposite of Liv and the Paragon cleared her throat, balancing her book on her knees as she tried to think of something they could talk about that wouldn’t make the poor kid wet her pants.

“This place is a freakin maze, isn’t it? I got lost twice coming down here… I’m new, as well. Got here Saturday night and I still haven’t figured it all out yet. Have you seen the guy with the wings yet? Or the chick that can disintegrate stuff by touching it?” Liv smirked over the rim of her coffee cup and shook her head fondly. “My favorite so far is the cowboy with the metal working power… Sean. I think he’s a New Mutant along with you.” She took a long draught of her coffee and quirked an eyebrow at Willow, suddenly curious. “I’m surprised that you aren’t in Tech 101 with Pryde. Isn’t she your team leader? Rule number three, kid, make nice with your teachers. They’re the freakin X-Men.”

[Shift]

After approaching a machine it looked like she could easily use, she knelt down in front of it to sort out everything that was about to go into the wash. What she really didn't need was to throw in a red sock like people did in movies and sitcoms and have her white wash turn out pink. It wouldn't surprise her if that happened, but, it was kinda likely. Perched in her slightly uncomfortable position on the floor, she almost fell backwards as her roommate spoke to her. Pausing in her work, she turned to catch the glimpse of a grin on Liv's face. Willow sent her a grateful smile in return, she was glad she didn't have to be the one to set the ball rolling... 'That was a real saying right? I didn't just make that up?' When she heard the Paragon speak, a light blush crept onto her face. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and shrugged. “Uhm... For quite a while now. A lot of wandering. It was... Interesting.”

Willow could talk when she wanted. She could babble on for ages. But in a new school like the one she was in, with people she barely...actually with people she really didn't know, she was shy. More than just shy. She was trying to figure out who she would like, who people were really like in this place, and she was trying to work out if she actually fit in. And in this instance she was glad her older roommate was more outgoing than her, otherwise it might have taken days for them to actually say more than a few words to each other.

Willow quickly shoved her sorted clothes into the machine, and hoped everything would be alright. If not... There wasn't all that much she could do. She turned around and stood up after making sure everything worked and the washer was washing away. “Saturday?” Willow groaned slightly, and then smiled at Liv. “So there isn't too much of a chance I'll be able to find my way for quite a while. I look forward to getting lost.” Listening to Liv describe some of the other students Willow could feel her eyes widen. “Really? Wow... I've seen some students, y'know passed by them as I was getting lost... But they have powers like that?” She grinned brightly, still not quite relaxed with the whole situation but glad she wasn't exactly lost for words and feeling as if she wanted to run out of the room.

At the next comment from the Paragon however, Willow mentally winced. She knew she should really have gone to that lesson but...”I'm not sure. When I woke I was so tired...Not to mention I completely forgot about that I should have been in that class until I was halfway through the school searching for here.” She shrugged lightly aware she was starting to babble. It was either two or three words Willow would speak or a stream of words and sentences, that's what she thought. “And I'd likely have gotten lost on my way there. Oops...” She made a face, then looked up at Liv. “So... Guessing you aren't going to that class either?” Obvious question but it would keep the conversation going.

[Rhetoric]

Liv shook her head. “Not even if I was paid to go,” she said bluntly. “I’m lucky if I can get a TV remote to work, let alone anything more complex. That tech talk would all go right over my head and I druther not look like an idiot my first day of classes. No, I’ve got free periods until history tomorrow with Cyclops.” She pointed at the book in her lap and sighed. In her honest opinion, classes ruined school. Liv’s interest in studying extended only as far as was necessary to get acceptable marks and beyond that, she didn’t go out of her way to impress her teachers. Math and science were necessary evils that had to be endured and English… how she excelled in something she hated with every fiber of her being still stumped her. Liv figured it had something to do with the fact she was a Grade-A bullshit artist on paper, manipulating words until even she believed she knew what she was talking about. Liv had nothing against a good book, but being forced to read dull, irrelevant novels for classes usually ended with the unfortunate book strapped to a bottle rocket and launched off into the Pinelands. It was just her luck that her new, scary headmistress was in charge of English, and while the book might just fly, thanks to a homemade projectile, she had a feeling that her attitude toward her class work would probably not.

Maybe Frost would just stick the knowledge right into their heads. That would save time.

History was the only exception and Liv patted the book in her lap fondly. History was something she could really sink her teeth into and she had to wonder how she would like the class that was headed by their fearless leader himself. She’d just have to wait and see.

Shrugging at Willow, Liv made room on the table, in case the girl was going to stick around and wait for her clothes to clean. “I’m keepin my electives things I might actually have a shot at enjoying. Drama and art. They didn’t have a music class or I would have been all over that… hey!” Liv suddenly remembered her dearly departed drum kit and that she didn’t know what Willow’s power was. The kid didn’t look dangerous, but then again, neither did Lorelai, or Ian, or Sky, or… hell any number of the kids running around this carnival that had been cleverly disguised as a school. With her luck she was stuck rooming with a kid that blew stuff up or melted things with just a touch. “I forgot to ask last night… What’s your power, kid?”

[Shift]

“My power?” Willow blinked, at the sudden question. She had been following a line of thought that dealt with the classes they had at the school – and she was sure that Liv had been doing the same. For Willow studying wasn't really a chore. It wasn't something she really enjoyed, but she lived with it. It was routine, and normal, and she liked that they would be having lessons like that here. Even if she wasn't particularly good at any of the subjects. They were just something normal in her upside down turned life. English. She actually looked forward to that. She was good in English, she liked writing. It came to her easily she found. Gym... That wasn't her thing. When it was time for that lesson Willow would be as far away as could possibly get.

But right now, she wasn't in class, she was talking to her roommate. So she quickly rooted through her bag for a school book she knew was there. Actually she was positive a couple of school books were still left in her bag – she had after all carried the bag around the whole school, and the little extra weight from the books had certainly made a lot of difference. Pulling out a slightly battered old book, she straightened up and walked over to the table Liv was sitting on. She smiled as the Paragon had cleared a little space for her, and Willow quickly hopped on holding the book in her lap. She bit her bottom lip and looked very quickly, and just the once at the History textbook Liv was holding. Then she looked down at her lap, and more importantly the book on it. Quickly the book's cover started to change, and after a very short pause the two books on the girl's laps looked exactly the same.

“That's... That's my power.” She grinned, pleased that it had worked. In front of her was the same book Liv had – at least the cover and the blurb at the back was the same. She didn't have a clue what was being said in the pages so they hadn't changed. “It's...” She glanced at Liv, “it's not really that interesting is it?” She smiled sheepishly at her, holding the book out towards her so Liv could look closer. “I can shift things. Make them look like something else. It only lasts a short while, and I can only alter the appearance.” She shrugged and looked curiously at her laundry room companion. “How about your power?”

[Rhetoric]

“Nice.” Liv grinned, her wicked mind already coming up with awesome things she could get Willow to shift… like everything in Lorelai’s room into giant, hairy spiders! Liv shivered at the thought. Yeah, right. Forget Lorelai, Liv would be the one having a heart attack at the sight of even one gross creepy crawly, let alone a lot of them. Besides, Willow seemed awful nice and she didn’t want to corrupt the kid. Yet. “I can’t really show you my power. I talk to animals. I can understand them and everything.” She grinned broadly, closing her book and propping her elbows on her knees, resting her chin in her hand. “It’s not the most amazing power of all time, but I like it fine.”

Absently, Liv tucked a stray curl behind her ear, her thumb brushing over the bruise on her jaw as she did so. It had darkened considerably overnight, but the actual ache was gone unless she touched it. Same with her lip. It didn’t hurt unless she did something stupid like try to eat or drink. Another excellent reason for her to skip breakfast that morning. “You know,” she said thoughtfully, “I bet you’ll be dead useful in your team practices being able to shift things like that. Might not be a permanent change, but it’s still a pretty bad ass power.” She smiled warmly, if a bit wryly at Willow, racking her brain for something that wouldn’t put the kid off. Liv wasn’t the best with people, especially new ones. She had a habit or snapping and snarking, spitting sarcasm and cynicism like it was going out of style, but she didn’t see a point in upsetting the girl she would be living with for… well, however long she would be at Xavier’s. Liv was making an effort to actually get along with this roommate, and she only hoped that it wouldn’t be for nothing.

She didn’t want to even think about breaking in a third roommate.

[Diesel]

"Mornin'," Ian said yawning as he walked into the laundry room with an empty basket under one arm and basket full of bedding in the other. He had woken up too late for a morning workout and had planned to get one in some time after he did some laundry. As usual, he forgot to pick up the load last night after putting it in the dryer and now was there to pick it up and put in his sheets to wash. The first time that Ian ever did laundry was at this school, and he pretty much had the hang of it by now, after several 'minor' incidents, but that was all in the past and the point is he got it now.

"Oh man Liv, hey," he said when he realized who was actually there. He grinned widely at her, not so sleepy anymore but it still didn't stop him from yawning as he began taking the pile of laundry out of the dryer and dumping it on one of the folding tables. "Heh, nice outfit. Wish more babes wore 'em." Ian had a teasing smile on his face and laughed slightly at the look on Liv's face. "Aw I'm teasin' babe. You sleep okay last night? I'm guessin' you didn't sleep in that uh room right?" he said as he 'folded' his clothes, which was him just rolling them a couple of times and then putting them in the basket.

Oblivious as Ian could be some time, it took him a second to notice the other girl in the room, who looked a bit younger than him. "Oh uh, what's up dudette?" He said sheepishly, glancing at Liv since he felt bad about not noticing her before. Going back to folding laundry and looked at the clock on the wall. "What are you guys doin' here at this time anyways? It's like mad early and there are classes and stuff." He abandoned his pathetic folding and went to stuff his bedding in the washer.

[Rhetoric]

Ian’s timing was impeccable and a relieved sigh rushed out of Liv as the large Acolyte breezed into the room. As much as she liked Willow, she and Liv didn’t seem to have much in common and the Paragon was ready to give up when poof there was her own personal hero once again. The strained smile that Liv had been putting on for her roommate’s sake shifted into something more genuine as she turned it on Ian. She was glad to see him. She had had fun with him yesterday, but their parting the night before had been just a touch awkward. He seemed in good spirits, though, so Liv guessed that Niki hadn’t given him too much hassle. Thank God. Liv hadn’t meant to cause him trouble in the first place.

Beaming, Liv nodded back at him. “G’morning… and shut up.” Liv playfully flicked him a Jersey salute, her delighted laughter negating the rude gesture. “This is the best I can do until my real clothes are dry.” She pointed down at the Russian Circus tent that Jax called a shirt and tried again to pull the wayward sleeve back up where it belonged. It finally settled in place, but the other sleeve slid down instead, exposing the ivory slope of her shoulder. Figures, Liv thought darkly. Jax’s clothes are just as annoying as he is.

Liv managed to remember her manners and grinned at Willow, jerking her thumb toward Ian. “Willow, this is Ian, resident strong dude and garbage disposal. Ian, this is, Willow, my new roommate. She got here yesterday and Ms. Frost bunked us together last night.” She looked at Ian pointedly, answering his question. No, she hadn’t slept in the frozen wasteland that was Frostbite’s room. She'd rather sleep in the garage than in that snowy hell. "If you've got questions, Willow, he's the guy to ask." She winked at the kid before adding under her breath so only Willow could hear, "Doesn't hurt that he's totally cute, does it?" Liv nudged Willow teasingly.

Absently reaching into Ian’s laundry basket, Liv shrugged and began to refold his things. “I’ve never been much of a techie,” she admitted. “It’s not really my thing so I figured I'd skip the lesson. I won’t have any classes until tomorrow afternoon but I don't want to just hide in the dorm until then.” No, I'm just hiding down here. Liv distracted herself with smoothing the wrinkles out of a white undershirt, folding it in her lap before placing it beside her on the table. “What are you doing up so early?”

[Diesel]

"It's pancake day at the cafeteria," Ian said yawning again and patting his full stomach."I had a huge couple of stacks, some with marshmallow fluff, and peanut butter and syrup and chocolate chips oh and whip cream. It's the best breakfast of the week, I never miss it." He was proud of the amazing breakfast he made himself, and pancakes were his favorite breakfast food. "Besides," he rolled up his clothes and threw them in the basket, not really noticing that Liv was folding them properly since he barely paid attention to himself doing it.

"Sides I'm usually up for breakfast, and then if I don't go to class I hit the gym. Gotta keep my girlish figure ya know," Ian added with a laugh and at this point didn't bother and just threw the now clean towel into the basket unceremoniously. "Anyways nice to meet ya Willow. She's right about one thing, I'm like totally the smartest dude 'round here to ask stuff. Except math, I suck at that." He shuddered at the thought and turned back to the washer to turn the dial on to wash it and add the detergent. "Na for Math stuff, you gotta ask Ivy. If ya really wanna do good ya ask Aideen, but chances are she'll say no. Oh but ya can ask Heather for the other stuff, she's mad good in school."

Ian shrugged and went back to 'folding' his clothes and still trying to wake up. "What are you up to today dudette? Aren't the horses coming in soon or something? I never rode before, I like ridin' waves better. Man do I miss that," he said wistfully thinking of the knarly waves on the beaches in California. "Hey wanna chill for a bit now anyways? Gavin got tech class and so does Niki and like everyone else. That's a class for all the New Mutants so they're all out. I don't do tech stuff even if Kitty Teach is awesome." He wanted to do something since he was all caught up on homework and he wanted to make it up to Liv since their time hanging out yesterday was sort of ruined.

[Rhetoric]

“Yeah, the horses are supposed to show up sometime after lunch, I think. I wasn’t paying atten— Ian! Creases, man!” Liv dragged his laundry basket across the table and away from him, grinning as she protected his clothes from their wrinkly fate. She continued folding, really just wanting something to do with her hands more than anything. Back home there were always things to be done and the words ‘I’m bored’ were punishable by parental lecture (‘Find something to do or I’ll FIND you something to do’) and a list of chores a mile long. It was just habit by now and Liv didn’t know how to be idle. She kept occupied, be it with chores or something far less savory. The impish twinkle in the depths of her whiskey eyes alluded to which she was more prone to, but in this case she was content to just fold and chat.

“I should have pegged you for a surfer, Big Guy. That’s cool. I’ll stick with the horses, though. Seems safer.” Chuckling under her breath, Liv put Ian’s folded things into his basket and slid off the table to check her dryer. She’d only tossed in a couple of t-shirts, a pair of jeans, and the soccer shorts that had been lying on her bed during Frostbite’s temper tantrum. They had been stiff with ice but they’d been accessible and Liv had grabbed them during that morning’s ‘covert ops’. She hadn’t bothered trying to get at the clean clothes that were trapped in her snow covered dresser. She’d just taken what she could get her hands on and gotten out again without waking up her ex-roommate for another round of Beat the Newbie. “If I fall off a horse I’ll only break my neck. Fall off a surfboard, I’d drown, get pummeled by waves, and get sand up my… Oh, thank God!”

Liv pulled an armful of clean and delightfully warm laundry out of the dryer, a massive smile on her face as she dumped them all on the table. It had only taken three cycles and Liv cussing a blue streak, but they were finally dry. “So what’d you have in mind?” she asked, folding her things and arranging them into a neat pile. Liv glanced up at Ian. He really was easy to get on with. Totally genuine and unassuming, it was refreshing, it was simple, and it was nice to have an actual friend at the school. “You mentioned the gym? We can drop off our laundry and meet up down there if you like. I’ve wanted to get a good look at it and I haven’t had the chance yet.”

[Diesel]

Ian grinned widely at her, his laughter from how she folded his clothes and got all annoyed at his personal method. "Yea sure! You haven't seen it yet right? Oh man it's mad cool, we got all the weight lifting stuff you could ever need, and all those machines to work out, like a treadmill and a stair stepper, and uh... that machine that makes you feel like your roller-blading, and a bike and an elliptical, well ya get the idea babe," he said with a grin and balanced the basket on the washing machine. He looked over at the Willow chick, shrugging since she didn't seem all that into talking.

"Oh yea and there's an indoor pool, and we got a punching bag, and those gymnastic beams and all that stuff. Theres also like an area for sparring and stuff like that, but I only seen the older kids use that really. It's pretty crazy if you're in the gym and you see how crazy the sparring can get sometimes. I'm tellin' ya babe, it's mad cool." Ian shook his head with wide eyes remembering some of the spar sessions he caught in the past. It did make him decide that he didn't want to screw with Native Americans and dudes with guns.

"You almost done there babe? I'll probably get my big time workout in tonight and stuff before bed so we can chill out and just take things in stride till lunch," Ian said checking out the clock on the wall for the time. "Well we got a bit of time, and chances are it's gonna be like a god damn sauna in there still." He preferred a cooler temperature when working out that feeling like he was back in hell again, but he would never tell Aideen to cool it.

[Rhetoric]

She physically shivered at the mention of the pool but her smirk stayed in place as she gathered her clothes up in her arms. The history book was tucked up against her side, her empty coffee mug hanging precariously off one of her fingers. That was one amenity of the school that she would be giving a wide berth. She wasn’t scared or anything… the chlorine just did horrible things to her hair. Successfully lying to herself, Liv nodded and made her way to the door, leaning on the frame. “Sure, we don’t have to go crazy or anything. I just want to check it out.” Most of the stuff Ian had listed didn’t really appeal to Liv. She didn’t have much need of free weights or a punching bag and she couldn’t really see herself sparring. Aw, shit, Liv mentally kicked herself, suddenly reminded that she still needed to convince someone to teach her to fight. Fight dirty, she corrected grinning a bit. Joce had pretty much spelled it out for her. Fights were going to happen, and there was no way Liv wanted to be the loser every time. She didn’t have a power to fall back on and she wasn’t exactly built for mass destruction… if she wanted to survive Mutant High she was going to need a bit of help.

“Maybe I’ll take a run at the balance beam.” Liv mused aloud. Her smirk softened a bit, her eyes downcast as she hugged her clothes to her chest. She’d always been into gymnastics. It was supposed to instill grace and symmetry, teach poise and elegance, but all Liv ever really learned was that the laws of gravity could be a bitch. She ran too fast, hit her mark too hard, and grabbed too much air to ever be considered a serious gymnast. On the rare occasions she bothered reining herself in Liv was actually pretty good, but holding back had never been her style. She always floored it. That meant she threw some pretty insane tricks, but it also meant that half of them didn’t stick. She’d proudly eaten more mat than any other chick she knew. Every sore muscle, every mat burn, and every break were badges of honor and a motivation to do it better next time. Hit harder, flip higher, turn tighter.

“Willow, I’ll catch you later kiddo!” Liv grinned at her roommate, winking playfully at the quiet, younger girl. She liked the kid and was pretty sure that they’d get along. She just hoped that the little New Mutant would come out of her shell a bit more. Liv wasn’t shy but if she had to hold up one ended conversations she’d get bored fast. “Ian? I’ll meet you down there? I just want to drop this stuff off and put on real clothes.” She looked down at the ‘dress’ and scowled. She should have held on to Veronika’s sweat suit a little longer, but she had washed and returned the borrowed clothes before breakfast that morning. Thank, God. Liv was appreciative of Veronika coming to her rescue like that, but she wasn’t one to showcase herself. The compliments were all well and good, but if someone couldn’t like her just as much in a plain old t-shirt and a pair of jeans, then they liked her for all the wrong reasons anyhow.

“Do you want to meet down there or…” Liv’s face went slack as her eyes slowly dropped back down to Jax’s shirt. It had been a long and twisted train of thought that took her from her makeshift dress, to Jax, to what an idiot he was, to finally arrive at her dark and intimidating teammate, but Liv had made the journey in record time. If anyone could give her a few tips on how to come out of a fight in one piece, it would be the dude with the prison tattoos. Dante probably not only knew how to fight, but how to kick some serious ass. Hopefully he wouldn’t laugh in her face when she asked, and the sooner she asked the better. “On second thought, Big guy, why don’t I just swing by the guys’ dorms when I’m done?” Liv didn’t give Ian time to respond. She just bolted into the hall and toward her room, the pile in her arms teetering dangerously. “See you in a few, Ian!” She didn’t know if he heard her shout over her shoulder or not, but she wasn’t slowing down to find out, either.