In Search of a Home. [Shadowcat, Closed]

[Jared Corbo]

Finally. Jared Corbo, the teenage runaway orphan, had done it. He had completed his adventure and had reached his destination. His big brown eyes widened as he saw the magnificent site. It was Xavier’s Institute; The place where mutants were accepted. He wanted this to be his home; he was sick and tired of being alone every day for months. He wanted a family and friends to care for him; he felt that Xavier's was the place that would give him the love he needed.

He wore casual attire; a plain white t-shirt, with a black hooded sweatshirt over it, and wore a pair of blue jeans, with white sneakers with the distinctive 'adidas' logo on it. The clothes he wore today were completely rich and extravagant, compared to the defiled and impaired clothes he was given back at the orphanage. However, to acquire this wardrobe he had to steal on his long and dreadful journey. The loud voice inside his head was pissed at him for committing a number of crimes, but he had no choice, so he ignored his consciousness, and narrowed it down to a mellow murmur.

Light drops of snow fell gently from the night sky. The snowflakes that collided with Jared, simply deflected off of the brown-haired boy's own personal force-field which was wrapped around him, permanently emitting a soft white glow. A wide smile came across his face and he felt an emotion, he had not felt in awhile, happiness. He closed his eyes maintaining his smile, just taking slow breathes in and out. His heart pounded fast as his body was filled with intense excitement. His mind drifted away in memories of all the things he’s encountered on his adventure, surviving alone for months, all the hard work and determination it required to come from Canada, and cross that border to the United States, and travel to New York. But in the end it all paid off.

This was going to be worth it. Jared just had a good feeling about this enrolling in this school. If only Adrian, his brother, could see this. Just thinking about his name caused Jared’s emotions quickly saddened him. Water filled his eyes, and tears rolled down his cheeks. The flashback of Jared leaving his brother all alone in that Hull House orphanage just bombarded his mind. Feelings of intense guilt began to fill his body. Jared’s eyes slowly opened, and he gazed at the amazing mansion which stood right in front of him.

It was worth it, Jared kept telling himself. It was worth it! If I went back for Adrian I wouldn’t be here right now. Adrian, oh god, I hope your okay and that you forgive me, I had to go, either way we would’ve been separated. Jared could only hope they would be reunited eventually. He had to get over himself and become tough again, no more baby stuff.

He began to think about the good things in coming here. He moved his arm over his eyes, wiping away his tears. He had to put on a good first impression, or else maybe the Institute wouldn’t want him. He pushed the thoughts of Adrian to the back of his head, and put on a slight smile. He began to move himself passed the open gates of the institute and enter onto the grounds. He walked up to the entrance doors of the mansion. His heart pounding fast, he pushed the door with his hands.

As he emerged into the mansion, he yelled out, “Hello!?” he continued, “Is anyone here!?” He raised an eyebrow, waiting for someone to respond to him.

[Katherine Pryde]

To say the least, Kitty was a bit disgruntled about Emma Frost's newest position within her beloved school. What on Earth gave anyone the idea that she should hold the highest position possible? Because she had money? Whoop-de-doo. Shouldn't a heart be a requirement for running a school full of children? Then again, one could easily argue that the phaser was simply biased against the ice queen, and they wouldn't be mistaken. Something about her simply rubbed Kitty the wrong way, and had since their first meeting. She had seen nothing since then that served to alter her mindset as it pertained to the telepath. Creepy woman, really.

Nonetheless, it was on Frost's orders that Pryde made her way down to the entrance hall, having been appointed the task of welcoming the newest addition to the school's over-flowing ranks. She may not like the woman giving the orders, but the order itself was no trouble at all to the hyper-active teen. While it meant she had less time to mess about with her various pet projects, she was more than out-going enough to enjoy a task like this one. Rarely did she find meeting new people to be a chore, and given her position as head of one of the student teams Kitty found it best to know as many faces as she could. If they ended up under her leadership, knowing something about them going in made it easier for her to help them integrate with the rest of the team. If they weren't...well...one could never have too many friends.

“Hello!? Is anyone here!?”

"There's always someone here," came the cheerful reply, coupled by the sight of the athletic girl striding out the wall not three feet away, acting as if this were a perfectly normal occurance. For her, of course, it was. It was an extraordinarily rare day when she didn't walk through something at one time or another. "It's just a matter of looking in the right place." She grinned at him, an honest expression that portrayed her typical light-hearted cheer, and held out her hand to shake. Although...unless her eyes were deceiving her (possible, after all that time spent squinting at computer screens) this kid seemed to have a strange glow about him. Was she going to be able to touch him? "I'm Kitty Pryde, your tour guide for the day. Welcome to the Xavier Institute, home to all kinds of strange and wonderful freaks." The slight laugh at the end of her sentence was made to ensure the word 'freak' was not taken the wrong way -- Kitty was quite proud of her status as a mutant, regardless of how others chose to term them.

[Jared Corbo]

Jared could hear muffled voices throughout the mansion, but couldn’t see anyone. Jared stood there dazed and his eyebrow raised.

"There's always someone here, It's just a matter of looking in the right place."[/color]

The athletic orphan turned in the direction the sound was coming from. He turned and saw a beautiful brown haired girl standing in his presence. She had a beautiful smile with a set of radiant white teeth. Jared’s big brown eyes just stared at her for a few seconds in amazement. It was like an angel had come to him. He never had a pretty lady smile at him ever before, possibly because he was a lonely orphan, where he was mistreated. The only girls he saw at the orphanage were ugly dirty females with bad hygiene. And when he finally did escape the Hull House, he was a runaway and had no time to flirt with any girls. As a result of this Jared lacked the social skill to communicate to girls properly. He figured at the moment it was best to keep his mouth shut, or god knows what would happen.

"I'm Kitty Pryde, your tour guide for the day. Welcome to the Xavier Institute, home to all kinds of strange and wonderful freaks."

His mouth even fell open slightly. Snapping out of his drooling fest, he quickly shook his head and bit and put on a wide toothy smile. “Wow, you’re pretty.” The words just slipped right out of Jared’s trap. He couldn’t believe what he just said; he felt like slapping himself. Oh bloody hell. Jared’s eyes just widened even more, he felt completely frozen solid. His heart pounded fast, not knowing what to do.

“I mean..” He closed his eyes and let out a soft chuckle out of embarrassment. Luckily behind his white glow of a force-field his rosy blushed cheeks could not be seen. “Hey Kitty.” Usually by being called a freak by another freak would really tick Radius off if it was said by a guy. But because Kitty clicked with Jared’s sensitive side, he just smiled. “I came here because I wanted to… ummm...” He stumbled with his words a bit after being completely humiliated. “Join the school… I’m one of those strange and wonderful freaks.” He maintained a smile. “I need a home.” He just felt like blurting out his whole adventure from Canada to the U.S. right then and there. He wanted someone to know what he has gone through. The pain he endured from surviving alone for months. But he resisted.

“I’m Jared, Jared Corbo,” he stretched out his arm, opening his hand for a friendly handshake.

((Since Jared’s hand is wrapped over with a force-field, when you go in for a handshake, you are forced back-wards a little. To show he doesn’t have much control over his ability. )

[Katherine Pryde]

"Wow, you're pretty."

Hm. Not exactly what she had expected to come out of his mouth, and the compliment brought a faint tinge of a blush to her cheeks. Kitty was not a girl who found herself particularly attractive -- nor found herself that concerned with the idea either, to be honest -- particularly when measured against the stereotypical model looks some of the other girls had. In her usual fashion, she chose to deflect such flattering attention with a quick joke. "Wait 'til you see some of the other girls...then you'll think I'm a right old hag." Another laugh.

“I came here because I wanted to… ummm...join the school… I’m one of those strange and wonderful freaks. I need a home.”

Poor kid. In addition to being embarassed over accidentally spilling his guts (or so she would imagine), it seemed that life had not been particularly kind to him. At least, that was the impression that was created with the words 'I need a home.' Unfortunately, he was not in the minority when it came to such needs. Pryde herself had been extremely fortunate when it came to the development of her gifts, brought here to the school shortly after their emergence. It was a secret she still kept from her parents, however, secretly afraid that she might suffer the rejection that so many others had faced before. It wasn't really a hard secret to keep, all things considered.

"Lucky for you Miss Frost --" she tried hard to keep her tone level when she touched upon the name, but there might have been just a touch of disdainfulness leeking through all the same. "-- has anticipated your arrival and sent me to show you the ropes. Lucky you, huh?" She grinned. "Not that there's much to show you, really, aside from where to eat, where to sleep, and where to congregate with everyone else. The rest of it you kinda pick up as you go along." Aside from those people who ended up doing the Junior X thing, life at the mansion was fairly simple. Like boarding school...in a science fiction novel.

“I’m Jared, Jared Corbo."

"Nice to meet you, Jared Corbo." A woman of firm handshakes, Kitty reached out her hand to do as she always did. On this occassion, however, she found her hand...rebounded right back at her. Hazel eyes widened slightly at this development, flickering between her hand and the glow surrounding the boy. A heartbeat later her smile was back, filled with wry amusement this time. "I guess you never have to worry about being tagged 'It', at least."

[Jared Corbo]

"Wait 'til you see some of the other girls...then you'll think I'm a right old hag."

Jared put on a wide toothy smile, as he began to drool again, continuously staring at her. She looked know where near an old hag. He then wondered what age she was, he sure hoped he was around Jared's age, then he would know it was fate for them to be together! Jared had either developed his first crush, or there was a heightened possibility he was just extremely overwhlemed by the fact this was the first time a hot girl ever talked to him.

Kitty Pryde was truely the prettiest girl in the face of this planet we call Earth. He has seen a few drop dead gorgeous girl on his long travel from Canada to the U.S., but for the most part, Kitty was the only one he personally found attractive and the only one to communicate with him. Now she mentioned there are even MORE hot girls that are better looking than her!? This was like heaven, total heaven; angels and all. Literally, Jared could of sworn to see a man with angelic wings just pass by. Jared definitely made the right choice in joining the school. It is every orphans dream to end up in a place like Xavier’s. He felt accepted and happy. He has never felt so privileged in his entire life.

The brown-haired girl kept on giving more details about the school. It just kept on getting better and better! As Jared had his arm outstretched for a friendly handshake after introducing himself, however, he had forgotten his powers were permanently active. The moment Kitty attempted to grip his hand for a hand-shake, she was forced backwards a little. Jared’s eyes just widened and his smile quickly faded. Inside his mind he yelled at himself, Shit! Idiot, Idiot, Idiot! Jared looked t her with a very sorry expression on his face. “Aw crap. My bad. As you can see I don’t got a lot of control over my powers…” He continued to explain himself,

“See, I have a permanent force-field wrapped around my entire body…”[/color] He held out his arms, “As you can see, I am sort of glowing, because of it…”[/b] He put on a slight smile. Lowering his hands, he let out a sigh. “So, Kitty. Since this is a mutant school, you must be like me. What can you do?” Jared maintained a smile and was intrigued to hear Kitty’s answer. Jared liked his powers; without them he would be weak and useless, and probably still back at that awful orphanage.

“By the way… as you can see, I got no stuff. Will this place supply me with clothes and other good ol' nessessities?”

[Katherine Pryde]

Had Kitty been the kind of girl to notice such things, Jared's staring would have made her self-conscious long before now. Besides, he'd obviously endured at least some small bit of hardship on his journey to Xavier's, so he wasn't necessarily staring at her. She could just represent the strangeness of finding a place where being a mutant was rejoiced in, and where prejudice had no place -- sure to be something he wasn't used to. Assuming that such was the case, a little staring was hardly out of the ordinary, now was it? Therefore she could hardly blame the poor kid, nor point out his new habit and cause him to become even more uncomfortable. Still, by this point it was becoming fairly obvious that he really was staring at her, and even the somewhat obtuse Shadowcat was beginning to grow a bit uncomfortable under the attention. At least she was used to hiding behind her good nature, and kept such feelings completely hidden. No reason to make him feel any worse, and chances were that he'd forget all about her once he got a glimpse of the rest of the mansion's complement of females, complete with skimpy outfits -- outfits Kitty wouldn't be caught dead in. Literally.

"Aw crap. My bad. As you can see I don't got a lot of control over my powers...See, I have a permanent force field wrapped around my entire body...As you can see, I am sort of glowing because of it. So, Kitty. Since this is a mutant school, you must be like me. What can you do?"

Already over her mild surprise, Pryde merely shrugged off his apology. It wasn't as if he'd hurt her, and she could well understand the frustrations of not having full control over your own abilities. How many times had she fallen through floors before she had grown disciplined enough to keep her molecules condensed at all times? Far too many to count, although at least she hadn't had to worry about accidentally bouncing her friends into the closest wall. She had a sneaking suspicion that the more force one put against the shield the more it used right back at you, which could result in some nasty consequences. She was glad she hadn't rushed in to bear-hug him or something. "Don't worry, lots of people have trouble with their powers when they come here...and even long after." Active brain mulling over Jared's mutation, she wondered if her own special talent would have the ability to negate the barrier, at least as it pertained to herself. She had yet to run into anything else mutant-produced that stopped her phasing herself as she pleased (aside from telepathic tricks, of course) and there was no reason to doubt that her spaced-out atoms could easily pass through the atoms of his force field. Not something she would be testing today, of course, nor any day in the near future. Maybe if he made it onto her squad she could do some basic experiments -- really such testing would be necessary, to find out if she could use her phasing to save him from a sticky situation as she could with everyone else on the team. Thoughts for another day, however.

"I phase," she threw out casually, with a small lift of one shoulder, as if to silently say that such a gift was negligible at best. Compared to so many other mutations it was, in Kitten's eyes, although she was better at keeping that particular thought to herself these days. Not to say that she didn't love phasing, nor that she couldn't recognize the benefits it had afforded her in the past, or the many times that it had saved her life or the life of someone else...but still, it was just so defensive. A girl needed something a little more concrete to attack with! "In layman's terms, I can walk through pretty much anything on good ol' planet Earth, along with a few related tricks." Demonstrating, she thrust her hand through a nearby lamp, wiggling her fingers as they emerged from the other side before allowing the limb to drop back to her side. The related tricks could wait for another day, unless he was looking for the information right this second, in which case she'd quite willingly oblige him. As they were doing that, however, she better get a move on in giving him the basic tour.

"By the way...as you can see, I got no stuff. Will this place supply me with clothes and other good ol' necessities?"[/i]

"Be a pretty lousy safe haven if we didn't, huh?" The brunette chuckled, crooking a finger at Jared to follow as she started up the hallway. "You may not get stuff at the very height of fashion, but you won't have the run around naked." Although with some of the things that Frost wore she might as well be running around naked. Disgusting. "But lets get you familiar with the basic layout of the place, and then I'll take you down to see Doc C -- she'll make sure you're healthy, and probably get some information on your powers, too. Nothing too horrible, I promise." She smiled reassuringly. Who could doubt a face like that, eh?

[Jared Corbo]

"Don't worry, lots of people have trouble with their powers when they come here...and even long after."

Jared raised an eyebrow. What she had just annunciated meant Jared was just like every other mutant. Jared mulled over this thought for a bit, leaving him partially confused and happy at the same time. He wasn’t alone, which made Jared feel incredibly good inside. The boy looked at Kitty with a warm smile, "Good to hear I’m not alone.”

Jared was awfully confused about his abilities. He still didn’t even know how exactly his own power’s worked. The orphan had decent control over his ability from a year of training with Department H, but they never actually explained what his powers exactly were. He yearned to know if he could ever deactivate his force-field and how. The sixteen year old doesn’t want to worry about touching people for his whole life, and being around a big crowd. It’s an uneasy and frustrated feeling to try and not come in contact with anyone. Jared doesn’t wish to isolate himself from everyone else, just because of his ability, but he doesn’t want to accidentally harm others. It’s extremely difficult. Don’t get him wrong. He loves his powers, it helped him a lot in the past, but he just wished he had the ability to turn it on and off at will.

The curly brown-haired orphan knew that Xavier’s was an educational school as well as a place to learn to develop and control your mutant abilities. Being an orphan he never got much of an education. He was just completely ecstatic in being at Xavier’s School right at this moment. He traveled all the way from Canada to be here, for the many reasons which were just listed. He was going to make it all worth it. This school could possibly even locate and save his younger brother, Adrian, from the Hull House. Jared knew all the answers just lied right here in this very place. So many possibilities that would make Jared a happier person was the place he was standing in right now.

"I phase,"

Jared’s eyes widened, feeling even more confused. She phases? What the hell is that supposed to mean. The brown-haired beauty then spoke again, "In layman's terms, I can walk through pretty much anything on good ol' planet Earth, along with a few related tricks." A great big ‘OHHH’ had just hit Jared, now knowing what the term ‘phase’ meant. “Nice.” He put on an enthused smile. Jared’s big brown eyes watched her demonstrating her powers. She had just thrusted her hand right through a nearby lamp. “Holy crap! That’s so cool! Do it again!” He said enthusiastically. What she did was absolutely amazing. Jared would be so grateful if he had her power instead of his. It definitely had a whole lot of benefits.

If Jared had her power, he could have easily saved both himself and Adrian from the Hull House. In his spare time he would also phase himself into the girl’s bathroom/showers. He put on a smirk just thinking about all the benefits walking through walls had. "Be a pretty lousy safe haven if we didn't, huh? You may not get stuff at the very height of fashion, but you won't have the run around naked." Jared nodded in agreement, maintaining his smile. “What if you wanted to run around naked?” Jared let out a flirtatious wink and then let out a chuckle. "But lets get you familiar with the basic layout of the place, and then I'll take you down to see Doc C -- she'll make sure you're healthy, and probably get some information on your powers, too. Nothing too horrible, I promise."

“Sounds good. I don’t know where anything is. This place is huge. It’s a mansion; there is no way I’ll be able to find my way alone.” He nodded reassuring his point, and put on a devilish smirk. He wanted her to give him a tour. The more time he spent with the hot phaser, the better. Jared felt a bit tired at the moment, and a yawn shot out of his mouth. He hasn’t slept for a few days now, so eager to get to the mutant school as fast as possible. However, he would make sure he stayed awake to continue to converse with Kitty about the school. He then became intrigued about visiting the doctor she had mentioned. As he has said in his head before, the answers were all here. The questions about his powers would be answered shortly once he was given the power evaluation. “Tell me more about Doc C.”

Jared just couldn’t wait to get a look around this place. You can’t blame the kid for not being able to contain himself at times because of all the excitement.

[Katherine Pryde]

"Holy crap! That's so cool! Do it again!"

Kitty blinked, one brow lifting as her smile took on a wry note. Just a little bit too excited, wasn't he? But it was nice to have someone new to wow -- most of the students were far too used to her antics to even look up. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it quick enough. I pop out of things with distressing regularity." Of course she meant that in the most literal sense, which he was likely to learn before too many days went by. Nonetheless, she trailed her fingertips through the hall table, just to oblige him. She was nice like that.

"What if you wanted to run around naked?"

"I wouldn't suggest it, unless you're fond of having your genitals roasted or electrocuted." She said it with such a straight face that one could easily believe that it would happen -- and let's face it, kids are cruel so it wasn't exactly outside the realm of possibility. Kitty also ignored the wink. Not necessarily because she didn't want to encourage him, but because a wink would have totally ruined the seriousness of her face. Duh. A moment later, however, she relented, allowing a smile to creep through. "It probably wouldn't happen more than once, but once is enough, right?"

“Tell me more about Doc C.”

"Doctor Cecilia Reyes, technically, but I'm too cheeky to be satisfied with 'Dr. Reyes'." Mobile facial features adopted a formal, somewhat stuffy appearance, before relaxing again. "She's real nice, but doesn't hold with too much stupidity. No-nonsense attitude about everything. She's smart and she has a sharp tongue, so forget any ideas about handing her an attitude -- she'll hand it right back and then some." Although Kitty was not one of those people prone to much sarcasm, she'd seen plenty of other people get a rebellious tone with the doc, and seen them subsequently put in their place. It was an ability that the phaser admired, and wished she could emulate with a degree of success...unfortunately she was a bit too soft-hearted, so the only time she was remotely good at it was when she was mad at someone.

"She's pretty brilliant too, and she'd make a great teacher if she could ever pry herself away from the med labs," she continued with a slight roll of the eyes. "Almost makes me wish I was into the life sciences instead of the computer ones, 'cause then I'd have a legitimate reason for bothering her." While Kitty excelled in all her schoolwork (thank you genius intellect), it was crystal clear that her greatest abilities lie in with math and computers. While she would have no great complaint at learning biology or some related subject at the hands of Doc C, she knew herself well enough to know that it would never hold her interest well enough for her to gain the full benefit of such an excellent teacher. Not unless it had some personal significance to it, at any rate, and she'd hate to waste Cecilia's time -- not to mention her own.

"But you don't seem like a kid with a lot of attitude, so you should be all right." Of course, he was new, and thought she was pretty, so maybe he really did have an attitude. Like they needed another one of those running around. Heaven forbid they end up with another Julian. Pausing at the doorway of a large, comfortable looking room littered with a student here and there, Kitty gestured with one hand at the first stop in their tour. "There are several rooms set up all over the mansion for us kids to hang out and relax, or do homework or whatever else floats our boats. This one is probably the most used and the biggest, but that also means it's not always good for people who like quiet. Questions so far?" Honestly she didn't expect any. Why would there be? Pretty straightforward explanation.

[Jared Corbo]

It was amazing. Jared’s smile became wider as the pretty phaser trailed her hands through the table. He has gotten a little over excited over her performing a little mutant trick. Jared has seen other mutant’s use their powers in his life, but for some reason when he saw Kitty show him hers, he felt completely ecstatic. He was just in a plain good old mood, finally arriving in Xavier’s School. He was just happy he was with others like him and never felt so welcomed before. The long trip from Canada to the U.S. paid off.

"I wouldn't suggest it, unless you're fond of having your genitals roasted or electrocuted."[/color]

The curly-haired orphan just laughed at this. He noticed her straight face. She was dead serious about this, he could tell. But Jared was a daredevil and didn’t fear most things in the world, since he is confident about his unbreakable force field around his body. “Well, they could try, but nothings getting’ past this force field.”[/color] Jared grabbed his area with enthusiasm and a big smile, trying to impress Kitty. Jared then contemplated over a thought that had popped into his head. If Kitty could phase through almost anything, could she phase through his shield?

“So, since you can go through almost anything, let’s see if you can phase through my force field.”[/color] Jared put on a smirk and was intrigued on what was going to happen.

When Kitty began to talk about Cecilia Reyes, Jared didn’t like what he heard. He was expecting some old prune with a bad temper. Jared cocked an attitude at almost everyone, except for the ladies, his close friends, and his only brother. There was no doubt he was going to shoot a rude remark at the geeky scientist. He didn’t favor figures of authority. He liked to do whatever he wanted. People like the police and teachers would just get in his way. He had some past experience with the fuzz. While living by himself on the streets, he had to be sort of a criminal to survive. The police tried to capture him, countless amounts of times, but Jared had an advantage, his power.

"But you don't seem like a kid with a lot of attitude, so you should be all right."

Jared let out a chuckle. He perfectly well knew he had a large ego and a major attitude, but he wouldn’t admit it to the beautiful brown-haired girl. A wide toothy smile came across his face and a few chuckles came out of his mouth as he looked up at the ceiling, somewhat rolling his eyes. Looking back down at Kitty he spoke, “Me? An attitude? ‘Course not.”

"There are several rooms set up all over the mansion for us kids to hang out and relax, or do homework or whatever else floats our boats. This one is probably the most used and the biggest, but that also means it's not always good for people who like quiet. Questions so far?"

Jared put on a wide smile. It all seemed so good. The good life truly resided in this mansion. “Sounds great, I’m not quiet at all.” He said with a slight nod and motions of his hands. “Yeah, I got one question. Do you have a boyfriend?”[/color] He said as his cheeks became flushed with embarrassment. The words fell from his mouth unwillingly, yet again. He felt like tossing himself off a tall building, and wouldn’t feel any pain because of his force field. He was a complete idiot. There was no way this girl was single, and if she was, she wouldn’t want a younger man.

[Katherine Pryde]

He didn't seemed too worried by her warning, did he? Slightly miffed by such outright laughter Kitty harrumphed quietly to herself and did her best to ignore him until he was finished chortling. And he did have a point about that force field of his, which she was fairly certain would stump even the most creative of mutants -- aside from herself, of course, and even her ability to get around it was little more than speculation at this point. As if reading her mind, Jared brought that up next, and the brunette hesitated before giving voice to any sort of answer. On the one hand she was as curious about the answer as Jared himself was -- moreso even, she would bet. On the other hand, she knew better than to attempt such experimentation outside of a controlled area like the danger room. As fun and interesting as it might be to find out, there could be serious consequences if she failed to be properly cautious. What happened if she couldn't get through? What if she got bounced right back away from him and into something unforgiving? What if her penetration of his barrier hurt him? No, it was altogether safer and wiser to wait and do her investigating correctly. Being responsible sucked.

"Better not," she said at last, with another of her quick smiles tossed in his direction. "You never know what might happen, and I'd catch all kinds of grief for it even if nothing bad happened." The price she paid for being in a position of some importance, she supposed. As a squad leader it was her job to set an example to both her team and the rest of the student body. It might stink at times, but them be the breaks. Putting the idea from her mind for the moment, Kitty focused on the job at hand -- mainly getting the kid acquainted with the basics and then sending him off to see Cecilia.

“Yeah, I got one question. Do you have a boyfriend?”

"Whoa!" Unbidden, the word broke from her mouth just this side of a shout. Slim hands flew up as if to ward off a blow as she swung around to face him fully, her shock registering plainly on her face. Too surprised for cover-up this time, unfortunately. It took her nearly a minute of staring to recover herself, and it wasn't even because she was surprised. It was, in fact, because Jared had offered up a loaded question and touched upon a somewhat sore subject with the phaser. At one time she would have had her answer instantaneously, laughed as she said it, and offered to let him meet the metal man. Now, however, she saw far less of Piotr and wasn't quite sure what they were anymore. Until she knew for sure, however, she was certainly not going to go around as if she were an unattached woman. Because she wasn't. Right?

"Sorry." The apology was abrupt, lacking in the easy warmth she had displayed until now, and she worried at her lower lip as she dropped her hands. Now...how to phrase this? She wasn't going to explain the dirty details (or any details for that matter) about why she had reacted in that way, but she still owed him an answer. As good a one as she could muster at any moment. "I do. Have a boyfriend, that is." 'I think.' A nice, subtle change of subject was what they needed here..."Okay, this way to the kitchen." Nice one, Pryde. Mentally kicking herself, Kitty nonetheless swiveled about on her heel and marched off towards said kitchen, intent on avoiding any further mention of the dreaded b-word.

[Jared Corbo]

The mutant orphan could tell the radiant brown-haired phaser wasn’t impressed by him trying to flirt. He realized he had a horrible flirtatious ability, but wouldn’t admit it to himself being as cocky as he was. He would simply keep on trying until he won Kitty over. Seeing her smile shoot back at me and her brown eyes stare at me as she talked, Radius’s simply stared at her. He maintained a wide toothy smile as he continued to examine her perfect feminine facial structure.

"Better not, You never know what might happen, and I'd catch all kinds of grief for it even if nothing bad happened."

Wimp. The first word popped into his mind as Kitty spoke to him. Jared was a daredevil. He wasn’t afraid of taking dangerous risk. Having an almost unbreakable forcefield around your body permanently has made him like this. He has experimented with his powers before. Jumping off buildings, being hit by a car, being shot with a bullet, stabbed with a knife. All that jazz he had encountered on his adventure to New York City all the way as a fugitive from Canada. He could tell by the look in her eyes she wasn’t about to change her mind no matter what Jared said.

When he asked the girl if she had a boyfriend, his eyes widened when he got his reply. A spark of fear flowed through his body as his enthused smile faded into a worried look. He had just embarrassed himself, seeing that Kitty did not react to what he had thought she would. His cheeks began to blush out of miserable embarrassment. His head was then directed at the ground, staring at his white ‘adidas’ sneakers which were on his feet. He looked down to try and cover his bright red cheeks, as she apologized for how she reacted.

"I do. Have a boyfriend, that is."[/i]

Jared’s face shot up at her when he heard this, with a sad facial expression. He had begun to mentally kick himself. No shit she had a boyfriend, why the hell would he even ask that. Someone as gorgeous as her would, without a doubt, have a lucky guy by her. He didn’t know how to respond to this, he was too busy mentally telling himself what an idiot he was. The words then slipped out, followed by a warm smile,

“Just wondering. I wasn’t going to ask you out or anything. I just waned to know, because… umm… I’m a curious guy. Yeah.” He lied. If she would have said no he would’ve asked her out right then and there. He just had to lie so he wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable. He let out a few soft chuckles of laughter. The words continued to slip out of his mouth, feeling very uneasy, “I’m serious, just wondering. I kinda already knew you had one. It was pretty obvious someone as hot as you would have one.”[/color] Way to go Jared. He wasn’t aiming to complement her again. He just felt so clumsy around pretty females.

"Okay, this way to the kitchen."

With a smile he said, “Right. Back to the tour.” The kitchen would be one of the forcefield generator’s favorite places of the mansion. He just loved eating food. He was either hungry most of the time, or ate while he was bored. Not having any money to purchase any delicious meals while on his long journey to the United States, he was forced to use his powers to steal food by force. Thankfully, now being a perfect mutant school e wouldn’t have to do such criminal things which he hated doing. “Yumm. I love food.”[/b]

He desperately wanted to grab a bite to eat, but he’d rather tour around the mansion first. It was late at night and Kitty probably had better places to be than with the curly-haired orphan. “Where to, next?”[/color]