Ok, so maybe he handled the situation poorly by provoking the other man.

Now that they were back in NY and he had calmed down and reviewed the situation he acknowledged that it was rather immature of him to vent on someone who didn't deserve it just because he knew they could "take it". He was glad the grumpy old man accepted his apology.

It was really too bad he didn't know what Universe he was in or else he could tell the man about his lost memories. He tried subtly helping by bringing up certain topics or even name dropping once or twice but to no avail. Maybe once Andrew has gotten stronger and more proficient with his powers he could help? He could gain memories and mess with genetics after all, who's to say he can't transfer memories after acquiring someone's DNA?

His minions have a hive mind connection with him, so maybe he can half infect someone temporarily, fix them up, and then remove himself?

But for now, that was a pipe dream. Well, at least his powers were progressing nicely. He had come clean about his powers after the trip, no point trying to hide it when the Professor had a literal machine to call him out on his bullshit and detect whether he was a mutant or not. In fact, now that he thinks about it, the man probably knew all along.

He was way too smart to be tricked by a halfbaked story told by 16 years old on the verge of an anxiety attack.

The Professor introduced him to this nice shop in downtown NY that sold exotic meats which did a ton to help him get stronger, can you imagine what if something like the Venom Symbiote fused with a bigass Alligator?

He could because he basically did it, and it was glorious.

Although speaking of symbiotes reminded him of something incredibly important that he had to do.

"What?! What do you mean you want to "move out"? Why? Where are you going?!"

"Dude, what're you talking about?"

"I told you guys, I'm going to move to because I'm transferring to Midtown School of Science and Technology once the school year starts. It's a great school."

He didn't see why this was making such a fuss. Sure he would be moving away to be closer to the school, and boy if that didn't take a lot of widdling to convince Professor Xavier, but he would be going back and sleeping over every Friday and the weekends. He wasn't that far away and they could always still hang out in town after school. Everything would be fine, it's not like much was changing.

Jean and Scott didn't agree apparently. They've always hung out during recess or after lunch while at school or basically every day at home since he arrived. Scott and Ororo may have joined sometimes, but it was also Andrew and the young redhead that was the core of every plan. Them being together and hanging out was a given, something as certain and natural as the sun rising in the morning.

She may have gotten used to living in the mansion and wasn't nearly as lonely as she once was, being able to go outside with her powers now under control, but it just wouldn't be the same without him.

"But why? What's wrong with Bayville? What's wrong with staying here, with us?" With me went unstated but was heard all the same. Suddenly with clarity that he didn't realize he had, Andrew understood. This may seem like something small to him, but to Jean, her best friend was seemingly leaving. With how mature she usually was he forgot the simple fact that for all her school smarts and confident attitude, she was still a young girl and not so long ago still dealing with a much more... Permanent loss of her best friend.

He went over and pulled her into a hug, her face buried in the crook his neck. He couldn't see nor hear anything, but he felt the growing wet spot on his chest regardless.

"Jean. Jean, it'll be ok." He gave her a moment and simply stroked her hair before continuing "Listen, do you trust me?"

A small nod.

"Then trust the fact that I would never lie to you. I'll come back, and I'll visit often, in fact, you'll probably see my face so much you'll end up getting sick of my ugly mug!"

The girl only clutched his shirt all the harder and the two boys in the room were content to just be there for her to let it all out. After she felt better and made him pinky promise to continue the tradition of movie night they went out for ice cream before Andrew left. He still has a few days before he left for his new apartment in Forest Hills.

Time to break the news to Ororo. Logan already knew and he wasn't too choked up about it considering the two barely knew each other. They got along well enough he supposes, and the old-timer did give him some advice for living on his own. He really hoped Ororo wasn't also a crier because then he'd be tempted to just call the entire thing off.

He knocked on her door and was instantly greeted with the scents of flowers and herbs.

There was a small round coffee table in the center of the room and various potted plants on the shelves and some hanging from the ceiling. Following her gesture, he sat himself down while she made some tea for them to enjoy. Unlike what he expected to be a bitter and tasteless liquid, like hot leaf juice, there was a pleasant aroma and a fruity taste. Maybe Uncle Iroh was on to something. Good tea was something special.

"How is it?"

"It's really good. Surprisingly so. Er, not that I thought you were bad at making tea or anything, I just didn't take myself as much of a fan of it." Although to be fair he didn't really try more than the generic cheap Chinese restaurant ones, or the sickeningly sweet "White people" tea from Popeyes or other places as he liked to call them.

"Ah yes, I understand. It can be quite an acquired taste, but I do enjoy it so. Plus it's also very good for your health."

"I'll take your word for it."

They simply enjoyed the drink and quiet ambiance for a few minutes before Ororo broke the silence. She was still sipping on her first cup while he was on his third. He tended to eat or drink when he was nervous. Or fidget. Or sweat. Or- well he tended to do a lot of things, and he tended to get nervous a lot. The source of it this time, in particular, was being in a girl's room, one whom he just so happened to have a crush on that he wasn't quite over yet.

"So, may I ask why you're here? Do not take this the wrong way, but I doubt you came all this way simply to drink tea with me." She gave a small laugh because she knew Andrew didn't feel comfortable being inside other people's rooms. He was always overly conscious and scared of touching or breaking anything. Storm was pretty sure the boy would be too nervous to even breathe if he didn't have too.

"Um, yeahhh. I- ah, hmm. Wait. Er, gimme a sec." And she did, even though it was past the 3 minute mark and increasingly awkward, she waited patiently without a hint of irritation on her face as he gathered his thought and tried to figure out how to drop the bomb. He wasn't very good at that since he did so with all the subtlety of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"I'm moving out."

If this was an anime, he was sure she would've done a spit take and spill tea all over him. Seeing as it wasn't she actually ended up knocking over her cup in a coughing fit as she choked at the surprising news. They spent some time collecting themselves after he helped her clean up and patted her back to dislodge the water.

"That's... Sudden."

"Yeah, I guess so, I only thought about it after we picked up Logan."

"After Logan..?" She furrowed her brows in thought while a small frown was set on her face "... I see."

Her tone was strange but he didn't really know why. She didn't seem upset or about to brawl her eyes out at least, so that was good, right? A small treacherous part of himself whispered that it was because she simply didn't care one way or another if he was with her or not. That he didn't matter to her, just some brat she was stuck with. He quickly snuffed it out, but the effects of the words lingered in his mind.

"Yup, already discussed this with the Professor, I just told the others and so here I am."

Her fingers traced small circles on the wooden table's surface and he was content to watch and wait for a response. Things seemed to be going smoothly and he was expecting some advice, a simple goodbye, or even a hug if he was lucky enough.

"Is it because of me..?"

He was certainly not expecting that?

"What?"

"I said, are you leaving because of me? Am.. Am I bothering you?"

"No, what? Why would you think that? What are you even talking about?"

The look she gave him was all the reply he needed, but honestly, he wasn't playing dumb! Her response was just so out of the blue he actually didn't understand what was going on. Well, not until another minute, and then he realized that no, he wasn't acting dumb, he actually was dumb.

"Oh... Ohhh, you think that- Are you serious? You really think I would just leave home and... and what? Run away because you rejected me? Seriously, Ororo?"

Ok, so maybe she wasn't too far off and he did avoid her for a bit, but that was only for the first few days. Weeks. The point was that he wasn't that immature. He'd be lying if he said he was over it, because he wasn't. Not to be dramatic or anything, but he didn't think he ever would. She was the first person in this world or the last that he ever cared so deeply for and who seemed to care just as much about him.

Just not in the same way.

And that was cool, he could respect that, as long as she was happy- he wasn't happy per se, but he would be ok. Eh, he'd survive anyways...

Still that she thought he would just run away from home...

"I know I'm younger than you, but do you really think I'd do something like that?" Translation: Is that what you think of me? As some brat that can't deal with his feelings and would pull off a stupid childish stunt like that? He was actually mildly offended. It seems Andrew had a lot of work ahead of him if he wanted her to see him as something more than a kid. That's fine, he liked a challenge anyways. Ok, not really, but he wasn't a quitter!

"Well, the timing, I just thought that... I'm sorry." She bit her lips a bit and seemed flustered, from guilt or embarrassment he couldn't tell, but seeing her down like that, in turn, made him unhappy.

"No, don't be. You have nothing to apologize for, and I mean it. Listen, Ororo, I'll be honest and say I'm not over you, but more than anything else you're my friend like the other X-men and you're important to me. I don't want to make you uncomfortable and I want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. I'm leaving because there are things I want to do, and going to Midtown is going to help me accomplish them."

It was nerve-wracking and probably the most he has ever said in a single sitting, but anxiety and public speaking could kiss his ass, this was more important.

"Although, feel free to give me a call whenever you change your mind~! I'll always have my calendar free for a date." A large grin and over exaggerate wink. There we go, let's add a bit of humor to dissipate the tense atmosphere. He could internalize it and have the embarrassment keep him awake at night after the meeting was over. Her laugh was more than worth any number of sleepless nights in his mind as her shoulders sagged and tension visibly left her body. It seems he wasn't the only one bothered by their little hick up.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Stay well, Andrew, we'll all miss you."

"Hey, can you not talk about it as if I'm dead or leaving tomorrow? I still need to pack and there's still like a week left until I go. Besides, it's not like I'm not going to be coming to visit often or sleeping over half the week. Every Friday til Sunday. Who else is going to find us awesome obscure movies to watch?"

"...Yes Indeed, who else would be able to find the most gruesome and bloody horror flicks from the 70s like you?"

It was the last day of his stay in the Xavier mansion, for the entire week he made sure to spend more time with everyone, even Professor X and Logan and he had fun.

Even if the latter's idea of bonding involved beating the shit out of each other in the Danger Room or extreme sports in the forest. Ropeless rock climbing from the cliff face at the edge of the mansion's grounds was an average afternoon for the grumpy Canadian it seems.

Jean was practically glued to his hips and even joined him on his sessions with Logan, and she hated being outside in the rough. Although, joining might've been a push of a word, more like being a peanut gallery and emergency safety net in case either of them fell. Logan would probably be screwed if he fell in the water considering he weighed 300 pounds or so from his Adamantine skeleton and his dense muscle mass.

Speaking of Jean...

"...Red, it's like, 12. Why are you knocking on my door?"

The said girl didn't reply and seamless strolled into his room as if she owned the darn place. If he wasn't leaving soon and so tired, he would probably be making some rather snarky and inappropriate comments liberally sprinkled with swears even if he thought she was the most adorable little cinnamon bun. Cute pink pajamas with baby chickens or not, he did not appreciate anything waking him up for any reason besides life or death, and even then...

Andrew wasn't saying he wanted to die, but he also wasn't saying that a house fire was a big enough concern for him to be woken up in the middle of the night.

She flopped onto his bed while stealing his only pillow, hugging it tightly as her emerald green eyes peered into his own glowing amber. She mumbled something softly but it was muffled by the fact that her face was buried into the stolen and only pillow. Did he mention how she marched into his room late at night and claimed his only pillow? Because she did.

Only pillow.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" She repeated this time without anything covering her mouth. Gosh, if that wasn't the cutest thing he's ever seen/heard in his life, and gosh if he still wasn't tempted to toss her cute little ass outta the window. Being cute could only get you so far... But evidently she still had enough mileage to pull off this bullshit.

He stared at her for a moment before with a defeated huff he nodded and closed the door. Guess he'll just have to make do. He jumped into bed, and as his head fell down a black square rapidly formed.

In the brief second it took for him to land, a pillow grew and cushioned his head. An advanced application of what he used to make his clothes, except instead of simply mimicking the texture and shape of something this was an actual pillow using Silk and goose feather. The thread count was twice the average, a nice 800, because damned if he'd put up with less or subpar supplies when he was using them.

He deserved better, so he decided to treat himself.

He didn't strictly need sleep anymore, nor food now that he thought about it- especially after he started integrating plant DNA and started using photosynthesis, but the habit stuck with him and he always felt cranky when he skipped out. He gave up late-night studying after Jean managed to skip grades and kept up with him. He was man enough to admit when he was outmatched. At this point he was pretty sure people with E.S.P were simply naturally smarter, maybe better brain chemistry or brain formation or something, he didn't know.

Just as he closed his eyes to enter the land of dreams, too tied to care nor be overly conscious of the girl laying next to him like he normally would be, something made him groan out loud.

"Really, Red? Are we really doing this?"

Another almost petulant tug on his newly made pillow was all the answers he needed. He felt like he was spoiling the girl, but he was leaving tomorrow, and oh so very tired. He let her have her way as he scooted a bit over and let her share his pillow, giving a small puff to blow away her long crimson strands from tickling his nose. They were beautiful and gleaming even in the dim moonlight, but he couldn't give a rat's ass about them at the moment besides the fact that they were annoying and stuck to him.

Jean clutched him tightly before promptly falling asleep, snoring all the while, and no it wasn't the soft, cute snoring either. It was like someone with a bad case of nasal congestion and he already knew he probably wasn't getting any sleep tonight. Worst of all, in her unconscious state, she decided that his body was apparently a way better heat and comfort source and kicked his other pillow clean off the bed.

The sheer audacity of this girl...

"Zzz...Zz.. An..dy...uv.. yu"

She was lucky she was so damn cute, or else he would have half a mind of kicking her off the bed in her sleep.

The farewell was a quiet affair, and he didn't have much to pack besides some gifts and other little knickknacks, so he just left with a small backpack. Not like he had actual clothes or necessities to carry, and when you can literally pull out furniture out of your ass shopping for a new house was simple as can be.

Best of all he even found an apartment that allowed pets! Anytime he leaves the place he could always be assured that his home was safe from the eyes of his loyal pet rabbit. He recently learned how to selectively implant the mind/memories of what he ate into certain things. Before now he was manually controlling everything as if he had multiple bodies or like a player from Starcraft or something, but now the "NPC" can have their own thoughts and ideas based on the settings he gave them!

Of course, they were still him, he made sure they wouldn't be able to rebel or become a split personality. It was kinda like how you can act like someone else in LARPing. He could take control and reassert himself anytime but the different perspective was fun. In time he may even learn how to make them truly their own sentient being.

Splitting his conscious was strange but he was getting used too it. Unlike with the rats swarm where he simply made a shit ton that ran on instinct and simple orders such as "attack those people" implanting higher brain functions and thoughts was more difficult than he thought.

He was actually hoping someone would try to rob him when he wasn't home. Imagine entering a house to steal things only to find a small palm-sized bunny... and then for the said bunny to promptly kick the living shit out of you because of its super strength. Comedy Gold. 1 million views on Youtube, anyone?

He couldn't wait until Monday when school started, if he had any luck he'd even be in the same class as his target. A certain Spiderman was going to have his Uncle Ben if he had anything to say about it, and it just so happens that he does!