"This is yours?" Sean questioned Charles in disbelief, staring at the massive house in front of them.

"No, it's ours." Charles smiled as he looked at his house.

Evie's eyes stayed on the huge building in front of them. It was the biggest house she had ever seen and she had no idea how two people could live in it all by themselves. Ivy was growing up the side, the old rustic look reminded the brunette of the Victorian times in England ... just nicer.

It wasn't the only one in shock. Hank, Alex, Sean, Moira and Erik all seemed to be gobsmacked by the house, everyone's reaction a little different. Even so, they all managed to tease Raven and Charles a little.

"Honestly Charles, I don't know how you survived. Living in such hardship." Erik teased, a smirk on his face as he looked to his friend. Charles rolled his eyes, a small smile on his lips even though he was annoyed.

"Well, it was a hardship softened by me." Raven cut between the two, lacing her her with her brother's. The telepath placed a kiss to the side of her head affectionately. With obvious excitement, Raven turned and held her hand out for Evie to take. "Come on, time for the tour."

Evie raised a brow slightly and slowly placed her hand in Raven's. Her eyes widened when the blonde pulled her towards the house. Their steps quickly fell in time with each other as Evie admired the outside of the house.

The closer she got, the bigger it seemed to get. She let out a small chuckle of disbelief as Raven pushed the large side doors of the house open. The shapeshifter let Evie wander in first, watching as she became speechless, her jaw dropping to the floor.

"Holy crap. You lived here?" Evie questioned in disbelief as she span slowly, taking in all the small kinks of the wall, all the patterns that were carved into the walls. It was so much more impressive inside then outside.

"Amazing, right?" Raven smiled as she led the group into the main foyer, the large stairs spiraling up to the next level.

"Understatement of the year." Evie answered as she looked to the blonde, a giddy smile on her lips. "This is awesome!"

Something out the corner of her eye caught her attention. Evie didn't realise it but she had began to walk towards it and was leaving the group behind. This caught the eye of the two males who were the 'leaders'. Luckily, Charles knew what had caught her eye and couldn't help but smile.

"I've got this, carry on." He told Erik as he began to walk after the brunette.

He watched in amusement as Evie looked starstruck at the library. It had been a while since he had been in this part of his house, dust coating the shelves and the books but Evie didn't seem to care. She ran her fingers along the spines of the books as she stared in awe. It warmed Charles' heart slightly, knowing now she had some similar interests he did.

"I didn't know you were a bookworm." Charles announced his presence as he walked slowly into the room. Evie jumped slightly, her face heating up slightly at getting caught admiring the books.

"I like a good book every now and then." Evie exclaimed as she shrugged her shoulders, her painted red lips curling up into a sweet smile. "Sometimes when I can't sleep, I read." She explained as she walked towards the professor.

Charles couldn't help but smile with her. "Well consider the library open to you at all times." He told her generously.

Evie's eyes widened in shock, her smile falling slightly. "Thanks, that means a lot." She told him slowly, sincerity clear in her voice.

It made Charles realise that she was so much more then just a solider, she was smarter then that. Of course she has to be smart enough to hide her mutation from people but also because she would read up on things. There was no doubt in his mind that Evie Dalton was extraordinary.

"Come on, Raven will be annoyed that you're missing the tour." He motioned with his head that they should get going. Evie nodded, placing her hands behind her back and walking in line with Charles. She didn't know where she was going so opted to follow Charles but he was adamant to walk next to her instead of in front.

At first, there was a small silence, neither knowing what to say. Evie decided she hated that very quickly so decided to make small talk, even if she already knew the answer. "So it was just you and Raven?" She questioned, tilting her head so she could get a good look at his face.

"My father died when I was young and my mother hardly looked at me. I was raised by a maid." Charles nodded sadly, remembering some harsh memories. He knew he was in no place to complain because everyone had their trauma but it did effect him.

"I'm sorry, that must have been hard." Evie apologised as they started walking up the stairs to the second floor.

"Like Raven said, a hardship eased by her." Charles chuckled as he glanced over his shoulder, seeing a smile on the brunette's face. "But now you're here." He voiced, not even realising it. Evie froze on her step, her brows raising instantly in disbelief and in amusement. Charles' eyes widened when he realised what he had said, stuttering out, "As in other mutants."

"Right." Evie replied, her voice playful and full of disbelief. She knew what he meant but she wasn't going to push it. She'll just tease him about it later. She chuckled to herself, it was painfully obvious that Charles had become flustered around her and she did enjoy it.

ꕥ

The next day rolled around fairly quickly. Even though Evie had technically been up for hours - long before the day had broken - but she still felt more rested then any other day. In fact, she would consider herself lucky because she was first to undergo Professor X's training. Evie calls him that just to mock him sometimes. Even though he says it's annoying, she catches his flushed cheeks.

"Okay Evie, I want you to explode that doll." Charles pointed to the naked mannequin that was stood on the other side of the bunker. He had told her it was made in the first world war and could survive an atomic bomb yet that didn't make her feel any better.

Evie looked to the mannequin and then back to Charles, her expression blank. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing at him slightly. "Seriously?" She question him after a moment.

"Seriously." He nodded, taking a step away from her. He hadn't had much experience with her mutation but from what he had seen, he could understand the basics. Yet, it was Evie who didn't understand her mutation but they didn't know that yet.

The brunette sighed deeply before marching over to the mannequin. She pressed her finger to the forehead and closed her eyes and focused. She opened them again and the head was glowing. Evie managed to cover her eyes just as the lifeless doll exploded.

Evie turned to Charles who had furrowed his brows in confusion, placing his hands in his pocket. "I think you misunderstood my mutation." She called out as she walked towards him. "I have to touch things to make them explode, I can't do it from a distance."

"We'll have to try something else." Charles suggested as he began to dig around in his small bag full of training equipment.

"Come on Charles, if you wanted to spend more time with me then you could have just said." Evie teased him in a playful but he didn't crack a smile.

The man stood up, handing the women two plain Frisbee to take. Take these, throw them" He instructed, clearing his throat awkwardly.

She didn't understand what he was trying to do but she followed his instructions anyway. She picked up the Frisbee and threw them. She furrowed her brows in slight confusion because they weren't glowing orange like they usually did. If they didn't glow then they wouldn't explode, right? The minute she thought this, they exploded in a flurry of orange.

Evie smirked victoriously, knowing her mutation wasn't broken and she just needed to have a little faith in herself. She looked to Charles who looked even more confused. "You have no idea what you're trying to achieve do you?" She asked him in a knowing tone.

"It seems you've already got a handle on your mutation, I don't know what else to teach you." He admitted as he looked to the exploded mannequin and Frisbee.

"Then don't teach me anything." Evie shrugged as she began to walk backward and away from him, seeing this as the end of the lesson. "Focus on other people."

"That's not the point, Evie." Charles sighed as he watched her open the door.

"Then what is the point?" She questioned him instantly. This made him falter. He wanted her to improve and wanted to help her get a better grip on her powers but was that it? Sure, he wanted to spend time with her but that wasn't the main reason. Was it?

Evie took his silence as an answer. "Exactly. Focus on the point of all of this." She exclaimed before leaving the bunker, the door slamming behind her, leaving Charles alone and in his thoughts.