BREE XAVIER

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of the library, alone, isolated, buried deep within the book in her hands. She hides from the others, no matter how similar she is to them, and she pretends like she is oblivious to the world around her. Some admire her stance, but some loathe her for it. She refuses to embrace her powers or even acknowledge them.

"Brianna," a scolding female voice lures from the distance, "get to class." The girl doesn't listen, or pretends not to, at least. Oh, how she wishes her power was invisibility. However, she's not that fortunate.

"One second," comes the reply from the brunette, but it is much later when she finally puts the book down, book marking her page as she does so. The woman who scolded her earlier is not there any more. Brianna collects her things and leaves the library, feeling sad to leave her favorite place in the school.

She doesn't go to class; instead, she goes straight to her room, wondering why she ever comes out of there at all.

To get more books, that's why, Brianna thinks to herself with a small grin. She clutches her books to her chest and skips up the stairs, narrowly trying to avoid being seen by one of her teachers.

She feels free to wander the school as she pleases, as she doesn't think of it as a school. This massive structure has been her home all of her life; she was here before the rest of these children.

"You skipped class again," Alex Summers says to her later that day, when he catches up with her in the kitchen. Alex is quite a bit older than her, but she thinks of him as her older brother. He has always been there for her whenever she needed him, and for that, she is grateful. "Charles was wondering where you were."

"Let him wonder," Brianna replies in her sweet English accent, avoiding his gaze as she pours him and herself a glass of milk. "What did you tell him this time? It must be hard coming up with new excuses." Alex rolls his eyes, planting himself at the table opposite the refrigerator.

"I told him the truth," he answers, folding his hands across the table. Brianna's eyebrows knit together and she sits across from him, sliding him his glass. "You know, he knows that you spend all day hiding in the library. He just doesn't know why." He pauses, looking around to make sure nobody is eavesdropping on the conversation. "He also doesn't know why you hate him." Brianna scoffs.

"I do not hate him," the girl says, "I just... need some distance."

"It's been three years, I think you've had enough distance." Brianna rolls her eyes in irritation. "Come on, Bree, he's your dad. Just... cut him a break." But the girl was having none of it. Alex gave her this lecture every other day, as if that would do anything for her feelings towards her father.

"Can you please drop it?" Brianna asks, voice raising a touch. Alex lifts his hands in surrender and shrugs.

"Okay, fine," he doesn't argue, much to the young girl's surprise. He simply allows her to go on like this, angry at her father for a reason she cannot even recall.

When she gets up and pulls her sweater over her shoulders, Alex gives her a confused look. "Are you going out again tonight?" Brianna zips her silver coat up and laughs, almost nervously.

"What do you mean, again?" She asks innocently, brushing her hair out of her face. It isn't pulled back into its usual braid; Bree simply forgot to fix it earlier. "I never go out," she argues with the blonde boy.

"Uh, you do, a lot," Alex answers, "last week, the week before that, the week before that... and it's always the same day." Brianna ties her boots and avoids her brother figure's curious gaze in fear that she will break beneath his stare.

"I'm just going to a movie," she finally says, "I'll be back in a couple of hours, all right?" Alex crosses his arms over his chest and raises his eyebrow accusingly. The girl shrugs it off and pats his shoulder playfully, a smile lingering over her lips. "Don't wait up for me, yeah?"

She doesn't wait for his reply.

The movie theater is nearly empty, with the exception of two or three people. At the young age of fifteen, Brianna looks surprisingly older and more mature than she actually is and doesn't receive questions about being out so late by herself.

She orders a small tub of buttery popcorn for herself, to eat while she waits for her friend to arrive. That's the real reason she sneaks out once in a while, to meet the boy who grabbed her attention the first time she laid eyes on him about two months ago.

He's a strange character, with silver hair and an adorable face and strange sense of humor. Bree admires this boy; the more she learns about him, the more time she wants to spend with him.

"Excuse me, miss, is this seat taken?" A voice says huskily from behind Brianna, causing her to jump and spill much of her popcorn. She whips her head around and sighs in relief when she sees that the voice belongs to her friend.

"You're late again, Peter," the girl says as Peter laughs in amusement at her shocked reaction. He leaps effortlessly over the back of the seats and plops down beside her, giving her a toothless grin.

"Sorry, I was just... talking to my mom," Peter answers, a far-off glimmer in his eyes as he keeps them on the movie screen. This way, he doesn't have to look at Bree.

"Oh," the girl replies, averting her gaze to the floor as her heart sinks. The boy quickly realizes how his words must have sounded and fixes it.

"No, I was asking her about my dad," he explains, setting his hand on her shoulder. "Remember? I told you I was going to try and look for him?" Bree suddenly remembers and scoffs in some sort of frustration.

"Right, sorry," she says, "so, did you find out anything?" Peter nods.

"Actually, yeah," he says, "my mom told me about this guy who might've known my dad. I was gonna go see him in a few days, maybe." He raises his eyebrows and a spark of hope lights in his eyes. "Maybe you've heard of him! His name's Charles Xavier."

Brianna's throat goes dry. She manages to keep her expression fairly neutral as he stares at her expectantly. She shakes her head, faking a sympathetic smile.

"Nope," she says, "sorry, never heard of him." Peter sighs in disappointment and turns his attention back to the movie. Brianna is still frozen in shock. Her father knew Peter's?

"Maybe you should wait a little longer," Bree finds herself saying, catching her friend's attention. "Just, maybe don't go to this guy until you're absolutely sure what you want."

Peter's eyebrows knit together for a moment, before he nods.

"Yeah, okay," he says, reaching his hand over to Brianna's bucket of popcorn. "In the meantime, I'm going to steal this, okay?" He doesn't wait for her answer, he just snatches the snack out of her hands.

She smiles.