Xavin and Matt, Wednesday night.

[xp-xavin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no. Xavin might still be a leeeetle bit awkward and uncertain about this whole mansion thing and the adults there.



Knocking on Xavin's door, Matt waited for the teen to answer. He didn't have an update on the case yet, but he wanted to check on them and see how things were going. It was a change going from homeless to Xavier's, he had a similar fish-out-of-water experienced as a teen going from his home to his uncle's.

Xavin had been trying to get homework done. There was a Spanish test tomorrow and one for bio and apparently everyone else had been doing this stuff all year and knew what the f was going on and could, you know, do the multiple choices and answer the "is this plural correct" activities. A distraction, any distraction, was a welcome relief and beat the sense of impending doom that came when you just played 2048 all afternoon because it was a study break. Yeah.

Opening the door, Xavin smiled. "Hi Mr Murdock."

"How's it going?" Matt asked. "Settling in?" It was both fun and overwhelming to get a whole new life in a few days time and still live your life.

Xavin shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. You know, aside from needing to catch up on just about everything. And - did you know anything about this thing called Generation X? Apparently we have to join." There was a pause. "Maybe you should come in, Mr Murdock?" The other bed in the twin room was still vacant and while most of it was clear, there were some cushions piled on one end. "I don't have a roommate.... So."

Entering the room, Matt was thrown back to his time in college dorms. His uncles had sent him to the dorms instead of living at home and that had been a great thing, not that he had protested too hard other than the cost. "Nice place," he commented, taking a seat on the other bed. "And yeah. I'm in it, kinda," he wasn't a kid, but it was basic powers training and he was enjoying experimenting with them in conjunction with other people's powers.

"What? No way. They told me that it was for like, us! People who need to control their powers." Xavin looked at Matt carefully. "Does this mean that you have to work on your powers?"

Taking his glasses off, Matt canted his head to one side, "Well, I think my control is pretty good. It's using them creatively and in new ways. Or in conjunction with others. I learned control through martial arts and meditation, but the only experimenting I've done was mostly in high school with my brother and then whatever I've picked up over the years since," he ran his hands over the bed, feeling the cushions, "I'm sure things can be improved on."

"You can do karate?" How? remained unsaid. "But, like, what can you do with your powers and someone else's? Don't you just have super senses?"

"Judo and others," Matt agreed. "I started with judo because it's a paralympic sport for the blind. And it's fun throwing people. Well, it depends on their powers, I guess. But I can see in the dark to help someone else aim."

Xavin gave a headshake. "No way."

"Yes way?" It was phrased as a question more than anything. What part did Xavin not get?

"No! I just - I meant, that's really cool, you know? Your powers, I mean." Xavin shifted awkwardly. "Anyway."

"I guess," They were useful, Matt couldn't deny they helped him an awful lot, but there were side effects and consequences with everything. You had to take the bad with the good. "How's everything here then? Getting settled in and figuring stuff out?"

"Yeah. Everything is great, you know? It's awesome." I cut math yesterday because I couldn't stop shifting and had to hide in the toilets for an hour. "Everyone's really great. Have you seen the rec room here? It's unreal...."

"Liar, liar pants on fire," Matt said, but it was without heat. Laying back, he tucked his hands under his head, "You wanna try that again without making my bullshit detector go ping?" Gotta love Monty Python.

"Excuse me? No. No, I am not going to do that again. How is it your business? I'm settling in. It's not like a charter school is all that different to prep school you know," Xavin replied indignantly.

"Wanna hear a story then?" Matt asked, changing the subject, sort of.

"I don't know. Do I?"

Sighing, Matt rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I can go if I'm bothering you," he suggested.

"I'm sorry, Mr Murdock. You're not bothering me. I'm just - look, um. School is stupid you know? And I know you're a nice guy, but I don't get why you're checking in on me." Xavin stood up abruptly, knocking the chair back until it smacked against the side of the desk. "Really. You're not bothering me."

"Look," Matt sat back up and put his glasses back on, "I grew up with a washed up alcoholic boxer for a father who never finished high school and could barely make ends meet. After he died, I was sent to live with my uncle and his husband that I'd never met, was thrust into private school and...a whole other world. It's not the same situation you're in, but there are similarities. And I remember being in way over my head and not wanting to look like the weak little blind kid I was. So this is me, making sure you're not in over your head." He stood up, "And school's important. If you need help with it. Say something. Not everyone here's a mind reader."

Oh. Oh. "I'm sorry, Mr Murdock. I didn't realise." Xavin ducked their head, looked down at their arms crossed over their chest. "Can we start again, please? I've been being a jerk because... Because I have and there's no real reason for it, except how I'm going to flunk my Spanish test tomorrow."

"Okay then," Matt smiled, "you've been out of school for a year, it's not a shock that you might've forgotten Spanish. Do you have a tutor? And what level are you in?"

Xavin raised a hand. "I haven't been out of school for a year. I was ... you know. Out of home for a month, and I was at that camp for a month but part of that was in the Winter Break and before that, I was kind of going to class. Mostly. I mean, I flunked everything but I don't need a tutor! I'm not stupid. I'm just catching up again."

Whoops, he had his timing way off! "Tutors don't mean you're dumb. I had them most of my middle and high school years, especially for math," and some for science, too, "They'll help you get caught up so you're passing and not retaking the same classes next year. Or in summer school." No one wanted the dreaded summer school.

"Yeah, no. I'm not one of those mouth breathing remedial kids who, like, need summer school because they're like... too stupid to walk and breath at the same time." That was the old Xavin, just for a moment, before everything had gone to pieces a year ago. "But, do you think you could write me a lawyer's note, explaining that I don't have to do my Spanish quiz tomorrow? It's on grammar and it's haaaaaard."

"You pass the quiz, I'll make it worth your while," Matt proposed. "You give me your midterm report and report card each time you get one and you'll get rewarded based on your grades. One catch though. Any F's and you lose all reward," was he bribing Xavin into good grades? Yes. But he was okay with that. He just needed to think of what he would do in return. It had to be something substantial, but not out of his ability.

Xavin stared at Matt levelly. "Just so you know, a grown man offering a teenager special 'rewards'" - there were airquotes around the word - "that sounds really bad. So I'm in, but only as long as the rewards are completely kosher. If this is some kind of plan to get in my pants, well. No." Ew.

Seriously? "I was thinking more along the lines of cash or video games, something like that," Matt informed the teen, unimpressed. "You're not my type regardless of gender," he stood up, "but it's your call. You're the one that has to do the work and get the results. Make the grades or don't. You know the outcome either way."

"Oh, thank god. I just - you know, you meet these people some times, and they seem fine and then, the next thing you know, they're like, yeah, anyway." Xavin waved a hand, changing the subject. "I might get a D- on this stupid Spanish quiz. That count as a pass?"

Matt considered, "D was passing in high school," he remembered, "but it wasn't good. You can get a D this time. Keep in mind, the better your grades, the better your reward." Bribery worked. "And D's don't get you through life in general."

Xavin paused. "Look, I just arrived here and they're finishing off all their topics before Spring Break. A D or a C is pretty damn awesome when you haven't been to any of the classes, read the books or done the work. You have to acknowledge that." They picked up a stack of flash cards. "And you have to help me run through this vocab. I only have to remember it till tomorrow afternoon."

Picking up the flashcards, Matt was relieved that they were printed on cardstock with a regular printer, nothing fancy. Perfect. "Alright," he agreed, sitting back down, "though it's been a while since I took Spanish. Let's see here..."