The trap was set.

A few weeks after the dance, Fade had run into the initial problem of getting Sam alone. Though Kealey and Shin offered their help to corner his emotions, Fade felt that such actions were unnecessary and wrong, after all, if someone had used her sense of emotions to her disadvantage, she would have been offended. After the dance, it was problematic, yet at the same time, the most simplistic idea of getting Sam away from everyone had dawned on her. While everyone seemed intent on waking up while others waked, Fade had cooked a nice batch of bacon before anyone woke up. Bacon was the main treat for men and she remained invisible as they sauntered in, picked their bacon and left.

The only untouched mutant was Sam, of course, the hardest prey. Maybe the trap had been set so Fade's multicolored eyes could gaze into his deep blue ones, maybe the trap had been set just so she could prove that she was getting better at sneaking up on others. Still, she could just have set the trap to see who it attracted. Yet as each man entered the kitchen, took his bacon, and left, she remained in the shadows.

While she had her body invisible, she was plastered in the top most corner of the kitchen, waiting to see if Sam would attack the frail amounts of bacon so she could pounce on him and perfect her art on sneaking on a heat senser. Slowly, her eyes darted to the left and right, making sure no scene went unnoticed after she had set the kitchen ablaze with bacon scents.

The loud rumbling of a dog growling next to his ear slowly woke him from his summer, it had been one of the first days off in a while and he felt his body taking a nose dive in terms of health so to nip this little cold in the butt he decided to see Doc add that to an early bed time and he was feeling a hundred percent again. Sure he maybe didn’t need to cancel all his appointments and classes, but hey why not right?

The rumbling turned into a whine as Sam opened his eye and was looking into the face of a very hungry and very large dog, ”Morning Bruno…” he said as he wrinkled his nose slightly before attempting to turn over but then realized as he turned his head there was a hungry cat putting on the side of his head. ”You guys really got to work on a better way to wake me up…” Sam said as he sat up and kicked his feet from under the sheets and placed them on the carpet. Bruno jumped up and licked his face then turned around in a circle, ”That’s not much better…” he said as he got to work fixing Cammie’s food and opening the door so Bruno could race him down to the kitchen.

Shirt and pajama pants now on Sam yawned as he met an over eager Bruno who was busy running in and out of the kitchen that was when the scent hit him as well. Freshly cooked bacon! Quickening his pace Sam entered the kitchen and spotted a plate while his and from what he could tell Bruno’s stomach started to growl, ”Easy boy we don’t know who this belongs to…” Sam looked around and sniffed the air and took a few steps closer before Bruno brushed into him then let a loud bark calling for his attention. Following Bruno’s gaze he eyed a wall and frowned slightly, ”No one…” he paused for a second and activated his mutation as the kitchen’s temperature dropped a degree or two.

He looked up and smirked, ”Bacon is up for grabs? Jenny?” he asked with a smirk on his face and two pieces of bacon in his hand one for him and one for the whining Bruno.

The next person to come in was not a person at all, it was a dog! Fade held herself in the same position with all of her might, fighting the urge to come down and rub the dog's tummy. Then again, it could be a mutant, so she remained still and mentally patted herself on the back when Sam came walking in right after, approaching the bacon rather cautiously. He said something about how they didn't know who's bacon it was and after only seconds, he looked directly at her as asked if the bacon was up for grabs as he took a couple for himself and his dog.

With a little sigh and an invisible frown, she turned visible, erasing the frown into more of an expression of a child caught stealing cookies from the jar before dinner. She let her legs go from the ceiling and dangled from her arms for a second before letting go and landing on the ground. It would have been a soft landing, but her talons made a little clicking noise when they hit the ground. Now that she was visible, it was apparent that she had made this plan up the second she woke up to a minor noise in the hall. Her plaid light purple and blue pajama pants completely contrasted her black and white, slightly oversized, faded football jersey. Who knew who the Raiders were? She just liked the shirt...

"I still can't do it, can I?" she sort of grumbled, picking up a piece of bacon herself and taking a bite. Whether or not she set the trap, the smell of bacon was tempting her while she lurked in the corner, begging her to come out and just eat it all. The dog looked up at her as she took a bite and she immediately melted and grabbed another piece. Leaning over to pass the dog his treat, she placed a hand on Sam's back to steady herself and her eyes sparkled with pure delight when Bruno took the piece and happily chomped on it.

Pulling herself back up with a little help from the hand on Sam's back, she picked back up the piece of bacon she was already munching on and took another bite, sliding her hand off of Sam's back and setting it on the edge of the counter. With a quick movement, she hoisted herself up and sat on it, just barely. A small voice sounded in the back of her head, a voice she detested and hated hearing: "Jenny, don't sit on the counters, nobody wants to eat off where you're tiny hiny's been." Before she was a mutant, her foster parents were actually nice to her. "You feeling ok? I heard you were a little sick, someone said you'd cancelled your plans for the day," she asked, looking him over to see if there were any outward signs of illness.

Sam smirked slightly with a mouth full of bacon when Jenny revealed herself and climbed down taking a piece then giving one to herself and one to Bruno who took it happily. ”Afraid not, though if it wasn't for Bruno you might have, don't there is anyone who can be completely invisible.” Sam said as he took another strip and chomped down on it as noticing how adamant she was on getting the drop on him, ”Don't feel bad though, I don't miss a lot of stuff since I lost lefty here!” Sam said pointing to his left eye which was covered by the black eye patch.

When she hopped up onto the counter Sam got a look at her PJ's and he smirked, ”Didn't know you were a raiders fan.” Sam said as he thought about the last time he actually watched a sporting event and realized the last one he watched was when he was with Sebastian… about a year ago… Sam sighed mentally as he made note to take another day or two off so he could actually do something that normal people did… other than dates and bar hopping, which was currently cutting into his sleep schedule.

Speaking of dates he looked back to Jenny and smiled, ”I take it you made the bacon?” he asked taking another bite of it with a small nod, ”It's fantastic!” he crunched into another bite as he thought about what she said.

Shaking his head he admitted, ”Playing hooky today, I need some R&R today, been working to hard lately, you know?” Sam walked over to the fridge and removed some orange juice and a carton of eggs. ”But don't tell anyone, less people think I'm a slacker of some kind!” he blinked with his good eye trying to make it come off as a wink as he set the juice and the eggs on the counter and then rummaged through a frying pan and then placed it on the stove.

”You want some eggs?” Sam asked grabbing two glasses from the cupboard and offering one to Jenny.

"Great, foiled by a dog," she laughed, looking down at Bruno and giving a little puppy face. It was a girl thing... somehow, whenever she looked at a cute little animal, the cute little girl in her came out and she automatically made puppy faces and spoke in that baby voice. However, she refrained from doing the voice, she hated it when others did that to their children and pets in public. Maybe she would let a 'hello there you cute little bundle of cutie patootiness' slip when she was alone, but only when no one else was around. "I like it, I think righty's alot more handsome," she said, staring into his blue eye with her currently violet eyes. With all that thinking about the dog, she almost called his eye 'cute'. Never call something of a man's 'cute'...

He noticed her shirt and said something about how he never knew she liked the Raiders, but Fade blinked once or twice. Of the Lost Ark? She thought her shirt was of a football team, not an Indianna Jones movie. Looking down though, she realized it read R something. As if it was not hard enough for the undereducated Fade to read, why not put the word upside-down to make it even more challenging. However, the R sufficed, it must be the Raiders, as in there was a team called the Raiders. "I'm not, I just like black and white and thought this was a cool looking shirt," she smiled, looking up from the lettering. "I never understood football, I thought people just played it so they could trample over each other."

He asked her if she made the bacon, then said it was fantastic, it seemed as though he already knew who made it. "Bacon is the easiest happy food to make," she said, taking another bite. Since Fade had never gone to High School, or Middle School, and hardly even went to Elementary School in the first place, she had no idea what R&R was, but it sounded familiar, like it was from the few years she spent in school. The sentence made it seem like it was another word for rest, and she nodded. "Your secret is safe with me!" she said, twisting her fingers in front of her lips as if she were locking them shut.

He pulled out the eggs and some Orange Juice and offered to make some. "Yes, I love eggs, scrambled and over-easy, so whatever you feel like eating." she said, moving over to the fridge as well. Orange Juice was not her favorite, the pulp always made her shiver. She rumaged around and pulled out some Apple Juice before pouring herself a cup. Sam made some kind of movement with his eye, but she was unaware of if he blinked or winked. Whatever it was, she smiled in return. "I'm afraid I'm not much of an OJ person, it's the pulp. And not much of a milk person either, cause of the after taste. But Apple Juice...now that hits the spot," she sighed as she tilted back the cup and took a sip. She pulled out another cup and poured some Orange Juice for Sam.

Sam smirked and cracked an egg as Jenny poured him his glass of OJ after she poured her glass of apple juice, ”You got to remember though, he is my dog!” Sam said as Bruno got u from where he was and walked over to Sam and eyed the frying pan in his hand and the other hand on an egg. Bruno sat down and whined slightly and then let out a loud bark. Sam looked to Bruno and then clicked the eggshell to the frying pan and looking back at it when he heard a loud hiss from the egg touching down on the frying pan.

”Thank you…” Sam said as he left the egg for a second to grab four others and then some salt and pepper then finally his juice that had been poured for him. Raising it up in a toast to Jenny (who commented on his lone eye) for a second he took a sip of it and then placed it off to the side as he started to crack the other eggs adding them to the pan. Salt pepper and now a whisk… stirring the eggs as he added the spices, ”You know it’s amazing how fast news travels, I only called in not to long ago, yet now it is all over the school, it’s almost like some of the kids don’t look forward to my class.” he said giving Jenny a look letting her know he was kidding.

He shrugged slightly, ”Well, it isn’t for everyone.” he said as he reached over for another strip of bacon taking another large bite and giving Bruno a scrap who took it away from Sam and ate it off in the corner.

Yawning slightly and letting the eggs cook for a second he reached for a plate, pouring the eggs on the plate he looked back to Jenny turning off the stovetop and then placed the eggs on the counter and grabbed another plate and two forks. ”Order up!” he said as he lifted it up and offered one half of the eggs to Jenny.

Bruno put on a cute little show to beg for some food and Fade couldn't help but look down and smile, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around him and kiss the fluffiest part of his head. "I've always wanted a Husky, I think they are sooooooo beautiful!" she smiled, leaning up against the fridge while the eggs sizzled and cooked. Sam raised a toast but Fade had already taken a sip, so she let out a little laugh and nodded.

"Oh I don't think the kids are excited, I'm sure there are a bunch of young women in your class that are upset that their hot teacher took the day off. Bunch of heartbroken young women," she shook her head in a joking manner, the same smile still painted upon her lips. "Then again, I've never been in your class, so it may just be what you said," she laughed, letting him know she was only messing with him. On a random note, she had been thinking of how to stay invisible to him, to phase her body so there would be no heat, or at least the heat would be phased? Even then, wouldn't she have to still have body heat? She couldn't very well go cold like Sam and survive.

He had finished the eggs and offered her half of it, to which she lifted the plate and scraped a little less than half on it with the fork he had taken out. "Thank you," she smiled as she walked the plate over to the table and set it down. When she had done so, she walked back, picked up her drink and set it down next to her plate, picking up two napkins on her way. She took a quick bite, just to try it out and nodded in approval, waiting for to swallow before she talked.

While she waited, she sat down, tucking her leg under herself when she sat down. She used to do it all the time as a kid, primarily because she was too short and it was better than having a booster seat. It never seemed as uncomfortable as it did these days when she was younger and she instantly felt the pain shoot through her ankle and leg bones. Instead of repositioning herself by standing up, however, she just phased her leg through the chair so it looked like nothing happened. "Good eggs," she said, picking a piece of bacon off the plate full and putting it on her own plate. "Team effort breakfast."

Nodding his head as he took a bite of eggs and smiled he looked to Jenny with his one good eye, ”Thank you!” he said enjoying his own creation with hers, eggs and bacon the start to a good day, so good in fact he needed to verbalize this, ”Got a feeling this is going to be a good day, playing hooky, and a nice breakfast with a such pretty company…” he raised his OJ and to Jenny and took a sip and smiled to her before he took another bite of the bacon she cooked him.

”I had a husky before, actually got Thor with Bruno, Mackenzie and Roxxy, problem was puppies grow, Bruno couldn’t go anywhere without me being there except my room so he ended up staying with me, Thor ended up going to Shin and the other two went to Sara and Kat.” he briefly recalled seeing Sara walking Roxxy around the grounds and he chuckled to himself slightly, the thought of a cat looking mutant walking a dog.

Looking up from his breakfast and over to Jenny ignoring Bruno who was now sitting right behind Sam waiting for scraps to fall (even though they never do) he raised an eyebrow, ”Well, your always more than welcome to sit in a class if you’d like, also I’m not as hot as everyone thinks.” he said with a hint of modesty before he turned it around into a joke, ”I’m cool, chilly even!” as he said this the room got cold for a second before he released his hold on the temperature

Bruno was unaffected by the change in temperature but it didn’t stop him from whining for a piece of food. He didn’t really like it when people tossed a label on him but then again, Jenny didn’t mean anything by it so he didn’t take it as anything other than her calling him hot, unsurprising to most he took with a smile. ”I never intend to break any one’s hearts, and it is usually the other way around.” he said with a smirk hiding his true feelings over the comment he just made.

Fade resisted the urge to blush, though she smile did take a curl that would usually accompany a blush. To hide it, or at least in an attempt to hide it, she covered her fork in egges and took a bite, stuffing her mouth so she could fill out the usual shape of her lips. Though it helped that the food was so delicious. Actually, she couldn't remember the last time she had a good home cooked breakfast and sat down to eat it. When she was little, with her foster parents, she remembered they would cook stuff like that. But when she began showing signs of her mutation, they began just setting food out for her in her room, then the quality of eggs began to decrease.

"I thought I've seen a Husky roaming around the grounds," she smiled. "Yeah, they tend to grow," she said, recalling an old street friend that had a dog. He had had the dog since he was a puppy, used the little amount of money he had to buy it, but gained a lot more by begging with a puppy. Everyone wanted to help a homeless dog. Some people just got the guy dog food, but they didn't know he was a mutant and actually enjoyed dog food. Ruff was quite the mutant and his dog really kept the both of them fed. He couldn't very well show his mutation and get food for it.

Class? Truth be told, she was sneaking notes from the elementary classes. Though she knew some stuff, she was highly undereducated, hardly even knew how to read. Then again, did she even have to read in Self Defense? "What class do you teach again? Self Defense?" she asked, double checking to see what he did. Perhaps, if she didn't have to read to prove educated knowledge, she would stop in his class to see what kind of teacher he was.

The corny line hit her, resulting in a big smile and a long laugh. "Practice that line often?" she laughed, trying to regain her composure. When she had finally done so, she took a sip of her apple juice and exhaled. The room temperature had dropped quite a bit, but only for a second or so, just enough to give her goose bumps, but they quickly retreated with the warm blood flowing through her from the laughter. "Yeah, I'd say you're pretty cool," she corrected herself using the pun.

The smile froze on her face, in an uncertain glimmer. What did he mean it was usually the other way? It couldn't be just another joke, could it? If it was, he was playing it off rather well, but the sentence itself was not usually used as a joke. He was the one usually heartbroken is what it sounded like. In a way, it meant he had one and could do relationships, but she wondered what he had gone through to break his heart? Fade's last boyfriend had disappeared and she spent the past few disappearances from the Mansion looking for him with no luck. Who knew what happened to him? Did he get hurt? Killed? Or did he just run? Just as a little reassurance, she put her hand on his, careful not to let her claws land on his eggs or bacon and she gave it a little squeeze, still smiling, unsure of whether that hand squeeze was entirely necessary.

Nodding his head at the guess Sam smiled, ”Yep, Self defense… but the danger room always makes things a little interesting when you want to spice it up and keep the kids on their toes…” he took a bite of his eggs with another piece of bacon then washed it down with a gulp of juice. The company was good, and she kept the conversation going with a cold joke.

There was a moment where of silence after he made his comment about getting his heart broken and then he looked up from his plate of eggs with a mouth full to find her hand on his. He blinked once and swallowed his food, was she really trying to comfort him? He was still hurting but he was never one to let someone try to comfort him, he never did have anyone try before… Leila and Alex tried it both at emotional moments but he never knew where to go from there.

Blinking again with his one eye Sam smirked and turned over his hand so he held Jenny’s in his. ”You know, if someone walked in right now they might get the wrong idea… you know I do have a reputation…” Sam said as he locked his eye on her velvet ones waiting for her to pull her hand away or for her to blush.

He was never the one to start the rumor it’s just word started to spread when he started dating a few of the girls during the same month, even though the girls never panned out and made it past the second date he still got the label, a label he was sure Jenny was aware of.

"The Danger Room is my favorite, I love practicing in there," she smiled, enjoying the tiny little sceneries she had fashioned for her own personal training. There were small alley ways and stairs and all sorts of stuff so she could practice her wall climbing. In a way, it was like those street jumpers, the people that turn walls and steps and rails into a gymnasium and she was getting much better at it. It did, of course, help that she had raptor-like talons that could phase through the walls and grab hold, so she had handle bars no matter where she tried to climb, it made life so much easier and it made it really fun. Not to mention when she was invisible, she could manuever around someone without having to tiptoe behind them.

She looked down at the hand that was on Sam's and smirked, shaking her head. "I'm sure those girls you have repuations with make it really obvious when they pull their hand away from you abruptly and thats why everyone would think that. Not like me. I'm a bit more smooth," she said, simply phasing her hand through his and through the table until it was underneath. It wasn't a quick movement like pulling it away that would indicate she needed to hide something, instead it looked more like she was itching her leg. Under the table though, she expected smooth sailing, but hit Sam's knee. It was only for maybe one fourth of a second before she phased through that as well, but she pulled her hand back up through the table instead of leaning back to pull it out from under the wood surface. "Plus, I don't have any reputations... at least known that I know about. Do I have any reputations?

Sure Sam had a reputation for being a ladies' man, but he was very good looking, so it did not surprise Fade at all. Deathstar had a reputation for being crazy and mean, didn't stop Fade from being friends with her. Everyone had some sort of reputation, it didn't make them less potential friends. She took another bite of her eggs and bacon, enjoying it with every chew and she looked back to Sam, smiling once she had swallowed her food.

Feeling her hand brush across Sam’s knee before phasing through his knee tingled for a second feeling odd. He never been phased through before but he didn’t like it, even if he couldn’t feel anything he still got uncomfortable. Sam didn’t show his discomfort however as a smile was still plastered on his face, ”Smooth or not, you were holding my hand.” Sam said as he pulled his hands back and resumed eating and drinking his breakfast.

After a moment Sam shrugged, ”Don’t know, haven’t really heard anything then again, I doubt people would say much of anything rumor wise about you, for all they know you could be in the room with them ready to jump out and correct them.”

Sam again shrugged and took another bite of his eggs finishing the meal he and Jenny had jointly created for each other. A sip of Orange Juice later Sam looked up to Jenny and asked, ”So what do you have planned for today?” standing up and picking up his plate he walked them over towards the sink where Bruno waited patiently hoping Sam had a little extra food to give him.

He responded in a way she did not exactly expect, but the smile on his face sort of made it debatable. He pulled his hand back and continued eating and for a moment, Fade did not know how to respond to that. In one instance, she could act like it was a joke and just laugh, but it didn't seem to be all that funny. Another way she could have approached it was to blush, a little embarassed since she felt that although he smiled, the rest of his body language wasn't exactly beaming. Or she could shrug it off and act like she did not think about it for a single second, act like the tough one who did not care. The result was a mixture of all three. Without speaking, she blushed, sort of smiled and shrugged, her eyes glued on the glass of near-empty apple juice before she picked it up and drank the rest of it.

Then she actually laughed. Perhaps that was why nobody spoke about her behind her back. If she could sneak up on anyone and hear exactly what they were discussing and found herself the topic of conversation, what would she do? Well, if she were being spoken badly of, it would all depend on who was speaking ill of her. If she knew the badmouther, most likely, she would walk away hurt, but if it was just a kid, maybe she'd make an appearance. Still, she hadn't snuck around her own home (which is what she calls the Mansion) in quite a while, if you didn't count today. "If people refrain from talking about someone who can sneak up on them and eavesdrop, I wonder just how tough it must be for a telepath who can listen even when people keep their mouths shut."

Sam got up and walked his plate over to the sink, finished with the kitchen scene. Fade returned her attention to her plate, she was almost done, maybe only three or four more bites; she took the opportunity to eat half of her remaining portions when he spoke. "Um, no, I don't really have anything planned for today. I was debating whether I should go out tonight, a night on the town or something, but night's pretty far away, so I don't know quite what I'll do," she shrugged, eating the rest of her breakfast. She stood up and made a movement to walk straight through the table, but she decided to walk around it, she usually forgot some people weren't used to seeing a redhead phase through everything. Plus, it was best if she did not use her mutation for every little thing, she was still a bit human, right? "Were you planning on being bed-ridden today?" she asked, walking around the table. Plenty of people, when they don't feel good, stay in bed all day long, only getting up to eat.

It was odd seeing someone walk through a table with little effort even with a lot of effort he’d still find it weird. He shifted his attention back to the dish he was washing off without much thought. Bruno whined monetarily till an ice cube started to from in front of Bruno’s face then dropped to the ground. The ice cube pounced and caught Bruno’s attention and gave Sam a few moments without his big lovable oaf of a dog giving him the ‘feed me’ look.

Sam smirked as he shifted his eye up to jenny with his peripheral vision, ”The best part about playing hooky is I don’t actually have to stay in bed all day and night.” Sam said with a smile as he finished the dish and placed it in the dishwasher. Wiping his hands on his shirt he looked up to Jenny a smile turning into a grin. Was she playing the ‘I have nothing to do card and you have nothing to do card’ or was she just being polite? He didn’t know but if the dance and the way she was trying to hide herself blushing a few months before were any indication of how she felt about him he would have to guess she was.

”Care to join me for a walk around the mansion?” Sam asked curiously trying to hold off on asking her out for later just in case he was misinterpreting the signs, something he did often. ”Bruno likes roaming the grounds before I start my day, and walks are always more enjoyable when you have company.”

Bruno’s ears perked up and he dropped the ice cube he was chewing on and looked to Sam before letting out a loud bark and running up to him and pushing his body into his legs to signal that Bruno was indeed ready for his walk.

Staying in bed all day was never fun, not unless there was a marathon of your favorite TV show or if you got pampered by someone bringing you hot soup and lots of blankets. Then again, Fade never much did enjoy being pampered and looked after. She had spent most of her life, well really all of her life, taking care of herself. Even though the X-Men helped her in missions and she helped them, when it came to herself, she was very much in charge. Not to mention that a sick day on the street was only a day to beg better, who wouldn't give money to a sick young woman who did not have a hoth? So the more sick you were, the better your payrate. The only thing she never grew accustomed to while living on the street was how to flirt and all that other stuff. Any guys she knew 'back in the day' only enjoyed her for her thieving abilities and she felt the same towards them.

Sam mentioned a walk and Bruno immediately recognized the word. Dogs were such lovable creatures, they seem to be the only ones excited when any sort of exercise is mentioned. For a second, Fade glanced down at her clothes and began a silent mental debate on whether what she was wearing was suitable for a walk. Though they were comfortable clothes, she would rather not skip around the Mansion in her pajamas. Still, she wanted to go on the walk. "Sure, I'd love to join your for a walk," she said. Smiling, she turned her attention back to her wardrobe and continued to talk, "Though I hope you don't mind if I ran upstairs and changed real quick? These aren't exactly outside clothes."


In all honesty, she wanted to make the trip to change her clothes fast so Bruno did not have to wait for his walk much longer. He looked so cute trying to push Sam into taking him on a walk sooner, she would hate it if the dog had to wait on her mozy hind end. While she waited for the green light, she began to figure out what she would wear. Again, it was to keep Bruno's wait time down, but she knew she would most likely end up throwing on whatever was the closest to her when she went upstairs. She looked down to Bruno as if she were convincing him she would only take a few moments.