The Mansion was a great place for young mutants, but it was still hard to know just how many students had nowhere to go home to during the holiday break. The older students were more equipped for it, but the young teens and kids were also left alone during the winter months with little to do besides feel out of place.

Nate had little to do during the holidays as well for obvious reasons such as a lack of long-term connections and a devotion to his job at the recent sacrifice of a functional social life.

As a treat to some of the Mansion's remaining students, Nate decided to offer a field trip to those who were interested. There was an amazing art museum in the city, and as an art teacher, it made for a logical choice.

Except a decent number of students signed up, and given the volatile nature of his class's contents, it might be best to have a second person with him to keep the class in check, and an art background would not hurt.

Nate was lounging on his couch, scrolling through his phone until he found the right name.

riiiiiing. riiiiiing. riiii--click

"Sarah?" It had been a while. Hopefully she still remembered him, or it was going to be a quick and awkward phone call.

Sarah, after a long day of work, decided to clean her home. She wasn't planning on going anywhere due to her money being tight. After changing into some comfortable clothes, the brunette decided to clean the few dishes she owned. She had just dipped her hands in some soapy when her cell phone started ringing.

She grabbed a towel off the counter as she rushed to get to the small device before the ringing ended. A quick glance at the caller id told her she knew the number. Sarah was a little shocked to be receiving a call from him. However, she snapped out of her trance in order to answer the call.

>>"Sarah?"

Though the voice was a little changed due to the phone, she recognized who it was. However, she wanted to make absolutely sure it was Nate.

"Yes? This is she. May I ask who's calling?" she asked as she headed back to the kitchenette.

>> "Yes? This is she. May I ask who's calling?"

Well, that was pretty deflating. He did give her his number, right? It was possible she had a new phone or something. He would give that the benefit of the doubt; it was not very likely she would forget him considering their first meeting involved a giant pet spider that tended to be memorable.

"Yes, this is Nate. From the park? I realize it's been kind of a while." Worst case scenario, he could just bow out of the call if she forgot or showed no interest in conversing. Despite a lifetime of remaining anonymous, now that he was living on the straight and narrow, there was something dignity-damaging about being forgotten.

>>"Yes, this is Nate. From the park? I realize it's been kind of a while."

There was the confirmation she was looking for. Sarah smiled.

"Hey, Nate. It has been awhile hasn't it. How've you been?" she asked politely. She had just started washing dishes again, but she hoped he couldn't hear the sloshing of water through the phone.

She wasn't entirely sure about the purpose of the call. Nate could have called her up to simply see how she was doing for all she knew. It seemed like a good idea to make chit-chat first.

>> "Hey, Nate. It has been awhile hasn't it. How've you been?"

Good. It could have of course been a vague reply from someone who did not remember him, but her tone sounded sincere enough for him to keep from thinking about that.

He had the chaperone request chambered, but it was probably best to do the obligatory catching up before revealing himself to be so pragmatistic.

"I've been good. Finally a little less busy now that school's out for the holidays. Besides that... pretty normal, but normal's nice." That was an understatement. Admittedly, Nate went through a reunion and a breakup with his girlfriend since meeting Sarah, but that was certainly not "small talk." He was fine leaving his return to normalcy there.

"How about you? I hope you had a good first holiday season in New York?" He was going to say Christmas season, but he did not want to accidentally trigger the awkwardness of misjudging someone's heritage.

>>"I've been good. Finally a little less busy now that school's out for the holidays. Besides that... pretty normal, but normal's nice."

Sarah nodded, though she knew logically that he couldn't see her.

"Sounds like things are good," she commented.

>>"How about you? I hope you had a good first holiday season in New York?"

The brunette let out a light laugh before she answered. "I'm alright. The city has been good to me since when we met. Not much really interesting to speak of on my end. Well, besides the fact my mother is upset I'm still in New York."

Sarah clamped her mouth shut before she continued rambling on. She didn't want to blurt out every little thing that had happened to her since she had met the man on the other end of the phone.

>> "I'm alright. The city has been good to me since when we met. Not much really interesting to speak of on my end. Well, besides the fact my mother is upset I'm still in New York."

The little addition to the end of Sarah's status update drew a chuckle from Nate. He could see the reasoning for a mother to want her daughter out of the city, given the reputation of crime, mutants, and questionable men.

And look! She was on the phone with a guy who fit the bill thrice! "I'm sure it's just that maternal protectiveness. I'm sure eventually she'll realize the city is doing you good."

As his chuckling quieted down, he could feel what was an inevitable awkward silence brewing, which was his cue to bring up what he called for in the first place. "So as the foremost kindhearted artist gal I know, I have a request for you. If you're interested that is." He did not want to make her feel pressured before she even knew what he was proposing.

>>"I'm sure it's just that maternal protectiveness. I'm sure eventually she'll realize the city is doing you good."

Sarah slowly let out the breath she had been holding. She was happy her slight rambling hadn't been commented on. Though, he may not have noticed. She wasn't sure.

>>"So as the foremost kindhearted "artist gal I know, I have a request for you. If you're interested that is."

"So I guess this wasn't just a "How've you been" call. What exactly do you need?" she asked as she started to dry the clean dishes.

>> "So I guess this wasn't just a "How've you been" call. What exactly do you need?"

Nate laughed nervously as he shifted from laying across the couch to sitting up straight. "Alright, not exactly, though I did also care about how you've been! Don't think me so cruel, madam!" He joked, once more realizing that he had a lame sense of humor.

"But I was planning a field trip for some of my interested students to the Art Museum." For some reason, Nate became aware that his mouth felt pretty dry, so he got up from his seat to the fridge. "It's a rambunctious group of kids, so I wouldn't mind another chaperone who could share her art expertise."

Nate grabbed one of the cherry wheat ales from the fridge and popped it open with a fzzz using the bottle opener on the counter. "And I certainly would not oppose having a-nother adult to keep me company." The weird break in his speech was actually the result of a mid-thought correction. He almost said "a cute" instead of "another," and barely made the switch to keep his request from being weird and forward.

Nate took a swig of his beer, if for no other reason than to shut him up.

>>"Alright, not exactly, though I did also care about how you've been! Don't think me so cruel, madam!"

Sarah hummed. She wasn't amused, but she was going to listen to Nate's request. She listened to him explain the field trip he was planning. The idea was sweet. She knew a trip like the one he had planned would be hard for one adult alone. Most kids, even teens, would want to go off on their own. Sarah had seen several field trips go down hill in this way. She was wondering about how Nate's trip would go when she heard him continue.

>>"And I certainly would not oppose having a-nother adult to keep me company."

"I can see the appeal of having another adult with you," she laughed, ignoring the slight break in his words. "When would this trip take place?"

>> "I can see the appeal of having another adult with you. When would this trip take place?"

It was nice to know that she was hearing him out, and beyond that, showing the earliest signs of interest in his plan. He felt bad about springing the idea on her so blatantly after an extended period of radio silence, but he got so sidetracked by other things, his social life and ability to keep in touch with people went by the wayside.

"The field trip would be next week, if it's not too late for you to get the day off or switch a shift." He did remember that she was working as a waitress, and as such, he was being presumptuous assuming she would be free to help him on such short notice.

He did feel guilty for being out of touch for so long, so before she could respond, he decided to give her what he hoped would be a fair explanation. "Hey, I hope you don't take it personally that I did such a crappy job keeping in touch. There was... well, I had a messy breakup and then I got absorbed in my job."

He felt a little awkward bringing up the breakup, but he hoped it would at least make him look a little less like a jerk. "I know; lame excuse. But yeah." He brought his beer to mid-level in one gulp, feeling more awkward than he did before explaining himself.

>>"The field trip would be next week, if it's not too late for you to get the day off or switch a shift."

Sarah looked over at the work schedule she had posted on her kitchen cabinet. She had the end of next work week off. She would have to go in Saturday morning, but she might be able to get one of the girls to take it if need be. He was being vague though.

Sarah tuned back in to hear part of Nate's apology. She felt bad once she realized that was what he was doing.

>>"...I did such a crappy job keeping in touch. There was... well, I had a messy breakup and then I got absorbed in my job... I know; lame excuse. But yeah."

The brunette softened at the knowledge. She knew that a bad breakup was hard to get over. They also made keeping a normal life a little difficult if the relationship was long.

"I'm going to be off Wednesday through Friday. I'll also be off Saturday afternoon," Sarah stated.

She wasn't sure whether to comment on his breakup. She wasn't too keen on making this conversation go on much longer. Though she didn't mind talking to Nate, she wasn't sure where else this conversation could go. So instead of saying anything else, she simply moved to her living room.

>> "I'm going to be off Wednesday through Friday. I'll also be off Saturday afternoon."

Well, it turned out some things could be chalked up to lucky chance. "How fortunate; the trip was scheduled for Friday afternoon. So does that mean you're up for a trip with a bus of mutant kids?" When it was put like that, it would be almost understandable if she declined.

After a quick beat, he realized that she gave him a pretty decent glance into her schedule for the week. They had not seen one another in a while, so maybe it would be worth asking. "And I'm off for the week, so if you wanted to get together Wednesday or Thursday and catch up before the trip, we could do that too." He glanced over at a web-filled closet in the hall. "I'll even leave Parker at home if that's a dealbreaker," he joked.

Sarah was glad to know that the she would be able to join Nate on the field trip. Even though she didn't want to seem to eager, the idea of doing something other than work was appealing. Before she could let him know she would still go even though they were mutants, not that it bothered her in the first place. He seemed to do that a lot during their conversation.

>>"And I'm off for the week, so if you wanted to get together Wednesday or Thursday and catch up before the trip, we could do that too... I'll even leave Parker at home if that's a dealbreaker."

The mention of Parker caused a smile to stretch further across her lips. Though she was normally frightened of arachnids, the large spider wasn't exactly normal.

"I wouldn't mind catching up sometime soon. A trip with a bunch of kids doesn't seem like a good time for it either. Whenever is good for you. I'm actually just lounging around most of the time. How has Parker been, by the way? He giving you trouble?" she asked.

>> "I wouldn't mind catching up sometime soon. A trip with a bunch of kids doesn't seem like a good time for it either. Whenever is good for you. I'm actually just lounging around most of the time."

That was enough "yes" for Nate to be feeling better about their interaction. After one or two real communications, he was worried talking with Sarah would be uncomfortable or awkward, but now that things were rolling, it felt less so. She was kind and friendly when they met, so reacquainting himself with a possible friend like that was a welcomed prospect.

>> "How has Parker been, by the way? He giving you trouble?"

Nate scoffed, thinking about the night with Megan when Parker was sick, followed by several other times when the house-arachnid complicated his life. "A two and a half foot spider with the affection and boundary issues of a puppy-- trouble? Of course not," he answered in his heaviest sarcasm. "If you don't already have a pet and need a little excitement, I highly suggest getting one."

Her comment about lounging around got him curious... "Actually, if you're bored now, I could always put Parker in his room." Maybe a little forward, but there was probably no harm in at least testing the waters.