Derek couldn't help himself, but laugh at Allegra. He didn't know if she was being serious or not, but it sure as hell was funny. "Oh, God, Allegra. You're so hilarious!" Derek turned to look over at his new friend, "well at least you're comfortable around butterflies. I guess the next step is how you react to ladybugs.

"I can only hope. I think there are a couple of mutant and minority scholarships I can apply for," He wasn't sure how much he'll get, but if need be, he'll take out a loan and pay it off until he died. That's how it worked, right?

Derek blinked a few times. Did she just say, "mansion? You live in a mansion?! Jesus, girl!" He playfully nudged her. Derek's family was comfortable, but not to the point of them living in a mansion. However she was right; she had been through some traumatic things.

"And that's okay. You just can't let it stop you in your tracks or anythin' like that. Though, they may deserve a bunch in the face every once in a while." He smirked scratched his chest.

Derek took a sip of his drink and sighed with contentment, "mmm. costumes would be nice, huh? Have you thought of designin' one of your own?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

“You know, I kind of like ladybugs,” Allegra said. “They’re cute. I would like bugs a lot more if they were cute. And what about spiders? They put their webs all over the place and they even eat bugs. Who the hell says ‘What should I eat today? How about a nice juicy bug.’ Ick!”

“They actually have mutant scholarships?” Allegra asked. “Aren’t you afraid that you’ll be more likely to be discriminated against if you come out as a mutant?” She knew Derek was proud of who he was but there was a lot of hate against mutants. Lots of people didn’t want to be on a campus where mutants were.

“It’s a mansion, yes, but just a small mansion,” Allegra said. “When my parents divorced, my mom got everything and I pretty much mean everything. But most of my friends are richer than me and have much bigger mansions. I’m kind of ghetto girl.”

“Well, if anyone is mean to me, do you think you could maybe send an army of hornets their way,” Allegra said. “Just joking. I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer like that even if they deserve it.”

“I’ve designed a ton of outfits,” Allegra said. “I haven’t shown them to anyone except my art teacher back home. He says they're really good but I’m too embarrassed to show them to my friends.”

Derek playfully poked Allegra. "Hey! Spiders make sure that bugs aren't nesting in your bed, pretty lady." He poked her a couple more times with a chuckle. "Trust me, spiders are needed in this world. Without then, flies would take over." Everything had a place in this world.

"Well, hopefully they won't do that. Plus, it's NYU full of my fellow progressive liberals so I trust that no one will be discriminated against." Derek hoped that his time at NYU would be a pleasant one filled with knowledge and a good amount of parties. Though, he wasn't the type to do the latter.

The gay mutant blinked a bit. "...A 'ghetto gir'? Oh, sweetie. No, no, no. You are far from being ghetto. Trust me, I've seen ghetto, I have a couple of ghetto friends and you are not one of them. Sorry, sweetheart."

"Sure, but maybe instead of hornets maybe a couple of birds." Derek suggested. "Who ate the people you are talkin' about it?"

"You should totally show them! I'm sure they're amazing!"

“Spiders nesting in my bed! Now that I have that image in my head, I’ll never get to sleep tonight,” she laughed. “So instead of needing spiders to make sure flies don’t take over, why don’t we just not have any flies? Since you’re all one with nature, I need you to answer these questions for me.” Allegra smiled. Her questions were silly, but they kind of made sense…..in a silly kind of way.

“It's so sad that discrimination is still out there and so open,” Allegra said. “Though my friend Emma said that some liberals voted for the mutant registration act, so you gotta be careful. She’s saying the reason some schools want to attract mutants is because mutants can do things way better than humans do, so that’ll make the schools look good. Others say that schools shouldn’t allow mutants because it’s cheating.”

Allegra poured another smoothie and offered Derek some. They would have to make more very soon. “That’s why I don’t watch the news hardly ever. It’s way too much to think about. Just give me my 'Project Runway' and I’m happy.”

“I guess I’m not ghetto but some people make me feel that way,” Allegra said. “I bet I sound pretty whiny, huh? I don’t mean to. It’s just that what you look like and what you own are so important where I come from. Some people are just really mean. Those are the ones I’m talking about. Some will bully me because I don’t have as much as they do. Others bully me because they think they are just so much cooler than I am. I try to be nice to everyone and I don’t understand why some people have to be so mean. It really hurts.”

“I guess I should show my designs but I’m too embarrassed,” she said. “I’m afraid that they won’t be good enough and I’ll get made fun of. My mom tells me how I’m not good enough all the time. I don’t want to risk having other people tell me that too.”

Derek honestly didn't know what to say to Allegra. He knew that some people just didn't like insects or arachnids and that was okay. Allegra just happened to be one of those people. "For everything there's a place and a reason. Tryin' to understand why animals are the way they are can be hard to comprehend. Sometimes it is for me and I talk to them!"

"Yeah. Being discriminated against isn't fun for anyone. Whether you're a woman, mutant, person of color, not straight-- it honestly sucks, but it makes us stronger. I know NYU is one of the best schools and acceptin' schools in the country," Derek took a sip of his tasty fruit smoothie, "so I have nothin' to worry about." Derek loved how concerned she was for him. It made him feel good inside.

He smirked and took his glass for Allegra to give him a refill. "I can totally see you on that show. You should do their teen devision, Allegra. You'd totally win."

"Well, guess what? Now you're livin' in a mansion that trumps all of theirs." Derek shivered at the use of one of those words, but quickly recovered. "You can't let them get to ya. They don't matter anymore, Allegra." He leaned over and rubbed her shoulder. "Trust me, you're better than them. Okay?"

"What?" Derek knitted his eyebrows, "that's not true! I'm sure you're amazin' at design!" Derek hated how low Allegra's self esteem was. He hoped that it over the course of staying at the Mansion that it would change.

"I just hope the place and the reason isn't to crawl all over me," Allegra said. "I promise, I'll try to give bugs a chance but I can't handle a bunch all at once. And no roaches!"

"NYU is a good school and I think you'll do great there," Allegra said. "And if anyone tries messing with you, just let me know and I'll set them straight."

"It's my dream to be on Project Runway, but I don't think I'm close to good enough," she said. "I mean have you seen some of those designs? But keep encouraging me, okay? One day maybe."

"Yeah, the mansion is bigger but I live in a shoebox sized room. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to get rid of some of my clothes and shoes. The trauma! The agony!" She was only half joking.

"Ok, enough depressing stuff," she said. "Let's do something fun. How about some Truth or Dare," she gave him an evil grin.

"Trust me, Allegra, they're more scared of you than you are of them. Don't worry, they won't mess with you as long as you keep any food and water closed." Derek scratched the side of his face and smiled some. "Then they'll leave you alone. Scout's honor."

Derek smiled at his close friend, "thank you, Allegra. That means a lot. I hope I'll get into the program. If not, I'll be a biology major."

"I'm sure they're great! From what I can see you're a good sketcher and drawer," Derek paused, "and of course I'll keep encouragin' you. That's what friends are for." He gave her a smile and took a sip of his smoothie.

"...Truth or dare? Alright, we can do that. Mm...I pick truth." Truth was always safe to go with.

"Okay, I'll trust you on the bug thing," Allegra said. "But if you're wrong, I'm gonna scream and then you're going to have to squish them for me," she laughed.

"I think you'll do great no matter what you decide to go into," Allegra said. "Though I had to beg the administration to let me drop my biology class. They still cut up frogs which is so wrong. Frogs are so cute and they eat bugs too. Can't they use computer simulations or something? Plus, frogs in formaldehyde. Gross. Maybe you should use your power to make a bunch of undead frogs hop all over the room. Just make sure I'm not there."

"Thank you for all your encouragement," Allegra said. "I'm really trying to build my confidence up. I've always had trouble with that. My sister, Angelique, was always so much better than me at everything and my mom constantly put me down. I'm so glad to have good friends like you."

"Truth, huh? Okay let's start with an easy one," she said. "Tell me about your first boyfriend."

His first boyfriend? Well, that made Derek blush just thinking about him. "My first boyfriend, oh God."He chewed on his bottom lip in thought. The mutant took a few gulps of his smoothie and decided to pour himself another refill. "Okay. His name was Jake Carmichael. Cute twink with curly brown hair, green eyes, and honey skin. We were so into eachother. We met at church, actually. We snuck around after Sunday school and choir rehearsal." He sighed in memory. "Then a week after junior year he moved to Ohio."

Derek looked to Allegra, "truth or dare?"

“Oooh! A forbidden love,” Allegra laughed. “Sneaking around after Sunday school. How long were you together? That sucks he moved away. First loves are always extra special.” Not like Allegra knew from experience. She never had a boyfriend, but she imagined it had to be true.

Allegra ran her hands through her hair. She was feeling daring but it was a chance for the two of them to get to know each other more.

“Okay, truth,” she finally decided.

"Mm...maybe a year? My parents wondered why I felt so sad. They probably chalked it up to Jake leavin' since they knew that we were 'best friends'." Derek had stayed in touch with Jake from time to time, but hadn't recently out right talked to him.

"Truth?" Derek thought about this one. "What's the most expensive thin' you ever bought and how much was it?" This should be good.

“That’s so sad about Jake moving away,” Allegra said. “I’d be completely heartbroken.

The sun was beating down and blinding her, so she put her sunglasses back on. “Most expensive? It was a $3,000 Cartier diamond necklace,” she answered without hesitation. “But it wasn’t for me. It was for Angelique, my sister. It was a birthday present. Her fiance broke up with her a couple days before her birthday. They had plans to go to Monaco for a week to celebrate and, out of the blue, he texted her and ended the relationship. She really liked him even though I thought he was a total jerk. So I got it for her to help cheer her up. Guys can be real jerks but diamonds are always a girl’s best friend.”

“So, now it’s your turn. Truth or dare?”

Derek was heartbroken. He was completely destroyed by the no longer being able to love on someone who wanted to love on him back. Derek fought back a frown and instead indulged himself with the fruity smoothie that was in front of him. He was glad this wasn't alcohol, otherwise, Allegra would see a totally different side to him.

"...A what?" Derek blinked. Did she just say that she bought a $3,000 dollar diamond necklace. Derek blinked again and shook his head. "Damn, still! It's...even if it was a gift, that's a still a lot of money." Derek had no idea what exactly to say to her so he just shook his head.

"Dare. Let's mix things up."

Allegra caught the beginning of Derek's frown. "I'm sorry to bring it up," she said. "All I've ever had was unrequited loves and that sucked. I still can't imagine what it's like to love someone for real and lose them. I'm sure you will always have a place for Jake in your heart just like I'm sure he does for you."

"Yeah, just $3,000," Allegra said. "It was such a gorgeous necklace and I was able to get a real good deal. I wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise. Angelique really loved it. It was the first time I saw her smile since her breakup. Just for that, the necklace was more than worth it."

"Dare, huh?" Allegra smiled wickedly. She looked over at the pool where the blue guy from class and his friends were hanging out. "Go over and get one of their phone numbers."

Allegra figured Derek was comfortable enough being gay that he wouldn't mind and, if not, he could always strike up conversation and ask for a number to hang out as friends. Allegra still wanted to throw in an out in case Derek really felt really uncomfortable.

"When we play, you're able to throw out up to three dares," she said. "But if you do, choose wisely."

"...Do what?" Okay, being here, Derek was much more comfortable with his sexuality, but asking guys for their number still gave him anxiety. With a deep breath, he stood up and looked down and over at Allegra. He sat down his glass on the counter top and went to talk to the group of mutants a few feet away.

He started talking to a couple of them. After about twenty minutes, Derek came back to Allegra with the blue guy's number written on his forearm.

"It was awkward at first, but they're really nice. Truth or dare, Missy?" Derek asked, taking his glass again and sipping from it. "Truth or Dare?" He asked with a kind smile.