"Hey, just wanted to see if you were nearby. I heard it was going to rain today, but I hope not," Derek was currently on the phone with one of his best friends, Xavia. The two of them planned to have a spa day along with his friend, Allegra, from the Mansion. It wouldbe the perfect time for all of them to get to know each other more and catch up on the past two weeks events. A lot had gone on between the two of them so they had a lot to talk about, "I brought an umbrella anyways just in case."

Derek was currently standing outside of the Spa after one of the Haven's town cars dropped him
off. That was one of the perks about being a Havenite; access to transportation. He was dressed in a simple white t-shirt and blue jeans, perfect for changing in and out of clothes. He looked at his watch and saw that it was only 1:12pm Their appointment was only at 1:30 so the ladies had time to get there with rushing.

"I just made it a few minutes before you call." She, of course, had driven to this spa that Derek had booked. Xavia was excited, but she was also not feeling too great, so it kind of made her not so chipper on the phone even though she had plenty to be chipper about. "I will be right in, see you in a moment, dear." After hanging up, she did just that.

She got out of her mini van and headed into the building's lobby, then took a deep breath as she sat down heavily next to Derek. All kinds of smells assaulted her the moment she did that, but she was glad all the smells were pleasant, rather than stinky. Stinky would have her running for the hills... Or in this case, the front door because it was close...

Derek felt a body plop down next to his and turned to see Xavia. "Hey! You Okay? You sounded a bit tense on the phone. Is it the baby?" He asked, raising his hips from the coushin of the couch. He slid his phone back into his pocket before relaxing. "If so, this is exactly what you need. Allegra should be here soon to join us."

The male mutant couldn't wait to spend time with his two favorite females. It'll be interesting to see how Xavia and Allegra interact. Derek prayed that it would go well, "it's been two weeks since we've really got the chance to talk. So much to catch up on."[/colot]

Was it Allegra's imagination or was the cab driving around the same block over and over. All these big buildings and New York city blocks looked the same to her.

Allegra pulled out her phone and mapped the place herself. Yep, they had been going in circles. "Stop! Here!" she commanded. The place was only a block away and she wasn't going to risk the cab driver making another wrong turn and taking them further from their destination.

Allegra didn't have time to argue with the driver about the obviously inflated fare. Obviously he thought he could fool clueless out of towners. Well, Allegra had been in New York for two weeks now. She was practically a local.

"No tip?" the driver asked.

"No tip," Allegra just repeated. She didn't have time for any of this. Today was supposed to be a day of relaxation. Arguing with smelly, surly cabbies certainly did not fall into the relaxation category.

Allegra slid her bag off the seat behind her and ran towards the direction of the spa. At least what she thought was the direction. After a block and a half, she realized she was going south, not north. No wonder the cabbie pegged her for a clueless tourist.

Finally she arrived. She took in the soothing lavender aroma of the essential oils wafting through the lobby and already felt calmer. 

"Derek, hey!" she shouted. "Hi Ms.Worshahlai. How are you doing? I am sooooo sorry for the excessive lateness!"

Sadly, Allegra hadn't been able to get into Xavia's Botany class. Allegra had passed her in the hallways a few times but never really got a chance to talk to her. There was the one time that Allegra had stopped to compliment the instructor's jewelry but that was it. It would be good to get to know her better. Xavia looked a little tense today. Hopefully the spa trip would be just what she needed.

"I've missed you so much!" Allegra said as she rushed over to hug Derek. "You still have to let me know when the slumber party's gonna be. And I can't wait to hear about what you've been up to."

"T'e baby is fine. It was just t'e smell in t'e city bot'ering me is all. It smells very stinky to me right now." She patted his hand softly, and then smiled when Allegra came in. "Hello t'ere. Umm, how about you call me Xavia outside of mansion? Ms. Worshahlai is a very long name to have to say. Besides, I am not always teacher." And she grinned. "Not to worry, dear, we just got here."

Then she stood up, assuming it was time to go relax. Oh, how she was ready for relaxation. She was quite cheerful, nevertheless.

If Derek hadn't noticed, her hair color was orange instead of red now, though at the moment, it was in it's natural curl. Her attention went to Allegra, "Derek tells me you like fashion... I have a whole bunch of brand new designer clot'es you may go t'rough if you wish." She smiled, then turned her attention to Derek, "And I want to know what has been going on for last few weeks."

"Ah. I hear everythin' gets all sensitive when you get pregnant. Hopefully the insense won't be too much for you." Derek nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. When he pulled away, he turned his attention to his other best friend who just came into the spa lobby. "Hey, Allegra! It's nice to see you again!" Derek stood up and gave her a warm hug.

"I've been mission' you too! I can't wait to catch up with you!" He smiled widely and sat back down. Luckily, there was still room enough for Allegra to sit if she so pleased. "I want to know about you too, Xavia. Things been quiete hectic lately so this is perfect for us to relax and chill out."

Allegra heard Derek mention that Xavia was pregnant when she walked in. She decided not to say anything and she promised herself she wouldn’t tell anyone at school. It was so hard keeping a secret, though. She could just tell her friends from home, she supposed.

“Hey, Xavia. That’s such a pretty name. And I love your hair. How do you get it that color?” Allegra asked.

It would be much easier to call her Xavia . Allegra wasn’t sure she even pronounced ‘Worshahlai’ correctly anyway. Allegra was glad that Xavia was being so cool and laid back. It was sometimes hard to remember that teachers had lives outside of school and that there were real people behind that formal facade they put on for their students.

“I wish I could have gotten into your botany class but the counselor said you guys were already pretty far ahead and it’d be hard for me to jump in and catch up. I hope to be able to when it opens up again.”

“Oh my god! Thank you!” Allegra shouted when Xavia offered some of her clothes. “I just love your style and that would be so awesome! Thank you! Thank you!”

Derek made sure there was room for Allegra to sit down but she was too excited. “Hey, I have something for you," she said reaching into her bag. She handed Derek a framed picture. "It's the one with you, me and the dolphins I started on. I finally finished it and wanted to give it to you. So how is the apartment co-op? What have you been up to lately? You have a new job, right? I can’t wait to hear all about it!”

Wow, Allegra was a chatty little thing. Xavia wondered in amusement if the young lady would take a breath sometime. Now she was feeling old. Seriously. Well... Okay then. "It is Manic Panic orange, organic and chemical free. My hair is still blonde from last time I bleach it." Of course, that was right before she found out she was el prego. This would be the last dye job until the kiddo was born.

"You don't need to be in my class. I stay after school some days, you can just come by whenever you wish and I give you a mini lesson or two. It is a new class, so it got signed up for pretty fast." She gave an endearing smile. "Derek will be happy to help me show you my closet, I t'ink." He knew how massive the thing was.

And then to Derek, "Oh, I have somet'ing to give you too." And she pulled out the promised cd, still in the plastic. And there was a second cd, a new one, it looked like, since she had her last hair color on the album cover. Her face reddened because she knew it was probably going to cause Allegra's chatter to start back up again.

Derek leaned back and let Allegra and Xavia get to know each other. It was refreshing to have a close, small pool of friends that he could trust with his deepest secrets and his life. While they talked about hair dye and clothes, Derek pulled out his phone and decided to respond to Aleksandr 's text. His face was warm from what he was reading and quickly locked his phone after he sent it. 

When he heard his name, he looked up from his lap and glanced over at Xavia, then at Allegra. "It's like a mini vintage clothing store. You'd really love it especially since you want to be a fashion designer."Derek smiled kindly at his younger friend. 

"What? You didn't have to give me anythin'!" Derek exclaimed with a smile. He looked down at the framed picture and smiled more, "awww, Allegra!" He hugged her before taking the picture. Xavia had a gift too?! "Xavia, the CDs!" Derek gave her a hug too and nuzzled her face affectionately. He pulled away and happily took the CDs. He would be listening to her albums as soon as he got back to his apartment. 

"And to your question, Allegra, living in the Honeycomb Co-op is great! I have nice roommates, I cooked with one of them who lives on the fourth floor," Derek really loved being there. He kept the fact that a certain serpent sexy man lived on the floor below him, "as for new job, I'm now apart of Haven which is an organzation that supports minorities like, ah, LGBT+, mutants, people of color, women-- anyone who's being discriminated against. And as a part time job, I work at X-Gene Persuasion during the day."

"What about you? How's life at the Mansion?"

“I just love your hair color. I think I might try it,”Allegra said to Xavia. Allegra had always been blonde but she wanted to push herself and try new things. Of course, hair color was something major and even if it was just temporary, it wasn’t something one rushed into lightly.

“Ok, I will take you up on the mini lesson,” Allegra said. “I think flowers are pretty, obviously, but I don’t know anything other than that, so it’ll be fun. Thank you. I bet you are the most awesome teacher ever.” Allegra zoned out through much of school but if it was a subject that held her interest, she was all over it. Her problem with school was more effort than intelligence because she excelled at the subjects she enjoyed.

Allegra glanced at Xavia's CDs. “OMG! That’s you isn’t it? I didn’t know you sang. You have two albums out? Do you perform here in New York? I would so love to see you. I can’t believe I’m standing by someone famous.” The chatterbox kept chattering about music, hair dye and clothes when she saw Derek texting someone.

“I saw that expression on your face,” she grinned. “Fess up. I want to hear all about him.”

Allegra couldn’t wait to check out Xavia’s ‘mini vintage clothing store.’ Just being around these two made her happy and, of course, made her talk even more.

She hugged Derek back then waited to hear about what he’d been up to. “Your co-op sounds great,” she said. “I wish I was old enough to live somewhere like that. When do I get to visit?”

“Haven, huh?” Allegra asked. She thought it sounded familiar. She had researched a lot of mutant organizations the night she found out she was a mutant, but once she found Xavier’s she didn’t do any more research. She wasn’t exactly a mutant activist but she liked the sound of it. “Derek, that place sounds perfect for you. You’ve always been so passionate about standing up for people that are being discriminated against. Um, what’s X-gene Persuasion?”

“The mansion is pretty much like is was when you left it,” Allegra said. “I’ve met some really nice people and some not so nice. Oh, my babies are here now!” She turned to Xavia to explain. “My puppies, I mean. They’re like my babies.” She almost made a comment to Xavia about how she was expecting but thankfully cut herself off before she kept babbling.

“I went to a music festival which was fun. I've been trying new things. I even played a video game. Just don't tell anyone. I've been doing my best trying to fit in with everyone. I’m not super popular like I was at my old school which is really hard to get adjusted to, but I’m trying. It’s really hard but sometimes I think that things maybe just came too easy for me and I need to push myself. Oh my god! There’s this hot new boy there. I think he’s from Colombia. He’s got the whole sizzling Latin lover vibe down. I...um...haven’t talked to him yet and I don’t know if I’ll get the courage to say hi, but I think you’d really like him.”

“Other than that, things have been okay,” she said. “I’m settling in but I really miss you. I'm just so glad that the three of us are going to spend the day together. ”

Xavia went red faced because the young one noticed the cd covers after all. She just let the girl keep talking. Okay, so she never talked that much. It wasn't annoying or anything, it was just... Taking some getting used to. Xavia glanced over to Derek and silently conveyed her desire for him to ahh... get the girl to slow down and take a breath maybe? Ermm..

But then she took the matters into her own hands, giving a kind look to the girl. "I can give you a jar, it will last a few mont's. But Allegra, slow down, lady. You speak fast and English is my second language, darling." She gave a grin and patted the girl, hopefully without hurting feelings.

Then her attention was back on Derek and she said, "Do tell."

Derek chuckled at Xavia's reaction to Allegra talking. She was a chatter box for sure, but Derek never told her to slow down. He just took in stride like he did most things. Derek waited till the teenager was finished before answering.

"Okay, first, his name is Aleksandr," Derek started with a goofy grin. He always became warm when he thought about that mutant, "but it's nothin' serious so there's nothin' really we can talk about."

"Second, you both can visit next weekend. This weekend me and a certain Scotsmen are goin' out for some guy time." He looked over at Xavia and playfully nudged her.

"Third, thank you. Haven is an amazing' place especially with supermodel, Devon Hadden at the head. Oh, and X-Gene Persuasion is basically a gay bar for mutants. It's where I met Aleksandr."

Derek took a breath, "I'm happy for your dogs bein' here and that you found friends and even that Latin guy you're talkin' about. Never be afraid to go for it. Also, I'm glad you went to a music festival."

"Now, we will all talk about our week, but first, Xavia," he turned his head to look at her, "how was your date with Mierda?"

XAVIA:
<<"But Allegra, slow down, lady. You speak fast and English is my second language, darling.">>

“Oh. I’m sorry,” Allegra said. “I didn’t mean to talk so fast. I caught your accent and I think it’s really cool. Where are you from? How long have you been here? Do you like it here? Some day you’ve got to visit me in California. The weather is perfect and the sun is out all the time. I could totally show you around. All the great shops. I know where some movie stars live. And of course, the beach. New York is cool too. I haven’t been here that long so I’m still just exploring it. It’s a great adventure though. I mean, of course it is. I’m super homesick so I just gotta keep telling myself that. I gotta look on the bright side of things. Derek is really helpful with that. He’s super positive about everything. I’m so glad I met him. He made coming to a strange place so much easier. I was really popular at my old school but it’s really hard for me to make new friends and I was so nervous but…….”

“Um, I’m talking too much, aren’t I?”

DEREK:
<<"Okay, first, his name is Aleksandr but it's nothin' serious so there's nothin' really we can talk about.">>


“Aleksandr, huh?” Allegra smiled. It was like Alexander but sounded way more exotic and sexy. “But it’s something you want to be serious. I can tell by how you blushed and put down your phone. You know I’m gonna want juicy details. Even if you just make them up.”

Allegra grinned when Derek said she and Xavia could come visit next weekend. Allegra was looking forward to spending more time with her friend and it would be nice to get away from the mansion. Derek seemed really happy with Haven and the bar he worked at.

She wished she had his confidence. There was no way she could just walk up to a guy she thought was hot. She didn’t think she was very attractive and she had so many other faults. Like apparently she talked too much. She was wondering now if Xavia hated her. Allegra was always wondering if people were judging her. Allegra was always sending herself negative messages and it was so easy to feel that’s what others were thinking too.

Thankfully Derek turned the subject to a date Xavia had gone on. Allegra smiled and just listened.

"No, you are not talking too much... Just fast, honey. We're not going anywhere. I have been to California on tour, but didn't see much. It must be nice. I am from Hungary. My family moved here when I was a child... I do not remember how long." And then Derek brought up her date with Artair and she hummed in her throat, her eyes half closing.

"It was lovely." she said, and that was it. A blush crept into her cheeks as she pictured that first kiss they shared. It had been... mmm... Without realizing it, she still had her eyes half hooded and she was biting her bottom lip as she thought about how soft Artair's lips had been. In fact, she was so distracted that she paid much less attention to the talking.

Derek. blushed at Allegra's compliment. The sweet cinnamon roll shrugged his shoulders coyly and looked down at his lap. "I'm just bein' a good friend. That's all," he glanced over at Allegra and gave her a warm smile before looking back down at his lap. When the younger of the trio mentioned Aleksandr, his face felt warm again.

Clearing his throat, he responded to her saying, "well...maybe. I like him, but then there's Devon. I dunno I'm torn the between the two. Though, Devon doesn't --- never mind," he shook his head and looked over at Xavia to tell her to continue, but she was currently daydreaming about Artair.

"Earth to Xavia," Derek nudged her, "how was your date last weekend? What did you two do?"