With a chance to finally just sit back and breathe, Booker found himself sighing in contentment. He liked it when things got done around the library, it made it feel as if he were winning an uphill battle. Truth be told, shifting the library stacks, preparing for new arrivals, etc., it was an endless battle because if there was one thing he learned about the library, it was that it was alway evolving, changing, growing with the times. Work was never actually done in the library; rather it was just quelled until the same task needed to be completed again later.

But this was a victory that Booker would accept. Their pizza was well deserved, not only by him, but by his favorite library comrade so far. Celeste was really turning out to be an asset to the team and, while she may be content just being a volunteer, part of him hoped that one day he would see her name on an application to officially get paid for this. She worked too hard to not get paid. But, until then, her wages shall be delivered in a oven baked crust covered in tomato sauce, cheese, and ham and (yes) pineapples.

Booker turned over to the young woman as she settled into a seat across from him. She was clearly tired and that was unsurprising considering how much work she had done. A rest was well deserved -- but they still had a small contract going on. It was near impossible for Booker to forget things and their earlier conversation was certainly something to not forget.

Secret. The librarian wasn’t normally one to pry, but he was a bit curious as to what kind of secret that Celeste would be willing to share. They both wanted to get to know one another but it was always so hard to find a place to begin. This was a good way to break the ice, as it would hopefully mean that engaging in other, more mundane topics would be easier. A secret, any that you were willing the share, was a good bonding tool, or so he’d come to learn. But what would she be willing to part with? In the end, he wouldn’t make her, the choice was her’s, of course.

A few tense seconds passed after Booker had asked. The young woman took a second, collecting her thoughts, seemingly a little thrown off by the fact that he remembered. After a careful sip of her drink, Booker popped the cap off of his own and tilted his head, giving her an encouraging smile.

>>"Well... I'm a mutant. Radiation. I'm actually going to join the Xavier's school soon, for my last semester of high school…”

”Oh...wow…” Booker said with genuine surprise. ”That’s...just wow…”

In all fairness he was thinking more among the lines that she had a secret obsession with Lady BlahBlah as opposed to revealing her genetic nature towards him. The fact that she trusted him enough to actually tell him something so important was just...touching. Honestly he’d never had a mutant come out to him before, he either knew humans or knew people who made it pretty clear they were mutants. Had Celeste not told him, he honestly never would have known -- it made him feel a little honored, actually.

”I’m actually a little touched that you told me.” He gave her a sweet smile and bowed his head to her, raising his drink. ”Thank you for your trust.”

>>”...But what about yours?"

After a breath, Booker took a sip of his own drink, feeling that sweet burn down his throat as he watched her closely. Really, it was just appropriate at this point. ”As for me, you may be a mutant...but...not around...me…” He watched her waiting for a reaction to his mysterious words. Not a lot of people knew what adapteds were (hell, he only knew after stumbling across an AMA) so he clarified. ”I’m different too. I...turn off mutant powers. I’m an adapted.”

Celeste had a lot of insecurities regarding her mutation. It was a very offensive/defensive type of power. It wasn't one that had a lot of practical uses outside of that arena and Celeste would have preferred to have something that could help people. But instead, she can just make them super sick. People, even mutants, sometimes got freaked out by her own power. Radiation wasn't something people took lightly. People freaked out over radiation. If there is a hair more radiation in an area, it's the end of the world as they would know it. It was a bit overreaction, considering radiation existed all over the planet in various forms - even in bananas. 

Plus, there was the effects on Celeste that she had no idea about. How was it effecting her internal organs, having 5,000 rads of radiation inside her at any given time? Could she have kids? Would she get cancer sooner than most because of it? Lots of questions and not a lot of answers - not a lot of answers doctors could give even if they tried.

But Celeste had managed. And she had used her powers to defend herself. She used to practice on plants, particularly weeds and flowers. That's how she had as much control over it as she did. Of course, there were some exceptions, especially right after she manifested her powers. She did manage to get an entire class sick due to a sudden burst from her... But that was a whole other story.

>> ”I’m actually a little touched that you told me. Thank you for your trust.”

She had watched his reaction carefully. But he reacted... Nicely. In fact, he even felt touched by her confession. Celeste relaxed even more. That was probably her biggest 'secret' that she kept hidden from people, at least that wasn't dark and super personal. She was just glad her intuition was right, and he actually thanked her for her trust in him. That warmed her heart, honestly. "Well... Thanks... You're kinda my closest friend, so it's nice that you know, know entirely who I am." Maybe she could have phrased that a little better? Oh well, he should get the drift of it. She got along better with him than anyone her own age, in her entire life.

>> ”As for me, you may be a mutant...but...not around...me… I’m different too. I...turn off mutant powers. I’m an adapted.”

She arched a brow as he slowly explained his adaption. She was more curious than anything. Celeste had never heard of someone being adapted but it wasn't something that really surprised her - if there was mutants, why wouldn't there be people who could negate the effect? It only made sense in their crazy world, at least in her mind. She nodded, "Wow. That's pretty awesome, actually. Well... Thank you for telling me, too." She smiled. He may not have cared if people knew or didn't know about his mutation but it was nice of him to confide in her with something serious like she had. Her eyes went wide for a second though, like a light bulb went off in her mind, "So that's why I'm not nauseous when I'm around you!" She paused, realized how she phrased that, before quickly backtracking her phrasing. "I mean, my powers make me feel really nauseated, so I have to take some medicine to get rid of the feeling. But I haven't been ever since I've been around you - I mean, it could be because I've been taking the medicine like usual, but usually I could feel it coming before my watch goes off. So that explains why I'm not!" She took a sip of her Coca-Cola and enjoyed that feeling as it coasted down her throat.  

Once she got over her light bulb moment, she gave Booker a smile, "That's pretty awesome though, being able to turn off powers. Pretty strong ability. How'd you find out? If you don't mind telling me, of course." Some people had some sensitive stories about how their powers or potentially power-negating abilities. That might be a different story, a different secret, he may not be comfortable sharing with. 

Booker was pretty free with admitting what he was. The reason was because he wanted to not only remain honest with people, but he wanted them to be warned in case their mutation was a requirement to live. With his abilities as an adapted, he could easily just turn people’s powers off and if that would turn out to be a problem, he needed them to know right off the bat. He would never forget the young homeless girl, made entirely out of tar, that he had met. She fell apart, literally, when he walked up to give her some money. That alone was the perfect example as to why he usually announced himself the second he learned someone was a mutant.

Telling Celeste was a big step, but he also did it because she should know in case she felt odd being in his aura. He wasn’t exactly sure what her mutation did to her when it was turned off but it was good for her to have a head’s up so that she could start getting an idea of what it does to her.

>>"Wow. That's pretty awesome, actually. Well... Thank you for telling me, too."

He gave her a smile and a dip of his head. It was only fair considering that she took an even bigger step in tell him her powers. However as Booker lifted his bottle to take another drink, he stopped when he noted the wheels clicking inside Celeste’s head. It was the look of realization, of knowing, of understanding, before she looked at him with wide eyes.

>>"So that's why I'm not nauseous when I'm around you! I mean, my powers make me feel really nauseated, so I have to take some medicine to get rid of the feeling. But I haven't been ever since I've been around you - I mean, it could be because I've been taking the medicine like usual, but usually I could feel it coming before my watch goes off. So that explains why I'm not!"

A smile appeared on his lips. Though it was tragic that her mutation actually made her ill, it was good to know that she made the connection to the fact that he was turning her powers off. It was really strange the way that mutant powers evolved; to have an ability like her’s? Potentially harming her, that was just terrible. At least she seemed to get a momentary reprieve when he was around.

”Could be,” he admitted to the idea that she was just taking her medicine regularly. But he shrugged. ”However, more than likely it’s because of my aura. It affects mutant’s different. Some don’t notice a change until they try their powers, others need to avoid me because having their powers off hurts them.” He saluted her with his bottle of orange soda. ”I’m glad you’re in the former category.”

Booker liked this. It was nice to get to know someone else, to make a new friend. Even though Celeste was at least a decade younger, it was actually pretty sweet that she referred to him as one of her closest friends. Then again, she was so young, he hoped that she had more friends that she could actually claim as close as well. If he were her only friend, well, she definitely needed to get out more. But he didn’t say anything, out of fear of embarrassing her and just checked the progress of their pizza.

>>"That's pretty awesome though, being able to turn off powers. Pretty strong ability. How'd you find out? If you don't mind telling me, of course."

He stopped. He stared down at the table. As much as he didn’t like it, it was clear on his expression that that was a bit of a touchy subject. It wasn’t surprising given the fact that he discovered his abilities during the most traumatic event of his life. That was one of the those deep, dark secrets that he didn’t share with a lot of people, even those whom he trusted. So, instead, he just sighed, lifted his gaze, and gave her a small smile.

”It’s...complicated.” He muttered enigmatically. But, thankfully, he wouldn’t have to elaborate for too long. A glance at his phone showed that their pizza was out for delivery. His mood perking up a tiny bit, he stood up. ”Well, it looks like our pizza is on the way. So I’ll be right back.” With a smile he turned away from her and headed towards the door. However, he stopped before exiting and gave her a warning look. ”And don’t go spoiling your appetite looking for the cookies I left on the top, right shelf of the cabinet! You’ll never find them.” He smirked before vanishing to claim said pizza.

Celeste wasn't even sure what all this meant for her powers. She knew it was off - she wasn't nauseous. It also meant that, most likely, the tons of radiation that pulsed through with her blood was gone. That was a bit frightening. She figured the extra radiation provided a nice boost to her immune system since, well, it's kinda hard for anything to live in 5,000 rads constantly. She wasn't even sure how she was alive with it. But it was her blessing and her curse, so she was still slowly learning to accept it. While she didn't feel any different around Booker besides her nausea, she knew her body was probably confused.

>> ”However, more than likely it’s because of my aura. It affects mutant’s different. Some don’t notice a change until they try their powers, others need to avoid me because having their powers off hurts them. I’m glad you’re in the former category.”

She nodded slowly, her face lost in thought for a moment. She immediately thought to people with physical manifestations of their powers. Yikes... That would definitely be understandable for them to avoid him at all cost. He could pretty much rip apart their very beings by deactivating their X-Gene. That was powerful and a bit scary - at least for those individuals. The worst part was that they wouldn't know he was an adapted - well, who knows what that even is in the general public? It doesn't sound like a very used term & Celeste had never heard of it before - and she read all sorts of books, news articles, everything. 

>> ”It’s...complicated.”

She watched his reaction and immediately regretted even asking. It wasn't something she even was too curious about - she mainly just asked because it seemed like a logical place to go with the conversation. She gave him an understanding smile and quickly moved on to another subject, "So, I'm going to go to NYU in January. Kinda nervous, but pretty excited too." That was a huge subject change, but it was the only thing that came to her mind in time. At least, that was her plan. What was she going for though? She really wasn't all that sure at this point. Originally, she had thought she'd be a radiologist or maybe do some type of work with radiation - but she really didn't think that was what was in her future. Who knows, ultimately, though. Maybe she'd turn back around to it once she was in school. Doubtful, but not impossible. 

>> ”Well, it looks like our pizza is on the way. So I’ll be right back. And don’t go spoiling your appetite looking for the cookies I left on the top, right shelf of the cabinet! You’ll never find them."

Celeste gave a little clap, excited for their food to finally arrive. But wait, what was this about cookies? Now that was something she had to check out. She waited until he left to go get the pizza before she went over to the top, right shelf of the cabinet and pulled them down. Mmm, cookies. Did he make them himself? She took it back and put it on the table, taking one out. She took a big bite into it and sighed at the yummy flavor. Delicious. She finished the cookie pretty fast, too - she was hungry. She took a swig of her soda and settled back in to wait for Booker to return. She'd save the rest for after the pizza.

Though she didn’t mean to, Booker couldn’t help the nerve that Celeste had touched upon. Honestly he wasn’t surprised by the question, but no matter how prepared he was, it wasn’t an easy thing to get used to. His story was wrapped in so much trauma and pain that Booker scarcely could stand thinking about it. Most people who asked he gave an extremely shortened and edited version of, but for Celeste it was best to not think about it. She was young and, to be honest, he feared he would scare her with his tale of mutant powers gone haywire. She didn’t need to hear that.

It’s complicated. That seemed to be enough to silence his new friend. As soon as he uttered the words, he felt a little bad because she truly didn’t deserve her question to be dismissed so firmly, but it was important for her to know that this wasn’t a light topic to bring up. Thankfully she seemed to recoil, just a bit, from his words but it was done with understanding. It wouldn’t take long for topics to change after that.

>>"So, I'm going to go to NYU in January. Kinda nervous, but pretty excited too."

He smiled wide. ”That’s awesome! Big ole smarty pants right here in the library!” He chuckled. ”Maybe you should actually consider applying for a job so you can actually afford one-tenth of a single textbook.”

A look down at his phone showed that their pizza was out for delivery. Awesome. Excusing himself from ther tablet, Booker instructed the young lady to stay away from the precise location of the cookies he had brought in and vanished out the door so that he could claim the waiting prize for lunch. Making his way to the side entrance used by staff members, Booker stepped out and took a deep, calming breath. He felt like crap for denying information from Celeste but, again, she didn’t need to know it. Unfortunately it did bring certain memories to the forefront of his mind, memories that he would rather forget.

Booker paced, breathing deeply, his hands on his hips as he walked. With every step he tried to shake off the thoughts of that night, the event that forced him to learn he was something more than human. Each time his foot fell, he could feel another chunk of the badness falling off and Booker sighed with appreciation at it. By the time the last bit was shaken off of his shoe, he looked up to see the pizza delivery vespa riding down the alley -- the man was knowledgeable enough by now to know where to drop off food.

It was only a few minutes later that Booker returned through the doorway to the lounge area, his arm holding a large, square box. The pizza place had pretty huge pizzas for an amazing price; both he and Celeste would be eating well. However, as he walked in, he paused when he spotted the bag of cookies and his volunteer’s satisfied look.

”Celeste, you’re terrible at following orders, you know that?” he teased. He was going to share the cookies with her anyways but still, patience is a virtue. Setting the box down on the table, Booker sighed as he relaxed back in his chair, lifted the top of the box, and sighed at the scent of pineapple and ham as it wafted through the lounge. It was fresh, gooey, and hot, everything that was necessary to make an amazing pizza. ”Eeeei! Looks so good!” he beamed and slid a plate over to her. He waved to the pizza. ”Please! Mangiare!”

Celeste hadn't meant to pry but it was clear how much that little question had hurt Booker. She really didn't mean anything by it and she definitely didn't have to know about it. Although, she was a bit curious about what an 'adapted' was and the mechanics behind their biology. Was it an X-Gene, similar to an X-Gene or something else?  Was it an evolutionary response to the X-Gene? She'd have to do some research in her spare time to learn more about it. Maybe some medical associations new something or some websites in the internet. Oh well, for now, she needed to do something to change the subject. What was up with her and asking him questions that he clearly wasn't comfortable with? Second time in only a few hours. Uff.

>>  ”That’s awesome! Big ole smarty pants right here in the library! Maybe you should actually consider applying for a job so you can actually afford one-tenth of a single textbook.”

Technically, she was pretty smart - she had a pretty darn high GPA, thanks to some special classes she took in Regina. On that same note, it was probably more to due with her previous constant need to try to make her parents gives a rats *ss about her. That was something she had left behind in Regina. She figured she'd still work hard, but she wasn't going to beat herself up over getting B's instead of A's anymore. Life was too short to be crammed in front of a textbook. She groaned at the idea of buying a textbook, "I actually already have a job, I'm a waitress... So... I'll just need to work for the next 6 months an have no bills and I should be able to get one or two." She was really hoping she could get a laptop with some of her financial aid. Maybe just pirate the PDF versions of them? Oh well. 

And with that, she was alone, sitting in a chair with a cookie. She sighed and leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs and folding her arms. She was a bit tired from her usual lack of sleep. And their big, busy day so far. The silence of the break room made her mind wander about her life in general, especially some of the moments that led her to this specific moment. She still felt pretty lost here. She was in the beginning processes of getting signed up for classes, she was going to college, she had a friend in Booker. She didn't have that many other people, at least not yet. Well, that was excluding Norma, of course, but the little old lady she lived with was busy literally just trying to stay alive. She was on a path but there was just some sadness, maybe some bittersweetness, in it all.

Celeste hated these moments - where she was alone, in the quiet, her mind allowed to wander about as it pleased. She needed something to do to keep her mind occupied. Eating a cookie wasn't the most enticing thing.

>> ”Celeste, you’re terrible at following orders, you know that?” 

Ah, finally. He appeared! She turned a little red and perked a brow, "I mean, you can't just tell me like that and not expect something to happen. Plus, I'm hungry." She made a silly face but then smelled the pizza took a deep breath, enjoying the scent. It smelt amazing. It even looked amazing. She took the plate and nodded, more than happy to dig in. She grabbed a slice and took a bit before quickly putting it down. She chewed it quickly and took a swig of soda, "Oooh, too hot still. Poor tongue." She had gotten a little too excited for that meal. And her tongue paid the price. But, worth it.

Cookie thief! Booker knew it the second he laid eyes on the young woman. Still, it wasn’t as if he was going to keep these cookies all to himself and having pizza for lunch does require a dessert of some kind, doesn’t it? Encouraged by the young woman’s tenacity, Booker chuckled as he set the pizza down and provided some plates for them. When all was said and done, they had deserved this break and they were going to enjoy it to the fullest.

Settling into his chair, the librarian pulled a slice of the gooey pizza over to his own plate but immediately could feel just how hot it was. As much as he wanted to take a bite, he would have to be patient or he would end up burning his mouth. So, instead, he grabbed a napkin from the pile and brushed the leftover crumbs off of his fingertips and waited for his meal to cool.

His cohort, on the other hand, didn’t seem to think that far ahead...

>>"I mean, you can't just tell me like that and not expect something to happen. Plus, I'm hungry...Oooh, too hot still. Poor tongue."

A cackle erupted from his throat as he shook his head. Really Celeste was a delight to work with and probably quickly turning out to be a good friend. He really hoped that she could achieve whatever she wanted most in this world and that she knew if she ever needed any help, that he would be happy to provide it. Plus, she was always good for to tease.

Gesturing towards, shaking his head like a slightly disappointed family member, he tried to hide his smirk. ”You see? That’s what you get for being impatient.” With that, he reached down, pulled off a piece of pineapple from his pizza slice and popped it into his mouth. A satisfied smirk on his lips, he chewed the pineapple chunk before taking a sip of his soda. Life was good.