College campuses always had coffee shops. This particular coffee shop was pretty standard for a college campus one. The counter was nestled into one corner and lit with red pendant lamps. There were plenty of tables scattered about for students who wanted to study and some cozy sofas and chairs for people who meant to stay a while. A high counter with a bank of electrical outlets was meant for those who came to take advantage of the free wifi.

It didn't matter where you went, where there were college students there was coffee. Usually liquor stores too but at half past ten in the morning Andrew wasn't thinking about booze. Nope the twenty year old was staring into his latte and thinking that the leather glove on his left hand was really beginning to itch. It was black and went well with his bright red t-shirt and jeans but that wasn't really the point. Since he was hiding one of those annoying black rings around his wrist he couldn't very well take it off. Someone might see it and then if they ran into him after Friday's test and saw that it was gone then they might get suspicious!

If someone got suspicious they might decide to keep an eye on him and figure out what he was! Oh god, if that happened Andrew didn't know what he'd do! His left hand shook with nerves as he raised his drink to his lips and very nearly spilled it. There was only one more class before Andrew could head back to the apartment. He'd bake a cake when he got back. Maybe brownies too. His roommates would enjoy some homemade bread for breakfast.

Now if he could just stop and think of the chances of someone making the connections it would require to place him as a mutant maybe Andrew wouldn't be so nervous. That wasn't the way he thought when it came to his abnormality though. Being discovered and used was his deepest fear and he'd gone on more bike rides and baking sprees because of it than he'd ever care to admit. Speaking of his strangeness he did need to get studying.

Andrew pulled his science texts and notes out of his back pack and began pouring over them. He checked and double checked his notes against the books. His latte grew cold as he reread each and every chapter that would be covered on the test. Since his teacher had included on-line materials he pulled out his laptop and went over those too. All the while Andrew felt pressured to do more. He had to ensure that he'd ace that test. By the time he got up to throw away the rest of his latte it was one p.m. and he'd studied straight through lunch without even realizing it.

Shaking off that particular realization, Andrew ditched his cold coffee drink and returned to his table. He blinked his hazel colored eyes to get rid of the bleariness from reading so long. Even after all that studying he still felt the pull of the books. They beckoned him start studying again. It was as if a voice in his head was telling him that he'd surely missed something and that something would cost him the test. He blew out a breath of air to try and dispel the notion and tried to straighten his spiked orange locks.

"I don't need to study anymore today." Andrew muttered to himself to give himself the willpower to put the books, notes, and laptop away.

The previous night had been rough for Andrew; his shift had been rescheduled so he was out till four in the morning the night before his earliest start of the week. He had just come from a lecture and had an hour till his next, this meant only one thing; food. He had made his way to the coffee shop and ordere a large mocha with extra shots of espresso and some wrap thing... it seemed impossible to buy an actual sandwich at these kinds of places.

With his beverage and food in hand, and the book he still had to read tucked under his arm he made his way towards the back of the coffee shop hoping to find free seats where he could sit and ingest the wondrous brown nectar that was so often substituted for sleep for many people.

Working his way between the tables and chairs straetgically laid out to look 'casual' he caught sight of a free sofa towards the back when his foot caught on the strap of a bag someone had set down next to their chair. Andrew suddenly dropped to one knee, too tired to make any noise of alarm, he had narrowly managed to avoid spilling any of the hot coffee he was carrying, however the wrap thing shot off it's plate and rolled under a chair occupied by a tall guy with deep auburn hair, picking up dust and fluff as it rolled, cuasing it to become about as edible as a shoe.

"...dammit..."

Andrew sighed as he freed his foot from the strap of the bag it had become caught in, all the while the owner of the bag gave him a look of annoyance, as though the person who tripped over a bag placed nearly in between tables as opposed to under one was at fault. Andrew got to his feet and bowed slightly in mock apology.

"Don't mind me."

He wondered if the tall guy had noticed the wrap... suddenly stopping behind someone to pick up something from underneath them could easily be misinterpreted.

The small commotion next to him effectively distracted Andrew from his studies completely. Someone had tripped over someone else's bag. What was worse was that the owner of said bag seemed to regard it at the fault of the man that had tripped. He couldn't help but shake his head at how rude that was. The one that tripped seemed to take it in stride though. Andrew was just about to head off when he noticed the man that had tripped moving toward his seat. Had he noticed something? That couldn’t be.

A rush of nerves hit Andrew before he recalled that he’d seen something briefly out of the corner of his eye rolling toward him. Out of sheer curiosity he pushed his chair back and looked to find one of the sandwich wraps that the place sold sitting there. It obviously wasn’t fit for consumption anymore but the least he could do would be to stand back so its owner could retrieve it.

Andrew pulled the chair out of the way and stood back so the other guy could grab the less than appetizing food specimen without feeling awkward. He might have gotten it for him and handed it to him but what if the guy yanked off his glove? A spiral of thoughts similar nature to that froze Andrew for a moment before he put on the blank face he used for dealing with people. It had taken him a long time to learn to not show his emotions on his face but if he wanted people to leave him alone Andrew had thought it best not to get their attention with silly faces and such.

Hopefully it wouldn’t be too hard to get rid of this guy. All he had to do was stand there and give him the silent treatment for a while. That generally made most people go away. Since this was little more than an accidental run in it stood to reason that it wouldn’t last too long to begin with and Andrew could get away with his secrets intact. With that hope in mind Andrew watched the other guy closely to see what he would do.

Andrew turned back round to see the tall guy push his chair back and stand, at least Andrew wouldn't have to awkwardly explain the situation. He stepped forward and set his coffee down on the table in order to pick his soiled food up.

"Thanks pal..."

He stooped to one knee and picked up the now less-than-appetising wrap, standing back up and slinging it into a nearby bin. Blinking wearily a few times Andrew picked his coffee up from the table and took a sip of the warm caffeine-rich concoction.

"Sorry about the commotion there..."

As the first effects of the extra-strong coffee hit Andrew's sleep deprived state, he noticed the guy in front of him seemed sort of nervous, maybe the guy just didn't talking to people he didn't know.

The man whose food it was stooped to pick it up immediately once he realized that Andrew had stood back for him. He thanked Andrew and even said he was sorry for the trouble. It wasn't as though it was his fault. Still, Andrew dipped his head in a clear nod to acknowledge the thanks and apology.

"No problem."

He'd used his best I'm-only-talking-because-you-said-something voice in responding. After all, this act had worked on everyone else up to now. Andrew saw no reason why it wouldn't work again. He did his best to quash his ever present doubts. They would only make him slip up in front of this stranger. Then he wouldn't have to worry about things like tests anymore because he'd probably end up shackled to the government or the mafia or something.

In the meantime Andrew felt like another cup of coffee or something since he hadn't actually imbibed much of the latte he'd had at all. The question was whether or not he wanted to wait for this guy to walk away first or not.

>>"No problem."

Andrew definitely wasn't weary enough to fail to recognise the tone, but he was certainly tired enough to not mind offending someone, especially if it could make him laugh, after all he wanted to be a reporter, he'd have to get used to people hating him for being awkward sooner or later. Andrew took another deep sip of his coffee, contemplating the wonder of caffeine as he did so. Smirking slightly in anticipation.

"Y'know, if your shoulder's that cold I'd recommend getting yourself a jacket."

With the caffeine now beginning to take full effect, Andrew though it would probably be best to move on. Insulting someone was one thing, but staying around for the potential fallout was just stupid. He began to turn on his heel to move away.

The comment that the other guy tossed at him was one of the better insults he'd heard. Andrew heard a fair few since most people didn't like being put off like that. It stung but no more than usual. He let the other guy go without saying anything to him. Why should he retaliate? He'd been the one who'd invited the comment with his attitude. Andrew pulled the chair back into position and slumped into it with a quiet sigh.

A moment later he stood up and headed for the door. No need to stay in this cafe. Maybe he'd go and bake something. Or study at home. Either way he didn't feel like staying here now. Andrew followed the guy to the door. It occured to him that the guy might think he was following him. It didn't matter to Andrew. Well it did but as he was trying to protect himself from being discovered he didn't have the luxury of letting it matter. A humorous smirk curved one side of Andrew's mouth for a moment as he walked behind the guy.

Heading back to the front of the coffee shop, debating internally whether or not to buy another of the wraps, now halfway through his large coffee, he became increasingly aware of being followed. The job he held to finance his studies require a certain amount of situational awareness. Stepping slightly to the side he turned to look over his shoulder, and seeing the tall guy who'd seemed unusually cold behind him... smirking. He paused for a moment, thrown off by odd situation he'd found himself in, though it was pretty tame compared to the past week.

"Are you planning revenge or have you just been sent by your people to study us earthlings?"

The man turned around after a little bit and noticed Andrew there. Andrew was mid-smirk when he turned so he could imagine that the guy was a little surprised. When he asked whether he was after revenge and then tacked on some lame comment about Andrew being an alien Andrew had resist rolling his eyes. Just because he was afraid of every person in the room didn't mean he couldn't enjoy some humor at his own expense.

"My people require much less foolish specimens than those who would insult a person merely for their tone of voice. Therefore you aren't needed."

Why not take the ball and run with it then? At the very least he might get through the chat without dissolving into a puddle of fear.