That word was all he needed to hear to be completely turned off of the whole idea: School. That’s what the girl who’d brought him there the first time had referred to the building as. That ‘DocProf’ had managed to use his power to look into Shane’s past, and he hadn’t liked what he’d seen. Sure, he’d healed the broken bones as well, and he was thankful for that, but he’d left on terrible terms with the man, and he had no interest in going to make amends with him. Not today, not ever.

He finally stood up, clutching his shoulder and wincing at the pain. “No schools!” He growled at the boy, though the growls to his voice had just as much to do with the pain as it did with his frustration.

He tried to lean in to the boy again, but now that he was standing, he suddenly didn’t feel as confident in his balance as he was when he was still on the ground. His legs wobbled and swayed, and Shane almost toppled over before shifting some of his weight down to his legs to give them a bit more stability, More blood bubbled out of the wound as a result of his mass moving out of that area. He grabbed his head and rubbed it; a migraine was setting in.

For the first time since he’d plopped down in the alley, he was feeling truly sick, and his vision seemed be getting blurry. Suddenly he wasn’t so picky any longer. It was clear that he wasn’t going to be fine on his own out there. Better to take a risk on help then die in the street.

He leaned back against the wall, still standing but dependent on the brick for support. “Whatever.” He mumbled out, reluctantly. “Let’s just go wherever you want.”

Sam watched the other mutant pull himself upright, it looked like a very painful experience. He did not however offer a helping hand, there was still too much of a barrier between the two of them for that. He noticed that the blood flow increased from the shoulder wound and wondered if maybe moving had been a bad idea. They had not even decided on a destination yet.

“No schools!”

The words were filled with pain and a little something else that Sam could not quite put his finger on. Besides he had come to expect this guy to snap at him so he paid very little attention to the unfriendly way in which they had been expressed. What he did pay attention to was the fact that if they were not going to the school then he was about to have to call in an enormous favor; one that he would be paying back for a very long time.

He was about to say something to his companion when he noticed him sway alarmingly. That settled it; whatever they were going to do they needed to do it now. Otherwise things were going to get a whole lot worse.

“Whatever. Let’s just go wherever you want.”

The words surprised Sam and almost brought a smile to his lips. It proved that his patient had finally realized the seriousness of his condition and the fact that he needed Sam. Well maybe that meant that he would be a little more cooperative, which considering what was going to happen next would be vital. Keeping his smile hidden, Sam stared the guy in the eyes and said:

“Deal.”