“Hardly that…” she laughed. “Me? A star?” She shook her head and pocketed the notebook and number, pen soon to follow. “I have only toured once, and it was opening act. I do not write my own songs, though I wish I did. I am just me… Well, Layla on stage.” She heaved a sigh and shook her head, “But it doesn’t much matter. I have fun and make money doing it.”

She reached up and tucked a strand behind her ear. Her head tilted slightly, “You know, I know nothing about you. We’ve been talking about the school, and myself. Tell me about you.” Her eyes kind of danced with her amusement at herself for being selfish and not asking anything in regards to him.

“How long have you been working with youngsters?” she asked. She shifted on her heel, waiting patiently for an answer.

Nate was not typically one to talk about himself, (considering how much of his back-story was fabricated or even made of outright lies. Xavia had shared a lot about herself, though, and meanwhile, she only knew he was a teacher who was sometimes made of shadows. "This is actually my first job teaching. I've been at Xavier's for a few months now."

Nate was ready to tell her a bit more about his time before teaching as a painter, (and just a painter,) but at that moment, the sun finished its descent past the horizon, taking away the last light, the ground lights not scheduled to turn on for a few more minutes.

The lack of sun caused Nate to cringe as though he had just received pricks from needles all over his body. His entire form made a quick shift from shadow back to a more naturally tan-appearance.

Nate wobbled, somehow keeping his footing. "Woah, so that's a new discovery." It would be a new fact to add to his mutation information checklist: Total Darkness is an Off Switch. It also left him slightly dizzy, which was not aided by him already being tired.

As much as he did not want to admit it, he could not remain there much longer with Xavia. "I'm sorry, but as you can probably tell, I'm not feeling too well anymore." He added a weak chuckle, hoping he had the energy left in him to drive home. He did not live too far from the Mansion, which was a saving grace. "I should go, but if you really want to know a bit more about me, you are welcome to drop by my office so I can waste some of your time."

Nate extended a hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Xavia."

Xavia listened while he spoke, then grew concerned when he seemed to start feeling bad. But he had decided it was time for him to take his leave, so she big him adieu after he was done speaking, then shook his hand, waved, and walked around to the front. She got on her Harley and put her helmet on, turned it on and was off.

A few days later, she returned to the school, but not on her bike because it was rainy. She loved the rain, but didn’t want to end up hurting herself by riding the bike in it. She traversed the city via taxi, not really owning a car. She got out, paid the cabby, and then headed toward the building. She moved slowly on purpose, tilting her head back and enjoying the down pour. By the time she got inside, she was almost drenched, but she felt amazing. She was in clothes that would dry fast; her dress was a red linen sun dress that fell to her calves in sort of a rockerbilly style. Her hair was already loose, otherwise the style may have been ruined.

She wasn’t soaked enough for a huge mess left in her wake, there were plenty of wet blotches. She had decided to go in before she could become a puddle. So she walked the halls in search of the person whom she was donating the money to, or her new friend.

Xavia did not come by the next day, but it was reasonable to assume that she had a busy schedule to keep, so there was no reason to believe Nate had single-handedly lost the Mansion a large donation. There was a small part of him that was personally a little let down not to see his new friend again, but he would survive just fine.

On the particular rainy day, Nate was much more rested, and the large painting in his office was pretty much finished barring a few additions. His button-up shirt was draped on his chair, leaving him in a sleeveless white shirt he would not mind getting dirty if paint dripped.

His door was open, so he could hear the squishing sounds of someone walking down the hall, clearly a recent victim of the elements. He did not know exactly who it was, but there were few people who wandered the office area who he did not know. Without bothering to look away from the painting, he called out aloud, "Beautiful weather?" grinning to himself, awaiting a response.

“Oh yes. The rain is about as wonderful as the flowers.” Xavia was giving and honest reply as she followed the sound of his voice, then leaned against the door frame with a smile on her face. She wasn’t wearing make up, but didn’t need to, so there were no streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. Her hair was a wet pile on top of her head, some sopped tendrils clinging to her cheeks and neck. But she did not look the least bit unhappy… After all, the flower (she) just got watered by nature. She felt great.

She looked toward the painting and crossed her arms casually, admiring the work from where she leaned. “Beautiful.” With that, she strolled into the room to get a closer look. “You’re very talented, Nate.” She tilted her head as she studied the picture with an appreciative eye. “Very nice, indeed.”

The plant mutant moved over to his desk then, and looked to see if there was a flower in the vase again. If so, she’d do what she always did when encountering plant life, touching and caressing at the petals. She grew silent and thoughtful by that time, sighing some, but not for any particular reason.

Of course she had come to donate the money, or try to. But maybe it wouldn’t happen on that night either. If she could ever get a face to face meeting with the assistant headmaster… She didn’t want to leave a large check just sitting on the man’s desk, after all, because someone could just take it and try to use it for their own personal gain.

So instead, there she was, another encounter with Nate happening again. Not that she minded… He was pretty cool, she thought, pretty nice. He also seemed to like conversing with her, so that was cool as well. And now she had something else to admire about him: the fact that he was an artist. Not that being a teacher shouldn’t be admired either.

The voice behind Nate caught him off guard, since it was familiar and not belonging to anyone on the faculty or staff. He turned to spot Xavia in the doorway looking back at him with a smile, still wet from the rain.

For anyone else, her comment could have been sarcastic, but Xavia was pretty much a plant in a human body, so the rain must have been soothing for her. He turned back to touching up the face of Gina, the gargoyle student hovering above the rest of the students in the picture. "Nice to see you back here, even if your poor dress of yours doesn't seem as pleased with the weather as you are." There was something natural and lovely about Xavia's appearance, with her hair still dripping down stray strands, and droplets of water remaining on her face.

Xavia found the rose Nate kept on his desk as he assumed she would. He kept it there to add a natural pleasant scent to the room, a job Xavia was now performing more efficiently.

Nate placed his paintbrush on his nearby pallet and leaned against his desk with one arm. "So are you on the headmaster hunt again, or did you just have to visit me again?" he asked, teasing her. Obviously she was looking for Sam, but he was pleased to see her all the same.

“Yes, I have been looking for him. I have not seen him around…” She gave a shrug and looked down at the flower, “I supposed I can leave him my information if you haven’t passed it along to him already.” She let her hand fall and pulled away from the desk, wandering over to a window to look out at the rain as it fell. “Though I don’t mind stopping in to chat with you,” she added over her shoulder.

Again, she was honest. But there was no obvious flirting or anything of the sort on her end. As far as noticing his admiration (it wasn’t stated as blatant either way), she was Captain Oblivious. As far as she was concerned, he was someone she liked to chat with, she saw him as an intelligent man with plenty to say.

“I am anxious to see my check being put to good use. I don’t want to sit on money, it would make me feel like a miser. I just want enough to live on at this point, I have already made some investments. I consider this one to be an investment as much as a Donation. Mind you, I would not be making any money off of this particular investment, but I would be helping the future of young people. Now if I could just find the mysterious headmaster.” She gave a laugh, and then leaned her hip on his desk.

It was nice to have a friend who was willing to come by and visit him, even if there was a more practical ulterior motive behind her trip to the mansion. "Well, I mentioned you came by and I gave him his invitation to your show, so at the very least you'll see him there."

They were both leaning against his desk, so they were actually in a good position for eye contact where he could hold his grey gaze on her caramel eyes. "So the last time we talked, before I almost blacked out, we were talking about something right?" Everything past his trip into near-unconsciousness was a bit blurry, but he could recall a more important conversation coming up before he left.

"Oh right," he said, the conversation pieced together just enough in her head, "I was gonna tell you a little bit about myself, right?"

It was probably risky to bring up that conversation of his own volition, but he was not in the mood to hide things for some reason. "Still interested?"

“Well, that is good. I am glad.” She ran her fingers through the loose strands of hair by that point, she was starting to dry, and her hair was doing a fly-away thing. “Yes, you were about to tell me more about you before it got dark the other day.” The plant mutant moved toward one of the seats that the students would sit at, she thought it may be a bit too presumptuous to sit in the chair at his desk.

She looked at him, folding her hands in her lap and listening raptly. The funny part was that she wasn’t doing so in a joking manner, she was honestly listening. Her mouth curled up in a slight smile as she waited for him to reply to her.

Nate removed his glasses, cleaning them with a cloth from his pocket, to give his hands something to do more than anything else. His next lines were fairly well rehearsed. "Well, I lived in a home for orphans most of my life. I picked up art there because my teachers said I had a lot of raw talent. From there, it was scholarships to art school, and some time traveling around as a professional artist. When I finally chose to settle down, Xavier's took me with open arms."

It was a complete and compelling story with bits of truth strewn throughout like any good lie, and it was the story he had grown accustom to sharing when he was asked about his upbringing.

Nate smiled, meeting Xavia's eyes. "Well, except none of that is true."

Maybe it was the frustration with the situation he had been in with Quin since she found out the truth, or maybe it was just because Xavia was kind and left him feeling guilty for lying, or maybe he was just tired of keeping the truth to himself. Whatever the reason, Nate's lips spilled forth. "I left the orphanage after someone found out I was a mutant, and I was a street rat and a thief for a while before I figured out how to become a better thief. That was why I learned to paint so well--forgery."

Nate took a deep breath; there was no undoing what he was saying now. "If I never came to New York, that would probably still be me, but since being here I've been on the straight and narrow, and Xavier's is one of the big reasons for that."

His eyes locked on hers, revealing his vulnerability and leaving the doors open for her to peer deeper into him. "So what do you say to that?" Nate silently prayed, now that he allowed himself a moment to return to his senses, that she would not run and summon the nearest authority figure on him. It was a stupid, emotional, illogical decision, and now he would see what the consequences might be.

She listened quietly as Nate opened up to her. She held no horror, nor ill judgment in her gaze as his eyes locked with hers. A couple of times, she tilted her head and raised her eyebrows, but more out of consideration than anything. When he was done speaking, she smiled a little, “I can assure you, your past does not frighten me in the least.”

Indeed, she had seen much worse in her life, and thievery was on the bottom of that totem pole. She didn’t gasp in outrage or storm out, she didn’t shake her finger at him or scold him, she simply sat there and accepted. “I used to squat in the house I now own and steal clothing. I suppose petty thievery isn’t nearly as deep as forging art, but it is technically the same sin. If I were to judge you for your past, I would be the pot and you would be the kettle.”

With that, she stood and moved to look out the window. “Nate,” and this was probably the first time she had used his name, “You do not have to be afraid to tell me the truth… I know some people might think ill of you for the things you did when you were younger, but I am, nor will I ever be that way…” She didn’t say that when she was a kid, she did some pretty stupid things herself, nor did she add that she had once been a judgmental ass. She wouldn’t say otherwise if he had asked her, but she wouldn’t bring it up unless he asked.

She turned to look at him, illuminated from behind when the sun came out for a few minutes. By that point, she was nearly dry. Her clothes were only slightly damp, and she looked as happy as a fat kid in a candy store.

It was... what would he call it? Refreshing? Calming? Whatever the word, it gave Nate a weird peace of mind to hear that his past did not bother Xavia. To come clean to someone about his past and have them take it in stride made his misdeeds truly feel like they were in the past. "Thank you..." he managed to mutter.

Xavia was in the window, framed by the sun which was breaking through the rain clouds. He chuckled at the fragility of her form in the light. "You look like a flower in the sun."

Nate stepped closer to her, pressing his hand on her waist lightly. It might have been how the connection he felt with her seemed to change now that she knew the truth about him, but he did not think twice about this entrance into her space. "You're drying up." He returned to eye contact with her and grinned. "I hope you don't wilt," he joked.

“You don’t need to thank me…” she said softly, growing serious. She watched as he closed in on her personal space, and she didn’t know what to think. But he made a quip about her drying, and she gave a soft chuckle, “I only wilt when I am cold.” Her eyes didn’t really leave his face until her lashes lowered, and she bit her lip. “It wasn’t cold today, it was warm and rainy.” She felt the pressure of his hand on her waist, and looked back up at his face. A blush stole over her cheeks, and she moved away in a shy manner.

“It is lovely outside, for me.” She put a little distance between them by moving toward his painting. She hadn’t really entertained any thoughts about him as more than a friend, but there was something he did just then that shook her up a little. “I… I think this is a beautiful painting.” She cleared her throat, putting her hand up to her cheek to try and stifle the blush.

What in the world had he just done? She wasn’t supposed to even feel such electricity. She couldn’t even look at him now. She hadn’t even noticed any flirtation before, but he had to go and touch her. Now she wasn’t so sure what was going on. Oh boy.

Xavia seemed to be acting differently for some reason. It was nothing drastic, but she seemed a bit more shy, and Nate could not place why. Meeting someone who was treating him like a normal person despite his status as an ex-con had left him rather oblivious to the social cues he was normally so adept at picking up.

After Xavia left the window frame to more closely examine his painting, Nate walked over and sat on his desk so he was just behind her shoulder, examining his painting from more of a distance. He was rather proud; he captured the Mansion's grand appearance and warm, inviting soul, and each of the people in the painting had their own life they contributed to the piece. "Thank you. That was one good thing that came from my life of crime; the ability to capture the very spirit of beauty on a canvas."

He could not help but smile to himself. "It's quite a blessing to be constantly enjoying the beauty of the world." He recalled the flower Xavia discovered the day before. "I guess sometimes bold choices pay off." Yep. Solid life lesson: sometimes consequences for stealing are great.

“Are you planning to sell it?” she asked, this time not moving because she didn’t want him to think she was afraid of him. No, she wasn’t. It was just that they had some kind of chemistry and it was best not to even bring it up. She loved someone else, that was her issue. And here Nate was coming along, being playful and doing things he should not when it came to her. It was all really foolish to even think of him in a manner of more than a friend. She had just met him two days prior!

“If you are, how much are you asking for it…” Yes, she was considering buying the painting if it meant trying to shake off the sudden jolt of his hand resting on her waist. God, so much trouble. Xavia hardly dared to breathe, for fear she would give away that she was now aware of the chemistry.

She cleared her throat again and then moved, turning and smiling at him. Hopefully, he would no longer pick up on anything. Hopefully he wouldn’t be so free with her space again.