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Why Sam?[/i] Locke had to wonder when he extinguished the only source of light. Of course Sam didn't know that Locke didn't rely on his sense of sight much. Locke hadn't mentioned, let alone explain that he could only see out of one eye. It was his earth sense he relied so heavily upon. Why would he need to be told what he saw could betray him. The earth didn't lie, not unless Cthulu was involved. The ground filled in the missing details.

Sam also couldn't have known just how much the dark bothered Locke. Once the lantern's light was out Locke felt a familiar tightening around his chest. Being afraid of the dark sounded so childish. Neither one of his siblings needed a nightlight anymore, but Locke couldn't sleep in a totally darkened room. There was the fear that the dark would be there, closing in on him until when he opened his eyes in the morning and saw nothing. A few shaky breaths allowed Locke to remember that he wasn't a helpless eleven year old in a hospital. He was a capable teen.

Locke swallowed back his fear and nodded his head. Slowly the earth traveled up his body, clinging tighter to him because of the danger he fealt himself in. Whatever was making that scuttling was affecting what Locke 'saw' as well. He kept finding the traces of it. It was like watching the ripples in a lake, but not knowing what had been tossed in. Whatever it was, it liked the dark. Maybe it saw things the way Locke's earth sense did. Testing that theory out Locke laid a rocky hand against the wall of the tunnel and gave a tug to the walls.

”Oh it wasn’t that bad,” Tarin had more or less Told Locke to just relax and to have fun. While there were some similarities in their past, the two did not have the same personality. ”Not really needed, but not bad. Though he did say that it’s ok not to always hit a homerun..” He made a dismissive gesture. Maybe it was that bad. Locke didn’t want to know what kind of dating life Tarin had before he met Lee, but he got the feeling that it was about as wild as Locke’s laundry habits were dull. Only he really did like to do laundry. ”He might or might not have told me to be a flirt. Kind of hard to focus when you’re trying not to drip relish onto your jeans and there’s a game going on.” Or Locke was once again blocking out a memory that could be considered painful. A pity, since he thought he was making progress.

”Oh,” was the only reply he could give Lee when she said the shop hadn’t been opened lately. It probably was because they were getting use to life with Kevin. It took Locke months before he could settle down for a good night’s sleep at the mansion. And that was with teenagers who didn’t have to cry out for a diaper change, or food, or a burping. The fact the shop wasn’t opened bummed Locke out. There was a few important things he wanted to know that Tarin would be able to help him out with. ”I hope it’s not because of the economy.”

Lee protested the idea of Locke getting a gift for her or Kevin. There was a smile on the Californian’s face. Tarin had found a good wife. She wasn’t outright saying no to the gift, which could potentially hurt his feelings, but she wasn’t demanding he give her anything either. Locke hated it when people felt you had to get someone a present, or at the least, sign a card just because you knew someone. He knew his dentist, but that didn’t mean the guy got a Christmas card. ”I’m guessing Tarin didn’t tell you how stupidly stubborn I am. Kevin is getting a present from a total stranger who halted his walk with his mom…. Wow that sounded creepy.” Distracted by how disturbing it sounded Locke took a moment. ”I never wanted to read for myself when I was little, but my dad always read to me right before bed, or if we were going to be waiting for something for a long time. It was a classic, but great for active little guys.”

"Life just got in the way I guess. I don't think that you were pregnant when Tarin and I went to the game. Anyways at the time he was more interested in telling me how to get a girl," Locke looked over at Lee, who was smiling. She didn't seem to be too upset that Locke hadn't known about the baby. "Really though I don't know too much. The game was kind of my way of paying for what he did for me. He wouldn't let me pay him cash."

The baby was settling down now that he was back in motion, which was a relief. Nobody wants a baby to get fussy, but Locke would have felt bad knowing that his stray kick had started the whole mess. "Dunno if he told you, but my name is Locke. Kinda hit me just now I didn't introduce myself. How's Tarin doing? I mean it looks like you and... baby are getting along just fine. Does he have to go to work today or is the whole night feeding thing wearing him out?"

The Californian hit himself in the forehead with his free hand. "Should have kept in touch. I owe you guys a baby shower gift. Um, you probably already got some of the big stuff." Strange how just a few hours ago Locke didn't even know Kevin existed, and even now he didn't know that baby boy was named Kevin. Yet he still felt the need to give a gift. Tarin had let him talk to Dad. There was no way in heaven or hell that he'd ever be able to pay him back for that. "Looks like..." Locke trailed off, hoping that Lee would provide the name for her baby, "Looks like he doesn't like sitting still, but do you have any books for him?"

"I ran into his shop once to get out of a storm," Locke explained, "We talked about the weather, and he let me talk with... someone I really miss." He didn't know if Tarin had ever told his wife about him. There had to have been some sort of explanation given for the baseball game that he went to. "We went to a baseball game once, got some dating advice. You must be his wife."

Which meant that the baby must be Tarin's. There were serious doubts that Tarin could ever cheat on Lee. "He had a kid?" Locke asked, shaking his head in disbelief. After the baseball game the two didn't really keep in touch. Life had gotten better for Locke, he had come out of his shell. He didn't need an adult figure. Well except when he went to Ms. Taylor about college things. Somehow he got the feeling that Tarin's dating advice wouldn't help with picking out a life plan. Locke tried to remember if Tarin had mentioned at any point he was going to be a father.

Locke was glad that Starbucks had managed to hand Verdy her order before she went off to get a booth. If she had expected him to get it for her he'd have been up the creek without a paddle. After he had ordered Locke had wanted to get out of the way. It was humiliating to be possibly the only teen in America who didn't know what size was what at Starbucks. Even worse was that Locke had watched the Foamy video in which the squirrel had made the exact same complaint that he did. Somehow Starschmucks did not connect in his mind to Starbucks. It was one of those moments when you should have known but the mind was off having fun on its own.

What's taking them so long?[/i] Locke wondered, Are they trying to make me forget what I ordered so they can give me something else entirely?[/i] People who had ordered after Locke already had gotten their overpriced cups of joe and taken a seat. Was it that he had ordered something very simple and the barrista didn't know how to process that? Or maybe it was being held hostage until he could order anything on the menu without looking like he should be put back in elementary school. He started tapping his fingers into his leg in agitation. At long last his small, for Locke refused to call it what Starbucks labeled it, French Roast was put down.

Locke snatched it up as soon as it touched counter and turned. They would not be getting even a penny in the tip jar. This wasn't a restaurant, and they weren't waiters or waitresses being paid less then minimum wage. The service had been slow, the person who rang him up rude, and Starbucks was already getting enough of his money as is. After a quick glance around to find her Locke dropped himself down in the booth with Verdy. The cap which had been placed on top of his cup for his safety and convince was instantly popped off. It was stupid in his opinion to keep it on once you stopped moving. He had long since stopped needing a sippy cup. "Easier getting your mitts on the Holy Grail then a drink here."

”Hardley,” If the Danger Room was suppose to be this great secret he wouldn’t have been introduced to it as soon as he had, nor would it have been used for that school dance. ”I wasn’t even there a whole day and I was brought down. But I don’t think I’ve seen you around the school, and I’ve got a pretty good memory for faces.” It wasn’t quite the truth, since Locke couldn’t bring himself to look girls his age in the face. What he did learn was the different ways in which people distributed their weights. He could identify his family’s footsteps with ease. Locke was fairly confident that he didn’t know Lee’s. Then again seeing how she had a baby recently her entire posture would have changed. Lee might have very well have been in the institute, but he wouldn’t recognize her weight distribution the way it was now.

Locke stepped aside to let Lee continue walking her baby, fully expecting her to be finished talking to the strange teen. And yet she continued to ask him about his school, which she had to be familiar with. It made him curious as to what her connection to the Xavier Institute was. As best Locke knew, there weren’t many people at the school who weren’t mutants, and she seemed to be fine with the prospect that her newborn was near one. Locke trotted along behind. ”If I didn’t like it I wouldn’t still be here in New York. It ain’t easy being across the country from your family and friends. The scholastic stuff is the same wherever you go. What’s different is who I am here.” He smiled. ”And that’s happy.”

Ok, so the advice on how to stop a crying baby wasn't the best. It required that before having a child you did things like wine tasting. Come to think of it Locke didn't know anyone who did stuff like that. It was too pretentious and snooty. His friends parents were more likely to go to garage sales then take a tour of wine country. Still it had been an interesting fact and Locke wondered if it was really true. Kevin would not be providing the answer seeing as his mommy didn't drink wine, and for the moment he was a happy panda.

"I go to Xavier's Institute," he said with pride. Ever since coming to New York Locke had been determined to not hide his mutation. The way that he saw things, you could only do one of two things once you find out your a mutant. Option the first was to morn over your genes, questioning why you were born with the ability to blow bubbles out your ears, or being extra hairy. On the whole a rather depressing choice. It meant that you either had to question your beliefs in a higher power, (assuming you had any), because why would you be forced into this position of which you could not escape? You would loose faith quickly (again, assuming that you had any to begin with), leaving you with a void that you hadn't stopped to notice before. Locke wasn't going to go around and bash others for their religious views, but he had to wonder how mutants who moaned about being mutants could even believe in anything. The second option, which Locke followed and was infinitely more practical was to suck it up and accept that you needed to be a mutant. Yes in nature there were genetic oddities, and yes, some mutations hurt the first few species, but nature and evolution will only allow the best to continue onwards. Being a mutant meant that you either lacked a crucial survival point, as was the case for Locke and his earth sense, or that you held an advantage. The important thing to figure out was under what circumstances your mutation let you shine. "They think I'm going to be some big hero, but that's mostly because I already am to them. Just part of being a big brother. Kendra... she's not happy with the situation, but c'mon. How would you feel if you suddenly found yourself having to deal with a kid who's a mutant, and you aren't even the kid's mom? She's more happy with the personal growth rather then the whole 'My stepson is learning how to deal with walking trees'"

Amazing how willing Locke was to talk about such personal matters. A year ago he'd been broken into pieces just because a guy showed some concern over a teen trying to get out of a storm. Now though was time to get away from himself. Locke thought back to when Chris and Mai were driving Kendra crazy. She had been outnumbered until he stumbled in. "I heard that swaddling helps them to sleep, because arms are a distraction, and they don't even really realize that they have them. Also putting them on their side or stomach. Something about being on their back makes them think that they're falling. But then there's the whole SIDS thing that you have to worry about, so the side sleeping is probably as useless as the wine tasting thing. Uhh... Oh! When they were really young we kept a hairdryer plugged in their room. If one started getting fussy when the second was starting to calm down, we'd just flip the thing on at the low speed and it calmed them."