"The reader has powers like Scarlet witch and Alex is alive. The only problem is that a few human boys from their old school bully and harass her and Alex sticks up for her."
---
Running your hand through your hair, you were trying to relax. Really, it could not be that bad. It was just a simple reunion with your former high school companions. No big deal really.
Except none of your friends of that time was coming. They may have been the smartest.
Drinking down in one go your cocktail, you got up and gave the money to the bartender.
"Rough night?" He asked you, taking the bill as you straightened your black dress with your hands.
"And it hasn't even started." You muttered.
Grabbing your handbag, you got out of the slightly decrepit bar and walked in direction of the hotel where the evening was to be held.
---
Sighing, you got out of the restroom. Only one more hour and you would go. You went back to your table and tried to talk to the others but to no avail. The topic was still on the fun times they had in high school together and you were feeling very lonely. Sipping at your water, you took a look around the room. Almost everybody was having fun, laughing and chatting cheerfully. You were regretting not to have spent the night with a good book instead.
Plucking up courage, you got up, grabbed your jacket and bag and walked away. There was no need in staying longer; you would get bored just as much. At least, by leaving now, you might still be able to do something productive of your evening.
When you exited the dining hall, you were already feeling better.
On your way to the exit, you came across a group of men talking and laughing loudly and you recognized some of them, including a blond and tall one. Jeremy. You knew it was him. It was not hard to recognize him: he had not changed at all. Plus, considering the amount of time you had spent looking at him in high school, it was not really that hard.
Realizing you were staring, you quickly glanced away and bumped into a waiter coming toward the dining room, his hands carrying a huge tray with what look plates of dessert. When your two bodies crashed into each other, you witnessed, petrified, as the plate fell from his grip.
Subconsciously, you stopped it. Your hands moving almost against your will. You watched yourself stop the fall of the plates and put it back on the tray and finally setting it down on the floor in waves of red.
When you put all of it on the floor, you realized the waiter was staring at you totally stupefied. Lowering your eyes, you walked around him to get out of here as fast as you could before someone realized what had happened.
It was only then that you realized no more laughter was to be heard and when you raised your head, you understood why. The group of men from earlier was now in front of you and they were all staring at you. Some of them were clearly disgusted. Others looked simply uncomfortable.
"Damn, even here, we're not rid of your kind." One of the men said. He had dark hair and you recognized him as one of the basket ball player of your high school. His voice was so full of hatred you felt goose bumps rose on your arms.
"I have to go." You tried to utter with as much confidence as you could, knowing that showing weakness would not help you.
Taking a step forward to leave, you had the slight hope that they would not stop you but it was without taking into account Jeremy, your old crush, who stepped in front of you and stopped you.
"I hate mutos." He spat into your face. "You're just another abomination."
Those words hurt you more than you were willing to admit. You had heard those words before, some even worse, but coming from him was hard, even if you no longer had any feelings for him.
A chorus of agreement rose among the others and insults were thrown at you from every part of the group. When one of them pushed you, you locked eyes with a blond one who was standing apart. He seemed so angry. You had seen this expression on other persons' faces before and in most cases it ended up in a fight. You had to go before he and the others decided to go further than just push you. But to your surprise, when he stepped toward you, it was not to punch you. Instead he turned around and faced his friends.
"Stop it."
His voice was so low and threatening everybody stopped talking.
Looking at his back and at his long blond hair, you recognized him. Alex Summers.
He had been really popular in high school. But mostly, he had spent time in jail, everybody knew that. In high school, he always had have this bad-boy aura around him but when you had learn of him being in solitary confinement in prison, you had not wanted to believe it. However, now that he was standing in front of you, facing all the others you could understand. He was impressive, threatening even. It was his confidence mostly that made you and the others be on your guard.
"Alex, what are you doing? She's a freak." One of them said.
"Freak, abomination. Really?"
Lowering your eyes on his hands, you saw they were balled-up in fists. You did not want it to end up in a fight. And even more, you did not know what he would do if his "friends" started to attack him, maybe his sudden burst of empathy toward you would melt away as fast as it had appeared. You could not risk it and so slowly, you stepped away. You felt the others' eyes fell on you and when you realized they were not going to stop you, you left.
You walked as quickly as you could until you were out of the hotel. And then you kept walking. You were already far from the hotel when you heard someone shout behind you:
"Hey, stop, wait!"
Turning around, you saw Alex running toward you, his jacket in his hand. You hesitated for a short second before stopping. You wrapped your arms around your chest, uncomfortable and waited for him to catch up. You could thank him for his help at least. When he reached you, he exhaled loudly and leaned against the wall of the building to your left.
"Shit, you're fast."
"I didn't feel like lingering." You answered, slightly embarrassed by the situation.
He cracked a smile at your words and you studied his features. He had beautiful blue eyes and long blond hair. He was wearing a simple white shirt making you see the muscles underneath and you could not help but think he was handsome.
Your attention was caught back toward his face when he answered:
"Yeah, I can see why."
Still smiling, he put his jacket on and asked, seeming slightly embarrassed too: "I'm sorry, I don't remember your name."
It was your turn to smile. "You wouldn't. I'm not even sure we ever talked before. I'm (Y/N)."
"That's a shame, (Y/N). I'm Alex."
You did not know how to take this. Was he flirting with you? Not knowing what to answer, you decided to thank him for his help.
"No problem." He became serious all of a sudden and you decided to ask him.
"Why did you do it?"
He ran a hand through his long blond hair and stayed silent for a few seconds, seeming to be weighing up the pros and cons. Finally, he answered:
"I feel like between mutants we need to help each other."
You opened your mouth, trying to find an answer but none came to you. You did not why you were so shocked. You had met others mutants before and now that you were thinking about it, it should not be a surprise that someone else from your high school happened to be a mutant too. Still, you could not help but think it was too good to be true.
"What's your mutation?" You asked suspiciously.
He smiled at your attitude but answered: "I can send energy blasts. I would gladly show you but I don't think it'll be a great idea."
You nodded. So he was the destructive type of mutant, might explain his time in jail.
Still, you were reluctant to entirely trust him. Seeing your hesitation, he added:
"I'm not with them. Well, yes I was but it was before I realized they were such jerks." He tilted his head and cracked a smile. "Well, no, I knew they were jerks, I was one in high school but I did not know how they felt about mutants until now."
It was your turn to smile. He was strangely cute. You did not really know why but you felt like he was worth trusting. Sighing, you admitted:
"I can't believe I had a crush on Jeremy in high school."
Surprise appeared on Alex's face.
"Jeremy? I hope it's not the case anymore because he's a dick. Always had been."
"Yeah, I figured." You stated, smiling.
He rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously: "I guess I was stating the obvious."
"Kinda yeah."
Something changed in Alex's eyes when he added: "I think what I was trying to say is that you could find so much better."
You snorted. "If every man reacts the way he did at the sight of my power, I'm not sure I'll ever find someone."
You had said that as a joke but Alex stared at you for a second, making you wonder if you had said something you should not have. Finally, he offered:
"Let me buy you a drink." Putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he added: "Who knows maybe you'll find someone interested."
The way he looked at you then made your cheeks burn. If before you had not been sure if he had been flirting with you, now there was no ambiguity.
Smiling faintly, he gestured toward a bar a few meters away and you nodded.
All things considered, coming tonight had probably been the smartest decision you had taken in a long time.