Choices to make

After finishing up her talk with Sabella, Kylie left the room feeling more confused than ever. Andrew liked her? How was that possible? They fought all the time and he wanted to leave...right? No, Sabella had to be wrong. She couldn't let herself think that Andrew might like her in that way. She would only be disappointed in the end.

She knew she was running late for her training with Hank so she headed downstairs to the Danger Room, unaware that Logan was already down there talking with Andrew...

Logan and Andrew were about to come to blows. Well Andrew was Logan was actually keeping his temper rather well, mostly due to Hank having heard the argument. Logan had immediately began to accuse Andrew of making advances towards Kylie. Which Andrew adamantly denied getting very embarrassed by the situation, and having Hank intervene only made it worse and made him deny it even further.

It wasn't until Logan made a comment on how Andrew lived that shut him up before Kylie came down the stairs. Hank had put his foot down and threatened to remove Logan by force if he didnt leave. Logan stepped out into the hallway looking rather heated as Hank tried to salvage the situation with Andrew. Who in turned just retreated to the bathroom in his room and slammed his door shut. Hank groaned rubbing his head  thinking that Logan just undid all the good they had built up earlier.

Logan felt it best he just go for a ride and cool off

OOC: wasn't sure if you wanted to have Kylie overhear any of that. feel free to edit anything, i'm just feeling super lazy and drained from all the holiday cheer

Kylie could hear the yelling as she exited the elevator. It resonated down the long hallway and her face flushed as she realized that it was Logan and Andrew and they were talking about her. Logan must have overheard her conversation with Sabella. She felt horribly embarrassed as she had hoped that conversation would remain private. But now Andrew knew what she had thought and she began to wonder if things would ever be right between them.

When she heard Logan emerge she ducked into a nearby room to avoid him. She heard him get onto the elevator and once the doors were closed she came out of the room and walked down the hallway. She walked to Andrew's room and glanced at Hank. He immediately understood that she wanted to talk to Andrew privately and left, closing the door behind him. Once she knew he was gone she walked over to the bathroom door. She sat down on the floor next to it and was quiet a moment before speaking.

"I'm really sorry about all of this Andrew. I've made a mess of things. I...I think I misunderstood things earlier. I thought you didn't want to look at my scars and got angry. My conversation with Sabella was supposed to be private but I guess Logan overheard it. I'm sorry and I will stay away from you for now on and try not to cause you anymore trouble. I want you to think you can return to this place if you need or want to."

She fell quiet for a moment, but only heard silence in the bathroom. "Ok, well...I'll go now."

She stood up and started to walk towards the door.

Andrew was a bit emotional trying to sort through Logan's accusations. He hadn't done anything and now he was being accused of creeping on Kylie. And then that bombshell of how he lived made him feel rather unwanted. That statement kept with him and that tiny voice in the back of his head grew bigger saying how right Logan was. He froze hearing Kylies voice, oh great the nightmare continues to develop he thought. So now Kylie knew he was crushing on her at a time that he couldn't get his feelings under control.

And now Kylie felt bad and knew he liked her and was going to stay away. What was with his luck today!? Obviously he couldn't think of anything to say as he tried to sort himself out. When Kylie excused herself his panic only rose and that feeling of loneliness hit him like a truck. It paralyzed him for a moment and enough time had passed he just sat down in the bathroom thinking Kylie had gone.

Hank waited outside the room for a number of reasons. Kylie had her training session and at least wanted to provide that as a distraction for her. So when she came out of the room he was standing nearby. "Kylie..i dont mean to pry but did he say anything?" He asked.

Kylie didn’t know what else to say to Andrew. She had hoped for some kind of response, but got nothing. She didn’t blame him though. It was likely he was going to leave now and not come back. That made her sad and she felt that it was ultimately all her fault.

As she walked out she spotted Hank waiting to go with her to the Danger Room to run her training simulation. She sighed and shook her head when he asked if Andrew had said anything to her.

“No, and I don’t blame him. This is a huge mess now and I feel as if it is all my fault.”

OOC-So what now with Kylie and Andrew? How are we going to fix this between them?

OOC: Ok so i've thought of Andrew sticking around despite all of this as he gave his word to Xavier to stay until at least his leg was 100%. alternatively he could sneak away and Xavier would then seek him out. Maybe he runs into Eric who recruits him promising a better life? He'd see that as a way to make himself more appealing, maybe some Brotherhood Vs Xmen with those two.

I'm good withe ither of those. did we want to make new mutants by the way?

OOC-I’m good with either too. Which one do you prefer?

OOC: Think i'll have him stick around. Did we want to continue on with this thread or move on to another day?

OOC-We can move on to another day if you want.

A couple of days later...

Andrew landed hard and ended up rolling on the catwalk. His leg held firm as he continued to sprint keeping ahead of his opponent. The large apelike creature roared in anger as it tried to chase after the smaller target. Andrew sucked in air as he ran further down the corridor his bad arm tucked against his chest. He rushed down the corridor knowing he'd have to fight the thing eventually. He slid to a halt in larger room and turned to face the ape that came barreling at him.

He concentrated the remaining electricity he had in his right arm and dodged to the right missing its wild swing. He flung his arm forward ignoring the pain in his fingertips firing off the blast of electricity. The bolts struck the ape in the side and carried it across the room smashing into the nearby wall. Andrews arm twitched a few times and his finger tips were damaged. He dropped to a knee panting as the simulation ended.

Hank had seen that Andrew had harmed himself in his training and ended it prematurely making sure to keep the environment active. His fear of open spaces made the Danger Room a terrifying place for him so Hank made sure to keep things a little close quarters. Since the event with Kylie Andrew had kept to his room not wanting to face her. Just the thought that she knew he liked her was embarrassing and his self esteem suffered as he felt he wouldn't be able to hold a relationship.

Hank felt a quick training session would bring Andrew out of his shell. He was surprised to find how agile Andrew was despite how limited his mobility was earlier. But given his control of his power he was most likely to hurt himself in the process of a fight. He also stopped the simulation knowing that Kylie's session was scheduled shortly.

"How's your hand?" Hank asked looking at Andrew's vitals. Andrew continued to breath hard but looked to his finger tips seeing a few cracks.

"it's fine." he said used to that level of pain. He was glad his leg was holding up but wished his arm was in better condition. He looked over to the still body of the ape and thought he should ahve done a better job keeping ahead of it.

Kylie hadn't seen or spoken to Andrew since that awkward day. She had, though, spoken to Logan and had told him to ease up on Andrew. She understood that he was trying to protect her, but she felt that Andrew meant her no harm. There had just been some miscommunication between them. She was confused by her own feelings for Andrew, but couldn't help but think she liked him as well. They both knew what it was like to live on the streets and no one else in the mansion could say that they knew what that was like. She also admired how tough Andrew was and how much he missed his friend and companion Mason. She hoped that he would stay, but understood if he decided to leave.

She was early for her training with Hank. She had recently been given her own X-Men suit and was trying it out for the first time today in the Danger Room. Her long blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She knew it would be a while yet before she could join the X-Men on their missions, but was excited to at least have a suit. She had admired Sabella in hers and she had been thrilled when Professor Xavier had given it to her. For the first time in her life she was finally starting to feel like she had a real family.

Unaware that Andrew was finishing up with Hank, Kylie walked in since the Danger Room wasn't running a simulation and was unlocked. She looked up and saw Andrew and realized she had interrupted.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were in here."

Andrew was still gauging how his fingers were looking when the door opened and he heard Kylie's voice. His heart started to beat quickly as he looked to her in her new suit. Before she was in her leggings and a sports bra but even in that suit it caught his attention. "i-its fine, i was about to leave anyway. Hank thought i could do with some exercise." He said doing his best not to stare.

Hank had noticed that the door was open and that Kylie was now in the danger room. "well at least she's on time." He mused to himself. He noticed that Andrew's heart rate had increased and pondered on that for a moment. He turned his mic on, "Kylie, i know we had your training scheduled but i do have a particular session i wanted to test out. Would you be opposed to having a partner for this simulation? "he asked thinking a little nudge to get the two to work together was in order.

Kylie noticed Andrew staring at her a little and then looking away and instead of getting angry this time she smiled a little to herself. It was nice to actually have a man be respectful towards her and not try to use her or hurt her.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you are up and about," she replied. However, before Andrew could leave she heard Hank's voice over the mic system asking if she would mind Andrew staying and running a partner simulation with her. She looked over at Andrew. "That would be fine with me if you want to."

Andrew looked up hearing Hank's voice and while he was a bit tired he didnt want to appear weak in front of Kylie. He still had some stamina left and his leg was holding up rather well. "um..sure." he said not sure if they were alright or not. Hank smiled glad he agreed and thought this would be good for them to start communicating again.

"alright, just stand still for a moment. This simulation is just a capture mission." Hank began. Their surroundings changed to a bustling city street in downtown New York. "There is a ordinary every day citizen carrying a red case. You need to track down and obtain the case." he said. The simulation was created to test situational awareness and controllling ones powers under duress.

Andrew watched as people began to appear and he subconsciously stepped closer to the buildings. As more and more cars and people appeared he relaxed a bit more his heart rate slowing. Course it jumped each time his eyes glanced over at Kylie. "alright, the training session starts now and ends when you capture your target. He is a wily one so dont expect an easy session." Hank said activating the program. Sounds erupted around them simulating the busy streets.

Andrew sucked it up and looked to Kylie, "What are your powers again?" He asked. Stealing something from someone wasn't foreign to him and knew using his abilities in a crowd was a bad idea.

Kylie was glad when Andrew agreed to participate in the simulation with her. She had only ever done one on one trainings and she was interested to see how well she and Andrew would work together. She listened closely as Hank gave them their instructions. It sounded easy enough. Capture the red case. How difficult could that be? However, as their surroundings began to change to downtown New York she realized it was going to be more difficult than she had first thought. The streets filled with people and noises that sounded exactly like the city. It was loud and bustling. There was even the sounds of honking horns and steam coming up through the sewer grates.

"I can create energy orbs, blasts, and shields," she responded to Andrew when he asked about her powers. "The problem is with all these people around we won't be able to use our powers. We will have to come up with another solution."

Andrew made a note of what Kylie could do and it seemed like they ahd to keep their powers in check for this. Picking something from someone in a crowd like this was fairly easy. People would bump into each other all the time making a grab easier. He looked down at his hand thinking he could get a few more shocks, at the very least electrify his hand, without causing lasting damage.

He looked about at Kylie's suggestion they try something different. Getting a higher vantage would work obviously and his eyes spotted the overhands in front of some of the buildings. "One of us could just climb up there while the other sticks to the ground." He suggested. One of them would be able to reach if the other gave a boost. "Can give you a leg up." He offered.

Kylie looked up at the buildings when Andrew suggested one of them go up high for a better vantage point. She liked that idea. The red briefcase would be easier to spot from up high. She nodded when he offered to give her a leg up.

"Sure, that would be great."

Andrew got into position with Kylie and just braced himself. It was a bit akward as he had the one good arm but he was able to provide a stable foundation for Kylie to climb up. Andrew did his best to focus on helping Kylie up and not focus on how close she was. Or how good she looked in that suit, how soft..

wake up! His mind screamed. He then lifted his arms up giving Kylie the boost she needed to reach the overhang. He kept his eyes downcast as the urge to take a peek was there. "I'll start looking around down here, i guess just start hollering if you see a red case." Andrew said.

Kylie did her best not to hurt Andrew anymore than he already was. As she got close to him she realized her heart began to beat a little faster. He was quite good looking and she knew that he liked her. She actually began to wonder what it would feel like to have his arms wrapped around her...

She had to shake herself mentally to keep herself focused on the mission. It was true that this was just a simulation, but Hank was watching and she wanted to prove to him that they could handle this. Once she was up on the overhang she began to scan the crowd. She crouched down so she wouldn't be quite so obvious. Suddenly, she spotted it.

"Andrew, I see it. He's walking towards you. He's about 50 feet away."

With Kylie above him and out of his vision he took a moment to compose himself. He wans't sure how to approach Kylie to express his feelings. He knew how this whole thing worked Mason gave him that talk but he had no experience. He was so wrapped up in this he forgot he was in a simulated mission until Kylie spoke up. He snapped to attention and looked around spotting the man coming towards them in the crowd. He began to make his approach taking his eyes off of him. He began to tail another person as they made their approach.

Hank watched intently curious to see how this played out. So far the target was unaware of Andrew's approach and continued to walk casually. It wasn't untl Andrew drew near that he tripped up the man he had been following making him fall directly onto the target. With ease Andrew snatched up the case which made Hank question if he had done this sort of thing before and began to run back the opposite way.

Seeing how quick they were able to separate the case from the target Hank introduced a couple of officers who 'witnessed' the event. They shouted at Andrew and began to give chase, "Oh this is familiar." Andrew said. He called out to Kylie, "Best run he has friends." He said called to her as he began to run. His first instinct was to head underground to shake offer anyone in pursuit but he waited up for Kylie in case she didnt have a plan of escape.

Kylie watched Andrew closely. There wasn't anything more she could do from where she was. She just hoped for the best. She couldn't help but grin a little when Andrew "accidentally" tripped up the man he had begun to tail, causing him to fall upon their target and allowing Andrew to easily take the briefcase. She was about to jump down from the overhang when she suddenly spotted the two police officers who began to chase Andrew. Like for Andrew, it was a pretty familiar situation for Kylie. She used to have to steal and pickpocket in order to survive on the streets. When she first started out she wasn't very good, but as she gained more experience she was able to steal and pickpocket without getting caught. Of course she was out of practice at this point.

She quickly jumped down from the overhang and motioned for Andrew to go on. Andrew was able to easily maneuver through the crowd, while the police officers were having a more difficult time, putting them farther back. She watched as Andrew disappeared into the crowd and then as the police officers reached her she pointed across the intersection to a different street.

"He went that way!"

The officers bought her lie and she smiled as she watched them head that way. As the simulation faded she grinned at Andrew.

"That was easy. Nice job on the little trip up. I used to do things like that too."

Andrew slid to a halt as the case faded from his hand and the simulation began to fade. Hank however kept part of the simulation active as the exit revealed itself. The building Andrew had stopped at remained providing him some comfort until he could get out into the hallway. He looked to Kylie as she approached, her grin made his heart jump a little bit.

"Not used to grabbing a case though, not likely to have anything i could use but same basic idea." He said. He looked to the hallway, "So whats with the suit?" He asked in an attempt to keep the conversation going.

As the pair left the danger room Hank began to finish up his notes on how quickly they completed the trial. Kylie's ruse wasn't expected and he amde sure not make a note on her ability to think on her feet.

Kylie was proud of how well she and Andrew had worked together and how quickly they were able to complete the simulated mission without using their powers. She thought they could potentially make a good team if he decided to stay.

She walked out of the Danger Room with him and into the hallway and looked over at him when he asked her about the suit. "This is an X-Men suit. The X-Men are a group here put together by Professor Xavier that help protect the world. I know it sounds kinda weird and hokey, but they actually do a lot of good. I'm not an official member yet, but Professor Xavier gave me a suit. I just wanted to try it out."

Once the adrenaline began to die down Andrew began to fell the strain pull on him. He listened to Kylie explain the Xmen and wondered just how much good they did for the world. Dont be a dick its the first time you've heard of them he thought. Given his previous run in with them and the result of it he had a bad experience. But if Kylie were trying to join them maybe she could bring some attention to those at the bottom of the barrel.

"Thats admirable." Andrew said being supportive. And he rather appreciated the suit itself, it looked really good on her. "Hope i didnt mess up your training, that session didnt seem all that hard to be honest." He said. All he had left to do at the moment was get changed, "So any other plans for the day?" He asked.

Kylie smiled and shook her head when Andrew asked if he had messed up her training session. "No. I actually enjoyed working with you on that 'mission'. We make a pretty good team."

She pulled her hair down from the ponytail and ran her fingers through it a little. She looked over at Andrew when he asked about her plans for the remainder of the day.

"Not really," she replied with a shrug. "I've got all my homework done for Sabella so I was planning on just staying in and watching some tv. What about you?"