Ruth had no idea why everyone was so worked up over a guy with a clean shave and nice eyes. It took her a minute to realize who he was.

"You're the metal dude! Magnetism! Magnet-Man! I'm close, right?" She tended to ramble when she was afraid. Ramble or close up, but closing up wasn't an option with two telepaths in the room.

The man—Erik—blinked. "Magneto...Charles, where did you find this one?"

Charles pursed his lips, shaking his head, a smile playing on the corners of his lips.

"Why're you here, bro?" Peter asked, standing, "I thought you bounced once everything was all ice like how you jammed it the last time. You stayin'?"

Erik blinked again. "I have no idea what he just said, Charles, care to explain?"

Charles laughed. "He wants to why you're back, old friend, and if you're staying."

"Oh. Well, why didn't he just say that?" Erik asked, turning to look at Peter who waved, stuffing some chips into his mouth.

Ruth looked around. Everyone seemed tense as Erik and Peter had a little stare-off. She probably missed another memo. She was really jumpy, why was she so jumpy? Her leg was bouncing and she tried to stop because Kurt probably didn't like it, but she couldn't stop and she was just really jumpy and—

"Jean, what did you do to the drinks?" she blurted out. She clapped a hand over her mouth, shutting her eyes. That was not how she wanted that to come out.

Jean frowned, tilting her head. "It's just soda. Why, what's going on?"

Ruth shrugged. "I dunno. It's probably nothing. So, Erik, person, instead of having a really intense silent conversation with Peter that is probably going nowhere, can you say why you're here so I can leave and probably never come back?"

What was happening?

Scott started to stand. "You alright?"

She nodded quickly and couldn't seem to stop. "Yeah, it's just a little hot in here. Wow, it is really hot in here, is it hot for everyone, or is it just me? I'm really starting to burn up, wow do we have a swimming pool or something, it's really hot."

Charles looked at Erik, sharing a worried look. "Ruth...have you been working on controlling your mutation today?"

She nodded with new vigor, grinning madly. "Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Hank and Alex were telling me all about how you helped Alex with his mutation and how Raven came up with all your codenames and then they were telling me that when I got angry to focus it going to my hand instead of my hair and then there was a flame in my hand, but it went away when I closed my hand and I couldn't bring it back. Except I did bring it back! Scott called me 'Matchstick' and then I nearly burned his face, it was great!"

She was still grinning when she looked at everyone else and realized they were all staring at her, similar looks of fear, worry, and confusion etched on their faces.

"That was terrifying," Peter said, "I didn't think she could talk so much."

"Or so fast," Jean added. "Ruth, what's going on?"

Ruth shook her head, stopping only because it hurt too much to keep doing it. "I don't know. I'm flipping out!" She didn't say anything more after that.

Ororo walked over and bent down, feeling her forehead. She pulled back quickly, turning to look at the others. "She is burning." She turned back to Ruth. "Have you been feeling sick?"

Ruth shook her head. "No, not really. Can I talk to Hank, I think he'd want to know about me nearly killing Scott."

"What about nearly killing Scott?"

Everyone turned to see Alex walking into the room, Hank following not far behind. "Charles, you sounded worried, what's going on?"

Ruth waved her hand, letting it fall and hit her head. "I'm acting weird, I think. I can't shut up and I nearly killed Scott, but, like, not on purpose, I just nearly did because he called me 'Matchstick' and the flame in my hand came back and I don't know why and Ororo said I was burning up and asked if I was sick, but I'm not sick, and Peter said I was terrifying because he didn't know I talked so much or so fast and I'm kinda freaking out!"

Alex blinked. "That was cool, she said that in under fifteen seconds. Hank, wasn't that cool?"

Hank sighed, ignoring him. "Ruth, you're going to have to come back with me to the lab, we're going to have to run some tests."

"Can I come?" Scott asked, standing. When he was met with confused looks, he shrugged. "I feel like this is kind of my fault."

"How could it be your fault?" Charles asked, looking up at him.

Scott shrugged. "I had invited her to come, I called her 'Matchstick' which got her to throw a flame at my head, then this happened right after. I don't know, I feel responsible for it."

"Don't be, Scott, you had nothing to do with it," Jean said.

He nodded. "I know, but I still want to come. It doesn't feel right."

Hank nodded and Alex motioned for his brother to walk over. Ruth looked at everyone then stood up, only to have her legs give way, causing her to fall on the floor in a heap. She groaned, clutching her pounding head.

"Whoa!" Peter said, instantly by her side. "Jeez, sorry I didn't catch you, I didn't think you'd fall." He looked up at Charles and Erik. "What do we do?"

"Let me look her over and we'll move on from there," Hank offered. He bent down and lifted her easily, groaning slightly at the dead weight. "Ruth, I need you not to fall, okay?"

Hank headed for the door, Ruth and the Summers brothers in tow. The others were about to follow, but Charles stopped them, starting to explain why Erik was there. Ruth couldn't focus on anything, so she didn't get to hear.

"You just plucked her off the ground, pretty impressive, Bozo," Alex commented, walking next to the taller man.

Hank hmphed. "I'm not called Beast for nothing."

Alex shrugged, sharing a look with his brother. "That's not why I called you that."

Ruth tried to tap Hank's shoulder. "Hank, why is the ceiling moving?"

º º º º º

When Hank said 'tests', Ruth didn't expect them to be like the ones a doctor ran. It was painful, difficult, and, frankly, Scott being there wasn't much help.

It wasn't that she didn't like Scott. She thought he was pretty cool, in that nerdy sort of way. He was a dexter, one of those preppy nerds that always seemed to exist in every school but her own. Yet there was something about him that set her off.

Ever since she met him, her mutation was just a little off when he was around. It ignited instantly when he asked her a question and she was able to send the flame to her hand instantly, despite having only done it once.

"Scott, I think you should leave," Hank suggested, holding Ruth down. She had started screaming at him, the reason lost to her. She wasn't even sure what she was screaming about. She was sweating and shivering and she was just so tired.

Ruth shook her head. He was aggravating her somehow, but the last thing she wanted was for Scott to leave. Or, maybe, the last thing she wanted was for Scott to be upset at her when this was all said and done.

Alex tapped Hank's shoulder. "Let's just take five. Let's look over what we found, see if anything makes sense."

The two men made their way to Hank's desks, leaving Ruth with Scott. She had her head in her hands, eyes prickling at the pain. It hurt so much and she just wanted it to stop. She was soaked in a layer of sweat, overheating; just like when she got angry.

"I'm sorry."

She looked up to see Scott sitting across from her, not looking at her. He had his arms crossed and he was frowning. She felt bad.

"No, man, I'm sorry. I kinda yell at you a lot, huh?" She leaned back against her chair, trying to get comfortable. It was like her entire body was screaming and she couldn't get it to settle down.

He didn't respond to that. Instead he said, "Tell me about your old life. What you used to do before you came here."

She frowned as she crawled to the floor, settling on her back. That felt better, somehow. She looked up at him and was shocked to see him looking at her. He didn't strike her as the type to listen to other people.

"I didn't have many friends," she said, "Not for lack of trying, but not many people liked me. Or my friend. Hate runs deep, just as deep as fear."

"What do you mean?" he asked. He was still looking at her. His arms were still crossed, but he looked less harsh.

She shrugged. "My mom's Korean. My dad's white. My best, and only, friend was black. You know how it is."

He nodded. "Yeah. I mean, no. I hear what people say, though, my parents' friends..." he trailed off.

"The skater kids. The looked and acted kind of like Peter, but they were terrible. Buds and hessians. Wastoids, you know? They'd throw rocks at us, calls us names. One time they jumped us. Had broken bottles and caps and shit." She stared at the ceiling, her vision blurry. She wasn't sure if she was crying or not.

"Was that when you found out about your..." he waved his hand, indicating her mutation.

She shook her head. He had no idea. "No. No, that was way before. I was just scared. It was so scary and God... Lionel...he got the worst part of it and they shoved me and some tried to—" She shuddered, feeling her skin itch and prickle. "We got out after a bit, neighbors called the cops. Said a gang of kids were being too noisy. Didn't even hear us out when we said we got jumped."

Scott clenched his fist, edges sharp and angry. "That's terrible."

She shrugged, nodding. "I don't like thinking about it. Haven't really thought about it in a while. My dad made me carry around pepper spray, Lionel's parents did the same. When my dad went to bag on their parents, they just said that 'it was just a bit of fun' and 'you know how kids are' and one of the 'rents even said 'your kid probably had it coming'."

Scott let out a shaky breath. "I've never wanted to punch a stranger more."

She laughed. "Now you know how I feel." She sighed. "I kinda expected it? Like, I noticed the looks we got whenever we went out to restaurants and why my parents didn't have many friends. But if I had it bad, Lionel and his family had it ten times worse."

Scott moved down to the ground, settling on the floor next to her, lying down. "I'll bet. What'd you two do together, what'd you do for fun?"

She smiled. "We would hang up in his treehouse. It was a nice treehouse too. We'd listen to music on his Walkman and we'd read books and comics. Like I mentioned, we'd head down to the mall because Lionel had the biggest crush on Jubilee. Called her one of those 'mall maggots', but in a nice way, you know?"

He turned to smile at her. "And you? Have a crush on anyone?"

She smiled back at him, her tongue poking out; she hadn't smiled like that to anyone except..."I liked this one guy. He was in my biology class. Kurt reminded me of him. He'd give me flowers and stuff, said I was pretty. Really nice."

Scott tilted his head, albeit a bit difficulty as he was on the floor. "And?"

She sighed. "The jocks and stuff, you know? They told hi—"

"Ruth, Scott, what are you doing?"

The two sat up, turning to look at Hank and Alex who were staring at them quizzically. Hank had a few papers in his hands and was pushing up his glasses while Alex had a shit-eating grin, nudging Hank every few seconds.

"Talking." Ruth sat up, turning so she was sitting crossed-legged, facing them. "What'd you find?"

Hank walked towards them. "Well, first let me start by saying I'm glad you're feeling better, you've seemed to calm down." She hadn't even noticed that. He went on. "I think what happened was because of your mutation as well as your anxiety.

"To put it simply, your stress levels went up so much that you were actually able to mimic the energy needed to generate the flame. Why you were able to generate it in your hand instinctively, I don't have an answer for. I also don't have an answer for how you were able to throw it at Scott. But I digress.

"I believe that it was due to your social anxiety. You told me you suffered from it when we first met. Your body felt like it was in danger but instead of sprouting wings, like what would have happened due to the fight or flight response, you generated flames. The sweat and the headaches are just the symptoms of you not being able to release the energy, since it was a dull flame from your hand, not the bright flame in your hair.

"I don't have all the answers, but this is what I've been able to deduce."

Alex clapped Hank on the back. "Smart, Bozo."

"Those contradict each other," Scott pointed out. He rolled his eyes when Alex stuck his tongue out.

Ruth smiled, nudging him. "Dexter." She looked up at Hank. "Thanks, Hank. So everything's all good?"

He nodded. "Yes. I suggest you get some rest, though, your body will need to recover from that episode. Scott, could you make sure she gets to her room safely?"

Ruth frowned, standing. "I can take care of myself."

Hank nodded. "I never said you couldn't, this is just a precaution. The buddy system is always approved of."

Alex grinned, nudging him. "Be my buddy?"

Scott lightly touched Ruth's arm. "Let's go before they start losing their clothes."

Ruth laughed all the way to the door, ignoring Hank's shouts of 'it's not like that!' and Alex's 'it totally is!'.

º º º º º

Ruth stood across from Scott who was leaning against her doorframe. She felt like she should thank him, but she didn't know how or for what.

"Dexter?" he asked, a smile playing on his lips.

She shrugged. "Don't deny it, you totally are one."

He shook his head, tugging at the leather jacket he wore. "I'm a bad boy."

She blinked. "No. Never say that again. That jacket's too long for you and it's obviously worn out. Let me guess, it's Alex's."

He mumbled something under his breath and she laughed. He sighed. "I'm not a Dexter."

She rolled her eyes. "I bet you're good at math." He didn't look at her. She gasped. "You are! Aren't you."

"Shut up," he said, frowning. He sighed and bit back a smile. "How'm I not a nerd?"

She leaned forward and tapped his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "It's because you're just a bit too cute to count as one. Goodnight, Scott."

He smiled, cheeks tinged pink. "Goodnight, Ruth."

She closed the door, the image of a smiling Scott—a Scott who was smiling at her—ingrained in her mind.

A/N I'm kinda happy about this chapter, although this kind of came up unexpectedly. I had planned on just explaining why Erik was there, but then Ruth decided to get all jumpy, so I figured I could turn this chapter in ship bonding and more science-y things about her mutation.

Scott having an interference with her mutation was not something I planned, but you know, I can work with it. I think.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I sure enjoyed writing it!