Xaviers!

Haley slouched over, bleary-eyed, makeup missing, hair sticking up in numerous strange directions, her head pounding as if someone was slowly, and rhythmically tightening a vice around her skull. She was still wearing her pajamas, but the pants were inside out and the shirt was on backwards.

Anyone approaching would honestly almost smell the vodka being sweat out of her if they got close enough.

Her food, a plate of avocado toast and bacon was untouched in front of her.

Nailah carefully makes her way across the dining hall, carrying a plate full of breakfast sausages, beans and eggs in one hand while leaning on her crutch with the other, her journal tucked under her arm. When she spots Haley she increases her pace a little until she's close enough to put her plate down on the table.

"What happened to you?" she asks, praying that this is not something she should know.

"...vodka," she replied weakly, as if that explained everything.

She realized after a moment who it was and she looked up quickly at her friend, wincing at the sudden movement. "Nai! When did you get back from Muir?"

"Uhm..." she sits down and leans her crutch against the table before pulling her journal out from underneath her arm and flipping it open to the calendar sheet glued to the inside of the cover. "3 days ago. Dang, is this the first time we talked since then? I'm sorry..."

"Good," she replied weakly, another wave of nausea passing over her. She sipped her ice water and closed her eyes, hoping it would pass.

"How're you feeling, Nai?"

"Better than you for sure. Kind of... adrift? I keep leaving myself messages and stuff and that helps, but it also feels weird, you know?"

Haley nodded, the nausea at bay for now. “Do you feel like you’re remembering more, or is it all still pretty...like...short and stuff,” she asked.

"It's pretty much just today. Sometimes when I read through my journal it feels familiar. Like how you sometimes not quite remember a dream?"

“I mean...that’s getting better than it was, I think that’s what you said before at least...” she replied, wincing as she moved her head to more directly address her friend.

Haley looked like shit.

"Jeez, are you okay? Why'd you get so hammered last night?"

“...I thought Tosh was cheating on me with that new werewolf girl, or that he was dumping me for her, and I got really mad, and we got in a fight and...I....I sort of wiped part of his brain.”

"Jesus, Haley! That's awful! Is he okay?"

Haley winced at the exclamation, even though it wasn't even that loud. "I didn't *mean* to wipe part of his brain...I'd never do that intentionally. He invited me into his head to try and prove some dumb point about how he wasn't lying...and what he showed me made me really pissed off, because that new girl went from scary werewolf back to naked hot human girl in his arms, and at that point I got really mad, and I was in his brain with him so like....the room we were in caught on fire and then I broke off the connection but like...he passed out in real life."

"Okay so it was his stupid idea that made him pass out. Is he okay? He's not brain-damaged or anything, right?"

“...when I saw him, he was talking like Bruce, his shark half... so...I don’t know. I hope not.”

"Not more so than before then, right?" she tries to joke a little.

“No, I mean like. Normally Bruce is only out when he’s half shark, he was out when he was human. “ Haley replied.

“I’m a danger to everyone around me,” she sniffled.

"That's not true... You're doing an amazing job of keeping your stuff under control almost all of the time. I can't even imagine what that's like to be a thought away from that kinda power."

"It's so hard...I hate my powers," she whimpered.

Nailah just looks at Haley for a moment with sad eyes, not sure what to say. Then leans over to give her a hug.

Haley leans into the hug, tears wetting Nailah's shoulder. "You're so good to me...I didn't know who else I could talk to..."

"Just... hang in there. You'll get better at this stuff, I'm sure. I can try to look if you want..."

She sniffled, “Look at what?”

"The future. If you'll get any better at it."

“I thought you said you broke your power? Wouldn’t that hurt you? I don’t want to ruin two people’s brains....”

"It's not pleasant but if it'd help..."

Haley looked conflicted for a moment as she leaned back and away from her friend, chewing her lip. She shook her head and sniffled, “No. I’m done breaking people’s brains.”

Sam walks into the cafeteria with Tereza, a bit of swagger in her step.

Evidently she's in a good mood, but the raucous flock accompanying her mental proximity probably isn't great for Haley's hangover.

Haley let out an audible gasp and clutched her head at the sound of the flock.

“Ow ow ow! What the fuck is that noise?” she whimpered, not noticing Sam.

"What's wrong? What noise?" Nailah asks, sitting up straighter to look around the room, alarmed.

“It’s like...pissed off birds or something.” she winced.

"Oh. Yeah, that's probably someone with not much better control than you." she says, subtly nodding in Sam's direction.

"See, we made it here after all," Sam chuckles to Tereza, passing by Haley and Nailah on her way to the line.

Haley was rocking back and forth holding her head as Sam got closer “Shut up shut up shut up,” she moaned tearfully.

Sam blinks, looking over her shoulder at Haley.

"...I'm sorry, what?"

“All I can hear are birds and Nai can’t and I’m so hungover I’m hearing birds,” she whined.

Tereza recognizes the voice and turns, letting go of Sam's arm. "You okay, Haley?"

"She broke up with her boyfriend." Nailah says quietly and - at least at this point in time - inaccurately.

“And lit his brain on fire because I’m a worthless piece of shit garbage telepath. And JESUS CHRIST WHY THE FUCK DO I HEAR BIRDS?! DOES NOBODY ELSE HEAR THIS SHIT?!,” she snapped finally picking her head up and looking around for the source.

"The birds are me," she frowns. "They're my thoughts."