Xaviers!

"I mean, you can, but I don't have all the answers, aye?"

"Kind of don't want to set you up for failure there..."

"You have more answers than I do." He replaced the glasses back over his eyes. "And you're the only one I can trust."

Franklin gave her his best attempt at a smile "I have a feeling that you don't accept failure."

"I just... want to be honest with you here. I've only been here a semester, and if you told me in the fall what I'm up to now, I would've thought you were messing with me."

"What were you like when you first came here?"

"Pretty timid, to be honest. The prior help I'd gotten had mostly focused on control and not much else."

"I had to learn control on my own and behind my mother's back. At first I practiced messing with the lights. I eventually learned how to make, let's say withdrawals from ATMs."

"The hardest part was learning how to function when I can only see electricity."

"And I get it. That feeling that you only really know enough to get by, right now."

"But that's not where you have to be. You're not impaired. You see things in a way most people can't."

"Ya but I can't see a sunset," Franklin reflexively paused. He was well aware that his next words could be taken poorly. "Or a beautiful woman."

"What all can you do?"

"I can send my mind out of my body. Most people perceive it as a flock of ravens when I brush up against their minds. I can read thoughts, and I can influence minds. I have to be careful, because I can definitely hurt someone that way."

"I can change my shape, too. Into a lot of things, but generally only things that are alive. There are some shifters here that can definitely one-up me there."

"I think once you start to accept it more, you'll be able to find beauty in the way you see."

"That's what I felt earlier, it felt comforting and safe."

"What do you see when you read my mind?"

"Mostly I could tell that you were holding in a lot of pain. Some thoughts are louder than others."

"Unfortunately, most of what I have known is pain. Music is the only joy I've had during these last years."

"There's probably easier ways, aye? They can do some testing with you, figure out a good plan for learning your way around your powers."

"When you are in someone else's head, can you see what they see?"

"Sometimes? It's kind of down the rabbit hole, though. The deeper you get into someone's mind the more metaphorical it becomes. Like dream imagery."

"Try me"

As Sam makes contact with Franklin he gets the sensation of clawed feet perching on his shoulder. For a moment as Sam taps into his vision he gets the oddest ghost of an image overlaid on his sight. Specifically he gets a brief flash of himself, seen from the outside.

The image of himself shocked electropath, he looked so old. True, the last time he had seen himself he was 12, but it was more than that. The past five years seemed to wear him down and added lines that didn't belong on a 17 year old. Franklin forced himself to not think of that anymore and instead looked at Sam.

He focused his mind and allowed himself to see the thousands of electric highways that lined her face. He hoped by concentrating on the fact that he could never truly see her, she would understand his curse.

"...it's really kind of beautiful, seeing that way. Like a world of fireflies..."

"Beautiful?" That was not what he expected.

"I mean, maybe it isn't for you, since it's just... what you see all the time. But there's definitely a beauty to it."

Franklin took a moment to think about her words. He struggled to ignore the sight he lost and focus on what he had now. The millions of lightning bolts that made up his world could be seen as art in a way. The power courses through the building's wiring and the nerves that made up Sam's body all created a unique picture that only he could see. Perhaps there was beauty related to his affliction, similar to the beauty he now saw in Sam's face.

It took every once of his concentration to filter out the room's electricity and focus entirely on the girl's nervous system. With intense focus, he could almost see her face traced by her own bioelectricity.

"It's possible to get lost in things sometimes, aye?"

"But there's almost nobody in the world that can see the way you do."

"The price for this sight is too high."

"I get it, aye? I get that you're hurting, and I'm not naive enough to think I can turn your headspace around right here and now."

"Just... keep it in mind, won't you?"

"I'll do my best. Thank you Sam."

"I'll help if I can, just... don't think I'm the cure here, aye? There's people here that know a lot more than me."

Franklin stared at gis hands with disgust. "If there was a cure for this, I would have already taken it."

He brought his attention back to Sam and did his best to give her a smile. "You are the first person I felt I can trust in a long time. You have no idea what this means to me."

"The cure's not stopping being a mutant. It's learning to live with yourself."

"How can I do that? What is living?"

"It's a little different for everyone."

"But it's not waiting to die, aye?"

"I'm not waiting for it, I just know it keeps for us all."

"Besides, someone's got an appointment with death before me"

"Don't... don't even joke about that," she says, frowning.

"Isn't that what monsters do?"

"Wasn't that why I was created?"

"Just don't... don't make promises like that in front of me," she says as she gets up and starts to pack away her equipment.

Franklin, realizing he had said something wrong to offend Sam, followed her and placed a hand on her shoulder. It felt odd to him but it was a gesture of affection that he remembered from years ago.

"I uh said something wrong and I am sorry."

"...you just don't know who you're talking to, Franklin."

"But you've got enough on your shoulders without bringing that into it."

"You listened to me, the least I can do is listen to you. What is wrong?"

"Way more than you're ready to hear right now. Just trust me on that."

"I can handle it."