Xaviers!

Haley hugged her knees to her chest and sniffled, the cold night air making the runny nose from occasionally crying even worse. A light flurry of snow was starting to kick up, but she was too drunk to really care. Snowflakes studding her hair, she took a long pull from a bottle of vodka. It probably wasn’t the wisest thing to get blitzed in the middle of the hedge maze where you aren’t likely to be found but after the day she’s had, she didn’t really want company anyway.

She looked down at her smart watch, tapped a few things out with one finger while still holding her bottle, and then set the bottle down and laid her head down on top of her knees.

This was less entertaining without a phone.

Haley would sit alone for several minutes before her bottle began to float, and drain itself.

She felt no one there mentally

Haley nearly jumped out of her skin when the bottle was taken from her hands and started to drain itself, though the reaction was almost comically delayed, and she wound up falling off the bench and onto the ground, at least managing to cushion her fall with her TK. She scrambled backwards, head whipping around in confusion as she didn't feel anyone there.

"B-Basil?" she stammered hopefully.

"Do other invisible people steal your vodka?" He joked.

"N...no," she replied hesitantly. "But I can normally...feel you," she said, tapping her temple. "Did someone steal your brain?"

"I don't think so." The disembodied, bottle stealing voice replied.

" What's that one comedian say? Blame it on the 'tron?"

"You watched that weird movie from the 80s that my ex made me watch and it made your brain disappear?"

"What? No.

I meant you're drunk and you didn't see me coming because clearly, I am a ninja."

Normally Basil would make some kind of a physically comical expression or pose, but being completely invisible right now meant he was lacking the ability to do so.

"When did you learn ninjitsu?" Haley asked, clearly hammered, and very confused.

"Oh that's what Chase and I do in the library when the rest of you are actively trying to kill my future profession." He joked, but it was going to be his last since she admitted she was drunk. He didn't want to confuse her too much.

Instead she heard a thump and an 'ooofffffhh!' as he sat down next to her, handing her back the bottle.

"Why are you out here drinking by yourself love? You're not used to this sort of weather. You'll get sick."

"S'fine...used to go skiing in Colorado...way warmer than that right now," she slurred.

"I'm drinking because I had a shitty day," she replied before taking another short pull from the bottle.

"You want to talk about it?"

“I guess...” she sniffled.

“I found out my best friend was in the hospital because I wasn’t there to back her up during the whole bullshit Hollydale thing...so I had to get there to see her, and she’s really hurt and her memory is all fucked up and it was really hard to see. I may have borrowed one of the jets without asking to go visit her...and then as soon as I get back, Tosh emails me this super weird note that looks like he’s breaking up with me. I broke my phone, argued with him, and apparently broke him.”

The tears were back now, “I get so mad...I just...Ive flipped out and lost control so many times now. I could kill someone if I do that....I’m a fucking freak, and I hate my powers, and I just want to be normal.”

Basil had nothing to help with the being a freak issue, because in his own mind, he was King Freak among the freaks.

The palm of Basil's hand fell on her back, refraining from the light circles he would normally rub for comfort due to the stitches.

"Well for starters, don't worry about Toshiro. Someone messed in my head and we don't know who or how but I'm okay now, eh? You and Sam put things right there, I'm sure you could do it again even better this time since you know what was done in the first place."

"Sam did most of that...I can't do anything right with my fucking telp---petel--telepathy," she slurred.

"Ive been told practice helps. How often do you practice?"

“Every day. I have to practice like. At all times... to not try and like. Tell everyone my inner monologue.”

“Everyone else gets to just not worry about accidentally telling the entire room that you really need to fart. Or that they really fucking hate that skirt and that you just lied to make them feel better. Not me.”

Haley shivered a bit, sniffling, “So maybe I should practice more or something.”

"Well, maybe it's type of practice? Maybe your power isn't like a muscle. Maybe it doesn't atrophy from trying to shut it down?

But what do I know, not like it's mine." He played off to downplay the situation a bit.

"Why's everything spinning? Fuck. I drank a lot again, didn't I?" she slurred.

Basil sighed.

"Here, let me have some of it, eh?" He asked, hoping to get the bottle away from her again.

“Okay,” she slurred, easily giving up the bottle.

“You’re a great buy Grasil,”

She probably wasn't going to think that in a moment.

Basil took a very long and hard pull off the bottle that would even impress the Russian, but before Haley would have time to congratulate him, the bottle went over the hedge maze wall and into the next section with a deft and quick toss.

“Holy crap, Basil....did you finish that entire bottle?” Haley asked, in wide-eyed shock.

"No, just what I could tolerate in one go. I didn't take my painkillers so I'll probably need it.

I'll get you more later." He says as a sort of apology, then puts his bandaged hands out to help her up.

"Come on, grab the wrists."

“Painkillers? What’s wrong?” Haley asked, ignoring the offered help since she couldn’t see it.

It took Basil several moments to realize that she couldn't see him, thanks to the way he'd been blinking in and out recently. He instead reached down slowly, and Haley would feel an arm wrap around under her arm.

"Just some cuts on my hands from the encounter. They'll heal soon enough.

Let's try and get up. 1,2,3!" Haley would feel the pressure of her being lifted under her arms.

Haley cooperated as best as she could, which wasn't all that well, to be honest. The effort, in fact, made the world spin even more.

"Oh no...." she slurred as the dizziness turned to nausea in an instant and into near-projectile vomiting after that.

Once she got done spewing she would now be aware of where Basil was, because he was wearing vodka and stomach bile.

He stood quietly, too stunned to move or come up with anything snarky as he held her out as far as he could like a screaming child he had no idea what to do with, her weight on his forearms.

“Oh god...I’m so sorry...” she slurred.

None of it seemed to have gotten on his mouth which was a good thing for Basil, but less so for Haley as it was difficult to tell what his emotions were about this.

"Let's just.... get you back to your room, aye?" Basil was not overly careful about avoiding getting booze vomit on his friend. e had to wear it and it was her vomit so he kind of felt like they were in this together now, including the mess itself.

"I'm going to pick you up, seems like you can't walk." He warned her, before reaching down to scoop her up into a fireman carry, the least romantic of all the carries.

Basil was not a super strong man, but Haley was a exceptionally tiny woman.

So it worked out.

Haley started to protest but was picked up and flopped against Basil’s shoulder with a disgusting squelch. Her stomach lurched at the sound, feel, and smell of it all and she sent another volley towards the ground, thankfully missing most of Basil’s back.

“This is so embarrassing,” she slurred, “I’m so sorry.”

Basil sighed as she emptied again. Her popping again was exactly why she went over his shoulder in the first place.

"Well.... in my experience you only get this drunk once.

You need to get that out and you need lots of water and some soldapeine."