I am a leaf on the wind!

[Simon Burkett]

He had thought he was doing pretty well, edging along the tree branch despite the breeze and his weight causing it to sway alarmingly. Just for a change everything was going as planned. Then he heard a door open, then close.

Simon tensed and held himself absolutely still.

He was of the belief that if he moved as little as possible, whoever had come out would simply pass right beneath him and be none-the-wiser.

Then a girls voice greeted him cheerfully.

And he jumped.

He had a moment of panic as he realised that he was going to get caught with wet pants again.

Then he fell out of the tree.

He did however, scream like a girl first.

The fall was all of ten feet. The chances of injury were slim. He did land hard however.

And knock himself out.

[danielle]

There was a scream, a thud, and then nothing.

Oh, god, he's not dead is he?

Running over to the boy, Dani leant down and tried to check his pulse like they did in the movies, but didn't actually know how it was done, so she couldn't find anything.

Oh, I killed him! What do I...?

She breathed for a moment, trying to calm herself down.

I can't tell them. She didn't realise that his scream had probably already drawn their attention.

Think, Dani, think. Her mind was cast back to the same movies, the TV shows that had made her check his pulse. What did they always do?

Mouth-to-mouth.

She leant over, opened his lips, and clamped her mouth over his.

[lee]

(Continued from The News)

As Lee made her way out onto the back porch and looked down at where Dani had disappeared behind the windowsil, she found the new, slightly odd girl on her knees, bent over Simon and... kissing him? Oh lord, this was going to be awkward.

Luckily, her phone beeped that she had a message just then, and Lee was able to turn her back on the couple and walk instead towards the other end of the porch to see who it was from. Jubilee! Lee couldn't help but give a wide smile at the name she recognized - Jubes had been one of her best friends at the mansion. Lee heard she'd gone to live with her aunt in California and take acting lessons or something. Maybe she was texting to say she got a part in a movie or something.

It was probably the longest text message she'd ever read, but at least it set her mind at ease that no one had been seriously hurt in Baltimore. Or well, maybe seriously hurt, but they were going to be fine, and none of them had died. That was good news on the whole.

[Simon Burkett]

It had only been a bump on the head, and a small one at that, not enough to keep a young man down for very long. For the second time in twenty four hours Simon found himself swimming slowly toward consciousness. It was an arduous process not unlike extracting oneself from warm bedclothes first thing in the morning. It was all just so damn comfortable.

In fact, he discovered as he returned to the world of the waking, things were pretty warm and comfortable here too.

There was a comfortable breeze, the sound of it sighing through the branches and the dappled shade played softly across the lush grass. A beautiful girl was pressed close to him, kissing him in fact. He smiled slightly stupidly; perhaps he hadn't surfaced from dreamland quite yet.

His back twinged painfully. Ow!

No, a beautiful girl really was kissing him, in fact it was the girl from before. Dani, that was her name.

Funny, he thought he hadn't made much of a first impression.

He blushed a deep, deep red.

"Uhm ... I ... "

I what?

[danielle]

There was a movement beneath her and Simon pulled away with a blush. He seemed a little... awkward.

Dani smiled, a wide, beaming smile. She didn't realise that everyone thought she was kissing him - she thought she'd been bringing him back to life. And now she wouldn't have to tell everyone that she'd killed him, which was definately a good thing.

"I'm glad you're not dead."

She sat back, crossing her legs and looked down at Simon who was still lying on the grass.

"You're cute." She paused for a moment, remembering that she'd been told people generally didn't just say something like that.

Hurrying to replace the thought, Dani looked at him curiously, her big eyes searching his face.

"Why were you in the tree? I saw your legs from inside."

[Simon Burkett]

Simon sat up slowly, his back and ribs protesting at volume about their harsh treatment. He was pretty sure he'd be feeling it for a few days yet. It would be murder in the morning.

"I ... uh ... I'm pretty glad I'm not dead too," he said haltingly.

Then her first comment registered.

His cheeks radiated more heat than the Caldecott County sunshine.

Nobody had ever told him he was cute before. He'd been called lots of other things before; geek, nerd, dork, loser, spaz, and on one memorable occasion, gay. He might have agreed with the first ones, but looking at the pretty girl seated in front of him Simon felt safe in the knowledge that he certainly wasn't gay.

"I ... um ... "

Hi gorgeous, my name's Simon, lets take a walk together. I'll buy you a drink, maybe dinner, we can look longingly into each others eyes and then we can come back here for a coffee. How about it?

Simon's inner monologue was a confident guy with a dazzling smile, charm that would make a virgin blush and wit so sharp you could put a handle on it and call it a rapier.

SIMON, however ...

"I ... uhm ... was looking ... for ... "

His hand found his pocket where the cash still sat securely.

"My ... money," he finished lamely.

"I ... uh ... left the window open ... in my room ... and the wind must have ... uh ... blown it out." He gave her a little, nervous smile.

"It was ... in the tree."

[danielle]

Oh. He was awkward again. Obviously she had said the wrong thing. Somehow, drawing attention back to the fact that she was totally inept in social situations didn't seem like the best plan though. I'm sorry, I won't call you cute again, I didn't mean to offend you. No, best just leave it as it was and hope that he'd forget.

"I'll have to remember to keep the window shut." She gave him a half smile.

Realising that she didn't even know if she would have a window, since she didn't have a room yet, she clarified. "Actually, I don't have a room yet, but when I do I'll have to remember to keep the window shut."

You're babbling, Danielle.

"I'm sorry I startled you and made you fall out of the tree."

Still babbling.

Pushing herself up to stand, Dani offered one hand to Simon. She didn't comment on his wet pants, though she was a bit curious.

"It is Simon, isn't it?" She winced a little. That was the question that had made him fall out of the tree.

[Simon Burkett]

"Um ... yeah," he mumbled; she had noticed his wet pants again hadn't she. Good going Simon, way to win the ladies, tip drink on yourself and fall out of a tree.

"Simon Burkett."

He looked at her outstretched hand stupidly for a moment before realising she was offering to help him up.

"And ... uh ... don't worry about it. I probably ... shouldn't have been up there anyway." It took a colossal force of will to convince himself to take her hand, even if it was just a simple gesture of aid.

For crying out loud she had been kissing him a minute ago!

The thought brought a new wave of colour to his cheeks.

It was quickly dispelled by the various pains that twinged through his body as he stood.

"Uh, thanks," he said.

Now came the part he had always been terrible with - making conversation with girls. He could have talked for hours about combat strategies on Halo or the exact locations of the Fairy Caves on Zelda, but put him in front of a pretty girl and make small talk and he became a gibbering fool.

More of a gibbering fool.

"So ... uh ... Dani ... wasn't it? Where ... do you come from?"

[danielle]

"Yeah, it's Dani. Danielle Moonstar." She stuck her hands into the pocket of her jeans, now that he was up, and leant against the tree.

"And I'm from Montana, I grew up on a reservation. But I've moved around a lot since..." She remembered what Marie and Lee had told her about people not liking to talk about mutations and trailed off.

Dani wasn't exactly the best at talking to... well, anyone. Too many of them had been scared off by her powers, back when she'd had them, so she'd never really had to deal with the whole boyfriend issue. The upside to that was that she wasn't actually any more awkward talking to boys. The downside of course was that she was awkward talking to everyone. She'd actually gone on a couple of dates since having the cure, but they hadn't gone particularly well. Dinner with friends hadn't exactly been smooth events either. Blinking, she realised that she'd been staring off in to space for a moment, and rushed to fill the space.

"What about you, Simon Burkett? Where are you from?" Yep. This was going to go well.

[Simon Burkett]

"I'm from Boston," he said simply, "but ... I havn't been there ... for awhile." For just a fleeting moment he felt a pang of homesickness. He wondered what his parents were doing, what they were thinking. He wondered what his sister was doing and if she was wondering about him. Funny, he'd never got along with his sister, they had almost been perfect opposites.

But here he was missing his family.

He knew he could never go back, never explain ...

"I only got here ... yesterday ... I only just got a room myself."

He avoided the issue of powers having noticed how she had trailed off. That was fine, maybe she hated hers as much as he'd hated his.

"How did you ... find out about this place?" He asked, gesturing to the house.

[danielle]

"Maybe you can show me where everything is, the others seem a bit preoccupied." Dani did consider the possibility that, being new, Simon wouldn't know much more than she did about the house, but she didn't let that deter her.

"Oh. Got told about it by a friend of a friend."

She paused. She felt like she should keep the conversation going, so regardless of whether that was actually what she was supposed to do or not, Dani kept talking.

"I think, you know, that word gets around. Not many places that people like us... Well, people who knew don't forget, do they? And it's not always easy..." She trailed off.

"So is there much to do around here, then?" She hadn't really paid much attention on her way through and she did wonder what a house full of young people did for entertainment.

[Simon Burkett]

"Uh ... yeah," he said a little uncertainly, "I can show you round." He'd had the guided tour yesterday once the business with Logan and the helicopter and the people in the tight leather suits was concluded. A little bit of his mind wondered what Dani would look like in a tight leather suit.

He mentally slapped himself. SHUT UP BRAIN!

Fortunately, the fact that he was still a little pink in the cheeks hid the new wave of heat well enough.

"I ended up here ... by accident ... one of the clerks in the store down the road ... pointed me here. It's about a mile or so down ... " he pointed, "that way."

"When I walked through town ... there were some ... coffee shops and a restaurant ... I think." He regretted not taking a better look around now, then he might have sounded like he knew what he was talking about instead of a bumbling idiot.

"Most of the kids here ... are still at school," he shrugged, "I guess they're happy watching cartoons and ... playing in the garden."

[danielle]

Not having seen many of the kids that were staying at Marie and Lee's house, Dani hadn't realised that most of them were younger.

"Maybe we could go into town when the others are at school, then. Take a look and see what is there." She wanted to have a look around at the places Lee had mentioned might be hiring, too. A job would be a good thing to get, so that she could help pay her way and not feel indebted. Dani had picked up and left often enough since she'd gotten the cure, for one reason or another, and she wouldn't want to do that if she still felt an obligation to Marie and Lee.

"Not that there is anything wrong with watching cartoons." Her mind jumped back to what Simon had said. Dani wasn't exactly sure that she'd want to spend all her time around younger ones though - they could be pretty bad when you said the wrong thing, and if you were living with them...?

She found herself digging the toe of one boot into the dirt as she wondered what to say next.

"I'm sorry, I'm not very good at talking to..." Anyone. Why had she said that? Now she felt like a complete idiot, and things had been going so well. Kinda. Well, she thought it was going well, anyway. You know, if you didn't include the killing him by making him fall out of a tree thing.

[Simon Burkett]

Simon's heart almost jumped into his mouth, "er ... su ... sure," he said hoping he didn't sound too pathetic. "I ... " go on Simon, you can do it, his inner-monologue urged, "I'd ... like that."

He gave her a very shy smile.

"And ... uh ... don't worry, I'm ... not very good at ... talking to people either." No shit, he said to himself.

During the exchange he'd all but forgotten his wet pants and the warm day combined with the time talking had served to dry them considerably. Suddenly things didn't seem quite so grim.

He still needed more clothes though, in case of further incidents.

"I was ... going to go down to the store later ... " he left the question unfinished, hoping that she would understand the offer without him having to actually come right out and ask her.

[danielle]

"Maybe I'll come with you, I mean if you don't mind that is." The words came out in a bit of a rush. Apparently, things were still going well. At the very least, Simon hadn't laughed at her and called her names for the unthinking confession.

"And, I dunno, maybe we can see if there is any good coffee in town or something." There was one good thing about being so socially awkward that talking to anyone was bad. It wasn't any more difficult to approach boys about going out than it was to approach girls. The words were still said in a bit of a rush, though, with Dani trying hard to keep her tone casual.

Well, he was cute. And nice. She gave him her own shy smile as she stood there with her hands in her pockets, still leaning against the tree.

[Simon Burkett]

"No I don't mind!" He said almost too quickly, "I mean ... I don't mind, really." The day was definitely looking brighter. Dani actually didn't seem to think he was some sort of freak, geek or weirdo which he was pretty convinced the others did.

"And coffee ... coffee would be ... nice."

He heard a voice then and turned to see Lee for the first time peering at her phone. He wondered how long she had been there, how much she had seen and heard and felt his cheeks start to colour again. Since it was Lee though it probably didn't matter, she already thought he was weird.

Perhaps if they went in now he could curtail any further embarrassment.

"Come on," he said with another little smile, "I'll ... show you around."