Under Their Noses

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika turned her head to offer the bouncing ball of joy and all that was good (and annoying) in the world a smile and a nod, she then turned her attention to the furball and too, offered her a smile, ''Hey Frank, hey Solkat.'' She then turned back towards Trevor and nodded at his words. Now that the greetings were over, Erika turned her attention back towards the front, once more checking the mirrors before turning the ignite on and then putting the car in gear.

''No backing out now,'' she said, mostly to herself than to anyone else. Pulling the car onto the road, Erika let out a small sigh. She knew she was going to end up regretting this, somehow. Okay, she totally wasn't, but it kept her head cool and her mind open for anything. They should have been in the clear now, but one never knew when trouble decided to appear in the form of a cute security officer. ''You've never snuck out like this before?'' Erika asked Trevor with an arched eyebrow, ''Well, you have much to look forward to then, young one,'' she winked at him.

''Music or no music?'' Erika asked and nodded towards the stereo. She didn't turn to look at the girls in the back, but she cast them a glance over the mirror, ''And Solkat, don't worry about the fur,'' Erika added as a last reassurance; The girl looked a little... Nervous.

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

Frank was pretty close to just entering her own little world by this point, still hopping up and down in the seat and squirming. She didn't notice Solkat's ill-ease about the situation, instead just figuring that the other girl was at least as excited as Frank herself, if not more. After all, Frank could get out all on her own, while Solkat needed this intensive operation to manage it. And of course Trevor and Erika were enjoying themselves; this was the sort of thing they did all the time, obviously.

So Frank also missed Trevor's comment to Erika, not to mention Erika's response. By now, she was staring out the window, looking very much like a dog being let out for the first time in months. It almost looked as though Frank's rear end would start shaking back and forth at any moment (an image not at all helped by the fact that Frank hadn't stopped squirming yet). Erika's question finally got Frank's attention though, and she whirled to look front, practically shouting: "MUSIC! We so need music! Oh, oh, do you have an awesome 'we're getting into trouble' mix? I bet you do! this is just another day in the life of Erika Bellefonte, right? Bellefonte gone wild, whoop!" Frank threw her hands up into the air as she let out that last whoop, falling back into the seat. while she rested for a few moments, Frank saw stars flickering in her vision, swirling about for a bit. That happened whenever she stopped any more, and it didn't help that she hadn't had an energy drink for a while now, plus all the action meant that her already jumped up metabolism was running faster than ever. Frank dug into her pocket, extracting another packet of Pop-Tarts.

"Oh, yeah, fur!" said Frank, perking up. She reached over to pet her friend. "Doesn't Solkat look awesome? She's adorable! Why would anyone think she was anything but? I mean, just look at her!" Frank leaned in and gave her friend a one-armed hug, smiling up at her. Frank really did think this was for the best for Solkat, that it would help her and get her out in the real world. Frank was even beginning to think that doing this might even help in a wider sense. Which obviously painted Frank as woefully naive, but that was pretty well already settled.

She worked at getting the PopTart to her mouth without moving too much, as she now found Solkat to be far too soft to release.

[Solkat Siun]

Taking her paw she pushed the hoody back revealing her ears and smiled. She had to giggle a bit at Franks hyper attitude. The hard part of this was behind them, she told herself. SHe thought Franks choice in Music might be tempting fate a bit much but she also conceded she might be simply paranoid. Her companions also seemed rather adept at this which helped her nerves as none of the others seemed worried.

The mentioned of fur caught her attention, in large part because Frank decided to start petting her. She gave a slight flinch but let Frank pet her, she was more prepared for the hug and simply rolled with it. SHe was still unsure how she felt about being petted. "My parents thought i was pretty terrifying" she said trying to joke about it. It seemed so long ago already it was hard to believe it had been about a month.

She looked out the window having never seen the town itself before. The person from the school who had found her had taken her right to the school so she would not be seen. SHe relaxed into Franks hug and even leaned into it slightly. "Life seems to have gotten better since i turned into a skunk" she said honestly. She had a girl friend now and more friends then she had ever had before. The last month had been great and would have been even better if not at school but what could you do? "Frank was the first person i met at the school" she commented further with a smile at her attached friend.

[Trevor Paige]

"Yes. Music." Trevor agreed with the other two in the car before turning his attention to the window, watching the darkened trees whip by. For the moment he lost himself in thought. A short pang of guilt stabbed his chest. This was his idea all along, to be sneaking out and going through all the hassles to get away. But this wasn't how he'd pictured it going down. It wasn't supposed to be business. It was supposed to be... he didn't know what it was supposed to be. It certainly wasn't supposed to have the same cast as his original plan. His eyes slowly turned to each of the girls in the car. While Ricky had no qualms with any of them and, save for Solkat, had very good interactions with them all, something was missing.  

No, scratch that.  Someone was missing.

A low sigh escaped Trevor as he glanced down to the dashboard in front of him.  His mind flashed to the girl who'd been on his mind as of late.  It wasn't like him to lose sleep or focus because of a girl.  After all, he, apparently, was at ease in social situations and had been called an effective flirt on many occasions.  Why was this different?  Why was he sitting in a car with Erika, Frank, and Solkat but still stuck thinking of a girl who was still at the Academy, probably none the wiser that he had left?  His eyes drifted back to the window.  "You're losing it Trevor."  He mumbled under his breath.  Hopefully between the road noise and Frank's rambling from the back seat no one heard.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Frowning at Frank's 'Bellefonte gone wild' comment, Erika simply remained silent as she reached for the stereo, turning on the radio before shrugging. If there was anything Erika didn't want to talk about, it was her wild 'life'. Things had gone downhill, sideways and even a little bit up because of her reckless behavior, and even now, she still hadn't learned her lesson. She was still making the same damn bad choices as she always had been, and quite frankly, it was getting rather old. But it was too late to turn back now, and even though she wanted to promise herself this would be the last time, she knew better than that.

''I'm glad things have gotten better for you, Solkat. Everyone deserves to be treated nicely, and I'm sure your parents just didn't know how to react. Getting to know your child is a mutant can be very... Surprising, I imagine,'' Erika said with a soft smile. Not that she knew anything about that, since she herself came from a long line of mutants, and there hadn't really been a non-powered member of the family for as long as she could remember or even read back. So, she had no idea of knowing what it was like for those who didn't have it as easy.

It was almost like being a non-powered in her family was a shameful thing.

Falling silent again, Erika focused on the road ahead. They weren't too far from Kalispell now, and it was only a matter of minutes before they ended up at their destination.

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

Frank gave Solkat another quick hug at the mention of her parents. The Cox girl knew all too well that Solkat's parents were pains, and she really wanted to just tell them off for it. She probably would've said as much if Solkat hadn't mentioned how she'd found Frank first. This gave Frank a reason to talk, not that Frank Cox really needed one. But considering that both Trevor and Erika were lost in more dark, serious thoughts, Frank had no qualms about picking up the conversation.

So she tried to outline how she'd seen Solkat and immediately wanted to cuddle the little cutie, and how they'd hit it off and were going to have their own internet show and how they'd eaten a meal together and were now the bestest of best friends. All this shot out in a garbled mess, interrupted by Frank obviously having to sing along with any songs that she recognized.

Clearly at least one person in the car wasn't nervous in the slightest, nor was she feeling thee tremendous weight of their endeavor. Frank was, in fact, likely to just keep talking all the way to Cool Beans, assuming that the others let her. She'd of course stop to let anyone else talk, sometimes not even talking over them. But at least someone had to fill up the noise and get them where they needed to go.

[in other words, unless we wanted to do anything between now and Cool Beans? Figuring that would be a good place to kick up the next stages...]

[Solkat Siun]

"Yea well, i did not know how to react myself, it was terrifying at first, my parents got a priest to try and remove the demon from within me" she said considering silently that she no contact with her parents since arriving at the school. She tried not to let it bother her but they had not called and she was two worried to call after their freak out.

"Still, i have made more friends here then i ever had before and even started dating someone" she said knowing despite her wish to return to what she once was, to have a human face again, her life really was better now. "Showers are a lot longer now though" she added in around Frank where she could.

The drive itself was nice and Solkat enjoyed it if nothing more then it was different. She managed to cast what was left of her doubts aside and let what would happen, happen. She wished she could be as care free as Frank beside her but she knew even with a hundred pixie sticks that would never be. SHe looked down at the honey, it looked good and she was considering trying some after they got to the Cool Beans.

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor had fallen silent for the rest of the trip into town. He hadn't intended on becoming the brooding killjoy of the early part of the trip but he couldn't help it. His mind drifted uncontrollably to the events of the past few days and the heavy burden that had came with them. He'd be fine, eventually, but while the conversation was dominated by Frank's incessant ramblings from the back seat, the boy would continue to be easily distracted.

Thankfully, Cool Beans offered just such a distraction. Sliding out of the car once Erika had parked Trevor checked his watch. "Our bags should be arriving just..." He trailed off as his eyes lifted to checked the city streets. A familiar, brown box truck rumbled into the Cool Beans parking lot. "... about now." Trevor finished, letting loose the illustrious smirk while striding toward the idling vehicle.

After a few bills were passed to the delivery driver Solkat, Frank, and Trevor offloaded their bags Trevor had instructed to have been turned over the day before. From there it was just a few minutes of waiting for the coffee shop to fulfill whatever orders the quartet placed (Trevor, himself, just picked up a large coffee and snatched a handful of sugar and powdered creamer) and the group was back in Erika's car and on the road once again. It was a minor thing, having a delivery driver make an extra stop for some unauthorized bags, but Trevor couldn't have been happier how the entire operation went down. He'd even studied the surveillance cameras, thanks to Erika, and found a blind spot to exploit. Everything had gone according to plan. The four of them were scott free.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika too remained silent for most of the car ride, only offering a simple 'Oooh' and 'Aah' at whatever Frank tossed in their direction, but most of the time seemed to be spent with Frank singing her heart's contents out, and the people in the front more or less keeping their mouths shut. Erika didn't mind though as it offered her all the needed concentration to focus on the road, which was a very valid excuse on her part, seeing as how she doubted any of them would enjoy crashing and then possibly dying.

Ah yes, she was such a joyful person this evening.

Erika remained by the car as the rest of them went around to do whatever business they had to attend. Sliding out of the car, the brunette leaned against the side of the car and ran a hand idly through her hair as she patiently waited for the others to return. Besides, it offered her a moment of silence from Frank's never ending flow of words, unicorn vomit and rainbow lyrics. Now, she had promised herself to not let her mind wander into the darker corners of her mind, since she had already decided it was about time she stopped feeling sorry for herself, and it seemed like fate was on her side as a man on the other side of the road offered her said distraction.

At first, Erika didn't pay him much mind, but as she noticed how intently he was staring, she couldn't help but to feel slightly uncomfortable. Though, he seemed to move on when he caught her staring back, and she simply shrugged it off. Maybe he had stared at something behind her, or maybe he had simply eye googled her car, which she wouldn't have blamed him for. No, Erika's beautiful BMW was a sight for sore eyes.

As the others returned, Erika opened the door and returned to her position in the driver's seat, and before turning the ignite, her eyes traveled towards the location she had seen the man. She couldn't help but to shake the eerie feeling of being watched, but she figured it could easily enough be blamed on nerves, so instead of saying anything about it, she remained silent.

''Everyone set and ready to roll?''

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

To the shock and amazement of everyone involved: Frank sucked at stealth. Not just normal failing at sneaking and not being noticed, mind. No, Frank thrived on attention, and it just sort of naturally seemed to drift her way, most likely on purpose. So, yes, she still sang and talked even as she sprinted out of the car the moment they stopped, pausing for only a moment to grab Solkat to help drag the other girl along for the ride. Within moments, some poor barrista was dealing with a hyped up, still sleep-deprived Frank, complete with shy sidekick (at least likely shy, depending on whatever Solkat does; think of it more in comparison to Frank, who was about at "rainbow vomit" stage). The drinks that appeared looked to be more sugar and additive than actual coffee, but Frank didn't seem to mind that overmuch. She would've paid for Erika's and Trevor's drink given a chance. She certainly bought everything for Solkat, including an absolutely massive muffin.

Then Frank was hopping back into the vehicle, sipping on a drink and looking up at Erika. Frank paused mid-drink to stare at her friend for a few moments. Frank might not be able to perfectly read people, or seem to read people that well at all, but she could tell when someone was being super serious and it didn't fit the whole fun-loving thing she had going on.

"Something up, Erika?" she asked, leaning forward. "Did you want some of my muffin or something? Oh, are you upset about not inviting one of your many boytoys along? We could totally call someone and have them meet us somewhere. I mean, it's only hard to get Solkat at, 'cuz of her adorableness--" Frank likely would've continued, that is until the very likely instance of Erika telling her to just be quiet in some or fashion. Which would leave Frank back into jamming mode, though now with some slight interruption as she consumed her muffin in a fashion usually reserved for cartoon characters (though without producing crumbs, which was certainly impressive, right?)

[Solkat Siun]

Solkat stepped out of the car and froze like a rock. It dawned on her this was the first time she had been in public since her mutation took hold, barring the brief running away before finding BA recruiter. Frank grabbed her though and she went along pulling her hoodie slightly tighter. It never occurred to her to press her tails against her leg's to try and hide them until they were almost at the door. She heard no cries of monster as they entered though and hoped people thought she was in costume or something.

SHe ordered an large espresso and a doughnut and thanked Frank for paying for her. The incident was over almost as fast as it started. Solkat's heart stopped beating a mile a minute. If these people minded their own business, oh sure they looked but none of them really said much of anything. SHe felt great as they went back to the car or maybe that was the caffeine entering her system.

Franks next volley of questions raised a few questions in SOlkat's mind she dared not ask. Like how accurate Frank's words were. She was not entirely sure where Frank got all of her information and some of it seemed strange. She drank her Expresso and looked over at Frank as she ate her muffin. Solkat had to laugh at this, she was pretty sure she had seen it ina cartoon once.

[Trevor Paige]

"Boy toys?" Trevor's head shifted to look back at Frank, then to Erika mostly to gauge her reaction to the other girl's comment. Trevor was familiar with the rumors and knew they grated on Erika whether they were true or not. He frowned a little but turned his eyes back to the window and the town outside. He'd have no part of ribbing Erika, although he was pretty sure Frank was being sincere when suggesting they take a detour.

Once again Trevor's mind was threatening to wander. This time, though, Trevor was prepared. It had been a little over two hours since he'd checked his books. Nothing had changed in that time, of course, but going over the neatly organized spreadsheets and pdf's always made him feel better. Retrieving his tablet from his bag that had been placed on the delivery truck he pressed the button to blink the screen to life. Although it gave off no heat the tablet's soft glow warmed Trevor's mood. Smiling he scrolled through the numbers and tables. There were a couple very large bets on his books that would pay out big time if they didn't go his way. Naturally, then, he was rooting for the Miami Heat to fail and for Johnny Manziel to fall in the draft.

Alas, it was no use. Trevor's thoughts did, indeed, begin wandering but not to the family secret he'd been burdened with. Instead, he thought of the girl who originally made him plan all this in the first place. Frowning a little he turned his tablet's screen off. "You know I'd already planned to something like this." He said calmly to everyone and no one in particular while his eyes shifted once more to the scenery beyond the passenger side window. "Everything was in place but the night before we were set to leave she got cold feet." He smiled a little and glanced down. "So we ended up cracking into a bottle of rum and watching this Monty Python movie." If asked, even Trevor didn't know why he was divulging this information. Maybe it just felt good to say it. Once something was said it was out there forever. It couldn't be taken back. It became real.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

As Frank asked the brunette if something was up, Erika turned her head to face the blonde. She was about to answer as Frank cut her off with another flow of ramblings. However, this particular 'ramble' had the telekinetic frowning. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words seemed to come out. Instead, she quickly turned to face the front of the car again. She knew the comments would come sooner or later, though she had preferred them not coming at all. ''Frank,'' Erika warned her with a harsher tone than what she had originally meant. Luckily, the girl seemed to stop and turned her attention elsewhere. Erika didn't even bother answering Trevor's question, and instead she turned the ignite on and threw the car in reverse.

Clenching her teeth, Erika remained silent. She didn't pay much attention to the talk in the car, and instead she too let her mind wander elsewhere. She had come no closer in her confusion than she had in the beginning, and instead of making her feel bad, it was eating her from the inside and out. She was completely and utterly clueless about what choice was the right one to make, and she could notice it tearing on her mood, little by little.

Pulling onto the highway, Erika couldn't help but to wonder. When it came down to her finally making her decision, what happened if she made the wrong one? What if she ended up waiting too long? No, that didn't matter. The most important thing was that when she finally did make a choice, she had to stick to it, no matter the circumstances. She couldn't worry about whether or not her chosen 'boytoy' would stick around. That was selfish of her, and it was unfair. It was also unfair of her to keep them waiting. Maybe it had been better if she simply told them both of and rid them all of this disaster?

But before Erika could continue her depressive train of thoughts, a sound similar to that of a mini-explosion sounded from outside the car, and she could feel herself losing some of the steering function. Cursing under her breath, the telekinetic slowed the speed down and pulled the car to the side. They were in the middle of nowhere, and it was pitch black outside. Turning off the ignite, Erika groaned as she leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the steering wheel, ''Please tell me that sound wasn't the tire...'' she whispered, mostly to herself than anyone else. Pulling off her belt, the telekinetic opened the door and hoisted herself out.

This simply couldn't get any worse, could it?

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

Frank's question went unanswered, more or less. Her own name fired back between clenched teeth really wasn't much of an answer. Frank just supposed that she'd gotten accurate or that maybe Erika wasn't much of a morning person. She just took it as the sign that she needed to go back into "jamming mode." Poor Solkat would receive the brunt of that, though at least Frank didn't eat Solkat's doughnut (mostly because Frank had a muffin of her own).

For a moment, Frank thought she heard Trevor talk about someone else. she totally wouldn't have minded. Okay, it might have been a little cramped, but that just would've meant that they could get to know each other better. Frank's mouth already started to move to say this, but before she could, an explosion cut her off. Frank let out a little squeal then a "THEY'RE SHOOTING AT US, HIT THE DECK!" before diving down toward the floor...

...which probably would've worked better if she hadn't been buckled in. The end result was her bobbing like a yo-yo for a few moments before realizing that she was, in fact, still buckled to the seat. So she fumbled with that before ducking down. "They're gonna shoot us all, but they'll never----oh, a flat tire," Frank popped her head up level with the seat. "That makes a lot more sense..." she twisted to look up at Erika as the other girl began unbuckling and heading over to check. Frank then began working to get out of the car, to help of course. This mostly involved flailing right now though, since, well, she'd crammed herself down on the floorboard which had seemed like a good idea at the time. It was weird though, because from this position, Frank thought she saw movement a ways off to the side. Must have just been her imagination or something; she'd been seeing things for a while now.

[Solkat Siun]

She heard the pop of the tire and would have likely remained calm, until Frank announce they were being shot at. Then she looked around as if the attackers would be close enough to be seen, that and being buckled in meant she had a somewhat limited field of view. She had her belt off when she heard someone say their was a flat tire. SHe let out a deep sigh and looked over at Frank. SHe should have guessed they were not really under attack and she was very glad Frank had just been over reacting.

Their was nothing she could do to help with the tire. She had never changed one and had no idea how. Her mutation was also useless for this as it was in most situations to her. SHe took the time to stretch, standing up as much as she could in the car.

Leaning over she tried to help Frank get herself free but the odd angle kept her from doing much good, and covered the back passenger window with her tail, blocking view through it. "Anyone know how to change a tire?" she asked no one in particular.