Chapter Text
Moving to a new school was never easy. Or so Charles could guess.
Moving countries was a whole new struggle altogether. Being a teenager was hard enough, being a teen going from England to America, again, a whole new struggle.
He didn’t know anyone. He didn’t know how the school system worked. He wasn’t going to know anyone except his sister. Part of him was assured that he would make friends easily enough, but he couldn’t be sure. Were American kids nice? Would they hate him? There were too many unknowns.
“You’re such a nerd,” Raven said, walking into his room and taking in the button-up, tie, and sweater vest he was wearing. “I can feel your worry from here and wearing that, I think I can find out why.”
Charles looked down, then back up at his sister, “What’s wrong with this? It’s perfectly respectable. I want to make a good first impression.”
“You’re going to an American high school. Not to meet your first grandchild,” Raven stated before flopping on his bed, “You’re fifteen, not fifty-one.”
“And what about what you’re wearing?” Charles asked, looking at her clothes and trying to find something wrong with it. “I-I mean, that jacket.”
Raven gave him a look, clearly knowing he was reaching, “There’s nothing wrong with what I’m wearing,” She stated, “I look cool, you look like an old man. This is the first time we don’t have uniforms, we can wear anything, show your personality…oh, that’s what you’re doing isn’t it?”
“Get off my bed. And, while you’re at it, get out of my room,” He added, glaring at Raven, tired of her and the conversation. Little sisters.
“Fine, fine,” Raven replied, putting her hands up and walking out of his room, “Just think about changing? I’ll act like I don’t know you if you wear that.”
“I’m not seeing a downside here,” Charles called as the door closed behind her. He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction now. He was wearing the outfit he had on even if he didn’t talk to a single person all day.
He made his way across his bedroom to pick up his backpack and go over it one more time, making sure he had what he needed. Notebooks, loose paper, pencils, pens, binders. He slid his laptop in the sleeve in the back of the bag and then zipped it back up, throwing it over his shoulder before heading out of his room. It wouldn’t do to be late on his first day.
The mansion was huge, much too big for himself, Raven, their mom and the guy she was currently dating—if it could be called dating—and occasionally his son. Even with five people he could go down a hall and pick a room and no one would find him for hours. It was much too empty, too quiet.
The Xavier family had owned this house for generations and Charles could remember well the summers they used to come here, Charles, his mom, and dad. It was even worse than with no one else around. He was lonely, the house was haunting, echoes from what seemed to be decades before still bouncing off the walls. The shadows loomed around every corner.
Back then, Charles despised the house and, even now, he wasn’t much more happy with it. Even if it was a little more full. He could still get lost in the halls and come to a room he had never been in before.
“You ready?” Charles asked, looking into the kitchen where his sister was halfway through a granola bar. She tossed one at him, almost hitting him in the face before he fumbled around and caught it.
Raven walked past him and into the car waiting in the driveway. In the passenger seat. One day he would beat her out there. As it was, it had been too long since he had gotten his way and was able to sit up front.
Then again, he knew that no one liked for him to be in the front seat, including the driver who was worried about him getting hurt in case of a wreck or some kind of targeted attack. Charles thought it was something useless to worry about.
He pulled his phone out on the otherwise quiet drive, just looking for something to do, something to hopefully calm his nerves.
The drive to the school seemed to take ages but Charles wasn’t sure if that was because they were so far away from the rest of civilization at the mansion, or if it was because of how nervous he was.
Somehow it was still too soon that their driver came to a stop out front of the school—a large, three-story building, looking as intimidating as the mansion was. Outside there were kids standing around talking, some sitting on benches with books, some running for the front doors like they were already late, despite them being ten minutes early.
Charles grabbed his bag and climbed out of the car, sliding the granola bar inside—he was much too nervous to eat right now—with his bag open he found the schedule inside and got it out before putting his bag back on his back and closing the car door as Raven did the same.
“We’re supposed to go to the office first, right?” Charles asked, taking a breath as he looked at the building, wondering where they were going to find it.
“Yup,” Raven replied, walking on ahead of him as though she was holding a map and not just her schedule. With no other option, Charles followed behind her helplessly.
Five minutes later, they were walking out of the office, fully ready to go on about their life at this school, if he could just find out where to go.
He stood just outside the office, looking at his schedule, trying to decode the room number written next to the class name 5-102. As far as Charles knew, there were only three floors. What was the 5 in reference to?
His eyes darted up from the paper to see a tall boy about his age standing in front of him, with square glasses over brown eyes, and soft-looking brown hair. Like Charles, he was wearing clothes that seemed to stick out from the rest of the students, a checked shirt and a tie.
“You’re new here, aren’t you?” The boy asked, then stuck out his hand, “I’m Hank. I can show you around if you’d like?”
Charles smiled up at him and accepted the handshake, “That would be lovely, thank you. I can’t figure out how these room numbers work.” He turned his schedule so Hank could see.
“The first number is the hallway. Each floor has two numbered halls, one and two are down here, three and four are on the second floor and five and six are on the third,” He explained. “As it happens, your first class is mine too. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Charles smiled and then walked next to the boy as they made their way to the stairs, “So, Hank, how do things go around here?” He asked, “I’ve never gone to an American high school before.”
“Like any other school, I suppose. You go to classes, there are clubs and activities after school. We have something for everyone. I’m in the science club. There's a chess club, choir, band, dance, soccer, basketball, football, cheer, baseball, photography…I’m sure there’s more. Of course, the clubs and sports you’re in determine your social status. The popular kids, the outcasts, the geeks or nerds, the depressed kids.”
Charles looked at Hank, a little concerned, it wasn’t much different than what his old school was like then, not really.
“Oh,” Hank continued, “I’ll warn you now, Lehnsherr. Tall, brooding, scary, never speaks. Getting near him is instant social suicide. He’s in our first class and, from what I saw of your schedule you might have lunch together. The man’s a freak.”
Charles couldn’t figure out what about the man was so dangerous to be around, “What do you mean social suicide? He’s just a student, right? What could he have possibly done?”
“He’s full of anger and hatred. I’ve never heard him say a word. None of us have. Even the kids that have gone to school with him since Kindergarten. Someone asked him about it once and he punched a hole in the classroom door before storming out. Don’t cross him, don’t get near him, just act like he doesn’t exist.”
Charles nodded slowly, swallowing hard. This was going to be much more terrifying than he had originally thought.
“Across the grounds, there’s a bench by a tree. That’s Lehnsherr’s during free time. Don’t go there.” Hank added as he opened the door to a classroom and let Charles walk in before he followed behind him.
Once the class got started, Charles felt much better. After the brief introduction he got to the class, that was. They were covering something that Charles had already learned about at his last school, but he didn’t mind too much. Some new information was sprinkled in and he was happily taking notes. During class, Charles was in his zone, content to listen and learn, sitting near the front of the class, hanging onto every word.
When they were done, Hank led him to the stairs again, “Okay, we have different math classes,” He stated, looking at Charles’s schedule, “You’re in here,” He said, pointing to the room, “I’m just down the hall. I’ll meet you back here once class is over and we can find your next class.”
Charles smiled at him and nodded, “Thank you for the help,” He said softly before going into the room to find his seat. Like his last class, he couldn’t help but notice in the back of the class, Lehnsherr sitting alone, looking more than content for no one to be around him. Charles couldn’t help but think that wasn’t the case.
Logically, Charles thought that he could check if Lehnsherr was happy the way he was, alone, with no one around, no friends, no one to get to know or get to know him. He was a telepath, after all. He could slip into Lehnsherr’s head and then out before the man was any the wiser. But he had already made the promise to himself not to do that. No one here could know what he was capable of, what he was. And even if Lehnsherr didn’t find out about it, Charles would know too much. It wasn’t a risk he wanted to take, in case Lehnsherr was well-versed in telepathy.
The next class passed similarly. Hank found him, showed him his class, and then he passed Lehnsherr in the back of the class on his way to find a seat. Then it was lunch and Charles— after following Hank and going through the lunch line— wandered outside to find a place at a picnic table along with his new friend. And apparently his friends.
“Charles,” Hank said as they sat down, “This is Alex, his boyfriend Darwin, and Sean,” He introduced, “Guys, this is Charles, he’s new here. I’ve been filling him in on everything all morning.”
Charles smiled at the other boys, “Nice to meet you all,” He said softly.
“Oh great, another nerd, thanks, Bozo,” Alex said, but something in his tone made it sound more fond than harmful. Hank just gave him a look but said nothing.
Then Charles looked down at his tray, nothing about the food looked appetizing in the least. He pulled the granola bar from his backpack and started eating it.
“The food here is shit,” Sean stated, “That should have been lesson number one from Hank. I see he’s forgotten to tell you that.”
“Did he tell you about our local freak show?” Alex asked, “That should have been lesson one, the food belongs right behind that.”
“If you’re talking about Lehnsherr, yeah, he mentioned him,” Charles said, shifting uncomfortably. No matter what, he wasn’t comfortable with referring to someone as a freak. He wasn’t comfortable with bullying either, but Alex didn’t seem like the person to start this argument with. He was intimidating, almost as much as Lehnsherr was.
Darwin seemed to pick up on the uncomfortable shifting and leaned forward, a small smile on his face, “Just stay clear of him, he’s dangerous and no one really knows what he’s capable of.”
Charles nodded, the man seemed nicer than his boyfriend and, if nothing else, Charles could admit that he might be right. Lehnsherr was scary and didn’t look friendly. Charles could try to strike up a conversation but if the man didn’t talk then it wouldn’t do him much good. Maybe it was best to just listen to his new friends and follow along. He wouldn’t participate in the name-calling or the bullying, but it wasn’t hard to just avoid people in a school of around a thousand people, right?
As it turned out, it was a lot harder to avoid one person in a sea full of people than Charles thought it would be. Out of seven classes, Charles shared five of them with Lehnsherr. The only classes they didn’t have together were electives.
And, to make matters worse, after school, he decided the best thing to do for his social life was to join a club. Or, more accurately, Raven decided she was going to join a weight-lifting class and Charles had to stay so the driver only had to make one trip, so he found himself joining a club too.
Since Hank had mentioned it earlier in the day, Charles hadn’t stopped thinking about it. Chess club. He couldn’t remember the last time he played chess with someone other than himself probably before his dad died when he was a child.
So, he found out what classroom the club was in and wandered in. There were around twenty people in the room, including the teacher who smiled at him.
“Wanting to join?” He asked and Charles nodded.
“I’m new here and someone said there was a chess club,” He replied, walking to the front of the room, “Is there an opening?”
“There’s always an opening,” He said, “Though, I think there’s only one opening right now if you want to play against someone. Lehnsherr doesn’t have a partner to play against.”
Charles looked around the room and his eyes landed on Lehnsherr who had looked up at the name. Lehnsherr. Interesting.
For a moment, Charles thought about backing out, saying he could play by himself or maybe he didn’t want to join the club at all, but if he did that he would be giving in to the bullying, wouldn’t he? It would be obvious why he said no and left. The teacher would know, and Lehnsherr would know. There was no other choice.
Even as the students around looked at him and judged him, Charles smiled and made his way over to the table where Lehnsherr was sitting. He pulled out the chair across from the man, gave him a smile that he hoped looked non-threatening and innocent, and sat down.
Lehnsherr blinked a couple of times and then went to reset the board to starting positions so they could start a game together.
“I hope you don’t mind me joining you,” Charles said quietly, “I just haven’t played chess against anyone in such a long time,” He should really shut up before it was him getting a hole punched in, “I try to get my sister to play against me but she won’t. Or she will try but doesn’t understand the rules which is more infuriating than anything.” Good going, Charles, just keep running your mouth.
Across from him, Lehnsherr looked amused but said nothing. Not that Charles really expected him to. It took Charles a moment to realize Lehnsherr was waiting for him to take his turn. He had been given the white pieces.
Quickly, he sent forth a pawn and Lehnsherr did the same. They fell into a rhythm with their plays, but that didn’t mean Charles’s insistent chattering stopped. He was nervous and the silence would only make it worse.
“You’re good at this,” He commented, “I always thought the way someone plays, the moves they make, the strategies they use says a lot about a person. You’re a worthy opponent, though I would like to remind you I haven’t played a proper game in a decade or so. I think you’re going to destroy me. Oh, look at that.”
Lehnsherr said nothing as Charles was checked, but he didn’t need to. Charles could see it and immediately went into action trying to get out of it. Before long though, he was tipping Charles’s king over and smiling rather triumphantly. The look was terrifying, teeth on display, every one of them. Charles found it rather endearing and then he was smiling back at Lehnsherr.
The two wasted no time in starting a second game, setting up the board. “I’m not going to go as easy on you this time, my friend,” Charles found himself saying to Lehnsherr as he looked at the board. Across from him, Lehnsherr rolled his eyes and shook his head.
The man might not talk, but he could say a lot without speaking a word. Charles only laughed and started off the game once again.
By the time the second game ended—another win for Lehnsherr, though much closer this time—the time for the club was up, or maybe a little past. Charles stood up and grabbed his bag. “See you Thursday then? That’s when this club meets again, right?”
Lehnsherr nodded and then was gone in an instant, leaving Charles blinking in surprise about being alone so suddenly. He shook it off though to go meet with his sister and then to the car for the drive home.
“How was Club Boring?” Raven asked as he rushed ahead to climb into the front seat of the car this time.
“It was chess club,” Charles stated, “And I ended up paired with Lehnsherr. He beat me, twice. He’s good at it. I need to practice more.”
“Wait, you were playing with the brain-damaged guy?” Raven asked, looking disgusted, “And he beat you?” The look of disgust turned to amusement and she was laughing a second later.
Charles turned in his seat to look at her, “Really, he didn’t seem as bad as everyone says. I was warned about him twice today but he’s in most of my classes and he was completely civil during our games.”
“Yeah, until you win and he loses and he kills you,” Raven replied and Charles rolled his eyes. He remembered too well at his last school how a simple rumor could be blown completely out of proportion. Maybe that was what was happening here. After all, when it got out that one of the boys at the all-boys school he went to was gay…well, Charles was happy to be away from his previous bullies. He didn’t want to find himself in a similar position here as he was there, and being seen around Lehnsherr might do just that to his reputation.
But he survived rumors that he would blow any guy who went to the bathroom while he was in there. He survived people laughing at him, calling him names, avoiding him. The assault. He never told anyone about any of it. This could be his chance to make a difference, couldn’t it? Someone else who was going through something similar and needed a friend. He could be the friend he didn’t have back then.
No matter the cost to his own social life, he could at least be Lehnsherr’s friend during their after-school chess club. Maybe word would get out, maybe it wouldn’t. He could say there was no other choice but, really, there was. And if, somehow, word got back to Erik that he had said there was no choice and he was doing what he had to, he would be in trouble then.
Rock, Charles, hard place.