"Who's your friend, Thad?" his mother asked him with a smile.

"This is North," Thaddeus said, looking almost shyly up at North.

"We figured we could hangout here for a while if you don't mind."

"Not at all, come on in. Help yourselves to anything in the kitchen, and let me know if you want me to fix anything for you. Will you be staying for dinner?"

North smiled, "No ma'am, I don't think I will be. My mom will be picking me up when she gets off work, which should be before too late. Thank you very much for asking, though."

She nodded a little. "Alright then. Feel free to help yourself to snacks. Let me know if all need anything!" She gave a friendly wave and retreated. Thaddeus headed for a staircase leading upwards, Dexter following him.

North smiled and nodded, "Thank you ma'am!"

After another polite bob, she trotted after Dexter and Thaddeus, tilting her head at the two of them, "Your mom seems really nice, Thaddeus."

"She is," Thaddeus said with a nod, opening a bedroom door and stepping inside. The walls were completely covered from floor to ceiling in bookcases filled with CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, and graphic novels - both western and Asian.

He tossed his backpack onto his bed and flopped down on it, rolling onto his side to look for a CD to listen to.

North nodded, glancing around the bedroom curiously, "If you don't mind me asking, you don't seem to take after your mom. Do you take after your dad?"

"I don't know who I take after," Thaddeus replied, sitting up with a couple CDs in his hands. "I'm adopted." He shrugged a little and held up two of the CD cases. "The Seatbelts or The Pillows?"

North tilted her head, then smiled, "Well that would explain it then. That's not so bad. My mom was adopted, actually."

She tilted her head at both CDs, and then pointed to one, "How about the Seatbelts... I'm not sure I've heard that album yet."

"There's nothing wrong with being adopted. At least my adopted family loves me," he said, putting the CD in a CD player, many speakers throughout the room beginning to play the music, loud enough to hear but quiet enough to talk over.

Dexter raided the bookshelves, pulling out a few volumes of manga and then making himself comfortable on the soft shag rug.

North nodded, "Well and that's all that matters. That your family loves you... I didn't mean it was anything negative. Sorry..."

She looked a bit awkward, then found a spot to sit on the floor and pulled a sketchbook from her backpack, opening it to a blank page and starting to scratch lines onto the paper.

"I didn't take it negatively, don't worry," he said with an awkward smile. "It's just... Well, it's complicated. I just wish my birth mother had given me up sooner, before I was old enough to remember her..."

North nodded a bit, glancing up at Thaddeus, "I suppose I can understand that. It must be hard sometimes, being able to remember her..."

"I'm sorry..." he said with a sigh. "It still stings... She kept me until I was three, when she discovered what happens to me... Then suddenly she shunned me and hated me. She... Abused me using my curse, and then dumped me on the state... It just makes me sad... I wonder what kind of a person I would be if she hadn't said such things to me when I was a child..."

Dexter sighed and shook his head a bit. "Thaddeus, way to dump an ice cold bucket of emo on her. C'mon, you could've at least waited until she knew us better so you wouldn't chase her away..."

North knit her eyebrows together and swallowed hard, before looking down, "That's awful... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to dredge up anything painful..."

When Dexter spoke up, she glanced at him slightly, but mostly kept her head down, uncertain of what to do now.

A while later, Dexter offered to walk North down to the lobby when her mother was there to pick her up.

"I know he comes off too strong when talking about personal things, but he was just trying to open up to you and let him know that you're important to him. He has a lot of trouble communicating with people, he's really afraid of anyone outside of myself, his parents, and my parents. Just... Don't hold it against him, alright?" He asked, watching her from the corner's of his eyes on the elevator ride down to the lobby.

North listened for a moment, then nodded, "I understand... I was just afraid I'd asked too much... I didn't want to upset him. He's really nice, and you're really nice, and it's sweet of you to look out for him the way you do... I guess sometimes I don't really say stuff the right way. I didn't mean there was anything wrong with being adopted. But I had no idea his mother'd treated him that way..."

She sighed and reached up to rub the back of her neck, "I'm not holding anything against him. I was mostly frustrated with myself for saying things the wrong way."

"Nah, you didn't say anything the wrong way, and he didn't take it the wrong way, he just reacts differently than other people." He shrugged a little, his hands in his pockets. "Sign language is easier for him. He's not as afraid of it. I can teach you some, if you want."

North raised her eyebrows, then smiled warmly, "That would be nice. Are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble? I'd like to earn, especially if it'll help make Thaddeus more comfortable."

"It won't be any trouble. It's rather easy, and we have a few signs exclusive to us." He shrugged again, then looked over at her. "Sorry if I'm being too bold, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out to lunch sometime."

North blinked her eyes rapidly, as if she wasn't quite processing for a moment, then blushed. She smiled a little and lowered her head, "No... it's not too bold. I'd like that... thank you..."

After looking down at the floor and her sneakers for a few moments, North glanced back up at Dexter and smiled again, "Did you have any specific time in mind? Or do you want to figure something out later?"

"How about you pick the time and place and call me when you decide?" he asked with a smile. "Sound good?"

North nodded, blushing again, "Alright... I'll give you a call then. I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow."

She reached out and touched Dexter softly on the arm, smiling, "Bye..."

North blushed again, then turned and made her way out to climb into her mother's car to be taken home.

Dexter took the elevator back up, returning to Thaddeus' apartment to stay for dinner.

That evening, once North was finished with dinner and her homework, she grabbed her phone from her bedside table and dialed Dexter's number, blushing lightly.

Dexter sat up in bed, a little startled by his phone ringing. The book he'd been reading slid off his chest, falling onto the floor as he reached out to grab his cellphone from the nightstand.

"Hello?" he asked tiredly, sitting up a little more now and holding himself up with his arm.