"The poster's just something we did on one of those websites that customizes everything for you," he said. "We don't have any record deals or anything yet. It's very garage-bandy." But wasn't that how all bands started out?

"We started a couple of years ago, playing in our drummer's garage. Things kind of took off from there." He shrugged. "There was a moment, after the outing, where he took a brief hiatus. I mean, the band knew about me, but some of the townfolk were a bit weary, you know?" Topher, as much as possible, wasn't a fan of keeping secrets. He'd always been open about being a mutant and being gay. If people didn't like either facet of him, he didn't need them in his life.

"It kind of just started out as something for me to do, keep in touch with my school friends from before I was a mutant." Just because he'd practically grown up on campus didn't mean he'd always gone to school there, after all. "You should come by sometime, hear us play. I've been bugging Kayla to come see us sometime, too."