Tell him the truth

Ashley thought about how to phrase her reveal without actually making any statements. "How do you feel," she said at last, "about mind controllers?"

"Telepaths? I've been dating one since high school," Scott smiled in the way the boys who went out with cheerleaders did when bragging about their girlfriends, "And the institute is run by one." Wow, maybe people wouldn't be as freaked out about her power as she thought.

"Would you still accept me if my power wasn't so much telepathy as just mind control? And what if I couldn't turn it off?"

"I can't really control my power either. That's why I have to wear these sunglasses." She was shocked at how unafraid he was, especially as she had basically told him that she could be messing with his mind even as they spoke, without even controlling it. He must be very brave, she decided, and trusting. He had said he was going out with a mind reader, and she shuddered internally at the idea of a boyfriend who would hear it if she thought about other guys.

"What if all I had to do was say something, and anyone who heard it, no matter what, would believe it?"

"Well I'd say that explains why you don't talk much, and why you've been asking all these questions. Is that your power?" he asked, just to make sure, and she nodded. "Isn't okay to say something if it's a direct fact? I mean, if it is your power, me believing that it is would hardly be a problem, would it?"

Ashley shook her head vigorously. "Would the fact that I'm right really make rewriting someone's thoughts okay?" Scott shrugged.

"Well, I suppose I can see where you're coming from, although if it matters, I'd be okay with it, at least." She smiled, hoping she wasn't blushing. "Alright then, have you decided if you want to enroll? You'd have to move." Ashley nodded as quickly as possible. If the people there were at least half as nice as Scott, it'd be amazing. Plus, living with people she didn't have to hide from sounded amazing.

"Wonderful. I'll explain things to your parents. Do they know about your-?" she shook her head, and he trailed off. "Alright, they'll think the Xavier Institute is just an ordinary college."

He stood up, and she realized there was something else she wanted to ask him. "When I get to the school, could you teach me sign language?" It sounded like a much better way to communicate than the fake hypothetical questions she used.

"Sure, consider it your first class."

Soon, she was stepping out of the airport with her bags. Scott had assured her and her parents that almost everything would be provided by the school, but she still had a few large bags of things. She had been surprised at how easy it was to convince her parents, but it turned out that while the Xavier Institute's recruitment policy was strange, the school actually seemed relatively legitimate, although her mother probably was just happy that she had gotten into any college at all.

She looked around, and saw someone holding a sign with her name on it, and headed over.