The Month was May. May 21st, to be exact. 

Six months since the time travelers came in and took a group of unlucky mutants into a mutant experimentation facility in Mexico. a whopping 216 deaths made the Transigen Massacre one of the largest in recent history. Many considered it a travesty against mutantkind after Heidi Williams stepped forth with the evidence that made Transigen's intentions clear. People attempted to defend the company, but their time protecting the humans was short. Alkali, the parent company to Transigen, was forced out of the shadows to clean everything up. It wasn't enough. Other projects were made known to the public, like one in Canada, and another in Japan. The Alkali Company traded hands several times in a short amount of time, ending up in someone's hands somewhere. A big company wasn't normally pushed and pulled around by dummy names like small businesses were, but that was obviously the case to keep someone off of the tracks. 

Emma Frost, devastated after being unable to find her mutant family, left the Mansion to rebuild her own facility. She still kept in contact with Booker and the rest of the team, but she had to constantly remind herself that her place was not with them, it was with her fallen Warlocks. Some of the liberated mutants left with Emma, liking her style of teaching over Charles'. She still sent postcards to Rosemary, feeling that she was the one whom she had connected with the most during her time at the school. 

As the team progressed, Booker took a backseat as the mentor, and stuck around as a handler. They were still kids, and they needed to focus on their studies. He could pick out their missions to suggest to Shawn, who would then talk them over with the team. 

Shawn was getting better at being a leader. After a little breakdown after the Transigen mission, he started working harder than ever before. Not only to be a good X-man, but a good leader. Instead of his black and neon costume, he opted for something closer to the classic yellow and blue spandex, of course tailored to his abilities. He blamed himself and his inability to take a stand for Tatiana leaving, and tensions had never been higher after Emma left as well. He almost wanted to say that Emma wanted Rosemary to come along with her, but Emma didn't verbally say anything. 

That winter, just before holiday break, the mansion had hosted a christmas dance party. Shawn may have been working to be a good leader, but he was lacking in many other places. In his nightstand still rested an envelope and a wrapped gift. Both objects were for a single person, but Shawn didn't have the courage to deliver them, especially since his name was on them. 

It was now the new millennia, and Shawn was now 17. A bolt of lightning sprang from one outstretched finger to the next. He didn't feel older. One year older and he was still as tired during school hours as ever. He only hoped that Kurt-er, Mister Wagner, wasn't going to drone on today. He really didn't feel like getting stuck to the rafters, or teleported to alaska, or stuck with bees in his nose or something wild like that. He just wanted a quiet day to focus and relax, and hopefully he'd get it. 

He always looked to the door when someone new came through. Heidi was no exception. Shawn's mouth gaped open a little as she came through, but he quickly collected himself. He flashed her a smile, holding up his copy of Mary P. Hamlin and George Arliss' very own Hamilton. Mister Wagner did actually make them study plays and theater performances as a part of the class, after all. 

"Morning." Shawn yawned, his warm smile quickly stretching out into a tired one as his sure and confident facade fell. If anything could come about his friendship with his teammates, it was that he didn't feel the need to he at 100% when it wasn't mission time. He didn't have anything to prove in the off hours, and Shawn was fine with that.

"Oh, wait. It's almost lunch."