Greenhouse || Xavier Thorpe x Male Reader

Prologue || Welcome to Nevermore

AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!
hello! this is my first time putting something on Wattpad, but this is a fic I started on AO3 under the same name. No changes have been made, I just wanted to have it on another website. All notes I had on AO3 will be ported over as well.

~=~

 The taxi speeds down a lonely road through the woods, heading towards Nevermore academy. I'd like to think the driver wants to get me there quickly, but it's really because he wants to get out of Jericho and away from the school. In the rearview mirror, I can see drops of sweat beading on his forehead as the trees get denser around the car. I'm sure having a silent outcast teenager sitting in the back of his taxi isn't helping his anxiety either, though.

I open my phone and check for a text from anyone I know. But ever since my family's status as outcasts was leaked, I seem to have been blocked by the majority of my friends. It's not like we're even dangerous, though. My family is from a long line of plant psychics, with the ability to have our emotions influence the plants around us. We also have the ability to 'whisper' commands to them such as 'grow' or 'wither'. After an accident in a botany class my father taught, I was sent to Nevermore. All my friends blocked me or made up excuses, never to text back. I had hoped they would get over it, but it looks like they haven't.

The minute I set the phone down again, a notification comes in. I open it and see an Instagram DM from someone I don't know. I click on her profile and see that she's a student at Nevermore. Her name is Enid, and she heard about my arrival from the rumor mill. The pace of the car mixed with reading sends a wave of nausea over me, so I click my phone off and lean against the window. The taxi is about to pull into the gates of Nevermore.

~=~

I grab my suitcases from the trunk as the driver refuses to get out. A girl, presumably Enid, bounces up to me as I'm unloading the last one. She reminds me of Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony, and she hasn't even begun to talk yet.

"Hello, [Y/N]! I'm Enid Sinclair. I sent you a DM, but you never responded," she greets me.

"Yeah, sorry. I got queasy from reading in motion," I respond. She nods and takes one of my bags.

"I'll help you carry these, you'll need to see Principal Weems before you can go to your dorm," she explains. I take my other suitcases and enter Nevermore academy for the first time. Enid guides me through several passageways and stair flights before we arrive at the office of Principal Weems. I raise my fist to knock, but Enid pushes open the door before I can. It swings open to reveal a white-haired woman in a skirt suit sitting behind a desk. In front of the desk is a boy who looks to be about my age with shoulder-length brown hair, sitting on one of the various chairs. Weems looks astonished at the sudden interference with their conversation. When I turn to Enid, she has a look of embarrassment on her rather expressive face.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry Principal Weems! I opened the door because I thought it was just you in here," she explains. Weems pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs.

"Well, you're here now. You've brought [Y/N], then," she remarks before turning to the boy. "Xavier, would you be so kind as to return later? I hate to interrupt whatever it was you wanted to say, but this is our new student who needs a dorm assignment."

The boy, Xavier, nods and heads toward the door. I move aside to let him through but he stops.

"Enid, don't tire him out with your tours, okay? I'm sure it's not easy to travel all the way here," he tells her. Enid rolls her eyes but agrees. He leaves the office, and I sit down on the chair he was in previously as it's centered in relation to the desk.

"Well, that was a grand entrance you two made," Weems tells us. "Luckily, it was you who made that entrance. Xavier went to see me to request a roommate. Given the fact that you both have rather unique psychic powers, I think it would be a great fit to pair you with him."

"Speaking of powers, I was wondering about-" I begin when she cuts me off.

"Yes, a space for you to hone your abilities. Behind Ophelia Hall is a greenhouse that hasn't been used in a few years. I've had it cleared out and refurbished for you."

"Oh, thanks," I say. Weems waves a hand as if to say 'no problem'. She hands me a map of the campus and a piece of paper with my dorm number on it as well as some information, and I grab my bags to find it.

~=~

Enid drops off my bag in my room and leaves before she's caught in the boys' dorms. Xavier isn't in the room, so I begin to unpack my things. Weems's paper says that I can decorate my side however I see fit, so I make a mental note to find decorations somewhere in Jericho. The only 'decorations' I've brought are some plants and a corkboard, which I hand above my bed. I place the plants in various locations on a desk and dresser before beginning to move clothes and linens into the said dresser.

I'm about halfway done when Xavier comes into the room, probably returning from a jog judging by the fact that he's still got earbuds in and is in a sweat-stained shirt. He doesn't seem to notice me and walks over to his dresser, pulling one of his earbuds out. Fearing that he will change without the knowledge that I'm in the room, I clear my throat loudly and he jumps.

"God, [Y/N], you scared me," he exhales, taking in my side of the room. "I guess you're my roommate now. Welcome to Nevermore."

"Thanks," I say. "And sorry for scaring you."

"It's fine. I could have used a scare, I was kind of still in my running zone."

With that, he goes into the bathroom to change out of his running gear and I continue unpacking. One of the plants near me on the dresser begins to bloom.