[X-Mansion: Preston and Steve]
[Preston spent most of his time in his room, the one that stayed silent and kept him in and everyone else out. Silence? Perhaps closer to peace. It wasn't noise Preston felt, and he had difficult putting words to it. It was pressure, of a kind, like going way up a mountain or deep under a sea. He could feel it on his skin and in his ears, and the mood of a room was not quite the temperature all the metaphors said it should be.
So he stayed in the room, crept out like a thief at night for supplies, and read books on meditation.
Now that he knew Steve was coming, he did the equivalent of sticking his head out of the ground like a ground squirrel every few minutes, so he would know when he should go out to meet him and not look like the coward he was. It was because of this he was standing out on the lawn when Steve arrived, exuding nervous anticipation and good will in equal measures.]