Frozen Flame

(Note: I do not own X-men Evolution or any of the characters from it.)

The sun was beating down on Bayville, as the students slowly moved from class to class in an attempt to keep cool, but the crowded school corridors seemed to make it impossible for anything but heat to influence the exhausted children. It was a record high, and everywhere the heat was causing tempers to boil and even the strongest of figures to wilt. It was the type of day where everybody longed to be outside, but were instead locked up in class in the stuffy, uncomfortable warmth of the confined area.

Kitty was one of the more unfortunate students, as she sat in the classroom desperately trying to focus on the exam sheet that lay on the desk before her. The heat made it hard for her to concentrate, and she had been in here far too long already for her liking. The open window beside her offered no comfort. Not even a slight wind entered to cool her down, and all it presented was a distraction. She gazed out longingly at the lush green fields of the school and glanced at the clock at the front of the classroom for the seventeenth time. To her utter disgust, barely five minutes had passed since she last glanced at the hands of the clock that seemed to be purposefully slowing down to taunt her. She sighed heavily, and lowered her head once more to stare at the paper, chewing on the end of her pencil. It was no good; she didn't have the slightest idea what to write. She went to glance up at the clock once more, but stopped herself, realising the futility. Instead, she swung her head to the right to look at the other students in the classroom.

There were a large variety of different students taking the exam with her (and suffering with her, in her opinion). She recognised some students from the Institute, and some others who she knew anyway. She was the sort of person who knew everybody else in one way or another, but as her gaze drifted to the back of the room it settled on an unfamiliar face.

The boy looked to be slightly older than herself, maybe about 16 years old. His long dark hair hung down in places over his face, but his deep, enticing brown eyes could be made out from where she sat. He wore a simple white vest top with an open black shirt over the top. But the fact that he was wearing black gloves caught Kitty's attention.

'Who could wear gloves on a day like today?' she mused silently, unable to take her eyes off the mysterious young man who was staring blankly at the paper on his desk. Kitty giggled as he scratched his head, looking just as bemused as everybody else in the class, but a sharp cough from the teacher at the front made her snap her head back to the paper. As soon as this test was over, she vowed to find out more about that boy.

The bell finally signalled the end of the exam, as the students gathered their belongings and slowly shuffled out of the stuffy classroom, with even the warm corridor seeming like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the prison they had just been confined to. Kitty was the last out, and as she waved goodbye to her friends she glanced about quickly, trying to spot the boy she had seen in the classroom. It didn't take her long, as she noted him by the lockers. As she approached him, she felt strangely nervous, as she watched him open his locker and start putting his books away. She was never normally shy about approaching strangers…

She finally came to a stop beside him, but he paid no attention to her and continued to pile his books in the locker. She coughed slightly, thinking that he may simply have not noticed her. He eventually stopped, and turned to face her. Up close, Kitty now could have a good look at him. His dark brown hair hung down in several places over his face, with several strands covering his left eye. But his deep brown right eye had not been covered, and it seemed to be like a window into an endless darkness. His black shirt was loose and flowing over his white vest top, and she noted a silver pendant around his neck. Now that he was standing, she could also see that he was wearing baggy dark blue jeans with a black belt holding it up around the waist.

The boy seemed to notice she was studying him, and he folded his arms as he looked down uncomfortably.

"Yes?" he asked, and Kitty suddenly realised how rude she was being.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologised, "My name's Kitty." She grinned as she introduced herself, and gazed up at boy's face. He turned his head to the side to avoid her gaze, before finally looking back to her face.

"I'm Raen," he said finally, "I just moved here from England." Kitty nodded in curiosity, his accent suddenly obvious to her. She smiled, and suddenly felt a strange feeling in her stomach. She placed her hand on her it, and tried to ignore it.

"So you're new around here?" she asked, already knowing the answer was yes. "Need a guide to show you around?" she chuckled. But Raen didn't smile back, and instead turned to leave.

"I'm fine," he replied, not even thanking her for the offer. Kitty stood there watching him as he slowly walked off. The feeling in her stomach was still strong, and she wondered if she had eaten something bad for breakfast. Shrugging it off, she turned to head to the cafeteria, wondering if maybe eating some lunch would settle it down.