Shards of Glass
Black Rose Crystal
Chapter One
Stretch arms…wait no those are legs. Stretch front legs, then stretch back legs. Spin around in a circle and shake your body. There we go, doesn't that feel nice?
Tatyana growls and sits down and raising her hind leg to scratch behind her right ear. She had shifted again, this time into the form of a black leopard instead of just watching in horror as her features shifted themselves around making her look like the monster she felt like deep inside. Once again it would take her a while to shift back so she lay on the floor and waited.
Want to run ….want to get out of this tiny room. Need to get out of this crowded space. Smell food, smell mom. Mom is walking up the stairs to my room…fuck.
Tatyana barely looks up when her mother walks into her room and gasps, instead only giving her a half bored look and flicking her left ear at the older woman.
"God Ty, you scared the crap out of me. Can't you warn me before you shift?" The African-American woman says kneeling down and scratching at the panther's ear, "You're going to scare your brothers and sister to death if they run in here one day."
The girl cocks her head to the side, giving the woman a look with pale green eyes.
"Right you can't talk. Can you shift back at least?" Idelle Hawkins-Winston says sitting back when the leopard stretches and starts washing herself.
Licking her paw and washing her face, the leopard closes her eyes and lets the familiar warmth that allowed the change spread through her body once more. Slowly paws changed into hands and her body lengthened and changed to that of a twenty year old African-American girl with long black hair and green eyes. Then slowly the girl's brown skin changed again until it was a light purple color with silver markings on random places. She stretches then grabs her blanket from nearby and wraps it around her naked body.
"I'm never going to get used to that." Her mom says shaking head, "and can't you make clothes for yourself?"
Tatyana blinks then shrugs, sort of missing the feeling of her fur protecting her skin, "Never felt like trying it. Did you want something?"
"Yes I did…we need to talk about this…shifting problem of yours. I think you need professional help." Idelle smiles at her daughter who just frowns before standing up and walking into her closet to pull on clothes.
"Like psychiatric help or the other type of help that I'm going to be pissed about if you mention it." The girl steps out wearing a pair of tight hip huggers and a short white hoodie over a black tank top.
"The latter kind, I doubt that you could get any help if you went to a psychiatrist. You're pretty fucked up Ty," But Idelle still winks at her daughter letting the girl know that she was kidding, "I did however contact a colleague of mine who told me about this school his son is attending."
The girl raises a pierced eyebrow, "Do I need to know who? Rather am I allowed to know who?"
"Warren Worthington II. We attended school together. His son Warren the third is attending the Xavier Institute."
"And you want me to attend as well? Mom, my powers aren't really hurting anyone and I can totally hide them so why should I go?"
Idelle gives her daughter a look, "You just turned into a leopard and your skin is purple. So what were you saying about hiding your powers?"
Tatyana rolls her eyes and her skin goes back to her normal light brown color though her hair changes to dark purple instead. She smiles sheepishly when her mother raises an eyebrow at her.
"…it could be dye…you know it's fashionable to dye your hair different colors. Whatever mom, I'm out." The girl grabs a pair of black and white tennis shoes and her cell phone and I-pod before walking out of the room and leaving her mother alone in the room.
The woman sighs and walks out of the room, "What am I going to do with you, Ty?"
*page break*
Tatyana sighs as the rock music pounds at her ear drums as her feet hit the pavement. She was running again, letting her heart pound against her chest and her lungs pant for breath as she tried to escape her regular life of being Idelle Hawkins-Winston's freaky daughter.
Her mother , Idelle Hawkins, was a famous former supermodel and sometimes author, who now owned a small flower shop in their town as a hobby while her father, well she barely remembered him, remembering only that he had ran out on the family after discovering that his only daughter's skin color had changed to purple. Her stepfather, Kaleb Winston, however was a nice man and did not care that his stepdaughter was a mutant as long as she didn't show her mutations in public and embarrass the family name. He didn't care because he too was a mutant but decided to hide his powers from the public eye. He was the typical rich businessman but unlike some rich business owners he actually cared about his family and stayed faithful to his wife and together they had three more children.
Tatyana was expected to be the perfect child both in public and out. Unlike the other children of rich parents she didn't care too much for partying and instead enjoyed reading and racing against her bodyguard, a fellow mutant named Kayvan, whose powers he never showed her. Kayvan was probably her closest friend contrasting with the other people she hung around who were the typical airhead celebrities who cared only about money, partying and getting seen. Kayvan talked to her (when he wasn't pretending to be a ninja and shadowing her every move) and treated her like a person and not a fragile piece of glass.
But the media said she was strange, getting piercings and tattoos which were really designs she randomly placed on her body out of boredom and the piercings were really extensions of her. Unlike some of the other female socialites she didn't dress provocatively nor did she dress like a total bum, in spite of what her mother thought, she usually wore tight jeans and converse sneakers with whatever shirt she felt like wearing.
And she was lucky. Her parents didn't care that she was a mutant, unlike what she heard of other people's parents, because both her mother and her stepdad had mutant powers themselves. Her stepdad had superhuman speed, which he rarely used, and her mother could control plants and earth. However, neither of their parents used their mutant abilities much because they were afraid of ruining their family name if they were found out as mutants. Yes Tatyana had a good life, she was rich, slightly famous even if she didn't really want to be, and pretty.
She was also bored.
She takes out her headphones and grabs her cell phone and dials Kayvan's number.
"Yes, Miss. Winston?" The male says softly. Tatyana didn't hear his voice nearby but knew he was somewhere close, he always was.
"Can you stop doing the ninja act and just walk beside me for once. I'm a little…"
Kayvan chuckles, "Just start walking Miss. Winston. I know."
Tatyana hangs up her phone and begins walking once more and sure enough a boy in a black hoodie and tight emo jeans starts walking beside her, his hands stuck in his pockets.
"Thanks Kay. So I suppose you heard me and mom's discussion earlier…" She says quietly as they walk down the sidewalk.
Kayvan nods, a strand of his blond streaked black bangs falling across his face, "I was in my room, next to yours of course."
"Can you believe her? I can't deal with going to a boarding school at this moment…I don't think I can take it. And I'm betting she just wants to impress Mr. Worthington…She always did have that weird competition with the man…"
"Do you want to know what I think Ty?" The boy says glancing over at her, his weird eyes meeting hers and causing her to blush. She always blushed when he used her nickname and even when he just looked at her with those strange eyes of his, the left one being amber and the right, light gray. She had had a crush on him since they met as children.
"Of course, Kay."
"I think you're scared. Other than your family and me, you don't know of many other people like you and you're scared of being around them. Why is that?" Kayvan says nudging her forward when she stops walking to look at him.
"I'm not scared!" Tatyana shakes her head and falls silent, biting her bottom lip when she feels herself shifting in small ways from her anger to keep herself semi-calm. She could feel her teeth and nails growing sharper.
Kayvan grabs her hand and squeezes it, "its okay. I was scared too when I first found out I was going to be protecting you. My father said you were different and like me and I was worried that I couldn't do my job correctly. Then I met you and wanted to do anything in my power to protect you…"
He trails off slowly, glancing around them. The sky had fallen dark and he could hear footsteps following closely behind them, "Ty start walking. Quickly."
Tatyana does what he tells her to, walking much faster than before. Sure enough she too heard the sounds of footsteps and loud laughter behind her.
"Hey where you goin' Ty? I know that's you…you're the only person weird enough to wear that outfit and dye your hair freaky colors." A voice says and Tatyana calms down a little.
"It's just Cole. He won't do anything." Tatyana says smiling and turning around when she hears the slightly country voice of her fellow "famous for being a kid of someone famous" friend Cole Tiller.
The tall blond boy walks up with four of his not as famous friends and smiles, and Ty wrinkles her nose in disgust when she realizes that all of them were holding bottles of beer.
Kayvan steps in front of her slightly and Tatyana smiles warily at the boys, "Hey Cole. What are ya'll doing out here this late?"
Cole shakes his bottle at her, grinning widely at her "Gettin' some drinks and scoping for hotties. You wanna party with us Miss. Thang?"
"We'll rather not. It's late and Tatyana needs her rest." Kayvan says frowning at the obviously drunk male.
"Why don't you let Ty speak for herself Emo boy? I didn't ask you." Cole frowns then looks at Ty giving the girl a lazy smile, "How's about it Sexy? Drop this loser and come party with us. I'll show you a better time than he is."
As sexy as she found Cole, and he was sexy with his short blond hair, pretty blue eyes and abs you can crack an egg on, she also thought he was disgusting. He drank; slept around with any woman he could get, got into fights and partied way too much. It was said that he had to go to the hospital for "exhaustion" many times which Tatyana guessed was getting treatment for his addictions. And there was also the little fact that he and his family were large supporters of the mutant registration act and publicly stated that they detested mutants.
"I'll have to decline your offer Cole. Kay's right. It is getting late and I've been working out all day…" She starts but Cole interrupts.
"Geeze Ty you've been ditching all of us lately. Skipping parties, not traveling with us anymore, ditching concerts, Hell I've even heard you skipped out on a movie deal! What are you hiding?"
Tatyana shakes her head, "I just haven't been feeling well lately. That's why I'm working out. To get back into shape from losing so much weight."
"So you must have had this sickness for a couple of month's right? Cause I've heard some rumors Ty. And if they are true our relationship just might change…"Cole's eyes flash dangerously and Tatyana bites her bottom lip to keep from growling at him.
"What are you talking about Tiller?" Kayvan spits out stepping in front of Tatyana once more.
"I'm talking about the fact that the Winston family is a bunch of mutant lovers and that Tatyana just might be one of the mutant freaks they love so much!" Cole says stepping forward and poking Kayvan in the chest, "Hell I think you might be one as well pretty boy. And I personally think we might just need to get rid of all of ya'll!"
Cole swings at the boy with his beer bottle but Kayvan blocks it and knocks it out of the way before kicking the boy in his face.
"Get back Ty!" Kayvan yells as the other boys jump onto him, punching and kicking the boy but he throws them off with surprising strength. Tatyana swore she heard the boy growl low in his throat as he kicked and punched the other boys, but she also swore she saw him smile.
"Not so fast mutie-lover!" A boy grabs Tatyana and pushes her up against a nearby wall whipping out a switchblade and dragging the blade across her cheek.
Tatyana growls and elbows him in the side before back kicking him, making the boy's head hit the wall near them, "I took karate bitch. Don't fuck with me!"
She heard Kayvan scream and turned around and what she saw next shocked her. Suddenly shadows surrounded Kayvan, Tatyana, and the others covering them and the small area with darkness. Large black wings erupted from Kayvan's back and his nails and teeth became claws and fangs. His grey eye turned blood red and suddenly what appeared to be ropes of dark energy wrapped themselves around Cole and his friends and thrust them against the ground and Cole against a wall.
Kayvan leaned close to Cole and dragged his claws across his neck causing him to bleed, "Don't ever threaten Tatyana and the Winston family again or you might regret it."
Cole just nods and tries to break free, "Please don't kill me."
Kayvan growls then looks at Tatyana who just stared back at him. He turns back to Cole and steps back, the ropes of dark energy disappearing, "Go. Go home and forget this ever happened."
Cole and his friends run off and Kayvan slowly walks towards Tatyana whose skin was turning back purple as she backed up from him.
"Ty it's me…I'm sorry you had to see that. I just wanted to protect you." He says slowly, reaching out towards her.
Tatyana looks at him, then into his eyes watching as the red eye turns back gray, "Kay…you…"
Kayvan sighs, "I can understand if you don't want me to be your bodyguard anymore."
Tatyana blinks then realizes that the boy was still her best friend even if he did have wings and scary claws, laughs softly and walks forward to hug the boy, "Dude this makes you an even better bodyguard now. You're fucking awesome, scary but still kind of awesome."
Kayvan smiles and hugs her back, his wings and claws disappearing with the strange shadow energy.
"I guess this means we really do have to go to that school then…"The girl mumbles into her friend's chest.
"Yeah I think it does."
"Damnit."
BRC: Please Review!!! Thank You!