Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to X-Men, X-Men II: X-Men United, or X-Men: The Last Stand. That, in fact, was created by more genius minds, ideally Stan Lee and the brilliant people at Marvel Comics. I am simply writing for pleasure and fun, and therefore I am not gaining anything from this .. except more experience. That's all.

Credit: My beta reader for this fanfiction is Sarah astronomylover. She is absolutely amazing and I can't thank her enough for taking this opportunity to help me.

Notes: This fanfiction is set at the same time as Sarah astronomylover's fanfiction of the same premise that chronicles the life of Marie Rogue. The credit for story outline also goes to Sarah, who's idea is sheer genius and inspired me to write a story of my own. Let's see. Oh, yes. I portray Kitty as a sort of girl that would update her journal frequently, therefore it will take a slower time for it to end and that means less time between entries. As for anything else, thanks for reading and enjoy.

The horizon was full of colour, sparkling like no other that she had ever seen before. It was delicate, fragile and vulnerable to nature's powerful force and entrancing grasp. The view from outside the Xavier Mansion so early in the morning was absolutely and positively more radiant than anything she would ever see from her room or even in the kitchen. No, she had to be outside to get the full effect of the view. Dew was still settling on the tree leaves and grass, rolling off the petals of the flowers in the courtyard as gravity saw necessary. It was a truly beautiful dawn. The sun, slowly breaking over the horizon, altered the view of the sky, changing the different rays of light to different colored beams and splitting the typical light blue sky into a much more spectacular sight to view.

Katherine Anne Pryde sat on one of the courtyard benches, watching the sunrise in awe. Home, with her parents in Deerfield, Illinois, was unlike the Xavier mansion in every possible way. There was almost nothing that connected the two. Almost nothing. And that was the fact that now, she felt that she had a home in two places. One was in Illinois, where her parents and older friends were waiting for her to come visit and stay. The other home was right here at the Xavier mansion. With all her new friends and teachers, it was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was strange, even bordering on absurd. But it certainly was amazing. And she loved every minute of it. With a small smile on her face, she stared at the sky. Surely, she missed her family and friends back home in Deerfield, but she had moved on, after some guidance and advice from Professor Xavier himself. In fact, it was when he came for her that made her feel slightly more comfortable with her ability to phase through solid objects. She remembered the afternoon like it was no other.

It happened to be a sunny September afternoon. Kitty was in her room, talking on the phone to her best friend Jenny, and doing her homework. Flipping through her history book, she searched for the required information to complete the project that she and Jenny had been working on for some time now. It was a difficult task, but they were determined to make it the absolute best in their entire eighth grade class. No, it wasn't sparkly or lined with glitter. It was completely full of all sorts of relevant information about World War One, the topic the two of them chose. Laughing softly, Kitty smiled, looking up at her ceiling. Oh, yes. Kitty and Jenny was quite the pair of best friends, about as close as they came. They spent almost every waking moment together, and, when they weren't together, they were talking to each other on the phone or online. Thinking about her project and laughing at one of Jenny's sarcastic remarks, Kitty heard the faint ring of the door bell, but she paid no mind to it. That was until she heard her parents pick up the phone about ten minutes later.

"Sorry, girls," Theresa Pryde chimed into the phone.

"It's okay, Mrs. Pryde," Jenny instantly replied.

"What's up, mom?"

"I need you to come downstairs, Kit. There's someone here to talk to you."

"Be down in a second, okay?" she asked, listening for her mother to hang up the phone.

The loud click in her ear was signal enough that her mother put down the phone receiver and so Kitty said her good-byes to Jenny. After questioning what was going on, just as Jenny had after Kitty's mother got off the phone, she bounded down the stairs. Her long, brown hair followed behind her as she moved down quickly, stepping on each stair briefly before landing at the bottom of the staircase and looking into the living room to her left. She saw someone she had never seen before. A man, bald, and in his forties, she guessed, that she had never even knew existed before this moment. She smiled weakly, entering the room, quiet as a mouse. Sitting down next to her mother, she looked at the man who offered her a smile. In fact, he offered her more than just a mere smile. No, he offered her, in fact, the chance to be with people like her. People she didn't know existed.

It took him about half an hour to completely explain everything to Kitty, even though it took her mother only ten minutes or so to get through his lengthy speech. Confused more than ever, Kitty became nervous. Unfortunately, her timing was absolutely bad because it brought on one of her worst headaches ever. Screaming and withering in pain, her mother stay by her side. The Professor, however, took a more direct approach and entered her mind. Kitty hadn't expected him to be one of them, too, but she found a little more solace in the fact that he was trying to help her.

"Katherine, relax. The more you fight it, the more pain it causes. Just let it go."

"But, will this continue on forever?" she asked aloud through gritted teeth, wincing in pain still.

"Will what continue on, honey?" her mother asked confused.

"No," the professor explained. "This is temporary, as you are only coming into your power. Once you start to train, use it, and control it, it will get better. I promise."

After five minutes of letting the pain sear through her head, she finally felt a wave of relief come over her. The pain that she was feeling before was fading away, slowly but steadily. She smiled and hugged her mother, who was deeply concerned about what was going on. All the while, Kitty's gaze was turned toward the one man who she knew would be able to help her more than her mother ever could -- Professor Xavier. Kitty had agreed, at that moment, to go to Xavier's mansion and school. She had ran upstairs, packed her bag, and phased through the floor faster than ever before. It was like she almost had the ability to race around faster than a crack of lightning, yet she could still only phase. That was what her power was. That was all it ever was going to be. But still, she was quick.

The school bell interrupted Kitty's private thoughts, stirring her from her emotionless position with her head turned toward the rising sun. She practically fell over in shock, seeing as the bell normally always caught her when she least expected it. Gathering her things, her messenger bag and her journal, she phased through the back wall and headed to her first class. Of course, she wasn't really focused. Not nearly as focused as she should've been. Practicing with Piotr in the danger room, the two were going through a simulation with the help of Scott and Ororo, the two teachers who gave them the most training time in order to help them better their skills. Kitty, of course, was a trained gymnast, and planned to use that to her advantage. A mutant with very similar looks to Magneto, and yet, still different, hurled a giant rock formation at her, a move which she countered by leaping off the ground and flipping over it. Landing on her feet, she crouched down and waited for the simulation's next move. For another half an hour, the simulation battle continued. Kitty and Piotr worked together, and it was at that point, after all the hard work, that Kitty delivered the final blow. She phased through Piotr and grabbed the smaller mutant, the one they were assigned to save in that particular simulation, then phased through a large rock, using it as a convenient hiding place. Distracting the larger Magneto-like mutant, she gave Colossus the opportunity to defeat him. Coming up from behind the seminal and using his super-human strength to cut off it's power supply, Colossus delivered the final blow.

"Well done," Storm clapped softly, watching the two of them.

Kitty was relieved. She had always enjoyed being congratulated by the professors, and this was no exception. She turned to face Colossus, but found that he was no longer behind her. What she did see, however, was the seminal they had defeated, coming after them once more. Apparently, the simulation was not over. Kitty saw the mutant raise his lengthy, bulky arm. Turning to look for Colossus, she missed seeing the arm come flying toward her. By the time she turned back to face the seminal, the arm had hit her and Kitty was flying backwards through the air, trying desperately to contain her solid form. She wasn't concentrating hard enough to keep her powers in check, so when Kitty came into contact with the back wall, she went phasing through it, passing through a couple of walls and sliding down through the rec room floor.

When Kitty regained consciousness, she noticed that she was stuck between two floors. With her midsection floating between two floors, she found her head looking down into unfamiliar, yet noteworthy territory. Her legs were rising from the floor in the room directly above the garage. Luckily, it was right around the corner from her room in a hallway leading toward some other rooms. She had phased into the hallway and then through a couple of other rooms at a diagonal angle. Through those rooms, she fell downward, and thus landed into the floor, stuck between the two floors. This nightmare was absolutely more powerful than the others. She sighed, looking down into the garage. She was surprised that she had flown this far, but what surprised her more was what, or who, was currently standing in the garage. Logan and Jean were standing in the middle of the garage floor, arguing. Logan, obviously upset about something, walked over to one of Scott's bikes and straddled it. Jean, without missing a beat, said something about never letting him go as she sat down behind him on the motorcycle.

"I have to leave, Jean. I just can't stay."

"Then I'm going with you."

Kitty watched in surprise and shock as Logan turned the key in the ignition and revved up the engine. The two sped out of the garage on the motorcycle, leaving the mansion in a small cloud of dust. Having been there to witness the whole episode, Kitty was lucky that she hadn't moved, because if she had, she might have been discovered by the couple. Sighing, she felt someone tugging at her foot. Focusing her phasing energy, she let the person pull her upright and phased her way back through the ceiling, or in the case of the rec room, the floor. She landed on the wooden tile with a small thud, but quickly stood up and dusted herself off. Spinning slightly on her heel, she found Piotr standing behind her. Brain reeling, Kitty realized that he had been the one to pull her back through the floor. Blushing slightly, she thanked him and headed toward her room, brushing past Scott and Ororo without a word.

September 12, 2006; 11:30 AM ; The Kitchen.

Sitting here at the table, I can't fully believe what I've seen. Logan and Jean, together? They rode off on one of Scott's motorcycles this morning, leaving the mansion and all of us behind. And to think that I looked up to Jean. Hell, I even envied her powers. Her telepathy and telekinesis came in really handy around here sometimes. Oh, how I wish I had that sort of ability. But that was before I was able to harness my power. Since then, I've accepted the mutation I'd been given and learned to train and use it. I've accepted who I am, and I no longer lack the confidence I need. I just gradually gained it over time.

This morning has been full of new ideas, thoughts, and even things to see. I saw, (actually, I felt) Piotr pull me out of the two floors I was stuck between. I guess he found me, or at least saw my legs sticking through the floor, and tried to pull me up. I didn't know how to thank him, especially since I like him. He's great, really he is. But I don't know how to tell him. Or even where to begin to tell him that I like him. It all goes back to the day I came to the mansion. Professor Xavier had brought me here, accompanied by Storm and Jean of course, and I caught a glimpse of him as we walked down the main hall. I remember it because he smiled at me, and naturally, I blushed in return. I did smile at him, but the blush kind of hid it.

Piotr just joined us in the kitchen, and by "us," I mean me, Jubilee, and Bobby. Rogue left a little bit earlier, I guess around twenty or so minutes, but I've never been good with time, so I'm not exactly sure. Jubes and Bobby are chatting, and I'm scribbling away, although I keep looking up every so often, most of the time at Piotr. Why can't I keep him off my mind? It's so hard to not think about him, but he's sweet. Great. Amazing. I wish I could tell him.

Blissfully Dreaming,
Kitty

By that time, Rogue had returned to the kitchen. It was about eleven-thirty or so (Nobody had bothered to check the clock in the kitchen.). She made another sandwich, a gesture which Kitty questioned, due to the fact that she had already eaten. As was the norm in the mansion, Jubilee was the first to point out the oddity. Anything that could come anywhere near close to gossip most likely had Jubilee involved. Kitty wasn't paying too much attention. She closed her journal, sighing inaudibly, and stood up. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and outstretched her arms in an attempt to loosen up the muscles she had used previous to her time in the kitchen. Looking at Piotr, then to Jubilee, Bobby, and Rogue, she smiled and grabbed her journal off the kitchen table.

"Guys, I'm going to go. I need to wash up from my training session earlier. I'll see you guys later."

Before they all could say good-bye, she evacuated the kitchen and headed straight up to her room. She set her journal down on the table near her bed, pen still inside the book. Grabbing a pair of denim capris and a t-shirt, along with underclothes, socks, and a brush, she headed into the bathroom and turned on the hot water, watching it steam up the room. Letting the water get as hot as possible without scalding her body, she stepped into the shower and felt her release coming. She didn't have to think about anything, and she didn't want to. Simply put, she wanted a couple minutes of peace and quiet all to herself to relax. But, as was normal for a teenager in the mansion, she wouldn't even get that much. She heard a loud knock on the door, and although she tried to ignore it, another one came, louder than before.

Someone was just impatient, and he or she was going to have to wait for Kitty to get done. Standing in the water, she let it fall down her face. The hot water ran over her facial attributes like water in a stream flowing downhill. Sure, it was hot, but it didn't bother her anymore. She was used to it by now, seeing as she always took a few minutes to stand just in the water and clear her mind. Sighing softly, she turned off the water and opened the shower curtain. She dried herself off and got dressed, wrapping her hair in the towel. She walked out into the main bedroom, where she and Jubilee spent many a nights talking about anything and everything. Glancing around, she found that no one was there and it left a confused mark on her face. Turning toward her bed, she found a slip of paper sticking out from beneath her pillow. She pulled at it, unfolding it and reading the writing that she found there. It was strange, unlike anything she had before experienced or seen, but still worth the read.

My Dearest Kitty,

For some time now, I have been longing to tell you about a huge admiration that I've had for you. It is one that I can no longer deny. I want to tell you that I like you, that I have liked you ever since we met, but I don't know how to say it. In your honor, there is a rose for you in the top drawer of the dresser. I hope you like it.

Signed,

Your Secret Admirer

Kitty was in absolute awe. She hadn't ever seen anything of this manner before, and no one, dare she say it, ever liked her in such a manner to leave her secret notes and roses. It was amazing, albeit confusing. She wanted to figure out who it was. And all she could do, while on Cloud Nine, was to hope that her secret admirer be the one guy that she had a crush on. A certain important member of the X-Men team. The first student that she had met, and the one that left the most impression on her. Her thoughts were clouded by the thoughts of the secret admirer when Jubilee burst into the room. She watched Kitty with a certain look about her face, as Kitty was holding the rose to her nose and had an impossibly wide grin on her face.

"Kit-Kat? Hello? Earth to Kitty."

"What?" she grumbled, snapping out of it all.

"What's going on here?"

It took Kitty less time to explain everything to Jubilee than it took for her to recount the entire sensation she had when she found the rose in her mind. It sent shivers down her spine, but it was an absolutely amazing feeling. She was lost in her own little world now, and though Jubilee kept bringing her back to reality every two and a half minutes, she wouldn't stay there for long. By now, she had forgotten entirely about the entire escape route of Jean and Logan, the fact that Rogue could possibly be hurt badly by this, and the fact that she was about to be late for meeting her friends in the kitchen for lunch.

"Kit, c'mon. It's time for lunch, you silly girl."

The two of them walked down to the kitchen, chatting away eagerly. Okay, so Jubilee pretty much did all the talking, and Kitty was still absorbed in the thoughts of her secret admirer. Now, she was asking herself questions to see if she could figure out who it was that had sent her the note and rose, and who had also barged into her room while she was showering.

September 12, 2006 ; 9:22 PM ; Rec Room.

I'm so curious to know who it is. It's been distracting me all day, and all of my friends are noticing. Luckily, no one's asked me about it yet, although I'm sure they'll start asking soon. Heck, Jubi will probably ask me about it tonight when we talk before bed. Our little late night routine is one that always helps me feel better, but I don't know if spilling this out is absolutely the right thing to do. After all, isn't it supposed to be secret? Oh, wait. The identity of the admirer is to be a secret. So then it wouldn't to tell. But, I'd rather savour it for a while before telling anyone. Besides, who knows what'll happen? Maybe the guy I like will catch on to me little, very, very subtle hints. Oh, how I love him. That Piotr. He's so handsome and suave. Look at me rambling again.

After lunch, I spent time with Piotr. We played soccer outside in the fields for a while, and I pretty much kicked his ass. I have to admit, he's a great athlete, but he's no match to me when it comes to playing soccer. I was captain of my eighth grade soccer team. In fact, I'm thinking about joining the community league in Westchester. Of course, I'd have to explain my school situation and say that I'm at a private school where kids stay on campus at all times until the weekend, or so, and then I could try and work it out with Professor Xavier, but I'm sure he'd help me. Heck, maybe I could get Piotr to come watch one of my games.

Damn, there it is again. I can't stand it. I keep rambling on and on about him all the time. Sometimes, I think you're annoyed at me, journal, because I talk of him so and yet I don't know him as well as I'd like to know him. But still, he's brave and smart and kind. He's amazing. He's Piotr. And I need to stop thinking about him before I lose focus and phase through the floor. Oh wait, I just did. Now I have to ask Jubi to help me out of this mess. Hopefully, no one downstairs can see my legs.

With love,
Kitty