Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the X-men… though I wish I did.
Other: Set just after X2
Chapter Two
Kitty knocked gently on the door in front of her, hoping she wasn't waking up the person who should be inside. She knew she could just as easily phase through the door, but she thought, no, knew, that would be rude. "Piotr?" She called out softly, her gaze glancing down the corridor, hoping that no-one else would come down it. Of course, it was strictly forbidden for her to be down the boy's corridor, especially at night, but she had to talk to Piotr. Kitty had heard the news from his own mouth about his sister, and was equally upset about it – Piotr had asked her about two years ago, to become Illyana's pen pal, and the two girls had kept in contact, often with Kitty slipping in a letter to her with Piotr's letters back to his family. She also knew how close the Rasputin family was, and had worried constantly about Piotr for the past few days – he hadn't come out of his room much, and Kitty had never seen him this upset before.
"Piotr?" Kitty whispered hurriedly again, and with a sigh, decided there was only one thing for it. Praying that if he saw, he wouldn't be too upset by it, Kitty phased her head through the door, and glanced around the room. A slight frown creased her brow, as she saw that the bed was still made, and Piotr didn't appear to be anywhere in the room. Kitty withdrew her head, trying to think where he would be.
Kitty slowly wandered down the corridor, towards the stairs, her gaze flicking around, searching for the gentle giant. The passing thought floated through her mind that he might have left to go back home to his parents, but with a shake of her head, she reminded herself that there was no way Piotr would do that without telling her. Finally, Kitty spotted him, in the kitchen… with three others.
"Katya?" Piotr asked softly, as he glanced up to see the newcomer, his blue eyes fixed on her hazel ones. "Oh, Piotr!" Kitty only managed to murmur, before rushing forward, and kneeling in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She didn't much care that the other men probably thought her stupid, and childish… instead, she buried her face into his shoulder, the tears rolling softly down her face, and soaking into Piotr's shirt. Piotr pulled her closer, and dropped a kiss onto the top of her head, trying desperately to stop his own tears from falling. Without warning, Piotr stood up, gently holding Kitty's hand in one of his own. As she too stood up, the large height difference was obvious, but it seemed to make no difference to the young couple's relationship. Silently, the two moved to go out of the room, leaving the others behind. They knew each other was hurting – and they knew they could find comfort in one another.
--
Storm had tried to occupy herself with work, trying to keep her mind off all that had happened in the past few days… but nothing seemed to be working. She sighed, leaning back in her chair, and covering her face with her hands. It felt strange to think that Jean was no longer going to be here, no longer going to come in with a warming cup of hot chocolate, just because she felt that Storm needed one. They had been friends since the first day Storm had started… They had grown up with each other; they had shared their fears, and hopes. Storm had been the one to encourage Jean to ask Scott out... Storm was even going to be the maid of honour at their wedding. But now, it was all gone, just like that.
Storm stood up, stretching her arms up towards the ceiling. Piles of paper lay on the desk in front of her, but they would just have to wait for now. She needed a drink. Slowly, she made her way towards the kitchen, lost in her own thoughts, as she walked through the silent corridors. As she turned the corner, and saw the three men sitting side by side, a hand flew up to cover her mouth.
Scott was the only one who looked up, and with a slight start, Storm realized how pale he looked. "Scott…" Storm whispered, moving forward towards him, and crouching down to come to his eye level. The two sat for a moment in silence, simply watching each other, before Scott dropped his head, and brought a hand up to slip underneath his glasses. Storm placed a soothing touch on his
other hand, and then, slipped her hand around to grasp his. "Come on…" She murmured again, "you have to get some rest." Scott nodded; glad for once that someone else was finally taking charge.
The two walked away hand in hand, their friendship becoming ever stronger, because of whom they had lost.
--
Rogue couldn't sleep. No matter what she did, whether she counted sheep, or counted backwards from 100, sleep just seemed to want to evade her. Every time she closed her eyes, she just imagined herself falling, and not being able to stop. Those few seconds in the air, when they had been on the jet, were so terrifying – and yet strangely, it had felt so good. Sighing angrily, she sat up, swinging her feet around to touch the floor. She glanced across to her slumbering roommate, almost angry at her for being able to get to sleep, when she couldn't. Rogue stood up, and moved out of their room, grabbing her gloves as she walked by.
What could she do now? Rogue knew she had to do something fairly quiet, so as to not wake up the rest of the school, or get caught… A look of concentration appeared on her face, as she slowly made her way down the stairs, one hand trailing down the banister. There was probably some other students up as well, what with everything that had happened recently… insomnia often ran through the school… Rogue decided to fetch herself a snack, and as she made her way down to the kitchen, noticed the light spilling out. So her suspicions were true. Others were up.
Planting a fake smile on her face, Rogue moved to step into the room, but stopped stock still, as she saw who it was. Logan and Bobby. Rogue gazed at the two men in front of her, her green eyes shining with confusion. Who was she meant to go to? Both obviously had something on their mind, and both looked like they need someone to talk to…
Logan silently stood up, and moved forward to move out of the door, not wanting to cause arguments, especially not tonight of all nights. He glanced across to Rogue as they passed, and his hand gently moved to brush against her gloved one. That mere touch was enough to make Rogue's mind up.
Rogue cast an apologetic look towards Bobby, and turning on her heel quickly, moved to go after Logan, leaving the kitchen.
--
And so, Bobby was left alone once more. Finally, the tears started to fall, and he tilted his head backwards to gaze up at the ceiling, trying to gulp back the sobs. There was only one person who would've been able to console him. But Bobby knew he wouldn't come. He was miles away; he had left Bobby behind as if he was nothing… He had left Bobby alone. Everyone had someone else to turn to, but Bobby's 'person' had left…
His roommate…
His best friend…
John.
And silently, he sat alone, with his pain, his sorrow.
