Chapter 2: Black and Blue
Disclaimer: Really?! I own the X Men? Oh, sorry, I just own this story, never mind...
A/N: And the plot begins! Oh, and with a smattering of Kurtty on the side!
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Evan did a flip and rolled down the ramp, smirking the entire way. Kurt grinned and dropped his board following Evan's example, the boys copied each other in a strange game of follow the leader as the girls watched from the side lines. At one point Kurt did a front flip over a bench to land on his board much to Evan's surprise.
"So you can do that on a board, you had me worried I was taking you out of your element."
Kurt laughed, "Nope, but I'm still not in your league. You're going easy on me!"
"That is true!" the boys laughed and Kitty watched with interest.
"Kurt's nice." Marie spoke up, her grin hidden by her manuscript of 'Dracula'.
"Yeah, I like him." Kitty smiled.
Marie finally looked up at her little sister. "Why aren't you dancing, you're never this intent on watching Evan board."
A pink blush rose on Kitty's cheeks but still she smiled and stood and turned on her portable IPod speaker, quickly finding the song she wanted. After doing several stretches she pressed play, and The Black Eyed Peas' 'Don't Phunk With My Heart' started playing, with Kitty dancing and following the beat to the exact measure.
Marie grinned and closed her script, tapping her foot to the beat she watched her sister twist and spin, using the props of the Terrain Park in her performance.
Kurt stopped and watched Kitty with a smile. "She's good." He stated and stood back to watch her. His eyes followed her feet and took in the relaxed smile on her face along with her closed eyes as she was taken by the music.
He grinned and walked over; he jumped on a bar and did a handstand on it, leaning his head back in an incredible act of flexibility.
Kitty spun over and her eyes opened to find she had a new dance partner. She smirked, "Alright You...gonna help me out here?"
Kurt smirked and flipped to stand on the bar. He held out his hand and helped her up. She proceeded to spin, Kurt helping her balance.
She kept her eyes closed and Kurt's expression became relaxed. Marie and Evan watched in amazement, the show of balance was incredible in their eyes and they kept looking for the wires holding their friends up.
Eventually Kitty grinned and jumped down; Kurt did a front flip over her head and spun in the air to land so he was facing her. She smirked and took his hand as he spun her around him.
Marie grinned and joined in, quickly followed by Evan. It was quite clear that Kitty was the best dancer, but the other three held up quite well. As the song ended, Evan swept Marie into a dip and Kurt did the same with Kitty.
He grinned and pulled her up and she smiled. "Thanks Kurt that was the most fun I've had dancing in a while."
He shrugged. "It was fun...you're immensely talented." His praised was rewarded when Kitty blushed.
"Thanks."
The four returned from their impromptu dance routine to their own individual activities. Kitty falling back into her own dancing world, Evan focused entirely on his skateboarding. Marie had her tongue between her teeth as she read her script, trying to find a way to modernize 'Dracula' without losing the overall story. Kurt, taking calm even breathes, balanced one handed on a rail near where Kitty was dancing. Aside from the interesting balancing act he was putting on, he looked like he was meditating.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our favourite losers."
Kitty snapped out of her trance as did Kurt. Evan paused and looked to the voice and Marie switched off Kitty's music and looked over with irritation.
A tall brunette boy looking like the ideal bad-boy stood at the entrance to the Terrain Park, flanked by a slimy looking boy with greasy and dirty, in the literal sense, blonde hair, along with a platinum blonde teenage boy dressed in expensive looking clothes.
"What do you want Lance?" Marie sighed and Kitty fell back into herself, looking like a shy little wallflower.
Kurt didn't like the change and dropped from his hand stand silently and walked over to stand behind Kitty.
She stepped back and jumped a bit when she brushed up against him. Looking up he gave her a reassuring grin and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Lance shrugged in answer to Marie's question, "Well mainly I want to ask Pretty Kitty on a date, so if you'll excuse me."
"Not on your life!" Kurt snarled, gently pushing Kitty behind him.
Evan's, Marie's and Kitty's jaws all dropped, up until now they'd only heard Kurt emotionless, around his mother, and easy going, the anger was new and reminded them of Logan when he got protective.
Kurt, for his part, didn't notice their reactions. What he had noticed was how Kitty had tensed up when Lance revealed what he wanted. He had always had a protective streak in him, and his friend's fear wasn't something that he'd let pass by easily.
"And who are you?" Lance looked Kurt over and quickly made the decision that he was no threat.
"Doesn't matter, you aren't asking Kitty on a date, so move along and go vandalize a park bench somewhere."
Lance strode over and got right in Kurt's face. "No one tells me what to do. Not even some freak like you."
Kurt cocked an eyebrow then smirked. "So what are you planning on doing? Dragging Kitty off if she doesn't agree to a date?"
Lance smirked, "Exactly." Kurt stood straight and crossed his arms before making a motion for Lance to look behind him.
Being the smart boy he was, he turned and found himself being stared down by a very angry looking James Howlett.
"What were you plannin' on doin' to my daughter?" the man strode down the concrete steps and Evan held in a chuckle when Todd and Pietro bolted.
Lance stood stiff as a pole and was close to hyperventilating.
"Why don't you kids head home and I'll take care of Alvers here." His tone showed it wasn't a suggestion.
"Got it Dad." Marie chimed and packed up their things.
Kurt wrapped a friendly arm around Kitty's shoulders and led her after Evan who handed his friend his board. It was only when they were half a block away from the park when they paused and all shared a look before falling to the ground in laughter.
"Dear Lord your father is scary." Kurt choked out.
Marie smirked, "Told ya so."
Evan shook his head. "You are insane, man, completely nuts."
Kurt shrugged and Kitty smiled. "Thanks for that though." She whispered for his ears only as they stood.
He gave her a warm smile, like the one he'd given her that morning. "That's what I'm here for." That statement alone sent Kitty's heart fluttering.
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Later that night, Evan flipped through a sports magazine as his mother watched TV downstairs. Everything was peaceful and calm, or at least it was until the sound of a car driving up and the front door opening and slamming shut reached his ears.
"What is this?!"
"Thomas, now please just calm down..."
"Calm down?! Calm down?! Vivian why the hell did I just get divorce papers from your lawyer?!"
Evan winced and quietly closed his door, even though his parents were yelling so loudly he doubted they'd hear if he slammed it.
He could still hear them though and he buried his face in his pillow, putting on his headphones and blasting Fall Out Boy's 'Thanks for the Memories' in an attempt to cover his parent's yells.
He paid no attention to the tears that started to soak his pillow or the yells that grew louder and louder. His heart pounded in his ears as even through his music he could hear the sounds of crashes as things were thrown and insults were cried. He covered his head with his pillow, trying to block it all out...
By morning, he'd cried himself to sleep and his eyes felt weird from having cried all night. His IPod had died at some point and was now silent along with the rest of the house.
With a sad sigh, he went from hid bed, to his bedroom door and down the stairs. The scene in the living room was similar to all the times his father had come home angry and his parents had fought.
Breakables were shattered, their pieces coating the hardwood. Several pillows had been torn apart somehow and the feathers added to the mess. A few chairs were tipped over and all in all the room was an absolute mess.
He turned and went back upstairs and into his bathroom where he had a quick shower before changing into a blue t-shirt and grey shorts. He grabbed his skateboard before leaving the house and headed across the street. He knocked on the door and it was opened several minutes later by a tired looking Kurt.
"Evan?" he yawned and stepped aside.
"Hey, sorry. Did I wake you up?"
"Huh? No, no, nothing like," he yawned, "Nothing like that, I actually just woke up." He gave his friend a tired grin before becoming concerned. "Are you alright?"
Evan gave his friend a surprised look. "Yeah, totally, why do you ask?"
Kurt shrugged. "You seem off."
Evan gave his friend a reassuring grin. "I'm fine, no worries...So," he dropped onto the couch, "What are you doing today?"
Kurt shrugged himself. "I got pretty much everything unpacked last night, so I have no idea."
"Well, Marie's going to some Gothic book signing with her friend, but I don't think Kit's doing anything, we could steal her for the day."
Kurt grinned, "Can I get into some actual clothes first though?" he was still in his workout clothes.
"Yeah, yeah, just be quick." Kurt chucked a pillow at his friend as he headed upstairs to get dressed.
By the time he came back downstairs he was in jeans and a green t-shirt. "So what's the plan of attack?" he questioned as they strolled down the sidewalk.
Evan smirked, "I say we do the gag and bag, very efficient."
Kurt laughed and they entered the Howlett house, nearly getting run over by Marie as she rushed past with another Gothic looking girl with short cropped black hair and wearing all red.
"Oh hey Evan, Kurt. Kit's upstairs, see ya!" the two boys watched with amusement as the girls left the house and jumped into the car parked outside.
"You feel loved when she doesn't even look at you." Kurt stated sarcastically.
"Hello?!" Evan called up the stairs.
"Stop standing there and get up here!" Kitty yelled back and the two guys headed up to find the only door open was one that lead into the cream room that housed Kitty.
Kurt looked around taking in the twin bed with pale pink sheets and general lack of dark colors. Kitty herself was bent over her desk and an open book looking tense.
"Help me!"
Kurt and Evan shared a look and Evan lowered his voice. "All yours mate, I'm no good with this stuff."
"Thanks." Kurt said with sarcasm dripping from his tone.
"I'll be raiding the fridge." the dark skinned boy finished and ducked out of the room.
Kurt took a breath and walked over to where Kitty was having a small panic attack. "Alright, what's the problem." he leaned over her and took a look at the papers spread over the desk. They all had one thing in common: computer programming.
"What is all this?" he asked and picked up several of the pages.
"Ugh, my mark in Computer Technologies class last year was majorly low and I need to make up the work over the summer. Well, there's a month left and I still have no freaking clue what I'm doing!"
"Okay, alright, relax..." he placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Calm down and take a breath." he ordered softly.
Kitty closed her eyes and leaned back against his chest doing as he said and felt herself relax.
"Now, as I see it, all you need to do is create a good project and hand that in."
"Alright, and what do you suggest?"
Kurt grinned, "Do you own a video camera?"
She nodded, "Marie does."
"Perfect. Create a video, edit it together and voila! You're done!" he grinned and finally Kitty relaxed.
"That sounds so much easier."
"Good, now your sister would kill us if we took her camera without asking so you are going to take a break and keep Evan and I from going insane." she laughed and took his hand as he led her downstairs.
"Kit! You're still alive...and you didn't kill Kurt, a personal best!" she punched his arm and Kurt stifled a chuckle.
"Any idea what we're going to do all day?" Kurt questioned rolling his shoulders, he was sure he'd pulled something that morning.
"I have no idea." the cousins dropped into chairs followed quickly by Kurt.
When Ororo came in from the backyard it was to find her daughter, her nephew and their friend staring at each other blankly. "Hello?"
They came to life slowly and greeted her. "Hey Mom/Aunty O/Mrs. Howlett."
She shook her head and grinned, "What are you three doing inside on such a nice day?"
"Trying to find something to do." Evan supplied.
"Yes, you look hard at work." she laughed. "Why don't you just go for a walk through town, you're sure to find something to do."
They all looked at each other. "We don't have anything better to do." Kitty stated and stood, pulling Kurt with her. "You coming Evan?" he sighed and followed.
"Sure, why not?"
Ororo grinned as the three teens left, it was quite interesting how easily Kitty had warmed up to Kurt, she wasn't usually that courageous, choosing instead to stay in the background.
~This might be interesting. ~ She decided and finished her lemonade to head back to her beloved garden.
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"Oh God, hide me!" Evan jumped behind Kurt, ducking his head.
"Uh, can we ask why?" Kurt fought to keep the laughter to a minimal.
"My ex-girlfriend, Calisto, is right over there." he pointed to a tall black haired white girl across the street.
"Her?! She's such a control freak it's ridiculous." Kitty crossed her arms. In the few weeks the two had dated, she and Marie had hardly seen Evan at all.
"Bad break up?" Kurt guessed.
"You have no idea." Evan whispered.
"I think I do, I dated this girl named Amanda back in San Francisco, worst mistake of my life! She was controlling, overbearing and I never got a single minute to myself. It was probably the only time I've actually been glad to hear my Mom say the words: we're moving." Kitty rubbed his arm sympathetically.
"Kitty!" Calisto called and Evan made a soft yelp of panic. Kurt promptly elbowed his friend.
"What do we do, she'll flip if she sees me." Evan whispered.
"I'm thinking. I'm thinking..." Kurt replied trying to find an answer to their apparent problem.
Kitty's eyes lit up with an idea and she looped her arm with Kurt's. "Just play along." she whispered. "Evan, hide behind us both and don't make a sound."
"Kitty, it's so nice to see you." Calisto came up dressed in army colors and Kurt wondered momentarily why Evan had dated the girl.
"It's great to see you too." Kitty replied, lying through her teeth.
"Who's this?" Calisto finally noticed that Kitty was with someone.
"Oh this is my boyfriend Kurt." was the answer.
Kurt caught on quickly and smiled, "Kurt Darkholme." he held his hand out to the girl.
"Oh, it's uh, nice to meet you." she shook his hand and Evan held his breath. "So Kitty, have you seen Evan recently?"
"No, actually, he and his mom went on vacation for the summer." Kitty tilted her head to the side slightly, looking like an innocent child.
"Oh, uh, thanks I guess. Nice meeting you." Calisto walked away and it was a few minutes later that Evan finally popped back up.
"Thank you Lord!" Kurt and Kitty laughed and dragged Evan off, heading in a random direction.
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"Sorry my brother's such a pain." Wanda said after Marie had finished retelling the previous day's activities.
"Hey it's not your fault Pietro can be an ass." Wanda rolled her eyes as they pulled up to her friend's house. Ororo was in the front garden tending to one of the many flower beds.
"Hey Mom!" she turned and smiled when she saw her daughter, through some strange DNA mutations, both of her daughters had their father's pale skin, not even a hint of her own African roots showed unless you really looked.
"Hey you two. Wanda I never got to ask you if your family was coming to our end of summer party on the thirtieth."
Wanda smiled, "We'll be sure to drop by Mrs. Howlett."
Ororo nodded with a grin. "Marie, Kitty and Kurt are in the backyard; she said something about needing to borrow your camera and needed to speak with you."
"Thanks Mom." The girls quickly walked through the house to find the two teens exactly where Ororo had said they'd be.
Kitty was sitting in the tire swing that hung from the tree while Kurt relaxed above her in the branches. They'd only known Kurt for a few days but already those sorts of things were normal.
"Hey Marie!"
"Guten Tag Fraulein." Kurt smirked, "Told you, German's my first language."
The Goth shook her head. "You're a weird one Kurt Darkholme."
"Thank you."
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Kurt blinked blearily at the blank white ceiling, so far he'd only lived in Bayville for a week and a half and it was by far the most comfortable he'd been in a while.
He wondered for a minute what had woke him up when he heard the incessant knocking coming from downstairs. He glanced momentarily at the clock and groaned: it was four-thirty in the morning.
He was wide awake then, when he heard his mom moving around down the hall.
~Crap! Not good! ~
He jumped from his bed and quickly went downstairs, his mother's movements ceased and he relaxed. ~One crisis averted. ~
He unlocked the door and opened it to reveal an ashen faced Evan. "Hey, what's up?" he pulled his friend inside only to notice how badly he was shaking.
"I-they just-and he…" Evan dissolved into incoherent sobs and Kurt led him over to the couch.
"Evan, calm down now. What's going on?" Kurt decided that the best way to deal with this was to stay calm, not fall into the worry that bubbled in his stomach.
Evan took a few breathes, "My Dad he…" he began to hyperventilate and Kurt was reminded violently of when he was little and would wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares of being burned at the stake. He wrapped an arm around his friend and held him tightly until the worst of the shaking left.
"Alright, now slowly tell me what's going on."
Evan looked into his friend's dark blue eyes, they were strong and Evan grasped at that strength and forced himself to get the words out. "My Dad came over," Kurt nodded; he'd been told of the nasty divorce his mom had filed against his dad. "He was drunk or something and he started, he started beating my mom." The last part was faint and Kurt felt a wave of revulsion wash over him. "She yelled for me to leave, he's still over there!"
"Okay, calm down Evan, let's go get Logan." Evan nodded and Kurt pulled him from the couch and out the door.
The boys raced down the street to the Howlett house and started pounding on the door until an irritated Marie answered it. "What?!"
"Where's your Dad?!" Kurt was the only coherent one as Evan was having trouble breathing. Kurt kept an arm around him to hold him up. "Marie it's important."
Her eyes widened at the sight of her cousin. "DAD!" she called loudly and there were soon heavy footsteps on the stairs.
"What's going on?" he growled out.
"Evan's dad, he's attacking his mom!" Kurt got out before Logan growled angrily.
"Call the police." He ordered Marie and barrelled out the door and down the street.
The Goth gaped before jumping into the living room and dialling 911.
Kurt sat Evan on the couch and tried to focus on calming him. "Relax Evan, your uncle's going over there to help your mom, Marie is getting the police. Everything's going to be fine." Evan nodded, hugging himself and Ororo made herself known, having heard the entire thing.
"I'll take it from here." She whispered and sat herself next to her nephew, pulling him to her.
Kurt stood from the couch and did the one thing he did when he was stressed, he started pacing. That was how he was found by Kitty when she finally made it downstairs.
"Kurt?" she placed a hand on his arm causing him to stop. "What's wrong?" Coming downstairs to find her father gone, her mother comforting her cousin, her sister staring anxiously at the phone and her friend pacing restlessly was not normal.
He sighed and took her hand, pulling her into the kitchen where he told her the entire story.
She fell into a chair in shock. "Oh God…" he sat next to her.
"Please don't break down Katzchen." His voice was thick; Kurt was worried he wouldn't be able to stay strong if two people he cared about broke down. She looked at him and shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back and they held to each other like a lifeline.
Kitty bit her lip, struggling not to cry. Her aunt was a good person; she didn't deserve this sort of thing.
"'Ro!" Logan's voice came through the front door and everyone came to life.
Evan having finally calmed down, Ororo left him on the couch to speak with Logan. Marie took up her mother's place on the couch next to Evan as she went to her husband.
"The police are at Vivian's house along with the paramedics, they need to speak with you, Evan and Kurt. I told them the entire story." She nodded and Kurt squeezed Kitty's hand, wrapping a brotherly arm around Evan to pull him from the couch.
"You just need to tell them what you told me." He whispered in his friend's ear.
They went outside to find three police cars and an ambulance waiting for them. A female cop came over, her expression soft. "And which one of these boys is her son?"
"Me." Evan held up his hand.
"Alright, now I need you to tell me your version of the story." Evan quietly told her what he'd told Kurt, ending with how he'd ran to his friend's house in his panic.
The woman nodded, "Alright, and this is your friend Mr. Daniels."
"It's Monroe, and yes." Evan gained more confidence in his tone as he refused to be called by his father's last name. Kurt grinned despite himself at his friend's tone.
"And your name is?"
"Kurt Darkholme ma'am." He stated and told her his part of the story, ending at Logan's departure from the house.
"And Mr. Howlett, why exactly did you leave the house?"
"Vivian's my sister-in-law and I'm not about to let some self absorbed bastard hurt her." He stated, his arms crossed with a 'don't mess with my family' expression on his face.
Marie and Kitty silently crept out of the house and over to Evan and Kurt where they flanked the boys as the police officer finished questioning Ororo and Logan.
"Alright, well that's all I need."
"Is my mom alright?" Evan spoke up and the woman turned.
"She's stable but being taken to the hospital as we speak." Evan nodded.
"And Thomas?" Ororo questioned wondering what had happened to her sister's attacker.
"Is being taken to jail where he will be held until further notice." The cop completed then left the scene.
Ororo smiled at the teens. "C'mon, I think this calls for something to eat." She herded them all inside and sat them at the kitchen table while she proceeded to search through the pantries.
Marie and Kurt shared a look; she was clearly more broken up by this than she was admitting. "Mom. It's alright we're-"
"I know you're fine, honey, but I just need to be doing something." She said softly. Marie nodded and got comfortable.
Evan dropped his head to the table and Kitty leaned up against Kurt. All together, the teenagers let out a sigh. The sound of food cooking filled the small kitchen and Kitty drifted off into a light doze while Marie watched her mother with a far-away look.
"Hey Kurt?" Evan spoke up.
"Yeah?" he looked over at his friend.
"Thanks mate." He gave him a weak smile which Kurt returned.
"No problem Evan. You would've done the same for me." Evan's smile grew a little bit.
"Here you go kids." Ororo set down a plate of pancakes, a pitcher of orange juice, fruit salad and many other breakfast dishes.
Kurt gently nudged Kitty and the four ate at a slow pace, eventually just pushing their food around their plates.
Leaving Ororo to clean the dishes, she insisted, they went into the living room and took up several of the seats.
Kurt sat on the couch and pulled his legs up underneath him, Kitty joined him, and curled up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Everything finally caught up with the boy and he drifted off to sleep, Kitty following soon after. Evan grinned a bit and threw a blanket over them.
"Cute." Marie remarked as she curled up one the loveseat.
Evan sat in one of the armchairs and leaned back into it as silence descended over the house. "She'll be fine, Evan."
He grinned gratefully at Marie. "Thanks, Marie."
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When Kitty woke up, the first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her bed. Moving a little she realized she'd fallen asleep against Kurt, who was still sleeping himself.
~Oops. ~ She shrugged mentally and laid her head on his shoulder again with a small smile playing on her lips.
She simply rested until everyone else started stirring, starting with Kurt. He blinked owlishly and sat up straighter.
She moved off him, "You make a good pillow." She stated softly, not wanting to wake anyone else up.
He gave her a playful grin and stretched his stiff muscles, "I'll take that as a compliment."
He stood from the couch. "Guess I should go home."
She sighed, "I'll be back after I've gotten dressed though." She gave him a small smile.
"Alright, see you in a little bit."
"Half hour tops." He grinned and left the living room, closing the front door softly behind him.
He made his way home quickly and entered through the unlocked front door. Listening hard he found he couldn't hear any sounds that might indicate his mom was still home so he shrugged and locked the door, heading up to have a shower and get dressed.
After he'd successfully relaxed every muscle in his body with the hot water he changed into tan cargos and a red t-shirt.
Going downstairs he was met with a very strange sight: his mother, standing in the middle of the living room, her hands on his hips as she glared at him.
Raven Darkholme was not someone you'd like to meet in a dark alley. Even after having a child she was fit and thin, always impeccably dressed in the best suits and had a no-nonsense vibe to her that was highlighted by her sharp gray eyed gaze.
"Where exactly did you disappear off to at four in the morning?" Kurt nearly winced, she was angry.
"Sorry, mom, my friend needed some help and…"
"Spare me your excuses, I don't want to hear them, nor do I have time for them." He did wince this time.
"You will not be leaving this house young man, no buts!" he closed his mouth and looked down.
"I have to go to work, you better be here when I get back." She warned and left, he waited for the sound of her car leaving and watched through the front window until it disappeared.
"Grounded my ass." He muttered and left through the back door, an angry scowl fixed on his face as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
By the time he reached the Howlett house, the worst of his anger had left to be left with dark brooding.
He walked inside without knocking, as was becoming custom for him to do, and found Kitty curled up on the couch, except dressed as opposed to when she was in her pyjamas earlier.
"Hey, that was forty five minutes, where were you?"
He gave her a tired grin. "Never try and deal with my mother this early." He shuddered and dropped down next to her.
"Ouch, she was angry?"
He shrugged, "She's always angry."
She sighed and nudged him. "Mom took Evan to the hospital and Marie decided to go back to bed. What do you want to do?" he shrugged again.
"To be honest, I don't feel up to much."
She sighed "Thank God."
Kitty fell back against the couch and closed her eyes, "Nap time." He laughed and ran a hand down over her hair. She smiled and leaned against him instead of the couch. He grinned a bit and leaned against the couch, drifting in and out of sleep.
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Kurt walked back into his house later that evening having spent the entire day with his friends. Evan had come back around Lunch and they'd all relaxed around the house, still winding down from the night before.
He strolled into the kitchen through the backdoor and in a strangely reminiscent way found his mother in the living room looking absolutely livid.
"So now because I'm not here you don't follow my orders?" he went stiff and prepared himself for a tongue lashing.
"I leave for work and you immediately flit off to God knows where!"
"Mom, look last night-" he reeled back as his mother's hand made contact with his cheek.
He stared at her with surprise, "You will not back talk to me."
He gulped, this was not going well. "I don't care if your friend's house was on fire or their father had a heart attack, you do not disobey me!" he winced and fought the urge to curl into a ball.
"Go upstairs now!" he slowly passed her and made his way up the stairs and into his room with his mother following him.
"No music, no phone and you are not to leave this house for any reason." She slammed the door and he dropped onto his bed.
He brought a hand to his stinging cheek with a wince. ~Ow…~ he took a breath and curled up under the blankets, trying to ignore the world, it'd worked before.
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Kurt must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew he was waking up to bright sunlight.
He groaned and rolled over, away from the light. There was knocking at the door, and he knew he couldn't answer it.
If that wasn't bad enough, he could hear his friend's through the open window.
"Kurt! Hey Kurt, are you in there?" Kitty's voice drifted inside and he brought his legs to his chest, bighting his lip, no he did not want to go down that road again.
"C'mon man, where are you?" Evan voice joined in and Kurt clenched his eyes shut.
Outside, the three cousins were getting concerned. "Do you think he'd okay?"
"I don't know…" Marie replied to her sister's question.
"Hey, check it out, his windows open." Evan pointed.
"Kurt, are you up there?" Kitty called and finally their friend appeared, looking exhausted and Evan noticed a faint mark marring the pale skin of his cheek.
"Hey, you all right man?"
Kurt didn't know how to reply. "That's it, I'm coming up." Evan left the front step and started climbing the tree outside Kurt's house. Scaling it quickly he climbed onto the roof and crept over to Kurt's window.
He frowned when he saw his eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him; there was a blue-purple bruise on Kurt's cheek.
"Alright, what's going on?" he asked angrily, regretting it immediately when Kurt winced. "C'mon man, your scaring me." He said softer.
Kurt took a breath, "I can't leave the house."
"Mom's orders?" He nodded, "And she's the one that gave you that bruise."
Kurt said the first lie that came to mind, "No, I...fell, actually..."
Evan cocked an eyebrow as if to say, 'Yeah, and I'm King of the Universe' "Yeah, you the master of balance actually fell. Do you really expect me to believe that?" he entered the rest of the way through the window, levelling a glare at his friend.
Kurt looked away, not exactly knowing how to respond.
Evan sighed and went to stand by his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder. Kurt tensed up and Evan immediately regretted the way he'd been acting. "Look I'm sorry man...how long has this been going on?" he asked quietly.
"She doesn't hit me all the time, just when I make her really angry..." that wasn't the whole truth, but no way in hell was he about to say what had happened a few years ago, no way.
"Kurt..." Evan sighed; he had no idea how to deal with this sort of thing. "Come on." He put an arm around his friend and guided him downstairs.
He was about to go to the front door when Kurt reacted quite strangely, ducking out of Evan's hold and backing up until he hit the stairs.
Evan looked confused, "Kurt? What's?"
"I'm not allowed to leave." He shook his head, his eyes like that of a captured animal.
Evan's eyes were empathetic and he could see his friend was close to a full on panic attack. "Alright, you don't have to leave, but Kitty and Marie are coming in." Kurt relaxed a bit and nodded his head, leaving Evan to unlock and open the front door, beckoning the girls inside.
The girls stepped in, stopping and staring when they saw their normally upbeat friend sitting on his stairs, his eyes dead.
Kitty rushed over and sat next to him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. She gently brushed his navy hair away from his eyes, catching sight of the bruise on his cheek.
He looked up at her, almost confused. Kitty sighed, fighting the tears that fought to fall. She hugged him tighter, placing a kiss on the top if his head.
He closed his eyes and leaned into her embrace relaxing a bit more around his friends, whom he trusted more than his own mother.
"What's going on?" Marie quietly questioned Evan.
"His mom's an absolute bitch, that's what." He hissed angrily, still keeping his voice low enough not to spook Kurt.
Her jaw dropped and she finally noticed the bruise on his cheek, "That retched, evil, no good..." she continued to insult Raven Darkholme, using words that made Evan's eyes widen and some that he wasn't quite sure were legal.
On the stairs Kitty continued to comfort her friend, whom she was scared to notice was starting to shake violently. "Kurt? Kurt are you alright?" her voice grew panicked and she released him to kneel in front of him. "Kurt?!"
Alarmed, Evan and Marie rushed over and took a look at their friend. He seemed paler than normal, his eyes were glazed and he wasn't responding to them at all.
"Evan, run and get my mom, now!" Marie ordered and he left through the front door as fast as his feet could carry him. "Kitty, try and calm him down." Her sister nodded and took Kurt's face in her hands.
"Kurt, you need to calm down. You're okay, you're alright, nothing's going to happen to you." She stated, sounding more confident than she actually felt.
His eyes met hers, "I don't, I don't..." he choked out and he was wracked by sobs. She brushed the tears away, truly terrified but refusing to show it.
"She's not going to hurt you. We won't let her. We'll tell the police."
He swallowed, "That w-won't work..." he whispered. "She pays them o-off. She'll g-get her w-way no matter what!" Kitty felt like she'd just been electrocuted.
"Kurt...has this happened before?" her voice was soft and he nodded, biting his lip so hard she was worried he'd draw blood.
Her resolve hardened, "She won't hurt you, I swear Kurt, she won't."
He shook his head violently, shaking even worse than before. "It won't work, it won't work, it won't..." he gasped out and Marie came back into the room, a damp face cloth in her hand.
Gently, she dabbed his face, hoping to cool him off. Kitty whispered softly to him and Marie joined her.
That was how they were when Evan came back, alone. "She isn't there, no one is!" Marie bit her lip; so far Kurt was only getting worse, not better.
Kitty closed her eyes and hugged Kurt as tightly as she dared.
Evan noticed something: Kurt stopped shaking ever so slightly. He kneeled down and wrapped his arms around his friend and his cousin, the shaking abated a bit more. Marie wrapped her arms around all three of them and they all hugged their friend until the shaking left completely.
Evan and Marie pulled away, leaving Kitty holding Kurt who had his eyes clamped shut. Marie brushed her finger lightly over the bruise on his cheek. His eyes flew open, seeing first a sympathetic looking Marie then a worried Evan. He blinked a few times, quickly putting two and two together.
He sighed, "Are you okay?" Kitty asked softly and he nodded wordlessly.
"Not the first time." He mumbled hoarsely.
"Kurt, we have to know what just happened."
He looked down, "Birth defect, at least, that what she calls it. Whenever something like...this happens, I have something that's relatable to a panic attack. I got them a lot as a kid." He finished, the attacks always left him tired and physically sore.
Evan laid a hand on his arm, "You're okay now though right?" Kurt nodded and his friends were still scared to see that his eyes were empty of their regular laughter.
The four stayed there for a few minutes not talking, not moving, not doing anything, just trying to think through the disaster that had just erupted in their lives.
Kitty closed her eyes and rested her head on top of Kurt's, sighing softly.
"Why'd she hit you Kurt?" Marie broke the silence and Kurt, gave them the absolute truth, they deserved it after helping him.
"She was angry that I left the house at four in the morning, and then came back really late. She told me to stay home, but I just couldn't. So when I came back last night, she..." he trailed off, letting them piece the rest together.
"Wait, she was angry 'cause you helped me?" Evan questioned.
"I couldn't even explain." The reply silenced them all.
The sound of a car driving up shattered the silence.
"Oh god, she's home early." Kurt stood quickly. "There's no way you'll be able to get out through the front or back door."
The car was shut off. "Upstairs, hurry." The four ran up the stairs as fast as possible and into Kurt's room.
"In here." He opened his closet door; thank God he had a walk in closet.
His three friends squeezed inside. "Stay quiet, hopefully she'll leave soon." Kitty pulled the door closed and they stood in the dark, absolutely silent except for a few baited breathes.
Kurt took a calming breath and jumped on his bed, trying to even out his breathing. He shut his eyes just as his mom opened the door.
Her cold eyes searched the room, taking in her apparently sleeping son, then the open window.
Her gaze narrowed and she strode over, slamming the window shut. Kurt pretended to be jolted awake by the sound.
"Mom?" he tried to sound groggy.
She glared at him, "Your window was open." She said as way of explanation.
"I swear I didn't leave the house." Kurt sat up, trying his best not to cower.
In the closet, the three cousins listened to the exchange, their hearts pounding so hard they were sure they'd be given away.
Raven evaluated her son; she cocked an eyebrow, "Good. You're punishment is over tomorrow, don't disobey me again." She left the room, slamming the door behind her.
Kurt didn't move from his position until he heard her car start and drive away.
It was silent for a full five minutes before Kitty opened the closet door.
Kurt closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief, falling back on his bed. He had been sure he was dead meat.
"I'm moving out as soon as I'm old enough." He muttered and Marie attempted to lighten the situation, remembering her first description of Kurt's mother on the day they met him.
"Can I say it now?" she questioned, sounding like a child.
Kitty looked at her in confusion but Evan caught on and sighed over dramatically. "If you must..."
Marie grinned and crossed her arms, "That woman certainly has a pole up her ass."
Kurt snorted, a grin gracing his lips. "Pretty sure it's the Statue of Liberty actually." Kitty giggled and fell on the bed next to her friend, lying on her stomach with her chin resting in one hand.
"So what do we do now?" Evan questioned, dropping to Kurt's desk chair.
Marie shrugged, "Kurt?"
He sighed, "We have to just leave it be, this is the first time something like this has happened in a while, so we just have to let it go for now..." the group as a whole did not like this decision, but agreed, seeing as they had no other choice currently.
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A/N: Yeah, I guess that could be considered a cliff hanger. So, this was much longer, something I'm quite happy about! Let me know what you think