Chapter 2

Kitty stared boredly out the window. While incredibly smart for one her age, she never much cared for science. Currently, she was in Biology – the honors course naturally – and was bored out of her mind. The teacher did nothing but ramble on in a monotonous tone about the wonders of phospholipids and molecular structures. For some reason, these seemed to be Mr. Britine's favorites.

"And the…" he continued on about bonds and the like, boring Kitty even more. Tuning him out yet again, she turned her attention back to the outdoors. It was so beautiful out there, a day worthy to be painted. She imagined Piotr was outside right now, painting the landscape of the mansion grounds.

"Kitty!" a low voice hissed close to her ear. Kitty jumped and turned to face a smiling blond.

"What?" she whispered, looking frantically at the teacher. Had she been asked a question? Apparently not, for he was now waving his arms dramatically – a complete contrast to his monotone – and rambling on about the wonders of dehydration synthesis. Boooring!

"You were drooling," Doug Ramsey whispered. She blushed darkly and swiped at the side of her mouth. Sure enough, a small glob of saliva came with her palm. She grimaced in disgust and wiped it on the side of her fashionable jeans.

"Thanks for telling me," she said quietly. Her gaze looked towards Mr. Bristine, but he still wasn't paying much attention to anything other than his beloved molecules and whatnot. "That would've been totally embarrassing!"

Doug smiled easily and shrugged, sitting back in his seat. His blond hair flopped in his pretty boy face. Many mistook him for a simpleminded jock when really he was the exact opposite. Actually, he only came second to her keen intelligence, and he didn't like sports in the least. Unless you counted fixing computers or playing chess a sport.

At one time, Kitty had a crush on him. She quickly moved on after spotting him with a nice boy named Ricky Spratley in her third period Literature Honors class. It took her a while to get over the fact that Doug was homosexual, but when she accepted it their friendship resumed its strong bond.

Kitty sighed gratefully when the bell rang. Mr. Bristine blinked a few times, surprised at how quickly time had flown. His distracted gaze cleared, and he noticed a few students lifting their heads from the desks. Deciding not to dwell on the fact that his students didn't find this wondrous subject as interesting as he did, and in fact were sleeping through his lectures rather than taking attentive notes, he dismissed the class and settled down for his next period.

The students filed out, nearly trampling each other in an attempt to leave the cold classroom. Kitty almost cheered when she was out of the room, but settled on another relieved sigh instead. Doug said his goodbyes and headed towards the other end of the hall. He had Calculus this period, choosing that instead of Trigonometry, and Kitty had regular art.

She wasn't the most artistic person, but she wanted to take the subject to impress Piotr. Switching out of Home Economics so late in the year surprisingly wasn't hard. What Kitty didn't know was word of her atrocious cooking abilities had traveled through the school. Mrs. Goldstein was more than happy to see her go.

Art wasn't the most challenging subject Kitty ever took, but she enjoyed it well enough. Plus, each lesson helped her understand what Piotr found so amazing about a blank canvas and an easel. She wished Rogue was in her class, as the older woman loved art just as much as the Russian did. However, even if she were still in high school, Rogue would've obviously been in an advanced lesson rather than regular.

"All right ev'ryone," Madame Delacroix said in her thick French accent. "Take out your easels and let us begin our newest work."

The class followed suit eagerly, anxious to see what the sophisticated, yet wild teacher would have them do next. She was big on impressionists and the like, and loved to teach about Van Gogh, Monet, and anyone else that didn't follow the traditionalist paintings of so long ago. Not that she didn't like some of those artworks either. Art was art in her opinion, and it was always something beautiful.

Kitty hoped to be like Madame Delacroix one day. She reminded the girl strongly of Piotr, had he been a fifty-year-old woman from France. They shared the same ideals about art, and whenever Piotr talked of art, it was usually similar to something Kitty had heard her teacher say at one time or another. Both spoke passionately at the subject, prompting Kitty and the others to get heavily into their work. This class always flew by.

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The sun hung brightly in the sky, illuminating the grounds in a soft light. From this point, there were no glares on the land to disturb the painting. A sense of tranquility not usually found around the boisterous mansion hung thickly, calming those still present. Out here, at this time, painting was always best.

Piotr and Rogue sat side by side, portable easels by either's side. On Rogue's canvas lied a variety of dark colors forming the mansion's ground. A sense of foreboding combined with mysterious intrigue made a casual observer desire to see if these lands were as intimidating as they appeared. The thick, but fast strokes made a windy look appear on her paper.

Piotr's canvas was layered with light colors. It made the casual observer wish to visit simply for the happy effect it brought. Reminders of warm, spring days spent picking flowers, or summer camping trips came to mind with his brightly and much used colors. The simple sense of happiness and joy brought one's imagination to these very lands where mutants ran free and safe from the outside world.

Truly amazing how different colors could make the same picture appear so amazingly different. If they didn't know any better, Rogue and Piotr would say their pictures were of two different places with the same objects lying around in various places. A few daisies and roses here, a bright red and lavender for Piotr, and a crimson and royal purple for Rogue.

Art, a classical subject that would never bore either mutant for as long as they lived. If only others could see how wonderful a paintbrush and paints were, rather than those silly games of who could scream loudest or how much destruction they could cause with their powers. Even Jean, the mansion's proclaimed perfect mutant (she took the title with much ire), didn't understand what was truly wonderful about putting paint on a canvas.

Rogue wished Kitty weren't taking art merely to impress Piotr, but at least the younger girl seemed to be getting a better understanding for Rogue and Piotr's passion. It was a start, and it meant she wasn't trying to feed those atrocious muffins of hers to everyone. Small miracles really were the best, Rogue supposed.

"Ah love this time o' day," Rogue muttered more to herself. Piotr hummed in agreement.

"Quiet is hard to find here, da?"

"You said it, sugah." Rogue nodded in agreement. Turning her emerald gaze questioningly to Piotr, she smiled innocently. "Hey, Pete?"

"Hm?" he glanced at Rogue from the corner of his eye. Noticing the innocent smile on her face, he immediately went on alert. "Yes, Rogue?"

"Ah was just wonderin'…how d'ya feel 'bout our li'l Kitty?"

"Kitty?" Piotr blinked. "I wasn't aware we had a cat."

Rogue rolled her eyes. A sweet man, really, but sometimes he was too naïve for his own good. Maybe he and Kitty really were meant for each other.

"We don't, Ah meant th' girl."

"Oh!" Piotr blushed at his mistake. Sometimes, he forgot he lived in a manor full of people now. When one grew up on a farm, they often thought of animals before humans. "Katya is nice, very nice indeed."

His blush darkened when he said these words. Rogue knew he meant them innocently, but she smirked all the same. Piotr was nice and even more easily embarrassed than Scott. She had no plans to pick on him, – much – but that didn't mean her mind couldn't supply a few choice words to say to that. Kitty was very nice huh?

"Yeah," she said instead. "She's a nice gal, really, but how d'ya feel about her?"

"I am not sure I understand," Piotr mumbled, turning back to his canvas. The dark blush on his cheeks told her otherwise and his eyes constantly flicking towards her only added on. She smiled again.

"Suuure ya don't," she said. Piotr lowered his eyes back to the canvas, slightly disappointed to find his picture had just about all it could take. More colors would ruin the effect he was going for. Rogue, it seemed, was also finished with this particular painting.

"Rogue!" Remy's voice shouted before she could interrogate Piotr even more. He sighed in relief, not unnoticed by Rogue, and silently thanked Remy for his good timing.

Rogue turned to glare at the Cajun, feeling heat in her lower regions when she saw he wasn't wearing a shirt. Her eyes narrowed dangerously all the same. She hated when he interrupted her teasing/questioning sessions. He either didn't notice or didn't care about her glare because he kept walking and enveloped her in a tight hug.

Whispering something in her ear, Rogue blushed – a rare occurrence – and smiled apologetically at Piotr. She already knew he wouldn't care if she left, he'd probably be happy for it, but she still felt badly about leaving him so suddenly. The Russian was a good guy and an excellent partner in art.

"Sorry sug, Remy's plannin' on takin' meh somewhere."

"It is alright," Piotr reassured as he packed up his art supplies. "I will take your things."

"Thanks Petey!" Rogue said, waving as she ran towards the mansion. Remy smirked and winked at Piotr, then hurried after his fille. No way in hell would he miss a chance to watch her get dressed!

Piotr and Rogue had been given a special room for their art supplies, so usually they walked there together. Their conversations generally focused around famous painters: Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Pissaro, Renoir, Boudin, and many others from various countries. Sometimes though, Rogue would talk about her relationship with Remy, or they would chat about the other students at the mansion. A few times their conversation even centered on Piotr's little sister Illyana.

He enjoyed the conversations, though not nearly as much as he enjoyed talking to Kitty. There was something about the younger girl that made his heart speed up in a way it never did before. He remembered his father telling him of how he felt when he first met Piotr's mother. He, unlike most boys his age, looked forward to the day he would fall in love, and he thought he had when he met Laynia.

She left him in the end though, claiming to have better plans than be the wife of a farm boy. Never again, he'd sworn to himself, would he allow love to come between him and his dreams. Now, living at the mansion, he realized when he saw Kitty that even Laynia hadn't made him feel this way. If he were honest, he would admit to having deep feelings for the girl, but he was too scared to try anything.

For one, she was much younger than him. Four years to be exact, and at the moment it was illegal for them to be more than close friends. She would soon be sixteen, and he was nineteen-going-on-twenty. Of course, when she didn't act like the world was going to end because she couldn't find her favorite pink sweater, she acted much older than her years. Sometimes, he forgot she was only a child, which made things harder.

Kitty had enough love problems with Lance though. Piotr wanted nothing more than to punch Lance's face in for the way he treated Katya. She was a special girl that could do so much better than either of them. Piotr knew she felt something for him, but he pretended not to notice. He didn't want to rush her into a relationship when she so obviously wasn't over Lance just yet, and – he could admit, if only to himself – he was scared. Scared that she would be like Laynia, someone he'd gladly give everything he worked so hard for up and then dump him in the end.

Silly perhaps, but it was a fear that would not leave him. How could he trust another woman after what his first love did? Was it love, he wondered sometimes. She left him so easily, without so much as a flinch at his tears, and yet he quickly moved on from her. Shaking his head to dispel those thoughts, he reminded himself that it was more than a deep infatuation, and he couldn't be with Kitty for a number of reasons.

Grabbing Rogue's things under one arm and his under the other, he started for the "Art Room". Perhaps Ororo would like some help in her gardens. He enjoyed working with the flowers, and if her schedule proved consistent – as it always did – she would be heading out here soon.

Birds chirped under the sunlight, singing their lovely song to the sky. For a while, the grounds were quiet, but soon enough the children would come home and begin their noise. Piotr may never admit it, but he liked the noise. It reminded him of home, and it meant Kitty would be around too. Soon enough.

A/N: Doug Ramsey is the same guy as in the comics, but this Doug is NOT based completely on the comics. And also, he is NOT a major part of the story. Just so you all know.