[AN: Yes, getting three today! Happy Holidays! By the title I'm sure you can guess that someone is going to misjudge someone else. In truth there is more than one! See if you can find them all lol, just like Pokemon! Anyway, here's the chapter, I hope you enjoy it, feel free to review, message, or just read!]
Kerri hadn't been to the danger room in a few days, and she could feel it; she had an urge to run around and jump on things that was strange, and the urge to dig things, rip them up, scatter them about...
She sat in Professor Xavier's office, her foot wiggling back and forth quickly, chewing on her fingernails, but trying not to bite them off.
"Are you ok, Kerri?" He asked her, watching the fast pace of her foot.
"Yeah, just, I don't know... Rambunctious... Can I go swimming? By myself, I mean... I don't want to knock anyone over if I change..."
"I suppose you could go at night, as long as you tell the night monitor or Logan what you're doing. Other than that, I think the pool would be full of students; it's still quite warm outside," he told her.
She nodded, and tried to stop biting her nails.
"I heard you had a date," he commented, trying to get her talking again, and wondering about the relationship between her and Kurt.
"Jeez, word gets around fast here..." Kerri complained.
Charles chuckled. "Well, it is like a house that is full of children. And humans have always been interested in each other's lives to some degree."
"True, I suppose. I also suppose you want to sift through my date with some psychobabble jargon to see how well adjusted I am," she said.
"Are you saying there's something that did, or didn't, happen that you want to talk about?"
Kerri stared at the floor. "No, not particularly. It was nice though... I did miss having someone normal to talk to, you know, who you didn't have to worry if they were going to lynch you or if their powers were compatible with yours..." Charles smiled and let her continue at her own pace. "I mean, not that I've had to worry about meshing powers much, except with the nightmares, but I know there are people who have."
"So, this young man you went on a date with, he was a normal human?"
"Yes, so far as I know. He didn't say otherwise, but then, neither did I, I guess," she admitted.
"Why didn't you tell him?" He asked.
"It didn't seem important. We're all just people, that's what my dad taught me, anyway," she said.
He smiled. "That's what I keep telling all of the other students, and all of the people in the government, however, they are not as open to it."
"Of course not, you probably won't be able to make much headway until the next generation, that's always the way with bigotry."
Kurt laid in his bed, surrounded by blankets, glad that it was at least Saturday. He didn't want to get up and see anyone, but a short while later Logan came and dragged him down to the garage to teach him more about mechanics.
"Hey Elf, you want to talk about it?" Logan asked out of nowhere, shocking Kurt.
"About vhat?"
"You know what. Just thought you could do with getting something off of your chest, and we're here," he said, not quite finishing the thought.
"I can't talk to anyvone about es," Kurt told him.
"Bullshit."
"E-excuse me?" Kurt asked, almost dropping the wrench in his hand.
"Bullshit," Logan repeated. "You can talk to me about it, you know I'm not going to go running to that little mama's boy about anything."
A hint of a smile appeared on Kurt's face. It was strange how Kerri and Logan thought so similarly about Scott even though they hardly spent time together when they weren't training. "I can count on zhat as a fact," he said with a laugh.
Kerri walked out to Chance's van as he pulled up.
She wondered what had happened to Dr. McCoy that had put that look on his face, like he was looking at a specimen as she walked past him to the door.
Kerri climbed into the van and they drove off to the arcade.
It was fun, even though Kerri had worried a little that it would be awkward after having kissed last week.
They went around, playing, laughing, beating each other, it was like having a real friend again, one that she didn't have to worry about being different around.
They left the arcade, headed to the food court, when a familiar voice stopped them.
"Hey pretty lady." Kerri looked to the source of the voice and saw Quicksilver.
Her face tightened in anger, remembering the fight. Chance followed her gaze to the silver headed boy and looked questioningly to her. "You know him?"
"Unfortunately," she answered.
Quicksilver walked closer to them, but still stood a distance away from her, in case she wanted to attack first and answer questions later. "Nice to see you again." Kerri didn't say anything in reply to him. "Come on, this is common ground, you're not going to be so rude are you?"
Chance looked at Kerri's face and saw the stiff mask there. "How about you leave her alone," he said to the new comer.
"Stay out of this, guy, I'm talking to the lady." Kerri could tell that it was paining him to speak and move so slowly.
"She doesn't look like she wants to talk to you," Chance said, taking a step forward as if to defend her honor.
The movement struck a chord with Kerri, reminding her of how Kurt had stepped in front of her, more than once, in the danger room, making a move to protect her...
Her eye twitched in sadness and loss at the memory.
"What would you know? You don't even know her," Quicksilver said. "I bet she hasn't told you-"
"How's your hand?" Kerri suddenly asked, interrupting him with a warning in her steely voice.
"It's ok, not even a scar," he told her, a cocky smile on his face. Chance looked back at her, and something about the angry but worried expression made him silent. "He's a human, right?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Chance asked.
"Is that what this is about?" Quicksilver ignored the fact that Chance had spoken while he nodded toward him. "Trying to get back at your boyfriend?"
"How does everyone know about that?!" Kerri hissed under her breath and sternly said, "I'm not."
He ignored her. "You know, you could probably stick it to him harder if you went out with me, you know, another mutant."
Chance's eyes widened and he stepped back. "What are you saying?"
"I knew it, you didn't tell him," he accused her, then stared at Chance. "I'm saying that I'm a mutant, and so is her last boyfriend." Chance looked at her and back at him, but didn't say anything. "Not saying that she is, though."
Kerri was silent, agitated that he had let Kurt's cat out of the bag. Chance turned to look at her again. "What? Is that true?" He asked when she didn't say anything.
"Yes," she told him quietly.
Confusion was written on his face, then anger. "Is that why you couldn't feel anything when I kissed you? You only have a taste for mutants, is that it?" Kerri was silent as he questioned her, shock and anger in his voice while disgust tried to edge in as well. "What are you, some kind of checkerboard girl that only dates mutants to make some sort of political statement?"
She had been compartmentalizing, going away, like she used to when she was being yelled at by her stepfather for hours at a time. But the last question brought her back.
Angry tears started to build behind her eyes, and her hand snapped forward, slapping Chance hard enough to turn his head. "How dare you. I love Kurt... I mean loved..." She looked down at the floor, unsure and confused by her emotions. The protectiveness and love for Kurt, the want to push him away and protect herself. "I would never, could never, ever do that... Not to him..."
Chance looked back to her. He stared hard for a moment, then walked away.
Kerri gritted her teeth, trying not to let her tail and ears out. "It was a mistake," she said to no one in particular, not even realizing that quite a few people had gathered around them. 'It was a mistake to think I could have a friend...'
Quicksilver put his arm around her and led her away from the crowd, out into the parking lot. As soon as they were away from everyone, Kerri pushed him away, losing control over her ears and tail as she did. "Don't touch me. You ruined everything."
"I ruined everything?" He looked at her and sped close to her other side. "You're the one who didn't tell him you're a mutant. I'm not the one who's pretending to be something I'm not."
She looked up at him. "I'm not pretending I'm something I'm not! I'm a person, and I like video games, and I wish I had a friend! So I was wandering around with a friend playing video games, tell me what part of that is a lie!" She tried to push him away again but he dodged, moving to her other side too fast to see.
"You didn't tell him you were a mutant, that's a lie."
"It isn't, I never said I wasn't one, it's just not that big of a deal! We're all people, and everyone's already different anyway, it's just one more difference!" Kerri's fight was burning out.
She felt dizzy all of a sudden and realized that it was about dinner time, but that she had been so busy trying to get the shopping done to go out that she hadn't eaten at all yet.
Quicksilver caught her as she stumbled. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, genuinely concerned.
"Let go of me, I'm just a little dizzy," she demanded, but he didn't let go.
"If I let go of you, you're going to fall over." Her stomach growled and he looked down then back to her face. "Have you eaten at all today?"
"I forgot," she said stubbornly.
He rolled his eyes. "Forgot, . Come on, I've got something in my car, I'm sure."
They walked to his car, a little blue sporty thing, and he sat her in the passenger seat while he dug out a box of energy bars. He sat in the drivers seat, forcing the food item into her hand. "You look like you're about to pass out. Come on, I know Xavier and your little boyfriend aren't going to be happy if I drop you off unconscious at the gates."
"He's not my boyfriend anymore," she told him sullenly. "I'm a student and he's a teacher. And Scott's a giant tightass! If you put a piece of coal up his ass, you'd have a diamond in a week," she quoted Ferris Buller's day off as her agitation at Scott came out. She wasn't even sure exactly why he irritated her so much. 'Must remind me of my stepfather, or something,' she thought.
Quicksilver laughed, and she looked over at him, wondering at the strange sound. It was quick, but not so different from normal laughter. "That'sfunny! I've never heard anyone except Mystique talk that way about him."
Kerri looked away, irritated. "Don't compare me to her."
He looked over at her, still smiling. "Sorry. I don't like her either. She's such a, Idon'tknow. Tightass, I guess. I don't think she ever has fun, just plans and plots to go be a psycho somewhere new."
"How can you talk about her that way?" Kerri asked. "I thought she was your teammate."
"Eat that, would you? And no. I'm only with them because I owe Magneto my life. Me and my sister. It's like we're indentured servants; he saved us, and now we're there 'til we repay him, which I don't know if it will ever happen."
"So why did you attack us at the mansion?" She asked as she took a bite of the energy bar.
He sighed. "I had to, Magneto was going, then Mystique was going, then Quill, too. I just filled out the team so no one else crazy would go. Besides, I was purposely not hitting you hard."
Kerri wasn't sure if she believed him. "Why don't you sound like such a jerk now?"
"Because I'm not," he smiled. "I just sound like that sometimes. Especially when I'm talking about how great I am. I am, you know."
Kerri was starting to feel better after having eaten something. "Yes, you certainly exist, you keep reminding everyone."
He laughed. "Do you need a ride home?"
"Well, not necessarily..." She said. "I could fly." He started the car and put his seat belt on, pushing the button to drop the top down. "Why do you have a car, anyway? You could just run and get somewhere as fast as blinking, if we were to believe you."
"I could, but it's hard to show off for the ladies if they can't see you when you show off," he told her. Kerri put on her seat belt and he put the car in gear.
"So, why do you want to show off for the ladies so much that you don't run?" Kerri mocked his choice of words, although not rudely.
He let out a laugh. "How did Nightcrawler get your attention?"
Quicksilver was darting in and out of traffic, and if she didn't know about his super human reflexes, she might think it was only by God's graces that they were still alive.
"I'd rather not talk about..." She wasn't quite sure what it was she didn't want to talk about; their relationship, how they had first met, the good times, or just him in general.
He laughed. "He was showing off, right?"
"No, he just walked past me. Wearing his hologram." She didn't know why she told him.
He looked over at her, confusion written on his face. "All he did was walk past you? Are you so used to guys ogling you that him not looking made a difference?"
"I looked like a little kid, no one was ogling me." He had glanced at the road, but now his eyes were back on her. "It's my mutation, I can shift my appearance."
"Like Mystique?"
"No, not like Mystique!" Her tail flicked against the seat. She noticed that he was glancing at her tail when he wasn't looking at the road and it made her a little agitated. "You think it's freaky? I could change into something more freaky if you like."
"No, I don't think it's freaky, and I don't know what you could turn into that would freak me out."
"Anything," she looked out of the car.
"So that's why you look so gorgeous, you just use your powers to look beautiful all the time?" He asked and Kerri scoffed at him. "What? You don't believe that you look good?"
"No, I don't. It's hard to believe after years of being told that I'm ugly by everyone I know, and people I don't know," she said. They pulled up through the gate of the school, up the driveway, and she opened the door, but turned and looked at him. "It's weird to call you Quicksilver all the time, but-"
"You can call me Pietro," he told her.
She smiled. "Well, Pietro, thanks for being a half decent person today."
"So, does that mean that I can get a kiss in reward for saving a damsel in distress?" His eyebrow quirked up.
"First, I wasn't in distress until you showed up, and second, heroes rescue people without expectations for rewards," she told him with a humorous smile lifting the corner of her lips.
"Yes, but I'm not a hero, remember? I'm with the bad guys," he joked.
Kerri laughed. "If you don't try anything weird I'll give you a reward."
"Never," he said, raising his hand in the air. She put her hand over his mouth and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Consider yourself rewarded," she said and climbed out of the car.
She walked through the yard into the door, and walked directly into Kurt's chest.
He didn't look happy, although he was trying to hide it. "So... You are vizh Qvicksilver now?" He asked, having seen them through the window.
Kerri sighed in exasperation to hide the giddiness that flowed through her belly at having just run into him. "Not that it's any of your business, Professor, but no, I'm not. He just gave me a ride because I was stranded at the mall." She stalked off, feeling guilty, but trying to stay mad.
Kurt teleported to the shiny blue spots car and gave a dangerous look to Quicksilver. "Stay avay from Kerri."
"Why? Ah, is someone feeling jealous?" A darker look came over Kurt's face as he realized that even though he loved Kerri, right now this smart mouthed jerk had more claim on her than he was allowed. Quicksilver laughed. "Don't take it so seriously, I only gave her a ride home because that loser human left her stranded. Besides, she just couldn't stop herself from talking about you. Anyone could tell she's crazy about you. I don't know how you caught her so well by just walking past with your hologram on, but you got her good."
"Just stay avay from her." Kurt's tail was moving back and forth in agitation, fully visible outside of his image.
"Relax! I couldn't steal her away if I tried. Don't let her fool you, she's still head over heels," Quicksilver told him as he put the car into gear and spun the tires a few times before shooting forward.
Kurt watched him drive away, thinking about what he'd said.
His shoulders stooped, his whole pose changing to one of depressed longing. "Ich konnte nur hoffen, dass so viel Glück..." He sighed miserably. {I could only hope to be so lucky...}
