Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution, the X-Men franchise or any of the other Marvel characters or pop culture references that might crop up.
A/N: I am loving that I seem to gain a new reader with each update. Let the RoLo and Kendall love spread!
Warnings: Unfavorable depictions of a Christian woman. I have nothing against Christians as a whole, but I do acknowledge that there are fanatics and extremists of all religions.
I live for reviews! Feed the beast!
After a bit of coaxing, Kendall finally came down the stairs. She wasn't sure how to greet the group of people waiting for her at the foot of the stairs, so she settled on a small wave. The man in the wheelchair rolled forward, offering her a kind smile.
"Hello, Kendall," he said gently and she was reminded that she still had Jean's headphones on, "I'm Charles Xavier. It's lovely to meet you."
Kendall hesitantly shook his hand, though her eyes stayed on the others. The tall boy with the red sunglasses offered her a friendly smile which she tried to return. But, the weirdest reactions came from the other two adults. The man, who was shorter than her, with dark hair was regarding her with such intensity that it made her uncomfortable and the woman (Huh, she has white hair, too!) stared at her with wide blue eyes, like she had never seen anything like Kendall in her life.
For his part, Logan had no idea how to feel as he regarded the girl- his daughter. She looked a lot like Ororo, though with deliberate mistakes. Where Ro's hair was thick and pure white, Kendall's was the same (The parts that weren't streaked green to match the Sailor Pluto shirt and green and white converse shoes) it fell in choppy layers, bangs swooping to the side over her forehead, hair framing her face, her collar bones, and a longer patch fell down her back. He had a suspicion that while she inherited her mother's hair color, the texture came from him. Plus, her brows had bit of a dramatic arch that seemed like a mix of the two of them. She also wasn't as tall as Ororo, but wasn't as short as himself. She reached somewhere in the middle, putting her height at around five-foot-seven. Though, the shape of her face wasn't much like his or Ro's, but more like Ro's late mother's (from what he'd seen from a few pictures), more heart-shaped. Green and white rubber band bracelets adorned her wrists, and-was that a Green Lantern headband in her hair?- and he knew that if she were to move to the Institute, she'd be on of the ones that took forever to do nothing, all because she had to color coordinate things that didn't matter.
But, the weirdest was the fact that when he looked at her, his own brandy colored eyes looked back. The shape of them were like wide almonds, like Ro's, but the actual color? All him.
Also, when she descended the stairs, he scented blood, saw bloody tears on her white jeans but there was no open wound.
Hair texture and eye color weren't the only things she inherited from him, then.
She was speaking now. Her questions were directed toward Xavier, and Logan had to force himself to truly focus.
"So... you got rid of the cops?" she asked the telepath and he nodded.
"Yes, I used my... er... influence to cause them to think that you weren't here."
Kendall's eyes popped "Or, Jedi mind tricks..."
Jean, Scott and Kitty all exchanged glances. Well, it seemed at the very least this girl had one thing in common with her cousin, Evan. They were both Star Wars dorks. Charles gave the girl an amused smile. "If you want to look at it that way, yes..."
"Huh... Cool. 'These aren't the droids you're looking for...'"
Now that she could slightly think without the constant chatter, she fell back on her old standby when she was feeling overwhelmed: make geeky jokes that some people tended to not get. And judging by the looks on the other teens faces, they got it, just weren't into it. The man in the wheelchair, Professor Xavier, seemed nice enough. However, the other two adults were still oddly tense to the point where it was freaking her out, just a tad. If they were like this with all of their recruits, she wouldn't be surprised if the student body at the place was only in the single digits.
"Kendall," Charles began "I under stand that this is a very confusing, and trying time for you. Also, let me be the first to apologize for what that boy put you through."
"Yeah, we're not all bad," the kid in the shades spoke for the first time with a smile. "In fact, I'd offer to hit him, but it sounded like you did a good enough job."
Kendall tugged on a strand of her green and white streaked hair, flushing slightly. "Ehhh... I don't know what happened. I mean... I've never been that mad before. And I've had rumors started about me... Not.. dirty rumors, but y'know the whole 'oh, look, emo girl foster girl. I but she cuts herself' kind of crap. I just learned to brush it off."
"Well, I'm going to guess those rumors came from people you don't really care about, while this set of new ones came from someone you thought really liked you. So, the betrayal factor might have played a part in how mad you were," Jean said gently
Kendall only sighed and drew her knees up to her chest. "I guess..."
"And that was the trigger for your mutation, Kendall," Professor Xavier spoke and the girl blinked in a mix of shock and horror at the word 'mutation.' However, he continued, "Do not be alarmed at the term. The word 'mutation' can refer to anything such as dimples, having two different colored eyes, or, in all of our cases, extraordinary gifts that boggle the mind. Jean and Kitty have already made you aware of their own gifts, and you have some scope as to mine. Your own, from what I am able to tell, are heightened senses. And while I am sure it can seem troublesome and you might just hate it, it can be managed. At the Xavier Institute we can teach you to live with your gifts, and we can help you control them."
Brown eyes wide, Kendall bolted to her feet. "Hold the phone... One minute, my biggest problem is figuring out the keys to playing a clarinet, and the next I'm a freak of nature!? Look, I may dress like an anime character, but that doesn't mean I want to live in one!" Now she was pacing back and forth. "This is just- How could I-" she put her hands over the ears of the borrowed headphones, though they did nothing to stop the loud thundering in her head that was the result of her own heart.
"Kendall, please-" Ororo spoke for the first time, urgently, desperately "let us help you-"
"Just... get out! Please... I can't deal with this right now!"
Ororo stood to protest but Charles stopped her. ::She needs time to sort things out. We'll give her a few hours. In the meantime, we need to fix things with the boy she hurt, and his family.::
Disappointment and a host of other mixed emotions hanging in the air, the group got up to leave. Kendall, head down on the dining room table, didn't see the pained look Ororo sent her before leaving the house. Logan also regarded her for a moment, face unreadable, and he also left. Charles wheeled after them after he set a business card on the table. "If you do change your mind, Kendall..." he then wheeled outside, eyes flicking to the sky that had darkened just a bit more in the last few minutes.
Kitty, struck by a burst of inspiration, scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Hey..." Kitty said gently, sliding a piece of paper on the table in front of Kendall "Here's my number, okay? Like, call me if you want to talk, or complain about stupid guys, or... change your mind..."
Kendall peaked up, just for a moment, only to put her head back down. She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder and peaked up again to see Jean's gentle smile. "Keep the headphones..." Jean said. "You need them more than I do..."
"We can't just give up on her, Charles," Ororo said urgently once they were all in the rental car and on the road.
"We're not, Ororo. However, she needs to process things for a few hours. I'm certain the girls got through to her. She's just in denial, plus, she's had a very trying day."
"Plus, the whole, social school-wide humiliation thing," Kitty piped up from the backseat. "Professor, please tell me you're not going to make that guy forget the thrashing she gave him. He's, like, a total sleaze who needed his butt kicked."
"Notion seconded," Scott agreed.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Professor X sighed. "But, as for right now, we should get lunch. It's nearing noon. And, someone should check in with the other students." he sent a knowing glance at Kitty who flushed.
Apparently, he knew of her texting sessions with Rogue.
"Really? Wow... what an asshole!"
"What? What happened?"
Full from Burger Bombs, the remaining X-Men were now reclining under a tree at the park. It was obvious Kurt was still freaking out about skipping class, but curiosity over the new girl had him shoving down his discomfort. It was now lunch time at the school and Kitty had called them to report.
"Kitty says her powers cropped up when some ass-monkey spread lies about havin' sex with 'er when they didn't. Oh, and he said she was bad it..."
Kurt and Evan's mouths simultaneously dropped, though it was Evan who spoke first.
"Please tell me she kicked his ass."
"Oh yeah. She broke 'is nose and kneed 'im in the nads."
Kurt winced while Evan smiled. "Good for her."
Rogue paused to listen more. "Oh, she's also a comic dork. Kitty says she was wearing a Sailor Moon shirt, and she made Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Star Wars cracks... So, Evan, you two got mo' in common than just relatives."
"Sweet!"
Rogue listened some more. "She also said she's pretty in a dorky, weird way and told me to tell Kurt not to hit on her since she had a rough go of it."
"Pfft, please! I'm a gentleman! And chicks dig the fuzzy dude!" Kurt said with a wave of his hand and both Rogue and Evan shared an eye roll.
"What kind of powers does she have?" Evan asked, ignoring his delusional friend. Rogue relayed the question, listened, then turned to the others.
"She's got Logan's heightened hearing and sight. Also, they think she has his healing. She had bloody rips on her clothes, but no cuts." She then turned back to the phone "Okay... okay... bye, Kitty."
"Why'd she hang up?" Evan asked.
"Because she thinks we have to go to our next class."
Kurt flinched and Evan just nodded. "Ahh..."
"Well, look at this. You sure you X-geeks should be skipping class?"
All three X-Men groaned in annoyance, turning to see the whole of the Brotherhood, minus Fred who was more than likely making short work of the lunch line, making their way toward them. Evan just rolled his eyes before narrowing them at the speaker.
"Careful, Maximoff, your hair gel's cracking."
The pale boy only smirked at his longtime rival "You dorks are so thrashed once Darkholme finds out you ditched... How many classes?"
"Oh, yeah... snitch on us, like the bitch ya are, Maximoff. Keep it classy," Rogue only turned her back on him to head back to the school.
"Here's an idea," Evan said, not in the mood for any of their usual shit. "How about you-" he pointed to Lance "-go and think of some more lame 'rock' puns. You-" he pointed to Pietro "-go snort up your next fix, you crack-monkey, and you-" he pointed to Toad and grimaced, fanning the air "-go take a bath..."
The X-trio then turned, heading back to the school. However, Pietro decided it would be a fun time to snatch Rogue's phone from her hand.
"You little-" she tried to charge him, only for him to zip out of the way.
"Let's see who little Roguey was calling and texting..." the silver-haired boy smirked, only for it to falter a few moments later. Most people used the lock pattern, others used the four digit code... While it was easy for him to go through the ten thousand four digit numbers until he got the right one, that wasn't an option for him. Rogue was smart enough to lock her phone with a password...
And he didn't even know her real name, or birthday...
"Fuck!" He tried a few of the bands he knew she liked from her time with the Brotherhood, but zero joy. "Cow..." he then tossed her phone back to her. "C'mon, let's go," he addressed to the other Brotherhood members. "I'm not in the mood to hear that hag's mouth if I don't make it English."
The three disappeared and the others sighed in relief. Last thing they needed was those clowns finding out what was going down and telling Mystique.
"I'm just going to say it..." Rogue said as she watched the Brotherhood leave. "If she does join us, I'd love to see them try to take a baby Wolverine."
Though they had long since left, Kendall stared at the numbers on the small piece of paper, as well as the business card on her table. She also still had the green Skullcandy headphones on that blocked out most sound. Jean had told her to keep them...
"Kendall!"
The girl looked up, the voice sounding from far away. Though, it wasn't far away (man, these headphones were good), her foster mom was just coming in. It wasn't too surprising. The woman worked only part-time while her husband worked full-time.
"Kendall!" the woman, middle-aged and blonde with streaks of gray and a rosary hanging from around her neck, yanked off the headphones so Kendall could hear her. Problem was it made her voice sound even more shrill and unpleasant than usual. "I got a call from your school! You were fighting with some boy! And you broke his nose!"
"Don't talk so loud..." Kendall groaned and slapped the headphones back on. "And he was running around saying I slept with him, when I didn't!" She then stood to head to her room, hearing the woman's footsteps behind her.
"Well, if you didn't dress like a whore, then perhaps he would've treated you like a lady!"
Kendall froze halfway up the steps and it felt like a mirror had broken in her chest. Did this hag really just-
"I don't dress like a whore!" Seriously! She only had one shameless outfit, thanks to Ty talking her into it, that she'd never even taken the tags off of. All of her clothes consisted of jeans and an assortment of Goth and geek wear. Oh, but that's right... This hag thought any woman who didn't dress like a fucking nun was the Whore of Babylon.
"Well, then you must've led him on! Something you learned from that disgusting mess you watch on television," Kendall rolled her eyes as the woman plowed on "or those nasty friends of yours. I told you about hanging out with that disgusting little deviant fag-"
"DON'T YOU CALL TY THAT!"
A low rumble of thunder sounded outside.
Carol's eyes popped, then narrowed. "Don't you speak to me like that. I took you under my roof when no one else would have you-"
"Urgh!" Kendall continued to storm to her room, her foster mother right on her heels.
"Don't you walk away from me, you ungrateful little-" the woman was cut off when she tripped over one of the books Kendall had left on the floor. She picked it up, looked at the cover and Kendall felt her stomach drop to her knees.
Her bible thumping foster mom had just found her book on witchcraft.
Shit...
"Carol..."
"You had this Satanic shit under my roof!?"
Kendall winced, and it had nothing to do with the noise level. Shit, shit, shit!
"Carol, let me-"
"How long has this been going on?! No, don't answer that! I don't care! I refuse to have a little Satanic whore under my roof!"
"Oh, my God, you can't be serious!" Kendall yelled back, a cold chill breaking over her skin.
"I want you out of here before my husband gets home!" She threw the book on the bed and actually crossed her own heart. "Pack up everything and get out! I'll call your social worker, and may God have mercy on your soul!"
"But- Where will-"
"I don't care!"
"Carol-"
"GET OUT!"
The woman then whirled on her foot and stormed from the room. The sound of the front door opening and shutting, as well as the car starting told Kendall she had left, but it hardly registered.
For the second time that day, Kendall sank to the floor in a cold shock, her heart thundering in her ears. Her limbs shook in a way that had nothing to do with the way the temperature suddenly dropped.
She actually kicked me out..
Her mind struggled to make sense out of it over the hammering.
Not like she hadn't expected it... My own fault for not remembering to hide my books.. What do I do?
Her shaking hand slid to her pocket and she pulled out her cell. She hit the first button on her speed dial. He answered on the first ring.
"Girl! Where are you? Y'know the whole school is having a big ass fit over what happened, and I cock-punched that asshole for you-"
"Carol kicked me out..."
"WHAT?!" Kendall had to hold the phone away from her ear, wincing. "Just because of what that fool did and you punching him when he deserved it!? Oh, fuck that bitch!"
"No... She found my pagan books..."
Now Ty was quiet. "I'm coming to get you."
"Don't you have class?"
"I'm in the office. I got in trouble for fighting and I'm getting wrote up, so since I'm suspended for five days, you can hang at my house until your worker gets shit together..."
Kendall said nothing, only tried to fight off the tears she felt coming. Ty must've known because he gave a sigh.
"Girl, I went through the same shit... Gay closet, witchy broom closet, it's the same shit. And we both sort of knew it was coming... Now, get up, pack your shit and I'll help you with the rest. Then, we're raiding my cousin's liquor cabinet." And with that he hung up.
It took her a few tries, but soon she got to her feet and began to pack. It was something she was used to, shoving her life in a few bags to move onto the next family that didn't want her. She started with the easy stuff first. Clothes, make certain to roll instead of fold so there would be more room... Next was the toiletries and her random hair dyes. Then came her books... her many books. Thank goodness they were already in blue storage bins. The few plushies and figurines she owned. And at last was her collection of fabrics, and her sewing machine. She had them already on the front porch when Ty pulled up in his Sebring.
"I'm starting to think there's something to this zodiac mess you keep spouting," he said as he carried the boxes to his trunk, ignoring the light rain that fell on his back and head, "you Virgos are efficient as hell. I was half scared I'd have to pull you out of a daze and pack for you."
Kendall said nothing, only moved automatically to help him with her things.
"You oughta make a Voodoo doll of her and leave it on the dining room table to fuck with her..."
"That'd be a waste of fabric I could use on my next cosplay," she mumbled numbly. She knew he was making jokes to cheer her up, but it wasn't working.
"True that," the boy agreed, then paused to look at her. "Trust me, you'll get through it..."
"Hmm..."
The last box was loaded and she slid into the passenger seat, unable to look at the place that had kept her the longest, only to toss her out like trash. Where was she going to go now?
Ty, casting her a worried look, started up the car. They were halfway down the street when he broke the silence. "When the hell did you get Skullcandy headphones, and why didn't you buy me any?"
"This girl gave them to me," Kendall replied automatically. "She-"
Hold the phone.
She dug through her various pockets, coming up empty. "Turn around!"
"What?"
"Turn around, I forgot something!"
Ty asked no questions, only did as she asked. Kendall dove out of the car, bounding up the steps and pulling the key out from under the mat. She ran back inside the house, heavy feeling in her stomach lightening the smallest bit when she saw the scrap of paper that Kitty had left her, still sitting on the dining room table.
It was a long shot... She still needed to think... But, having a safety net felt damned good...
Stuffing the paper into her pocket, she started to leave, only to turn around and head to the kitchen. If they wanted to kick her out, fine... But, damned if she wasn't going to be the slightest bit petty.
So, when Ty looked up to see Kendall carrying a case of Budweiser, his jaw dropped with pride. And when she haughtily turned the cross hanging on the door upside down he whooped with laughter.
"What? She called me a Satanic whore first," Kendall said with an air of bitchiness that made his heart sing.
"Girl, I could make out with you right now!" He started the car, grinning ear to ear. "Oh, look... the drizzle's stopped."
"Did you call your worker, yet?"
Kendall was resting on Ty's couch, her head in his lap as they both watched Attack on Titan on Netflix.
"Not yet..." Kendall didn't know why she was resisting calling her worker. She chalked it up to not wanting to be pulled from Ty and the comfort of his cousin's apartment. There was Netflix here. And cable. And since his cousin had work and school, they had the place to themselves until ten o'clock at night.
Plus, there was the copious amounts of alcohol...
She had drank a few times before. Not a lot, but a Mike's Hard Lemonade here, or a Bud Light there during a party that Ty dragged her to. And while she wasn't a champion at it like Ty, she knew enough to know that since she hadn't eaten all day, three Buds should have her pretty buzzed by now. However, she wasn't.
Probably the adrenaline and shock and all that other crap...
She had another beer, then another... And Ty poured her a couple of shots of whiskey...
Now, she was starting to feel the buzz. And after a couple of more shots, she really felt it.
"Oh god, I gotta pee..." she proclaimed, speech slurring as her bladder protested. Stumbling from the couch, she stampeded to the bathroom to relieve herself and wash her hands. That's when her stomach decided to let out a loud growl, and with her advanced (mutant) hearing, it sounded like a fucking bear and she nearly crashed into the bathroom door.
"Why are you crashing into shit!?" Ty yelled from the living room.
"Because I'm drunk!" she called back with a huff. "And I'm raiding your fridge..."
"Go for it..."
Kendall fumbled to the kitchen, finding that she could see pretty well, even if her feet had no clue what they were doing. She pulled out a ham, and cheese, and bread. Yep, a ham sandwich sounded good right now. She slathered up the bread with condiments, cheese and lettuce, then went to slice the ham.
And, of course, drunkenly sliced her thumb.
"God damn it!" she yelled.
"What?"
"I cut my-" she sucked the lacerated digit into her mouth, pulled it out to examine it, only to stop.
Kendall's buzz automatically died as she watched the flesh on her thumb slowly re-knit itself. It was a low process, and maybe she could equate it to her booze addled brain, but...
Holy fuck...
The hammering was happening again.
So were the gales in her own lungs...
The Skullcandy headphones couldn't protect her from that, or...
… her eyes shifted to her thumb which was three-fourths healed...
...or this...
"Kendall!" Ty called. "Dude, Eren just got ate by the titan. What the fuck are you doing?"
"I, uh..." she swallowed and tried to breathe "I, uh... just a second... Gotta make a phone call."
She made her way to Ty's bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Shaking hands dialed the number on the piece of paper, pulled off the Skullcandy headphones, and when the ringing started, she bit back a strangled sob.
"Hello?" the familiar voice of Kitty answered.
"Kitty... it's, uh... it's Kendall..."
"Kendall..." her voice lowered and Kendall was immediately grateful, though she could hear the telltale sounds of picked up hearts, more than one, through the phone. It sounded like three. "Kendall, are you all right?"
She wanted to nonchalantly say 'Yeah, just, curious about the school.' She wanted to seem tough, unflappable, and cool.
Instead her voice broke. "No..."
Kitty's response was soft and sympathetic. "Hey... what's going on? Talk to me."
"My... uh... my foster mom, total bible-thumping nut job... she came home and yelled at me about the fight... said I dressed like a whore and led him on and that's what led him to say that shit..."
"Are you kidding me!?" Kitty yelled and Kendall had to yank back the phone from her ears. Kitty must've realized her mistake because she was profusely apologizing. "Sorry, sorry... but... wow... What a... y'know, that's, like, your foster mom, so I won't say it."
"Not anymore... she called my best friend a 'deviant fag,' found my pagan books, called me a Satanic whore and kicked me out."
"WHAT!?" Kitty shrieked and Kendall held the phone away from her ears. "That bitch!"
"Kitty!" the voice of Jean admonished.
"Jean, don't, like, yell at me! Her foster mom's a total cow!"
"Kitty, I don't think you should-oh... Oh!" Jean must've been reading Kitty's mind. Kendall wasn't sure the redhead could do that through the phone. "Oh! WOW!"
"Anyone want to fill me in?" Scott's voice asked.
"Her foster mom, is like, making Christians look like shit," Kitty offered. "Well, former foster mom."
"Uh... okay..." Scott clearly didn't get it. "So, what's going on?"
"Kendall, I'm so sorry... Where are you?" Kitty asked immediately.
"I'm with my friend... We packed my stuff and I'm hanging out here... but... things just got weird... Well, weirder..."
Now Kitty's voice was skeptical "Weirder how?"
Swallowing and bracing herself, Kendall spoke. "As in... I was making a sandwich and I cut my thumb and it just healed up on its own in like..." she glanced at the offending digit "I want to say... a few minutes..."
Silence. The sound of hearts through the phone and then "... Kendall, are you saying that-"
"I'm saying that I'm a bit wasted, and I'm sure your school looks down on that sort of thing but, I don't know what to do."
There was another moment of silence before Kitty spoke "Can you text me the address where you are?"
Three Red Bulls, two rinses of mouth wash and a cup of coffee later and it was like Kendall had never even touched the booze. And during that time, three X-Men made their way towards her.
"Seriously, Scott, can you not, like, be mad at her for drinking?" Kitty pleaded as he parked the rental car in near the small apartment complex near UMass Boston.
"Kitty..."
"Dude! She had a dude who she really, like, liked spread rumors about her sleeping with him. Then he said she was bad at it. Then her bible-thumping foster mom said it was her fault, called her BFF a... I don't want to say that word, and then called her a Satanic whore right before kicking her out. I would've gotten hammered too if that crap happened to me!"
"Wait..." Scott's brows rose over his shades. "All that happened in the span of... how long? A couple of hours?"
"Yep."
"Okay... I won't say anything..." Scott sighed. "But... maybe you should go up there first. She seems to trust you."
Kitty smiled gratefully and scrambled out of the car. After a few minutes, Kendall made her way out of the apartment and did not seem wasted at all.
"Uhh..." Kitty said dumbly. How was she not stumbling around?
"Lots of Red Bull," the other girl offered.
"Ohh..." Kitty fidgeted for a moment before speaking "So... You want to come to the Institute with us?"
It took a few seconds for her to answer, but soon Kendall spoke. "I don't know if I want to... but... if I'm dealing with heightened hearing, sight and healing like-"
"A Vampire Diaries vampire?" Kitty offered and Kendall nodded.
"OMG, like that, yes. If I'm going to be dealing with that, then I might as well go to Hogwarts..." she finished with a grudging sigh. "Plus, my crap's already packed..." she then took a glance down the street. "And is that Scott and Jean down there?"
Kitty only rose her brows. Holy crap, her eyesight was good. "Yeah, that's them... I can wave them forward to make the packing easier. And... we can leave now, if you want? Professor Xavier can fix what needs to be fixed here and then we can head to the Institute..."
Kendall sighed. Time to weigh the pros and cons. Cons: leave everything she's ever known. Leave her few superficial friends, and her bff Ty. Deal with shit she wasn't used to. Pros: Go to a school where her weirdness wouldn't be ridiculed. New friends. New location and new opportunities.
Well, shit, she was nothing if not logical...
"Fine... I'll give it a try..."
Kitty's expression was ecstatic. "YAY!"
Kendall winced and Kitty scratched the back of her head.
"Sorry..." She discreetly contracted the Professor. ::Professor... I'm with Kendall. She said yes... though, I don't know much about the foster system, but you might want to fix some stuff. Her foster mom, was like, a total cow. And when I say cow, I mean, two shades away from the mom on 'Carrie' cow.::
The telepath sent a quick reply ::Very good, Kitty. My faith in you wasn't misplaced. I'm with Ororo and Logan, tying up other loose ends. Thank you for alerting me of this. Now, continue to make her feel comfortable, gather her things and get to the jet. We'll join you shortly.::
The telepathic connection was cut and Kitty turned to Kendall with a wide smile. "So, like, how do you feel about flying?"
"So.. you called your worker and... clear this up for me... now you're going to another school out of state!?"
Kendall sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she explained things to Ty. Kitty had went back into the rental with Scott and Jean while Kendall spoke with her friend. Needless to say her bestie was not dealing with the news too well.
Sighing, Kendall took a seat on his bed and patted a spot for him to sit. "So..." God, lying to him was hard. "So... I'm headed off to... an Institute for Gifted Children... "
Ty's mouth dropped open and he drew back a bit, shock evident. "When the hell did this happen? Were your test scores higher than you let on and you just didn't want to make me feel bad?"
"It's..." she shoved a hand through her hair "it's hard to explain... But, c'mon, look at it this way. I can't stay here. Not anymore... I look like a raging freak, I'm probably expelled from school for fighting, people are calling me a whore-"
"Girl, people call me a whore all the time, you don't see me running."
"Yes, but are you expelled?"
At that, Ty sighed. "No... just suspended for a few days... which is cool with me. There's some kickass frat parties happening on campus that I plan on sneaking into." The two shared a laugh before he continued, voice serious "Are you sure they're not making you go to a nuthouse? Because if they're sending you to a nuthouse just for kicking a douchebag's ass when he deserved it, I will lose my shit."
Kendall giggled and rested her head on his shoulder "No, I'm not going to a nuthouse..."
"So... you're really going to a boarding school or some such crap?"
"Yep."
"Wow..." he was silent for a moment before smirking "You better e-mail me with some scandalous stories."
Now Kendall laughed, feeling a bit more at ease. "And there he is, ladies and gentlemen!"
"I'm serious! Everyone knows boarding schools have the juiciest, nastiest, gutter-butt shit going down behind closed doors. You better make a video, and send it to me so I can put it on Brazzers-"
"You impossible jackass!" now Kendall was giggling madly. God, how long had it been since she'd laughed. Would she laugh like this in her new home?
Would it even feel like home?
"I'm gonna miss you, Ty..." she said, chest aching with the thought she wouldn't see him again for god knew how long.
Ty's arm tightened on her shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you, too." He pressed his lips to her forehead and her eyes tingled as tears welled up. Sniffling, she wrapped her arms around his waist and bit back a sob.
"Don't you go crying and messing up your pretty eye shadow," he admonished, though he sounded a bit choked up himself.
"No promises, dude..." Yep, the tears were flowing freely. And she felt a drop of wetness on her scalp.
"Okay, this is turning into a Lifetime special, we need to cut this crap out," Ty said with a forced laugh as he wiped his eyes.
Kendall wiped her own eyes, "You're right. Say something awful and inappropriate to put things back in their natural order."
Ty didn't disappoint. "Wanna have awkward, weird, 'I'm-not-straight-but-whatever' goodbye sex?"
"Oh my God..." Kendall rolled her eyes. Yeah, she was going to miss this idiot. "Nope, I think I'll pass. Best leave that in your secret straight dreams."
Ty gave an incredulous snort "You think I have secret, dirty straight dreams about you?"
The look she gave him was pure haughtiness. "Bitch, you'd better be."
Now, the boy let out a bark of laughter. "Girl, you can't leave! Not now, when you're finally loosening up... So, where are you going? What state?"
"New York."
Ty dropped her sandals this time. "Girl, all those sexy man-boys... Can I come with you?"
Kendall only laughed and stood to gather her things, Ty helping, to load her things into the black rental. Jean, Kitty, and a tall strapping Scott Summers, stepped out to help load up her belongings, Kendall received her last laugh in Boston.
"Girl..." Ty was repeatedly swatting her on the shoulder as he often did when spotting a hot guy "Who is that big pile of sexy?" He was shamelessly pointing at Scott.
He either didn't know, or care, that his voice carried and that Kitty, Jean and Scott could hear his every word. Kitty bit her tongue, Jean was faced with the herculean feat of not dissolving into giggles while Scott looked decidedly uncomfortable. Kendall bit her lip to keep from giggling, her advanced hearing picking up on the jump of Scott's heart and Kitty and Jean's muffled snickers.
"That's Scott... He goes to the school where I'm going..."
"Ohh, damn! Is he single?"
"He's straight, Ty."
"There's no such thing as straight men, only men who haven't had me. How many times must I tell you?"
Scott was now scratching the back of his head, looking ready to bolt and poor Jean and Kitty had to duck their heads into the trunk to crack up.
"Okay, time to go!" Kendall said, overly cheery. She turned and gave Ty a lingering goodbye hug. "Oooh, I'm gonna miss you!"
"Same here, Kenny... You just bring me back a present... like that slim-goody over there, and I'll forgive you for leaving me."
"I'll see what I can do," she deadpanned and rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. "I'll Skype you."
"You better."
Grabbing her duffel bag, she waved goodbye and slid into the cab. Jean, Kitty and Scott gave a wave to Ty who returned it, smiling flirtatiously at Scott, much to the girls' amusement and Scott's awkwardness.
"He seems nice..." Scott said awkwardly as he pulled off, and Kendall giggled.
"Forgive him... he's shameless..." she then let out a sigh "And I'm going to miss him..."
Jean slid an arm around the girl's shoulder "Hey, I know this is going to be tough... But, don't worry, you'll have a slew of new friends at the Institute. Almost like family..."
"Yeah, I guess..."
Kendall was so busy watching the scenery that she didn't see the look the older teens had exchanged at the word 'family.'
It was about an hour later when Ororo, Logan and the Professor returned to the airport. And when they did, they found Kendall staring up dumbly at the X-Jet, much to the other teens amusement.
"How do you have a jet?" she asked for the dozenth time.
"We'll explain on the way," Scott said with a pat to her back. "They're back, so c'mon. Time to go."
"I think one of the rooms next to mine is empty," Kitty said happily as she linked an arm through Kendall's. "I room with another girl, but, you can totally come visit us... though, if you don't wanna, that's fine."
Behind them, Ororo, Logan and Professor Xavier refrained from actually speaking.
::Charles...:: Ororo began mentally ::How long until I am able to tell her about our relationship?::
Charles, who had just wheeled onto the jet, let out a sigh. ::Unless it forcibly comes up, then tomorrow evening...at the latest... It would be best if we do not spring everything on her at once. Not with everything that's happened to her.::
Swallowing, Ororo boarded the jet, focusing on her daughter who was listening to Kitty chatter.
Twenty-four hours. She could handle it.
Ooh, lord, this chapter was a BEAST! I wanted to give a giant update since I have to descend into homework hell for a few days, weeks even, and don't know when I'll be able to update.
Yes, I am making Kendall a complete, and utter, dork! If they can make Kitty a Valley girl, and Rogue a Goth, then I can make Kendall an anime nerd with some Gothic tomboyish-ness. It's called creative license, peeps. And please, please, I beg on the name of all that's holy and a few things that aren't, please review. I crave to know what you guys think of my work. Though, if all you're going to say is "Meh, I don't like it. You suck. Blah blah blah" then, do me a favor and don't review. Constructive criticism is one thing, being a dill hole for no reason is quite another. Also, again, as far as Kendall's limited weather powers, they'll fully manifest soon... Right now, they're small enough that they don't cause too much attention unless someone pulls up the weather report and they note a difference.
Also, next chapter will have the QuickTor, or Pietro/Kendall. It just took a while to introduce her into the story, as well as get her to the Institute.
Anyway, I live for reviews, so please, feed the beast!