Well I am back! Thanks for all the lovely reviews!! I'm sorry it's been taking me eons to write more of this fic! I've been horrendously busy these days! I'm in university now and if you're in that boat as well you know it's hectic! But like I said earlier I do intend on finishing this and I am going to make this fairly lengthy. There is a lot that I would like to put into it. There's one part in this that seems kind of "slashy" but believe me, I was never a fan of the slash. I try to fit it as close to the cartoon and reality as I can. It's just friendship, so for you slash fans, don't get your hopes up haha. And as always, I take your suggestions into consideration and I read every single review that is posted! I hope you enjoy chapter 7!!

Chapter 7:

Kurt had teleported straight to his bedroom from the van after refusing to speak at all during the ride home from the school. Kitty was unspeakably upset with the options Principal Kelly had dealt her friend. She also couldn't believe Kurt actually wanted to think about which option to choose. Why couldn't he be selfish for once?

Ororo was wheeling the professor into the huge entranceway of the mansion while Kitty trailed behind. The silence was almost maddening. Kitty ran out in front of the professor and put her hands on the armrests of his chair.

"Professor, don't make him choose!" Kitty blurted out, her voice breaking at the end as she pleaded with the professor.

The professor folded his hands, keeping his index fingers up and touched them to his lips.

"I'm sorry, Kitty. This is Kurt's decision. Not mine or yours."

"But he can't go back to school! I don't care if I ever go back! You can home-school the rest of us! Just please don't let him go back!"

"Kitty, as much as I wish I could school the six of you, I can't. I am afraid that since all of you are taking different courses and are already more than halfway through the semester, I cannot grant any of you high school diplomas."

"You can teach us next year and we'll all take all the same classes!"

"Kitty, you can't expect all the other students to take the same courses. And the professor can only do so much." Ororo's restful voice cooed.

Kitty looked down at her feet and bit her lip. She felt as if the cliché of one's heart sinking had actually happened to her. The professor reached over and lifted her chin with his gentle hand.

"Unfortunately, Kurt's decision will decide the course of your future education, as well as his own. We must be patient and support any decision he makes."

***

Kurt was curled up on his bed, and he was able to hear everything Kitty and the professor had been talking about. He stared out the open French doors that lead to his balcony. It was dusk and there was a slight warm breeze that softly blew the curtains while the sweet smell of the wet grass and pavement swept across the room. He winced as he bit the inside of his lips and drew a few small drops of blood.

Why?

Kurt didn't know what to do. If he didn't return to school, then his friends would have to stay back and be taught by the professor the next year which wasn't even a guarantee, or not graduate at all. But if he did return to the school, then an entirely new dilemma would ensue. Back in Germany only a handful of people had seen Kurt for who he truly was. Even that small number of people were frightened by his appearance and jumped to unspeakable conclusions of demons and creatures of the night. What would an entire school populace do if they were subjected to his appearance for five days a week? After what had happened the previous day, he didn't even want to go there.

Kurt looked down at his arm that wore his watch.

All you've done is cause trouble!

He ripped it off, pitched it across the room and rolled over onto his back. So many thoughts invaded his mind. He wondered how things could have been different. What if the Brotherhood had just accepted his refusal to reveal himself? What if Mystique had still been the principal? What if he was just normal? The last thought was the one that really stuck with him.

What if I had been born normal looking? Better yet, why couldn't I just have been born normal? What purpose do mutants serve? I could have stayed in Germany and lived a normal life and go to a normal school and have normal friends!

Kurt's breathing became shallow and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes. Before any could actually make their way down his cheek, he wiped his eyes with his furry fingers. Then he thought about Kitty. If he wasn't a mutant then he never would have met her. She was the only person in the entire institute who had helped him deal with a lot of his physical mutation. His love for Kitty was much deeper than friendship and infatuation. Kurt's heart ached every time he remembered that he would have to be benched while all the other guys got to play for her love. Another set of tears clouded his eyes, as he wiped those away he looked at his fuzzy blue hand. His breaths became harder and he ported out onto the balcony.

Kurt perched himself on the balcony rail like some kind of ancient gargoyle and stared out onto the lake. The sun had gone down and the moon had crept its way into the night sky and lit up the lake with a luminous white glow. Kurt thought of being home in Germany when he would play in the backyard with his mother and father. They would make a game out of being quiet as not to wake up the neighbours. His father taught him how to throw a ball and they would play catch until the wee hours of the morning, even if his father had to be at work early the next day. The moon was their light source and if there was no moon, his mother would bundle him up, make some hot chocolate and the three of them would stare up at the stars together until Kurt fell asleep.

A small smile spread across his lips. Kurt had so many fond memories of his mother and father. Even though they had adopted him, they were better parents than his biological mother and estranged father could ever have hoped to be. If he was not abandoned by his mother or if he wasn't a mutant then he never would have known the people who raised him as their own. Kurt felt so empty and confused. He needed some answers.

Kurt was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the sound of faint footsteps in the hallway followed by a quiet knock on his door.

"Kurt? Can I talk to you for a second?"

It was Rogue. Kurt turned his head to look at his closed door deciding on whether or not to open it.

"Please? I know you're in there. Don't make me bust it down."

Kurt returned his gaze to the stars that illuminated lucid night sky as more memories poured through his mind about his family, when it hit him that Rogue was the closest thing he had in terms of family.

In a puff of smoke Kurt was face to face with Rogue as he opened the door.

"Thanks. I was hoping I wouldn't have to bust down the door." she coughed.

"You're welcome."

Rogue waved her hand in front of her eyes and saw the reluctance Kurt still had in his demeanor. He walked sullenly back to his balcony, this time folding his arms along the banister and resting his chin on them. Rogue followed and leaned her back against the railing.

"Wow… Look at all them stars."

"Yeah..."

Rogue sighed but kept her stare on the stars.

"Kurt, I know you've got a hard decision to make in such a short amount of time." She peeked over at him when he didn't respond. "But, I want to make sure you make the right one."

"What are you getting at?"

"Just don't base your decision on everyone else. Do what's best for you."

Kurt didn't say anything. He continued thinking about his parents in Germany and how he wished he was there with them. Those were the best times of his life and they weren't ever going to come back.

"I don't even know what's best for me right now. The best things I can think of are impossible."

Rogue was no stranger to depression and she could tell Kurt was knocking on its door.

"What do you think you should do?"

She prepared herself for his answer.

"I've got a couple of thoughts."

Rogue turned over and rested her elbows beside Kurt's and dangled her hands over the railing. She looked at her pale forearm under her black lace sleeve that almost seemed to glow in the light of the moon. She compared her gloved hand with five fingers to Kurt's blue furry one with only three. She felt as if someone had kicked her right in the stomach.

Kurt's tail fluttered. Rogue bit her black lips knowing how much hate Kurt had built up towards his appendage and how it moved against his will at any given time.

"First, I wish that stupid thing was gone! That would be great."

She looked away as Kurt's voice was back at its normal volume but anger replaced his usual jovial tone. There was a long pause. Rogue was holding back tears as Kurt was trying not to rip apart his body.

"I wish I could just go back home to Germany. No one knows much about mutants there and I can live with my parents in peace and quiet."

"Kurt, you can't go back to Germany. What are you going to do there? Sit in your room and watch the world go by?"

"What do you think I did before I got here?"

"But you've already seen the outside world! You'll lose your mind! And you'd be denying everyone your great personality. Not to mention if people ever found out about you there."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you said so yourself that they don't know much about mutants over there. They'd probably react differently and jump to unreasonable conclusions."

"It happened before. My parents just played along like they were scared like everybody else and they told everyone they just moved to a different city to 'get away'."

"But Kurt, that's not the life you should be living!"

"I don't care."

"So every time someone sees you, your family is just going to pack up and leave? What are you going to do once you're in your twenties or thirties? You'll never feel love, never get married. What are you going to do when your parents die? Kurt, you've go to face it at some point."

Never feel love? More like no one will ever love me back.

"It doesn't matter anyway. I'm not leaving...."

Rogue took in a deep breath and exhaled. There was a long pause. Kurt looked down towards the garden in a lifeless stare.

"Rogue?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember when you had that dream about me as a baby and Mystique?"

How could she forget? The professor made her promise never to elaborate on it to anyone, especially Kurt. Why did he have to bring that up?

"Yeah. Why?"

"What happened with that? Logan went to Germany to check something out… What happened?"

"Kurt, I don't kn…"

"I know you guys know more than you're telling me."

"I don't know anything about it. Just the dream is what I know." Rogue lied.

Kurt jumped back up onto the railing and crossed his arms over his knees.

"You better go to bed. I've got a lot to think about."

Rogue knew that it was best not to bother him especially when he was clearly unstable.

"Fine. Just be sure you make the right decision. That's all I ask."

"I know. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kurt."

Rogue turned away and slowly headed for the door. Before she opened it she turned back to look at Kurt once more. She shared only a fraction of his pain. They both felt the same about Mystique and about their bodies, but at least she blended in with society. With that, she turned and headed to her bedroom and wiped away her running eyeliner with the back of her gloved wrist.

Too much was going on in Kurt's mind. He was having a hard time focusing on the main issue at hand. What was he going to do in terms of school? The next day was Friday. He would have to attend school for one day as the demonic figure he felt he was and then have the entire weekend to panic about Monday. Kurt continued to stare into the lacquered sky. So much was crowding his mind but he knew he had to make a decision soon.

There is no way I could go back to school. And Rogue is wrong. I could live back in Germany and be fine… but if I don't go back… then all my friends are doomed to do the same thing. Go back to their parents and live with them because they can't go to school… No, they could enroll in a high school there and get an education.

Kurt thought that was the most plausible outcome to this impasse until he felt that little twist in his gut.

But then that means they leave each other… the professor… and the institute.

Kurt closed his eyes and teleported to his bed. He lied on his back putting his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling, his mind racing all the while, thinking and rethinking any possible decision and its outcome.

If I go to school then who knows what will happen? If I don't go to school then everyone else is expellled and if that happens then they'll have to leave the institute if they want to finish high school...If they have to leave the professor then they will be overwhelmed in terms of their powers... And Kitty… what will she do?

Kurt laid there in a pool of thoughts for what seemed like hours. Finally he had reached a verdict. Although it wouldn't be the happiest result, it was the only one that had even the slightest bit of optimism in the final outcome.

Kurt took a deep breath and turned out his lamp. Not even bothering to change his clothes, he fell asleep with thoughts pouring into his mind about what the next day would bring.

***

The next morning Kitty was curled up in her bed staring at the glowing red numbers on her clock. She had hardly slept and found herself counting down the minutes until her alarm would go off.

I could probably just stay in bed. I'm not even going to school today anyway.

The clock finally reached 6:30am and the maddening beep of her clock sounded through the bedroom. Kitty reached over and gently pushed her finger down on the "off" button. When Rogue and Kitty became roommates, Rogue insisted that Kitty had the alarm clock closest to her. Rogue pushed her black comforter off her bed, sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Do you know what we're supposed to do today?"

Kitty was so zoned out that it took her a moment to realize Rogue was speaking to her.

"Oh, I don't know."

Rogue cocked her head.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah I'll be fine."

"Well I'm going to go figure out what's going on. I'll be right back."

Kitty slid up and rested her elbow on her knee and ran her fingers through her hair. She could hear some talking out in the hall. More kids must have been up as well.

Please Kurt, don't do it.

Kitty sat in her bed and stared at the rumples of her pink comforter mindlessly creating shapes in her head. It passed the time as Kitty fell into a stupor and forgot about everything that was going on. Almost a half an hour later, Rogue entered the room bringing Kitty back to reality.

"What's going on?" Kitty asked.

Rogue had a look on her face that was a combination of confusion and anger as she walked towards her dresser.

"Get ready."

"Get ready? Get ready for what?"

Kitty was scared. 'Get ready' could have meant so many different things at that point.

"For school."

Kitty's jaw dropped and she furrowed her eyebrows. She felt like a little kid being told they have to go to school on a snow day.

"We're going to school? What about Kurt? Is he alright?"

Rogue was sifting through her drawers putting together an outfit for the day. She looked like she was preparing for a funeral because of her usual gothic attire, but Kitty was the one who felt like she was going to one.

"Put it this way, he's sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast."

Kitty didn't say anything. Her mind was a flurry of negative emotions. She sat up straight, sunk through the bedroom floor, silently landed in the library and walked towards the kitchen with moderate serenity considering her blood was boiling. Kitty was furious with Kurt. She could feel her face getting hot and her hands turned white as she clenched her fists.

The second I see him, I am going to get right in his face and scream!

She had marched her way through the mansion's main level. Her breathing was becoming loud and her lip was jutted out in pure anger.

What the hell does he think he's doing? He's going to be more scared of me when I get through with him than those idiots at school!

Kitty got closer to the kitchen's entrance. Her anger accelerating with every step she took. But when she found herself standing in the doorway, all her anger melted away.

There was Kurt, sitting at the kitchen table looking quite calm eating some cereal. He didn't notice her presence, or he was just ignoring it.

Kitty bit her lip and stared at her friend. Kurt was seated so that his back was facing her and sure enough, his watch was not on his wrist. He was already dressed wearing a light green golf shirt with thin, royal blue, horizontal stripes that was a nice colour combination against his navy blue fur, and a pair of nice, light blue jeans with a hole cut out for his tail. Kitty was used to seeing him dressed nicely for school, but not as his blue self.

She cleared her throat and knocked on the wall.

"Kurt, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Kurt turned around with the utmost innocence as he saw who was accompanying him in the kitchen. His throat felt like it was clogged up and his heart started to flutter as well as his tail. But he was quick to force it to wrap around the leg of the chair.

"Yeah, come in." Kurt's tone was surprisingly normal.

Kitty wrapped her hands around her elbows and walked over to the kitchen table and plopped down in the seat next to him letting her hands fall into her lap.

Kurt was feeling a variety of emotions. His mind was an unappetizing mixture of apprehension about his decision to return to school and interest as he realized Kitty was in her pajamas. The second thought made Kurt feel slightly embarrassed but relieved that the blood rushing to his face was hidden by most of his fur.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Why are you going back to school?"

Kurt looked right into the endless blue fountain that was Kitty's eyes as he swallowed a big mouthful of cereal. Her eyes looked tired and heavy with worry written all over her face.

Looks like I'm not the only one who didn't sleep last night.

Kurt stared down as he stick handled the cereal that floated in his bowl. He knew he was going to have a hard time explaining things right to Kitty's face.

"I don't want to hide anymore."

Kitty bit her bottom lip but kept the composure on her face.

"I hid from everyone when I was in Germany, I hid at school, the mansion, and I even hid from… Yeah I'm just tired of hiding. I want to face the world as me…"

"Who else did you hide from?"

Kurt looked back at Kitty.

"What?"

"You said you even hid from… then you trailed off."

Kurt hadn't even realized he had said that out loud.

"Oh, I don't know. I was just about to ramble but I stopped myself."

"Oh…"

Kurt turned his attention back to his bowl of now soggy cereal. The two of them sat in a painful silence. Both lost in their own thoughts.

"People are going to freak out, you know. Aren't you thinking about that?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm not looking forward to that part." Kurt halfheartedly chuckled.

"Then why are you doing it?"

Kurt looked back at Kitty and took a deep breath.

"Because I want to graduate… and I want you guys to graduate too. How is it going to get any better? What if I went somewhere far for university and I was exposed there? It'd be so much worse there than in high school. At least here the school knows a whole bunch of mutants live in this town."

Kitty knew Kurt had a point. What if he was exposed by accident? He wouldn't be able to have a roommate and if he put in a special request for a single room it wouldn't mean he would be given it. And finding a place where he could live by himself would be next to impossible. And what if his watch gave out during a lecture with hundreds of eye witnesses?

"What if you just stayed here? You don't have to go to university, you know."

"What?"

"Well you could stay here and the professor could school you…"

"Kitty, I know what you're trying to do and I appreciate it. But I've made my decision. I'm done hiding from the world. This may be my only chance to 'get over' what I have to live with. I'm going to school today and you can't change my mind."

Kitty threw her head back in an attempt to reverse the flow of the inevitable tears welling in her eyes.

"Then I better get dressed…" Kitty said as she looked away and stood up. "I'll see you at school."

Kurt leaned his head on his fist while he stared at his cereal which seemed oddly interesting that morning. He was lost in a daze just staring and thinking until a deep voice brought him back to the unfortunate reality.

"G'morning elf."

Kurt watched Logan walk towards the coffee pot and then returned his gaze to the table. Usually the playful nickname rolled right off Kurt's shoulders but that morning he really analyzed it.

Elves aren't usually confused with a demon.

"Hey."

"So you're going to school I take it?"

Kurt didn't say anything as Logan sat down at the head of the table to Kurt's right.

"You know, I gotta say, I'm proud of you, kid."

Kurt felt like he had just been brutally awakened from a deep sleep. Did Logan just say he was proud of him? Again, he said nothing, but looked over to Logan.

"I don't think there's one kid in this entire place that would do what you're going to do." Logan said as he stood up. "Don't even think I could…"

Kurt looked back down as Logan walked out of the room.

Nah… he's just trying to give me some encouragement…

Kurt cleared the table and mindlessly headed towards the garage. He wasn't in too much of the mood to teleport unless he absolutely needed to.

Kurt opened the driver door of the van with his left hand and looked down at the bare wrist. He thought about how unusual it would be to go out in public without his watch then climbed in. He sat for a minute and sighed before putting the keys in the ignition. He put his hands and his head on the steering wheel and stared down. The whole morning was very unusual in a trivial kind of way. He didn't realize how one accessory changed his whole morning routine for getting ready for school. Kurt lifted his head to the sound of the passenger door opening.

"Mind if I catch a ride?" Scott asked as he sat in down in the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt. "I mean, you do owe me a ride after all the times I've driven you to school."

Kurt halfheartedly smiled over at Scott and turned the keys in the ignition.

"I guess I do owe you a ride." Kurt smiled. It was the only thing someone had said to him that didn't remind him of what he was going to be faced with that day.

The morning was very promising, in terms of weather. As they drove down the driveway, Scott broke the idea of not talking about the day ahead, but Kurt felt more comfortable talking to Scott than anyone else who tried to that morning. If there was one thing you could say about Scott was that he was reliable.

"Kurt, I want you to know, nothing is going to happen to you today. I know Principal Kelly has something up his sleeve, and I know the Brotherhood is going to try and cause trouble, but I won't let it happen. Do you hear me?"

"I know." Kurt said as he stared straight ahead. He knew Scott was right about the Brotherhood and Principal Kelly. More questions started brewing in the back of his mind.

Did Mystique ever speak with Principal Kelly? Could he convince Professor Xavier to use Cerebro to get a hold of her?

Kurt pulled up to a traffic light beside a white SUV. As he was concentrating on his driving he somewhat forgot about his appearance. He casually looked over to the man driving the SUV. The man glanced over and then took a second look with shock written all over his expression. Kurt quickly turned his head to the other direction.

"Better get used to it. School's going to be worse."

Nothing gets past that kid.

"Yeah, I guess I was kind of hoping the stares would just stay in the school though."

"Just ignore the stares and try to keep your cool when someone makes a remark."

The man was still gawking at Kurt, unsure of what he was looking at. When the light turned green, Kurt sped away leaving the man far behind. The school was just on the horizon. Kurt became panic stricken as second thoughts invaded his mind. Once he caught sight of the school, he knew his worst nightmare was becoming a reality. Kurt pulled the van over onto the shoulder of the road and cut the engine.

"I don't want to do this."

"Hey, calm down... I'm sorry but, I'm not going to sit here and tell you people won't freak out, because they will, but don't let it get to you. I just ignore it."

"That's easy for you to say! You just have those shades! We're talking about a whole body for people to stare at!"

"Kurt, none of us chose this. If those kids can't see that, then they're not worth worrying about."

"Who would choose this? It's like a Halloween costume I can't take off." Kurt muttered in German. Scott was thrown back for a second. He often forgot English was Kurt's second language.

"Just ignore everything they say."

"I don't care what they say to me. I've heard it all and I'm sure I've thought of worse insults than they will. It's what I feel like they're going to do to me physically!"

"What do you mean?"

Kurt didn't reply. Very little was disclosed to the students at the institute about Kurt's past. Only what he chose to talk about was what most of the students knew, other than the professor and Rogue, no one knew much about what happened to Kurt in Germany.

"Teachers are going to be there…they're not going to let anyone lay a hand on you."

"Somehow I don't think the teachers will be much different than the students today. And even if one of you guys try to stand up to a teacher, they'll exaggerate everything to whoever is in charge of mutant affairs and who do you think they're going to believe?"

"The professor won't allow it."

Kurt put his fuzzy palms on the back of his neck then looked back over at the school as Scott put his hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"Kurt, I know you can do it."

"Why are you the only person who wants me to go back to school?"

Scott paused. "Everyone else is just looking out for you. They're just afraid for you. Let them be. It's better than them being afraid of you."

Yup, he's the leader for a reason.

"And hey, you can just port out of there if you start feeling really crappy. The mansion is in your distance, isn't it?"

"Then I'm just running away from it, like I always have…"

"Then this time, don't."

The two of them sat there for a minute as Kurt thought over what Scott said. Then Kurt turned the keys and the van roared to life. Neither of the two boys said a word as they pulled back onto the main road and headed to the school's parking lot. The one thing Kurt had dreaded since he came to America was finally happening.

The lawn in front of the parking lot was the hangout spot before classes. As Kurt pulled in, it took a moment but not long enough, all the faces turned to him. Through the windshield they all bore witness to Kurt's blue face. There were many different reactions. Some responded with fear, disgust, confusion, and laughter. The only thing all the reactions had in common was the effect it had on Kurt.

He quickly looked away as he caught a young freshman girl's eye.

"Scott, I want to go home. This was a bad idea." Kurt mumbled as he looked down.

Scott put his hand on Kurt's shoulder again.

"Hey, ignore it. I know it's hard but this is a big stepping stone in your life. You can do it."

"You don't know how difficult it is…"

"You can leave if you really want to."

Kurt could hear the chattering outside of the van begin to silence as a fair number of the student body ogled the blue mutant. Kurt could feel their eyes staring at him and they could only see his head. He felt like someone was repeatedly punching him in the chest. At that moment he would have given anything to be back in his little bedroom in Germany reading a book with only his family knowing of his existence. He was ready to teleport back to the mansion, pack his things and head to Germany but something hit him. He remembered what he and Rogue had talked about the night before. He was going to hide from his problems like he always tried to do. An X-man would know better than anyone else how cowardly it looks when someone runs away from a scene and Kurt was going to do just that.

"No." Kurt said, shifting his eyes to look out the window, keeping his head down. All those eyes were ridden with scrutiny and fear and that was just a handful of students who happened to be around at the time.

"No?"

"I want to do this. I need to."

"Do whatever you feel is right."

Scott grabbed his backpack from his feet and opened the van door. Kurt quickly put his hand on Scott's wrist and looked up.

"Wait for me. I don't want to go by myself."

Scott didn't say anything but gave his friend an unspoken response and closed the door. They waited there in the van and more students seemed to join the crowd. Kurt could hear some people's comments.

"What is going on?"

"That blue mutant freak kid is back."

"Are all the mutants really like that?"

"No, I don't even think it's a mutant. It's got to be something worse."

"It's a science experiment gone wrong!"

Kurt closed his eyes and bit his lip.

Pretend it's a dream. Pretend it's a dream.

He shifted his eyes up as Jean pulled up with the other Xavier students in Scott's car. Kurt saw this as the perfect chance for the other students to make the mob that surrounded the van back off somewhat. And that seemed to be the thing on Jean's mind as well.

"What the hell are you guys looking at?" Evan yelled as he jumped out of the car. "This isn't a friggin' circus!"

"Could've fooled me"

"Do you people have no shame?" Jean said in the tone of a disappointed teacher.

Kitty couldn't think of anything to say.

"Just move on to your classes that I'm sure you're failing!" Rogue shouted as she made her way to the van and tapped on the window of the sliding door. Kurt unlocked it and she climbed in and slammed the door behind her.

"How are you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm just fantastic, Rogue! Never better!"

"Shut up. How long have you guys been sitting here?"

"I don't even know... long enough for people to form an audience."

"Are you actually going to go through with this?"

"I'm not so sure anymore… I can't even think of the words to say right now."

"No one is going to make you do anything you don't want to." Rogue soothed.

"The weird thing is I think I want to do it… I was thinking about what you said last night, Rogue, and I don't want to hide anymore. I want people to know who I really am but I just don't know about school… Ugh, I don't even know what I want anymore."

"You made it this far," Scott spoke up, "you might as well take the next step."

"Yeah, come on, we'll all go in together." Rogue put her hands on Kurt's shoulders and they sat again for a moment in silence.

Kurt took a deep breath and nodded.

Rogue stepped out of the car, followed by Scott who walked around the front, giving the human students scornful looks. Kurt took his sweet time. He felt like it took all of his energy to open the driver seat door. He sat with the door open and took in the gasps of the few remaining students that had surrounded the van.

The Xavier students walked to Kurt's aid and surrounded him, making somewhat of a barricade as he got out of the van. First he stepped one bare fuzzy foot on the pavement followed by the other. Murmurs and different feelings were being passed amongst the human population that surrounded the X-men. Kurt was out of the car and his tail was waving around frantically behind him. He caught a glimpse of the student's faces as they watched him. Some people had seen him when he was revealed in the cafeteria and some only heard about it from friends. There was nothing that could describe the horrible feeling he had in his stomach, the nervousness and embarrassment was almost unbearable, but it got worse when his tail, in its frantic spasm, hit the horn on the steering wheel letting out an abrupt beep. The human students laughed, and more negative attention was put on Kurt as he dragged the rest of his body out to the parking lot all the while keeping his head down. If he couldn't hide his body, then he'd hide his face.

"Shut up!" Rogue snapped at the smirking students.

Kurt felt like he was part of some kind of movie. His friends continued to walk with him as he made his way towards the school. The human students parted for them like Moses and the Red Sea. Were they being kind? Probably not. Kurt figured it was fear of touching him or seeing him up close. Then he thought to himself.

Is it better to be feared or laughed at?

Unfortunately for Kurt, it was both.

Kurt was walking as slow as he could but knew it was doing him more harm as it gave the human populace more time to gawk. But if he walked fast, it would just mean more people would see him. Kurt kept his dead man walking pace as he reached the giant cement steps leading up to the school's main entrance. He looked up slowly knowing what inside would hold.

I'm sorry for taking a thousand years to put this up. I'm super busy haha. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging before Kurt actually goes to school, but it looks like I'm going to have to and I know it feels like I'm dragging it out. A lot of people have been e-mailing me about when the next chapter would be put up haha, and I feel bad taking forever and I feel bad leaving you guys hanging, but I chose the lesser of two evils. I'm hoping this summer I'll work on it a lot more. Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and support while I've been writing :)