Jordan was on her knees in front of her father, "The armor….it is empty…" she marveled, staring at him. "It is here, but is empty…hollow. It's been torn, ripped. Ripped from the armor." She fell onto her back and started a giggling fit, "She wins…she wins….she lost but she always wins."
Jordan rollwed onto her side, her back to her father, and began sobbing. "It's only a matter of time….I feel it tearing inside of me. I can't last much longer…"
Logan sat up straight as Jordan spoke clearly…sounds normal, "Jordan?"
"The shadow!" She cried out. "He rules all he can see, and he sees me!" She flung her arms around as if fighting an invisible force, then stared at Logan impatiently. "The shadow! Don't you see?! THE SHADOW OWNS ME!"
Chapter 11-Old Demon, New Angel
"G'morning, birthday girl." Logan said, nudging Jordan in the shoulder.
Jordan groaned and rolled over, "What time is it?"
"Six." Jordan squinted to look at the clock and mumbled something before pulling her blanket over her head. "What?"
"I said wake me up in three more hours…it's Saturday…"
Logan sat on the edge of her bed and pulled the covers from her head, "I'm taking you to get your drivers license, you have an hour to meet me in the garage."
"So early?"
"Yes. Hurry up!" Logan chuckled, walking out of the room.
Regardless of being woken up too early Jordan was quite alert when she got behind the wheel of the van. She was unable to hide her excitement of getting her drivers license. Logan had her drive around for over an hour before actually going to take the test.
"How did you do, kiddo?" He asked when she walked out.
"How do you think I did?" She asked with a straight face.
"I think you aced it."
Jordan smirked, "I think you are right!"
"That's my girl." Logan grinned, giving her a one-armed hug and looking at her driver's license, still warm from being laminated. "Happy birthday, Jordan."
"Thank you, Dad."
They stepped out into the cold together, going towards the van. It was going to snow again, there was already a few inches on the ground. Jordan drove them back to the mansion. "I bet you are wondering what your gift will be."
Jordan looked at her father, "How about I get to choose the training session tonight? And it will involve fluffy teddy bears…"
Logan chuckled, "No." He took them to the elevator, and they went into the subbasement and headed towards the hanger.
"Jet ride to somewhere warm?" Jordan guessed again.
Logan was smiling broadly, and shook his head. "No, but I hope you'll like it." The door to the hanger opened, but it was pitch black inside.
"Ah, everyone hiding in the dark waiting to wish me happy birthday?" Jordan laughed, walking into the dark and sensing everyone waiting anxiously.
"Ah man, you took all the fun out of it." Kurt groaned.
Logan turned on the lights, "Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted half-heartedly. They stood in a close group, smiling at her. The jet was gone, making the hanger appear much larger than she had ever noticed. Streamers and even a banner hanging from the high ceiling.
Jordan grinned, "Thanks everyone."
"This is for you, Jordan. It's from all of us." Ororo said, handing her a large box.
Jordan's grin faded into a gracious smile, "Thanks…you guys didn't have to get me anything, though."
"We wanted to. Open it!" Rogue urged.
Jordan took the top off of the box and inside was a black motorcycle helmet with her nickname 'Snap' in yellow on the back. "Oh! I love it!"
"Yeah, now you have your own when Logan takes you on his bike." Jean said.
Logan stepped behind his daughter and covered his eyes. "Or, when you want to ride your own." He said, then uncovered her eyes. Everyone had moved from their tight group, they had been hiding Jordan's present, her own motorcycle. Black and yellow, and all hers.
"No way!" Jordan gasped, her jaw dropping. "SERIOUSLY?"
Logan nodded, "She's all yours. It's too cold to ride it outside…but why don't you take it for a few spins in here?" Jordan grinned underneath the visor of her motorcycle helmet as she tested out her bike.
The bike went into the garage next to her father's and the jet took its rightful place back in the hanger. And the holidays were creeping up on them.
"Looks great, Jordan." Kurt said. Jordan had finished hanging garland over the doorway, "Don't forget this."
Jordan took the plastic mistletoe and laughed, "Who are you going to punish with this?"
"Anyone I can." Kurt grinned.
Jordan climbed down the ladder and leaned it against the wall and stepped back to check out her work. The younger students were in a late training session with Beast, and most of the other students were getting ready for the long break. "Let's do this other one, too."
"This doorway?" Kurt asked, then teleported to a bare arch that led to the hallway. "Or this one?" He then teleported to the doorway that led to the library. "Or this one?" He asked, teleporting under the one Jordan had just finished. "Oh…no…look at this…" Kurt grinned, pointing to the mistletoe above him.
"That's cheap, Kurt."
"It's tradition!"
Jordan walked over and kissed his cheek, "Very cute, blue boy. Now come help me."
Jordan climbed back on the ladder, her hands shaking slightly. Kurt had become a good friend in the past few months, spending more of her free time with him than anyone else. He was going to be leaving in a few days, going back to Germany to see his parents, and Jordan was more than a little depressed about that fact and at the same time relieved. At the beginning of the school year Jordan had enjoyed Kurt's company very much, but she had been dating Alex then. Kurt was a flirt, and a joker. But he was also very compassionate. Jordan was afraid she was starting to like Kurt for more than a friend, because she knew the butterflies she felt in her stomach were hers.
Jordan lost her balance trying to attach the garland to the top of the archway, falling backwards with the ladder. Kurt caught her, her head just inches from hitting the hardwood flooring. "Are you okay!?"
"At least tell me I looked graceful…"
Kurt helped her stand up straight, "Heh…yeah, like a swan with an anchor on its neck." Jordan laughed, and climbed back up the ladder.
It was the last day that everyone was together, and gifts were being exchanged. Jordan received a necklace from Jean, a t-shirt from Kitty, a book from Rogue, a CD from Evan, and a gift card from Scott. Logan had gotten Jordan a leather motorcycle jacket, yellow and black that was similar to her uniform and matched her bike.
"This is for you." Kurt said, handing Jordan a wrapped box.
"Ooo, and this is for you." Jordan said, handing him one of his own. "I got you two things…so don't laugh at me, it's kind of dorky."
"Open yours first."
Jordan obeyed, and smiled widely as she pulled out the dark blue sweater. "Ah, I love it. Thank you so much, Kurt!"
"Kitty helped me pick it out…I think she wanted it just so she could borrow it though…"
"Open yours."
"Okay, okay." Kurt pulled out the sweatshirt, smiling and holding it against his chest. Then he pulled out a framed portrait Jordan had sketched for him. Her hidden talent for drawing shared only with him. "Wow, this is really awesome!" He said, half laughing in amazement as he looked over the drawing.
"I told you not to laugh at me…"
"No! No! It's the best! Thank you, Jordan. It looks amazing! Did you do one for everyone?"
"No. Well you asked me to do one a while ago. I've been working on it in my spare time. I finally finished it and…thought it was nice enough to use as a gift. Something special, just for you."
The next day the ones who were staying at the mansion waved as their friends left. Logan was driving a group of kids to the airport, while Ororo driving some who lived on her way to Evan's parents.
The mansion was going to be almost empty, except for Professor, Beast, Scott, Rogue, and Jordan and her father.
"Alright, who's up for helping Professor and me install Cerebro's new security upgrades?" Beast asked cheerfully.
"I guess that's his idea of a fun holiday…" Scott muttered.
"I'll help, Beast." Jordan offered.
Christmas grew closer, and strange news reports were coming through on the TV, radio, and newspaper about sightings of an angel. Other than that, the mansion was very dull.
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, fore thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Beast said while discussing the angel sightings.
"Shakespeare?" Professor asked, lowing his paper.
"The bible." Jordan corrected.
"Ah, indeed. Although I don't believe this angel is of the heaven variety."
"What, do you think he's some sort of demon?" Scott asked, taking one of Beast's pawns off of the chessboard.
"Yeah right," snorted Rogue.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Heratio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy," quoted Beast.
"Now that is Shakespeare." Rogue said.
"Mmhm," Beast nodded.
"No, Scott, I'm saying that if Cerebro weren't still being repaired we would certainly have gotten a reading on this 'angel' by now. I fear his activities would alert the public to mutants. Someone should go to the city, perhaps we could recruit him."
"Yeah, we could go…I mean us three. I'm going nuts just sitting around here," Rogue volunteered.
"Alright. Hank, could you compile a list of all the angel sightings, with witnesses, addresses, that sort of thing? It would give them a list of places to start."
"Um…did I just get volunteered for something?" Jordan asked, setting a steaming mug on the table next to the chessboard.
"Would you rather stay here?" Rogue asked. "They won't even let you into the Danger Room, you must be lost!"
"Ha." Jordan said flatly. "How long do you think it will take?"
"We'll be back by this evening. It's just a two hour drive." Scott answered. "You can stay here, if you want. Although I don't know why you would want to."
"Well this is my first Christmas with my dad. I'd…like to spend it with my dad."
"Ah, come on, kiddo. It's not like we are doing too much." Logan said.
"You are okay with it?"
"Yeah, I'll see you tonight."
Jordan read over Beast's notes while Scott drove. "He saved a woman from a burning building. And stopped a mugging. 16' wing span…wow…"
They started interviewing the witnesses on the list, and Jordan sensed that their excitement at the incident, making her believe they were telling the truth. There was no anxiety, or apathy that came with common liars. Jordan seemed to be anxious once they started walking on the streets between the witnesses homes and the van. Looking over her shoulder and standing a little too close for comfort to Scott and Rogue.
"Ah, this hits the spot. My hands are freezing." Scott wrapped his hands around a mug. They had stopped at a coffee shop, their witnesses gladly spoke with them…but they had no leads to where the angel was.
"Let's do something fun while we are here." Rogue said.
"Sure, like what?" Scott asked.
"Well, I saw this really cool record store on 5th avenue. And you still do owe me a gift."
Scott chuckled, "Alright, that will do for starters. But shopping isn't exactly what I consider fun. What do you say, Jordan?"
Jordan turned her gaze from the busy street to her friends, "Huh?"
"What do you want to do while we are here? I mean, you've lived in the city before. Anywhere you want to go?"
"I'm alright with anything." She said.
Scott and Rogue glanced at each other, and shrugged. Ten minutes later they were browsing through the store Rogue had suggested. Scott was listening to a CD sample, and Rogue was pawing through records.
Jordan walked the aisles aimlessly, keeping her eyes on the street anxiously. It was dark early this time of year, and she remembered how three years ago she used to come out at night. Hell, she had even been arrested on this street. "Are you okay?" Scott said from behind her, making her jump.
She put a hand on her chest and flushed, clearly embarrassed, "Sorry…"
"What's up?"
"I haven't been downtown for a long time. Old habit of watching my back."
"Anything you want to talk about?"
Jordan turned back to the street, seeing someone in a long coat with a scarf covering his face hurry past and was sure he had just been staring in the window just a moment ago while she was talking to Scott. "No, not really."
"Of course not…" Scott muttered.
There were other people in the store, and two girls in particular caught their attention.
"Did you see the news tonight? They actually had pictures of the angel at that accident on the Brooklyn Bridge."
"I know! Can you believe it? He's for real, unless it's some incredible hoax."
They were out the door heading to the hospital. "Do you think they can tell us anything different than the others?" Jordan asked.
"We'll have to see." Scott said, clenching the wheel.
It was on the radio, that there had been a car accident and the angel had saved a family from going over the edge of the bridge in their car, only to knock the little girl into the freezing waters below. Once they made it to the hospital they asked to see the girls' parents.
"I'm afraid you just missed them."
"Do you have any idea where they went? It's really important." Rogue said.
"I believe they said something about praying at their church."
Jordan saw a man in a lab coat walk past them. He was young and handsome, blonde hair and a smooth face. On the outside he looked like a busy doctor, but Jordan felt his extreme nervousness. She walked up to him, "Excuse me, doctor?"
He turned, and held up his hands, "Uh…um…"
"So glad I caught you!" Jordan smiled warmly as she got closer to him, Scott and Rogue turned and watched. "I was hoping to get your opinion on something…"
"Sorry, miss, I really have to go…" The man said, going to look at his watch.
Jordan witnessed the feather falling from under the coat, and she grabbed his wrist gently, trying to stay calm and keep him from running. But Rogue called out, "It's him!"
Jordan tightened the grip on his wrist, "We just want to talk!" She cried out. He twisted out of her grip, shoving her away and causing her to fall back. He ran, tearing off the coat as he did so. He jumped out of the window, and they barely made it there to see him fly away.
"Let's go. Before he gets out of range." Jordan said. The moment Jordan got outside the weight of the city clouded her concentration, "Lost him."
Scott cursed, "Alright. We'll go to the church. Talk to her parents."
Jordan looked around, suddenly aware of someone watching them. Unfamiliar, but angry. "Think one of us should stay here in case they come back?" Jordan asked.
"We're sticking together." Scott said, and without further discussion they got into the van.
Jordan kept her eyes closed, they reached the church and her eyes opened wide. "He's close…he's in there!"
They jumped out of the van, running into the church to see Magneto hovering several feet in the air, and the angel wrapped in chains and at his mercy. Scott wasted no time to hit Magneto with an optic blast. Magneto crashed into a stained glass window, and angel fell to the ground.
Jordan ran to him, helping him unwrap the chains. "Are you alright?"
"Well…now we know that Magneto is still in business." Rogue said.
"Who are you people?" The angel asked.
Before any of them could answer Magneto appeared at the window he had just been thrown out of. "You fools! Have you learned nothing?"
Magneto sent metal candle holders and beams flying at them. They split, Angel high to the ceiling. Jordan ducked behind the pews. "Jordan! Over here!" Scott yelled.
Jordan tried to stay low as she ran to Scott, as passing the front church doors they sprung open. She rolled and ducked behind a pew, and vaguely recognized the man in the coat who had been watching them at the record store, and had probably been following them all day. He saw Jordan, and everyone in the church froze when seeing the newcomer.
"No…" Jordan moaned. "Not now."
"You!" He growled. "I knew it was you! Thought you could get away?"
"Marcus, now is NOT the time!" Jordan gasped.
"Old boyfriend?" Scott mused.
Marcus pulled out a gun and pointed it at Jordan. At the same time as Jordan sent a mental blast to him Magneto twisted the gun from his hand, twisting it until it was useless, and threw it far away. Marcus laid unconscious on the floor, and the mutants all looked at each other briefly before their fight began again.
An iron rod twisted around Jordan before she could completely recover from Marcus's intrusion, and she was thrown back and pinned to a column. From behind Angel swooped down to Magneto grabbed him.
"Angel! Let him go!" Scott yelled.
Angel did, and Scott hit him with another optic blast. This time Magneto hit a column and fell. Rogue ran up to him while pulling off her glove, she reached into his helmet and touched the side of his face for a few seconds before he kicked her off.
Magneto flew out of the window, and Rogue used the powers she had just absorbed from him to follow.
"Scott! A little help here." Jordan said, still pinned.
"Hold still." He said, hand to his visor.
"NO!" Jordan shouted. "Don't you dare!"
"Trust me, Jordan."
Jordan closed her eyes, she felt the heat from the blast and started falling. She landed on her feet, "Thanks…where is Angel?"
"He went after Rogue and Magneto…but what the hell was that?" He asked, pointing to the still knocked-out Marcus.
"Do we have duct tape in the van?" She asked, and winced when his anger flared up. "I'm not avoiding the question! I promise I'll tell you, but we don't have much time before he wakes up."
They taped Marcus up and put him in a corner of the wrecked church.
Five minutes later Angel and Rogue came out of the sky. "Magneto?" Scott asked.
Rogue shook her head, but was looking at Jordan. "We should go back to the hospital."
"Good, that will give us time to talk." Scott said, placing a firm hand on Jordan's shoulder.
Once in the van Jordan bought two more minutes from answering as she called the police, "I need to report a vandalism at the church on 32nd street. Some good Samaritans disabled the vandal and left him inside." She hung up before any more information was exchanged.
"Answers, NOW." Scott said. "Why did that guy know you, and why did he want to kill you?"
Jordan glanced between Rogue and Angel, "Can we wait until Angel…"
"NOW!" Scott barked.
"Jeez! Fine!" Jordan barked back.
"If she doesn't want to talk about it in front of me perhaps…" Angel started.
"No, no…it's fine." Jordan said shortly, "I'll just let everyone in this car know my entire history! That's just fine by me! I don't care!" Scott shifted in his seat uneasily. "Oh, feeling bad now, huh? Too late! You want to know, here it is, Scott. Sweet little Jordan used to boost cars so she wouldn't freeze on the streets. Yeah, that's right. Ran away from an abusive foster home, right to downtown New York, hooked up with other delinquents and runaways that didn't have families, or families to look after them. Know what teenage kids are good for on the street? They are good lookouts, for cops when people are selling drugs or stealing cars. I learned a trade while I spent three months on my own. Yeah, I can jimmy car doors, hotwire, uninstall car stereos. Marcus back there used to fence my stolen stereos, gave me top dollar for my goods because he thought I was a cute kid. He's actually the one who introduced me to his buddy who ran a chop shop down town." Jordan whistled, and started laughing as the other three in the car looked away from here, terribly uncomfortable. Jordan was still burning off the rage and fear she had absorbed earlier. "Oh, get settled, because it gets better. Should have gotten some popcorn for this little tale! I went from watchdog to car thief, bringing in a lot of goods to a really well organized group of thugs. Old ones, young ones, and everywhere in between. I wasn't even the youngest one, if you can believe it." Jordan took in a few slow breaths, reliving those days in her mind. Much softer, she continued. "I let them catch me one night. I had only been doing things to make money to live off of, I didn't like it. Once I was brought in, I was charged with one count of auto theft, and given a chance because I completely cooperated. Within a week of me being arrested the chop shop was busted, the leaders and Marcus and a lot of their helpers arrested. People who had helped me survive, knew me personally and knew me fairly well, were arrested because of the information I gave them." They were parked in front of the hospital, and had been for a while. "That a good enough answer, Scott?" She asked, stepping out of the van.
The others followed, and Jordan was surprised when Scott pulled her into a hug. She let him, resting her head on his chest and breathing slowly. Once he released her Rogue did the same, and Jordan realized Rogue's emotions were extremely mixed and unpleasant.
"Sorry…I sort of went off. You must think I'm some sort of nutcase." Jordan said, smiling weakly as she offered Angel some of the hospitality hot chocolate that was available in the waiting room.
He took it and returned her smile, "Not at all. I think…you must be a very interesting person."
Jordan rolled her eyes, "Honestly, not at all. I'm actually really boring. So, what did you think about Scott's offer, about coming to see the institute?"
He shook his head, "I appreciate the offer, and I'm glad to know that there are others…but I just don't think it would work out."
"Alright. What do you think about Scott's suggestion of keeping a lower profile?"
Angel looked away, but nodded, "I can do that. After all the trouble it's caused."
"Jordan, I need to talk to you." Rogue said. Jordan walked over, leaning against the wall near Rogue. "Jordan, I got some of Magneto's memories."
"Are they bad?" Jordan asked, perhaps Rogue had gotten a glimpse of some of the things Magneto had done in the past.
"Some of them had you in it."
Jordan nodded, "From Asteroid M?"
Rogue shook her head, "No…you were just a kid. You…were all alone. It looked like you were in an alley or something. He wrapped you up in a blanket and picked you up…"
Jordan's face went white and her head felt light. She barely remembered that day…but she remembered how warm the blanket had been…and the soft and gentle voice of an unknown man. Jordan gripped a chair and sat down. "I…I thought he looked familiar when I saw him last. But…that's…"
"That's not all, Jordan." Rogue said, her voice shaky and she sat down as well. "He knows who your mother is." Jordan shook her head, not wanting to believe it. The past was the past…why did Rogue have to find this out? Why had Magneto been the one to pull her out of that alley, away from a slow death? How did he know her mother? "And I think she's still alive…"
Jordan leaned back in the chair, "Tell me everything you saw, Rogue. Tell me now."
"I just did. Everything is really broken up, Jordan. Except…I think Magneto was afraid of her…do you remember her at all?"
Jordan shook her head, "No, but barely even think about her. Let's get Scott, and head back to Bayville. I want to tell Dad about this."
Scott and Angel were coming back from checking on the girl who had recently woken up. "We're ready to go home." Rogue said.
"Already…" Scott looked between the two of them, and nodded. "Sure. Give us a call if you change your mind, Warren."
"Sure. Hey…Jordan?"
"Yeah?"
He smiled at her, and she felt a quiet urge to flirt that was quickly extinguished by her own emotions that were rising up in her, "Take care of yourself." He said simply.
"You too." Jordan answered, returning his smile.
"Jordan's mother? I'm afraid I know as much as Logan and Jordan do." Professor Xavier said.
"Then Magneto knows more than anyone. I saw his memories…and there were some of Jordan, and Jordan's mother."
"Are you positive, Rogue?" Logan asked.
Rogue told them what she had told Jordan, and they knew it was true. Rogue had never been told about Jordan's past and how she really came to live with foster families, only that she had been separated from her father at a young age. "Rogue…I'd like to know more. I need to see exactly what you saw." Rogue knew what he meant, and she nodded. "Just, relax."
A few minutes went by before Professor Xavier backed away from Rogue, his eyes wide. "My goodness…" He gasped.
"What is it, Charles?" Logan asked.
"You know who she is?" Rogue asked.
Charles nodded, "Yes. I remember her. Years ago. Sara Parker. She disappeared over twenty years ago, though. I hadn't thought of her in ages. She is a mutant. With just a touch of her hand she could see someone's entire mind. Their memories, personality, what they were." He sighed heavily, and frowned. "She could also erase, alter, or warp people's minds, to the point where they were merely a shell of themselves and at that point she could create something new. A new mind to occupy the body for a short time until it collapsed leaving once again nothing."
"And she really is my mother?" Jordan asked.
"Magneto believes so, but I can't be sure. I tried to keep Sara on a safe path, but every time she used her powers she changed. When I saw her last she was barely the woman I once knew, just a mixture of everyone she had taken memories from." Professor Xavier shook his head, "The memory Magneto had of her was from about ten years ago. A lot could have happened since then, but showed me that Sara got worse and apparently more powerful."
Jordan was watching Beast shovel the steps from her balcony, her mind going over the past few days. "See the news? Man by the name of Marcus Benetti was arrested in connection of a vandalism of a neighborhood church, had several outstanding warrants."
Jordan turned to look at her father, "Yeah…unlucky for him, huh?"
Logan pulled his daughter into a hug, "I want to put your past behind us as much as you do, Jordan. But…something like that…and there is more of those men out there."
"The chances of any more of them coming across me are slim. Dad, I know how to take care of myself."
Logan nodded, "I know. I'm not sure what scares me the most, though. That someone would point a gun at you, or that you can handle that. You are lucky, Jordan."
"Yeah, I am. I never thought I'd see him again. Not in a hundred years. I thought I was doing a good thing when I got caught…never thought it would come back to bite me."
Logan put an arm around her shoulders, "You did do a good thing, kiddo. And it seems you made an impression on Angel."
"What? No, he didn't want to join."
Logan handed her a piece of paper, "Yeah, but he called and asked for you."
"Oh…thanks. Guess I'll go return his call."
Jordan dialed the numbers, and listened to the rings. Just as she was about to hang up, "Hello?"
"Hey, Warren, it's Jordan."
"Yeah, I recognized the voice. I wanted to see if you saw the news…about…"
"Marcus? I heard about it."
"I also saw the large donation Xavier's school put towards fixing the damage."
"Mmmhmm, and don't think we didn't notice the large contribution from an anonymous donor."
He laughed on the other side, and Jordan smiled at the sound, "You caught me."
Jordan got the feeling he was about to say something else, when another call beeped through, "Ah…sorry, I better get that. Can you hold on?"
"No, I should probably go. Bye, Jordan."
"Ah, alright. Talk to you later." Jordan switched to the other line, "Xavier Institute."
"Hey, Jordan!" Alex's voice said on the other end. "Merry Christmas!"
"Aloha!" Jordan laughed, "Merry Christmas, Alex." Jordan started her way down the hall to Scott's room, "Scott, phone for you."
"So, Jordan, you gonna have Scott bring you to Hawaii so we can party it up?"
Scott held out his hand for the phone, snapping his fingers impatiently, "Right, yeah…we'll see." Jordan laughed, "Here's your brother."
"Scott, I was just saying you need to come down and bring Jordan with you."
Scott closed the door, remembering that Alex referred to Jordan as the 'cute blond' not that long ago, "That might be fun. Hey, we can even bring her dad along. Remember, he's the one with the metal claws and a temper…"
"Jordan, Kurt's flight back in from Germany is arriving early. Would you mind going to pick him up?" Professor Xavier asked, holding up the keys to the van.
Jordan felt a delightful squirm in her belly as she took the keys and headed to the garage. She was…perhaps a bit too eager to be seeing Kurt again. She remembered the mistletoe he held over his head before he left, taunting her with the tradition. Smiling as her lips tingled with remembering the soft kiss she had planted on his cheek…
"Oh, jeez." She groaned to herself, knowing there were no other emotions from others to be affecting her…these were her own.
"Welcome back." Jordan greeted Kurt with a hug at the airport.
"Ah, I was expecting Logan or Scott, but I have to say this is a lot nicer." Kurt said happily as he returned the hug. "How was it at the mansion?"
Jordan twirled the keys to the van on her finger and exhaled in a low whistle, "Oh, it was alright."
"Alright? I bet you were bored out of your mind without everyone…namely me."
"Ah, well I have some stories to tell you, but they can wait. But yeah, I really missed everyone. Especially that blue furry guy."
"I knew it! You can't resist the fuzzy man." Kurt laughed, following her out to the van.
Jordan smiled, his words more true that he realized. She felt his playful nature, happiness and relief to be back in Bayville, and a little sad to be leaving his parents. Nothing to indicate he was feeling anything more than that in the presence of Jordan.
Everyone's holiday spirits were still high as they returned back to the institute after their much needed break which was quickly ending. The mansion soon loud again with teenagers spending their last few days trying to get away with as much as possible. Jordan found herself hopelessly trying catch Kurt's attention, at the same time trying to drown the feelings she was having. She had been spending so much time trying to block emotions and determine whose emotions were what…she had trouble controlling her own. This new crush she had on Kurt was worse than feeling Alex's emotions when he had a crush on her.