Author's Note: Man, you'd think that, now that I'm off for summer vacation, I'd find time to actually write. Instead, I've been pretty distracted with other stuff, namely with the visual novel/anime Fate/stay night (I ship Shirou/Saber in all their heart-wrenchingly bittersweet Together in Death glory and I REGRET NOTHING!), not to mention dealing with a family crisis (my grandfather's been in the hospital for the past several days because of a stomach blockage). So, I hope this chapter makes up for my absence (although I'm not entirely sure I'm satisfied with it).

Exposed

"Hello?" Kurt greeted, holding the living room's phone to his ear.

"Kurt? Oh, thank God it's you." Kitty's voice on the other line sounded greatly relieved.

Kurt frowned, his senses on alert. "Is somezing wrong, Keety?"

Kitty paused, hesitating. "As a matter of fact, yes. But it's kind of hard to explain over the phone. Listen, would it be alright if you don't pick me up from school today?"

"Um, sure, I guess," Kurt said uncertainly. "But Keety, vhat's going on up zere?"

"I'll explain when I get home," Kitty promised. "I'm almost late for class, anyway."

"Okay, see you zen," Kurt agreed. "Bye; I love you."

"I love you, too." He could almost hear the smile in Kitty's voice.

After Kitty walked back home a few hours later, the first thing she did was find Kurt in the main hall and drag him to her room, closing the door behind them.

"Vhat's going on?" Kurt asked.

Kitty turned to face him, sighing. "You might want to sit down," she said.

Kurt wordlessly sat on Kitty's bed, looking at her expectantly.

I'm just gonna have to be blunt about this, she thought. Out loud, she said, "The whole school thinks I'm cheating on you."

The only thought that went through Kurt's mind once his brain processed this statement was a very confused, ...Vhat? She can't be serious.

"And vhat gave you zat idea?" he wanted to know. Kurt was no stranger to the high school rumor mill; he still remembered the rumors and gossip flying around Bayville High about his and Kitty's relationship long before they'd actually become a couple. As crazy as rumors could get, the concept of Kitty cheating on Kurt ought to have been too ridiculous to even comprehend.

Kitty rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Well, it might have something to do with kids asking me all day, 'Hey, Pryde, does your boyfriend know you're cheating on him?' Oh, and there happens to be a picture of us making out posted on the Internet."

Kurt's eyes widened. "Vhat?" he exclaimed, suddenly standing up. "But zat's crazy; who—vait a minute," he interrupted himself as something occurred to him. "How vould zat make people zink you're cheating on me?"

Kitty sat down at her desk and turned on her laptop. "Let me show you."

Kurt walked over to stand behind Kitty. Minutes passed as the laptop booted up and the Internet was accessed. Finally, Kitty had pulled up an image hosting site. Kurt felt his stomach drop as he looked at a picture of them kissing passionately on the Institute's grounds.

And his image inducer wasn't on.

I zink I now know how people vould zink Keety's cheating on me, Kurt thought. After all, as far as the general public was concerned, Kurt Wagner and Nightcrawler were two separate people.

It took a little while for Kurt to find his voice.

"Who did zis?" he finally asked as Kitty clicked out of the site. "Do ve have stalkers now?"

"I'm pretty sure we'd know if someone thought they could just waltz up here," Kitty answered, getting up from her chair. "As for your first question, it was Bobby."

"Bobby?" Kurt repeated.

"Yep," Kitty said, shaking her head, her brow furrowed. "Apparently, he thought it'd be a funny joke. Too bad Jubilee likes him; otherwise, he'd be stuck in a wall right now."

A moment of silence passed before Kurt voiced his next question. "So, vhat do ve do about zat picture?"

"The only thing I can think of is to say it's fake." Kitty shrugged. "This whole thing with kids thinking I'm a cheating slut will blow over sooner or later."

Kurt made a face at the "cheating slut" part. "Even so..." His voice trailed off; he wasn't sure if he could put into words just how wrong he thought the notion of Kitty playing him was.

"Well, the important thing is that everyone here knows the rumor's not true," Kitty said, smiling a little and patting Kurt's shoulder. "I mean, you're still you, with or without the inducer."

"But ze average Bayville High student doesn't know zat," Kurt pointed out.

"Yeah, but there's really nothing we can do on that front."

Kurt looked away. "Zere might be."

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked.

He looked back at her. "Vell...maybe it's time to dazzle ze public vith ze real me."

"What?" To say Kitty was shocked would be an understatement. "Kurt, you don't have to do that."

"If it'll get people to not zink you're a—" Kurt began.

"Like I said, this'll blow over," Kitty interrupted forcefully. "You revealing to the world that you're blue and furry won't."

"It vas just a suggestion," Kurt muttered, looking away again. "And I zought you'd be happy with it."

"Kurt, look at me." Kitty's voice had softened.

He did so, and she continued. "If you want to show the public what you really look like, then great. But please don't do it because you think you have to." Kitty smiled good-naturedly. "Besides, when was the last time I nagged you to show off your true form?"

Kurt chuckled; she had a point there.

"So I guess our next problem is zat ve can't exactly make out for a vhile," he joked.

Kitty's smile broadened into a teasing grin, and she wrapped her arms around Kurt's shoulders and pulled him closer to her.

"Who says we can't?" she whispered flirtatiously.

She then proceeded to give Kurt a long, lingering kiss.