The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind

by Mistercraycray95

It was a normal school day at Bayvile High School for David Ripley, or as normal as it could be for an abused gay kid, until he finds out he's a mutant, which is more scarier than finding out you're gay, but joining the X-Men makes it all worth it. Rated M for language, violence, and brief sexual content.

38. Chapter 38

X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind

Chapter 38: The Story behind the Picture

The last days of March went by really slowly, especially since I was grounded for a month after stowing away with Logan when he went to the Weapon X facility in Canada. I couldn't use the Internet, watch television, play games, or even go out for anything except for food. And I wasn't exactly going to sacrifice my funds gained from the wreckage of my old house or my slim, muscular figure. So for days, I just did my homework, wrote in my journals, and unleashed my primal urges upon myself before bedtime. When I wasn't alone, I often sparred with Logan, and learned about the art of jujitsu in order to learn to properly hone my fighter's sense. I was annoyed at times when it often came and went whether I wanted it to or not, and I certainly needed the help. As the training went on for the next couple weeks, it certainly helped me pick things up quickly, but because my mind seemed to drag off every time I used it, I would forget half of the things I learned, and it would irritate Logan. However, as we continued, I learned to channel my sixth sense as a somewhat conscious state. It felt as if I were half-asleep for a while, but I quickly got over it. Afterwards, it felt like I was lucid dreaming. After all the days of training, and hanging around the mansion with my friends as March drifted away into April, the days seemed to go even slower. At the beginning of one day nearing the middle of the month, I was at my locker exchanging items from my book bag when I could have sworn I saw someone peeking around the corner of the hall. Curious, I closed my locker and walked towards the other hallway just as the mysterious person peeked his head and nearly screamed when he saw me approach him.

"Ripley!" Jordan Harrison said, loudly.

"Hey, Jordan." I said, skeptically. "I haven't really seen you around lately. What's up?'

"I-I-I've been having some really bad flu or something. A parasite from that sushi shop down the road." I raised a brow. He wasn't looking at me when he talked, and he almost looked afraid to. Which made me a bit suspicious.

"Are you in trouble or something?" I whispered.

"What?" He replied.

"Is that why you're sneaking around? Do you want help?"

"No!" He almost screamed the word, which made me raise a brow. "I mean, no. I'm fine. Thanks, Ripley, but...I gotta go." He ran past at a near breakneck speed.

"Weird." I thought, walking back to my locker. I really hoped that he was okay. If he was in trouble, I really hoped I could do something to help. I thought maybe that was why he was sneaking around, and peeking corners at me. I would've dug deeper, but I trusted Jordan to come to me himself and tell me if there was something on his mind. When I opened my locker back up, I resumed the transition of items from my backpack to locker and vice versa before I took a long glance at the photo of Kyle and me. I sighed before kissing my pointer and middle fingers of my left hand and placing them against the image of my poor lover.

"Good morning, Kyle." I whispered.

"Good morning, Sunshine." A high-pitched voice squeaked as a hand suddenly reached from behind me and grabbed the photo from my locker. I turned around with and scoff to face the person who swindled me.

"Duncan." I groused.

"Hey, Davey." Duncan said, looking at the photo with a smug smile. "How's Kyle today?"

"Give that back, Mathews. I'm not in the mood for your crap."

"I'm only being polite." He stared at the photo and glanced back at me. "How is Kyle today? Surely he's not feeling jealous that you're talking to other dudes, right? That'd be pretty devastating." I clenched my fists and walked closer to Duncan.

"We both know he isn't much of feelings anymore, and whom or what I decide to talk to is hardly your damn business." I extended my hand. "Now give me the photo, and go 'be polite' elsewhere. I won't tell you again." Duncan loosely scoffed and sneered before looking once more at the photo.

"Okay. Here." Duncan grabbed the photo at the top with both hands before tearing it in half.

"No!" I yelled. My eyes widened in horror as both halves of the photo drifted down to the floor.

"Oh, well. Butterfingers." Duncan shrugged his shoulders before turning around and walking away. I knelt down to the ruined photo of Kyle and myself and scooped both pieces in my hands before looking up at Duncan, who was laughing to himself like a smug punk.

"You bastard!" I yelled, rushing at Duncan from behind. Duncan barely turned around and just about laid me out with a punch if I hadn't dodged his fist and flipped him over my shoulder. He groaned in pain before I placed my foot over his throat, forcing him not to move. We both locked eyes for a moment, and I could've sworn I saw a hint of fear in his eye, which would have made me smile if I wasn't overcome by rage.

"Ripley!" A voice shouted. I glanced to my right as a hand pulled me off of Duncan, a hand belonging to that of Mystique in her Principal Darkholme disguise. She helped Duncan to his feet and dusted him off before looking to me. "My office. Now."

"But he started it!" I retaliated. Darkholme sternly pointed in the direction of the front office with a glare.

"March!" She ordered. I scoffed and nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of the circumstances before walking past Duncan with a glare that I made sure would give me the same satisfying twinge of fear out of him I briefly enjoyed. I reached down and picked up the ruined picture before strolling towards the office. I waited in front of the door and patiently waited for Darkholme to return. When she did, she opened her door and escorted me into her office. I sat in the chair in front of her desk and crossed my legs before she took her seat.

"Now, what would you say happened out there this morning?" She asked.

"What do you want me to say, Mystique?" I replied, my eyes glistening. She glared at me with familiar yellow eyes.

"Excuse you, child, but while you stroll my halls, and sit in my office, you will refer to me as Principal Darkholme."

"Fine." I uncrossed my legs before leaning over. "What do you want me to say to you, Madame Principal?"

"Only the truth, Mr. Ripley."

"He tore my only photograph of Kyle and myself together. It was the only untouched thing that I had left of him. I would think you would've understood why I was a little apprehensive."

"Even if I do, there are ways to deal with a confrontation. And brawling in the hallway like a hooligan is certainly not the way to deal with others. Xavier, if not someone else, should have taught you this by now."

"And they have, but…" Darkholme slammed her hands on her desk and stood up.

"But nothing! I will not tolerate violence in my school." I scowled at her.

"Except from the likes of Duncan Mathews and his gaggle of pricks, right?" Darkholme sat back in her desk and sighed.

"Before I returned to my office, I gave him formal detention for the rest of the month, including weekends, for harassment." She said. "He will miss practice, and his squadron will surely suffer for it if he decides to harass anyone else. As for your photo, I suppose I can take it, give you a laminated copy if you wish, and…"

"No." I interjected, making Darkholme raise a brow at me. "It's a touching offer, and clearly in my best interest, but it wouldn't be the same photo. It'd be only an echo of the memory we shared. Plus, I don't want to be indebted to you. No offense."

"None taken. However, don't expect to be let off the hook because I feel some pity for you." Darkholme grasped her hands and straightened up in her chair. "You will be suspended for the remainder of the week after today." I raised a brow in surprise.

"For a brief fight?" I asked.

"And for an abuse of absences." I scoffed at her.

"But those weren't my fault!"

"From what I can gather from our encounter with the Juggernaut last month and our previous encounters before and afterwards, I can't say that I entirely believe you." I sighed and closed my eyes. I thought my month couldn't possibly become any drearier, but I was obviously wrong. I took a deep breath in and out before standing up with my bag in hand.

"Okay, fine. Fair enough." I said. "Can I go now?"

"You are excused." Darkholme replied, pointing her hand at the door.

"Thanks." I quickly stormed out the door, awaiting what other kinds of Hell were waiting for me. But then again, to most high schoolers, simply going to classes was Hell enough. Although mine just had a little bit more spice on top of it, thanks to Duncan. However, the day went by breathtakingly fast, which I was entirely grateful for because I wanted to nothing more than go train with Logan. Either that or take a long, hot shower and a nap. As I walked towards my locker, with the decisions on my mind, I took notice of Duncan again. But this time, he was harassing Jean.

"Jean, please." He said to her, making Jean continue to walk away. "How many times do I have to say that I'm sorry before you take me back?"

"Say it one million times in a minute, and I'll almost consider it, Duncan." Jean replied before brushing him off once more, causing him to forcefully grab at her arm. "Let go of me, Duncan."

"I'm the star of the school, baby. How can you go out with a loser like Summers?"

"I can because he treats me with respect, something you're not doing. And I'm my own person who can make my own choices. Now get your hand off of me." Jean grabbed at Duncan's hand and tried to peel it off her arm, but he wouldn't relent.

"Not until you say yes to me."

"Seriously?!" I shouted, making Duncan turn to face me. "The lady said 'no', and you keep thinking that it means 'yes'! Are you seriously going to make me do this again, Duncan? You just got detention! Are you that asinine, or is the constant ass-kicking getting to your head?" Duncan smirked at me with a huff.

"She's my lady, Davey. And I'm gonna fight for her." He said.

"She's not your lady, you asshat! She's her own damn person who can make her own choices, and guess what? One of those choices isn't you anymore, you delusional bastard."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand. You know, since you're a queer." I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"You know, the word 'queer' doesn't mean a part of, or even a whole, group of people. So using it as a noun isn't really a competent move." Duncan moved his lips as if to say a horrendous slur before I held up a hand to tell him to silence himself, which he did. "And if you wish to keep your lips by the end of your life, Mister, you will not utter that other word. Especially in front of me the way that I'm feeling about you right now." I stepped forward with an angry sneer across my face. "Now, as I was saying, let her go, and you'd better do so before I get over there. Otherwise, it won't be pretty." I walked slowly towards him before Duncan looked between Jean and me. He scoffed once before he released her from his grasp. Jean rubbed her arm as Duncan smirked at her, menacingly.

"This isn't over, lovely Jeannie." Duncan said before looking to me. "And not for you either, Davey." As he walked away, I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, joy." I thought as I approached Jean.

"Are you okay, Jean?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. Sore, but fine." Jean said, rubbing her wrist before looking at me with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Ripley."

"No problem, Red." I seethed as we began walking together. "If he ever goes near you again, I swear to God I'll..."

"Don't." She interjected. "You did the right thing by simply talking. The threats were unnecessary though."

"Probably, but they get my message forward." Jean stared at me with a curious expression.

"I can sense a lot of anger running off of you." She said. "A lot of it about Duncan and...involving Kyle?" I sighed before reaching into my pocket and pulling out the remains of my photograph. Jean gasped when she saw the ripped print in my hand. "He did this." I nodded once before she reached and grabbed my hand to look the ruined photo. "How could he? That bastard."

"He's an imbecile." I replied. "I'm guessing he wasn't given enough oxygen at birth or something." I sighed once again before looking at the halves of the photo again. "This was the only undefiled thing that Kyle and I shared. The one thing that I had left of him." I placed the fragments into my pocket. "All that Duncan got from doing this was detention for the rest of the month, and I got suspended for the rest of the week. He gets over fifteen complete days of education, and I miss four days." Jean looked at me with a raised brow.

"For what?" She asked.

"For getting into a little fight with him." Jean closed her eyes, sighed, and shook her head before looking back at me.

"How did it start?" She asked. I stared at her for a moment as I closed my locker.

"Were you not listening at all?" I replied. "He ruined the last thing that Kyle and I shared."

"No, what I meant was how did this war between you two start? From what I can understand, you've been fighting for a while. Long before Scott and I have lived here." As we walked away from my locker towards the nearest exit, I looked back into the past and sighed.

"It was three years ago." I began.

Flashback

When Kyle and I first arrived at Bayville, we were both apprehensive about the new environment we lived in. It was all just so...massive. I've never seen an actual city before, especially one with so much room and open space everywhere you went. We were scared that we wouldn't fit in this town, and when we came to Bayville High for the first time, that fear and timidity nearly boiled over. I tried to keep a brave face on for the both of us, but I was scared, we were both scared, of what would happen to Kyle and me at this new place we hardly knew. Especially since Kyle and I were separated and put in separate homes. Carl was my legal guardian, so I had to stay with him, and Kyle was placed in a foster home with two other kids. The other kids in the house were adopted soon before the school year, so Kyle and I never really got to know them, or go to school with them, so it was just the two of us. As usual. On our first day at Bayville High, Robert and Julie were kind enough to carpool us. When we arrived, we couldn't help but feel almost overwhelmed. We both looked to each other took in a deep breath before we entered the school. We didn't separate from each other, and we hardly looked at anyone, but we could feel their piercing eyes going over the both of us. We continued to walk down the halls, our eyes never meeting anyone else's for a while before we heard footsteps walking right towards us.

"Hey!" A voice called. We turned around and there was a taller blonde kid with big arms and legs, racing directly towards us. "Wait up, you two!" We stopped for a moment and I awaited the inevitable for the both of us when he suddenly stopped right in front of us with a decent smile on his face.

"Can we help you?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, I've never seen you two before." The kid replied. "Are you two new here?"

"Um...yes?" I said, hesitantly.

"Cool." The boy extended his hand, making the both of us twitch. "My name is Duncan Mathews, nice to meet you." Kyle and I both looked at each other before looking at his hand. I extended my own hand forward and gently shook his.

"I'm David. David Ripley." I said. Kyle extended his hand next and shook the boy's hand a bit more hesitantly.

"And I'm Kyle Daniels." Kyle said. Duncan smiled at us before he placed a hand on our shoulders.

"Nice to meet you, guys." He said, leading us down the hall. "Here, why don't I give you a tour of the place?"

"You don't have to do that." Kyle said.

"Please. I insist." Kyle and I looked at each other before following Duncan through the halls.

Present

As I told my tale to Jean, she raised a brow at me when we stepped out of the school.

"You became friends with him?" She asked.

"Noop." I replied as we went down to the parking lot.

Flashback

Duncan was indeed kind enough to give us a tour of the school. We were both still pretty nervous to be in a new, much larger environment than we were used to, but we both began to feel safe when Duncan walked with us and showed us around. I thought he was pretty nice, and I'm sure Kyle did too, but we were still unsure about the new place and the new boy we just met. And with good reason if we knew what was about to happen. Duncan had led us to the gymnasium as the final stop of his tour of the school, and we couldn't believe how large it was when we first arrived. The previous schools we've been to have had either a small room for a gym, which was rather awkward for the both of us because we didn't have any room to do any sort of activity without bumping into other kids. This place seemed to be a genuine improvement. There was plenty of room to move around and I could've run all around the diameter of the room, but I didn't want to be rude and run out of Kyle and Duncan, although I kind of wish I had, with Kyle in tow.

"This, gentlemen, is the crown jewel of the school." He said.

"This place is huge!" I said, my voice echoing off the walls.

"I don't think I've ever seen a gym this big before." Kyle said. "It's beautiful, and so shiny."

"Right?" Duncan replied. "We always make sure this place is in top condition for the fans, the rugbies, and the future rugbies to come, such as yours truly."

"You're a football player?"

"Yep, and one of the best in town." Kyle and I looked at him with adoring eyes. We've never met an actual superstar football player, but we felt like we had just met one by how he was talking and how he looked.

"That is so cool." I said.

"Thank you. Thank you." Duncan said, bowing as a gesture of pleasing a fan. "But really, I'm only one guy. You should come and meet the others." He walked over to the entrance of the locker room and opened the door. "I'm sure they'd love to meet a couple fellow sports fans."

"We'd love to." Kyle said. I flinched for a moment. This was heading towards a few movies I've seen where the new kids at the school would be treated inappropriately practically for the rest of their lives.

"Maybe some other time." I said. "Kyle and I need to find our classes, and…"

"Come on, Davey. Classes don't start for another ten minutes, and the guys always love meeting new people." Duncan said.

"Well…"

"David?" Kyle said. "Let's go. He seems really nice."

"I don't know. This seems a bit…weird. Doesn't he seem a bit vague all of a sudden to you? Like, creepy vague?"

"Maybe a little, but maybe that's just how he is. After all, who are we to judge?" I looked away from him to Duncan before Kyle put a hand under my chin and tilted my gaze back to him. "I think we need friends, David, and we need to start off somewhere." I looked into his face and my heart sank. He was right. We did need friends, and who was I to judge how someone seemed to be? After all, Kyle and I were practically the only gay kids on the east coast of the United States. I took in a deep breath and sighed.

"Fine." I relented. "I'll do it for you." I placed an arm over his shoulder before walking us both into the locker room. But when we got in there, we were greeted by a terrible smell. The only way I could describe it that smelled as if someone had an old sock stuffed with three year old mayonnaise. We both sharply gagged as we entered.

"Sorry." Duncan said. "You get used to the smell after a while."

"Not bloody likely." I thought as we went further into the locker room. As we reached what I assumed to be the far back of the locker room, I got a horrible feeling in my stomach and in my throat, a feeling I depended on for so long that kept me safe, that I betrayed to keep my love and I safe.

"Duncan?" I asked. "Where is everyone?"

"Look behind you." Duncan said. Kyle and I turned around before a warm, yellow foul smelling fluid was tossed all over us.

"What the fuck?!" I shouted as I looked at Kyle and back at the perpetrators who dumped the foul liquid over Kyle and me, with Duncan at the front of the group, and all laughing with sadistic smiles on their little faces. "What the fuck is your problem? What is this?!"

"Aww, what's the matter, boys?" Duncan said. "I thought fags liked a good old-fashioned golden shower."

"What?" Kyle said. "But we…"

"What, Kyle. You don't like it? Not enough sperm shots?"

"Don't you dare talk to him like that, you…!" I charged at Duncan, but two of the other guys held me back and pinned me up against the locker.

"David!" Kyle shouted, trying to get to me, but was tripped up by a couple other guys and forced down on the dirty floor, which was now soaked with urine.

"Leave him alone!" I shouted, trying to break free. "You've got the wrong guys! We're not gay!"

"Right." A boy, Greg, said. "We heard all about the two of you. A couple of queers from Jersey from a puny little town burned to the ground."

"How do you know where we come from?" Kyle asked.

"We know, and that's all you need to know." Duncan said before he pulled a couple of markers from his pocket and walked closely to my face with a sneer going right across his face. "And here's what you need to know what we do to queers who walk the same halls as us." I closed my eyes before a marker touched my skin.

Present

"He didn't." Jean gasped.

"It was a sharpie, Jean." I replied, pointing to the small faded scar on my left cheek. "I gave myself this trying to scrub the ink from my face. He wrote a number of slurs on me with a big...thing on my forehead." By the time I was finished with my tale, Jean and I had found our way to Scott's car. When we did, Jean wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"I never knew." She said. "I would never have said yes to Duncan if I knew." I smiled before returning the hug.

"It's okay, Jean." I said. We hugged for a few seconds before separating. "It's just like they say: the past is history, the future's a mystery, but the present is a gift. It gives us the moment to correct the past, and make the future better." Jean looked at me with an astounded expression on her face.

"Wow." She said.

"I know, right?" I replied. Jean scoffed as she continued to look at me.

"Who said that?" I put my hands behind my back and smiled innocently.

"Me." Jean rolled her eyes and laughed, placing a hand on my shoulder. I laughed along with her for a few seconds before my laughter began to die down, a feeling of gloom suddenly entering my heart. Jean look at me and raised a brow.

"Ripley, what's wrong?" She asked.

"It's just that…" I began before Scott ran right towards us with Rogue, Kitty, Evan, and Kurt following behind.

"Hey, Rip." Scott said to me before giving Jean a kiss on her cheek. "Hey, beautiful." Jean blushed before Kitty and Kurt walked up to us, more eager to tease than to please.

"Careful, Jean." Kurt said, pointing to Jean's face.

"Yeah." Kitty said. "If you get anymore redder, you'll, like, burst into flames."

"I am not." Jean fumed. Kitty smirked at her with a raised brow.

"That's not what your face says."

"Oh, give it a rest, will ya?" Rogue said, brushing past everyone and getting into the car.

"Yeah." Evan said. "I've got a lotta homework to do, and I can't get distracted."

"Only if they give it a rest." Kitty replied, getting into the back seat with Rogue and Kurt. Evan looked at his math book with a look of near absolute contention.

"Man, I thought math was supposed to be numbers, not bars and charts." He sighed. "The only bars there should be are the ones that are at the roller park." Kurt placed a hand on Evan's shoulder.

"In a better vorld, man." He said. "In a better vorld." Scott and Jean let out an annoyed huff before they got into the front seats of the car. I stood outside of the vehicle and began to stare off into the clouds as the others prepared to take off, but they immediately noticed that I wasn't moving.

"Rip?" Rogue said, making me turn around.

"You coming?" Scott asked. I looked at everyone in the car and smirked with a small chuckle.

"Strangely, I think I wouldn't be able to." I replied. Scott raised a brow before looking back at the other seats and grimacing.

"Oh, whoops." He said. "I forgot that there aren't enough seats in my car for seven."

"It's fine. I think I'm just going to walk home." I replied. A moment of silence fell between us. Everyone clearly took notice that I didn't say that I would teleport or fly home.

"Are you sure?" Jean asked.

"From here to the mansion is a long ways away." Rogue said.

"I'm sure. I just...need a bit of time for myself right now." I said.

"Are you okay, man?" Kurt asked. I looked at Kurt and smiled.

"I'm fine, Elf." Everyone looked at each other with looks that told me that they thought I was otherwise. "Really, guys. I'm fine. I just need a little alone time. That's all." Everyone looked around at each other once more before Scott shrugged his shoulders and started up his car. He looked at me with a slight glint in his shades.

"So…I guess we'll see you soon?" He asked.

"Yeah." I replied, nodding once. Scott gave me a little smile before he and the gang drove out of the parking lot. I looked out at the road heading towards the mansion before taking the first few steps forward.

Meanwhile

By the time the X-Men left the parking lot of the high school, they had all begun to wonder about their absent friend's bizarre behavior.

"Is Ripley okay?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah. Vas he a bit more depressed than usual?" Kurt asked.

"He got into a fight with Duncan today." Jean said. "He was suspended for the rest of the week."

"What?!" Scott said, nearly swerving off the road.

"No way." Kitty said.

"What happened?" Evan asked. Jean sighed once before looking at the others.

"Duncan destroyed the photo in Ripley's locker. The one of himself and Kyle from a few years ago. It was the only thing left that he and Kyle shared. Anything else was destroyed when his powers emerged. And when that was gone, Ripley must have snapped and they must've just gotten into it." Silence fell over the group as they continued on home.

"Man." Kurt said, breaking the silence. "Poor guy."

"And what about Duncan?" Rogue asked. "What did the big ape get?"

"Detention for the remainder of the month." Jean replied. "He'll miss practice, but because Ripley was the one who started the fight..."

"No he didn't!" Kitty said. "Like, Duncan started it when he ruined the photo. Ripley was, like, defending his and Kyle's honor, or something. They can't suspend him for that."

"Yeah, but it was Ripley who through the first punch." Scott said. Kitty glared at the older boy.

"Are you seriously defending Duncan, Scott? Of all people?" Scott pulled over to the side of the road and stopped before looking directly at Kitty with an angry, yet empathetic expression.

"Kitty, if it were life and death, I would gladly defend Duncan with all my power. But when it comes to hurting my friends, sometimes I wish I were the type of person who would let him get splattered all over the school by Ripley, and maybe even by myself, or...God, all of us together. I wish I were that kind of guy, but I'm not. And neither is Ripley. I get wanting to get even, but there are ways of going about it that shouldn't include violence unless it's for physical defense."

"It wasn't his fault though." Rogue said.

"Yeah, man." Evan said. "The dude's got a lot on his plate. If he didn't snap, I would've."

"Right?" Kitty said. "With all the death in his life, all the secrets, the betrayals by Mystique, the strain of catching up in school with Duncan prowling the halls, and, like, all the near-death experiences by all the lunatics coming out of the woodwork, he's really, like, teetering on the edge, you know? He needs a break." Scott sighed and looked forward towards the road.

"I know." He said, leaning back in his seat and sighing once more, racking his brain. It was hard to think of what to do for Ripley. He had done so much for everyone else, so it was difficult to top what ideas he had at the top of his mind. Everyone sat around for a while, also trying hard to think of something, and coming up with only long silences. A few minutes went by before Scott's eyes brightened up.

"I've got it!" He said, putting the car in drive and speeding along the road.

"Scott!" Kitty yelled. "Slow down, you maniac!"

"Vhat are you doing?!" Kurt shouted.

"I'll explain when we get home. We don't have a lot of time." Scott plowed down the road right towards the mansion. If he was right, they really didn't have a lot of time if Ripley decided to teleport after all.

Meanwhile (Ripley's POV)

I slowly walked along the road, thinking about Kyle, our life together, and the memory, the most prominent memory that was currently on my mind. The only physical evidence that Duncan ruined. I stopped for a moment to float up and survey the area. I looked out near the coast and caught a glance at the pier. It looked like the summer carnival was getting up and ready to go. The school year would be coming to a close pretty soon. I looked back at all the years that came down to this moment, when I felt like no other memories would ever be made again.

Flashback

Almost two weeks after the incident in the locker room with Duncan and his lackeys, Robert, and Julie tried to sue Duncan's family for harassment, but they ran out of money to charge for a lawyer and the charges had to be dropped. Carl of course couldn't of course be bothered to deal with my affairs. At least, not in the most positive or uplifting way.

"Don't give them a reason to beat you up." He said. I wanted to explain to him that I didn't do anything wrong, but I just kept quiet about it because I could tell from his less than enthusiastic parental response, he had very little interest in what happened in my life. So for days, Kyle and I just sat in our rooms, hardly moving and hardly speaking to another. We were afraid that because of how we felt for another, we would be attacked again, and we didn't want to worry for our safety for the rest of our days, so we just remained in constant silence. On the final day before we had to return to school, I had caught wind of a carnival that was coming to the Bayville Pier on Saturday night that had rides, games, and prizes to win, and I wanted to go so bad, but I didn't want to go alone. I picked up my phone from the floor and looked at the name at the top of the call list. I nervously wriggled my fingers before having the nerve to press the call button on the name.

"David?" A familiar voice said.

"Hey, Kyle." I replied.

"I haven't heard from you in a while."

"I know. I'm sorry." I scratched my head nervously. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I feel that I relatively don't reek of pee anymore, so I'm fine on that matter." I sighed and shifted in my bed a little bit. "How about you, David?"

"I think I don't have as much sharpie on my face as before. Although I hope the mark I gave myself won't leave a scar."

"Let's hope not. You have a beautiful face, Josh." I blushed and rubbed my neck at the compliment.

"David." There was a short sullen silence between both phone lines before Kyle finally spoke up.

"So…what are you doing tonight?" He asked.

"Nothing, really. Why?" I replied.

"Well…I heard that there's an annual carnival down by the pier to celebrate the beginning of summer." I paused for a moment. "It could be fun. There's supposed to be rides, and games, prizes, some good food if you wanna eat. So…I was wondering, would you like to go out?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Kyle was asking me out, like, out on a date. After something so traumatic, the timing seemed to be off a little, and I wasn't exactly in the mood to go out yet, but after a couple days of not seeing the one person I had left in the world, I wasn't exactly going to pass. "David?"

"Yeah." I said. "That sounds great." I smiled as I heard a small, excited "yes!" on the other side.

"But wait a minute. What about Carl?"

"Damn it." I ran a hand through my hair and sighed before an idea came to mind. "I'll sneak out. He hardly acknowledges me, so I don't think he'll notice if and when I'm gone."

"Are you sure you wanna risk it?"

"For you? Uh, duh."

"Okay, so...when should we meet?"

"Um…" I chuckled for a moment and rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't know, actually."

"When would you like to go?"

"Well…Carl usually goes to bed by five, so maybe…5:30-ish?"

"That sounds good to me." I pumped a fist in the air with a smile before putting my ear back to the phone.

"Cool."

"Okay. I'll meet you in front of your place by then."

"Okay."

"Okay. See you later."

"Okay. I love you, Kyle."

"I love you too, David." On the last word, we both hung up our phones. I placed my phone on my nightstand and leaned back on my bed, staring off at the ceiling with a big goofy smile on my face until a sudden thought crept in my mind.

"Shit!" I swore. I realized that we didn't discuss payment; who would pay for what. I smacked my forehead and rubbed my eyes in annoyance before I looked back at the ceiling. I stared on for a few more minutes before another sneaky thought crept into my mind, something I wish I didn't have to think about.

A few hours later

I had cut it a bit close. It was only a little bit after five when Carl usually had a nap, and just about time for Kyle to pick me up when I took notice of Carl's belt with little utility pouches laying across the floor in front of his favorite chair. His wallet had to be in one of the few pouches. I crept along the floor, making as little noise as possible, because the flooring wasn't exactly structurally secure, so it made noise whenever weight was pressed against a single spot and moved on, so I had to watch my step like a Vietnam War veteran in a mine field. I made it across the floor in a few short seconds before reaching the belt. I quietly picked it up before looking over the four pouches. The first two I opened were empty, but when I came across the third, I found what I was looking for; his decrepit and pretentious camo wallet. I almost opened it when something fell out and landed on the floor with a bump and nearly made me jump. I looked down and saw that the object was Carl's pocket knife. He always had it on his person for just about everything. I didn't know if I would need to expect trouble at the carnival if Duncan and his friends also had the mind to go that night, so I would need protection. I picked it off the floor before I heard a door open and close.

"Joshua Davidson!" Carl shouted, a slight slur in his voice. He had obviously been drinking before he almost went to sleep. "What are you doing down there?!" I jumped before placing the wallet and knife in my pockets and running towards the front door, loud footsteps swiftly descending down the stairs towards me. "Get back here, ya little thief!" I ran out the door and sprinted in the direction of Robert and Julie's house, where I saw Kyle walking right towards my house.

"Kyle!" I shouted. Kyle looked up at me and smiled brightly.

"Hey, David." He said. "What…" I ran right up to him and looked him in the eye with a desperate expression on my face. "David, what's wrong?" I was about to explain before I looked behind me to see Carl turning the corner.

"Run." I said, grabbing Kyle's hand and pulling him with me to a small shroud of tall bushes and trees, where we crouched down and hid below the brush.

"David, what…?" Kyle said before I placed a hand over his mouth.

"Shh." I hissed. From behind the brush, I could see Carl's outline in the crevices of light from the branches. He stopped for a moment and looked around for a moment, huffing and puffing with rage and exhaustion. I felt a bead of sweat move from my forehead as I held my breath. I prayed that he wouldn't find us together in the back of the brush. I was not in the mood to get a beating from him, and I hoped that if he did catch us, he wouldn't hurt Kyle. He huffed and looked around before he began to make some weird noises, making me raise a brow.

"Ow!" He shouted. I looked out from behind the brush and widened my eyes in surprise, and choked down a laugh. The drunken asshole hadn't put on his shoes and had run out of the house, baking his bare feet on the scalding cement and asphalt that had been heating up for over six hours. "Dirty, fucking, son of a whore!" He ran back to where he came, swearing and cursing my name, and burning every bit of meat off his foot. After a few minutes, I removed my hand from Kyle's mouth. We both let out deep breaths and looked at each other for a moment before laughing loudly.

"Holy shit, that was close!" Kyle said. We continued laughing as we got out of the brush. We went on cackling like hyenas before we managed to finally catch our breaths and calm ourselves down. I let out a sigh and looked at the sky before letting out a brief chuckle.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" I said between laughs. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. "I am so fucking dead."

"What did you do?" Kyle asked. I grimaced before looking at him.

"Promise you won't be mad?" I asked. Kyle crossed his arms and raised a brow.

"Depends."

"Well, I was a bit scared because I wanted to make sure that if we can't split things among ourselves evenly, you wouldn't have to pay for me and yourself, so I…" I pulled out Carl's wallet from my pocket, making Kyle gasp in surprise.

"You stole his wallet?!" He said. I grimaced before looking at the wallet and smacking my lips.

"I know. I shouldn't have done this, but I didn't want tonight to be ruined by inconvenience, and I didn't want tonight to be a bigger disappointment than our first day of school." I looked up at Kyle and felt a pit appear in my gut. "Are you mad at me?" Kyle walked up to me and grabbed my hands within his own.

"A little." I looked down for a moment before Kyle tilted my head back up to face him. "But it's overshadowed by how hot I think you are right now." Kyle suddenly leaned forward, wrapped his arms around me, and gave me a nice, tender kiss on my lips. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close. We both made out for a few seconds before we parted.

"Wow." I sighed. "Remind me to rob a string of banks later." Kyle laughed before he kissed me once more and entangled his fingers with mine.

"Come on." He said.

"What about Carl?" I replied.

"Fuck Carl. Tonight is all us." I smiled as we began walking down to the pier for the festivities.

Present Day

I continued to stare off at the pier as the events came rolling in, making my gut clench up in knots. As my eyes filled with tears, I closed them before I vanished from my place in the air, but failed to notice that someone looking at me from behind a shroud of trees. I felt myself manifest in another place and I opened my eyes to see the entrance to the cemetery in front of me. I sighed before walking onto the grounds and taking notice of the other graves around me.

"Hey!" A voice called out. A custodian came before me, red in the face and angry. "What was that you just did? Suddenly appearing like that? We don't allow troublemakers in here."

"Leave me alone." I said. "I mean no trouble."

"No. If you're going to be a showboat, you don't need to be in a place like this."

"My business here is none of yours."

"You need to leave."

"Oh my God, will you just leave me the hell alone so I can visit my boyfriend in peace, you obnoxious fuck!?" My face stiffened and my eyes glowed brightly as I shouted, making the man gasp in fear and run away, rambling on about me being a demon or something. I looked on as the man ran and felt my face soften. I turned back and sighed in anguish, more at myself than the stranger. I felt guilty using my powers to scare undeserving people, like my poor Kyle. It was my power that frightened him away from me, and it was my power that killed him. I walked onwards through the graveyard, my head pointed down at the ground, and followed along the path to Kyle's grave. When I was for certain that I was where I set out to be, I glanced up to look at Kyle's gravestone. I walked closely to it before kneeling and placing a hand on top of the stone. I closed my eyes as I visualized the memory, almost as vividly as I ever did.

Flashback

When we finally reached the carnival, Kyle and I both paid for our individual tickets before we entered the front gate. When we were a few feet within the bounds of the carnival, we looked all around at all the rides and games. I found the smell of carnival food to be most intoxicating. My still developing taste buds ached for the feeling of an old-fashioned funnel cake in my mouth, or better yet some of the pizza they were selling.

"So, what would you like to…?" Kyle began before he noticed that I was eyeing the concession stands. "Wanna get some food?"

"Sure. I mean, if you want to." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "It's just that running from Carl made me a bit hungry." Kyle chuckled before he grabbed my hand, making me quickly shirk away. I looked at Kyle who had a hurt expression in his face. "I'm sorry. It's just that there's so many people…" I sighed and grabbed my arm, ashamed of my own insecurity. Kyle grabbed the bridge of his nose and sighed before he placed a hand on my shoulder, compelling me to look at him.

"Let's go eat." He said, that brave smile sprawled across his face. I nodded and followed him to the first stand we saw. When we arrived, Kyle was the one to buy dinner. I offered to split on the cost for the meal, but he greatly insisted. We both ordered two large slices of pizza and sat down to eat. As we ate our favorite dish, neither of us said a word, or hardly did anything really. We both just sat, slowly eating and poking at our slices of pizza, hardly acknowledging the other until I couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Kyle, I…" I said.

"Why are we even here?" Kyle interjected. "I thought you wanted us to be here together, but if this is how we're going to be, just two people walking side by side, hardly acknowledging each other, I think we'd be better off at home safe and scared."

"I just want us to be safe and practical. I don't want us to go through what that ape Duncan and his band of freaks did to us."

"I understand, but we're here. Hardly anyone knows us. If they see us walking together, holding hands, they can judge all they want. They don't know us."

"But what if Duncan's here?"

"What if he's not?"

"But what if he is? He could do something else to the both of us, and Carl is mad at me enough of the time. Especially after I swiped his wallet to come here." We both sat in silence for a couple minutes before Kyle placed his hands upon mine.

"How about this?" He said. "After a ride and play a game, if we don't get verbally or physically bashed by the next game or ride, we'll show a bit more PDA. Walking closely, arm over shoulders, hand holding. Kissing…" I looked up at Kyle with a raised brow. "Well, maybe we'll get to that later when we're alone. Right now, all I want to do is be here with you." I sighed before I grasped his hands. I looked into his eyes and smiled.

"That's all I want too." I said.

Present Day

As I looked back at that day, I had laid down on the grass beside the space where Kyle was buried, and just stared off into the ruined part of the photograph that had more of Kyle's face than mine. As my emotions began to rise, my flames began to rise from my body and shroud me in a warm light. I closed my eyes and nearly drifted into sleep when a sound caught my attention. It sounded like a really loud car engine, one that always enticed me whenever it started. I sighed before I doused my flames and sat up to face the gravestone. I didn't want Scott, or anyone else, to see me like this. I hated feeling so vulnerable even before my powers emerged, and now with all that I had, it felt undignified. After a few seconds of waiting, I heard footsteps approaching before stopping directly behind me.

"Hey, Scotty." I said.

"Hey, Rip." Scott replied, sitting beside me. "I thought I'd find you here."

"Hmm." I continued to stare at the gravestone before Scott sighed.

"I heard about what Duncan did today."

"I'm also guessing you heard what I did?" Scott cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah." I continued to stare off at Kyle's tombstone, hesitant to look at my friend.

"I understand if you're upset with me."

"I am a little, but I'm mostly disappointed that I wasn't there to get a crack at him." Surprised, I looked at Scott, who smiled at me. I was relieved that he wasn't mad at me, and joyful that he shared the sentiment, but the despair of the ruined memory still overshadowed me. I looked at the fragments of the photograph I still held and sighed. Scott moved closer to me and paced a gentle hand upon my shoulder. "Maybe we can fix it. Make another copy or something."

"No." I said.

"Why?"

"I'm scared that I'll further defile what we shared. This memory was supposed to be forever, we were supposed to be. And look at what I've done. I've killed him, and now because of me, Duncan ruined the perfect memory that Kyle and I shared."

"Ripley, this wasn't your fault. None of it. Sometimes things happen that are just beyond our control."

"I knew something was wrong, Scott. My emotions were running high, my head hurt like an SOB, and I couldn't help what I was doing. I couldn't stop myself from not using my powers. They scared me, and they scared Kyle away. I accidentally froze Kyle in place with my telepathy when he was trying to run away from me and stuffed him in the closet to keep him from leaving. And then Carl ran in on me, grabbed me by the throat, tossed me down the stairs, and broke my leg." Images of Carl's face flashed off in my mind. His scream filling my ears as they usually did. "I didn't want to get hurt ever again, and then I just…" I clenched my fists as the memory of that day flashed before my eyes. Scott wrapped his arms around me and held me closely, calming me down a little.

"I understand how you feel." He said.

"How can you, Scott?" I replied. "I can't even understand. How the hell can anyone possibly understand?" There was silence between us for a few minutes before Scott sighed and moved back to face me better.

"When my powers emerged, I practically gutted my previous school with my optic blasts." He said. "A lot of people had to be hospitalized, and a few people actually were nearly killed. I thought it was my fault because I knew something was wrong. My eyes hurt for days, I had headaches, and one day the pain was so bad that I felt it all explode from my face. I didn't know what happened, but I was so scared to open my eyes because I didn't want to hurt anymore people." Scott sighed before he continued on. "For days, while everyone was covering up what happened, I kept blaming myself for every person that got hurt, the questions and criticisms my foster parents got for hiding me away, and the money and time it took to repair the school. I thought that I was the worst of the worst; a monster not worth protecting because I affected so many lives in a way that I didn't want to be responsible for. I thought my life wasn't worth having until I found out about the mutant gene. It comes where it finds itself, passing on through multiple generations until one day it decides to do more than just by and it just explodes one day out of the blue in different unexpected ways." I raised a brow at Scott.

"And…?"

"My point is that things happen, and we can't change what happens when they do, no matter how much we want to." Scott looked me in the face, making me flinch. "If he were here, Kyle would tell you to move on. Trying to latch onto the past is hurting you. In fact, I'd say it's killing you. Look at yourself." Scott moved closer to me and placed his hands upon my shoulders. "When he was sleeping, didn't you tell him the same thing so that if he ever woke up he'd be safe?" I sighed as tears began to fill my eyes.

"That was a horrible thing for me to say. I don't want to just forget him, and I'm sure he'd never want to forget me. We've been through too much together."

"So don't. Don't forget how he made you feel, or forget the memories you shared with him. Let those memories help you open your heart to someone else who may come your way. Someone who can become an important part of your life just like Kyle was." Scott reached over to my right, making me flinch for a brief second before he grabbed something and held it out so that I could look at it. My eyes widened in surprise. It was a large plexiglass picture frame with a square shaped hole in the center of a white square.

"It's waterproof, dirt proof, and pretty much everything proof." Scott said, handing the frame to me. I took it from him and looked upon it in wonder before taking notice of its actual size.

"It's, uh, kind of big for my locker."

"I know." Scott looked back to the gravestone. A big pit suddenly appeared in my stomach when I realized where he had it set in mind.

"Oh…"

"I know that it's hard for you to let some things go, and it's only been a couple of months, but you can't keep going like this." Scott placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know it's hard, but it's time to let go." I looked at the remnants of the picture and felt my guts clench up into knots. I wanted to keep the photo, keep the memory alive. It wasn't fair. This was all I had left of the one I loved more than anything in the world. But then it finally hit me. The events of that perfect night were long since gone, and would never happen again, but the memory would continue to live on. The photo may have in fact the only physical reminder, but as long as I remembered being with Kyle, the memories we shared together would never be destroyed.

"Okay." I said, nodding my head. "Okay. You're right. I don't want to, but if Kyle could see me now, he'd probably nag at me until I did something." I cleared my throat and sniffed, struggling to keep my emotions under control. "I can't rely on that anymore." Scott smiled before he reached into his pocket before pulling out and handing me a screwdriver. I gladly accepted the tool and began to unscrew the front of the frame open. When I took the front off, I carefully positioned both halves of the photo into the fasteners, and sighed in deep relief, almost on the brink of tears. When I positioned it just right, the tear seemed to almost fade away completely. I looked at the exposed photograph once more before screwing the frame back together and placing it on the front of the gravestone before Scott and I stood up and looked down at the small memorial. It was so beautiful now. Not just another stone in a graveyard like so many others. And what made it even more wonderful was that I gave Kyle a face. And better yet, the happiest face he made in a long time that I got to share with him. I sniffed as tears began to fill my eyes.

"You okay, Rip?" Scott asked.

"Yeah." I replied, sniffing again and wiping my eyes. Scott placed a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the face.

"You sure?" I pointed my head down to the ground with closed my eyes and sighed before lightly shaking my head and looking at Scott with a weak smile.

"No, but it helps to say that I am." Scott wrapped his arms around me in a tender hug, which I gladly accepted as tears began to flow.

Later

After spending a little more time at the cemetery and placing a vase full of fresh flowers at Kyle's grave, Scott was kind enough to give me a ride home, because by the time we reached the mansion, I was dead tired and ready for a nap. When Scott parked inside the garage, I walked out of the car and began to walk towards the door leading directly into the house, when a pair of hands suddenly shrouded my eyes.

"Um...Scott?" I said, nervously. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing." He replied. "Just follow me." Scott led me out of the garage to what I assumed was the front door of the mansion, although my lingering and still developing primal instincts were hoping for somewhere more secluded.

"Scotty. Honey." I said. "You're sweet, but wouldn't it be pretty awkward for you to 'do stuff' with me when you're with Jean?" Scott laughed as continued to walk forward before I felt the stairs leading to the front door.

"You don't remember?" Scott said.

"Am...I supposed to remember something?" I asked as I felt us enter the mansion.

"Come on."

"Dude, I honestly don't know what you're talking about. Now could you tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Okay, then." Scott lifted his hands from my eyes and I nearly fell over with surprise. Everyone had gathered in the front hall waiting for me so they can say...

"Happy Birthday, Ripley!" They said before multicolored confetti dropped from the ceiling as Kurt, Evan, and Kitty blew on party horns. I widened my eyes at all of the multicolored balloons and streamers that flooded the front room and gasped in awe of the big banner that read "Happy Birthday, Ripley!" in large multicolored words.

"Surprise!" Kitty said. I looked all around the room for a moment when suddenly, I began silently laughing to myself before face palming.

"Vas?" Kurt asked. Soon after Kurt spoke, I began laughing out loud from behind my hand as tears began to flow from my eyes.

"What's so funny?" Rogue said. I laughed and cried for a few moments before I took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Oh, God. I'm such an idiot." I chuckled for a few seconds before letting out a deep huff. "I totally forgot that it was my birthday."

"Oh, good. So you're not expecting anything." Forge said. I smiled at my cousin before chuckling and rubbing my forehead.

"Ugh, I must look so stupid right now." I said.

"No, Ripley." Ororo said. "It's okay to be forgetful sometimes when you have a lot on your mind."

"But wait a minute. How did you guys know about my birthday? I never told anyone when it was." I looked around the room before my eyes suddenly landed on Jean and Xavier. I scoffed as I flicked my head. "Hello, Ripley. Dumb question when it involves two telepaths."

"Actually, Ripley..." Forge said, stepping forward. "You told me the night I moved into the mansion."

"Ah, geez!" I said, grasping the sides of my head and laughing. "I'm so sorry, Forge. I'm worse than the Brotherhood Boys."

"Who isn't?" Evan asked, making the younger X-Men laugh.

"Honestly, nobody knew until Scott remembered and thought to ask Forge." Ororo said. "If the rest of us knew, we would've made your morning a more less than ordinary morning." I looked around at everyone once before looking back at the decorations scattered around the foyer.

"Why all of this for me?" I asked.

"Because we care about you, you idiot. C'mon!" Rogue said. Everyone looked to Rogue, including myself with a smiles and raised brows. Rogue flinched for a moment before she grasped the back of her neck. "Sorry."

"She's right, you know." Jean said, walking up to me and placing her hands on my shoulders. "You try so hard for everyone else, because you care so much, but you hardly let anyone else try for you. So this time, we decided to give you something back for all your troubles." She kissed my cheek, making me blush deeply before Scott wrapped an arm around the both of us in tender hug.

"Happy birthday, David Allen Ripley." He said to me.

Later

The rest of the evening went by like a really good dream. For dinner, Xavier had purchased a quantile amount of pizza from my favorite pizza place, as well as a homemade fresh salad with various vegetables and strips of chicken, and a pan of a lovely ziti casserole. Don't get me wrong, I love almost everything from my favorite pizza place, but nothing could compare to a freshly prepared salad and a fully stocked homemade ziti casserole. As everyone sat around the dinner table, eating, talking, and laughing about events of the past, I couldn't have pictured a more serene time I've ever experienced in a long time. However, to be getting such special attention also made me feel overwhelmed. I enjoyed being around my friends, but to have them gathered around just for me, and the party seeming like a bigger deal to me than the other times we celebrated someone's birthday made me feel almost guilty. But still I enjoyed it as much as I was able to. A little while into the meal, Scott tapped his fork on his glass.

"Everyone?" Scott said, getting everyone's attention. He stood up and raised his glass towards me. "I'm not really great at one of these, but I'd like to propose a toast to Ripley, one of the most enduring people I've ever met. And by far one of the most empathetic people any of us could have ever have in our lives. Happy birthday, Ripley." Everyone rose their glasses and looked at me with a smile.

"Happy birthday, Ripley." They said. I shivered in my chair, tears nearly forming in my eyes.

"Rip?" Kitty said. I looked to her and everyone else, my heart beating furiously in my chest. I looked down at my plate before wiping my mouth and standing up from the table.

"I..." I said, still looking away from everyone. "I'm sorry!" I ran out of the room as fast as I could.

"Ripley!" Scott said, standing up to catch up with me. However, Logan placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from going any further.

"I'll talk to him." Logan said.

"Logan, come on…"

"Trust me, kid. I think I may have an edge here."

Flashback

As Kyle and I went about the carnival, as we went on one ride after another, we began to become more and more closer together to the point where we could just fade into each other. I was still hesitant to show PDA because people were looking at us, but I just looked back, and they just turned their attention towards other things.

"Thank you." I thought to myself as I leaned into my boyfriend, kissing his cheek.

"What's that for?" Kyle asked.

"Because I feel like I can." I wrapped my arm around his waist and held him closely. "And because I never thought that I'd feel this safe again."

"Neither did I, Rip." We both continued to walk together, hand in hand before we came across a large brown photo booth. "We should record this moment."

"Hell yeah." We both rushed to the booth before depositing our dollars into the slots and walking in. We took a few pictures with different positions. Some comical, some with casual smiles on our faces, and some a bit more sensual than the others until we came to the perfect position. Both of us smiling together, the happiest we've ever been, hand in hand, cheek to cheek. After we left the booth, we decided to print two copies to memorialize the moment so that when we would go home that night, we would always have that moment in hand forever. And we did. Even after we kissed each other good night and went our separate ways to our homes. Even the next morning when Carl beat me for stealing from him. The memory made the blows less painful, and made his vicious words deaf to my ears. All that I felt, all that I knew, was that for once in my life, in the longest time, I was happy. And nothing else mattered accept for the memory of Kyle and myself, happy and in love.

Present Day

I sat in my room, curled up into a fetal position on my bed, my mind reeling from the party and the past when a loud but gentle knocking came at my door, making me tense up. A voice called me by name, and I recognized it to be Logan's. Hesitantly, I inhaled a deep and shaking breath before using my telekinesis to open up the door. I didn't want to look at him, a twinge of guilt overtaking my guts. My friends had prepared such a nice party, and I ruined it by being so rude and running away like a coward. Logan walked into my room with a short sniff.

"Hey." He said. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I replied. Logan approached me and gently sat down at the opposite end of the bed.

"So...what's goin' on?" I got out of my position and allowed my legs to hang over the side of the bed.

"It's…" I huffed and rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "I just couldn't handle it. The party...it was all too much." I sighed and sniffed before looking at the man. "I'm so sorry. I know that you all put a lot of work into all of it, and I'm ruining it with one thing after another." I sighed in annoyance at myself as I looked back at the wall. "As per damn usual with me."

"It's fine. I'm not really one for parties myself." I smiled for a brief moment before sighing. Logan huffed and leaned over the side of the bed before glancing at me. "Is this about your boyfriend?"

"No, it's not about Kyle. It's about me." Logan moved closer to me.

"What's up, Rip?" He asked. I sighed again through my lips. I was reluctant to speak for reasons that I didn't want to disclose. Logan placed a hand in my shoulder, compelling me to look at him. "C'mon, bub." I closed my eyes and nodded.

"Okay." I turned myself around on the bed so that I was almost looking directly at Logan. It took me a few seconds to begin, but eventually I found the courage to speak. "When I was a little boy, I had trouble socializing with others. Even if I was in a comfortable place with people I knew, people I felt close to, I always felt out of place, and it always made me feel uneasy. My dad had an indefinite part in it, I suspect. It could have been something else as a toddler, something here or there, I dunno. But when I got to the orphanage, I was met by a psychiatrist who ran a series of tests, asked me questions, and all that doctors do."

"What'd he say?" Logan asked. I took in a deep breath and looked him straight in the face.

"I'm autistic, Logan." I said. Logan raised a surprised brow. "Ever since the diagnosis, I've always thought something was wrong with me, that I could never be right, and all attention given to me was because I was doing something wrong. And I would forever be pitied and looked down upon because of that." I looked at my hand and opened it as I ignited a small ball of flame a few centimeters above my palm. "However, when my powers began to emerge, I felt something new inside of me. Despite what they've taken away, they've given me the inner strength to come out of my shell, tell people my heart's desires, stand up for myself, be myself, and even gain a circle of friends I wouldn't want to be without. I felt like I was given the chance to feel right in my own skin." I allowed the ball of flame to float around before I closed my hand and put it out. "But still, even when I know that I'm among friends, when I've done the right thing for my friends and everyone else, fought off the bad guys, scared off the bullies, have my moments in the sun, I'm usually always so scared. I can't help but think that in anything I do, I could do something wrong. And because of that, it will bring consequences that could hurt people. Especially people who mean the world to me." Logan moved over right next to me and placed an arm around my shoulders, making me flinch.

"You're safe here, Rip." He said. "You can do no wrong, and you've got nothing to be self-conscious about. We're doing this because we care about you, not because we pity you. And it's like what was said earlier, you do a lot for us without asking for anything in return. And lemme tell ya, bub, you've done a lot of good." He rocked my body once, making me look at him. "You saved Jeannie from Blob-Boy, got her and Cyke together, and kicked that punk kid Duncan...whatever his name is, to the curb. Kitty feels safe here because you helped her adjust, the Elf ain't as scared to be himself, Porcupine's less thick in the head and knows when to accept help from others, and Rogue knows she can trust us because she knows how you care for your friends. Not many care as much as you do to do half of what you've done for everyone. You're a special kid, Rip." I felt myself relax as he talked. I never knew Logan held me in such high regard. I smiled and placed a hand upon Logan's and sighed.

"I know. I just can't help myself sometimes."

"I get it, bub. Weeks ago, I couldn't help what I was doing, but I got better because of you." Logan rocked me a little more. "You had my back when I was too stubborn to admit that I needed help. You've just gotta aim that do good impulse of yours at yourself, and life will be much easier to handle. If you can't, I'll help you. We all will. The same way you've helped us." I smiled and wrapped an arm around Logan's back.

"Thank you, Logan." I said.

"No prob, Rip." He replied. We sat in that position for a few seconds before I spoke up.

"Could...you stay with me for a few minutes?" I asked. "I don't think I'm ready to go back down just yet."

"Sure, kid." Logan replied.

"Thanks." For a few seconds, the both of us sat silently until Logan rocked my shoulder again, making me look at his face.

"Happy birthday, Rip." He said, making me smile.

Minutes Later

In the dining room, everyone was at work getting the table cleared and set for the second part of the evening.

"I hope Ripley's okay." Kitty said.

"Yah." Kurt said." I wonder what that was about."

"Come on, guys. You know how self-conscious he is." Jean said, placing a set of clean plates around the table. "This was probably a lot for him to take in at once."

"She's right." Scott said. "From what Forge told me, Ripley never had a decent birthday party before in his life."

"Really?" Kitty said. "But he's, like, so party-hearty."

"Well, I guess I really fit that stereotypically gay live-to-party cliché after all." I said. Everyone turned their heads to look at me, compelling me to wave and smile at them. "Hey, guys." Scott quickly walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay, Ripley?" He asked. I placed a hand upon his and smiled.

"I am. I just needed a moment, that's all." Scott nodded with a small smile before allowing me to get to my seat. Xavier rolled up to me with a hint of concern.

"Are you sure you're all right, David?" He asked. "If you feel like you must retire for the evening, we will not be offended."

"I'm fine, Professor. Really. I'm okay." Xavier smiled before patting my arm and showing me to my seat. As I sat down, Logan stepped into the dining room before waking right up behind me and lightly shaking my shoulder. I smiled at him before before we the others joined us at the table. When everyone sat back down, we all sat in silence as Ororo walked towards me with a beautiful birthday cake. It was all white with red streaks on the sides with seventeen white candles standing ablaze on top.

"Oh..." I said, covering my mouth. As I gasped in surprise, everyone began to sing.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Ripley. Happy birthday to you."

"This is so beautiful, you guys." I said, nearly in tears. "Where did you get this?"

"We all pitched in and made this cake from scratch." Kitty said. I slightly twitched in my seat. I knew that Kitty didn't have a knack for cooking, and it terrified me to think she had something to do with this cake's conception. "Although Ororo did most of the mixing and baking. We just found ingredients and helped decorate."

"Oh, thank God." I thought.

"C'mon, Ripley." Kurt said. "Make a vish." I nodded with a smile before I took in a big breath and closed my eyes.

"Kyle...never leave me." I thought as I opened my eyes and blew out the candles at once. Everyone cheered and clapped, leaving me a bit red with embarrassment. Ororo walked towards me with a knife and began to carve the cake, giving me the first piece before distributing the rest of the pastry around to the others. I waited until everyone had a piece so that we could all enjoy it at once. After everyone got their individual pieces of cake, I took the first bite and nearly died.

"Oh God, that's good!" I said, taking another bite.

"Thank you, Ripley." Ororo said. "I'm glad you like it." I moved my third bite around in my mouth to savor and identify the flavors of the pastry.

"Is that lemon zest I'm tasting?" I asked.

"Yes." Ororo replied. "I thought citrus would bring out the flavors of the cream cheese and the vanilla cake. And lemons are more potent, so it seemed like a good idea."

"It was so a great idea." Kitty said. "This is amazing."

"Yes, Storm." Xavier said. "You have really outdone yourself." Ororo smiled proudly as we all continued to dig in.

Minutes Later

After the cake was finished, I couldn't eat another bite of anything. Besides, it was time time for presents. And there was quite a spread in the living room.

"How did you get all these so fast?" I asked.

"Scott dropped a couple of us off at a few places and took a couple more of us and himself to the mall, while Kurt and Jean worked together to find the best shops and teleport to them." Kitty said.

"Wow."

"Please, sit." Ororo said, pulling up a chair to the center of the room. I walked over to the chair and sat down before the commencing of the gift giving began. The first gift I received was from Forge, and it was heavy. Knowing my cousin and his inventions of the past, it could've been literally anything and everything wrapped in one object. I unwrapped the colorful paper before opening the box and raising a brow. On top of the packing paper, was a sealed envelope. I grabbed it and opened it up before pulling out the card inside and reading its content to myself.

"Ripley,

I know how lonely nights can be unbearable, especially when you're alone, surging with teenage pheromones, and nothing and no one to provide relief. I originally made it for myself in case I never got out of the Zone, but now that I'm free, single, and ready to mingle, I thought you'd need it more than me, so I modified it specifically for your vices."

Have a very Happy Birthday, Cuz.

~Forge

I raised a brow as I opened up the small packet and saw what Forge made in a very detailed blueprint.

"Oh!" I said, placing the card back in the box. The blueprint seemed to detail that of a large metallic orb with a series of smooth, flexible, metallic tentacles tucked away inside, each one equipped a lubricant dispenser at the end. When I looked over it, I swear that by how warm I had gotten, my face was as red as a ripe tomato. I looked at Forge with an awkward laugh. "Thank you, Forge."

"You're welcome, Rip." He replied. "I hope it does you some good for you."

"What is it, Rip?" Scott asked.

"It's, um…" I didn't want to reveal what it was until everyone were either thirty years older or dead, so I had to think of something fast. "A homemade soda streamer." Everyone raised a brow as I placed Forge's gift on the floor beside me so the next present could be handed to me. This one was from both Scott and Jean. It was a series of large bags and boxes with big colorful words reading "Happy Birthday", and ribbons hanging from everywhere. I opened the first bag and widened my eyes in surprise.

"Whoa." I said, pulling out a brand-new pair of black jeans with a matching purple tank top and a black long sleeved shirt.

"We know how much you like clothes, so Scott and I picked out a few we knew you'd like." Jean said.

"Plus if you look under the other pair of pants, you'll find a couple little boxes." Scott said. I placed the pants aside and found the little boxes as mentioned, and opened one of them up.

"Ooh." I said, admiring the custom earrings. They resembled little round and red buttons with a large black "X" on them. "These are very nice, guys. Thanks." Scott and Jean both smiled at me before they gave me a short hug, and Jean kissed my forehead, making me blush. The next gift I received was from Kurt.

"I hope you like it." He said, handing me a small box. I opened the box and saw that it was a simple small black lace necklace with a small locket attached to it. Curious, I opened it and saw a small picture of myself inside with a caption on the underside of the lid over a rainbow.

"To Ripley, my friend, who reminds me to never regret being me." I read aloud. I smiled and walked up to Kurt.

"I love it, Kurt." I said, hugging the fuzzy elf. "Thank you."

"No problem, man." He replied, patting my back. I walked back to my seat before Ororo approached me with her gift.

"Oh, wow." I said. It was a tiny bonsai tree, and it was probably the cutest little plant I've ever seen in my whole life. "This is the cutest little thing ever, Ororo. Where'd you get it?"

"This bonsai tree is actually from the garden house." She said, handing it to me. I accepted it with both hands and looked at it with wonder. "I've taken care of it for nearly five years now, and I thought it would be a lovely addition to your room."

"Wow. Thanks, Ororo." I said, standing up and hugging her.

"Be sure to water it every day with a squirt bottle full of fresh water, and make sure you trim it so it doesn't take up your room." She said.

"Yes ma'am." I replied before Kitty approached me with her gift. It was a big black bag, probably larger than the dining room table, and it was about as heavy as such. I raised a brow and sat down before opening it up and widening my eyes in surprise.

"All my favorite movies!?" I said, pulling out a couple of the DVDs.

"Well, I knew you lost them all in the explosion when your powers emerged." Kitty said. "So, I came up with the idea to replace them."

"But wait a minute, how do you know what my favorite movies are?" Kitty nervously rubbed her thumbs together.

"I...kinda went through your diary." I scoffed while everyone else looked at her with stink eyes.

"Kitty." Jean said.

"Well, as long as you only looked around my favorites pages, I think we're good." I wrapped my arms around Kitty and hugged her, which made her laugh. "Thanks, Kitty."

"Happy birthday, cutie." She said. I laughed before releasing her and returning to my seat. The next gift was a small package from Rogue. I figured it had to have been a music CD, and was I ever wrong. Because it was something so much more.

"The Black Symphony!?" I said, standing up excitedly.

"What the hell's the Black Symphony?" Logan asked.

"Only the greatest concert by one of the greatest symphonic rock bands in the world!" I looked over the case of the DVD with wonderment sprawled across my face. "Where did you get this? How would you know to get this?"

"Ah used the memories Ah pulled from you the day Ah moved to the mansion, and used what money Ah had left and bought it online."

"Aww, Rogue. You didn't have to spend what little you had on me."

"Ah wanted to though. Ah owe you a great deal, Rip, and Ah wanted to give you something special to say thanks." I teleported from where I stood before giving Rogue a gentle hug.

"Thank you." Rogue wrapped her arms around me and smiled.

"Happy birthday." She whispered. I released Rogue and vanished back to my seat before Evan approached me with his gift.

"Happy Birthday, Rip." He said, playing it on my lap. I opened the large rectangular box and marveled at what was inside. It was a custom made skateboard. The underside was a deep shade of black with bright blue flames resembling mine painted across the board. At the center, a pair of white eyes stared out of the dark. "I know you'll probably never use it, but I figured it might make you look good all the same."

"Thanks, Evan." I said. "Maybe you can teach me how to ride it sometime."

"Yeah. That'd be cool." Evan extended a closed fist, which I bumped with my own closed fist. After putting the skateboard down, Logan approached me with his gift. It was flat and had a weird shape, and it looked like there was something with letters on it.

"Happy birthday, Rip." He said. I smiled at him before tearing off the paper.

"Who." I said, looking at Logan's gift. It was a licence plate that read: "The Ripple in All" with bold black letters surrounded by purple sunset in the background.

"The Ripple in All, huh?" I thought, nodding in approval. "I like it."

"Where'd you get this?" I asked Logan.

"I know a guy that makes custom bumper stickers and licence plates." He replied. "He owed me a favor, and I thought I'd cash it in." I nodded my head.

"Cool." I vanished from my seat and quickly hugged Logan before appearing back in my seat. "Thanks, Logan. I love it." Logan smirked and sniffed at me.

"Don't mention it, bub." The final gift I received that evening was a large sealed envelope from Xavier. I raised a brow as he handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Open it and find out." He replied. I shrugged my shoulders before tearing the envelope open and pulling out a piece of paper with bold text written all over it, and a gold stamp at the bottom. I read over the text and widened my eyes in surprise, nearly falling over in my chair and gasping with emotion.

"What is it?" Scott asked. I looked at Xavier with a tearful smile before walking up to him and hugging him.

"Thank you so much, Professor." I said, trembling with emotion. "Thank you." Xavier pat my back and smiled.

"You're welcome, David." Xavier replied. "I wanted to wait for the right moment to give you this, and today seemed like the opportune time."

"Oh, hell yes it was." I thought loudly. The professor raised a brow before I realized he probably heard that. "Sorry."

"Ripley?" Rogue said. "What is it?" I stood up straight so that I could face everyone, my hands still quivering from excitement amd trying to hold the paper. I closed my eyes before taking a deep breath and sighing to calm myself down.

"As most of you may know, and to those who don't, my legal and birth name is Joshua Bassett Davidson." I said. "But after my hometown was burnt to the ground, I wanted to leave that name and my past behind. However, my dad kept it and used it as a weapon when he beat me, Kyle would use it when he was mad at me, and it was what he called me before he died. All my timidity that I felt then began to return before my powers emerged, and it felt exactly like it was when my name wasn't my name." I handed the paper to Kitty so she could look at it and pass it around. "I thought I'd always be haunted by my name, but thanks to the professor, and the legal department, as of this day, my legal name is finally and officially David Allen Ripley." After everyone got a look at the certificate, one by one, they all gave me hugs, handshakes, pats on the back, a couple kisses on my forehead, and happy words of congratulations. I never thought that I would ever be as happy when I was with Kyle, but at that moment, surrounded by love and acceptance, there was no place I would rather be. My old name was finally gone, and though it would continue to linger on, my past was finally put behind me. I was free at last.

End of Chapter 38