Chapter 3: No Way to Hide

Kurt stood in the bathroom for a few minutes, staring at the closed door. Had he really heard something? He wasn't sure, but the truth was that he wasn't sure of much of anything just now. He wasn't even positive if any of this was real or a dream.

However, he wasn't going to find out anything but just hanging out in the bathroom all night. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door and peered out into the darkened hallway. He half-expected to see some nightmarish monster standing there. Instead, he saw Kitty.

At first, he was too surprised to speak. Somehow the fact that it was only her and not another nightmare was more shocking. She seemed distracted as she quietly walked towards him and the stairs, but then she noticed him standing there.

"Kurt," she said, "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh," he began, "I had to go to the bathroom. Uh, vhat about you?"

"I couldn't sleep," she replied, "I have this huge paper due next week and I totally forgot about until today. I don't know how I'm going to get it finished."

He shook his head. "That's not like you," he said, only half-serious, "Maybe I'm a bad influence on you."

"Maybe," she agreed, smiling slightly, "There's just been so much stuff going on lately, it's easy to forget, you know? Now, I'm so freaked out about it, I can't seem to sleep. I thought I'd go to the kitchen and maybe get a snack or something."

"Now that really is NOT like you," he said, walking over to her, "Not that I disapprove or anything."

"Want to join me?" she asked.

"How can I turn down an offer like that," he responded.

Together, they went to the kitchen, which was eerily quiet during these early morning hours. The digital clock on the microwave announced that it was 1:43 a.m. as they entered. Kitty, even health conscious when it came to midnight snacks, chose a Red Delicious apple to eat while Kurt grabbed a slice of cold, left-over pizza from the fridge. They sat at the table while Kitty talked about her upcoming paper. Kurt only listened partly. While it was relaxing to be doing something normal and something he was sure (at least fairly) wasn't a dream, he couldn't help but be distracted by his current problems. "Kitty," he said, as she took a large bit of her apple, "Have you ever had a problem with sleepvalking?"

"Sleepwalking?" she repeated, as she swallowed, "I don't think so. I have an uncle who's a sleepwalker though."

"Really?" Kurt became interested.

"Yeah, I remember once that he came over to visit when I was like seven or eight. My parents actually put padlocks on the doors so that he wouldn't walk outside, although he insisted he had never done that. Still, one night we woke up to find him making grilled cheese in the kitchen. It was funny but kinda scary too. I mean, what if he burned the house down while he was cooking in his sleep?"

"Vas he ever able to stop?" Kurt asked.

Kitty thought for a moment. "I'm not sure," she admitted, "It seems like something happened right after that, but I can't remember what it was right now. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," he answered quickly.

Kitty looked at him quizzically for a moment, but didn't press the subject any further. She finished her apple and he finished the pizza and some cold spaghetti he had found. "I feel almost like I am sleepwalking," she said, as she yawned.

"It's a good think you don't sleepvalk," he stated, "It's not like a locked door could stop you."

"Yeah," she agreed, "I guess it is good I don't sleepwalk or you either for that matter. Who knows where you might end up." She laughed slightly as she made her way back to her room.

The darkness concealed Kurt's forlorn expression as he watched Kitty before returning to his own room. She didn't know what was going on, but her last comment was far closer to the truth then had dared to admit before now. He sat down heavily on the bed as he tried to sort his thoughts.

Something slid past his foot and Kurt jumped up suddenly. He turned on a nearby lamp, and stared down at the floor for what had moved. Whatever it was, was now under his bed. He stepped back and leaned down in order to look under the bed.

All at once, the snake sprung from it's hiding spot; it's fangs exposed and ready. Letting out a shrill cry, Kurt was barely able to avoid the reptile's attack as he teleported to the lightening fixture that hung from his ceiling. If there was one thing he hated, it was snakes. He watched as the snake circle below him, trying to find some way to strike again.

"What's going on in here?" a deep voice demanded from the doorway.

Kurt looked over and saw Wolverine standing in the doorway. He had turned on the light and seemed poised and ready for action. Confused, Kurt looked down at the floor and saw that there was no snake below him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I guess I was dreaming."

Wolverine looked at him squarely. "It must have been some dream," he growled, "to have you hanging from the ceiling and what did you do to the window?"

Kurt turned and saw the right curtain sway slightly in the breeze, but the window itself was closed. "I, uh, did that the other night," he answered.

Shaking his head, Wolverine mumbled something about kids as he left the room, slamming the door behind him. Once he was gone, Kurt jumped down from the ceiling and went over to examine the window. There was a small, round hole in the glass. It wasn't a big hole, but it wasn't there the last time he had looked. At least, he didn't think it was.

*********************

Bayville High's library wasn't huge, but it certainly had its fair share of resources. Normally, Kurt would have looked online for answers, but something told him to look in the books first. He grabbed a handful off of the shelf and carried them to an empty table.

The first five only stated facts, which only vaguely interested Kurt. He didn't care so much about what caused sleepwalker or the statistics. He just wanted to know how to stop it. He placed those books aside when he noticed the final book he had pulled from the shelf. The worn cover depicted a shadowy monster standing over a small child lying in the bed. Perhaps this book held his answers, but when he opened the book he found the pages were blank. He flipped through the book, but couldn't find a single word. Just as he started to throw the book in frustration, he felt a hand upon his shoulder.

"You know more than you think," a familiar voice whispered.

Kurt jerked awake and found himself standing in a dark room. The dreams were getting worse now, but he didn't know what to do. He started to step forward, but bumped against something. His eyes hadn't adjusted to the light, but he used his hands to touch the object and realized it was his own bed. At least he hadn't teleported far that time. He half-expected to be in the library of the mansion.

Shaking his head as if trying to fully dispel the dream, he started to climb into bed. Strange, his bed felt softer than usual and there seemed to be something underneath the covers. He pushed down on the object to try to find out what it was.

"Ow!" a voice cried. Before Kurt had time to register what was going on, a light from the others side of the room was turned on. He looked over to see a very surprised Rogue looking at him. Which meant…

"KURT!" Kitty screamed, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

"I..I..I" Kurt stammered, "I, uh, it's not…"

"YOU PERVERT!" She grabbed her pillow and swung it, hitting him square in the face.

"Let me explain," he began, backing away, but she wasn't ready to listen. She was still swinging her pillow around like a weapon and yelling. Retreating, he teleported back to his own room and hoped that he would be waking up soon.

No such luck. Within minutes, both Jean and Scott knocked on his door. As they walked in, he laughed nervously. "I guess I've got some explaining to do," he said.

I'm so sorry this part took so long to post. My computer has been down for the last few weeks so I couldn't really work on this. Thanks for reading my story.