Facade of Normalcy
Author's Note/Disclaimer: I ran over the disclaimer that says that I don't own the X-men Evolution franchise by accident. Sorry this one's so short…
~ ~ ~ ~
Six months had passed since the narrow escape from Asteroid M and things seemed to have returned to normal around Bayville. Oh there were a few changes, Mystique had vanished, Magneto had gone into hiding, and the Institute had a crop of new recruits.
Oh the first two didn't mean very much to Alan Breck as he walked downstairs, towards the garage to break out his bicycle and go for a ride. The last change meant there were more students for him to bump elbows with than there normally were.
"On another bicycle ride Alan?" Kitty Pryde asked.
"I am." Alan said, "I always have found it to be a very relaxing hobby, just me and miles of open road. Without anything else to bother me."
The phone downstairs rang and Rogue shouted, "Kitty! It's Lance." Cupping her hand over the mouthpiece she said, "Ah don't know what you see in that creep..."
That was another interesting new change, Lance and Kitty, almost complete opposites, started flirting almost constantly over the phone.
Bogel and Weerd popped into view just then, "Hey Alan, what you up to?"
"Just a bicycle ride lads." Alan said.
"You know," Bogel mused, "You haven't exactly been yourself lately."
"What do you mean?" Alan asked.
Alan pulled his Oakley sunglasses over his eyes, threw on his khaki vest with its many pockets over his gray Tour De France t-shirt, and put his house key into the pocket of his black cargo trousers as they walked into the garage.
"You know, you've been moody and wistful by turns, lately more on the moody side." Weerd said, "I know you're the most serious one of the three of us. You have to be, always taking care of us and we appreciate you for it. But you've been acting moody, almost depressed and we notice it, so do some of the others."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Alan replied as he mounted his bicycle.
"Sure you do," Weerd said, taking his traditional post, on top of the large padded cargo box full of tools and a big water bottle behind Alan's seat, Bogel sat beside him.
"This hasn't been easy for you, we know that, new guy in a crowd of people that genuinely care. Don't tell me you're uncomfortable with being cared about." Bogel said.
It was about three months ago that Alan had started to develop feelings for Kitty Pryde. Sure she was attractive, but Alan knew plenty of attractive girls that repelled rather than attracted him. She was sweet, innocent, caring and those three traits were what hooked him. But he didn't think he was worth being cared for. In his mind a guy who's powers involved ghosts who also had two ghosts for best friends wasn't Kitty's image of a perfect man. Besides she already had Lance.
Alan wasn't so sure where exactly this inferiority complex he had around women came from, perhaps from the years of torment by both orphanage orderlies and other orphans who regarded him as a freak, a demon, an outsider. Normally Alan had his defenses against this kind of treatment, he relished in his outsider status and just didn't care about it, period. Bogel and Weerd were good enough friends. But he had never been treated with kindness for many years, and this was totally new to him. Now he was starting to reciprocate that kindness to the others, which was comforting, but it was this deeper attraction he had to Kitty that was causing him grief.
He continued peddling down the road, picking up speed as he went down a nearby hill. Then it hit him hard, he hadn't thought about these memories for over ten years.
Ten years ago: Alan was seven years old, and walking through the woods. He saw his mother, an attractive woman in a simple blue dress, her long brown hair flowing freely, spinning in a dance with nature. He saw her then go flying up into the air. She was a Wiccan, one with nature, loosely defined as a witch. He walked tentatively into the clearing, he never saw mother do that before. She took the small child's hands and began to twirl with him in an aerial pirouette.
Then Alan saw the eyes of his mother's suitor, pale blue behind thick glasses. Mr. Dunlap, the town magistrate. He remembered seeing his solitary figure at the edge of the mob of young hooligans that attacked him mother, condemning her as a witch and leaving Alan an orphan.
"Watch out!!!!" Bogel yelled, as Alan nearly collided with Scott Summers' car going up the road.
Alan swerved out of the way, barely maintaining balance. As he regained balance he knew that was one thing almost no one at the Institute knew about, the inner demons tormenting him under his facade of normalcy.
His thoughts turned to Kitty, she had been one of the first people he met when he arrived at the Institute. She was kind enough to give him a tour of the place and even beyond that. She made sure that for his first few days he never sat alone in the cafeteria at lunch time. She actually would call him over to make sure he was never alone. Alan figured that kindness extended from sympathy to his plight as an orphaned loner and nothing more. This was evidenced by her flirtings with Lance.
He didn't hate Lance for being attracted to Kitty, who wouldn't, but it made him feel alone, neglected, and isolated. He never did tell Kitty how he felt, what difference would it make, she didn't like him in that way, she felt sorry for him. At least he was convinced of that particular line of reasoning because whenever he attempted to make a conversation with Kitty she was always off with Lance.
As he pedaled back towards the sun setting over the horizon, he decided he would maintain his facade of normalcy, and not let anyone know of the inner demons that were tormenting him on the inside, robbing him of peace...
Author's Note/Disclaimer: I ran over the disclaimer that says that I don't own the X-men Evolution franchise by accident. Sorry this one's so short…
~ ~ ~ ~
Six months had passed since the narrow escape from Asteroid M and things seemed to have returned to normal around Bayville. Oh there were a few changes, Mystique had vanished, Magneto had gone into hiding, and the Institute had a crop of new recruits.
Oh the first two didn't mean very much to Alan Breck as he walked downstairs, towards the garage to break out his bicycle and go for a ride. The last change meant there were more students for him to bump elbows with than there normally were.
"On another bicycle ride Alan?" Kitty Pryde asked.
"I am." Alan said, "I always have found it to be a very relaxing hobby, just me and miles of open road. Without anything else to bother me."
The phone downstairs rang and Rogue shouted, "Kitty! It's Lance." Cupping her hand over the mouthpiece she said, "Ah don't know what you see in that creep..."
That was another interesting new change, Lance and Kitty, almost complete opposites, started flirting almost constantly over the phone.
Bogel and Weerd popped into view just then, "Hey Alan, what you up to?"
"Just a bicycle ride lads." Alan said.
"You know," Bogel mused, "You haven't exactly been yourself lately."
"What do you mean?" Alan asked.
Alan pulled his Oakley sunglasses over his eyes, threw on his khaki vest with its many pockets over his gray Tour De France t-shirt, and put his house key into the pocket of his black cargo trousers as they walked into the garage.
"You know, you've been moody and wistful by turns, lately more on the moody side." Weerd said, "I know you're the most serious one of the three of us. You have to be, always taking care of us and we appreciate you for it. But you've been acting moody, almost depressed and we notice it, so do some of the others."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Alan replied as he mounted his bicycle.
"Sure you do," Weerd said, taking his traditional post, on top of the large padded cargo box full of tools and a big water bottle behind Alan's seat, Bogel sat beside him.
"This hasn't been easy for you, we know that, new guy in a crowd of people that genuinely care. Don't tell me you're uncomfortable with being cared about." Bogel said.
It was about three months ago that Alan had started to develop feelings for Kitty Pryde. Sure she was attractive, but Alan knew plenty of attractive girls that repelled rather than attracted him. She was sweet, innocent, caring and those three traits were what hooked him. But he didn't think he was worth being cared for. In his mind a guy who's powers involved ghosts who also had two ghosts for best friends wasn't Kitty's image of a perfect man. Besides she already had Lance.
Alan wasn't so sure where exactly this inferiority complex he had around women came from, perhaps from the years of torment by both orphanage orderlies and other orphans who regarded him as a freak, a demon, an outsider. Normally Alan had his defenses against this kind of treatment, he relished in his outsider status and just didn't care about it, period. Bogel and Weerd were good enough friends. But he had never been treated with kindness for many years, and this was totally new to him. Now he was starting to reciprocate that kindness to the others, which was comforting, but it was this deeper attraction he had to Kitty that was causing him grief.
He continued peddling down the road, picking up speed as he went down a nearby hill. Then it hit him hard, he hadn't thought about these memories for over ten years.
Ten years ago: Alan was seven years old, and walking through the woods. He saw his mother, an attractive woman in a simple blue dress, her long brown hair flowing freely, spinning in a dance with nature. He saw her then go flying up into the air. She was a Wiccan, one with nature, loosely defined as a witch. He walked tentatively into the clearing, he never saw mother do that before. She took the small child's hands and began to twirl with him in an aerial pirouette.
Then Alan saw the eyes of his mother's suitor, pale blue behind thick glasses. Mr. Dunlap, the town magistrate. He remembered seeing his solitary figure at the edge of the mob of young hooligans that attacked him mother, condemning her as a witch and leaving Alan an orphan.
"Watch out!!!!" Bogel yelled, as Alan nearly collided with Scott Summers' car going up the road.
Alan swerved out of the way, barely maintaining balance. As he regained balance he knew that was one thing almost no one at the Institute knew about, the inner demons tormenting him under his facade of normalcy.
His thoughts turned to Kitty, she had been one of the first people he met when he arrived at the Institute. She was kind enough to give him a tour of the place and even beyond that. She made sure that for his first few days he never sat alone in the cafeteria at lunch time. She actually would call him over to make sure he was never alone. Alan figured that kindness extended from sympathy to his plight as an orphaned loner and nothing more. This was evidenced by her flirtings with Lance.
He didn't hate Lance for being attracted to Kitty, who wouldn't, but it made him feel alone, neglected, and isolated. He never did tell Kitty how he felt, what difference would it make, she didn't like him in that way, she felt sorry for him. At least he was convinced of that particular line of reasoning because whenever he attempted to make a conversation with Kitty she was always off with Lance.
As he pedaled back towards the sun setting over the horizon, he decided he would maintain his facade of normalcy, and not let anyone know of the inner demons that were tormenting him on the inside, robbing him of peace...
