Okay, um, I'm using this chapter to explain what Danielle's greatest fear is but I might also use this chapter to explain her hatred for Kitty.

Enjoy!

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As Kurt fell his eyes searched for Danielle, that was all that mattered to him.

She couldn't die.

Suddenly, Kurt wasn't 16 anymore. He was 12, searching for his 10 year old cousin.

{Woo! Flash back!!!}

Kurt stumbled in the dark, dodging a tree

"DANIELLE!" he roared. Kurt had been looking for 24 hours, his parent s would be worried and probably mad too but he didn't care. His voice (which still hadn't yet broken) was raw and no more than a croak. It was pitch black and the rope over Kurt's shoulder seemed to be getting heavier.

"DANIELLE!"

"DANIELLE!!" There was no reply and he was honestly wondering if he'd ever see his cousin again.

'No, I mustn't think that way' Kurt told himself

Only yesterday they had been playing in the trees the way they usually did. Danielle was Kurt's only friend so he couldn't afford to go through the whole "But she's a GIRL" thing that most boys did when forced to play with one.

Kurt was fairly certain being best friends with a girl nearly two years younger than him had stunned his emotional growth but he didn't care. Danielle was terribly loyal (as was he) to their friendship.

"DANIELLE!! PLEASE!!" he was begging now "please don't be dead" now that he'd said it out loud it seemed that what he'd just said could be the only outcome.

Danielle never came home and Kurt had no faith in the Police, no one knew the forest better than he or Danielle did. He had decided to find her himself.

They always left food for themselves so he wasn't hungry, he'd even brought some for Danielle

"DANIELLE!!"

"kurt?"

His mind hit overdrive, that had been Danielle and Kurt knew it.

"DANIELLE! If you can, keep talking and I'll follow your voice" He ran in the direction where Danielle's voice had comefrom.

"I'm so hungry" she whimpered no more than a few metres away

"That's okay, I have food" he was still running

"I'm so high. So far to fall. Mustn't fall. Must stay alive. Mustn't fall" Kurt listened to her muttering and followed it.

He soon discovered that she must have fallen off the cliff.

"Danielle where are you?" he asked

"Down here" her voice croaked. A small river dripped down the cliff towards the huge lake near the bottom

'At least she had water' Kurt thought. He had already tied a noose at one end and began to lower it to her

"you got it?" he asked

"Yeah" came the quiet reply. Kurt dragged the rope around a tree and began to walk forwards pulling it behind him.

Danielle was not light but he wouldn't leave her there. Couldn't.

Once she was up her ran to her. Danielle was still muttering and Kurt hoped she wouldn't be affected.

*

But she had been affected Kurt thought, she was always terrified of heights after that. Except for the trees of course, Danielle understood them to such a degree that she couldn't fear them

Just like me I guess. He thought

As Danielle fell she saw her whole life flashing before her eyes. Strangely a phone call she had received a few months ago seemed to be stuck in her mind

{Flashback #2!}

Danielle didn't even look at the phone as she picked it up

"Hello?"

"Hi Danny" Danielle perked up on hearing Kurt's voice but he sounded depressed

"Are you okay?"

"Not really" Danielle sat up.

The last call she'd got from America had been from Kurt (obviously) and he'd been so hyper and happy she'd hung up smiling. Kurt being happy to such a degree was relatively rare (which is fair enough with a life like his). Why was he so depressed all of a sudden?

"What's wrong? Has Xavier taken away your image inducer?" Danielle's hearty swelled at the very mention of that ingenious device. She could have kissed the professor for Giving Kurt what she couldn't herself.

A real life

"No, it's- well...there's a new girl here"

"So?" she knew what he was going to say

"She's terrified of me" Danielle sighed

"I'm sure she's not-"

"She got to stage eight" That shut her up. They had done peoples reactions to Kurt in stages. Stage one was God worship (which hadn't happened yet) stage two was instant friendliness. Stage three was a slight jump and instant friendliness. Both Scott and Jean had scored this and Kurt had been over joyed.

Stage 8 was repetitive screaming, use of the word Freak, talking at rather than to, referring to Kurt as a thing and/or monster.

"Kurt...I'm so sorry" There was a silence

"You know what the worst part is?" It gets worse? Danielle thought

"What?"

"I have a crush on her" Danielle felt instantly terrible.

Kurt must feel awful if a girl who had got to stage eight was the object of his desires.

"Oh! I'm such an idiot!" Kurt groaned "Like I'd have a chance!

'Uh oh' Danielle thought 'the paranoia returns' it was as if he'd gone through a metamorphosis and was once again the same paranoid, shy, depressed little boy she had once known. She felt angry at this girl who had don't this to him

"We should have included after shocks in out stages"

"What?"

"She still yelps when I port, shudders if I go near her, doesn't meet my eyes at all and pretty much ignores me when ever possible" the anger was rising in her throat, he sounded so crest fallen, so heart broken.

"What's her name?" Danielle asked, trying to sound easy going

"Kitty"

'Watch it Kitty' Danielle thought angrily 'The guy you're hurting has friends and I swear, you will pay for sending him back down this path again after so much progress.'

*

There was a BAMF sound that Danielle recognised. Kurt grabbed her and held his cousin close

"I've got you" he whispered as she trembled.

They both returned to the x-jet where the fake Kurt had disappeared.

"You got some nerve kid" Logan growled but Kurt ignored him fearlessly

Danielle was at the point of fainting

"Is she okay?" Kitty asked

"Danielle's terrified of heights and he knew it" Kurt referred to his copy as 'he'

"I think that mindbender knows everything about Danielle" Jean put in.

"Maybe we should have left her behind where she'd have been safe" Scott thought out loud

"If you tried she would have come anyway" Kurt said as he held the frail, trembling figure up.

"We're gonna be there in half an hour" Logan said "And for gods sake get in your seats!"