Seven

Aside from a headache and a bruised neck, Ami was fine the next morning. She spent much of her day at the police station telling various officers her side of the story, conveniently leaving out the whole disappearing part. By the end of the day Jon was out of jail with a brand spanking new restraining order against him, and Ami had taken up residence in her closet.

"Y'know, for a girl who isn't even sure she wants to have anything to do with this guy you're spending an awful lot of time figuring out what you're going to wear."

Ami poked her head out of her closet. "Not true! I'm not spending that much time in here. I just want to be presentable that's all."

"You're a freak," Tanya said from her friend's bed. She held up a shirt that Ami had accidentally tossed at her, realized it was hers and made a mental note of it. "So… when do I get to meet this guy?"

"You just want to see what he looks like."

"Moi? I have no idea what you're talking about. In fact, I am wounded that you would say such a-"

"What's that?" Ami asked, suddenly reappearing from the closet.

"Huh?"

"That noise, didn't you hear it?"

"Ami, you're losing your mind."

"There it is again! It's coming from outside!"

Ami tentatively made her way to the window, and Tanya, more freaked out by Ami freaking out than anything else, followed behind her. What they saw was a pair of yellow eyes.

"You! Out! Now!" Ami exclaimed, rushing Tanya from the room.

"Oh come on Ami, I just-"

"OUT!"

Tanya reluctantly trudged out of the room and Ami shut the door behind her. After running her fingers through her hair she turned around to see Kurt roughly three feet away.

"Shit!" She screamed.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to startle you."

"No, you didn't startle me you just… okay, yeah you startled me. You know, we have a front door."

"I didn't know if you wanted your roommates to see me."

"Well Tanya's dying to see you, she's the one I so kindly ushered out of the room just now. Nicole on the other hand, well she won't be here for too much longer."

"Nicole, didn't you say she was the one who told you where to find me? I hope that I'm not the reason for her leaving."

"No, she's leaving because she's a bitch." Ami really didn't want to tell him the whole truth.

"Oh… okay."

There was suddenly a painful silence in the room, and both Ami and Kurt tried hard to think of some way to break it.

"Um… you can sit down you know," Ami said. Smooth, real smooth.

Kurt eyed the desk chair that was covered in several layers of clothing, and after a moment's consideration, sat on the bed instead. Ami followed suit and sat down next to him.

"I was very glad to get your e-mail," Kurt admitted. "I didn't really sleep very well last night."

"Yeah, me either, that's why I sent it so late."

Silence again. The small talk was beginning to drive Ami bonkers, so much so that she simply had to say something a little more substantial.

"I've missed you," she blurted out.

"You have?"

"Yeah… I used to wait for your e-mails and read them over and over again until I got the next one." She laughed. "And the night we talked on the phone, God! I couldn't stop talking about it to my roommates. That's when Nicole… decided to find where you live."

"And she didn't tell you it was a school for mutants, that's why you're so angry with her, right?"

Ami looked nervously down at her feet. "Yes…"

"It's okay, I understand how people can react badly to the way I look. Unlike most mutants I was born this way, so I've had an entire lifetime to become comfortable with it." He took Ami's hands in his own with more ease than before. "I would like you to become comfortable with it too."

Her heart was pounding as she again took her hand back and started to reach it towards his face. "Don't leave this time," she said quietly.

Kurt closed his eyes as Ami's fingers made contact. This wasn't the first time someone had shown interest in the bizarre markings covering his face, but this was the first time their touch had sent chills down his spine.

"I don't know what to say," she whispered.

"You don't have to say anything, they're just a part of who I am."

"Not about that… about you."

"What do you mean?"

Words were failing her. She knew in her head that she had something she wanted to say, but she couldn't speak. "I…"

With unexpected bravery Kurt pushed the hair out of Ami's face. "I missed you too."

"Huh?"

"You said earlier…"

"Right, of course. Thanks…"

"This has gotten strange hasn't it?"

Ami didn't respond, instead she quickly leaned over and kissed Kurt's lips. She was getting pretty good at this spontaneity thing.