Eight

As if his life wasn't crazy enough, Kurt awoke the next morning to an unfamiliar ceiling. Rattled at first, he soon realized he was still in Ami's room. The two had stayed awake talking all night and had given in to sleep around four a.m. He looked over and saw Ami still asleep next to him, clearly not as nervous about his appearance as she had been.

He couldn't help but smile at the thought of the previous night. After Ami had kissed him he'd been understandably surprised, but their nervousness seemed to melt away from there. They spent the rest of the night talking about everything from their current lives to their first memories.

"Ami, where's my red- Oh my fucking God!"

Simultaneously Ami bolted upright in bed and reached a hand out for Kurt, signaling for him to stay put. He couldn't go teleporting every time somebody came in the room. "What do you want Nicole? I thought you were leaving."

"Yeah, I'm leaving, but I thought that freak next to you was the reason."

"No, you're leaving because you're a bitch," Ami growled. "Now get the fuck out!"

"Hmph. No problem, I wouldn't be caught dead living with a dirty mutant lover."

Nicole turned to leave and Kurt was the only thing stopping Ami from going after her.

"Ami, it's okay," he assured her. "I'm used to it."

"But it isn't right!"

"This world is full of things that aren't right, especially when it comes to our differences. It is something you're going to have to learn to deal with."

Ami wanted to protest but she knew Kurt was right. Their world had been sent back into the days of segregation with the discovery of mutants, and suddenly it was not only tolerated but also expected.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she said, changing the subject. "Can I trust you to still be here when I get back?"

"I wouldn't leave if my life depended on it."

Ami had been gone for less than a minute when an unfamiliar head popped into the door.

"Hi!" Tanya chirped, bouncing into the room. "I'm Tanya, Ami's roommate."

"Hello. My name is-"

"Kurt, I already know. Ami talks about you constantly."

Kurt's face flushed. "Ami talks about you often as well."

"Really? What kind of things does she say?" Tanya's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"She said that you were one of her only friends, and she didn't know what she'd do without you."

Tanya would have responded had Ami not reappeared behind her. "Oh Tanya, what exactly are you doing?"

"Introducing myself to your guest since you obviously weren't going to."

Ami glared at her friend, but secretly she was glad she was there. After Nicole's rude awakening, seeing her one remaining friend not be bothered in the slightest by Kurt's appearance meant a lot to her.

"Well, I know when I'm not wanted. I'll be downstairs making Nicole's departure a living nightmare. Wish me luck!"

Ami laughed and most definitely wished her friend luck as she bounded out of the room and down the stairs. She then sat back on the bed across from Kurt. "So," she said. "Aren't the people at the school going to be wondering where you were all night?"

"Perhaps, but it is a school not a prison, I can come and go as I please."

"I'd like to see it sometime, I mean other than for five minutes as I run like hell back to my car." As she spoke Ami leaned over and rested her head on Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt closed his eyes and took in the smell and feel of her hair. He opened them again and it dawned on him that Ami had never told him what her hair color was. She was a red head, it suited her well. "I can take you there now if you'd like," he whispered.

"Can I get dressed first?"

"Of course." He pulled away and let her stand up, watching as she grabbed some clothes off the desk chair.

"Now no peeking!" she teased, turning her back to him in the same instant as she pulled her shirt over her head.

Kurt took a shocked breath and turned away quickly.

Peering over her shoulder, Ami was almost disappointed to see the man's self control, but at the same time she knew it was another brilliant part of him. In the past hours she found out that not only was deeply religious, but he was at one point training to be a priest. He'd mentioned his faith on a few occasions in their e-mails but she never knew its extent. "Okay, I'm ready."

Kurt stood up and walked over to her, all too happy for the excuse to wrap her in his arms. "Hold on," he instructed.

"Not a problem."


End Part Three