"Yow! Aw, man, do you haf ta use that stuff? Fuckin' stings!"

"Watch your language," Scott told him, while swiping a cottonball soaked in alcohol across Todd's scraped cheek. The latter made a face at both the brief moment of antiseptic fire in his cut and Scott's 'reprimand'.

"Why? The adults don't even let you cuss here?"

Scott tried briefly to imagine himself exclaiming a bad word in front of Logan and felt the color drain out of his face. "Er, it's definitely a good idea to watch your mouth. Ororo, Logan, and the Prof treat us with respect, so we should treat them with respect as well."

Todd made a small noise of indignance and sat up from where he was laying on the med-table. "Waitasec, I ain't never said nuthin' about cussin' someone out, yo. I mean, what you s'posed to say when you slam your finger in the door?"

"Make sure you don't slam it in the door, I guess."

Tolensky stared at him. "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard, yo."

Scott chose to ignore that and focused his attention to some of the other abrasions on Todd's body. The alcohol-doused material barely made contact with his bloodied knee before Todd jerked the wounded area away instinctively. Scott sighed and wrapped his hand firmly around the boy's leg, holding it in place.

"Just stay still. I have to clean this out or it'll get infected. Jeez, was there glass or anything where you fell? It looks bad."

"No, I don't think so. Hey, don't pour the whole danged bottle on it! I'm fine, yo, just gimme a bandaid or someth-- Aaaaaaaagh!" the boy shrieked as the alcohol kicked in.

"It'll be over in a sec, hang in there," Scott encouraged him. He watched with a twinge of remorse as Todd's fingers curled around the edge of the med-table, gripping it tightly. Perhaps he had used a little too much . . .

"Scott, what poor animal are you torturing? I could hear screaming all the way to the garage."

"Ms. Ororo?" Scott asked, turning at the sound of her voice. She smiled at him from the doorway and made her way over to them. "I thought you weren't going to get back until much later."

"It was an estimate. Professor Xavier's talking to Kurt upstairs." Scott frowned in concern, about to ask why she looked upset at the mention of the new student. But before he could articulate a word, Ororo had picked up the bottle of rubbing alcohol and was regarding him with a frown.

"I thought I told you not to use this on open wounds. It kills bacteria, but tissue as well."

Todd gave Scott a withering look, and the older boy winced upon realizing his folly. "Oh man, I'm sorry! I forgot. You're supposed to use the betadine."

"Right. The alcohol is for sterilizing surface areas," Ororo acknowledged, opening a drawer with more medical supplies and picking out the required bottle. "And I don't think I'm the one you need to be apologizing to." She winked at Todd and turned to walk out of the room. "The professor would like to talk with both of you in his study as soon as you're finished here."

"Wait a minute, how did he --" Scott started to ask, but realized what a stupid question that was to ask about a telepath. "Oh. Okay, we'll be right there. Todd? I'm really sorry," he began, unscrewing the lid to the betadine.

"Does that stuff sting too?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out."

"Sadistic, ain't we?"

------------------------------------

"I realize that this must be a challenging time for you, Kurt. I can see that you miss your home, your family. I'd like you to know that you may call them at any time while you're staying here and -- Kurt? Are you listening?" the professor asked gently, seeing the young man's eyes gazing everywhere but him. Xavier was not the type to demand that a person's eyes had to be resting solely on him while he was talking, but he could tell when someone's attention was elsewhere.

Kurt snapped out whatever reverie he had been engrossed in at the sudden silence and realized he'd been ignoring Xavier. "Oh! I-Ich bitte Ihr Verzeihen! Sorry, Professor --"

Xavier held up a hand. "It's all right, Kurt. You must be tired from your journey."

"No, on the contrary, Herr Professor, I do not think I can sleep. What I've seen of this place is wonderful but . . ."

"It's not home," Xavier finished, understanding. "I know how you feel. Well, might I suggest --" he began, but was interrupted at a soft knock on the door. "Ah, Scott and . . . Todd, I think it was. Kurt? Would you like to meet two of your fellow mutants?"

"Nein! Uh, I'm not ready," Kurt pleaded, fumbling to pull his hood up to cover his face. "I'm sorry, Herr Professor."

"Kurt -" Xavier started, but the teen bamfed away before another word could be spoken. Doing a quick mental scan, Xavier found Kurt in the library they had passed on the way to his study and sighed in relief. Though he was sure Kurt knew better, he was going to have to warn him not to teleport randomly in this place; there were a few areas he could end up that were unsafe, to say the least.

"Professor?" Scott's voice questioned and the door opened just a crack.

"Come in, please."

Both boys entered and at the professor's bidding, seated themselves in the offered chairs.

"Is everything all right?" asked Scott, seeing the worried and defeated look on Xavier's face.

"Yes, Scott," the professor assured him, focusing on the task at hand. "However, I do wish to talk to you later about a certain event I saw in the news."

Scott winced. "Er . . ."

"Not now, Scott. Later, in private."

Todd looked at Scott's expression nervously, then back at the professor. Xavier looked at him kindly. "Todd, is it?"

"Yeah?" he answered tentatively.

"Can you show me a demonstration of your powers?"

"Ummm . . . o-okay."

Xavier barely had time to blink before Todd was behind and above him, clinging to the wall. He looked down at the Prof and grinned. "Very impressive," Xavier said, not without raising an eyebrow slightly.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet! Watch this!" Todd shot out his tongue toward the nearby desk, aiming for a pen. He nabbed it, but accidentally knocked everything off the desk to the floor. "Uhhh . . . oopth. M'sah-ree . . ." Embarrassed, Todd tried to shake the pen off the end of his tongue. The pen stayed put, but ink spurted everywhere, giving Xavier a scattering of beauty marks and a third eyebrow.

Scott snorted and coughed at the same time, in a desperate attempt not to laugh.

"Sah'ee," Todd apologized again. Humiliated, he pulled his tongue in, yanked off the pen and tried to wipe the slime off with his shirt before handing it back to the professor.

Xavier took it, wiped his face, and (much to Todd's relief) smiled with a hint of amusement.

"Well, those are rather unique gifts, Mr. Tolensky. And you seem to have adequate control over them. When did you first notice these powers?"

"When I was thirteen, yo. Just before I, uh, left."

"Left? From where?" Xavier inquired.

Todd remained on the wall in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, then back-flipped away and landed at a crouch on the floor. "If I tell you, would you send me back?"

"That would depend on who you ran away from. If your parents were to find you here, illegally in my custody, I'm afraid there would be some serious consequences. For the both of us."

"Ah. Well, you don't gotta worry 'bout that. My parents are dead."

Scott stared, bewildered, and Xavier looked at him in sympathy.

"But then who pays for your tuition at Bayville High?" Scott blurted before the professor could say anything.

"Ummm . . . well, I dunno. But when I asked her 'bout it, the principal said not to worry. She said she'd take care of it. Even gave me books an' stuff."

"Ms. Darkholme?" mused Xavier, looking at Todd strangely. The boy nodded in affirmation. "I see. So who did you run away from, Todd? Social services?"

"Yeah," Todd replied, uncomfortably. Please don't call 'em, man. They'll tell ya lies 'bout me just so you'll send me back. All they care about is money from the state.

"If I call them, it will only be to arrange a meeting so I can sign the necessary papers. Any information about you, I'll learn for myself while you're here. I will never judge a person by what others have to say about him."

"Whoa . . ." Todd blinked. Where'd all that come from? It's like he was readin' my -

"Mind," finished Xavier. "I assure you, I didn't try. But your thoughts did reach me, as well as feelings of anxiety and unease."

Todd opened his mouth and closed it, finding nothing to say.

"I know. I'm still trying to get used to it, too," Scott told him, wryly.

-----------------

Her hands glided over the ivory and ebony bars, bringing forth sweet notes of music wherever they descended. Ororo's eyes scanned the notes on the page before her, keeping both tempo and concentration. Not once did her eyes leave the music sheets to look down where her fingers danced across the piano keys.

For Kurt it was a fascinating thing to watch, from his perch on the wide library window shelf. His tail twitched in interest, and his hood was lowered again to hang off his shoulders, letting his blue face, gold eyes, and all in the open. Ororo had entered, not noticing him, to seat herself at the piano bench where she'd placed the music notes before her and started playing.

But any moment now, she might turn around and give out a cry of shock, or scream upon seeing his visage. Even if a person had seen him once, he usually had to warn them where he was at all times so he couldn't 'spook' them. Exceptions being his parents, bless them. And perhaps the Professor, but he had been sent photographs of Kurt two weeks ago, giving him plenty of time to get used to his looks.

But Ororo never even turned around. Instead, she began to sing softly, in a different language. Her voice was level as if singing a church hymn, low and pleasant despite the complication of the notes. Kurt rather enjoyed it, and even clapped softly when the final notes had faded off into memory. He hadn't meant for her to hear his applause and gasped as she turned around to smile appreciatively. Kurt's eyes widened and he tensed, waiting for the horrified gasp.

None came. But Ororo did stare, although not in a scrutinizing fashion and her lips formed a smile. Did she like what she saw? Nein,unmöglich Kurt pulled up his hood, not noticing the sad disappointment that crossed Ororo's face.

"That was good," he congratulated her. "What were you singing?"

"It's called 'Paris canaille'. Italian opera. I don't know the exact translation, but it's one of my favorites."

"But wouldn't it be better if you knew what you were singing?"

"Perhaps, it would. But even without that knowledge, it is still beautiful. Some things should be left as they are; whether or not they are understood."

"I guess . . ." Kurt murmured. He looked down at the book in his three-fingered hands and closed it gently. Immediately after, his stomach made a loud request for nourishment. Kurt blushed beneath his hood. "Ach. I'd better warn you now, I eat a lot."

"So I've heard," chuckled Ororo. "Would you like me to show you to the kitchen?"

"Danke, Fräulein. I'd very much appreciate it."

Kurt teleported from his perch in a cloud of smoke and reappeared next to Ororo. She jumped a little, but quickly recovered with another gentle smile. But Kurt believed he could see a little tension behind her smiling countenance. Wordlessly, he walked beside her through hallways and down stairs, half-listening to her explanations of what some of the rooms they passed were used for. The other half of his focus was on where to go if they ran into anyone other than the professor. Kurt hadn't been joking when he said he wasn't ready to meet other students yet. He wanted to have at least one day without being gawked or shrieked at.

But he didn't want to be pitied either. Lieber Gott, he'd had enough of both reactions.

Then what do you want? a voice in the back of his mind questioned. I don't know, Kurt answered back miserably. But I suppose I can't blame them, whatever they do. If I were born normal, and I saw someone who looked like me, I'd probably freak out too.

"Here we are," Ororo said, showing him into a brightly lit room. Kurt stepped inside and looked around in wonder. The kitchen was almost bigger than his parents' verdammt living room. If his stomach had eyes, it would probably be doing flips of joy.

"There's plenty in the fridge and pantry. Just help yourself. And be careful with the microwave; it tends to overcook things even at the lowest setting. We need to call someone around to fix that. I'll be in the library for a while longer, and I believe the professor is still in his study. Do you know how to find us?"

"Ja! I remember."

"Good. I'll see you later on tonight, Kurt." Ororo gave one last smile and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Kurt to his own devices.

His first action was to flick off the panel of light-switches, turning on the small one directly over the counter. There, much cozier. Fluorescence never was his friend; the garish light made him feel naked and vulnerable.

Blue fingers wrapped around the refrigerator handle and pulled open the door. "Mmmm," he purred as his eyes landed on a helpless bowl of tuna. It squealed appropriately as it was dragged across the rack to meet a dire fate.

----------------------

"Well, Mr. Tolensky, since most of your questions have been answered, shall we call it a night?"

"Yeah, sorry. I know I was like the 'thing that wouldn't shut up'."

"No apology is necessary, please," Xavier protested gently. "I'm glad you asked me what you wanted to know. If there's anything more you think of, I'll be here and waiting."

"Ain't you gonna sleep?" Todd asked. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight.

"I'm not quite sure at this point, Todd," Xavier sighed. "There's someone else who may need to talk with me a while longer. Mr. Wagner is also a new student here, from Germany."

"Germany?" Todd whistled. "That's a long way, yo. So he's homesick, huh?"

"That may be part of it. I'm afraid it's not something he'd like me to talk about, Todd."

"'Kay. Sorry. Hey, um, Professor, can you tell me where the kitchen is? If it's okay, I haven't had anything to eat. Well, 'scept for those fireflies just after sunset . . ."

Scott stood up. "I'll show you there."

"Actually, Scott, I'd like you to stay so we can have that discussion I mentioned earlier," requested Xavier.

"Oh, sure." Looking flustered, Scott sat back down.

"Todd, the kitchen is downstairs and through the hallway on your right. Then take three lefts and it'll be the first room on your right."

Todd nodded, then blinked in utter confusion.

"It's right across from the infirmary," Scott added, helpfully.

"Hey, yeah, I kinda remember where that is. Well, see ya," Todd said, and left the room, waving a good-bye over his shoulder.

Scott watched the door close after the retreating frog-boy. "You know, I don't think he's as tough as he likes to act sometimes. What about you, Professor?"

"I don't either, Scott. Now, before we go on any more tangents . . . may I ask what prompted you to fight with Duncan?"

Taken aback at the fact that the professor knew such details already, Scott had to wait a few moments to collect his thoughts. "Well, it started out with Tolensky. Duncan caught him pick-pocketing some of the spectators, so he and his buddies decided to 'teach him a lesson'."

"Ah. And Duncan was not appreciative of your efforts to save Todd?"

"Uh, no. He was pretty intent on beating the guy up," Scott answered, starting to feel uncomfortable. This turn of conversation was different from what he had expected; a lecture on controlling his powers.

"Do you kow if Duncan usually does this? To other students at your high school, not just Todd?"

"I don't know, but he sure seems the type. Todd seemed pretty familiar with the guy. He wasn't struggling . . . just holding still and keeping his eyes closed."

A brief look crossed Xavier's face; one of concern and worry. "Go on. What happened next?"

-------------------------------

Todd never would have found the kitchen if he hadn't smelled the tuna first. It was strong enough to make his stomach growl and he didn't even like tuna. All that mattered was that it was food.

Light humming came out of one room, in which the smell was strongest. Todd spotted the cloaked figure standing at the counter and grinned. "Hey, what's cookin', yo?" he asked, stepping into the kitchen. That was before he noticed the tail waving in time with the music. Which froze at the sound of his voice.

"Uhh . . . " the figure stated, voice quavering. Soft cursing could then be heard in a foreign language with strong German accents.

Todd realized that this was the student Xavier had appeared so worried about. Maybe that tail wasn't the only reason . . . maybe whatever else was under that cloak was. In any case, awkward silence wasn't gonna make anyone comfortable.

"Sorry if I startled you. My name's Todd Tolensky. This is my first day too, yo," Todd tried again. In one hop, he was leaning against the counter and Kurt looked away quickly so the boy couldn't see what was under the hood.

Kurt bit his lip to keep from cursing again. He should just teleport right now; just like he planned to in the halls with Ororo, but for some sadistic reason he found that he couldn't bamf for several contributing factors. One, while he could take the sandwich, the rest of the food would be left behind and he was hungry. Two, whoever this boy was, he had obviously seen the tail and wasn't screaming. And three, he wasn't sure where the library was anymore and had the feeling that teleporting in this place randomly was a Class Five 'Nuh-Uh'.

He stiffened as he noticed that Todd was staring at something with a mixed expression of horror and fascination. With a gasp, he drew his exposed hands hurriedly back into the folds of his generous sleeves, only to see Todd reach over and cautiously nudge at Kurt's tuna, peanut butter, potato chip, and tomato sandwich. "You really gonna eat that?" The tip of a green tongue poked out of the boy's mouth and ran across dry lips.

"Ja," Kurt pronounced clearly and before Todd could blink, a good sized chunk of the sandwich was missing complete with the imprints of abnormally large canines. Todd got the message and edged what he deemed a safe distance away from the German boy's 'territory'.

"How's it taste?" he inquired, by way of peace offering.

"Mmmph." Kurt chewed thoughtfully, and swallowed. The little voice in the back of his head still insisting that he run was drowned out by the blissful feeling of abated hunger. "Anything's good when you're starving!"

"Heh, I guess, that's true, yo."

GRRRRRROWWWWL.

Kurt's eyebrows raised in astonishment. "Was that me or you?"

"Me. I'm starvin'." Todd opened the fridge door and began to rummage around.

"When have you last eaten?"

"Earlier, but it wasn't much. Three days with nothin' but bugs is my limit, so I'm okay."

"Mein Gott. Three days?" Kurt echoed weakly. He eats bugs? another part of his mind yelped, grossed out.

"Eh, that's what I get for ditchin' my old place. But trust me, the freedom's worth it." Todd's voice trailed off as he crunched into a dill pickle. His gold eyes scanned the contents of the fridge hopelessly, looking for something he wouldn't have to cook. He didn't think Xavier would appreciate him setting the kitchen fire alarms off, and he was certainly not going to use dishes. That would mean he'd have to wash them. (Ewww . . . work . . . )

Kurt finished the rest of his sandwich and tried once again to search his memory for the library's whereabouts. He couldn't believe the other boy hadn't freaked out on him yet. He'd seen the tail and that was usually enough to set everyone off. The face however . . . the face was twice as worse. It scared people only briefly. Then they wanted to hurt him. He didn't want to press his luck.

Todd's glance fell on the sandwich stuff spread out all over the counter. "Yo, how'd I miss all that? No wonder I couldn't find anything in' the fridge." At that particular moment, Kurt sorted out his thoughts, recalled exactly where the library was and sent a whole gift basket of prayers to Heaven.

"Um, Todd is it? I'm going to go now. It's been nice meeting you, and maybe I'll see you tomorrow, but . . . I think Herr Professor needs to see me.""

"Nah, he's busy with Summers," Todd informed him, spreading mustard on a slice of wheat bread. He was met with a blank stare and slapped his forehead. "Oh, well duh, like you'd know who Summers is. Sorry. I meant Scott Summers, he goes here too. Shoots lasers outta his eyes an' stuff. Blew up the football field. Way cool." THAT got Kurt's attention.

"Vas!"

"He blew up the football field.," the boy repeated. "It's on the news channel probably." Todd continued to make his sandwich calmly.

"Was anyone hurt?"

"Nope. Well, not badly anyway. So hey, what's your power? I never got ta ask. Heck, didn't even ask your name yet."

Kurt smiled. "The name's Kurt Wagner." There was a popping sound and Kurt disappeared, only to reappear beside Todd. The boy yelped and dropped both bread and knife. "And that's my power."

"Now that is a way to travel," Tolensky exclaimed enviously, when he could breathe properly again.

"It's helpful," Kurt grinned, shrugging. His tail swished on the floor placidly. The other boy tried not to stare at it, but Kurt caught the eye movement and curled it under his robe. "Uh, I know the tail looks weird and . . ." I'm making a verdammt fool of myself. I should just go. "Well, anyway. It was nice meeting you. I'd better go now."

"Yo wait a minute, you don't gotta leave! Sorry if I made you feel weird or anythin'."

"It's nothing you did, honest. As for the weirdness level, I've pretty much got all the trophies for that category."

"What, and you think I'm normal? Just watch." Todd shot out his tongue and stuck it to the opposite wall then drew it back in his mouth with a snap. "Now that's gotta win at least one door prize. Freaky."

Kurt stared at the green slime dripping off the other wall. "Ja, kinda . . ."

"Kinda? It blows, dawg. I can't ever kiss anyone. Not that I'd ever get a girlfriend anyway, so why should I care? Just be glad you ain't green."

A bitter laugh was his response. "What about blue?"

"Eh, blue's a nice color."

"And covered in fur?"

"You kiddin' me? Chicks dig fur. Anything else?"

"Pointed ears, fangs, yellow eyes . . . what else do you need?"

"No crooked teeth, cleft palate, nose rings, scars, facial bunions? Come on, you don't sound scary to me." Todd snorted.

Kurt gave a soft sigh. "I just don't want anyone to scream at me. Maybe tomorrow I can deal with it, but not tonight."

Todd's face took on a mock-serious expression. "Scream? No, no, no, I ain't a screamer." Todd took a stance, puffing out his chest and sniffing deeply. "Now I might throw my sandwich in the air, but there ain't gonna be no screamin'. You've got my word, you can count on me to be manly 'bout this, dawg." Todd took a 'manly' bite out of his sandwich.

Kurt tried and failed to keep from grinning at that. He ducked his head, still keeping the hood up.

Why the hell does he have to sound so . . . understanding? And why do I have to be so gullible? Ach, I'm sick of my stomach turning into knots. He sounds cool so I might as well get it over with.

Tolensky waited curiously as the German boy tentatively pulled down the cowl to expose his face. The amphibious teen took in the elfin features - ears, high cheekbones, strong nose - and the wide cat-like yellowish eyes, and long indigo hair. The blue fur he'd been expecting from the tail, so it wasn't as great a shock. The shock was the fact that Scott was standing in the doorway, eyes wide with horror.

Before Todd could utter a word, Scott yelled more than enough. "Holy SHIT!" he yelped.

The German teen cried out in alarm, pulling his cowl back and cringing. Todd looked at Scott in bewilderment, then back to Kurt, feeling horrible. "Aw dawg . . . Listen, I'm . . ." Todd saw his muscles tense as if about to take off running, even though Scott was standing in the only exit. It was then the frog-boy realized what Kurt was about to do.

Todd moved fast, and almost didn't make it in time. His hand brushed against Kurt's cloak just as a cloud of smoke engulfed the space where they'd both been standing, leaving Summers to stand there, coughing at the overwhelming odor of sulfur and brimstone.

"Wait!" he choked out, realizing far too late who the blue demon was. Great, the Professor was gonna just love this.

-----------------------------

BAMF

"Let GO of me!"

"No! Wait, don't --"

BAMF

Ororo stared at the smoke disappearing, ignoring the small raincloud drowning her poor fern plant. "What on earth was that about?"

-----------------------------

BAMF

"I said let go!"

"Not until you listen!" yelled Todd, keeping a firm grip on Kurt's robe.

"Nein! I want to be left alone!"

"Look, I'm sorry that Summers freaked out on you--"

"That was not your fault. It was mine," Kurt snapped, voice heavy with the weight of unshed tears.

"He was just shocked, yo. It wasn't personal or nothin'-"

"You're not listening. I'm not blaming him or you or anyone else. I'm the one who's . . . I'm . . ." Kurt turned his face away, shoulders shaking. He leaned against the wall of the empty bedroom and slid down until he was sitting, tail curled around his ankles.

Todd gave a sharp sigh and crouched next to him. Aaugh! Just what was he supposed to say? "I ain't the handsomest guy around here either. But it ain't anything I stress out over. I got used to it, y'know?"

"But at least you can show your face outside!" came the half-sobbed reply.

"So? It doesn't matter if you look normal; people will find other ways to make you miserable. I just don't try anymore, yo. Ain't worth my time tryin' to be like everyone else."

The blue elf-demon wiped the back of his wrist across his eyes and breathed deep, trying to swallow the tears that had formed. "Are you saying then . . . that I should stop caring too? Maybe I did hope for too much."

Yeah, maybe he did. Still, was it really a kindness toward the elf to bury that hope with cynicism? He'd crossed over land and sea for its sake, risking exposure as a mutant, followed by death and dissection -- whichever came first. That took a lot of courage; not to mention faith. Todd knew he had to respect that.

"No. You should never stop caring," Todd mumbled. "Just don't expect to not run into stupid people. This is America, remember? EVERYBODY came over."

Kurt snorted and tried not to laugh at that. Encouraged Todd put his hands on the elf's shoulders. "You're gonna have setbacks like this, but you know that sayin'? If you fall off your horse, get right back on it? It's somethin' a geezer would say, but it makes sense."

Despite the cliché, Todd's voice was sincere, and it did hold comfort. A shaky albeit genuine smile spread across Kurt's features. "Danke."

"Huh?

"It means 'thanks'."

"Oh . . . I knew that."

--------------------------------------

"There you are! Yes, I'm talking to you, strudel boy!" Niles declared, storming right up to the seated man.

Kurt snorted and nearly choked on his newly made sandwich. "Strudel boy!" he sputtered, laughing.

Niles continued his tirade onscreen. "No one seduces my wife and gets away with it! You probably thought because of my refined bearing and swimmers' build that I wouldn't put up a fight for the woman I love. But you're dead wrong, because real men have a thing called honor!"

The fencing instructor stood up then, a full head taller than Niles.

". . . Yow!" yipped his scrawny antagonist.

Todd snickered and Kurt's laughter was muffled by the bread around his fanged dentures.

The sound of polite coughing took their attention away from the show. Both boys turned to see Scott walking toward them. "Uh, I'm sorry about my reaction," the older boy apologized awkwardly. "I . . . I wasn't expecting . . ." He trailed off, embarrassed.

"It's allright," Kurt said gently. "I-I'm just surprised you're actually talking to me after that. Most people don't attempt a second approach."

"Why don't we try again?" He held out his hand. "I'm Scott Summers."

"Kurt Wagner." The boys shook hands and Scott walked around the couch to sit by them.

"So what are you guys watching?"

"Uh, something called 'Frasier' I think. It's pretty funny. Want to stay with us?"

"Sure." Scott watched as Niles swung across the room on the chandelier to escape the irate German fencing instructor. Quietly, he breathed out in relief. Xavier had not been angry at him for his reaction to Kurt. He'd expressed only worry when he learned Kurt had teleported, and was about to do a quick scan for the boy's whereabouts when Ororo had contacted him. Xavier had been silently listening to something for a while, driving Scott crazy with curiosity. Then just as he'd been about to ask what the heck was going on, the Professor had smiled to himself.

"Very well spoken," he'd murmured, so quietly Scott almost didn't hear him. "Everything's allright now, Scott," he'd said after a few more seconds of concentrating, perhaps replying to Ms. Ororo. "Kurt just went back to the kitchen. It appears he's feeling better now. I'd give him a little while before approaching him again."

"I just want to tell him how sorry I am."

"Scott, I don't want you to blame yourself for this. I never told you that Kurt looked different in any way. You had no idea what to expect. From his experiences, Kurt has unfortunately learned that fear of his appearance will either lead to ridicule or ill-will toward him and his family. But fear is a natural instinct meant to save your life. It lasts only as long as you need to determine whether or not something is safe. In Kurt's case, some people will get over that initial fear . . . and some won't."

"I think I understand now, Professor."

And he had.

In time, he hoped Kurt would too.


To Be Continued . . .

A/N: I added a bit more to this chapter. Didn't like Kurt's accent, it was a pain in the butt and I had skipped a few 'what's' and other 'w' words. Also, I didn't think I'd really resolved anything with poor Scott, so . . . meh.

Aww, and I lied about Logan returning in this chapter. Sowwy! -; Next chapter, Todd has a very bad day at school. And Logan returns. Maybe. O.o; I think, unless it's the next chapter . . . hee . . . Also, the idea of Kurt making weird sandwiches was inspired by Internutter. Hope she doesn't mind. -; And the episode of Frasier they're watching is called 'An Affair to Forget'. My absolute favorite. If you wanna read the script of the episode and imagine the guys' reactions, go here:

hugs to all who reviewed Thank you! Sorry for making you wait so long! -