Coming at ya faster than an incredibly fast thing, it's happy chappy chapter 3. Hoorah.  Many thanks to taekwondo and Crypticidentity for their reviews of the last chapter. Once more, I do might not own any of the X-men yet but we'll just see what Stan Lee thinks of these paternity tests.

Chapter 3: The Note

            Kitty and Kurt continued their walk to and the blue elf soon seemed to be acting like his old self again. They turned the corner into the school and, apart from a few murmured comments, there was no trouble from anyone. They came to their lockers and Kurt suddenly looked sad again, the prospect of his next class alone seeming to worry him. Kitty placed a few books in her locker and smiled up at him. "Come on Kurt," She said in a caring tone. "Please cheer up, for me?" She took his hand again and pulled his face down to her level. She gently kissed him on the cheek and whispered "Nothing's going to happen to you while I'm here for you." She let go of his hand and looked at the clock on the wall. "Well I gotta go, my class is on the other side of the building and I gotta get there in five minutes without phasing so, like, see ya, later Kurt." She turned and ran before he could say anything, not that he could say anything. He was just standing there trying to tell himself what had happened. His mind was working over time. 'Sure, it vas not the kiss you'd alvays dreamed of but it vas a kiss, ja?' One thought said, when the other voice chimed in 'I have to agree this time. That vas definitely a kiss.'

            He opened his locker and looked inside but his books were gone. Instead was a folded piece of paper, a note from someone. He read the note and was unable to say anything for the second time in as many minutes. He slowly came to his senses and read the note to himself.

            "I know vhat you are and I know you vant help for your unique problem. I can give you this help. I can give you vhat you have always desired. In order for you to get vhat you desire than you must do a few things for me. Get out of town and I shall make contact with you. It does not matter where you go, I shall find you. Once you have completed the tasks I set for you, then I can give you vhat you vant. I vill make you normal."

            Kurt held the letter in his hand for a few moments and slowly placed it in his pocket. He then looked around and slowly stalked off to the boy's toilets. He checked that no one else was inside and entered a stall, locking the door. He checked the letter one more time and 'ported himself home.

            Kitty left her class as the bell sounded for lunch. She met up with the other X-men but for some reason Kurt never showed up. Jean tried scanning for him but she could never get a positive lock on his location, almost as though he was 'porting quickly and randomly.

            "Does anyone know why Kurt isn't here? Kitty? Do you know what he did after you two walked to school?" Scoot asked. He seemed very concerned but he tried to maintain his authority and asked in an appropriate manner.

            Kitty was less restrained. Tears had formed in her eyes and she was looking everywhere trying to catch sight of him. "I just left him at the lockers. I dunno, he seemed happier. He didn't seem like he was just gonna vanish on us." In her mind Kitty couldn't help but think that perhaps Kurt's disappearance had something to do with her. She knew that Kurt had some kind of crush on her that he couldn't shake and maybe she shouldn't have kissed him, even if it was only on the cheek. She'd probably confused the poor boy and now he was avoiding her on purpose. He had a habit of dwelling on things and she'd probably just given him another problem to dwell on, on top of everything else.

            Back at the institute Kurt was in the Professor's office with Xavier, Beast and Logan. He was so excited about the letter that he couldn't control his power and was teleporting all around the room. The Professor was reading the letter with Beast reading it over his shoulder and Logan was standing with his arms crossed looking none to pleased. The elf had just burst in while he was doing a session in the danger room and Logan had been caught off guard. It was just lucky that his power allowed him to heal so quickly, for Kurt's sake at least.

            Kurt had already been to the professor, apologizing for skipping school and showing the professor the reason. Xavier told Kurt to go fetch Logan and the Beast instantly which he had done, even if it had pissed off Logan. Xavier was wary of the letter, especially since it mentioned tasks of which they knew nothing. It was possible that doing as the letter suggested could get Kurt in a lot of trouble. Kurt was too excited to be cautious.

            "Please, Professor, let me go and at least let me see vhat this person vants. If he is bad news then I vill return to the institute, I promise. I just think it is vorth the risk, it is vhat I've alvays vanted." As soon as he had hurriedly said his piece he began porting again, unable to keep still.

            "I don't like it Charles." Logan added gruffly. "This person obviously knows a lot about Kurt so they obviously know all about his ability. If his power got into the hands of a thief or someone like Magneto then they could steal whatever they wanted."

            "I know Logan," Xavier responded "but I agree with Kurt. We should at least hear this person out; find out what he wants before we make a rash decision. After all this is ultimately Kurt's choice."

            "Alright then Charles, if that's what you think but I still don't think we should take this lightly." He spun around, withdrawing his claws and pinning Kurt to the wall between 'ports. "Would ya stop doing that? This place stinks cause of you!"

            Kurt simply looked down at the floor sheepishly and mumbled a sorry.

            Jean had been contacted by the professor during lunch and the group was reassured to know that Kurt was at the institute but the professor had not told them why. Scott and Evan seemed content to believe that Kurt had probably been bullied and had simply run off home. They knew that Kurt normally wouldn't have taken this but in his current state of depression it seemed a simple enough explanation and everyone accepted it in the end except for Kitty. She kept her doubts to herself but she still felt that she was somehow responsible for the Incredible Nightcrawler's absence.

            Soon school was over and Kitty decided to walk home by herself, lost in deep thought. She stared at the pavement as she walked, muttering to herself. "Why did I kiss him anyway? It wasn't just to make him feel better; I could have just done that by talking to him. I did it for me…" The words hit her like a ton of bricks, shocked at her own voice. "I did it for me. It was just so hard to see him like that. If he can't get over something like this then what hope do any of us have. But that wasn't the only reason. I didn't do that just for reassurance that everything would be fine…I did it because I like him." She had often thought about what it would be like to be with Kurt but until now she had never spoken about it, not even to herself. She spent the rest of her walk in silence.

            Xavier assembled the group shortly after they had eaten their supper. They stood in the lobby and stood quietly to attention as the Professor began to speak. The only two missing were Kurt and Logan, though none of the students knew why.

            "You may be wondering why Kurt and Logan are not presently at the institute." He began, not sure of the best way to proceed. "They are currently out of town and investigating a note that Kurt received today. The note spoke of someone wanting to help Kurt in return for a few tasks that he would need to perform. If the source of the note seems reliable then it is possible that Kurt may soon be getting his fondest wish, to be normal. Obviously this is something that Kurt strongly believes he can achieve by aiding this man and so I would like you as supportive as possible, especially if it turns out the person cannot be trusted. He has been through a lot lately and what he really needs now is his friends. I feel that I should also add that if Kurt does agree to help this man, it means he could be gone for some time."

            The X-Men suddenly all looked shocked. Scott stepped forward and spoke up first. "But Professor, are you saying that Kurt would be doing this alone? Aren't we going to help him?"

            "No Scott, this is something Kurt and I discussed earlier. This is something Kurt wants to do himself and I feel that we should respect his wishes."

            "B-but we can't just do nothing…surely…"

            "No Scott and there shall be no more discussion on this matter until Kurt and Logan return. Please." The Professor looked exhausted and a little emotional himself as he turned away from the students and wheeled out of the room. This was all too much for Kitty who burst into tears and ran up the stairs and into her room, phasing through the door and locking it behind her.

So there it is friends. Chapter 3 and I must say I hated writing it and I think that comes out, particularly in the later part. I think I might have tried to fit in too much here making it confusing at points but I tried and thankfully that chapters out of the way. I also started a new job in a pub (For anyone wondering I am English.) which may not have helped. Look for a revitalized and hopefully easier to write chapter 4 coming soon.