X-Men Evolution is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah. This is my first X-Men Evolution, or even X-Men related fic I've written. Be gentle.

"Angry Situation" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)

Chapter 10

***************************************************************************

Kitty placed a hand over her eyes, rubbing just slightly. 'My head hurts. Hurts a lot. I don't feel in the right frame of mind. Why did I just blow up at the Professor like that? Too serious for me.' She sighed, heading down the hall to the kitchen and dining room areas.

The dining area was booming with excitement. This was the peak time, dinner being served and all the kids coming home from their activities of the day. Ororo set up the dinner area and dished out her own meal as the rest of the school inhabitants started to serve their own.

Kitty turned the corner to move past the dining room and into the kitchen, ignoring the chaos.

"Kitten?" Ororo turned her head, "Where are you going?"

"What, Ororo?" She peeked her head back out, "Getting dinner? I doubt you made a plate for me. I'm supposed to be out of commission."

"That doesn't mean we forgot about you." Ororo commented, "We made you a plate to take down to you, it's in the fridge."

Kitty paused and smiled, "Thanks." She left the dining room, then returned with her plate in tow. She looked around for a place to sit - it got pretty crowded if she didn't show up early.

Kurt waved down at his end of the table, "Kitty! You can sit next to me!" He smiled and went back to his meal. She joined him and started to eat quietly.

Once the rest of the students settled down, they chatted back and forth about the days events. Kitty glanced around, then stood up with a glass and a spoon. She hit the side of her glass a few times, "'Scuse me... everyone, can I have your attention?"

Her fellow roomates, team-mates, and friends looked up from their eating positions. Kitty cleared her throat, "I just.. like.. wanted to apologize for last night and thank everyone for looking for me. I've.. uhm.. had a rough few days. Sorry everyone. That's all I wanted to say."

The group mumbled back appreciatively, with 'no problem', 'of course', and 'you're welcome' in return. Kitty sat back down, "Yeah." She picked at her food, 'Was that it? No chewing out... no hoorah... no complaints... and why am I not happy about that? Did I want to get yelled at? Well... no, but... this doesn't feel right. Just feelin' worse.' She moved her plate forward and crossed her arms, putting her head down tiredly on the table.

The kids went on about their dinner, then one by one they left the dining room. Kurt finished off his plate and went back for another helping. He turned his head to notice Kitty's head down.

"Hey Katzchen, don't fall asleep?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "Kitty?"

"Huh, what Kurt?" She lifted her head, eyes a little red. "What's up, fuzzy?"

Kurt blinked, "Hey... hey, what's going on?" He touched Kitty's cheek. "You've been crying?"

Kitty flinched back, "What? No! I'm just... I've got a fever! I'm tired..." She brought her plate closer to her and started to munch, "I've been in my own world lately." She looked around to see who else remained in the dining room.

Scott, Jean, Logan, Ororo, and Rogue were there. Kitty nervously leaned her head on her hand, finishing off her plate. "I'm okay, Kurt." She said barely above a whisper.

"No she's not." Rogue said, very audiable. "Ah've never seen her like this. And you lied to us, Pryde."

"L... lied? No... Rogue, I don't want to be picked on." She went to stand up.

"Ah just call it like ah see it." Rogue picked up her plate, "Deal with it, girl." She left to head back into the kitchen quietly.

Kitty sat back down. The others looked toward where Rogue had left, then back at Kitty. Kitty clenched her hands tightly, looking down. "Who cares?" She raised her voice, "Who cares anymore!" Tears started to roll down her cheeks, "This is so not me. This is so not what I wanted! I never wanted this, I never wanted any of it! Why couldn't my parents just stay together?! Why can't I just--!"

Kurt pulled her into a hug, cutting off her sentance. She started to cry against his chest. He comforted her gently, gesturing for the others to leave the room. Logan stepped over and whispered something into his ear, then left. The others cleaned up their messes and quickly moved out, leaving Kurt and Kitty alone.

"Shhh... Kitty, it's okay."

"It's not okay, Kurt. I'm not okay. Rogue's right... I'm a big liar."

"You're taking this too seriously." He murmured, "Rogue doesn't have much to talk about. Whatever you want to keep to yourself is your own business, ja? Katzchen, you're just upset. And you're sick, too. You should get some rest instead of arguing so much."

"Kurt... elf... I just..." She said, muffled against him, "I'm scared. I don't trust my decisions. I don't... I don't think you should trust me, either."

"You're talking nonsense." He hugged her warmly, "You're my best friend, ja? I trust you with my life. And I'll always be here for you. Every one of us."

"Y'know." She finally spoke up, "I'm so sick of being told that everyone'll be there for me. I just want to do the right thing."

"You will. You always do." He smiled, feeling as though he made a breakthrough. "..in the meantime, before you go to bed? Herr Logan would like you to visit him down in the gym. If you're not feeling up to it..."

"No, I'll go." She pulled away and wiped her tears. "I feel like such a crybaby! Don't make fun of me about this, Kurt."

"Never!" He smiled. "Katzchen, please get better? For me?"

"I'll try my best, fuzzy. I will. Thanks. You're the best."

***

The elevator moved from the main house, to the lower complex of the mansion. Kitty walked down the hall to the gym like room they have. Padded floors, martial arts uniforms, and a whole lot of excersize equipment. Logan was on the floor in the middle of the room on some blue padding, kneeled down with a serious look on his face.

"Well well, 'bout time you showed up, half-pint. I was about to go after the elf if you didn't show up soon."

"So I'm here." She almost went to sit, but Logan held up a hand then pointed over to the uniform lockers.

"Change."

"I can't train in my condition, Logan."

"Oh yes you can, just not the kind o' training you're thinking of. Do it."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed a uniform, heading to the 'locker room' area. She changed and returned. She abruptly sat down in front of Logan, "Okay, but you know Mr. McCoy wants me to sleep very soon."

"Sleep can wait. It's more than just your body that needs healing."

Kitty raised an eyebrow, mouthing 'ooooookaaaaay' to herself more than anyone else. She rolled her eyes, "All right, Logan. I'm all yours."

Logan looked at her, "You've been cryin'. Ever since you got back you've been out of sorts."

"That's your opinion." She raised a finger.

"No darlin', it's the truth. And I know last night you didn't fall asleep in yer closet either. Whatever you told Chuck and them, that's your business. To me? You can't hide."

"Who said anything about hiding?" She commented, "I appreciate the concern. Last night? So not a big deal. It's only against experts like you that blow my cover." She smiled.

"You're still not funny." His voice was gruff, "You need to drop the attitude now. From this point on, the barriers are comin' down. This isn't an interrogation or nothin'."

"Oh good, because y'know I..."

"Half-Pint." He cut her off.

"... yes sir." She nodded, catching the serious tone he inflected.

Logan spoke up. "First, I want you to cross your legs and relax. Close your eyes."

Kitty made a face, then got into a proper and more comfortable position. She closed her eyes as instructed.

"Good." He matched her position and closed his own eyes, "Things're affecting you and you're not able to handle it. It's because you never learned to handle it right. All this going on, yer parents divorce, yer encounter with the Tin-Man and what you saw in that building. It's building up and breaking down your defenses. It's makin' you weak. The first step in in gettin' past this is to not let it get to you."

"Easy for you to say, harder for me to manage."

"Then you gotta try." He spoke softer, but still had that stern edge that Logan was known for. "The point is yer gettin' boxed in. You're letting the situation control you instead of the other way around. Nothin' is ever out of your control, darlin'. It's just a little harder to make sense sometimes. So next you need to take a step back and look at yerself. The reason everythin' is in turmoil is because you are the center of your own universe, and yer universe just got changed and you just can't handle it. But you can, and you WILL handle it."

"Master of my own universe. Right." She took a deep breath.

"Outside influences that change your future, but it doesn't change anything about who you are, got it? Find your center and start from there."

Kitty furrowed her brow in frustration, then let herself relax. She filtered through some of the things Logan had said, gaining a bit of confidence through her little positive thinking experience.

Logan spoke up after a few minutes, "I taught you how to breath correct, right kid? You're not doing it right. Steady, calm breathes. Sit up straight, too. It's not just for fightin', it's for peace of mind. It's good for you."

Kitty straightened out her position and started to breath in and out properly. Another long few moments of this before Logan chose to speak once more.

"Now, your body." He broke in, "It's hurtin'. You can change that just by the way you think. It's not gonna happen overnight, but you could benefit from this. You have pain, forget the pain. Go beyond the pain. Don't let the pain get you down. Let go of your fears, your doubts, and just tell 'em to get lost. Accept and move on is that philosophy."

"I have a lot on my mind." Kitty brought up.

"And I'm sure you do, but if you take a minute and look at everything from a distance, then come back to it after acceptin' what it is, you might seem less irrational and a lot better at handlin' whatever it is that's troublin' you. If it hits ya hard, you hit back harder. Attack it head on with a clear mind, your soul will thank you."

She paused, then nodded. It made sense after that thought. She continued with the excersize for what seemed like an eternity.

Logan touched Kitty on her shoulder to get her attention. "And now it's time for bed."

Kitty opened her eyes and looked around. She glanced over Logan with a nod, standing and going back to the locker room to change back into her clothes. Logan waited for her at the elevator.

"Feelin' better now?" Logan asked as he pushed the button. The elevator started to move up toward the main house.

"Actually, yeah."

"Good. Then the ball's in your court. You're callin' the shots now."

She let out a small giggle, then sighed. "You're something else, you know that?" Kitty hugged the older man, "Everybody's scared of you and your tough exterior. I know the truth!" She paused, mid-hug and just sighed, resting her head against him a moment, "I feel like a broken record, but... thanks."

"No thanks needed, kid. Now get to bed. That's an order." Logan smirked.

"Yes sir!" She exited the elevator and headed down the hall to her room.

***