Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men. I really wish I did, but I don't. And I doubt that asking for it for Christmas will help my case.

I headed to the gym after dinner, where Scott and Logan were meeting. Beast was there as well, hanging upside down as he read the paper. Logan raised an eyebrow when he saw me come in.

"Elf, what are you doing here?" he asked.

I shifted uncomfortably. "I came to work out," I replied slowly. Kitty's comment from earlier had been on my mind, and I had resolved that if I wanted to protect Kitty, I needed to get buffer.

Scott's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Kurt, any particular reason why you're doing this?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Not really," I lied. "I just vant to get stronger to help more in any fights we get into.

The guys seemed to accept my answer and helped me get started on the weight bench. They gave me a workout routine that I was to follow if I wanted to get stronger sooner. Personally, I think that they had been planning to kill me by how intense the workout was. By the end of the half hour that I spent working out, I was sore and tired. The first thought that crossed my mind was that I never wanted to be put through that torture session again, but I quickly pushed that aside. I needed to work out. I needed to protect Kitty, and the only way that I could do that was to get stronger. I trudged up the stairs, groaning at the strain that was put on my muscles by a simple movement. Then it hit me: I could port. I felt so stupid, forgetting about my mutant power. What good was having it if I didn't use it? I quickly ported to my room and collapsed on my bed, thanking God that I didn't have to work out anymore tonight and for being a mutant. I probably wouldn't have made it to my room alive if I wasn't.

Suddenly, someone knocked on my door. I groaned. "Who is it?" I called.

"It's me, Kitty. Can I come in?" she called.

I quickly sat up, cringing as my muscles protested to the quick movement. "Ja," I yelled.

Kitty phased through the door, smiling. She walked over and sat on the end of my bed. "I heard that you worked out with Scott and Logan tonight," she said.

I nodded, trying to stay as immobile as possible.

"Why?" Kitty asked curiously. "You aren't the kind of guy that would work out for the fun of it, like Scott and Logan do."

"How do you know that I'm not?" I asked, giving Kitty a challenging look.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Come on, Kurt," she replied, giving me a look that said I was too obvious. "You like to play videogames. You don't enjoy any activity that takes a lot of energy. You're the funny guy. Funny guys don't normally lift weights. At least, not around here."

"Vat about Bobby?" I asked defensively. "He lifts."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "He only did that on a dare by Ray and Sam," she explained. "Now why are you really lifting weights?"

I sighed. "I vant to be more useful in battles. I vant to be able to protect people. Especially…" I trailed off, praying that Kitty wouldn't ask whom I wanted to protect more than others.

Kitty's eyebrows knit together in curiousity. "Who?" she asked.

Apparently, I need to learn how to better predict people, or just learn to shut up when things are good. Before the end of the night, I would end up telling Kitty my biggest secret: how much I liked her. And I didn't exactly want to tell her that yet. I took a deep breath, preparing to tell Kitty the truth. "I…I vant to…to protect…you," I stammered nervously, looking down at my three-fingered hand and fidgeting nervously.

Neither of us spoke. I couldn't look at Kitty; I didn't want to see the possible-disgusted look that she would be wearing. The silence that had appeared became so tense. Still, neither of us spoke. I waited for Kitty's response, and Kitty was speechless, with disgust or surprise, I couldn't tell. Finally, I couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"I…I better leave," I muttered, and was about to port when Kitty suddenly grabbed my arm. I gasped at her fierce grasp, her nails about to scrape my skin.

"Kurt," she said softly in a firm voice. "Don't leave."

I looked up at her. Her eyes were a murky mixture that I couldn't even begin to decipher.

Kitty continued. "I appreciate it, Kurt, but you don't have to be stronger to protect me," she explained quietly.

My eyes widened. "Vat are you talking about?" I demanded. "I can't fight if I'm not strong!"

Kitty sighed. "You don't have to fight. All you have to do is port away," she explained.

"But zat vould be running from ze fight!" I exclaimed. "I don't vant to run!"

Kitty nodded. "I know it's running, but you'll make things better if you don't fight, for both you and me," she replied softly.

"But—"

Kitty shook her head. "No buts," she replied. "Please, Kurt, don't fight, for me," she pleaded.

I sighed and my shoulders heaved. "Fine," I muttered.

Kitty smiled gratefully. "Will you stop lifting weights?" she asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because Bobby, Sam, and Ray were miffed when you missed the videogame tournament."

"VAT?!"

Kitty giggled at my reply to her news. "Yeah, Kurt, it was tonight."

I groaned. I had been looking forward to the tournament all week. "Who vas ze winner?" I asked, somewhat bitterly.

"Bobby."

I groaned. Bobby would leave his mark as the winner tonight. He always did. But unlike other times, I was not exactly looking forward to it. Who knew what Bobby was going to do?

Kitty stood up, smiling slightly. "Well, I'm going to bed. I'll see you later," she said, leaving via phasing through my door.

I smiled and leaned back on my bed, taking a moment to think about everything. Kitty and I were on better terms. She knew a little bit about how much I like her, which was better than being completely clueless. She didn't want me to work out, only to protect her by getting her out of the situation as soon as possible. I felt much better about being able to protect her. I only prayed that if the time came, it would indeed come in handy. If the time came, I could only sit back and hope that when the time came, I could protect Kitty. And I had a feeling that I might be doing that sometime in the future.

Ack, I know, its short, and I'm sorry. Next chapter will be better. Well, I now have plenty of time to write chapters. I hope to get the next one up in the next three days. I'm so happy I get braces off tomorrow! But that's not the point. The point is, there will be another chapter within the next week for sure.

Hey, has anyone ever experienced the pain that Kurt did? I know I did. It sucks. One of the reasons why I'm not doing cross country.

Reviews:

Quill of Molliemon: You have a friend who made a website for you? Sweet. Lance is a stalker and should DIE!

Darkness1: It's a good idea, and fits in well with the idea I have for the rest of the story. Keep a look out for it in the next chapter or two. Hopefully next chapter.

I love you both! You've stuck with my story from the beginning and have faithfully reviewed! You guys are the best! R&R!

-Jojo-