Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men: Evolution, or any other Marvel or WB
property. The characters of Astrid and Johannes are the intellectual
property of the InterNutter, who is just lovely for letting me use them.
Notes: Wow. I'm back. Okay, for those of you who don't know, I was in a car accident that messed me up pretty bad, but. . .well. . .I'm better now. For those of you who got directly in contact with me, thank you so much (you know who you are). Also, thanks to Nemain for a little Rahne/Jamie one shot. It was appreciated. Love that coupling, you know...
Okay, so any hope that I had at remembering the original ending to this story flew out the window (literally) when my head went THROUGH a window. So I hope that you all like this chapter.
Also, thanks to everyone who has continued to review. I've never had a story that had such a positive reaction as this one. Also, I found the first chapter to my sequel to my personal favorite story, "You're Gonna Be A Star." It's called "Season Premier." It should be posted in a week or so.
Thanks again everyone.
WARNING! The ending may be a little melodramatic. And by melodramatic, I mean a little "Melrose Place"-ish. A bitch turns into a psychopath. Oh well. Sorry. Don't remember the original ending.
Um, I'm trying to get back into the rhythm of this, so forgive me if I make any mistakes. I hope you enjoy.
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Kurt brushed the dust off of his shirt, looking the result of his labor. The entire rig was now packed tightly into the back of the truck that his father was crawling into in order to drive it away. Kurt was happy again. For a short time, the work in the circus really had taken his mind off of everything that was happening at the Institute and he almost found himself wishing that his vacation wasn't so short. Then again, he realized how important it was for him to be with the X-Men, and he found himself missing his friends.
Johannes started the truck and began to drive it off to the area where the cargo vans and larger trucks were parked. Most everyone else had his or her equipment packed. Looking over his shoulder at the camp, Kurt noticed that the fires were being built, and the darkness of night was settling in. He also realized that he hadn't seen his new girlfriend all day long. He had even taken his lunch out in the field. He turned and began to walk toward the camp, the sound of children playing as the sun went down ringing in his ears.
As he approached, Tabby walked out to greet him.
"What's up, Kurt?" Tabby asked.
"Nozzing. I hear you haff a date tomorrow." Kurt said.
"Huh? Oh yeah, Gunther. Dinner. I forgot." Tabby said.
"He must haff made quite ze impression." Kurt teased.
"Oh yeah." Tabby said. "Second only to you."
Kurt blushed a bit, remembering that until a week ago, this girl had also had quite the crush on him.
"So vill you be joining us for dinner tonight?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah, actually." Tabby said. "Listen, Kurt. . ."
"Yes, Tabby?" Kurt asked.
"Be careful with Kitty." Tabby said.
Kurt stopped walking, staring at the back of Tabby's head retreating until she realized that he had stopped walking, turning around, and walked back toward him.
"Vhat do you mean?" Kurt asked.
"Just that. Be careful with her. She's. . .sensitive." Tabby said.
"So am I, Tabby." Kurt said. "I'm sensitive to ze point of being a borderline girl."
Tabby laughed.
"I'm sensitive." Kurt said with mock indignation. "But vhy do you say zat?"
"You're both the same, do you know that? You two do make the perfect couple." Tabby said. "I just meant that she was nervous about starting the relationship. I'm sure she's nervous because of what everyone saw or heard about last night."
Kurt blushed under his fur again.
"You mean ze vagon?" Kurt asked. "Zat vas. . .zat vas nozzing. Ve vere just. . .tickling each ozzer."
Tabby's head dropped slightly, her eyes staying on Kurt, her look sarcastic.
"Kurt. . .I'm sure you WERE tickling each other." Tabby said. "Just not in that friendly 'hey we like to play' type of way."
"Tabby, please." Kurt moaned.
"Whatever. Anyway, forgetting my jealousy of Kitty for your apparent sexual prowess. . ." Tabby began.
Kurt nearly groaned.
". . .you two are good now, right?" Tabby finished.
"Jah. I guess ve're good." Kurt said.
"Okay." Tabby said after a moment.
"Are you okay viz zat?" Kurt asked.
"No. But I will be." Tabby said, smiling at him. "After all, I have a date with Gunther tomorrow night.."
Kurt smiled and nodded.
"So I heard. So I heard." Kurt said.
"Where are you going now?" Tabby asked.
"I'm going back to my wagon." Kurt answered. "I vant to get some clothes and get cleaned up. I hate haffing all of zis fur sometimes. Mostly vhen I'm sveating."
Tabby and Kurt walked for a couple of moments in companionable silence until Tabby broke it.
"Kurt, I don't want you to think that I don't support you and Kitty." Tabby said.
Kurt's face kept blank, even though he suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable. Here he was with someone whom until a few weeks ago he still had a slight amount of feelings for. He knew now that he had simply been denying the depth of his feelings for Kitty at that point, convinced that she could never return the type of love that he had for her. Now that he realized that she could, he found himself embarrassed to be having this conversation with Tabby.
"I know." Kurt said quietly.
"No, Kurt. Seriously. I want you to know that I don't harbor any ill feelings. For either of you." Tabby said.
"I didn't zink zat you vould." Kurt said.
"I just. . .I just want to make certain that we're all friends. I don't want to lose your, or Kitty's, friendship. It's important to me." Tabby said.
Kurt stopped walking and turned to Tabby, embracing her.
"You von't lose our friendship, Tabby. Your friendship is just as important to me as mine is to you." He said.
Tabby smiled, breaking the embrace.
"Cool." She said simply. "So, you told Franka?"
Kurt sighed heavily and wiped his brow.
"Jah. I guess zat I did. She just needs to let go." Kurt said.
"Yeah, I guess that's the healthy thing to do." Tabby said, lost in thought. "She will, Kurt. I'm sure of it."
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Kitty had cleaned up the mess outside of the RV with Astrid's help and had taken her things back to the wagon while Kurt was still packing equipment. She found the wagon's door open, the hinges squeaking as the door opened and closed with the breeze. Inside the wagon was just as much as a mess, and she began to clean up the rest of the wagon. The sheets had been torn off of the bed and were thrown crumpled in the corner. She got those up and back on the bed, and when everything else was clean, she laid down to rest.
She got back up after only a couple of moments, eager to get out of the wagon for some reason. She felt the need to be alone, so she got up and left the wagon to take a walk. She walked out of the camp and into the surrounding fields. They seemed to go on forever and ever without even the hint of a house. She thought it was amazing how crowded the circus could be considering that they seemed to set up in the most remote locations imaginable.
She walked and walked, lost in thought about Kurt and Franka. She didn't feel the jealousy any longer, but she hated the fact that she had just started this relationship, and it already this major problem. And then she began to think about what would happen when they returned to the Institute. Would the Professor be upset about they blossoming relationship? What type of rules and regulations would have to be made up for them?
"Jean and Scott have a relationship, and no one seems to bother them about it." Kitty said aloud, to herself. "Then again, Jean and Scott have both graduated, and they're older than Kurt and I."
She began to think about their mutations, and how rumors would grow about how easy it would be for them to sneak into each other's room. This thought affected her in two ways. It worried her, because she didn't want people heckling her and Kurt. At the same time, it excited her because it meant that they COULD sneak into each other's rooms.
Smiling, she looked back over the field and wondered how far she had walked, and how long Kurt would be loading equipment.
Turning back around, Kitty sat down on the ground and looked off toward the horizon. There were so many things that she was worried about. She didn't really care what others thought about her and Kurt being together. She loved him too much to worry about that. But she was worried about all of the little things that would come up in a relationship with Kurt. He would always have to be careful in public because of his natural appearance.
Kitty knew that it was way, way, way too early to think about marriage, but her little game of "devil's advocate" continued anyhow.
"What if we were to get married?" Kitty wondered. "What faith would we be married under? Will he try to convert me now that we're together? Will I try to convert him? No, that's stupid. What if we had children? What faith would they be schooled in?"
Shaking these thoughts out of her head, she could feel a headache coming on.
"Get a grip on it, Pryde." She thought. "Don't make yourself sick over this. You two just started this relationship."
Other dissenting thoughts followed her last, and more followed those. Kitty laid down on the soft grass of the hill on which she was sitting and promptly fell asleep, her doubts about the relationship causing her to have bad dreams.
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While Kitty was asleep on the hill, Kurt was just reaching the wagon that they shared. Opening the door, he grinned when he saw how clean it was.
"My little Katzchen, alvays so ordered." Kurt said aloud, not knowing the reason for the clean wagon.
Kurt grabbed a handful of clean clothing and walked the portable shower set up in the center of camp. Reaching it, he found that it was no longer working because workers had begun to pack it.
"{Great.}" He said.
Turning around, he saw his father walking back toward the RV.
"{Dad! Dad!}" Kurt called out, causing Johannes to stop. "{Do you have your car keys on you}"
Johannes searched his pockets until the keys turned up in one of them, and then he looked back up at his son.
"{Yes. Why?}" Johannes asked.
"{Because the camp's shower is broken down. I need to bathe.}" Kurt said.
"{Are you going down by the lake?}" Johannes asked.
The gypsies always camped close to a body of water for a multitude of reasons. Johannes knew that there was a small lake close by which was pretty secluded in which Kurt could bathe.
"{Yes. I just want to get clean. I don't want to see Kitty smelling like this.}" Kurt said. "{Please? May I please use the car? I'd 'port but I haven't eaten much today and I'm tired. Please?}"
Johannes laughed and held out the keys.
"{Just be careful.}" He said.
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Kurt closed his eyes and floated on his back, lazily moving backward in a backstroke. Righting himself, he treaded water for a moment before moving back toward the shore. He had taken a small swim just to cool off. Now he wanted to grab his soap and actually bathe. The sun was quickly moving away, and the sky was darkening. He saw the headlights pull next to his car through the darkness and his half-closed eyes. He quickly swam to the shore to grab a towel, but he saw it was simply Gunther.
"{Hello, Kurt.}" Gunther said.
"{Gunther.}" Kurt said in reply.
"{I thought that I'd come down here to talk to you. Do you mind staying in the water?}" Gunther asked, sitting close to the water.
"{What's wrong? Scared of feeling inadequate?}" Kurt teased.
"{Yeah. That's it.}" Gunther said. "{Listen, did you hear about what happened to Kitty yet?}"
Kurt's head snapped around in Gunther's direction, his calm and relaxed demeanor gone.
"{What? What's wrong with her?}" Kurt asked.
"{Nothing. Well, nothing really. So calm down.}" Gunther said. "{Someone was just really mean to her today.}"
"{What happened?}" Kurt asked.
"{Well, apparently she was eating breakfast with your mother and there was a knock on the door. When they opened the door, they found her belongings scattered all around the outside of the RV. Some. . .some foul words were written on some of her undergarments.}" Gunther said.
Kurt shook his head, his anger rising.
"{Someone? I think we both. . .no. . .we all know who it was.}" Kurt said.
Gunther shook his head too, but he simply seemed sad.
"{Do you really think that she'd do something like that?}" Gunther asked.
"{Franka? I wouldn't put anything past her anymore.}" Kurt said.
"{It's so sad. She used to be such a great person. I don't know what happened to her.}" Gunther said.
"{Who knows? Who cares?}" Kurt said sullenly.
"{You should, Kurt. She's going to keep harassing you and Kitty.}"
Kurt closed his eyes and thought for a moment, the pleasant feeling of being surrounded by water calming him down.
"{No, she won't. I'm done.}" Kurt said.
"{Done what?}" Gunther asked.
"{I'm going home tomorrow.}" Kurt said. "{ Now turn your head.}"
"{What? Why?}" Gunther asked.
"{Because I'm getting out of the water, and I don't want to shame you.}" Kurt said, standing up.
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Kitty woke up on the hilltop, wondering where she was for a minute. She couldn't remember, and began to panic before she remembered that she had fallen asleep there after a long walk. Sighing, she stood up and stretched, her stiff arms and legs popping. Yawning, she turned around, trying to remember from which direction she came. After regaining her bearings, she began to walk back toward the camp, feeling somewhat more rested, and a lot calmer.
She eventually ran into Tabby at the edge of the camp. Tabby waved her over, and then sat her down.
"Kurt wants to talk to us. He said he'd be here in a minute." Tabby said.
At that moment, Kurt walked up, smiling at Tabby and Kitty. When Kitty saw his small smile, she brushed all the thoughts and doubts that she had been mulling over out of her head. Somehow, she knew everything would be okay.
"Okay, girls, I guess zat all I really haff to say is. . .zat,um, ve should all pack, because ve're leaving tomorrow."
"What do you mean, leave?" Tabby asked, shocked. "I thought you had looked forward to this vacation for months!"
"Vell, I did. But zings haff changed, and I'm not exactly haffing fun anymore, and I'd really like to go home." Kurt said.
"Fuzzy, are you sure about this?" Kitty asked.
He had sat them down at the edge of the camp and told them that he was ready to go home. He didn't feel comfortable in the circus any longer, and truth be told, was looking forward to sleeping in his bed again.
"Jah, I'm sure. I guess zat sometimes you really can't go home again." Kurt said, somewhat sadly.
Tabby stood up and sighed heavily.
"Okay, well, I'm going to go pack my things. Maybe spend some time with Gunther." Tabby said.
"I'm sorry, Tabby." Kurt said.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Tabby said. "I understand. Besides, it'll be nice to go home and be around people who sound like they're talking English when they actually speak it."
Kurt smiled weakly at Tabby as she walked away, leaving him and Kitty alone. Kitty watched Kurt in silence for a moment before moving closer to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled slightly when she felt his tail wrap around her waist.
"I'm so sorry. I really feel like this is all my fault." She said.
"It's not your fault, Katz. It's nobody's fault really and truly. I just vant. . .I vant to go back home and be able to begin our relationship vizout all of zis."
Kitty's smile widened and she gently kissed him on the cheek.
"Sounds good. But are you sure that you wouldn't rather just have Tabby and me leave instead. You could finish up the summer with. . ." She trailed off.
"Viz Franka? No zank you. You haffn't ruined my summer, Kitty. She did." Kurt said, standing up and offering Kitty his hand. "Besides, ze vay zat I look at it, I'm going home viz ze best souvenir imaginable."
Kitty giggled as Kurt helped her up.
"You sure are smooth with the ladies, Wagner." Kitty said before wrapping her arms around Kurt's neck and pulling him close, feeling the flutter of butterfly wings in her stomach as he parted her lips and their tongues met.
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"{You're leaving?}" Astrid asked.
"{Yes, Mama. I don't think that this is a healthy place for me emotionally, and for Kitty physically.}" Kurt said.
Astrid sighed as Johannes set down the paper he was reading.
"{Well, Kurt, I won't lie and say that I don't understand your reasoning. But I will say that I'm disappointed.}" Johannes said.
"{Father, I'm sorry but. . .}" Kurt began.
"{No, no, no. You don't have to explain yourself anymore. I'm just disappointed that you won't be with us for the rest of the summer.}" Johannes said. "{It was great having you home again.}"
"{It was great to be home again. Well, most of the time.}" Kurt said, sighing and sitting down next to his father.
"{How did Kitty react to the news?}" Astrid asked. "{You have told her, right?}"
"{Of course. She feels bad, as if it's her fault.}" Kurt said.
"{Did you let her know that it wasn't?}" Astrid asked.
"{Yes. I just hope she believes it.}" Kurt said.
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"This is all my fault." Kitty said as she shoved her clothing into her bag.
Tabby was sitting on the floor of the wagon, watching Kitty pack. Kitty was having such a problem packing that Tabby found herself grateful for packing as light as she did. It seemed as if Kitty had managed to pack three quarters of her room into her bags.
"It's not your fault. Kurt even said it wasn't." Tabby said, sighing and stretching her arms above her head.
"Well, of course he did. He's my boyfriend now. He has to say those kind of things." Kitty said.
Tabby rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Well, I'm certain that word's gotten around that we're leaving tomorrow. I'm going to go say "bye" to everyone." Tabby said.
Kitty smiled at Tabby as she exited and then she sat down on the bed. She didn't know how to feel. She was happy because she realized that all her doubts and fears and the relationship were unfounded. She felt sad because Kurt felt as if he had to leave to get a moment of peace. And then there was anger, anger at Franka, and everything that she had done. Kitty shook her head of these thoughts as she laid down on the bed and began to drift off toward sleep.
Outside of the wagon, Franka sat there, her hatred for Kitty simmering. The campfires around camp were reflected in her eyes, making them glow. She simply stood there, grinding her teeth and thinking about the girl inside of the wagon. In Franka's view, Kitty had stolen everything from her that was rightfully hers. Kurt was hers. Kurt and Kitty's relationship was supposed to be Kurt and Franka's relationship. Kurt was supposed to be fawning over her, not Kitty. Kurt's heart was hers, and no one could convince Franka otherwise.
The kicked at the nearest fire, walking away from the wagon, not noticing the gear outside of the wagon beginning to burn in the fire she kicked. The fire moved laterally, burning tall grass and rope as it began to stretch, sending a thin plume of smoke into the air. Any hope of the fire being noticed because of the smoke was negated by the fact that other, larger plumes of smoke were arising from the larger campfires. And so it continued to burn, finally catching hold of one of the wheels of Kurt and Kitty's wagon.
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Kurt stood up and yawned. Astrid had long since retired to her bed, and Kurt had been sitting up with his father, discussing the merits of his education in America. He was about to leave and go to bed in his own wagon when there was a sudden knock on the door. It came frantically, and as Kurt's senses woke up, he could hear yelling begin outside.
Johannes quickly walked to the door with Kurt close behind him. They opened the door to see Gunther outside, a look of fear in his eyes.
"{Mr. Wagner! Kurt! There's a fire on the west side of camp! Wagons are burning!}" Gunther said frantically.
"{The fire is where?}" Kurt asked, now completely awake.
"{Your wagon! Your wagon is on fire!}" Gunther yelled back over his shoulder as he was already running that way.
"Kitty." Kurt said softly.
Johannes turned toward his son only to watch him disappear in a cloud of foul smelling smoke.
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Kitty woke up because she couldn't breath. Her eyes opened and immediately began to burn. Trying her best to rub the stinging pain out of them, she shook her head and stood up. She screamed and fell back down when her head hit the roof of the wagon, which was burning. The flame from the ceiling lit up her shoulder, where it began to burn her shirt. Shrieking, Kitty fell off of the bed and began to beat at the flame. It hurt her hand, and shoulder, but she extinguished it quickly.
Looking around, she realized that she was in trouble. The entire wagon seemed to be burning. Suddenly, the roof of the wagon fell in where Kurt's bed was, and embers flew toward her. Doing her best to hold her breath and not scream, Kitty tried to phase. However, due to her lack of concentration, she didn't, and the embers hit her and covered her body. Her shirt began to burn once again.
"Good one, kid." She thought as she beat at her shirt. "Great, how do I get out of this? I can't concentrate. Have to try. Have to try. Have to try. . ."
Kitty continued to try to concentrate so that she could phase through the bottom of the wagon, but it just wasn't working. She even closed her eyes at one point, only to open them again to see the flames coming closer to her. Just then her bed lit up with fire and she crawled backward, only to be stopped by the burning remains of Kurt's bed.
"Shit." She thought.
Then a falling beam hit her, and she knew no more.
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Okay, everyone, that's it for right now. It took a lot for me to try to get back into the swing of things (writing, that is). Hopefully this will serve as an okay return. I believe that the next chapter will be the closing to this story. I'm not certain when I'll be able to get it up, but it should be within a week. Thank you once again for your support. It's appreciated.
Later.
Notes: Wow. I'm back. Okay, for those of you who don't know, I was in a car accident that messed me up pretty bad, but. . .well. . .I'm better now. For those of you who got directly in contact with me, thank you so much (you know who you are). Also, thanks to Nemain for a little Rahne/Jamie one shot. It was appreciated. Love that coupling, you know...
Okay, so any hope that I had at remembering the original ending to this story flew out the window (literally) when my head went THROUGH a window. So I hope that you all like this chapter.
Also, thanks to everyone who has continued to review. I've never had a story that had such a positive reaction as this one. Also, I found the first chapter to my sequel to my personal favorite story, "You're Gonna Be A Star." It's called "Season Premier." It should be posted in a week or so.
Thanks again everyone.
WARNING! The ending may be a little melodramatic. And by melodramatic, I mean a little "Melrose Place"-ish. A bitch turns into a psychopath. Oh well. Sorry. Don't remember the original ending.
Um, I'm trying to get back into the rhythm of this, so forgive me if I make any mistakes. I hope you enjoy.
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Kurt brushed the dust off of his shirt, looking the result of his labor. The entire rig was now packed tightly into the back of the truck that his father was crawling into in order to drive it away. Kurt was happy again. For a short time, the work in the circus really had taken his mind off of everything that was happening at the Institute and he almost found himself wishing that his vacation wasn't so short. Then again, he realized how important it was for him to be with the X-Men, and he found himself missing his friends.
Johannes started the truck and began to drive it off to the area where the cargo vans and larger trucks were parked. Most everyone else had his or her equipment packed. Looking over his shoulder at the camp, Kurt noticed that the fires were being built, and the darkness of night was settling in. He also realized that he hadn't seen his new girlfriend all day long. He had even taken his lunch out in the field. He turned and began to walk toward the camp, the sound of children playing as the sun went down ringing in his ears.
As he approached, Tabby walked out to greet him.
"What's up, Kurt?" Tabby asked.
"Nozzing. I hear you haff a date tomorrow." Kurt said.
"Huh? Oh yeah, Gunther. Dinner. I forgot." Tabby said.
"He must haff made quite ze impression." Kurt teased.
"Oh yeah." Tabby said. "Second only to you."
Kurt blushed a bit, remembering that until a week ago, this girl had also had quite the crush on him.
"So vill you be joining us for dinner tonight?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah, actually." Tabby said. "Listen, Kurt. . ."
"Yes, Tabby?" Kurt asked.
"Be careful with Kitty." Tabby said.
Kurt stopped walking, staring at the back of Tabby's head retreating until she realized that he had stopped walking, turning around, and walked back toward him.
"Vhat do you mean?" Kurt asked.
"Just that. Be careful with her. She's. . .sensitive." Tabby said.
"So am I, Tabby." Kurt said. "I'm sensitive to ze point of being a borderline girl."
Tabby laughed.
"I'm sensitive." Kurt said with mock indignation. "But vhy do you say zat?"
"You're both the same, do you know that? You two do make the perfect couple." Tabby said. "I just meant that she was nervous about starting the relationship. I'm sure she's nervous because of what everyone saw or heard about last night."
Kurt blushed under his fur again.
"You mean ze vagon?" Kurt asked. "Zat vas. . .zat vas nozzing. Ve vere just. . .tickling each ozzer."
Tabby's head dropped slightly, her eyes staying on Kurt, her look sarcastic.
"Kurt. . .I'm sure you WERE tickling each other." Tabby said. "Just not in that friendly 'hey we like to play' type of way."
"Tabby, please." Kurt moaned.
"Whatever. Anyway, forgetting my jealousy of Kitty for your apparent sexual prowess. . ." Tabby began.
Kurt nearly groaned.
". . .you two are good now, right?" Tabby finished.
"Jah. I guess ve're good." Kurt said.
"Okay." Tabby said after a moment.
"Are you okay viz zat?" Kurt asked.
"No. But I will be." Tabby said, smiling at him. "After all, I have a date with Gunther tomorrow night.."
Kurt smiled and nodded.
"So I heard. So I heard." Kurt said.
"Where are you going now?" Tabby asked.
"I'm going back to my wagon." Kurt answered. "I vant to get some clothes and get cleaned up. I hate haffing all of zis fur sometimes. Mostly vhen I'm sveating."
Tabby and Kurt walked for a couple of moments in companionable silence until Tabby broke it.
"Kurt, I don't want you to think that I don't support you and Kitty." Tabby said.
Kurt's face kept blank, even though he suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable. Here he was with someone whom until a few weeks ago he still had a slight amount of feelings for. He knew now that he had simply been denying the depth of his feelings for Kitty at that point, convinced that she could never return the type of love that he had for her. Now that he realized that she could, he found himself embarrassed to be having this conversation with Tabby.
"I know." Kurt said quietly.
"No, Kurt. Seriously. I want you to know that I don't harbor any ill feelings. For either of you." Tabby said.
"I didn't zink zat you vould." Kurt said.
"I just. . .I just want to make certain that we're all friends. I don't want to lose your, or Kitty's, friendship. It's important to me." Tabby said.
Kurt stopped walking and turned to Tabby, embracing her.
"You von't lose our friendship, Tabby. Your friendship is just as important to me as mine is to you." He said.
Tabby smiled, breaking the embrace.
"Cool." She said simply. "So, you told Franka?"
Kurt sighed heavily and wiped his brow.
"Jah. I guess zat I did. She just needs to let go." Kurt said.
"Yeah, I guess that's the healthy thing to do." Tabby said, lost in thought. "She will, Kurt. I'm sure of it."
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Kitty had cleaned up the mess outside of the RV with Astrid's help and had taken her things back to the wagon while Kurt was still packing equipment. She found the wagon's door open, the hinges squeaking as the door opened and closed with the breeze. Inside the wagon was just as much as a mess, and she began to clean up the rest of the wagon. The sheets had been torn off of the bed and were thrown crumpled in the corner. She got those up and back on the bed, and when everything else was clean, she laid down to rest.
She got back up after only a couple of moments, eager to get out of the wagon for some reason. She felt the need to be alone, so she got up and left the wagon to take a walk. She walked out of the camp and into the surrounding fields. They seemed to go on forever and ever without even the hint of a house. She thought it was amazing how crowded the circus could be considering that they seemed to set up in the most remote locations imaginable.
She walked and walked, lost in thought about Kurt and Franka. She didn't feel the jealousy any longer, but she hated the fact that she had just started this relationship, and it already this major problem. And then she began to think about what would happen when they returned to the Institute. Would the Professor be upset about they blossoming relationship? What type of rules and regulations would have to be made up for them?
"Jean and Scott have a relationship, and no one seems to bother them about it." Kitty said aloud, to herself. "Then again, Jean and Scott have both graduated, and they're older than Kurt and I."
She began to think about their mutations, and how rumors would grow about how easy it would be for them to sneak into each other's room. This thought affected her in two ways. It worried her, because she didn't want people heckling her and Kurt. At the same time, it excited her because it meant that they COULD sneak into each other's rooms.
Smiling, she looked back over the field and wondered how far she had walked, and how long Kurt would be loading equipment.
Turning back around, Kitty sat down on the ground and looked off toward the horizon. There were so many things that she was worried about. She didn't really care what others thought about her and Kurt being together. She loved him too much to worry about that. But she was worried about all of the little things that would come up in a relationship with Kurt. He would always have to be careful in public because of his natural appearance.
Kitty knew that it was way, way, way too early to think about marriage, but her little game of "devil's advocate" continued anyhow.
"What if we were to get married?" Kitty wondered. "What faith would we be married under? Will he try to convert me now that we're together? Will I try to convert him? No, that's stupid. What if we had children? What faith would they be schooled in?"
Shaking these thoughts out of her head, she could feel a headache coming on.
"Get a grip on it, Pryde." She thought. "Don't make yourself sick over this. You two just started this relationship."
Other dissenting thoughts followed her last, and more followed those. Kitty laid down on the soft grass of the hill on which she was sitting and promptly fell asleep, her doubts about the relationship causing her to have bad dreams.
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While Kitty was asleep on the hill, Kurt was just reaching the wagon that they shared. Opening the door, he grinned when he saw how clean it was.
"My little Katzchen, alvays so ordered." Kurt said aloud, not knowing the reason for the clean wagon.
Kurt grabbed a handful of clean clothing and walked the portable shower set up in the center of camp. Reaching it, he found that it was no longer working because workers had begun to pack it.
"{Great.}" He said.
Turning around, he saw his father walking back toward the RV.
"{Dad! Dad!}" Kurt called out, causing Johannes to stop. "{Do you have your car keys on you}"
Johannes searched his pockets until the keys turned up in one of them, and then he looked back up at his son.
"{Yes. Why?}" Johannes asked.
"{Because the camp's shower is broken down. I need to bathe.}" Kurt said.
"{Are you going down by the lake?}" Johannes asked.
The gypsies always camped close to a body of water for a multitude of reasons. Johannes knew that there was a small lake close by which was pretty secluded in which Kurt could bathe.
"{Yes. I just want to get clean. I don't want to see Kitty smelling like this.}" Kurt said. "{Please? May I please use the car? I'd 'port but I haven't eaten much today and I'm tired. Please?}"
Johannes laughed and held out the keys.
"{Just be careful.}" He said.
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Kurt closed his eyes and floated on his back, lazily moving backward in a backstroke. Righting himself, he treaded water for a moment before moving back toward the shore. He had taken a small swim just to cool off. Now he wanted to grab his soap and actually bathe. The sun was quickly moving away, and the sky was darkening. He saw the headlights pull next to his car through the darkness and his half-closed eyes. He quickly swam to the shore to grab a towel, but he saw it was simply Gunther.
"{Hello, Kurt.}" Gunther said.
"{Gunther.}" Kurt said in reply.
"{I thought that I'd come down here to talk to you. Do you mind staying in the water?}" Gunther asked, sitting close to the water.
"{What's wrong? Scared of feeling inadequate?}" Kurt teased.
"{Yeah. That's it.}" Gunther said. "{Listen, did you hear about what happened to Kitty yet?}"
Kurt's head snapped around in Gunther's direction, his calm and relaxed demeanor gone.
"{What? What's wrong with her?}" Kurt asked.
"{Nothing. Well, nothing really. So calm down.}" Gunther said. "{Someone was just really mean to her today.}"
"{What happened?}" Kurt asked.
"{Well, apparently she was eating breakfast with your mother and there was a knock on the door. When they opened the door, they found her belongings scattered all around the outside of the RV. Some. . .some foul words were written on some of her undergarments.}" Gunther said.
Kurt shook his head, his anger rising.
"{Someone? I think we both. . .no. . .we all know who it was.}" Kurt said.
Gunther shook his head too, but he simply seemed sad.
"{Do you really think that she'd do something like that?}" Gunther asked.
"{Franka? I wouldn't put anything past her anymore.}" Kurt said.
"{It's so sad. She used to be such a great person. I don't know what happened to her.}" Gunther said.
"{Who knows? Who cares?}" Kurt said sullenly.
"{You should, Kurt. She's going to keep harassing you and Kitty.}"
Kurt closed his eyes and thought for a moment, the pleasant feeling of being surrounded by water calming him down.
"{No, she won't. I'm done.}" Kurt said.
"{Done what?}" Gunther asked.
"{I'm going home tomorrow.}" Kurt said. "{ Now turn your head.}"
"{What? Why?}" Gunther asked.
"{Because I'm getting out of the water, and I don't want to shame you.}" Kurt said, standing up.
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Kitty woke up on the hilltop, wondering where she was for a minute. She couldn't remember, and began to panic before she remembered that she had fallen asleep there after a long walk. Sighing, she stood up and stretched, her stiff arms and legs popping. Yawning, she turned around, trying to remember from which direction she came. After regaining her bearings, she began to walk back toward the camp, feeling somewhat more rested, and a lot calmer.
She eventually ran into Tabby at the edge of the camp. Tabby waved her over, and then sat her down.
"Kurt wants to talk to us. He said he'd be here in a minute." Tabby said.
At that moment, Kurt walked up, smiling at Tabby and Kitty. When Kitty saw his small smile, she brushed all the thoughts and doubts that she had been mulling over out of her head. Somehow, she knew everything would be okay.
"Okay, girls, I guess zat all I really haff to say is. . .zat,um, ve should all pack, because ve're leaving tomorrow."
"What do you mean, leave?" Tabby asked, shocked. "I thought you had looked forward to this vacation for months!"
"Vell, I did. But zings haff changed, and I'm not exactly haffing fun anymore, and I'd really like to go home." Kurt said.
"Fuzzy, are you sure about this?" Kitty asked.
He had sat them down at the edge of the camp and told them that he was ready to go home. He didn't feel comfortable in the circus any longer, and truth be told, was looking forward to sleeping in his bed again.
"Jah, I'm sure. I guess zat sometimes you really can't go home again." Kurt said, somewhat sadly.
Tabby stood up and sighed heavily.
"Okay, well, I'm going to go pack my things. Maybe spend some time with Gunther." Tabby said.
"I'm sorry, Tabby." Kurt said.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Tabby said. "I understand. Besides, it'll be nice to go home and be around people who sound like they're talking English when they actually speak it."
Kurt smiled weakly at Tabby as she walked away, leaving him and Kitty alone. Kitty watched Kurt in silence for a moment before moving closer to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled slightly when she felt his tail wrap around her waist.
"I'm so sorry. I really feel like this is all my fault." She said.
"It's not your fault, Katz. It's nobody's fault really and truly. I just vant. . .I vant to go back home and be able to begin our relationship vizout all of zis."
Kitty's smile widened and she gently kissed him on the cheek.
"Sounds good. But are you sure that you wouldn't rather just have Tabby and me leave instead. You could finish up the summer with. . ." She trailed off.
"Viz Franka? No zank you. You haffn't ruined my summer, Kitty. She did." Kurt said, standing up and offering Kitty his hand. "Besides, ze vay zat I look at it, I'm going home viz ze best souvenir imaginable."
Kitty giggled as Kurt helped her up.
"You sure are smooth with the ladies, Wagner." Kitty said before wrapping her arms around Kurt's neck and pulling him close, feeling the flutter of butterfly wings in her stomach as he parted her lips and their tongues met.
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"{You're leaving?}" Astrid asked.
"{Yes, Mama. I don't think that this is a healthy place for me emotionally, and for Kitty physically.}" Kurt said.
Astrid sighed as Johannes set down the paper he was reading.
"{Well, Kurt, I won't lie and say that I don't understand your reasoning. But I will say that I'm disappointed.}" Johannes said.
"{Father, I'm sorry but. . .}" Kurt began.
"{No, no, no. You don't have to explain yourself anymore. I'm just disappointed that you won't be with us for the rest of the summer.}" Johannes said. "{It was great having you home again.}"
"{It was great to be home again. Well, most of the time.}" Kurt said, sighing and sitting down next to his father.
"{How did Kitty react to the news?}" Astrid asked. "{You have told her, right?}"
"{Of course. She feels bad, as if it's her fault.}" Kurt said.
"{Did you let her know that it wasn't?}" Astrid asked.
"{Yes. I just hope she believes it.}" Kurt said.
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"This is all my fault." Kitty said as she shoved her clothing into her bag.
Tabby was sitting on the floor of the wagon, watching Kitty pack. Kitty was having such a problem packing that Tabby found herself grateful for packing as light as she did. It seemed as if Kitty had managed to pack three quarters of her room into her bags.
"It's not your fault. Kurt even said it wasn't." Tabby said, sighing and stretching her arms above her head.
"Well, of course he did. He's my boyfriend now. He has to say those kind of things." Kitty said.
Tabby rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Well, I'm certain that word's gotten around that we're leaving tomorrow. I'm going to go say "bye" to everyone." Tabby said.
Kitty smiled at Tabby as she exited and then she sat down on the bed. She didn't know how to feel. She was happy because she realized that all her doubts and fears and the relationship were unfounded. She felt sad because Kurt felt as if he had to leave to get a moment of peace. And then there was anger, anger at Franka, and everything that she had done. Kitty shook her head of these thoughts as she laid down on the bed and began to drift off toward sleep.
Outside of the wagon, Franka sat there, her hatred for Kitty simmering. The campfires around camp were reflected in her eyes, making them glow. She simply stood there, grinding her teeth and thinking about the girl inside of the wagon. In Franka's view, Kitty had stolen everything from her that was rightfully hers. Kurt was hers. Kurt and Kitty's relationship was supposed to be Kurt and Franka's relationship. Kurt was supposed to be fawning over her, not Kitty. Kurt's heart was hers, and no one could convince Franka otherwise.
The kicked at the nearest fire, walking away from the wagon, not noticing the gear outside of the wagon beginning to burn in the fire she kicked. The fire moved laterally, burning tall grass and rope as it began to stretch, sending a thin plume of smoke into the air. Any hope of the fire being noticed because of the smoke was negated by the fact that other, larger plumes of smoke were arising from the larger campfires. And so it continued to burn, finally catching hold of one of the wheels of Kurt and Kitty's wagon.
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Kurt stood up and yawned. Astrid had long since retired to her bed, and Kurt had been sitting up with his father, discussing the merits of his education in America. He was about to leave and go to bed in his own wagon when there was a sudden knock on the door. It came frantically, and as Kurt's senses woke up, he could hear yelling begin outside.
Johannes quickly walked to the door with Kurt close behind him. They opened the door to see Gunther outside, a look of fear in his eyes.
"{Mr. Wagner! Kurt! There's a fire on the west side of camp! Wagons are burning!}" Gunther said frantically.
"{The fire is where?}" Kurt asked, now completely awake.
"{Your wagon! Your wagon is on fire!}" Gunther yelled back over his shoulder as he was already running that way.
"Kitty." Kurt said softly.
Johannes turned toward his son only to watch him disappear in a cloud of foul smelling smoke.
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Kitty woke up because she couldn't breath. Her eyes opened and immediately began to burn. Trying her best to rub the stinging pain out of them, she shook her head and stood up. She screamed and fell back down when her head hit the roof of the wagon, which was burning. The flame from the ceiling lit up her shoulder, where it began to burn her shirt. Shrieking, Kitty fell off of the bed and began to beat at the flame. It hurt her hand, and shoulder, but she extinguished it quickly.
Looking around, she realized that she was in trouble. The entire wagon seemed to be burning. Suddenly, the roof of the wagon fell in where Kurt's bed was, and embers flew toward her. Doing her best to hold her breath and not scream, Kitty tried to phase. However, due to her lack of concentration, she didn't, and the embers hit her and covered her body. Her shirt began to burn once again.
"Good one, kid." She thought as she beat at her shirt. "Great, how do I get out of this? I can't concentrate. Have to try. Have to try. Have to try. . ."
Kitty continued to try to concentrate so that she could phase through the bottom of the wagon, but it just wasn't working. She even closed her eyes at one point, only to open them again to see the flames coming closer to her. Just then her bed lit up with fire and she crawled backward, only to be stopped by the burning remains of Kurt's bed.
"Shit." She thought.
Then a falling beam hit her, and she knew no more.
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Okay, everyone, that's it for right now. It took a lot for me to try to get back into the swing of things (writing, that is). Hopefully this will serve as an okay return. I believe that the next chapter will be the closing to this story. I'm not certain when I'll be able to get it up, but it should be within a week. Thank you once again for your support. It's appreciated.
Later.