*Chapter 14*
~Meet the Parents~
Zero sat limply in the backseat of Mr. Logan's black SUV. Kitty had gotten her wish, and right now they were on the way to her parents' house. He sat leaning back into his seat with his head lightly resting on the window gazing sightlessly out at the traffic around them. Kitty sat up front with Mr. Logan and chatted away with him about some sport or something. The radio was on but at a low volume so it was more like the background music in a decent sit-down restaurant. Sometimes a song would come on that Kitty liked so she'd turn it up and sing along with it. But beyond that the drive was more or less the same.
So far Zero had spent the entire drive mentally cursing himself. Despite all his efforts, he still could not blank his mind of all thought. He couldn't stare out into space and see nothing. He couldn't close his senses to the outside world and be oblivious to it. When he tried to stare at a wall random thoughts would buzz behind his eyes. When he tried to space out while watching TV, he ended up actually watching what was on. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop thinking, he couldn't space out. It frustrated him to no end. And it was all her fault.
Katharine 'Kitty' Pryde was the root of his problem. Before he encountered her everything had been just fine. He'd been able to get through his miserable existence by sinking into a forgetful numbing haze. But now this teenage American girl sneaks into the picture and slowly but surely destroys his mental refuge. Whether or not this was her intent didn't matter to him, it was still her fault. If only he'd never met the girl things would be much more simple. He'd be able to complete his mission without worry or complication. He wouldn't be distracted by her silly words or foolish actions so he could complete his work in peace. Without her he wouldn't have remembered how to feel.
For years he thought he was no longer capable of true emotion. He'd been able to fake it when necessary but it wasn't the same, it wasn't real. But now he found that he was beginning to feel again. When Kitty didn't appear on time at the club, he worried. When she teased him he felt irritated, frustrated, even angry. During Mr. Logan's mini-interrogation after their curfew violation, he'd felt a faint spark of fear at the memories that rose up in the back of his mind. When Kitty touched or was too close to him, he got nervous, maybe even a little embarrassed. When he watched TV sometimes he discovered he was bored. There were probably a thousand other things he'd felt since he'd come to America, but he couldn't remember what half of them were. After being numb for so long his memories of different feelings had drifted beyond his reach.
"Are you still alive back there?" Kitty asked him, making him start in surprise.
"Of course I am." He muttered.
"Well are you going to get out and walk around or what?" She asked. Zero slowly looked around; they had stopped in a gas station.
"Nein." He mumbled, he didn't feel like moving.
"Okay." Kitty replied before walking off to the gas station store. Zero noticed Mr. Logan off to the side of the SUV refilling the gas tank. He idlely watched the cars zip by as he waited for Kitty to get back. He really hoped they left soon, the nasty reek of gasoline was starting to give him a headache. When Kitty returned, Mr. Logan paid for the gas and they got ready to get back on the road.
"Sit in the back Half-Pint." Mr. Logan gruffly commanded.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because you're supposed to sit with your 'friend'." He growled back. Kitty looked a bit confused for a second.
"Friend? Oh right, I got it!" She cheerfully replied before hopping into the backseat and sitting right next to him. "Hi!" She chirped with a smile. Zero pressed himself into the door as he tried to get as far away from her as possible. Mr. Logan raised an eyebrow upon seeing this in the rearview mirror.
"Is there a problem back there?" Mr. Logan asked as he pulled out of the gas station.
"No, no problem." Kitty replied firmly with a smile.
"I wasn't asking you." Mr. Logan gruffly replied.
"I'm fine." Zero responded after a moment. He forced himself to relax, if he messed things up for Kitty he was a doomed man.
"Good." The gruff man grumbled and turned his full attention to the road. Zero turned to stare out the window and tried to ignore Kitty, but she wouldn't let him.
"Hiya Kurt! What's up?" Kitty asked him cheerfully, he flinched slightly.
"The sky." He muttered nervously. She laughed a little.
"That's not what I meant silly!" She giggled. "I asked 'how are you'?"
"Fine." He muttered.
"Do you ever say anything besides 'fine' when people ask you how you're doing?" Kitty asked curiously.
"No." He replied.
"Why? You can't be fine all the time." She stated.
"It doesn't really matter," Zero said softly. "Nobody really cares anyway." For a long time there was silence and he began to hope she would leave him alone and stay quiet for the rest of the drive.
"Why do you think that nobody cares about you?" Kitty quietly asked.
"Because nobody does." He sighed in irritation.
"How do you know that?" She challenged.
"I just know." He snapped. Why can't she just leave me alone?
"Well I think you're wrong about that." Kitty replied.
"Really?" Zero muttered sarcastically.
"Yes, really." She answered. Zero kept quiet, he didn't feel like arguing with her, she'd never admit that she was wrong.
As he gazed out the window he could see the city had been replaced by strip malls, supermarkets, and streets lined with houses, the suburbs. We must be getting close now, dank sei Gott. The sun was touching the horizon when Mr. Logan turned into a nice subdivision. The street was long and winding, surrounded by well-kept lawns and gardens. The houses here were either old and elegant or new and large, the people who lived here definitely had some money. Near the very end of the street they turned into the driveway of an older looking house that was surrounded by rosebushes.
Mr. Logan had barely put the SUV into park when she slipped through her seatbelt and the door. Zero shook his head as he watched her scamper across the lawn and practically dive through the house's door. Zero sighed before wearily pulling himself up out of his seat and out of the black vehicle. He stretched his arms out over his head and yawned, sitting in a car for over three hours could be quite tiring. After loosening up his stiff joints a bit, he picked up his duffle bag and Kitty's abandoned backpack, and followed Mr. Logan. When they reached the door the older Mutant knocked while Zero studied the wooden planks of the front porch. It took a little over five minutes but the door was finally opened by a distracted looking Mr. Pryde.
"Come in." Mr. Pryde said motioning them to follow him in. Zero followed the two older men upstairs to the guest room. The room turned out to be very small and it only had one bed, a rolled up sleeping bag and spare pillow sat in the corner. Mr. Logan dumped his own beat up backpack on the bed, effectively claiming it as his own. Zero sighed and dropped his duffle bag next to the sleeping bag, it looked like he was going to sleep on the floor for the next two nights. Mr. Logan headed downstairs to meet Kitty's parents and left Zero behind. Zero began to explore the upper level of the house. He found Kitty's parents' room, the study, and the bathroom before he found what he was looking for, Kitty's room. He tossed her backpack on her bed, closed her door behind him, and trudged downstairs to meet her parents.
He found everyone gathered in the living room. Mr. Logan sat in an armchair while Kitty sat between her mother and father on the couch. Mr. Pryde looked to be in his middle forties. His dark brown hair was turning silver-gray over his temples and he wore bifocal glasses. Mrs. Pryde appeared to be about the same age as her husband. Her wavy golden-brown hair was threaded with little streaks of gray and pulled back into a loose ponytail. Kitty sat slightly closer to her mother looking happier than she'd been all week while they chatted about different school subjects and grades. All together they formed the picture of the perfect family. Zero sagged weakly against the doorframe as he watched them talk with each other. He'd never felt so alone in all his life.
***
Kitty smiled, so far everything was going great! It seemed like her earlier fears were totally unfounded, her parents were getting along great. They'd arrived on time, even a little bit early. Her parents had both been overjoyed to see her. And now they were both suitably impressed by Logan. Everything was going perfectly, this would be the best Thanksgiving ever. But for some funny reason she had the nagging feeling that she'd forgotten something important. Finally the nagging feeling got the best of her and she excused herself to get a glass of water. She needed to get someplace quiet so she could think better.
As she exited the living room and turned towards the kitchen she almost screamed. Now she knew what she'd forgotten. There, leaning up against the wall, was Kurt and he looked awful. With barely a pause in her step she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him with her into the kitchen. Once they were in the same confines of the kitchen she shoved him into the nearest chair. Kitty couldn't help but think that he'd looked healthier when she'd first seen him in the airport. He was so pale he looked gray, or at least his hologram did, and his eyes were glazed over. Kitty frowned, could he be getting sick? She felt his forehead to see if he had a fever. As far as she could tell his temperature was normal, so what was wrong with him?
"Hey, you okay?" Kitty nervously asked. Things had been going so well, and now this. She frowned again, it was like he hadn't heard her at all. "Kurt?" She tried again. His eyes suddenly cleared and he gazed forlornly up at her. "Are you okay?" Kitty asked again.
"I-I don't know." He muttered looking away.
"What just happened with you? You were all out of it." She asked. Kurt remained silent and seemed to curl into himself a little. "Never mind, let's just get you introduced to my parents." Kitty sighed. She tugged on his sleeve and he obediently rose and followed her back to the living room. When they entered the room all conversation abruptly ceased.
"Who is that?" Mrs. Pryde asked carefully.
"This is Kurt Wagner, he's my partner for the projects I'm working on." Kitty brightly explained.
"You never told us that you had a partner." Mrs. Pryde suspiciously.
"My fault, he's so quiet I forget that he's around most of the time." Kitty sheepishly replied.
"Really?" Mr. Pryde asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes Dad, I really did forget about him when I wrote you before." Kitty sighed.
"Alright then. It's nice to meet you Kurt." Mr. Pryde responded as he stood and stretched out his hand to the young German. Kurt stared at it for a second before he slowly reached out to shake the offered hand. Kitty winced as she saw the disgust creep across her father's face as he felt Kurt's fur. Kurt must've seen it too because he seemed to wilt before her eyes. "So, where were we?" Mr. Pryde asked Logan, totally ignoring the both of them. Kitty sighed.
"We're going to outside for a while Mom." Kitty muttered to her mother as she dragged Kurt towards the door.
"Okay sweetie, come in before dark." Mrs. Pryde distractedly replied.
Kitty pulled Kurt out of the house as quickly as she could, pausing only to put on her jacket back on. Once she got outside she let go of Kurt and flopped down on the wooden bench swing that hung form the porch's ceiling. Kurt remained standing where she'd let go of his wrist looking a bit lost. Kitty began to slowly move the swing back and forth and stared down at the wood planks beneath her feet. So much for things turning out perfect. She'd screwed up big time. She'd forgotten to warn them about his fur. Despite the fact that she, their own daughter, was a Mutant, neither of her parents were comfortable around Mutants. Logan was getting along well with them because he still looked and felt completely human, Kurt didn't and that was the problem. Now that they knew things were likely to get unpleasant for them, just what Kitty had been hoping to avoid.
"I'm sorry if Dad upset you, that's just the way he is." Kitty apologized quietly.
"I'm not upset." Kurt replied.
"Liar." She muttered accusingly. She'd seen his reaction, there was no denying that her father's actions had hurt him.
"I'm not upset!" He insisted sounding very upset.
"Whatever." She sighed. "It's my fault anyway, I should've at least mentioned you to them sooner than I did." Kurt stayed silent.
Kitty glanced up from the floorboards to find Kurt leaning on the porch railing gazing out at the neighborhood. He looked so lonely, but if she said something about it he'd deny it. That's how he always was, if she suggested that he felt anything, he'd claim he felt nothing. He obviously had emotion, so why did he continue to deny it? Perhaps it had something to do with how he was treated early on by that German general. Kitty looked away from him and curled up on the bench swing. What on earth could that man have done to him to make him try to become emotionless? On second thought, she didn't want to know.
"Kitty?" Kurt asked. Kitty squeaked, when did he sneak over here?
"What?" She asked. Kurt shifted from one foot to the other revealing his nervousness.
"Um, c-could I sit with you?" He stammered weakly.
"Uh, sure." Kitty replied, shifting her position slightly so had more room to sit. Kurt hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering himself down on the swing. Kitty was about to dive back into her thoughts when Kurt asked another question.
"Kitty, why do you think I'm wrong?" He asked quietly.
"Wrong about what?" Kitty inquired.
"About somebody caring about me." He said in a whisper.
"Oh that, well somebody somewhere has to care." Kitty replied.
"Like who?" Kurt wondered.
"You have parents out there somewhere, don't you?" She asked.
"Yes." He replied so softly that she almost didn't hear him.
"I bet they still care." Kitty said quietly.
"I'll never see them again so they don't count." Kurt muttered. Kitty was stunned into silence for a while. That was a terrible thing to say but the worst part was he was probably right. The chilly late November air suddenly felt much, much colder. She shivered and scooted right up to Kurt's side. She buried her slightly numbed fingers in her pockets and rested her head on his shoulder. Kurt flinched a little at her touch, but strangely enough he offered no protest.
"There's somebody out there who cares." Kitty whispered. Who knows, it might even turn out to be me...