Chapter 19

Spiky Drinks Are Fun!

Kitty lounged casually in a shady corner booth of the Blue Lotus nightclub. The music was a little less intense than it normally was. Instead of rattling teeth out of skulls it merely caused a faint buzzing sensation in the chest. But beyond that there was no obvious difference between this visit and all her previous visits to this club. The lights still flashed white and blue, dark lights still illuminated the small warehouse sized club, and it was still a minor Mecca for ecstasy users. Outside of her little booth there was a roiling sea of humanity dancing, grinding, drinking, smoking, and rolling. The air stank of sweat, smoke, and cologne so strongly that she felt that every time she came here that she lost her sense of smell. But despite the possible dangers and the minor downsides this was the place to be.

It was a pity that Amanda couldn't make it tonight. She'd called Kitty just before she'd left home to say that she wouldn't be there. She had relatives visiting so she had to stay home the whole weekend. Kitty had wished her well with promises to talk later before hanging up. Kitty really missed having Amanda with her, but with Amanda away she could spend all her time with Lance. Logan was doing just fine without her help, so unless she stumbled over something important on accident she wouldn't bother actively searching for it anymore. She would just relax and enjoy herself. Now she was just waiting for Lance to get back with their drinks. He'd left about five minutes ago and he should be back any minute now.

"Hey Pretty-Kitty! Did you miss me?" Lance asked in her ear making her jump.

"Lance, you jerk!" Kitty giggled. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Aw, come on Kitty! You're ruining my fun." Lance whined playfully.

"Just don't do it again." She insisted lightly smacking his arm. Lance pouted.

"Alright, fine." He sighed dramatically. He sat down across from her and slid her the drink she'd asked for. Before she drank from the can she noticed that it was already open.

"Lance, why is this can open?" She asked cautiously.

"I didn't want you to worry about breaking one of your pretty nails so I opened it for you." He replied with a teasing smile. Kitty studied him for a moment before coming to a decision.

"Well alright, but next time don't bother. I am perfectly able to open a pop can all by myself." She responded with mock seriousness before downing a huge gulp out of her 7up can. She could trust Lance, he was a great guy. He'd never spike her drink.

Kurt slowly sloshed the liquid around inside his Pepsi can. This wasn't a can that Kitty had brought to him. He'd bought this one himself. Kitty had promised him that she would stop by at least once, but he didn't expect her to follow through. Outside the club he could trust her to keep her promises, but inside her word became worth next to nothing. He sighed quietly and sank lower in his seat. Under the table his tail rhythmically tapped against the thick metal pole that connected the tabletop to the floor. His toes tapped a sort of counter-rhythm against the tiled floor. Normally when he was sitting here he would spend half the time battling waves of anxiety, but not this time. This time all he felt was loneliness.

From Tuesday all the way up to today he and Kitty had gone out to play in the snow. After the first day of snow it was too risky for them to use their powers or for him to wander about without his hologram on. Now that the streets had been plowed and the sidewalks were shoveled there were more people around. But despite there new limitations they still had fun playing in the snow. Kitty would take him to the half-wooded park that he'd first seen on Tuesday and they would simply start walking through it. Then one of the would start something either by throwing a snowball or shoving some snow down a jacket. Then it would erupt into a full blown snow battle, Nightcrawler versus Shadowcat.

When one of them became too tired or too cold to continue he would lead them to a hidden spot and teleport them back to the apartment. There they would change into dry clothes and drink hot cocoa. They would sit together on the couch covered by a blanket while they sipped their warm drinks and watched TV. As they entertained themselves with the shows on the television set Kitty would snuggle up to him for added warmth. It would startle him every time she did it, but when she failed to do anything else to him he would manage to relax. By the end of the week this became a comfortable routine to Kurt. It was something that he found himself looking forward to everyday.

Kurt knew that he shouldn't get attached to this new routine. Once his job was done he would go back to Germany and then all of this would cease to be. It was highly unlikely that he would ever return to this American city and he would certainly never see Kitty or Mr. Logan ever again. He would get back on a plane and return to the life he had lived for nine years. It would be back to his barren concrete cell for empty hours on end broken only by food and training. That lonely existence was his future and his past. His present was nothing more than a mildly pleasant dream wedged in-between vast stretches of nightmare. The weight of such dark musings made him wilt in his seat.

"Hi!" A cheerful voice yelled in his ear making him jump. Kurt turned and was confronted by a dark skinned African girl.

"Uh, hello?" He replied nervously scooting as far away from this strange girl as he could.

"I finally found you!" She squealed with excitement. Kurt stared at her blankly.

"Do I know you?" He asked slowly. The very excited girl suddenly became very embarrassed.

"I'm sorry; I've gotten a little ahead of myself. I'm Amanda Sefton, one of Kitty's friends." She explained.

"What do you mean 'I finally found you'?" Kurt demanded.

"I've been trying to find you for a few weeks now." She answered.

"Why?" Kurt asked getting very confused.

"Because I want to get to know you." Amanda replied.

"Why?" He asked again. This girl was really starting to creep him out.

"Because the first time I saw you, you looked interesting." She answered.

"When did you first see me?" Kurt asked feeling slightly alarmed by this conversation.

"A few weeks ago when you were looking for Kitty." Amanda answered. Kurt frowned and thought back to the time she was referring to and vaguely recalled running across a girl that looked the same as this Amanda Sefton.

"You're one of Kitty's friends?" He asked unsure of what she'd said earlier.

"Yes I am." Amanda happily replied.

"Then why aren't you with her?" Kurt wondered.

"Well, I was supposed to have relatives over this weekend so I couldn't go out. But it turns out that my relatives weren't able to make it so I was free to come here." She cheerfully explained.

"How does that keep you from being with Kitty?" He asked completely confused.

"I already told her that I couldn't make it tonight so it would be really awkward if I suddenly showed up." She claimed.

"That's a stupid reason. If she's really a friend she shouldn't mind." Kurt pointed out.

"Well, she's probably with Lance now and I'd rather not disturb them." Amanda complained.

"Oh really?" Kurt muttered stiffly.

"Yes, really. All they do is flirt and cuddle and it makes me sick." She bitterly complained. Kurt glowered at his pop can instead of replying. "So, what do you want to talk about?" Amanda asked, changing the subject.

"Um, why don't you tell me about yourself?" Kurt suggested. Amanda was more than happy to comply and began to give a long narrative of her life. Now that she was distracted by her story, Kurt could half-listen to her and safely space out. He really hoped that Kitty would keep her promise this time and come to visit him. That way she would take care of this Sefton girl for him.

Lance was gone. He'd said something about being right back, but already she was forgetting. She was more interested in her surroundings. Some part of her, a tiny whispering in her head, said this was wrong. What she was seeing was wrong, something was wrong about everything. But the rest of her mind totally ignored that soft rational whisper. The rest of her didn't care about what that voice said. The rest of her was completely and utterly focused on, immersed in, fascinated by everything that happened in the Blue Lotus nightclub. It was the world's biggest, greatest lava lamp.

All movement was in various degrees of slow motion. Sound was garbled, muffled, and distant, like listening to a rock concert underwater. Some outlines were fuzzy and others were sharper than she'd ever seen before. And the whole club itself moved. The walls shivered and slanted. The ceiling caved and bent. And the floor roiled and heaved. The dancing people changed shapes before her eyes. One moment a person was a multi-colored blob, the next they were clearly defined and beautiful, and then they might turn into a weird, perhaps even threatening, monsters. It all made her bubbly and giggly.

And then she had the greatest idea ever. While it was fun to sit and watch, it would be a million times more fun to join in. So that is exactly what she did. She moved to her feet and abandoned the booth without a second thought. She melted effortlessly into the club crowd, touching everyone and being touched by them. The music rumbled through her ear canals, into her brains, down her nerves, and all through the rest of her insides. Several times the moving floor rose up to meet her face, but it never really hurt. When it did happen, she would simply laugh out loud and peel herself free. Time held no meaning for her anymore. All there was in her little world was the movement of dancing. She'd never felt so alive.

Kurt was getting nervous. It was almost time for him to leave and Kitty hadn't shown up yet. And the Amanda girl seemed to be running out of things to tell him about herself. She'd managed to keep going for several hours, but now he had to pay more and more attention so that he could ask the right questions to keep her talking. This whole situation was really beginning to wear on his nerves. However, he didn't let that show to Amanda; he pretended to be mildly interested in what she said so that she wouldn't ask him any difficult to answer questions. Then something utterly bizarre happened.

"And then my Uncle Frank said… Oh my God." Amanda's story suddenly seemed to be interrupted, so Kurt followed her incredulous gaze to see what was the matter.

"Was in her Hölle?" He gasped.

The sight that greeted him was most unexpected. Kitty was dancing out in the crowd, and she looked drunk. He only caught a brief glimpse of her in a small gap in the mass of moving bodies, but he knew what he'd seen without a doubt. Kitty was out there drunk and that was a problem. She might talk to the wrong person and say too much and that would be the end for them. Or she might use her power and reveal herself as a Mutant to people who knew her as a normal girl. And if, by some miracle, neither of those things happened, someone might still take advantage of her. He couldn't let any of that happen.

With grim determination he rose from his seat and went into the crowd to rescue her from herself. Even though she was probably only five yards away it took him almost ten minutes to reach her. There were people all around him packed tightly and dancing like maniacs. It took all his skill and concentration to avoid being smacked or stepped on. And since he was reluctant to touch anyone it was exceedingly difficult to move through the mass of people. He'd never felt any sort of claustrophobia before, but now he felt like he was drowning. The only thing that kept him from fleeing was the thought that he was almost there. Just a little bit further and he would find her.

When he did reach Kitty, he grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her along behind him. She protested his pulling her away from the fun and even fell down once, but he barely paused and paid her words no heed. He did not like being in this rowdy crowd and he was not going to stay in it any longer than absolutely necessary. The closer he managed to get to the edge the faster he tried to move. He almost leapt out of the crush of bodies when he reached the edge. He paused for a moment to calm himself and catch his breath. Then he towed the drunk, sulking Kitty back to where he'd been sitting. He left her in the dark-skinned girl's care and vanished in search of Kitty's jacket. After locating the abandoned jacket and putting it on her, it was time to get her home.

"Lemme go." Kitty slurred, drunkenly flailing around in an attempt to break Kurt's grip on her.

"Stop struggling." Kurt grumbled as he dragged her out into the freezing December night.

"Stop complaining, this is for your own good." Amanda commanded as she followed them out.

"Lemme go, I wanna go back." Kitty whined childishly.

"No, it's late and we're going home." Kurt firmly declared as he dragged her along. Kitty continued to protest loudly an drunkenly the whole way back. Amanda kept following them for a few more blocks until they came to a street where she had to turn left and they went straight.

"Well this is where I leave you guys." Amanda sighed. "Good night."

"Auf wiedersehen." Kurt muttered distractedly as he struggled with the combative Kitty.

"I'll see you tomorrow night!" She called out as she walked off.

Kurt didn't answer her. Instead he kept dragging Kitty back to the apartment. After managing to get her one block closer he took her into an alley. Now that Amanda had finally left he was free to take his shortcut home. But before he could teleport them away, she broke free of his grip. She stumbled a few steps away from him, fell to her hands and knees, and retched. Kurt felt very glad that he hadn't managed to hold onto her. When he was completely sure that she was done, he crept up behind her and teleported them away. He brought them straight to the bathroom and left Kitty behind as she sent a few prayers to the porcelain god.

Now that they were safe at home, Kurt allowed himself to relax. He peeled off and put away his coat and got ready for bed. He exchanged his T-shirt and jeans for a loose tank top and a pair of boxer shorts. Since Kitty was in the bathroom he decided to skip brushing his teeth and went directly to bed. With a contended sigh he turned off his hologram and burrowed under the covers. Thankfully Mr. Logan wasn't here, otherwise he'd have been in a world of trouble. Not only were they over an hour late, but Kitty was drunk and puking. They were supposed to be partners and if something bad happened to one of them then the other was at fault. Feeling very tired Kurt began the slow surrender into his sleep.

"Hi!" A cheery drunk voice sang making Kurt snap awake. He turned towards the voice and saw Kitty clinging to the ladder and grinning at him.

"Kitty go to bed." Kurt groaned. He really didn't want to deal with her anymore.

"No." She giggled and began to climb onto his bed.

"Get off!" Kurt yelped scooting as far away from her as he could.

"No, I wanna cuddle." She slurred trying to snuggle up to him.

"Why would you want to cuddle with someone like me?" Kurt asked trying to melt into the wall.

"Because you're cuddly and fuzzy and cute." She chirped.

Kurt expected her answer to be something like that. She would occasionally comment that he was cuddly and fuzzy, usually when she was leaning on him while watching TV. But she had never once ever said that he was cute. He stopped squirming and let her have her way. She slipped under the covers with him and wrapped her arms around him. Then she promptly fell asleep. Kurt let her stay. He knew that she wasn't herself right now, but he didn't care. She might protest later, but there was a phrase that she couldn't argue against. In vino veritas, in wine truth. Kurt smiled faintly and followed her into the realm of slumber.