A Halloween to Remember
By: Cece Williams
((Disclaimer: Like I said in the previous chapters, I don't own "XME" at all. Melanie, on the other hand, I do own. Sorry about the delay, y'all, the hurricane came here and hit us. That and I had a bad writer's block. So, anywho, R&R for this one and the other chapters, okay?))
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Kurt Wagner looked at the calendar in the classroom; it was October 31, Halloween. He tapped his pencil on the desk in boredom, waiting for the clock to strike 3PM. Desperate to relieve himself from the boredom, he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note to Melanie, his girlfriend.
Melanie, on the other hand, was reading a book that Rogue had loaned her. Ever since that night that she had almost died, Rogue and her had reconciled and became good friends. She felt a tap on her shoulder from behind her; she reached her hand behind her and felt a piece of paper in her hand.
Wondering who it was for, she opened it and read it to herself, "'Melanie, what are you going to be for Halloween?'" It was from Kurt. She took out one of her favored feathered-tip pens, wrote a response, and sent it back behind her.
Kurt grabbed the paper and read her response to himself: "'I don't know yet; I might have to surprise you though'." Next to her response was a smiley face winking at him. Smiling at Melanie's little joke, he wrote her again and returned it to her. "'At least give me an idea'," the letter said.
Melanie laughed to herself and wrote him a response, but about that time, class was about over. She hurriedly gave him the letter. He took it back and read it. "'No, Kurt, you'll just have to see it for yourself'," she had written. Before Kurt could ask Melanie about it, class was over for the day.
After the teacher gave them their homework assignment, they filed out, glad that the day was over. Melanie put her books in her backpack and stood to her feet, her two-inch-heel boots hitting the floor. She raked one hand through her reddish-brown hair, two small strands landing on her lavender cardigan. Her flared jeans flattered her hips, but hopefully to Melanie, they did nothing more than that. She felt something picking at her back.
As Melanie turned her head, Kurt had gotten the two offending strands of her hair off of her cardigan. "So, Melanie, you're shedding now?" he asked her, a teasing glint into his blue eyes. Because of the inducer on his wrist, they weren't yellow like they were back in the mansion.
Melanie laughed again, this time a little openly as she raked her hand through her hair again, which made it softly land at her shoulders. "That always happens whenever I brush my hair," she answered as she walked outside to her Jeep, Kurt close beside her. "It's nothing to worry about."
As soon as they got outside the school, Kurt grabbed her arm, which made Melanie turn around, and planted a kiss on her cheery-glossed lips. Giggling, she kissed him back for a minute. After she let go, they continued walking to the Jeep.
Kurt stayed beside her until they got to her Jeep. He watched Melanie get in and unlock his door. Then, he climbed into the Jeep, where Melanie had started it, causing her stereo to play a demo CD that she had bought a few days ago. Both buckled their seatbelts.
Melanie felt like blushing because of Kurt looking at her. "You know, it's really impolite to stare," she said, looking at him with a wink.
The wink snapped him out of it. "Sorry, Melanie," he said, lightly blushing. He started hearing the music, slowly bobbing his head to the beat. "I wonder when this CD comes out," he said, changing the subject.
As Melanie pulled out of the parking lot, she answered, "They told me that it's going to be out in a few months." After stopping at a stoplight, she looked at Kurt again. "If you want to, you can borrow it."
When the Jeep started moving again, he smiled at her. Outside, he was happy that he was going to borrow Melanie's CD; inside, however, he really wanted to know what Melanie was going to dress up as for Halloween.
After they had gotten to the mansion, Melanie did her usual routine, doing her homework while listening to her music. She was just about to open the door when Kitty phased herself through the door. "Kitty, hi," she said, startled.
"Hey, Melanie," she answered. She stood in her room looking like a white cat, with cat ears and a cattail. "I need your opinion; how do I look?"
"Like a cat," she answered, raising an eyebrow. Her green eyes looked to the carpet sorrowfully.
She noticed her friend's sudden change of attitude right away. "Melanie, what's wrong?" she asked her. "Don't you have a costume?"
Melanie shook her head. "I'm afraid that Kurt will find out before the party," she answered, speaking of the party later on that night.
"Well, tell him it's a surprise," Kitty answered. Her blue eyes suddenly sparked with an idea. "Melanie, I got an idea; wait here." Before she could say anything, she phased through the floor.
Melanie shook her head and sat on her bed, looking out the window.
After a few minutes, Kitty phased back through the wall again. "I hope this fits you," she said, laying a black-clothed hanger on her bed.
Melanie looked at the black plastic and unzipped it, revealing a costume that she had never seen before. "It's a mermaid's costume," she said.
"Yeah, and you know why?" Kitty asked. "Because Kurt's going to, like, dress up as Prince Charming."
"Uh, Kitty," she corrected her friend. "Prince Charming was from Sleeping Beauty, not The Little Mermaid." She eyed the costume; it had green fins and the purple sea shelled bra-type thing, almost an exact replica of what the outfit was in the movie. She giggled to herself. "Think Kurt will tell if it's me?"
"Yeah," she answered. Before phasing through the wall again, she looked at Melanie. "You know, I think Bobby might be after you."
"I'll take my chances," she said as Kitty phased through the wall. She started to undo her clothes and try on her costume. After she hooked her top on, she looked at herself. I just hope the Professor's not going to see me in this, she thought to herself.
After several minutes of deliberating, she decided that she was going to go downstairs. Unfortunately, when she tried to move, she fell to the floor. Seeing that she didn't have any bruises, she sat back on her bed. "Now, what am I going to do?" she asked herself. She eyed her other costume, the one that Ariel wore in The Little Mermaid, the dress.
"Melanie, are you okay?" a familiar voice asked her.
She turned around, relieved to see Jean's face but almost laughed at her friend's costume. Jean was dressed like Princess Leia from Star Wars. "Nice costume," she said.
"You don't look that bad yourself," she answered.
"You know the bad part about being a mermaid?" Melanie asked Jean. "I can't stand up and dance with Kurt, or even do anything," she said. She wanted to punch her fins, but Jean stopped her by grabbing her fin.
"Melanie, there's room for you to move if you want to," she said, pointing to a hole in the back of her costume. "So, what are you waiting for?"
She smiled; she was going to surprise Kurt big time, and as a mermaid as well. She stuck her feet out of the back of her fin and stood to her feet. "Nothing, let's party!" she said, walking out of her room with Jean behind her. When they had gotten to the staircase, everyone else was talking, their backs to them. Melanie saw that Kurt was right at the end of the railing that she was near. Giggling to herself, she climbed up on it and slid down the railing.
Meanwhile, Kurt was talking to Bobby, who was dressed as a pirate, and Scott, who was dressed like Luke Skywalker. Jean had walked down the stairs to his side just in time to see Melanie, in her mermaid costume, slide down to Kurt, who had his arms up to catch her. "So, this is what you are," Kurt said to her as she landed in his arms.
Melanie smiled, nodding her head while she moved her legs into her fin, causing to make her legs move like a mermaid. "What were you thinking I was going to be, Queen Elizabeth II?" she said to him. She looked at Kurt, giggling. "And who are you supposed to be?"
Kurt set her down gently as Melanie's green eyes looked up at her boyfriend. He looked closely like that Raphael guy from one of her favorite video games, Soul Calibur II, with the exception of his blue hair. "I would've gone with a British one, but they didn't have it," he said, bowing to her.
She smiled. "Well, have I ever told you that I love swashbucklers?" she asked him as her boyfriend pulled her to her feet. Teasingly, she added, "And the Ninja Turtles, too."
He shook his head at her joke. "Very nice, Melanie," he said. Before they could get romantic, Kitty, who was evidently mad at Jamie for something, was chasing five Jamies all around the living room. He laughed a little about the scene. He looked back to Melanie, who was talking to Jean.
"I'm going to change," she said, her voice sounding a little down as she slipped out of his embrace and walked back to her room. After she was out of sight, she started humming "Angel", one of her favorite songs while walking back to her room. She looked at her second choice of her costume, the dress, and smiled. Maybe now I can dance with Kurt in this, she thought to herself.
She slid out of her mermaid costume and pulled on her dress. The bodice was a little tight, but she didn't seem to mind. I've worn dresses like this before, she thought. She slid the black shoes on her feet and looked at herself in the mirror. She was going to walk out the door when a poofing sound came from behind her; she turned her head to see Kurt standing in front of her.
"I liked the mermaid one better," he said in a joking manner.
"Well, this makes me easier to move, don't you think?" she asked him, twirling around to show off the dress in front of him. "I mean, do you want to dance with me or not?"
After hearing the word "dance", Kurt grabbed Melanie's hand and 'ported them downstairs, where the song was one of her favorites from one of her Japanese game CDs. She loved the slow ones, especially "Ordinary World."
"Milady," Kurt said in a purposely messed-up British accent, bowing in front of her as if she were a goddess, extending his hand out to her. "Would a lady like a dance?"
Playing along, she took his outstretched hand and said in a fake stuck-up voice, "Why, yes, kind sir." They looked at each other and laughed at each other's voices. As she laid her head on his shoulder, she added, "You cute little funny elf."
"That's 'fuzzy elf'," he corrected in her ear, laughing that she still hadn't gotten that right yet. Yet, he had to love her for the attempt.
During the song, she looked at Kurt. Although at times he acted so juvenile, he was a really great guy. Her mind took her back to when they first met, when Kurt turned off his inducer in front of her and showed her what he really looked like. Then, soon after she arrived, he had literally taken her to a club and danced with her to "Build Me Up Buttercup." Then, her mind took her to when she was recovering from her coma. He was very considerate, especially when he had bought her several croissants. Finally, she thought of the time when they had finally kissed each other.
"Now, who's staring?" Kurt's joking voice snapped her out of it.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she answered, feeling a blush creep up to her cheeks. She tried to think of an explanation for her actions, but she found herself almost to the point of stuttering. "I was actually thinking of, um, well…"
"I know," he answered, which took her by surprise. "I was thinking of the same thing." He took one of his hands from her waist and caressed her cheek, which he could see that Melanie's blush had gotten deeper.
"Are you trying to get me to kiss you?" she asked him, trying her hardest to keep the blush from becoming visible. Unfortunately, Kurt had already seen it. Her eyes shifted to Scott and Jean, who were literally French kissing, and giggled at the sight. "Like those two?"
He turned her head back to him, where he could see her green eyes. He started to think back as well, back to when Melanie was just a shy British schoolgirl. She had definitely grown up since that day. He remembered when she tried to stop the statue from breaking, and then he stayed by her side while she recovered. Although she looked shocked when he had told her his true feelings for her, she had actually admitted them to him. And now, as he was dancing with her, she didn't have a shocked look on her face; she was looking like she hadn't been happy in years.
"Hello? Earth to the funny elf," Melanie's voice snapped him out of it. "Pretty girlfriend in front of you."
As soon as he realized that he was staring, he looked at Melanie. "That's 'fuzzy elf,' milady," he answered in his purposely messed-up British accent.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're awake," she answered. She ruffled his hair a little before almost getting closer to him. "Because as you know, it's impolite to stare," she added, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I was asking you a question, silly."
"Okay, fire away," he answered her, but before Kurt could ask Melanie what the question was, he saw Jean and Scott kissing each other.
"Why is called French kissing?" she asked him. "I mean, they're American, you're German, and I'm British. And more importantly, what is it?"
To her surprise, Kurt wrapped one arm around her waist; the other hand went to the back of her neck, looking into her questioning green eyes. "Well, instead of asking them, how about we try it out?" he asked her. Not waiting for Melanie's reply, he brought his face closer to hers and finally kissed her.
This took her totally by surprise, but as soon as she realized that it was just her boyfriend, she kissed him back. She felt his tongue slowly go into her mouth, which as soon as she realized what French kissing was; she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. They stayed like that for only a minute and then broke apart. "So, that's what French kissing is," she said.
"Yeah, it was pretty fun," he answered her. After the song ended, they headed to the staircase and sat down on the bottom step, holding each other's hands. "Are you having fun yet?" Kurt asked her.
Melanie nodded as the song ended, and another song started again, this time a fast one. Neither made an attempt to lead the other back onto the dance floor. They just sat there on the stairs, watching several of the others make total idiots out of themselves. Even as Kurt's ever-moving tail snaked its way around her waist, she didn't move. The only time she did, though, was to lay her head on his shoulder.
Other than an occasional yawn, that was all Kurt heard from her. "It's only 10:30, and you're tired already?" he asked her, confusion filling his yellow eyes.
She jerked her head up and looked at her watch. "Oh, my," she said, a startled look in her green eyes. "I had no idea it was this late; I've got an assignment that I hadn't even started on."
"Let me take a guess; it's the three haikus that you have to write about a person that you care about, isn't it?" Kurt asked her, knowing that they were both in the same class.
Melanie nodded her head, covering her mouth from her yawn.
Kurt grabbed her shoulder. "Maybe you should lie down and do it in the morning," he said. After Melanie stood to her feet, he stood up as well, walking Melanie to her room, his arm around her waist. Before she could open her door, however, she almost collapsed to the floor. He caught her, picked her up, and 'ported into her room to her bedside. He laid the sleepy girl on the bed and wrapped her up.
"Kurt, I'm fine, really," she said, her voice groggy as she yawned.
"I know you hadn't gotten much sleep last night," Kurt answered, sitting next to her, turning on her glitter lamp by her bedside. "Just try and get some rest, and I promise I'll help you with the poems in the morning. We'll wake up early and work on it."
After a minute of yawning, she finally agreed. "Okay," she conceded as Kurt laid her head on the pillow. "'Night, fuzzy," she said.
Pretending to sound serious, he answered, "Finally, you get that right." He kissed her once on the forehead and after a heartfelt "I love you" from each other, he 'ported into his room and got ready for bed.
Downstairs, the party had died down, and everyone was leaving for their rooms because there was school tomorrow. They went to bed, all commenting about the party.
The morning came and Melanie woke up to a poofing sound above her head. "Good morning, fraulein," Kurt said, hanging upside down by his tail on the light fixture, looking at Melanie with his yellow eyes. "So, you going to do your homework or am I going to have to get strict again?"
"Oh, please," Melanie said, pretending to be scared. "Anything but that, sir. I'll do my homework." She looked at him and started laughing, only to have Kurt laughing with her. After getting out of bed, she grabbed her notebook off of her desk, sat on her bed, and started thinking about who to write about. After only a few seconds, she jotted down three haikus:
There is enchantment
And he's like a dream that I
Don't want to wake from
That night when I found
That special person for me
I will never forget
Holding me closer,
He pushes all my feelings
Closer to him still.
"Well, that's that," she said, gathering her books up and waited for Kurt to 'port out of her room. After he did, she got dressed and put on her usual makeup. She looked at her clock, which read 6:45AM. Thinking for a minute, she wrote down a haiku, not for class, but for her fuzzy blue boyfriend.
After she was done, she gathered her things into her backpack and walked out of her room, stopping at Kurt's door for only a few seconds to slide her haiku under it before walking down the stairs.
Kurt saw the shadow and knew it was probably Melanie. Before he could 'port to the door, Melanie had already headed downstairs. Shaking his head, he 'ported back inside to find a half-slip of paper on the floor. Curiously, he opened it and read it to himself:
My fuzzy boyfriend
Is like a fire that burns deep
In my beating heart.
Kurt laughed to himself. "Melanie, you little sneak," he said to himself, grabbing his inducer and slapping it on his wrist. After he turned it on, he grabbed his things and 'ported down to where the British girl was standing. "Got your note," he said, almost making her jump.
"You did?" she said, turning around. "I'm glad you did." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek.
Scott shook his head. "Why don't you two go off and get a room?" he asked them. This made the others snicker.
"That was just a harmless peck on the cheek," Kurt objected. "Look, if I wanted to get a room, I'd kiss Melanie like this." Unexpectedly, before Melanie could say a word, he grabbed Melanie into his arms and gave her a French kiss, which made several of the other students catcall and wolf-whistle.
"I just hope you won't be doing that while you're at school, you two," the Professor said, looking mainly at Melanie and Kurt.
"Oh, I don't believe in PDA," she said. She gave Kurt a little tug on the ear, adding, "But maybe I'll help Kurt on that."
"Ouch," Kurt said after being grabbed by the ear. "Don't worry, Professor; we won't think of embarrassing ourselves like that…" He looked at Jean and Scott. "Now, those two, however…"
"Kurt, get back here!" Scott shouted after Kurt as he ran by Melanie, almost knocking her down.
Melanie just shook her head as Scott chased after her boyfriend. Yes, now Kurt did act immature there, but she couldn't help but love him. I guess that even I dig the fuzzy dude, she thought to herself as she grabbed an apple and sat in the living room, eating the red fruit. This chick definitely dug the fuzzy.