Lucky Me

Chapter 039

"Kookie Summers! How cute!" D-M couldn't be bouncier. She was thrilled I wasn't leaving, but didn't understand why I wanted to change my name as well. I couldn't really explain why without being me. It wasn't that I didn't love my name, Kerry Michelle D'mon, it was a great name for me (I'd owned it for many years) it was that if I kept it, I would always be attached to that woman who was no longer my mother.

It was my final break.

I was actually going to go for the state, just because I was sick of not being in control of my own life, of being a bossed around by everyone else. But then the thing my mo-Heather was trying to hurt me with, only helped me in my decision.

What would my Dad have said about this?

This wasn't what she thought I would interpret it as. She thought I was going to think about the adoption, but instead I thought about what she was doing. If my Dad was still around, he'd have laughed so long and hard at her until his sides hurt because of what she thought was right.

My dad would have been for starting over.

To wipe the tears away, get back up, and fight harder. That was the way he viewed things in this life. If it didn't kill you, don't give it another opportunity to try. Conquer it.

So this was my way of doing it. By leaving my past life behind me, except my sister, Darcy, who hadn't done anything to me, I'd take her into this new life of mine even though the chances of seeing her again was very, very slim.

"Yeah, Scott and Jean thought so, too."

"Scott and Jean? Not Mr. Summers and Mrs. Jean? Wow! You are feeling more at home with them!" D-M, again, went into her dramatics. "Why not call them mom and dad and get it over with?" She smirked.

I glared at her. "They are legal parents. They are not my parents."

"Fine. But when'd they okay the name change?"

"It's not legal, not yet; and won't be until right before Thanksgiving." When I told them I wanted to change my name, Jean insisted I start calling them by their first names, and drop the formality, but also to pick up their last name in place of my old one. Confusing, no?

I hadn't thought of any other name, really, so I started to think along the lines of 'Kookie' and so on. Kookie Summers sounded like a comic book character, a cheesy one at that. But I needed a real name to go along with the cutesy ones as someone labeled them.

"What about Rose? Then every one would think we were related or something!"

Oh, yeah, talk about going from the frying pan into the sugary sweet fire.


"Mr. Kurt?"

"Up here, der engel." And sure enough, you look up and there hung a blue furry man with gold eyes looking back at you. It didn't' even freak me out anymore, I'd been here too long. The only time I jumped was when blue and fuzzy man did his stinky-teleportation thing, and I nearly gagged on the smell. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Once I was safely holding my nose, and ignoring his playful hurt look, "A bunch of people are going into New York to get Halloween costumes."

It was true, in a week or something, was Halloween and Mr. Warren said he already had to do a Worthington Industry party, and even though it would be mostly associates and people like that, we were all welcomed (forced) to go.

The grown-ups (remember, I was still a kid. What-ever!) said it would be good for us to get out and learn about life. I guess to see what kind of things people do when they were drunk? Or why the man dressed up like Santa was running around touching ever girl's behind asking if they were naughty or nice (yes, there were people dressed up like Santa Claus at Halloween, it's to confuse the really young kids).

"You don't think this would be a fitting costume?" He asked opening his arms wide and striking a pose.

I smiled, "Nah, it's been done."

He smiled at that, "I'm glad, der engel, you are feeling more relaxed in the mansion." Yeah right, they didn't know how hard I had to force myself to think of comments and smile. But as long as it kept them from asking the annoying 'do you want to talk about it' line, I'd do whatever it took.

Raising eyebrows, smirks, glares, and that danged question were basic components of living in this household.

"So I guess you're not going?"

"No," Mr. Kurt showed me the book he was reading, the Bible. "I do not prefer this holiday."

"What are you, some type of priest?" I was leaving to go to get jammed into the van when Mr. Kurt answered me.

"Yes." I cocked an eyebrow up and tipped my head to the side, but then I shrugged and left. "Kerry, wait." I sighed but stopped. He did the teleporting thing again, and I started to gag, oh like he couldn't have walked the ten feet to get to me and spare my nose!

"Yes?" I questioned, pinching my nose with my thumb and pointer finger of one hand.

"It is normal in the American culture to have a middle name, ja?"

I thought about for a second, shrugged and said I guessed so.

"Then I might suggest one for you, Nadja."

I rapidly blinked at him. I wasn't sure I could even pronounce it much less say it!

"Uh," I started but he cut me off.

"It is a name that means hope," he put a hand on my shoulder and shot me a toothy grin, "It is just a thought."


We're still at the mall and I was still bored.

The others invaded the stores like they were having a sale or something. The guys were actually taking longer than the girls, I thought about writing down this date to tell my grandkids I was apparently going to have. I should ask Mr. Bishop more about that, but I hadn't had monitor duty in quite some time so I had yet to have the opportunity to beg him.

"Look! I'm Kookie!" Bobby-Jerk leapt (I kid you not) out of a dressing room with a set of fake black wings strapped to his back, a towel around his waist, and proceeded to hop across the store. The clerks giggled (they were all female, and didn't know him therefore thought his insulting antics were funny).

"No way, Drake. The original's much fatter, and has a flatter chest."

"Bad man!" Was the only warning that D-M gave Chris before swinging a plastic scythe at him. She was going as a female death and she proceeded to attempt to attack Chris, well, until he threatened to give her a special shock treatment and fry her hair. Being the girly-girl she was, D-M stopped right away.

"What do you think, Kookie?" Bobby-Jerk asked. I looked at him, completely bored to see him twirl around, showing off his outfit.

"Pedofile?" Mr. Warren asked as he, too, sat with one hand propped up holding up his chin.

"Don't worry, white feathers, you will always be my angel." Bobby-Jerk fake cooed and patted Mr. Warren on the head. Mr. Warren said if he ever touched him like that again, he'd have his hand rammed up in a very uncomfortable place.

"What are you going as?" D-M asked, plopping down on the floor near my feet.

"It's a secret."

"Go as a summa wrestler, you're already chubby enough for that," Chris sassed.

I smiled pleasantly, "All you need is a Domino's box around your face, 'cause it already looks like a pepperoni pizza."

"Play nice, children." Miss Oreo warned, "We still have the trip home."

"Put him on the roof."

"Strap her to the hood."

I really didn't like Chris.


I checked over my shoulder for the third time in two minutes. I never knew when any of the X-people were going to suddenly appear and give poor Kookie a heart attack. I had to know something so me and my information source were going on a little trip to the other side of the mall to have a little talk.

"Uh, the food court is the other way," D-M (my information source) told me after I dragged us into Bath and Body Works. No wonder Mr. Logan stayed away from this place, my senses weren't half as strong as his and stunk to me with all the different fragrances mixed and blended together. It was bad, but I tricked D-M into coming with me under the lie that we were going to go get something to eat.

"Okay, spill." I tried to use that authoritative voice Scott insisted I use with my team. For her part, Daisy just looked at me like my head had shrunk and she didn't know how to tell me.

"Spill what?"

"What is going on between Chris and Bobby?" She grinned.

"Ah was wondering when you were going to ask about that. Well," she started, and I could tell Daisy had become one of the spokes on the gossip wheel from the way her hands went into motion. "Apparently they had a falling out when some big bad guy tried to rule the world or something," got to love use of technical terms, "Before that bad guy, Onsod, I think?"

"Onslaught?" Remember, I had no life in Acola? I was the freaky girl that was 'in to' mutants?

"You know Ah think that's it. Anyway, Chris was found out to be a," D-M looked around, and seemed to rethink something before continuing, "A you know." A mutant, "before any of us and was brought to Xavier's to learn about his 'gifts'. While he was there, he and Bobby became buddy-buddy because Bobby's 'special talents' were much like Chris'. But then, Chris found out to have that—blood problem." The Legacy Virus. This was sad; I no longer need an interrupter to understand this girl. "And was taken out of Xavier's.

"But Bobby said he'd always be there and blah blah blah." This was her I swear! I wasn't blocking her out this time! "And he wasn't. Chris went through some rough times with having to go to all the clinics and stuff, even got his home blown up by the FOH or something." I had to ignore the desire to strangle the girl. My dad was part of the FOH and he didn't go around blowing things up. He was a builder, not a destroyer, but this wasn't part of the Chris/Bobby story. "While Chris was having all this trouble wherever he was living, he kept trying to get a hold of them for support. But since they were busy saving the world and stuff, they never had time for him."

"So Chris felt betrayed?" Okay, stupid, that was a total duh question. I was such a genius.

"Yeah, actually he did. Felt like they only wanted him for his powers, but as soon as they found out he had that—issue they were scared of him and wanted nothing more to do with him. It was Bobby though, who Chris resented the most because Bobby considered Chris his 'little buddy' and was real close to him and stuff." That explained the bad blood between those two. Even with the bad taste it left in my mouth and made me feel sick to my stomach, I could actually understand where Chris was coming from.

These people did tend to see mutants as either worth their time or not. At least that was what I picked up. It's okay to mingle with humans, but it was only okay as long as the distinction of X-gene was preserved. I guess this was one of those attitudes I had to get checked out by the Professor.

I would bring it up to Mrs. Jean, I mean Jean, Jean, Jean. No longer able to call her Mrs. anything anymore. Anyway, I was going to get out of the store and avoid Jean at all costs when I had a different point of view from the group, she seemed to have this love of messing with people's minds when it suited her.

Yup, I didn't like telepaths.

I didn't like Chris, and I didn't like telepaths.


"That wasn't your first kiss was it?" HE asked because the other two hadn't made it into the 'study' session yet. I was having another test and math, and I needed to pass at least one test before report cards came out and have a chunky red F on it.

"No, of course not!" I lied. Yeah, it was my first, but it wasn't like I asked for it!

"You're lying."

Dang, he was getting to know me too well.

"No, I'm not. Why would I lie about something like that?"

"Because you're sixteen and should have been kissed before?" He smirked, and I started to feel uneasy.

"Just because I don't attack anything male that walks on two legs doesn't mean there's anything wrong with me you know." I started to fidget with the corners of the pages of the book and wondering what on earth was taking the other guys so long to get their persons in this room.

"It's not that," he waved off my comment, "it's that it should have been done differently."

"Well, it's a bit too late to change it," I grumbled, tapped my pencil on the table top, and felt the embarrassment start to heat up my cheeks. I didn't ask to be lip locked in the middle of the cafeteria, thankyouverymuch. I hadn't been able to live it down yet and now I was forced to discuss it.

"You could always forget it; maybe replace the memory with a better one." He was being coy again. I didn't like him being coy; it usually resulted in my brain turning into mush. Then he added a smile, and bye-bye brain. No studying for Kookie, her mind was somewhere in Japan watching anime.

"Who says that I want to?" I quipped, pretending not to be unnerved while he was unnerving me. And the fact that he did the whole trace-my-jaw-with-his-fingertips thing didn't help my mental befuddlement.

"I say." He leaned closer, and those butterflies revived and started their mating ritual in my stomach. The closer he came, the more butterflies with feather dusters developed in my body.

"Maybe I don't want to listen to you." I couldn't believe I whispered that, and I felt my face start to go red from—well, from something. I didn't know! I didn't have a little book of emotions I could what I was feeling!

"MMmm." Was his reply, and I could feel his breath on my lips. If I had any sense left at that time, Cupid decided to take a chainsaw to it, and hid its remains under emotion and touching. I was light headed, and just as I started to close my eyes, following his example…"If that's the way you feel."

He pulled back!

I snapped myself out of my stupor with the mood shattered and dissolved.

"Jerk!" I screeched.

He smirked and tugged his eyebrows up once in tease.

That's when the other two came in, and the studying started. I glared at him the whole session, and for his part he only winked at me, making me even more upset.

Fine. I'd remember that. Let's see if I fall for his little trick again!

What a tease! And a jerk! Argh!

Mondo-huge-unbelievable jerk!


"Look at me! All Ah need is a victim." This was what Chris did to the innocent; he took their souls and painted them black.

She had on a black dress and the plastic scythe in one of her hands. Its blade was spotted with red paint to represent blood. Daisy came prancing into my room, she said she didn't care that many people wouldn't get it; we were a bunch of kids anyway.

I was not a kid!

"Aren't you ready?" D-M asked, probably noticing my lack of costume. But what the hey, why on earth get ready three hours before the party thing? "You know it takes an hour to get to Warren's place."

"Yeah yeah," I waved her off, and used the excuse I had to get dressed to get rid of her. My costume wasn't something I picked because I thought it was the best suited for me. It was because I loved the movie, and more recently because he did something dumb like pretending to want to kiss me and then pulled away!

Revenge was so very sweet.


"Wow," Was the first reaction I got and it came from Adam as I walked out to the cars. Everyone else was already gone, Mr. Warren wanted to go via limo, and took pity on me and some of the others by avoiding being cramped in the cool looking sardine can on wheels. "You look-well, wow."

"Someone get him some water quick," Chris commented dryly, not even bothering to look at me at first, but when he did, he's jaw hit the floor board. It must be something about a pink sequined dress, fancy hair, make-up, and a sash with 'Miss Congeniality' written across that got guys' attention (either that or the slit that goes from floor to the top of my thigh, and let me not forget the black, knee-high combat boots).

"Good pick, Kerry." Mr. Warren smiled, as the car started to go. D-M twisted some of the hair on Chris' arm and reminded him how rude it was to stare. This was going to be good. I had to sacrifice myself to bring him pain, and by the end of the night, he was so going to regret teasing me!


"You look awesome." Ah ha! We'd been at the party for a few hours, and it was bridging on midnight when he finally decided to remember me! Not like I wanted him to or anything, I just wanted to see him sweat. I'd enjoyed seeing him get angry with every old fart I had to beat off with D-M's scythe (not really, but they were starting to touch). The natural reaction to any of the males in the 'X' group was to raise eyebrows (trademark number one) and then to play it off.

As if their minds hadn't hit the gutter.

I was not that self-centered, but this was revenge, and I worked hard on trying to get the reaction I wanted. I wanted my revenge to be something he wouldn't forget, because one thing he could forget was ever tricking me again!

"I know," I replied. I was out on the balcony to get away from the feel-good-touchy people. "And you look, well, okay."

He smirked. "I can tell, this is payback isn't it?"

I gave a fake laugh, "The world does not revolve around you."

"No, but yours does."

I turned, completely prepared to through him off the top of the building for saying something as stupid as all that. All HE did was walk closer and say that he just got another point.

He was really begging to be hurt.

"That's not a very becoming face, not in that dress at least." AH! Was he still insulting me? What a complete and utter jerk! Some great leader I was going to be having my own revenge thrown back into my face! Hmmph!

"Then don't look."

"It's hard to ignore you, but dressed like that." He came really close, but my back was turned to him. No way was he going to get anymore ha-ha-I-got-Kookie moments to add to his odd little mind. "It's impossible."

Okay, so what, he was rude to me and now he was charming? What gives?

"Save your sweet talk for someone else," I remarked snidely, in the Summers-I-rule voice.

"Who?"

"The girls at school who actually think you're cute? You know the ones I mean," I looked at him as he leaned against the railing, "the ones who don't really know you."

"Hm, you have to lose that sense of humor if you're going to be a Summers, you know."

Idiot.

"I'm glad you're not leaving," his voice suddenly dropped into the serious tone. "I honestly thought you were going to leave." And then, the sweet seriousness of his voice changed into the joking ha-ha-I-almost-got-you-to-believe-it vibe to it, "Besides, I didn't think you'd want to leave before you getting what you so badly want from me."

Silence? "What's that?"

He only smirked.

I guess he's not as dumb as I thought, don't get me wrong he still not the brightest light bulb that was ever plugged in, but he knew when to zip the lip.

"Hey you two! You better get back in here before you freeze to death!" D-M shouted, "Not to mention all the rumors people will start!"

"After you," he acknowledged politely, making a sweeping gesture with his hands.

I wasn't done with him yet. My revenge was still going to find a way to come true!


"You witch!" Chris' scream (and the slamming of my door) woke me up from where I had fallen asleep pretending to do homework on Saturday.

"What?" not the best reply.

"You are evil! Do you have any idea how much that cost me?!" Chris' face was bright red, and right in mine as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"How much what cost you, dork fish?" I growled back at him, and then he had the nerve to grab my wrist, drag me out of my room and into his. I was about to protest but my mouth opened and nothing came out. And then I started to laugh so hard my stomach hurt!

"What's up with your CDs?"

"You, you idiot! You super glued them to the wall!" He spat, literally. "And there is no way to get them off! What did I ever do to you!" Chris about went through the roof (either with his bad temper, or aid from me if he didn't stop screaming at me).

"I didn't do anything, geek bait!"

"Right! Who the hell else would do something like that?" Chris demanded, crossing his arms against his chest. "And you've done plenty to me!"

"Right, sure, whatever, Sparky . You were the one who stole and tired on my underwear!" I reminded him.

"I did not steal anything! And I sure as hell didn't try on anything of yours!"

That's when we heard it, in the middle of our death glare competition we heard a laugh rip through the hall. We froze. It was almost out of a cartoon as me and Chris marched to his door and looked around for the cause of this laugh.

Just as I thought, and probably Chris, too. Suddenly it was all starting to make sense. The missing Stitch, the underwear, the CDs, and the watermelon (there were more, but that was a quick recap). I looked at Chris who returned my angry stare and then he did this sorta growl thing, and as if we had cue cards we both bellowed together: "Die, Drake!"