Wow, it's been awhile since I last updated this story. I was a little stuck on where to go with this chapter and I'm sorry it took me so long to post it.

Chapter Seven

It was her first day at Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, and Kylie was finding it easy to settle into the comforting routine of the school. Already she had gone to two classes, both of which she had with her new found friends, and had immensely enjoyed them. Everybody, from the teachers to the students, to the part time cooks that Professor Xavier brought in to do the large meals, every single one of them was a mutant. Kylie finally felt as if she fit, as if she belonged. It was an amazing feeling.

Wandering down the hall, her books clutched under her arm and her friends at her side, Kylie smiled. The group of six ducked into a classroom and found seats that were grouped together. Miss Monroe stood in front of the small class of fifteen students, a chalkboard behind her.

"Good morning." She greeted the students before jumping straight into the lesson, "Who can tell me in what year Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was published?"

Kylie raised her hand shyly, glancing around to see if anyone else had their hand raised.

"Kylie." Storm said, sending a calming smile the teen's way as all eyes turned onto the new student.

"It was published in book form on March 20, 1852. But it originally began circulation in the National Era on June 15, 1851." She said quietly.

"Very good Kylie." Storm grinned. Kylie blushed and, feeling all of the stares of her peers on her, slid down in her seat and ducked her head, hiding her face behind a curtain of chocolate colored hair. She heard a chuckle beside her and glanced at John out of the corner of her eye. He was smiling at her. Kylie felt as if her face were on fire as her blush deepened.

Not usually one to raise her hand in class, Kylie had surprised herself when she had volunteered to answer Miss Monroe's question. Kylie was smart, her place on the Honor Roll and the advanced classes her parents had pressured her into taking (she only rebelled against taking the classes because it was what her friends would have expected her to do, but she really had wanted to be in the advanced classes so it all worked out in the end) showed that fact. But Kylie didn't like to broadcast her brains, after all, guys wanted girls who looked good, not ones who liked to read Jane Austin at night in the privacy of their bedroom.

The class ended, and Kylie gathered together her books. Storm had called on her three other times to answer questions, all of which Kylie had known the answers to. She could feel John watching her as she placed the strap of her khaki messenger's bag across her shoulder. It bumped against her hip as she walked out of the classroom, a taste of the familiar.

"Kylie," John caught her elbow in his hand, halting her as she made her way down the hall.

"What?" She asked, turning to look him in the eye. It was the first time she had done so since her breakdown the night before. She was still embarrassed that he had witnessed it all and that she had cried in his arms. But John acted as if nothing had happened between them. He acted as if girls falling apart in his arms happened all the time.

"Where did you learn all that?" He asked, looking down at her in awe. "I have never heard someone fire off answers so quickly to Storm's questions."

"I just studied well and ate my vegetables." Kylie joked. John chuckled and shook his head. A shiver ran down Kylie's spine as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

"C'mon," he said, "it's time for lunch and I am starving."

Magneto sat in the stiff metal chair, his fingers tapping steadily against the top of the metal desk at which he sat. The helmet he wore weighted down his head, but he kept his neck stiff, his chin proudly in the air. Charles had tried more than once to catch him since Alkali Lake, but Magneto was smart, and wore his helmet constantly. Mystique wandered into the small office, located below an abandoned warehouse. Her cat-like eyes surveyed her master and lover, taking in the distracted look on his face.

"What is it my dear?" Magneto asked, startling the shape-shifter. He turned to look at her, and Mystique was caught by the full force of his powerful gaze.

"Xavier has a new mutant." The woman replied, sitting in the chair that Magneto indicated. The cold metal chilled her naked skin.

"Does he now." Magneto tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That is nothing new, however. Charles is always taking in new mutants."

"This one is different." He looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

"How so?"

Mystique crossed her legs seductively, eyeing Magneto.

"She has tremendous powers." She said.

"Powers you say?" Mystique nodded. "What kind?"

"Too many to name." She replied.

"Interesting." Magneto leaned back in his chair, his mind once more lost in thought.

Kylie slipped the spaghetti strap tank over her head, pulling her hair out from between the shirt and her back. She pulled back the blankets on the bed and settled in, reaching over to the nightstand for her reading glasses so that she could study a little before actually going to sleep.

"So," Rogue said, getting dressed for bed, "how did you enjoy your first day?" Kylie glanced at her friend and smiled.

"It was great." She replied, "I feel like I actually belong here, ya know." Rogue chuckled lightly and nodded her head as she climbed into her own bed.

"Yeah," she said, "I know." The two read in silence for a few moments.

"So what's up between you and John?" Rogue asked, breaking the silence.

"What?" Kylie looked at her, laughing confusedly.

"Oh come on," Rogue put down her book and lay down on her side, her head propped on one arm, "you two seem to be getting pretty chummy, there's gotta be something going on there."

"We're just friends Rogue, nothing more."

"Yeah right, and Bobby and I are just study buddies." the girl scoffed.

"It's true." Kylie cried, "we're just friends."

"Well something tells me that John doesn't want to be just friends."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're smart," Rogue shrugged, "figure it out."

A very short chapter, I know, but I've got writer's block, major. I'll try and make the next chapter longer, but I make no guarantees. Please review and tell me what you all thought. Also, any suggestions you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I don't promise that I'll use them, but they might just give me some direction or spark some of my own ideas.

Neassa, Eilisan, Lovebuggy, melodie568, horsecrazy, Stableperson, TheAlmightyMasterT-Chan, and Dory Shotgun: Thank you all very much for taking the time to read and review this story. Also, thank you for being so patient about how long it took me to update. I'm just sorry the chapter was so short.