When Storm came back inside, T.J. had a feeling something was wrong. She quickly moved back to the seat she had been sitting in. She had heard the voices and moved out of her chair, across the isle and took a look out the window.
There were people standing there. The girl looked nice and had gentle eyes. The boy standing next to her was rather cute, but T.J. figured he was with the girl. The man with them was...like her.
As T.J. stared out the window, her hair stood on end. There was something familiar about that man, and it wasn't just the fact that he looked like her.
The man called Logan seemed to brush off a greeting given him by the young girl and walked out of the room. If she never saw him again, it would be too soon. The others walked toward the jet and Storm, who was, so far, the only person who had treated her like a real person instead of a creepy-looking teenaged girl.
The conversation was easy enough to hear. The large door to the jet was open and the huge room allowed the voices to echo through.
The girl seemed to be from the south. Her accent was slightly twangy. The boy was clearly American. He had no accent. The man, however, was not American. His accent was definatly German. Like her mother's. He seemed to be the one who had come forward first, but it was hard to tell through the small windows.
They were definatly talking about her, and she was shocked when she heard Storm say that she didn't want her to meet everyone all at once. As a matter of fact, T.J. was surprised to realize, she was excited to meet everyone. Especially after seeing that man. It meant she wasn't the only freak around here. She hadn't felt excitement in a long time.
When Storm entered the jet, T.J. looked at her.
"Why did you tell them that?" She asked.
"Tell them what?" Asked Storm.
"That you don't want to overwhelm me?"
"I don't want to overwhelm you, T.J."
"I came with you, didn't I? Doesn't that mean that I wanted to meet your friends? Although, if they're all like your friend Logan, I never want to meet them."
"You have to understand Logan. He's been through alot. He lost someone very close to him last year."
T.J. understood that feeling. She'd lost someone very close to her, as well. Except that it had happened four years ago.
"I saw your friends." T.J. said.
"My friends?" Asked Storm.
"Yeah. The girl and boy."
For a minute, Storm felt relieved that she hadn't seen Kurt. Then...
"And that man. The one who looks like me."
Storm heaved another sigh, "Oh, you saw him, huh?"
"Yeah. I saw all of them."
"The girl is Rouge."
"Rouge? What kind of name is Rouge?"
"It's what she called herself. Surely you've got a name like that?"
"Actually, yeah. I do." Said T.J., "Who's the boy?"
"That's Bobby. He's Rouge's boyfriend."
"I figured as much."
Storm looked at T.J. How had she figured that?
"Who's the man?"Asked T.J.
"That...that's Kurt. He's a good friend." Said Storm.
T.J. looked at her. She had a feeling Storm wished Kurt was more than just a good friend. She had a feeling Storm loved him.
"When do I get to meet them in person instead of hearing about them from you?" She asked.
"We can go right now. They're upstairs waiting." Said Storm. She gestured toward the door and moved forward toward it.
"Why didn't you let me meet them when they were down here?" Asked T.J.
Storm stopped and turned to face the girl, "To tell you the truth, I thought you'd be a little freaked out by Kurt."
"Why would I be freaked out by someone who looks like me?" Asked T.J., "I look this way, for crying out loud! It would take a lot to freak me out."
"I'm sorry. I underestimated you, T.J."
T.J. sighed, "It's OK. Everyone does. Though it's usually during a fight or something like that."
Storm smiled and gestured toward the door, "Shall we?"
T.J. nodded and followed her out. They walked down a long, white hallway and turned a corner into what looked like a dead end. A wall seemed to close on them and the room began to move. They were in the elevator.
The wall opened up again, this time to a busy hallway. Children were hurrying back and fourth, standing around and talking, or just strolling around in groups. The girl Storm had called Rouge was sitting on a chair next to the elevator. She looked up when the wall opened and stood.
"Hey." She said to Storm. Storm left the elevator and was quickly followed by T.J.
"Rouge," Said Storm, "This is T.J."
Rouge held out a hand to shake T.J.'s, "Welcome. I'm Rouge."
T.J. looked at Rouge's outstretched hand and reluctantly shook it. No one had actually volunteered to touch her before. This was new. She figured it didn't matter anyway. Rouge's hand's were covered with leather gloves.
"What's the initials stand for?" Rouge asked.
"Uh...Talia Josephine. It stands for Talia Josephine." Said T.J.
"That's a pretty name." Said Rouge.
Storm put a hand on T.J.'s shoulder, another thing that shocked T.J.
"Where're Bobby and Kurt?" She asked.
"They headed to the kitchen. Bobby decided to stay with Kurt because some kids were giving him a hard time." Said Rouge, pointing to a group of boys by the front door.
"OK. I'll talk to them. Can you take T.J. to the kitchen for me?" Asked Storm. Her eyes were on the group of boys.
"Yeah. Come on." Said Rouge. She gently grabbed the sleeve of T.J.'s coat and pulled her toward a hallway. They passed a room where several children were cheering on some sports team on the television screen. The kitchen was the nest door down. There didn't seem to be anybody around.
Rouge pushed the big sliding door back and went into the kitchen. Bobby was rummaging in the refridgerator for some food. Rouge walked up to him and gave him a small hug from behind. She saw Kurt sitting at the small table at the window, looking out at the world beyond. He wasn't able to go outside very often because of the way he looked. Rouge knew it was painful for him. He loved the outdoors.
"Hey, Kurt." She said, "I want ya to meet someone."
Kurt turned around to look at Rouge and T.J.
"This is T.J." Said Rouge.
T.J. met Kurt's eyes. She recognized those eyes. There was something...familiar...about them. Because of that, T.J. found looking into Kurt's eyes scary. There was something there, kindness and pain. And fear. Her eyes went wide. She pulled away from Rouge and ran out of the kitchen. She had no idea where she was going to go. She didn't know where to go in this huge house. She found the back door and made a beeline for it.
Inside the kitchen, a bewildered Kurt sat at the table, his gaze shifting between Rouge, Bobby, and the kitchen door.
