Chapter 6 - 'Poor Guy'
The momentary silence was broken when a kid from the back shouted.
"Hey that's the Bayville Demon! That mutant that's been seen with the X-men!"
This was followed by more shouts from the crowd.
"That German kid turned into him!"
"That thing is Kurt Wagner!"
"He has a tail!"
Kurt just stood there, his yellow eyes frantically looking around the room. He knew he should get out of there, run away or teleport, but he couldn't do it, he was frozen in fear. Memories came flooding back into his mind. Memories of villagers who had mistaken him for a demon, trying to burn him at the stake when he was just a child.
The crowds shouting had turned to whispered gossip. Kurt's overly -sensitive hearing was still picking up most of it. Jean had once tried to explain to him what it was like to be a telepath, to hear things that you weren't meant to hear people say, Kurt imagined that this must be close to what it was like.
"I have class with that guy."
"Has he always been that way?"
"Is that his mutation?"
"I think he has fur."
"I told you there was something weird about him."
"Why is he just standing there?"
The last statement caught Kurt's attention. He *was* just standing there, the center of the crowd, unable to move. A hand grabbed a hold of his. It was Kitty. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that she had gained control of her power and he was relieved by this, although unable to express it.
"Kurt, come on, let's go." She spoke softly and squeezed his hand. She began to walk him out as Rogue, Evan, Bobby and Ray pushed their way from the back providing a path through the crowd. Rogue took her foster- brother's other arm as she and Kitty led him quietly out of the building.
"Poor guy." Kurt heard a young student mutter under her breath. He caught her eyes as he walked past, she smiled faintly.
The six students made their way out to Ray's car. Rogue crawled into the back seat and Kitty directed an almost lifeless Kurt in behind her. The group was in such a frantic rush that they didn't even notice Kitty sneak away on her own.
As they drove home Kurt was just staring straight ahead, his silence making the other passengers nervous. Rogue put her arm around her brother and pulled him in to rest his head on her covered shoulder.
"It's gonnah be okay." She said softly, but received no response from the quiet boy.
Rogue wasn't sure how many hours had passed since they had returned to the mansion. She had been immediately replaced by Ororo who had wrapped an arm around her brother and led him away upon arrival.
"Come child, let us go and talk with the Professor." Her voice had been soft and soothing.
After they left the room, the remaining students didn't know what to do with themselves. They wanted to help, but there really wasn't anything for them to do. So they all found a comfortable spot in the living room and silently waited.
Soon the other students began to arrive home and Amara and Roberto came running in.
"Hey what happened today?" Asked Amara as she entered the living room and found all her missing classmates.
"Yeah... there's talk of Kurt "turning into a blue demon" all over school." Roberto added, somewhat out of breath from his rush to get home.
"We hurried home during the next passing period once we realized that you were all gone. So what happened?" Amara and Roberto stood holding their book bags waiting for an answer.
"Kurt's watch fritzed out on him." Ray stated simply.
"Yeah, in the middle of the lunchroom, just about everyone saw him." Added Bobby.
"But how?" Amara's face was full of sadness.
"We don't know, Kitty was with him and we dahn't know where she is." Rogue stated quietly from the back.
"I zhink she's avoiding me, but if you see her vill you let me know." Kurt's voice caused all the students to turn towards him and the Professor, no one had even heard them enter the room.
"Kurt are you awlright?" Rogue stood up, her voice full of concern.
"Ja. I vill be." He said softly.
"What's gonna happen now? Will you be able to go back to school?" Bobby asked, unaware that it wasn't the best time to be asking.
"Shut up, Bobby." Rogue muttered, elbowing him.
"No, it's alright." The Professor spoke up. "Kurt and I have decided that we will use this week as a trial run and he will go back to school tomorrow, with a new watch."
Evan noticed the new "watch" on his friend's wrist. He realized that he didn't actually know what had happened to the first one.
"How do we know it won't break like the first one?" Bobby spoke up.
"It didn't break." Kurt stated softly, he paused before continuing, the crowd anxiously awaiting to find out. "Keety phased through it."
The whole room went silent, shocked by the news of what had happened.
"But not on purpose right?" Bobby added, receiving another glare from Rogue.
"Nein. Of course not. But please, if you see her, I need to talk vith her." Everyone nodded in response to his request. "Now if you don't mind, I vould like to be alone for avhile." With that the young boy was replaced by a cloud of sulfur smoke.
"Kurt is going to need all of you to stand by his side this week." Said the Professor. "Hopefully it shouldn't take long for the school to get used to this new "discovery". Now if you will pardon me, I need to go make a call to the principal to let him know of our arrangements." With that the older man turned and wheeled away.
"Poor guy." said Amara softly.
* * * * * *
With a soft "bamf" Kurt found himself, not in his room as he had intended, but in a small, dark unfamiliar space. By the look of the dust covered boxes, he presumed he was in the attic.
A small "sniff" from a back corner caught his attention and he wandered past some more boxes towards the sound. He moved around a large wardrobe and spotted the source. It was Kitty, sitting on the floor, knees against her chest, her eyes red with tears.
"Vhy are you up here?" He asked meaning to be casual, but even he could hear the hint of anger in his voice. He wasn't actually mad at her for "outing" his appearance to the school. He was just upset about the whole situation.
She jumped a little when he spoke, startled by his entrance.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you." He said softly. She just looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. Instantly, that little bit of anger he had melted away. He sat down beside her and let out a soft sigh.
"Are you alright?" She asked quietly, her voice sounded a little congested from her crying.
"I've been better" He answered. "But ja, I'm fine."
A few tears ran down her cheeks and she hugged her knees tightly to her chest.
"Oh god, Kurt. What happened. What you had to go through, that was all my fault." She began to cry as she continued, taking in a sharp breath. "You must be so angry with me. And all I can do, is tell you how sorry I am." She wiped away her tears and stared at the floor.
Kurt paused for a moment before speaking up.
"Keety, I vasn't angry at you for vhat happened. That vas an accident. I vas hurt and a little upset that you just took off."
Kitty looked over at him as he calmly continued.
"All I vanted on the vay home vas to curl up in your arms and have you tell me it vould all be fine. I appreciated vhat the others did for me, but I vanted you..." He paused before adding, "my best friend." As he finished, his voice trailed off and he started to study the floor, to avoid eye contact.
"Kurt, I thought, like, you would never want to see me again. I thought I had just *lost* my best friend. I mean what's gonna happen to you now?" She was really worried about this.
"I'm going to go to school tomorrow, vith my new vatch." He held up his wrist. "And you, *still* as my best friend, vill help me get through zhe day and the next one and the one after that... AND help me remember that it is all worth it, because we're about to graduate."
"I mean, that's the ideal situation." He looked over at her with his best puppy dog eyes.
"Of course I will." She said catching his gaze. "I am really sorry though. You almost made it to the end without anyone finding out."
"Ack! Forget about it Keety. It is something I should have done a long time ago. I should have been standing beside you guys vhen you vere all revealed as mutants. I realized today, how abandoned you must have felt and I'm truly sorry for that. The way I see it, ve're even." His voice was light hearted and he smiled at Kitty and put his arm around her to pull her into a hug. She smiled back as she gratefully entered the embrace. She could fell her mood getting better as held her. She could definitely get used to this new found closeness between them.
The hug reluctantly ended and both parties sat back against the wall, a hint of awkwardness between them.
"So, vhat is this place? Vhere are we?' Kurt asked, glancing around the large cluttered space.
"What do you mean?" She looked at him quizzically. "We're in the attic over the West side of the mansion."
He scratched the back of his head, trying to act casual. "Vell, I didn't really know vhere you vere... I sorta ported here by mistake."
"I thought that you had to know where you were going in order to teleport." She asked a little confused.
"Ja. You've got me. I've never done zhis before." He shrugged. "Hey speaking of using my powers, ve sorta missed lunch in all the commotion earlier, and all this teleporting has me starving!" He pretended to sniff at the air as he rubbed his stomach. "Besides, I think that I can smell dinner."
Kitty just shook her head, holding back a laugh. "You must be feeling better if you're thinking with your stomach."
She took his hand in hers. "Come on, the kitchen's right below us."
And the two phased down through the floor.
The crowd at the dinner table was full of hushed conversation about the events of the day. They abruptly stopped as the two topics of such conversation entered the room, through the ceiling.
Jamie, still one of the youngest of the students, seemed to miss that everyone had stopped talking and were all glaring at him to shut his mouth.
"I'm just saying, if I were him. I'd be pissed at Kitty!" He shared to no one in particular, not noticing the two forms landing behind him.
"Well, I'm not pissed." Kurt stated rather loudly just behind Jamie, causing him to jump. "At least not at Kitty anyhow." He added giving Jamie a mischievous glare, baring his fangs a little as he and Kitty joined the laughing group at the table.
"Glad to have you back man." Said Evan as he passed the plate of ribs over to his friend.
"Danke, and thanks everyone... for helping me out today." He added while most of the eyes were still on him.
"Hey of course, and we'll all be there tomorrow too." Added Ray from the other end of the table.
"Danke. Now, if you would so kindly send all food in this direction."
End Chapter 6
Author's notes: Okay, Okay I know this chapter sucked big time. And I realize that it has been forever and a day since I last updated. That's because I was having much difficulty making this chapter not suck. And I apparently gave up on trying, because, well, it does. Anyways, I'm sorry. I realize that something exciting better happen soon before you all start killing yourselves out of boredom from reading this fic. (think: Airplane! the Movie) So, I hope the next one will be better.
As always, I much appreciate comments, criticism, suggestions and just general reviews. So if you will, please press that pretty blue button on the bottom left corner there. Yes....you want to click on the button.... click!
The momentary silence was broken when a kid from the back shouted.
"Hey that's the Bayville Demon! That mutant that's been seen with the X-men!"
This was followed by more shouts from the crowd.
"That German kid turned into him!"
"That thing is Kurt Wagner!"
"He has a tail!"
Kurt just stood there, his yellow eyes frantically looking around the room. He knew he should get out of there, run away or teleport, but he couldn't do it, he was frozen in fear. Memories came flooding back into his mind. Memories of villagers who had mistaken him for a demon, trying to burn him at the stake when he was just a child.
The crowds shouting had turned to whispered gossip. Kurt's overly -sensitive hearing was still picking up most of it. Jean had once tried to explain to him what it was like to be a telepath, to hear things that you weren't meant to hear people say, Kurt imagined that this must be close to what it was like.
"I have class with that guy."
"Has he always been that way?"
"Is that his mutation?"
"I think he has fur."
"I told you there was something weird about him."
"Why is he just standing there?"
The last statement caught Kurt's attention. He *was* just standing there, the center of the crowd, unable to move. A hand grabbed a hold of his. It was Kitty. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that she had gained control of her power and he was relieved by this, although unable to express it.
"Kurt, come on, let's go." She spoke softly and squeezed his hand. She began to walk him out as Rogue, Evan, Bobby and Ray pushed their way from the back providing a path through the crowd. Rogue took her foster- brother's other arm as she and Kitty led him quietly out of the building.
"Poor guy." Kurt heard a young student mutter under her breath. He caught her eyes as he walked past, she smiled faintly.
The six students made their way out to Ray's car. Rogue crawled into the back seat and Kitty directed an almost lifeless Kurt in behind her. The group was in such a frantic rush that they didn't even notice Kitty sneak away on her own.
As they drove home Kurt was just staring straight ahead, his silence making the other passengers nervous. Rogue put her arm around her brother and pulled him in to rest his head on her covered shoulder.
"It's gonnah be okay." She said softly, but received no response from the quiet boy.
Rogue wasn't sure how many hours had passed since they had returned to the mansion. She had been immediately replaced by Ororo who had wrapped an arm around her brother and led him away upon arrival.
"Come child, let us go and talk with the Professor." Her voice had been soft and soothing.
After they left the room, the remaining students didn't know what to do with themselves. They wanted to help, but there really wasn't anything for them to do. So they all found a comfortable spot in the living room and silently waited.
Soon the other students began to arrive home and Amara and Roberto came running in.
"Hey what happened today?" Asked Amara as she entered the living room and found all her missing classmates.
"Yeah... there's talk of Kurt "turning into a blue demon" all over school." Roberto added, somewhat out of breath from his rush to get home.
"We hurried home during the next passing period once we realized that you were all gone. So what happened?" Amara and Roberto stood holding their book bags waiting for an answer.
"Kurt's watch fritzed out on him." Ray stated simply.
"Yeah, in the middle of the lunchroom, just about everyone saw him." Added Bobby.
"But how?" Amara's face was full of sadness.
"We don't know, Kitty was with him and we dahn't know where she is." Rogue stated quietly from the back.
"I zhink she's avoiding me, but if you see her vill you let me know." Kurt's voice caused all the students to turn towards him and the Professor, no one had even heard them enter the room.
"Kurt are you awlright?" Rogue stood up, her voice full of concern.
"Ja. I vill be." He said softly.
"What's gonna happen now? Will you be able to go back to school?" Bobby asked, unaware that it wasn't the best time to be asking.
"Shut up, Bobby." Rogue muttered, elbowing him.
"No, it's alright." The Professor spoke up. "Kurt and I have decided that we will use this week as a trial run and he will go back to school tomorrow, with a new watch."
Evan noticed the new "watch" on his friend's wrist. He realized that he didn't actually know what had happened to the first one.
"How do we know it won't break like the first one?" Bobby spoke up.
"It didn't break." Kurt stated softly, he paused before continuing, the crowd anxiously awaiting to find out. "Keety phased through it."
The whole room went silent, shocked by the news of what had happened.
"But not on purpose right?" Bobby added, receiving another glare from Rogue.
"Nein. Of course not. But please, if you see her, I need to talk vith her." Everyone nodded in response to his request. "Now if you don't mind, I vould like to be alone for avhile." With that the young boy was replaced by a cloud of sulfur smoke.
"Kurt is going to need all of you to stand by his side this week." Said the Professor. "Hopefully it shouldn't take long for the school to get used to this new "discovery". Now if you will pardon me, I need to go make a call to the principal to let him know of our arrangements." With that the older man turned and wheeled away.
"Poor guy." said Amara softly.
* * * * * *
With a soft "bamf" Kurt found himself, not in his room as he had intended, but in a small, dark unfamiliar space. By the look of the dust covered boxes, he presumed he was in the attic.
A small "sniff" from a back corner caught his attention and he wandered past some more boxes towards the sound. He moved around a large wardrobe and spotted the source. It was Kitty, sitting on the floor, knees against her chest, her eyes red with tears.
"Vhy are you up here?" He asked meaning to be casual, but even he could hear the hint of anger in his voice. He wasn't actually mad at her for "outing" his appearance to the school. He was just upset about the whole situation.
She jumped a little when he spoke, startled by his entrance.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you." He said softly. She just looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. Instantly, that little bit of anger he had melted away. He sat down beside her and let out a soft sigh.
"Are you alright?" She asked quietly, her voice sounded a little congested from her crying.
"I've been better" He answered. "But ja, I'm fine."
A few tears ran down her cheeks and she hugged her knees tightly to her chest.
"Oh god, Kurt. What happened. What you had to go through, that was all my fault." She began to cry as she continued, taking in a sharp breath. "You must be so angry with me. And all I can do, is tell you how sorry I am." She wiped away her tears and stared at the floor.
Kurt paused for a moment before speaking up.
"Keety, I vasn't angry at you for vhat happened. That vas an accident. I vas hurt and a little upset that you just took off."
Kitty looked over at him as he calmly continued.
"All I vanted on the vay home vas to curl up in your arms and have you tell me it vould all be fine. I appreciated vhat the others did for me, but I vanted you..." He paused before adding, "my best friend." As he finished, his voice trailed off and he started to study the floor, to avoid eye contact.
"Kurt, I thought, like, you would never want to see me again. I thought I had just *lost* my best friend. I mean what's gonna happen to you now?" She was really worried about this.
"I'm going to go to school tomorrow, vith my new vatch." He held up his wrist. "And you, *still* as my best friend, vill help me get through zhe day and the next one and the one after that... AND help me remember that it is all worth it, because we're about to graduate."
"I mean, that's the ideal situation." He looked over at her with his best puppy dog eyes.
"Of course I will." She said catching his gaze. "I am really sorry though. You almost made it to the end without anyone finding out."
"Ack! Forget about it Keety. It is something I should have done a long time ago. I should have been standing beside you guys vhen you vere all revealed as mutants. I realized today, how abandoned you must have felt and I'm truly sorry for that. The way I see it, ve're even." His voice was light hearted and he smiled at Kitty and put his arm around her to pull her into a hug. She smiled back as she gratefully entered the embrace. She could fell her mood getting better as held her. She could definitely get used to this new found closeness between them.
The hug reluctantly ended and both parties sat back against the wall, a hint of awkwardness between them.
"So, vhat is this place? Vhere are we?' Kurt asked, glancing around the large cluttered space.
"What do you mean?" She looked at him quizzically. "We're in the attic over the West side of the mansion."
He scratched the back of his head, trying to act casual. "Vell, I didn't really know vhere you vere... I sorta ported here by mistake."
"I thought that you had to know where you were going in order to teleport." She asked a little confused.
"Ja. You've got me. I've never done zhis before." He shrugged. "Hey speaking of using my powers, ve sorta missed lunch in all the commotion earlier, and all this teleporting has me starving!" He pretended to sniff at the air as he rubbed his stomach. "Besides, I think that I can smell dinner."
Kitty just shook her head, holding back a laugh. "You must be feeling better if you're thinking with your stomach."
She took his hand in hers. "Come on, the kitchen's right below us."
And the two phased down through the floor.
The crowd at the dinner table was full of hushed conversation about the events of the day. They abruptly stopped as the two topics of such conversation entered the room, through the ceiling.
Jamie, still one of the youngest of the students, seemed to miss that everyone had stopped talking and were all glaring at him to shut his mouth.
"I'm just saying, if I were him. I'd be pissed at Kitty!" He shared to no one in particular, not noticing the two forms landing behind him.
"Well, I'm not pissed." Kurt stated rather loudly just behind Jamie, causing him to jump. "At least not at Kitty anyhow." He added giving Jamie a mischievous glare, baring his fangs a little as he and Kitty joined the laughing group at the table.
"Glad to have you back man." Said Evan as he passed the plate of ribs over to his friend.
"Danke, and thanks everyone... for helping me out today." He added while most of the eyes were still on him.
"Hey of course, and we'll all be there tomorrow too." Added Ray from the other end of the table.
"Danke. Now, if you would so kindly send all food in this direction."
End Chapter 6
Author's notes: Okay, Okay I know this chapter sucked big time. And I realize that it has been forever and a day since I last updated. That's because I was having much difficulty making this chapter not suck. And I apparently gave up on trying, because, well, it does. Anyways, I'm sorry. I realize that something exciting better happen soon before you all start killing yourselves out of boredom from reading this fic. (think: Airplane! the Movie) So, I hope the next one will be better.
As always, I much appreciate comments, criticism, suggestions and just general reviews. So if you will, please press that pretty blue button on the bottom left corner there. Yes....you want to click on the button.... click!
