chapter 15 - 'awakenings'
A shaft of light landed across Kitty's face, rousing her from her peaceful slumber. She blinked her eyes open as fuzzy blue fingers came into her focus, softly holding her hand. She smiled inwardly, wondering when Kurt had moved to her bedside.
"Mmm, good morning." She murmured softly as she began to fully wake up.
"Good morning Katherine. I trust that you're feeling better?" A heavy voice replied.
"Oh!...Yes!" Kitty answered as she suddenly realized that it hadn't been Kurt at all, but Dr. McCoy at her bedside.
"I was just unhooking your IV." He stated, as a response to the puzzled look directed towards his grip on her hand. "I'm sorry if I woke you."
"Oh, that's all right." She struggled against her tangled sheets to sit up. "Where's Kurt?" She asked, noticing his empty bed.
"Well, seeing as how you're awake now, I have some rather good news for you." Was Hank's odd response to her question.
"all right..." Her eyebrow raised in confusion.
"I think that I have discovered what has been happening to you."
"Really? Can you fix it?" Kitty asked.
"Well, yes and no, let me explain."
She was waiting for him to pull out his charts or perhaps a diagram of sorts, as the doctor often did when he was explaining his findings. Instead he simply pulled up a chair and sat down. This, for whatever reason, seemed infinitely worse.
"After all of your testes were run, I have concluded that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you." He paused, knowing that the young teen was going to object.
"How can that be?" She asked quizzically.
"Trust me when I say that that I was quite perplexed myself when I first came to this conclusion. However, it seems that nothing negative happened to you that day on the mountain. It merely triggered the further development of your mutation."
He took a moment for her to allow the information to sink in.
"It seems as though this progression is something that would have happened naturally on it's own. The events of that day just caused it to happen sooner." He concluded.
"You mean to tell me that it's 'natural'," she used her fingers to make quotations in the air. "for my powers to go haywire?"
"I mean, I can't control them anymore, if it hadn't been for Kurt yesterday, I'm not sure that I would have been able to solidify."
She was actually becoming a little angry at the doctors audacity to suggest that there was nothing wrong with her.
"Now Katherine." He held up a hand to keep her from continuing. "I'm still not certain what this evolution of your powers will equate to, but I assure you that your temporary loss of control is merely a side-effect of it happening so rapidly."
Kitty sat and contemplated this for a moment.
"But how do you explain the connection between me and Kurt?"
"Well, while it seems that nothing negative happened to your own mutation, Kurt's was thrown off a bit. And while his is naturally going back to normal on it's own, I think that his connection to you helped both of you gain control. I also believe that much of it was psychological."
"How do you mean?"
"He gave you something to focus on until you were able to grasp your own control over your phasing abilities."
"Are we sure about this?" She asked, not really feeling very confident that she could control her powers on her own.
"Soon after you fell asleep last night, I asked Kurt to return to his room so that I could see how you did throughout the night. It seems that everything was normal."
"Oh." Kitty responded, actually feeling a little disappointment. There was something reassuring about knowing that Kurt could help her solve her problems. Now, it seemed, she would have to do it all on her own.
"Cheer up!" Beast chimed in. "You are getting better control over your abilities everyday. And while I wouldn't advise using your powers tonight, it will be perfectly safe for you to attend your dance. After that, we will continue to track your progress until all of your side-effects have passed."
"Oh, good." She answered unenthusiastically.
The doctor smiled and stood to leave.
"You are free to leave, my dear. From what I hear, you teenage women need plenty of time to prepare for these dances." The chuckles from his gentle teasing could be heard as he left the room.
"Sure, I get to go, but not quite like I had hoped." She muttered to herself as she climbed out of the hospital bed to go and shower.
After slipping on the clean clothes that Rogue had left for her in the med lab, Kitty made her way back to the room that they both shared. As she walked down the hall, she absently patted her wet hair with a towel, while balancing an armload of her discarded clothes from the day before. Arriving at her door, she abandoned the towel atop her head so as to free up a hand to turn the knob.
"I hate not using my powers." She grumbled to herself, recalling that she would normally just phase through the offending object.
"Hey Kit!" Rogue called out to her roommate as she entered. "We were just wondering if you were ever going to wake up." She smirked.
Kitty pulled down the towel, uncovering her eyes, so that she could get an unobstructed view of who the other half of Rogue's "we" was.
The figure of her best friend inhumanly balanced, perching on the footboard of Rogue's bed, came as no surprise to her.
"Hey Keety." He shyly smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Oh, you know... super." She answered lamely.
"That's it?" Rogue sounded exasperated. "You can go ta prom! Fuzzy here told me that the doc sent him out last night and it looks like you did fine without 'em!" Rogue exclaimed in a very uncommon, giddy sort of way. Kitty was beginning to think that she preferred the dark, quiet version of her roommate better.
"That does mean that you get to go ta prom now, right?" Her eyebrows raised in hopefulness.
After having Kurt turn her down for the second time the evening before, she was actually starting to have second thoughts about going at all. In fact, by the time that she left the med lab she had pretty much decided that the dress she had bought months before was just going to have to stay in it's bag indefinitely.
But for some reason, seeing her goth roommate; the girl who never got excited about anything, practically squealing with joy over the two of them going together was slowly changing her mind.
"Um, of course it does." Kitty answered as best she could to sound excited for her friend.
"Good thing too, 'cause you talked me inta this in the first place and I wasn't about ta go without you there." Rogue shifted back into her usual sober demeanor, as if she suddenly realized how excited she must have sounded.
"Well then, we better get started!" Kitty did her best to fake her usual perkiness.
"Ya hear that fuzzball? Scram!" Rogue gestured playfully toward the door with a "scooting" motion.
"Vas?" Kurt questioned, hopping down from the footboard. "But it is barely even noon!"
"Exactly Fuzzy, we've already wasted half of the day. Now, scoot."
Kurt made an emphasis on rolling his eyes before departing the girls' room. He was glad that Kitty seemed to be taking everything all right. He had been afraid that she would be upset about the night before. He knew that part of her change of behavior was purely a show for Rogue's part. He had to admit that he was just as excited as Kitty was over his "sister" taking an outward interest in something.
Just as the two girls were shutting the door to the room behind him, he overheard Rogue.
"Whatever happened to that mysterious guy you were going ta go with?"
Kurt's ears perked up. What guy? Were they referring to him?
"Oh."
He could hear the hesitation in Kitty's voice.
"Turns out, he didn't want to go."
Kurt stopped. She had been talking about him and he could hear the disappointment in her voice.
Shoulders sagged, he made his way down to the common room.
After having wasted away an hour or two of his afternoon watching TV with Bobby, Kurt could hardly stand to sit still any longer. Over the last couple of days he and Kitty had been practically joined at the hip. He felt like he was going through some kind of withdrawal without her around.
Ever since Dr. McCoy had sent him back to his room the evening before, he had only seen his friend a few short minutes before being forced out of the room by his own sister.
He was also feeling troubled over how disappointed Kitty had sounded about him not wanting to go to prom. He had thought that now she was safe to go, nothing would be able to hold back her excitement. Sadly, it seemed almost as if Rogue was the more excited one. And that could never be a good sign.
He sighed to himself as he watched Bobby, yet again, click to another channel right in the middle of a program.
"Ach!" He sat upright in frustration. "Don't you vant to actually watch something!"
"What do you mean?" Bobby asked in a daze as he continued to click past each channel, never stopping more than a few seconds.
"Don't you need to get dressed or something?" Kurt asked in an attempt to get the TV to himself.
"Huh? What time is it?"
Kurt looked down at his holowatch.
"Three twenty-seven."
"Nah." Bobby answered. "Besides the tux shop doesn't close until five."
Kurt glanced questioningly at his friend.
"You have not even picked up your tux yet?"
"Relax Fuzzy, I've got plenty of time."
Bobby stretched his remote-free hand behind his head before laying back into the couch and propping his feet up onto the coffee table.
Kurt dropped his head into his hands to express his defeat. He heard heavy steps entering the room and Bobby's feet quickly leaving the coffee table before a gruff voice spoke.
"Elf. Popsicle. Either of you going to this dance?"
Kurt lifted his head to look at Logan and pointed to Bobby beside him.
"Humpf" Logan cleared his throat. "Great, than Elf, you're with me."
"Vas do you mean?" Kurt asked suspiciously. He remembered the deadly look he had received from the older man after he heard about the shower incident, and then the look he had gotten over staying in Kitty's hospital room the night before. Kurt was still a little bit concerned that the older man had not yet offered up some kind of punishment, and he was getting more and more worried that it would involve those claws of his.
"I just got back from taking the younger students on their first X-Jet ride."
Robert held his hand over his stomach remembering the queasiness of his first ride. "Ewwww."
"So, since you are the only one around here who isn't primping for a dance, you're gonna help me clean the jet."
"Vas!" The young German questioned. This was most definitely the beginning of his punished.
"Hahahaha!" Bobby began to laugh. "You got puke duty!"
"Ya know Drake, you don't look all that busy to me." Logan drawled out in his lowest voice.
"Look at the time! I've got to go pick up my tux!" He jumped up from the couch. "See you guys later!"
Watching the teen practically run from the room, Logan commented mostly to himself, "ya know, that's the fastest I've ever seen that kid move."
He turned back to Kurt. "C'mon Elf, I'll meet you in the hangar."
"I vill be right there."
Never being one to do anything half-assed, a couple hours and a few mop buckets later, Logan had decided that the outside of the jet should sparkle as much as the inside now did.
Kurt was sitting on one of the jet's wings rubbing in the layer of wax that he had just applied, while Logan worked on the underside of the wing, just below him.
Logan cleared his throat and Kurt had the sinking feeling that the older man was just getting ready to start questioning him. So far, they had been working in relative silence, and it was beginning to make Kurt nervous. He had been expecting to receive some kind of threat from his teacher and self appointed protector of Kitty, and had just assumed that the hours of silent work were just the beginning of a long and painful punishment. He knew this talk was not going to be a good one.
"So, Elf... what's going on with you and Half-pint?" Logan finally grunted out.
Silence echoed through the large hangar as Kurt took a moment to process Logan's blunt statement.
"Nothing! I swear nothing happened!" Once he started to answer he couldn't help the panic rising in his chest and the need to defend himself. "It vas just an accident. My teleporting vas off and I ended up in zhe wrong bathroom -"
"Whoah!" Logan abruptly cut off his verbal purge. "I don't really want to know about any of that. Frankly, I'm just glad it's YOU she hangs out with now and not that Alvers kid. You, I can trust."
This last statement caught Kurt off guard. He didn't know if his surprise had more to do with Logan trusting him or the fact that he categorized his relationship with Kitty as a similar one to Lance's.
"Danke." Was his simple reply.
"You're welcome kid. I was just wondering why you weren't going to the dance with her, is all."
Kurt was quiet for another moment while he continued to rub the wax in small circles.
"It's complicated." Was his response and Wolverine must have understood it as a sign that he was done discussing it, because they went back to finishing their job in silence.
Leaving behind a pristine X-Jet, Logan and Kurt made their way back into the living room to find Bobby in his tuxedo being teased mercilessly by several Jamies.
A couple of them were pointing and laughing while another few seemed to be impersonating penguins.
"Looking sharp, Popsicle." Logan grunted from his spot, leaning up against the door frame.
Kurt stood beside him and gave a "thumbs up".
"Thanks." Bobby answered as he checked his watch.
"Vhere is Evan?" Kurt asked, not seeing the other senior.
"He already left to pick up his date. We'll be going as soon as the WOMEN get down here!" He hollered out the last part obviously trying to get his own date's attention.
Bobby looked up the stairs, ready to yell out again, when he was stopped dead in his tracks.
"Laugh all you want Jamie." He muttered.
The others turned to look up and see Rogue standing at the top of the staircase with a rare smile of excitement on her face.
Her hair had been swept up and pulled into several complicated looking knots, allowing her bleached white bangs to hang down, beautifully framing her face. Kitty must have assisted with her makeup, as it was less goth-like than usual. Her long black evening gown was a sharp contrast to her fair skin, but seemed only to make her glow. For once, wearing her black satin full length opera gloves was actually a part of her attire and not just a necessity.
She lifted the front of her dress, so as not to trip and gracefully descended the stairs towards the gawking men.
"Y'all are starting ta creep me out." She smiled as she got to the bottom.
"Rogue, you look amazing." Bobby finally managed to stutter. "Absolutely stunning."
She blushed as she complimented him back. "Thanks, ya don't look so bad yourself."
"Rogue,"
She turned towards her brother and smiled. "You really do look vonderbar. I'm glad to see you so happy."
"Sorry. I couldn't find my necklace." The crowd all turned back towards the staircase at hearing Kitty's apology for being late.
"Er... but I found it now." She added, shifting her gaze away from the others as she, just as Rogue had, lifted the front of her dress and gracefully descended the stairs.
The moment Kurt had turned and saw Kitty standing there in her dress, he felt his breath catch in his throat. At that moment he was certain that he would no longer be able to fool himself into seeing her as "only a friend" ever again. He was also rather certain, that his heart had made up that decision long ago.
Her pale pink dress, billowed around her like waves and a few curly tendrils danced along her shoulders as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Bobby whistled. "You look great Kitty!"
Rogue gave him a look and he quickly added, "But not as good as Rogue of course."
"Thanks Bobby, you look great too." She smiled, and then turned, momentarily caught off guard when she spotted Logan and Kurt in the doorway watching them.
"Hi." Kitty said awkwardly.
Logan smiled at the young girl and elbowed the kid with his mouth hanging open beside him. Kurt seemed to be jolted out of his daze, rubbing his ribs where Logan's adamantium laced elbow had collided with them.
"Oh, hi Keety." He stammered after a moment, not moving from his place. "I like your dress."
"Oh," Kitty looked down at the pink folds of glittery fabric. "thanks."
"I think what he means is that you look beautiful, darling." Logan's gruff voice filled the awkwardness.
"You kids better get going. I don't think that limo is going to wait all night." He gestured towards the door.
"Limo?" Bobby asked, arching an eyebrow.
"A gift from the professor." He grunted.
A group of collected cheers erupted.
"Aww man, no fair!" Jamie exclaimed, while a few of them ran to the window to see.
Rogue handed Kitty her evening bag. "C'mon gal, let's roll!"
Kitty glanced over in Kurt's direction and gave a shy little wave. "See you later."
"Bye Keety, have fun."
end chapter 15 - "awakenings"
Special thanks to everybody that came back, or stuck around, or just found this for the first time and was kind enough to read and review! Thanks so much! I promise I will finish this, hopefully by the end of summer. I still have a few more things that need to happen, so there's still a bit more to add. I've been really psyched about the new movie and season 3 of Xmen Evo coming out to DVD, so I've been more inspired than usual. :) Hopefully I will get it all cranked out while my muse is still around!
