Disclaimer: X-Men? Not mine. Wicked? Also not mine. Consequently, I'm making no money using them, however much I might wish that I were.
Thanks to Beaubier for awesome beta-ness, and to everyone who's reviewed so far!
Making Good
By Sue Penkivech
Chapter 3: Dancing Through Life
Strangely enough, it wasn't an alarm or her younger brother that woke Elizabeth the following morning. She opened her eyes to peer at the clock beside her bed, and groaned when she realized it was barely 6:00. Like her mom, she was a fairly early riser, but it was vacation. She shouldn't be awake at 6 am, ever.
Unfortunately, as was often the case when she wrote before going to bed, her story had taken over her dreams. Not that she was awake, she doubted she'd be getting back to sleep any time soon – it was already nagging at her, and she was itching to get outside and finish up the part she'd been working on. Slipping out of her bed, she pulled on some slippers and her bathrobe, and headed downstairs. Maybe her mom would be up – she vaguely remembered her parents popping in to check on her the night before when they'd gotten back to the Institute from wherever it was they'd gone with Uncle Hank and Aunt Betsy. But she'd been mostly asleep and had just mumbled something incoherent as her father tucked the covers in around her.
The smell of something cooking was issuing from the kitchen when she approached the door, and she smiled sleepily at her mother as she entered the room.
"Hi Mom," she mumbled as she collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs and pillowed her head on her arms.
"Busy day yesterday?" her mom asked sympathetically.
Elizabeth raised her head just enough to peer out over her arms and nodded, a wry smile forming in response to the tolerant one on her mother's face. "I did a lot of writing," she explained. "And Nic and I washed Uncle Jono's car."
"Mmmm," her mom said as she carried a plate of scrambled eggs and toast over to the table. "Sounds like you had fun," she said, leaning down and planting a soft kiss on Elizabeth's forehead. She set what had apparently been her intended breakfast before her daughter, then turned back toward the counters.
Elizabeth sat up and stretched, then nodded. "I did," she admitted, then yawned broadly. A sheepish smile formed as she looked up at her mother. "Maybe a little too much. I'm still tired."
"I'm surprised you're up," her mom admitted as she phased her arm through the door of the refrigerator, pulling it back out with an egg clasped in her hand. "I would've thought you'd still be sleeping. You managed to actually beat Josh to the kitchen."
Elizabeth shook her head as she examined the eggs. Nope, no veggies in them; unlike her mother, she still wasn't totally convinced that vegetables were something that could be realistically eaten at breakfast. Her father insisted they weren't something that could realistically be eaten at any time, and of course Josh wrinkled his nose at anything that wasn't covered in grease or ketchup. But her parents made sure Josh ate something that resembled food occasionally, and she knew her dad didn't mean it. He just said it to tease her mom, even while he was busy piling green beans on his plate at dinner.
Her parents were weird, sometimes. But then, Uncle Jono and Aunt Illyana were even weirder, and a whole lot louder when they argued, so she supposed she'd lucked out.
"Couldn't sleep," she said finally as she got up to get a glass and to retrieve the milk from the fridge. Experimentally, she tried pushing her hand through the door as her mother had done, but wasn't surprised when she determined that she hadn't developed the ability to phase overnight. No one knew what form her powers would take, or even if she'd definitely have any. Part of her was relieved that she didn't yet; she wasn't sure she was ready for that much responsibility. The other part was jealous that Nic and Josh had practically been born with theirs, though in Nic's case it was entirely possible he'd manifest others when he got older. For reasons no one had ever been able to explain, telepathy seemed to be a dominant gene, with early manifestation.
Which didn't explain Josh icing his crib, of course. But if there was any way for her brother to get a head start on being an X-Man, he'd manage to find it.
"Something wrong?" her mom asked gently.
Elizabeth shook her head as she opened the refrigerator and retrieved the milk. And really, nothing was…except her mom was one of the X-Men's team leaders. While her parents had never given the slightest indication that they were anything but proud of her, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel sometimes as if she'd let her mom down through a simple quirk of genetics. And disposition. Even if she did manifest some sort of ability, she wasn't at all sure she'd even want to be an X-Man.
Her dad would understand that, she knew. She wasn't so sure about her mom, and it worried her sometimes.
"Nope, just got the writing bug," she replied, pushing aside her other concerns. It was all sort of academic right now anyway; no point worrying about it until or unless she needed to. And it was true enough – she had been bitten by the writing bug. Elizabeth glanced over at her mom and paused. Maybe Nic was right, and her mom would be mad about her using her in the story? She bit at her lip, debating on whether or not she should ask, and decided against. She'd just let her see it before she turned it in. Or…not, if she decided it was really bad and ended up throwing the whole thing out.
Her mom paused a moment as if she were going to ask what the story was about, or perhaps ask once more if anything was bothering her, but instead changed the subject to discuss plans for the day as she began frying up another egg. Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief as she took her seat at the table and began eating her breakfast. Weird or no, sometimes her parents were okay.
It was a simply splendiferous party, Illyana decided as she smiled around the room, eyes taking in the couples on the dance floor. And those who weren't, she thought, her smile taking a turn toward mischievous as she caught sight of Dani standing with Bobby's friend (Spam? Something like that) near the wall. Whatever his name was, he seemed smitten with her dark haired friend. The conversation seemed to be faltering, though. Maybe she should…
"Want something to drink?" Bobby asked from behind her, and she turned to see him offering a glass of punch.
She accepted it from him with a playful smile, then jerked her head over toward their friends. "Do you think we should help them out?"
"Nah, they're fine," Bobby assured her. "If I go over there, he's going to feel obligated to lecture me on how this was all a bad idea. Why ruin his fun?"
"Mmmm, good point," she conceded, turning back toward the dance floor and shifting subtly so that her shoulder brushed against Bobby's arm. "I don't think it was a bad idea, though," she smiled up at him. One of the best she'd ever heard, actually – and more importantly, he'd invited her to what was undoubtedly going to be the best remembered night in Chussets history.
Not, she reminded herself, that him doing so was any sort of surprise. She'd known from the moment she first saw him that he was absolutely perfect for her. But confirmation that he felt the same was always nice, and her smile grew broader as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Look – your admirer's here with his date," Bobby said with a mischievous grin as he leaned closer and gestured toward the door with his chin.
Illyana wrinkled her nose playfully and nudged his side with her shoulder as she followed his gaze and saw an awkward looking Jono wheeling Paige into the ballroom. Paige looked radiant, and Illyana chose to focus on that rather than the still confused expression on Jono's face. "She looks happy, doesn't she?" she noted, rather pleased with herself for her match-making. "I really should be awarded some sort of medal for this, don't you think?"
"Oh, definitely," Bobby assured her, then grinned. "Does Chussets give medals for simultaneously playing matchmaker and getting rid of unwanted admirers?"
Illyana made a show of sighing and shaking her head, almost but not quite suppressing the giggle that was her more honest reaction. "I really don't know what you're talking about – I think they make a lovely couple, don't you?" And…well, yes, Jono was looking at her and Bobby and frowning, but she was sure he'd get past that. Eventually. After all, Paige was very pretty, and apparently quite interested in him.
Besides, Jono could hardly begrudge her that when it was so obvious that she and Bobby were perfect for each other. Even if…well, perhaps it looked as if he might, a bit. The lovesick look he was directing in her direction made her feel…well, just a teensy bit awkward, and she dropped her eyes and turned back to Bobby, hoping he'd divert her with an offer to dance.
Further deliberations upon the couple in question were cut off, however, by a tap on her shoulder. Startled, Illyana turned to see Ms. Frost standing behind her, a stern expression on her face.
"Oh, Ms. Frost!" she exclaimed, brushing off Bobby's arm and turning around. She couldn't think of any reason the headmistress would single her out, unless the woman had finally read her treatise on wands and realized she'd make a far better student than Katherine. Hoping that was the case, she smiled up at her teacher and asked, "Whatever brings you here?"
Ms. Frost seemed unimpressed with her enthusiasm and sighed, then reached into her handbag and pulled out a wand. "Your roommate insisted I give this to you, and that I include you in my sorcery seminar. Why, I have no idea. I sincerely doubt that you have either the talent or the dedication required, but she threatened to withdraw, herself." She fixed Illyana with a pointed look as she handed her the wand. "I hope you appreciate the opportunity. It's not one I would have chosen to have given you, myself. My time is far too valuable to waste."
"I…yes, thank you," Illyana stammered, taken aback by the flood of information. Katherine had insisted…whyever would she do that, after the way she'd dumped the world's ugliest hat on her, and fixed her sister up with a munchkin? The mind boggled, and she barely managed to say thank you once more as the school's headmistress turned and made her way back toward the doors.
"What's wrong?" Bobby asked, and Illyana looked up to see his brown eyes clouded with concern.
"I…got what I wanted," she replied slowly, holding up the wand as evidence.
"Well, that's good, right?" Bobby asked, obviously confused by her reaction.
Illyana nodded and forced a smile. "Of course it is," she replied, pushing aside the odd feeling of guilt she was experiencing. After all, he was right – she should be happy.
Unfortunately, she didn't feel quite as happy as she would have expected to. She opened her mouth to suggest they step outside for a few moments and get some air, but Bobby was already speaking.
"Who is that?" he asked, staring at the doorway, where a very familiar green skinned girl was standing. Still dressed in her school uniform, and wearing, of all things, the hat that Illyana had given her earlier. The dancers had stopped dancing and were clumping together, all eyes focused on the newcomer as they whispered amongst themselves.
"My roommate; please don't stare," she asked, despite the fact that whether or not Bobby did was unlikely to be noted, given everyone else's reactions.
"It's sort of hard not to," he admitted, and she could see him attempting to pull his eyes away only to have them refocus on the emerald skinned girl. "But I don't think she cares…"
Earlier that day, she would have agreed and said that Katherine seemed unfazed by it all as she descended the stairs and began dancing alone, in obvious defiance of the staring crowd. Now, looking a bit closer, she could see the tension in her roommate's shoulders, her impassive expression that was just a bit too forced to be genuine.
"Of course she does, she just pretends not to," she whispered back, then made a decision and handed Bobby her drink. "Excuse me, please? I'll be back in just a few minutes, I promise."
Without waiting for his response, she wound her way through the whispering, laughing students on the dance floor and tapped Katherine on the shoulder. "Can I cut in?" she asked with a faint smile.
"Can you what?" Katherine replied, stopping mid motion like some child's tik tok toy that needed to be rewound, only her head turning to look at her as if with the last tok of the mechanism.
Illyana simply grinned in response, and began imitating Katherine's motions as the band began playing louder, drowning out the hushed speculation of the crowd. "Well, dance already," she instructed her gaping roommate, motioning with her hand in an obvious request for Katherine to resume her previous steps. Or…well, to move, period, because the way the girl was staring at her was rather unnerving. Especially under the circumstances. She wasn't even sure exactly why she'd chosen to join her; perhaps because getting what she wanted hadn't been quite as exciting as she'd expected. Perhaps…well, perhaps because of the small voice in the back of her mind that said she might possibly have been a bit unfair.
After giving her one last, suspicious look, Katherine obliged. But she stopped a few minutes later and stood, gaping, as the other Chussets students ceased staring and began emulating their dance.
"How did you do that?" Katherine said, barely loud enough to be heard over the music as her eyes flicked around the room. "And why?"
Illyana shrugged and smiled impishly up at the taller girl. "It's all about being popular," she admitted, ignoring the latter question entirely. "They want to be like me, and now, they want to be like you, too." Grinning at Katherine's astonished expression, she grabbed hold of the other girl's arm and gave it a tug. "Come on, you have to meet Bobby," she insisted.
"I have to do this, why?" Katherine countered, nonetheless following along with a dazed expression on her face.
"Well, because we're friends now!" Illyana pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And, well, he and I are dating, so you two might as well get to know each other sooner rather than later, right?"
"You just met him this morning," Katherine replied, her voice lowering as they drew closer to the Winkie prince, who was engaged in an animated conversation with Spam, or Sam, or whatever his friend's name was. "You're already dating? And when did we…"
"Well, more or less, I suppose," she conceded, breaking in on the next question as she gave her reluctant roommate's arm another tug. "I mean, he hasn't asked me yet, or anything, but…oh, just come on!"
"Ah'm telling ya, she's not interested," Spam was saying as they approached.
"Of course she is," Illyana broke in as she slipped in beside Bobby, retaining her hold on Katherine's arm to keep her from bolting. "That's just Dani; she never knows what to say when she actually is interested, so then she doesn't say anything. It's all very confusing, I know," she added sympathetically as the blonde boy stared at her in disbelief. "Bobby, Spam, I'd like you to meet my roommate Katherine," she inserted, pulling at her newest friend's arm to yank her into the conversation. Hmm…Katherine really needed a nickname, she mused as the taller girl stumbled forward, nearly tripping over her own boots. Also new shoes, but that could wait for tomorrow. She might even have some in her closet that would fit; the other girl's feet were bigger, but she never tried the silly things on at the store, so she was sure she had something that would be the right size. They'd have to check later.
Bobby stared for a moment, but as she'd expected, good manners took over and he smiled and reached out to take Katherine's hand, then dropped it when it became obvious that the girl was too dazed to take his. "Nice to meet you," he said. "So, are you enjoying the party?"
"It's certainly…different than I'd expected," Katherine replied awkwardly, then turned to look at Illyana instead. "Look, I don't think –"
"This was a good idea?" Spam interjected with a chuckle as he elbowed Bobby in the side. "Ah keep telling him that, but he never listens. Last time he threw an "Ah got kicked out of school," party, it got us kicked out of the next one too. Ah'm Sam, by the way. Nice hat," he added with a vague gesture toward her head but with obvious sincerity.
Illyana held her breath, afraid Katherine was going to explain where she'd got it, but instead reached up as if to remind herself what she was wearing. She still looked rather dazed, Illyana realized with a touch of smugness. When she moved as it to remove it, though, Bobby shook his head and grinned.
"No, leave it on – it looks good on you," he insisted, and Illyana was amazed to realize that he actually seemed to mean it. Spam – well, no, Sam…that she could see. Given what he was wearing, he obviously had no clue as to what was in style. But Bobby…she cocked her head to look up at Katherine, studying her face, and ultimately nodded. "It does," she agreed, hiding her surprise. She wouldn't have thought such an ugly, pointy hat would look good on anyone, but somehow, it looked right on Katherine.
"Right. Look Illyana, I don't know what game you're playing, but I think I've had enough of it," Katherine said, pulling her eyes away from Bobby's face to meet those of her roommate.
"Oh, but you can't leave yet – you just got here!" Illyana protested. Her roommate shook her head, and she sighed. "Fine, we'll go then – Bobby could you be a sweetie and call us a carriage?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh, sure. You really should stay though, y'know," he told Katherine as he turned to leave, Sam following along. "The party's just getting started."
"What are you up to?" Katherine asked, and Illyana shrank back a little beneath the intensity of her brown-eyed (odd, she'd assumed they'd be green, too) glare.
"Nothing!" she protested, then sighed and pulled out the wand she'd hidden in her sleeve. "Ms. Frost stopped by; she said you'd insisted on her including me in the sorcery seminar."
"Oh." Katherine's glare faded, and she turned a bit to look toward the dance floor. Illyana followed her softened gaze to where Jono was wheeling a laughing Paige around to the music, and felt a sharp pang of guilt. So, that was why Katherine'd requested that she be included. Hopefully, everything there would work out well, at least...
"Well, whatever your reason, I felt…well, as if maybe I'd gotten things off on the wrong foot?" Illyana suggested awkwardly, then grinned and cocked her head. "Tell you what – if you don't want to stay, we can go back and talk, ok?"
"But you're on a date," Katherine pointed out.
Illyana shrugged. "That's okay, it'll be an excuse to go on another one!" she countered with a grin. "You know, 'Well, since we hardly got to dance, we really should go out and celebrate again, don't you think?'" Her grin turned determinedly mischievous as she noticed the confused expression on Katherine's face, and she linked her arm through her roommate's and began leading her toward the door. Obviously, Katherine had a lot to learn.
Illyana was up to something, Katherine mused for the umpteenth time since they'd left the Oz Dust. True to his word, Bobby'd called them a carriage to take them back to their dorm, but somehow, he and Sam had managed to convince her to stay a while. She'd actually danced, twice – once with a somewhat awkward Sam, who seemed just as uncomfortable on the dance floor as she was herself, and once with Jono when he'd wheeled Paige over to say hello. And when they'd finally left, she'd spent the trip listening to her roommate talk nearly non-stop. And, much to her surprise, occasionally talking herself.
It was more than a little disconcerting, she decided as she followed her still-babbling roommate into their shared bedroom and watched the blonde plop down on her bed. She wasn't accustomed to talking about herself – wasn't used to anyone being interested enough to ask. And yet, Illyana was asking, in a way that suggested she was actually engrossed in the answers.
"Now, Katherine," Illyana began as she rolled onto her side, heedless of any wrinkles she might be putting in the pink dress she was still wearing. Pausing, she wrinkled her nose and seemed to consider that for a moment. "You need a nickname," she decided, nodding.
"I really don't," Katherine replied as she sat down on her own bed and began removing her boots, but given the expression on her roommate's face she had a feeling that yet another of her objections was about to be brushed aside.
Illyana waved her hand in the air vaguely, proving her right, and shook her head. "You do," she said decisively. "Everyone needs a nickname. I think I'll call you…" she paused for a few moments and stared, as if the perfect name was going to appear on Katherine's forehead, then grinned. "Kitty!"
"Kitty?" Katherine exclaimed in disbelief as her mind summoned an incongruous image of someone who…well, who looked quite a bit like Illyana, now that she thought of it. Someone who definitely wasn't her, at any rate. "I don't think –"
"It's perfect!" Illyana interrupted, grinning over at her. "And you can call me…well, Illyana. How does that sound?"
Katherine (or Kitty, she reflected as she resigned herself to her fate) rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you want to pretend I'm a cat, go ahead." It wasn't an inaccurate analogy, at any rate. Her father had more than once accused her of hissing when she was angry.
Illyana giggled and sat up, then swung her legs over the side of the bed and leaned forward. "Okay, now that we're friends –"
"We are?" the newly rechristened Kitty interrupted, not bothering to hide her bemusement. Illyana had said that earlier at the party, but hadn't elaborated then, either. "When did that happen?"
Illyana sighed dramatically and waved her hand again, as if that explained everything. "Of course we are. We're roommates, we just went to the most splenderific party, and you wore my hat! We're friends." She grinned in a way that made Kitty distinctly uncomfortable, then began tapping her perfectly manicured fingers on her leg. "In fact, I think you could have lots of friends, really. You just need…well, a little something here and there, really."
"Skin bleach?" Kitty proposed, rolling her eyes. While Illyana seemed in earnest, she couldn't quite imagine what exactly the other girl had in mind.
"Ewww – no, not skin bleach," Illyana disputed, wrinkling her nose, then paused and began studying her face. "Actually, green's a very nice color. Even for skin. Possibly a tiny bit hard to find clothes that complement it well, but that shouldn't be too big a problem…I have lots of clothes, and some of them should fit you. If not, we can always go shopping…"
"In the middle of the night? Illyana…what are you doing?" Kitty asked nervously as the other girl bounced to her feet and began rummaging through her dressing table.
"Giving you a makeover!" she replied, tossing a grin over her shoulder as she began pulling out cosmetics at random, only occasionally discarding some by tossing them back into the drawer. "Now, tell me all about yourself while I do it; it'll keep you from getting nervous."
It was a little too late for that, Kitty reflected as she watched Illyana carry the pile over and plop it down beside her. On the other hand…this was kind of fun. Just the sort of thing one read about in books, but she'd never expected for herself. And if the results proved as humiliating as she fully expected, she could always wash them off in the bathroom without anyone being any wiser.
"There isn't much to tell," Kitty disclaimed as her roommate gestured for her to turn around and began unbraiding her hair. "I'm not all that interesting."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, of course you are! Let's see...oh! I know! You can tell me about that little green bottle you keep under your pillow! That's got to be a good story," Illyana reasoned aloud.
"It was my mother's," Kitty replied, closing her eyes and wishing she really did have some amusing story to tell about the bottle. Sadly, the facts weren't all that intriguing. "I really don't even know what it was from; I just found it in her room after she died and kept it to remember her by."
"Well, that's…interesting," Illyana replied, her tone making a lie of her words. "Was she poisoned or something? I mean, it looks like the perfect bottle for poison, really…"
"No, she died when Paige was born," Kitty admitted, biting her lip as if her roommate had tugged just a little too hard at her hair. Truthfully, this wasn't a story she really wanted to relate just now, though possibly it would be best to just get it over with. Once Illyana knew the truth, at least she'd abandon all pretensions of friendship. And with them, all makeover attempts. "It was my fault," she continued, her voice quiet.
"What was?" Illyana chirped from behind her. She was humming as she worked , Kitty noticed; the song that had been playing at the OzDust when they'd left the dance floor. For some reason, it was almost reassuring.
"My mother dying," she replied.
"Oh, don't be silly, you must've been what, two years old? Three?" Illyana countered, and Kitty nodded.
"Three. But, y'see," she turned around, ignoring her roommate's protests, and shrugged. "When my mother was pregnant with Paige, my father had her chew milk flowers all the time. So that Paige wouldn't be, well…"
"Green?" Illyana offered helpfully.
Kitty nodded, then sighed and leaned back on her arms. "Green. And she didn't – but she did come too early, and with her legs too weak to support her. And my mother…well, she never woke up."
Prepared for the same look of disdain that she was accustomed to seeing on her father's face, Kitty was surprised when instead Illyana rolled her eyes and smiled.
"That doesn't make it your fault, Kitty. All that means is that your father made your mother eat milk flowers, which he should've known aren't really edible." Her face assumed a puzzled expression for a moment, and she paused. "And y'know, I'm not at all sure milk flowers would stop anyone from being green anyway. I mean, they take grass stains out of clothes, but…that's different, I think."
Despite herself, Kitty had to smile at the considering expression on her roommate's face as she apparently tried to puzzle out whether or not milk flowers would remove green from someone's skin. "It doesn't work, no," Kitty replied, gesturing to her bare arm before her new friend could propose conducting an experiment. "I tried a few times."
"Well, then it was just silly of your father to begin with," Illyana reasoned as she began digging through her cosmetics. "Honestly, how could that be your fault? Hmm. Blue? No. Purple, no. Oh, here we go!" she exclaimed as she pulled out a compact with green and brown eye shadow. "Now, close your eyes, okay?"
Kitty obliged, more by instinct than through any thought on her part, and smiled as her roommate began singing under her breath. "Popular. You're gonna be pop-uu-lar…"
"Right," she replied sarcastically as she felt a brush dab something on her eyelids. Her, popular. Not that it wasn't a nice thought, but it was so outside the realm of possibilities that it was hard to resist the urge to laugh.
"Now, listen to me," Illyana said seriously as she stopped dabbing, and Kitty opened her eyes. "I may not know all the answers in class like you do, and I might not be able to make sense of the first chapter of your introductory magic text," she paused for a moment as if just realizing that she'd admitted to rummaging through Kitty's things, but then shrugged. "But popular is something I know everything about. It's not hard."
"For you, maybe," Kitty conceded with a doubtful look.
"For anyone," Illyana corrected with a smile. "I mean, yes, it comes easy for me. But I can teach you. All you need are the right clothes, the right friends…"
"Like Amara?" Kitty replied with a roll of her eyes, then obligingly closed them as Illyana moved back in with the eyeshadow. If popularity required her to make friends with the resident princess who felt the need to sniff as if she'd smelled something bad whenever Kitty passed her in the hallway, she wanted no part of it.
"Well…okay, perhaps not Amara," Illyana conceded. "But who cares about Amara, anyway? The boys are far more important. Now, Bobby's friend Spam –"
"Sam," Kitty corrected.
"Sam, right. Anyway, he couldn't keep his eyes off you."
"Well, that's not altogether unusual," Kitty deadpanned, her face warming slightly. For once, she was grateful for her odd coloring that made visibly blushing impossible, though it wasn't Bobby's friend she was thinking of. Inwardly berating herself for being ridiculous, she continued. "It comes with being green. Normally they're trying to figure out whether or not they can ask if I ate too much grass as a toddler, or if the midwife dropped me in water that had a lot of algae in it."
Illyana snorted as she tilted her head to study Kitty's face, then nodded and commenced a new attack on her eyelids, this time with a brown pencil. "Now you're just being ridiculous," she countered confidently. "He was thinking no such thing. Lots of people go swimming in lakes and they don't end up green. Though sometimes their hair does," she added absently after a moment's reflection. "But it washes out. Make your eyes wider," she instructed, demonstrating with her own as if the sudden change of topic was nothing out of the ordinary.
Perhaps for her it wasn't, Kitty reflected, her lips curling up at the sight of her temporarily bug-eyed roommate. Nonetheless she found herself obliging, and fought the urge to blink as Illyana outlined her eyes with the pencil, content for the moment to listen as the blonde girl changed the subject back to the original, nearly forgotten one.
"Anyway, there's nothing to being popular," she lectured with the ease of someone who was an expert on the subject. "And you," she added with a grin, "have your own personal tutor, so it should be a piece of cake."
"Lucky me," Kitty replied, chuckling a bit as the other girl apparently took her observation at face value and preened. "Why exactly would I need one? And what's in it for you?"
"Well, you could be nice and help me with my homework," Illyana pointed out, ignoring her other question completely as she rummaged through the pile of make-up and emerged triumphantly with a tube of lipstick. "Think of it this way," she added as she began applying the lipstick, pursing her own lips as she stroked the makeup over Kitty's. "If you're going to work for the Wizard, you're going to be popular anyway. You're just…getting a head start." She dropped her hand and smiled, then exchanged the lipstick for a hand mirror and held it out. "See? I told you I could do it!"
Kitty's hand raised to her face as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, and despite her unique coloring was almost surprised to see that the girl in the mirror's hand echoed her movement. Whatever Illyana had done, she looked…entirely unlike herself. Her brown eyes, which Paige had once in a charitable moment proclaimed her best feature, appeared larger than usual, her lips fuller. Her hair, freed from its accustomed braid, framed her hair in loose curls. If not for her skin, she might actually have been…
"See? You look beautiful!" Illyana chirped, eerily echoing the thoughts that Kitty couldn't quite bring herself to think. "Oh, here – final touch," she said as she leaned forward and tucked a pink flower into her hair, then settled back, apparently very proud of herself. "Pink goes well with green."
"I…I have to go," Kitty announced, scrambling to her feet and heading toward the door to the hallway, fleeing her own altered reflection. Tomorrow - no, later today, she realized as she glanced at the window and noticed the sky was subtly lighter than it had been when they'd returned – she'd deal with the idea that her appearance might not actually be a lost cause. Maybe. It was a novel thought, and one that disconcerted her on some fundamental level, as if her entire self-image had been shaken by one glance in the mirror.
"You're welcome!" Illyana called after her, and she could hear her roommate begin gathering up her cosmetics as she closed the door behind her. Kitty took a deep breath, then started down the hallway that would lead her to the main entrance. Maybe all she needed was a little fresh air, and everything would fall back in to place.
"Liz-zeeeee!"
Elizabeth's head jerked up, and she immediately flipped her notebook closed and stuffed it behind her back, wincing as her hand scraped against the bark of the tree she was leaning against. She supposed she was lucky she'd gone this long without interruptions, but she'd really hoped that Josh would have been too busy with his friends to come looking for her.
Apparently, her luck had run out.
"There you are!" he proclaimed as his ice slide swerved around a tree, reflecting light sparkling off both the slide and its creator as it came to a not quite abrupt stop before her. "I've been looking everywhere for you," he informed her with an impish albeit icy grin. "Where've you been, anyway?"
"Right here, duh," she informed him with a roll of her eyes as she grinned in response. Honestly, Josh was so annoying sometimes. "What's the matter, still can't do dad's trick with the heat patterns or something?"
Unsurprisingly, his eyes narrowed, even as his bottom lip popped up just a bit. Which looked so silly on a face made of ice that she nearly giggled, and would .
"No," he complained, scuffing one foot against the slide. "And it's no fair, because he uses it to cheat at hide and seek."
"Because it would be so much more fair for you to use it to cheat?" she pointed out, then smirked as he paused to consider the question.
"Well, Mr. Summers says you should use any tacti..tac…" he paused for a moment and then shrugged. "Advantage," he concluded, obviously hoping she wouldn't notice the skipped word. "So it'd kinda be fair…"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes again. Josh was always quoting Uncle Scott, had even taken to calling him Mr. Summers like the rest of the kids in his after-school powers class. Not that it was all that much a class, in her opinion; she'd come along to watch a few times, and it was mostly just the little kids goofing around with their powers. But her mom said it gave Josh a chance to cut loose and see what he could do without hurting himself or anyone else, so she brought him once a week.
Still, that didn't make him an expert on tactics. Especially when it came to hide and seek.
"Like you don't have enough advantage, just being see-through," she complained, curling her legs in so she could sit cross-legged. "Anyway, you're not supposed to be sliding with no adults around," she pointed out, gesturing toward the ice slide.
Josh just grinned. "I'm practicing," he informed her. "And Jubilee's back there somewhere, she told me to come get you. So there's an adult."
"Not according to dad," Elizabeth replied with a smirk. "Jubilee doesn't count; she still gets into more trouble than you do. Ice down, or I'm telling."
Grumbling, her brother jumped to the ground. "You're no fun," he complained as his icy face was replaced by one of an identical shape in flesh and blood, sporting hair as dark as her mom's and blue eyes her father maintained Josh had inherited from Grandma Maddie. Elizabeth wasn't convinced. Personally, she figured he just spent so much time iced up that his eyes never completely de-iced, because regardless of his form, they never changed color.
"I know I'm not," she replied after resolving to herself to ask Uncle Hank whether or not she was right. He always knew about stuff like that. "But I don't want to have to explain to mom and dad again how you shattered your arm into icy little bits, either."
"Oh come on, that was ages ago," Josh argued. "I'm a whole lot better at it now."
"That was not even a year ago, and…well, you had no arm," she pointed out, her expression growing concerned despite her efforts to act as if she didn't really care. "If Dad hadn't been able to show you how to fix it…"
She watched as Josh's face paled slightly even as he crossed her arms over his chest. Her brother was nothing if not stubborn, but she'd been there when it had happened. He'd been terrified, and so had she. "I need practice. And I need your help too, Lizzie – you gotta talk mom into letting me stay when vacation's over. How'm I ever gonna get to lead the New Mutants if I'm only here a couple hours a week?"
"Like that's gonna happen anyway?" she pointed out, fighting an urge to laugh at the indignant look on his face. "Look, there's nothing I'd like better than to have you here rather than hogging the bathroom at home, but it's not gonna happen. You're not old enough." Granted, the first part wasn't entirely true; she loved her brother, and would miss him if he weren't around. But she wasn't about to tell him that. Not now. Preferably not ever.
"What's Jubilee want, anyway?" Elizabeth asked, changing the subject before Josh could argue his case further. As expected, her brother was easily diverted by the mention of his favorite "aunt" (even if she did refuse to let them call her that), and a smile replaced the determined expression he'd been wearing.
"Baseball game!" he replied. "Her advisees against Uncle Sam's. She says she's short players and you're the best short stop she's got, but you've gotta hurry. They're getting ready to start the game."
"Tell her I'll be right there – and walk back," she called after him as he started off on an ice slide, this time without icing up first. She giggled as his shoulders dropped and he jumped down, then watched as he hopped back down off the slide and very deliberately began walking back towards the school. Leave it to Josh – he just couldn't resist pushing the rules, and she had to admit (though not to him) that he really was good with his powers. Someday, he just might get his dream and end up leading the New Mutants, but she had a feeling it wasn't going to be for six or seven years. She just couldn't quite picture teenagers following her ten year old brother anywhere. Even if the adults would allow it, which they wouldn't.
Devoutly hoping that she would never be on any team led by her younger brother (he might be good at it, but…just so, so wrong), Elizabeth turned around to retrieve her notebook, then got to her feet. It was a good spot for a break anyway, and Josh was right about one thing at least. If they were playing Uncle Sam's team, Jubilee needed all the help she could get.
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