I'll Be There For You
Note: Here's chapter 3. Sorry it took me so long to get it up. BTW, thank you fallenxmen for critiquing my Polish, Sidney for commenting on this and pretty much all my other work, and kgirl for faithfully reading my stuff and just being awesome.
oOo
Chapter 3:
Two weeks had passed, and Imber was fitting in nicely with the X-men. The language barrier between her and the other students proved to be little problem. Kurt, of course, helped translate whenever he was around, and Imber quickly picked up on the basics of English. After two weeks, she could stumble through a conversation with only minor issues.
Everyone liked Imber. She was shy, gentle, and funny. The teachers all adored her. Even Logan couldn't help but like her spunky attitude. The other students took a liking to her as well. Kurt, of course, quickly became the person she trusted and liked the most, but she also won over Evan, Rouge, Amara, Bobby, and a few of the younger students.
One morning, at breakfast, the students were discussing Senator Kelly's latest plan: registering mutants. Imber was sitting next to Kurt so she could keep up with what was going on. "Dude, Senator Kelly is gonna make things really hard for mutants," Evan was complaining.
"Yeah," Rouge grumbled. "Ah feel sorry fah all the mutants who are trying to lay low."
"Co powiedziala?" (What'd she say?) Imber asked Kurt.
"Rouge wskazal ze mutanty beda miec twardy czas ukrywal sie do nowego prawa," Kurt explained. Imber nodded.
"Yes," she said slowly. "Thees…law…ees bahd, prawo?" (This law is bad, right)
Several students nodded and growled in agreement. "Yeah."
"Totally."
"Hey, Imber," Evan said. He was sitting on her other side.
"Yeah?"
"If you want, you can join us in our Danger Room special after school," he offered with a grin.
"Whot's that?"
Rouge smiled. "We set up a whole obstacle course and on every target you're supposed tah hit, we've put ah picture of Senator Kelley, just fah fun. Yah know, tah get yah angah out and stuff."
"It…it sounds vun," Imber said.
"Great. You can join us."
Imber looked over to Kurt. "Are….do you do this? Tego rytualu? (This ritual)"
Kurt shrugged. "Not really. It's not my style."
"Style?"
"I nie podoba," Kurt explained. "T nie to, co zazwyczaj robie." (It's not what I usually do.)
Imber nodded. "Oh. Jak powiedziec 'nie chce isc?'" (How do I decline?)
"Say, 'No thanks' or 'I'll pass,'" Kurt said.
"I'll pass," Imber copied.
Kitty, who'd been quietly been sitting on Kurt's right side, snorted. Kurt glanced over at her. "Vhat?" he asked innocently.
"She didn't want to go just because you don't," Kitty noted with a touch of disdain. "I think you should push her to do stuff by herself."
Kurt raised his eyebrows. "I don't go everyvhere and translate everyzing for her," he argued. "She does plenty of stuff vithout me."
"Whatever, Kurt," Kitty sighed, going back to her breakfast.
~Later~
It was after school, and Kitty was studying for a Geometry test the next day. She was sitting in the library, reading through her huge textbook and groaning inside. "I'm totally gonna die," she whined.
"Vhat?" Kitty looked up to see Kurt somehow standing behind her. He smiled.
"How long have you been there, Kurt?"
He shrugged and slid into a chair beside her. "Only a moment. Zo, is this some sort of killer exam or vhat?"
Kitty giggled and pushed her book away. "Yeah," she said with a yawn. "Geometry and I aren't exactly good friends. We have problems that go waaaayy back."
Kurt spread his arms open invitingly and Kitty crawled into his lap. "M'tired of studying," she muttered.
Kurt nodded and breathed into her soft, chocolatey hair. "Ja. Vant some help?"
"Not at the moment. I'd rather sit here." She rested her cheek against Kurt's shoulder and tucked her hands under her head. Kurt smiled contentedly. Kitty looked so cute curled up. Her face was scrunched up a little and her hair was getting in her face, covering her closed eyes. She made happy little noises that Kurt enjoyed listening to. She was so warm and calm. He stroked her back with his one free hand (his other was pinned to his chest by Kitty's waist).
"Keety?"
"Yeah, Kurt?"
"Are you mad at me for somezing?" he asked quietly.
Kitty looked up from her repose. "No. Why?"
Kurt shrugged. "You just seemed kind of grumpy at breakfast, like you were mad about somezing. I dunno. Maybe it was nothing."
Kitty wiggled around and repositioned herself. "Kurt, I'm not mad at you about anything I promise."
"And you're not jealous?"
Kitty opened her eyes, but didn't move her head this time. "What are you talking about?" she said flatly.
"Are you jealous of Imber?"
Kitty scoffed now. Inside, she was cringing. "Like, why would I be jealous of her?" she said, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.
"I don't know. I'm spending time vith her?" Kurt offered. "It just seemed like there was some negativity going on earlier."
"Kurt, please," Kitty said. "I am not in the least bit jealous of Imber because you're hanging out with her. It's fine. You two are friends. It doesn't bother me." Now, she was screaming inside, ripping herself up piece by piece.
"You sure?"
"Positive, Kurt. Imber's nice. I have no bad feelings toward her."
"I knew you wouldn't," Kurt said, relieved slightly.
"Yeah. Sure, Kurt." God, I hate that bitch! Kitty screamed at the top of her mental lungs.
~A few days later~
"Alright, guys. Today's DR session is all about protecting the people around you," Logan said over the microphone. He was in the control room above the Danger Room, staring down on the students gathered below. Everyone was in full X-men uniform.
"Here's the way this works. Everyone get together in groups of four." And everyone started grouping together in little huddles. "Right. Now, these four people in your group all need protection. Everyone has to cover everyone else. The last group standing is the winner. Work together guys. Work together."
Kitty was with Kurt, which unfortunately for her meant Imber was in their group. Evan had tagged along as well. Kitty kept eyeing Imber. Imber was talking in Polish to Kurt, smiling and trying to understand what Logan had just said. The way Kurt talked to her, the way she moved, her wild red hair, her quirky, dimpled smile…Kitty couldn't stand anything about the whole situation. She looked away, repulsed.
Evan noticed. "What's the matter, Kitty?"
Kitty shrugged, swallowing down bitter tears. "Nothing. I'm just not looking forward to an hour of training."
Evan smiled absently and shrugged. "Yeah, me either, girl."
"Alright people. This session starts…now!" Logan called gruffly, and the room exploded with movement. Tentacles, balls, hammers, pendulums, moving wall sections shifted around the room, turning the calm area into a deathtrap. Students scattered. Immediately, Kurt shouted out some orders.
"Stay together," he said to the others. "We need to stay close to each other."
Kitty was by his side in a moment. "Yeah, like, does anyone have a plan other than stick together?"
Evan shrugged. "We watch each other's…whoops"—he ducked to avoid a swinging cable—"we watch each other's backs. That's good enough for me."
The session was difficult. Evan was out after only a minute. A giant hammer from the floor took him out easily. A few minutes later, Kurt got hit in the back by a stray projectile, putting him in out of the session as well.
Kitty and Imber were the only two left of their team.
Kitty phased through everything, keeping her safe. Imber used her powers to slow the air around her, giving her time to avoid incoming objects. They were both doing pretty well, but they were getting pushed back towards the edge of the room.
Just then, a giant arm came out of the wall. Kitty rolled away easily. A few feet away, another arm shot out towards Imber, who had her back turned. Kitty watched, knowing Imber wouldn't have time to avoid it. She stood there and did nothing. At the edge of the room, Kurt and Evan, were shouting, "Imber, move," but she couldn't hear them. A second later, the arm rammed Imber in the ribs and knocked her down with a loud thud. She lay on the ground motionless, then groaned pathetically.
Kurt and Evan ran over to her and made sure she was ok. Kurt helped her sit up. Her face was more shocked than anything, but she winced in pain.
"Ow," she muttered. "Hurts."
"She's bruised, but she'll be ok," Evan said after checking for injuries. Imber smiled.
"It's ok," she said. "Did we win?"
Kurt looked up, meeting Kitty's strangely calm eyes. "Nein," he growled. "We did not."
The session ended shortly thereafter, and everyone, groaning and complaining, stumbled out of the room. Kitty kept to herself. Evan helped Imber to the door. She still seemed dazed. Kurt came surreptitiously up beside Kitty and hissed at her, "Vhat's wrong vith you? Vhy did you do zat?"
Kitty blinked at him blankly, feigning ignorance. "What do you mean, Kurt?" she said.
Kurt balled his hands into fists. "I mean, vhy did you let Imber get hit by that machine?"
Kitty shrugged. "I couldn't do anything."
"You could have warned her. Phased through it to short-circuit it. Something. But you did nothing. She could have gotten hurt," Kurt said, his voice rising at the end.
"Well, it's over now. It's, like, not a big deal, Kurt."
Kurt stopped and let Kitty walk on. He seethed for a moment. What's wrong with her? He thought angrily.
oOo
Ha! Chapter 3 is finished. There's more coming. You all know where this story is going, and yes, there will be ImberxKurt stuff. Don't worry. Things should work out. Should. I might be cruel. You never know….mmmwwahahahahah! R&R.
-The Ember Raven