A year ago today, Katherine Pryde became an X-man. The day had sneaked up on her; she'd been busy lately. But here it was.
It was a Saturday and Kitty was having a lie-in. Turning over onto her back, she considered her life as it was now. She couldn't think of any other time when she'd been so happy. Sure, she loved her parents, but back home her power had felt like a curse. Here it was a gift; a talent to be nurtured. Now, she had complete control over her phasing, but when she had first joined the X-men, she had had a few embarrassing hiccups.
In Bayville High School, Kitty had discovered her computing skills. At her old school, the computers had been old and rarely used by the younger students. Bayville High had a very modern computer suite and teachers who were actually trained to used them. However Kitty had quickly found that she outstripped even the head of the IT department when it came to programming. At the Institute, Beast had given her a crash course in hacking (after making her promise that she would never, under any circumstances, hack into anywhere without his permission). It was nice to be better than Scott and Jean at something, she mused. Though she could hold her own for a while in fight against either of them, she would eventually be beaten.
That was another thing she'd learnt during her time with the X-men: self defence. These lessons with Logan had shown her that she couldn't always rely on phasing to escape a confrontation. Martial arts was her favourite: often the moves flowed together like a complex, dangerous dance. The others often teased her about her passion for dancing and the weekly lessons she attended at the local sports centre. But, as Logan had pointed out, dancing was a very good way for strengthening the muscles and improving flexibility.
Yes, she'd learnt a lot in the past year. However, that didn't quite explain why she was beginning to think of the mansion as home, rather than her parents' house. When she had came back after the holidays, she had felt a sense of relief. She had missed the others immensely: her new, large, unusual adopted family. The Prof, Storm, Logan and Dr. McCoy were teachers and role models like she'd never had before. Kurt was already like a brother to her, despite her original disgust at his appearance (she felt so guilty about that now... How could she have been so rude?). Scott and Jean were her strict elder siblings. Even annoying little Evan was family.
Sitting up in bed now, she looked at the unconscious form of her room mate and best friend, Rogue. Yes, a lot had changed. In a year, Rogue had gone from a sullen loner to, well... a slightly less sullen loner. Kitty smiled. She and Rogue were complete opposite characters, but they got along really well. Maybe it was because of their opposition: it meant they always had something to talk about.
The more Kitty thought about it, the more she realised that it was the people in her new life that, more than anything, made it better than the old. There was never a dull day at the Institute; there was always someone to talk to, no matter what mood she was in. The X-men had made every minute of her year with them worthwhile and she loved them all for that.