Chapter 3: Sing for the Soul
Disclaimer: I have fifteen dollars in my wallet currently; do you really think I could actually own the X Men?
Marie carefully tuned her bass with the tenderness one usually had when caring for a newborn baby.
"Hey Marie!" Kitty popped her head into her sister's room, a smile on her face.
The Goth didn't look up as she replied, "Hey Kit, what's up?"
She grinned, "Evan and Kurt are here, they're wondering if you're ready to go?"
Marie sighed dramatically. "I'm coming, I'm coming." She quickly packed up her instrument and took it downstairs where Evan and Kurt were waiting in the living room.
Kurt had his guitar with him while Evan was twirling drumsticks in his hands.
"Aren't your drums at your place?" Marie questioned.
"Yeah, but waiting for you is always boring." She shook her head in exasperation and the four left the house and headed down the street to Evan's.
Once they'd set up in the garage, they spent a few minutes tuning their instruments before going through a few songs. A few days ago, they'd been bored and decided to try playing together, they actually sounded pretty good even if they didn't have a singer.
Kitty smiled and hummed along as they played. Kurt saw her out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself, closing his eyes and letting his hands play as he fell into the music and the rhythmical drumming.
After a few hours they all sat back among the stacks of boxes that filled Evan's garage, simply enjoying the time they had to relax.
Kurt strummed on his guitar, his mind far away. This did not go unnoticed by his friends, but seeing as the notes he was strumming weren't dark or depressing, they left him to his thoughts.
Kurt observed Kitty from where he was sitting, she was playing around with Marie's camera, and apparently she'd started on her CT project. He grinned; she'd said she sang, now if only he could get her to sing for him.
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Kitty let herself in through Kurt's front door looking around the familiar house she sighed; there were absolutely no family portraits, or anything at all that made this place feel like a home and not a show home.
The sound of music coming from upstairs prompted her to head up to Kurt's room. It was only when she reached the door that she realized it wasn't a CD that was playing.
Her jaw dropped, Kurt was singing as he played and he was really good. She listened for a little bit more, recognizing Incubus' 'Drive'.
She closed her eyes, a small smile coming to her lips ~No way this actually him singing. ~
She poked her head into the room to see her friend playing with his eyes closed as he sang. A quick look confirmed that the stereo was off.
Kitty knocked on the door and the music cut off. She walked in, a smile on her face. "Hey you." She went over and sat beside him.
He grinned nervously, "Uh, hey Katzchen...how long have you been here?"
She shrugged, smirking a bit, "Long enough...why didn't you tell us you could sing?" she bounced a little and he chuckled.
"You never asked?"
She gave a look that said 'Yeah...right.'
He cleared his throat, "Okay, well now you've heard me, it's only fair you have to sing for me."
She froze, "B-but there isn't even any music." She tried to reason, but Kurt just smirked and strummed his guitar several times.
"Now what song?"
She sighed, "Okay, but you have to promise not to laugh if I suck."
He gave her a warm smile, "I would never laugh at you Kitty."
She bit her lip, "Do you know 'It's Only Life', by Kate Voegele?" He thought for a minute and strummed a few notes. She nodded, "That's it..." she took a few breathes and Kurt started playing.
Counting in her head until it was her place to sing.
The tears are forming, in your eyes...
The storm is warning in the sky...
She sang as he played, her eyes closed, it was when they reached the third verse that he stopped playing. She opened her eyes to see Kurt smiling brightly at her, "I know I-" he placed a finger over her lips, cutting off the rest of her sentence.
"That was amazing." She smiled and he grinned at her, brushing some hair from her face as he pulled away.
"I think we've found our singer." He stated and Kitty blushed.
He started strumming a faster beat, "Do you know 'Slow Ride'?" he questioned and she nodded, gaining a bit more confidence.
He strummed a few more notes before she began to sing.
Slow ride...take it easy.
He grinned and sang after her.
Slow ride...take it easy.
She grinned and they sang together.
Slow ride...take it easy.
Their voices melded together as they sang and Kitty found herself falling into the song.
Kurt let her take the lead for a line, following after with his own. Oh yes, they had certainly found their singer.
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Later that evening, Kurt pulled out a mic at their rehearsal.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Evan looked at his friend with confusion.
"I found a singer." He said as way of explanation as he hooked up several wires.
"Who?" Marie entered, followed by Kitty.
Kurt finally looked up, "Your sister."
The Goth turned to her blushing sister. "He actually got you to sing?" She looked to Kurt, "She won't sing for anyone." He didn't react in any way.
"Hey Kit, come over her so I can check the height on this thing."
Several minutes they were set up and Kurt grinned, "Let's start with Wonder, Megan McCauley." He stated and started the guitar intro. Kitty smiled slightly, he'd practiced with her for most of the day so she had this one down pretty good.
Evan, through large amounts of practice, did not miss a beat even as his jaw dropped at his cousin's voice. He and Marie shared shocked looks while Kurt just grinned.
When the song was done, Kitty grinned at her sister's and cousin's shocked looks. "Let's try Remembering Sunday."
"Uh Kit, that's a duet…with a male lead."
She smirked, "I know." And gave Kurt a significant look.
The others looked at him to and he grinned nervously.
"Get up here." Kitty ordered and he came up.
He sighed, "I'll get you back for this." He muttered and started playing.
At the appropriate beat, he started singing, again making Evan's jaw drop. He shook his head and looked to Marie, "We have to get them back for this." She nodded and got ready to start playing.
Kurt relaxed next to his friend; drinking in the blissful expression on Kitty's face.
After several more hours of playing, the four dispersed, Kurt heading across the street to his own house and Kitty and Marie walking down the darkening sidewalk to their own.
Evan closed the garage door and started packing up his drums, mainly for something to do.
"Hi honey." He looked up sharply to see his mom standing in the entrance from the garage to the house.
"Hey Mom." He grinned, leaving his drums to go over to her.
Vivian Monroe had recovered quite quickly from her beating from her ex-husband, and while there were still a few bruises decorating her dark skin, she was rarely seen without a smile.
"Did I miss your friends?" she questioned as she led him into the kitchen where dinner was cooking.
"Yeah...hey Mom, can I ask you something serious?"
She looked at him with worry, "Of course."
He sighed, "What would you do, if something bad was happening to someone that you couldn't control or do anything about?"
She looked surprised. "Well I don't know hon. I guess it would depend on what was happening to that person."
He sighed, "What if someone was getting beat up, but you couldn't go to the police or an adult?"
She placed a gentle hand on his arm, "I guess you would just be there for that person, and try and help where you can." He gave her a smile, "Does that help?"
He nodded, "Yeah, thanks Mom." She kissed his forehead.
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Kitty bit her tongue as she went through the video footage she'd collected over the past few days on her computer. She had, unknown to her friends, taped them and was quite enjoying the end product that was slowly but surely coming together.
She came to one video of Marie chasing Evan around the backyard; she could hear herself and Kurt in the background.
"She'll tire out before she catches him." His voice was sure.
"No way, he messed with her CDs, he's a dead man."
Kitty giggled at the memory and slid the clip into place.
"Kitty, time for dinner!" her mother's voice came up the stairs.
"Be right down!" she called back, saving her work and taking the stairs two at a time to get to the kitchen.
The meal was the same as always, playful banter between the family, casual conversation, but Kitty's mind began to wander.
It traveled down the street to where a certain boy was home alone, no doubt eating by himself in an empty house. The thought was sad one and she resolved to have him over for dinner more often.
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He blinked again at the endless darkness that filled his bedroom; the only sources of light were the glowing green numbers of his alarm clock and the sliver of moonlight that made its way through the crack between the curtains.
Silence encompassed him entirely, no music was playing, no thoughts in his mind, not even the sound of crickets outside made its way to his ears.
That silence was shattered by a car motor before that too cut off to be replaced by the sound of a key being turned in the lock and the front door opening.
Kurt sighed as he heard the sound of his mother's stilettos on the hardwood as she came upstairs.
A doorknob turned and he closed his eyes, remaining motionless as she came into his sanctuary. There was the brush of cloth against cloth and the sinking of the mattress as she sat down on his bed.
She too was quiet and he had to keep from jumping when her hand, cool from the night air, touched his cheek where not too long ago a blue bruise had resided. He heard a sniff and then she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.
What was going on? Why was she suddenly acting so motherly? Like she actually cared?
Her hand smoothed back his bangs and he shifted a little. She pulled back quickly, as if worried he'd woken him. He let out a breath and sunk back into the mattress and he heard her sigh.
Her weight left and the mattress went back to the way it had been before.
As he heard her head back out the door, he cracked open an eye and watched her dark form leave his room.
He took her in, not as his mother, not as the woman who'd hurt him, but as his mom; maybe for the first time since he was little.
Her hair was down, her suit jacket missing along with her glasses. Her lips weren't in their usual severe line, but relaxed and a little sad. He closed his eyes again as she turned.
Her strange act was the only thing on his mind as he went to sleep.
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Kurt yawned as he stumbled down the stairs, clad only in his gray sweats and a white wife beater. He paused in the kitchen entrance when he saw his mother sitting at the counter, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and dressed in a charcoal gray robe as she nursed a mug of coffee.
"Good morning." She said softly.
"Morning." He replied just as quietly, this was not normal and it was throwing him off.
Mother and son remained silent for some time before Kurt shook himself out of his daze and went over to pour himself a glass of milk.
"Um, is it your day off?" he asked as way of starting a conversation that promised to be quite awkward.
Raven took a small sip of her rapidly cooling drink. "Uh yes, they wanted me to take a few days off." Kurt grasped for something to say, but she beat him to it.
"How are your gymnastics coming?" he looked to her with shock, she'd never asked him about anything he liked or did; he didn't even know she knew he did gymnastics.
"Good, I was actually going to practice."
She nodded to the counter. "Good..." he bit his lip and finished his milk.
Leaving the empty glass in the sink he walked past his mother to the back door. He looked over his shoulder and opened his mouth, again trying to find words that might alleviate the tension between them, but closed his mouth when nothing came to him.
He shook his head and left the house.
Once outside, he let the sun bathe him, drinking in the warmth. He let a true grin grace his lips and started stretching.
After a few minutes he dropped into a handstand, slowly lifting one hand off the ground to balance on one. He closed his eyes and took a breath before beginning a well practiced routine of flips and jumps.
He grinned, he was in his element, this was something he'd been born to do, and he did it well.
As he finished his set, landing in a final handstand, he opened his eyes to see his mother watching from the backdoor. He blinked several times before bending backwards and landing on his feet. He turned to her, his expression questioning.
She walked down the two steps that ended in the grass and came over to him. "I had no idea you were so talented." She stated.
He blinked a few times more, "Uh...thanks." there was that awkward silence again.
She licked her lips, before looking him in the eye; he was still a bit shorter than her, but not by much. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
"For what?" he questioned, his voice revealing none of the emotions that crashed within him.
She looked at her son, "For being so horrible, for hurting you."
His jaw dropped as he felt an unexpected wave of rage build in him. "You have seriously harmed me and you think a simple apology is going to fix that?!" he growled out and Raven looked down, ashamed, she had known that her words would mean nothing.
"You have every reason to be angry, but you have to know that I am sorry." He growled and pushed by her, taking long strides to get inside.
The kitchen and living room passed by in a blur as he all but ran upstairs and to his bedroom. Once there he threw himself on his bed, fighting the tears that fought to escape.
He would not show weakness, not to her.
A little while later, he left his bed to shower, being glad not for the first time that he had his own bathroom.
After using up all the hot water he dressed in his regular baggy clothes and fell on his bed again.
There was a knock on his door that he studiously ignored.
"Kurt, may I come in?" his mother sounded quite meek and he struggled to keep from screaming at her, she didn't deserve to feel bad after the hell she'd put him through.
He closed his eyes as she called again, "Please Kurt, I want to talk." He couldn't stop the shuddering sob that escaped his throat that time.
He heard the door open and sensed his mother next to his bed. Her hand was placed on his shoulder and he tensed at the contact.
"Kurt?"
He growled a bit, "You hurt me."
"I know." Her voice was thick. "And you have no idea how much I regret it."
He looked up from his pillow. "Whenever I saw you I was scared. You know that? I was scared of my own mother. It was at a point where you weren't my mom, but a woman I saw occasionally who used me as her personal punching bag."
He caught sight of a few crystal tears falling from her eyes before she brushed them away.
"Why now do you suddenly care?"
She took a shuddering breath. "The daughter of a woman I work with was in a car accident. She just heard about it yesterday and when she did, all she could ask was whether or not she was alive. She survived, but was in hospital, she ran out of the building, she didn't even take the time to tell anyone she was leaving. She works the same hours as me, you see, her daughter is eighteen and all I could think about was how I never saw you either. What if something happened to you? My son, my only child, the only person I know I'll see." She blinked away a few more tears.
"All I could think about was how much I'd hurt you. You were nearly taken from me, by myself. I realized that I was the one that was driving you away." She placed a hand on his cheek as he stared at her, transfixed. "That was killing you." She whispered.
"You're my son, and I should have treated you better, but I didn't, and I don't want to have someone coming up to me one day and telling me my son was dead and having never taken the time to actually be a mother and to let you know I love you."
Kurt took a short breath and looked away as his mother let her tears slip from her eyes. "You really love me?"
She nodded, "I do...I'm a stupid, stupid woman." She berated herself.
Kurt swallowed, "Mom...I can't forget what you've done...but I can forgive you." She looked up, her expression was shocked.
He met her pale gray gaze with his own deep blue one. "I do love you Mom." She gave a watery smile and Kurt grinned back.
She leaned over and kissed his forehead before wrapping her arms around him. Kurt stiffened; he couldn't remember a time he and his mother had actually hugged. He relaxed and wrapped his arms around d her, squeezing her gently.
"I love you Kurt."
"I love you too, Mom." The words came easy to the both of them.
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Kitty bit her lip when she saw the car parked in Kurt's driveway. She took a steadying breath and strode up the front walk to knock on the door without hesitation. It was answered by a casually dressed Raven Darkholme.
"Oh, hello." She greeted, a small smile playing on her normally tight lips.
"Hello Ms. Darkholme...is Kurt here?" she asked, trying to dig up some courage.
"Yes, actually, why don't you come inside?" Kitty nodded and walked past Raven as she stood aside to let her in.
"He's in the kitchen." Kitty gave her a slight smile and made her way past the living room into the kitchen where Kurt sat at the kitchen table, finishing off a bowl of cereal and a book held in one hand as he read while he ate.
"Morning Elf!" she chimed and he looked up with a grin.
"Morning Katzchen!" she smiled and slid into a chair across from him.
"Whatcha readin'?"
He chuckled, "A book your sister leant me."
"Any good?"
He shrugged, "Very Gothic that's for sure."
She giggled. "So are you joining us today, or do I have to drag you?" she asked with a smile.
He smirked, "Now, you see, because I doubt that you would be able to drag me, I will save you the trouble of finding Evan, who would then have to chase me around the house until he caught me before dragging me to wherever I am be forced to today, and come with you willingly." She playfully slapped his arm and let him throw his dishes in the dishwasher before she began pulling him from the house.
He laughed at his friend's antics and called out as he was pulled through the front door. "See ya later Mom, I'm being abducted!"
Raven laughed from her place on the couch. "Have fun!"
"Thanks for the support!" another laugh greeted his sarcasm.
Kitty dragged him down the sidewalk before she stopped, giving Kurt a confused look. "That wasn't normal." She stated.
Kurt shrugged, but she could see his eyes glowing. "Let's just say my Mom got a clue sledgehammer to the head the other day."
She smiled and hugged him, "Good, 'cause otherwise I would have to get my Dad to beat on her just a little bit." Kurt laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Pulling her to him in a half hug he placed a kiss on the top of her head. "You're sweet Katzchen." She shrugged, blushing a little. She was coming to enjoy these acts of affection; she even yearned for them a little bit.
Not that she would ever admit that, nope, never.
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Wanda bopped her head to the music that thrummed through the speakers of Marie's stereo. "I had no idea you actually listened to this stuff." She stated.
Marie grinned, "Yeah, I had to borrow the CD from Kurt. I haven't exactly been able to get the hang of this one song so I'm being forced to listen to it. Evan even stole all my regular CDs so I had no choice!"
Wanda cocked an eyebrow, "He actually got away with that?"
Marie smirked, "No."
"Hello?" Kurt poked his head into the room; Kitty's poked her head in as well directly underneath his.
"You guys look like dismembered heads." Wanda remarked dryly. The two got looks of disgust on their faces.
"Now there's something I don't like being compared to." Kurt stated.
"Right…sorry Spider-Monkey." Marie drawled.
Kurt glared at his friend. "Ha ha, bloody ha."
Marie shrugged and the two finally pushed open the door enough to come in. "So, what can we help you guys with?"
Kitty grinned and held out her sister's camera, "Nothing, just wanted to give this back."
"It takes two people to do so?" Marie took the camera from Kitty's hand.
The brunette shook her head, "No, but Kurt's bored and I'd rather not leave him in a room by himself where he could destroy something."
"Hey! I resent that." The three girls laughed at Kurt before he let himself grin a bit.
"Where's Evan?" Wanda questioned.
"He and his Mom went into New York for the day." The Goth nodded as the two younger teens left.
"Please don't let us halt the satanic rituals any longer."
"We don't do satanic rituals."
"Right…" Kurt and Kitty said in unison before hightailing it out of the room before they could be pummelled with pillows.
"They're annoying." Wanda stated.
"Yeah, but you've gotta love 'em." Marie replied.
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It's always fun to be home alone, you have the entire house to yourself, you can sing and dance around without a care if you so wish, maybe raid the pantry or watch movies until three in the morning.
Unfortunately, Kitty wasn't into doing those sorts of things at this point in time.
She sighed and tapped her fingers against the glass of her window as the world outside darkened. Her parents were at a kind of charity event of some sort for the college, and with Ororo being a professor there, they were obliged to go.
Marie was over at Wanda's, so that ruled out hanging with her sister so she bored out of her mind.
She glared at the street lamps as they came on before sighing for what might've been the thirtieth time in the last half hour and turning away from her window to collapse on her bed.
Normally the cream walls of her room that were decorated with pictures and posters, were comforting and like her own personal haven, but right then, it felt like a prison; one that she had entered willingly.
~I've been hanging with Marie too much. ~ The dark and depressing thoughts were usually her thing.
She turned her head to see her dance trophies glinting in the light as they sat of the shelves that also held a few other trinkets that she'd collected over the years.
Tap, tap, tap…
She looked up, had she just imagined that or was it starting to rain?
Tap, tap, tap…
Nope, there it was again, and it didn't sound like rain. She turned her head to the window and her jaw dropped.
Kurt was hanging upside down from the eaves troughs, grinning at her through the window.
Stunned she jumped off her bed and went over to the window to open it. A cool draft of air entered and Kurt continued to grin at her, "Hello Katzchen." She stared at him. Was Kurt really hanging upside down outside her window?
"So, can I come in?" she moved away from the window and he dropped in, somehow managing not to land flat on his face. It was then that she noticed he had his guitar slung over his shoulder in its case.
He grinned as he stood up and dusted himself off, "Thank you."
She stared at him, "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged, "My Mom had to go back to work and I knew you would be bored out of your mind here all alone, so I came to bestow my company upon you." She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.
She then gave into an urge she'd had for a while know and hugged him tightly. "Thanks."
He chuckled and hugged her back. "So, what do you want to do?" he propped his guitar case up against the wall and dropped onto her bed.
She giggled and jumped to fall onto the bed beside him, "I don't know…we could always watch a movie or something." A sudden thought occurred to her. "You do realize that you are a guy and I'm a girl and we are here alone."
He smirked, "Don't worry, I'm not crazy. I organized this with your Dad earlier and my Mom gave her okay. The hanging outside your window was just for fun."
She sighed, "Well now I don't have to worry about my father going after you with a bat."
Kurt chuckled, "So movie?" she smiled and pulled him down to the living room.
"What are you up for?" she questioned as he stretched out across the couch.
"As long as it isn't some kind of romantic tragedy I'm fine."
She rolled her eyes, "Well there goes half the collection."
He laughed, "Any comedies or dramas?"
She perused her family's DVDs, "Well, we have a few Horrors and Slashers, but no way are we watching them." She said forcefully.
"Aw come on, not even I Am Legend?"
She shook her head fiercely, "How do I put this nicely...I can't, hell no."
He grinned, "Okay…what about-"
"Don't say Cujo." She'd found out quite quickly that Kurt had a liking for scary movies.
He sighed dramatically, "Alright, alright…what about Pirates of the Caribbean?"
She grinned; "Now there's a movie I can get on board with."[1]
He groaned, "No! Bad joke, very bad joke!" she laughed and put the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in before falling back onto the couch next to her friend.
They watched the movie silently for a few minutes, but by the time Jack Sparrow was saving Elizabeth from drowning, they were adding their own comments here and there.
"See, here I don't understand why he takes off his hat." Kitty waved a hand at the screen.
"Set up." Kurt replied with a chuckle. "I do have to say that they must have gotten some good trainers to teach them how to sword fight realistically."
She turned her head and cocked an eyebrow; by now she was nestled up to his side and they were both quite comfortable.
"What?"
"You say that like you know how…" she trailed off as Kurt blushed. "No way, you can actually do stuff like that." She gestured to the TV and he nodded, "Yeah, I guess."
She sighed and leaned back into his chest, "You just get more and more interesting Kurt Darkholme."
He chuckled, "Should I take that as a compliment?" she nodded and stifled a yawn, smiling when his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Kurt kissed the top of her head and they continued to watch the movie.
By the time they were on the third movie Kitty was drifting in and out of consciousness.
"So," she yawned, "Are you staying over for the night?" she questioned, cuddling closer to him.
She felt him shrug, "Depends on whether or not I fall asleep." He mumbled.
She sighed, "You can stay, I don't mind."
He chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind." They both drifted off not long after.
At two o'clock in the morning, Logan and Ororo stepped in through the front door.
Ororo smiled when she stepped into the living room. "Logan, come here." She whispered.
Her husband joined her and a grin spread over his face, "Well look at that."
Kurt and Kitty were lying on the couch, well actually, Kurt was lying on the couch and Kitty was lying on top of him, her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her protectively. They were both deeply asleep as was proven when they didn't even move when Logan turned off the TV and Ororo spread a blanket over them.
"They look good together." She mentioned as they got ready for bed.
Logan grinned, "He's a good kid too."
She smirked, "You actually trust a boy with your youngest daughter?"
Logan shrugged, "If I didn't, I wouldn't have let him come over tonight."
Ororo shook her head. "I will never understand men."
"Men will never understand women." He shot back.
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My friend uses this joke every single freakin' time we watch that movie. I might just have to hurt him next time.
A/N: Not as long as I would've liked it to be, but I wanted to get it up before I left. Please read this! I know things are moving quite quickly in this story, but the chapters are long and I use a lot of time jumps. So please don't be reviewing just to tell me. "Hey, why did this and this happen when only this and this happened in the last chapter?!" okay, I don't want stuff like that.
So thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!