Tidal Wave ran off, not really knowing what to do or what to do. Kurt watched her for the trees. He couldn't help but snicker at her confusion. Having heard him, she turned around and spotted Kurt who was now on the move.
She shot water at him, only getting to hit him every so often. Then, Nightcrawler teleported away. She sighed and listened for him. After a few minutes, she realized he wasn't going to slip up again.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are fuzz."
She quickly scanned the treetops and noticed the slightest bit of movement. Instinctively, she shot there. A body fell out of the tree with a thud. Worried that she had hurt him, Haley ran over to Kurt.
"Kurt! Are you okay?" Reaching his body, she lightly shook him. Kurt opened his eyes, smiled devilishly and teleported, taking Haley with him.
"You fell for that?" he said as the wrestled amongst the trees. He teleported again.
"It was pretty damn convincing if you ask me," she said exasperated. He laughed; she took this as the chance to shoot a jet of water at his chest.
"Mix it up a little!" Logan shouted from no where.
As Kurt flew through the air, she decided to take Logan's advice. Using a lot of her strength, Tidal Wave made a whirlpool around Kurt. It tossed him about so much that he couldn't get his bearings to teleport.
She was growing tired from creating the whirlpool, so she decided to finish this game. Stopping her vortex, she gathered up most of her strength. Bringing her arms above her head, she created a large wall of water. Then, she dropped her arms and the water, knocking Kurt to the ground.
Extremely tired, Haley collapsed to her knees. She wasn't sure that she liked this whole mutant business. Meanwhile, Logan walked over to Kurt.
"You knocked him out," he said menacingly. Haley cringed, afraid of being in trouble. Then, Logan cracked a smile. "Extra credit."
She giggled. "He'll be okay, right?"
Wolverine nodded. "Come here; you need to wake him up." Haley came forward to the unconscious body. "Try dumping a dose of cold water on him."
Carefully, she splashed Kurt's face with a little bit of cold water. He started coughing. Then, he opened his eyes and sat up. "That happens almost every time," Kurt said rather cheerfully.
---
"Heard about your embarrassing defeat yesterday," Kitty teased Kurt as they walked to the mall.
"Hey, it was Capture the Elf. I always lose at that game. It is like the rule."
She giggled. "I just find it funny that you got beat up on your crush who has only had her powers for one day."
"Hilarious."
"But I do feel bad that she has to do double training sessions alone. If only her powers had developed earlier. She wouldn't be so far behind."
"I know, and Haley has to start school tomorrow. Has anyone told her about the Brotherhood?"
"They haven't caused any trouble since Mystique has been missing."
"It's only been a week."
"Still…"
Kurt laughed. "You are just trying to protect your boyfriend." Kitty glared at him and then pouted for a few minutes.
Kitty nearly ran towards Lance when she saw him. The fact that their allegiances weren't the same didn't stop the feelings they had for each other. She made him do things he would normally never do and visa versa.
As the couple walked off, Kurt felt sorry for himself. Yes, he was a goof-off. That didn't mean he didn't want love, though. His appearance was a curse to himself.
---
Back at the mansion, Rogue and Haley were sharing a little quality time together. This mainly consisted of the two sitting in the same room and reading. Neither of them annoyed each other; however, just the presence of the other in the room was, in a sense, comforting.
Rogue looked up from her book. She decided that if she was going to be living with this girl now, then at least she should try to get to know her. "So," her voice broke the silence. "You're…uh… starting school tomorrow?"
Haley looked up. "Yeah, I am."
"You nervous?"
"I guess so. It's a new school… Any tips?"
She thought for a moment. "Ignore the Brotherhood."
"The Brotherhood?"
Rogue nodded. "There's Pietro, also known as Quicksilver. Fred, he's called Blob. Avalanche is Lance. And Todd is Toad."
"Are they mutants, too?" Haley asked.
"Yeah. But they're real creeps. Leave them alone."
She shook her head in amazement. "It's amazing that there are so many mutants at that school."
"Things can get a little iffy around there sometimes."
Silence lapsed between the two for a few moments. "Is it always this quiet around here?"
"I wish."
Haley stretched, her bones cracking. She smiled bashfully at the noise. "Sorry, I just had like three training sessions in a row. One-on-one."
"Ouch, I've been there before." Rogue glanced at the clock. "Listen, I better get started on my homework. I have a paper due tomorrow that I haven't even started yet. I'll see you around."
Evan came into the room. "Hey, Splash."
"Porcupine."
"Nice. I see you're learning how to fit in here, well."
"Guess so." She looked around. "I'm tired of reading this book. Any suggestions on something to do for fun?" He smiled slyly, an idea formulating in his head.
A few minutes later, Haley was zooming around on his skateboard. Too bad she wasn't any good at it and had already crashed into a tree three times, into a bench, and into the pool. By the time she had finished she was sorer than after her training sessions.
"Never again," she told him. Evan laughed. She pointed a finger at him. "You knew that was going to happen!" He just shrugged.