Ew, Ew, Ew, no! Not fun, not fun! Man, why did I ever think this was a good idea! I spat gasoline out of my mouth as Kurt and Bobby laughed hysterically. Jerks.

"Pass lighter... Tastes... Awfull..." I managed to say. Apparently it was very hard to speak with half a lungful of flammable liquid. I felt strangely heavier as Kurt handed me the lighter and I walked over to our test ground. I had made the unfortunate mistake of telling Bobby about my dreams of fire breathing and he had taken it upon himself to make those dreams a reality, taking me down to the garage and instructing me to inhale as he poured gasoline into my mouth. "Don't let your dreams be dreams!" he cried and who was I to to say no to such profound words. Kurt had decided to tag along as well for 'moral support.' I think he just came along to laugh at me. Although perhaps my judgement was a little warped, I was still a bit sore about the water balloon stunt they pulled the other day.

Now, were this any other situation I would have taken a deep breath and got on with it, this being what it was however, I just exhaled as hard as I could whilst holding the lighter up to my mouth. The effect was better than I had hoped for. The ensuing stream of fire traversed a good five meters in the horizontal and Kurt and Bobby took a few steps back from the heat. My victim, a stumpy little tree I had called Edna was swimming in flames. I grinned at them, smoke still pouring from my mouth and just to make me look more badass, my t-shirt was on fire too. Now I would have been the definition of cool had it not been for the many lessons on fire safety that had been drilled into me over the years. My first instinct upon noticing the my clothes were on fire was to curse loudly, followed by dropping to the ground and rolling around in the dirt. Fortunately Bobby was nice enough to ice me up after putting out the flames that had swallowed Edna. Apparently the tree was his first priority, not that I'm bitter or anything...

"Well that was a success..." I stated from my immobile position. Well, apart from my ruined clothes that was.

"Hell yeah, let's do it again!" Bobby cried out enthusiastically. Whilst his appreciation for my talents was welcome, the taste of our last test still lingered in my mouth and I was desperate to brush my teeth.

"Umm... Maybe later, I have this thing... That needs doing..." I said, trying to think of something that actually needed doing.

Fortunately Bobby was nice enough to provide me with one. Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively he replied, "Ah, going to see X-23, eh?"

"How do you even know about that?" I asked, a little bewildered about how he knew about my closer than average relationship (which to be honest isn't saying much) with the clone. I sighed, if he says Kitty I swear to god...

"Ah well you see, due to my incredible detective skills-"
"And ze fact that Keety told you." Kurt interrupted.

Bobby gave him an annoyed glower, "Yes, that may have had a small role..." I rolled my eyes. I should have guessed. Maybe I should revoke my cold shoulder policy towards Kitty and have a few words with her about how spreading rumors was bad and unethical.

Bobby continued, "I have discovered that things have been happening between you two!" Gasp, shock, horror! Things, goodness me how scandalous! What do people think of me? I suppressed an groan of annoyance. Were my hands free to move I would have given him the most sarcastic slow clap of my life.

"Wow, gee. You got me there Booby. Lots of 'things' have been happening between us. Y'know just the other day, we exchanged some words."

He rolled his eyes, "You knoooow what things I mean."

I sighed, "I feel as if anyway I answer that acusation you're going to insinuate something dirty from it..." Damn, they had me trapped. Bobby just gave me a large smile.

"Look, I don't know what Kitty told you. We're just training partners, friends if you use the word liberally." I admitted honestly. True, I hoped to be more, but fortunately males aren't quite as good at picking up on those types of things as females... Well as a broad sweeping generalization that is. Take the professor for example, a clear deviation from that stereotype, true he cheats, but that's besides the point.

"Aww, you're such a bore Martin!" Kurt complained.

"Kurt, I literally just breathed fire. You can't complain how boring I am until at least tomorrow." Talk about a short attention span. Curse this instant gratification seeking generation. "Anyway, can we please get me out of this ice..."

"Oh, sorry..." Bobby replied, sheepish for once, "Forgot about that, Kurt could you..." Forgot about that! I glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice. Man, why did I even bother with friends. Maybe I should just get some pet rocks. Them and Jeramy should be enough. Oh, and the occasional training session with Laura. Let's be honest, who really needs a social life anyway.

Fortunately Kurt was kind enough to port me out. I might have complained about the smell, but it was quickly overpowered by the stench of gasoline and smoke. Time for a shower I think.

Time Skip! (Bling)

Having successfully wasted the entirety of the institute's hot water supply, scrubbing myself clean of the stench of gasoline, I decided to look for my cat Jeremy. Doing so was no easy feat however. He was a wanderer that Jeremy if ever their was one. Fortunately I had come up with the ingenious plan years before to install a tracking device on his royal necklace. Okay, okay, yes I stuck a bell on his collar... He kept sneaking up on me during my caffeine fueled midnight gaming sessions, especially during my horror marathons.

I started at my room, pausing intermittently to listen out for the tinkling of his bell. Nothing. Damn that cat, where was he. If only I knew of some on with super hearing, that'd be super useful. I paused, my thoughts performing some kind of celebratory, if dramatic aileron roll as they locked onto that specific idea. I did know someone with super hearing, didn't I?

Without so much as a second thought, I darted to the girls side of the dormitories, pausing once in front of Laura's room. Actually... Now that I was here, I wasn't exactly sure what to say. 'Hey Laura, please can I borrow your ears.' didn't exactly sound super polite, even with the 'please.' Also, saying hello to her at her front door was quite a bit different to saying hi at school. What if she guessed at my deep dark underlying feelings for her? I mentally grimaced. Hmm, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I just wasn't ready for those feeling to be out in the open like that, you know? It was bad enough that just Kitty and Amara knew. Hrmm, yes, yes, best if I just-

My momentary mental mumbling was cut to a halt as Laura's door opened suddenly. Well cripes.

"Oh, hey there Laura." I said with an awkward smile. "Fancy meeting you here. Boy, what a coincidence."

"This is my room. Where else would I be." she stated with her characteristic 'I will murder you' look, though I was pretty sure that was just the face she made passively. Pretty sure being the operative phrase here.

"W- well you could be doing something, umm, other than being in your room?" I offered lamely.

She gave me a slight smile, which might have been pitying, though my fragile ego refused to acknowledge it as such. It might also have been friendly, though it was my anxiety that time that held a knife to the throat of that particular thought. "I could, I suppose. But I'm not."

"Oh, well then. What are you doing?" I asked, curious now. I found her life intriguing, though not in the stalker-ish way... Well- actually it might have been stalker-ish, but it was for love, not lust. Well- maybe a strong crush, love seemed be taking it a little far, into the stalker territory even and I am not a stalker, as I've clarified before, probably. I probably should have, it would be an easy assumption to make.

"What are you doing?" she asked me, which was kind of a dog move. The teasing tone didn't help either, neither did the the over-pronunciation of 'you.' Answering questions with questions was totally lame. At least for me it was anyway. Damn her and her not-at-all straight answers. Then again, she had the right to question, so to speak, where as I didn't. I was the strange thing intruding on her normalcy, therefore her right. See? Easy as politics.

"Well..." I rubbed the back of my head, a subconscious tick I had when nervous. "I was ugh, looking for my cat and well I thought to myself, 'hey, you know who'd be great at finding cats?"

"And you though of me?"

"Well yeah, you got the whole ears thing and-" I cut off my awkward explanation as she gave me a surprisingly guilty look, which, like most things she did, only solidified my already steady crush on her. It was something about that more-open-than-usual expression she wore that was a pleasant surprise. She rarely showed any emotions, and when she did I had the impression that they were more by accident and as a natural reaction. They were also usually quite angry. Which, if I thought about it, made me somewhat angry too, especially about the 'why' of why she thought it was normal to be so stoic. I only hoped she was just a rather private person, instead of the many, worse alternatives that could be the case. "What?" I asked, wondering about the curious reaction.

"I- ah..." She didn't get to say much more as I heard a familiar tinkling sound coming from within her room.

"Jeramy?" I asked, somewhat bewildered.

Laura gave me a shy look as a black streak flashed out of her room to curl around by leg. I picked up the deserter and he clawed at my cheek, obviously irritated. With a practiced motion, scratched his back, placating the undoubtably ensuing storm of attacks that would have followed otherwise. Such an angry cat, it was a wonder I hadn't been murdered in my sleep. He liked me though, and he was wonderful, despite his temper. He also apparently liked Laura too, which was surprising but not unwelcome.

"H-he looked lonely." she squeaked out and I almost had to do a double take. Laura? Squeaking? It was almost too good to be true. Not that I was a sadist or anything, but a SECOND display of emotion of the not angry variety, in just as many minutes? I beamed, which only seemed to confuse and embarrass her further.

"W-what?" she stammered, the situation clearly clustering her, though I wasn't exactly sure why.

"I just didn't peg you as a cat person." I shrugged as Jeramy continued to wriggle in my arms. Which I didn't, I'd thought she was more of a hermit. Though thinking about it now, she could totally pull off the crazy cat lady look.

"What does that mean? What did you 'peg' me as?" she scowled and I recognized the more usual 'defensive Laura' sneaking back in.

"Well, I-"

"Did you peg me as a psychopath? A killer?" she asked- well, more like demanded. Yes, back was the old Laura, damn it. "Like the rest of the school has?" she growled. The noise startled Jeramy- heck, it startled me and cat leaped out from my arms to race round the corridor corner. He didn't leave completely though. I could still see him peaking his hear around the wall, watching.

I took a step back, arms raised, giving her space and she attempted to slam the door in my face. Almost anticipating the move, however, I managed to squeeze my foot in the way. I winced at the loud 'thwack' noise the collision made, grateful for the second time that day, for my invulnerability.

"No, fuck- I.." I managed to squeeze my head though the space I had made before she tried shoving it closed again. I noticed the unsheathed claws on her free hand, the hand that wasn't trying to actively close the door on my neck. For the first time I noticed the slight tint of blood on them. Well- I guess the claws had to come from somewhere but still, ouch.

"Go away, Martin" she growled again, the demand almost coming out as a snarl.

"Hey, fuck you! I- Let me speak." I blurted out, before my conscious thoughts could catch up with what I was saying. Shit. She didn't seem to take it too badly though, if anything she'd calmed down even, or at least she stopped trying to actively remove me from the room. Instead she was glowering at me, a mixture of shock and seething anger, the latter of which I had no idea of the origin.

"Listen, I-" I sighed before letting out a quick squeak of "Please don't stab me!" as she pulled back a little from the door. She didn't stab me, which was a good sign, though her glower did get a little more intense. I swallowed before continuing. "I don't think you're a psychopath." I stated slowly as I pushed open the door a little. "I just meant that you seemed-" I let out nervous laugh, this sounded so dumb. "like a hermit. You know, live in a cave in the wood, all alone, hibernate the winter or some shit." She blinked a little, seemingly drawing into herself and I, if only for a moment, glimpsed a much more fragile version of the Laura I knew. Maybe it was my imagination but- "I didn't mean that you were a-" I waved my hands in nebulous gesture as best I could in the position I was in. "A- a killer, or anything."

She blinked again as her claws retracted slowly into her clenched fist and my morbid curiosity fixed my gaze on the action. She said something quietly that I missed. "Hmm?" I asked, distractedly. Again, ouch. Those claws didn't look comfortable.

"I am though..." she repeated softly as she rubbed at her eyes. Tears? She was still angry, the clenched fists and furious scowl she had made that much clear. The anger wasn't directed at me though anymore, rather, it seemed aimed at herself and very, very sad.

"You are... What, a hermit?" I asked dumbly as I frowned. Or did she mean...

"A killer!" she hissed the words and I froze, watching her as she lowered her fists to her sides and stared at me.

"Oh." oh. "I-" I made a face, lost for words. What kind of face I didn't know. I think it was a sad one though and it matched hers in that regard.

Laura punched the wall, weakly. She suddenly seemed a lot smaller, a lot more human, a lot more, well- a lot more like herself, if that made sense. Like I was actually seeing Laura, not... The stoic actor that played at being Laura, the Laura she put up to deal with people, that Laura that didn't feel, that she hid behind. No, not hid, braced. I had no idea what that meant, but it felt like the truth. I felt smaller. What she'd said- it was way too much to sort through jammed between a wall and a door.

Still lost for words I looked at the ground and started doing what I do best; rambling. "I- is- this seems like a hugging moment..." I struggled to get out, the words feeling awfully toffee like on my tongue. "Did- did you want a hug? I mean, my mom always says people never hug enough, that a hug always makes things better, if only a little." The words felt a little childish as I spoke them. I felt childish, at that moment. Killing was a thing adults dealt with, right? Killing was an adult thing, not a- "She also says candy makes things better as well. I think you'd like her." I continued, avoiding thinking about anything. "So if-" I cut myself off as I looked back up at her, finally noticing her almost imperceptible nodding as she rubbed her eyes furiously. I pretended not to notice the tears as I slowly opened the door and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. I didn't think she would appreciate the comment and besides, I might have been crying as well, I wouldn't know though. I was focused on other things. It was funny, hugging her, I expected her to be smaller. She was actually almost my height though, and her body was filled out, muscle wise that is. I mean, I had noticed she was toned during training, but I never really got a sense of the mass of her. It was a good mass, a solid mass, a mass of action. I repressed a snort at that, I was unfortunately easy to amuse, especially on emotional highs. "You work out a lot?" I asked, not really registering it as a question until I spoke it out loud. She sniffled against my shoulder as looked up at me.

"W-what?" she asked, blinking, both to chase away the remaining dampness and out of confusion.

"Do you work out a lot?", I repeated, my arms still firmly wrapped around her shoulders.

"Oh, y-yeah. I do." She stated, as she shifted her position such that she was actually embracing me, instead of the awkward, one-sided hold we had been in. She nodded against me as she continued, "You heard what Scot said? I train a lot... More than the others."

"Why?" I asked. She didn't answer. "Well... You have nice muscles." I said.

She blushed at that, and I blushed at her blush. Noticing our closeness at almost the same time she did. I mentally slapped myself, not meaning it all how it came out. It was supposed to be a nice, innocent thing not an awkward, teenage hormone thing. Blah "Thanks..." she replied, a faint smile, tracing her lips. It fade quickly, replaced by a sniffle, but it was a smile. I smiled back a little too, though it didn't last either. "You should go." She said.

"Yeah." I replied. We didn't move.

AN: So yeah, big chapter. Tell me what you thought and all that. Really, I haven't written a scene like this before so, yeah, your views on it would be cool. Also, don't worry, less angst next chapter, I think. I don't know for sure yet. Take it as a probably :P

- Someplace Somewhere