Wolf: Wow. I just realized that my mind has pretty much short-circuited for the last weeks and I'm sorry about that. I really couldn't concentrate on anything, though. I consider myself lucky to be able to finish sentences in coherent order an accomplishment right now. Anyway, enjoy.
Lain hadn't realized that she was so hungry until Kurt started bringing food out of the fridge. He'd told her that she needed to keep her strength and eat three times a day. The teachers would work her hard in this school.
"Thank you," she told Kurt while she put the food in the microwave and waited. "Now, why are you being so nice to me?"
"Can't a guy be nice?" Kurt wanted to know, smiling when Lain really didn't have an answer to that. She'd never been taken care of by someone who wasn't her family before and it was a little scary for her. If she became the wrong person, even for a moment, she would lose this new relationship. That terrified the girl, mostly because it had happened before. Actually, it had happened many times.
A smile crossed her face as Kurt made himself comfortable, looking pretty happy to be that way. "So, do you really want to be the first to know which coop I'm going to blow?" she asked as the food got done. She sat down and sighed, eating quickly despite herself. She'd always eaten fast, mostly to beat her brothers, who insisted on contests like that.
"If you want to tell me then tell me," Kurt told her, smirking. He was a nice guy and Lain fought against her mind so that she would be the one to tell him. Her mind was already being overwrought and she didn't know how long she could hold out against herself. Her other personalities were just as eager to break the news, just to see his reaction.
"I'm kind of a psycho," she said eventually. Kurt laughed, so Lydia looked down. It wasn't likely that he would have believed her, but she'd hoped. Kurt noticed that she wasn't laughing with him and frowned.
"What do you man, 'a psycho?'" he asked, looking confused. "You seem normal to me." Lain sighed, not realizing that her anger was mounting under her consciousness. She didn't like it when people questioned her. If she said she was a freak, then she was. That was that. The sympathy in his eyes was too much and it fueled a rage that she knew would lead to…
Click.
Lydia stood up, now Kelly. Kelly was always in a bad mood, always sassing off to someone. Kurt was her newest target, apparently.
"Look, fur ball, if I said I had problems then you should just believe me and drop it," Kelly snapped, the ends of her hair starting to glow with flames that she could generate and contain. Kurt looked taken aback, surprised that such a violent person had come out of gentle little Lydia.
Kelly put out her hair and turned away, washing her dishes and putting them back without thought. Her anger was fueled by his kindness and she clutched her head as a massive headache rolled through her. Those types of aches and pains were usual for her, but they were getting worse lately.
"Are you okay?" Kurt asked, leaning over the girl in front of him and not knowing whether he should have been scared or concerned. Kelly felt tears of pain wet her eyes and knew that if she didn't do something soon, one of the personalities she and the others had locked behind iron bars, one that the professor wasn't even allowed to meet, would come out. They rarely talked about those personalities because the mention of their names was enough to make them try and get loose again.
Let me take control, someone in the back of Kelly's mind said. I can take pain. Kelly relinquished command only when she was sure that the headache was spreading and getting worse. Kelly hated pain, although she enjoyed causing it.
Click.
"I'm okay now, Kurt," the new personality, Nina, said with a huge grin. Kurt looked twice to make sure that there was no fire anywhere on her person.
"Sorry about Kelly," Nina continued, putting away the dishes her counterpart had left out. "I'm Nina, one of the personalities that make up Lydia. That's the thing about us, you know. We're kind of… weird like that."
Kurt shook his head, trying to absorb all of this information. "So who was I talking to before Kelly?" he asked. At least this answer would be easy, he thought. It would be much easier to believe this if they actually had proof.
"You were talking to Lain," Nina told him. "She's kind of bossy, really. I think I'm more fun than her." Kurt sighed at this. It was all too confusing and oddly similar to Rogue's situation. Of course, Rogue had all of her personalities locked away with her powers. This little girl's personalities changed up pretty often.
Will all teachers and Lydia report to the main room? the professor asked telepathically. Nina shook her head and took Kurt's hand, ignoring his strange fingers and fur. She was just making friends and nothing bothered her. She was like a little kid that way.
"Come on, Kurt," she said with a smile over her shoulder. "I'll tell you all about us when this is over, okay?" Kurt followed helplessly, still as confused as he'd started. Nina just walked to the main room and skipped to an open seat, drawing stares. People had only seen the introverted Lain, not bouncy Nina. It must have been a shock to them all.
A few of his student teachers were there, so the professor didn't seem to object to Kurt being there. Besides, Nina was giving him the puppy eyes to let him stay. Kurt sat down next to Beast, who seemed rather interested in the change in character from one girl to the next.
"Beast, we've been talking about how personalities often effect the growth of powers, correct?" the professor said with a nod at the resident scientist. "This explains why identical twins can sometimes have different powers although their genetic makeup is the same."
"Other than that, though, there is no proof," Beast replied. He looked at the professor questioningly while Nina squirmed, wanting to jump up and declare herself the answer. Lain's stern voice in the back of her mind stopped her, though. Even Kelly was against an unneeded shout.
"Actually, we do have proof, should she care to help us," the professor said with a small nod in Lydia's direction. "Lydia, or rather…" He trailed off for a moment, letting Nina fill in her name.
"Nina," the girl supplied, grinning. She was getting her way over the older girls and they couldn't do anything about it. Kelly growled. Lain was silent but annoyed. Nina was laughing at them inside of her head, knowing that they wouldn't be very happy with the outcome, whatever it was going to be.
"Nina," the professor repeated, "is one of several personalities who inhabit Lydia." Jean looked a little surprised as Nina nodded, smiling widely. They'd noted the change in personality, but assumed she was just a little less shy than she had been.
"Most of them have a power, but I don't have any in case you're wondering," Nina told them. "Nope, I was born after they got their powers so I don't have anything at all." She shrugged as Beast looked like he was going to question her. "I don't know about anything before I was born, so you have to ask someone else."
"I'd like to talk to Lain, if it's possible," the professor said, sighing. He looked at Beast, who was pleading to examine the girl thoroughly. Storm looked politely interested, although she'd never been very interested in where her powers came from. Scott was the same, although he knew that when people understood where powers came from he would be able to learn to suppress his and not have to wear glasses all the time. Jean was more interested in Lydia and how there were people other than the girl she was talking to living inside of that body.
"Sure," Nina said, calling up her sister, who'd been listening intently. Just a moment, she told Nina. I've got to try and remember everything before I talk to him.
Click.
"You called?" Lain asked, her aura completely changing in that moment. She was now much shyer and wouldn't meet Kurt's eyes. She didn't even want to look around, feeling that the people around her were staring. This was the girl the teachers recognized.
"Who is the oldest personality?" the professor asked. "Beast wants to ask a few questions, but we need someone with more information than Nina had.
"That's me and Kelly," Lain told him. "We're the only ones who haven't died yet. I think Kelly is a little older, but I'm the more levelheaded one." She smiled. "Kelly would get angry at you. The damage would set you back quite a bit if she was feeling uncooperative."
Beast gestured for Nina to follow him for a moment while the professor explained how this was relevant, going into detail about how multiple personalities was a disease of the mind that they had to know about, just like having diabetes and other things. They would have to learn to deal with the girls accordingly and that would take time.
Lain answered as many questions as she could, but there was only so much she could do. Lydia had been the oldest of them all, but she'd died a long time ago, or so Lain explained to Beast. She went into the powers of all of the girls who had either died or faded away, including the powers she and her current sisters had.
"This is all fascinating," Beast commented, taking notes. Lain felt like she was some sort of animal on display, but said nothing. Kelly was annoyed enough for the both of them. If Lain lost a moment, she felt that someone less willing to answer questions would come out.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Lydia and Kurt were let go and Kurt led Lain back to her room. He stopped awkwardly outside, scratching the back of his head.
"So…" he began, looking as uneasy as he felt.
"Thank you for walking me back," Lain told him, smiling shyly. She blocked out parts of the conversation, wanting to keep this from her sisters. "I'm happy you're not running in terror yet."
Kurt laughed at that, making Lain blush. She hadn't meant it to be funny, but it was good that he liked what she said. That usually meant he wasn't going to make fun of her.
"Most people run away from me at first, actually," Kurt told her after a moment of awkward silence. "Being blue and having a tail is kind of a turn-off." Lain looked at his sad eyes and tilted her head, hearing the racket her sisters were causing because they couldn't tell what was going on. Lydia was going to be a war zone for a few minutes once she was alone.
"Well, I've never been one to run away from someone just because they're different than I am," Lain told him. "If I don't like you, there's always a good chance someone in here will. Of course, if one of us doesn't like you, then it could get confusing if you run into me at the wrong time."
"So?" Kurt asked, smiling again. "Do all of you like me?"
Lydia opened her head for debate, letting her control slip for a moment while her sisters started answering. "Some more than others," Kelly said out loud, making Lain blush with the same body while Kelly was still grinning. Kurt looked confused by that, but Lain was back in the driver's seat and carefully studied her toes.
"Sorry about that," she said quietly. "Kelly can get out of hand." She mentally scolded the hotheaded girl while she turned her attention back to Kurt. He was holding in a laugh when Lain jumped away from her doorknob. It had turned into a clenched fist made of gold and she growled.
"At least it's not alive," Kurt snickered. Lain sighed at that and her blush deepened despite her best efforts. Her powers were going to become very troublesome if she didn't have the time to think about every word she said before saying it. If she thought too loudly, or didn't take proper precautions, someone could get turned into something they fundamentally could never really be without her help.
"Lights out, everyone!" Storm said through the intercom system. Kurt looked around as everyone started to gather in their rooms. He grinned one more time before vanishing in his signature puff of smoke.
Very stinky smoke, Lain amended, coughing. It smelt like she'd just tossed a skunk body into a vat of garlic and then took a huge whiff of it.
You still like him, Kelly taunted as Lain got ready for bed. The lights wouldn't turn on, so she fumbled around before changing into her pajamas. Her shoes were placed under her bed, which smelled faintly of fish oil and damp. The other girls soon took up the taunt and Lain was blushing so hard she thought her face was going to explode.
"So what if I like him?" she asked the girls, not knowing that her voice out loud instead of in her head where it belonged. "It's perfectly okay for me to like someone. I mean, I'm not some little kid like I used to be."
Hey! Nina said playfully. I'm supposed to be the kid around here. The others laughed at the joke like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard, but Lain sighed and got into bed, turning onto her side and grunting.
"Lights out, people," she murmured. "It's time to go to sleep." With that, Lain forced her eyes shut and ignored the grumbles until unconsciousness claimed them all.
What she didn't realize is that a certain brunette with the gift of gab had been walking by on her way to the kitchen at that exact moment and heard that little confession. Kitty smiled. This gossip was juicy.