Learning to Breathe
Disclaimer: "The closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm!" [1
Chapter Thirty: Back to Pris—I Mean School
Andi emitted an audible groan as she trudged into the principal's office at Bayville High School. The only plus side was that she wasn't in trouble this time. Although, it would be nice if her mother had actually given her something to do while she sat in solitary. As it was, however, she simply had to sit around for three hours until school let out and she could go to the apartment.
"Try not to cause too much trouble." Raven Darkholme sighed. "Once classes commence, you can explore the school library."
"There's a library in the school?" Andi asked.
"Not a large one, but in the room next to the teacher's lounge there are several shelves of books. At least one of them should strike your fancy." Raven elaborated. "After classes let out, I'll take you back to my apartment."
"No problem." Andi replied. "What time do classes start?"
"Five more minutes." Raven answered. "Just be a little patient."
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Andi had no trouble finding the campus library save one altercation with a hall monitor. Once that was taken care of, she sidled in the door and began to search the shelves. She'd spent five minutes alone with someone's dime-store novel when she heard the door creak open. Instinct kicked in. She pretended not to notice, but her ears pricked at every footstep as the intruder drew closer and closer to her hideaway on an armchair between the bookcases. When he stopped behind her, she instantly sprang to life, throwing her book bag at him.
"Hey! Watch it!" He said. His accent was very thick, but not uncomprehendable. She gave him a quick look over before saying anything.
"Who are you? Why are you in here?" She asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." He countered, focusing his brown eyes on her.
"I'm visiting a relative of mine." She covered. "She's on the faculty. Now, will you answer my question or not?"
"Jeez, frauline, don't be so defensive." He exclaimed, putting his hands up to show he meant no harm. "I have study hall this period, and I needed to look something up for my history class."
Another stare and Andi finally decided to be nice. "Fair enough. I'm Andi, by the way."
He smiled nervously. She couldn't blame him for that; she had thrown her bag at him, after all. "My name is Kurt."
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Somehow, someway, Raven sensed a disturbance in the library. Sure, her mind could be playing tricks on her again, but she felt that something was up. Excusing herself to powder her nose, she took off straight for the library. When she arrived, she saw something she never thought would happen.
There, on the same couch with Andi, sat Kurt. Of course, neither child knew they were siblings. It would have been too risky to tell Andi, and Kurt… well, there wasn't time to tell him much of anything before Magneto used her own team to break up their reunion. But now, without even knowing it, the two were fulfilling a dream she thought would never come to pass.
Silently, she slipped back out of the library and stole back to her office. Quickly, she jotted down a note on some of her office stationary, and then stuffed it through the vents in Kurt's locker. Open contact with him was far too risky now, especially with Magneto's golden boy snooping around. Of course, Pietro and the rest of the Brotherhood weren't the only ones watching her every move. The rest of Xavier's kiddies had decided to make sure she didn't hurt Kurt, and dragged him away every time she tried to talk to him. [2 Well, now she had the perfect chance to explain to the two of them exactly what kind of connection they shared.
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"When did you say your class started?" Andi asked. The indigo haired boy tilted his head back in though before answering.
"Twenty minutes."
"Ah." She nodded. It was always good to keep track of time.
"What are you reading?"
"The Wedding's On, or something like that." She said, checking the title. "Although I'm not really interested. Man, am I bored!"
"What do you want to do, exactly?" He asked.
"I'd settle for auditing a class at this point. Just something to do instead of count ceiling tiles… Wait!" She smirked. "Kurt, do you know where they keep the spare art supplies?"
Kurt grinned like a bandit and nodded. "Follow me."
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"How did you get up there?" Andi asked as Kurt gracefully crawled on the roof.
"Circus training." The older teen nodded. "I used to live in one before I came here."
"So did I." Andi blinked. "Well, it's been like three years, now. I lasted six months before…" she trailed off. She didn't even know this boy. Sure, he could scale walls, but what if he was not a mutant.
"Before what?" Kurt asked, midway through a now-yellow tile. "Why did you leave?"
"Some 'friend' of my foster family's found me." She murmured. "They drug me home with them and kept me there til my adopted parents arrived."
Kurt sensed (although he was not sure why he felt it) that something was off about the girl's story. However, they had ten minutes and half a ceiling left before his history class beckoned him, so he shifted the conversation into more friendly waters. "Do you have any hobbies?"
"I draw." She said. "Not well, but I do it. Used to sing to, when I was a lot younger. Nobody would want to see a gawk like me onstage, even if I still could hit the high notes like I used to." She had long resigned—since before she ran away—that her voice keeled over when she turned eight and fervently believed that she sounded more like a foghorn that a person. "What about you?"
"Gymnast." He replied with a smirk she would have noticed even if he weren't halfway facing her. "And eating, but Kitty keeps telling me it's not a hobby."
Andi grinned. "Well, we all have to be good at something."
"How many more tiles?" He asked. She paused and looked up at the roof.
"I think we need a bigger brush." She dove into the box of supplies they stole from the closet and re-emerged with a five-inch wide brush. "Try this one!" She shouted.
If not for the stranger, Kurt would have used his tail to make the painting go faster. Still unsure how she'd react, however, he forced himself from doing so. Instead, he dropped the dinky paintbrush he had held and caught the fat one she tossed to him. This would make his job much easier.
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Halfway through the next class period, Jean Grey came racing into Principal Darkholme's office.
"Principal Darkholme! Come quick."
Raven glanced up from her paperwork and looked the brunette in the eyes. "What is it, Miss Grey?" She asked.
"Someone's defaced the library!" The redhead exclaimed. "They painted on the roof!"
"What on earth?" Raven blinked, and then rose from her chair. "I wonder who could have done that?"
Upon entering the library, however, Mystique bore a clear idea as to the culprit—or culprits, in this case—were, and for once Toad and Quicksilver were not on the list. Only Andi could think of putting a paint-by-number on the roof, and only Kurt had a free period to reach the roof. The paint cans on the tops of the bookshelves and the pencil holes in the tiles proved it.
Looks like the two of them will be meeting sooner than I thought. She sighed. "Miss Grey, can you track down Mr. Wagner for me?"
"You think Kurt did this? He wouldn't dare! You just want to get him in trouble so you can lie to him!" Jean growled. Mystique glared back, unphased.
"No, Jean, I don't think Kurt did this alone." She replied. "He must have had help, and I have a clear idea as to his accomplis. Just find him for me, please."
The redheaded telepath groaned, but did as she was told.
Good. Mystique thought. Now, I have to go find my missing daughter.
1) Cute quote from The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers.
2) I've always wondered why Mystique didn't just call Kurt out of class to explain everything to him, or why Kurt never pressed her for more answers. Here's my take on it, at any rate.
There you have it! Some sibling bonding, Mystique plotting stuff, and a Jean cameo. Hope it was to your liking.