The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
folder
X-Men - Animated Series (all) › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
33
Views:
4,535
Reviews:
3
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0
Currently Reading:
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Category:
X-Men - Animated Series (all) › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
33
Views:
4,535
Reviews:
3
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own X-Men Evolution, or any of the characters from it. I make no money from from the writing of this story.
24
The HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply
A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, I think Dodo is convinced about the eel now...Ted had a rather disturbing demonstration on electricity and water...Let's just say Lucas will be fine in a bit and leave it at that... It was an accident. Really. InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink make me want to dance and sing for archiving, but in the interests of public safety, I'll refrain. Wouldn't do to have the lot of you flinging yourselves off cliffs like lemmings... Readers/Reviewers: You...complete me... (I'm having a moment. There. It passed. I'm fine again...) ;) The Killer Kitties (tm) send their regards IN BLOOD!!!! I dread to think of their Valentine's Hearts...poor platypi had better stay in hiding until after the holiday is past...
The Professor was not a morning person. That is not to say that he slept in or was a lay about, but rather he had a set routing he needed to follow in order to take on the day before noon. Any deviation from the routine made him quite aware how ridiculous it seemed for a trained psychologist to have such an obsessive compulsive pattern but also made him yearn for Logan's claws to shred apart whoever interrupted said routine. Kitty was no exception. It was barely seven a.m. when she burst into his study-well, more phased into his study than burst-half-dressed with her sweater and makeup on top and pajama bottoms and bunny slippers on bottom. "Kitty," he said with a warning in his voice.
She exploded in indignation, not even noticing his stern expression or his fingers gripping the edge of his desk in annoyance. "It's so not fair, Professor! I mean, all I did was defend myself and I get all this crap piled on me! Couldn't you get them to, like, give me detention or something? I'd gladly have it every day for the next month if it meant all this," she waved her hands, indicating the stern discipline set on her the night before, "would go away!"
"Kitty," he started again, only to be cut off when she launched into anotharraarrage of complaints, though, he noted inwardly, not without just cause.
"All he gets is a slap on the wrist because he's mister big-shot athlete and God forbid he gets in trouble! It's guys like him that get away with rape and murder, just because they're golden in the eyes of the higher ups!" She flung herself onto the settee across from the desk and seemed to be gearing up for another tirade when the Professor seized the opportunity to cut her off.
"Kitty, I agree that this punishment is unfair but this is the best I could do at the moment. From what I could gather, Principal Kelly is under some duress because Duncan's father is a major supporter of the booster club and donates quite large sums of money to Bayville High contingent on his son's performance, if you catch my meaning... I am going to have a meeting with the superintendent of the school board tomorrow-before you say anything, that's the earliest he could meet with Logan and myself-but for now, we have to make concessions." He made a mental note to speak with Jubilee about her punishment that day as well. He knew as only a telepath could that she was responsible for the mess made of Duncan's room. He actually shuddered to think of what would have happened if she had been caught breaking and entering, especially with her superior skills in the field. _I have to make sure Remy no longer has his lock picks for her to borrow... _
"What's Duncan's punishment?" she asked sulkily. She was picking at the upholstery idly, not looking up at the Professor, but he could still see the streaks of tears down her cheeks. "Does he have to wear the wrong jersey next game or something?"
The Professor sighed somewhat sadly. "Actually, he has ISS1 for the rest of the week, then he cannot start for the rest of the season."
"Which one? Basketball, soccer, baseball or la crosse? Football season is over..." _It doesn't matter...it's all bullshit... _
The Professor seemed to pick up on her thoughts because he frowned and tsked softly. "Let's just concentrate on fixing your side of the problem, Kitty. Storm will pick you up at lunch and bring you back here to work on your afternoon studies. Tomorrow, I'll speak with Superintendent Chalmers2 and...well, exert some influence to get you reinstated to your honors status and as a full time student. Today, though, just try and be calm and don't let Principal Kelly ruffle your feathers too much. Be like a duck."
"Pardon?" Kitty finally looked up and raised a brow, not quite willing to smile.
"Water rolls off a duck's back. Be like a duck and let everything roll off yours." The Professor shrugged, abashed, at the lame metaphor.
Kitty finally did smile then. "You really need some coffee, don't you?"
"You have no idea..." He offered her a fair imitation of a smile as she stood and shook her head in amusement, phasing from the room much more quietly than she entered. Every year, this school situation gets more and more asinine... _ One of these days we'll get around to turning the Institute into a boarding school, but now I need coffee. Lots of coffee. And maybe a sticky bun. _
Kurt dreaded the coming lunch period. He had most of his Kitty-centric classes in the afternoon and knowing she would not be there was distracting. Amanda had been trying to get his attention most of the morning, finally shoving a note into his hand as she passed them in the hall on the way to third period. Said note remained unopened in his back pocket, taunting him with it's unknown contents. Scott was dozing over his math text and Paolo, a peripheral annoyance to Kurt since the night at the library, was staring moonstruck in their direction. _Oh, gad. If he doesn't stop staring at me, rumors are going to start and that's the last thing I need right now! _ Taking another covert peek at Paolo, he noticed the teenager was not staring at him, but rather past him, in the direction of Scott. _Must not giggle...must not laugh...must file away to tease Scott about later. _ Amanda leaned into his line of vision and made writing motions, mouthing 'note' to him. He shook his head and turned away pointedly, staring out the window into the faculty parking lot in time to see Jubilee ducking into a jeep. _Great. Remy's gonna get us all in trouble. _ With a sigh of something akin to jealousy over the ease of his friends' relationships, he returned his attention to his textbook and flipped through a few pages, wiling away the minutes until the bell rang and he could dash to see Kitty before Storm picked her up.
"Read the note," Amanda hissed. "Now!"
"No," he whispered back, scrawling nonsense in German in his spiral notebook, giving the appearance of taking notes to the teacher's watchful eyes. "Leave me alone!"
"Kurt," Amanda sighed. "Please? It's important...you really need to read it before word gets around..."
Something in her tone made Kurt nervous. Grinding his teeth, he nodded jerkily, dismissing her effectively. He managed to evade work for the rest of the period and was the first out the door when the bell rang. Scott said something but he ignored him, promising himself he would apologize later, and wove his way towards the office where Kitty would be waiting. The note seemed to be burning a hole in his pocket so, not even breaking stride, he pulled it out and began reading as he walked, his senses helping him avoid running into people and objects in his path.
_Kurt-
I heard about the fight yesterday and I hope Kitty is okay. Really. I know you're probably annoyed with me right now and I don't blame you but I don't want you to think what's coming up is my doing. The Valentine's Dance is this Friday and it's a costume thing, but that's not the worst of it. The Dance Committee has decided to choose "Ideal Couples" to be in the running for the stupid king and queen titles instead of how they usually do it, us voting while the dance goes on. The problem is, we're listed on the ballots. Not just you and just me, but us, as a couple. I thought you should know beforehand so you can let Kitty know. Rumors fly fast around here and I don't want you two to have any more problems than you already do. I've heard from some people-well, Patty and some of the cheerleaders-that Kitty isn't allowed at the dance and for some reason, Patty seemed really happy about that. Part of me thinks they had something to do with you and me being listed together. I don't know what to tell you but I'm going to talk to Miss Riley, the faculty advisor to the dance committee, later and see if she can take us off. I'm sorry. Tell Kitty I hope she's okay.
A _
Kurt slowed down as he reached the office suite for the administrative staff, not looking up from the note as he sat next to Kitty on the wooden bench outside Principal Kelly's office. "Unglaublich," he finally said harshly.
Kitty, weary from dodging rumors all morning, had been happy to see Kurt coming to the office but at his bitter tone and upset expression, her ri moo mood fell. "What is it, sweetie?"
Kurt eyed her warily, as if just noticing she was sitting there. With a sigh, he handed her Amanda's note and watched the play of expressions across her face as she read the missive, ranging from incredulous to annoyed and back again. She folded the note back along it's creases carefully and handed it to Kurt without saying a word. "Well?"
"Well what? I'm not mad. I believe that she didn't set it up. I was on the dance committee until yesterday and I knew they were going to do this pairing up thing, but you and Amanda being together is news to me. Patty has to be Patricia Garrison-she just joined the committee last week to fulfill some extracurricular activity requirement in addition to cheerleading." Kitty chewed her lip and leaned against him heavily, tucking her legs beneath her as he slid his arm around her shoulders. "I don't know what's going on lately...Did you know Jean agreed to go to the dance with Duncan last night?"
"No way! Why? Is it the end of the world and no one told me?" He was shocked, to say the least. "What did Scott say?"
"He doesn't know...Duncan promised her he would tell her everything if she went to the dance with him. She said that she believed him." Kitty tapped her forehead to indicate the nature of Jean's ersatz lie detector test.
"Damn. I don't want to be around when Scott finds out..."
"You have to be!" Kitty said almost eagerly. She tilted her face up to look at him directly. "She'sna tna tell him at lunch and I won't be there! You have to do recon and let me know _everything! _"
Kurt sighed. "Can't one of the girls do this? I feel uncomfortable gossiping..."
"It's not gossip. It's information gathering. And the girls are going to be busy dealing with Jean freaking out before and after. Trust me on that one-I know. I originated the boyfriend-related freak out. I know whereof I speak."
Kurt saw Storm approaching the double glass doors outside the offices and gave Kitty a gentle nudge to sit up. "Tell you what," he said with some amusement, "I tell you all that happens at lunch if you promise to dress more like that tomorrow."
Kitty looked down at her outfit-her old jeans and one of the tops Tabby picked out, showing more of her cleavage than usual but no where near as much as the other day. "Deal."
"Kitty," Storm said clearly from the vicinity of the sign-out window. "Get your things and let's go."
Kitty stand and pulled Kurt to his feet, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek in view of several cheerleaders and Storm. "Love you, babe...see you tonight."
Kurt nodded and sighed, waiting until Kitty was out of sight before turning and loping towards the cafeteria. One of the cheerleaders, Amy, if her letter jacket was to be believed, snorted. "Patricia is gonna love this...Miss Goody Two Shoes is still with Wagner. She's gonna have to get her ass in gear is she wants her lame-o plan to work..."
1 In School Suspension
2 Shameless Simpsons reference
Disclaimers Apply
A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, I think Dodo is convinced about the eel now...Ted had a rather disturbing demonstration on electricity and water...Let's just say Lucas will be fine in a bit and leave it at that... It was an accident. Really. InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink make me want to dance and sing for archiving, but in the interests of public safety, I'll refrain. Wouldn't do to have the lot of you flinging yourselves off cliffs like lemmings... Readers/Reviewers: You...complete me... (I'm having a moment. There. It passed. I'm fine again...) ;) The Killer Kitties (tm) send their regards IN BLOOD!!!! I dread to think of their Valentine's Hearts...poor platypi had better stay in hiding until after the holiday is past...
The Professor was not a morning person. That is not to say that he slept in or was a lay about, but rather he had a set routing he needed to follow in order to take on the day before noon. Any deviation from the routine made him quite aware how ridiculous it seemed for a trained psychologist to have such an obsessive compulsive pattern but also made him yearn for Logan's claws to shred apart whoever interrupted said routine. Kitty was no exception. It was barely seven a.m. when she burst into his study-well, more phased into his study than burst-half-dressed with her sweater and makeup on top and pajama bottoms and bunny slippers on bottom. "Kitty," he said with a warning in his voice.
She exploded in indignation, not even noticing his stern expression or his fingers gripping the edge of his desk in annoyance. "It's so not fair, Professor! I mean, all I did was defend myself and I get all this crap piled on me! Couldn't you get them to, like, give me detention or something? I'd gladly have it every day for the next month if it meant all this," she waved her hands, indicating the stern discipline set on her the night before, "would go away!"
"Kitty," he started again, only to be cut off when she launched into anotharraarrage of complaints, though, he noted inwardly, not without just cause.
"All he gets is a slap on the wrist because he's mister big-shot athlete and God forbid he gets in trouble! It's guys like him that get away with rape and murder, just because they're golden in the eyes of the higher ups!" She flung herself onto the settee across from the desk and seemed to be gearing up for another tirade when the Professor seized the opportunity to cut her off.
"Kitty, I agree that this punishment is unfair but this is the best I could do at the moment. From what I could gather, Principal Kelly is under some duress because Duncan's father is a major supporter of the booster club and donates quite large sums of money to Bayville High contingent on his son's performance, if you catch my meaning... I am going to have a meeting with the superintendent of the school board tomorrow-before you say anything, that's the earliest he could meet with Logan and myself-but for now, we have to make concessions." He made a mental note to speak with Jubilee about her punishment that day as well. He knew as only a telepath could that she was responsible for the mess made of Duncan's room. He actually shuddered to think of what would have happened if she had been caught breaking and entering, especially with her superior skills in the field. _I have to make sure Remy no longer has his lock picks for her to borrow... _
"What's Duncan's punishment?" she asked sulkily. She was picking at the upholstery idly, not looking up at the Professor, but he could still see the streaks of tears down her cheeks. "Does he have to wear the wrong jersey next game or something?"
The Professor sighed somewhat sadly. "Actually, he has ISS1 for the rest of the week, then he cannot start for the rest of the season."
"Which one? Basketball, soccer, baseball or la crosse? Football season is over..." _It doesn't matter...it's all bullshit... _
The Professor seemed to pick up on her thoughts because he frowned and tsked softly. "Let's just concentrate on fixing your side of the problem, Kitty. Storm will pick you up at lunch and bring you back here to work on your afternoon studies. Tomorrow, I'll speak with Superintendent Chalmers2 and...well, exert some influence to get you reinstated to your honors status and as a full time student. Today, though, just try and be calm and don't let Principal Kelly ruffle your feathers too much. Be like a duck."
"Pardon?" Kitty finally looked up and raised a brow, not quite willing to smile.
"Water rolls off a duck's back. Be like a duck and let everything roll off yours." The Professor shrugged, abashed, at the lame metaphor.
Kitty finally did smile then. "You really need some coffee, don't you?"
"You have no idea..." He offered her a fair imitation of a smile as she stood and shook her head in amusement, phasing from the room much more quietly than she entered. Every year, this school situation gets more and more asinine... _ One of these days we'll get around to turning the Institute into a boarding school, but now I need coffee. Lots of coffee. And maybe a sticky bun. _
Kurt dreaded the coming lunch period. He had most of his Kitty-centric classes in the afternoon and knowing she would not be there was distracting. Amanda had been trying to get his attention most of the morning, finally shoving a note into his hand as she passed them in the hall on the way to third period. Said note remained unopened in his back pocket, taunting him with it's unknown contents. Scott was dozing over his math text and Paolo, a peripheral annoyance to Kurt since the night at the library, was staring moonstruck in their direction. _Oh, gad. If he doesn't stop staring at me, rumors are going to start and that's the last thing I need right now! _ Taking another covert peek at Paolo, he noticed the teenager was not staring at him, but rather past him, in the direction of Scott. _Must not giggle...must not laugh...must file away to tease Scott about later. _ Amanda leaned into his line of vision and made writing motions, mouthing 'note' to him. He shook his head and turned away pointedly, staring out the window into the faculty parking lot in time to see Jubilee ducking into a jeep. _Great. Remy's gonna get us all in trouble. _ With a sigh of something akin to jealousy over the ease of his friends' relationships, he returned his attention to his textbook and flipped through a few pages, wiling away the minutes until the bell rang and he could dash to see Kitty before Storm picked her up.
"Read the note," Amanda hissed. "Now!"
"No," he whispered back, scrawling nonsense in German in his spiral notebook, giving the appearance of taking notes to the teacher's watchful eyes. "Leave me alone!"
"Kurt," Amanda sighed. "Please? It's important...you really need to read it before word gets around..."
Something in her tone made Kurt nervous. Grinding his teeth, he nodded jerkily, dismissing her effectively. He managed to evade work for the rest of the period and was the first out the door when the bell rang. Scott said something but he ignored him, promising himself he would apologize later, and wove his way towards the office where Kitty would be waiting. The note seemed to be burning a hole in his pocket so, not even breaking stride, he pulled it out and began reading as he walked, his senses helping him avoid running into people and objects in his path.
_Kurt-
I heard about the fight yesterday and I hope Kitty is okay. Really. I know you're probably annoyed with me right now and I don't blame you but I don't want you to think what's coming up is my doing. The Valentine's Dance is this Friday and it's a costume thing, but that's not the worst of it. The Dance Committee has decided to choose "Ideal Couples" to be in the running for the stupid king and queen titles instead of how they usually do it, us voting while the dance goes on. The problem is, we're listed on the ballots. Not just you and just me, but us, as a couple. I thought you should know beforehand so you can let Kitty know. Rumors fly fast around here and I don't want you two to have any more problems than you already do. I've heard from some people-well, Patty and some of the cheerleaders-that Kitty isn't allowed at the dance and for some reason, Patty seemed really happy about that. Part of me thinks they had something to do with you and me being listed together. I don't know what to tell you but I'm going to talk to Miss Riley, the faculty advisor to the dance committee, later and see if she can take us off. I'm sorry. Tell Kitty I hope she's okay.
A _
Kurt slowed down as he reached the office suite for the administrative staff, not looking up from the note as he sat next to Kitty on the wooden bench outside Principal Kelly's office. "Unglaublich," he finally said harshly.
Kitty, weary from dodging rumors all morning, had been happy to see Kurt coming to the office but at his bitter tone and upset expression, her ri moo mood fell. "What is it, sweetie?"
Kurt eyed her warily, as if just noticing she was sitting there. With a sigh, he handed her Amanda's note and watched the play of expressions across her face as she read the missive, ranging from incredulous to annoyed and back again. She folded the note back along it's creases carefully and handed it to Kurt without saying a word. "Well?"
"Well what? I'm not mad. I believe that she didn't set it up. I was on the dance committee until yesterday and I knew they were going to do this pairing up thing, but you and Amanda being together is news to me. Patty has to be Patricia Garrison-she just joined the committee last week to fulfill some extracurricular activity requirement in addition to cheerleading." Kitty chewed her lip and leaned against him heavily, tucking her legs beneath her as he slid his arm around her shoulders. "I don't know what's going on lately...Did you know Jean agreed to go to the dance with Duncan last night?"
"No way! Why? Is it the end of the world and no one told me?" He was shocked, to say the least. "What did Scott say?"
"He doesn't know...Duncan promised her he would tell her everything if she went to the dance with him. She said that she believed him." Kitty tapped her forehead to indicate the nature of Jean's ersatz lie detector test.
"Damn. I don't want to be around when Scott finds out..."
"You have to be!" Kitty said almost eagerly. She tilted her face up to look at him directly. "She'sna tna tell him at lunch and I won't be there! You have to do recon and let me know _everything! _"
Kurt sighed. "Can't one of the girls do this? I feel uncomfortable gossiping..."
"It's not gossip. It's information gathering. And the girls are going to be busy dealing with Jean freaking out before and after. Trust me on that one-I know. I originated the boyfriend-related freak out. I know whereof I speak."
Kurt saw Storm approaching the double glass doors outside the offices and gave Kitty a gentle nudge to sit up. "Tell you what," he said with some amusement, "I tell you all that happens at lunch if you promise to dress more like that tomorrow."
Kitty looked down at her outfit-her old jeans and one of the tops Tabby picked out, showing more of her cleavage than usual but no where near as much as the other day. "Deal."
"Kitty," Storm said clearly from the vicinity of the sign-out window. "Get your things and let's go."
Kitty stand and pulled Kurt to his feet, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek in view of several cheerleaders and Storm. "Love you, babe...see you tonight."
Kurt nodded and sighed, waiting until Kitty was out of sight before turning and loping towards the cafeteria. One of the cheerleaders, Amy, if her letter jacket was to be believed, snorted. "Patricia is gonna love this...Miss Goody Two Shoes is still with Wagner. She's gonna have to get her ass in gear is she wants her lame-o plan to work..."
1 In School Suspension
2 Shameless Simpsons reference