|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 26, 2006 12:29:38 GMT -5
The natural order of things was very precious to Kitty. As a creature of habit, she cultivated repetition; every day things happened at almost the same time, and though evening activities and meals and suchlike varied, things usually occurred in about the same order, at the same places, and involving the same people.
When people disappeared, the natural order of things was disrupted, and thus, so was Kitty.
When John disappeared, it was worse. For one thing, he was one of her best friends, so she worried almost constantly about him anyway. For another, it was easy to worry about him, easier than it was to worry about Bobby or Rogue or Pete, because he had a darkness to him that the others lacked, even Rogue. It must've been the street thing. Something, anyway.
For another, she was dating him, which meant that worry went into overdrive as a side effect of affection. This basically amounted to a hyperawareness of both his presence and absence, and he'd been missing for... well, many class periods. And since Kitty was the worrier and Kitty was the - the She Who Was Being Dated, it was generally decided that she should be the one to go hunt him up.
She'd checked his room, the logical place; empty. The kitchen - less logical, but he went through eating phases, not touching food for days and then consuming all in sight. The breadbox had been unscathed. The library; the only person in the classics section had been a little lost boy, a new one, to whom she'd given directions. Eventually she'd resorted to wandering through the hallways with a distracted expression, shrugging off the continual questions - are you okay? Are you sure? What's up? Are you sure? Are you sure?
She hadn't even thought to check outside until she made it there on her own. Why he'd be outside she had no clue, but whatever. It was another place to check. Luckily for her, he was outside, in a little gazebo thing towards the back of the garden and the front of the woods that surrounded the estate - reading. Of course he was reading.
"Hey," she said quietly, sliding onto the bench next to him. She could almost touch the Something Is Wrong vibes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 26, 2006 12:40:54 GMT -5
He glanced up and a smile flashed briefly across his face. She could see that the smile was genuine, that he was pleased to see her, but it had all the staying power of an icecube in the furnace. "Hey." He leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek, barely enough pressure to leave an imprint on a soap bubble.
John closed the book - 'Catch 22'. To Kitty's eyes, he looked tired. She knew, from conversations they'd had in the past that he still had the occasional nightmare although his regular sessions with Professor Xavier had gone a long way towards staving the worst of them off. There was something else in his eyes, too, a restlessness that she'd not seen before.
He gazed out over the garden.
"I think it's gonna rain," he observed, softly. "There's thunderclouds coming in."
|
|
|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 26, 2006 12:49:33 GMT -5
At least he was still pleased to see her. That was nice to know. She received the kiss gratefully, pulling her hair out of the way briefly to give him access, but barely felt it.
Asking him would just make him close up. Well, maybe. He was so unpreditable when he got like this. Even more so-unpredictable than he always was. He hadn't been sleeping, she saw. More nightmares, or a simple unwillingness to go to sleep? And something strange behind his eyes, something she really couldn't put her finger on.
"I think it's gonna rain. There's thunderclouds coming in."
"You should come inside, then," she said, her voice soft. She sat close to him, her sleeve touching his, her hand braced on the seat for support. She tried to follow his gaze across the garden, but couldn't see what he was looking at. Probably nothing she could see.
"You might even make it to a couple of classes that way." Kitty smiled, nudging him with her shoulder.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 26, 2006 13:06:17 GMT -5
"What's the point in classes?"
Oh.
It was one of those moods.
In the time that they'd been dating, Kitty had learned that John had several moods. His default state was the cocky, arrogant, but friendly John who was the perfect counterpoint to Bobby Drake. But then there were the extremes: the manic, nervous, slightly edgy young man who tore around like a thing possessed, and then there was this one.
Nobody liked this one.
This was the 'pity me' John. The John who saw no point to anything, found fault in every silver lining that people tried to help him see and who skimmed worryingly close to the rim of a deep, dark depression that he never seemed to *quite* fall into.
It was often close, though.
"What's the point in classes?" he repeated. "What good are they gonna do us at the end of the day?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 26, 2006 13:15:09 GMT -5
"What's the point in classes?"
Ah.
Well then.
One of those.
Kitty sighed quietly. She had her work cut out for her. But it would preserve the natural order. Actually, this was almost a part of the natural order, only a more occasional order than the one with which she worked every day; it was John's place to go mad and her place to bring him back down to earth. Or back up, in this case.
"What's the point in classes? What good are they gonna do us at the end of the day?"
"If you'd come to class, maybe they'd tell you," Kitty said, removing Catch-22 carefully from his grasp and putting it on the bench next to her so that she sat between it and its reader, and took John's hand. "Classes are plenty good at the end of the day. English gives me an excuse to make you explain things and math may yet teach everyone enough about percentages to make them leave decent tips."
It was a crime what some people did to waistaff. Kitty herself never left less than twenty percent for average or above service, with twenty-five for exemplary and fifteen for really abysmally awful, though she always felt guilty afterwards. Maybe the server had just had a bad day, after all, and she could be making it worse. (Most restaurants in Westchester, bar a certain Italian place in town, were great fans of Kitty's.)
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 26, 2006 13:32:00 GMT -5
"Classes are plenty good at the end of the day. English gives me an excuse to make you explain things and math may yet teach everyone enough about percentages to make them leave decent tips."
If she had been looking for the effect of making him laugh, it worked. His face broke out into a smile again and he giggled slightly. "Hey, I'm not so bad at mathematics." True enough: John had demonstrated a surprising aptitude for the subject, particular statistics and algebra.
"Still..." He ran his fingers through his hair which was getting untidy and looked in need of a good cut. "When we get outta here, where are we gonna go? I haven't got any money to get a place to live and I can't stay here forever." His shoulders sagged again. "Gonna have to move on eventually."
That was what he had been looking at. The horizon. The future. And for John Allerdyce, it seemed that it was filled with stormclouds.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 26, 2006 14:10:15 GMT -5
A laugh! HA! Kitty counted that as a win. Or at least a tick towards the win.
"Hey, I'm not so bad at mathematics."
"I was thinking Bobby," she said. Poor Bobby. Couldn't hardly divide straight.
"Still..."
Kitty rearranged his hair after he'd messed it up, trying to get it to stay in place and failing.
"When we get outta here, where are we gonna go? I haven't got any money to get a place to live and I can't stay here forever. Gonna have to move on eventually."
"A lot of people stay," Kitty said. "You could teach. A lot of people stay. Mr. Summers and Ms. Munroe - and Ms. Gray, before..."
Of course, he probably wouldn't be drowning himself in any icy lakes, so she shouldn't be quite so uncomfortable talking about dead teachers... but still.
"I think they wouldn't just kick us out with nothing," she said. "We'd stay for a few years after school, get jobs if we don't want to stay here, save up a little. Move out. We do what everyone else does."
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 26, 2006 15:32:17 GMT -5
"We do what everyone else does."
"No way. You're fooling yourself if you really believe that, Kitty. Don't you get it? We'll NEVER do what everyone else does." John's shoulders drooped again and he stared back out into the distance. There was a faint, distant rumble of thunder. "Y'know why? Because we're better than everyone else. All of us. You, me, Bobs...we've got these incredible gifts and they're scared of us. Damn cowards."
He looked down at the book. "That's a hell of a book, you know," he said, conversationally. That was one of the things that surprised people most about John. For all his wisecracking, smart-alec street kid persona, he was an avid, rapacious reader who could Lit Crit with the best of them. "Ironic, though."
|
|
|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 26, 2006 16:16:46 GMT -5
"No way. You're fooling yourself if you really believe that, Kitty. Don't you get it? We'll NEVER do what everyone else does. Y'know why? Because we're better than everyone else. All of us. You, me, Bobs...we've got these incredible gifts and they're scared of us. Damn cowards."
"I meant generally," Kitty said weakly. "I don't think being a mutant means you can't have an apartment. We have to do some of the same stuff... I mean, just because we have gifts doesn't mean we don't have to work for a living. And stuff."
She was so bad at arguing with him. Debating, rather. While Kitty was inherently pragmatic, anyone who's ever debated with an English major or equivalent knows it's basically either a neverending circle or a doomed pursuit.
"That's a hell of a book, you know. Ironic, though."
"I never read it," Kitty said, as she always did. Her favorite book, after all, was a tie between The Princess Test and Go Dog Go. "Why's it ironic?"
Hopefully it wouldn't be because someone else with gifts had risen above the world around him and smashed everything else beyond recognition. She couldn't have with any books giving John ideas.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 26, 2006 16:41:56 GMT -5
"Why's it ironic?"
"Doesn't matter," he said.
There was a long silence and then, rather unexpected, he put his arms around her and moved in for a hug. This was next to unheard of. He was the most un-tactile person she'd ever known. He rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry I'm so difficult, Kitty Kat," he said, in a voice that was so quiet it was barely a whisper. "You're great for putting up with my moods. Didn't mean to skip class, but the book kind of pulled me into it, y'know?"
He fell silent then, with his head on her shoulder, his eyes closed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 26, 2006 16:56:52 GMT -5
She hated this part, as much as she hated anything. Kitty tried not to touch him; she was terrified he'd shrug her off. But he never touched her of his own accord, and all she could do was sit here nervously, waiting for him to snap out of it, or into it, or something.
But apparently the planets had aligned in the magical way they were supposed to and John put his arms around her - all by himself! - and though she tensed from surprise for a very brief instant, Kitty put her own around his neck and hugged back, as tightly as she thought she'd be allowed.
"I'm sorry I'm so difficult, Kitty Kat. You're great for putting up with my moods. Didn't mean to skip class, but the book kind of pulled me into it, y'know?"
"Mmhmm," she said. She'd buy it for now. "You're not that difficult. We just worry about you, you know."
Especially her. But he probably knew that. Most people picked it up in no time.
"Come on in," she said into his ear. "I think it is going to rain. We don't have to go back to class or anything, I just don't want you to get struck by lightning or something."
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 26, 2006 17:14:59 GMT -5
"Come on in. I think it is going to rain. We don't have to go back to class or anything, I just don't want you to get struck by lightning or something."
"Mmm," he murmured, his eyes still closed. "You smell nice."
He seemed to have got out of the worryingly dark mood he'd fallen into. He clung to her for a little longer, then let go with obvious reluctance. "Yeah, you have a point I guess. That'd be a pain, right?" A faint smile. "Bobby will do anything to win that basketball game tomorrow."
John picked up his book and stood up, offering his hand out to Kitty, something else he rarely did of his own accord. It was almost symbolic. He was, quite literally, reaching out for comfort, something he'd always been spectacularly terrible at. But Kitty had started to break down those barriers by sheer dint of her sunny personality that shone through the dark clouds of his loneliness.
"Kitty?"
He paused.
"Ah, nothing. You're a good girl. Don't ever change. Promise me that. Whatever happens in the future, don't ever stop being a good girl."
He kissed her hair softly.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 27, 2006 11:57:29 GMT -5
"Mmm. You smell nice."
Kitty sighed, without rancor, and gave in. Either it was a new and improved aversion attempt or he was finally kicking himself out of his funk. She was sort of okay with either one. They both, eventually, led to the same place.
He finally let go and Kitty released him as well, careful not to be the first or to move too quickly.
"Yeah, you have a point I guess. That'd be a pain, right? Bobby will do anything to win that basketball game tomorrow."
"Of course I have a point," Kitty said triumphantly. "And you'd better win. I've got a bet going. Electrocution is no excuse."
Even if she wouldn't personally eat the baked good of her choice that had been the stakes, it was a matter of honor and principle.
She took his hand, smiling brightly, if slightly confused at his sudden... touchiness. Clinginess? Even if it was clingy, she didn't mind. Kitty was clingy herself. She swung their hands like a kid, happy.
"Kitty?"
"Hm?" she asked as they stepped out of the gazebo and back up towards the Institute.
"Ah, nothing. You're a good girl. Don't ever change. Promise me that. Whatever happens in the future, don't ever stop being a good girl."
Though she accepted the touch willingly, Kitty bit her lip and frowned. "What d'you mean?" she asked. "Why would I stop?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 27, 2006 12:43:03 GMT -5
"What d'you mean? Why would I stop?"
"Just a figure of speech," he said, with a light laugh. "I'm just saying. You're probably the sweetest, kindest....nicest person I've ever met. In my whole life. And THAT isn't a figure of speech."
His fingers remained entwined in hers as they walked into entrance hall, despite the fact that one or two of the younger students noticed and stared. John Allerdyce wasn't known for showing affection towards anybody. There had been rumours he'd been dating Kitty Pryde, but none of the other students had believed it. Until now.
He seemed oblivious.
This was a very unusual turn for John's mood to be taking. It wasn't a direction she'd ever seen before.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 27, 2006 13:41:35 GMT -5
"Just a figure of speech."
Something about his immediate mood change was slightly disturbing. Kitty supposed she should be happy since he wasn't wallowing any longer, but still - how was 'don't be a bad girl' a figure of speech? She wasn't very good at English, of course, but it seemed... off.
"I'm just saying. You're probably the sweetest, kindest....nicest person I've ever met. In my whole life. And THAT isn't a figure of speech."
Kitty smiled foolishly. She was just being weird. It didn't mean anything. "Well, thanks," she said. "Though I think maybe you might not have been looking very hard. I know a lot of nice people."
He didn't let go of her hand when they entered the building. This was weird. It was nice, of course. Kitty's always been huggy and tactile. But John hadn't.
"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked him quietly.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 27, 2006 15:14:56 GMT -5
"Are you sure you're all right?"
"Of COURSE I'm alright." His voice was cheerful and calm. "I don't know, I have a go at showing a little affection for my girlfriend - " He'd NEVER called her that before. "- and she thinks there's something wrong with me!" He grinned at a passer-by who was staring. "Hey, how you doing?"
The passer-by scuttled off at top speed. There was something in that question that didn't even warrant acknowledgement. Something...razor edged and dangerous.
"Although," said the young man, thoughtfully, "I could really eat a dish of chocolate ice cream right now. How 'bout it, Kitty? Fancy coming and eating chocolate ice cream in the kitchen with me? Brain freeze, great fun...eat too much at once and POOMF! All your braincells just do a big Bobby Drake and stop functioning..."
OK. This was more familiar. He was on the up, into the town of Maniaville.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shadowcat on Jul 28, 2006 18:30:48 GMT -5
"I don't know, I have a go at showing a little affection for my girlfriend and she thinks there's something wrong with me!"
The title was enough to distract her. Kitty'd never had a boyfriend before. She'd come to the Institute too young - well, in middle school some girls had had boyfriends, but it had always been the kind of relationship where you stand on opposite sides of the gym and occasionally wave at each other.
"Hey, how you doing?"
"John, I think you're scaring people," she said quietly, though the giddy 'girlfriend' smile hadn't left her face.
"Although I could really eat a dish of chocolate ice cream right now. How 'bout it, Kitty? Fancy coming and eating chocolate ice cream in the kitchen with me? Brain freeze, great fun...eat too much at once and POOMF! All your braincells just do a big Bobby Drake and stop functioning..."
John started rattling on and Kitty relaxed, tension draining out of the grip on his hand. "I don't know if Bobby can even get brain freezes," she said thoughtfully. "But sure, I'll come."
She still had frozen yogurt in the bottom of the freezer, right?
|
|
|
|
Post by Pyro on Jul 28, 2006 18:52:30 GMT -5
He almost hauled her after him into the kitchen, which was presently empty. Whoever had used it last hadn't bothered to wash up their dishes, something which caused a moment's irritation to flash over the boy's face.
"Apathy," he said, finally letting go of Kitty's hand, "is one of the things that annoys me most about this place. People are plain lazy, Kitty. I mean, how hard can it be to move your plate from the table to the dishwasher?"
He removed the offending item as he spoke and almost unconsciously wiped the table down as well before hitting the freezer and coming out trumps with a tub of chocolate ice cream. "The foodstuff," he said, triumphantly, "of the gods. Here." He scooped a healthy amount into a bowl and grabbed two spoons from the drawer.
"You," he said, "me, and a dish of ice cream. Isn't that romantic? I can do romantic, you know, I'd send you roses if I could afford it, but right now, this dish of ice cream is the best I can manage and I figured we haven't spent a lot of time together in the last few days and we could sit here now and eat this ice cream together and really enjoy it..."
He paused for breath. If she didn't know him better, she'd have sworn he'd taken something.
|
|
