Return of a misfit. ~open~

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty had been contemplating returning to the school for days now. She had been so close to everything she knew that it gnawed at her that she watched as so much had gone on and changed. She knew that she had been gone for quite awhile. She had not intended to be gone as long as she had been. In fact she had only wanted to separate herself for a short period of time, just enough to get her powers under control again. But of course this had not happened, instead she had wandered far away from everything she knew and found herself all alone.

Kitty stood at the edge of the trees. She watched the grounds carefully. Most of the students had returned to the inside hours ago, now all that she saw were the few older kids that were now making their way in as well. She had remained invisible anytime she got close to the school. She had not wanted to be seen by anyone until she was prepared. Sighing she saw the last of them slip inside the doors and the light that had shown through was cut off leaving her to the dark. She closed her eyes imagining what was going on inside at the moment. She remembered all the time she had spent there laughing and enjoying time she had free. That was before Alcatraz, that was before the new power decided to immerge and scare her.

Sighing she pulled her bag up over her shoulder and made her way to the school. She had put it off for to long, and she was worried that being away for so long would have even worse negative effects on her. She would have to face her friends sooner or later. She couldn’t run and hide forever. It was dark out enough that she would not easily be seen walking to the doors that led inside.

As she approached she stopped just outside the doors and sighed again. This was a bit more difficult that she first thought it would be. She wanted to see her friends, but was worried that her powers would once again get out of hand and something horrible might happen. Pulling herself and thoughts together she slipped through the door without opening it. She didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself that she had to. She turned toward the stairs leading to the second floor. Not hearing anyone she relaxed a bit. She had made sure that she was visible already. At it were she would have to see if her room was still free.

[N.P.C]

Julian Keller

Julian shrugs philosophically as Illyana’s door slams behind him, leaving him alone in the hallway of the girls’ dormitory for the second time in three days. Man, what is it with these mutant chicks?

Back home the girls had fallen all over themselves to hang out with him... and why wouldn’t they? He had looks, charm, brains, money, everything – plus a little extra telekinetic boost they didn’t know about that came in handy from time to time. Here, he doesn’t even have to be subtle about the teek, which you’d think would be a plus… but it’s like there’s some kind of conspiracy to keep him out of the game. Hell, even that prissy Cajun kid is seeing more action than he is! Something’s screwy, and he intends to figure out what.

Well, can’t be seen hanging out here looking like a loser, he thinks to himself, and heads towards the stairs and notices a pretty girl he’s never seen before standing at the top of them, looking lost. Oh well… maybe third time’s a charm!

"Hey, sweetheart… haven’t seen you around before. And believe me, I’d remember anybody as pretty as you…"

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty looked at the boy who was now standing in front of her. She still carried her backpack over a shoulder still and it was apparent hat she had just arrived again. She did not recognize him at the moment, but there was something about him that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He seemed a bit arrogant and like he was trying a bit to hard to impress her already.

“Just got back from being away. I take it you’re fairly new. Where is everyone?” She was being forward and to the point.

It was taking every ounce of energy she had to maintain her composure as it were and if she got upset or anything she was likely to disappear. She really wasn’t in the mood to show that new trick yet. She was worried as it were that she could not control it and that there was no one that could help her learn the control she needed to maintain her sanity and everyday life. Sighing a bit she finally let the bag fall to her feet. She had been carrying it for awhile now and it was beginning to get heavy. “Do you know if the room at the end of the hall is still free? That’s where my room use to be.” She just wanted to relax and set her things down in a room that was familiar. Then maybe she would run into someone she knew, or this boy would turn out to not be that bad.

[N.P.C]

> " Just got back from being away. I take it you’re fairly new. Where is everyone? "

Julian shrugs. "Oh, you know… around. Studying, probably; that’s all anybody seems to do around here, is sit in their rooms and study and practice and whine about how life is so hard because they’re mutants. I’m telling you, if I’d known this place was so full of sad-sacks I’d never have come!" Not that he’d exactly had a choice in the matter, granted… but nobody needs to know that except him and his dad.

"You, though… you look like you know how to party! " Which is an outright lie, really; she looks like another sigher. But she’s pretty, and he’s bored, and a little flattery never hurts. And, besides, she might surprise him! "So, you’ve been around a while, huh? So tell me, what do people do around here for fun? I mean, even these uber-serious Future Boring People of America types have got to just kick back and relax once in a while, don’t they?" He floats himself just a few feet off the ground next to the new girl and stretches out ostentatiously, trying (not entirely successfully) to make it look easy, before he rights himself back onto his feet.

> " Do you know if the room at the end of the hall is still free? That’s where my room use to be. "

The truth is Julian has no idea if anyone lives down the hall… he’s been keeping track of which rooms are assigned to the girls he’s met, but he hasn’t met them all yet (not through lack of trying!). Not that he intends to admit it. "Sorry, gorgeous… space is at a premium around here lately. Tell you what, though;" The bag she drops floats up into the air as he concentrates on it, and he starts down the stairs, "you can bunk with me tonight, and we’ll find you a room tomorrow. My roommate won’t mind." At least, he won’t if he knows what’s good for him…

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty watched the boy closely. He could tell he was new by the simple fact that he was using his powers a lot. In fact she was sure he was trying to impress her. She wasn’t that use to being the center of anyone’s attention, especially after what she had just been through. As she listened to him talk about the other students in the school she nodded a bit. She knew that most of the students studied alone or in small groups most of the time. There were some of them that would get out and have some fun, but they were not the majority.

“Well some of us like to get out. We go into the city or to the raves around town.” Actually Kitty remembered the last one she went to after the concert with Warren and Josh. She had a good time even though she had been cornered by another mutant. “I have a habit of spending a good portion of my time in the danger room. It just all depends on who there is to hang out with and what we can come up with.”

She knew she came across as the type to stay out of trouble, but in fact she tried to shed that innocent façade as much as possible. She much rather have fun when she could. The only issue with that is that her newly developed ability seemed to be trying to get in the way. If she could get it under control then maybe she could go back to having some fun.

She watched as her bag floated up near her and the boy mentions that he did not know if her old room was taken. Well if she could not run into someone that could tell her where she would have her room she had no choice but to guess somewhere. The guy in front of her seemed a bit arrogant, but he did offer to let her stay in his room. She considered it for a few moments. Where else did she really have to do anyway? After a few moments she smiled at him.

“Sure, I’ll stay in your room tonight I guess. I don’t know where else I really have to stay until I run into someone with authority. I’m Kitty by the way.” She said offering a hand. She concentrated to keep it solid. No reason to give away her power right away. Besides, it could come in handy if things went wrong.

[N.P.C]

> " Well some of us like to get out. We go into the city or to the raves around town"

"Oh?" Julian’s ears perk up at the latter. Back home he’d been plugged in enough to the local scene to find out about the underground parties, but he hadn’t thought Westchester had much in the way of nightlife. Still, he is pretty new in town, maybe he just hasn’t made the right contacts yet.

> " I have a habit of spending a good portion of my time in the danger room. It just all depends on who there is to hang out with and what we can come up with."

That gets even more of Julian’s attention – he’s heard of this Danger Room thing and is dying to try it out. Sure, she probably means she uses it for training or something boring like that, but from the way the others describe it, it sounds like it has loads of entertainment potential that nobody here has the balls to explore. Of course, he isn’t authorized to use the thing on his own yet, but if this girl has the keys, this could be more fun than the Jacuzzi out by the pool back home.

He’s about to suggest they check out some of the Danger Room’s “special” features when she surprises him.

> " Sure, I’ll stay in your room tonight I guess. I don’t know where else I really have to stay until I run into someone with authority. I’m Kitty by the way."

Her bag bounces off the steps twice before he recovers his aplomb and catches it again… even he hadn’t expected that one to work. "Um… sure, sounds great, Kitty! I’m Julian… Julian Keller. Great to meet you…" He smiles, looking into her eyes as he takes her hand in his and brings it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "It’s good to know not everyone here is dull as dust."

"So, OK. Lets get you settled in and see if we can’t find something fun to do tonight…"

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty was a bit surprised when he kissed her hand. It was rare to find someone so polite, even at the school. She knew plenty of others that were raised to be polite, but this guy took the cake. She smiled though. Normally she wouldn’t agree to something like this, but she had been gone and now she just wanted someone to notice her. Someone to know she was there and want to be around her.

“I’m sure we can find something to do. Between the two of us we can come up with a good idea.” She said reassuringly. She wanted to have fun, wanted to feel as if she belonged again. And hoped when morning came she would be able to find one of the x-men and hopefully take her place on the team again.

She followed him toward his room. There was no one else in the hall at the time. She knew that’s he had waited till dark, but assumed that there would still be people moving around. She remembered nights that the group of them would be up all night running around. She would sneak them all down to the danger room sometimes. In fact she remembered the Christmas that she sat down there with John and drank the day away. She missed those days, in fact she longed to recreate them sometimes. Back when times were simpler and she could just sit back and laugh with her friends.

[N.P.C]

> "I’m sure we can find something to do. Between the two of us we can come up with a good idea."

Julian grins suggestively as they approach his dorm-room door, grateful nobody has come out into the hall to interrupt them. "Yeah, I'm sure we will... you seem like a pretty creative girl, right? And I've been known to come up with a good idea or two, from time to time." He's relieved to find Doug isn't in their room... probably holed up in the library again, or something like that. Doesn't matter, really, as long as he isn't here.

Julian hops onto his bed and bounces a couple of times, then drops Kitty's bag on top of his dresser, flips the lights on, and turns on his stereo without getting up from the bed. "In fact, now that I think about it..." He smirks as a bottle of Ten Cane Rum slides out from under his bed and hovers in front of Kitty. "... I think I'm getting one right now. Care for a drink? It's not the greatest, but it's the best I could find in this backwater town...." It had been expensive, too... not so much the bottle itself as the extra $20 he'd had to pay to get someone to buy it for him. Then again, it's not like money is a problem for him... his allowance more than covers those sorts of "incidental expenses".

He kicks off his shoes and slides up to the back of his bed, then notices the state of Kitty's clothes now that they're under brighter lights. "Wow... you look like you've been hiking for God knows how long. Feel like changing into something more comfortable?"

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty smiled Julian bounce on the bed and do a few things without having to leave it. She was use to watching people use their powers. She had done it a few times herself. It was always nice to not have to worry about hiding anything, though she still had things to hide. She still wasn’t going to try to reveal what she could do.

As the bottle floated in front of her she smiled and took it. Opening it up she tipped it back letting the liquid slide down her throat. Again she thought about the Christmas break she had spent getting drunk with John in the danger room. Those were the days, maybe she could recreate a few of them with the new kid. “Thanks I needed that.’ She said as she righted her head again and held the bottle out to him.

As he made a comment about changing into something more comfortable she looked down at what she was wearing. She had taken to the habit of dressing in clothing that she didn’t care if they were ruined. Mostly jeans and big shirts with a large jacket over it all that some trucker had given her just as she entered New York. She blushed a bit as she realized hoe she must have looked to him.

“Yeah that would be great.” She said grabbing her bag and dashing through the door into the bathroom. She didn’t bother to open or close it since she phased through. The sound of water could be heard as she took a quick shower and changed into a pair of comfortable sleep pants and a green tank top. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail she walked back into the room, phasing through the wall again. “Much better. Thanks.”

[N.P.C]

Julian grins as Kitty takes a swig of rum, then floats the bottle back and takes a sip… not too much, though. Never a good idea to get drunker than the girl.

He grins a little more broadly at her blush, then jumps back a foot or so as she runs right into the closed door and vanishes. "Whoa! That’s…" he doesn’t bother finishing the sentence, since she’s already gone, and he chortles happily at the sound of the shower running. Finally, someone appreciates the old Keller charm!

He busies himself around the room for a minute… switching his MP3 player to his “In the Mood” playlist, turning off the harsh fluorescent lights and turning on the softer room lamps he’d brought with him, and generally converting the room into a cozier space. It’s the first time since his arrival that he’s actually managed to get a girl to come back to his room, but like he always says: Julian may not be a boy scout, but he’s always prepared.

He considers changing into something more “comfortable” himself, but the water in the shower stops running before he has time, so he settles for popping a quick breath mint before leaning casually against the headboard of his bed. When Kitty phases back through the wall he’s a little more prepared for it, though he still jumps noticeably.

> " Much better. Thanks."

"De nada, pretty Kitty! And may I be the first to say you clean up real nice." He offers the bottle to her again, this time without the TK, hoping she’ll sit on the bed next to him to take it. "So, that’s a pretty cool trick, the walking through walls thing. What else can you do?"

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty smiled at Julian as she walked toward him. She had noticed that he had killed the harsher light and the room looked a bit more pleasant. At the mention of her cleaning up nice she blushed again. “Thanks Julian, I try.” She was being a bit sarcastic, not on purpose but out of habit, but made sure it still sounded playful. After all he was letting her stay in his room with him. This was much better that crashing on the couch in the rec room.

She stopped in front of him reaching for the bottle. As she wrapped her fingers around it she leaned in kissing his cheek lightly. “Thanks again for letting me crash in here. I really do appreciate it.” He seemed like a decent guy. A bit arrogant when they first met, but she could look past that. There was no reason to jump to conclusions about him.

After taking the bottle she sat on the edge of the bed. He was very close to her now and she tried to relax reguardless. She was still a bit tense from her journey. “Phasing is what I do mostly. Though I can take people and things with me as well. Umm… invisibility recently actually.” She wasn’t planning on telling anyone about that, but she was relaxing around him. One because she was drinking pretty fast and two he was being so nice to her.

[N.P.C]

> " Thanks again for letting me crash in here. I really do appreciate it. "

"Hey, it’s a rule of Keller etiquette – beautiful girls get to sleep in my bed any time they want." He tries not to show his disappointment in the chasteness of the kiss – after all, he’s got plenty of time for charm and rum to work their magic.

Oh, which reminds me. A bit of attention causes the door to the hallway to lock itself with a soft –click-, ensuring that Ramsey won’t interrupt anything by coming in too early. They’d already had the talk about that particular signal, and while his goody-goody roommate hadn’t been happy about it, he knew where he stood… which, tonight, was out in the hall or really anywhere but here, until Julian was ready to let him in.

He notices her relaxing a little and decides to take advantage of that. "Wow… you seem pretty tense. Long day, huh?" He slides his hands onto her shoulders and starts massaging them.

> " Phasing is what I do mostly. Though I can take people and things with me as well. Umm… invisibility recently actually "

Julian thinks about that for a few seconds and nods. "That is a totally awesome power! So, you’re like a ghost, huh? You can go anywhere, take anything you like, nobody even knows you were there? That’s so cool!"

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty leaned back toward Julian when he began to massage her shoulder. Her tension had reached a point that it almost drove her crazy. She could not completely relax her body at all and had become accustomed to the hard tense muscles. Having someone work some of that tension out helped to relax her even further. This was something that she missed more than anything, human contact.

A sigh escaped her lips as bit as she felt everything begin to leave her shoulders. “Thank you Julian. I have been so tense for so long I didn’t think it would ever go away.” She moaned a bit leaning further into him. “It’s been a long few months. I took off for a bit to clear my head. It was a bit harder that I first thought.”

She closed her eyes relaxing even further. Her mind was finally clearing a bit. She could think again and there was no immediate worry. This was another thing that she had missed about being at the school. She didn’t have to worry about the harshness of life and how to make it by herself. She needed this escape. As he mentioned her being able to do basically anything she wanted and not getting caught she laughed a bit. “I would never do anything bad though. I control my powers as much as I can and use them to help when I can. Other than that I am just a regular person like anyone else here.”

[N.P.C]

> " I would never do anything bad though. I control my powers as much as I can and use them to help when I can. Other than that I am just a regular person like anyone else here. "

Oh, brother… not another one! Julian has no idea why everyone he’s met at the Institute talks like a public service announcement when it comes to their mutant powers, but he’s beginning to suspect it’s something in the water, or maybe some kind of mind control. "No way, pretty-kitty… you’re better than regular people. Regular people can’t do what we do, so they make up all this stuff to try to guilt people like us into not doing it, ‘cuz that way they don’t have to feel inferior, which they are. It’s pretty simple, really, it’s just all these whiny liberal intellectual types who try to make it complicated. "

As he talks, he works his hands down along her spine, surreptitiously snapping the clasp of her bra open as he does so. "Besides, " he adds, whispering into her ear as he leans his chin on her shoulder, "Aren’t you ever tempted to do anything even a little bad?"

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty listened to him as he spoke. It was true that the greater population tried to make them hid what they were. She could of course conceal it for the most part. She had no outward appearances that showed she was a mutant. Her control over her powers had even gotten pretty good until the new one had arrived. She had been told for so long that she was to either hide what she was, or had others sculpting her to what they wanted that she didn’t even think of it in any other way but to do what was right. Julian on the other hand had helped to open her up a bit. She knew she didn’t always act perfect. In fact, she was known to use her abilities to sneak around as much as possible. She wouldn’t do anything illegal, but she did like to cause a bit of trouble when she could.

“I’m not like the usual populus, but I’m not extraordinary either. I cause some mischief in my own way. Hell, they had to let me train in the danger room whenever I wanted because I kept sneaking in when no one was around. It is a bit hard to keep me from anywhere really. I follow most of the rules, but there are those that I just choose to ignore.” Kitty admitted as she felt him go lower on her back. She knew that he had unhooked her bra by now and although she was about to say something she decided not to. It wasn’t like he could put her into a situation that she could not get out of anyway.

She leaned back against him fully now. The closeness made her happy and the alcohol was finally kicking in a bit. She leaned her head back against him as she looked around the room a bit. “I’m surprised your roommate isn’t back yet. What will he say if he finds me here with you?” She wasn’t that concerned. If his roommate tried to chase her off she could always find somewhere else she could go to. In fact she remembered that she had designed a program for the danger room that would be perfect to relax in if she needed to.