By: Kelly

Okay! Chapter 3, the final chapter in the trilogy, (ooOOOooo, aaaahhhh I can tell you’re all impressed lol.) This is a lot more WAFF than the second (seriously-how could it be less) perhaps even more WAFF than the first (except for the mild maybe-I’d-be-better-off-dead-theme at one point) Ack- you know what happened, I lost it when my computer crashed (stupid piece of . . . ) so I had to write it again. Anyway, I know you don’t really care so, here is the final instalment of TWHFGAAOAITLOAFYOF.

~*~*~*~*~

Kitty sat staring at the whiteness of the walls, the strong smell of ammonia pungent in the air. The ticking of the clock on the wall was deafening, she had been sitting there for more than four hours. Beside her sat Evan, snoring lightly. In fact, everyone else had fallen asleep. She looked around for the thousandth time, trying to keep her mind off Kurt.

It was hard to believe that a place like this existed. A friend of the professor’s was a doctor and had opened this clinic specifically for mutants, and though it was disguised as an abandoned warehouse on the outside, it was a state-of-the-art medical facility on the inside. He had opened it for people like Kurt who, by no fault of their own, couldn’t get treatment at a regular hospital.

Kitty’s mind drifted back to something Kurt had said earlier that night, that he didn’t want her parents to think he was a freak. Somehow, she couldn’t help believing that he was right. But she also realized something, she wasn’t like her parents, she didn’t care if Kurt looked the way he did. He was such a wonderful person. She scolded herself, how could it have taken her this long to realize something so simple. What if she lost him? Tears streaked silently down her face and she made no attempt to stop them.

~*~*~*~*~

Harsh white light invaded Kurt’s eyes as he awoke. ‘So death is light,’ he thought, ‘and silence.’ He closed his eyes again, his head was spinning. He had never gotten to tell Kitty how he felt about her. Would all she have to remember him by be the letter? The beep of a machine nearby brought him to full consciousness.

He heard a woman and three men talking in hushed tones. The woman and two of the men’s voices sounded very familiar, but the third he couldn’t place. He opened his eyes slowly, giving them time to adjust. Standing just outside the doorway of the room was the professor, Ororo, Logan, and the other man, who was dressed in a white lab coat.

But just where was he? Judging by the sheets and the whitewashed ceiling, he was in a hospital, somewhere, but he couldn’t tell much else lying on his back. He lifted his hand to check the time, and nearly yelled aloud. It was covered in blue fur. Instinctively he grabbed his other wrist, searching frantically for the watch, but all he felt was the cold plastic of an IV tube. He sat up quickly and cried out in pain. It was as though he had swallowed millions of tiny, VERY sharp pieces of glass that were stabbing him from the inside of his stomach. All thoughts and worries about exposed as a freak were lost in the white-hot rush of pain. The voices outside abruptly stopped. The man in the lab coat actually laughed and Kurt was seriously considering killing him (AN: of course not seriously - figuratively geez). “Charles, it seems at though your young charge has awoken. If you’ll just give me a few minutes . . .”

“Yes, of course Edward. We’ll be waiting outside.”

Kurt gritted his teeth in pain as the doctor closed the door and walked up to his bed, smiling, “So, Mr. Wagner, how are you feeling?” He picked up a chart on the end of the bed and began flipping through the papers.

“Like I’d rather be dead.” He was generally an optimistic, glass-is-half-full kinda guy, but how could this guy look so perky when his stomach felt like it was on fire?

“Peritonitis can do that.”

“Vas?” Maybe it was just his English, but he had no idea what he was talking about.

“Are you familiar with the term appendicitis?” He continued to flip through the chart and Kurt eased himself back onto the mattress.

“Isn’t that when your appendics burst?”

“Almost. Appendicitis is a condition when the appendices become infected or inflamed. Regular appendicitis can be treated with intravenous antibiotics, but if the peritoneum, which is the membrane enclosing the abdominal viscera, bursts as it did in your case, it’s called peritonitis and can only be treated by removing the infected organ and alleviating the system of the harmful acid that was released into the body by using a strong intravenous steroid, which is what your body was trying to do by the excessive vomiting, fainting, and high fever. You’re very lucky that your friend was in the room with you when you started to seize or you could have very well been dead. As it is, you’ll probably only have to take it easy for several weeks.”

“Oh yeah, I’m real lucky. Maybe I should go out and purchase a lottery ticket, ja?”

The doctor smiled, “Point taken. If your stomach is bothering you too much, however, I can give you a shot of codeine three to ease the pain.” Without really waiting for his reply, the doctor emptied the needle slowly into the tube of the IV. He felt almost instantly better, just tired.

“Danke,” he yawned, leaning back onto the pillow, “for everything.”

“I’m always glad to help a fellow mutant in need. I think the professor and your friends would like to come in and visit you, but I’m afraid it will have to wait until the morning. It would be best if you just rested for tonight, I’m sure it’s been a long day.” Kurt was too drained to really care one way or another, he simply nodded and closed his eyes while the doctor changed his IV, thinking.

He turned off the light and left Kurt in the room alone. The soft sound of rain pattering on the roof and the quiet hum of a machine we’re the only noises that stood between him and total, enveloping silence. He hated the silence, it left him with nothing to do except contemplate his existence, and yet he found himself still doing so. He couldn’t help thinking of Kitty, the way her hand felt as it had brushed against his, the way her eyes had filled with concern over him. But wouldn’t she have shown the same concern for anyone? he asked himself. She was just that type of person. There was no real attraction there, at least not from her side anyway. He had tried everything, even the letter, but she could never really love a freak. He sighed.

Maybe he would have been better off dying tonight, maybe he would have saved a lot of people a lot of trouble. No one would really care anyway, it would have probably made his friends lives easier not having to worry about a friend who was in constant danger of being exposed as a freak, of exposing them as well by association. Perhaps they’d all be happier without him, they didn’t seem to care he was here, the only people from the institute were Logan, Ororo, and Professor Xavier. None of his other “friends”had managed to come. Maybe they simply didn’t care about him. Not even Kitty.

~*~*~*~*~*

Kurt cupped her face in his hands and pulled her into a long, deep, passionate kiss. It was unlike anything Kitty had ever felt before: engrossing, transcending, a life-altering utopia of desire realized. It was nothing and everything a first kiss should feel like, it was flawed perfection, routine extraordinary, controlled fervor, like a symphony of opposites playing in a beautiful discord. She didn’t want this moment to end. A voice in the distance was calling her, but she didn’t want to leave. The voice became more insistent, louder.

Kitty opened her eyes and found herself back in the hospital’s waiting room (AN-you knew it was too good to be true) eye to eye with Logan. He spoke again.

“Half-pint, come on. We’re going back to the institute.” With that he moved next to her and worked on awakening Evan. She had so many questions to ask. Where was Kurt? Was he okay? Oh, if only she hadn’t fallen asleep!

Slowly, the rest of the group awoke and followed the adults to the van. Everyone looked like she felt, tired and worried. They seemed to be asking the same questions as she was in their minds, but no one wanted to ask out loud for fear of the answer. Finally, as the large black van pulled out of the parking lot, Scott spoke.

His voice was hoarse, almost a whisper, and he stared at the floor, “Did Kurt die?” She watched as the adults exchanged looks. Kitty felt warm, salty tears running down her cheeks, but she didn’t care. Evan looked more serious than she had ever seen him and from behind her, she heard Jean take in a sharp breath, as though suppressing the urge to cry.

After what felt like an eternity, Ororo spoke, “Kurt’s fine for the moment. Unfortunately, he had to have surgery, he won’t be able to go to school for about two weeks, and his movement will be limited. He’ll also have to take strong intravenous antibiotics, which will make him weak and possibly tired, so it’s important for us to help him when he comes home tomorrow.”

Behind her, Jean sighed in relief. Kitty felt like a huge weight had been lifted of her chest, as long as Kurt was going to be alright, she didn’t care if she personally had to wait on him hand and foot for the two weeks. From the tired smiles on her friends faces, she could tell they felt the same. Listening to the quiet hum of the engine, Kitty drifted off into a pleasant sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kitty awoke in darkness, groggy and disoriented. She was in her bed, lying on top of the covers, still in the clothes she was wearing earlier that day. The nearby clock’s harsh red numbers glared 4:37. Running her hands over the bedside table searching for the lamp, she grazed a piece of paper. Flicking on the lamp, she read it.

There, in scrawly writing, read: Squirt, when we got home from the hospital, there was a message on the machine. You parents are getting in from Chicago tomorrow at around six o’clock. Just so you know, Logan.

Kitty stretched, cracking her back. As if this weekend couldn’t get any worse. She wasn’t exactly sure when it had happened, but she suddenly found herself not caring about what her parents thought, suddenly not wanting them to become any part of her life here in Bayville. She undid her shoes and walked over to her dresser, opening the second drawer from the top as quietly as possible.

Sitting on top of her neatly folded nightgown was a letter bearing her name. She felt both intrigued and violated that someone had been in her pyjama drawer. The letter had been carefully folded into a paper rose, and Kitty almost didn’t want to open it, yet curiosity was getting the better of her. She couldn’t help herself from reciting the old adage ‘curiosity killed the cat’. She carefully uncreased each of the folds and spread the letter out onto her flowered comforter. The writing was hasty but still neat, and smudged around the edges:

Dear Kitty,

I’m sorry about this morning, it was really awful of me. My guardians always used to tell me you should never go to bed mad so I decided to put this in with your pyjama’s. Stupid, I know, but I had to apologize somehow. I know I may seem really obnoxious and annoying sometimes, but truthfully, I’m too shy to say I’m sorry to your face. I hope this letter will do. But there’s something else I have to tell you.

It’s around five o’clock and I’m sitting here watching the rain fall outside, thinking of you. That’s all I ever do. Think. Of you. And I can’t act upon it because I know there are too many differences between us. We’re worlds apart yet I can’t help feeling the way I do. Since the first moment we met, I’ve known that I liked you, and I’m writing this in hopes that you feel the same.

Whatever your feelings may be, please know that your friendship means the world to me,

Always,

Your fuzzy blue elf

Kitty read the letter over again, several times, not quite believing her eyes. All this time she had wondered if Kurt was simply flirting for the fun of it, simply playing with her heart, but he felt the same way as she did. He had just had the guts to say it first. Kitty pulled back her covers, smiling to herself, and changed into her pyjamas. Maybe this weekend wasn’t so bad after all.

~*~*~*~*

Kurt stretched gingerly as the bright morning light flooded into the room, yawning. The nurse smiled radiantly at him, “So, you get to go home today?” It was really more of a statement than a question, and she was talking to him just to be polite.

Kurt yawned again, “Ja,” he replied sleepily. There had to be something in the IV they were giving him, why else would he feel so tired?

“We just have to run a couple more blood tests to determine that the white blood cell count is down. Then you’re free to go. Do you want me to take it now or wait until after breakfast?”

Though he was incredibly hungry, the thought of eating made his stomach turn, “Might as well get it over wis.” He held out his left arm and barely flinched as the needle penetrated his skin, watching the thick red blood slowly fill the tube. He suppressed the urge to yawn yet again as the nurse recorded something on his chart.

Seeing her write, he knew there was something he was forgetting. The note! Kurt suddenly felt sick in an entirely different way. He rubbed his temples in a circular motion, his head was unexpectedly throbbing. Why did he give Kitty the note? What had possibly gotten into his brain? She was going to laugh at him, mock him forever. If she asked about it, all he could do was plead momentary insanity, or fever delusions, or . . . uh . . . underwater dementia, well maybe not the last one, but he couldn’t let her know he was serious. Why did he have to be so stupid as to give her a written confession of his love for her? But what if she didn’t mention it at all? What if the thought of him liking her disgusted Kitty so much that she blocked it from her brain? That would be a thousand times worse. Kurt let out a lamented sigh, the click of the closing hospital room door was deafening.

That was all he ever heard! All he ever got were closing doors. His looks. Click. His Mother. Click. His life. Click. Kitty. CLICK! Why was everything so damn hard for him? Kurt flicked his tail so violently that he accidentally hit the glass of water on the nearby tray. It shattered into dozens of tiny shards, scattering across the linoleum tile floor. He didn’t care anymore! Let the glass break, let Kitty laugh at him! He just didn’t care! He buried his face in his hands and began to cry, sobs racking his body.

The nurse rushed back into the room, a worried look on her face. “It’s okay Kurt. It’s okay, please. There’s no need to get upset.” Before he realized what was happening, she had emptied a small syringe into his IV tube. Kurt drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*

Kitty walked into the hospital room behind Logan and shivered. She always wondered how they expected people to get better in places like this, so white, so sterile. Kurt lay on the bed, dreaming peacefully. He looked like an angel, her angel. But it was strange that he was sleeping in the middle of the day like this.

The doctor looked at Professor Xavier and cleared his throat, “Charles, may I have a word with you?”

“Of course.”

“Privately?”

“Certainly Edward.”

They left the room. While the rest of her friends talked quietly amongst themselves, Kitty lingered near the door, listening.

“Charles, has Kurt . . . uh . . . undergone any changes lately that you’ve noticed? Mood swings? Modified character? I’m just worried that his problem might not be entirely physical. He started to cry for no apparent reason today, and he threw a glass.”

“Really?”

“Has he been under any undue stress? At school? At home? Even problems with a girlfriend or friend could set this sort of thing off. It’s nothing to be extremely worried about. I mean most teens tend to feel awkward and out of place anyway, and add the pressure of being a mutant on top of that, I know it can be hard. I used to want to lash out when my powers had manifested too, but you should still make sure he’s okay.”

“I’ll do that Edward, thank you.”

They continued to chat quietly but Kitty stopped listening. The doctor’s voice kept echoing in her head, “Even problems with a girlfriend or friend could set this sort of thing off.” Was it her fault that Kurt was crying? Kitty remembered the smudges around the edge of the letter. She watched the methodic rise and fall of his chest and vowed to never hurt him again.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“So this is Scott,” Kitty’s mother gushed, embarrassing her in a way in which only mother’s could. Kitty wondered if it would have been better to have just left her parents at the airport. Scott turned bright red and stared at the glossy hardwood floor, muttering an indistinguishable agreement.

It was 6:30, and she, Logan, and her parents had just returned from the airport. If introductions were this brutal, Kitty couldn’t wait to see how the entire rest of the weekend went. Her mother had just told Jean that she should wear more loosely fitting tops if she didn’t want every man in the area looking at her chest, and her father had corrected Evan on his posture at least three times since his arrival. No wonder Kurt was so worried about meeting them. She smiled, Kurt was definitely the bright beacon on the tossing sea of her parents’ flaws. With him she was sure she could endure anything. The problem was, he wasn’t technically her’s yet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Grogginess engulfed him like a thick black liquid choking off connected or logical thought. He felt a certain lightness and peace, and lay in semi-conscious darkness perfectly content with the world. The sound of rushing water calmed yet also stirred him.

Kurt fully awoke to the sound of a toilet flushing and let out a quiet yawn. He turned over on his side, reading the glowing numbers on his bedside clock, it was almost eight. The smell of dinner wafted in the room and Kurt couldn’t help but feeling hungry, he hadn’t eaten for two days.

Gritting his teeth he stood up, clutching the IV stand for support. He would just port down to the kitchen for something to eat, and be back in a second, no one was ever in the kitchen at this time of night anyway.

~*~*~*~*

Kitty pointed out things of interest to her parents, they had wanted a tour of the institute. Evan had volunteered to go with her and Kitty noticed he was walking more slumped than usual and kept giving her father challenging looks. She shrugged, her parents sometimes had that effect on people, besides she had more important things on her mind, like how to sneak up to Kurt’s room without her parents or anyone else for that matter knowing where she was going. She had a feeling this one conversation both her mother and Evan would want to do some serious eavesdropping on if they had the chance.

She pushed the heavy, antique oak-wood door open that lead to the kitchen and her parents followed. The ceiling of the kitchen was made of the wood from an old ship or something and it was the type of thing her father loved to look at. Kitty wondered if they really were her parents.

While Evan was explaining it to her dad, Kitty let her mind wander to Kurt. His lopsided grin, his muscular, gymnastically built physique, his tender golden eyes. She remembered the way he bit the end of his pen whenever he was thinking about a tough homework question, the way always stomached her (not-so-successful) attempts at cooking with a smile, while everyone else ate the ordered-out pizza, the way he always knew how to make her feel better when something was bothering her. . . Her mother’s sharp piercing scream snapped her out of her thoughts.

It was followed by another, deeper yell. As she turned, she caught a glimpse of blue and then the sound she had grown accustomed to, which could only be described as “Bamf”. The strong smell of sulphur filled the air and her father rushed over to her mother who, to Kitty’s utter disgust, had fainted. Evan snickered to himself. Alarmed by her mother’s screams, everyone started to enter the kitchen. Kitty slowly backed out the doors and crept up the stairs amidst the confusion, seeing an opportunity.

Resolutely, she weaved her way through the complex maze of lavishly decorated hallways. There it was, third door on the left. She found herself pausing outside Kurt’s room, did she really have the nerve? There was no turning back if she entered through that door, no pretending they were just friends. He wanted more, she wanted more, they couldn’t deny that. Now she wondered how they had both kept it hidden for this long. Kitty took a deep breath and phased through the wall.

Kurt was sitting on the bed, staring out of the window, muttering to himself. She inched closer, holding her breath and listening hard. “Oh mein Got. I made her muzzer (AN-mother) faint . . . that’s sure to win points Kurt, scare her mom out of her wits. That’ll make her like you more,” his voice was sarcastic, bitter, like she’d never heard it before, “Why do I have to be such a screw-up? Such a freak?” His voice broke with emotion and he buried his head swiftly in his pillow, not noticing Kitty. She watched him.

Kurt felt horrible in every way, his stomach hurt from the six inch incision, and he had just managed to make Kitty’s mother scream and faint. His pillow brought him no comfort, and it smelt of the musty house, yet he didn’t lift his head. Maybe he could just live like this forever, hidden, alone. For the second time that day Kurt felt hot tears sting his eyes, his body shook amongst the sobs, and he felt himself giving up hope. Kitty didn’t care for him, his mother didn’t care for him, nobody did.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he found himself face to face with Kitty. She was twirling a piece of her bangs around her finger, something she did unconsciously whenever she was nervous, and looking at him with pity in her eyes.

Kurt’s eyes were red and swollen. They stared at her with lethargic hopelessness from beneath thoughtful eyebrows, and Kitty felt a deep sympathy for her friend. His lips were dry and cracked, and his hair hung limply over his drooping shoulders. The tail flicked listlessly over the bed sheets. He spoke, his voice quiet, lacking the edge it had moments before, “Keety, I’m sorry about your muzzer. I deedn’t mean to scare her.”

“That’s okay Kurt, I didn’t come to talk about my mother. I came to talk about this,” she produced the letter from her pocket, she had kept it with her since she got it.

Kurt stared at the letter in horror. Not now. Maybe if he stared at it long enough it would spontaneously combust. It could happen. His lips opened in soundless shock, his eyes were wide with fear. Kitty stared back at him earnestly.

“I . . . I can explain . . .” he stuttered.

“Don’t say anything, please let me go first. Kurt, I . . . well . . .” somehow she couldn’t find the words. Kurt cringed, waiting for her to continue, expecting the worst.

“Ever since that day . . . you know, when Rogue touched you, I . . . I couldn’t help but like you. I tried to deny it, I figured you weren’t interested. I don’t know . . . I guess I was just scared. But I was more scared yesterday . . . I couldn’t even picture my life without you, Kurt. I just can’t. I don’t care if my mom faints every single time she sees you . . . I . . . I love you Kurt. I love you more than anything I’ve ever loved before. I think about you every second of every day when I’m awake, and you’re in my dreams every night. I’ve never felt anything like this before. I love you.” She breathed deeply, she felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Kurt stared back at her in wide-eyed disbelief.

This was the greatest news he had ever heard! Kitty Pryde loved him. As a freak. No wait, as himself! He wanted to shout it from his balcony, he wanted to shout it to the world! Kitty loved him, the wonderful talented gorgeous Kitty Pryde loved him! And he loved her!

Before either of them knew what was happening, they were locked in a deep, passionate kiss. Kitty’s lips felt warm pressed against his, Kurt’s hand moved slowly down the small of her back, and neither of them ever wanted to come up from the intoxicating rush of a first kiss. They didn’t notice the knock on the door.

“Finally!” came Evan’s voice as he entered the room. Kitty and Kurt broke apart quickly and Kitty noticed Kurt was glowering slightly in Evan’s direction. Evan, however, didn’t, “I was wondering when this was going to happen. Heck, I was afraid it was never going to happen,” he laughed teasingly, “If you can draw yourselves away from each other for a second,” Kitty threw Kurt’s pillow at him, but Evan just continued to laugh, “your mom wants to see you Kitty.” Evan started to walk for the door, but then turned suddenly, “Hey, what day is it?”

“Saturday the sixteenth of February,” answered Kitty.

“Ha! I guess that means Jean won the pool.”

“You guys were betting!” Kitty shrieked in mock horror, “I’m gonna kill you!”

Evan ducked another barrage of pillows and left the room, laughing maniacally, “Wait ‘til I tell the others!”

The door closed, leaving Kurt and Kitty alone once more. Kurt looked at her thoughtfully, “I love you Keety, more than anyone,” he paused and looked at the bedspread, tracing over the diamond shaped pattern with his forefinger, “I guess you better go down and see how your mom’s doing.”

“Why don’t you come, too. I want you to meet them.”

“Alright,” said Kurt, smiling, “but I’m definitely taking the watch.”

THE END