Chapter Text
Illyana was lying on her bed when Kitty barged into the room, laughing at something Rahne had said. Seeing Illyana, Kitty cut her laugh off, a more solemn look appearing on her face as she gently shut the door, taking a seat on the bed she had claimed as her own.
“So…” Kitty began to breach the silence between the two girls, but Illyana got there first.
Still looking up at the ceiling, as Kitty had been doing herself just an hour or so earlier, she said, dully, “The Professor says that I’m not allowed to get rid of you. So looks like I’m stuck with you.”
Kitty sighed, eventually saying, “Look, what actually is your problem with me? Was it the whole Elton John thing cause I’m sorry about that? I just feel, if we’re going to be living together, there shouldn’t be this tension between us.” She was babbling, Kitty thought. Of course she was babbling. She’d dreamed of having some incredible friendship with her roommate and she’d already upset this one.
In Kitty’s state of lamentation, she hadn’t noticed the other girl sitting up on her bed, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, and holding up a hand, intending to cut off Kitty’s rambling. This hadn’t worked entirely as intended, as Kitty now had her hands at her temples, continuing to rant. Rolling her eyes, Illyana clicked her fingers. That got Kitty’s attention. She glanced upwards, catching Illyana’s gaze and the two stared at each other for what felt like centuries until Illyana said, “It’s not you I have a problem with. It’s having a roommate in general. I struck a deal with the Professor to make sure he wouldn't stick me in a room with someone I didn't know. And yet now you're here.”
Kitty rubbed the back of her head, her brown curls bouncing gently as she did so, “Any idea why he changed his mind then?”
“My brother, I suspect.” Illyana muttered, bitterly.
Kitty cocked her head, indicating for Illyana to continue.
“He works here as a student teacher, graduated a few years back. He's desperate for me to make some kind of friend. Always going on at me about when he was at school, he was surrounded by friends.”
Frowning, Kitty pressed on, “Maybe he just wants you to have a good time here. Not isolate yourself.”
If looks could kill, the look Illyana gave at that would not only have prematurely ended Kitty’s school career but also likely have severely injured everyone in the nearby area.
“Alright I'm stopping you there. You've been here for less than a day, and you're already trying to talk to me about my family problems.” Illyana stood up and as Kitty tried to protest, she stuck up a hand to stop her, “No, look, you don't know me, ok? The Professor is as stubborn as they come, so it looks like I'm stuck with you. I can live with that, I may not want to but I can live with it. But let's get one thing straight here: We are not friends. If you're expecting us to watch movies and paint each other’s nails while we do the whole bonding and talking about our ‘insecurities' thing,” She made air quotes around the word ‘insecurities’, “Then I'm sorry but you've got the wrong roommate.” She grabbed a denim jacket lying in a crumpled pile on the floor and began pulling it on. “If you're gonna be staying here, I suggest you unpack.” And with that, she was gone.
Kitty had tried to ask her where she was going but she hadn't been quick enough. Now, alone in a new place, sharing a room with someone who seemed to quite frankly not care if she lived or died, Kitty felt tears prick her eyes for the first time in years. As a child, she'd been clumsy, to say the least, always winding up with some sort of sprain or break. And yet, she'd never cried when she'd hurt herself. She might have whimpered slightly, but tears had never come. No, Kitty’s weakness was a feeling of abandon. The last time she had cried was when her parents had told her that they were getting divorced. She had sobbed and sobbed into her pillow, everytime she had thought she'd calmed down, she would start up again. And now she could feel herself breaking, just slightly. Rubbing an arm across her face to wipe the tears off, she took a deep breath. If the flood gates opened, it'd be hard to stop them, and that would not be a good impression to make on new people. Instead of allowing herself to do such a thing, she pulled her suitcase up from where she had laid it gently down during Illyana’s performance of Tiny Dancer and begin to unpack.
Most of the items inside the case were clothes: shirts, skirts, pants, underwear, the lot. Kitty’s mother had seen to it that she packed for every eventuality. In case of a sudden heatwave or arrival of the next Ice Age, Kitty had clothes for the occasion. Beneath the pile of mismatched outfits were Kitty’s few possessions she had decided to bring with her. A few necessities such as a phone charger and headphones. A book or two. The usual items. Posters depicting bands she liked, a film she enjoyed and one of Scott and Jean Summers, the famous heroes. But also included were an old worn Nintendo DS that Kitty had received for her 10th birthday, an old Pokemon game cartridge inserted inside the console, a blue threadbare teddy she had since the day she was born and a photograph in a handmade pasta frame. Carefully, Kitty reached in and removed it from the bag. The photograph sitting snugly inside the shoddily painted frame was that of Kitty and her parents, taken during a trip to Disneyland the family had taken a few months prior to when the divorce was announced to Kitty. Looking back, she could tell that the surprise trip was made in order to have one last moment together as a family, but at the time, the girl had been too busy enjoying herself to tell anything was wrong. The picture depicted the young girl aged twelve, a pair of mouse ears fitted over her brown curls, a faded cut on her knees, standing between her mother and father. Her mother, her once brown hair turned grey from age, and her father with the bags under his eyes from the late nights working, both wore genuine smiles, the family truly brought together by their daughter’s childlike wonder.
Kitty clutched the picture to her chest, taking a deep breath, before placing it on her bedside table and shoving the now empty suitcase under her bed.
“It's all going to be ok, Kitty, your first training session is in a few days. You'll find out whether you're a weapon or a warrior then. And you'll meet your partner. You can become friends with them. It'll all be ok.” She heard herself chant under her breath, like a mantra, trying to reassure herself that the day’s events and her experience with Illyana wasn't a taster of what was to come. She'd made two friends in Dani and Rahne, and only one enemy in Illyana. When you looked at it statistically, today was a win, she thought. But it sure didn't feel like a win, the victory tasted bitter in her throat. Thinking back to what she had said to Rahne in the Thai place about being able to handle Illyana, Kitty groaned. She'd better go tell her new friends about how wrong she'd been.
Stepping out of the room and into the corridor, it dawned on her very quickly that she did not in fact know where Dani and Rahne’s room was. Or even if they shared a room at all. She'd been too caught up in making friends that she hadn't bothered to actually ask the important questions. Making her way through the maze of hallways, Kitty passed groups of friends, chatting or messing around, and felt a strange pang of longing in her chest. She’d never really had these kinds of groups at her old school. She'd had Doug, who had been the best friend a girl could have, but other than him, she'd had nothing. And Doug wasn't a weapon or a warrior, his father had checked him out personally more times than Kitty could recall, but no such potential had been discovered inside him.
Her confusion must have been visible as she felt someone place a warm hand on her shoulder, and a voice say gently,
“Lost, right?”
Kitty nearly jumped out of her skin, whirling around to face the new presence. Standing opposite her was a girl a few inches taller than her, with long red hair coming down in, what looked to Kitty like, a mullet, with a quiff curled up on the top. Immediately noticing Kitty’s surprise, the girl quickly tore her hand back and gave an apologetic smile, which Kitty returned. Once the initial shock had worn off, the two stood there for a brief second, until the other girl dipped her head slightly, indicating without saying a word that Kitty hadn't answered her question.
Feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment, she gave a nervous chuckle, “Yeah..I'm new here. I'm looking for Dani or Rahne, I met them earlier but I have no idea where their rooms are. You wouldn't have any idea, would you?”
The redhead scrunched her face up, considering the question. Then suddenly, she looked past Kitty, and called out, “Julio!”
As Kitty turned to look, a latino boy raised his head, plucking an earbud out he responded, his voice dripping with snark, “That is my name, Rache, what do you want?”
“Rahne’s room, where is it?” ‘Rache', which Kitty assumed was short for Rachel, ignored his clear frustration at having his music interrupted.
Julio pointed with a thumb down the hallway behind him, “Room 21. Are we done here or do you need me to direct you to your room too?”
Rachel snorted, “Always a pleasure talking to you.”
Julio mumbled something under his breath before inserting the bud back into his ear.
Turning back to face Kitty, Rachel smiled, “Room 21, down that hallway, there you go..” She’d pause, indicating for Kitty to say her name.
“Kitty. Kitty Pryde.” She heard herself say.
“Well,” Rachel nodded, beginning to walk off, “I’ll see you around, Kitty Pryde.”
The redheaded girl walked off, her long tan red coat billowing behind her, as she caught up with two other people who seemed around her age. The girl wore a green shirt and jeans, with long flowing brown hair, a white skunk trail on her fringe. The guy, a white shirt and black waistcoat, his hair shaved except for a long black mohawk in the centre of his head. They’d glance briefly in Kitty’s direction before walking off.
Kitty took a long gulp, scratching the side of her face as she walked off in the direction Julio had pointed in. Rachel had looked familiar, but why?