Kitty and Jonny

My latest RP endeavor.  I play Kitty Pryde and a good friend of mine plays one of Jamie Madrox's duplicates, Jonny Madrox.  My posts are in BOLD and my friend's are normal.
I think it's funny how our posts keep getting longer as we keep RPing...oh, and this RP is - as yet - unfinished. :)




Jonny wandered the halls of the Institute in a daze, his eyes going this way and that. He still remembered the time he was first invited here. He was little better than a street rat, using his limited powers to scrape a living. Petty theft, mugging and the like kept him going until the fateful day that he met an interesting young man with keen, intelligent eyes and a calm demeanor who approached him. He told him of what he was and that there was an Institute that might help him. Jonny had nothing to lose and with an open mind, he trusted the interesting stranger and got to the Institute not a week later. He liked it here at least for now. It was interesting to be with others who had powers out of the ordinary.. much like he did. He had met a few, but never quite remembered their names or faces. He was always plagued by moments of clarity when he would think he felt another presence in his head and experienced different memories of somewhere far off. Weird. As he rounded the bend, coming out of the hallway and into the kitchen, he thought he saw someone walk through the wall. As he blinked and looked again, he saw no one. It must have been a trick of his imagination, another moment of the feeling that he was not truly Jonny Madrox. He smiled to himself and walked into the kitchen to see the same curious stranger: a girl with dark hair and an honest face.
“Um.. hello there. D.. Did you just pass through the wall?!.. I.. that’s not possible, even for mutants.. right?.. And.. where are my manners? Name’s Jonny, Jonny Madrox.”
With that, he extended his hands in an awkward way and smiled uncomfortably. And he only wanted to get a glass of juice.

Kitty paid little attention to her surroundings as she walked through the school, keeping herself phased so as to prevent injury to herself and anything or anyone she might happen to run into.  Thank goodness for her mutation, it always allowed her to focus on her thoughts - or to sneak around, but that’s completely different- and not have to worry about slamming into a doorframe or a fellow student.
She sighed happily, she WAS glad to be back at the institute, glad to see all of her friends and teachers again, glad to be able to use her powers again with reckless abandon.  She wondered what new students there were this year, what mutations they possessed; she smiled, hopefully she would meet some really nice new students!
When she phased through the wall into the kitchen, she had significantly brightened up from all the thoughts of new friends and new adventures that could happen during the following year.  Unphasing, she grabbed an apple and turned towards the door when she heard a voice greeting her.
She smiled, reaching out and shaking the hand of the boy who stood there, “Hi, Jonny!  It’s nice to meet you!” She greeted him, happy to be meeting someone new so soon, “I’m Kitty, and yeah…I did phase through the wall,”  She let out a small laugh, “That’s what my mutation is!  I can’t really explain how it works though.”

Jonny smiled somewhat shyly, possibly even blushing as he shook her delicate hand. He didn’t remember even seeing her around the Institute the 4 days he’d been here. It had all been a blur. He remembered being welcome into this giant, complex mansion… and then he remembered seeing a few people around but not really many: a blue man here or there, a feral-looking man with claws, and a suave-looking man who had hustled him in a card game. He lost a few chocolate bars to him. He remembered something else… eating a choice cut of meat at a small apartment downtown and having an amorous meeting with an interesting flame-haired woman.. did he do that?..
Then he came back to the present and chuckled nervously before speaking in a somewhat sheepish voice. He didn’t remember being this shy before.
“Wow.. that’s a pretty cool power. Mine’s.. a bit different, I didn’t know they were so fantastic, some of them. So.. what do you do for fun around here anyhow?..”
He looked nervous, a bit bashful which only seemed to contrast with his somewhat sharp exterior. He could not help but think: “I must look a fool…”

Kitty laughed slightly and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear - a nervous, and somewhat involuntary, reaction, “It’s not that great,” She said sheepishly, “I mean, it’s useful, but there are so any other cooler powers…by the way, what’s your’s?” She smiled at Jonny encouragingly, wondering who he had already met.  If he had met Remy already, he had probably been hustled in poker.  She imagined that most of the other students and teachers would have been nicer to him though. 
 ”Oh,” Kitty continued, smiling, “You wanted to know what’s fun to do here?  Well,” she said, biting her lip and thinking, “We have movie nights a lot…and there’s the Danger Room.  We programmed the Hawaiian Islands into it once!”
She let out a nervous laugh, “I think I’m talking too much…” She bit into the apple she was still holding to silence herself.

Jonny was somewhat entranced by the nice, helpful demeanor of the young woman and it was easier for him to relax and be himself. He gave her a more confident smile and shrugged, stomping his foot once and willfully making a perfect duplicate of himself right next to him. The “dupe” looked exactly like him: dark hair, faded blue jeans, and a shirt featuring six rounded, green pads in a darker background.
“Well.. my power is a bit different than most fantastic ones. I can make a perfect duplicate of myself, it’s not as special as phasing through solid objects! Gosh,.. that’s pretty cool.”
He shrugged a bit and chuckled, giving his dupe a high five and producing a few juggling balls from his left pockets. With the six balls between them, they started juggling in a somewhat silly fashion before he absorbed his duplicate.
“And well.. it also duplicates what I have on me… which is kinda cool actually. So.. that movie night thing sounds kinda cool. I think there’s one today if I heard correctly; this red-haired man told me just before he took me for the few chocolates I had on me. I guess it’s okay to admit I have a sweet tooth. So.. what are you goin’ to do tonight?..”
He rubbed the back of his head in a bashful gesture, a small infusion of blood coloring his cheeks as he tries to coolly pick up an apple from the basket. As he tried to take a bite, the stem was all he took away.
His mind worked again: “Oh.. come on..”


“Wow!” Kitty clapped her hands together once, “That’s so cool!  How many can you do… ?” She was honestly curious about his power - she always was when she met a new mutant, no matter what their mutation was.  She was always interested in how things worked, whether it was a mutation or some new piece of tech.
She laughed when Jonny and his duplicate began juggling, liking this new person already, he was nice, cute, and funny - a good combination, she noted.
He spoke again, shaking Kitty out of her thoughts, “You met Remy?” She laughed a bit, “I don’t think there’s anyone in this school who he hasn’t beaten at cards,” She smiled at him, “Including me…” She muttered, embarassed, “I lost about fifty dollars…”
Listening to his last question, she felt a small blush rise in her cheeks: “Was he asking what she thought he was asking?  Gosh…people usually didn’t ask her places…”  She smiled sheepishly and shrugged, “I’ve really got nothing to do…” She said, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.

Jonny looked to the splendid girl in embarrassed shock, spitting out the stem in an awkward way hoping he didn’t look as stupid as he felt. He didn’t actually remember having been so embarrassed before. As he tried to smile to alleviate the awkwardness, he spoke again to answer her questions:
“Oh… so Remy’s his name. He was quite a character and quite adept at card games.. he’s got extremely deft hands. And wow.. 50 dollars? That hustler.”
He let out a small chuckle as he snapped his fingers 3 times, creating three dupes next to him.
“And to answer your other question.. I wanted to show you more than tell you. I can only do three at this moment for a total of 4 of us walking around. Professor Xavier has helped me along but since I’ve only been here about a week, my power’s still a bit spontaneous. But.. I’d rather not have an audience for this.. so.. good bye.”
The three dupes smiled knowingly at Jonny before being absorbed. Jonny looked into her eyes as best as his nerves permitted him and basically blurted out a few words:
“W-Well… if you’re free we could just go and maybe watch the movie they have on tonight or somethin’. Or.. we could go out to the cinema maybe, watch something new out. Or.. or.. or..”
His nerves got the best of him as he looked at her and his mouth dried. I.. sound like a complete moron.

Kitty giggled a bit, he was cute, with his slight awkwardness, she smiled with slight embarrassment, “Remy’s…persuasive.  I normally wouldn’t have bet that much,” she shrugged, “Yeah…”
“So, can you control them all?” She asked, tilting her head slightly and watching him with interest, “Or do they all just do their own thing?” She leaned back against the counter, smiling, “I have to admit, I think your power’s pretty cool,” She shrugged.
She blushed again when he looked her in the eye - he had lovely eyes.  The more oblivious part of her wondered what he was about to ask, she figured she should probably have figured it by now - but man, those eyes were nice.
She heard his next words and stumbled backwards - phasing through the counter - with the slight shock.  Standing in the middle of the counter, she smiled at him with equal parts nervousness and embarassment, “Of…of course I’ll go to a movie with you,”  Her blush darkened and she looked down at herself - waist-deep in the kitchen counter, “I should probably get out of the counter…” She said quietly.
God I look like a moron.

As she asked about his power, he smiled and chuckled.
“Well truthfully, they can stray from me and do their own thing but I normally am able to keep a small empathic and telepathic connection with them. I do what I can truthfully, but sometimes they get out of control and have to be reabsorbed. And I still have to say I admire your pow-..”
He stops and smiles awkwardly with shock and a bit of amusement as he watches her phase through the counter and say what he wanted her to say: a “yes” to his request. His mouth didn’t quite work as well as he hoped next, but he pressed on:
“I… well.. GREAT!.. So, do you wanna stay in the Institute or what?.. I mean, I just want to learn about your powers a bit more..”
The lame excuse came unbidden, but he made up for it as he extended his hand for her to take.
“Let me at least.. help you out of there.”
He thought he heard someone not too far off.

She smiled and took his hand, pulling herself out of the counter, “Thanks,” She let out a short breath, “Um…well, we could stay here if you want…I mean, I don’t really have a preference or anything…” She blushed with slight embarassment, both from falling through the counter and because she probably sounded like an idiot.
Why do I always make such a fool of myself? She thought, inwardly facepalming.
“So…”She said with slight awkwardness, “Do you know what movie is going to be on tonight?”
She cringed inwardly, that was almost as bad as talking about the weather.
She hoped she was saying the right things, and that she didn’t look like the complete idiot she thought she looked like.
She glanced, nervously, at the ground, “Should we…get going?”
For a moment, she thought she heard someone nearby, but she shrugged it off.  She still hadn’t let go of his hand.

He felt the softness of her fingers and the smoothness of her hand and felt a slight rush of excitement run through his spine. He listened to her in a bit of a trance, a smile somewhat plastered on his face in a goofy manner. He snapped out of it and swallowed before speaking. His mouth was quite dry.
“Well.. I think it a good idea to stay here. M-Maybe you could show me around the institute while we go down to the theater area or wherever these movie nights are held. I.. am quite content to have a guide such as you.. yes, a guide. And, no sorry I don’t know which movie is playing though I’m sure any movie will be enjoyable with.. the right person. Sh-Shall we go? Lead the way, Kitty.”
He didn’t let go of her hand as she started to lead the way, and in an interested but calm way asked her:
“So.. can you.. phase me too while we.. hold hands?.. Because that’s why.. I’m holding your hand. Yep.”
He finished lamely and looked downwards, the noise he had heard before forgotten.

She looked at him, laughing a bit, “You’re pretty funny…And I’m flattered,” She smiled, “Flattered that you would want me of all peopleto be showing you everything here,” She glanced around, “I…have an idea.  Do you want to see the grounds?”  She asked, “I mean…we have a lot of time, the movie usually doesn’t start until later.”  She was nervous, she didn’t truely understand why - usually she wasn’t so nervous around guys.
“You wanted to phase with me?” She smiled, “I have to warn you though, people tell me that it’s…disconcerting.  Phasing is.”
She pulled on his arm gently, concentrating and extending her power to Jonny; before pulling them both through the wall.  She looked back at him, “How was it?” She said, smiling sheepishly.
Kitty had already forgotten about the noise of earlier.

He nodded enthusiastically to her, smiling as he thought of the good amount of time he would spend with this charming woman. He was sure he would enjoy even the boring parts of the tour just because he would be in her presence. He truly didn’t remember feeling this way either.. except about that woman in the past who’s name he had seemed to have forgotten. He shook his head to rid himself of the memory and payed attention as she extended her power to him and phased him through the wall.
It was unlike anything he had experienced before. He could see through the wall for a moment, and the next he was out of it and into the hallway. He could feel the interesting particular interaction with the wall and then it was gone and it was all right. He could feel the warmth of her touch. He blushed deeply as he looked to her and smiled:
“That was.. a bit.. well, it was actually very interesting. That power’s amazing Kitty but you’re right.. it is a bit disconcerting. It’s unlike anything I had felt before. But.. there was just something special about it.”
With his last sentence, he felt a bit self conscious and let go of her hand, smiling sheepishly.
“S-So.. let’s start the tour shall we?”
This girl.. something about her.

She grinned at him, happy that he didn’t hate phasing.  He said it was interesting!  No one had ever said that when they phased with her, usually they just freaked out, or told her how creepy it felt.  Well, he had said it was disconcerting, but that didn’t matter; he had said it was interesting and special.  She didn’t even know why it made her so happy, people had said nicer things to her in the past.  But this, this just felt special.
He let go of her hand though, and she felt her smile falter just a tiny bit; his hand was warm and slightly rough, it had felt nice.
“Come on then,” She said, looking at him expectantly, “We’ll start in the garden, before it gets dark,” She smiled gently at him, “It’s hard to navegate in the maze at night.” 
She tugged gently on his sleeve, starting to walk down the hallways towards the door to the gardens.

As she instructed him to come along, he nodded and chuckled. There was just something about this girl. With sudden inspiration, he gulped nervously and offered his hand once more while looking into her eyes to try and sell this lame excuse. His hand was a bit sweaty but he hoped she’d take it.
“Y’kno Kitty, I actually.. enjoyed phasing a bit now that I think about it. I.. liked the feeling of it and would like to try it again. Maybe it’ll help navigate the maze a bit better? I mean.. if you want to, I know it can get a bit weird I’m sure. But.. I would like that.”
He felt his stomach lurch just a bit as he thought of phasing again.. but it might be worth it. As he steeled himself to phase through another solid object, he let himself be led by the woman. Hopefully she’ll grab my hand sometime soon, if not it might be so slick with sweat it’ll just slip off. He chuckled to himself a bit and shrugged.
“I like this place already, Kitty.”

Kitty smiled at his extended hand, “Stupid excuses,” She said quietly, a tiny bit of joy evident in her voice.  She figured it was an excuse, no one - /no one/ - would ever /want/ to phase with her again; but right now, she didn’t even mind.  She took his hand, “This way,” She said, pulling him towards to door.  Opening it, she sucked in a short breath, it was colder than she would have expected for a summer evening.
“The maze is out this way,” She said, a small smile spreading across her face, “It’s not really that big, but one of the old students decided to make it as confusing as was physically possible,” She laughed, “I’d say that’s pretty normal here.”
She looked at him, “Is there anything you want to know about…anything?” 
Hearing his last sentence, she smiled, “I’m glad you do, Jonny,” She said, “I mean…the school’s really great, and so are the students and…” She trailed off nervously, hoping that she didn’t sound as stupid as she felt.

He felt a slight heat on his cheeks as she took his hand. Phew, she didn’t see through my excuse.. did she? It worked either way, Jonny, be cool! He tried to keep his sweating to a minimum as they stepped outside into the unusual cold. Well.. this might help with my sweating. He looked at the maze and marveled at it, childish wonder apparent in his face. Why couldn’t he remember ever feeling like this either?…
“Wow.. that’s amazing. And now that you ask: I’d like to know a bit more about this place. I mean, I just moved in not too long ago and I’m sure this place has many different nooks and crannies that I’ve yet to see and explore.. and most probably a rich history. And I’m sure this place has more than a few gifted individuals all with their own stories and powers.. this place is quite interesting. More than quite interesting. I.. find myself at home.. more my home than I can remember in a long time. And yea.. I really like the students and Professor Xavier.. among other things.”
He couldn’t help it as he looked meaningfully down to their hands intertwined.
“Yea.. I really like that you can expand your powers to others.. yea, that’s it. It’s a pity I can’t do the same for others; it would be interesting to say the least. But.. umm.. I mean, if you want. We could spend a bit of extra time in the maze since you can just phase through most of it.. right? It’d be a good time..”
Alone, he thought. Let’s see.

Kitty chuckled a bit at the look of wonder on his face, she remembered how amazed she had been when she first started at the institute: the gardens, her fellow students, the school itself.  She understood why Jonny seemed so in awe of the maze - it was beautiful - and why he was so interested in the school.  She had been when she had first started.
“Well,” She started, “There are a lot of places in the school that even I haven’t explored yet, and I’ve been here for a couple of years now!” She laughed, “I could introduce you to some of the others, if you wanted…” Shrugging, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, “The institute has become a new home for many of us here, no one judges you here, we can use our powers without people thinking us freaks.”
She looked over at him again, smiling a bit, “I really am glad you like it here,” tucking her hair behind her ear nervously, she spoke again, quieter than before, “I don’t think I’d want you to up and leave.”
Going back to her normal tone, she spoke up again, “When I first got here, I couldn’t extend my power to others,” She looked at him brightly, “It would be pretty funny if you could do that too,” She laughed, “And you know…we don’t have to phase through it,”  Kitty glanced at the ground and shrugged, “We can just walk through, it…it might be more fun that way.”

He nodded along as she spoke about the Institute and the other students, almost lost in a trance as he looked at her talking. Just talking. He snapped out of it as he noticed she had finished and mumbled a bit distractedly:
“Oh.. um yeah sure. Meeting more people does sound nice.. but y’kno.. no rush. And it’s true that one can use their power here without being judged and I really like that.. though not many people who saw my power even knew I was using anything. They all thought it was some horrible case of deja vu truthfully. Anyway, I really do look forward to exploring this place a bit more.. maybe with a partner.”
With that he sheepishly looked at her and then away. Be cool Jonny, be cool! He heard her speak again and snapped from his reverie:
“Oh.. umm yea I’m very glad that I came here; it’s great. Meeting new people, finally having somewhere to call home and not being in a constant state of stress really helps.”
He listened closely to her speaking that they didn’t have to necessarily phase through the maze.. and though he liked the idea of spending more time with her, they wouldn’t need to be touching to do that. He relished her warmth, her closeness. Why.. do I relish this so much? Have I never experienced this before? And with that, he steeled himself once more and spoke in a husky tone:
“Oh but I would just love to phase again. I mean.. we can still have fun with phasing I’m sure. *Gulp* Yea.. it’ll be great.. P-Please?”
He put on a tremulous smile and gulped, his palm becoming increasingly sweaty. If they weren’t going to phase, she would pull her hand away from his. He didn’t want that..

Kitty laughed slightly, “Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on rushing you back inside to meet everyone,” She smiled, “Although it appears that most of them have probably already met you, in some form or another.
She blushed at his later sentence, wondering - and hoping - that she had heard it the way she thought, “Jonny Madrox, are you asking me out?” With a slight smile, she looked away, turning her face towards the ground.
They continued to walk, “You mean the school’s workload isn’t stressfull?”  She laughed quietly at her joke, stopping quickly and inwardly cringing.  Laughing at my own joke, She thought, God, that makes me seem so stupid.
She tilted her head to the side, a half-smile playing on her face.  She highly doubted that Jonny really wanted to phase again; but what was he playing at?  Thinking about it for a moment, she wondered if he was just worried that she would let go of his hand if they werent going to phase again.  She tightened her grip on his hand reassuringly, “I…I’m not going to let go of your hand unless you wanted me to…” Again, she inwardly cringed, that sounded just moronic.  It was, however, the truth; she liked holding Jonny’s hand, it was pleasently rough - albeit a bit sweaty.  She smiled at Jonny hopefully.

He smiled as she laughed, he liked her laughter. He couldn’t help but laugh as she spoke of him meeting many of them.. to tell the truth he had hardly met more than 5 of the many students here. Professor Xavier was a patient and kind man and had let him spend as much time in his quarters as he would like until he was acclimated. He had hardly stepped out of his room in his time here but now he regretted it… he could have met Kitty before that. He felt calm next to her, the stress vanishing easily right up until the point when she asked, quite directly, if he was asking her out. What should he say?.. Would it be too forward?.. Should he reveal his intentions so quickly or wait just a bit..? Heck.. no guts, no glory.
He gulped a bit as they kept walking forward, feeling the breeze cooling them gently and with a tremulous voice explained: “Well.. I wouldn’t say I was exactly asking you out. I was.. well.. I was.. just.. wanting a person to show me ar-.. like a tour gui-… Yes, I’m asking you out.” He ended his somewhat ridiculous rant quite lamely and he looked at her hopefully, hoping that she would understand. Hoping that she’d say yes and that’s it.
He hardly heard anything of what she said about the stress or workload of the school.. or anything for that matter for his stress level was through the roof. He watched her like a hawk, just awaiting any form of “yes” or.. a gut wrenching “no”.. but she looked so calm and carefree.. maybe that’s how she dealt with stress.. Then she laughed a bit, a bit awkwardly maybe in response to one of her own jokes. That cute way she does that.
And then it happened, he felt her hand tighten a bit around his own. Her small hand squeezing his bigger one and he felt himself relax to such an extent that a somewhat cartoony smile washed over his poker face of just a few moments before. He looked at her and saw a nice little smile on her own face. He felt relieved.. this was a somewhat “yes”.
With another flash of boldness, he got a bit closer to her and spoke in a low, husky tone as his face was mere inches away from hers. “D-Don’t let go of my hand..” And with that, the heat of the moment, he lunged forward and awkwardly let his lips meet hers.
.. Oh.. no. Why..?! Too late to take it back, he hoped this wasn’t a mistake. But how could it not be?..

Kitty was glad that she hadn’t misread Jonny; that would have been embarassing.  She usually wasn’t that direct with romance - or with most things, really - she prefered to think and figure things out from the inside out; making sure she was correct in an assumption.  Perhaps that tendancy came from being a good hacker; she would always have to cover her tracks and sneak around - figuring things out from the inside out.
She had smiled at him, thinking about how cute his dorky grin was after she had squeezed his hand.  He looked so relieved that she hadn’t refused, it was…funny actually.  Funny that someone would be that happy and relieved that she hadn’t refused.  Perhaps, perhaps that was why she felt like the truly liked him and trusted him; because he seemed to truly reprocate her feelings.  Even if he was a bit awkward about it.
She blushed when he spoke to her in a low voice, glancing away, not looking him in the eye.  It appeared her last moronic sentence had at least been recieved well.
And then he kissed her.  She gasped slightly and jerked backwards a bit in surprise - even with all that had happened, a kiss was completely unexpected.  After a few moments of complete surprise, she relaxed, pressing in to the kiss a bit, before breaking it.
“Too soon,” She whispered, a small - somewhat flirtatious - smile playing on her face, “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.”  She was still blushing.

He looked horrified as he looked at her, somewhere between total elation and grim horror at the pure craziness that had overtaken him. Why did he do such a thing? He didn’t even understand.. it’s like he had never felt this before. Things just got a bit more complicated, he was sure. So much for it being a good day to leave his room. On the one hand.. he was thrilled that she had kissed him back if only for a moment while on the other hand she did break it… great. He was a bit disappointed but considering what might have happened.. he was just relieved.
He smiled weakly, trying to not look completely horrified at his impulsive action, and patted her hand awkwardly. It stung him just a bit as she said that it was too soon but it really was. He was pretty stupid.. impulsive. He perked up a bit as she said that she had at least enjoyed it but the damage was done. Damn…
As he couldn’t help but feel glum, he separated a bit from her as he offered her a somewhat insincere smile and put his arm around her while mumbling: “Just.. just if you’re cold.. or you could have my jacket if you want.. I mean.. I don’t want to.. cross any lines.” He ended lamely once more, inwardly kicking himself as he absentmindedly hit a bush. Instinctively, the kinetic energy was transferred and a dupe appeared right next to him, staring at the two of them. Jonny sighed inwardly and couldn’t help but laugh at his bad luck.
“I’m sorry Kitty. I didn’t exactly mean to. Just.. forgive my impulsiveness. Anyway..” He absorbed the dupe on the spot, maybe a bit irritated. “..shall we keep on going through the maze?.. I still could use a partner.”
For some reason he perked up a bit, happy to at least not have completely crashed and burnt. He was a bit miffed and at least had to try and explain:
“I’m sorry Kitty.. it’s just.. I don’t remember having ever quite been so accepted by a person like that.. and my advances reciprocated or so. So I just..” He sighed, somewhat angry at himself. “I just.. get stupid.. and then nervous.. and then just a bit more stupid… and I like that you do that to me.”
He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

“Hey,” She glanced up at him, “I…I’m not angry or anything.  You don’t need to look so worried,” She spoke quietly, her brows knited with concern.
Kitty was conflicted.  She liked him - yes, that was defianatly the case - but she did feel it was right not to let the kiss continue.  They had just met; it was too soon for kissing.  However, she also didn’t want him to be unhappy with her reaction.  She bit her lip; no, no, she knew her response was the correct one.
She slipped her hand back into his and frowned, “Please don’t think I’m angry,” She whispered.  When he put his arm around her she leaned into him slightly, resting her head against his shoulder, “I’m fine,” She said, “You can keep your coat,” Smiling at him, she let out a short breath of laughter when he accidentaly duplicated himself.  A short thought crossed her mind, wondering how exactly his mutation worked.  She almost laughed at herself then; what a strange thing to wonder at a time like this.  Every time, She thought, Every time there’s drama, I end up thinking about some sort of unrelated topic.
Inwardly rolling her eyes at herself, she listened to what he was saying before responding, “It’s okay, Jonny,” She smiled calmly at him, “We can keep going through the maze if you want,” She glanced up at the sky, where she could already see stars twinkling, “It’s starting to get dark though.”
Kitty looked back up at the sky, the stars looked quite beautiful.

He let go of the breath he was holding, relief flooding through him like a refreshing stream. He could scarcely believe that everything went okay in the end, though he still was a bit worried about the apparent lack of amorous connection in his life. He fancied himself to be somewhere between 25 years old and 28… but he didn’t quite remember much before his time in the streets downtown.. he didn’t remember much before about 2 weeks ago. He was sure his worry and latent anger were showing on his face and so.. after a few seconds of concentrating, he relaxed and put on a charming smile and leaned a bit closer to her.
He chuckled as he heard her say that it was getting late but he shrugged: “I guess it is getting a bit late but it’s the perfect time to just sit out here in the dark and admire the astrological phenomena that is splayed out before us. We could sit just here and admire the beautiful things: astrological and.. otherwise.”
He felt more confident now, flashing her a smile as he finished speaking and tugging her arm gently as he sat down. He hoped she’d sit with him… exploring the maze could wait, watching a movie could wait. He wanted to relish this apparently once-in-a-lifetime moment. He shook his head as he admired her frame, the stars forgotten. He couldn’t believe this was happening.
And then he felt it. The pull of something not too far off in the back of his mind. He was being called away. He didn’t want to go… but he knew he had to.
He frowned as he looked at her and knew he had to break the bad news soon.

Kitty smiled at him before flopping down next to him on the grass.  She brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees and staring at the sky.  Unconciously, she rocked slightly from side-to-side, her eyes half-closed and a tiny smile gracing her mouth.  She felt calm and comfortable where she was - although the ground was a bit damp.  She turned her head towards him, watching him, wondering about him.  About his past; where he came from, his family, his past - his age, even.  He really hadn’t told her much about himself yet; she waited a moment before speaking.
“Hey…Jonny,” She spoke slowly and cautiously, in case he didn’t want to answer her, “Where are you from?” She asked, “And…how did you come to be here at the institute?”
She looked back up at the sky, “I don’t mean to pry or anything,” She said, “I’m just honestly interested…you really haven’t told me very much about yourself.”
She searched the sky for constelations as she waited for his answer.  She had yet to find any - not that she had an extensive knowledge of constelations in the first place.  She at herself laughed inwardly.
Soon, she looked back at him, noticing his frown.  She furrowed her brow, looking at him questioningly, “What’s wrong?” She asked, concerned.
What was wrong?  A few minutes ago, he had seemed so content.  What was going on now?

Jonny concentrated for a moment and changed his expression to one of his happiness while a storm raged within. He boldly put his arm around Kitty and drew her close while his world was spinning, the command in his head- a complete sympathetic and psychic connection- ravaging his thought processes. He listened to her questions and chuckled good-naturedly trying to mask the pain he felt as he fought the command.. which gradually went down to a request and then merely a whisper. As the whisper vanished, he blew a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but smile once more to her. He watched her look up at the skies as he thought about her questions and what he would say.
Some of the things she’s asking.. not even I know. I do remember pain though.. and then no more.. that was about 2 weeks ago. He just shrugged and tried to frame his response to her questions, apparently having frowned in different intervals which probably was what prompted her to ask, in such a cute way, what was wrong? He chuckled before delivering a chaste kiss on her cheek and going into his response, a grin everpresent on his face the whole time he spoke:
“Kitty… I can honestly say..” Yea, quite honestly. ”.. That everything is okay. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that anything was wrong.. I was lost in thought.” More than you’ll ever know Kitty.. He couldn’t help but laugh at himself at that moment, mirth flooding through him like a drug. He could feel the dampness of the ground beneath him soaking through his jeans but he didn’t care. Not at this moment.. no.
“Now Kitty, I will share all this with you.. because you’ve been so kind to me. And well.. because I guess I’m taken with you.. if only a little.” A little.. right.. “Truthfully.. I don’t really remember where I’m from.. the only thing I really remember was those two weeks on the streets doing what I could to survive. I had to do some things that I’m not proud of… but that’s all behind me.” He turned a bit glum as he thought of the two men he had left in a ditch, never to move again after they had jumped Jonny. He gritted his teeth and pressed on: “I.. came to be here after Charles invited me. He found me one day as I was trying to heal.. I duplicated into a few of myself and reabsorbed them to distribute the damage.. and that’s when he saw me. I was afraid at first.. but he’s been kind to me as he’s been kind to many of you. Charles.. he’s a great man.”
With that, he held her just that much closer and kissed her cheek once more. It felt like a great weight was lifted from him, at least for now. “And don’t worry Kitty.. you’re not prying.. you’re actually helping me. So.. what’s your story? How old are ya? Where are you from? How did you end up here?”
For now.. he would enjoy his time here.. until he could no longer fight the command.

A small smile bloomed across Kitty’s face at his kiss, as well as a pale blush.  Looking up at him through her eyelashes, she let out a quiet laugh, “Must have been one interesting thought,” She said, a slight teasing tone evident in her speech.  She leaned closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder and letting a content sigh past her lips.  She listened intently to what Jonny said next.
As she listened, she thought about what he was saying.  She furrowed her brow in thought; what did he do that he wasn’t proud of?  Everyone had things that they weren’t proud of, but this seemed different; she decided that it was probably something less than legal.  She wondered for a moment why that didn’t bother her.
“That sounds like a horrible existence,” She whispered, half to herself.  Looning at him intently, she spoke up louder, “Professor Xavier is a great man,” She siad, “He helps so many of us, no matter where they’re from…or what they’ve done in the past.”  No matter what they’ve done,” She laughed inwardly, He’s even tried to help former members of The Brotherhood.
Shaking herself out of her reverie, she spoke up, “I’ll accept that for now,” She smiled, teasing him once again, “But I want to know more, later,”  She said.
She blushed pink when he kissed her cheek again, leaning into his warm side, “Glad I’m not being annoying,” She laughed, “Since you asked, I guess I’ll tell you about myself,” She paused before continuing, “When I first came to the institute, I was fourteen, and my mother sent me because she wanted me to have control over my powers.  She wanted to be able to pass me off as ‘normal.’  I was Xavier’s eighth student; I’ve been here that long - four, almost five, years in fact,” She smiled, “My story’s not very interesting,  I grew up in a normal home,” She shrugged, “Nothing much about it.”
She finished her story and let out a soft yawn.

Jonny listened to her intently, smiling just at the fact that they were just here and relaxed.. and she wasn’t quite put off or frightened as he told her his story. He couldn’t help but laugh at her remarks of his “horrible existence” and “interesting thought”. He listened to everything she said and couldn’t help but blush as he watched her blush after kissing her cheek. He just felt comfortable with her in his arms, feeling her warmth mingle with his… feeling her steady heartbeat. Feeling her naked body next to his as she yawned. Wait.. what?!.. He looked down to her in a rush of panic mixed with confusion to see her fully clothed and possibly a bit more than surprised at his sudden movment. I.. have vague memories of .. what the hell? Another woman.. red hair.. irish.. what? He offered her a reassuring smile and awkwardly draped his arm around her and pulled her close, reassuring himself more than her. What.. was that?..
He felt cold sweat bead on his forehead and sighed, swallowing hard: “I-I’m sorry about that.. I guess I just..  just.. remembered something about my past as we reminisced and.. it scared me more than I can say. And yea.. Professor Xavier is a great man.. and don’t worry you’re not being annoying.. and.. of course i’ll tell you more later.” He just seemed to talk and talk in his haste, stringing together ideas and responding to her questions in his nervousness.
He finally get some of his composure back, hopin’ the moment wasn’t ruined as he kissed her cheek once more.. tentatively this time: “You’ll know as soon as I know more.. I promise. How could you ever be annoying..? And.. your story’s not boring.. it’s pretty good.. better than mine which is basically fragmented. But somethin’ here’s important.. no matter what your parents think, you need not worry about being normal. You are you, and that’s all I’ll ever ask. I don’t.. know how you have basically wrapped me around your finger.. but maybe that’s part of your mutation.” He couldn’t help but laugh at his lame joke. “I mean.. if you were normal.. maybe we wouldn’t be having this quite wonderful.. well up ‘till the moment I freaked… time. And.. don’t think I didn’t notice you yawning, Kitty… would you like to retire for the night?”
He looked at her meaningfully as he proposed another option: “Or.. we could just rest here for a while.. I could get us a few blankets maybe. I mean.. if you want to.”
Then something hit him: She’s.. barely legal.. and I’m about 25 or 26?!.. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this.. but for now, he wouldn’t listen to the burgeoning opinions of his dupes from within.

Kitty turned her head up towards him, concern written on her face, /tell me the  truth...what happened to you?/ she thought, wishing she had enough guts to say it  out loud.  Her concern did not dissolve as she listened to his nervous, quickly  spoken sentence.  She inwardly frowned, wondering intensely /what/ kind of  memory could have someone so freaked out.  She had seen others break down  while telling people about thier pasts, but only a few times had she seen someone  this nervous.  Like they were hiding something; like there was something that they  wanted to keep from everyone - sometimes even themselves.
Her concern for him finally dissolved - if only partially - she let the corners of her  mouth turn upwards in a soft smile, "Thank you, Jonny," She said, "You're the first  person that hasn't said - even once - that I'm annoying," She let out a short laugh,  "You say such nice things..."  She trailed off into a soft, content sigh.  She smiled up  at him, continuing, "Hypnosis isn't a mutation that I possess," She laughed, stifling  another small yawn, "Mmm...I'm glad I'm not a standard issue human being...that  would be boring," She yawned again, "Ah, I was hoping you wouldn't notice," She  muttered, lifting her head off of his shoulder and stretching, "Can we go inside?" She  asked, looking up at him, "I'm...getting kind of cold," She admitted, rubbing her  bare arms to warm up.