Chapter Text
Standing huddled by the entrance to the mansion, staring out across the expanse of green that is the gigantic garden, it becomes very, very apparent that you don't belong.
Everyone has found their group. A bunch of younger students all wearing basketball shorts sit by the fountain, passing around sweets and sharing icecream. A kid with eyes all over his body sits with a younger, lizard-like boy, huddling together as if gossipping about someone. As you look around, you can see that not one person is alone.
Except you.
Huffing out a breath, you fold your arms and turn to go inside. Of course everyone has friends already - even the newest students have been here weeks already. You've barely been here two days. Everyone's found their clique and you're left to spend lunch by yourself.
Someone taps your shoulder, so gently you almost don't feel it. Yet you spin around, hair flying, and almost stumble over your own feet.
"Woah, don't fall!" The girl in front of you is tiny; much shorter than anyone else you know. Curly black hair is tied in two bunches. It looks kind of cute - but that yellow jacket is anything but.
"Sorry, you gave me a fright," you apologise, smiling sheepishly.
She smiles, shaking her head. "I should be the one saying sorry," she replies with a shrug, "anyway; I saw you standing by yourself and thought I'd come say hi. My friends are sitting over by the big oak tree if you want to join us." She pauses, pink-glossed lips forming a grin. "I'm Jubilee by the way. You are?"
You blink, biting your lip. This is probably the first friendly person you've come across since joining the mansion. "[Y/N], still working on a mutant name. That's a thing here, right?"
Jubilee laughs, shaking her head. "Kind of. Mostly only the X-Men or younger kids do it. You know, for fun."
"Oh, right." You ruffle your hair awkwardly.
Completely oblivious to your discomfort, Jubilee ushers you over, only just short of physically dragging you by the arm.
The others sit in a loose circle on the soft grass. Your eyes drift across the little group, taking in each face. A redheaded girl and a boy wearing glasses lie side by side, taking in the summer sun. A silver-haired guy sits beside them, fiddling with a pair of goggles. I glance up to see a girl with a mohawk sitting on one of the lower tree branches, happily munching on a sandwich.
"Hey guys, guess who I just ran into?" Jubilee greets.
"Let me guess," the silver haired boy says with a smirk, "the new girl standing right in front of us?"
"Oh, very funny Peter! Smart-ass. This is [Y/N], I invited her over here for lunch. [Y/N] meet Scott, Jean and Ororo. The comedian here is Peter."
They each give you a wave and a 'hello'. You wave back awkwardly, unsure of what to say. All of a sudden, the thought of being by yourself doesn't seem so bad.
"Where's Kurt, by the way?" Jubilee asks, settling herself on the ground.
"Still with Professor McCoy. He's having trouble with the homework again," Scott replies, heaving himself into a sitting position.
Ororo hops down from the tree, landing lightly beside Jean and Scott. "Hey [Y/N], if you don't mind me asking; what's your mutation?"
Jean slaps her arm as she pulls herself to her feet, glaring in mock-horror. "You can't ask people that! Not everyone likes talking about their abilities."
Your eyes widen and you wave a hand in dismissal. "No, I don't mind. I can show you." You tug off your long jacket, tossing it aside. You kept your mutation hidden simply out of habit - it's easy to forget you don't have to hide now. Jacket discarded you can stretch out your arms - all four of them.
"Woah, neat!" Peter exclaims, grin so wide his face might split in half.
"That is pretty cool," Scott notes, leaning forward a little.
"Thanks. I wouldn't say it's anything to gush over though." You fold one set of arms across your stomach, letting the other drop down to your side.
"Well, I think it's great," Scott replies with a definitive nod.
"What's great?"
The new voice startles you and you jump, head whirling to find the source. The person behind you is blue. A deep, navy blue with bright golden eyes that seem almost red. You catch movement behind him - a tail?
"Hello," the boy says nervously. He has an accent you can't quite place. German, maybe?
"Hi." You blink, eyes drifting over all the blue. His face is covered in some kind of markings; little raised lines etched into his skin. When he waves, you see he only has three fingers. Your heart jumps, and quickly look away, aware you're staring.
"[Y/N], this is Kurt! Kurt, [Y/N] is the newbie to the mansion." Jubilee nudges you gently. "Try not to stare," she whispers, "it makes him anxious."
You open your mouth to apologise, to let him know you don't mean it to be cruel - but that would only make it more obvious. Better to keep quiet and hope he didn't notice.
Kurt settles himself down beside Ororo - which is noticeably as far from you as possible. He gives you a soft smile, but quickly averts his gaze.
You frown, focusing him on a moment before turning to Jubilee. "I don't think he likes me much," you state.
She pats your back comfortingly, but the roll of her eyes tells you she thinks you're overreacting. "Kurt likes everyone. I think he's just worried you don't like him."
You fidget with the hem of your t-shirt, glancing at him from the corner of your eyes. "It's not that! I don't know him - or any of you, really - enough to dislike you. He's just, well, you know…"
"Blue?" Jubilee asks, not bothering to lower her voice.
The conversation between Kurt and Ororo stops abruptly. He glanced over, golden eyes narrowed. Confusion quickly changes to hurt, and he turns back to Ororo without a word.
"Jubilee!" you hiss, thumping your head into your hands, "now he's definitely going to think I don't like him."
"It's fine," she reassures, smiling gently, "just talk to him. Go on." She nudges you toward Kurt, but you don't move.
"Hey guys - I have to see Professor Xavier before next class." Jean pulls herself to her feet, brushing down her pink skirt to rid it of grass and dirt. "Anyone coming with?"
At this, Jubilee springs to her feet, nodding. "I need to ask him about the English assignment next week." She gives you a grin and a wink, muttering, "I think Kurt likes you. Just talk to him."
"I'll go too, Jean. I'm going to fry if I stay in the sun any longer." Scott takes Jean's hand as they walk away, swinging their joins arms gently.
Ororo groans, grabbing her backpack and hurrying after. "Hey, wait up!" she calls, "I need to see McCoy before he kicks my ass for not doing the homework."
Peter regards his rapidly disappearing friends, frowning. "Well, shit. If everyone's leaving, I guess I should make a start on the work due in…" he checks his watch. "Twenty minutes." He nods at Kurt, who seems to be looking anywhere but at you. "Coming, 'Crawler?"
"I'm okay. I should ah, get to class."
"Suit yourself. See you two later." Peter grins as he places his goggles over his eyes. In a second he's gone, leaving a slight breeze in his wake. You turn around to look for him, but he's nowhere to be seen.
"Huh," you say, raising your eyebrows, "nice."
Kurt stands up, brushing down his weirdly colourful striped shirt. It's a nice contrast to the dark skin - the shirt itself though is pretty garish.
"You're going to class, right? I think I have Biology. Could you show me around - I'm still learning my way around such a huge school." You join him in standing, all four arms folded comfortably over your stomach.
Kurt flashes you a smile - showing little pointed teeth - but quickly drops it. Oh, you must be staring again. Why won't you learn? "Of course," he replies cheerily, accepting your request without a second thought.
"Lead the way."
You walk a few steps in silence. You keep your gaze focused on your shoulder bag, the contents beginning to spill out of the side pockets. You haphazardly stuff them back inside, feeling a pencil snap against your hand. At least the chaos of your school supplies is keeping you occupied - you just don't know what to say.
"Here we are."
You didn't even realise you were inside, never mind already at your destination. You hadn't even been paying attention to how to get here, which meant asking him to show you had been pointless.
You stand in front of the classroom door for a moment, gazing up at Kurt's faintly glowing eyes. "Right. Uh, thanks. I should go inside before class starts."
"Yes, you should."
You stand there a moment longer, hand on the door handle. After a moment you push the door open and step inside the drafty classroom. "Thanks again Kurt. See you around!" You give him a wave, mentally berating yourself for his stupid you must look.
The door clicks shut behind you and you hurry to your seat, face burning.