Fear cuts deeper than swords.
-George R. R. Martin
°°°°°°
CHANCE AND EDITH DIDN'T SPEND TIME ALONE ANYMORE and people were starting to make more and more rumours around them. The blonde wasn't really preoccupied about people calling her a mutant behind her back anymore. No one dared to say it straight to her face but she could tell they thought about it whether they looked at her.
It was all Sally's fault. The one who sparked up every rumour.
"Sally, we need to talk." Edith walked up to the other cheerleader. The short-haired, younger teen turned around with a fake smile, seizing the blonde with sharp eyes.
"Eddie, love! What's up?"
"You're up." she said automatically before shaking her head, flustered "I mean, I know you were the one who started the rumours about me being... a mutant."
Sally smirked briefly before widening her eyes.
"So you heard? Oh but doll, I would never do that!" she said "You know me. I always say things straight to people's faces."
There was something in Sally's expression that shifted. Suddenly, all the feigned innocence in her features shifted away. A look of anger crossed her eyes and it made the teen look evil and malevolent.
"I know you're a mutant, Edith Duncan."
"What?"
"You heard me." she snorted, crossing her arms "I know I'm right, you can't even deny it. Listen to me, slut, I'll do anything in my power until everyone knows your dirty little secret."
Edith narrowed her eyes, small and defensive. Feeling like saying anything would make things worse, the blonde turned around and stalked off.
Edith felt terrified as Sally's threat sunk in.
°°°°°°
A few weeks passed by and Raven was getting more and more on Edith's nerves. She did improve, though, as Raven finally allowed her to use the Danger Room. Though the blue woman settled it in a level one, Edith felt useful and proud of herself as she lazily fought against a small robot. It seemed like a joke and Raven seemed mad Edith wouldn't take it seriously. But how could she? Level one seemed too easy. It was like Raven had no faith in her whatsoever. Like she just wanted the blonde to fail.
"If you don't take this seriously you're doing fifty laps around the school." the blue woman said over the microphone. Edith looked at her incredulously as the level one started again.
The robot crept towards her, its pace slow and boring. The blonde knew she could do a million things to break it but instead, she wondered what Raven wanted to see. Maybe something flashy. Maybe something to show her just how capable she actually was. Edith focused, ignoring the strain in the back of her head (the teen was already getting used to those headaches) and felt the energy pulse through her arms, creating a visible white aura around her. Edith jumped, shifting gravity and guiding her own body until she stood on top of the robot's head. The blonde swayed slightly but found her balance quickly, pressing her hands against the metal and feeling the energy. She sensed each and every wire, every little and big part of the machine. The feeling of self-awareness was overwhelming but Edith could handle it. She knew she could. Finally, the teen was able to take over the robot, making it destroy itself as if possessed. It teared its own limbs off and dug a whole where his main mechanism was until it shut down. The blonde braced herself for the fall. Luckily it wasn't big and she rolled to avoid any kind of pain.
Edith jumped up and turned towards the control booth, looking at Raven with a hopeful expression. The blue woman shook her head, it was not what she was looking for. Edith turned away, angry and dejected. She shouldn't have even tried. The blonde kicked the robot angrily and stormed out, making her way towards the Professor's office.
"This is not training! This is nothing! Raven doesn't want me to improve, she wants me to go mad!" Edith paced around the room, furious and mostly disappointed. Disappointed because she couldn't improve, because she wasn't acknowledged. It was like high school all over again, which she hated "She's not teaching me anymore. Please, Professor, give me something I can do. Something that I won't suck at."
Noticing Edith's look, Charles sighed.
"Edith, I know you feel powerless and angry but you have to understand. Everyone here wants to see you become someone strong. We want to help you"
"I just feel like I'm being punished every day. I'm sick of it." the volume of her voice dropped lower and lower and Edith felt so helpless and so tired she could even cry. And she didn't cry, she never did "Please, Professor."
Charles nodded, pressing two fingers to his temple for a few seconds.
"I found something for you to do. Raven will still train you but this task you must perform alone." he said and Edith broke in a smile "Wait outside for Scott, he will explain everything."
Edith nodded hurriedly "Thank you! I won't disappoint you!"
As she opened the door and walked outside, Edith found Raven waiting for her. The blonde frowned, walking past her and feeling glad the older woman didn't try to interrupt her.
°°°°°°
"The Professor said you had to try to push your limits when it comes to what you're comfortable with the most." Scott said flatly, eyes fixed on the road as he drove through a nearly empty highway "He mentioned force fields, so I figured the pressure of the sea would be a challenge for you."
He seemed unsure, though Edith thought it was a good idea.
"So I just dive in, do a force field in the water and hold on? Cool."
Scott frowned "No. Not cool. You could drown. Scary."
"Not scary." Edith whined like a child "It's actually pretty awesome. It's been so long since I went to the beach. You should've told me earlier I would've put on a swimsuit."
"Edith, I'm not taking you to the beach." Scott rolled her eyes. She couldn't see him but she could tell he had done it "Besides, you're supposed to not get wet."
"Too bad." Edith stretched comfortably in Scott's car "What if I can't hold on long enough?"
The brunette seemed to notice Edith's hesitant voice. They both turned serious for a moment as he shook his head.
"Don't tell anyone I said this but," Scott sighed "you're strong and capable enough to pull this out. It's just a little water."
Their destination turned out to be the highest spot of a cliff and a little water, the middle of the ocean. Edith looked over, admiring the beautiful scenery for a moment before turning towards Scott once again.
"If you brought me here to kill me I'm going to feel really betrayed our beautiful friendship was a lie, Scott." she joked, punching his shoulder lightly.
"What? No." the brunette looked offended as he pressed his back against the car protectively "Kurt should be here soon to help you out if anything goes wrong or something. He was worried and insisted on coming."
Edith smiled, blushing lightly as her mind shifted towards Kurt, looking around in case he was already there. Not finding him, her attention went back to Scott, who looked troubled.
"Be careful."
Edith smiled and bit back her teasing comment. She couldn't ruin the moment.
"Well, I'll leave you to it," he said hurriedly.
"You're leaving? Why?" she tilted her head confusedly.
"Of course I'm leaving." Scott looked at her like she had said a stupid thing "I'm so not third wheeling for Kurt and you. No way. No. Nope. Have fun."
Scott drove away and the blonde took a deep breath, blushing slightly. Edith turned towards the cliff and enjoyed the sensation of freedom. Nothing could go wrong when she felt so safe. She finally understood the true meaning of that word. Maybe she could soon help people who were in the same situation she had been. Terrified, unsafe and trapped. Edith hoped Jean was right, she hoped she could impress whoever she needed to impress and become part of the X-Men as soon as possible. After all, Warren was already training side by side with them. It kinda made her feel left out.
A bamf behind her made Edith turn around quickly with a wide smile.
"Hallo, dear girl." the teen smirked at Kurt's blunt words. Edith had never thought the German accent was attractive before she met him. The teen walked until he was standing right in front of her, taking her hand in his "Are you ready for training?"
Since their not-actually-a-date a few weeks ago, both teens grew used to holding hands just because. Edith enjoyed it, she loved the feeling of Kurt's warm digits between hers. It was a weird action because of the difference between their fingers but they made it work. They had made everything work thus far perfectly fine.
The blonde didn't enjoy holding hands when it came to Chance until Kurt came into the picture.
Edith stretched her free arm and flickered the force field, just to make sure. It engulfed them perfectly fine and she watched it switch away.
"Yep."
Both teens stood next to each other, hand in hand, at the edge of the cliff, admiring the view, the immense ocean. The bluest Edith had ever seen. The teen realised she liked that colour a lot. Turning towards Kurt slightly, she found him staring at the horizon, muttering a prayer. It made her smile slightly, watching his concentrated expression and listening to his rushed German.
Once she realised he was done, Edith smirked mischievously and, letting go of his hand, pushed Kurt off the cliff.
The teen stared at Kurt as he laughed it off and fell, his arms open wide. Free. He only bamfed back up when he realised he was close to hitting the ground. Edith heard the blue male behind her, but she didn't have time to turn around as he touched her shoulder and bamfed a few meters ahead.
The teens started falling and ecstasy and adrenaline filled Edith like a tidal wave. For a second she enjoyed the feeling of the wind, the sound of Kurt's laugh mixed with her own. She looked down all of a sudden and, out of pure reflex, stopped hers and Kurt's fall. Edith realised then she had the ability to fly and felt free. Like she had never felt before. A wide smile spread on her face as she drew Kurt close to her, hugging him tightly. Her eyes watered because of the wind and she begged he wasn't able to feel her wild heartbeat. He leaned in slightly, locking their lips in a playful and short kiss but Edith's hand on his cheek kept him from pulling away. It was comfortable, it felt okay. Edith enjoyed the taste of his lips, of his breath. She was loving every minute of Charles' task.
Remembering why they were there, Edith leaned away, chuckling gently and pecking Kurt's lips because it felt right. They hadn't gone there for fun. Edith wished they could return with all their friends just because.
"Ready?" she asked. Kurt nodded.
Edith slowly lowered them, creating a force field that kept the water from touching both her and Kurt. The blonde would love to dive in and swim for a while though not having any clothes to change to was a reality check and an incentive to make a sturdier force field.
"How low should I go?"
"As low as you can."
And she did. She controlled the bright bubble until they were a considerable amount of feet under the sea. Edith felt everything around her and it was as overwhelming as it was eye-opening. She sensed the fishes swimming around, the algae. Creatures and plants she could and couldn't identify. It was a feeling of self-awareness and dissociation all at once. It felt amazing. Like the very only true thing. Edith felt Kurt then, his breathing, his heartbeat. Every single cell of his being. The teen wondered just what her real power was. Just what she could do.
"I guess we're going to be here for a while." she wondered out loud, trying to get used to the whole feeling-one-with-everything-around-her thing.
"Ja." Kurt smiled as he sprawled down on the bottom of the force field. It was cute and nice and she liked the trust he was giving her. The blonde followed his example and sat down in front of him "What's your favourite song?"
Edith thought for a moment "You Spin Me Round."
Kurt chuckled.
"What? It's a banger."
"Ja, ja. I just expected it to be The Who."
"They're the most amazing band ever but my favourite song is You Spin Me Round. What about yours?" she smiled playfully.
"Beat it," Kurt announced with a proud voice.
"Michael Jackson? I like the Jackson 5 better." she teased.
Kurt seemed shocked "I'm so going to lend you my vinyls. How can you say that and be able to sleep at night?"
"Hey! I admit Thriller is amazing." Edith thrust her hands up in self-defence, she chuckled then "I wouldn't mind you lending me that one, though. Oh, right. I also liked Led Zeppelin as a child, are they still a thing? I lost track of time."
"Yeah, ask Peter for those though." Kurt's smile flattered a little.
Edith grew confused for a moment before remembering.
"Right, you think Peter likes me."
"Doesn't he?"
"He doesn't. I have a theory he's been secretly neutered as a punishment because of the whole kleptomaniac thing or something. You've heard him sing Like a Virgin, right?" Edith was an emotional cripple. She knew. Everyone knew. She just hoped Kurt understood. She certainly didn't get why it bothered him if Peter liked her. He didn't. She'd know if the silver-haired male did. It was the Queen Bee radar.
Besides wasn't he like twenty-eight or something?
Kurt chuckled "Okay. But do you like him?"
"Ew." Edith shook her head quickly, looking really disgusted.
She'd never really thought about Peter that way. And she doubted she'd ever do. Edith was really paranoid and quickly dismissed anyone she ever thought about in a romantic way (even Chance. Sure he was cute, but they had nothing in common and dating just because they were both extremely popular was just boring). It was weird how little she knew about herself, especially after having a whole year to reflect. Thinking, regretting, realising.
Edith did know she liked girls too. Her eyes widened when she realised Kurt didn't know that.
"Hey, Kurt," she laid in the bottom of the bubble beside him, feeling a little tired. Edith let her head rest on top of the blue teen's chest "I'm bisexual by the way."
"Oh. What's that?"
"I like girls and boys. It's fun."
"Wunderbar." Kurt smiled cutely and let his head rest gently on top of Edith's.
"I don't like Peter." she repeated, earning a hum from the blue male "I like you."
Kurt didn't answer, though she felt him tense slightly. The air in the bubble was hot and she worried about oxygen for a moment before realising he could get them both away the moment anything went wrong. Edith thought over her own words carefully, knowing she meant them the more she heard her own voice in her head. The blonde worried Kurt didn't reciprocate her feelings but as he wrapped his tail around her waist, she realised he probably did like her back. He probably felt something towards her, it was just hard to put into words. Edith understood and sighed, waiting for her phrase to sink in. Waiting for him to snap out of it. The blonde started feeling an uncomfortable pressure in her chest.
Kurt turned towards her slowly, his hands grasping her shoulders gently as if she was about to break. Edith didn't move, afraid of scaring him off. She just waited, waited for him to take the step. To speak. To move. To kiss her.
The German chose the latter as their lips joined in a quick peck that turned into something more. It was warm, the air was getting hotter and hotter and Edith didn't know if it was her, or if it was the sea. But what made it feel more special was the safe feeling. Just like their chat in the kitchen. Just like every hug, every glance. Edith felt like they were both pieces of a puzzle waiting to be joined. And when they did join in the sweetest of kisses, the most amazing feeling filled her completely. From head to toes, tingles and butterflies and thoughts about how everything would be okay clouded her thoughts. Because everything would be okay.
Edith really liked Kurt.
From one second to the next, Edith started feeling an extreme pain that chilled her spine and made her pull away forcefully. It was as if she was directly feeling all the pressure of the water directly on top of her as if she was breaking. The blonde lifted her hand quickly, feeling as if the force field was about to disappear, trying her best to hold it up. To hold on the longest of times. Kurt called her name as Edith screamed in pain, feeling like her whole body burnt as if oxygen couldn't quite reach her lungs. His hands cupped her cheeks gently, turning her towards him. Making eye contact for a split of second seemed to calm her down and, as soon as the pain came, it left. Kurt had bamfed them towards the mansion.
Edith couldn't help but remember the Boss. She remembered the pain, the sleepless nights. His horrible laughter. It was like living a nightmare while wide awake. The teen clutched Kurt's hand in horror.