Good evening. So I've decided to post this, and will attempt to post a weekly chapter until I'm finished. We'll see how it goes, but I really want to finish this fanfiction, and really want to not keep letting readers down. This chapter brings an ongoing fight to a close, and introduces a new couple I'm trying. Who knows? Review, lovely, beautiful readers, if you're still there…

Rogue knocked on Kitty's door. Kitty answered it quickly, smiling, "Jane is that you? I… oh. Marie. Um, hey… I m-mean, what are you… you're here, you're… at my door. You're not punching me in the face."

Marie looked down, smiling a little. "No, I'm not. I read your letter."

"You did?" Kitty said hopefully. "I meant every word."

Marie bit her lip. "I'm not saying I'm over this. But people make mistakes, and nobody's perfect. I'm not. You're not. Nobody is. We're in the business of accepting people no matter what… so it's kind of hypocritical of me to not forgive you, right?"

Kitty hugged her tightly, "Oh, thank you! I've missed you so much." Marie hugged back, a little hesitantly.

"The kids are in the kitchen," she said, "You want to make dinner with us?"

"Oh, yes, that sounds great," Kitty said, "Let me just grab my shoes. Is Jane down there?"

"Yes. Jane, Rosalie, Scott… and his new boyfriend, Hugh," Marie said.

"Scott has a boyfriend?" Kitty asked. "Wow, I mean… yeah, that isn't really surprising. But I'm happy for him." She slipped some flats on and came out, closing the door. "Thanks for this. It means a lot. Our friendship means a lot to me, Marie. I'm sorry I've been such a bitch, but I'm happy to be back."

"Any time," Marie wrapped an arm around her and led her to the kitchen.

11

Alex Summers was buried in boxes, looking for his brother's stuff. There apparently were a lot of people who died at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters because there was a hell of a lot of boxes with names on them. When he finally found Scott's, he picked it up and took it back to his room.

Paige was sitting on his bed, kicking her feet back and forth. "Hey, stud."

"Paige. What are you doing in here?" Alex asked, setting the box down on the desk. "You should be in your own room."

"I wanted to finish what we started," she smiled, standing and pulling off her shirt. "Or am I not still hot?"

"I'm way older then you. And we're on school grounds," he sighed, "Put your shirt back on."

"I'm eighteen, Alex," she said.

"Barely," he grunted, "And I'm old enough to be your father. Shirt. On."

She snatched it up. "So what? What happened between us was just a pity fuck? You were just bored, so you screwed the next available girl?"

"You know I'm not like that. I'm not an asshole, kid, I'm just an adult. I'm sorry it happened. I'm sorry I led you on."

She rolled her eyes and stormed out.