It was raining the first time he saw her. Not an all-out downpour but enough for most of the kids to take shelter inside or scurry under the trees with the widest canopies. The sun was still shining, typical March weather, lighting up the raindrops so that they fell like melted gold.

Kurt pulled the neck of his red bomber jacket closer, lowering his chin and hunching his shoulders as a breeze suddenly picked up.

Raindrops scattered Jean's homework and she huffed and tutted to herself as she purposefully dabbed them away.

"Can't we just go inside?" she muttered to no one in particular.

Beside her lay Scott, leaning back against the tree trunk with his hands behind his head. They couldn't see through his red-tinted visor but could sense him rolling his eyes.

"It'll stop in a second. Your homework will survive, Jean."

Although he wanted to stay impartial, Kurt couldn't help looking over his shoulder to see Jean's expression. He was not disappointed. The wind whipped her red hair about her shoulders making her seem even more intimidating.

"Some of us actually want to graduate, Scott," she shot back, though her words were marred by the pages of her essay fluttering in the wind.

Scott shrugged and eased himself down into even more of a slouch, his grin never fading. "It'll stop soon, I'm telling ya."

"You're not nearly as smart as you think you are, Summers."

"That's still pretty smart."

"If you spent more time studying and less time bring a smart-ass, you might just make a pass."

"Jean, could you chill for a sec? I'm trying to take a nap."

Jean straightened her back, ready to argue, but before she could say a word, the wind died down again, proving Scott right. He shot Jean a toothy grin and she scoffed, shaking her head as she returned her attention to her homework. Trust even the weather to take his side.

Jubilee laughed at the exchange and looked up at Kurt. They shared a smile before she too put pen back to paper. He turned his head to look out at the gardens, smiling to himself when a few raindrops scattered across his cheek.

In all his life, Kurt had never seen so much green. The soft grass, the ancient trees, and the smells: fresh air and damp earth and something he couldn't quite place but knew must mean home. His friends were all seated, taking refuge from the light rain, but he stood leaning against the old bark. Now that he had escaped darkness and misery, Kurt wouldn't take a single second of his new life for granted. He'd never let them trap him in a box again.

The rain slowed even more. The slight dips and waves in shallow puddles were the only evidence that it was even still falling. Kurt's keen eyes followed the winding stone path from its beginning by the school until it disappeared into the distance. That's when he saw her.

At first, he hardly noticed, he was too busy wondering if he could see the end of the path if he looked hard enough. Movement caught his attention. Nothing, and then all at once, she was all he could see.

A girl, her arms loaded with books, a heavy backpack making her stoop slightly. Her dark hair was pulled back into a loose plait. Bright, wide eyes surveyed her surroundings, her delight and contentment echoed in her expression. She seemed to glow in the afternoon light and although she walked alone, she didn't appear lonely.

She was drawing closer, following the path up to the school where post-lunch lessons would soon be starting. Kurt knew it was rude to stare but he couldn't look away.

He took a slight step back, keeping out of sight just in case she happened to look his way and caught him gawking at her. He almost trod on Jean's essay and she gave an indignant huff. Before she could admonish him for it, Kurt let out a low sigh.

"Wow..." His wistful tone caught all their attentions, his three closest friends frowning up at him in consternation. "Who is that?"

His interest piqued, Scott sat up to see who Kurt was talking about. He reached to remove his visor but caught himself just in time. He was used to the glasses Hank McCoy made for him, they were leagues better than a tightly wrapped bandage, but sometimes he forgot they weren't sunglasses. If he took off his visor, there'd be disastrous consequences, not least because he would probably disintegrate the girl Kurt was looking at. He'd certainly never hear the end of that.

"I don't know. I guess she's new," Scott replied after a thoughtful pause. He had been at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters for a year or so now and he was confident that he knew the majority of his peers by name or could at least recognise their faces. But no, he'd never seen this girl before. She was certainly pretty, that's for sure. Kurt had a good eye.

Jubilee let the boys gawp at the girl for a little while longer before she laughed, shaking her head slightly. "Her name's Margaret. She's nice." She told them, turning back to her troublesome maths homework. She understood everything perfectly in class but she was struggling now. Not for the first time, Jubilee secretly wished her that mutation could be something a little more applicable to school life. Perhaps she could be a human calculator or have the memory of an elephant, but no, she'd just have to settle for paying closer attention in class.

Kurt looked down at her, his scarlet eyes wide and excited. "You know her?" He began to gesture towards the girl who was steadily coming closer, but he stopped himself just in case she saw him.

Jubilee didn't look up, her attention on question 4b of her homework. "She's in my AP English class."

True to form, Scott immediately took up the opportunity to tease Kurt. He sucked in a sharp breath, wincing behind his visor even though they couldn't see it. The corner of his mouth tugged into a pointed smirk as he lightly punched the back of Kurt's knee.

"Sounds like she's too smart for you, dude."

Kurt grunted as his knee buckled but he didn't lose his balance. His pointed tail lashed in annoyance but he merely rolled his eyes at Scott. "Halt die Klappe."

Scott didn't speak a lick of German but his friend's tone transcended language barriers.

Kurt looked back at the girl, Margaret, and realised that she was no less than ten feet away now. He could see that her face was scattered with freckles and her eyes were a warm, amber brown made only more enchanting by the bright afternoon sun. He breathed a subconscious sigh that made his friends giggle.

"She's beautiful, no?"

"Go talk to her." Scott shrugged. He honestly didn't know why Kurt was still standing with them. If he was truly so enamoured with the girl, why wasn't he hurrying over to talk to her? He got his answer quickly. Kurt turned around to face them fully for the first time since they'd taken refuge under the tree and gawped at his friend.

"Was? Nein!"

Scott chuckled at the horrified expression on his face. "Why not?"

"I'm guessing there weren't many flirting opportunities in the circus," Jean put in helpfully with a soft smile.

Scott frowned at her curiously then suddenly his expression relaxed into comprehension. They didn't know much about Kurt's life back in Germany, only what little he'd told them. They didn't want to push him for the gory details, not if he didn't want to talk about it. For the most part, Kurt seemed unaffected by his past life. Now eighteen, he fit in well with the other students and was an irreplaceable member of the X-Men team. Still, his unstable formative years before Raven rescued him had left serious gaps in his education, not least, it appeared, in the case of romance.

"There were no girls like her in the circus," Kurt agreed. His enrolment at Professor Xavier's school was the first opportunity he'd had to spend time with people his own age and others with mutations. He liked to think that he'd be quite good at flirting, given the opportunity. Although he had a feeling if he tried talking to this girl, he'd forget how to talk completely, let alone remember his English.

Kurt turned to watch the girl again and saw that she'd walked past them and was halfway up to the school. He burned her image into his memory, the swing of her hair, the warmth in her expression, the carefree bounce in her step, lest he was unfortunate enough to never see her again. The likeliness of this was slim but he wasn't taking any chances.

"I've never seen anyone like her before."

Beside his feet, Jubilee snorted.

"I'm making an effort not to be offended," she muttered, tossing her dark curls over her shoulder in a show of indignation.

Scott nodded in agreement. "Me too." He elbowed his friend in the back of the leg again but Kurt was expecting it this time and didn't buckle, much to Scott's chagrin. "Aren't we hot enough for you, Kurt?" Finally, he got a reaction out of his friend. Kurt threw his head back, his eyes squeezed shut as he laughed at Scott's words.

He was interrupted by the shrill, demanding ring of the bell signifying that lunch was over, much to the group's collective irritation. Scott let out a long, exaggerated groan as he rose to his feet. He slung his backpack over his shoulder then clapped a hand against Kurt's back, urging him to move.

"C'mon, we've got Biology."

Kurt used his tail to pick up his bag, an unnecessary thing to do but he was feeling lazy. Scott couldn't help but feel a little envious of his prehensile tail, he too was prone to indolence.

They walked in a line up to the old mansion, discussing amongst other things their latest mission, Professor Rosario's "ridiculous" seating plan that meant Scott was two rows away from a girl he liked, and Prince's latest LP.

They passed through the wide front entrance and into the mêlée of students trying to get to their classes before registration began. Kurt followed Scott towards the stairs that would take them to the third floor where Doctor McCoy's lessons were held in the lab. He had only scaled a few steps when he saw her again, the girl. She was one of the hundreds of students in the hallway but he picked her out of the crowd with ease.

He froze on the stair, the complaints of fellow students falling on deaf ears as they walked round him. He felt like he was waiting for something to happen but he didn't know what. The girl turned her head and Kurt held his breath. To his relief, she had only turned to greet a friend. He watched them leave together, experimenting with the way his heart pounded.

Scott was halfway to Biology when he finally realised he was talking to himself. He doubled back and found Kurt still on the stairs. He craned his neck to see what had captured his attention and wasn't surprised to see the mystery girl just before she turned a corner. Scott rolled his eyes and took Kurt's arm, dragging him up the stairs.

"C'mon, you can stare at her another time, lover boy."

"Laser brain," Kurt muttered but he let himself be pulled towards his lesson.

Despite what Scott said, it was actually days before he saw the girl again. Kurt looked for her in every class, scanned the masses for her face in every hallway, but to no avail. After five days with no sightings, he'd almost given up hope. On the sixth day, he thought maybe he'd imagined her.

Although he hadn't seen her since that sunny afternoon, she never left his mind. He thought about her small, contented smile when he should've been studying for a History test. When he and Scott had to give a presentation on Malawi in Geography, he barely contributed. All he knew was her name and that she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

Exactly one week since he first saw her, Kurt, Jean and Scott were waiting in the hall for Jubilee. They all had a free period together in which Jean had studied, Scott bothered Jean, and Kurt pretended to read. They always ate lunch together so they left the library and waited for Jubilee to come out of her class.

The bell rang and hordes of students suddenly appeared as if by magic. Jean spotted the bright yellow jacket first, then the girl wearing it. Jubilee bounced down the stairs, a bright spark of colour amongst the sea of students.

"There's Jubilee." Jean pointed their friend out and the boys straightened up, preparing to leave.

Scott saw his friend stop halfway down the stairs when she spotted them. Jubilee gave them a cheery wave then to his surprise, she grabbed the arm of the girl next to her and guided her over to them. Scott's eyebrows shot up when he realised who Jubilee was with. He took Jean's arm before she could walk away and slapped Kurt's chest to get his attention.

"Hey, hey, she's with that girl Kurt was staring at!"

Sure enough, the mystery girl was walking close by Jubilee's side, chatting energetically as they drew closer. Kurt felt his heart rise in his chest, his tail swishing of its own accord. A whole week of nothing and suddenly there she was with one of his friends. Then he realised what Scott had said and narrowed his eyes.

"I wasn't staring."

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Boys, please." Jean hushed them with a simple wave of her hand.

Jubilee and her new friend finally navigated the lunchtime rush and met them by the wall. Scott and Kurt both stopped arguing, but while the former adopted his trademark smirk, Kurt was just trying to get his breathing under control.

He'd never felt this way before, she hadn't even spoken yet. Whilst Jubilee introduced them, he tried his best not to shrink back into the shadows like all his instincts were screaming at him to do.

"Guys, this is Margaret. She only started last week." Jubilee gestured to the girl, who gave them a warm smile and a little wave.

Kurt thought his heart couldn't beat any harder, but then she finally spoke.

"Please, Margaret is my grandma's name. Call me Peggy."

Her accent, it was familiar. Irish, he thought, but he wasn't certain. She laughed and the sound made Kurt's heart thud. Beside him, Jean noticed his love-struck expression and tried not to smile. Scott raised his chin and stuck out his hand, just like his brother had taught him to do when meeting someone new.

"Welcome to Mutant School."

Peggy shook his offered hand, smiling wryly at his joke.

"Peggy, this is Scott Summers," Jubilee politely introduced her new acquaintance to the gaggle of misfits she called her closest friends. "Jean Grey." Jean gave a little wave and Peggy responded with a kind smile. "And this is Kurt Wagner."

Finally, her gaze turned to him and Kurt almost forgot how to breathe. What he liked most about Xavier's school was that no one stared at him. Back home, it was all people ever did, gawp and murmur and point at the demon boy. But here, where the mutant children of the world sought peace and sanctuary, no one laughed, no one whispered, and he felt safe.

The same was thankfully true of Peggy. She didn't look frightened or shocked by his appearance, she simply smiled. And what a smile it was. Her full red lips pulled back in such a way that her eyes crinkled. A dimple appeared in her left cheek and it was all he could do to stop himself from staring. Kurt tried to muster a smile in response but he thought he must have looked rather ridiculous.

"Hi," he said quietly, his words suddenly evading him.

"Hi," Peggy repeated back as she adjusted her heavy satchel on her shoulder.

Kurt couldn't keep his eyes off her, he didn't know what had come over him. Scott watched with no small amount of embarrassment as his friend's smile grew dopey.

"Hi," Kurt said again, his tone light and dreamy.

"Hi?" Peggy tilted her head, giving him a curious look.

Kurt was still gazing at her like she was a starry sky and although it was pretty funny, Scott knew he had to help his friend out. He patted him hard on the shoulder, hoping to bring him out of his dreamlike state.

"Uh, English is his second language. He gets... Confused," he said quickly, thinking on his feet. It was only half a lie and he knew Kurt would thank him for it later, that is, if he ever got his head out of the clouds. Thankfully, Peggy didn't question his odd behaviour, choosing instead to follow the change of subject.

"Oh, where're you from?" she asked Kurt with clear interest.

By now, Kurt had gotten over the shock of her arrival. His heart was still pounding but at least his tongue was working properly again. He shot Scott a grateful look before he replied.

"Germany, but I moved around a lot. I'm not really from anywhere," he added with a shy smile. To his surprise, Peggy's expression brightened, her eyes wide.

"Oh, du kommst aus Deutschland?" she said with clear excitement. Kurt appeared to perk up when he heard his native language, his attention completely captured by the girl. "Nett, wie schön! Ich wollte schon immer mal dahin, aber du weißt schon... Mit dem ganzen Chaos erscheint einem das unmöglich."

Peggy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly looking quite shy despite the others not having a clue what she'd said. Jean, Scott and Jubilee could only watch with confusion as Kurt responded.

"Vielleicht können wir ja eines Tages mal zusammen dahin gehen."

He looked and sounded much more confident when he spoke German. All his worries and confusion melted away, the familiarity comforting him. Although the others couldn't understand what they were discussing, Peggy's smile spoke volumes.

"I'd like that," she said softly.

Was he imagining it, or were her cheeks a little pink?

Scott could hardly believe that Kurt was so smooth in German, he'd have to ask for some pointers later. He cleared his throat awkwardly, reminding the pair that they weren't alone. "So you speak German."

Jean took the opportunity to peek into Kurt's head, just to see if his thoughts were as blatant as the expression on his face. She saw image after image of Peggy, like a stack of Polaroids. Her hands, her shoulders, her mouth, and a couple of other pictures Jean blushed to see, came together to form a whole image of the girl in Kurt's mind. There were so many thoughts racing around her friend's head, she almost couldn't untangle them all. Before she could look any further, Kurt felt her presence and gave her a look. She grinned back cheekily but left him alone.

"Is that your mutation?" Scott asked. He was curious about the girl, mostly for Kurt's benefit. He could tell his friend wanted to ask all these questions himself but he had a feeling Kurt wasn't going to be speaking coherently anytime soon.

Peggy opened her mouth to reply but seemed to change her mind halfway. "Almost," she said instead, a sly smirk on her lips.

Kurt laughed quietly and she glanced his way. He felt a little embarrassed of his pointed teeth but Peggy didn't seem deterred. Her own smile grew and he tried not to stare.

Jubilee rolled her eyes and decided to take matters into her own hands. "C'mon, let's go outside and sit down, then we can talk properly." She knew if she didn't guide Peggy away, she and Kurt would probably stare at each other for the entirety of their already too short lunch break.

The little group made their way through the double doors towards the cafeteria. Thankfully the queues had died down so they grabbed their lunch in no time at all.

They chatted easily as they made their way towards their spot, the same tree they were under when they first saw Peggy a week ago. It was a considerably brighter day, not a cloud in sight, so the tree provided some much-appreciated shade.

They flopped down onto the grass, letting out sighs of contentment as they finally unloaded their heavy bags from their shoulders. Jubilee asked Scott about their upcoming Maths test while Jean and Peggy got to know each other a little better. Jean found she was funny and friendly, and luckily for Kurt, very easy to talk to. He tried to contribute to the conversation whenever he could but Peggy made him strangely shy.

When everyone had finished their lunch, Scott finally remembered what he'd been meaning to ask the new girl. "So, Peggy, what's your deal?"

His question surprised her. In fact, Peggy wasn't sure what he was talking about. She put down her slice of carrot cake (she'd been told it was a rarity in the cafeteria so she guarded it with her life as they waited in the queue).

"My deal?"

Scott shrugged, leaning back against the tree trunk in his default slouching position. "Your mutation. Your spooky thing." He reiterated, smirking at his own joke.

Peggy considered his question for a moment. She had been comparatively lucky, at home being a mutant didn't have much of a stigma attached to it. Of course, there was still prejudice but it was rarely voiced to her face and for the most part, people just ignored the topic. Politeness trumped everything back home. At Xavier's school, the kids were free to be themselves. No one had ever asked about her mutation so brazenly, she rather liked it.

Peggy dabbed a finger at her cake and scooped up a little cream cheese icing. "It's not very spooky," she replied, then licked the cream from her finger. Kurt had to look away while Jean winced at the onslaught of very loud and very vivid images she heard plaguing his mind. "Or particularly interesting."

Scott shrugged, his perpetual mischievous grin framed by the red-tinted visor. "Humour me."

Peggy rolled her eyes, but humour him she did. She looked around for inspiration, trying to decide the best way to demonstrate the peculiar powers she was born with. The others watched her with ill-concealed anticipation. It was always exciting to see someone's mutation for the first time. It was quite rare for two people to have the same powers so they were eager to see something new, something no one else could do.

Peggy looked up at the thick branches above their heads and her wondering gaze halted at last. She raised her arm and pointed upwards.

"Hear that bird?"

They all looked up to see where she was pointing and saw a scarlet bird with black markings, a cardinal, sitting in a nest it had made for itself. Peggy put a finger to her lips, gesturing for them to keep quiet. Then she pointed to her ear, asking them to listen closely.

They waited in silence, biting their lips to hold back any accidental sounds. The cardinal's distinctive whistling call met their ears and suddenly, Peggy pursed her lips and repeated the sound note for note. She was watching the little bird intently, her mouth forming an 'o' shape as she copied the bird call seamlessly.

"Woah, that's cool." Jubilee laughed, they hadn't expected that.

Peggy blushed a little at the compliment, no one had ever called it that before. "It's not just animals." She smiled shyly at her new friends. She didn't really like to talk about herself but every mutant had the right to show off a little when displaying their powers for the first time.

"What do you mean?" Scott asked, sitting up from his sprawling position.

Peggy turned her amber gaze to him and grinned. "What do you mean?" she repeated in Scott's voice. The boy looked shocked, his mouth falling open as he gawped at her. Peggy chuckled at his expression, her cheeks going a bit pink.

"Woah! No way!" Scott gasped and again Peggy copied him.

"Woah! No way!"

It was so strange to hear Scott's voice coming from her but when they exchanged looks, they knew they were all in agreement, it was extremely cool.

Kurt watched Peggy as she stabbed her fork into her cake, an excuse to drop her gaze. She was embarrassed, that much was clear, but he sensed she quite liked the attention. He knew the feeling. Years of hiding and misery and then suddenly everyone wants to know the extent of your mutation, wants to praise you for the powers you were born with. It was a shock to the system for sure but not an unwelcome one.

"That is awesome!" Jubilee gushed, making Peggy's already pink cheeks burn red.

"Can you only repeat stuff?" Jean asked interestedly.

Peggy finished her cake and used the paper napkin that came with it to dab the corners of her lips. Again, Kurt tried not to stare. Peggy then cleared her throat and focused on Jean.

"Once I've heard enough of someone's voice," she began, and Jean grinned at the sound of her own voice. "I can say anything." This she said with Jubilee's sweet, musical voice. Peggy turned her head to Kurt, shooting him a grin that made his chest clench. "It's come in very useful," she told him, her tone deeper and accented.

It was odd to hear someone speaking to him with his own voice but Kurt couldn't help but laugh.

"This is crazy." Scott muttered, shaking his head and laughing with them.

"Anything else?" asked Jubilee, making the others stare at Peggy again.

They leaned in closer with clear intrigue; if her first power wasn't interesting enough, any other abilities were the cherry on the cake.

Peggy laughed at their inquisitive faces and nodded. "I've been struggling with this one," she admitted. "I can only do it when I'm frightened or if I really concentrate."

She raised her hand and pressed it against the craggy bark of the tree. They watched intently, waiting for something, anything to happen.

Kurt's attention was divided between her hand and the adorable way that her face was drawn in concentration. Her eyebrows were knitted together, her warm eyes focused and still, her red lips pressed together. He only looked away when he heard Jubilee gasp.

The very tips of Peggy's fingers had disappeared. It spread slowly past her knuckles to her wrist where it stopped. Her whole hand had disappeared. When he looked closer, Kurt realised she hadn't turned invisible, her skin had transformed so that it camouflaged with the craggy bark of the tree behind it.

Peggy smiled, feeling quite proud of herself. She'd never managed it so quickly before. Professor Xavier would start coaching her soon, training her so that she had full control of her abilities. She couldn't wait to test the extent of her mutation, to push herself to the limit. A voice brought her out of her own thoughts.

"Wundervoll," Kurt murmured.

Peggy looked up at her new friend. His astounded expression made her chest flutter but she wasn't quite sure why. She ignored it for now, grinning at him instead.

"Danke," she replied softly, and the feeling in her chest only increased.

Scott looked between the pair with thinly-veiled exasperation. Though he knew Jean would chastise him for it later, he cleared his throat, interrupting the moment they shared. "So, can you do Darth Vader?"

1. Oh, you come from Germany? How lovely! I've always wanted to go there, but you know... With all the trouble there at the moment, it seems impossible.

2. Perhaps we can go together someday.