Entrance, Stage Left
Kurt could hardly contain his energy as he swept down the staircase for breakfast. He grinned incessantly at everyone he passed, though not entirely oblivious to their sidelong glances. He knew it would be hard for many of the students to get used to his appearance, that was a given. But he was one of them, and most of his classmates were kind and accepting of him. That, he decided, warranted all of the kindness he could muster.
"Good morning, Scott!" Kurt called. He teleported to Scott's table with a little bamf and landed on the edge of it, startling his friend. Scott grumbled a reply in his early-morning manner. Kurt didn't mind; Scott was not a morning person like he was. Nonetheless, Kurt beamed around at the others as they sat down to eat. Kurt realized his lapse in decorum and looped his tail through an empty chair to pull it closer. He sat it beside Scott, as well as his school bag and jacket, and waited in line for his breakfast.
Jean and Forest came up with full trays, eyeing the despondent bad boy known to his peers as Cyclops. Jubilee bounced over, too excited to hold in her news as they took their places.
"A new student is coming today!" She squealed. Jean glanced up at her, eyebrow slightly quirked.
"Who cares, Jubilee. New people come around all the time. Prof makes it his job to care for reclamation projects." Scott muttered. Jean kicked him under the table, eliciting a veiled glare behind his rose quartz lenses.
"Scott, be nice." She hissed. Jean smiled at Jubilee. "Ignore him. He's always crabby until he has his morning coffee. Please continue."
Jubilee smirked at Scott while he glared at her silently.
"As I was saying--!" She bounced on the balls of her feet as Kurt sat down at the table. "--A new girl is coming in today. Apparently she's pretty impressive, even Magneto wanted to meet her."
Kurt narrowed his eyes, curious as to Jubilee's expression as she regarded him. He slowly reached for his orange juice, waiting for the bomb to drop.
"Kuuurt..." She grinned evily, looking like a malicious sprite with her pointed ears and youthful face. "She's really cute. I saw her when Logan was Facetiming her. I think you'd be a perfect match."
Kurt tried to hide his face in his hands. Heat flooded his cheeks, making him turn a darker shade of blue that was almost black. Jean started laughing before she could stop herself.
"Jubilee, you can't keep shoving your ships in everyone's faces! Leave him alone, if there's chemistry, there's chemistry, and if there's not, there's not." She turned to Kurt and patted his forearm affectionately. "Kurt, you don't have to listen to her. She's still snarky about Laura leaving her."
"Hey! I told you to stop bringing that up!" Jubilee flushed, a fey taken aback. "I know you miss X-23 just as much as I do. She was your friend as much as mine!"
Jean rolled her eyes.
"So many timelines you could have chosen from, stop fucking bringing that one up," Scott muttered. No one paid him any attention.
Forest suddenly piped up.
"I think we should welcome the new girl into our group. If she's anything like post-memory-wipe Laura she's going to need all the help she can get."
Jean nodded as though that were the most natural thing in the world.
"Excuse me? Why would we want another snotty brat inching their way over here?" Scott interjected. "The only reason I accepted Kurt is because he's not annoying and I need some bro backup. If we get another girl in here, I'll be completely booted out of the conversation!"
Forest bared her teeth, a frightening sight coming from a willowy creature like her.
"You will be nice to her, Scott. If you don't, you might find yourself coming down with a rather unpleasant, incurable case of cholera." Her eyes glowed softly and in that moment, she was terrifying. Scott shut his mouth, scowl screwed firmly into place.
Kurt's attention was suddenly drawn away from his group of friends as he caught sight of the Professor rolling past their table towards the front entrance. He watched curiously as Xavier met Erik Lehnsherr at the door. He perked his hearing in their direction, straining to hear their conversation.
"--So good to see you again, my friend," Charles greeted Erik with a handshake and a clap on the shoulder. "I'm glad you were able to make it on such short notice."
"You know I can never say no to you, Charles, even if I wanted to." He winked. "I must admit, I'm rather excited to meet this one. She seems like a good choice."
"I agree. I hope she decides to stay with us, it would be fantastic to have her onboard."
Kurt frowned as they moved out of his hearing range. He returned his attention to his friends as he finished his breakfast. He didn't see the figure that entered the premises, confusion etched on her face. He didn't hear Beast welcome her and start to guide her to the Professor's office. He didn't see the lingering gaze she sent his way. He missed the way her eyes flickered dangerously.
No. He didn't see a thing.