章節 19: Kitty's paranoia

[Next Morning]

Kitty was anything but calm. She walked around her room, nerves tingling and her mind racing with anxiety. She barely got any sleep last night after that pleasureful situation.

'What if Jean knows? What if Aron tries to talk to me?' she thought, heart hammering in her chest.

The memory of what she'd done last night played on a loop in her head. She didn't mean to sneak in, but old habits die hard. She wanted to ask him about the fight but ended up in the room at a bad time. She could have silently run away, but couldn't, not after watching the scene before her eyes. The man she had a crush on for a long time was pleasuring another woman, well, she was shocked, yet the more she watched, the more curious she became. It was hot. She had masturbated to him since she first saw him naked, but nothing compared to the sight of him and Jean having sex.

"I can't face them!" she muttered under her breath.

Determined to avoid any confrontation, Kitty quickly got dressed and decided to leave her room early. She could hear the others moving about in the mansion, preparing for another day of classes and training. "I'll just keep my distance from them, yeah, that might work," she mumbled to herself, hurriedly slipping through her door and into the hallway.

But as soon as she turned a corner, she came face to face with Aron.

"Hey, Kitty!" he called, his voice friendly but curious.

Kitty's eyes went wide. Her heart skipped a beat. 'Oh no... no, no, no!' Without thinking, she bolted. Aron smiled knowing the reason behind her sudden sprint.

"Kitty!" He called again, but she was already halfway down the hall, running as her life depended on it.

Throughout the morning, Kitty went out of her way to avoid any situation where she might run into Aron or Jean. Thanks to her ability to pass through walls, she stole breakfast from the kitchen and decided to hole up in the library, hidden between stacks of old textbooks and dusty shelves. Every creak of the floor made her jump, thinking it was Jean, who could easily walk in, read her thoughts, and know everything.

'She's a telepath, for God's sake! She probably already knows!' Kitty panicked, tugging at her hair. 'She could be reading my mind right now, and I wouldn't even know it!'

At one point, Kitty spotted Jean walking down the hall with a calm, easy-going smile, seemingly heading towards her. Kitty's stomach dropped, and she ducked into a nearby storage closet, closing the door as quietly as she could. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she crouched in the cramped space, waiting for Jean to pass.

But her odd behavior didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

"What's up with her?" Jubilee asked, raising an eyebrow as she watched Kitty duck behind a pillar when Jean walked by.

"Ah don't know," Rogue replied, narrowing her eyes. "She's been actin' all jittery since this mornin'. Ah'm gettin' the feelin' somethin' happened last night."

Jubilee crossed her arms. "You think she did something she's embarrassed about?"

"Or worse," Rogue added. "Maybe somethin' happened between her, Aron, and Jean?"

That thought hung in the air between them. Jubilee's eyes widened. "No way! You think she finally confessed to Aron? Wait! Probably Jean confessed to Aron first and poor Kitty got left out. Or do you think she saw something she shouldn't?"

"Between Jean and Aron?" Rogue raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I saw Jean go into Aron's room last night after that attack by Professor X's Ex," Jubilee narrowed her eyes as she placed her chin over her arms. "Aron... Oh, Aron. You are really good... Bribing us so that you could go out with Jean... Hmm... Something smells fishy."

Rogue shrugged, but her mischievous smirk said she was enjoying the idea. "Only one way to find out."

Without another word, they decided to follow Kitty in secret, making sure to stay out of sight. Every time Kitty would check behind her shoulder, Jubilee and Rogue would dart into the nearest cover, trying not to giggle too loudly.

As the day dragged on, Kitty's nerves only got worse. She could feel Aron's eyes on her during training exercises. He tried to catch her attention multiple times, but each time, she would avoid eye contact and make up some excuse to slip away. Jean seemed as composed as ever, but to Kitty, it only made things more terrifying.

'What if Jean was just pretending not to know?' She thought, biting her lip. 'Oh god, this is killing me.'

At lunch, Kitty barely touched her food, keeping her head down and staring at her plate while her friends talked around her. Jubilee and Rogue, still playing detective, exchanged knowing glances and whispered to each other.

"You think she's gonna crack?" Jubilee muttered.

"She looks like she's about to explode," Rogue whispered back.

Kitty noticed their glances, her paranoia intensifying. 'Great, now they're suspicious too!'

After lunch, Kitty was walking through the gardens, thinking she'd found a safe place to escape everyone for a few moments. She was wrong. Jubilee and Rogue, having tailed her the entire time, were hiding behind a large oak tree, watching her every move.

"You ready to ask her?" Jubilee whispered.

Rogue nodded. "Let's do it."

They stepped out from behind the tree just as Kitty was about to slip back inside. "Hey, Kitty!" Jubilee called out.

Kitty froze. Oh no, not them too...

"What's goin' on with you today?" Rogue asked.

Kitty forced a nervous smile. "What do you mean? I'm just... I'm just tired, that's all."

"Really? 'Cause you've been avoidin' everyone like the plague," Rogue pointed out. "Somethin' happen?"

"No! Nothing happened!" Kitty said a little too quickly, her voice high-pitched with panic. She backed up a step, only to realize she was cornered by the two girls.

Jubilee narrowed her eyes. "Kitty, come on. Spill it. We saw you run away from Aron this morning."

Kitty's face flushed bright red. She couldn't tell them. She couldn't tell anyone what she did last night. 'They'd think I'm a total perv!'

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered, trying to inch her way out of the conversation.

But Jubilee wasn't having it. "You don't know? Then why were you hiding in the storage closet when Jean walked by?"

Kitty's heart stopped. "You saw that?"

"Yeah, we saw," Rogue said, crossing her arms. "So, what's goin' on?"

Kitty could feel her pulse pounding in her ears. She needed an escape, but they had her trapped. Just as she opened her mouth to try and come up with some excuse, she heard a voice behind her.

"Kitty?"

She turned around and saw Aron walking toward her, concern etched on his face.

Her eyes widened in panic. 'Oh God! Not now!'

Without another word, Kitty bolted again, sprinting away from them as fast as she could.

Jubilee sighed. "She's really not handling this well."

"Somethin' big happened, for sure," Rogue said, watching Kitty's retreating figure. "Guess we're gonna have to keep an eye on her 'til she cracks."

"Better, let's ask Aron. He's her crush after all," Jubilee smirked, looking at Aron who was approaching the two of them.

"Hey, girls, have you seen Kitty?" Aron asked.

"Oh, so that's what happened, Jean confessed to you and Kitty saw the two of you going at it like rabbits!" Jubilee being Jubilee couldn't help but blurt it out.

"Wha-What?" His eyes widened in surprise. If it's Jubilee then she will start a rumor and there is no way, he was going to let that happen.

"Oh, you did do something with Jean!" Jubilee accused.

"No, it's not that. She's been acting weird all day, and I'm getting worried. Have you seen her?"

Jubilee smirked. "So no rabbits?"

Aron sighed. "Jubes..."

"Alright, alright, but you better treat her well. She has the hots for you, you know," Jubilee winked.

"Who? Kitty?!" He was shocked. He knew about it but dismissed the idea thinking it was their usual prank. Thus, never chased Kitty that way. "But, how, why? When?"

"I told you, remember? Garden, two or three months ago, I stole your donut box again when you were busy getting your head around what I told you about Kitty having a crush on you and Logan caught me, that day?" Jubilee said, smiling at the memory.

"You stole my donut box..." He pointed at her.

"Yeah, and?" Jubilee raised her brows confused.

"And, I thought it was a prank, you are the pranking queen and there are at least hundreds of such instances. How was I supposed to know? You stole my donuts just after saying 'you better treat Kitty well because she has a crush on you' What am I supposed to believe here?" He sighed. Jubilee's mind worked weirdly but, it worked wonderfully.

"Well, she went toward the pool area. Better find her fast," Rogue added. "I wouldn't want her to dive in, completely dressed."

He rushed toward the pool and saw Kitty on the far side. Kitty felt him behind her. "Go away!" She yelled, tears almost falling from the edge of her eyes.

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