The night was absolutely chilly and fog filled the city. It was a sign that the night wasn't going to be all that good.
Kitty Pryde, 17 years old and a junior in Bayville High School. The vegetarian, straight A student and a…mutant. Even though her parents, Carmen and Theresa Pryde found out their precious kitten could go through solid objects, they still loved her. They still cared for her.
Kitty gained speed. "Is this just new or what?" She was heading back to the Institute for Gifted youngsters from her lonely night in the Bayville Library.
She remembered the librarian whom told her off that she was the last one with a thick accent too. "Blah, blah, blah…I hope you can leave now or else I'll…"
All that garbage. Was it a crime to seek higher education and to work on the stinking Earth Sciences report?
"Projects…God, they stink big time…" Kitty hadn't told anyone how much she hated Earth Sciences but she still hated it, and it was a fact.
Hip Shack. Home of beer-lovers, nut-cases and worse of all, gamblers and gangsters. These losers don't know where to begin and how to end. They were yet another bunch of people waiting for each day to pass by as it is.
Kitty coughed. She hadn't had a drink for like seven hours already. Maybe…maybe it wouldn't hurt to…just go in and get a cool drink, right? A soothing coke or even a plain glass of water would do.
After all, if anybody were to touch her one hair, she would phase through them and get out immediately. Yeah, that didn't sound too bad.
Kitty stepped into Hip Shack and the moment she did, all the eyes fell on her. She looked odd. School bag, ponytail and what? Pink jacket? You've got to be kidding!
Kitty squeezed past everyone. It was horrible. There was the awful cigarette smell in the air, which blocked her nose and the horrid hard-rock music, which she couldn't stand. Why couldn't it be something like greatest country hits or Kelly Clarkson? At least, it would be more pleasant for her ears. She could barely make out whether they were screaming or singing.
Kitty pressed some money on the counter and shouted, "A coke, please" at the scary looking guy in front of her. Just then, a huge guy the size of a gorilla gone wrong and tattoos which marked his personality (no good at all) smashed his way to the counter. When he grinned, it was disgusting as he showed huge, black holes in where the teeth should have been and the odor of a dead monkey.
"Hello, pretty. What's yer name?" He pressed his body on to Kitty's and his breathed sucked. "Excuse me," Kitty tried to be friendly and wanted to push her way through but monkey-breath blocked her way and pushed himself forward more. "You're cute. How's about spending a night with me?" he barked loudly.
Kitty shook her head. "Let me go…you…you big, fat pig! I'm warning you!"
The man thundered, "A naughty one, eh? I like naughty girls, just like you!" He leaned forward to the screaming Kitty but before he could go any closer, the ground begun to shake and tremor.
Kitty's eyes widened. What the hell was all that anyway?
Lots of whispering was speeded around Hip Shack. People seemed to have quieted down a lot.
"Leave her alone, now!"
The familiar tone…only one person could have made the ground shake…Lance!
"Man, anything you say…just don't…" monkey-breathe moved away and dashed out of Hip Shack.
The man at the counter said quickly to Kitty. "That's Avalanche, lady. He makes the ground rock like magic whenever he's angry. He's like some…legend here already. Comes every two nights for a drink and everybody here knows him. Ye' know that guy?"
Kitty nodded. "He's in my school, Bayville high. And he's also in my Chemistry class."
The man started to leave when he saw Lance headed his way. "Please, lady. Don't get him to hurt me." And then he disappeared into the kitchen.
Kitty looked at Lance. He took the empty seat next to her and said, "You shouldn't even be here, Kitty."
"I…thanks, Lance. Just now…well, you know." Kitty said.
"Yeah, just make sure you don't come here again. This isn't your place." Lance gulped down his beer, with his eyes on Kitty.
She's so sweet. Man, I'm crazy…I like a…a X-man?
Lance paused. "So, what are you doing here?"
"Just a little thirsty. I was supposed to go back to the institute. Oh my god!" kitty slapped her forehead.
"What's wrong? Left your brain in the school locker?" Lance grinned.
Kitty laughed. "Cos' not. Just that I;m suppose to E-mail my parents yeaterday and I forgot cos Kurt ported into my room and took my cell phone so I had to, like, get it back. If they don't get my E-mail today, they'll so freak."
Lance turned quiet. "You're so lucky you got parents, Kitty."
"Why? You have parents too, right?" Kitty said.
"Yeah. Everyone does, just that I never knew who mine were."
Kitty lowered her head, "That's really…sad, Lance."
"Aw, forget it. Ever since I was young, I moved from orphanage to orphanage. They kicked me, they hurt me but I didn't even bother. See? I lived till now. Must've disappointed them by that one."
"Then, what did you normally do in the orphanage?"
Lance looked away. "What can I do? I mopped, I cleaned and I got into trouble. Man, who cares? No one! They all hated me."
"And about your parents?"
"Lots of rumors. I've got enough of them already. I don't know who I can believe, so I chose not to."
Kitty said, "My parents loved me. They gave me clothes, a warm house to live in and great education. I love them for who they are. They still cared for me…even though they found out I was a mutant. They didn't care."
"See? I told you. You were lucky. I can't compare to you. I was always that type."
"What type?"
"The beaten type." Lance lifted his shirt so Kitty could see all the scars underneath it. "See? This one's from six years old. I couldn't forget about it. My caretaker took a knife and slashed me right there. I didn't even know where I went wrong."
Kitty was utterly horrified. It was a really ugly scar to be honest. "Then, did you do anything?"
"6 year old kid against a huge woman with a knife and no powers developed then? I don't think I stand a chance."
Kitty pointed at another "scar". "What's this?" she asked.
"Oh, that's just a mosquito bite." Lance said, putting down his shirt. Kitty laughed, "I don't like guys without any scars anyway. They look so sissy to me."
Lance really liked Kitty's laugh. And she always managed to look good too.
"Well, no body can take me down now. My powers are mine. If they dare mess with me, they mess with my powers." Lance took more gulps from the beer bottle furiously.
Kitty watched on; he just went on drinking and drinking, drowning all his sorrow in all that beer.
"Stop it!" Kitty yelled and grabbed Lance's beer bottle away from him. "Are you going to drink like this forever? You know you don't have to do this to yourself."
"You wouldn't understand! This is who I am!" Lance shouted back at her.
"No, you're not!" Kitty noticed some people were looking at them. "The Lance I know is a great person. He wouldn't have to kill his sorrows in something as stupid as liquor! He'd fight back!"
"Really?" Lance grabbed Kitty's wrist. His voice was really loud and scary. If looks could kill, he'd have won.
It hurt. Her wrist really hurt a lot.
Kitty had tiny drops of tears coming out but she forced them back. Even though she could easily phase through his grip, she didn't want to. What for?
"Do…do you really wanna hurt me, Lance?"
Lance calmed down and let her go. "I…I'm sorry." Lance let go of kitty and pushed past the others, leaving Hip Shack.
Kitty placed some money on the counter to cover Lance's beer and sped out after him.
But he was gone. His Jeep was gone and so was he too.
Kitty looked so forward to making a real connection with him. He looked tough but in the inside, he was just somebody else, somebody who was great, with a lot of potential no one knew.
Back in the institute…
"Kitty, where were you?" Scott barked the moment Kitty stepped in, "We thought you lost yourself…in Bayville!"
"Nah, I was just in Hip Shack," Kitty said, and then slapped her mouth shut.
Jean looked absolutely shocked, "What? Hip Shack? Kitty, you know that place. It's for…jerks! Not you or anyone of us here! How…why did you go there?"
Kitty said, "I…I just thought I'll step in for a drink cos' I was thirsty! I mean, it's Ok, you know. I'm 17 and I know how to take care of myself. Don't lecture me, alright?"
"Well, I don't know about that one, Kitty, but I hope you know what you're doing." Jean said.
"Yeah, whom'd you go with anyway?" Scott asked.
Kitty was at her limit already, "No one! Now, I still have to mail my parents and sort out some stuff, ok? Just, leave me alone."
Scott and Jean.
Yet another domineering couple.
Kitty threw her things on her desk and collapsed on her chair, sighing loudly.
"What's the problem? Bad day? You're really late ya' know." Rogue said, as she hung some clothing in her cupboard.
Kitty turned to look at her, "I…I was just hanging out at Hip Shack for a drink and Jean and Scott's already inspecting me from head to toe!"
"Ya' know 'em. But you actually went there…alone?"
"Not really…" Kitty wasn't good at lying and she knew it too.
"Not really means there is someone, Kitty. Told Scott?"
Kitty pulled a tongue at Rogue, "Like I would! Anyway, I…uh…went with…not exactly went. It's more like a "met" him and-."
Rogue snapped, "Kitty, yer' beatin' round the bush. Ah know who… Lance, right?"
Kitty's eyes went as huge as soccer balls, "How'd you know? I didn't know you developed Telepathy."
"Ah didn't. Remember I used to live with the Brotherhood? Ah knew he always hung out there."
"I know, bu…but you never told me all these, Rogue. And to think I shared a room with you for that long and didn't know much about you." Kitty crossed her legs.
"Ah knew Lance likes you too."
This time, Kitty almost dropped down from her chair. "What!"
"Ah won't lie. He does. Remember he's in my Math class? He told me once when ah asked him. And to think he really told me." Rogue rolled her eyes.
"I just didn't know he liked me…like that."
"Aw, c'mon. Don't ya find it weird that he always hangs out near your locker? He, always appearing near you? And he's always at the bleachers whenever you have track? And don't cha forget he once saved you from that falling hawk, ok?"
Kitty looked utterly confused, "I…I just didn't know."
Rogue smiled, "Ah thought you were smarter."
"Well, you're not even me. I just don't realize it as soon as you did. Does anyone else know?"
"Lucky fer' ya', no."
Rogue grabbed some stuff and said, "Ah'll go downstairs and leave ya' alone."
And she left.
Kitty hugged her knees to her chest and stared into air.
"Aw, c'mon. Don't ya find it weird that he always hangs out near your locker? He, always appearing near you? And he's always at the bleachers whenever you have track? And don't cha forget he once saved you from that falling hawk, ok?"
Rogue seemed to have a huge impact on her. After all, she was her best friend in the institute and Kurt as well. She'll never lie.
Kitty just couldn't believe it.
Lance actually liked her.
He really did.
Sure, so what if he's from the Brotherhood? So what if he didn't do well in his studies? So what?
All that didn't really matter that much to her.
Confusing.
All this is confusing.
Kitty shut her blue eyes.
No way.
What did she do to let him like her?
All she did was be herself.
Being Kitty Pryde.
Kitty calmed down. You have his number. Call him. Know for sure, or else you'll never sleep a wink tonight.
Look-out point.
Stars filled the plain air and all was cool.
Stop it!
You wouldn't understand, Kitty! This is who I am!
Really? Is this the real him? Hearing his own voice made him frightened. But, Kitty?
You've hurt her the most, you huge moron! You shouted at her, made her upset and you almost made her cry. You've hurt her!
He looked down at the beer can he was holding. Weird, cos' he didn't feel like drinking it anymore.
Silence.
Lance crunched the can and threw it down lookout point till he couldn't see it anymore.
Lance collapsed on the cold, hard ground, just in front of his jeep, breathing hard.
No, that wasn't him. He was just another big jerk which didn't deserve someone as good as Kitty. He deserved huge punches in his stomach.
No…
That familiar ring tone rang and vibrated in his left pocket.
Lance gripped at the phone. God, no! It was Kitty.
Should he answer it? Would he get screamed at? Better anyway.
He did deserve it.
He hurt her feelings when she was trying to help.
Face it, Alvers. Just ANSWER it for pete's sake!
"Hu…hello?" Lance tried to sound a little tough.
"Lance, I-."
"I know, Kitty. Scold me all you want. I deserve it." Lance said.
"No, Lance. I just wanted to ask you…was it true that you…um…liked me?"
Lance froze. Were those signs obvious? Did he look too desperate? Did he?
"How did you know?" Lance closed his eyes.
"Lance, I just knew. And why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you tell someone you liked him or her? That'd be insane, Kitty." Lance said.
"You're, like, right. But I still want to thank you. You saved me from that stupid hawk then and I didn't even say anything."
"Then, would you give me the chance?"
"To what?"
"Love you." Lance felt so stupid to say this. But he did.
Kitty felt so touched. Nobody's ever said that to her ever.
Lance was the first.
Kitty said, smiling, "You know what?"
"What?"
"Ok…"
They were together.
They were one.
And this is their beginning too.
Whew...that was short I know...but still didn't have many ideas up yet. So, you'll have 2 wait...sorry:)