Chapter 10

"Here's th' plan," Rogue said as the matchmakers sat around her room. "Kitty hates smokin', so Scott will sneak these int' Lance's pocket. Jean, you'll be there t' make sure he gets an urge to place her hand wherevah Scott placed th' cigarettes. That'll make her disgusted with him, an' she'll probably tell Piotr about it. Ah know fo' a fact Petey don't smoke, so that'll give 'em somethin' else in common."

The group nodded in approval at the idea. Right now it was all about making Piotr and Kitty realize how much they had in common. Amara's hand shot up, and she waved it enthusiastically.

"Yes, Amara?" Rogue asked slowly, arching a brow. Amara's hand lowered, and she beamed at Rogue's uncertainty at her actions.

"I have a question. What do the watches and stuff have to do with anything, and when do we get to use them?"

Rogue looked at the other things they had. She shrugged in an 'I don't know' gesture and smiled at Amara. "Ah just thought they'd be cool t' have around. Sides, fo' all we know they could come in handy latah."

"That makes sense," Amara mused. "So, why do we have two packs of cigarettes then? Scott's only putting one of em in Lance's pocket."

"Oh," Rogue held up the extra pack and threw it to Remy. "Ah just got those fo' th' Swamp Rat. Ya'll know how he gets sometimes."

"Wha's dat s'posed t' mean?" Remy asked defensively, and glared when he saw his so-called friends nodding. Even Jean nodded her agreement to Rogue's statement! Some friends, he thought with a huff.

"Nothin', sugah, absolutely nothin'." Rogue smiled indulgently and patted his head. Remy swatted her hand away and glared at her, unconsciously opening the pack and lighting a cigarette after throwing one to John. Rogue watched him in amusement and shared a knowing look with Amara. They loved their smoking lovers, even if neither particularly cared for nicotine themselves.

"So, how exactly is Scott goin' ta sneak those inta Rock-Boy's pocket?" Pyro asked, taking a drag. Rogue sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Ah was afraid one o' ya'll would ask that," she admitted. "That's where we have a problem. Ah don't know."

&&&&&&

Scott took a deep breath and focused his attention on his rival. Lance was talking, more like arguing, with Tabitha and seemed to be getting angrier by the minute. His fists clenched at his sides, so tightly his knuckles turned white. Tabitha didn't seem too worried, however, and instead continued to berate him, or whatever she was doing to make him so upset.

With one last harsh comment, she turned and stalked away. Lance winced at whatever she'd said, and Scott wished he could've been closer than he was. He would've loved to know what she'd said to his rival, no doubt he brought it on himself.

"Alvers!" Scott called, moving from behind his corner. Lance started and turned to glare at Scott.

"Summers," he replied. "What do you want?"

"I don't know why she sent me to do this, or why she even wants too." Scott sighed as though in disappointment while Lance furrowed his brows in confusion. What was Summers babbling about now?

"What are you on about?" Lance asked harshly. Scott glared at him.

"Kitty," he said simply. "For some strange reason, she wants to talk to you."

Lance perked up at that bit of news. He glared suspiciously at Scott, but he figured he had no real reason to lie to him. Well, other than them being enemies, but Summers wasn't the type to lie if he didn't have too. With a grunt he started to walk away, intent on finding Kitty, but Scott stopped him by pulling him back.

"Hold it, Alvers," Scott said threateningly. "I want to get a few things straight."

Lance rolled his eyes and pushed Scott's hands off him. Scott only grabbed him again, hauling him closer to his face.

"Look, I don't know what your game is, but she's happy again. If you hurt her..." he trailed off. Lance looked ready to protest, but he stopped suddenly, his face going momentarily blank. Taking his chance, Scott slipped the cigarettes into Lance's jacket pocket. Grinning malevolently, he moved away from Avalanche.

Glancing at Jean, whom was hiding behind a set of lockers, he nodded once to let her know the job was done. Nodding back in reply, she placed her fingers to her head as she closed her eyes in concentration. Scott smiled at his girlfriend, and was startled when Lance pushed him away again, slamming him into the lockers. He pushed away the urge to reciprocate the actions and instead went to Jean.

&&&&&&

Kitty paced back and forth nervously. Jean told her earlier that Lance wanted to speak with her, and though the redhead reminded her she didn't have to go, Kitty felt she should listen to whatever he had to say. Surely he wouldn't do anything to harm her, he seemed to want her back pretty badly, and she wasn't above admitting she had ulterior motives. Rubbing in that she was dating Piotr seemed like the perfect thing to do at a time like this.

If it had been just a few months ago, hell, a few weeks ago, Kitty would've been sickened by the malevolence of her thoughts, but right now she couldn't find it in herself to care. Lance had been a jerk to her and to Piotr, even if he hadn't actually talked to the Russian personally, and she wanted him to suffer! Well, not really suffer, she wasn't that vengeful, but a little guilt wouldn't hurt.

Speaking of Lance, he had just come lumbering around the corner, looking slightly dazed. Kitty frowned and wondered what could be the cause of it, but reminded herself firmly that she didn't care. Tabitha was his girlfriend now, and she could worry about his well being.

"Kitty!" Lance said happily, spotting the X-girl. He ran over to her and grabbed her hands in his, looking at her lovingly. The expression on his face made Kitty blush and look away nervously. He didn't love her, she already knew that, but he had given her that look so many times before it was hard to believe they had ever broken up.

"Lance," Kitty replied with a slight nod. She phased her hands out of his, albeit reluctantly, and couldn't help comparing them to Piotr's large, warm hands. Lance's hands were smaller than Piotr's, but Kitty felt like something was missing that wasn't when Piotr took her hands, even if it had just been to warm them and not anything romantic at the time.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Kitty and Lance asked at the same time. They stared at each other bewilderedly.

"What do you mean?" Kitty questioned suspiciously. "You wanted to talk to me, Jean said so!"

"No, you wanted to talk to me," Lance said. He glared suspiciously at the small girl. Something was telling him he had been set up, and he wouldn't put it past Summers to do something that would make him look bad in front of Kitty.

"Lance, that's not funny," Kitty said, glaring.

"I'm not kidding," Lance said, smirking when he realized he could expose Summers for the lying bastard he was. Kitty would never forgive him, and Scooter would never get over having a friend angry at him. He was just the type to mourn over his own mistakes.

"What's in your pocket?" Kitty asked before he could say anything. He frowned and looked at his bulging pocket. Shrugging, he pulled out the pack of cigarettes and gaped.

"Cigarettes?" Kitty gasped. "Lance, that's disgusting! Those things can kill you, not to mention the environment!"

"Kitty, I don't smoke!" he protested. It wasn't a complete lie. He smoked every once in a while, what bad boy didn't?, but he never made it a habit.

"I can't believe you're lying to me while holding the evidence!" Kitty exclaimed, appalled that he would think her so stupid as to fall for that.

"Why do you care anyway?" Lance snapped. "It's not like you're my girlfriend anymore! What I do is none of your business!"

"You're right," Kitty said quietly, "it isn't my business."

With that, she turned and flounced away, leaving Lance behind. He stared after her, then turned to glare at the lockers. Great, now Kitty was even angrier with him! He would never get her back at this rate! He snarled and punched the lockers. Summers was behind this, he just knew it, and he would make sure he paid! One way or another.

A/N's:

Well, it's safe to say this chapter was a piece of dog dookie. I seem to be running on autopilot with this story and my HP story His Keeper. I don't like it, but I'm not about to give up! However, it might take me a while to update anymore since I'm inspired for everything but these two stories. Anyhow, I'm well aware of Rogue's plans getting more lame by the minute, but I'm running out of ideas. So, if anyone wants to give me plans for Rogue until I can start thinking again, feel free to leave them in a review and I'll give you credit in whatever chapter they appear. If I don't, you have full permission to harrass me until I do.