Chapter Soundtrack: 4am, Our Lady Peace
AN: Shout out to the very speedy beta, Dracarot! Thanks for your help!

Chapter Eleven: Walked Around My Good Intentions

Lance was sitting on the couch with his elbows on his knees, trying hard to ignore the very loud private conversation happening in the kitchen.

"We sent you to that school to keep you away from that no-good, greasy-haired, foul-mouthed punk—"

"Daddy, keep your voice down. And stop being so—"

Lance growled a sigh of frustration and sank his head into his hands. His surprise appearance at the Pryde household had not gone over well with Mr. Pryde. The man had recognized him immediately (as he suspected he would), and would probably have pummeled him with a potato masher had Kitty not intervened. And if Kitty's dad hadn't taken well to Lance's sudden appearance, he certainly hadn't taken well to the news that Lance was Kitty's boyfriend. To avoid Lance versus the potato masher, round 2, Kitty had asked him to wait in the living room while she dragged her father to the kitchen. Listening to her defend him to her father made him feel all the worse considering how horrible he'd been the last time they spoke.

"That Xavier is going to get a piece of my mind. He's supposed to be prote—"

Lance didn't hear the end of Mr. Pryde's tirade because of a loud crash coming from somewhere near him. Looking up, he saw Kitty's mother standing at the entrance to the living room gaping at him, bag of groceries toppled at her feet.

He stood as quickly and non-threateningly as he could; simultaneously, Kitty and her father came into the room.

"Mom, uh…you remember Lance," Kitty said by way of introduction.

Still gaping, Mrs. Pryde looked from her husband and daughter to Lance. "I…I…"

"Yes, dear, meet our daughter's new boyfriend."

"Her…oh…" Kitty's mom brought her finger to her lip—a nervous tick Lance had noticed in Kitty also. "Kitty, sweetheart, you never mentioned that the boy you were talking about was that…uh…that we already knew him."

She was trying to be more diplomatic than her husband had been, and Lance was grateful for her effort. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just needed to talk to Kitty, but I'll get out of your hair."

"Lance, wait!" Kitty stopped him as he took a step towards the foyer. "Don't go. Really, it's okay." She looked imploringly at her mother, "right, Mom?"

Mrs. Pryde looked reluctant, but came up with a compromise after a few moments. "Honey why don't you and… Lance… wait here, while your father and I talk." She slowly moved to her fuming husband to coax him away from the living room. "Come on, dear, let's go to the study."

"We won't be far," he told his daughter, then shot a warning glare at Lance before leaving them alone.

"Sorry about that," Kitty said moving next to him and tucking her long bangs behind her ears. "You just surprised them, that's all. Once Daddy calms down, it'll be fine."

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have dropped in like this. Wasn't really thinking, you know?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

Kitty also shifted awkwardly, looking around. "Where's Wanda?" she asked.

"Let her take the jeep after we got here. She wanted to run a few errands or something." He sighed. "Sorry about the other day; on the phone. I shouldn't have gotten angry. I overreacted. As usual."

She was shaking her head even before he finished speaking. "No, I did, too." She sat on the couch and tugged his sleeve indicating he should do the same. "You were dealing with something important, and I was being such a jerk. I'm so—"

He pulled her forward by the back of her head and kissed her, hard. She was surprised, but almost immediately threw her hands around his neck. When he felt himself calm down a bit, he moved his mouth from hers, but kept her in a tight hug.

"You okay?" she asked quietly, rubbing his back.

"I don't know," he admitted.

He told her everything, pulling out the piece of paper Nick had given him when he finished. She took it from him and read it. "Wow. That's not too far from here."

"Yeah."

"She was so close all along; it's kind of hard to believe. Are you going to go?"

"Back to Bayville? Yeah."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." He sighed. "What's the point, though? It's not like I even knew her. And it won't change anything."

"Maybe it won't." She placed the note that contained the address of the cemetery his mother was buried at back in his hand and squeezed gently. "But then again, maybe it will."

To Be Continued…