Chapter 35: Nowhere to Run

Lorna sighed wistfully while Wanda finished doing her hair and make up.

"I wish I could go," she said, rocking back and forth on the edge of Wanda's bed.

Wanda closed her eyeshadow case with a snap and looked through the ensuite door at her little sister.

"Are you still here?" she demanded tersely. "And Warren doesn't even know you, so why the hell would he invite you to his Valentines Day party?"

"Well, he knows you and Pietro, and you get to go," Lorna replied, ignoring Wanda's irritated tone. Wanda always sounded like that when she spoke to her.

"Pietro and I aren't exactly buddy-buddy with Warren," Wanda said, turning back to the mirror to inspect her reflection. "I'm surprised we were even on the invitation list."

"Still," Lorna said with a little sigh. "You're so lucky getting to go to a college party."

Wanda sighed and put her make up case away.

"I really doubt it'll be that kind of party, and if it is, then that part of it won't start until after those of us from Xavier's have left," Wanda said as she finally emerged from the bathroom with her ankh jewellery and dark make up. "Curfew still applies."

"Still," Lorna said, and she smiled up at her sister. "You look pretty."

"That's nice," Wanda replied drolly as she pulled on her jacket. "I wasn't going for pretty. I was going for dark and unapproachable."

"Oh. Well, you're dark and unapproachable then."

"No, I'm not," Wanda retorted, giving Lorna a pointed look. "If I was, you wouldn't still be here."

Lorna was silent while she tried to figure out what to say. She didn't know why Wanda was always so cranky towards her all the time. At least Pietro was nicer to her now. Not much, but a teensy weensy little bit nicer.

"I'm thinking of dyeing my hair," Lorna said while Wanda pulled on her black boots.

"That's nice for you."

"I wanna go blonde."

"Why am I not surprised?"

Lorna frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't get along with blondes," Wanda said. "They're stupid and annoying. Yes, I think blonde hair will suit you perfectly."

"Hey!" Lorna objected.

Before things could go any further, there was a knock at the door.

"Come," Wanda said.

"Hey," Jean said, poking her head in the door. "Ready to go?"

Wanda zipped up her second boot. "Yep. After you, Lorna."

Lorna sighed and pushed herself off the bed. "Have fun."

"I'm sure we will, thanks," Jean replied.

Wanda snorted as she followed Lorna out of her room and joined Jean, Kitty, and Alison in the hallway. She was just going for the yummy Italian Crostoli, so there had better be some.

"Okay," said Jean as she led the way down the hall to the elevator. "Rogue said she'd wait for us in the parking lot, so I guess we're all set."

"Yay," said Kitty. "This is gonna be so awesome."

In due course, three carloads of students from Xaviers, and one motorcycle, arrived at the Worthington Estate. It was somewhat crowded and a valet was there to greet them.

"Wow," Kitty said as they were escorted to the ballroom. "There are a lot more people here than I was imagining."

It was quite clear there was more to this Valentines Day party than a simple get together with friends. There were adults everywhere. Not just college-aged ones, but ones who were likely closer friends with Warren's parents than Warren himself.

Wanda looked around critically. This wasn't what she had been expecting either but the odds were pretty good that there would be lots of Crostoli and hopefully even refills as the night went on. She made a beeline for the food tables. Everyone else also slowly mingled in with the crowd, although many chose to stay with their closer friends.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it," Warren said to Jean and Scott, greeting them warmly as soon as he saw them.

"So are we," Jean replied and glanced around. "I have to admit, this isn't what I was expecting from your invitation."

Warren shrugged. "Mother decided to make some last minute adjustments."

"Ahh," Jean replied in understanding.

"Anyway, sorry I can't stay and chat right now but we'll catch up later...hopefully," Warren said ruefully. "Have fun you two."

"We shall," Scott replied with a nod.

As Warren wandered off to greet more guests, Jean took Scott's hand.

"Poor Warren. His own Valentines Day party and he and Candy are spending it on opposite sides of the room," she murmured into his ear.

"Yeah," Scott replied. "Kind of makes you wonder that the point of it all is."

In another corner of the party, Marie located Kurt. As soon as he saw her, Kurt gave her a hug.

"Hey," he said. "So you decided to come after all."

Marie shrugged. "Hey, why not? Besides, Wanda wanted to come, although she had ulterior motives."

Kurt chuckled, then snapped his fingers. "Oh, my father's here by the way. He got invited too."

"Ahh, thanks for the notice," Marie replied. "Mine didn't, so there's no worries there at least."

Some time into the party, Kitty located Piotr through one of the many large windows standing on the porch. She found her way out and joined him, rubbing her arms on the way.

"So this is where you ended up," she said. "Aren't you cold?"

Piotr jumped a little at her approach, then relaxed and shook his head.

"I've never really been all that bothered by the cold," he replied and after a moment's paused he took off his jacket and slid it over Kitty's shoulders.

"Aww, thank you," Kitty said, beaming up at him and feeling warmer already. "You're so sweet."

"You were cold, I am not," Piotr answered with a bashful shrug. "It made sense to me."

Kitty smiled and gave him a little nudge. "So whatcha doing out here anyway?"

"I thought I might get away from the crowding in there for awhile," Piotr said, and looked out on the view of the gardens. "Besides, it's beautiful out here."

"Yeah, it is."

And in that moment, Piotr knew what to do. He'd been trying to work up the nerve to ask Kitty out all year, but, aside from dancing at Homecoming, he hadn't acted at all. His efforts to be more assertive weren't working out so well. He kept telling himself he was waiting for the right moment, or that it was too soon after her break up with Lance (even though that was almost a year ago now). It occurred to him that if he was waiting for the right moment, then this was it. It would never be this perfect again.

"Kitty, I was wondering," he said, determined to see this through and not stammer or falter. "Would you go out with me?"

Kitty's face lit up.

"What like, on a date?" she asked coyly. "Or as, y'know, your girlfriend?"

"Both?" Piotr asked hopefully.

Kitty giggled and gave him a hug. "I'd love to. Both of them."

Piotr hugged her back, thrilled to pieces. He would have replied, but one of the staff appeared and informed them that they were required inside for an announcement.

Warren took a deep breath as their guests gathered, his hand firmly curled around Candy's. Their parents were close by but not on the makeshift stage with them.

"Thank you all for coming," Warren said when an appropriate lull in the conversation presented itself. "I hope you've all been enjoying yourself. Ahem, well, Candy and I have something really important we want to share with all of you. As of a couple of days ago—on the actual Valentines Day—Candy and I became engaged."

Remy watched as the room erupted in excitement and congratulations. He shook his head and casually made his way towards the door. There were definite advantages of coming alone on his motorcycle, one was not having to concern himself with other people when he wanted to leave.

While Remy waited impatiently for the valet to come back with his motorcycle, Warren appeared in the anteroom behind him. Remy raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you have well wishing to receive?" Remy asked drolly.

"Yeah, but then I saw you trying to leave without saying goodbye," Warren replied. "I hear you're due for some well wishing yourself."

Remy folded him arms and looked away. "A little bird told you, huh?"

"A tall bird," Warren said, "with fiery red hair, erm feathers."

Remy snorted.

"Look, ahh," Warren went on, eyeing him speculatively. "If you need a job or something—"

"I'm fine," Remy replied tersely. "Family business. You know the drill."

"Right, but umm, I mean...if you need a job."

Remy paused and looked back at Warren. Warren looked back at him. Remy smirked.

"Merci for the offer, mon ami, but I ain't leaving my pregnant fiancée at the alter," he said.

"Just thought I'd make the offer. The same bird mentioned she didn't think you were happy about it," Warren said.

"I'm not, but there are some things you just can't change," Remy replied and regarded Warren seriously for a moment. He nodded towards the way back inside. "You sure about getting married? I mean, you're not much older than me. How do you know Candy's even 'the one' if such a thing exists?"

Warren shrugged. "I just do."

"Yeah but how do you know?" Remy persisted. "I know you're all 'high school sweethearts' and stuff, but Xavier's is a small school and all. How do you know you're not going to meet someone else in college or something?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I want to wait till after we're done with college before tying the knot but I think Candy has other plans for us. I'm going to do whatever she wants," Warren replied with a shrug, "but it's okay 'cause I love Candy... and not even...not even a supermodel with a sexy English accent could lure me away from her."

"A sexy English accent?"

"What? You think women are the only ones who find foreign accents attractive?" Warren asked as the valet returned.

Remy grinned and gave a half shrug.

"Anyway," Warren went on as the valet handed Remy his keys. "I hope things work out for you."

Remy gave a nod as he backed towards the door. "Same to you."

Warren and Remy departed and the party carried on. The time for the rest of the students to depart lest they be late for curfew arrived, and Warren, Candy, Kurt, and their former classmates came out to bid them farewell. They piled back into the three cars and Jean, Scott, and Sam drove everyone back to the school.

In the student parking lot, after everyone piled out and made their way to the dorms, John sidled up to Wanda. He held out a little parcel wrapped in serviettes.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"Open it," John replied smugly.

Wanda gave him a curious gaze but took the parcel, pulling away some of the white paper. A grin appeared on her face when she saw two of the Crostoli inside.

"You are the best boyfriend ever," she informed him.

John chuckled. "Happy Valentines Day."

That evening, after curfew but before lights out, Remy, John, Pietro, Lance, Todd, Evan, and Ray went about their pre-bedtime routine. For some this meant showering before changing into their night clothes. For most, this also included brushing their teeth.

Normally something as mundane as brushing teeth wouldn't be worth commenting on. On this particular occasion, however, it led to discussion over the breakfast table the next morning.

"So, anyone else end up brushing their teeth with a salty toothbrush?" John asked conversationally.

"Yep," said Lance.

"Is that was that was?" asked Evan. "I wondered why my toothpaste tasted funny."

"Yeah, me too," said Pietro. "Man, I thought they'd given up."

"And me," said Ray with a nod.

"Not me," Todd said smugly. "I don't brush my teeth."

"No wonder your breath stinks," Remy said, giving Todd a pointed look.

"Does not," Todd objected.

"Yes it really does," Remy insisted. "You're not going to be kissing any girls with breath like yours."

"It does not," Todd said, then went about holding his hand up to his mouth and nose in an effort to try and smell his own breath.

"Look," Remy said, leaning forward on the table and looking at the other Brothers seriously. "I have an idea for a return prank, but it's going to be a group effort. We may have to get the girls in on this one, 'cause it'll probably take us a few hours to do all seven rooms, so we'll need to keep them good and occupied."

"Oh yeah?" asked John gleefully. "What did you have in mind?"

Remy told them in a hushed voice so not to be overheard by another table. There was some giggles and a few "I don't get it", along with John's diabolical evil cackling of delight.

"The prep for the prank itself won't take very long but we might want to put some thought into organising a good distraction—or distractions," Remy went on. "And waiting a couple of weeks before striking will help to lure them into a false sense of security."

"This is gonna rock," John said.

That week in gym class, Logan and Victor switched to sparring. Logan opened with a demonstration with Marie, using only the very basic moves that they'd been teaching the rest of the X-Men before. They went through the dos and don'ts, Logan making it abundantly clear that they weren't actually supposed to try and hurt each other and above all they had to respect their opponent. Logan personally hated that the kids were rushed into sparring like this but unfortunately he couldn't change anything unless Victor agreed, and Victor didn't.

For sparring practice they had five blue mats out on their half of the gymnasium, one for each pair of sparring partners. Logan and Marie would observe and periodically stop an individual match to correct something or otherwise offer additional instruction. Logan was pleased to see Marie took her job as his assistant very seriously and she treated her teammates with every bit of courtesy and respect he expected of her. She didn't make fun of anyone or act condescending about their lower skill level in any way. Logan couldn't have been prouder.

It was during one of the sparring sessions that Remy was paired up with John. John was doing his usual thing of clowning around but in such a way Victor wouldn't really notice if he had a casual look.

"You know," Remy murmured. "If you put in even half as much effort into learning this stuff as you do trying to hide that you're not learning this stuff, you might actually be pretty good."

"Yeah, well, we're not all into beating the crap out of other people," John replied while mimicking some of the moves that Victor had taught them earlier.

"Technically we're doing self defence, which is the art of avoiding having the crap beat out of you."

"Semantics."

"Uh huh." Remy eyed his friend studiously. "And what are you going to do if someone does come after you for real one day?"

John glared at him. "Someone has."

Abruptly Remy remembered what he, Marie, and Wanda had learned about John's birth father the year before. He felt bad for forgetting but at the same time he felt like John had just proved his point.

"Right, forgot about that," Remy said, then shrugged. "What are you gonna do if he shows up again?"

John paled at the very idea. "Don't even go there."

"What? You're not going to just let him, are you?" Remy asked, walking right up to him.

John stepped back, all pretence of sparring gone. "Don't."

"You wanna run? Then you run. But you've gotta escape first."

John always did hate sparring with Remy but this was probably the worst session he'd ever had with him. Remy was quite capable of coming across as menacing at the drop of a hat and while the logical part of John knew that Remy really wasn't interested in hurting him, the rest of him was in a panic.

Remy strode across the mat and grabbed John's wrist. Alarms bells went off in John's mind and he pulled back, putting all his weight into it, trying desperately to free himself. Remy gave him a look as if to say "really?"

"Letgoletgoletgo," John said, almost falling on the floor in his efforts to get away.

"I will, just as soon as you make me," Remy replied, eyeing his friend like he'd suddenly gone insane. "Would you stand up so I can show you how to get out of this?"

"What's going on here?" Victor demanded.

As Victor stalked over, John shrank even further back, finding him to be even more menacing than Remy. Remy, realising Victor wouldn't know or care, let go of John's wrist, sending him sprawling back on the mat (but it was a short fall since he was already mostly there).

"We were roleplaying," Remy said, determined to take the attention off his friend. "I'm into that sort of thing. Me and the fiancée do it all the time. Why, the night our baby was conceived we were pretending I was a thief who had broken into an assassins house to rob the place and got caught. It was fairly hot. And come to think of it, I think that the sai through the condom might have been the cause of the problem..."

"I don't need to know the details of your sex life, Cajun," Victor growled at him.

"Need or want?" Remy asked cheekily.

"Get back to practising before I give you both detention," Victor replied, glaring at him.

Remy saluted. "Sir, yes sir."

"Good attitude, keep it up."

Wanda forcefully slammed Remy up against the wall of one of the school hallways between classes later on. The attack took him by some surprise, coming from such an unlikely quarter.

"Désolé, ma chère, but I'm taken," he said. "And so are you for that matter. Though I guess I can't blame you for—"

"What the hell did you do to John?" Wanda demanded, thumping him in the chest with her fist, her eyes blazing with rage.

"You'll have to be more specific..."

"In gym!" she snapped at him. "He's been freaked out all day and it's all your fault."

"I was just trying to help him, I promise," Remy replied calmly. "You'd think for all the years he's been here, he'd have picked up a few more defensive and evasion techniques, but apparently not. I was trying to teach him some when he flipped out."

"Yeah well—" Wanda cut herself off as Jean and Kitty came wandering down the hall, chatting about a double date they had planned that weekend. Jean and Kitty gave them an odd look but didn't stop to question and continued on their way.

"You really freaked him out," Wanda said, a little quieter and then noticed that Remy was looking towards Jean and Kitty as they walked around the corner. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

Remy rubbed his chest after Wanda poked him hard on the breast bone.

"I didn't know he'd react like that," Remy replied absently. "I promise I'll apologise."

"Apologise tomorrow. He needs a chance to calm down, you jackass," Wanda snapped at him.

"Will do. Can you do me a favour?" Remy asked and went on before Wanda could respond. "Tell him, I've figured out the little distraction we need for the prank."

Continue onto JayCee's RedGold's Gym Class Anti-Heroes – Chapter 11