All right, the title contest will continue, but for now, I'm putting up the first chapter. Before I start, I just want to let you all know that this is, of course, an AU, and as it's *my* little Alternate Universe, there will be some minor discrepancies from the show, and from other people's fics. For instance, the fact that this takes place just before _The Hex Factor_ would be a discrepancy. Thanks for reading this note, and enjoy the story! :D
P.S. I've had an idea to maybe put little "contests" at the end of some chapters, so be on the lookout for them in the notes at the beginning and end of each chapter.
***
Rogue was glowering. That test that morning had *not* gone well, and a very impressive scowl was on her face as a result of it. Not that anybody noticed, anyway, since Rogue was usually glowering. That just made Rogue glower even more. No one appreciated her skill at glowering. Her scowl deepened even further until she was distracted by some unusual activity across the table. She let her scowl slip as she watched her friend Kitty do something rather bizarre: she was looking, but pretending *not* to look, at the Brotherhood table. This was so unusual that Rogue felt compelled to investigate.
Not disturbing anyone else's conversations as she did, Rogue walked around the table and slid smoothly into the seat next to her roommate. "Whatcha lookin' at?" Rogue inquired.
Kitty startled, shocked out of her reverie of sneaking peeks at the Brotherhood table and not eating her food. "Uh, nothing, I mean, like...Pietro," she admitted.
"I see. May I ask why?"
"Go ahead," Kitty said, mildly amused.
Rogue got the joke, nodded a little without cracking a smile, and went with it. "Why?"
"Well, like, something happened this morning..."
"Yeah?" Rogue prompted, her interest peaked.
"Well, it, like, all started when I was..."
***
Flashback to that morning
***
"Oh, man, I'm, like, gonna be late," Kitty said worriedly to herself. She had had some trouble getting into school early that morning, what with Kurt bugging her, and all the bathrooms taken, and the little things about mornings that tended to add up. Checking a timepiece that she kept in her pocket, she realized she had less than three minutes to get to class. Picking up the pace a little bit, she made a beeline for her locker, only to suddenly -
Whoomph!
- crash into Quicksilver, who was heading top speed in the opposite direction.
"Hey,watchwhereyou'regoing,youcouldhurtsomebody - Oh. Sorry, Kitty." (Author's note: from now on, Pietro-speak will be normally spaced. And, yes, he did slow down when he realized it was Kitty. Thank you for your cooperation.) Kitty's backpack had cushioned her fall, but she was still a little jarred. She watched with wide eyes as Pietro reached down a hand to help her up. She accepted it without even thinking about it, and he pulled her to her feet, asking "Are you okay?"
Instantly she noticed the blush that was creeping across his face. Nodding, she felt her own face heating up. _Damn hormones,_ Kitty thought, her mind too much of a blank to think anything else. "Yeah. I'm, like, fine."
"Uh, well, sorry about that, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going," he said, brushing the dust off of her with care. It was only then that Kitty realized how slowly he was speaking compared to his normal pace. "Well, if you're okay, I'll just be..." She nodded again, and he sped off, faster than usual, still blushing. Kitty just watched him go, a puzzled expression on her face.
***
End flashback (Author's Note: Whee! Flashbacks in the first chapter!)
***
"Hm," Rogue said, thinking. "Well, that *is* odd." She paused. "You want my advice?"
"Like, yeah!" Kitty focused all her attention on Rogue, her lunch long since forgotten.
"Gather more info before you rush into anything," Rogue advised, looking down at Kitty. It was obvious what she was implying.
"'Rush into' - Rogue, I don't want to go out with him! Geez!" Kitty flushed a deep scarlet, and she fought to keep up eye contact with her friend. "I just want to - find out what he's all about, you know?"
"Ah, I see. You want to spy on him."
"Well, yeah. No! No, I don't want to spy on him!" She made it sound so awful. Kitty was beginning to regret having started this conversation until she saw the mischievous glint in Rogue's eye. "I mean," she said conspiratorially, "yeah, I wanna spy on 'im."
"Well, then, the first thing you've gotta do is gather information on 'im through his friends. Or people who know him."
"Okay," Kitty replied. Then, without pausing, "So what do you know about him?"
Rogue blinked in surprise, then said with a little distaste: "Me?"
"Yeah, you, like, lived with him for a little bit when you were in the Brotherhood, right?" Rogue, regaining her bearings in the conversation, nodded slightly and shifted her position in her seat. "So, like, of what you've seen, what's he like?"
She actually gave it some careful thought. "Well...what I've seen is very much like what you've seen. I mean, he's very loud, and, well, obnoxious, but...well, he doesn't exactly hand out information about his personal life, does he? There's always the bragging about his 'conquests,' and the way he stares into those mirrors all day long..." She scoffed. "But he never says anything about his schoolwork or his social life to anyone else. At least, that's what I've noticed."
Kitty absorbed all this, then finally nodded and turned back to her food. "So we know that much about him." Rogue could almost see her adding it to her mental list. Kitty's current project. Well, at least it would get her mind off of computers for awhile. That late-night clicking of keys was *really* starting to get on Rogue's nerves. Hacking at all hours of the day and night...
"Yup." She settled back into her lunch as well. "We know that much about him."
***
All were asleep in the Xavier Institute...all except one, that is. Kitty sat upright in her bed, back ramrod straight, thinking about her investigation into Quicksilver. What should be her next move? She'd gathered all the information she could from Rogue, who had finally gotten fed up with Kitty's questions in between classes and had told her to ask someone else, but who now? Who else knew anything about Pietro? Well, the Professor, for one, but he was always keeping secrets about people they knew from them; why should he reveal what he knew about Pietro to Kitty? She frowned, running her edge of her bedspread through her fingers. There was no one except Lance to ask, really. The other Brotherhood members had never really been that interested in talking to Kitty, but...what was she thinking, talking to *Lance* again? No way. No way, no how.
No, she'd just have to get her information from another source. But what? Well, she did have those study halls this week...
What was she thinking?! Spying?
Not spying, just getting a little insider information. Kitty quirked her head in surprise as she realized she was actually nearly convinced to go ahead and do it. She set her jaw. After all, why shouldn't she? Nothing was really going to come of it, it was all in good fun - and why not take a risk? Those were hardly commonplace in her little world. Situating herself in bed for a good night's sleep, Kitty resolved to take this risk, unneccessary as it was, and spy on Pietro.
***
There you go. The first chapter. What do you think? I have the first bit of plot basically worked out, and I've decided to spend less time on the romance (but still plenty! About, say...four or five chapters, all about this size or larger), and more on the mushy stuff and rocky times to come. You know, fluff and hardships, any romance fanfic writer's dream...
Sorry this chapter was so long in coming, but I wanted to write a longer one, and I just couldn't find the time to finish it. So, what we have is a third of a chapter, here. But it's cool, right? :D
Now, what I need from you guys is feedback. I know there's not much here, but I want to know what you think of it. I've decided to make Rogue my third character for the story, as she came in second to Kitty (and besides, klucky thought I should do it). I could use some feedback about her, too. Do you want a second romance? If so, with whom (and I am *not* doing Gambit with her, that is *so* overdone as a second romance in a story)? Give me any thoughts or ideas you have, but remember people, *constructive* criticism is the key. I've noticed that if writers are insulted about their works, they tend to write less. So if you have something bad to say, try to break it gently.
Now...give me your thoughts and opinions and I'll start to write the next chapter! :D
P.S. I've had an idea to maybe put little "contests" at the end of some chapters, so be on the lookout for them in the notes at the beginning and end of each chapter.
***
Rogue was glowering. That test that morning had *not* gone well, and a very impressive scowl was on her face as a result of it. Not that anybody noticed, anyway, since Rogue was usually glowering. That just made Rogue glower even more. No one appreciated her skill at glowering. Her scowl deepened even further until she was distracted by some unusual activity across the table. She let her scowl slip as she watched her friend Kitty do something rather bizarre: she was looking, but pretending *not* to look, at the Brotherhood table. This was so unusual that Rogue felt compelled to investigate.
Not disturbing anyone else's conversations as she did, Rogue walked around the table and slid smoothly into the seat next to her roommate. "Whatcha lookin' at?" Rogue inquired.
Kitty startled, shocked out of her reverie of sneaking peeks at the Brotherhood table and not eating her food. "Uh, nothing, I mean, like...Pietro," she admitted.
"I see. May I ask why?"
"Go ahead," Kitty said, mildly amused.
Rogue got the joke, nodded a little without cracking a smile, and went with it. "Why?"
"Well, like, something happened this morning..."
"Yeah?" Rogue prompted, her interest peaked.
"Well, it, like, all started when I was..."
***
Flashback to that morning
***
"Oh, man, I'm, like, gonna be late," Kitty said worriedly to herself. She had had some trouble getting into school early that morning, what with Kurt bugging her, and all the bathrooms taken, and the little things about mornings that tended to add up. Checking a timepiece that she kept in her pocket, she realized she had less than three minutes to get to class. Picking up the pace a little bit, she made a beeline for her locker, only to suddenly -
Whoomph!
- crash into Quicksilver, who was heading top speed in the opposite direction.
"Hey,watchwhereyou'regoing,youcouldhurtsomebody - Oh. Sorry, Kitty." (Author's note: from now on, Pietro-speak will be normally spaced. And, yes, he did slow down when he realized it was Kitty. Thank you for your cooperation.) Kitty's backpack had cushioned her fall, but she was still a little jarred. She watched with wide eyes as Pietro reached down a hand to help her up. She accepted it without even thinking about it, and he pulled her to her feet, asking "Are you okay?"
Instantly she noticed the blush that was creeping across his face. Nodding, she felt her own face heating up. _Damn hormones,_ Kitty thought, her mind too much of a blank to think anything else. "Yeah. I'm, like, fine."
"Uh, well, sorry about that, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going," he said, brushing the dust off of her with care. It was only then that Kitty realized how slowly he was speaking compared to his normal pace. "Well, if you're okay, I'll just be..." She nodded again, and he sped off, faster than usual, still blushing. Kitty just watched him go, a puzzled expression on her face.
***
End flashback (Author's Note: Whee! Flashbacks in the first chapter!)
***
"Hm," Rogue said, thinking. "Well, that *is* odd." She paused. "You want my advice?"
"Like, yeah!" Kitty focused all her attention on Rogue, her lunch long since forgotten.
"Gather more info before you rush into anything," Rogue advised, looking down at Kitty. It was obvious what she was implying.
"'Rush into' - Rogue, I don't want to go out with him! Geez!" Kitty flushed a deep scarlet, and she fought to keep up eye contact with her friend. "I just want to - find out what he's all about, you know?"
"Ah, I see. You want to spy on him."
"Well, yeah. No! No, I don't want to spy on him!" She made it sound so awful. Kitty was beginning to regret having started this conversation until she saw the mischievous glint in Rogue's eye. "I mean," she said conspiratorially, "yeah, I wanna spy on 'im."
"Well, then, the first thing you've gotta do is gather information on 'im through his friends. Or people who know him."
"Okay," Kitty replied. Then, without pausing, "So what do you know about him?"
Rogue blinked in surprise, then said with a little distaste: "Me?"
"Yeah, you, like, lived with him for a little bit when you were in the Brotherhood, right?" Rogue, regaining her bearings in the conversation, nodded slightly and shifted her position in her seat. "So, like, of what you've seen, what's he like?"
She actually gave it some careful thought. "Well...what I've seen is very much like what you've seen. I mean, he's very loud, and, well, obnoxious, but...well, he doesn't exactly hand out information about his personal life, does he? There's always the bragging about his 'conquests,' and the way he stares into those mirrors all day long..." She scoffed. "But he never says anything about his schoolwork or his social life to anyone else. At least, that's what I've noticed."
Kitty absorbed all this, then finally nodded and turned back to her food. "So we know that much about him." Rogue could almost see her adding it to her mental list. Kitty's current project. Well, at least it would get her mind off of computers for awhile. That late-night clicking of keys was *really* starting to get on Rogue's nerves. Hacking at all hours of the day and night...
"Yup." She settled back into her lunch as well. "We know that much about him."
***
All were asleep in the Xavier Institute...all except one, that is. Kitty sat upright in her bed, back ramrod straight, thinking about her investigation into Quicksilver. What should be her next move? She'd gathered all the information she could from Rogue, who had finally gotten fed up with Kitty's questions in between classes and had told her to ask someone else, but who now? Who else knew anything about Pietro? Well, the Professor, for one, but he was always keeping secrets about people they knew from them; why should he reveal what he knew about Pietro to Kitty? She frowned, running her edge of her bedspread through her fingers. There was no one except Lance to ask, really. The other Brotherhood members had never really been that interested in talking to Kitty, but...what was she thinking, talking to *Lance* again? No way. No way, no how.
No, she'd just have to get her information from another source. But what? Well, she did have those study halls this week...
What was she thinking?! Spying?
Not spying, just getting a little insider information. Kitty quirked her head in surprise as she realized she was actually nearly convinced to go ahead and do it. She set her jaw. After all, why shouldn't she? Nothing was really going to come of it, it was all in good fun - and why not take a risk? Those were hardly commonplace in her little world. Situating herself in bed for a good night's sleep, Kitty resolved to take this risk, unneccessary as it was, and spy on Pietro.
***
There you go. The first chapter. What do you think? I have the first bit of plot basically worked out, and I've decided to spend less time on the romance (but still plenty! About, say...four or five chapters, all about this size or larger), and more on the mushy stuff and rocky times to come. You know, fluff and hardships, any romance fanfic writer's dream...
Sorry this chapter was so long in coming, but I wanted to write a longer one, and I just couldn't find the time to finish it. So, what we have is a third of a chapter, here. But it's cool, right? :D
Now, what I need from you guys is feedback. I know there's not much here, but I want to know what you think of it. I've decided to make Rogue my third character for the story, as she came in second to Kitty (and besides, klucky thought I should do it). I could use some feedback about her, too. Do you want a second romance? If so, with whom (and I am *not* doing Gambit with her, that is *so* overdone as a second romance in a story)? Give me any thoughts or ideas you have, but remember people, *constructive* criticism is the key. I've noticed that if writers are insulted about their works, they tend to write less. So if you have something bad to say, try to break it gently.
Now...give me your thoughts and opinions and I'll start to write the next chapter! :D