Cooking Lessons
Shadow Knight
Chapter 5: Knocking on Danger's Door
Disclaimer: Alas. . . .I can honestly say I don't own the show
Ah. . . .back again. Seems weird. I haven't done a new chapter in F-O-R-E-V- E-R. I feel kinda bad. . . but that's why I'm writing this chapter! YEAH! ^_^ Okay. I'll shut up now. Hope you enjoy!
~
#Noise#
~Thoughts~
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
~What a day. . . .~
As a sigh escaped from a pair of darkly painted lips, a black glove reached for the door handle. With a slow twist, the door slowly opened revealing a pale face framed by two moonlight white bangs. Closing her eyes in relief, Rogue quickly made her way into her room and to her bed.
Dropping her towel to the floor, she sat slowly on her bed and seethed slightly through her teeth. Scrubbing the ashes off her skin began to hurt a while ago, and it still did now. As she laid down onto her back, Rogue could feel her reddened skin screaming in pain. Sighing, she carefully laid her scrubbed head onto her pillow.
~Ahhhh. . . . Now Ah can. . . finally. . relax. . .~
#BAM!#
"What the fu-!"
"Hiya Rogue!"
Smiling brightly, Kitty rolled her baby blue eyes toward Rogue. Even as she saw the gothic girl close her eyes and mumble something incoherent through her teeth, she continued her way over to the seething girl, oblivious of her anger. She bounced joyfully on Rogue's bed and giggled merrily. Picking at her nails subconsciously, she carefully peered with a grin outside the corner of her eyes at Rogue.
"Kitty. . . .," Rogue balefully glared at her through thin parts in her hair, her faced bowed downwards, "do ya know how long it took me to wash all that soot off?"
"Um.. . .," Kitty stuttered nervously, not liking the shady glare in Rogue's emerald eyes, ". . . no?"
Shifting forward toward the nervous girl, a thick strand of white hair fell forward and covered Rogue's right eye, making her seem maniacal as she grinned oddly. Kitty smiled back fearfully, not sure of what Rogue meant by her question, but tense all the same. She _really_ didn't like that deadly gleam in her eyes as she crept closer to her.
"Kitty. . .," Rogue mumbled from beneath the dark curtain of hair, "it took me 3 hours to scrub, clean, and rid myself of that that soot. Do ya know how much my skin hurts right now? Do ya have any freaking idea how much Ah want to strangle you right now for doing this to me?!"
Rogue's head flipped up and as Kitty saw the wild look in Rogue's eyes, she stifled a frightened scream. Leaping off her bed, Kitty jumped away fearfully. Rogue simply frowned and laid back on her bed, hissing in pain as her tender skin pressed roughly on the covers. Kitty eyed her wearily as she scooted closer.
"Um. . . sorry, Rogue," she mumbled slightly, embarrassed knowing that she almost peed her pants, "I didn't mean to. . . I mean hey," she laughed uneasily, "I got covered in it too, so it wasn't just you. Ha. . . ha?"
Rogue peered at her through one slanted eye, eyebrow raised in question. "And how long did it take _ya_ to wash?"
"Um. . . . 30 minutes? I just phased through it," she mumbled, looking down at her twiddling thumbs, "and I didn't have any soot on me. . ."
"Well isn't that nice. . . . for ya."
Kitty smiled nervously as she gulped audibly. ". . . Yes?"
Opening both eyes, Rogue looked at Kitty coolly with annoyance written on her face. She looked like she was about to jump up when she stopped and closed her eyes, sighing deeply. Kitty felt a breath of relief exit her as she wiped her forehead slightly.
"Ah wont be teaching ya cooking lessons any more Kitty."
Kitty's eyes snapped open, shocked. "W. . what did you say, Rogue," she asked, her left eye twitching slightly.
Rogue opened her eyes and regarded Kitty indifferently, "Ah said that Ah wouldn't be teaching ya anymore, Kitty."
Kitty's eyes widened as her pink lips formed a sad frown. "Why," she asked quietly.
"It's. . .," Rogue rolled her tongue as if searching for a word, "dangerous for yar health. . . and mine."
Sliding her eyes over to the freshman to see the results of her words, she froze when her eyes came over her. As a broken hiccup issued from Kitty, Rogue didn't need to have x-ray vision to know what her face looked like beneath the shadow of her tilted face. She tensed as Kitty jerked her head up.
Blue orbs were filled with large, droopy tears, threatening to cause a flood. Kitty's small pink lips were formed in a pout where her bottom lip jutted out and shook as a cry slowly made its way up her throat.
It was Kitty's fiercest and deadly attack. . . the puppy dog pout.
Loud pitched cry included.
Staring at the shaking girl with dread, Rogue felt a small prick of fear bite at her. She suddenly blinked when she remembered something. ~Of course!~
Flipping her eyes back to the "powering-up" Kitty, she smiled confidently. "Ya wont win this time, Kitty! Ah'm ready this time!"
Raising a gloved hand, Rogue closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, she felt something foreign swim around in her mind. As she grabbed it mentally, she slowly opened her eyes and grinned. She felt the alien power run through her as she enjoyed the rush. Suddenly, it escaped from her fingertips.
Fingers of ice sprayed from her hand and quickly began forming a solid wall before her, bending to its master's whim. Rogue quickly jerked her fingers upward and guided the icy stream upwards, reaching for the ceiling. Soon, a smooth, thick, ice wall stood before her, winking at her with a shiny sheen.
Opening her eyes, Rogue let the power abate and closed her gloved fist. Eyeing the wall, she smiled. ~Ah'm so glad that Ah was able to absorb Bobby's powers earlier. For once, Logan's Danger Room session came in handy. . .~
Flicking her eyes over to the figure behind the ice wall, she grinned confidently and crossed her arms over her chest. She simply grinned wider as Kitty seemed to blubber slightly, staring at the wall. Oddly, the whining that was growing in her throat didn't seem to stop though. It only grew louder. . . . . and louder. . .
~She. . . She can't. . .no freaking way. . . she can't!~ Rogue's teeth dug into the soft flesh of her bottom lip in concern.
~. . . . . . . Can she?~
#Crack#
"What?!" Rogue span and screwed her eyes upward toward a small crack that appeared in the ice. But it didn't stop there. No, it grew bigger. . . . . . and bigger. . and bigger. . . .
#Crack#
Reaching up her black-gloved hands, Rogue gripped her hair in tight fist, tugging slightly in frustration as her mouth hung open in disbelief. This wasn't right!
~Why does the word hate me so much?~
#CRASH#
Crystal shards fell from the ceiling and littered the floor in jagged pieces of ice. With her hands outspread, Rogue clutched the pieces that had landed in her hands and bowed her head toward the floor. "Phasing isn't yar mutant power Kitty," she mumbled from her hair, clearly disturbed, "It's something else. . . something very scary. ."
Looking up from the cluttered mess, she saw Kitty's small form still standing there, a sad frown growing bigger on the freshman's face. Suddenly, a whirring noise began to grow in Kitty's throat, as her eyes got glassy once again. Rogue's eyes grew wide with fear. Leaping from her bed, she clamped a hand over the girl's parting lips, ready to release her deadly attack.
With her eyes frantic and her body tense, Rogue's voice shook slightly. "Kitty, Ah'll keep teaching ya! Ah would knock ya out, but Ah'd just get in trouble. So please, for the sake of my hearing and sanity, SHUT UP!"
Sad, drooping tears were instantly gone, drying up as if by magic. Her glossy, pink lips turned upward in a happy smile. Grinning widely, Kitty clasped her hands and grinned. "Thanks Rogue! I knew that you would agree with me. I promise I'll try harder and make you and everyone proud!"
With her left eye twitching, Rogue watched Kitty wave happily and phase through the floor. As the last strand of her hair melted beneath the floor, Rogue walked slowly and sat down on her head. Laying back, she closed her eyes and began cursing about sore skin and evil, conniving girls.
A distant voice came calling from down the hall. "Hey Rogue. . ."
Rogue cringed. This was going to be a _long_ day.
~
~Why do I have such a bad feeling ?~
Reaching back, the boy slipped a jittery hand through his long brown hair. Adjusting his shirt, Lance tried to calm his breathing as he slowly approached the X-Mansion, already having jumped over the gate. He patted his side and felt a small box meld in his hand through his pant pocket. With a relieved sigh, Lance made his way up to the door.
Raising a hand, he was about to knock the door when he froze. What would he do if she didn't like it? Would she like it? Crap, he hadn't thought about this. As his mind kept reeling over the terrible consequences, he didn't even notice the presence walking behind him.
"Are you going to stand there all _day_?"
Lance's mind suddenly snapped from all his terrors and he whipped around. Standing before him, shoe tapping impatiently on the ground, was the one person he didn't need to see right now.
~Why me?~
Pietro.
"What the heck are you doing here, Pietro?" Lance didn't need this to add to his frustrations and he certainly didn't need the speed demon pestering him.
His expression changing to seriousness, Pietro crossed his arms over his chest and spoke in a gravely voice, "Oh, I just came to tell Kitty that I am officially the father of her baby."
#Twitch#
"WHAT?!! $%$*&#?"
Tears pearled out of the sides of Pietro's eyes from laughter as he watched Lance fume and stomp angrily up to him, snarling through his teeth with murder in his eyes. Pietro was snickering so hard that he even let Lance grasp the front of his shirt and lift him off the ground. When Lance was about to punch him, that's when Pietro soon quieted down and wiped the tears from his merry eyes.
"Oh man Lance, if you could have seen yourself. . . . . hahahahah. . . . .you're so gullible!"
Lance stared him sternly in the eyes as he lowered the laughing boy, trying to make him feel terrible. Unfortunately, it didn't work too well.
He only laughed some more.
"Would you shut up already?!" Lance sighed and ran a flustered hand through his hair, trying to calm himself.
Pietro slowly calmed down and walked to the mansion's thick wooden doors. "What are you doing," Lance seethed, "I'm here for Kitty, just go annoy someone else!"
As Pietro's slim knuckles rapped on the door with rapid speed, he turned his metallic blue eyes toward Lance. With an impish grin on his face, he simply replied, "Why'd I wanna waste my time on you? I'm here to see my dear Rogue."
When the door cracked open, Lance found himself facing a teenage girl, his mouth still wide with shock from Pietro's reply. When he turned to see Pietro, he was gone, a steady wind ruffling his hair slightly. As the girl came closer, she observed him carefully, trying to see what was wrong with him. "Lance? Like, are you okay?"
"Uh. . . . yeah. . ," Lance stuttered slightly, shifting back into focus as his eyes traveled over to the teenager, "I'm fine Kitty. . . . I think."
Kitty smiled and took his large hand in hers, practically dragging him further into the house and down a hall. "Come on Lance! I'm learning how to bake brownies! You wanna, like, be my test subject?"
Suddenly, Lance's stomach churned in horror as he remembered her previous 'testing' with muffins. He felt a sudden urge to run away as he smiled nervously at Kitty. "Um. . . .," he mumbled, trying to find a way out, "I was thinking we could go somewhere else and just. . . . .uh. . . go somewhere away from the kitchen."
With a sudden jerk, Kitty's footsteps stopped and Lance had to do all he could just so he didn't bump into her. She turned around, and he suddenly feared the worst. Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, he prepared for his doom and the violent outburst from Kitty.
"Lance? I'm not going to hurt you."
Opening his eyes, Lance quickly tried to cover up his fear. He quickly began brushing his sleeve nonchalantly as he could. "Uh. . . I knew you wouldn't. . . um. . . .you wanna go somewhere _else_?"
Smiling deeply, Kitty stood on the tips of her toes and quickly pecked Lance's cheek in a feathery kiss. Backing down, she saw his face flooded in a mask of scarlet. Grabbing Lance's hand, she proceeded down the hallway, half dragging him along as he stumbled drunkenly.
"If you be my food taster, I'll give you another kiss. Each dish equals one kiss. Deal?"
"Deal," Lance mumbled, still stunned by Kitty's first kiss.
He had no idea what he was getting into. . . .
~
~Why is the world so cruel to me?~
Flicking a strand of brown goop from her white streaks, Rogue sighed deeply. Reaching up she combed through her hair with nimble fingers, searching for anymore of Kitty's "experimental" brownies. Finding none, she dropped her hands and looked to the door of the mansion's kitchen. ~Where in the world could Kitty be? Ah know it wouldn't take her this long to answer the door. . . . . ~
Shrugging her shoulders in defeat, she looked around for something to do. Suddenly, her eyes lit up when she saw a small radio near the wall. Reaching over, she muttered out loud, "Well at least it's something."
Flipping the switch on the radio, a blast of music sang out from the speakers. Before Rogue knew it, she felt herself become entranced by the song, her eyes closing and her hips swaying to the bumping bass of the music. Raising her hands slightly, she let the music's beat flow over her in liquid waves.
Hips swaying, and her eyes closed, humming quietly to the music, she didn't notice the presence creeping up on her. Even when she felt the wind brush her cheeks and lift her hair, she was too entranced by the music.
Her eyes suddenly widened and her humming was cut off as a pair of arms snaked around her waist and moved with her. She stiffened as she heard a husky whisper breath on her ear.
"How's it going Roguey?"
Jerking from the stranger's embrace, Rogue turned abruptly and stuttered as she saw the smirking face. As the figure's metallic blue eyes bounced merrily, his pale fingers wiggled in a silent "hello."
"Pietro?! What are ya doing here?!"
With a growing grin on his face, Pietro closed his eyes suavely and made a pouting face. "Aw. . . Roguey doesn't want to see little, old me?"
Batting her eyes irritably, Rogue sighed and slipped on her gloves from her pockets. "Pietro. What are ya doing here? Ah don't have time for yar games right now. Ah have to teach Kitty how to cook right now."
Pietro smiled and quickly sidled up next to Rogue, fingering her hair lightly between his pale fingers. She jerked away from him roughly and looked at him with a slight frown. "Don't worry Roguey," he grinned from his position near the counter, "I don't think that you'll have any more cooking lessons with Kitty today. . . ."
Rogue flipped around from her place near the stove and looked at Pietro with a questioning glance. "What do ya mean?"
"Exactly what I said," Pietro grinned deeply at the goth girl, "she isn't going to need any cooking lessons. She has a visitor today. Lance if you must know."
Flicking a finger across the stove switch, Rogue stood up and smiled. Turning, she mumbled, "Great! Now Ah can get out of here. Bye Pietro."
Seeing her wave her hand, Pietro jumped up and, using his super speed, stopped in front of her. Rogue looked surprised at first, but then quickly annoyed. "What do ya want, Pietro?"
Pietro smiled and crossed his arms as he leaned on the door's frame. "How about," he started, "you don't go back to your room, but instead come with me?"
He watched her eyes widen in surprise, her eyebrows raised. With a sudden grin, she asked, "But, where would we go? Hmmm?"
She watched pleasantly as Pietro flustered slightly. A thin blush was working across his cheeks. "Um. . . ," he stuttered, "how about to a movie?"
Putting her hand to her chin, Rogue seemed to think it over. "Yeah, Ah guess that'd be all right. Sure."
"Great! Let's," Pietro happily shouted, grabbing Rogue's gloved hand, "go now!"
Rogue tried to shout out a reply, but in a flash they were gone.
~
~This can't end well.~
When the Kitty twirled around and looked at him, Lance panicked for a moment, thinking that she had developed some new powers. When she said nothing and simply opened a door, he exhaled deeply.
"All right Lance," Kitty said, waving her hand around to introduce the kitchen quarters, "this is the kitchen. Now how about we try those brownies, shall we?"
"Um. . . right."
As she led him to a seat, Lance began to feel a great sense of dread overwhelm him. He watched her anxiously as she pulled a pan from oven. As soon as she turned, a foul odor hit his nose, and he tried to hold his breath. ~What is that?!~
Picking up one of the "brownies", Kitty walked over to Lance. "Here we go Lance," Kitty said as Lance eyed the bubbling contents of the brownie warily, "For, like, every brownie you eat, I'll give you a kiss. Okay? And if you finish them all, well. . .um. . .I'll go on a date with you. Deal?"
"Um. . ..," Lance started, not sure of the consequences for eating the bubbling mess that seemed to be. . . moving. . ., "deal?"
"Great! Let's start," Kitty merrily cheered.
Lance held his breath and took the brownie. ~Bottoms up. . .I guess.~
Then he bit into the brownie.
~
OKAY! I think I'm gonna stop now. Phew! That was LONG! I hope you liked it though! ^_^ It took me quite a while to finish this. Thanks a bunch for all of those who have reviewed and read this story. It means a whole bunch to me.
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!: Rogue and Pietro's "date" to the movies, and the consequences of Kitty's "interesting" brownies. . . .brrr. . ._
P.S. For the review asking about the blowtorch thing. . .um . . no. I don't use a blowtorch to start a barbecue, I just wanted to use it in the story. ^_^ Thanks for asking though.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!! Ciao. ^_~
Shadow Knight
Chapter 5: Knocking on Danger's Door
Disclaimer: Alas. . . .I can honestly say I don't own the show
Ah. . . .back again. Seems weird. I haven't done a new chapter in F-O-R-E-V- E-R. I feel kinda bad. . . but that's why I'm writing this chapter! YEAH! ^_^ Okay. I'll shut up now. Hope you enjoy!
~
#Noise#
~Thoughts~
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
~What a day. . . .~
As a sigh escaped from a pair of darkly painted lips, a black glove reached for the door handle. With a slow twist, the door slowly opened revealing a pale face framed by two moonlight white bangs. Closing her eyes in relief, Rogue quickly made her way into her room and to her bed.
Dropping her towel to the floor, she sat slowly on her bed and seethed slightly through her teeth. Scrubbing the ashes off her skin began to hurt a while ago, and it still did now. As she laid down onto her back, Rogue could feel her reddened skin screaming in pain. Sighing, she carefully laid her scrubbed head onto her pillow.
~Ahhhh. . . . Now Ah can. . . finally. . relax. . .~
#BAM!#
"What the fu-!"
"Hiya Rogue!"
Smiling brightly, Kitty rolled her baby blue eyes toward Rogue. Even as she saw the gothic girl close her eyes and mumble something incoherent through her teeth, she continued her way over to the seething girl, oblivious of her anger. She bounced joyfully on Rogue's bed and giggled merrily. Picking at her nails subconsciously, she carefully peered with a grin outside the corner of her eyes at Rogue.
"Kitty. . . .," Rogue balefully glared at her through thin parts in her hair, her faced bowed downwards, "do ya know how long it took me to wash all that soot off?"
"Um.. . .," Kitty stuttered nervously, not liking the shady glare in Rogue's emerald eyes, ". . . no?"
Shifting forward toward the nervous girl, a thick strand of white hair fell forward and covered Rogue's right eye, making her seem maniacal as she grinned oddly. Kitty smiled back fearfully, not sure of what Rogue meant by her question, but tense all the same. She _really_ didn't like that deadly gleam in her eyes as she crept closer to her.
"Kitty. . .," Rogue mumbled from beneath the dark curtain of hair, "it took me 3 hours to scrub, clean, and rid myself of that that soot. Do ya know how much my skin hurts right now? Do ya have any freaking idea how much Ah want to strangle you right now for doing this to me?!"
Rogue's head flipped up and as Kitty saw the wild look in Rogue's eyes, she stifled a frightened scream. Leaping off her bed, Kitty jumped away fearfully. Rogue simply frowned and laid back on her bed, hissing in pain as her tender skin pressed roughly on the covers. Kitty eyed her wearily as she scooted closer.
"Um. . . sorry, Rogue," she mumbled slightly, embarrassed knowing that she almost peed her pants, "I didn't mean to. . . I mean hey," she laughed uneasily, "I got covered in it too, so it wasn't just you. Ha. . . ha?"
Rogue peered at her through one slanted eye, eyebrow raised in question. "And how long did it take _ya_ to wash?"
"Um. . . . 30 minutes? I just phased through it," she mumbled, looking down at her twiddling thumbs, "and I didn't have any soot on me. . ."
"Well isn't that nice. . . . for ya."
Kitty smiled nervously as she gulped audibly. ". . . Yes?"
Opening both eyes, Rogue looked at Kitty coolly with annoyance written on her face. She looked like she was about to jump up when she stopped and closed her eyes, sighing deeply. Kitty felt a breath of relief exit her as she wiped her forehead slightly.
"Ah wont be teaching ya cooking lessons any more Kitty."
Kitty's eyes snapped open, shocked. "W. . what did you say, Rogue," she asked, her left eye twitching slightly.
Rogue opened her eyes and regarded Kitty indifferently, "Ah said that Ah wouldn't be teaching ya anymore, Kitty."
Kitty's eyes widened as her pink lips formed a sad frown. "Why," she asked quietly.
"It's. . .," Rogue rolled her tongue as if searching for a word, "dangerous for yar health. . . and mine."
Sliding her eyes over to the freshman to see the results of her words, she froze when her eyes came over her. As a broken hiccup issued from Kitty, Rogue didn't need to have x-ray vision to know what her face looked like beneath the shadow of her tilted face. She tensed as Kitty jerked her head up.
Blue orbs were filled with large, droopy tears, threatening to cause a flood. Kitty's small pink lips were formed in a pout where her bottom lip jutted out and shook as a cry slowly made its way up her throat.
It was Kitty's fiercest and deadly attack. . . the puppy dog pout.
Loud pitched cry included.
Staring at the shaking girl with dread, Rogue felt a small prick of fear bite at her. She suddenly blinked when she remembered something. ~Of course!~
Flipping her eyes back to the "powering-up" Kitty, she smiled confidently. "Ya wont win this time, Kitty! Ah'm ready this time!"
Raising a gloved hand, Rogue closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, she felt something foreign swim around in her mind. As she grabbed it mentally, she slowly opened her eyes and grinned. She felt the alien power run through her as she enjoyed the rush. Suddenly, it escaped from her fingertips.
Fingers of ice sprayed from her hand and quickly began forming a solid wall before her, bending to its master's whim. Rogue quickly jerked her fingers upward and guided the icy stream upwards, reaching for the ceiling. Soon, a smooth, thick, ice wall stood before her, winking at her with a shiny sheen.
Opening her eyes, Rogue let the power abate and closed her gloved fist. Eyeing the wall, she smiled. ~Ah'm so glad that Ah was able to absorb Bobby's powers earlier. For once, Logan's Danger Room session came in handy. . .~
Flicking her eyes over to the figure behind the ice wall, she grinned confidently and crossed her arms over her chest. She simply grinned wider as Kitty seemed to blubber slightly, staring at the wall. Oddly, the whining that was growing in her throat didn't seem to stop though. It only grew louder. . . . . and louder. . .
~She. . . She can't. . .no freaking way. . . she can't!~ Rogue's teeth dug into the soft flesh of her bottom lip in concern.
~. . . . . . . Can she?~
#Crack#
"What?!" Rogue span and screwed her eyes upward toward a small crack that appeared in the ice. But it didn't stop there. No, it grew bigger. . . . . . and bigger. . and bigger. . . .
#Crack#
Reaching up her black-gloved hands, Rogue gripped her hair in tight fist, tugging slightly in frustration as her mouth hung open in disbelief. This wasn't right!
~Why does the word hate me so much?~
#CRASH#
Crystal shards fell from the ceiling and littered the floor in jagged pieces of ice. With her hands outspread, Rogue clutched the pieces that had landed in her hands and bowed her head toward the floor. "Phasing isn't yar mutant power Kitty," she mumbled from her hair, clearly disturbed, "It's something else. . . something very scary. ."
Looking up from the cluttered mess, she saw Kitty's small form still standing there, a sad frown growing bigger on the freshman's face. Suddenly, a whirring noise began to grow in Kitty's throat, as her eyes got glassy once again. Rogue's eyes grew wide with fear. Leaping from her bed, she clamped a hand over the girl's parting lips, ready to release her deadly attack.
With her eyes frantic and her body tense, Rogue's voice shook slightly. "Kitty, Ah'll keep teaching ya! Ah would knock ya out, but Ah'd just get in trouble. So please, for the sake of my hearing and sanity, SHUT UP!"
Sad, drooping tears were instantly gone, drying up as if by magic. Her glossy, pink lips turned upward in a happy smile. Grinning widely, Kitty clasped her hands and grinned. "Thanks Rogue! I knew that you would agree with me. I promise I'll try harder and make you and everyone proud!"
With her left eye twitching, Rogue watched Kitty wave happily and phase through the floor. As the last strand of her hair melted beneath the floor, Rogue walked slowly and sat down on her head. Laying back, she closed her eyes and began cursing about sore skin and evil, conniving girls.
A distant voice came calling from down the hall. "Hey Rogue. . ."
Rogue cringed. This was going to be a _long_ day.
~
~Why do I have such a bad feeling ?~
Reaching back, the boy slipped a jittery hand through his long brown hair. Adjusting his shirt, Lance tried to calm his breathing as he slowly approached the X-Mansion, already having jumped over the gate. He patted his side and felt a small box meld in his hand through his pant pocket. With a relieved sigh, Lance made his way up to the door.
Raising a hand, he was about to knock the door when he froze. What would he do if she didn't like it? Would she like it? Crap, he hadn't thought about this. As his mind kept reeling over the terrible consequences, he didn't even notice the presence walking behind him.
"Are you going to stand there all _day_?"
Lance's mind suddenly snapped from all his terrors and he whipped around. Standing before him, shoe tapping impatiently on the ground, was the one person he didn't need to see right now.
~Why me?~
Pietro.
"What the heck are you doing here, Pietro?" Lance didn't need this to add to his frustrations and he certainly didn't need the speed demon pestering him.
His expression changing to seriousness, Pietro crossed his arms over his chest and spoke in a gravely voice, "Oh, I just came to tell Kitty that I am officially the father of her baby."
#Twitch#
"WHAT?!! $%$*&#?"
Tears pearled out of the sides of Pietro's eyes from laughter as he watched Lance fume and stomp angrily up to him, snarling through his teeth with murder in his eyes. Pietro was snickering so hard that he even let Lance grasp the front of his shirt and lift him off the ground. When Lance was about to punch him, that's when Pietro soon quieted down and wiped the tears from his merry eyes.
"Oh man Lance, if you could have seen yourself. . . . . hahahahah. . . . .you're so gullible!"
Lance stared him sternly in the eyes as he lowered the laughing boy, trying to make him feel terrible. Unfortunately, it didn't work too well.
He only laughed some more.
"Would you shut up already?!" Lance sighed and ran a flustered hand through his hair, trying to calm himself.
Pietro slowly calmed down and walked to the mansion's thick wooden doors. "What are you doing," Lance seethed, "I'm here for Kitty, just go annoy someone else!"
As Pietro's slim knuckles rapped on the door with rapid speed, he turned his metallic blue eyes toward Lance. With an impish grin on his face, he simply replied, "Why'd I wanna waste my time on you? I'm here to see my dear Rogue."
When the door cracked open, Lance found himself facing a teenage girl, his mouth still wide with shock from Pietro's reply. When he turned to see Pietro, he was gone, a steady wind ruffling his hair slightly. As the girl came closer, she observed him carefully, trying to see what was wrong with him. "Lance? Like, are you okay?"
"Uh. . . . yeah. . ," Lance stuttered slightly, shifting back into focus as his eyes traveled over to the teenager, "I'm fine Kitty. . . . I think."
Kitty smiled and took his large hand in hers, practically dragging him further into the house and down a hall. "Come on Lance! I'm learning how to bake brownies! You wanna, like, be my test subject?"
Suddenly, Lance's stomach churned in horror as he remembered her previous 'testing' with muffins. He felt a sudden urge to run away as he smiled nervously at Kitty. "Um. . . .," he mumbled, trying to find a way out, "I was thinking we could go somewhere else and just. . . . .uh. . . go somewhere away from the kitchen."
With a sudden jerk, Kitty's footsteps stopped and Lance had to do all he could just so he didn't bump into her. She turned around, and he suddenly feared the worst. Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, he prepared for his doom and the violent outburst from Kitty.
"Lance? I'm not going to hurt you."
Opening his eyes, Lance quickly tried to cover up his fear. He quickly began brushing his sleeve nonchalantly as he could. "Uh. . . I knew you wouldn't. . . um. . . .you wanna go somewhere _else_?"
Smiling deeply, Kitty stood on the tips of her toes and quickly pecked Lance's cheek in a feathery kiss. Backing down, she saw his face flooded in a mask of scarlet. Grabbing Lance's hand, she proceeded down the hallway, half dragging him along as he stumbled drunkenly.
"If you be my food taster, I'll give you another kiss. Each dish equals one kiss. Deal?"
"Deal," Lance mumbled, still stunned by Kitty's first kiss.
He had no idea what he was getting into. . . .
~
~Why is the world so cruel to me?~
Flicking a strand of brown goop from her white streaks, Rogue sighed deeply. Reaching up she combed through her hair with nimble fingers, searching for anymore of Kitty's "experimental" brownies. Finding none, she dropped her hands and looked to the door of the mansion's kitchen. ~Where in the world could Kitty be? Ah know it wouldn't take her this long to answer the door. . . . . ~
Shrugging her shoulders in defeat, she looked around for something to do. Suddenly, her eyes lit up when she saw a small radio near the wall. Reaching over, she muttered out loud, "Well at least it's something."
Flipping the switch on the radio, a blast of music sang out from the speakers. Before Rogue knew it, she felt herself become entranced by the song, her eyes closing and her hips swaying to the bumping bass of the music. Raising her hands slightly, she let the music's beat flow over her in liquid waves.
Hips swaying, and her eyes closed, humming quietly to the music, she didn't notice the presence creeping up on her. Even when she felt the wind brush her cheeks and lift her hair, she was too entranced by the music.
Her eyes suddenly widened and her humming was cut off as a pair of arms snaked around her waist and moved with her. She stiffened as she heard a husky whisper breath on her ear.
"How's it going Roguey?"
Jerking from the stranger's embrace, Rogue turned abruptly and stuttered as she saw the smirking face. As the figure's metallic blue eyes bounced merrily, his pale fingers wiggled in a silent "hello."
"Pietro?! What are ya doing here?!"
With a growing grin on his face, Pietro closed his eyes suavely and made a pouting face. "Aw. . . Roguey doesn't want to see little, old me?"
Batting her eyes irritably, Rogue sighed and slipped on her gloves from her pockets. "Pietro. What are ya doing here? Ah don't have time for yar games right now. Ah have to teach Kitty how to cook right now."
Pietro smiled and quickly sidled up next to Rogue, fingering her hair lightly between his pale fingers. She jerked away from him roughly and looked at him with a slight frown. "Don't worry Roguey," he grinned from his position near the counter, "I don't think that you'll have any more cooking lessons with Kitty today. . . ."
Rogue flipped around from her place near the stove and looked at Pietro with a questioning glance. "What do ya mean?"
"Exactly what I said," Pietro grinned deeply at the goth girl, "she isn't going to need any cooking lessons. She has a visitor today. Lance if you must know."
Flicking a finger across the stove switch, Rogue stood up and smiled. Turning, she mumbled, "Great! Now Ah can get out of here. Bye Pietro."
Seeing her wave her hand, Pietro jumped up and, using his super speed, stopped in front of her. Rogue looked surprised at first, but then quickly annoyed. "What do ya want, Pietro?"
Pietro smiled and crossed his arms as he leaned on the door's frame. "How about," he started, "you don't go back to your room, but instead come with me?"
He watched her eyes widen in surprise, her eyebrows raised. With a sudden grin, she asked, "But, where would we go? Hmmm?"
She watched pleasantly as Pietro flustered slightly. A thin blush was working across his cheeks. "Um. . . ," he stuttered, "how about to a movie?"
Putting her hand to her chin, Rogue seemed to think it over. "Yeah, Ah guess that'd be all right. Sure."
"Great! Let's," Pietro happily shouted, grabbing Rogue's gloved hand, "go now!"
Rogue tried to shout out a reply, but in a flash they were gone.
~
~This can't end well.~
When the Kitty twirled around and looked at him, Lance panicked for a moment, thinking that she had developed some new powers. When she said nothing and simply opened a door, he exhaled deeply.
"All right Lance," Kitty said, waving her hand around to introduce the kitchen quarters, "this is the kitchen. Now how about we try those brownies, shall we?"
"Um. . . right."
As she led him to a seat, Lance began to feel a great sense of dread overwhelm him. He watched her anxiously as she pulled a pan from oven. As soon as she turned, a foul odor hit his nose, and he tried to hold his breath. ~What is that?!~
Picking up one of the "brownies", Kitty walked over to Lance. "Here we go Lance," Kitty said as Lance eyed the bubbling contents of the brownie warily, "For, like, every brownie you eat, I'll give you a kiss. Okay? And if you finish them all, well. . .um. . .I'll go on a date with you. Deal?"
"Um. . ..," Lance started, not sure of the consequences for eating the bubbling mess that seemed to be. . . moving. . ., "deal?"
"Great! Let's start," Kitty merrily cheered.
Lance held his breath and took the brownie. ~Bottoms up. . .I guess.~
Then he bit into the brownie.
~
OKAY! I think I'm gonna stop now. Phew! That was LONG! I hope you liked it though! ^_^ It took me quite a while to finish this. Thanks a bunch for all of those who have reviewed and read this story. It means a whole bunch to me.
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!: Rogue and Pietro's "date" to the movies, and the consequences of Kitty's "interesting" brownies. . . .brrr. . ._
P.S. For the review asking about the blowtorch thing. . .um . . no. I don't use a blowtorch to start a barbecue, I just wanted to use it in the story. ^_^ Thanks for asking though.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!! Ciao. ^_~