Okay new chap, wow people really like this. Okay just so you know we are timelapsing.

Hyperchica, Crimson Coyote Kansas Hill, and Sandoz: in the words of the Fuzzy One: Danke!

Snowfire: Lance isn't the only one who isn't going to fit, but you wont like what happens, it isn't happy.

River Daniels: I much appreciate and agree about lance. By the way if you want to read some more of my stuff, I have a Gundam Wing fic, and an AU Evo fic. Plus some stuff at Fictionpress.

Tabby: thank you. I've always seen him like this. Pietro is juiced up on power (he becomes more of an ass later). Concerning the two groups lets just say that things change. And about Scott, he would understand, but he is Scott, he has to protect his own, but he comes around.

BTY that wendy's he works at is real, it is the one I had my first job at (but this is out in OR.) all his coworkers are real.

BTOY I am thinking of starting another Evo fic, it would be Jamie-Centric, what do ya'll think?

Okay enough notes, on with the story.

Such a Bad Thing

Lance's work schedule had been hammered out so that he worked forty hours a week, but would have weekends and Fridays off to be with the Brotherhood. He worked from ten to eight Monday through Thursday. On Fridays he did bills and cleaned house, which Pietro never seemed to help with. Sundays he worked with Todd and Fred on power training, something Pietro said that Magneto said the three boys were required to do. Saturdays were his real days off, so of course he spent most of them sitting out side Kitty's window with his acoustic guitar trying to play hard-rock love ballads, or cruising the mall with Kitty, or whatever he could to spend time with her. She had eventually forgiven him and seemed to want to be with him. This fact earned Lance an evil eye from both Summers and Pietro. It had also, to everyone's surprised, earned him two threats against breaking her heart, one from Rogue and one from Logan. Lance was actually content with life right now, if only Todd would pull his math grade up.

Lance sat at the dining room table looking over his bill notebooks. He had almost finished. "And this is for the jeep," he said writing down a number, "this is for the Kitty fund," he said writing down another number in a lockable notebook, "and this is. . . wait is this right?" he exclaimed looking over his notes again, "This money is extra!" He had caught up on all the bills and even put away an amount for a rainy day. Lance had been working for three months now, and they had never had this much left over. It was twenty dollars. Not enough for the five to do something on, but enough to give him hope.

He finished scribbling his numbers down and closed up the notebooks just in time to see his three school kids walking through the door. They were arguing as usual, but Lance smiled and held his hand out expectantly. Freddy and Wanda both presented him with folded pieces of paper, Lance threw a stern look at Todd, who didn't look back. The ground received a light tremor as Lance's patients grew thin. Finally Todd begrudgingly handed him a crumpled wad of paper.

Lance decided to read Todd's last, let the toad stew. These were report cards, and to guard against forgery, which Lance himself had taught them, he had them have their teachers sign on the back.

Wanda's contained mostly A's and B's. One note Lance felt he had to read aloud, "From your art teacher I am getting, 'Has a tortured soul and needs much therapy, but don't give it to her. She is a great artist.'" Wanda merely drank in the compliment as Lance shook his head at the commentary.

Next was Freddy's. Freddy's was covered mostly with C's (and mustard but that is just Freddy). The note Lance stopped on was from his Gourmet Cooking instructor, "Freddy's is an excellent cook (Thank God). He will go far if he lets me sample more of his dishes." Freddy's grad in that class was a perfect A. Lance looked at the enourmous teen that actually delighted in being called "the Blob" and said, "Dude, you are now cooking every other night."

Freddy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Great. I have a Chicken Carbonara recipe that I have been dying to try." Every one just looked at him blankly. He blushed a little.

Finally he came to Todd's. Lance opened it up and smoothed it out. Mostly B's with and occasional C, was Todd's standard. But when Looked at the last line, the entire house shook. Toad swallowed in a gulp and was prepared to argue that the teacher was prejudice against mutants, which she might have been but it wasn't the actual reason for the grade. When Lance cut him off, "Listen Toad, we talked about this. You said you were going to do better!" once again Todd timidly opened his mouth to speak, but once again he was silenced by Lance, "I decided along time ago that if you brought me another F in Algebra, your punishment would be a tutor. You start next Thursday."

"Oh, that's not so bad, yo," Todd said cheerily. One week later found the Toad beating his head against the table as his tutor said, "And den ve take the sum uf de sqvare roots and das es de sqvare uf de hypotenuse."

Lance had pulled Toad's dignity out from under him, what little he had. He had actually gone to the Institute and asked to have Kurt tutor Todd in Algebra. So as Todd slammed his head repeatedly against the Institutes hardwood table, saying, "Shoot me, shoot me, shoot me," over and over again, Kurt was trying to teach him the Pythagorean theorem.

"Don't blame me dat your in dis situation," Kurt said as he grabbed Todd's hair, surprised that the hair wasn't as greasy as usual, he continued, "Eef you had just paid attention in class you vouldn't be in dis situation."

Todd looked at Kurt and surrendered, he knew he wasn't going to win any battle of wits. So he just submitted to letting the elf help him with the homework. The way Kurt helped annoyed Todd though. Kurt never gave him the answers. He always made Todd figure it out for himself. Which Todd was happy to say was happening much faster.

An hour later Lance walked in to take Todd home, he announced his arrival with a large yawn. Scott walked in to the living room to find Lance sitting on the couch with his head and eyes drooping, and then suddenly, as he realized he was falling asleep, shoot open again. Scott leaned on the door frame behind Lance and said, "You're not planning on driving like that are you?"

Lance would have cast Scott a dirty look but his tired body couldn't muster it, so he just said, "Piss off geek."

Scott shrugged off Lance's unusually worded retort, he usually managed to fit the word rock in to his insults, and walked in to the kitchen. It was eight thirty. Todd had been there for five hours. Scott asked casually, "So how are things coming?"

"I think I am getting it, yo!" Todd said excitedly.

"Close," said Kurt sadly, "Baht no seegar."

Todd let loose an explicative as furiously erased the incorrect answer and tried to figure out what his mistake was. Scott looked back through door he had left open and into the living room at Lance he asked, "What's with Alvers? Why is he so tired?"

"'e picked up an extra shift, yo." Todd explained, "They was short last night and Lance volunteered for some O.T. Worked till 'tree in de morinin, den he goes back at normal time taday. Plus he been doin some extra cleanin cause that social wroker's comin by tamara." Todd looked at Lance with real concern in his eyes for the first time, "'E's always de firs up, de las in bed. I don think he sleeps much, yo."

Scott looked at the guy he had once thought of as a total hoodlum, and saw something familiar for the first time. 'He can't drive like that,' Scott thought to himself. He was about to go tell Lance this himself when he saw Lance just flop right over asleep. He smiled slightly and called to the professor and jean in his head. Kitty who had been on the stairs when Lance conked out, walked up to him as did Scott. Jean came in and nodded to Scott, as she used her telekinesis, to straighten Lance out on the couch. Scott put one of the throw pillows under Lance's head, and Kitty covered him with a blanket. Scott sauntered off to go report as the professor "asked" him to. Kitty looking at Lance lit up like she suddenly got an idea. She ran to her room, but took the short cut down; that is to say she phased through the ceiling. Lance had been laid on his side with his arms clutched tight to his chest. Kitty phased her hand through his arm to raise it, and then phased the small purple plush dragon she had brought down with her through his arms and then returned all to its normal state. Now Lance had the purple dragon clutched tightly to his chest. She looked at him and whispered, "keep an eye on him, Lockheed. This is one guy who, like, totally deserves good dreams."

As she walked away she heard Lance softly mutter her name, she turned and saw him take a deep breath of Kitty's scent from the dragon, and the most content pure smile covered his face again. A tear began to wind it's way down Kitty's cheek. she was about to take a step toward Lance, when Professor Xavier rolled by and gently grabbed her by the arm saying, "Sorry Kitty, I cant allow you to sleep with Lance tonight." She pouted her lip as she followed him into the kitchen.

There Kurt had introduced Toad to the joy of Doggy Treats (no you sickos not real doggy treats, they're made out of Chex, peanut butter, Chocolate, and powdered sugar). Luckily it was the one thing kitty could make. And she had made two "Elf-sized" batches. That is to say, had Kurt not taken up residence, there would have been enough to feed the institute for a week. But with both boys working on the treats, they were almost half way into the second bag.

Professor Xavier cleared his voice and both boys snapped their heads around. Kurt went to a respectful attention, whereas Todd went rigid. He thought he was in trouble. "Mr. Tolensky," the professor started, "it seems your driver is out of commission for the evening. Ordinarily I would ask one of my students to drive you home, but as it is so late, I will extend an invitation to stay the night. I am sure that we can find someone of equal size to lend you some clothing in the morning. And your school things are already here. We can call your home to let them know you are staying and give you a ride in the morning. What do you say?"

Xavier steepled his fingers as he awaited a reply. Todd was stunned, "You mean you don't mind me stayin? Even after all the nasty stuff we done?"

Xavier waved his hand, "The past is unchangeable, the future however is unset."

Todd, as usual, was confuse, but he gathered himself enough to say, "I think I would rather spend the night."

"Fine then," Professor Xavier smiled, "Kurt will be kind enough to show you to your room. Ah Kurt, why not take him to the room Lance used when he stayed with us. And I do believe it is time to end your studying, you can peruse the campus with the students if you like." With that Professor Xavier wheeled off leaving a very surprised little frog behind him.

Scott followed Xavier, and looking back at Toad, and at the sleeping Avalanche wondered, 'would it have been so bad a thing to have them be X- men?'

Well?! Tell me what you think!!