Thank you soooo much you wonderful reviewers. I seriously thrive off of those things. Just a couple of personal notes:
Rena Lupin- Yay! I like them in that order too lol.
Charmedfan03- Pietro is my favorite too, so I'll probably subconsciously focus on him more than the other two. I'll try to keep it somewhat balanced though.
KS-fan- I know! They just can't be that evil!
DarkSheik8i3- Aww thanks. Now, about Todd...*sigh* lol. I like him too, but I'm having trouble with what to do with him. There is so much drama and sap going on to Pietro and Lance that it makes writing Todd in more difficult. I'm really going to try though. In fact, because of your review I'm going to go changed one of the later chapters that I've already got written and make it center a little more on him...but it's a couple chapters away.
And just some general notes: The answer to what's going on with Lance's head is answered in this chapter. However, the question of what's up with Blob is a little ways off....several chapters off actually.
Now, about Pietro...I'm pretty sure I've twisted him way OOC (more so than the others anyway). Just keep in mind that the brotherhood guys are seriously messed up at the moment so yeah. Sorry lol.
I LOVE REVIEWS! So pleeeease tell me what you thought...even if you hated it.
Chapter 4 Adjustments and Reconciliation
The rest of the week's meals went by very much the same as the first. Logan would switch everybody up and after a few moments under his glare, they would begin talking like usual. It began to appear that there was hope for the two groups of mutants after all. That is until Logan made the mistake of sitting Evan and Pietro together.
"Could ya pass the salt Quikie?" Rogue asked, a few seats down from him.
Pietro nodded and reached over to the salt. As he did, his sleeve caught the edge of the table and revealed one of his more dramatic bruises.
"Whoa, man, where the heck did that come from? You trip on your ego again?" Evan asked, a smirk forming on his lips.
Pietro hastily pulled his sleeve back down and for a moment, Evan caught the look of pain on Pietro's face. It was gone quickly though, and replaced with a cold glare.
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut Daniels."
"That's the best you could come up with? You're losing your touch… *Pea-tro.*" Evan braced himself for the reaction he knew was coming. He almost instantly regretted saying it, but it was too late now.
"What. Did you. Call me?" Pietro's voice was monotone and it was obvious that it was taking all of his control not to scream.
"Nothin' man. Forget it." Evan said into his plate.
By now most of the students had picked up on the growing argument between the two boys, and were watching anxiously.
Pietro's eyes were clenched shut and he was taking deep, controlled, breaths. "Daniels, if you *ever* call me that again," he paused and took another deep breath. "I will kill you."
The other students stared at Pietro in disbelief. The calm in his voice was bone chilling and none of them had ever seen him react like this. Their amazement was increased when Evan responded.
"I'm sorry, man. I didn't think..."
"Damn right you didn't think." Pietro hissed.
Not only was it a shock to hear Pietro so shaken by a simple comment, but it was also a feat in itself to hear Evan apologizing to his archenemy. Logan was tempted to inform Pietro that they had a no cussing rule at the mansion, perhaps changing the mood slightly as all the students had heard him let loose words that would even make Mystique blush. However, he decided that whatever was about to take place between the two boys shouldn't be interrupted.
Both boys were silent for a moment before Evan spoke up again. "Seriously, I'm sorry."
When Pietro remained silent, Evan stood and left the room, spikes appearing through his clothes. As soon as he was out of sight, they heard the clatter of his spikes ricocheting off the walls. The silence in the room began to become so obnoxious that Pietro threw his fork down and shot everyone icy glares.
"Alright, if none of you are gonna follow 'im, I guess I'll have to," Logan said, breaking the silence. He left the room and the other students quickly began to eat again, keeping their heads down. All except Rogue. She rolled her eyes and slid over to sit next to Pietro.
"You ok?" she said softly. She glared at the other kids who were now staring at the two of them. "Oh for goodness sakes stop starin' and eat your food. If that fight had just happened between me an jean ya'll would shrug and go back to whatever you were doin. How's this any different? And if any of ya'll say it's cuz he's a Brotherhood boy Ah'll suck ya dry. They're one of us now so get over it already. It's gettin ta be really old. Ah used ta be one of 'em too, in case ya'll forgot," the occupants of the table stared at Rogue in varying degrees of shock, "Not that you boys are helpin,' she added, "isolating yourselves all the time won't help with the whole building trust thang now will it?"
No one really knew why exactly, but Rogue's outburst somehow put a dent in the walls the two teams had formed against each other. Not that they wanted to admit it, but the brotherhood had done nothing since they came to the mansion to warrant any cold shoulders. In fact, they had barely done anything at all. They slept and ate a lot, and occasionally they were found in the common room watching TV, but that was it.
Jean, Scott, and Lance began to talk and although the conversation was forced, the effort was still there. The others followed suit and soon the room was filled with noise once again.
The professor, who had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, leaned back in his chair and smiled. Finally they were getting somewhere. It would be a slow process, but it was working. Evan and Pietro were a special case, and he suspected that in time they would deal with their issues as well.
~Charles?~
~Yes, Hank?~
~The results of Mr. Alvers' blood work and CAT scan are in. I'd like to speak with you about them.~
~Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?~ The professor glanced over at Lance. His face was still gaunt and Xavier wondered if he realized just how sick he looked. He was smiling with Jean and Scott, but it was forced, and did nothing to improve the dark circles under his eyes.
Moments later, Evan stormed back into the room, headed straight for Pietro. Logan entered behind him and took his seat, ignoring Xavier's quirked eyebrow.
Evan gripped Pietro's elbow and pulled him out of his chair. "We need to talk," he said, his voice low. Pietro stared daggers at the darker boy, but followed him out the door without conflict.
A few people at the table began to stand, but a low growl from Logan kept them in their seats.
"Uh, Vaht if zey kill each other?" Kurt asked.
Todd rolled his eyes and grabbed the saltshaker with his tongue. Logan caught the slimy muscle before it could make its way back to Todd's mouth.
"Do that again, SNIKT and you'll be wearing it as a necklace."
Todd nodded fervently and Logan released his grip.
"He made za same threat to me about my tail." Kurt said under his breath. "But anyvay, vaht vere you going to say?"
Todd, his nerves settling finally, looked back over to Kurt. "They won't kill each other yo. They like each other too much."
Kurt's eyebrows twitched. "Coulda fooled me."
"Nah, they're like best friends underneath that competitive crap they've got going. They got into a huge fight one day and Evan got recruited before they got the chance to work it out. Spike boy probably knows more about Tro and his past than I do. Heck, Evan is part of Pietro's past. They were neighbors for half their lives yo."
Kurt didn't look too convinced as he stabbed his fork into his chicken.
"Think about it yo. In all the times we've faced each other, think of all the opportunities they had to take each other out. Did they? Noooo. Just fought enough to make it look convincing."
"I never thought about zat," Kurt admitted.
Todd shrugged. "I didn't either till Lance called him on it."
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Kurt spoke up again.
"So uh, vhy'd you fight us?"
Todd stopped, his fork still in his mouth, and faced Kurt once again. "To survive man. Your mom ain't exactly the type of person who you want to make angry. She said jump, I said how high, simple as that." he laughed slightly, "And I thought you *X-Geeks* were brainwashed; I sure had that one wrong."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ok Evan, what's this about?" Pietro demanded, yanking his arm out of Evan's grasp. He had drug him all the way to the basketball courts.
Evan ignored him and headed toward a box stashed at the corner of the court. Peeling off his shirt, he proceeded to dig through the box and returned to Pietro with a basketball under his arm.
Pietro's mouth dropped open. All along Evan's spine were dull spikes. Thin sheets of bone covered his shoulders and chest. It looked as though he were wearing a suit of armor.
"We've got some stuff to take care of Maximoff, and I'm not letting you off this court till we've figured out where we stand. If I have to live in the same house as you, I at least want to know you aren't going to try and kill me in my sleep."
Pietro let out an exasperated sigh. "Listen you little X-Punk..."
"This isn't about the X-Men, or the Brotherhood, or being mutants!!" Evan shouted, "It's about you and me Pietro, and whatever the hell happened to us!
"What happened is you crossed the line! Stop trying to sound so high and mighty. We were friends, we had a fight, now we're enemies. It's that easy." Pietro countered, his anger mounting.
"It's *not* that easy and you know it. If it was that easy you would've run back inside by now. If it was that easy, we would just ignore each other and get on with our lives instead of trying to make each other miserable!"
Evan threw the basketball at Pietro, who caught it then threw it back. He stripped his own shirt off and took a defensive stance.
Evan's eyes widened, taking in Pietro's scars. "What the..."
"Hey, I didn't ask, so you don't ask, just play."
"Fair enough."
Evan refocused himself and began to dribble the ball. At first, neither of them said much, simply pounded the concrete and focused on the game. They were both good, and they knew it. It was rare that either of them would have the opportunity to make a shot, but when they did it nearly always went in.
Basketball was something the two of them had done together since they were little. It was a combination of how much they loved the game, and how easy it made breaking the ice that made them play. Everything became easier to them when on the court and neither one of them had ever bothered to think about why. It was simply easier not to.
After about half an hour, Evan spoke up again. "So, do you even believe that I'm sorry for what I said? Not just tonight, you know what I'm talking bout."
Pietro stepped to the side and managed to sink another shot. "Yeah, I know."
"So you believe me?" Evan asked as he blocked Pietro's next shot.
"Yep," Pietro paused to catch his breath, "but that doesn't mean I forgave you for it." Pietro managed to snake the ball from Evan's grasp and began dribbling it just out of Evan's reach.
"So I say one dumb thing and that's it. I'm your mortal enemy. Great, remind me never to say anything stupid again." Evan spat sarcastically, panting as he wove his way around Pietro and attempted to steal the ball back.
"Well is it my fault we're both the most stubborn kids on the planet? You wouldn't forgive me either if it had been the other way around." He stepped back and again kept the ball out of Evan's reach.
"Aw can it. We both know we were too close for one fight to kill our friendship. I'm the only one who really knew you back then, so why don't you just tell me the real reason you decided to hate me." This time Evan was successful in regaining the ball, and began to run up to the court for a shot. Even without his mutation, Pietro was faster and blocked Evan before he had the chance to take the shot.
"The truth Daniels?" He paused, wheezing slightly.
"Yeah," Evan said, tucking the ball under his arm, "The truth."
"I was jealous." His voice had dropped so low that Evan could barely hear him.
"What?"
Pietro sneered and grabbed the ball away from Evan. He began to dribble it again and waited while Evan started to get back into the game.
"I wanted what you had Daniels! I wanted it so bad I couldn't even look at you! Your perfect little family; your perfect little world. Not having to stay up for hours and hours at night to make sure your drunk foster father didn't molest your sister! Not having to live with the sounds of your foster parents screaming at each other into the night, and at you when you disappointed them in some way. Oh no, not in your world. You could sleep at night. You could come home with a "B" on your report card and not get screamed at.
"And then it got worse. My father shows up, takes away my sister, and I had to watch while she screamed and begged me to save her. You wanna know the only reason I let her go? The only thing that kept me from running into that building and taking her back home? It was because that hell hole my father put her in was a haven compared to our house. In there, I knew my foster father couldn't hurt her anymore. So I left her. Don't think for a minute that it was because of Magneto that I didn't go after her. He didn't scare me half as much as my house did.
"So when you asked if my sister wasn't really such a lunatic, why didn't I go get her out, I couldn't handle being near you. I couldn't possibly explain why I left her there to someone who had such a perfect little life."
Evan and Pietro stared at each other, the basketball resting between Pietro's hip and elbow. He swore under his breath and spun around. Slamming the basketball into the concrete, he rested his head against his arm along the basketball pole. Sweat glistened across his back, and he was panting hard. "Why do you still care?" he asked quietly. Turning around, he slid down the pole into a sitting position.
Evan walked over and sat next to him. He was curious as to how Pietro had tired so fast. Even he was covered in sweat, but his breathing wasn't nearly as strained as the speedster's. "I dunno. I just do I guess."
"Yeah, well I never asked you to."
"It's one of those things you don't really need permission for."
A long, much needed, moment of silence passed before either one spoke again.
Pietro tilted his head toward Evan. "Thanks."
Evan shrugged. "Don't mention it."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lance sat staring blankly at the ceiling. The professor and Hank were sitting in front of him explaining a bunch of stuff he didn't understand. A tumor, now that part he understood, but everything after that was pretty much a whirl of big long medical words that he couldn't process.
"Mr. Alvers? Lance?"
Lance blinked and brought his attention back Hank. "Sorry?" he said hoarsely.
"Did you hear anything I just said?" Hank asked.
"Hear, yes. But understand any of it? No. I know what a tumor is, and that's about as far as I got."
Hank sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ok, I'll try to put everything in layman's terms for you, but you have to stay with me alright?"
Lance nodded and he tried to shake the numb feeling that had crept over him upon hearing the words 'you have a brain tumor.'
"Ok, your tumor is benign, do you know what that means?"
"Non-cancerous?"
"Right. However, because it's on your brain, it is still dangerous. From what we can tell, it's near the part of your brain that controls your powers, which is why your headaches are so bad when you use them. Some brain tumors are inoperable but luckily, yours is."
"It is however, a very risky operation," the professor added.
"And if you don't operate? Or it's unsuccessful?"
Lance had his answer when the professor and Hank exchanged glances.
"If we don't correct it, it will be fatal."
The numb feeling that Lance hadn't been able to shake now rushed over him again, this time making his insides feel like ice.
"Your odds are good, Lance. And we'll be sure that you have the best surgeons."
This wasn't what he wanted to hear; false comforts, and hope. He wanted to know the worst case scenario so he could prepare for it. Phrases like 'you'll have the best surgeons,' were only used in movies and TV shows, so it did little to comfort him.
"Just tell me the bad stuff first. I'd rather know what I'm up against," his voice sounded odd to him. It sounded much stronger than he felt. No doubt that had he been standing, his knees would have given out by now.
"I think it would be better if we focused on the positive, Lance," the professor stated gently.
"No offence, but I think I know my life better than you, and if there is a worst case situation, I'd be willing to bet anything it'll happen to me. Pretty much how my life goes."
Dr. McCoy leaned forward and Lance could see the sadness in his eyes. It felt odd to him that someone would be sad about his misfortune. It wasn't an experience he was used to and he wasn't too sure how he felt about it.
"If we don't remove it soon, you could be left with permanent brain damage, loss of motor skills, problems with your speech, fatigue, those sort of things. Which is why we have you scheduled for surgery in two weeks. That's the soonest we could get you in," his voice was low, and almost soothing, but it didn't in anyway lessen the cruel words.
Lance closed his eyes and mentally put himself in check. When he opened them again he could tell that the two men in front of him were mildly surprised to see there were no tears in his eyes. He was too numb to cry if he wanted to anyway. The words were still making their way to his mind, not really connecting anywhere, just floating.
"Lance? Are you alright?"
He nodded mechanically.
"We don't want to use your powers for awhile, I think it may aggravate things further," Hank continued.
Again Lance nodded. "Can I go to bed now?"
"Of course," Xavier said softly.
Lance rose, only vaguely curious how his legs were supporting him, and exited the room. He was almost knocked over as a dog ran past him, followed a boy Lance didn't really recognize.
"Rahne! Bobby! I swear if you two don't like, get a clue…Oh, hey Lance." Kitty stopped yelling at the younger mutants as she caught sight of the rock tumbler standing at the end of the hall.
"So like, what's up?"
Lance looked at Kitty and the back if his mind told him to act cool, like nothing was bothering him. Again however, his eyes betrayed him.
"Lance?" she whispered, concern laced in her voice. "Hey, I know you're not too happy about being here and all, but like, it's not so bad? I mean,"
"It's not that," Lance cut her off. "I uh, I'll talk to you about it later ok?"
"Lance, I'm really worried about you," Kitty's eyes were desperately searching Lance's face for some sort of answer, but she found none.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm fine."
Kitty's expression changed suddenly. It was still concerned, but much more determined. "Lance, that's a bunch of crap and you know it. And you know I know it, so why are you bothering to act all macho?"
"What does it matter to you? Why should I have to tell you all my problems? Last I checked, you didn't want to be with me anyway!" His anger was getting the best of him and he knew it. He didn't want to take it all out on Kitty, but she was making it way to easy.
"Just because I didn't want to be with you doesn't mean I didn't want to be friends with you! There's a difference Lance!" she snapped.
"Yeah, whatever," Lance said, gently pushing her out of his way.
"Lance, come on! You're totally gonna explode one day if you don't talk this stuff out."
Lance froze in the hallway and struggled not to shake the entire mansion down. He had been saying the same thing to himself about Pietro only hours earlier but he had never let the idea of having the same problem cross his mind. "Kitty, you couldn't possibly understand."
"Oh, right. 'Cuz you're the only person who's ever had problems," she said sarcastically.
"Ok, fine! I'm the father figure to a 15 year old who has a seriously warped sense of reality. My best friend is on the brink of an emotional break down and the only way he knows how to deal with it is by running away; which could potentially kill him. I've got to cope with the fact that I've almost destroyed several people's lives, yours included, because I made some crappy decisions. I'm so utterly useless that I can't even protect my friends from a complete idiot named Fred, and had to resort to coming *here,* a place where everyone hates me. I've got the fact that eventually Magneto is gonna find out what we did and he's going to want to punish us for it hanging over my head. And for the icing on the cake, I just found out that I have a tumor making itself at home on my brain. So excuse me Miss Catherine, if I seem a little upset and don't really feel like discussing it! It's bad enough in my head thanks!"
Kitty blinked at Lance a few times. Some of what he'd just said didn't make sense. 'Like how does running away potentially kill you?' But she had understood some of it, especially the last part, with shocking clarity. He was staring at her now, so confident that he had stunned her into speechlessness, but he wasn't that lucky.
"Sometimes, it's totally ok to worry about yourself for five minutes," she said softly.
Lance furrowed his brow. "Huh?"
"You're so wrapped up in being worried about everyone else. You've gotta like, work out your own issues before you can help anyone else out, ya know?"
Lance shifted nervously. Part of him wanted to get mad at her for prying into his life, but the other part knew he needed it.
"Um, you wanna maybe go out and get something to eat? So we can talk and stuff?"
Kitty smiled gently and glanced at her watch. "It's too close to curfew, but I can like, get Mr. Logan to keep the other kids out of the common room, or the library or something."
"Sure."
Rena Lupin- Yay! I like them in that order too lol.
Charmedfan03- Pietro is my favorite too, so I'll probably subconsciously focus on him more than the other two. I'll try to keep it somewhat balanced though.
KS-fan- I know! They just can't be that evil!
DarkSheik8i3- Aww thanks. Now, about Todd...*sigh* lol. I like him too, but I'm having trouble with what to do with him. There is so much drama and sap going on to Pietro and Lance that it makes writing Todd in more difficult. I'm really going to try though. In fact, because of your review I'm going to go changed one of the later chapters that I've already got written and make it center a little more on him...but it's a couple chapters away.
And just some general notes: The answer to what's going on with Lance's head is answered in this chapter. However, the question of what's up with Blob is a little ways off....several chapters off actually.
Now, about Pietro...I'm pretty sure I've twisted him way OOC (more so than the others anyway). Just keep in mind that the brotherhood guys are seriously messed up at the moment so yeah. Sorry lol.
I LOVE REVIEWS! So pleeeease tell me what you thought...even if you hated it.
Chapter 4 Adjustments and Reconciliation
The rest of the week's meals went by very much the same as the first. Logan would switch everybody up and after a few moments under his glare, they would begin talking like usual. It began to appear that there was hope for the two groups of mutants after all. That is until Logan made the mistake of sitting Evan and Pietro together.
"Could ya pass the salt Quikie?" Rogue asked, a few seats down from him.
Pietro nodded and reached over to the salt. As he did, his sleeve caught the edge of the table and revealed one of his more dramatic bruises.
"Whoa, man, where the heck did that come from? You trip on your ego again?" Evan asked, a smirk forming on his lips.
Pietro hastily pulled his sleeve back down and for a moment, Evan caught the look of pain on Pietro's face. It was gone quickly though, and replaced with a cold glare.
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut Daniels."
"That's the best you could come up with? You're losing your touch… *Pea-tro.*" Evan braced himself for the reaction he knew was coming. He almost instantly regretted saying it, but it was too late now.
"What. Did you. Call me?" Pietro's voice was monotone and it was obvious that it was taking all of his control not to scream.
"Nothin' man. Forget it." Evan said into his plate.
By now most of the students had picked up on the growing argument between the two boys, and were watching anxiously.
Pietro's eyes were clenched shut and he was taking deep, controlled, breaths. "Daniels, if you *ever* call me that again," he paused and took another deep breath. "I will kill you."
The other students stared at Pietro in disbelief. The calm in his voice was bone chilling and none of them had ever seen him react like this. Their amazement was increased when Evan responded.
"I'm sorry, man. I didn't think..."
"Damn right you didn't think." Pietro hissed.
Not only was it a shock to hear Pietro so shaken by a simple comment, but it was also a feat in itself to hear Evan apologizing to his archenemy. Logan was tempted to inform Pietro that they had a no cussing rule at the mansion, perhaps changing the mood slightly as all the students had heard him let loose words that would even make Mystique blush. However, he decided that whatever was about to take place between the two boys shouldn't be interrupted.
Both boys were silent for a moment before Evan spoke up again. "Seriously, I'm sorry."
When Pietro remained silent, Evan stood and left the room, spikes appearing through his clothes. As soon as he was out of sight, they heard the clatter of his spikes ricocheting off the walls. The silence in the room began to become so obnoxious that Pietro threw his fork down and shot everyone icy glares.
"Alright, if none of you are gonna follow 'im, I guess I'll have to," Logan said, breaking the silence. He left the room and the other students quickly began to eat again, keeping their heads down. All except Rogue. She rolled her eyes and slid over to sit next to Pietro.
"You ok?" she said softly. She glared at the other kids who were now staring at the two of them. "Oh for goodness sakes stop starin' and eat your food. If that fight had just happened between me an jean ya'll would shrug and go back to whatever you were doin. How's this any different? And if any of ya'll say it's cuz he's a Brotherhood boy Ah'll suck ya dry. They're one of us now so get over it already. It's gettin ta be really old. Ah used ta be one of 'em too, in case ya'll forgot," the occupants of the table stared at Rogue in varying degrees of shock, "Not that you boys are helpin,' she added, "isolating yourselves all the time won't help with the whole building trust thang now will it?"
No one really knew why exactly, but Rogue's outburst somehow put a dent in the walls the two teams had formed against each other. Not that they wanted to admit it, but the brotherhood had done nothing since they came to the mansion to warrant any cold shoulders. In fact, they had barely done anything at all. They slept and ate a lot, and occasionally they were found in the common room watching TV, but that was it.
Jean, Scott, and Lance began to talk and although the conversation was forced, the effort was still there. The others followed suit and soon the room was filled with noise once again.
The professor, who had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, leaned back in his chair and smiled. Finally they were getting somewhere. It would be a slow process, but it was working. Evan and Pietro were a special case, and he suspected that in time they would deal with their issues as well.
~Charles?~
~Yes, Hank?~
~The results of Mr. Alvers' blood work and CAT scan are in. I'd like to speak with you about them.~
~Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?~ The professor glanced over at Lance. His face was still gaunt and Xavier wondered if he realized just how sick he looked. He was smiling with Jean and Scott, but it was forced, and did nothing to improve the dark circles under his eyes.
Moments later, Evan stormed back into the room, headed straight for Pietro. Logan entered behind him and took his seat, ignoring Xavier's quirked eyebrow.
Evan gripped Pietro's elbow and pulled him out of his chair. "We need to talk," he said, his voice low. Pietro stared daggers at the darker boy, but followed him out the door without conflict.
A few people at the table began to stand, but a low growl from Logan kept them in their seats.
"Uh, Vaht if zey kill each other?" Kurt asked.
Todd rolled his eyes and grabbed the saltshaker with his tongue. Logan caught the slimy muscle before it could make its way back to Todd's mouth.
"Do that again, SNIKT and you'll be wearing it as a necklace."
Todd nodded fervently and Logan released his grip.
"He made za same threat to me about my tail." Kurt said under his breath. "But anyvay, vaht vere you going to say?"
Todd, his nerves settling finally, looked back over to Kurt. "They won't kill each other yo. They like each other too much."
Kurt's eyebrows twitched. "Coulda fooled me."
"Nah, they're like best friends underneath that competitive crap they've got going. They got into a huge fight one day and Evan got recruited before they got the chance to work it out. Spike boy probably knows more about Tro and his past than I do. Heck, Evan is part of Pietro's past. They were neighbors for half their lives yo."
Kurt didn't look too convinced as he stabbed his fork into his chicken.
"Think about it yo. In all the times we've faced each other, think of all the opportunities they had to take each other out. Did they? Noooo. Just fought enough to make it look convincing."
"I never thought about zat," Kurt admitted.
Todd shrugged. "I didn't either till Lance called him on it."
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Kurt spoke up again.
"So uh, vhy'd you fight us?"
Todd stopped, his fork still in his mouth, and faced Kurt once again. "To survive man. Your mom ain't exactly the type of person who you want to make angry. She said jump, I said how high, simple as that." he laughed slightly, "And I thought you *X-Geeks* were brainwashed; I sure had that one wrong."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ok Evan, what's this about?" Pietro demanded, yanking his arm out of Evan's grasp. He had drug him all the way to the basketball courts.
Evan ignored him and headed toward a box stashed at the corner of the court. Peeling off his shirt, he proceeded to dig through the box and returned to Pietro with a basketball under his arm.
Pietro's mouth dropped open. All along Evan's spine were dull spikes. Thin sheets of bone covered his shoulders and chest. It looked as though he were wearing a suit of armor.
"We've got some stuff to take care of Maximoff, and I'm not letting you off this court till we've figured out where we stand. If I have to live in the same house as you, I at least want to know you aren't going to try and kill me in my sleep."
Pietro let out an exasperated sigh. "Listen you little X-Punk..."
"This isn't about the X-Men, or the Brotherhood, or being mutants!!" Evan shouted, "It's about you and me Pietro, and whatever the hell happened to us!
"What happened is you crossed the line! Stop trying to sound so high and mighty. We were friends, we had a fight, now we're enemies. It's that easy." Pietro countered, his anger mounting.
"It's *not* that easy and you know it. If it was that easy you would've run back inside by now. If it was that easy, we would just ignore each other and get on with our lives instead of trying to make each other miserable!"
Evan threw the basketball at Pietro, who caught it then threw it back. He stripped his own shirt off and took a defensive stance.
Evan's eyes widened, taking in Pietro's scars. "What the..."
"Hey, I didn't ask, so you don't ask, just play."
"Fair enough."
Evan refocused himself and began to dribble the ball. At first, neither of them said much, simply pounded the concrete and focused on the game. They were both good, and they knew it. It was rare that either of them would have the opportunity to make a shot, but when they did it nearly always went in.
Basketball was something the two of them had done together since they were little. It was a combination of how much they loved the game, and how easy it made breaking the ice that made them play. Everything became easier to them when on the court and neither one of them had ever bothered to think about why. It was simply easier not to.
After about half an hour, Evan spoke up again. "So, do you even believe that I'm sorry for what I said? Not just tonight, you know what I'm talking bout."
Pietro stepped to the side and managed to sink another shot. "Yeah, I know."
"So you believe me?" Evan asked as he blocked Pietro's next shot.
"Yep," Pietro paused to catch his breath, "but that doesn't mean I forgave you for it." Pietro managed to snake the ball from Evan's grasp and began dribbling it just out of Evan's reach.
"So I say one dumb thing and that's it. I'm your mortal enemy. Great, remind me never to say anything stupid again." Evan spat sarcastically, panting as he wove his way around Pietro and attempted to steal the ball back.
"Well is it my fault we're both the most stubborn kids on the planet? You wouldn't forgive me either if it had been the other way around." He stepped back and again kept the ball out of Evan's reach.
"Aw can it. We both know we were too close for one fight to kill our friendship. I'm the only one who really knew you back then, so why don't you just tell me the real reason you decided to hate me." This time Evan was successful in regaining the ball, and began to run up to the court for a shot. Even without his mutation, Pietro was faster and blocked Evan before he had the chance to take the shot.
"The truth Daniels?" He paused, wheezing slightly.
"Yeah," Evan said, tucking the ball under his arm, "The truth."
"I was jealous." His voice had dropped so low that Evan could barely hear him.
"What?"
Pietro sneered and grabbed the ball away from Evan. He began to dribble it again and waited while Evan started to get back into the game.
"I wanted what you had Daniels! I wanted it so bad I couldn't even look at you! Your perfect little family; your perfect little world. Not having to stay up for hours and hours at night to make sure your drunk foster father didn't molest your sister! Not having to live with the sounds of your foster parents screaming at each other into the night, and at you when you disappointed them in some way. Oh no, not in your world. You could sleep at night. You could come home with a "B" on your report card and not get screamed at.
"And then it got worse. My father shows up, takes away my sister, and I had to watch while she screamed and begged me to save her. You wanna know the only reason I let her go? The only thing that kept me from running into that building and taking her back home? It was because that hell hole my father put her in was a haven compared to our house. In there, I knew my foster father couldn't hurt her anymore. So I left her. Don't think for a minute that it was because of Magneto that I didn't go after her. He didn't scare me half as much as my house did.
"So when you asked if my sister wasn't really such a lunatic, why didn't I go get her out, I couldn't handle being near you. I couldn't possibly explain why I left her there to someone who had such a perfect little life."
Evan and Pietro stared at each other, the basketball resting between Pietro's hip and elbow. He swore under his breath and spun around. Slamming the basketball into the concrete, he rested his head against his arm along the basketball pole. Sweat glistened across his back, and he was panting hard. "Why do you still care?" he asked quietly. Turning around, he slid down the pole into a sitting position.
Evan walked over and sat next to him. He was curious as to how Pietro had tired so fast. Even he was covered in sweat, but his breathing wasn't nearly as strained as the speedster's. "I dunno. I just do I guess."
"Yeah, well I never asked you to."
"It's one of those things you don't really need permission for."
A long, much needed, moment of silence passed before either one spoke again.
Pietro tilted his head toward Evan. "Thanks."
Evan shrugged. "Don't mention it."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lance sat staring blankly at the ceiling. The professor and Hank were sitting in front of him explaining a bunch of stuff he didn't understand. A tumor, now that part he understood, but everything after that was pretty much a whirl of big long medical words that he couldn't process.
"Mr. Alvers? Lance?"
Lance blinked and brought his attention back Hank. "Sorry?" he said hoarsely.
"Did you hear anything I just said?" Hank asked.
"Hear, yes. But understand any of it? No. I know what a tumor is, and that's about as far as I got."
Hank sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ok, I'll try to put everything in layman's terms for you, but you have to stay with me alright?"
Lance nodded and he tried to shake the numb feeling that had crept over him upon hearing the words 'you have a brain tumor.'
"Ok, your tumor is benign, do you know what that means?"
"Non-cancerous?"
"Right. However, because it's on your brain, it is still dangerous. From what we can tell, it's near the part of your brain that controls your powers, which is why your headaches are so bad when you use them. Some brain tumors are inoperable but luckily, yours is."
"It is however, a very risky operation," the professor added.
"And if you don't operate? Or it's unsuccessful?"
Lance had his answer when the professor and Hank exchanged glances.
"If we don't correct it, it will be fatal."
The numb feeling that Lance hadn't been able to shake now rushed over him again, this time making his insides feel like ice.
"Your odds are good, Lance. And we'll be sure that you have the best surgeons."
This wasn't what he wanted to hear; false comforts, and hope. He wanted to know the worst case scenario so he could prepare for it. Phrases like 'you'll have the best surgeons,' were only used in movies and TV shows, so it did little to comfort him.
"Just tell me the bad stuff first. I'd rather know what I'm up against," his voice sounded odd to him. It sounded much stronger than he felt. No doubt that had he been standing, his knees would have given out by now.
"I think it would be better if we focused on the positive, Lance," the professor stated gently.
"No offence, but I think I know my life better than you, and if there is a worst case situation, I'd be willing to bet anything it'll happen to me. Pretty much how my life goes."
Dr. McCoy leaned forward and Lance could see the sadness in his eyes. It felt odd to him that someone would be sad about his misfortune. It wasn't an experience he was used to and he wasn't too sure how he felt about it.
"If we don't remove it soon, you could be left with permanent brain damage, loss of motor skills, problems with your speech, fatigue, those sort of things. Which is why we have you scheduled for surgery in two weeks. That's the soonest we could get you in," his voice was low, and almost soothing, but it didn't in anyway lessen the cruel words.
Lance closed his eyes and mentally put himself in check. When he opened them again he could tell that the two men in front of him were mildly surprised to see there were no tears in his eyes. He was too numb to cry if he wanted to anyway. The words were still making their way to his mind, not really connecting anywhere, just floating.
"Lance? Are you alright?"
He nodded mechanically.
"We don't want to use your powers for awhile, I think it may aggravate things further," Hank continued.
Again Lance nodded. "Can I go to bed now?"
"Of course," Xavier said softly.
Lance rose, only vaguely curious how his legs were supporting him, and exited the room. He was almost knocked over as a dog ran past him, followed a boy Lance didn't really recognize.
"Rahne! Bobby! I swear if you two don't like, get a clue…Oh, hey Lance." Kitty stopped yelling at the younger mutants as she caught sight of the rock tumbler standing at the end of the hall.
"So like, what's up?"
Lance looked at Kitty and the back if his mind told him to act cool, like nothing was bothering him. Again however, his eyes betrayed him.
"Lance?" she whispered, concern laced in her voice. "Hey, I know you're not too happy about being here and all, but like, it's not so bad? I mean,"
"It's not that," Lance cut her off. "I uh, I'll talk to you about it later ok?"
"Lance, I'm really worried about you," Kitty's eyes were desperately searching Lance's face for some sort of answer, but she found none.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm fine."
Kitty's expression changed suddenly. It was still concerned, but much more determined. "Lance, that's a bunch of crap and you know it. And you know I know it, so why are you bothering to act all macho?"
"What does it matter to you? Why should I have to tell you all my problems? Last I checked, you didn't want to be with me anyway!" His anger was getting the best of him and he knew it. He didn't want to take it all out on Kitty, but she was making it way to easy.
"Just because I didn't want to be with you doesn't mean I didn't want to be friends with you! There's a difference Lance!" she snapped.
"Yeah, whatever," Lance said, gently pushing her out of his way.
"Lance, come on! You're totally gonna explode one day if you don't talk this stuff out."
Lance froze in the hallway and struggled not to shake the entire mansion down. He had been saying the same thing to himself about Pietro only hours earlier but he had never let the idea of having the same problem cross his mind. "Kitty, you couldn't possibly understand."
"Oh, right. 'Cuz you're the only person who's ever had problems," she said sarcastically.
"Ok, fine! I'm the father figure to a 15 year old who has a seriously warped sense of reality. My best friend is on the brink of an emotional break down and the only way he knows how to deal with it is by running away; which could potentially kill him. I've got to cope with the fact that I've almost destroyed several people's lives, yours included, because I made some crappy decisions. I'm so utterly useless that I can't even protect my friends from a complete idiot named Fred, and had to resort to coming *here,* a place where everyone hates me. I've got the fact that eventually Magneto is gonna find out what we did and he's going to want to punish us for it hanging over my head. And for the icing on the cake, I just found out that I have a tumor making itself at home on my brain. So excuse me Miss Catherine, if I seem a little upset and don't really feel like discussing it! It's bad enough in my head thanks!"
Kitty blinked at Lance a few times. Some of what he'd just said didn't make sense. 'Like how does running away potentially kill you?' But she had understood some of it, especially the last part, with shocking clarity. He was staring at her now, so confident that he had stunned her into speechlessness, but he wasn't that lucky.
"Sometimes, it's totally ok to worry about yourself for five minutes," she said softly.
Lance furrowed his brow. "Huh?"
"You're so wrapped up in being worried about everyone else. You've gotta like, work out your own issues before you can help anyone else out, ya know?"
Lance shifted nervously. Part of him wanted to get mad at her for prying into his life, but the other part knew he needed it.
"Um, you wanna maybe go out and get something to eat? So we can talk and stuff?"
Kitty smiled gently and glanced at her watch. "It's too close to curfew, but I can like, get Mr. Logan to keep the other kids out of the common room, or the library or something."
"Sure."