I have a problem...every time I get in my math class (the most boring class EVER) I sit there and brainstorm new ideas for this fic. Now, I know that doesn't sound like a problem really, but im terrible at math lol. I really need to start paying attention in that class. Now, since im sure u don't care much about my academic life, on to the review responses.
Maikafuiniel- *Gulp* Gooey bits? That doesn't sound pleasant lol. But all the same, it's kinda exciting that something I wrote made you cry...although im kinda sorry bout that lol. Sadness is no fun really...but you get what I mean.
Riye Link- I'm gonna have Todd interact with the new recruits some (a little later)...but I'm still kinda unsure about setting him up just yet. I'm not saying I wont..I'm just sort of toying with the idea for now.
KS-Fan- I'm really starting to look forward to your reviews :) A lot of my 'brilliant insights' as you called them, aren't really that brilliant lol...they're actually really random. (For example: Hmm, so if you subtract X from this side...hey you know what would be odd? If Rogue styled Kitty's hair, that'd be kinda amusing, now how can I incorporate that into the fic? Lol) But thank you :) I usually end up liking the odd quirks. Yeah, I'm gonna have to hurt Pietro some more (poor guy) but don't worry :) Thanks for the review...like I said, I look forward to getting them now.
Rena Lupin- Aww yay! I thought I was prolly messing Rogue up worst of all lol..so thank u
Miracle Chick- I'm really starting to look forward to your reviews as well :) They make me smile lol. I'm really glad that you see Lance that way cuz that's what I'm trying to do with him. I'm gonna explain that a few chapters from now. N e who, I'm glad you like hearing about their pasts cuz that's pretty much what's coming up next...them dealing with their pasts I mean...I've got some ideas for them that I think will turn out alright (as far as good writing goes anyway lol, not so alright for the poor guys) lol, I think I said that all confusingly, but I dunno how else to put it. Just a note about Fred and Mags...they're still awhile off. I have a feeling their entrance into this fic is gonna be a bit sudden, but ill deal with that when the time comes.
JKJ (I gave up trying to type your actual id name lol)- Hmm, interesting about that running chemical stuff, I may look into that. N e way, I like Kietro too, just...ehh lol. I prolly couldn't write Kietro at all. Um, um, um...good point ; ) Now that ppl have pointed out that Xavier is hard to write...im finding it more difficult to write him lol. I'm self conscious about or something weird I guess.
Sorry if I didn't directly thank you...but I still appreciated ur review even if I didnt. Seriously, the reviews are the only thing that keeps me updating frequently...so keep it up hehe. I'm a little nervous about this chapter...just so u know.
Chapter 8 7 A.M. Philosophy
Cracking an eyelid open slowly, Lance checked the clock on the dresser. 'Good, I didn't over sleep.' He pulled himself out of bed and winced as his head began to throb. He tried to ignore it and dug around in his drawer for some clothes. He pulled out a pair of khaki pants and then rummaged through Pietro's shirts until he found a polo shirt that matched.
Glancing over at Pietro's bunk, he was surprised to see that he must already be up. He stood on his tiptoes to make sure Todd was still asleep and arched an eyebrow. Climbing the ladder quietly, Lance peered at the mattress and bit back a laugh. Pietro was sprawled out with the blankets entangling every one of his limbs while Todd was curled into a small ball, as close to the edge of the mattress as he could get.
Pietro groggily opened his eyes and jumped when he saw Lance staring down at him. He glanced from Lance to Todd, and back at Lance again. He rolled his eyes and turned over, away from Lance, and attempted to go back to sleep.
Lance laughed again and deciding not to ask, headed toward the shower.
The mansion was eerily quiet this early in the morning during summer. He was glad no one else was awake, he didn't really want to explain where he was going.
He made his way to the kitchen to grab something to eat after he had finished showering but froze in the doorway. Kurt was sitting at the table scarfing down a bowl of cereal. He too, froze at the sight of someone else in the kitchen. Spoon still in his mouth, Kurt arched an eyebrow at Lance and glanced around, wondering why the brunette was staring at him.
"Vas?" He asked innocently.
Lance suddenly realized how stupid he probably looked just standing in the doorway, and walked over to the refrigerator.
"Nuthin." He said, pulling out a carton of milk.
"Zat's Evan's. Blue label is za one za rest of us use."
Lance switched cartons and, grabbing a bowl and spoon, sat down across from Kurt.
The fur covered mutant watched Lance with interest. He had to admit he was curious whether or not Lance hated him for dating Kitty. Lance didn't really bother him so much anymore. He wasn't worried about him trying to run off with Kitty or anything, and he really hadn't said much to him since he'd been at the mansion.
Deciding that Logan would probably make sure they were seated next to each other eventually anyway, Kurt attempted to make conversation.
"So, I didn't know you vere much of a morning person."
Lance didn't look up and concentrated on his cereal. "I'm not."
"Zen vaht are you doing up?"
Lance shrugged. "Going to church."
Kurt's eyes widened and the cereal that had been balancing precariously on his spoon spilled over the table.
Lance looked up, his expression stern, "Got a problem with that fuzz butt?"
Kurt shook his head. "Vhy vould I?"
Lance looked at Kurt suspiciously then shrugged again. "You don't think it's odd?"
Kurt laughed. "You sink I'm vearing dress slacks zis early in za morning for my health? I'm on my vay to Mass, so vhy could I see anyzing veird in going to church?"
Lance swirled his spoon around in his cheerios. He hadn't known that Kurt was at all religious and the thought that he didn't seem to think anything was strange about Lance going to church was oddly comforting. He'd never really talked to Kurt before, now that he thought about it. He always viewed him as competition. Now that he was pretty much over Kitty, he didn't really see any point in being mean to the German. He continued to watch his soggy breakfast spin around in his bowl when Kurt interrupted his thoughts.
"Um, if you don't mind my saying so, are you sure you should be going out? You look a leetle on za sick side."
Lance smirked. He *did* feel pretty terrible at the moment but he was used to ignoring it. "I *am* sick."
"So maybe you should stay in bed. You vouldn't want it to get any vorse."
Lance looked at Kurt curiously. What was the elf playing at anyway, being all friendly to him? He had certainly never done anything to merit Kurt's politeness. Quite the opposite actually.
"Why would you care? Heck, what are you even talking to me for?"
Kurt looked slightly taken aback. Sure he had his issues with Lance but he didn't see why they couldn't act civil towards each other. He tried not to let his annoyance get the better of him.
"Vell za vay I see it, you and za other guys are pretty stressed out so zere's no point in making it vorse for you by being a jerk."
"But you used to hate me...didn't you?"
"Nah. But Kitty liked you. Nuff said... nein?"
"Ahh, so now that you have her you don't need to worry about outdoing me or something dumb like that?"
"Vell it sounds pretty immature vhen you say it like zat, but I guess zat about sums it up."
Lance cocked his head to one side in thought. He really needed Kitty at the moment, there was no denying that. It wasn't in a couple way or anything but she was really the only person he could talk to about what was going at the moment. He wasn't as dense as Pietro, he knew he had to tell *someone* about how he felt even if it *did* make him feel awkward. He learned a long time ago that he had to find support somewhere. At the same time though, he didn't want to cause problems between Kurt and Kitty.
Lance ran a hand along his neck nervously, "Uh, can I ask you something?"
Kurt looked up from his fifth bowl of cheerios and waited.
"See, here's the thing fuz...erm, Kurt. I don't have those kind of feelings for Kitty anymore alright? But, she's really the only person I can talk to about...well, about stuff, ya know what I mean? So, I'm not trying to move in on her or anything, but uhh, yeah." 'Well that was lame.'
Kurt shrugged. "So talk to her. Either she's gonna be loyal to me or she isn't. Ve aren't even an official couple yet, so eet's not like she's not aloud to hang out wiz other guys. Heck, even if ve vere a real couple I couldn't stop her from having guy friends. Zat's just dumb. In any case, it's not like your some bad guy and I'm vorried you might try to hurt her or somezing."
It took all of Lance's will power to keep his jaw from dropping to the table. First of all, Kurt's realistic outlook on the whole thing was a bit surprising. Not that Lance had ever thought of Kurt as the angry and jealous type, but still. Something about Kurt's last sentence hit him as well. It was subtle, but having Kurt say that he *wasn't* a bad guy felt pretty good.
"Don't get me vrong," Kurt added, "If you *did* take her away from me I'd probably vant to 'port you off to Siberia or somezing. But zat's just za way things go. Life sucks sometimes and you deal wiz it vhen the time comes. For now, Kitty's wiz me and I'm content wiz zat."
"Are you always this philosophical?" Lance asked, smirking.
Kurt grinned through a mouthful of cereal and shook his head, "Only between za hours of 6:00 and 8:00 A.M. I'm pretty shallow for za rest of za day."
Lance laughed and stood up. Wincing, he gripped the back of the chair to steady himself.
"You sure you can drive? Vhat's vrong anyvay?"
Lance rolled his eyes. "I have a brain tumor. Nothing to worry about."
He wasn't sure what made him blurt it out like that to Kurt. At the moment he would probably tell the German his whole life story if he asked. He was just in one of those odd moods where the world could kiss his butt for all he cared and Kurt's odd kindness to him seemed to open a door of some kind.
Kurt dropped his cereal bowl that he had been carrying to the sink but ignored it.
"That's not funny Lance!" he growled.
Lance looked over at Kurt and raised his eyebrows. "You're telling me."
Kurt's face fell. "Ein Tumor? Wann haben Sie erfahren? Weiß jemand sonst? Lance, warum nicht Sie in Bett ist! Oder in einem Krankenhaus irgendwo..." (AN: A tumor? When did you find out? Does anyone else know? Lance why aren't you in bed! Or in a hospital somewhere...)
Kurt slowed down and waited for his brain to catch up with his mouth. Lance just blinked at him a few times.
"Sorry, just...wow. Is zat vhy you guys are here?"
"Nope. I found out as a result of coming here."
"You seem so calm about it." Kurt said, amazed.
Lance nodded. "Yep. Stuff happens. You just gotta deal with it."
"Ja, but, still. You can be upset sometimes."
Lance finished rinsing his cereal bowl and tossed Kurt a roll of paper towels for him to clean up his spilled milk. "I've got other stuff to worry about."
Kurt's jaw dropped. "Forgive me mein freund, but I vould sink your life should be top priority."
"I never said it wasn't," Lance looked at Kurt's confused expression and sighed, "Look Kurt, if you knew the whole story you'd understand. Can we change the subject please?
Kurt tilted his head at Lance then nodded. "Ja, I'll be late if I don't leave now. See ya Lance."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Jean! Come on that's not fair!" Scott whined.
Jean grinned mischievously and continued to hover Scott's glasses above her own head.
"Want them back?" she teased.
"Well, yeah!" Scott said, feigning annoyance.
"Then how am I supposed to know if you're staring at me! It's rude."
Scott laughed and crossed his arms. "Jean, how would you know if I was staring unless *you* had your eyes open?"
Jean giggled and stepped closer to Scott. "That's another reason you should take your glasses off when I kiss you, so I can watch you."
Scott sighed and dropped his arms to his side once again. "You're completely killing the romance of kissing, you know that don't you?"
Jean giggled, "Oh am I?"
Scott grinned, knowing what was coming as he felt Jean's face inches away from his. At the last second, Jean froze. She whipped her head toward the door, her red hair hitting Scott lightly in the face as she did.
"Jean?"
"Shhh!" she hissed, placing his glasses back on his face.
Seconds later, Pietro and Todd trudged past the doors and continued on down the hall, not even glancing into the rec room.
Jean wrinkled her nose and spun back around to face Scott.
"That was...odd," she said.
"Uh, care to elaborate? Personally, I don't think walking down the hall is too strange."
"No, it was Pietro. Someone really needs to work with him on keeping his thoughts quiet. He wasn't making much sense."
Scott shrugged, "So?"
He really didn't see why the brotherhood was still here. He figured they would have gotten tired of being around 'X-Geeks' by now and left. *He* was tired of having to be nice to them at meals.
Jean glared at him and then looked back at the doorway. "Seriously Scott. I think something is really wrong with them. Maybe we should make an attempt to be nice to them for once."
"Why? What was he saying anyway?"
Jean shook her head, "Nuh uh. Not telling."
Scott rolled his eyes from behind their red prison.
"Don't roll your eyes at me!"
"Huh?"
"I can tell when you do that. Your eyebrows flicker," she stated simply., "Look, have you noticed anything kinda...off about the three of them?"
Scott thought for a second. He really hadn't thought about it much. He was too annoyed with their presence in general to notice anything exceptionally odd about them.
Jean sighed and linked arms with Scott. "Just watch them today and see if you notice anything weird ok?"
Scott nodded and the two of them headed out the door for dinner.
Most of the students were already in the kitchen, making as much noise as possible while they waited. Scott looked around the room and spotted the three brotherhood boys sitting silently at the center of the table. For the past few days they had automatically split themselves up so that Logan wouldn't have to do it for them, so it was odd that they were all sitting together tonight.
When everyone had finally settled down, Logan didn't move them all around like they expected, but no one bothered to ask why. Everyone was talking loudly across the table at one another, but Scott, true to his word about watching the brotherhood, simply ignored the conversation around him.
Pietro was sitting between Todd and Evan. Ok, so it was a little weird that Evan and Pietro would willingly sit next to each other, but he doubted that Jean was referring to something as small as that. He continued to watch Pietro through his glasses. He was secretly fond of his ability to stare and watch people unnoticed.
The white haired mutant tilted his head back and began to down several pills. Scott's eyes widened. 'What the heck? Those aren't prescription are they?' He suddenly panicked. 'He's freaking committing suicide at our dinner table!'
"Pietro Stop!" The table fell silent as Scott stood up and screamed at Pietro. "What do you think you're doing?"
Pietro raised his eyebrows and gave Scott a funny look. "Uh, eating dinner?" he casually popped another pill into his mouth and swallowed, still staring at Scott and wishing everyone at the table would stop looking at him.
"That!" Scott shouted, pointing at the few remaining pills in Pietro's hand, "What are you doing that for!"
Pietro curled his lip slightly and looked at Scott as though he'd lost his mind. "Summers, you're an idiot. Sit down. These are *vitamins* that McCoy gave me."
Scott's jaw dropped and he blushed scarlet. "Uh, yeah. Ok."
He sat down slowly and everyone at the table looked at him in amusement. He wished more than anything that he could disappear. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Jean would have said something if it were that important! Stupid, stupid, stupid.'
The attention of the students shifted suddenly, as Kurt and Kitty appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Are ve late?" Kurt said laughing nervously, "Must have lost track of time."
The other students just looked at him oddly. Being late to dinner wasn't a big deal. He took a seat next to Lance and began to pile food on his plate, avoiding the eyes of everyone in the room.
Kitty was bright pink and said nothing as she sat down, turning an even darker shade of red as she smoothed her slightly disheveled hair down.
Lance glanced at her and began to snicker, then erupted into laughter and pointed at Kitty and Kurt as the realization of why they had been late dawned on him.
"Shut up, Lance," Kurt hissed, but he couldn't keep himself from grinning.
He was about to join Lance's laughter when Kitty elbowed him sharply. She sighed with relief as the students went back to their conversations, but she had celebrated too soon.
"Hey Kurt," Evan called from across the table, "Nice lip gloss."
Everyone at the table, including the teachers, looked up at Kurt, who was hastily wiping his hand over his mouth. The students erupted into laughter while Kitty groaned and put her head down on the table.
"Like, shut up guys!"
Kurt flicked his tail nervously. He would have been laughing right along with everyone else if it hadn't been for the icy stare he was receiving from Logan.
Lance gave Kurt a slight nudge and dropped his voice so that only Kurt could hear him. "Kewi or Mango?" he asked grinning.
This time Kurt *did* laugh. "Mango. Zough I sink I prefer kewi."
Lance snickered, "She's got this one kind, I think it must be Dr. Pepper ro something. I tell ya, that Bonne Bell company is genius."
Kitty snapped her head toward the pair of them and gasped. "Excuse you!"
Lance shut his mouth and continued eating while Kurt piled more food onto his plate, still grinning.
The only three people that didn't seem effected by the entire Kurt and Kitty episode was Scott, Todd, and Pietro. Scott was still too preoccupied in his observations to care about Kitty and Kurt make out sessions.
Pietro was eating mechanically, as though he had to force himself to chew and swallow. He was also, Scott noticed, eating *a lot.* 'Odd, for such a thin guy you wouldn't think he ate that much.' He tilted his head slightly and watched Pietro bring his fork up, his sleeve slipping slightly to reveal his bony wrist. '*extremely* thin guy.'
He suddenly realized that Pietro was looking directly at him, a suspicious glare on his face.
"Would you quit it already?"
Scott dropped his head to his plate and spooned a few carrots into his mouth while pretending not to have noticed Pietro's comment.
~You're way too into this Scott. When I said watch them I didn't mean analyze their every move! It's obvious. Look at Todd. He looks...dead. And Pietro, smooth move by the way, he's just so lost looking. Not to mention unhealthy looking as well. Lance too. I dunno Scott. Something tells me we should just be a little nicer to them, maybe try to make them feel like we want them here.~
Scott looked over at Jean and sighed, ~Yeah, but Jean...~ He paused and glanced at the professor, knowing that he was picking up on Scott's mental broadcast. Though Jean could specifically talk to one person, anyone who wasn't a telepath had to just project their thoughts. In which case both Jean and the professor could pick up on things.
"Ahem." Scott said pointedly.
The professor smiled teasingly but none the less put a block on Scott for the time being.
~Anyway, we *don't* really want them here, do we?~
~Scott, the need out help. Look at them!~
Again Scott brought his attention to the boys. Todd was picking at his food but not eating a bite. He looked miserable, which struck Scott as kind of odd seeing as the younger boy had been rather talkative the past few nights. Lance looked distracted, and now that Scott was thinking about it, he really didn't look healthy at all. He was pale as could be and dark circles rimmed his eyes.
~Do you see what I'm talking about Scott? Sure they act all macho around us but what do you expect? ~
Scott nodded, for the first time realizing what Jean meant. A wave of guilt smacked him square in the chest and he suddenly didn't feel very hungry any more. 'I've been such a jerk.' He looked over at Todd again and raised his eyebrows...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Todd stared at his plate and wanted to hurl. 'Chicken. Chinese style, teriyaki, chicken. How freakin' ironic.'
He had barely said a word to anyone all day. It was making Pietro nervous, he could tell, but he really didn't care at the moment. He wished he could just bury himself in a hole and not come out again until the world was set straight. He wanted *his* world back, the one where he actually felt safe. 'Man! Why did the proff have to take that away from me!'
What annoyed him most was that he knew the answer to that question already. Pietro had sort of explained what was wrong with him, but it didn't do much to lessen his confusion. As much as he didn't want to live in reality, he didn't want to be insane either. He didn't have a clue why he had started imagining his own fake life, and he had a feeling he didn't want to find out.
'He's gonna make me find out though. He's going to force me to remember whatever it is I fought, and succeeded, to forget. So pretty much life sucks. Great, now I'm going to start crying again like some PMSing chick and every freakin' X-Geek is gonna see. Fabulous. Now Summer's is looking at me funny. I really wish he'd stop.'
Todd dropped his head as far down as he could and tried to ignore the look Scott was giving him. 'Lance...come on look over here. Pietro, pleeeease, get me out of here.'
He clenched his eyes shut and tried to hold back the tears. He really wished he knew why he was crying so that maybe he could figure out a way to stop it, but he didn't have a clue. All he knew was that something bad was happening, had happened, or was going to happen.
He heard a few people murmuring and knew a lot of them were looking at him now. He nearly yelped with happiness when he heard Pietro get Lance's attention.
"Hey Todd, come on. Let's go upstairs."
Head still down, Todd leapt to his feet and followed closely behind Lance out of the room.
Pietro just stared at the several people gaping at him. "Aw shove it," he said thickly and stood up and left the room.
The remaining students then turned to face the professor who was rubbing his temple slightly. "You realize that your petty feuds with those boys are quite irrelevant now, don't you?"
The students all looked sheepishly down at their plates and a few nodded grimly.
"Enough with the cold shoulders then, alright?" Logan said, growling slightly.
"Yes, how about growing up a little?" Though he had said it gently, the professor had made his point.
AN: I know I put like 3 Todd breakdowns in a row now, but I needed some sort of turning point for the X-Men to see that the boys really are in trouble kinda thing and I'm not ready for Pietro to break lose yet...so there ya go. Please review...like I said b4, im kinda nervous about this chapter for some reason...not sure why exactly. Thanks.
Maikafuiniel- *Gulp* Gooey bits? That doesn't sound pleasant lol. But all the same, it's kinda exciting that something I wrote made you cry...although im kinda sorry bout that lol. Sadness is no fun really...but you get what I mean.
Riye Link- I'm gonna have Todd interact with the new recruits some (a little later)...but I'm still kinda unsure about setting him up just yet. I'm not saying I wont..I'm just sort of toying with the idea for now.
KS-Fan- I'm really starting to look forward to your reviews :) A lot of my 'brilliant insights' as you called them, aren't really that brilliant lol...they're actually really random. (For example: Hmm, so if you subtract X from this side...hey you know what would be odd? If Rogue styled Kitty's hair, that'd be kinda amusing, now how can I incorporate that into the fic? Lol) But thank you :) I usually end up liking the odd quirks. Yeah, I'm gonna have to hurt Pietro some more (poor guy) but don't worry :) Thanks for the review...like I said, I look forward to getting them now.
Rena Lupin- Aww yay! I thought I was prolly messing Rogue up worst of all lol..so thank u
Miracle Chick- I'm really starting to look forward to your reviews as well :) They make me smile lol. I'm really glad that you see Lance that way cuz that's what I'm trying to do with him. I'm gonna explain that a few chapters from now. N e who, I'm glad you like hearing about their pasts cuz that's pretty much what's coming up next...them dealing with their pasts I mean...I've got some ideas for them that I think will turn out alright (as far as good writing goes anyway lol, not so alright for the poor guys) lol, I think I said that all confusingly, but I dunno how else to put it. Just a note about Fred and Mags...they're still awhile off. I have a feeling their entrance into this fic is gonna be a bit sudden, but ill deal with that when the time comes.
JKJ (I gave up trying to type your actual id name lol)- Hmm, interesting about that running chemical stuff, I may look into that. N e way, I like Kietro too, just...ehh lol. I prolly couldn't write Kietro at all. Um, um, um...good point ; ) Now that ppl have pointed out that Xavier is hard to write...im finding it more difficult to write him lol. I'm self conscious about or something weird I guess.
Sorry if I didn't directly thank you...but I still appreciated ur review even if I didnt. Seriously, the reviews are the only thing that keeps me updating frequently...so keep it up hehe. I'm a little nervous about this chapter...just so u know.
Chapter 8 7 A.M. Philosophy
Cracking an eyelid open slowly, Lance checked the clock on the dresser. 'Good, I didn't over sleep.' He pulled himself out of bed and winced as his head began to throb. He tried to ignore it and dug around in his drawer for some clothes. He pulled out a pair of khaki pants and then rummaged through Pietro's shirts until he found a polo shirt that matched.
Glancing over at Pietro's bunk, he was surprised to see that he must already be up. He stood on his tiptoes to make sure Todd was still asleep and arched an eyebrow. Climbing the ladder quietly, Lance peered at the mattress and bit back a laugh. Pietro was sprawled out with the blankets entangling every one of his limbs while Todd was curled into a small ball, as close to the edge of the mattress as he could get.
Pietro groggily opened his eyes and jumped when he saw Lance staring down at him. He glanced from Lance to Todd, and back at Lance again. He rolled his eyes and turned over, away from Lance, and attempted to go back to sleep.
Lance laughed again and deciding not to ask, headed toward the shower.
The mansion was eerily quiet this early in the morning during summer. He was glad no one else was awake, he didn't really want to explain where he was going.
He made his way to the kitchen to grab something to eat after he had finished showering but froze in the doorway. Kurt was sitting at the table scarfing down a bowl of cereal. He too, froze at the sight of someone else in the kitchen. Spoon still in his mouth, Kurt arched an eyebrow at Lance and glanced around, wondering why the brunette was staring at him.
"Vas?" He asked innocently.
Lance suddenly realized how stupid he probably looked just standing in the doorway, and walked over to the refrigerator.
"Nuthin." He said, pulling out a carton of milk.
"Zat's Evan's. Blue label is za one za rest of us use."
Lance switched cartons and, grabbing a bowl and spoon, sat down across from Kurt.
The fur covered mutant watched Lance with interest. He had to admit he was curious whether or not Lance hated him for dating Kitty. Lance didn't really bother him so much anymore. He wasn't worried about him trying to run off with Kitty or anything, and he really hadn't said much to him since he'd been at the mansion.
Deciding that Logan would probably make sure they were seated next to each other eventually anyway, Kurt attempted to make conversation.
"So, I didn't know you vere much of a morning person."
Lance didn't look up and concentrated on his cereal. "I'm not."
"Zen vaht are you doing up?"
Lance shrugged. "Going to church."
Kurt's eyes widened and the cereal that had been balancing precariously on his spoon spilled over the table.
Lance looked up, his expression stern, "Got a problem with that fuzz butt?"
Kurt shook his head. "Vhy vould I?"
Lance looked at Kurt suspiciously then shrugged again. "You don't think it's odd?"
Kurt laughed. "You sink I'm vearing dress slacks zis early in za morning for my health? I'm on my vay to Mass, so vhy could I see anyzing veird in going to church?"
Lance swirled his spoon around in his cheerios. He hadn't known that Kurt was at all religious and the thought that he didn't seem to think anything was strange about Lance going to church was oddly comforting. He'd never really talked to Kurt before, now that he thought about it. He always viewed him as competition. Now that he was pretty much over Kitty, he didn't really see any point in being mean to the German. He continued to watch his soggy breakfast spin around in his bowl when Kurt interrupted his thoughts.
"Um, if you don't mind my saying so, are you sure you should be going out? You look a leetle on za sick side."
Lance smirked. He *did* feel pretty terrible at the moment but he was used to ignoring it. "I *am* sick."
"So maybe you should stay in bed. You vouldn't want it to get any vorse."
Lance looked at Kurt curiously. What was the elf playing at anyway, being all friendly to him? He had certainly never done anything to merit Kurt's politeness. Quite the opposite actually.
"Why would you care? Heck, what are you even talking to me for?"
Kurt looked slightly taken aback. Sure he had his issues with Lance but he didn't see why they couldn't act civil towards each other. He tried not to let his annoyance get the better of him.
"Vell za vay I see it, you and za other guys are pretty stressed out so zere's no point in making it vorse for you by being a jerk."
"But you used to hate me...didn't you?"
"Nah. But Kitty liked you. Nuff said... nein?"
"Ahh, so now that you have her you don't need to worry about outdoing me or something dumb like that?"
"Vell it sounds pretty immature vhen you say it like zat, but I guess zat about sums it up."
Lance cocked his head to one side in thought. He really needed Kitty at the moment, there was no denying that. It wasn't in a couple way or anything but she was really the only person he could talk to about what was going at the moment. He wasn't as dense as Pietro, he knew he had to tell *someone* about how he felt even if it *did* make him feel awkward. He learned a long time ago that he had to find support somewhere. At the same time though, he didn't want to cause problems between Kurt and Kitty.
Lance ran a hand along his neck nervously, "Uh, can I ask you something?"
Kurt looked up from his fifth bowl of cheerios and waited.
"See, here's the thing fuz...erm, Kurt. I don't have those kind of feelings for Kitty anymore alright? But, she's really the only person I can talk to about...well, about stuff, ya know what I mean? So, I'm not trying to move in on her or anything, but uhh, yeah." 'Well that was lame.'
Kurt shrugged. "So talk to her. Either she's gonna be loyal to me or she isn't. Ve aren't even an official couple yet, so eet's not like she's not aloud to hang out wiz other guys. Heck, even if ve vere a real couple I couldn't stop her from having guy friends. Zat's just dumb. In any case, it's not like your some bad guy and I'm vorried you might try to hurt her or somezing."
It took all of Lance's will power to keep his jaw from dropping to the table. First of all, Kurt's realistic outlook on the whole thing was a bit surprising. Not that Lance had ever thought of Kurt as the angry and jealous type, but still. Something about Kurt's last sentence hit him as well. It was subtle, but having Kurt say that he *wasn't* a bad guy felt pretty good.
"Don't get me vrong," Kurt added, "If you *did* take her away from me I'd probably vant to 'port you off to Siberia or somezing. But zat's just za way things go. Life sucks sometimes and you deal wiz it vhen the time comes. For now, Kitty's wiz me and I'm content wiz zat."
"Are you always this philosophical?" Lance asked, smirking.
Kurt grinned through a mouthful of cereal and shook his head, "Only between za hours of 6:00 and 8:00 A.M. I'm pretty shallow for za rest of za day."
Lance laughed and stood up. Wincing, he gripped the back of the chair to steady himself.
"You sure you can drive? Vhat's vrong anyvay?"
Lance rolled his eyes. "I have a brain tumor. Nothing to worry about."
He wasn't sure what made him blurt it out like that to Kurt. At the moment he would probably tell the German his whole life story if he asked. He was just in one of those odd moods where the world could kiss his butt for all he cared and Kurt's odd kindness to him seemed to open a door of some kind.
Kurt dropped his cereal bowl that he had been carrying to the sink but ignored it.
"That's not funny Lance!" he growled.
Lance looked over at Kurt and raised his eyebrows. "You're telling me."
Kurt's face fell. "Ein Tumor? Wann haben Sie erfahren? Weiß jemand sonst? Lance, warum nicht Sie in Bett ist! Oder in einem Krankenhaus irgendwo..." (AN: A tumor? When did you find out? Does anyone else know? Lance why aren't you in bed! Or in a hospital somewhere...)
Kurt slowed down and waited for his brain to catch up with his mouth. Lance just blinked at him a few times.
"Sorry, just...wow. Is zat vhy you guys are here?"
"Nope. I found out as a result of coming here."
"You seem so calm about it." Kurt said, amazed.
Lance nodded. "Yep. Stuff happens. You just gotta deal with it."
"Ja, but, still. You can be upset sometimes."
Lance finished rinsing his cereal bowl and tossed Kurt a roll of paper towels for him to clean up his spilled milk. "I've got other stuff to worry about."
Kurt's jaw dropped. "Forgive me mein freund, but I vould sink your life should be top priority."
"I never said it wasn't," Lance looked at Kurt's confused expression and sighed, "Look Kurt, if you knew the whole story you'd understand. Can we change the subject please?
Kurt tilted his head at Lance then nodded. "Ja, I'll be late if I don't leave now. See ya Lance."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Jean! Come on that's not fair!" Scott whined.
Jean grinned mischievously and continued to hover Scott's glasses above her own head.
"Want them back?" she teased.
"Well, yeah!" Scott said, feigning annoyance.
"Then how am I supposed to know if you're staring at me! It's rude."
Scott laughed and crossed his arms. "Jean, how would you know if I was staring unless *you* had your eyes open?"
Jean giggled and stepped closer to Scott. "That's another reason you should take your glasses off when I kiss you, so I can watch you."
Scott sighed and dropped his arms to his side once again. "You're completely killing the romance of kissing, you know that don't you?"
Jean giggled, "Oh am I?"
Scott grinned, knowing what was coming as he felt Jean's face inches away from his. At the last second, Jean froze. She whipped her head toward the door, her red hair hitting Scott lightly in the face as she did.
"Jean?"
"Shhh!" she hissed, placing his glasses back on his face.
Seconds later, Pietro and Todd trudged past the doors and continued on down the hall, not even glancing into the rec room.
Jean wrinkled her nose and spun back around to face Scott.
"That was...odd," she said.
"Uh, care to elaborate? Personally, I don't think walking down the hall is too strange."
"No, it was Pietro. Someone really needs to work with him on keeping his thoughts quiet. He wasn't making much sense."
Scott shrugged, "So?"
He really didn't see why the brotherhood was still here. He figured they would have gotten tired of being around 'X-Geeks' by now and left. *He* was tired of having to be nice to them at meals.
Jean glared at him and then looked back at the doorway. "Seriously Scott. I think something is really wrong with them. Maybe we should make an attempt to be nice to them for once."
"Why? What was he saying anyway?"
Jean shook her head, "Nuh uh. Not telling."
Scott rolled his eyes from behind their red prison.
"Don't roll your eyes at me!"
"Huh?"
"I can tell when you do that. Your eyebrows flicker," she stated simply., "Look, have you noticed anything kinda...off about the three of them?"
Scott thought for a second. He really hadn't thought about it much. He was too annoyed with their presence in general to notice anything exceptionally odd about them.
Jean sighed and linked arms with Scott. "Just watch them today and see if you notice anything weird ok?"
Scott nodded and the two of them headed out the door for dinner.
Most of the students were already in the kitchen, making as much noise as possible while they waited. Scott looked around the room and spotted the three brotherhood boys sitting silently at the center of the table. For the past few days they had automatically split themselves up so that Logan wouldn't have to do it for them, so it was odd that they were all sitting together tonight.
When everyone had finally settled down, Logan didn't move them all around like they expected, but no one bothered to ask why. Everyone was talking loudly across the table at one another, but Scott, true to his word about watching the brotherhood, simply ignored the conversation around him.
Pietro was sitting between Todd and Evan. Ok, so it was a little weird that Evan and Pietro would willingly sit next to each other, but he doubted that Jean was referring to something as small as that. He continued to watch Pietro through his glasses. He was secretly fond of his ability to stare and watch people unnoticed.
The white haired mutant tilted his head back and began to down several pills. Scott's eyes widened. 'What the heck? Those aren't prescription are they?' He suddenly panicked. 'He's freaking committing suicide at our dinner table!'
"Pietro Stop!" The table fell silent as Scott stood up and screamed at Pietro. "What do you think you're doing?"
Pietro raised his eyebrows and gave Scott a funny look. "Uh, eating dinner?" he casually popped another pill into his mouth and swallowed, still staring at Scott and wishing everyone at the table would stop looking at him.
"That!" Scott shouted, pointing at the few remaining pills in Pietro's hand, "What are you doing that for!"
Pietro curled his lip slightly and looked at Scott as though he'd lost his mind. "Summers, you're an idiot. Sit down. These are *vitamins* that McCoy gave me."
Scott's jaw dropped and he blushed scarlet. "Uh, yeah. Ok."
He sat down slowly and everyone at the table looked at him in amusement. He wished more than anything that he could disappear. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Jean would have said something if it were that important! Stupid, stupid, stupid.'
The attention of the students shifted suddenly, as Kurt and Kitty appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Are ve late?" Kurt said laughing nervously, "Must have lost track of time."
The other students just looked at him oddly. Being late to dinner wasn't a big deal. He took a seat next to Lance and began to pile food on his plate, avoiding the eyes of everyone in the room.
Kitty was bright pink and said nothing as she sat down, turning an even darker shade of red as she smoothed her slightly disheveled hair down.
Lance glanced at her and began to snicker, then erupted into laughter and pointed at Kitty and Kurt as the realization of why they had been late dawned on him.
"Shut up, Lance," Kurt hissed, but he couldn't keep himself from grinning.
He was about to join Lance's laughter when Kitty elbowed him sharply. She sighed with relief as the students went back to their conversations, but she had celebrated too soon.
"Hey Kurt," Evan called from across the table, "Nice lip gloss."
Everyone at the table, including the teachers, looked up at Kurt, who was hastily wiping his hand over his mouth. The students erupted into laughter while Kitty groaned and put her head down on the table.
"Like, shut up guys!"
Kurt flicked his tail nervously. He would have been laughing right along with everyone else if it hadn't been for the icy stare he was receiving from Logan.
Lance gave Kurt a slight nudge and dropped his voice so that only Kurt could hear him. "Kewi or Mango?" he asked grinning.
This time Kurt *did* laugh. "Mango. Zough I sink I prefer kewi."
Lance snickered, "She's got this one kind, I think it must be Dr. Pepper ro something. I tell ya, that Bonne Bell company is genius."
Kitty snapped her head toward the pair of them and gasped. "Excuse you!"
Lance shut his mouth and continued eating while Kurt piled more food onto his plate, still grinning.
The only three people that didn't seem effected by the entire Kurt and Kitty episode was Scott, Todd, and Pietro. Scott was still too preoccupied in his observations to care about Kitty and Kurt make out sessions.
Pietro was eating mechanically, as though he had to force himself to chew and swallow. He was also, Scott noticed, eating *a lot.* 'Odd, for such a thin guy you wouldn't think he ate that much.' He tilted his head slightly and watched Pietro bring his fork up, his sleeve slipping slightly to reveal his bony wrist. '*extremely* thin guy.'
He suddenly realized that Pietro was looking directly at him, a suspicious glare on his face.
"Would you quit it already?"
Scott dropped his head to his plate and spooned a few carrots into his mouth while pretending not to have noticed Pietro's comment.
~You're way too into this Scott. When I said watch them I didn't mean analyze their every move! It's obvious. Look at Todd. He looks...dead. And Pietro, smooth move by the way, he's just so lost looking. Not to mention unhealthy looking as well. Lance too. I dunno Scott. Something tells me we should just be a little nicer to them, maybe try to make them feel like we want them here.~
Scott looked over at Jean and sighed, ~Yeah, but Jean...~ He paused and glanced at the professor, knowing that he was picking up on Scott's mental broadcast. Though Jean could specifically talk to one person, anyone who wasn't a telepath had to just project their thoughts. In which case both Jean and the professor could pick up on things.
"Ahem." Scott said pointedly.
The professor smiled teasingly but none the less put a block on Scott for the time being.
~Anyway, we *don't* really want them here, do we?~
~Scott, the need out help. Look at them!~
Again Scott brought his attention to the boys. Todd was picking at his food but not eating a bite. He looked miserable, which struck Scott as kind of odd seeing as the younger boy had been rather talkative the past few nights. Lance looked distracted, and now that Scott was thinking about it, he really didn't look healthy at all. He was pale as could be and dark circles rimmed his eyes.
~Do you see what I'm talking about Scott? Sure they act all macho around us but what do you expect? ~
Scott nodded, for the first time realizing what Jean meant. A wave of guilt smacked him square in the chest and he suddenly didn't feel very hungry any more. 'I've been such a jerk.' He looked over at Todd again and raised his eyebrows...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Todd stared at his plate and wanted to hurl. 'Chicken. Chinese style, teriyaki, chicken. How freakin' ironic.'
He had barely said a word to anyone all day. It was making Pietro nervous, he could tell, but he really didn't care at the moment. He wished he could just bury himself in a hole and not come out again until the world was set straight. He wanted *his* world back, the one where he actually felt safe. 'Man! Why did the proff have to take that away from me!'
What annoyed him most was that he knew the answer to that question already. Pietro had sort of explained what was wrong with him, but it didn't do much to lessen his confusion. As much as he didn't want to live in reality, he didn't want to be insane either. He didn't have a clue why he had started imagining his own fake life, and he had a feeling he didn't want to find out.
'He's gonna make me find out though. He's going to force me to remember whatever it is I fought, and succeeded, to forget. So pretty much life sucks. Great, now I'm going to start crying again like some PMSing chick and every freakin' X-Geek is gonna see. Fabulous. Now Summer's is looking at me funny. I really wish he'd stop.'
Todd dropped his head as far down as he could and tried to ignore the look Scott was giving him. 'Lance...come on look over here. Pietro, pleeeease, get me out of here.'
He clenched his eyes shut and tried to hold back the tears. He really wished he knew why he was crying so that maybe he could figure out a way to stop it, but he didn't have a clue. All he knew was that something bad was happening, had happened, or was going to happen.
He heard a few people murmuring and knew a lot of them were looking at him now. He nearly yelped with happiness when he heard Pietro get Lance's attention.
"Hey Todd, come on. Let's go upstairs."
Head still down, Todd leapt to his feet and followed closely behind Lance out of the room.
Pietro just stared at the several people gaping at him. "Aw shove it," he said thickly and stood up and left the room.
The remaining students then turned to face the professor who was rubbing his temple slightly. "You realize that your petty feuds with those boys are quite irrelevant now, don't you?"
The students all looked sheepishly down at their plates and a few nodded grimly.
"Enough with the cold shoulders then, alright?" Logan said, growling slightly.
"Yes, how about growing up a little?" Though he had said it gently, the professor had made his point.
AN: I know I put like 3 Todd breakdowns in a row now, but I needed some sort of turning point for the X-Men to see that the boys really are in trouble kinda thing and I'm not ready for Pietro to break lose yet...so there ya go. Please review...like I said b4, im kinda nervous about this chapter for some reason...not sure why exactly. Thanks.