X-Men Evolution is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.

"In The Garage" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)

Chapter 4

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Lance and Kitty get back to the Brotherhood Boarding House. They went back into Lance's room, as Lance moved to the closet and started pulling out equipment.

"It's like you've got a whole concert hall in there." Kitty wondered, taking a seat on the ground in front of his bed.

"You'd be surprised." He mused, setting down two guitar shaped cases. Lance kneeled down and opened the first one. Same electric guitar as yesterday. He set it aside, leaning it against the amp. He then opened the second case, which housed an accoustic guitar. Lance pulled it out and idly tuned it, then offered it to Kitty. "There you go."

"... oh... OH, right..." Kitty took the guitar and shook her head, 'It won't be like last night.' She thought to herself, a slight wave of disappointment came over her.

"Today I guess we'll work on what I taught you last night, and teach you a few more. I'd like for you to know all the major chords by the end of the night, and maybe a minor one or two. Complicated things like picking can wait."

"I didn't even understand half of what you just told me." Kitty looked at the guitar neck, placing her fingers down to form the A chord as she lightly strummed across the strings.

"You don't need to." Lance took a seat next to Kitty. He pulled his electric guitar on. "Now let's learn something new." He placed his fingers to demonstrate a C chord. "Just follow what I do, okay?"

"Oookay..." Kitty trailed off, placing her fingers in the same form. She played the chord, "What's this one?"

"C." He played it himself, sounding pretty much the same. "You've got the idea, Kitty. You've just got to have a little more confidence."

"It's easier to be confident when you think you know what you're doing. I feel so lost." She continued to play through the four chords she now knew. "I think my parents gave up on music lessons long ago for me. Just never shown an aptitude for it."

Lance played along with her chords. Harmonizing, matching, and even making her playing sound a lot nicer. He said, "Well, maybe they just never knew how to unlock it? You mean you never sat around the house, playing air guitar as a kid?"

"There's a difference between pretending to be a rockstar and actually doing it. This is a lot of work!" Kitty seemed annoyed. Lance showed her another chord, E, and they continued to play through this.

"But it's one of those aspirations. One of those dreams that seems so far off... but so fun to reach for, right?" He corrected her positioning, and continued to play, "Obsticles are part of any real dream."

"I guess." She fumbled through switching between chords. Eventually it started getting easier, and smoother. "I just think that I might be a disappointment."

Lance said in a softer, reassuring voice, "You're never a disappointment, Kitty." He pulled out some papers, "Here, I have this song written down. I know you can play it. It's accoustic only, but it's simple enough. Let me teach you one more chord though. E minor."

Kitty nodded. It was an easy chord, almost exactly like E major with the exception of one less string being pressed down. She looked down at the paper and saw the song title, "Good Riddance (Time of your life). You think I can really do this?"

"Just try it. You know all those chords, it's just a matter of rhythm, now." Lance smiled.

"Sure, I sorta know all those chords. I can fake it really well." Kitty took a deep breath, and started to play through the three chord intro. She moved onto the actual chorus.

Lance softly sang along, "Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road."

Kitty stumbled with the rhythm of how it went, but recovered. She started to play again. Lance still sang along with, "Time wraps you by the wrist, directs you where to go."

"So make the best of this test and don't ask why," Lance continued. Kitty frowned, she couldn't seem to get the chords all in the way they appeared on the page. Like she was a half a second off. She still continued as Lance sang, "It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time. It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life."

Kitty stopped playing and asked, "So how do I get it to play right? I mean... I messed up."

"It's practice. The thing about music is... it's all played by ear. If you think it sounds better one way or another, play it that way. Sure, there are guidelines to how the song was originally played, but just go with what sounds best for you. It may not be perfect, but you can work on perfection gradually."

"Complicated is the understatement of the week." Kitty looked frustrated. She looked at her left hand as it formed each chord carefully along the neck of the guitar.

Lance set his guitar aside. He moved over to sit closer. "Hey, look at me." Lance touched her chin with his finger, bringing her eyes to lock with his, "I know you can do this. You can do anything you put your mind to. Kitty Pryde is NOT someone who gives up easily, right?"

Kitty blushed. She nodded, "...I don't give up. No. Never give up, never surrender, right?" His hand moved from her chin to her cheek, touching her skin softly. She could feel the slight callouses along Lance's fingertips move across her cheek.

Lance paused, his mind swam with the delicate nature of the moment. He edged in closer and whispered, "Never.." as an afterthought to what she had said. Lance tilted his head and pressed his lips against hers. Not sudden like yesterday at all, but soft in both touch and execution. Kitty closed her eyes and responded to the kiss playfully. Her hand moved through his hair, messing it up just a little.

*Knock knock* *knock knock knock*

Kitty pulled away from the kiss, a blush across her face. "...door..."

Lance grumbled. 'Why me?' He thought to himself. He stood up and went to the door, opening it, "What."

At the door stood the boy known as Pietro Maximoff. He crossed his arms, "About time you answered."

"I'm BUSY. What. Do. You. Want?" Lance glared at the other boy. It was obvious that the two had a little conflict, or at least some tension between them both.

"I was just happening by, heard some really nice tunes... OH HELLO, it's Miss Pretty Kitty herself. Whatcha doin' around our parts? Slumming it instead of hangin' with the X-Geeks?" Pietro smirked in Kitty's general direction.

"Get lost, we're busy." Lance went to close the door on Pietro. Pietro easily kept it open with a foot.

Kitty made a face, but replied to Pietro's question. "Pietro, I'm not slumming it. Sometimes, y'know, I might actually WANT to be here. Lance is... uh... teaching me something. And you kinda are interrupting." She went back to the guitar, idly playing through a few chords.

Pietro held up his hands, "OoOoooOoo, I'm interrupting! I didn't think 'how to apply girls lip gloss' was part of the guitar lesson, Lance."

Lance grabbed Pietro by the shirt and lifted him, pushing him firmly against the doorway, "Are you done?" The wood pressed very harshly into Pietro's back.

"Sure Lance, I'm done." Pietro said almost nervously.

Lance dropped him and pushed him out of the room before closing and locking it once again. "Remind me to kill him the next chance I get."

"He's just razzing you. It's in his nature. Like... being a jerk, or harassing Evan." She shrugged, "So.. what's next?"

"Uh, what?" Lance asked.

"...let's get back to the lesson." Kitty urged.

"Oh... oh right." He sighed, the moment had passed now. Lance sat back down and reshouldered his guitar.

The lesson continued. Soon enough, Kitty was taught B, F, and then the collection of minor chords. After about two hours, they took a break.

"Want something to drink, Kitty?"

"Whatever you're having." She waved a hand as she looked through some guitar book Lance had pulled out. Lance left the room. Kitty glanced at the time, just a little after six in the evening. It's getting later than she had hoped to stay. She turned the book to a page of a song she recognized. She sat it down and re-gripped the accoustic guitar. She slowly fumbled through the beginning, then started to sing very softly.

"I thought I saw a man brought to life..." She changed through the chords, "He was warm, he came around, and he was dignified. He showed me what it was to cry." Her voice edged in a little more confidence as she continued to play. "Well you couldn't be the man I adored. You don't seem to know. Don't seem to care what your heart is for. But I don't know him anymore.."

A soft clap came from the door. It was Lance, just watching Kitty as she played. She stopped, covering the strings with her right hand.

"...I think I'm starting to get it..." She murmured, embarassed.

Lance shook his head, "You're doing great. You sounded wonderful, too. Maybe we can pick out some duets for the competition. Like 'Loveshack' or something."

Kitty set the guitar aside, "I'm wiped, though. I don't think my hands can take more of this." She rubbed her left finger tips. "They feel like they might blister up if I keep going, and that's not good."

Lance sat down next to Kitty on her left side. He set the drinks in front of her and said, "Here, give me your left hand."

Kitty offered up her left hand to Lance. Her right hand taking the drink he had brought. Lance cupped the hand in his own, then softly started a gentle massage. She winced, "Ow... not so rough."

"I'm not rough. You've been workin' real hard, and it shows. Just relax." He let go of Kitty's hand, then moved in behind her. Lance placed his hands at her shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze through the tensed muscles. "Did you work out this morning, before you came?"

"Yeah, you know those early morning training sessions. A total waker-upper, but so not good when I pull something like this afterwards. I guess I've been tense all day." Kitty winced at Lance's touch.

"You need to UNTENSE, then. It's not helping you." He paused, then said softly, "Do you like it? With Xavier... you know, occasionally stepping in to do the right thing... to be the hero? Don't you worry that you might get hurt?"

"That's why we train, Lance. Sure, I'm learning how to use my ability and not lose control and stuff... but the training is a needed bonus. Especially with the unknown future ahead. I never thought I'd be playing hero, but I fear waking up and I'd be in danger... just because I was born this way. Knowing that I can find a way out, I sleep better at night. Even if it means I sleep a little less 'cause I gotta train the next day."

Lance ran his hands down Kitty's back, then wrapped his arms around her from behind in a hug. He could feel her heartbeat quicken under his touch... then nothing. Kitty phased through his grasp to stand up.

"Sorry, Lance. It's getting late. I should... y'know... motor back home." She turned to face him, brushing her hair back with a hand nervously. 'If I stay longer... no, don't think about it.'

"Don't apologize. It's fine." He packed away the guitars. Lance picked up the bagged accoustic and the songbook. He stood and said, "I'll give you a ride home. I want you to take these with you, though. So you can practice at the mansion. We've only got a week, I want you bad." He paused, "... I mean, I want you to do great. Right."

Kitty half-smiled, "Sure, Lance. I'll try my best. Let's go."

They headed to his jeep with the equipment as the evening came to a close.

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---Songs---

"Good Riddance (Time of your life)", by Greenday

"Torn", by Natalie Imbruglia

"Love Shack", by The B-52's