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 14
***************************************************************************
The cool night air tempurature didn't seem to bother Kitty and Lance as they drove down the road in Lance's signature Jeep. Kitty leaned back in the passenger side seat, closing her eyes as the wind blew against her face. The radio was turned up, Lance sang along with the track.
"... but I could swear by your expression that the pain down in your soul was the same as the one down in mine. That's the pain, cuts a straight line down through the heart; We called it love." Lance smiled and stopped singing along, "What's on your mind?"
"Oh, I dunno. I mean, I do know." Kitty looked a little frustrated. "I'm just worried about saturday. I had a terrible dream the other night... that like, I was at the contest, but it really wasn't the contest... and for some reason our instruments were broken. So like... we had to use some sort of karaoke tape, but the person who made the karaoke tapes didn't make one with the songs we wanted to do. So we had to settle for another song instead, and we took way too long looking. And like we kept sending some girl on stage to entertain the audience, and then when we went on stage... it was just terrible. I forgot the words, and I was alone. It was just me. No one was there to sing the second verse. The audience was unresponsive. I felt like an idiot up there."
"Wow, that's some kind of stress dream." Lance poked fun, "I always imagine that I go on stage in my underwear or something. That's just... wow."
"It's not funny, Lance! I really have some sort of performance anxiety or something." Kitty seemed exasperated.
"Really, now?" He raised an eyebrow. "You did REALLY well back there, pretty Kitty. You weren't ready, and you just... you were amazing." His voice full of pride.
Kitty commented, "Hollywood moment. Like, I must have been lucky. I was too embarassed to get nervous. Things like that don't happen very often, y'know?"
"Very true. But wouldn't life be a lot cooler if stuff like that happened all the time? People dancin' on tables or pulled out of the audience to be the lead singer. It's like some sort of awesome dream fullfillment." Lance continued to drive.
"Not so sure about that." Kitty looked and said, "Hey, pull off here."
"Why?" Lance asked.
"... well, just do it. We've still got time."
"Okay..." Lance pulled off down the secluded road, to a small area that looked out over the city of Bayville.
"Ooh... back up to that lookout area."
Lance did as he was told. Kitty got out of the Jeep and went to the back of it, undoing the back door and laying it in the open-flat position. She hopped up and hung her legs off, looking out at the city. Lance turned off the Jeep and sat down next to her, "So... what?"
Kitty reached over and took his hand. She turned just slightly to face Lance. The moon was bright enough tonight so that they could barely see each other, the only other illumination was from the city lights from below and a dim bulb from the inside of Lance's vehicle. She looked him in the eyes and said, "I'm just SO sorry. It's hard for me to explain... I totally was not.. that is..." She paused. She found the words, "I try to come up with reasons, but we got close real quick. Closer than I'd ever been to anyone. I got scared that... I don't know... would you be there for me tomorrow? Would you be there for me if you had to choose sides? It started out so innocent... then the more we would kiss... I feel like I'm being led into something I might regret someday. That I'm leading myself into something... that we both might regret."
Lance looked down at his hand, then back up at her. "... you know your words sting, right?" He lifted her hand and placed it against his chest. "Right here. I think every day... what does she see in me? Why does stay around this loser?"
"Lance, you're not a--"
"I'm talkin'. Lemme finish." He gulped, "Then we started this. I let you see a part of me that I never had. And... you liked it. You opened yourself up to me. And it let me see you better than before. I would never make you choose sides, Kitty. I would never regret anything I've done with you. I'll be honest, I don't KNOW what'll happen tomorrow, or the next day. Our teams aren't fighting against each other at the moment. If somethin' changed... as of right now, I don't know what I'd do. Would I try to be tough, in front of the boys? I don't think Wanda and I would be able to just change heart so quickly again. Things are different now."
Kitty moved her hand from his chest to rest at his side. She looked down and said, "... very different."
"What I'm tryin' to say is... I think..." He paused, now having trouble finding the right words. "You mean a lot to me. So much, I had to stop myself from trying to call or stop by. I had to work with the band. Had to make sure we could do this... because it was you who wanted me to do this. If I quit, I'd just be... I don't know... another failure. I wanted to show up the powers that be. I wanted to win it for you."
"You've already won, though." She whispered, "You don't have to prove a point to anyone. I just wanted you to have a positive goal. When you did you just lit up. You keep saying I'm the one who's amazing up there on that stage... but you; It's you who gives the band the charisma to make it work. I'm just there for the ride."
"You're such a liar." Lance accused. "It's both of us. We make it work. Well, Wanda and Kurt, too. That aside - if you weren't there for me, I'd just be another soul-less rocker."
"Now you're the liar." Kitty nudged him.
Lance looked at Kitty with a very serious expression on his face. "No. I mean it. And I think that this time... I've fallen for you. Really bad."
The expression on Kitty's face probably could have been described as shock. Her heart jumped at the words. "... Lance..." was all she could express.
He shook his head and moved in close, "Shh." He didn't want to hear a reply. His lips touched hers quickly, in a sharp motion.
Kitty returned the kiss. She tilted her head to deepen the movement, allowing herself to get lost in the moment. She moved in closer, then stopped. Her heartbeat quick in her chest as one of her hands was at Lance's back, the other against his chest. She was familiar with this feeling. It was time to stop.
Lance opened his eyes and looked her over. Unsure, he moved in to kiss her again. Kitty kissed quickly, then stopped once more. He blinked, a little confused. Kitty wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
"We gotta get back. I don't need to get grounded before the big show, huh?" She joked.
"Heh. Yeah." He returned the hug, then hesitantly pulled away from her embrace. Lance hopped off the back of the Jeep and went around to the front to get in. Kitty followed, closing up the back.
He started the engine and looked over at her, "Your curfew sucks."
"Tell that to the Professor, huh?" She stuck her tongue out at him.
They drove back down the road, to the mansion. It was just nearing the actual moment by the time they finally pulled up in the Jeep. Kitty pushed the button on the call box.
"Knock knock, let me in..." Kitty commented to the electronic gadget.
"You're pushin' it close tonight, half-pint." A stern male voice growled through the box.
"Then I made it just in time..."
*bzzzzzzzzzzzt* The gate slowly opened, allowing the vehicle to drive in. Lance pulled it around to the front and parked. He looked back over to Kitty and sighed.
"Another night."
"Yeah..." Kitty sighed as well.
"See you tomorrow? I mean... we've got to practice. I promise I'll be a gentleman." Lance made a 'cross my heart' type of motion.
"You'd better." She mockingly demanded. She leaned over the middle and gave him a tender goodbye kiss. "Have a safe drive home."
He blushed. "You can count on it. Sleep well, pretty Kitty."
"I plan to." She slipped out of the car and went to the door. Kitty turned and waved lightly back to Lance before entering the house.
Lance ran a hand through his hair, then pulled away from the mansion as she entered the building.
Inside the mansion was relatively low key. Just a few of the older students were up, either studying or other activities. Inside the rec room, Scott and Jean were cuddled up on the couch and occupied the television room. Kitty stepped wandered into the area. Scott paused the movie and looked up.
"Mr. Scott Summers." Kitty put her hands on her hips, a tone in her voice that sounded almost angry. "I'm ashamed of you."
"Ashamed... what?" Scott stammered. Jean only raised an eyebrow, but kept her composure to only a smile.
"How dare you go behind my back and create some elaborate scheme to get me to go to some night club just to be totally embarassed in front of my team-mates and friends. How dare you! What were you thinking? What do you have to say for yourself!?" Kitty stomped closer.
"Err... uh..." He tried to think of something to say, ".. well, that wasn't in the original plan. I just helped arrange for the band to play. I honestly had no idea what Alvers was up to. You shouldn't be blaming me! I think Kurt or Rogue had something to do with that part..." He backpedaled.
"Oh really?" Kitty made a hum noise, then bent forward, "But you're still the one who thought this whole thing up! For that, you must be punished."
"Punished!? You said you wouldn't beat me up anymore. I demand you keep that promise." He wasn't sure how serious she was.
"I don't know, Scott. Maybe it's time you had a little punishment." Jean quipped.
"That's not very funny, Jean." Scott glared at his girlfriend.
Kitty placed a finger on her cheek, "Oh, what to do... what to do... I mean, really, what did you expect? And then you let him drive me home? Honestly, Scott."
"... so you're letting me know that it was a really bad idea, huh? Can't a guy make mistakes once in a while?" Scott pleaded.
"... actually." Kitty stopped with the teasing and smiled, "I wanted to thank you. Though, you could have totally just done it in a non-elaborate way. We're... alright. Thanks, Scott." She leaned down and kissed Scott on the cheek. "Have fun with the movie. I'm goin' to bed." Kitty headed out of the area.
Scott blushed. "Well... that was... weird." He looked at Jean.
"Don't look at me, I knew she wasn't mad." Jean poked him in the stomach. "Un-pause or I'll do it for you. It's just getting to the good part."
"... oh, right." He un-paused the movie and went back to watching the screen. "You COULD have warned me."
"No, it was much more entertaining to watch you squirm."
***
Song on radio:
"Origin of Love" by Hedwig and The Angry Inch
"In The Garage" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)
Chapter 14
***************************************************************************
The cool night air tempurature didn't seem to bother Kitty and Lance as they drove down the road in Lance's signature Jeep. Kitty leaned back in the passenger side seat, closing her eyes as the wind blew against her face. The radio was turned up, Lance sang along with the track.
"... but I could swear by your expression that the pain down in your soul was the same as the one down in mine. That's the pain, cuts a straight line down through the heart; We called it love." Lance smiled and stopped singing along, "What's on your mind?"
"Oh, I dunno. I mean, I do know." Kitty looked a little frustrated. "I'm just worried about saturday. I had a terrible dream the other night... that like, I was at the contest, but it really wasn't the contest... and for some reason our instruments were broken. So like... we had to use some sort of karaoke tape, but the person who made the karaoke tapes didn't make one with the songs we wanted to do. So we had to settle for another song instead, and we took way too long looking. And like we kept sending some girl on stage to entertain the audience, and then when we went on stage... it was just terrible. I forgot the words, and I was alone. It was just me. No one was there to sing the second verse. The audience was unresponsive. I felt like an idiot up there."
"Wow, that's some kind of stress dream." Lance poked fun, "I always imagine that I go on stage in my underwear or something. That's just... wow."
"It's not funny, Lance! I really have some sort of performance anxiety or something." Kitty seemed exasperated.
"Really, now?" He raised an eyebrow. "You did REALLY well back there, pretty Kitty. You weren't ready, and you just... you were amazing." His voice full of pride.
Kitty commented, "Hollywood moment. Like, I must have been lucky. I was too embarassed to get nervous. Things like that don't happen very often, y'know?"
"Very true. But wouldn't life be a lot cooler if stuff like that happened all the time? People dancin' on tables or pulled out of the audience to be the lead singer. It's like some sort of awesome dream fullfillment." Lance continued to drive.
"Not so sure about that." Kitty looked and said, "Hey, pull off here."
"Why?" Lance asked.
"... well, just do it. We've still got time."
"Okay..." Lance pulled off down the secluded road, to a small area that looked out over the city of Bayville.
"Ooh... back up to that lookout area."
Lance did as he was told. Kitty got out of the Jeep and went to the back of it, undoing the back door and laying it in the open-flat position. She hopped up and hung her legs off, looking out at the city. Lance turned off the Jeep and sat down next to her, "So... what?"
Kitty reached over and took his hand. She turned just slightly to face Lance. The moon was bright enough tonight so that they could barely see each other, the only other illumination was from the city lights from below and a dim bulb from the inside of Lance's vehicle. She looked him in the eyes and said, "I'm just SO sorry. It's hard for me to explain... I totally was not.. that is..." She paused. She found the words, "I try to come up with reasons, but we got close real quick. Closer than I'd ever been to anyone. I got scared that... I don't know... would you be there for me tomorrow? Would you be there for me if you had to choose sides? It started out so innocent... then the more we would kiss... I feel like I'm being led into something I might regret someday. That I'm leading myself into something... that we both might regret."
Lance looked down at his hand, then back up at her. "... you know your words sting, right?" He lifted her hand and placed it against his chest. "Right here. I think every day... what does she see in me? Why does stay around this loser?"
"Lance, you're not a--"
"I'm talkin'. Lemme finish." He gulped, "Then we started this. I let you see a part of me that I never had. And... you liked it. You opened yourself up to me. And it let me see you better than before. I would never make you choose sides, Kitty. I would never regret anything I've done with you. I'll be honest, I don't KNOW what'll happen tomorrow, or the next day. Our teams aren't fighting against each other at the moment. If somethin' changed... as of right now, I don't know what I'd do. Would I try to be tough, in front of the boys? I don't think Wanda and I would be able to just change heart so quickly again. Things are different now."
Kitty moved her hand from his chest to rest at his side. She looked down and said, "... very different."
"What I'm tryin' to say is... I think..." He paused, now having trouble finding the right words. "You mean a lot to me. So much, I had to stop myself from trying to call or stop by. I had to work with the band. Had to make sure we could do this... because it was you who wanted me to do this. If I quit, I'd just be... I don't know... another failure. I wanted to show up the powers that be. I wanted to win it for you."
"You've already won, though." She whispered, "You don't have to prove a point to anyone. I just wanted you to have a positive goal. When you did you just lit up. You keep saying I'm the one who's amazing up there on that stage... but you; It's you who gives the band the charisma to make it work. I'm just there for the ride."
"You're such a liar." Lance accused. "It's both of us. We make it work. Well, Wanda and Kurt, too. That aside - if you weren't there for me, I'd just be another soul-less rocker."
"Now you're the liar." Kitty nudged him.
Lance looked at Kitty with a very serious expression on his face. "No. I mean it. And I think that this time... I've fallen for you. Really bad."
The expression on Kitty's face probably could have been described as shock. Her heart jumped at the words. "... Lance..." was all she could express.
He shook his head and moved in close, "Shh." He didn't want to hear a reply. His lips touched hers quickly, in a sharp motion.
Kitty returned the kiss. She tilted her head to deepen the movement, allowing herself to get lost in the moment. She moved in closer, then stopped. Her heartbeat quick in her chest as one of her hands was at Lance's back, the other against his chest. She was familiar with this feeling. It was time to stop.
Lance opened his eyes and looked her over. Unsure, he moved in to kiss her again. Kitty kissed quickly, then stopped once more. He blinked, a little confused. Kitty wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
"We gotta get back. I don't need to get grounded before the big show, huh?" She joked.
"Heh. Yeah." He returned the hug, then hesitantly pulled away from her embrace. Lance hopped off the back of the Jeep and went around to the front to get in. Kitty followed, closing up the back.
He started the engine and looked over at her, "Your curfew sucks."
"Tell that to the Professor, huh?" She stuck her tongue out at him.
They drove back down the road, to the mansion. It was just nearing the actual moment by the time they finally pulled up in the Jeep. Kitty pushed the button on the call box.
"Knock knock, let me in..." Kitty commented to the electronic gadget.
"You're pushin' it close tonight, half-pint." A stern male voice growled through the box.
"Then I made it just in time..."
*bzzzzzzzzzzzt* The gate slowly opened, allowing the vehicle to drive in. Lance pulled it around to the front and parked. He looked back over to Kitty and sighed.
"Another night."
"Yeah..." Kitty sighed as well.
"See you tomorrow? I mean... we've got to practice. I promise I'll be a gentleman." Lance made a 'cross my heart' type of motion.
"You'd better." She mockingly demanded. She leaned over the middle and gave him a tender goodbye kiss. "Have a safe drive home."
He blushed. "You can count on it. Sleep well, pretty Kitty."
"I plan to." She slipped out of the car and went to the door. Kitty turned and waved lightly back to Lance before entering the house.
Lance ran a hand through his hair, then pulled away from the mansion as she entered the building.
Inside the mansion was relatively low key. Just a few of the older students were up, either studying or other activities. Inside the rec room, Scott and Jean were cuddled up on the couch and occupied the television room. Kitty stepped wandered into the area. Scott paused the movie and looked up.
"Mr. Scott Summers." Kitty put her hands on her hips, a tone in her voice that sounded almost angry. "I'm ashamed of you."
"Ashamed... what?" Scott stammered. Jean only raised an eyebrow, but kept her composure to only a smile.
"How dare you go behind my back and create some elaborate scheme to get me to go to some night club just to be totally embarassed in front of my team-mates and friends. How dare you! What were you thinking? What do you have to say for yourself!?" Kitty stomped closer.
"Err... uh..." He tried to think of something to say, ".. well, that wasn't in the original plan. I just helped arrange for the band to play. I honestly had no idea what Alvers was up to. You shouldn't be blaming me! I think Kurt or Rogue had something to do with that part..." He backpedaled.
"Oh really?" Kitty made a hum noise, then bent forward, "But you're still the one who thought this whole thing up! For that, you must be punished."
"Punished!? You said you wouldn't beat me up anymore. I demand you keep that promise." He wasn't sure how serious she was.
"I don't know, Scott. Maybe it's time you had a little punishment." Jean quipped.
"That's not very funny, Jean." Scott glared at his girlfriend.
Kitty placed a finger on her cheek, "Oh, what to do... what to do... I mean, really, what did you expect? And then you let him drive me home? Honestly, Scott."
"... so you're letting me know that it was a really bad idea, huh? Can't a guy make mistakes once in a while?" Scott pleaded.
"... actually." Kitty stopped with the teasing and smiled, "I wanted to thank you. Though, you could have totally just done it in a non-elaborate way. We're... alright. Thanks, Scott." She leaned down and kissed Scott on the cheek. "Have fun with the movie. I'm goin' to bed." Kitty headed out of the area.
Scott blushed. "Well... that was... weird." He looked at Jean.
"Don't look at me, I knew she wasn't mad." Jean poked him in the stomach. "Un-pause or I'll do it for you. It's just getting to the good part."
"... oh, right." He un-paused the movie and went back to watching the screen. "You COULD have warned me."
"No, it was much more entertaining to watch you squirm."
***
Song on radio:
"Origin of Love" by Hedwig and The Angry Inch
