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)

Authors Notes: Almost the end. Sorry this has taken so long. I seriously lost steam on this fic, and I really haven't found the time to type into words where I wanted to finish it. This, unless I come up with some awesome inspiration, is the second to last chapter. It'll be over soon, and thanks for those who have been very patient with reading it through my constant or very sporadic updating. I'm also pondering if I should throw in an R rated chapter, put it over in the R section as an addition to the story... but who knows. Thanks again!

Chapter 26

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Another day had ended at Bayville High School. Kitty had been back at school for three days now. Even though she had been given the go ahead by Charles Xavier, she still hasn't quite gotten the nerve to have Lance over.

The front doors opened and the teens filed out of the school - happy that it's the weekend.

"It's friday and it's like I'm still playing catch up." Kitty whined to Kurt as she shouldered her bag carefully.

"Ja, well you did miss two quizzes you had to make up on."

"Me and my concern over my GPA. Life would be so much easier if I didn't care." Kitty grumbled.

"But Katzchen, you do care..."

"Shut up, Kurt."

They moved into the parking lot and looked up to notice Lance and Wanda in Lance's jeep, parked as if they were waiting to pick someone up.

"I don't even know why you're making me do this. She's grounded, remember?"

"I know what I'm doing, Lance." Wanda shrugged off Lance's concern, then waved over to Kurt and Kitty. "Hey!" She yelled, "Kurt, Kitty! Need a ride?"

Lance leaned his head forward, placing his forehead against the steering wheel. "Way to be subtle, Wanda."

"Quiet, you." Wanda punched the boy in the shoulder.

Kurt and Kitty waved back and headed toward the jeep.

"So what's the occasion?" Kitty asked.

"It's friday. Thought you might want to take the easy way home." Wanda smiled and climbed into the back, "Hop in?"

Kitty sideglanced at Kurt, "Uh... sure. I guess we can accept the ride. I just can't go anywhere else. Gotta go straight home."

"No problem, right Lance?" Wanda nudged.

"Are you trying to torture me, woman?" He glared back at Wanda.

Kurt teleported quickly and appeared next to Wanda. Kitty opened the door and climbed into the passenger side chair.

"Uh... shotgun by default, I guess?" Kitty smiled at Lance.

"... how've you been?" Lance smiled back.

"Busy. I never thought it'd be hard to catch up like this. I keep falling behind. First the band, then the trip, then this... which I totally take full responsibility for on all accounts. I'm just saying. A little hard to be a teenage super-hero-whatever." Kitty waved a hand.

Lance turned the key and started the jeep. "Don't let me hold you up." He laughed.

"..." Kitty looked a little hurt by that, "You're not holding me up, Lance."

He looked at Kitty, "It was a joke. You should know that by now. Are you SURE you're doing okay?" The jeep drove down the streets of Bayville, heading toward the institute.

"... being grounded is sure fun." Kitty intoned a bit of sarcasm.

Kurt shook Kitty's seat from behind, "Loosen up. It's the weekend."

"I'd loosen up if I weren't buried under a pile of homework that I just don't feel like doing." Kitty sighed.

"That doesn't sound like you at all." Lance raised an eyebrow.

"I'm tired. All work and no play... blah blah blah..." Kitty motioned with her hand as if it were talking.

"Sounds like you need a vacation from your vacations." Lance commented.

"Oh, if it were only that simple. I should be able to catch up over this weekend." She sighed.

"I could always help you if you want." Lance shrugged.

"... uh, no, it's okay." Kitty couldn't help but let out a giggle.

"What's that supposed to mean? I may not have been the smartest kid in class, but I am older than you."

"And... I am the smartest kid in class. Even though you are older, I think my stuff might be higher than what you were doing, Lance. Just a guess." Kitty tried not to sound smug.

"Oh, now I AM going to help you, just to spite you." Lance sounded determined, turning the wheel to pull up to the gates in front of the institute.

Kitty rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. While it was fine for Lance to be over, she really didn't want to think of what kind of help he could possibly offer during homework. "So, you're going to steal the answers for me?" She quipped.

"Be nice, Pryde." The gates opened for the jeep. Lance drove the car around to park by the garage, not blocking anyone in. The four filtered out of the car.

"Now, I know you can visit. But we can't go out or anything, you'd have to eat dinner here. Is that okay?" Kitty noted.

"I'll manage for a night." Lance shrugged and slipped his keys into his pocket.

Kurt walked ahead, "So you're up for hanging out too, Wanda?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Wanda smirked, "No problems here."

Kurt opened the door and held a hand out, "After you?" Wanda, Kitty, and Lance entered the institute. He closed the door behind them.

Kitty headed toward the stairs as Lance followed. She grumbled, "Fridays are supposed to be fun. This sucks." She made it to her bedroom and opened up the door.

Lance followed in, "Look at it this way, at least they're being cool about the whole thing."

"I suppose so." She set down her bag and sat on the ground, pulling out what she needed to do for homework. Kitty gestured, "Find something to do, I'll be here a while."

"I said I'd help you." Lance retrieved his accoustic guitar which still was in Kitty's posession, "I'm not going to joke about that." He sat down near her, tuning the guitar.

"Oh no, really Lance. This is easy. I'll be okay." She opened her notebook and started working on the assignment.

"Whatever." He shrugged, strumming the strings. Lance started to sing, a smug look on his face, "I've come to my senses that I've become senseless. I could give you lessons how to ruin your friendships. Every last conviction I smoked them all away. I've drank my frustrations, down the drain, out of the way."

Kitty rolled her eyes, working through some math problems. Her paper halfway through.

Lance continued to sing, "So I sit and wait in wonder, does anyone else feel like me? Someone so tired of their routines and disappearing self esteem. I'll sing along with every emergency. Just sing along, "I'm the king of catastrophes" I'm so far gone that deep down inside I think. It's fine by me, I'm my own worst enemy."

Kitty reached over and pushed him over. "Shut up."

Lance laughed, "You're such a brat."

"I can't think with you singing like that. It's distracting." She looked down at the paper, frustrated.

"It's because you're too tired. Relax, pretty Kitty." He set the guitar aside and looked over the book on the floor. Lance looked over her calculations and said, "You're getting it all mixed up. Here." He grabbed a pencil and jotted down the correct formula. "Just a few more to go, right? Then what else?"

"Uh... history, just an essay. I can type that up. The only thing I'm behind is math because I have to write it out by hand. Ugh, I hate this menial crap. It's being judged on the sheer amount of things done, not actual knowledge of it. The answers are IN the book. It's lame." She continued to write out a few more problems before closing up the math book.

"And you wonder why I hated school?" Lance asked, leaning back against the edge of her bed.

"There's no easy ride in life, Lance." She pulled out her laptop and started up a new document, typing away quickly. "And despite my complaining, I actually like school."

"You are SO strange." Lance glanced over her shoulder.

Kitty typed quickly. It's as if she didn't put too much thought into the essay she put up onto the screen.

"Do you even know what you're typing there?" Lance asked curiously.

"Oh yeah, this is easy. I'll spellcheck and space it out later for printing. It doesn't need to be long, thankfully." Kitty's hands tapped away. "You don't have to stare at me..."

"... I'm not staring! I'm just facinated." Lance expressed softly.

"You have your music, I have my computers." She saved the document, then closed out of the window and closed the laptop. "... so, you gonna stick around for dinner?"

"How long 'til then?" He tilted his head, "Like I'd pass up a free meal."

"Oh, of course. You should come over EVERY night then." Kitty pushed Lance. He fell on his side with a laugh.

Lance grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him. Kitty fell sideways, off-balance by the awkward motion. Her hand slammed into his chest. He let out an 'Oof!' noise. Kitty laid half-atop him, his back to the carpetted floor.

"...sorry." She paused, then said, "Jerk."

"Me?" Lance looked at her, innocently. His left hand slid down her side, resting now at her waist. He met her lips with a kiss.

Kitty tensed under his touch. She was surprised by the forward nature, especially in her circumstance. She broke the kiss. "..mn... Lance... good to see you too."

"I miss this." He carefully shifted his weight and turned so that now Kitty was on her back beneath him. His hand raised to touch her cheek. "So when do you stop being grounded?"

Kitty sighed. "In about a week. Why, planning on seducing me then, Mr. Alvers?" She giggled playfully.

Lance kissed her again. He murmured, "Want me to?" This didn't get much of a response. They continued to make out on the floor until a gentle knock came from the door. He begrudgingly moved apart from her.

Kitty sat up, blush across her cheeks, "Yes?" She raised her voice, gathering her books.

The door opened, it was Kurt, "Hey Katzchen, dinner is ready." He smirked, "You guys are so bad. Remember we got psychics living here."

"Shut up, Kurt! We'll be down in a minute." She stood up and offered a hand to Lance, "C'mon loverboy, time to face the music."

"Do I have to? We were having so much fun here..." He took her hand and stood up.

"Yeah. I think so. Sorry." Kitty nudged him and took his arm playfully. "Time to eat."

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"The Science of Selling Yourself Short" by Less Than Jake