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 31

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The mixture between fast paced songs and slow enjoyable tunes in this set kept the pace for the evening. In this particular set, Kitty barely even used her guitar. It was a nice bit of relief for her as they finished with an upbeat, almost punk version of a fun eighties tune. Almost as soon as it started, they were done. Two down, only one more to go. They moved backstage as the main band moved back on.

"Good job, guys. We're almost done. Thanks for hanging in there." Wanda smiled. "I'm going to head back down stairs. And please... relax, you two?" She glanced at Lance and Kitty before leaving the area.

"She's right, you know. It's not impossible." Kurt smirked.

"You know, she IS right. Shut up, Kurt." Lance rolled his eyes as Kurt made his way down the stairs as well. "So... uh... you good?" He finally asked Kitty.

"Sure." Kitty looked at the guitars, then back at Lance. "... wanna go for a walk? Maybe we could finally get that dance in?"

"Oh, you mean we really should dance at the prom?" Lance asked.

"Something like that. C'mon." Kitty lead the way, outside of the ballroom area to the hotel lobby. "I wonder if they like... have trouble with people stealing stuff."

"What, the hotel?"

"Yeah. Lamps and paintings and whatever. And I wonder what's worse... a bunch of teenagers for prom, or a bunch of people for a convention?"

"Probably the convention. Especially if it's one of those weird comic conventions or something. They usually last for more than one evening. And the prom... well, I bet that just promotes business." Lance commented.

"Promotes..? Oh..? OH! You mean... oh yeah..." Kitty blushed.

"So..." His voice trailed off before he asked, "Where were we?"

"What, back there?" Kitty asked. She sat down on a small couch that was against the wall in the area they were wandering down.

"Yeah." Lance sat down near her. "I don't know. Kitty... were you seriously mad?"

"Of course I was." She leaned back, "I don't want to lay down any strange rules, but it's like... me and you, we're together. We've been together a long time and it just hit me wrong when I saw you with someone else. Dancing can be a very intimate thing."

"Hah. I saw you dancing with Summers back before the contest at that club." Lance noted.

"The club that Scott, Rogue, and Jean dragged me to so you could 'win me back', should I remind you." Kitty commented.

"Okay, that's a given..."

"And we were broken up." Kitty added.

"Right. I just keep digging myself deeper, huh?" Lance rubbed the back of his head.

"You brought it up."

"So tonight's been pretty much a bust. Let's say we just go back and dance a few dances... finish up our last set and try to salvage what's left of the night?"

"I wouldn't say a total bust." She leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee and looking over at Lance, "I got to see you dressed up really nicely. We got to perform one last time as a band. We even got pictures to prove that we actually were here. So there was some bad... still... the good wasn't terrible. And we still have a few hours left."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." He held out a hand to her. "The dancefloor awaits."

Kitty smiled and took his hand. "I'd be honored." Lance pulled her up off the couch and walked back to the ballroom.

The band was playing a bit of a slow ballad. Lance took a deep breath and lead Kitty near the center. He turned to face her, putting himself in the dance-position. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him.

"This is nice." Kitty relaxed, dancing to the song.

"It is." Lance nodded.

They danced, not even paying attention to the rhythm. Kitty slowed the movement and leaned up again, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"What's that for?" He asked.

"I was finishing that arguement." She tapped his chin with her finger.

"Say uh... I don't know if you noticed but uh..." Lance finally placed something in his head. Something that had been bothering him for the last two hours. "Wanda... I think she.."

"She spiked our drinks. Yeah. I noticed." Kitty rested her head on Lance's shoulder.

"And you didn't say anything? Geez, Kitty. You must be pretty drunk. I just can't believe Wanda would do something like that to us." Lance seemed a little baffled.

"Not really. The buzz is finally wearing off."

"How'd you figure it out?"

"So like... a year and a half ago. My cousin Morgan's Bar Mitzvah. I was just getting the hang of my powers... being at the Institute and all. Me and a friend of my older cousin's decided to play a game of truth or dare. No, nothing kinky. But I was dared to try and take a few things from the adults' mini-bar without getting caught. Long story short, I won. And because I was the victor, I had to like... actually drink something I stole. Just one or two of those miniature bottles. You know, they make you feel like a giant. But yeah... I kinda got a little drunk. Not exactly a heavyweight, y'know." She stuck out her tongue.

"You're serious?" Lance laughed. "That's so scandalous. You're such a bad girl, Kitty!"

"Hey, hey! Don't you go making up things in your head about me! It was stupid, and I was trying to prove that I could hang with the big kids. Whatever that means. I ended up with a little bit of a buzz and I remember my parents totally giving me the stank eye, like they knew I did something but couldn't say anything because we had to be all polite for the relatives. I totally dodged that parental bullet because I had to head back to the Institute after the weekend." Kitty nudged Lance, then said. "I didn't feel it at first, but once I finished drinking yours it hit me what exactly that taste was."

"I'm not sure what I should do about this." Lance commented.

"What'd you mean?"

"Wanda. She tried to get us drunk. What should we do?"

Kitty shrugged her shoulders. "Eh... nothing."

"Nothing? Oh come on! There's got to be a suitable punishment for this. Like having Toad walk in on her naked or something."

"As if that's never happened before. No, I'm actually not thinking of revenge." Kitty looked up at Lance, "It's not like she was getting us drunk to steal our money or take advantage of us or anything. It's obvious she had something else in mind. Like maybe for us to stop yelling at each other, stop being so nervous, and to just... enjoy ourselves."

"That's a pretty messed up theory. So this was more about you than me, huh?" Lance blinked.

"I think so. Wanda could steal from you at home, why would she do it here?"

"Good point." He managed a chuckle. "What about you, though?"

"What about me? Pshaw... I'm fine! Besides, we're almost done for the night. Everything has almost worked through my system."

"Almost?" Lance questioned.

"Yeah. Almost." Kitty smiled up at Lance devilishly and tilted her head, kissing him affectionately.

Lance broke the kiss and murmured, "Hey now. Don't you go taking advantage of me because of this."

"You enjoy it."

"... yeah, I do." He blushed and smiled. "Don't get too many ideas, huh?"

"What, innocent me? Though, you did call me a bad girl. Now I have expectations to live up to." Kitty teased playfully.

"... don't do that. I'm fine with how you are." Lance blushed, a lot.

"And you know what, Lance Alvers? That's exactly why I love you." Kitty smiled up at the older boy, running her hand through his hair.

Lance blinked, taken aback by her words. "W-what?! Did you just say you love me?"

"Yeah, I guess I did." Kitty smiled. "Haven't we been through this before?"

"...no. This is the first time." Lance gulped.

"Well, then that must have sounded like it came from out of nowhere. It didn't." She smiled. Then a familiar song played in the backround. Her hands moved down to his sides to give a gentle tickle. "Hey.. it's our song."

"Our song?" Lance wondered.

"You say we've got nothing in common..." She sang, then giggled. "First song you taught me."

"Ah yeah... 'Breakfast at Tiffanys'." Lance then asked, "Do you... regret that we went into this whole band thing?"

"Not at all. Not for a minute. I learned something I never would have learned before and I got to know more about you in the process. I say that with the hardships and arguments and all... it was an even trade. We grew stronger, together." Kitty nodded. "So no. I don't regret it."

"Good. I was about to apologize and beg and plead for your forgiveness if the whole band thing ruined us because of tonight." Lance commented.

"We're stronger than that, Lance. We've proven that time and again."

"I know, pretty Kitty. We are." He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

Kitty pulled away. She smiled, "Almost time. One last set and we can blow this joint."

"Go out with a bang? Sure Kitty." Lance tilted his head. "Let's head backastage and wait for the others." He reached down and grabbed her hand, leading her from the dancefloor back to the stairs.

She kissed him again once they got backstage. Lance noticed the increase in affection. He smiled, pulling away from the moment. "Mn... one last set."

"Yeah... I know. But we've got time..." Kitty tugged on Lance's tie, pulling him toward her as she leaned against a wall.

"So what do you have in mind?" Lance grinned. Now they were in the exact opposite position they were in earlier. The way Kitty moved him, his body now kept her pressed against the wall.

"Hmmm..." Kitty didn't hesitate, tugging his tie again to pull him to her. They kissed a bit more heatedly. Her hand let go of the tie and slipped up along his chest, to his shoulders. She shuddered at the realization of how close he was to her.

"Aaaaaa! This is a no PDA zone! Have some decency for the others, man." voiced Kurt as he came up the steps.

Lance pulled away from the kiss. He looked over at Kurt, "Geez, what now?"

"Seriously, Kurt. You should be happy we're not at each others throats anymore." Kitty looked annoyed.

"And I don't want you two to get kicked out for anything indecent." Kurt put his hands on his hips.

"Indecent? Please, it's not like we're stripping or anything. Relax, Kurt." Kitty shrugged. "I prefer this over the yelling, thanks."

Kurt seemed a little upset. "You should have more consideration! What if Wanda were to walk in? She's here alone!"

"I'm not made of glass, Kurt." Wanda walked up the stairs, taking a place next to Kurt. "I'm fine with this."

"You are? But Wanda..." Kurt seemed confused.

"There's very little you'll understand about me, little man." Wanda nudged Kurt, and then looked at Lance and Kitty, "So how is the happy couple?"

"We're fine, Wanda. Thanks for asking." Lance smiled.

Wanda smiled. "Great. Ready to play once more for the crowd?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Kitty added.

"Good, cause it's about time. I'll talk to you about this later, Kurt." Wanda added before she grabbed her bass guitar and waited for the song to end.

Kurt looked confused, almost frustrated. "Fine, whatever."

Kitty laughed at Kurt, "Maybe it's time YOU relaxed a little?" She picked up her guitar.

Lance shook his head, "I'm not even getting into this." He picked up his guitar and took in a deep breath. "Final set. What's the order?"

"'Girl All The Bad Guys Want', 'Kids In America', 'Look What Happened', 'You're The One That I Want', and 'Let Me In'."

***

This set was to finish off the night. It was several exceptional faster songs, except for the final one. As they finished the fourth, Lance set down his electric guitar and picked up the accoustic that was already on the stage that had an amplifier. Lance sat down on a stool and looked over at Kitty. She adjusting the microphone for her to sing in and started the last song. A slow song. He strummed out the first few chords.

"I'd been watching you and all you do for quite some time. Knowing all the in's and out's of you, should have known what was on your mind. But all the world is spinning round and round inside my head tonight. I will fall into the darkness and I fear I will never see the light." Kitty sang softly. At this point, she added in her part of the electric guitar. She smiled over at Lance before she started on the second verse, which was repeating the first, up until, "The light. So let me in. All that I wanted from you. Was something you never do. So let me in. Oh please tonight. Don't let this end tonight. I fall."

A small musical break. She took a breath, concentrating on her guitaring instead of singing. Kitty snuck another look at Lance before she started again, "Through the light the darkness seems to be so very strong. How does one alone against the world find the strength to carry on? What happened to the way we used to love? Seems as though like it just begun. But now the love has come, and gone to fade away like the setting sun. Cause you won't let me in. All that I wanted from you. Was something you never do. So let me in. Oh please tonight, don't let this end tonight. Cause I'm starting to fall. So let me in!"

Lance started in on a lovely accoustic guitar solo, a bit of a longer break in the song than the first. The drums continued to drive the song until the interlude was over and all that could be heard was Lance's guitaring.

"It was all that I wanted from you. It was something you never knew. To let me in. But not tonight. For this is the end. Tonight. I fall."

The instrument goes silent as Kitty sang the last note and the song ended. The look of relief on her face as the audience cheered at the end of their final song. She smiled and said, "Thank you and have a good night. We're Kakumei: Evolution."

Lance, Wanda, and Kitty waved and unplugged their instruments, taking them offstage quickly. Kurt did a polite bow from the back and headed to the backstage area where the others were packing up.

"Packing up already?" Kurt asked.

"Why not? It's late, Kurt." Wanda looked annoyed, "I want to get on the road before these kids do."

"You're a kid, also." Kurt teased.

"Whatever, Kurt." Wanda packed her bass in it's carrying case. She looked to Lance and Kitty. "So... I want to head out soon to get the equipment home. But it's your jeep, Lance. What's the agenda?"

"Agenda? Well uh..." Lance packed away his guitars carefully, then said, "Kitty, what do you want to do?"

Kitty zipped up her guitar bag as well, "We should get the stuff back to your place. No use fighting traffic later, right? It's not like we have to stay 'til the end. I hear there's a good horror movie on TV tonight."

"You're serious? You guys are such party poopers!" Kurt handed Wanda his drumsticks. "I guess I'll see you later then, Katzchen."

"Have a good night, Kurt." Kitty half-smiled at her friend. "I don't think I could dance anymore anyway."

"Yeah right." Kurt waved and went downstairs.

Wanda picked up her bass bag, "So off we go?"

"About time." Lance nodded and picked up his bags. He lead the way out the back to the jeep. Kitty did the same as she followed Lance to the vehicle.

The packing of the jeep was a different story. With four guitars, the backseat became very tightly cramped and rather uninhabitable.

"Oh geez. Where'll we all fit? I refuse to walk." Wanda wondered, the drivers seat and the passenger side only remained.

"You and Kitty can share the seat. It's not that small..." Lance pulled out his keys.

Wanda quickly snatched the keys out of Lance's hand, "How about... you and Kitty share the seat, and I drive? I promise I'll be gentle."

"Wanda!" Lance almost protested, then looked at Kitty. "... yeah, okay. Let's just go straight to The 'Hood to unload this stuff."

"Roger that." Wanda quickly moved over to the drivers side door, climbing in to take her seat.

Kitty gestured. "You sit and I'll uh... sit in your lap. I realize how unsafe this is. Just strap yourself in and I'll hold onto you. I hate to brag, but I think my ability stops me from getting hurt if something were to happen in transit... y'know?"

"That is NOT going to happen. Right Wanda?" Lance fastened his seatbelt and glared at Wanda.

"Of course it won't happen. You worry too much, Lance." Wanda put the keys in the ignition. "Get in, Kitty."

Kitty nodded, "Right. Okay." She pulled herself up to sit on Lance's lap. She let out a breath.

Lance wrapped his arms around her waist, carefully holding her close to him, "Not too bad, right?"

"No, no, it's not." Kitty blushed. Wanda started the Jeep and started to drive.

"Something wrong?" Lance asked, "Because if you're uncomfortable.."

"I'm not uncomfortable." Kitty put her arms around Lance's neck. She snuggled up against him, "Are you?"

He laughed, "No. This actually feels pretty good." Lance looked up at Kitty. "Err, I mean uh... it's no bother."

"Good." Kitty grinned down at him. Her right hand playfully fluffed his hair. Lance leaned up just slightly and kissed her.

Kitty returned the kiss. She could feel a nudge from Wanda before she broke away, "What is it, Wanda?"

"We're almost there. Give it a rest?"

"Oooookay..." Kitty rolled her eyes.

It wasn't a very long drive. Wanda pulled in next to the Brotherhood Boarding House. "You guys ARE helping load some of this stuff inside. Then I don't care what you do."

Kitty climbed off Lance's lap, "We wouldn't make you do all the work, Wanda." She reached over to pull out a guitar.

"I'd say we were pretty awful bandmates if we did." Lance unbuckled himself and climbed out, also reaching into the back and taking his two guitars. "That just leaves your bass, Wanda."

Wanda grabbed the bass and walked to the front door, opening it carefully and stepping inside. She waited until Lance had walked by, then slipped the jeep keys into his pocket. She then headed over to the basement door and opened it, walking down the stairs to store her instrument. Kitty and Lance followed her down, putting their guitars down. They re-entered the living room and Wanda walked over to the couch and took a seat.

"What's the plan now?" Wanda turned on the television.

Lance glanced at Kitty then said, "We're just gonna go watch the movie in my room. Nothing too amazing. Right Kitty?"

"Oh? Right." Kitty grabbed onto Lance's arm nervously. "See you later, Wanda."

"Right. G'night, kids." Wanda waved her hand as they retreated down the hall to Lance's room.

***

Kurt looked down at his watch. The digital clock read, "12:23AM". He thought back to ten minutes before...

"What do you mean, she hasn't come home yet?" Kurt looked confused. "They left before I did!"

"I don't know, maybe she's over at the Brotherhood house. It'd be nice if we knew." Scott crossed his arms.

"Fine, I'll go. It's not like I'm not already dressed up or anything. I'll call with what I find out." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, Kurt. This wouldn't have been a problem if she hadn't turned off her phone." Scott said as Kurt left the mansion.

He sighed. Kurt now stood outside The Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House, still dressed in his tuxedo from the nights festivities. 'Great, I can't believe I'm doing this. They all KNOW she's here, they just want me to be the one to interrupt things.' He knocked softly on the front door. Kurt recalled back to the last time he broke in. Not a pretty sight. He knocked again after a minute of no response.

The door finally opened. "It's almost twelve thirty. Shouldn't you be home?" Wanda looked severely annoyed at the blue elf.

"Ah... uh... Wanda." He gulped, "I'm here because... I can't believe I'm saying this... they want me to come retrieve Kitty?"

"Oh... well... that's nice. Go home, Kurt." Wanda went to close the door on him.

"What?!" Kurt stuck his foot in the door to stop it from closing. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean just that. Go home. You know she's here. Tell them that."

"But it's way past curfew and..."

"And they'll just deal with it tomorrow. Besides, shouldn't you be out with a certain Amanda Sefton?"

"I can't believe you're condoning this! And no, I've already dropped Amanda off at home. I'm a complete gentleman!" Kurt crossed his arms sternly.

"Aww, how cute. I offended the elf."

"This isn't funny, Wanda." Kurt grumbled. "I have to go back and face the others. What do I tell them?"

"They came back here to watch a movie and now she's staying the night." Wanda smirked. "Does this make you uncomfortable, Kurt?"

"Not.. well.. a little." He brushed his hair back. "What about you?"

"What about me? I'm going to sleep soon."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"What they do is their OWN business. No, it doesn't bother me. I'm bothered more by the things Pietro has done." Wanda involuntarily shuddered. "Anyways. Anything else? You should be getting back."

Kurt nodded and shuffled his feet. "Awww man..." He sighed and turned away from the door to walk away.

"Actually, Kurt?" Wanda walked up to him.

"What is it?" Kurt looked at her.

"You looked good tonight. Amanda's a very lucky girl." Wanda smiled before giving Kurt a gentle peck on the cheek. "Sweet dreams." Wanda walked back to the door and waved.

Kurt blushed at the small kiss and nodded, "Ja, of course. Goodnight, Wanda." His mutant ability kicked in and teleported him away and back to the Institute.

***

"Girl All The Bad Guys Want" by Bowling for Soup

"Kids In America" Originally by Kim Wilde, but there's a neat rock version by The Muffs

"Look What Happened" by Less Than Jake

"You're The One That I Want" from Grease, originally sung by Olivia Newton John and John Travolta, but there's a faster rock-like version also by Less Than Jake

"Let Me In" by Save Ferris