Alright, here's chapter nine!! I still need for a few people to send in outfits for their characters. If not, I will be forced to let Dee, Kitty, and Tabitha choose them. I think I've got everyone else's costumes in consideration, but all other thoughts are very welcome. I will give you credit for your ideas! I promise you! Well, please review! Please!! I'm desperate!! I miss reviews!! I'm having review withdrawals here!! I'm not crazy, I swear. At least, that's what the voices in my head say. P.S. I'm thinking of having Dee's friend Drew make an appearance at the party. Whatcha think?

Disclaimer: -Duo Maxwell steps out from behind a black curtain.- She doesn't own anything but Dee and Drew(Dee's friend in L.A.). Please don't sue her. She's really sweet and caring and- -Quatre cuts him off, talking from behind the curtain.- Forget it, Duo. She's not going to set us free. -Duo sighs and it is now that the chains around his hands and feet are seen. The locks have been melted by lava to keep them from being picked. He walks back behind the curtain.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All of Denise's belongings had been packed and moved out to the front lawn. Adam had been keeping an eye on it to make sure no one took anything from the doorway. When he saw a vehicle start slowing down as it came closer, he quickly shut the door, as to not be seen. Denise sighed as she hopped out of the car. Jean began to fold the seats in the back down so that they could fit the boxes in the vehicle. While she was doing this, Denise noticed something reflecting the sun's light on one of the boxes. She walked over to see a set of keys lying on a plain envelope. She picked the envelope up, carefully minding the keys, and opened it. She pulled the folded sheet of paper out of it, unfolded it, and began reading.

'Dear Denise,
I'm sorry things turned out this way and that I'm too much of a coward to stand up to your father. I want you to know that I'll always be thinking of you and if you ever need anything, to let me know. I'm leaving you the Cavalier, since I know you enjoy driving it. I'll keep up the insurance payments, but I'm filing to have the title put in your name.
Love,
Mom P.S. Here's a little money to help you out.'

Denise could feel the tears welling up in her eyes once more, but she quickly blinked them back. She noticed a smaller envelope within the larger one. Pulling it out, she realized it was full of cash. She quickly stuffed it back in the larger envelope and stuffed it into her vest pocket. She turned towards Jean, who was slowly walking towards her. Denise grinned.
"Hey, I never said sorry for nearly killing ya with Evan's skateboard."
Jean shook her head. "That's okay."
"Don't think our rivalry will end here, though. I gotta have someone to squabble with."
Jean laughed. "Sounds fair to me."
"Well," Denise stated, picking up the keys. "I'll pack a few things in the Cavalier. We should be able to fit the rest in your ride. 'Kay?"
"That sounds fine with me."
Denise smiled as she headed for the Cavalier parked in the driveway, one of the smaller boxes in her hands. She easily maneuvered the box to where she could open the passenger door and place it in the seat. She continued to place boxes in the black Cavalier until there wasn't anymore room. She looked over towards the SUV to see that the rest of her things were firmly packed into the back, thanks to Jean's telekinetics.
"You following me to the Boarding House?"
"I guess so," Jean stated, a little nervous.
"Don't worry 'bout it. You're under my protection. If anyone gives you trouble, I'll hurt 'em."
Jean smiled, still a bit nervous, as she watched Denise climb into her car. She quickly climbed into her own vehicle, starting it up. When she heard the distinct sound of Linkin Park blaring, she looked up to see Denise pulling out of the driveway and onto the road. She shook her head and followed Denise to the boarding house, where Lance was impatiently waiting outside.
"Denise! What's goin' on?! Why do you have Aunt Mikki's car?! What's with the boxes?! Why's Red here?!" Lance asked, the last question coming out as a growl.
"She's helping me move in. My father disowned me and my mother didn't have the guts to stand up to him. I got a car, though. All the girls sharing a room?"
"Well, me, Pietro, and Adolf are sharing a room and Fred's sharing with Todd. Darcy's staying by herself as of right now, and Ryka's sharing with Wanda."
"I'll share with Darcy then, if it's okay with her," Denise said, walking inside. Darcy was coming down the stairs. "Hey, Cee, ya mind if we share a room?"
"Of course not," Darcy said smiling.
Denise returned the smile and turned around. "Lance, help Red carry those boxes in, will ya?"
"Fine!" Lance growled, but she had heard him chuckle at the use of the nickname.
"Shall we go make room for me?"
Darcy smiled and nodded and both girls quickly made their way upstairs. After rearranging some things so that another bed would fit, Denise told Darcy she could go downstairs while she was arranging her stuff. Jean brought Denise's twin sized be upstairs using her telekinesis and set it up in the corner that had been cleared out. She quickly set it up and then went back down to get some boxes. As the boxes came in, Denise began unpacking, setting up shelves where she thought they should go. After a few hours, everything was arranged to where there was still enough space to walk and such. Jean had left after the last boxes had been brought up and Lance was currently leaning against the door frame.
"Pietro invited the Acolytes to the party."
Denise gave him a sideways glance before returning to what she was doing.
"I'm sure the only one you'll have to worry about will be Pyro. He's sorta crazy."
"It's probably nothin' I can't handle." Lance looked at her incredously. "Trust me, Lancey. I can handle it."
"So, tell me, Dee," he said, a wicked grin playing on his lips at the thought of torturing his cousin. "What's goin' on with you and the X- Geek?"
"X-Geek?" she stated, blinking as she turned away from adjusting her pictures to look at him.
"The fuzzy blue one."
"Kurt? Nothing's going on."
Lance grinned. He knew about her habit of calling Kurt Fuzzy. "Really? So, why'd ya call him by his name? And is that a blush I see?"
As he had stated, she had been blushing lightly, something he hadn't seen his cousin do in years. After his last statement, though, her blush had deepened. "I–I didn't. Uh, I mean, um."
"Is that a stutter I'm hearing? Does this mean that Denise Lynn Saylors is majorly crushing on someone? After years of having 'small, insignifigant crushes' as she has dubbed them?"
"No! We're just good friends, okay?"
"I see. In that case, I'll go tell Pietro to tell Shannon that he's completely available," he said, starting to walk off.
"Who's Shannon?"
He grinned before putting on a serious face and turning around. "Just someone we know has been dieing to ask him out. Maybe he could take her to the Halloween party Saturday."
He watched as his cousin blinked before she turned around. Her fists clench and the house shook slightly. When she realized what was going on, she calmed down and the shaking stopped, much to Pietro's delight, who had been yelling at the two to knock it off. She then proceeded to blush a lovely shade of dark red, rivaling that of a tomato.
"You do like him!! Man, I really didn't want you to fall for an X- Geek, but I guess in runs in the family, huh?" he said smiling cheesily as she giggled. He noticed she wasn't denying it anymore. "Why not ask him to the Halloween party?"
"What if he says no? Or, or, he's already got a date? Or something like that?"
"Chill out, Dee. Just, sleep on it, okay?"
She sighed and nodded as she watched him leave. What she didn't know was that her cousin had a devious little plan forming in his mind. He picked up the phone and walked to his room, shutting the door for privacy. He quickly dialed the Institute's number.
"Like, hello, Xavier Institute," Kitty said, having picked up after the third ring.
"Kitty? Listen, I know this sounds strange, but I need to speak to Kurt."
"Lance? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, it's kind of important."
"Okay, I'll, like, go get him. Like, hold on."
"Okay." When he heard her set the phone down, he sighed. "I can't believe I'm doin' this," he muttered to himself. A few minutes later, someone picked up the phone.
"Ja?" Kurt's distinct accent rang over the line.
"Uh, hey Kurt. It's Lance."
"Lance? Vhy are you calling me?"
"Well, I wanted to tell ya that Denise has something very important to ask you tomorrow at school. Just tell her Lance said she had something important to ask you. And what ever you do, don't let her get away. Teleport her somewhere high or somethin', okay?"
"Um, ja. But vhy somevhere high?"
"She's afraid of heights, so she won't try to go anywhere."
"Okay," Kurt said a bit hesitantly. "Do you vant to talk to Keety?"
"Nah, just tell her to meet me at my locker tomorrow mornin'."
"Okay."
"Bye."
Kurt was about to respond when he heard the sound of the phone being hung up. He shrugged and hung up himself. Kitty was still standing beside him.
"So, like what was that about?"
"He said Dee needs to ask me something tomorrow."
"Oh. I, like, wonder what she could want? Anyways, did you know that Sam actually worked up the nerve to ask Rahne on a date?! They're, like, going to the party this weekend. Apparently, he, like, had a talk with Dee about, like, asking girls out. Ray's going with Amara, as if that wasn't obvious. Jamie beat Bobby and, like, asked Jubilee to be his date. Of course, she, like, said yes, so Bobby's, like, going to ask one of the new girls, most likely Christina. Roberto's, like, going stag. He lost a bet with Ray and, like, has to go to the party in a ridiculous costume. James, like, seems too shy to ask anyone and Amber's going stag."
"Vhat about Evan?"
"He's, like, thinking of asking Rogue. Wouldn't that, like, be great?!"
Kurt smiled. He had seen the looks his sister had been sending in his best friend's direction. Not to mention the fact that he was pretty sure Denise had asked Rogue what she was looking at when she'd rode with them to school. He was the only person who knew that Evan actually returned Rogue's feelings, though. "Ja. Vhat about chaperones?"
"Like, Mr. Logan and Ororo are going to be chaperones. Mr. McCoy's going to be the D.J. Are you, like, going with anyone?"
"Not as of yet. I haven't asked anyone."
"Oh, maybe you should ask Dee. I'm going to ask her to go shopping with me and Rogue tomorrow after school. I've already got an idea for mine and Lance's costumes."
"Maybe someone should varn him?"
Kitty glared, causing Kurt to chuckle. "Like, what's that's supposed to mean?!"
Kurt simply shook his head before teleporting to his room. Kitty huffed and stormed off, intent on finding someone to yell at. Ray was the unsuspecting victim. He cowered in fear as Kitty went on about Lord knows what. Making a quick getaway, he claimed that he had heard Amara calling him.

At the boarding house, Todd was doing a poor job of trying to get Wanda to be his date to the party. Pietro was watching cartoons with Fred and Adolf in the living room. Lance was in his room, staring at the ceiling, thinking up ways to dodge his cousin when she found out what he had pulled. Tabitha had come over, but decided she should do some 'bonding' with Denise. In other words, they were discussing boys. Ryka and Darcy were in the kitchen, trying to find something to eat. No one was surprised to see Todd fly down the stairs along with a blue light a few moments later. Lance, Denise, and Tabitha came out of their respective rooms to see a very angry Wanda standing in the hallway. Adolf appeared in the doorway to the kitchen a mere second later, having heard the commotion from the backyard.
"I will not go with you Toad!"
"But, snookums, you have to have a date!!"
"Fine," she growled. Todd's face lit up until she continued. "Adolf will be my date!! Now, LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
Todd's smile fell and his attitude turned sour real quick. Adolf arched an eyebrow upon hearing this announcement. Lance shrugged, going back into the room he shared with Pietro and Adolf. When Adolf had seen that the girls needed a room, he reluctantly decided to bunk with the better two of the boys. Fred blinked as Pietro busted out laughing, right before getting blasted with a hex bolt himself. Denise and Tabitha shrugged, Tabitha going downstairs to check on Pietro and Denise walking back to her and Darcy's room. Ryka raised an eyebrow at the gloomy Todd before walking over to him. Darcy simply went up to join Denise, and perhaps question her about a certain X-leader.
"If you want, I'll go with you," Ryka said in her usual voice. It didn't matter to Todd, though. He immediately brightened up.
"Really, yo?" At Ryka's nod, Todd beamed. "Alright!" He quickly hopped upstairs in into his room. After all, he had planning to do.
Ryka simply sighed as she made her way toward her own room, where she knew a brooding Wanda would be. Bunking with Wanda didn't bother her until Wanda began blowing things up with hex bolts.
As Fred went to fix dinner, Denise came back downstairs, a set of keys dangling from her forefinger. Pietro immediately recognized them as Lance's.
"Don't you have your own car?"
"Yeah, but it's fun stealing Lance's jeep."
Tabitha grinned. "Let's go to the mall! We can get costumes for the party!!"
Denise grinned and nodded before both girls bolted out the door. When the jeep started up, Lance came running downstairs. He opened the door just in time to see his jeep driving away, his cousin in the driver's seat.
"Argh!!! I'm gonna kill her!" When Lance slammed the door, Pietro blinked.
"Does that mean you're gonna bring the house down on us?"
Lance blinked before realizing he had been causing a tremor throughout his outburst. He quickly stopped the earthquake. Lance sighed before shaking his head.
"So, what are you going to the party as?" Pietro asked the brunette boy.
"I'm not sure yet. I'll have to think about it."
"I'm going as the Grim Reaper. Toad bet me twenty bucks that I couldn't pull it off."
"What's Todd going as?"
"Dunno. He said it was a secret."
"I'm going back to the room. Call me when Freddy gets supper ready."
"You got it," the speed demon said hurriedly before sitting on the couch to watch t.v. Adolf once again headed towards the back yard, this time to get away from the chaotic world which was now his home instead of to train.

At the mall, the two hyperactive girls were roaming around the costume store, making fun of costumes they deemed unworthy to be called such. At the shout of her name, Denise turned to see Kitty and Amara walking towards her, with a sulking Rogue behind them. Denise smiled, as did Tabitha, but since she hadn't noticed the three girls heading their way yet, it must have been due to the fact that she had just caused a boy's soda to explode all over him with one of her small cherry bombs. She turned in time to see the girls stop in front of Denise and herself.
"Hey! You guys looking for costumes as well?!"
"Like, of course! I've already picked out mine and Lance's costume, although he, like, doesn't know it yet."
Denise smiled. "I'll tell him when I get back. What about you two?"
"I haven't decided on what to be yet," Amara replied. "I'm simply looking around."
"You should go as a hula girl!"
Amara's eyes lit up at Denise's suggestion. "That's a great idea! Thanks, Dee!"
Denise smiled. "What about you, Rogue?"
"Ah ain't goin'!"
"Why not?" Denise asked, looking at the southern Goth who had her arms crossed. "Wanda's goin' to be there."
"Ah don't wanht ta go!"
"I'll make ya a deal. If you go, I'll let you pick out my costume, but you have to let me pick out yours."
Rogue looked at Denise skeptically. She figured the girl knew her taste and wouldn't choose something too bizarre. She, on the other hand, was planning on being a bit mischievous.
"Deal," she replied, holding out a gloved hand. Little did Denise know, she was sealing her own fate.

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