Ok…. Here's the next one ^_^
Yes, I had mentioned I would post every Sunday (for at least 2 Sundays more) but my internet committed temporary suicide.
*Lance, Pietro & Todd (all dressed in black) put sad, sad faces*
Alex: but it's alive now…
Lance: finally…
Todd: ^_^
Pietro: YEY! YEYEYEYEYEY!!! ^.^
Lance & Todd: v_v;;
Alex: ^_^
A Lovers Feud
By: Alex Destine
Chapter 20
A trace of last nights rain was still visible by the light gray clouds that still lingered in the sky. No one wished to go to school (as usual), and everyone at the Institute was either walking around like zombies or still in bed holding on tightly to their sheets and to the denial of the fact that they had to get up.
Everyone that is, except for two very excited roommates.
"He did what?!?!" Kitty couldn't believe it. She was sitting on her bed, brushing her long ponytail, before they headed down to the kitchen for breakfast.
"Yeah… I don't know what to do Kitty… I mean… I don't wish to hurt his feelings…" Rogue had confided in the young freshman her problems about the very unsuspected declaration of love she had receive the day before.
"Like, I can't believe it…." Kitty kept brushing her hair.
"I know… me neither…"
"Here I have Scott like, totally angry with Pietro and like, you have TWO Brotherhood guys all over you! You're so like, greedy…" Kitty ducked in time to avoid a brush to hit her face. "I was like, kidding, you know…" she said between giggles.
"Well, I'm not…. I only hope Todd and Lance aren't fighting or anything…" the brown haired girl sat on her bed looking out the window watching as the clouds moved by.
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"Freddy! That's my piece of toast!" Pietro's hand moved at super speed and grabbed it before it reached his friends mouth.
"But!… you already ate four!" Freddy needed a strong meal.
"But I'm still hungry!" Pietro broke it in half and gave the smaller part to his friend.
"Gee… thanks…" Freddy looked at his half with less then desirable eyes.
"Never say I don't share with you guys!" the white haired boy zoomed to the fridge where he took out the milk and began to pour himself a cup.
Meanwhile Lance had been pretending to read the newspaper as he waited for Todd to come down. He knew he'd be getting the cold treatment from his friend and hoped they could talk about their situation soon.
"Oh no Pietro… that is my bacon!" yelled Freddy as he took the plate away.
"LANCE! Freddy doesn't want to share!!" the white haired boy ran to stand at Lance's side as the older boy tried in vain to pretend he hadn't heard anything.
"LANCE!" he shouted again.
"…. Pietro?…." Lance didn't take his eyes off the paper.
"Freddy is stealing my breakfast!" the sophomore hanged on to the sleeve of Lance's shirt as he pleaded.
"You've ate enough bacon, eggs and toast to feed four men… I'm sure you can spare some for Freddy…"
"You just like him best!" Pietro pouted.
"Yeah, that's it…" replied Lance while still pretending to be reading his newspaper.
Todd was sitting down at the edge of the stair listening as his friends continued to argue over the amount of breakfast each of them deserved… well, at least Pietro was arguing over that.
He heard as Lance tried to appease their hyperactive friend with his wise babble.
~~ They all think Lance is so great…. ~~ thought the youngest boy. ~~Lance will solve all our problems cause he's older and smarter… more like he causes most of our problems…~~
He got up… it was nearly time for them to head to school and he still needed his breakfast. He only hoped Lance wouldn't try to talk to him right now.
Slowly he walked down the stairs, Pietro had apparently gotten tired of fighting over more bacon and was now busy searching through Lance's backpack for the car keys.
"I just don't see why you always have to drive… I can drive too, you know!" Pietro began to take books out from the older boys bag.
"PIETRO! For the last time, the keys aren't in there, I'm not letting you drive, you don't even have a license and I always drive cause it's my car!" Lance was busily rescuing the few books his backpack actually had before Pietro simply left them there and he would forget them.
"But I CAN drive!" pleaded the white haired boy as he began to pout.
"Yeah, right into a lamp post!" Lance had a few previews experiences with Pietro's driving abilities.
"That only happened once! I got distracted!"
"Uh huh… and that old lady didn't help much, did she Pietro?…" Freddy added as he happily ate his rescued bacon.
"That's right! She was in the way!" Pietro stopped talking and looked at his larger friend… now he wasn't sure if Freddy's comment had been for his aid or if it had been said in a sarcastic matter.
Lance was rubbing his head slightly as he once again prepared his school bag. Among all the commotion no one seemed to notice that Todd had arrived. The young boy was glad for once that Pietro was such an attention seeker.
"Hey Todd! Don't you think I should drive to school today?"
~~ Well, so much for going by unnoticed… ~~ thought Todd as he winced over how loud Pietro talked.
Lance's head shot up. Todd was in the room… how could he have missed that? His brown eyes took every body movement from his smallest friend; the way his green eyes looked over Pietro as if deciding what to do… and then the sudden change as those same eyes landed on him.
Todd seemed relaxed… his eyes searching every detail of Lance's troubled face.
~~ He knows… ~~ was all he could think of… why else would the dark haired senior look so apprehensive.
"Of course you should drive. Lance shouldn't be the one controlling everything around here." And with that simple statement Todd opened the fridge and began searching for his breakfast… that and the cool air felt very refreshing against his somewhat hot face.
An eerie silence fell on the room at that moment. Pietro for his part was baffled; personally he didn't even think the younger boy would side with him. But that last critical statement done on Lance's part showed that his decision for Pietro to drive might've been a bit biased.
Freddy kept eating, but he took a small moment to simply look at Todd's back as the boy pretended to search the fridge. He shook his head then… things weren't going to be ok for a while.
Lance simply stood there. His dark brown eyes showed the slightest hint of sadness even though he wished to conceal it. He didn't bother to correct the youth that Mr. Maximoff had no license, that the reason he controlled the car was because it was his and that if any other member of the Brotherhood deserved to drive that would be Freddy… the only other member with both a license and the common sense not to aim the car toward senior citizens.
Nevertheless he remained quiet, wishing he could make things right between them.
**************************************************************
The ride to school wasn't very enjoyable for anyone. Freddy, as always, sat on the back watching over all his friends even though they never seemed to notice.
He saw Pietro on his usual spot on the passengers seat looking somewhat upset… or rather a better word would be confused. The white haired boy didn't understand what was wrong now… Lance had fixed his 'Mallory picture' problem and Todd had finally talked to the girl of his dreams…
why then was Todd upset?
Why was Lance upset?
Why couldn't he drive to school?… he simply didn't get it.
Freddy watched as Lance's sad eyes kept looking at Todd through the rearview mirror. The guy just couldn't have a break… and Freddy found that with each passing day he discovered new things that deepen the respect he felt toward his older friend.
Todd, for his part, was sitting beside him looking out the window. He held no facial expression, yet his eyes said everything as they kept searching the passing scenery for some sort of answer to his dilemmas.
As the car approached the school's parking lot he began to see the numerous smiling children as they headed to the entrance and briefly wondered what it would be like to have a life without problems.
"Hey Lance, could you give me 60 bucks?" Pietro looked so angelic as he asked.
Lance didn't move… if he didn't move he could pretend Pietro hadn't just asked that.
~~ Not one for timing, are you Pietro?… ~~ thought Freddy as he mentally winced.
"Lance… did you hear me?" the sophomore waved his hand rapidly in front of the senior's face to which Lance kept paying no attention.
"Why would you need $60 for?" Freddy finally asked seeing Lance was still hoping he hadn't heard right.
"Well, I need to get Kitty a present!" Pietro looked carefully over at his large friend. "I don't suppose you have $60?"
"No, I don't…" he answered quickly in order to avoid more questions from Pietro. "Why don't you just buy her a card and sign it 'With my undying love'? or something… it would be cheaper." Freddy didn't think Lance could spare that kind of money.
Pietro of course didn't ever think Lance would give him anything, he simply needed to start talking about something in order to break the dreadful silence that had settled over all of them. However, they were all surprised when a forth voice suddenly spoke up.
"He shouldn't do that!" Todd exploded from the back seat causing everyone to jump a little. "Kitty's his girlfriend! He loves her! He should buy her something nicer then a stupid card!… unless of course…" and as he said this his green eyes stared at the back of the dark haired boy's head. "…Lance doesn't approve of others showing how much they care for another person…"
Pietro kept quiet. His great plan to start conversation among his friends seemed to have proven not so brilliant. Freddy also kept quiet simply watching what Lance would do next.
~~ If it had been me, Lance would've been screaming at me to shut up… but no such treatment toward baby Todd… ~~ thought Pietro as he waited to see what would happen.
Lance took a deep breath… surely some weird sadistic god up there had his eye on him. Nevertheless, he would not yield to his childish desire to simply yell at Todd to leave him alone… that would be ineffective… it always was. Instead he took another calming breath before he finally turned slightly toward the white haired boy.
"I don't have $60 on me right now, but after school you could go to the mall, pick something nice and drop by my job for the money." That was all he said before taking the keys off the car and walking away.
Now three young teenage boys were left inside a car, none of them looking very happy about anything at the moment.
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In Bayville High things were very simple. You were either cool or you were not. The definition of 'cool' mostly depended on who you hanged out with. Those in sports and other school activities were mostly considered 'cool'. If you knew at least a handful of these type of people then you were 'cool' by association.
However, if at least one of the above mentioned 'cool' people picks on any person, then that person is considered to be on the lowest possible link of the popularity scale. Those are the persons jocks pick on because they're different; shorter, younger, poorer… any type of different would do…
And of course, part of the simplicity of life at Bayville High was that it was never questioned which side would win an argument. The 'cool' crowd always won… the not 'cool' crowd always lost… that was the beauty of it… so we must all understand that when one of the 'cool' crowd feels threaten by another belonging to a lower scale… well, things just aren't right inside that person's world… therefore they seek the help of others within their own social scale to aid them.
"So, you know what you must do?" asked Mallory as she innocently played with a loose strand of her hair.
"Yeah… nothing I'm not used to doing every once in a while…" answered the blonde football player as he happily imagined the fun he was going to have.
"The difference now Duncan, is that you will be doing it for a purpose bigger then your own self amusement… now, I can count on you, right?" she asked firmly and waited for the jock to nod.
"Yeah…" he nodded "You can count on me…"
So as you can see… in Bayville High things were very simple.
************************************************************
Kurt had been trying throughout the whole morning to find the elusive white haired boy. Yesterday after school he had managed to tell him about Todd and how the younger boy had talked to Rogue. Unfortunately the speedster's lack of patience didn't allow him to say the most important part: the fact that Lance was involved, now making it a love triangle.
~~ These things are always so complicated… ~~ thought the blue mutant as he walked toward Mr. Smith's class.
He hoped Pietro hadn't said anything to upset Todd or Lance… but considering who he was talking about it was less then likely. As Kurt entered his next class he hardly had time to look around for the blue-eyed boy before their teacher came and made his presence known to the world.
"Alright! SIT DOWN! Lunch period is after my class, NOT now!" apparently Mr. Smith was angry because of something.
All happy conversations stopped suddenly as everyone quickly took their seats not wanting to upset the one person who ruled over the way they would spend the following hour of their lives.
Most of the chairs were filled… with the exception of… no, wait. After a strong gust of wind that chair seemed to have filled itself.
"Pietro!" Kurt tried to scream and remain quiet at the same time… neither of those seemed to work very well.
"Yes?" replied the white haired boy as he casually looked over his text book… which was upside down.
"You can't do that around here!" Kurt didn't wish to sound like the 'ever-worrying' Scott right at this moment, but surely there were some times when mutant powers were definitely not to be seen.
"Oh God Kurt… you're not going to turn into Lance now, are you?" Pietro didn't even want to hear the answer.
"No, of course not. It's just…" Kurt didn't have a chance to finish as Mr. Smith began to distribute a dangerously looking paper.
"Do any of you know what this is?" asked the teacher as he sat down on his desk waiting for all the paper to be distributed.
Pietro looked at it for a while, eyes wide in disbelieve.
"No! It can't be!" he said.
Kurt clasped his hair in astonishment and didn't let go.
Rogue looked at the piece of paper and voiced what everyone else was thinking.
"Oh CRAP!" not even her southern accent made that sound nice.
"That's right! A quiz!" Mr. Smith looked happy about the discomfort he was causing among his students. "It has come to my attention, through a useless evaluation this school just has to make, that I'm a very bad teacher…"
Pietro swallowed. He began to sweat a little. Surely this wasn't his fault… surely.
"So, I have decided to show just how bad I can be." Their teacher had gone mad! "If any of you had actually studied, then I'm sure this will be no problem…. So? What are you waiting for? Start answering!"
Kurt looked over the ten very ugly questions and thought long and hard for a while. Suddenly he came to a conclusion.
"I have absolutely no idea." He said and began to pull on his hair slightly.
Rogue was biting hard on her pencil.
~~ So I'm supposed to help Pietro and Kitty with their relationship, manage my own very disturbed life and somehow find the time to study?! Is he MAD!? ~~
Rogue looked up then and she could've sworn she almost heard their teacher chuckle.
~~ Yep, he's mad… ~~
Pietro began to think of an appropriate pattern for his answers.
~~ Two A's, four C's, one D and three B's…. now, all I have to do is write them making a nice picture and … oh no! … this isn't multiple choice!~~
Any chance at Pietro passing the quiz was suddenly largely diminished.
By the end of their class the three mutants had been so mentally exhausted that their minds simply screamed to leave the room as quickly as possible. The idea of having lunch seemed like a good one now regardless of what they were serving.
"I… I think all knowledge has just left my brain…" said Kurt as he continued to hold on to his hair.
"Well, that didn't take very long, did it?" Pietro was, of course, being very 'Pietro' about everything.
"When the knowledge on how to insult you comes back, I'll answer…" the blue mutant simply leaned against the lockers as he waited for Rogue to come out.
"If that's the case then I'm sorry to say I don't know how you're going to reach me after such a long time." The blue-eyed boy stuck his tongue out and Kurt followed suit.
"Very mature Blue-boy… well, I'm off to lunch." Pietro left leaving behind nothing more but a huge gust of wind.
*****************************************************
Todd was just coming out of his last class for that morning and was amazed at how the day seemed so long and boring. If his next couple of tests had anything at all to do with 'evil Lance' and 'the beautiful southern girl', then he knew he might actually pass. Unfortunately his tests would most likely be about everything he had tuned out during class.
"Stupid Lance…" he said under his breath as he continued to walk toward Pietro's locker where he would meet with the others.
The last person he wanted to have lunch with right now was Lance, but he thought he'd at least do the line with them and later go away.
In truth, he wasn't really hungry… he did feel somewhat tired, but not hungry. If he could he would've gladly simply stayed home today, but he decided to come if only to see Rogue from a distance… and not let Lance talk to her, of course.
"Always has to get what he wants… as if he didn't have girls lining up to be with him!" True, this applied mostly to Pietro, but it also applied to Lance on some degree.
"I'm not ever going to talk to him… ever! Pretending to be so concerned… I know better now… I'm never trusting him again!"
Todd would've kept walking, if he suddenly hadn't fond himself without any more hallway to walk on.
"Hey Toad… we have to have a little talk." Came the voice of Duncan Matthews as other huge-sized jocks gathered around the small freshman.
~~ This is just not my day… ~~ thought the green-eyed boy as he sighed in defeat.
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Lance was leaning against the lockers as he waited for two of his housemates to arrive. He was sure Pietro was just goofing off somewhere and had forgotten he had his friends waiting for him to have lunch. As for Todd however, he didn't even know if the little one would show. He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.
Freddy was standing beside him, waiting with all the patience he could muster, he was hungry after all.
"Where are they?" he asked the oldest boy as he tried not to let his irritation show… he wasn't very good at it.
"I'm sure Pietro will be here soon… and… I'm not sure Todd's coming." Lance kept his eyes glued to the end of the hallway, hoping to see the small sandy-haired boy hopping around the corner.
"Have you talked to him?" asked the big mutant, concerned.
"How? He avoids me all the time… not to mention I just can't seem to be alone with him." Lance hated this… he hated it when he fought with Pietro but he had never had such a long disagreement with Todd. And now, to suddenly have such a strong barrier between himself and his adopted little brother… it was eating him alive.
"I'm sure Todd will get over it… he just needs a little time." Freddy was trying to sound hopeful.
"Whatever happens between Rogue and Todd is their business… I'm just worried about other things…" Lance put up a tough looking face now and Freddy knew any other conversation about the matter was closed.
The silence that came between them was thankfully short as the white-haired boy quickly made his way to his locker where he found his friends waiting for him.
"Hey! Great! We can go eat now! I'm hungry!" Pietro began to jump around Fred who seemed both very happy to be leaving and very annoyed to have been waiting.
"What took you so long?" asked Lance as Pietro kept jumping.
"Had a quiz… couldn't leave that fast." Said the jumping Pietro.
"So how was it?" Lance, as the oldest, saw it his job to ask such questions to the others.
"Oh, you kidding… piece of cake… hehehe… couldn't have been easier… I just need to go and fix a few thing later and I'll have an A for sure…" The blue-eyed boy stopped his movements for a minute and looked around. "Hey, where's Todd?"
"I… I don't think he's coming…" Lance answered as he stepped away from the lockers and began to move toward the cafeteria.
"Ooooh! Probably wanted to go find his new girlfriend! Yep, another love match thanks to Pietro Maximoff!" the sophomore kept walking about unaware of the winces he caused to both his friends. Freddy's was clearly visible on his face, but Lance wince was more mental then anything.
~~ I have to talk to Rogue… I just have to have this straighten out… I can't stand another day like this, I just can't! ~~ Lance continued his fast paced trail after the young sophomore as Freddy followed.
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Scott Summers had a problem. No, it wasn't that his sessions in the Danger Room had become less strategic and more thoughtless violence (something which Logan had told him to control this morning), it wasn't that he was hungry and his only lunch looked disgusting, it wasn't even that Jean had promised she'd go to the play with Duncan instead of with him… no, no… it wasn't anything like that.
His problem however, had a name (which he hated) and a last name (which he also hated) Lance Alvers.
He possessed pictures of Pietro kissing Mallory (or the other way around) which he wanted to use as a weapon to stop the egotistical Maximoff from dating his young and innocent teammate. But now Alvers had pictures of Mallory kissing Freddy (or the other way around) which stopped him from using his first set of pictures in fear of Mallory admitting it was all a hoax in order to save herself from the 'Freddy pictures'. Thus making Scott and Evan look really, really bad.
Sounds complicated?… Well, so was finding a solution.
Scott was picking at his food for a while, Jean was eating away happily, Evan was busy doodling something on his skateboard and Kitty was making strange faces as she too tried to eat her meal.
"Like, where do you suppose Kurt and Rogue have gone?" asked Kitty as she took a break from her food.
"They'll be here soon I guess, don't worry Kitty." Answered Jean as she smiled back to her teammate and continued to eat.
"Yeah man, but they better hurry. I'm just bored here." Evan tried to eat something and immediately regretted it.
"Yeah Evan, I'm sure that's exactly what's on Kurt's mind right now, how to get here sooner just to amuse you." Scott kept think about his current problem by himself while Evan and Kitty began to talk about… who knows what…. He did hear Kitty say: 'Ew! Gross!' a few times, so he more or less knew the subject at hand.
Suddenly he turned around to face the red haired junior as she was finishing her lunch.
"Jean, I need some advise." He said trying to sound desperate.
"Of course Scott, tell what's wrong." Immediately Jean gave him her full attention.
"Well, I have this friend who took some pictures, right? But now he can't use those pictures because of another set of pictures going around. So, what could my friend do so he could use his first set of pictures without worrying about the second ones?" Scott was hopefully waiting for an answer.
"Well…." began Jean "I would tell 'your friend' to… Stop being a baby Scott!" the red head narrowed her eyes and looked exasperated at her oldest friend. "Really, I mean when are you going to let this stop?" She looked around making sure Kitty and Evan were entertained in something else, then she said in a whisper:
"They're happy together Scott. Kitty will leave Pietro when he does something wrong, but so far he's been real nice about everything. Besides, what are you planning to do? Keep taking pictures of everyone until it all turns into a vicious cycle? This has to stop."
And with that Jean stood up and left. She had more important things to do.
~~ What a great idea!… Keep taking pictures! ~~ thought Scott who hadn't apparently been paying much attention.
*************************************************
"Oh man Rogue… your situation stinks." Was all the hopeful advise Kurt could give her.
"Oh gee, thanks Kurt." She said as they both stood in the cafeteria line.
"I mean, I'm sorry for what all of you are going through… have you decided what you're going to do?" Kurt was cheering for Todd, but he knew better.
"No… and I'm tired of thinking about it… I'm just going to let things cool down for a while Kurt." Said the brown haired girl as she picked up an apple. "But things just don't look good…"
Kurt didn't say anything back. What could he say? He only hoped no one got hurt too badly.
***************************************************
She wasn't hungry. She was too busy to be hungry. She had too much to do. While all her actors simply enjoyed their last day before the play started Claudia had to arrange everything. The decorations, the sitting arrangements for the special guests, the judges table, some gift baskets for said judges (which would only be given if Bayville won, of course).
Claudia could've asked for help, but she found other people simply stood in her way. Things worked better and faster if she worked alone. However, there was this one very crucial problem she desperately needed help with.
The well being of her actors, especially a day before their grand debut, was of extreme importance to her. And knowing her male and female lead were on the edge of some major problems would cause a major drawback on their performance… that simply could not be allowed.
She worked quietly for a few more minutes. The coldness of the library hardly bothering her, although what was annoying her at times was her long black hair since if stubbornly refused to move anywhere else other then in her face.
~~ Where is she?! ~~ she wondered as she kept making plans and arranging things in her personal notes. Her time was limited and she needed every bit of it to make things better. She was suddenly relieved when she noticed she wouldn't have to wait any longer.
"Finally." She said as she brushed her dark hair back.
"Yes, sorry. It took me a while to loose Duncan. I'm worried he has some sort of tracking device on me." Said Jean Grey as she approached the table where Claudia was working. The whole surface of the 'very big' table was completely covered… small load of work where Claudia was concerned.
"How can you stand it here? It's just too cold." Asked the red head as she sat next to the dark haired senior.
"That's what makes it perfect. Hardly any one comes here." Said Claudia cheerfully but soon became serious as it was time for business. "Did you bring them Jean?"
"Of course, I only hope they'll help you with something." Jean handed the other girl a legal sized envelop.
"Perfect! This will do just fine. Now, you really should go, I have lots to do before tomorrow." Claudia placed the envelope inside her backpack securely and continued with her stack of papers.
"Hopefully, if this turns out ok, we'll both be rid of a nuisance." Said the young telepath as she made her way out of the library.
"Hopefully Grey, hopefully." Claudia kept on working.
**********************************************
**********************************************
He was in the bathroom now.
He was safe here, right?
Funny, he couldn't stop the feeling that they were still around him somehow.
~~ Well, five huge guys will do that to a person… ~~ he thought as he gently touched his black eye.
When Duncan had found him in the hallway, along with the other four jocks, he thought it was simply another day of 'Humiliate Todd' by pushing him around and laughing. But when they dragged him to the other side of the school, the one opposite to the crowded cafeteria, he knew that this would be a real beating.
Still, he never thought it would hurt like this. Funny, you would assume a beating would hurt like hell, yet how much 'hurt' must be applied to qualify as 'hell'?
Todd was almost sure he had somehow passed that category.
And as if the beating alone wasn't enough, he also had to hear as Duncan explained the reason behind it. And wont you believe it, non other then Lance Alvers was the cause of such treatment.
It seemed Lance had somehow pushed the jock community too far and these stupid jocks, instead of fighting the tough looking, dark haired senior, had decided to beat his small, freshman friend.
~~ I'm a 'message' for Lance… God, where are we? Some old Italian mafia movie?! ~~ thought the light-brown haired boy as he continued to gently touch his wounds behind the locked bathroom stall.
He had been there for most of the lunch period. The beating itself had only taken around fifth teen minutes… of course, five muscular seniors vs one small freshman could do a lot of damage in fifth teen minutes.
He was afraid to leave now, afraid people would look at him. Another funny thought, no one ever looked at him when he wanted them to, but the one day he suddenly wanted to hide completely and he knew his black eye would shine ever so brightly.
He didn't want people seeing him now, specially anyone he knew. His nose and clothes all bloody, his left eye black, his shirt torn… thankfully, since he always wore his long sleeved shirt he could hide the purple marks that were no doubt forming at this very minute.
His plan was to stay put until the bell had rang, that way everyone would have been off to class and he could get his things, leave a note on Freddy's locker(so the others wouldn't wait for him) and start walking home.
The waiting wasn't helping though. It gave him time to think. He didn't want to think. He knew he'd start to cry if he thought too much. He couldn't let those jocks have that much power over him.
He didn't cry when they punched or kicked him, he wouldn't cry in school and he wouldn't ever allow himself to cry in his room. (Although he was sure he'd loose the battle there) But he would restrain himself for as long as he could.
He jumped a bit when the bell rang.
He began to hear the unmistakable sounds of children rushing by. Some were at the lockers near the boys bathroom door, all laughing and shouting. Someone hadn't done their homework and it was due in like five minutes. Others were complaining about a test they would have in their next period. Lots of lockers were banging shut.
The bathroom door opened and closed noisily as boys, from freshman to seniors, from nerds to jocks, went in and out taking one last look at their reflection before heading off to class.
Todd raised his feet and prayed no one would knock on his door. He wasn't sure if his voice was still hoarse and didn't want to risk it.
Little by little, the overwhelming sounds of all the students began to subside. Everyone was heading out to their respective classes, leaving the hallways completely isolated. After a few minutes Todd thought it safe to leave the stall he was in and walk out into the rest of the bathroom. The first thing he saw was the mirror, he quickly looked away.
~~ Not yet… not yet… ~~ he thought he'd wash first; before he got a good look at his dirty, bloody face.
After a few splashes of water, which he gently dried with his shirt, he still didn't think he wanted to take a look in the mirror. He began to walk up and down the bathroom for a few minutes, and again he began to think.
~~ Why do these things always happen to me?… No one ever picks on Freddy. Well, who would be that stupid? Most of them even leave Pietro alone, but then again he's very fast and popular, … a charmer, really. Sweet-talks his way out of anything. I've sometimes tried to sweet talk my way out of trouble, but I've found out that sweet talking has very little to do with what you say, instead it's all about how you look when you say it. Pietro flashes a smile and he need only raise a finger for his will to be done.
Tough luck on my part I have to be so scrawny and pathetic… And of course, no one ever bothers Lance…. The tough 'bad boy', always in control, 'such a leader' they say…
They don't know who he really is… he has them all fooled.
I'm the one who has to live in a constant hell for the rest of my life and nobody gives me any credit.
Pietro just lives in his privileged little bubble where everything he does he only does for fun.
Even Freddy, who I'm sure has gone through a lot of pranks and fat jokes, will always demand respect with the size he's got.
And Lance… with his wise talk, his 'I'm older then you' attitude…
… I hate him so much… ~~
No sooner had he thought those last words, he began to remember all the times Lance had been kind to him. All the times Todd had whined that Pietro saw too much TV and 'big-brother' Lance would wrestle the remote from the white haired boy and give it to him. The times he thought Freddy had eaten the last of anything only to find that Lance had saved him some food in the fridge. The way Lance always asked about his homework, his grades, the way he'd offer to help if he had any problems…
Todd began to remember those first few nights after Pietro had joined the Brotherhood. They were still getting used to live with each other and Pietro had been as self-centered and egotistical as ever.
He'd be very mean to everyone and he'd wreck everything he was told he couldn't have. Very much the spoiled child… But he didn't dare bother Lance, not this 'bad boy' that looked like he could snap Pietro in half if he wanted to.
Todd could remember the way Lance would stand up for him. Making sure the white-haired boy didn't pick on the youngest among them.
Even that early on he had been his little brother.
Why were things different now? He was hurt, why couldn't he go to his older brother so he'd make things better?
Why did he suddenly feel so alone...?
He looked back on the sleepless nights he'd spent thinking about how great it was to finally have a family for himself… how he never had to be alone anymore… he had promised himself he'd never be alone again… so why did he feel that way now?
Todd was standing in front of the mirror now, his eyes shut tight. His hands were placed on the wall on either side. He was alone now… he could look at himself… he was completely alone… not a sound in the hallway…
He opened his right eye first… then slowly the black left one… he looked at himself for a few minutes… he remembered this… this bloody dirty face… he had seen it many times before but he was much younger then.
He had hoped never to see it again… he had been so naïve to think that.
His shoulders began to shake. He could take care of himself, he didn't need anyone. It was suddenly a little harder to breath. He had always been alone anyway, right? He was used to this… this was his everyday life… he was used to this! … Tears began to mix with the blood that still poured from his wound on the forehead.
He felt so tired. He closed his eyes tight to stop the tears but that only seemed to make more come. He knelt on the floor, his hands still grasping the wall for support. Slowly he moved his head closer to the wall… slowly, until his forehead was touching the cool surface. He was sobbing freely now…
He was glad he was alone… nobody should see him like this. He felt like such a baby, crying over nothing… he was tougher then that! … He was glad he was alone…
He was crying so hard now he could hardly breath… he turned himself into a little ball as he hugged his knees tight and continued sobbing. He felt cold and he felt alone and he was so exhausted that he didn't pull back as he felt someone pull him.
He suddenly felt a little warmer and in his mind he knew he wasn't quite that alone anymore, but he didn't stop crying. Instead, feeling those strong arms circle him made him cry even harder. He felt a hand on his head… it was gently caressing his hair and he continued to cry. He began to hear soothing words that he couldn't quite place, but he knew they were meant to sound reassuring.
Todd liked this… he liked to be held like this, especially when he was feeling so depressed. He stopped hugging his knees and raised his arms to hold on to the wide shoulders that were protecting him. He held tight, very tight… afraid whoever was with him would leave suddenly.
The soothing voice was close to his ear now and he could hear the encouraging words better.
"I'm right here Todd… I'm not leaving you…" said Lance as he ran his hand up and down Todd's back in order to clam the small boy.
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Todd: I just wanted you to know yo, that this is a fanfic…. Not real. I mean, this The Great Amazing Toad over here!… I do not cry yo!
Pietro: Cry baby! ^_^
Todd: Take that back!
Pietro: 'take that baaaack!'
Todd: Lance make him stop!
Pietro: 'Lance make him stoooooop!'
Lance: v_v;;;
Alex: They're so cute at this age….. =^_^=