Disclaimer- Refer back to chapter one.

Chapter Five- A Not-So-Bad Valentine's Day

February the fourteenth. The national holiday of love. Crystal was nervous about that day, since she was spending it with Duncan and was worried he would find out about the date she had with the one Pietro Maximoff.

Crystal put on a snowy-white turtleneck and her dark blue jeans. Around her neck was a gold locket and on her ears were small gold hoops. She wore a lip-gloss that made her lips look shiny and smooth, and she wore mascara, black eyeliner, and silver eye shadow. Her green eyes looked back at her in her reflection. Dark golden blonde hair tumbled around her shoulders.

She heard a buzzer in her living room/dining room. She hit the button on the intercom.

"Duncan?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, let me in, Crystal, it's freezing."

"I'll buzz you in," she replied and hit another button on the intercom. She unlocked the door and opened it, peering around the hallway to see Duncan coming up the stairs.

"Come on," he said rather rudely.

Crystal shut the lights off and locked her door, putting on her jacket. She followed Duncan.

They arrived at the restaurant. It wasn't the most fancy place in the world, but they still had good food.

Oh, my God, he's here.

Pietro Maximoff was there, sitting at a little round table with his date. She was blonde and looked like she had been a cheerleader at some point or another. His back was turned to them. Duncan didn't seem to notice he was there, and Crystal wasn't going to say anything about it.

Why is he always at the places I go to?

The host led us to a table not too far away from them. Crystal prayed that Duncan wouldn't notice them.

Duncan started talking. Crystal willed herself to listen to him and not stare at Pietro.

"Look, Crystal, I've been doing some thinking," he said.

"Yeah?" she swallowed.

"Well, I like you and all but I don't really think it's gonna work out between us," he said this all casually as if he didn't care about her feelings at all.

"You're dumping me?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

"Yeah, sorry, but you just ain't my type. It wouldn't have worked out," he took a sip of water.

"You're dumping me on-on Valentine's Day?" she asked incredulously. Her vision blurred ever so lightly.

"Sorry, Crystal. Ya know what? I'll see you later. I really do have a date, I'm sorry it couldn't have worked out." He stood up and started leaving. Crystal stared at her plate.

He left her. He left her alone in a restaurant with no means of transportation. She had never been so insulted or so embarrassed in her life.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Cindy was eating her peas one at a time. Pietro's eyes followed the fork from the plate to her mouth each time, watching her stab one-not two-but one pea and bringing it to her mouth. She had scooped her corn, but nooo, she had to eat her peas one at a time.

What the hell was wrong with this woman? Who eats peas one at a time?

"Ohh, I feel sorry for that woman over there," she said through a mouthful of pea, not peas, but pea. "She looks like she just got dumped. The guy just left her there. Poor, poor soul."

Pietro needed a distraction from the one-pea-at-a-time woman and twisted his body to face the said woman. His jaw dropped. It was Crystal.

What the HELL is she doing here?

Wait; did Duncan just dump her on VALENTINE'S DAY?

That bastard. He knew it!

So he wouldn't have to cut his leg off after all.

Pietro turned back to Cindy, looking to see how much peas she had left.

His eyes widened. She must have at least thirty left! That's at least sixty agonizing seconds of her eating one pea at a time! He was NEVER going to call this woman again. She was a complete nut job.

THREE minutes later she was done eating (finally!). Pietro paid the bill and got up.

"You can leave without me, I don't live that far from here," he said, since he had run here and Cindy drove.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, bye," he said absently.

"Buh-bye," she smiled, gave him a wink and left.

Some people were starting to stare at Crystal now. Her eyes were red. Poor girl.

He sat down across from her.

"Hey," he said softly. She gasped and looked up, startled.

"Hi," she choked out.

"You want a ride home?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, I called my friend, she's going to pick me up."

"Do you want me to kick Duncan's ass?" he asked. She laughed a little.

"Not now," she said.

"Alright," he said, "I'll see you later?"

"Okay," she looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"Are you positive you don't need a ride?" he asked again.

"I'm positive."

"Okay, bye," he got up and left.

"Bye," Crystal whispered after he was gone.

Ten minutes later Val showed up with her boyfriend Jake.

"Come on, Crys," she whispered to Crystal. Crystal nodded and stood up, following her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Crystal had just taken a hot shower when there was a knock at her door. Without looking through the eyehole, she opened it.

It was Pietro.

He gave her a small smile and handed her a small bouquet of red roses. Crystal was speechless. She just stared at them in shock for a while.

She did not notice Pietro lean over and plant his lips firmly against her right cheek.

She froze, shivers running down her spine. Her heart pounded loudly, and she could feel the blood rush to her face and neck. Butterflies were fluttering in her stomach. His lips still lingered against her cheek.

He pulled away, took a step back, and a minute later he was gone in a blur and a gust of wind.

Crystal looked up from her flowers and stared at the spot she assumed he had been.

She felt unexpected tears well up in her eyes. That had been the nicest thing any guy had ever done for her. She hastily retreated back into her apartment, locking the door behind her.

She went into the small kitchen and searched the cabinets for her crystal vase that her mother had bought her. When she found it, she filled it up with water and put the roses inside of it. She then ran out of the kitchen and to the phone.

She searched frantically through the Caller ID, looking for a specific name. She stopped when she saw Darkholme, Raven. She dialed the number.

Her heart was pounding so loudly she was afraid she would not hear when the person picked up. On the fourth ring, someone answered.

"Kitty?" a male voice asked hopefully.

"N-no," she stammered, surprised by the greeting. "Is-is Pietro there?"

The man sounded disappointed, "Yeah, yeah, he's here. Just a minute. PIETRO! PHONE!"

Crystal heard the phone slam down on something hard, and more crashes and yelling. Pietro must live in an insane asylum!

"Hello?" snapped an irritated voice. It was Pietro.

"P-Pietro?" she asked hesitantly. Why must she stutter now!

"Crystal?" he sounded surprised.

"I was just calling to-to say thank you for the roses," she said, her chest tightening from nervousness, "That was very nice of you."

"Oh-oh, it was nothing," he said. He sounded out of breath.

"I-I was also wondering if you're free Friday night?" she asked in a very quiet tone.

A pause. "Yeah," he said finally.

Crystal sighed in relief.

"You wanted to do something?" he asked her in a knowing way.

"Yeah...yeah," she breathed.

"Want to go skiing?" he asked.

"Are there any ski resorts close to Bayville?" she asked.

"Dunno, I'll look for one," he said. "I'll call you."

"Kay, uh, bye," she swallowed.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Crystal," he said. "Bye."

Crystal breathed, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "Happy Valentine's Day."

He hung up.

It hadn't been a really bad Valentine's Day after all.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Wow, that was fast! But that's good, right? Not as long as my last chapter, but I think it was good overall. I made Duncan a jerk. He needs some bashing. Okay, this chapter might be a little too fluffy but I wanted Pietro to do something really nice, and this seemed like the nicest thing he could do.

closet geek- Thanks for your review! I hope you keep up with this!

I Am The Anonymous Reviewer- How'd you like the brownies? Thanks for reviewing! If you stop, I'm seriously going to thwack you. ;-)

Caliente- You loved it! With capital letters too! Pietro and Crystal will definitely have their fights, no couple is perfect. Not even Scott and Jean (remember the Cyclops/Psylocke kiss?). I actually love the Pietro/Crystal pairing. Though, if I were Crystal I wouldn't be cheating on Quicksilver, I'd be worshipping him. You'll also be seeing some of Pietro's temper, since he undoubtedly has one. I was going to use that Dung-can thing last chapter but decided not to, but I'll be using it soon. I see a bruised Duncan in the future... Thanks for your review! I hope you stick with this story!

Also thanks for reviewing: la cour de belles fleurs, sPoOkZ13412, zephyr, rosie, and Pauline L. You guys rock!