(See Chapter 1 for full disclaimer and legend)
It was Friday, and school progressed as it usually did. First class followed by second, then lunch. Freddy loved lunch. Not as much as everyone assumed, but he loved it all the same. He walked into the cafeteria and found his usual seat at the Brotherhood table and waited for his speed-demon buddy to show up. Every now and then Freddy would give Pietro his lunch money and have the silver haired youth buy his lunch for him. Pietro could usually manage to be one of the first in the lunch line without anyone noticing his powers. While he waited, Todd sat down to join him.
"Uh, hey Toad, man. How'd ya do with that English story?" Freddy greeted his friend cheerfully. "I hope you didn't eat my toast for nothing."
"Meh," Todd replied.
"Whatkindofawordis'Meh',Todd?" Pietro inquired as he unceremoniously dropped Freddy's lunch in front of the giant before taking his usual spot beside Todd. "You just came from English class. Don't they teach you words in that class?"
"You can't even speak at normal speeds, yo!" Todd countered. "B'sides, I can make up words if I want to. It's a free country," he checked to see if anyone was looking before he let his tongue shoot out of his mouth to gather some fries off his plate.
"Hey, Pietro, man. What is this crap? I asked for a burger," Freddy complained as he picked at the heap of pasta that dominated his plate.
"But that's healthier for you. See those things at the corner of the tray?" Pietro pointed to a stack of flat, round orange things. "Those are called vegetables, carrots to be exact. They're healthier for you anyways. So eat up Fred!"
The large boy began picking at his meal, taking the occasional bite of the carrots and grumbling the entire time.
"Hey, you guys seen Lance?" Todd asked, suddenly noticing that their fearless leader was nowhere to be seen.
Lance was usually late for lunch since his second period class was on the far end of the school, but he had usually made his appearance by now. Pietro stopped picking at his chicken and started looking out over the vast sea that was the student body. He finally spotted Lance at the far end of the cafeteria.
"What's he think he's doin', yo?" Todd had obviously spotted Lance at the same time as Pietro did.
"Well, it looks like he's trying to pick up Kitty… again." Pietro said, annoyed. 'Why won't he give it up?' he sighed as he watched Lance leaned in closer to Kitty to deliver the punch line to some joke. She was hanging on every word that the tall brunette said, and he was, quite obviously, loving every minute of it.
Freddy began laughing at something that Todd had said. Pietro turned his attention back to his friends who were cracking jokes at Lance's expense, but he hadn't heard what they were saying; his thoughts were centering entirely on Lance. 'I can't compete,' he sighed, frowning down at his chicken. 'He's straight. I'm not. I'm in love with him. He could never feel that way for me,' he sighed, his chicken suddenly holding no appeal for him. He pushed his tray over to Freddy who was happy to have more food added to his plate.
Pietro stood and started to gather his things. "I'mgonnagoforarun," he mumbled as he left as quickly as he could without using his powers. Todd and Fred exchanged confused looks. Pietro had been behaving strangely lately, and they both silently agreed that they were going to get to the bottom of it.
x-+-x
Lance forced himself to laugh at yet another one of Kitty's attempts at being funny. He had bumped into her on his way to his locker and she had started talking to him, and the conversation had lasted all the way to the X-Men's lunch table. Although he didn't mind talking to Kitty, Lance also took secret joy in seeing the looks of annoyance on the other X-Geeks's faces. None of them, aside from Kitty, wanted him there.
Unfortunately for Lance, the conversation had started to become very annoying. It started when Kitty had run out of things to say and had begun giggling, and using the word 'like' far more often that she usually would.
"Well, that's interesting, Kitty." He cut her off mid-'like'. " I'll see ya around!" He looked at Scott, who was glaring back at him. "See ya around too, Sumnerves!" he grinned before turning and heading back to the Brotherhood table. Rubbing Scott the wrong way always put him in a lighter mood.
"Bye Lance!" Kitty giggled after his retreating form.
At that moment, Rogue mentally puked all over herself. "Bye, Lance," she mocked quietly. She looked back at Scott who was still watching Lance. 'It has to be him!' she thought. 'Ah mean, look! He can't take his eyes off him!' It was true. Scott hadn't moved his eyes from Lance, even thought the other boy wasn't anywhere near him and was, instead, sitting with the Brotherhood.
"Scott, will you stop staring at him? He's not worth your time," Jean piped up.
"I can't help it. He's plotting something," Scott glared at Lance's back for a few more seconds before turning his gaze back to his teammates. "I mean, why'd he leave so suddenly?"
"Maybe he got bored a listenin' to valley girl here sayin' 'like' every five seconds," Rogue offered.
"Hey! Well at least I, like, have a guy interested in me. Little Miss 'don talk tah me!'" Kitty wrinkled her face as she tried to do her best impression of Rogue. The gothic teen was unimpressed. She rolled her eyes, annoyed with the conversation that Kitty insisted on having with her every other week. She couldn't touch anyone and had already decided that there would be no point in pursuing a relationship with anyone.
"Now calm down you two," Scott tried to act the leader again. "We can't be a team if we're constantly fighting." Jean smiled smugly as Scott preached on the values of teamwork. She tried to wrap her arm around Scott in support, but he ignored her, a move that did not go unnoticed by Rogue.
"Kitty," Scott continued. "I don't like you hanging around Lance. He's the enemy…" He looked back to the Brotherhood table. Upon noticing that the table was empty he then briefly looked around, trying to locate his opponents. "I think that you should stay away from him," he continued, giving up his search and turning back to look at a crestfallen Kitty.
'Yeah, you want her ta stay away from him so that YOU can have him all t' yerself. Oh, all the signs are there Scott,' Rogue smirked to herself at this realized truth. 'Yer in love with Lance Alvers. It's gotta be you. Who else have Ah absorbed t'get those dreams?' Rogue was too busy plotting to listen to the fit that Kitty was throwing. The petite brunette was crying indignantly and angrily telling Scott how he had not right to tell her whom she could hang out with. The darkly clothed girl had had enough. She stood, pushing her chair out of her way. "Listen to ya Kitty," she said staring at the teary eyed girl, a few strands of streaked hair fell into her eyes. "Ya need tah grow up. An stop cryin', it's annoying." She started to gather her stuff. "Ah'm outta here," she announced, looking at Scott before turning and leaving.
x-+-x
Rogue made her way out of the cafeteria, a plan forming in her head. She knew what it was like to love someone and never be able to do anything about it. She wanted to make Scott happy and give him what he truly wanted. She was also pretty sure that she could find what she needed by the pop machines. Sure enough, as she rounded the corner, she saw Lance. He was obtaining a pop using the patented Lance Alvers method; rocking the pop machine violently with his powers.
"Lance?" she cautiously approached the older boy.
He looked up. "Oh, hey Rogue," he said, opening his can with a sharp crack.
"Uh, can Ah talk t'ya?" she asked, uncertainly. She had a plan, but wasn't sure how to breach the subject with the Brotherhood member.
"Sure, I guess," Lance replied, taking a drink.
"Well, uh… can we talk in private?" she asked, uncertainly.
He gave her a weird look before shrugging, "Uh, sure."
Rogue led him out of the school to a section of trees and bushes. She often retreated to this spot to read when people got on her nerves, which was quite often. "Ah don't want anyone t'see us," she explained as she led Lance through the dense foliage.
This did not alleviate his discomfort as a member of the X-Men led him further off the beaten path and away from potential help. He jumped back a few feet when Rogue suddenly stopped and turned to face him. "Look Lance. Ah only have a question. Ah ain't here ta fight you."
"Well that's a relief… I guess," he mumbled, still unsure of the situation.
"Do you…?" Rogue began, averting her eyes from Lance's penetrating gaze. "That is, what do you think of Scott?"
"Why?" Now Lance was really confused.
"Look, just answer th' damn question," Rogue was getting flustered. 'Damn, this is harder that Ah thought.'
"Well, he's annoying," Lance began. "Always going off on one of his self-righteous speeches. I don't know how you can live with him Rogue."
She ignored the question and pressed the issue. "Is that all? I mean, that's all you feel for him?"
"Rogue, why are you asking me these weird questions? What's going on?" Lance's tone was more demanding.
Rogue was starting to wonder if she shouldn't have stuck her nose in this. "Well, uh, I think… you can't tell anybody. Promise?"
"Yeah, sure, I promise. Now tell me Rogue. What the hell is going on?"
"I think Scott… likes you…"
x-+-x
Pietro was running. He didn't know or care where he was or where he was running. He had to clear his thoughts, which were also running a million miles a minute. 'I can't compete.' He turned the thought over and over in his mind as he sped through the streets. Its meaning brought bitter tears to his pale blue eyes. What he was feeling was new to him. The feeling he got when he admitted to himself that he envied somebody like Kitty Pryde because she held the key to his love's heart, and she would not relinquish it to someone like him.
Pietro wanted to jump up and down, screaming at the top of his lungs that Lance belonged to him. That Kitty should stay away because he and Lance were meant to be. But they were not meant to be and Lance did not love him and probably never would.
The silver haired youth stopped running when he found himself in front of the boarding house. He stood there looking up at the imposing building. "Damnit!" he yelled at the structure, his voice cracking, but the house offered no reply. The sun shone, reflecting off of the dark shingles, making the day seem hotter than it was and Pietro then noticed how drenched with sweat he was. "Gross," he mumbled to himself, as he looked at the mess his clothes were in. In a flash he was in the house, peeling off his clothes as he made his way to the bathroom, intent on taking a cool vanilla bath to try and calm his thoughts.
'Looks like I'm not going back to school today,' he decided as he eased his body into the scented water, the liquid beginning to cool his heated flesh. 'I didn't want to have to see Kitty and Lance pawing all over each other anyways,' he sighed, relaxing into the bath. After a few moments he furrowed his dark brow in irritation. 'Why'd it have to be Kitty?' he thought, growing more frustrated as he contemplated his situation. Tears fell unbidden down his flushed cheeks and he moved to cover his face with his hands. 'Why the hell did I have to fall in love with Lance?'
The fair boy sat in the tub for several hours, sorrowful cries shaking his pale shoulders as he allowed himself to feel self-pity for the first time in a long time.
End Chapter 4
