Pietro's #1
Crush – Chapter 15
(See Chapter 1 for full
disclaimer and legend)
Lance had been unable to concentrate during any of his classes. All he could think about was Pietro and the possibility that anything he could have with his friend was slipping away from him. He walked out of his second class into the crowded hallway. Lance rushed past the throngs of people, determined to find his friend and talk about what had happened between them. It may have been awkwardness that kept them from speaking that morning, but he wouldn't let such a little think keep him from talking now.
He rounded a corner in the hallway and stopped in his tracks as he saw that Duncan and his friends had found Pietro first and were busy pushing the younger mutant around. Normally Pietro would have been able to handle himself with six people who were bigger than him and twice as strong, but he couldn't use his powers in such a public place. At best he would probably be hurt badly, even if he did manage to take out two of the six people who surrounded him. Either way, Lance knew that he'd never leave Pietro to fend for himself again. He didn't give his brain a chance to think or protest as he was walked into the throng of elder students, his adrenalin coursing through his veins; readying him for a fight that would in all likelihood end badly. "What's going on here?" he asked, putting the fakest smile he'd ever worn into place as he clenched his fists, keeping them from shaking.
"Oh, look who came to your rescue, ya freak! Is this your boyfriend?" Greg laughed, turning to Duncan to see if he approved of his stupid joke.
"After taking care of this pussy we were going to look for you, anyways. Thanks for making our job easier," Duncan said, cracking his knuckles. "You should know that people like you aren't welcome here!"
"Whose that?" Pietro asked, speaking up. "People who can tie their own shoes?" Lance looked to his friend for the first time that day, so many unspoken words dying in the space between them as they seemed to understand each other in that moment. "You didn't have to bother, Lance," the younger mutant continued, smiling. "You know as well as me that I can handle these losers myself."
"I know that," Lance said, lowering his voice. "we can't exactly use our powers out in the open though, y'know?"
"They wouldn't understand what was happening to them anyways," the downy haired boy said. "Nobody would believe them if they tried to tell anyone," he smirked, his eyes lighting up.
"What's the matter? Lovers quarrel?" Duncan mocked. "Lets get out of here, guys," he said, turning to his friends who were poorly masking their amusement. "The little one seems feisty! After he's taken care of his man, he might come after us!"
"Oh, yeah. Lets run," Paul laughed, gripping his sides while he doubled over. "You never know what a pissed off little faggot can do!"
Lance's eyes flashed as his anger rose within him and he turned to glare at the boy who had spoken. He wanted nothing better than to show the ignorant bastard that ignorance wasn't bliss and if he wasn't careful, it could hurt him. He focused his glare at Paul, feeling the buzz of his powers course through his body. Tremors began to spread through the floor, shooting out like a light to the six attackers, throwing them off balance. They stumbled and grasped for something to hold onto, allowing Pietro to rush forward and knock them all on their asses.
The speed-demon reappeared by Lance's side and gently put a hand on his friend's arm to calm him down. "Lance?" he asked, concerned. "It's okay. You don't have to get so mad," he said, absently rubbing Lance's arm which seemed to break the older mutant's focus.
Lance unclenched his fists, stopping the tremors and put a hand up to his head. He could feel a headache beginning even though he wouldn't let it stop him in this fight. He looked down to Duncan and his friends who were scrambling to get back up to their feet. Neither his nor Pietro's attack had really caused much damage, but they hadn't intended to either. Seriously hurting them wasn't an option, but they could still knock the ignorant bastards around a bit.
"What the hell was that?" Paul bellowed as he got to his feet, anger evident in his features. Duncan and Greg seemed a bit more subdued, but their friend seemed to be enraged by the turn of events. "You guys some kind of super freaks, or something?" he rubbed at the blood the trickled from his mouth where Pietro had punched him. "I'll get you for that, you little momma's boy!" he lunged at Pietro, his full weight going behind the fist that was aimed at the smaller boy. Lance pulled Pietro to him, preparing to protect his friend when Paul was stopped by several large arms wrapping around him.
"Six against two? Hardly seems fair, Duncan. What's going on?" the newcomer was one of Duncan's friends, although Lance didn't know him well enough because he usually kept to himself. Freddy was there too, having shown up with the new guy and Todd in tow. The youngest brotherhood member was standing his ground, having put himself somewhere between the jocks and his friends, ready to jump in if he was needed. He smiled at Lance and Pietro before turning back to Paul who was fighting the arms that restrained him.
"Chad! What gives? We were just going to show these little faggots that they're not welcome here!" Paul spat, seeming to calm down a bit as he turned to his friend, pushing the darker boy's arms off him and glaring at Freddy before he backed off a step.
"That's a weak excuse, man," Chad said, crossing his arms. "You're going to jeopardize your position on the team just because of your stupid insecurities. Grow up, man. Real people don't do shit like that!"
"Wha, so you're with them, then?" Paul laughed. "Didn't know you liked the little freaky fags so much." He squared his shoulders, seeming to want to fight his friend, having forgotten the brotherhood members that surrounded him.
"Paul," Chad started, his tone going serious. "My cousin was nearly killed by a fucktard like you for fucked up reasons like this. Which is why I won't stand around and let you do this, to yourself or him," he said, looking at Pietro and Lance. "Besides," he said, a sliver of a grin slipping onto his face. "It looks like they were about to hand you your ass, anyways," he said, beginning to chuckle at the look Paul was giving him.
Duncan and Greg appeared to have lost their will to fight and were standing, arms crossed, watching the scene. They shrugged indifferently when Paul looked to them for support. "Let's go, Paul," Duncan said, looking at Chad and nodding. "See ya later, Castillo." Chad gave a small nod to his friend before they turned and left him with the brotherhood members. He glanced at Freddy before looking over the three smaller boys.
"Thanks, Chad," Freddy said, smiling at the other boy who was roughly his height.
"Don't worry about it, man," the darker boy said, putting his hands on his hips. "They can be so stupid sometimes. They know I hate it when they pull shit like that. Your friends okay?" he asked, looking at Pietro but making no move get closer to the pale boy.
"Yeah, I think so," Freddy said, absently rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks for your help!" he smiled.
"Right, catch you later then," Chad said, turning to follow his friends.
"What the hell just happened?" Lance asked, completely confused as Freddy approached them.
"Oh, with Chad?" Freddy asked before shrugging his shoulders. "Nothing. He and I are in the same cooking class together. We're kinda friends, only we don't really talk outside of that one class. It's so weird. Well, we heard that his friends were going to get ya, or something, so we decided to stop it," he shrugged again. "No biggie, really. I know you could have stopped them, but he insisted."
"Yah," Todd piped up. "Anyways, Lance. Whatcha doing jumping into help Pietro? I thought you two were in a fight, yo!"
"What the hell do you mean, Todd?" Lance asked, puzzled.
"Ah, well, you guys weren't even talking this morning!" Todd said, not wanting to mention what they'd heard from Evan.
"Yeah, and Evan told us you'd hate Pietro because he's gay," Freddy piped up. He smiled at the look that Todd gave him before the younger mutant buried his face in his hand with an audible smack.
"The hell you talking about?" Lance asked, suddenly angry. "I don't hate him at all!" he exclaimed to his friends. He turned sharply to look into the blue orbs of his friend and onetime lover. "I don't hate you, Pietro. I… I don't want last night to have been a one time thing. I don't just want…" his voice fell in volume to a whisper. He brought a hand up to touch the side of Pietro's face, holding it to reassure himself that this was real and that he was really revealing this part of himself to the other boy. "Pietro?" he said, taking a deep breath. "I… I love you. I want to be with you, but only if you want it too. I-" he tried to keep talking to cover his embarrassment, but Pietro cut him off with a kiss. Their lips met lightly at first before Lance held the speed-demon in a tight embrace, kissing him passionately before releasing their mouths and holding the smaller boy to him.
End Chapter 15
