Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men. These are fictional stories about fictional people in fictional distress/danger/something else that starts with a 'D' and that's about it. Warning…some fluff on its way…like you care…and Kitty's friend Amanda is not the same Amanda as Kurt's girlfriend…if that made ANY sense at all. Actually some of Kitty's friends are based offa mine. Please R&R. And what better why to tell me how pissed off you are at me for being away for so long, then writing it all down in review form! Anyhoo… enjoy…
Chapter 4 – Unexpected Truths
"All my friends said that they'd be at the party. Even Rachael and Kelly! And they usually never go to 'social gatherings' as they call them. This must be one heck of a party. I'd write more but thanks to Rogue I woke up late and didn't have a lot of time to write. Oh well. I gotta go."
Inside Duncan's house, the pounding music was practically shaking the dust off the walls, that is if there were any left. Bright lights, mainly backlights, flashed through out the large dance floor that had been set up. A long table with a white tablecloth was backed up against the wall with pizza, chips, pop, candy, and everything you could think of. There was section of the house near the end of the snack bar where a group of chairs were lined up against the walls. A few girls were sitting in them, laughing at some people on the dance floor.
Kitty immediately spotted her friends near the snack table. They saw her with Lhach and came over to talk. A girl with short dark brown hair and another girl with longer brown hair and blonde streaks approached them first. They didn't have much of a costume. Just their regular clothes, black and purple bat wings and devil horns. One pink and one blue each.
"Hey, Amanda, hey Ashley." Kitty greeted them cheerfully.
"Who's your new boyfriend?" She said, jokingly.
Ashley grinned daringly, "Ya, Lance is gunna be jealous, huh?"
Lhach laughed quietly as he noticed Kitty's face because a bright, rose red, "He's not my boyfriend! He's simply, um, a friend of mine."
By this time a few other girls had wandered over to say hi. One had whitish, blonde hair and the other also had very long, dirty blonde hair.
"What's goin' on?"
"Hey Taylor, Lacey." Kitty said, "This is Lhach everybody."
The girls waved. Taylor was dressed up as a cat and Lacey had on a long black dress with a cape over it.
"Hey!"
"What's up?"
"So if you're not Kitty's boyfriend are you single?"
Kitty laughed, "Real funny, Taylor."
Now it was Lhach's turn to blush, "Um…"
Kitty pointed to the three girls sitting in a cluster of chairs at the far side of the snack bar, making fun of people. One had short reddish brown hair; one had short light brown hair and the other had glasses and long blonde hair that was tied back, "That's Jessica, Rachael and Kelly. They're not to sociable so don't expect an open invitation to talk to them."
None of them had costumes on besides Jessica who was a dog and Rachael had nothing more than a dog collar and a leash on. Kelly was just in her normal street clothes. She wasn't one to dress up, for anything.
"Oh, okay." Lhach said politely, "I'm gunna go find Kurt and the others."
"Okay."
Lhach walked off into the mass of people and made his way towards the staircase, leaving the girls alone.
"So, admit it. You like him." Taylor said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Maybe a little."
Ashley and Amanda grinned.
"Ha! I knew it."
"It's not like I have a crush on him or anything though." She stated, sticking her nose in the air.
"Who are you trying to fool? Us, or yourself?" Amanda asked quietly, more of a statement than a question.
That one made her stop and think for a second, "Well …"
Lhach had made his way upstairs and found himself in a small room that appeared to be one of the many guest bedrooms. There was a queen-sized bed in the corner, layered with lavender quilts and lace, proving two things: Duncan was filthy rich and almost never had company. A few furnishings lingered around the room that matched the bedspread and the obvious Dutch theme.
Lhach took a deep breath and passed a hand through his hair. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened in the Danger Room and how disappointed he thought he had made the professor. Guilt was a strong, persistent feeling that isn't easily washed away with the tide and it had been weighing on his mind all night. Taking a few slow breaths Lhach tried to calm himself down and ease the feeling. After a moment or two he headed back down the stairs, knowing that he had a quiet place to escape to, and back into the pounding music and bright lights. To his surprise he didn't really mind it as much as when he had first arrived.
Lhach headed back over to where Kitty and her friends were. This time, Jessica, Rachael and Kelly were there.
"Hey, Lhach. Is Kurt here?"
"I couldn't find him. But he probably is."
"Oh. Well this is Jessica, Rachael and Kelly." She introduced them.
Rachael smiled, "Hey, sup?"
"So, what…" Jessica asked, "Is he your new boyfriend or something?"
Kitty sighed, "No! Why does everyone think that?"
"Sorreeey." She laughed, plastering a smile onto his pale face.
As if taking away from the awkward silence, the song changed to 'Simple and Clean' by Utada Hikaru and a grin tugged at Kitty's lips.
"Oh! I love this song!" She exclaimed. The others returned to their spots by the snack table, not before shooting Kitty an 'innocent' smile as they left.
Kitty grabbed Lhach's wrist and attempted to drag him onto the dance floor, "C'mon! It'll be fun!"
For some odd reason, Lhach let her drag him, "I can't dance."
"That's what everyone says."
They made their way through the crowded dance floor and found a small spot that was almost clear of people. Kitty began to dance and laugh at Lhach who had shoved his hands in his pockets and was still refusing to move.
On the other side of the room…
Lance and the rest of his team arrived at Duncan's party in which to crash. They surveyed the area but couldn't see past the dance floor due to all the people.
"This music sucks." Toad stated flatly, "And the lights are too bright. And there aren't enough snacks!" He whined, picking on everything he could see.
"Great observation!" Pietro said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "May I remind you that this was your idea?"
"Ya, this is stupid." Blob grumbled, "I wanna crash sumthin NOW!"
The others starred at him blankly and blinked a few times for no apparent reason.
Toad shook his head, "It was an expression, yo. I meant as in to ruin the 'partay'."
"Yeah you idiot." Pietro added. But he quickly noticed Lance's eyes narrowing and glanced over in his direction, "What? WHAT!"
Lance began to push his way through the horde of people on the dance floor so fast that Pietro got lost.
"Man, what is up with him?" He asked no one in particular.
Kitty didn't seem to notice that Lance was there, seeing how she could barely see past the person next to her. The song ended quickly and 'My Immortal' was next by Evanescence. Kitty stopped to take a breath, as did Lhach.
"Do you at least know how to slow dance?" She asked him in-between breaths.
Lhach shrugged, "I could give it a try."
Their little patch of space in the muck of people had grown even smaller. Kitty moved closer to Lhach as he put his hands on her waist. She rested her arms against him and a strange feeling came over her. She had never felt nervous in the presence of a guy before, let alone Lhach, but something seemed different.
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
Kitty looked up at him and realized she had never actually seen his eyes any colour other than black or gray or different variations of the two. Never at all when she first met him. They were an unusual shade of aquamarine blue surrounded by light gray.
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
That morning, when Lhach had lost control of his powers, his eyes seemed different. Darker almost; shrouded by mist and ice. But now, they were full of emotion. As if the ice had melted leaving the water behind.
"Lhach, can I ask you something?" She asked softly.
Little did she know Lhach was feeling the same way.
"Um, sure."
He had never felt like this when he was with a girl. Though the only time he ever was, was when he had been in the orphanage.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
"What happened this morning? In the training session?"
Lhach darted his eyes to the ground then back up at Kitty, "Well, I… " Lhach paused as if processing his thoughts. He took in a sharp breath, "Listen, there are times when I just kinda start to think about what happened at Westin Hills and I sorta forget what I'm doing. I didn't mean to do those things." He explained, trying hard not to make eye contact.
Kitty listened closely.
"Now can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
Lhach held her body close to his and whispered in her ear, "Thanks. For saving my life earlier."
A light shade of pink blossomed across her face, "No problem." She smiled weakly. But her smile quickly dropped as she felt the ground shake slightly. Lhach loosened his grip as if feeling it too. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the slight tremour but no one seemed to notice.
"Problem."
Kitty and Lhach turned around only to see Lance standing in front of them, "What do you think you're doing with my girl."
"Lance, please." Kitty started, "We were just dancing. And who says I'm your girl?" She retorted after processing what Lance had said.
But Lance wouldn't listen. Lhach stepped away from Kitty and returned his glare. Without a second warning Lance had swung a punch to the side of Lhach's face. He took a step back upon impact but didn't let on to be phased.
Lance tried the same move again but Lhach caught his fist before it could touch his face and threw his own into Lance's stomach. A few people noticed as he fell back onto the hard ground.
People jumped to the side and stared for a moment at the scene.
Lance shot up to his feet and ran at Lhach. But he leaped to the side, sending Lance into the crowd alerting everyone's attention to the two teens.
Toad jumped out from the crowd and helped Lance up, "C'mon, lets get outta here, yo."
"Why should I?" He spat, tearing his arm away from the mutant.
Toad glanced up at Lhach, "He'd kill you. He's done it before, yo. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem killin' someone else."
Glaring heavily at Lhach once last time, Lance got up and pushed his way out of the party.
The crowd, now rendered fight-less, became suddenly bored and returned to their business leaving Lhach and Kitty in a state of shock.
'How…how did he know?' Lhach thought, 'About the security guard.' He looked to the ground in a panic, 'Damnit. It was a fucking accident.'
Lhach bit down on his lip harder than he intended to and tasted blood. Grabbing Kitty's wrist, he weaved his way out of the crowd and up the stairs.
"Lhach, what's going on?" Kitty demanded as soon as Lhach shut the door to the guest bedroom behind him.
"Listen, Kitty," Lhach began slowly, "I didn't lose my powers 'cause I didn't realize what I was doing. I lost them because whenever I become overwhelmed with guilt or anger, that's when I lose my powers." He blurted out.
"But, Lhach, I thought you had worked over that."
"I thought so too. But lately, I just haven't been able to clear my mind. It's like all the memories of everything that ever happened to me are flooding back inside my mind and I can't stop it."
Kitty thought he couldn't lose control anymore. She knew how dangerous he could be if he lost control. He had said he had it all under control. Was he lying to her? Kitty's mind was racing, "Lhach, you need to tell the professor." Was the only thing she could spit out.
"I can't." He sighed, "Don't you understand? If Xavier knew that what he was doing wasn't helping, or that I'm losing control of my powers all over again, he'd send me back to Westin Hills."
"So this is what it's all about?" Kitty asked, lowering her tone, more a statement than a question, "Lhach, Xavier wouldn't do that. He knows how much you hate it there. He wouldn't make you go back."
Lhach sat down on the bed and buried his face in his hands, "I can't go back there. Please don't tell anyone." He muttered through his hands.
Kitty sat down next to him and stared at the ground, "Lhach, everyone makes mistakes. It's okay. I do it all the time." A weak smile managed to appear on her face.
Lhach looked up at her, "That's exactly what Xavier said."
That's when she noticed it. Lhach's eyes. They were the same as they were when they had been dancing; full of emotion. But when Lance came, it was like he was a whole different person. Maybe Kitty's friends were right. Maybe she does love him. But she saw how Lance had acted when he thought her and Lhach were together. She couldn't bear to hurt him. But she didn't know if she loved Lhach or not.
"You can control your powers. I know you can."
Lhach wanted to believe her. He really did, but something inside of him made it seem impossible.
Kitty cupped a hand under his chin to keep him from steadying his gaze on the floor again, "Do you remember when you killed me? You were so overcome with emotion after you realized what you had done. But you didn't change. It was the same emotion, sadness, but you didn't change. I remember it like it was yesterday. Your emotion and care for me was what made Cloie come. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be dead."
Opening his mouth as if to say something, Lhach found himself speechless. Unable to return a comment he looked back at Kitty. Time had seemed to stop as Kitty slowly brought her lips to meet his. Lost forever in that one second, Lhach returned her kiss, his tongue working it's way around the inside of Kitty's mouth. She felt herself begin to melt in Lhach's arms and closed her eyes. He felt Kitty shift her body onto his and he pulled her down next to him. All sound seemed to filter out of her mind as Kitty found herself unable to move, frozen in a hypnotic phase. The next thing she knew, Kitty was laying below Lhach. She passed a hand through his thin dark hair and let it fall back over his eyes. Lhach brought his lips back down to hers. The same feeling washed over her again. A feeling she couldn't understand. This wasn't right. All those stupid health classes said it wasn't right. So why didn't she care?
"Hey Ashley…"
"Hmm…?" Ashley turned to face Taylor, whose blonde hair now hair purple streaks down the sides, "Hey..."
"Have you seen Kitty any where?"
"Um, no." Ashley responded, as if just now realizing Kitty was gone.
Taylor put a hand on her hip and looked around the room, "Cuz I saw her dancing with Lhach a little while ago, but now, I think, both of them are gone."
"That's weird."
A broad chested (-- sp?), blonde haired jock approached the girls, "Hey, are you ladies enjoying the party?"
He smelled like alcohol.
Taylor plastered on her most sarcastic smile and tilted her at towards him, "Oh yes, Duncan, I'm having a wonderful time! Thanks ever so much for inviting us!"
Duncan smiled, "No problem, maybe I'll see you girls around…"
Ashley laughed. He bought it, "Yeah, maybe."
Duncan continued on his way leaving the girls to drown in their laughter.
Kitty couldn't think. She couldn't move. Nothing was making sense to her. She wanted to get up, to leave, but those thoughts had become very insignificant, very quickly. But something else was wrong. Something else she was feeling. Kitty pushed the back of head against the pillow as hard as she could to break away from Lhach's kiss.
"Lhach, wait…"
But she didn't need an explanation. The floorboards creaked. Lhach and Kitty froze. Someone was coming up the stairs.
The doorknob turned and a blonde haired jock waltzed into the room.
Kitty and Lhach were sitting up on the side of the bed. Duncan looked over at them impassively.
Suddenly, a strange expression appeared on his face, "I'll have two extra large pepperoni and mushroom pizzas to go please."
Lhach stood up and walked over to him, "Duncan?"
"Thank you for your time." And with that he turned around and walked back out of the room.
Kitty stared after him for a few seconds, trying hard to come to realization of what she just saw.
"I think… he's drunk..." Lhach laughed.
Kitty smiled back at him.
A few moments later, the two of them made their way back downstairs, pretending like nothing happened.
"Kitty! Lhach! Where were you guys?" Jean asked, acting all worried as usual.
Jean was standing next to the punch bowl. Kitty and Lhach exchanged looks.
Lhach grinned, "Your boyfriend's drunk, red."
Jean rolled her eyes, "I know, and he's not he's not my boyfriend."
"Sure."
Kitty laughed.
"That's besides the point, Ceribro caught Avalanche using his powers tonight. What happened?"
Lhach shrugged, "It was nutthin much." And without another word, him and Kitty left the party.
Jean watched them go in silence as Scott approached her.
"There's something different about them." Scott thought out loud.
"Yeah. But I don't know what."