Author's note: Hi everyone. Here's another exciting chapter. Sorry this one took so long. I know I said they would be up within a week. I just had so much school shit to take care of. But hopefully I'll start to get some more free time. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Andy: Thanks for reminding me. I guess I kind of got a little side tracked and forgot about some of the important stuff.
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Logan raised his hand in the air at the dinner table. "Can I have you attention?" He looked around at all of the students. Each one looked up at him, some with food in their mouths. "Thanks. The professor and I have been talking about this for a while now. But now that we hand an addition to the team," he motioned with his hand at the new recruits. "We think it's time to choose a second in command."
"Whoa, hold on Logan." Scott stood up from the table. "What about me!? I've been leading the X-Men for a while now. I've been here the longest."
Scott had been leading the X-Men for a while, with the exception of Logan. Logan was commander, chief in charge, head honcho; but Scott, being the oldest, kind of just accepted second in command when the X-Men were originally formed. True Scott was the oldest, he had been there the longest, he had the most experience, but that doesn't always mean you're the best suited to lead.
"Well Scott, technically no one ever appointed you to be second in command." Logan didn't know how to word it so he wouldn't make Scott even more upset.
"But...come on professor. Tell him." Scott was making this a bigger deal than it should be.
"I'm sorry Scott, but I've left the decision up to Logan." Xavier expected Scott to understand and act like an adult about it. But instead he was acting like a little kid. Scott was stepping off the trail of becoming second in command already.
"Whatever. Can I be excused?" Scott left the table, not even expecting an answer, and headed in the direction of the sub-basements.
"Told you he wouldn't take it well." Logan said with a sigh.
"I was hoping he'd take it better than he did though," Xavier said staring at Scott's empty seat.
Logan and Xavier sat in the study. "I hope this was a good idea," Logan said.
"I think so Logan. I've noticed the kids fight bravely beside you, but when you go down, they freeze up and loose their confidence." Xavier said. "They need someone else they can look up to when you're no there."
"Then it was for the best." Logan stood up and left the study.
Fritz wandered around the many sub-basements of the institute trying to relieve his boredom. Since coming to the institute he had always been able to find something to do in his spare time. But today, nothing seemed to hold hi attention. So he decided to explore areas of the mansion he hadn't before.
He turned a corner after walking down a few metal halls and finding numerous empty rooms. It was like a maze down there. He was thinking about turning back when he heard some music coming from a room three doors down. The door was ajar letting a soft glow of light spill out into the darkened hallway.
He walked down to the lit room and opened the door the rest of the way to reveal lifting weights of all sorts. Some were free weights, others were machine; but, all of them looked big and heavy.
Scott lay on his back on a bench in the corner of the room with a bar of weights in his outstretched hands. "Who's there?" He asked because he couldn't look up.
"Just me," Fritz said.
"Oh, what's up Fritz?" Scott asked all the while lifting and lowering the weights above his chest.
"Nothing much. Just trying to find any other secrets to his house I don't know of yet. Like this room," Fritz said. It's not that he couldn't believe there was actually a room in use down in this maze of halls; rather he was surprised.
"Logan helped me set it up." Scott grunted.
"It's uh...nice." Fritz was just trying to make conversation.
"Well if you're just standing around, do you want to give me a hand?" Scott struggle to get the bark back up.
"Sure," Fritz moved across the room to where Scott was laying. He grabbed the weight bar in the middle and helped Scott lift it up and rest it on the racks.
"Thanks," Scott slowly sat up rubbing hi arms. He moved over to a bicep machine and started his set.
"So..." Fritz always felt uncomfortable when he had nothing to talk about. "What's up? You feeling okay? You seemed pretty upset at dinner." Fritz sat down on the bench Scott was just using and jumped up when he noticed the pads were wet from sweat; so, he opted to sit in a shoulder press machine instead.
"How would you feel if you had your position taken away?" Scott asked.
"Come on Scott. You'll make second in command easily. Everyone knows it." Fritz was starting to feel sorry for Scott, Being second in command meant a lot to him. Then again, he was acting like a baby about it; so, Fritz didn't' feel too sorry.
"I know that," Scott stopped lifting and walked over to the back wall where he grabbed a towel and a water bottle off of a shelf. "I just think it's bull shit. I shouldn't have to prove myself to them, again."
"Well maybe they thought you were slacking or something." Fritz said.
"Maybe. I don't know." Scott slouched down on the bench seat next to him.
"Hey, cheer up man. You've got second in command written all over you." Fritz attempted to cheer Scott up.
"Yeah, I've go the position secured." Scott was cheered up. "Thanks for your help buddy."
"Anytime." Fritz got up and walked to the door.
"If you looking for something to do, Kitty's on Kitchen duty." Scott put in before Fritz reached the door.
Fritz quickly turned around with a smile on his face, "thanks." He waved bye to Scott and took off down the hall.
Fritz entered the kitchen and saw a nearly empty table. In front of the sink with her arms covered in soapsuds stood Katherine Pryde. In the sink of soapy water were stacks of dirty dishes. Plates and bowls of all shapes were stacked to the rim of the sink while cups, pots, and pans cluttered the counter to her left.
She was wearing a pair of light blue sweat pants with a pink top that was a little damp in places; it didn't look like she was having fun. Fritz gathered up what little dishes were left on the table and set them in the pile next to kitty.
She looked over at him, "thanks."
Fritz grabbed a dry towel out of a drawer and walked around to her other side where he picked up a wet plate from the clean stack and started drying it off.
"Thanks again," Kitty smile at him before turning back to the task at hand.
Kitty would wash the dirty dishes then hand them to Fritz who would dry them and put them in their proper cupboard; they kept this up for a while in silence. Fritz wanted to say something to break the silence but he found it hard to talk to Kitty sometimes, especially when she was this close.
"What do you think about being second in command?" Fritz asked. "That was easy." He thought with a sigh of relief.
"I think it's like, a lot of responsibility." Kitty said. "I think it'd be fun though. I'd like to try it." They had finished the stack of dished in the sink so Kitty filled it again with the ones on the counter. "Like, what about you."
"Yeah right. I mean, don't get me wrong, it would be fun and all; but I've only been here about three weeks." Fritz said. He knew there was no chance that he'd be second in command. After all, he was the newest X-Man.
"Oh come on Fritz. Like, I've seen you in the danger room before. You're like, just as good as anyone of us." Kitty said trying to cheer him up.
"Yeah well...thanks." Fritz looked into her eyes and she looked back. They were so beautiful. He could stare at her eyes forever and never get bored.
"So like, tell me about yourself. I kinda feel bad cause you've been here so long and I really don't know that much about you." Kitty looked away from Fritz and finished up the plate in her hand.
"Um...well, what do you want to know?" Fritz asked her.
"What's your favorite movie?" She asked.
"Star Wars." Fritz answered without hesitation. He remembered seeing the movies when he was very young; and ever since then, they had been his all time favorite. "What about you?"
Kitty though about it for a while; "like, anything with Orlando Bloom." She blushed a little but just moved on to the next question. "Who's your favorite band?"
"Papa Roach and Disturbed." Fritz said. "You?"
"Good Charlotte." Kitty said. She thought of more personal question to ask. "What religion are you?"
"Uh...I'm not." Fritz answered.
"What do you mean you're like, not?" Kitty, although Jewish, didn't really care what religion Fritz was. She just wanted to know more about him.
"My dad never had me baptized. I'm glad actually. I hope I don't offend you or anything; but, I don't believe in it." Fritz didn't know if Kitty would take offense to it or not. That's why he usually didn't talk about religion. For one, he didn't believe in it and two, people usually got mad at him and tried to tell him all the goods of having a faith and all that bull shit.
"None taken." Kitty didn't want to push into the subject any deeper, especially if Fritz was anti-religious. "You said your dad never baptized you. Like what about your mom? Or are your parents divorced."
"She never married my dad. After she had me, she left him; I never met her." Fritz cursed her under his breath. "Neither of us have heard from her since then."
"I'm so sorry." She seemed really concerned. "I hope it's not like, too hard to talk about."
"Oh no. I never met her, for all I care she could stay out of my life forever." Fritz never knew what it was like to have a mom. He was doing fine so far. He didn't really want that bitch to come back anyway.
"You mean you wouldn't even want to like, meet her? Say hi or something?" Kitty couldn't tell what it would be like without a mother; her parents had always gotten along.
"Nope, never. If she didn't want me in her life, I don't want her in mine," Fritz said.
"Well, I guess that like, makes sense," Kitty said. They stood there in silence once again finishing the sink of dishes.
Fritz decided to break the silence this time. "What do you drink, Pepsi or Coke?"
"Pepsi," Kitty said.
"Coke's better," Fritz said jokingly.
"Gross. Don't you know, Coke's like, a toilet cleaner?" Kitty said with a disgusted look on her face.
"So, it still tastes good, and it's better than Pepsi." He said and stuck his tongue out at her.
"No, Pepsi's like, a hundred times better." Kitty retorted.
"Coke's better times a thousand." Fritz said like a little kid fighting with his crush.
"Pepsi times infinity!" Kitty said as she splashed him with the soapy water.
Fritz was shocked but countered back with a cup of water. It hit Kitty's side because she moved. She tensed up from the hot water and stood rigid for a few seconds before she filled up a bowl and dumped it on him. Fritz jumped back and almost slipped in the puddle on the floor.
They looked at each other for a while, neither one making another move. "I'm wet." Fritz said.
"So am I." Kitty said sounding a bit annoyed.
"Oh no, I'm not mad." Fritz said quickly.
"Good!" Kitty reached for the back of the sink and came out with the squirt hose. She didn't give Fritz any time to move before she pulled the trigger.
"Aaah!" Fritz yelled as he tried to dodge the incoming stream of water; but, he was too slow and it hit his shirt, instantly soaking through.
Kitty shot another burst of water at him, which he ducked under; but she hit his pants when he stood back up. Fritz quickly filled another cup with water and splashed it on her. She dropped the hose trying to avoid it. Fritz picked it up and shot a stream of water at Kitty's back. She spun around on him, laughing. He shot at her again but she phased through it and quickly advanced on him. He squirt her again soaking the front of her shirt but tripped over his feet while backing away and fell backwards. Since Kitty was so close to him she tripped over his feet too and landed on top of him with one leg on either side of his coming very close to kneeing something of value to him.
Kitty looked down to see a very surprised Fritz. He had dropped the hose and now lay there with his hands to his sides and Kitty straddling his leg. They looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours but they knew to be only seconds. Kitty opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the doorbell.
"Oh, that's like, for me!" She jumped off of Fritz and helped him to his feet before running out of the kitchen and towards the front door. Fritz slowly walked out of the kitchen in pursuit but stopped when he saw who was at the door.
Lance, he had his filthy arms around her waist and bent down to kiss her. She kissed him back and then ran up the stairs; probably to change into something dry. Fritz walked into foyer and was about to shut the door with Lance still outside when the mudslide saw him.
"What are you up to loser?" Lance asked with a smug grin on his face.
"Nothing much Lance." Fritz said to the older mutant.
"Why's my Pretty Kitty wet?" He asked with a look that said, "if you try anything, I'll skin you alive."
Fritz didn't want to tell Kitty's boyfriend they were playing with water in the kitchen because he knew Lance would take it out of control. "A pipe broke in kitchen and she was helping me fix it."
Before Lance could say anything more, Kitty came bounding down the stairs with a dry pair of cloths on. Lance turned to go when she got to the door. "Sorry I can't like, stay and help clean up the mess Fritz." She said honestly.
"Not a problem, just go and have fun," Fritz said.
"Oh we will. Thanks for your concern!" Lance shouted back from his jeep.
Kitty waved bye and ran off down the front stairs to Lance's waiting vehicle. Fritz's heart sank as the two drove off into the cool night.
Author's note: Yay! Another chapter down. Or is it up in this case? I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner, but it's going to be hard with Halo 2 in my possession. I might get a little sidetracked. Anywho, thanks for reading and please review.