I Want You Back

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing at all.

Chapter 10: You

Finally admitting to himself that he wanted her back, he felt worse than ever. He didn't just want her back; he needed her. He needed her in his life. He realized now that she was the one who made him complete.

The problem was, even if he was able to tell her the fact that he still loved her, would be pointless. He knew she'd stay with Colossus. And he would only end up rejected and with even more heartache than he could possibly take.

All this was making his head hurt.

He groaned in frustration and kneaded his scalp with his hands. He looked towards the wall and cursed. Crap, I'm late, he thought. He was supposed to be at the garage in ten minutes to make up for coming home early yesterday. Pushing his thought of his messed up love life away for just a moment, he hurriedly took a shower and headed off without any breakfast. No use getting fired.

His jeep screeched to a halt just outside the garage. He was about ten minutes late. This was just not his morning.

"Rick, I'm sorry, man. I overslept," Lance said, quickly putting on his overalls.

"Just get to work, Alvers," Rick replied.

Lance nodded and went to Garage 3. Tin-man's car was still there. There was a yellow note tacked to the cork board over the table where they kept the tools. Finish by one. Owner coming – pick up. Name – Piotr Rasputin, the note said. He snorted when he saw his name.

Great, now he had to see him two days in a row. Grumbling to himself, he went to work. Hopefully Lady Luck was on his side.

His working partner came around half past ten and between the both of them, they got the job done much faster. By the time that it was a quarter to one, the both of them were taking a break.

But when one o'clock finally came, Lance was left in charge of the car. Time passed and there was still no sign of the Russian man. He was quite irritated and was slowly becoming bored. There was nothing good on TV, so he watched the news, cursing.

I wonder if he's ever late for picking Kitty up on their dates, Lance thought. He mentally slapped himself. Of course not, you idiot! They live in the same house for crying out loud!

He cursed as he attempted to put on his tie and wear his jacket at the same time. He was really running late and he knew that Kitty would be absolutely furious with him. He took a deep breath as he stood at the foot of the stairs. The rest of the Brotherhood were watching something on TV in the living room.

He breathed in and put on his jacket before putting on his tie properly.

"Hey, guys, I'm leaving now. There's some money in the jar. I ordered pizza for you. That's okay, right?" Lance asked in a rush. He almost sounded like Pietro. He was practically jogging in place. He was so, so dead.

"Yeah, yeah, now-go-pick-your-kitty-cat-up-before-she-claws-you," Pietro said, waving him off.

Lance couldn't help but grin slightly. He grabbed the flowers off the kitchen counter and went out before proceeding to quickly drive to the Institute.

"You're late," Kitty said.

Lance gulped. Absence of valley-girl talk. First sign of badness. Second sign, everything else: crossed arms, tapping foot, a frown on her face instead of the usual dazzling smile.

"I know, and I'm really, really, sorry, Kitty," he said. He took out the flowers from behind him. Pink roses surrounding white tulips. "For you, mademoiselle," he said, holding them out to her.

Kitty's frown softened and she took them from him. "They're beautiful, Lance," she said. She brought them up to her nose and breathed in the heavenly scent. "Thank you."

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" he asked hopefully.

Kitty just smiled and took his arm. He turned him around so they could pose for Professor Xavier who had a camera. She tiptoed and kissed his cheek. "Forgiven," she whispered. She handed the flowers to the Professor so he could put them in a vase for her room. "Let's go."

More memories to remind him of the good times. A smile played at the edge of his lips. They had their ups and downs. Fortunately more ups than downs.

He glanced once more at the clock. It was almost half past two. Where on earth was this guy? He was about to take another drink when he heard a voice that made him stop.

"I'm, like, so sorry. I'm Kitty Pryde. I'm here to pick up Piotr Rasputin's car," she said to the secretary. "I, like, sorta got lost. Silly me."

"Piotr Rasputin? And what sort of relation do you have with him?" the secretary asked, looking through a pile of slips.

"I'm his girlfriend," she said with a slight smile, "He couldn't make it so he told me to, like, pick it up."

Lance felt his heart sank when he heard her say proudly that she was his girlfriend. At this point, he couldn't possibly tell her he still loved her.

"Hmm, Rasputin, Rasputin. Ahh, here it is. Garage 3. Give this to the man in charge," the secretary said.

"Thank you," Kitty said and took the slip from her.

Lance saw her make her way towards Garage 3 with the slip in hand. He turned around and pretended to rearrange the tools on the table so he wouldn't have to face her. Maybe, if he was quick enough, he could ask one of the others take the slip for him…

"Um, like, excuse me? I'm here to pick up Piotr Rasputin's car," she said, with a soft knock on the wall.

"Um, yeah, here it is," Lance said, still not looking at her.

"It's, like, more polite to look at someone in the face when they're talking to you, you know," she said indignantly.

There were two possible reactions from her when he turned around. One, she could possibly try to muffle a scream as she looked at him with surprise. Or, two, she could walk away without a word.

Lance sighed and finally turned around. "Here're the keys to the car, miss," he said politely, trying to ignore the drumbeat of his heart.

His eyes were still looking towards the floor. There was no sound coming from her. But her feet had yet to move. Instead, he saw the pick-up slip flutter to the floor.

"You," she said softly, her eyes void of any emotion.