Looking Through Your Eyes
Chapter 1
"Lance!"
Lance groaned. Allison, his stepmother, was calling him. Blonde, tall, young (she was about ten years older than him, making her 27), annoying, a complete airhead and CEO at Home Decorators. Somehow, for some reason, his father fell in love with her. His mother was the opposite of this stepmom from hell. And in his opinion, much better. Well, of course you would think about that when it was your mother.
"What!" he yelled back. He'd almost made it this time. He had his backpack slung over his shoulder and his jeep keys in one hand.
"I need you to pick Benny up from my work place later, alright?" she said, coming into the hallway carrying a sandy blonde three-year-old baby. It was his half-brother Benedict.
"Fine," he grumbled. Before she could say another word, he had walked out of the house.
He got into his green jeep and drove over to Marie's house. He stopped at the driveway and honked. At 8.15, she was already set for school.
"Bye, mom!" she said, jogging down to the jeep. Her mother, Raven Darkholme, was a widow and was completely strict. It was a wonder how his relationship with Marie lasted this long.
"Hey," Lance said, smiling. He leaned over to kiss her.
"Hey," she said back. "How's the stepmom from hell?"
"Two words. Babysitting Benny," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, come on, Lance. Ben's a really sweet kid. You just don't take the time to get to know him."
"How the hell am I supposed to get to know him? The kid's three," he said.
"You'll learn to love him. I know you will," Marie said, reaching over to squeeze his hand.
Lance just rolled his eyes as they pulled into the school. Students were also arriving in cars that their parents bought, the school bus and bikes. As he pulled the key out of the ignition, he scowled when he saw Summers and Pryde walking into the school, laughing like carefree students. Well, they were.
"I don't understand why you hate him so much, Lance," Marie said, when she followed his eyesight.
Lance just frowned at her. "And I don't understand why you keep defending him," he sneered.
Marie sighed. "Okay, one moment you're a real sweetheart, but the next, you're a complete asshole," she snapped, walking away from him.
"Marie!" he yelled after her. "Ugh!" he said in frustration, kicking one of his jeep tyres.
He and Marie had been facing some communication problems after they found out Summers liked her. There were moments when they would just lose their over heads something completely small. As small as Summers giving her a glance in the hallway.
He went through the day trying to get Marie to talk to him. He was met with silence.
"Marie, come on, I'm sorry," he said after school. They were both at her locker. "Can we at least talk about it?"
"Talk about what, Lance?" she said, pulling her pompoms out of her locker. She slammed her locker shut and turned around to look at him. "That we've been having problems since you found out Scott Summers liked me? I told you three months ago, Lance, that I'm loyal to you. I'm not going to run off with him behind your back, okay? Don't worry." She hugged him, and Lance was relieved that she wasn't that mad at him anymore. "I have to get to practice."
"Couldn't you just skip it?" he asked into her hair.
"No. Jean would throw a hissy fit if I did. Best friend and second-in-command, remember?" she said. She pulled away from him. "'Sides, you have to pick Benny up from Home Decorators."
"Please don't remind me of my little half-brother, please," he groaned.
"Tell you what. You pick him up and come back here, alright?" she said. She kissed him. "I have to go. See ya later, alright, babe?"
"Sure," he said, giving her a little wave as she headed towards the gym.
He dragged his feet to the jeep. He could remember when he and Marie had first gotten together about a year ago. It had all been about paying attention to his hormones. She was very pretty, with auburn coloured hair and green eyes. She had the figure and was also popular. But over time, he had grown to care about her. Even if most of the time their relationship was based on purely physical reasons.
Lance drove through Northbrook to get to the Home Decorators office. It was, coincidentally, right across from the café that Pryde worked at and just also happened to be owned by Summers' mother. He gave a glance at the café before entering the Home Decorators building.
"Yeah, hey-" he started when he reached the secretary's desk.
"Inside," she stated. He'd been there so much that they knew him face quite well.
"Right," he said and just went into his stepmother's office. Benedict was crying and screaming. Allison was on the phone while simultaneously trying to calm him down.
"Oh, Lance, thank goodness you're here," she said, carrying the wailing baby to him. "His stuff is over in the corner. I have to get back to this call. Thanks for the help, Lance."
"Yeah," he said, holding Benedict at arm's length. As he walked out of the building, "Yeah, yeah, shut up, you little monster." With much difficulty, he managed to strap Benedict into his car-seat. Rummaging through his bag, he pulled out a bottle filled with apple juice. "Here you go, Benny," he said softly.
Benedict's crying lessened slightly. "Tank you, Lance," he giggled and took the bottle from him.
Marie's right. He can be a angel, he thought to himself as he got into the driver's seat. He felt himself soften considerably.
"How about we go and see Marie, alright, Benny?"
"Mawie! Mawie! Mawie!" Benedict chanted.
"You like her, don't you boy?" Lance said as he drove back to the school.
"Mawie's weally nice, and weally pwetty," Benedict said, his eyes wide before giggling. Lance laughed and reached over to ruffle his hair. "Hey!"
He just shook his head as he pulled into the school. They went straight to the field where sure enough, the cheerleading squad was doing their routine. Benedict cheered when he saw Marie doing a backflip in the air.
"Go, Mawie!" Benedict cheered.
Marie apparently heard him and gave a smile and a wave to the little boy. When she noticed Lance sitting next to him on the bleachers, she waved at him too. He waved back, a smile on his face.
As practice continued with Benedict still cheering Marie on, he caught sight of a familiar mahogany-coloured hair on the other side of the field. He narrowed his eyes at him. Scott Summers had a lot of nerve, coming to his girlfriend's practice. Why wasn't he at his mother's café anyway?
"Hey, Benny, I'm gonna go over there for a second, alright?" Lance said. "Stay here."
"Okay, Lance!" Benedict said before continuing his chanting.
Lance quickly left the stands and walked over to where Summers was. He was leaning casually against the fence that surrounded the field, one hand in his pocket while the other holding To Kill a Mockingbird. Occasionally, he would glance up and look at Marie and just make it seem as though he was looking at the other cheerleaders. But Lance knew he wasn't. His main focus was on Marie.
"Hey, Summers!" Lance said, walking up to him.
"Yeah?" Summers said.
"You watching my girl?" he asked, standing right in front of him.
"What are you talking about? I'm here waiting for Kitty to finish up practice."
"A likely story. You know, the whole school knows you're after Marie. But know what, Summers? You can't have her," Lance said, narrowing his eyes at him, his hands clenching into fists.
He took notice of the way Summers tensed up, his hands snapping his book shut as he regarded Lance with cold eyes.
"Everyone knows you fantasize about her. And when someone told me that you were in love, well, maybe not in love, with my girlfriend, me and her have been facing some problems. Nothing we can't handle of course. Thanks to you, though, she's always on my case. And you know what? I want you to fuck off, and leave us alone. Go to that Katy Pryde, or whatever her name is," he continued.
Just when he thought Summers was going to retaliate, he was met with a punch to the jaw.
"That is it, Summers!" Lance said, angered. He gave the other boy a punch in the cheek, causing him to stagger back slightly.
"That the best you've got, Alvers?" Summers taunted.
"Oh, I'm just getting started," Lance said, shoving him back. He was about to throw another punch when someone came in between them.
"Knock it off, Lance!" Marie said, holding onto his fist as she attempted to push him away from the other.
"Scott, what on earth has gotten into you?" Pryde asked, punching him in the shoulder.
Jean and the rest of the squad were torn between letting two of their members deal with their boyfriend and best friend or continuing practice. Benedict was holding onto her hand.
"Um, alright, everyone, good practice! We'll meet back here again tomorrow, alright?" Jean said to everyone, plastering a fake smile on her face. The squad just shrugged as they left, picking up their bags and heading to their cars.
"Here's Benedict," Jean said, passing the little boy's hand to Lance's. She stood there for a moment, her eyes lingering on Summers' a second too long. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright, Marie?"
"Sure, see ya tomorrow," she said, turning to face the redhead before fixing her green eyes on Lance's once more. "Come on. Let's just go home," she said, snatching her bag up and walking away.
"Is Mawie mad at you, Lance?" Benedict asked.
Lance picked the toddler up. He gave Summers and Pryde one last sneer before walking away. When he reached his jeep, it was to find Marie sitting at the back seat, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at Lance the entire time. He strapped Benedict into his seat and got into the driver's seat, glancing at Marie from the rear-view mirror. She now resorted to scowling at him.
Oh, boy…
When he pulled over into his driveway, Marie had immediately jumped out of the back. She was currently unbuckling Benedict from his seat without once looking up at her boyfriend. Lance found this incredibly irritating.
"Go inside, Benny, I need to have a talk with Lance, okay?" she said to the little boy softly. Allison's car was already in the driveway.
"Alright, Mawie. Bye bye!" he said, running into the house.
"Now, as for you," Marie said. "What did I tell you this afternoon? I told you that I'm not going to run off with him! I saw you start that fight with him, Lance. I'm not blind!"
"Well he shouldn't have been there in the first place!" Lance retaliated, slamming the door shut.
"He was only waiting for Kitty and the rest of us to finish practice, Lance."
"So he was there the entire time!"
"Yes, and he was waiting for his best friend to finish up practice so they can drive back to the café!"
"What, and during that short time I wasn't there were you talking to him?"
"As a matter of fact, I was," Marie snarled.
Lance glared at her. "You like him, don't you?" he spat, his anger getting the best of him. "You want him just as much as he wants you."
"Drop it, Lance. We were just talking. As friends," she said.
"Oh, yeah? Prove it."
"You know what, Lance? If you can't learn to trust me, then maybe we shouldn't be together," she said. A flash of sadness crossed her face before she turned around and headed towards her house.
"Fine! Go to Summers!" Lance told her angrily. He stalked back into his house but stopped at the doorway. With one hand on the doorknob, he turned around halfway, feeling guilt, remorse and sadness as he watched her walk away from him.
"Lance?"
"Fuck off," he muttered as he thundered up the stairs.
"Language, young man!" Allison called after him as Benedict tilted his head in confusion. No doubt he was wondering where Marie had gone.
"You're not my mother!" he yelled back. She was going to retaliate once more when she was met, however, with a loud slam.
Lance threw his backpack into a corner. He picked up a picture of him and Marie together and scowled at it. He threw it across the room, the frame and glass shattering.
He sat on the bed and thought for a while. The seeming break up did upset him. But not as much as he would expect. Yes, he did care for her. But did he love her? He wasn't sure. At one point or another, she had showed him that she loved him, and he to her. But maybe it wasn't enough. They had been close to splitting up a million times but it had never happened. If he was lucky, maybe the statement that sounded like a break up was only just anger. Hopefully.
Groaning in frustration, he grabbed his bag and took out his notebook, accidentally pulling out his Geometry test. Another F. He groaned once more. He could remember every single word his teacher had said earlier in the day.
"Alvers, see me after class," Mrs Hornberry said. Lance just noticed that he hadn't received his test paper back. That was bad, real bad. The bell soon sounded and he made his way to the front of the class, fearing the worst. "Another F, Alvers. What am I supposed to do with you?"
Lance didn't answer her.
"No matter. If you fail the next test, I will be forced to assign you a tutor. You have a lot of potential, Mr Alvers. I can see that. But you're always busying yourself with your clique or Marie, who, I must say, is also very bright. Now, I'm not telling you that you should drop them to improve your studies, even though that would probably be for the bestr. Just try to put more effort into your work. There will be another test tomorrow. Good day, Mr Alvers."
A tutor. A frickin' tutor. The last thing he needed and wanted was a geeky tutor with a high-pitched voice, spots and glasses. As much as he didn't want a tutor, and as much as he didn't want to study, if he failed, he didn't have a choice.
Just when he was about to open his Geometry book, he decided to try and call Marie. It was a pathetic attempt at trying to dodge studying.
He dialled her home number and listened to it ring. Marie was usually home alone since Raven Darkholme was always travelling. Today was one of the rare days when she would be at home.
It continued to ring then finally, "Hi! You've reached the Darkholme household. Obviously we're not home. Hopefully you'll know what to do with the beep."
"Marie? It's Lance. Marie, I know you're home. Just pick up, alright? I'm sorry about what I said. Please. I know I've been a jerk and a huge pain in the ass lately. Just – I'm sorry alright? Anyway, if you get this message, and you'll probably delete this but whatever, come by for dinner, okay? Benny misses you. So, uh – yeah, bye."
"Lance! Dinner!"
Reluctantly, he went down. When he passed by the living room, though, he stopped. Marie was on the floor playing with Benedict. They were in the middle of building the Eiffel tower using Lance's old Lego set.
"Done!" Benedict said happily.
"It sure is," Marie said, pinching his nose.
Benedict smiled at her and turned to the doorway. "Lance! Look, Lance! Me and Mawie built the Eiffel Tower using Legos!" he said excitedly.
"Yeah," he said, nodding at the toddler. "Um, Ben, listen, you go into the kitchen, alright? I wanna talk to Marie for a while."
"Okay! I'll save you a seat, Mawie!" Benedict said before skipping off.
"Uh, I know it has only been a couple of hours, but uh, hey," Lance said.
"Hey," Marie said back, tucking her bangs behind her ear. "I – uh – sort of came back."
"I noticed," Lance said. He wanted to be indifferent to her. He couldn't do it. "Look, Marie, I'm sorry about what I said earlier."
"No, Lance, it's okay. You had every right. I just wasn't feeling myself. Forgive me?" Marie asked.
"Of course," he said. He hugged her and kissed her lightly. "Besides, who else is gonna help control Benny the Monster?"
"Lance!" Marie admonished, smacking his arm. She rolled his eyes. "Come on," she took his hand, "Let's go to dinner."
A/N: It's a bit messed up and I'm so sorry for that. I know Rogue really seems out of character. But like I said, there's a lot of character and personality changes. But I will be bringing Goth-Rogue in. The whole I'm-your-typical-sweetheart is pretty much just a façade. Or something like it. Don't hate me for that.