And now a little Lance and Kitty time. Please review!

Small Gifts, Big Promises

It was Monday and the Brotherhood was at school. Since they didn't have anything special planned, and because they were all stressed out from the therapy that took place throughout the entire weekend, they all decided to go their separate ways and take a break from each other. Lance was walking down the halls during lunch looking for something to do when he bumped into Kitty.

"Hi Lance." Kitty said cheerfully.

Lance's spirits lit up. "Hey Kitty. Haven't seen you around that much."

"Same here. Like where have you been?"

Lance shrugged. "Around."

Kitty looked around nervously and then started talking in a quieter tone. "So um, like what's up with Toad and Serena."

"What do you mean?" Lance said feigning ignorance.

"Don't give me that." Kitty said. "I know that they had something going on."

"How did you know about it?" Lance asked.

"Why else would he join us like, right after she did?"

"That doesn't mean anything." Lance remarked.

"Plus not to mention I walked in on them."

"O-kay, that might raise some suspicion."

"Come on Lance!" she pouted. "What is it that you're not telling me?"

"It's kinda complicated."

"How so?"

"Toad doesn't know Serena anymore."

"What do you mean? They were like a total item."

"Not anymore."

"How come?"

"Because…" Lance took a deep breath. "He's lost his memory."

Kitty's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you like serious?"

Lance nodded grimly. "He doesn't remember her at all, or the relationship they had."

"Like, this explains everything."

"What do you mean?"

"Serena's been a little… off lately."

"Yeah, so has Toad."

"So why don't they just like, get back together?"

"Because he still doesn't remember her."

"Didn't you tell him?"

"Well uh…"

"Lance, you did tell him didn't you?" Kitty said raising an eyebrow.

"He actually figured it out on his own."

"How?"

"He found the pictures in my room."

"And how long was it before he found those?"

"About a week." Lance admitted.

"Lance, I so cannot believe you!" She sounded both shocked and angry.

"What?"

She poked him in the chest. "You kept the truth from him and now Serena's going insane!"

"I'm sorry." He said heavily. "I didn't mean for things to get out of hand."

"Like why are you apologizing to me for?"

"Look, I know I messed up. I feel like this whole thing is my fault."

"Oh come on, it's probably not all your fault. I mean it's not like you wanted this to happen right?"

"I never wanted any of this to happen."

"So how did he lose his memory?" Kitty asked.

"Remember when we were all fighting and Pietro had hit him really hard?"

"You have got to be kidding me. Quicksilver is the one who caused Toad's amnesia? That's like freaky."

"Yeah, and he told us not to say anything to Toad about it."

"And you were okay with that?" Kitty asked in amazement.

"No but, he was dead serious. He would've done something horrible."

"Like what a creep."

"So I guess it really is my fault for letting him convince me it was for the best."

Kitty's expression softened. "Don't say that. You probably had your reasons. But poor Serena…"

"How is the Aqua chick doing?" Lance asked.

"Pretty bad. She hardly eats, she almost never speaks, and she doesn't get any sleep because of the nightmares."

"Did you just say nightmares?"

"Yeah, and she even attacked some of the other students thinking that they were monsters or something."

"Wait a minute." Lance said frowning. "She has nightmares, hallucinations, and she locks herself up in her room?"

"Yeah why?"

"This is just freaky. The same thing's been happening to Toad."

"Like really?"

"Yeah, he attacked Pietro because he was hallucinating."

Kitty's jaw dropped. "Toad did that?"

"Yep."

"When I saw him I was wondering what had happened. But I never thought that Toad…"

"Imagine how shocked we were."

Kitty's eyes shifted to the bruise on his cheek. "Is that what happened to your face?"

"Yeah, I was trying to pull him off of Pietro but I ended up taking one of his swings."

"Oh I'm sorry." Kitty said a little guiltily.

"Don't worry about it," Lance waved. "I've had worse. I just wish I could do something for Toad and Serena."

"Why don't you try to get them back together?" Kitty suggested.

Lance shook his head. "No way. I've messed things up enough and besides, they both probably hate me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm partly responsible for there break up." Lance groaned.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm being serious. All this crazy stuff is happening at home and at school. There's no one there I can talk to about what I'm going through."

"You can always talk to me." Kitty said gently.

Lance gave a sigh. "I've really missed you Kitty."

"Don't you think Toad might feel the same way about Serena?"

"He doesn't know what to feel. He's had a relationship with a girl he doesn't even remember. So he's probably feeling a little confused."

"It must be like totally horrible," she said quietly, "knowing you were in love with someone but not being able to remember what it was like."

Lance nodded. "Yeah, I'd die if it was me."

"You need to talk to him."

"I don't wanna end up like Pietro."

"Just like tell him that you're really sorry and that he should get back together with Serena."

"I've told him I'm sorry, but he needs to figure this out on his own. There's nothing I can do to help his love life."

"Are you sure?" Kitty asked him.

"The best thing we can do is just hope that everything will turn out fine." Lance told her.

"I guess you're right. I mean what's the point of talking to someone if they won't listen to you?"

"Exactly, we just need to give them time."

"I just hope that things don't get worse."

"Then don't think about it. If you think about the bad stuff that could happen then it might come true. So just think about the good things that will happen."

"You know Lance, I didn't realize how much I've missed talking to you."

"Yeah," Lance agreed. "No matter what happens I hope that we can always be together."

"I hope so too." She said quietly.

"Then let's make a promise" He pulled a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to her. She looked at it strangely.

"Does this mean you're a sucker?"

Lance looked a little embarrassed. "Give me a break. It's all I have at the moment."

"Alright how's this?" She put on a wistful voice. "Oh how romantic. I didn't know you had such a way with candy."

Lance ignored this. "Think of it as a reminder. Whenever you see a lollipop, think of me okay?"

She giggled slightly. "Weird, but okay."

He squeezed her hand gently. "Keep it close and remember my promise that I'll always be there when you need me no matter what."

"Oh Lance you're so sweet."

"I know it's not much but…"

"It's nice. Really." She reached into her own pocket and pulled out a homemade bracelet with black and pink beads. "I made this in Arts and Crafts and I want you to have it."

"Aw thanks Kitty." He said taking the bracelet from her. He looked at the pink beads on it. "I don't have to wear it do I?"

Kitty giggled. "No. Just like, keep it close and know that no matter how far away you are, you'll always have a special place in my heart."

"Thanks Kitty." He said pulling her into a hug.

And thus the vows were traded. Those small insignificant objects became extremely valuable to them. They symbolized the promises that they made to each other. Promises that would hopefully be kept.

"So like, do you really think that they'll be okay?" Kitty asked him. "Todd and Serena."

"Yeah, they just need some time to heal."

"Time doesn't heal everything you know."

"No," Lance said, "but hopefully this is something it can at least take the edge off."

"Maybe." Kitty said in a rather doubtful voice.

"They're both tough." Lance reassured her. "They can pull through."

"I sure hope so." Kitty said.

Lance, even though his words were sure and his voice confident, inside he had this nagging feeling of dread. A feeling that something horrible was going to happen. But how could things possibly get any worse than they already are? Though he didn't show it, he was hoping too.

Man, it's hard to write a fanfic this long when you're in school. But don't worry, I shall not stop. This story will be finished… sometime.