Chapter 12

Bodyguard

Just as Kitty suspected, Lance tried his hardest to get near her. She managed to evade him for the most part, and she knew a lot of the times was because of Scott playing bodyguard for her. He didn't hang around her all day, but he did keep a close eye on her and stayed nearby.

Lance meanwhile had a nagging suspicion Summers was purposely cornering him whenever he headed towards Kitty. Of course, each time the other senior seemed to have a reason for seeking him out, but Lance wasn't dumb. He knew Summers was smart, one of the smartest in the school, and he didn't really need help on homework he knew Lance didn't do.

He also knew Summers couldn't possibly care less if Tabitha was looking for him, and wouldn't have informed him of as much if it meant Lance would get in trouble with his girlfriend. Yet, he had told him once today that Tabby was searching for him, and he wouldn't leave until Lance had gone to meet his girlfriend, grumbling curses under his breath the entire way.

Finding Tabby led to a pleasurable snogging session, but Lance's mind continually turned to Kitty. He had to win her back from that overgrown bastard! If he didn't, Lance wasn't sure what he would do. True, he didn't love Kitty, he hadn't known love enough in his life to know what it was, but he didn't like the thought of her belonging to another. She had been his first, before the Brotherhood and X-men ever came into their lives, and she would stay his!

Currently, he was sitting in his fourth period, glaring at the back of Summers' head. It was one of the few classes they had together, and he absolutely hated it! It didn't take a genius to know Scott felt the same. No matter how far apart they sat, – Lance at the back of the far right, and Scott at the front of the left – it was still too close.

Scott could feel Lance's heated gaze on his head, and it took all his willpower not to smile. He stared straight ahead, feigning interest in the lecture their teacher was giving. In actuality, he'd heard a similar lecture at least three times in Hawaii, his old professor liked to repeat herself continuously, and had it so engraved he didn't need to hear it again.

He had a reputation to keep up though, and if he wanted to stay on Kelly's good side until graduation – he found staying on his good side kept the stuck-up man away – he needed to act like he was really interested. Besides, Scott felt that the best way to repay Professor Xavier was to make good grades. It wasn't like he could ever pay Xavier in money; no matter how long he worked, Scott doubted he would ever measure up to that kind of wealth. Not that the telepath would accept money anyway, since he felt it his duty to help young mutants.

Lance's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at the studious boy. If looks could kill, Scott would have been buried at least twenty times already. Sadly, for him, they couldn't, so the X-man continued to stare obediently ahead and didn't pay any attention to the Brotherhood member drilling holes into the back of his skill with his gaze.

The bell rang, startling Lance from his daydreams of Summers' painful death at his hands, and he caught a quick smirk on the slightly taller male's face. He growled lowly, pulling his lips back in a snarl that sent several teens around him running out of the classroom. Something was definitely up, but no matter what Summers' thought he could do, Lance would talk to Kitty. More importantly, he would make her his!

&&&&&&

Piotr stared at the lake. Silence surrounded him, giving him a sense of tranquility. It was nice to have once in a while, especially with all the noise usually surrounding the mansion. With the kids at school, Logan off on yet another find-himself adventure, and Rogue and Remy eating out, there was no one that particularly liked to be loud around.

Despite the niceness of the moment, Piotr found himself wishing Kitty were home already. He silently cursed himself for thinking along such lines. True, Rogue's words about how dating wasn't illegal ran through his mind constantly, but he still had morals and he didn't want to seem a pedophile or anything – not that it was pedophilia to like someone three years younger than you.

Kitty was just so young, and there was so much in the world she still hadn't seen! There was a lot Piotr hadn't seen as well, and to be honest, he wished for the day when he might travel to see more. That was why he'd agreed to come to Xavier's though he already had control over his powers. Being a farm boy, he didn't have enough money to travel, and he'd always wanted to come to America, ever since he took those English classes in school. It was the chance of a lifetime, and to make things better he would be helping people. What more could he really ask for?

Things had taken a surprising turn though, and Piotr wasn't altogether sure he disliked the change. When he agreed to play Kitty's boyfriend in front of Lance, he was pretty confident nothing would happen. He knew there was a line between them that shouldn't be crossed, and he was more than willing to stay on his side, no matter how much it hurt inwardly.

But it wasn't as easy as he thought. His thoughts constantly centered around the valley girl, so small in comparison to him. Frail, his first thought of her the first day he arrived had been that a wind could easily blow her away. And she wasn't as tough as Rogue, as smart as Jean, as free spirited as Jubilee, or as beautiful as Amara, but she had her own qualities that made her the most beautiful girl in the world to him.

He loved the way she would blush just as easily as Pyro would set something on fire. He loved that she was a vegetarian, and yet accepted that the others in the household ate meat and would continue to eat meat until they died. He loved that she was so understanding, and that she felt safe enough with him to confide things she wouldn't even tell Jean!

Maybe it made him selfish, but he hoped she never found someone else to share that secret information with. No matter how mundane it was, being her ears made him feel like he truly had a purpose. Piotr hadn't felt like that, truly felt like that, since Laynia.

Realizing the direction his thoughts were headed (again), Piotr stood and brushed the dry grass from the back of his pants. A quick glance at his watch told him he should be heading out soon; he had to pick up Kitty. A slight smile tugged at his lips at the thought, and though he would chastise himself for it later, Piotr couldn't help but feel eager to see her again.

There was just something about Kitty that sped his heart up. Something that made him want to give up his life if it meant keeping her safe forever. Though he didn't want to admit it, Piotr had the sneaking suspicion that this was what love felt like. Real love.

A/N's:

Rather obvious that this was a filler chapter more than anything, I think. I planned to make it important to the story, but I got stuck about the third paragraph. So, it took me a while to even finish this much, and by then I was just ready to get it out of the way. Since I'm running out of ideas for this story, it will be winding to a close – don't worry, I do plan to finish it! I'm just going to wrap it up pretty soon. Matchmaking is still a series, so no worries there either! I hope you enjoyed after that extended wait. Maybe the next chapter will come out sooner...maybe.