Note: Hi! Here is the eight chapter. It might be a bit of an anticlimax at the end, but I wanted to write the upcoming event in an entire chapter, and not just a part of this chapter. I hope you like it, and your reviews are very appreciated.

Kitty had clearly been affected by the abduction. It was as if, the angelic light, always shining from her, had faded a little. I hated Magneto for this. When the others had talked about Magneto, I didn't really share their hatred. Now I knew, that he would be my enemy forever. But Magneto really was a dangerous enemy.

It seemed that I was the only one who could bring the light back to Kitty. The others tried to cheer her up, but it was only when I was with her, that she really returned to her old self. The problem was just, that I had work to do. This was still a secret, and it made Kitty wonder, what I was doing.

Friday came, and I was completely beat after an entire week of work and school. At least I had time to be around Kitty. This diminished the tire.

I spent Friday night, talking to Kitty. She hadn't really talked to anyone about what had happened, but now I insisted, she did.

Words could not describe my relief, as Kitty returned to her old, amazing personality. It seemed, the talk had finally lifted the dark atmosphere around her.

Saturday morning, Kitty woke me up, carrying an enormous tray. I quickly got up from my bed, to help her carry the heavy burden. The tray was filled with toast, eggs, bacon, fruit, juice, and many other delicious things. I realized, she was bringing me breakfast at bed. I thanked her and kissed her. Then I invited her to eat with me.

We hadn't eaten much, before Kitty suddenly threw herself at me and kissed me. I admired her lack of patience, but as we kissed, I realized the reason to this impatience. The kiss was not like the other kisses we had been exchanging the last couple of days. Now that it was back, I realized that the magic had been absent for the last couple of days. A tremendous amount of passion had been released in this kiss.

I was ecstatic. The only, keeping me from making this kiss lasting for all eternity, was my hunger. I hurried through the rest of the breakfast. Then we continued from were we had stopped. My condition had improved, and Kitty didn't have to worry about hurting me when lying on top of me anymore.

I lost track of time. I remembered a deal made with the other guys. We had played a couple of basketball games against each other. And the others had informed me, that the final game was going on Saturday morning. I was sure, I was late even before I looked at the clock.

I was already twenty minutes late, and I wasn't even late.

"The basketball game! I've gotta hurry", I said and interrupted the kissing.

"Does it really matter?" asked Kitty.

Actually it did. I was quite competitive and this was the final game. My team consisted of Kurt, Scott, Robert and me. We were up against Evan, Bobby, Jean and Sam. It was a tough competition, as Evan was the best player on the school team, and Jean was quite athletic too.

Kitty had to repeat her question, because I was concentrating on a game strategy.

"Can't you stay for a little longer?" asked Kitty, performing the smile, she knew I couldn't say no to.

"That's unfair. You know I can't say no to you", I complained.

"I think I'm entitled to a certain amount of manipulation", Kitty said.

"Oh, so manipulation is the medical term?" I asked, jumping back into the bed kissing her shortly on the mouth.

I tried to get up again, but Kitty clung herself to my arm.

"Just for an hour", I said, and Kitty nodded, accepting the fairness in this promise.

I jumped into my shorts and my Cardinals jersey. I ran to the danger room, which, for the occasion, had been transformed into a basketball hall.

Scott looked angry, as I entered the hall.

"Where have you been?" he asked, interrupting me before I could answer.

"You're playing point guard", he informed me and turned to tell the opposing team, that the match could begin.

We were behind by ten points after just five minutes. Scott kept accusing me of not having my head in the game. That was very true, as I only had my eyes on Kitty, sitting at the sideline, reading a book. She was so beautiful… BAMMMM! I had run right into a bench, standing at the sideline.

Everyone laughed, and I quickly got to my feet, acting like nothing had happened.

We lost the margin by a pretty large margin. Bobby talked about nothing else for the rest of day, especially the girls had to put up with listening to him babbling about his incredible accomplishments. Jean had put together a trip to the mall, and she was now inviting everyone.

Kitty and I decided to go with them. We had to get two cars, because of the amount of people coming along.

We were hanging out in the record store as the Brotherhood passed by. I clenched my fists preparing for a fight. I felt a hand on my should, pulling me back.

"They aren't worth it", Jean said, and pulled me towards the group of X-Men. Pietro saw me and looked at me with a challenging look. I stormed towards him.

I was suddenly caught by the shoulder again. But this a strange sensation followed. I was standing in the middle of the group of my friends.

I realized, that I had been teleported by Kurt. The X-Men quickly formed a line in front of me. This act really proved to me, what great friends I had.

We definitely had the numbers on our side, and the Brotherhood seemed to realize this too. They left after saying a couple of swears.

After listening to some records, we headed for the juice shop. A lot of different talks broke out. One of them caught my attention.

"Are you going to the Christmas dance, Amara?" someone asked.

I could vaguely remember something about a Christmas dance, but I had completely forgotten about it. I hoped Kitty was not angry, that I hadn't asked her yet.

"Kitty, will you go the dance with me?" I asked, as I turned around to face her.

"Of course", she said, and it sounded like she had thought it obvious. It didn't seem like she thought I had forgotten it. But something in my smile must have revealed me.

"You forgot", she said, not sounding angry at all.

"I did", I admitted, I don't think I could ever lie to Kitty.

"Do you wanna go?" she asked, casually.

"Sure. I just forgot", I said, and I really did want to go.

The dance was next Friday and this was also the last day of school. After all the talk about the dance, the girls decided to go look for dresses. As the guys and I rather would be struck by lightning, we parted in two groups. As I started to wonder, I realized that I was going to need a tuxedo. I was going to have to shop clothes anyway.

Most of the guys already had tuxedos, but they joined me in the search. It took longer than expected to find a tuxedo, which I liked. Scott called the girls to hear how long they would be. Jean estimated another couple of hours, and Kurt formed his hand into a gun, pointed it to his head and fired it. We all laughed and returned to the record store. We listened to some more records until the girls were done.

We decided to have dinner at the mall. We found a small Italian restaurant. Kitty told me that her dress was perfect.

"Well, it has to be, if it's going to have a chance, matching you", I said, and received a kind look from Kitty.

The following week was all about the dance. Everyone was excited, and a lot of the students in panic as well. I had nothing to panic about… Except the fact that I couldn't dance at all. I had never been to a dance, but it was just one of those things, that I know I wasn't able to do.

I was a little afraid, that Kitty was expecting romantic dancing all night.

My worries must have been filling a lot of my mind, because Jean quickly knew about my worrying. She offered to learn some of the basics.

I thanked her and we practiced. I must have been a fast learner, since the improvement could be spotted after short time. I still wasn't comfortable with dancing, though, and I wasn't quite looking forward to it. But I would do it to make it a perfect night for Kitty. She didn't want me to think, that she had expectations, but it was clear that she was really looking forward to it. It would be our first date, i guess, at least the first one with tuxedos and dresses.

Scott was obviously taking Jean. Kurt was taking his new girlfriend, Amanda. Ray was taking Jubilee. Bobby was going with Amara.

Friday morning came, and the house was filled with tension. Everyone was talking about the evening. They didn't seem to think about the fact that we were going to school first. This wasn't necessary, though, since the teachers decided to show a little Christmas spirit, and they didn't want to ruin the dance. So we didn't have any homework by the end of the day. This pleased everyone, and now, the only topic in every conversation, was that of the dance.

Scott gave me a ride home. I would never have guessed it, but we had become very close friends. Still, I was surprise to hear this question coming from him.

"So, how are you and Kitty doing?" he asked, looking quickly over at me, and then returning his attention to the road.

"Eh… Perfect, actually. I mean, I really love her, and she feels the same way. Everything is great. That's why I'm also a little nervous about tonight. Maybe it won't live up to Kitty's expectations", I said, surprised at hearing myself babbling on. He was probably just asking out of politeness. Nevertheless, he did seem interested.

"I understand what you mean. When I was taking Jean out the first time, I thought I was so nervous, I couldn't really say hi, when I picked her up", he said, smiling at the memories. I never would have thought it. Scott had always seemed like the type who would never be nervous about anything.

"Really?" I said, and laughed.

"Yes, but it gets worse. I spilled my drink on her dress and I had forgotten my wallet at home, so I couldn't pay for the food", he said, and I could see he was reliving the awkward moment. It sounded like a nightmare. If he was trying to comfort me it really didn't work.

"That sounds so bad. What happened?" I said, sounding like he was retelling the plot of a horror movie and I wanted to know the ending.

"Well, nothing of course. Jean and I love each other, and a couple of accidents will not ruin that", he said, finally getting to his point.

"Well, I guess you're right. I just really want Kitty to have the night she wants", I said.

"I'm sure she will have a perfect night. You're a good guy Lance", he said, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Hey Scott?" I said.

"What's up?", he asked.

"Thank you", I said, and took a deep breath. I was going to try to enjoy the night as much as possible.