A/N: Okay, before I forget, I’m gonna say this now. At the end of this chapter, there was an entire page of dialogue between Johnny and Pietro that explains allll of Johnny’s motives behind his actions (the whole “screwing Wanda and acting semi-normal even after finding out that she was cheating on him” thingie, as well as something else he goes and does this chapter). However, I got mad and it was just so bleh blah bad that I’m not including it here. Soooo... yeah!

Anywho, this is the mediocre crap that was Chapter 5... REVISED! Yes! I’m talking totally revised! There’s a lot more... uh... meat in the chapter now! And pretty much everything from the scene where St. John storms out of the diner place with Bobby to the end of the chapter has been not only revised, but almost completely rewritten! Whee! Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve written an authors’ note that I don’t really know what to put here. Just, um, read it and I really hope that the new and improved Chapter 5 isn’t nearly as bad as its previous incarnation.

Ah, the video store. A perfect oppertunity for St. John to relax and not have to worry about Pietro trying to get him to accidentally “out” himself as gay. Pffth, as if he even was in the first place. The notion was simply illogical. Sure, that whole scene was great and all for Lance and Pietro, but for St. John? The guy who got laid by multiple CHICKS waaaay before Lance could get the guts to lose his own virginity? The guy who had a tendency to cheat on his girlfriends with other girls, and then cheat on those girls with yet more?

Of course not! I’m the biggest man-whore I know! Yep! I’m like... a total slut! Not gay!

....okay, I’m being stupid. So what?

“Yo, I found the flicks. Let’s go,” Todd said impatiently, thankfully interrupting John’s calling himself a various synonyms for the word “skank”. Unbeknownst to John, he had just spotted the X-Geeks doing what they did best: unwittingly popping up wherever the Brotherhood happened to be.

“You don’t want anything for yourself?” the blonde asked hopefully, though truthfully, he didn’t really care about getting any other movies--

“Nah.”

“Um... well, I do.”

--he just wanted to hold off getting back in the car as long as possible.

“Huh. Okay, whatever; I’ll just wait by the check-out chick.”

“’kay,” John answered absently, watching the younger teen saunter off, before turning and staring at the titles facing him. Well, this is tough. All of these movies suck-- ah, wait, these’re are 80’s fantasy flicks. No wonder. Hey, wait! Since when do I oppose movies featuring scantily clad chicks?! Hmm-- oh, holy God, it’s-- “‘Labyrinth’!”

His exclamation was accompanied by a brief giggle as he snatched the box and clutched it protectively to his chest, half-expecting some small, evil little child to come along and take the Bowie-endowed movie from him. Wow, I haven’t seen this since I was like ten or something! Yeah, Lance was sleeping over at my place, and we watched it... and then he hit me for renting it because he claimed that I knew about his fear of muppets...

John glanced around more, looking for some other movie to grab-- something obscure that would take about an, oh, extra twenty minutes or so to find. Yeah, that sounded good. It would be enough time for his heart rate to slow down as he forgot about the lamp post he, Todd, and Todd’s beaten old Corsica had almost become very intimate with. As the pyrokinetic scoured the shelves and attempted to waste more time, he remained blissfully unaware of the chilly hand that was about to descend upon his vulnerable, unsuspecting neck...

“Aah!”

“Jittery much?”

“Wha-- oh, it’s you! Hi.”

“No ‘g’day’?”

“Well, it’s evenin’,” John shrugged with a grin. “Can’t very well say ‘g’day’ when it ain’t daytime.”

“Point. I just wanted to hear you say it. Australian accents are so cute.”

“I could say the same about American ones. Sheesh,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Your hands are freezing.”

“They don’t call me ‘Iceman’ for nothing, y’know. So... you like ‘Labyrinth’?” Bobby asked curiously, peering at the box in John’s hand.

“I think,” he laughed. “I don’t remember, really. Been a long time since I’ve seen it.” He paused awkwardly, looking everywhere except at Bobby. Though he would never admit it (unless drunk), Pietro’s words still stuck with him, nagging, taunting... giggling... “Um... what’re you here for?”

“Oh, Kurt wanted to get some action movie, and Kitty just had the urge to rent ‘My Fair Lady’ again. Hm. You’d think she’d learn something about speaking proper English from watching it, like, so many times, like, you know?”

“The, like, rain in, like, Spain falls totally in, like, the plains!” St. John recited primly in a disturbingly accurate rendition of the valley girl’s voice, twirling a lock of hair with his index finger.

“Ah, man, don’t do that! You sound way too much like her.”

“You sayin’ I have a girly voice?” the older boy teased.

“Nah, you’re just girly period, Johnny-boy,” Bobby grinned.

John blinked. “I am not-- am I? No, I’m not-- wait... Do I seem girly?!” he asked with all the self-consciousness of a teenager (who was almost out of his teens. Just a few more months!) whose best friend’s boyfriend was bent on turning him gay or something.

“Shh! Keep your voices down,” an irritated looking man wielding a copy of the theatrical bomb known as “Bounce” hissed at the two teens, who returned the command with blank stares.

“This is a video store, not a library, mate.”

“This is a video library, son,” the man retorted in a somewhat condescending voice, as if any little idiot would know that one was to keep silent when in a “video library”. He frowned crossly at the boys, giving them the stern “I’m very disappointed in you” look.

“Sorry, sir, we’ll lower our voices to make your rental experience more enjoyable,” Bobby replied in an equally patronizing voice as he took hold of John by the arm and leaned in close enough to get his lips next to the older boy’s ear. “Want to take me up on that coffee offer? We can continue talking somewhere else. You know, outside the library’s vicinity,” he said in an overdone whisper.

John turned his head, finding himself nearly nose-to-nose with Bobby. Immediately, he found himself blushing like a dope from being so close to the other boy. “Ah, um... yeah, sure,” he gulped nervously. “That’d be... neat...”

“You know, for a writer, you’re not very articulate,” Bobby teased. “Your vocabulary leaves much to be desired.”

“That’s why I write, not orate-- how’d you know I’m a writer, anyway?”

Bobby shrugged, still holding John’s arm as he casually led him towards the exit. “After we ran into you and Pietro in the grocery store, Evan gave me this longwinded ‘know thy enemy’ speech. I now know more than I ever wanted to about you guys, including how you write ‘sissy stories’. His words, not mine,” he said with a grin.

“Sissy stories, huh? Remind me to do something really, really bad to him sometime.”

“Can do,” Bobby affirmed once they were free from the store. He let go of John’s arm and looked around. “Well, now we’re free. I don’t see Tolensky rushing out to rescue you from my wicked clutches yet, so let’s go.”

“Yeah. Hey, won’t your X-Pals get suspicious when they find out you’re gone?”

“Nah. They barely register my existence half the time,” Bobby shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets and starting away from the Blockbuster video store. “So, you know where we can get some good coffee?”

“Well, coffee’s not really my thing, but... I do know a pretty decent place,” John said, following Bobby with quicker steps.

“Lead the way.”

The cafe wasn’t too bad. Sure, it wasn’t a place that Bobby would normally pick, more like one of those walk-right-past-and-check-your-reflection-in-the-window-while-doing-so places. But hey, the coffee was decent, the place was run by friendly middle-aged waitresses who obviously weren’t used to too many customers (outside of the “regulars”), he got to have a front-row view of a giddy, caffeinated John, and-- best of all-- everything was cheap.

“Coffee with ‘the enemy’. I wonder what Scott would say if he saw this,” he mused with a lopsided grin. “He’d probably have a coronary.”

“Well, if the enemy’s always gonna be as handsome as you, I certainly wouldn’t mind doin’ this more often,” St. John returned with a playful wink.

What?!! What did he just say?! He thinks I’m handsome! OhGodHappy!

“I mean, not that you are handsome-- well, you’re not not handsome, either, but I-- Joking! God, I sound like an idiot,” John attempted, somewhat abashed and stuttery.

“I’m handsome, eh? Heh, maybe you should tell the girls at school that. They don’t seem to see it yet.”

That’s right. Good Bobby. Pretend that you didn’t ackowledge the compliment. Pretend that it didn’t make you squishy inside. Pretend that you don’t want to grope this guy you just met...

...but he’s so cute!

John smiled at Bobby sympathetically, inwardly cheering that Bobby didn’t run away screaming from his vaguely homosexual outburst, and said, “Aw. Maybe they’ve just got bad taste.”

Oooh, hehehe. I’m really liking this guy. Too bad I can’t tell if he’s flirting with me or not.

“I’ll say,” Bobby muttered, rolling his eyes. “Even Evan has a girlfriend. Evan. But, oh well. Girls are highly overrated.”

Huh? Did I just say what I thought I said? Well, I do think girls are overrated, but... uh... maybe I shouldn’t have said that to John-- Ah, crap! He’s blinking and looking confused-- but utterly adorable... Bad Bobby!

“They.. are....? Um... Yeah! I haven’t even been able to be alone with my girlfriend since I got home! Not for one minute! But, I’m not missin’ her! Nope, not at all, ‘cause she’s overrated and... Girls... Overrated,” John finished with an affirmative nod.

“Liar,” Bobby teased with a wry smile as his mind boomed at him with arrows and big flashy letters: “HE’S STRAIGHT!”. “I can tell with the way you’re babbling that you miss her.”

“Maybe.” St. John sighed and stared down at his coffee. Steamy. Fun. He tipped some cream into it, watching white swirl into rich brown.

Bet he thinks watching coffee and cream is more interesting than talking to me...

John shifted his gaze slowly from the drink to Bobby. There was a look in the other boy’s clear blue eyes that Bobby couldn’t quite place...

Well, he’s being pretty quiet. Oh, yay for awkwardness!

“But enough about that! How long’ve you been in Bayville, anyway?” the blonde teen asked finally, probably as sick of the silence as Bobby was.

“About a month. Er, this town’s kinda... bleh. But mansion life’s pretty cool! Big step up from a plain ol’ house in the suburbs!”

“Mansion, huh? Heh... fun. I’ve been living in hotels for the last five months-- crummy ones, at that, and the Brotherhood home’s not much better; big step down from my old home...” John sighed softly, a wistful look creeping on his face. “I miss Australia sometimes... Well, more than sometimes, heh.”

Ohh... shit. Well, I feel like a jerk. “Hehehe, I live in a mansion!” What the hell was I thinking?!

A brief look of guilt crossed Bobby’s face, and he said almost remorsefully, “Oh... I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I blame it entirely on the boss-lady for not picking better places to stay. Well, I mean, they weren’t so bad, but... she could’ve at least gotten us some more rooms! Sharing a bed with Lance while he’s mumbling ‘Mm, Pietro’ and groping me isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”

Argh! Straight straight straight!! But he’s too cute to be straight! Not... making... sense... Shut down in five... four... three--

Don’t you abandon me, brain!

John paused as Bobby’s mind raged at him, looking down at his coffee some more, then said hesitantly, “So, what’s it like livin’ with the X-Freaks?”

Eh? Bobby caught the uncertainty in John’s voice and laughed. “Is this some elaborate plan coined by the Brotherhood to find out our weaknesses?”

“Of course not!” John exclaimed with exaggerated innocence, a false look of hurt crossing his face, then he shook his head. “Fine. You caught me. I’ve been usin’ you this whole time to get some info on your Super Friends.”

“Manipulative bitch.”

“Thank you.”

Eyebrow arched in amusement, Bobby smirked and noted, “You know, you’re like the only guy I know who doesn’t get offended by being called a bitch.”

“I’m very in touch with my feminine side.”

“Really. I can see that with the way you dress,” Bobby teased, though his observation wasn’t totally accurate in any sense of the word.

“Hey! Just for that, I’m... I’m... gonna steal your biscotti, so there! Oh-- hey, you already ate yours. Jerk.”

Must not turn gooey over that pout. Must not, must not; just stay COOL, Iceman-- oh, man, that sounds lame. “Aw, I’m sorry. Hey, I’ll order another one just for you, ‘kay?”

“Eh heh. No need! I shouldn’t have sweets at this hour an’ all! Y’know, ‘cause of... sleeping and all that. But... I’m drinking coffee right now...”

“You’re weird,” Bobby commented with a smile. “But good weird! Oh, hey!” he called, stopping one of the passing waitresses. “Could I have a refill?”

“How late do you plan on stayin’ up?” St. John asked with some amusement.

“I don’t know,” the other boy remarked, shrugging a little and laughing. “However long this stuff keeps me up, I guess.”

“All right. Then I’ll have a refill, too,” he said to the waitress, who replied with something along the lines of “Sure, sugar” and hurried away to get some more coffee.

“So, what’s it like being a member of the ‘baddies’?” Bobby asked abruptly, figuring he might as well ask John a question along those lines in response to they “Hey! What’s it like with the X-Men!” question.

“Not as big-budget as your faction, but hey, at least we’ve got... uh... heart. I dunno. I like it, though. Besides, Lance is my best friend. I couldn’t stand not bein’ on the same team as him. And thinking about the alternative...” John smirked deviously “I’d sooner smack One-Eye than take orders from him.”

“’One Eye’? Oh! Scott-- oh, shit!” Bobby glanced at his watch and cursed. “Hang on, I gotta make a call before he sends out a search party.”

“’kay,” John murmured as Bobby practically leaped out of his seat and ran to the pay-phones.

This gave Bobby time to think. Then get into an odd, rushed conversation with a mildly distracted Scott. Then see a disgusting sight. Then rush back to John, who seemed to be busying himself by pouring more and more cream into his nearly empty coffee cup.

John looked up from his task and stared curiously at Bobby. “What’s with the face? You look miffed. Summers yell at you?”

“Nah. He was in a hurry, I think... Uh, Jean was snapping at him to get his ass moving because they’re gonna miss a movie, or something. Heh, he didn’t sound too thrilled,” Bobby answered, shaking his head as the waitress returned with more coffee. “Thanks.” John gave him one of those questioning “What else?” looks, and so, Bobby sighed and decided to let loose. “Evan and his girlfriend are here,” he revealed, wrinkling his nose with a bit of disgust. “Sucking face. I mean, it doesn’t really bother me when people make out, but... it’s just disgusting the way they do it! In a public place, too! Sheesh. And you know what else is annoying? How high and mighty Evan got today! He lectured me for like... forever just because I was talking to you. And then he’s like ‘Oh, wait, I got a date tonight. Gotta go!’”

John blinked, not quite seeing the offense in that, so the other boy decided to elaborate.

“He’s dating one of the ‘bad guys’, and it’s okay, but I’m not allowed to even talk to you in a totally nonsexual fashion! How hypocritical is that?!” There was a pause after Bobby ranted uncharacteristically, and then he added, rolling his eyes, “Oh, but you can’t tell anyone, because only Kurt and I know.”

“One of the...? Please tell me you’re talkin’ about Phantazia. I don’t care that she doesn’t live in this state, just please tell me you’re talkin’ about her.”

“Um... If Phantazia is Pietro’s curly-haired sister, then... yes?”

“Oh, God,” John murmured. “This is just fan-fucking-tastic!” He angrily took a swig of coffee. “Ow! Bloody... hot... burny stuff... Where is she?!” the severely ticked off boy demanded, standing up abruptly.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything...” It was then that realization slowly sank in. “Oh, man! She’s your--?!”

“Where is she? And that wanker Daniels... I’m gonna beat--”

“John, calm down before you make a scene and they see you!” Bobby hissed, standing up. His intent was to impose the Australian into sitting back down, but the effect was lost as he realized how unimposing he actually was.

“Fine. I won’t make a scene. I’ll just play like the villain I am--” He whipped his lighter out “--and inconspicuously torch Daniels.”

“John-- hey!” Bobby protested as St. John angrily started away. “Aw, geez...” he muttered, sprinting after the determined blonde. “Stop!” And with that, he lunged forward and did the only thing to subdue St. John that he could think of...

“Uh...” John looked down and blinked. “Your arms are around my waist,” he pointed out.

“I know,” Bobby groaned, cringing inwardly.

“And you pulled me very close to you...”

“Yep,” he affirmed, just waiting for John to turn around and release his anger out on him.

“To the point where-- ah... I can, um... feel... y’know.”

“Gah!” Bobby cried (as softly as possible, so as to not attract anymore attention), releasing John from his slightly suggestive grasp. Thank God I’m wearing baggy pants. Baggy pants are my friends!

“And you didn’t want to make a scene,” John teased.

“Right,” the younger boy gulped with a forced smile. Don’t turn your head. Don’t look that way don’tlookthatway-- ah, shit!

He closed his eyes and grimaced, expecting to hear a curse, a shout, anything. Cautiously, he opened one eye and looked at John’s shocked profile. He opened the other and glanced in the direction that John was staring, getting yet another exciting eyeful of some major face-suckage between an oblivious Evan and Wanda.

“John, I--”

“I gotta go,” he whispered, avoiding Bobby’s eyes as he turned and marched towards the exit.

“Hey!” Bobby cried. He frowned, starting after John, then stopped at their table and put a twenty down before jogging out of the diner. “Wait up!”

“Why?!” John snarled, halting abruptly and turning to face Bobby. “What do you care; you barely even know me!”

Bobby stopped, feeling stung by the harsh tone and slightly hostile words. “You think that I don’t care?” he asked softly. Sure, I just met you today, but that doesn’t mean I can’t care about you!

“I think-- I don’t know! I just want to-- to... I don’t know.” John shrugged slightly, a hint of sadness apparent in his eyes, and started walking away from the diner again.

“Well, I do care!” Bobby countered, catching up to the other boy. “I do,” he repeated firmly.

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re supposed to. Because you and your high and mighty friends think it’s your duty to throw pity and hatred at us simultaneously. I don’t get you guys...”

“Maybe I just like you, dumbass,” the younger mutant countered.

“Heh. Not for long,” John muttered dryly. “Not once we have to fight. Then you’ll turn your back to me, go back to your mansion... pretend like we never even talked tonight...”

“Whatever happened to your blithe optimism? I like Happy Johnny much more than Cranky Johnny...”

“It went down Daniels’ throat, along with Wanda’s tongue,” John mumbled sullenly.

“I thought earlier you said she was overrated.”

“I thought earlier you pointed out that I was lying.”

Uh. I’ll give you that, Bobby admitted internally. “Okay, maybe I did, but... come on. Don’t let this get you down.”

John stopped walking and shook his head. “Y’know... I never wanted to think that she was cheating on me. I mean, the thought crossed my mind once or twice, after vague telephone conversations and not seeing each other for a while... I knew we were growin’ distant, but... I pushed my suspicions aside, because what’s worse than a boyfriend who can’t trust? Well, a lot of things, like flesh-eating viruses, but... I didn’t want to not trust my girlfriend. I’m not stupid, though... A part of me saw it comin’. Not with Evan, of course, but...” Gazing gloomily at the ground, he shrugged his shoulders a bit with attempted indifference. “Whatever. I shouldn’t even care.” He sat down on the curb, elbows resting on his knees, fingers trying to busy themselves by meticulously digging under his nails.

“You’re too trusting, I guess,” Bobby sighed. “No, wait... not the way I meant to say that. I mean... you just put your faith in the wrong person, that’s all.”

“Uh huh. So how do I know you’re not another wrong person?” John asked bitterly, taking a sidelong glance in Bobby’s direction.

“I don’t know,” the boy said helplessly, sitting down beside the dejected blonde. “I guess you’re just going to have to trust me, even though we’re on opposite teams... Do you trust me?”

“I did-- I do! But, I just... I--” As his voice became more strained, he trailed off and stared down at his hands. “I...” He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and gulped, despite his desire not to. “Fuuuck. I hate it when this shit happens.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Bobby said softly, placing a tentative arm around John’s shoulders. His heart fluttered the tiniest bit as his fingers brushed briefly against soft honey-colored locks of hair. Cautiously, he grazed his fingertips along the tears beginning to make their way down the smooth skin of the other boy’s cheeks.

You always did have a thing for blondes, his mind pointed out with utter amusement.

So? he returned defensively.

John turned his head to face Bobby and pull away from the fingers caressing his skin, his expression a mixture between shock and embarrassment. “Bobby?” he asked almost shyly.

“Hm?”

“I... um...” He bit his lower lip for a moment, looking for the right words to say. Despite his flustered countenance, he looked almost angelic under the ethereal light of the street lamp, face framed by golden hair, intense blue eyes boring into Bobby’s... St. John leaned in close to Bayville’s resident human popsicle, lips brushing briefly against Bobby’s nose. The brunette drew in a sharp breath, eyes widened, lips parting, and then--

John drew back, closing his eyes. The mood promptly vanished. “I thought I really loved her,” he whispered. “But I drove her to it.”

“Man,” the brunette groaned, rolling his eyes. He gave John a disapproving frown and said, “I’ve seen this before on talk shows. Everybody but the cheater gets blamed. It’s not your fault, you know, so don’t say that you drove her to it, or I’ll have to smack some sense into you.”

John laughed a sharp, cynical laugh. “Oh, I did. Trust me, Bobby, this is my fault. I don’t know why I’m letting something I brought upon myself bother me.”

“How the hell is this your fault?! You said you were gone for months!”

“Yeah. That’s how I fucked up. I was never around when she needed me... Anyway, I was gone for too long and... I.... er, I kinda got pissed one night. Drank one too many, you know? Sooo I, uh-- heh-- slept with the boss-lady,” John explained slowly, looking down at the pavement. He laughed then added quickly, “But I felt horrible about it! I didn’t really know what I was doin’ while drunk! So, I figured it’d be best to just tell her right away rather than hide somethin’ like that. Heh. Honesty is a stupid thing... But she told me that she forgave me; that she wasn’t happy, but everything was all right because I at least told the truth! Stupid me, I thought it was all over with now,”

“Oh... I, uh... I don’t know what to say,” Bobby replied. “I’m, um, sorry?”

John shrugged nonchalantly and stood up. “Don’t be. That relationship’s been dead even before I had sex with ‘Mrs. Robinson’.” He loked down at Bobby and tilted his head curiously. “Wanna go for a walk? Or should you be headin’ back to your mansion?”

“I’m up for walking,” the younger mutant nodded, standing up.

John smiled half-heartedly, then started off without waiting for Bobby.

“Oh, hey, wait up!”

“I was gonna buy her some nice jewelry, you know,” John said abruptly, resulting in a “huh?” then an understanding “ohh...” from the other boy. The blonde grinned sheepishly, a real smile finally returning to his handsome features. “Yeah. I found the perfect necklace, too. Bloody expensive, so I’ve been saving up my money for like... months now.” Another laugh, less bitter than the last, more lighthearted and amused with his situation. “Now I’ve got tons of cash and no chick to spend it on. Hey, want a couple of Rolexes?”

“Heh, those aren’t my style. I’m more of a K-Mart brand kinda guy.”

“Aw, c’mon. I’ll get ya anything you want. This cash is burnin’ a hole in my wallet; I really wanna get rid of some of it.” He gave Bobby the most irresistable puppy-dog look, and the brunette heaved a false sigh of defeat.

“Oh, you’ve twisted my arm all right. I’d like a Firebird and an Armani suit, oh great sugar daddy.”

“Hm. I’m not that loaded, deary. Maybe a used Miata and a vintage tux from the ‘seventies.”

“You’re not a very good sugar daddy,” Bobby teased. “You’re like a poor man’s Hugh Heffner-- only younger and better looking.”

“Thaaanks,” St. John drawled. “I may not be terribly rich, but... um, my love don’t cost a--”

“No! J-Lo is the devil! I’ll accept your free love if you don’t sing!”

“Aww. You just can’t admit that I’m a regular diva,” the older boy sniffed haughtily, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t know talent when ya hear it.”

“All right, then,” Bobby countered playfully. “Sing.”

“Er?”

“Sing for me,” he repeated. “C’mon, Elton John; sing.”

“You don’t want me singin’-- not unless you want the stray cats around ‘ere to start yowling along with my melodious voice.”

“I’m sure you’re not that bad.”

“Maaaybe. But you’ll never know,” the blonde asserted triumphantly.

“Aw, just you wait, Johnny; I’ll get you to sing yet.”

“That a threat?” John inquired with an arched eyebrow.

Bobby nodded. “You’d best be scared, boy.”

“I’m trembling.”

It was a rare moment of peace for Fred Dukes; sitting in the backyard, surrounded by snow in the silent, serene night with Amy’s hand in his, slim fingers caressing his own thick ones.

Now, Fred might not’ve been the most insightful guy in the word, and sensitivity... well, most people assumed that that was a concept lost on him, but sitting under the light of the moon and stars, Freddy felt-- well, he felt something fluffy; possibly the same fluffy thing that made Lance bound down the stairs babbling about what a shiny day it was, all that time ago.

She made him feel special. Most girls got an utter look of repulsion on their delicate faces whenever he built up the nerve to ask them out, but not Amy. She just smiled that coy, secretive smile of hers and said “Of course”, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

On occassion, he wondered what she saw in him. What made her date a big, fat slob like himself? At first, a tiny, suspicious, still wounded by Jean Grey part of him thought that she was joking, that it was all an elaborate prank coined to humiliate the fat kid.

But, then she kept on dating him. They even kissed-- chastely-- and did normal teenage things. She cooked, they talked, laughed, watched TV, went on walks, went to movies, and still he wondered: What’s in it for her? Love? Desperation? The longest, most not-funny joke of his life?

Fred sighed, turning his gaze to watch Amy, his girlfriend. His girlfriend. He couldn’t help but smile. He had something that the others had’ something that set him on the same level as his teammates who actually had the looks to get the girls (or the guys, in some cases).

Oh, wait... he got it now.

Fred had self esteem! Amazing what a little push and a shove from someone who cared about him could do. He was no longer affected by the casual laughter of others. He no longer cared about what the snooty, superficial little Jean Greys of the world thought about him. He was Fred J. Dukes, the biggest, toughest kid on the playground. The alpha male. Oh yes. He didn’t take anything from anybody... Except maybe Mystique. And Magneto. And sometimes Lance. Todd, too, as well as the rest of his teammates... But other than that, no shit from nobody!

“Dare Wear?! You disappear and take a four hour trip to DARE WEAR?!” Lance’s voice erupted from inside the house, resulting in rapid blinking on Freddy’s part, which was then followed by a glower on his face. Leave it to Lance to ruin a moment like this.

“Not just Dare Wear, Lance! I also went to Best Buy! And--”

And what’s a moment ruined by Lance without St. John to stomp it dead with comments about which fetish stores he’s been to?

“Okay, okay, I don’t care where you were, but you just left without telling Todd or calling or anything! What if something happened and-- why do you have a stuffed kangaroo?”

“First of all, you sound worse than my mum. Secondly, I was also at Toys-R-Us, and I thought it was cute. There’s also a stuffed penguin in there if ya dig through the other stuff I got! The penguin and the kangaroo are good friends!”

“Freddy, dear, I don’t think your eye should be twitching like that,” Amy pointed out flatly.

“If my eye’s twitching, it’s because those jerks inside are ruining the moment!” he retorted crankily with an irritated huff. For the first time in months, he wasn’t stuck in a musty hotel room with them-- he was free and alone with the girl he cared deeply about-- and he still couldn’t escape their presence! Sure, Lance and John were great guys in small doses, but after five months...

Murder’s not THAT bad a crime, is it?

“Please don’t refer to your friends as jerks. I don’t think they’re aware of what they’ve interrupted with their loud voices,” she countered practically, a little, secretive smile tugging at her lips. “Besides, there are going to be many more nights like this for us-- I’d hope, anyway.”

Fred nodded, returning the peculiar smile with his own broad grin. “Yeah, definitely many more nights like this.” He leaned close to Amy and planted a quick kiss to her lips.

I think I really do love her...

Pietro was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with him. Maybe he really was a sadist. Or maybe he was just very easily amused. After all, how else could he explain watching Lance and St. John argue constantly for almost two years and still find it entertaining every single time? Quick, observant blue eyes darted back and forth between the combatants as Lance freaked out like some psychotic housewife worrying about her brood and St. John ever so flakily responded while Todd threw in a barbed comment every once in a while.

This ensued for a while, until Todd went upstairs and the pseudo-arguing was replaced with the casual, friendly banter that always followed their tiffs. Watching St. John pull out some bizarre bondage clothing and chatter to Lance about how nice the sales lady was about getting him to try on everything in the store proved to be infinitely more interesting than the argument itself.

“Okay, okay, this is all well and good and utterly disturbing, but um, could you put that collar down and tell me why you went and blew your cash on that stuff?” Lance finally cut in as the blonde was in the middle of describing all of the things he saw in the store.

“Oh, sure! I was just... doin’ some early Christmas shoppin’! Y’know, it’s always good to be a month early an’ all that. So... uh... don’t look in any of the bags, ‘cause you might ruin the surprise!”

“I really hope you didn’t get me anything from that store.”

“Why not, Lance? I happen to find vinyl pants sexy!” Pietro purred, throwing an arm around his boyfriend’s waist. He glanced over at St. John and arched an eyebrow. “You did get some vinyl pants in his size, didn’t you?”

“Um... If he’s the same size as Bobby, then...”

“Bobby? And who’s this ‘Bobby’ you’re talking about?” Pietro inquired with a wicked grin. Maybe he wouldn’t have to intervene much to shove St. John and Bobby together. It looked as if they were doing just fine on their own. First day meeting and the two were already shopping at kinky stores together.

“Um, he was... the cashier! Yeah! He looked to be about Lance’s size, so we talked and he tried on some clothes and I had some extra cash so I bought ‘em for the hell of it and and and-- this is the start of a beautiful relationship between me an’ him,” St. John explained quickly, topping off his rapid lie with a solemn nod.

“I’m sure,” the pale teen smirked. “So, you ran out and bought clothes for a stranger? That’s a little strange, even for you.”

“Well, it’s not that easy. I mean, it’s-- hello, Wanda.”

Pietro blinked, then turned to Lance, who said, “Hey, Wanda.”

Oh!

Wanda stood in the doorway, eyebrow quirked as she watched the three boys stand around the bags of oddities St, John had purchased. “Hey,” she said, setting her coat down on the couch. “What’re you boys up to?”

“Hi, Sis! Johnnyboy got us all early presents! Maybe you should as him for yours,” the speed demon suggested, ignoring the sharp elbowing he received in the ribs courtesy of St. John Allerdyce.

“Oh? And what’d you get for me, Johnny?” she teased, as John, in response, got this nervous jittery look that Pietro quickly took notice of.

“I got you... you...” He quickly reached into one of the bags and pulled out a pair of red vinyl gloves. After blinking for a few moments, he slowly handed them to Wanda with a mildly confused expression. “These. Aren’t they gorgeous?”

After a pause, she accepted the gloves with a slightly cross look and said in the flatest voice Pietro had ever heard from her: “You’re so romantic.”

St. John gulped, looked around, then laughed abruptly. “Haha, I uh... fooled ya, huh? Heh, yeah, I.. um... That’s a joke present! You didn’t really think I was gonna give ya somethin’ like that for Christmas, did ya? Have a little faith in me, luv!”

And then, like in a bad episode of “Full House”, fake-- yet utterly wholesome-- laughter ensued. Wanda shook her head and smiled, pulling the gloves on her hands. “Why don’t we take the rest of the stuff in those bags upstairs and test them out?” she purred, slipping her arms around her boyfriend’s torso.

“Sure thing, luv,” he murmured with a resigned sigh.

Pietro watched the couple make their way upstairs, then turned to Lance once they were out of sight. “Hey, Laaaance, guess what I got?” he cooed in a sing-song voice.

The older boy peered at Pietro, then got a devilish look on his face. “Handcuffs? You took that from Johnny’s bag o’ fun, didn’t you?”

A perky nod, then: “If you can take ‘em from me, I’ll let you tie me up!”

“Sounds like a challenge. You’re on, Pietro.”

A/N: If Evo wasn’t sucking so much lately, I’d have more to say. O.o I mean, it’s seriously impeding my writing because I’m like “Gaah, no wanna watch Evo; therefore, no wanna write Evo fics.” But! I have a new fic idea which is sort of uhhh a different take on something in “Slushies” (but it’s NOT slash! As far as I know! There’s just something in Slushies that I really wanted to do differently, but couldn’t due to the plot and all that, so I’m gonna build a new fic off of it later, and it’s in no way related to either Slushies OR TD because I’m so not in the mood for that!)!! It’s wonky at the moment and is in serious need of a beta reader >.< Anywho! For those of you who don’t know, Dare Wear is a store (it might be called Dare Ware) that has some... uh... interesting clothes O.o Yep. That’s all. I think. I dunno... I’ve seen it many times, but I’ve never actually been IN there yet because I was always on my way to somewhere else when I passed it by. So who knows, maybe I’m wrong about what’s in there! In any case, there’s no real reason Johnny bought the stuff from there.... I just... felt like making him do it O.o;;

Um. Thanks for the reviews!! I’m surprised that I’m still getting some despite the lack of decent chapters! XD Anywho, next chapter, expect some mild angst, lots and lots o’ Lance, Johnny on drugs, Todd taking control, and more of the evil that is Amy!

Wow, looking back, I don’t like this revision much, either O.o I think it’s because all of my inspiration vanished! Wheeee!! Rosiel’s tired.