Chapter 2- To Get a Date


Her name was Lila Kim, and Pietro had had an eye on her ever since the first day he'd transferred to Bayville. She'd been walking down the hall, her long black hair rustling behind her. She had worn a little red embroidered dress that day, and she had almond shaped eyes and perfectly shaped lips. She was the most beautiful girl Pietro had ever met. And she would be his date to Homecoming. No doubt, it was a challenge he could carry out, or his name wasn't Pietro Maximoff.

Running a hand through his sleek white hair, he walked up behind Lila, who was standing at her locker, gathering books for her next class. "Hey," he said, flashing a charming grin.

Lila turned around, startled. When she saw who it was, she smiled. "Hi Pietro. What's up?"

"Nothing. You look amazing today." Pietro looked her over approvingly. That girl had good fashion taste.

"Thanks!" Lila rewarded him with a stunning smile. Pietro's heart almost melted.

"Anyway," he said. "Homecoming's coming up soon, and I was wondering if you'd like to be my date for it." He quickly crossed his fingers behind his back as he waited for her answer. Despite the cool words, Pietro felt extremely nervous now. And for the speed demon, every second seemed to be an eternity as he waited for her to respond.

Lila smiled. "I'd love to!"

Success! "All right." Pietro couldn't keep a goofy grin off his face now. He was going to the dance with Lila Kim! He couldn't wait to tell Lance and the others. "I'll call you later about the details then. Can I have your number?"

"Sure." The two sophomores exchanged phone numbers on slips of paper. After saying bye, Pietro walked away from Lila's locker with his heart as light as the paper in his hand and a happy grin on his face. He had a date!
* * *
Evan Daniels went to lunch whistling. He was having a very good day. He had just asked Lorena to the Homecoming Dance and she had said yes. Could a guy possibly be luckier than him? He didn't think so. With her long black hair and ivory skin, she could be a model. Oh, Evan Daniels sure felt like a lucky man. He was in such a good mood that he didn't notice Pietro Maximoff coming around from the opposite hallway until the two bumped headlong into each other.

Evan backed up and studied his arch nemesis in surprise. Pietro had been wearing a dazed goofy smile until the two had collided, and now he just looked sort of confused. He actually recovered SLOWER than Evan, which Evan didn't know was possible. When Pietro saw who it was he'd bumped into, he scowled.

"Why doncha watch where you're going, EVAN?"

"What! You're the one who crashed into ME, Pietro!" Evan retorted angrily. He felt spikes starting to form under his skin and he struggled to suppress them. That stupid speed demon always got his temper up.

"Well, maybe you're just sore because YOU don't have a date for Homecoming," Pietro smirked. "While yours truly, does."

"Ha, I've got a date for Homecoming," Evan said smugly. He knew Pietro could never find anything bad to say about Lorena considering she was extremely beautiful and perfect.

"Yeah, how much did you have to pay her?"

Evan turned red. "I did not pay her to go with me!" He yelled.

"Yeah, well then you better hold on to her if you want her to be your date for Homecoming," Pietro laughed.

Evan raised his fists. "You try anything, and I'll-,"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you will," Pietro mimed a yawn. "Well, I have an actual date with an actual beautiful girl to occupy my mind, so, I'll be leaving here." Pietro zipped away, leaving Evan feeling very disgruntled and disoriented.

Pietro stopped running at the cafeteria doors, then walked inside at a normal pace. No need to showcase his powers in front of the entire school. He was so happy about Lila, that the whole Evan incident was completely blanked from his mind.

He saw Lance, Todd, and Fred sitting at a circular table in a corner of the cafeteria. He walked over to them and grinned. "Hey, guess who just got a date to Homecoming with Lily Kim?"

Lance looked up at him, and a slow smile spread over his face. "No way," he said, starting to laugh.

"Yes, yes, I know. Yours truly," Pietro mimed a bow. He sat down at the table, smiling goofily.

"Lily Kim, huh? Nice." Lance punched Pietro affectionately in the shoulder.

"Yup." Pietro noticed that Todd was looking somewhat glum by himself, picking at his bologna sandwich. Before he could comment on it, Lance broke in.

"Guess who Cindy Margolis is taking to Homecoming?"

"Who?" Pietro asked, distracted.

"Our very own Freddy Dukes!" Lance clapped Fred on the back, the latter who looked rather embarrassed.

"Freddy?" Pietro eyed the larger boy in unflattering belief. Considering Cindy was a midget and Fred was a giant...hmm, interesting couple. Then he felt bad. Fred seemed flustered by all the attention he was getting, no doubt wondering if scorn was hidden underneath the encouraging words of his friends. The dude deserved a girl in his life. So Pietro grinned and said, "that Cindy Margolis is pretty cute. Good going, man!" He looked around at them all. "So we all got dates for Homecoming then. I'm going with Lily. Fred's got Cindy. Lance, who's your girlfriend right now?"

"Casey."

"You're going with Casey." Pietro paused. His eyes lighted on Todd. "Hey, you ask any girl to Homecoming yet?"

"Um, no," the younger boy looked uncomfortable so Pietro didn't pursue the matter. On second look at the dusty-haired freshmen, the boy looked rather unhappy about this entire Homecoming thing. He decided he had better change the subject. Todd was probably dejected because he was the only member of the Brotherhood who didn't have a date. It would be Pietro's official challenge to cheer up Todd by making fun of other unfortunate people. He grinned wickedly as he looked around at his friends. "So, anyone see the used tampon that was hanging off Jayyne Richardson's shoe during third period today?"
* * *
Meanwhile, the mood at the X-Men table across the cafeteria was cheerful. Scott and Jean were going together (obviously). The two were in their own private conversation in one corner as they discussed limo arrangements, which they were sharing with some of their friends, including Paul and Taran. Kurt and his date, Charlotte Russell, were going in the limo as well. Rogue, who today was sitting with her friends Jessi and Matt (also her Homecoming date) was carpooling with several of the goth crowd. Evan still had to call Lorena about transportation arrangements. She had mentioned her sister and her date coming with them in the car. He had no idea who Lorena's sister or the date were, but he didn't care. Evan was just happy he was going to the dance with someone as beautiful as Lorena.

Everyone chatted happily about Homecoming. The only person excluded from the conversation was Kitty. She sat quietly amongst all the talking, picking at her watercress sandwich. She didn't have a date for Homecoming yet, and the dance was just a few days away. The truth was, she'd planned on going with Kurt. She'd thought he had a crush on her. But then she'd found out today that he was going with Charlotte Russell. She was the most popular girl in the freshmen class, and associated with a lot of the upperclassmen. The fact that Kurt was going with a girl like that really hurt.

It brought back memories from her old school in Chicago. She'd never been popular. Girls like Riley and her little followers had always snubbed her. Kitty thought back to that memorable day, when Lance had burst sand all over Riley in the long jump. That was one of the few good things he'd ever done. That Charlotte Russell was just like Riley. Pretty, popular, athletic, a complete snob. And like Riley, Charlotte had snubbed Kitty a number of times, sneering at her girly outfits and love for schoolwork.

One of the reasons Kitty had been determined to buy a sophisticated dress was to feel more grownup. Must as she hated Charlotte, Riley, and all their type, she wished she could be like them. Confident, cool, and able to fill our their dresses properly. And Kitty was stuck wearing a dress from the children's section of a department store. She let out a long sigh. She looked at the people sitting at her lunch table.

All cool people. Jean was the most popular girl in the junior class. All the guys in the school worshipped her. Tons of girls thought Scott was cute and charming. Together, they were the perfect couple. In fact, Scott had been nominated for Homecoming King. If Jean were a senior, she definitely would've been voted too. And Kurt. While he had to be careful who he got close to, he was known as a sweet and funny guy. A definite number of girls were into him, including Miss Beautiful Charlotte Russell. Kitty felt her throat tighten at that. Exactly what did Kurt see in a girl like that? Despite her looks and popularity, the girl was a total bitch. Evan, as a basketball star, attracted plenty of girls. Rogue wasn't necessarily popular, but she had a good number of friends and a lot of guy ones, although she couldn't get physically intimate with them for obvious reasons.

Kitty? The only friends she had outside of the X-Men were the people she'd met in Science Olympiad. She really didn't have a lot of friends. What was it about her exactly that branded her as a geek and loser? Kitty just didn't get it. She had to no friends to go to Homecoming with. None of her "friends" from Science Olympiad had asked her to join them. Jean had asked Kitty if she'd wanted to go with her and her friends in the limo. Being dateless in a limo full of popular people all making out with each other definitely did not appeal to her, so Kitty had declined.

Looking around at all her popular friends, Kitty suddenly felt very unhappy and depressed. She had no real friends outside of the X-Men, and come to think of it, they were only her friends because they all lived together. They probably didn't even like her for real. They just had to pretend to since Professor Xavier was always lecturing about getting along and being one big, happy family. Kitty felt her eyes suddenly start to water. She quickly glanced around.

Everyone was preoccupied with their own conversations. Picking up her lunchbag and backpack, she hurriedly got up and left the table. No one noticed her swift departure. Kitty was both relieved and hurt by that. The tears were starting to come down her face as depression sunk in. She hurried into the girls bathroom and went into a stall, locking the door behind her. Kitty contemplated her dateless dilemma, the fact she had no real friends, and that she had to wear a babyish dress while Charlotte Russell and her friends got to look all sleek and sophisticated. Kitty Pryde. Geek, nerd, baby, loser. Sitting on the toilet seat, she started to cry.