"You idiot," Pietro muttered fiercely, staring desperately at the
Carnival entrance where only moments earlier, Kitty had fled.
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Lance snarled, clenching his fists. Pietro just looked at him in derisive amazement. Was his roommate really this dense?
"We just scared Kitty away because we couldn't stop arguing for five seconds," Pietro informed him, his voice full of disgust.
"What do you mean "we"? She hates your guts, Maximoff," Lance said smugly.
The sad part was his imbecilic roommate was probably right. Kitty might very well want nothing to do with him. And he couldn't blame her. "Just shut up. I don't have any more time to waste with you," Pietro growled, his eyes growing flinty.
"Oh, well, that's really mature of you, Pietro," Lance said mockingly.
"Look, why don't you stop behaving like a moron and worry about your own girlfriend?" Pietro snapped, losing his patience. Lance's eyes narrowed.
"And why don't you stop hanging around Kitty, when she obviously doesn't give a damn about you and never will," Lance taunted. His words had their desired effect on Pietro, who felt a tight clenching in his chest.
"What goes on between me and Kitty is our business, and none of yours," Pietro said fiercely.
"Oh, and if I decide I want her back, then I guess it makes it my business, doesn't it?" Lance said harshly. Pietro stopped in his tracks. His blue eyes pinned Lance in an unrelenting gaze.
"Kitty's way too good for you. You don't deserve her," Pietro said bluntly.
"And you do?" Lance laughed. "You're probably just using her."
Guilt swum in Pietro's mind. It was true; he'd started the arrangement with Kitty with the intent of using her to win Siren back. But in the past few weeks, his ambition had all become blurred and complicated with his growing feelings for Kitty, until his previous intent had somehow become irrelevant. "You have no idea how I feel about Kitty. I care about her," Pietro said in a low voice.
"How sweet," Lance sneered. "You were just some distraction for Kitty while she waited for me," Lance said confidently, noting smugly that Pietro's fists were now clenched with anger.
"Kitty's too intelligent to ever take you back, and you're a bigger fool than you look if you think otherwise," Pietro said icily. His words apparently struck its mark because the ground suddenly rumbled beneath his feet.
"Let's end it right here," Lance taunted, creating a noticeable rumble again.
Pietro refused to take the bait. "Someday, you and I are going to settle this, but it won't be today, and it won't be now," Pietro began in a low voice that didn't leave room for disagreement. "I have someplace I need to be."
Lance was left furiously watching as Pietro unloading the pies at lightening speed and taking off through the Carnival entrance. As he raced to the pie-selling booth, he felt a bolt of disappointment when he saw Kitty wasn't there. With a look around to make sure no one was watching, he arranged all the pies on the shelves within seconds. Where could she be? Pietro wondered, stifling the urge to race around the Carnival until he found her. The last thing he needed was another lecture by Mystique on using his powers in public.
Pietro settled for pacing around the few booths circling the pie booth, with Lance's taunts resounding fresh in his mind. Usually, ignoring his roommate's bone-headed remarks was an easy task, but now it proved impossible. Arguing with Lance had been completely counter-intuitive from a logical standpoint. Lance had practically told him that he wanted Kitty back which was one of the objectives of his plan. And yet, every part of him was fighting against it. You got what you wanted, a little voice nagged him. It was true, he had wanted his plan to work. But not this well. Somehow, as time had progressed with him and Kitty both playing their roles, pretending that nothing in the nature of their adversarial relationship had changed. And it definitely had changed, Pietro acknowledged, closing his eyes.
"Thinking of me?" a voice whispered in his ear. Pietro jumped, his heart leaping when for a second he thought it was Kitty. But the bright red hair of his ex-girlfriend was utterly unmistakable.
"Siren," Pietro said awkwardly. It was strange. He hadn't spoken to her in weeks, and it felt more like years. He had no idea what to say to her, and he briefly wondered if he ever had. Siren, however, had no qualms taking control of the conversation.
"Pietro, funny I run into you," Siren crooned. Pietro frowned, clearly baffled at her shift in mood. Hadn't she been furious mere minutes ago?
"If you're looking for Alvers, I think he's-," Pietro began impatiently.
"Why should I care where that loser is?" Siren snapped derisively, her green eyes flashing with anger.
"A good point," Pietro said, slightly amused. "But last I heard that "loser" was your boyfriend."
"Oh, right," Siren said, as if it had just occurred to her. "Well, not for long. He has this stupid infatuation with that dishrag Pryde. God, can you imagine being dumped for her?!" Siren said disgustedly.
"I can think of worse people to be dumped for...," Pietro said expressionlessly, but his jaw tightened angrily.
"Anyway, I'm glad I caught you, because....," Siren paused, as if to build suspense. When Pietro remained impassive, she quickly continued, "I wanted to ask you to the Turn Around."
Pietro stared at her, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Shouldn't you be asking your boyfriend that?" Pietro asked wryly. Siren shot him an annoyed glance.
"Didn't you hear me the first time? Lance and I are going to be done for any minute now. Don't you worry, I'm going to dump him," Siren assured him, mistaking the reason for his hesitation.
"Oh right, just like you dumped me?" Pietro asked sarcastically, but the anger that he'd felt towards Siren in the days following the break-up now ceased to exist.
"Come on, Pietro, I made a little mistake, okay? You don't know how lonely I've been without you. Lance has no idea how to treat a lady. So say yes, and let's get back together," Siren pouted as a symbol of remorse, but the smug gleam in her eyes indicated that she was anything but.
His mind was telling him he ought to be thrilled that finally the result of all his plotting with Kitty had worked. He had gotten his traitorous ex back, and yet his heart was remaining utterly unmoved. Pietro couldn't help looking past Siren, and feeling a warm rush of feeling when he saw Kitty standing at their booth. But his smile faltered immediately, when he saw that she wasn't alone.
"Oh, look, see the Wonder Couple is back together already," Siren said derisively, following Pietro's gaze. "There's nothing getting in the way of us now," Siren said possessively, draping an arm on him.
Pietro didn't even hear a word Siren was saying as he watched Lance and Kitty together, his heart dropping like lead into his stomach. It was done. As he was standing here talking to his harpy ex-girlfriend, that jerk Alvers was manipulating Kitty once again. My stupid plan worked, Pietro said grimly, dropping his eyes as Lance shot him a triumphant look.
"So, are you done thinking yet? Is it a yes, handsome?" Siren demanded, pulling on his arm. Pietro turned away from the nauseating scene in front of him, his emotions in turmoil. Looking down at Siren, his jaw hardened. There was no point in looking to what might've been with Kitty when it was clear that she had gotten what she wanted, Pietro thought dully. "Well?" Siren repeated insistently.
"Fine, whatever," Pietro said, his flat voice belying the pain in his sharp blue eyes. If Kitty was moving on, then so would he.
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Lance snarled, clenching his fists. Pietro just looked at him in derisive amazement. Was his roommate really this dense?
"We just scared Kitty away because we couldn't stop arguing for five seconds," Pietro informed him, his voice full of disgust.
"What do you mean "we"? She hates your guts, Maximoff," Lance said smugly.
The sad part was his imbecilic roommate was probably right. Kitty might very well want nothing to do with him. And he couldn't blame her. "Just shut up. I don't have any more time to waste with you," Pietro growled, his eyes growing flinty.
"Oh, well, that's really mature of you, Pietro," Lance said mockingly.
"Look, why don't you stop behaving like a moron and worry about your own girlfriend?" Pietro snapped, losing his patience. Lance's eyes narrowed.
"And why don't you stop hanging around Kitty, when she obviously doesn't give a damn about you and never will," Lance taunted. His words had their desired effect on Pietro, who felt a tight clenching in his chest.
"What goes on between me and Kitty is our business, and none of yours," Pietro said fiercely.
"Oh, and if I decide I want her back, then I guess it makes it my business, doesn't it?" Lance said harshly. Pietro stopped in his tracks. His blue eyes pinned Lance in an unrelenting gaze.
"Kitty's way too good for you. You don't deserve her," Pietro said bluntly.
"And you do?" Lance laughed. "You're probably just using her."
Guilt swum in Pietro's mind. It was true; he'd started the arrangement with Kitty with the intent of using her to win Siren back. But in the past few weeks, his ambition had all become blurred and complicated with his growing feelings for Kitty, until his previous intent had somehow become irrelevant. "You have no idea how I feel about Kitty. I care about her," Pietro said in a low voice.
"How sweet," Lance sneered. "You were just some distraction for Kitty while she waited for me," Lance said confidently, noting smugly that Pietro's fists were now clenched with anger.
"Kitty's too intelligent to ever take you back, and you're a bigger fool than you look if you think otherwise," Pietro said icily. His words apparently struck its mark because the ground suddenly rumbled beneath his feet.
"Let's end it right here," Lance taunted, creating a noticeable rumble again.
Pietro refused to take the bait. "Someday, you and I are going to settle this, but it won't be today, and it won't be now," Pietro began in a low voice that didn't leave room for disagreement. "I have someplace I need to be."
Lance was left furiously watching as Pietro unloading the pies at lightening speed and taking off through the Carnival entrance. As he raced to the pie-selling booth, he felt a bolt of disappointment when he saw Kitty wasn't there. With a look around to make sure no one was watching, he arranged all the pies on the shelves within seconds. Where could she be? Pietro wondered, stifling the urge to race around the Carnival until he found her. The last thing he needed was another lecture by Mystique on using his powers in public.
Pietro settled for pacing around the few booths circling the pie booth, with Lance's taunts resounding fresh in his mind. Usually, ignoring his roommate's bone-headed remarks was an easy task, but now it proved impossible. Arguing with Lance had been completely counter-intuitive from a logical standpoint. Lance had practically told him that he wanted Kitty back which was one of the objectives of his plan. And yet, every part of him was fighting against it. You got what you wanted, a little voice nagged him. It was true, he had wanted his plan to work. But not this well. Somehow, as time had progressed with him and Kitty both playing their roles, pretending that nothing in the nature of their adversarial relationship had changed. And it definitely had changed, Pietro acknowledged, closing his eyes.
"Thinking of me?" a voice whispered in his ear. Pietro jumped, his heart leaping when for a second he thought it was Kitty. But the bright red hair of his ex-girlfriend was utterly unmistakable.
"Siren," Pietro said awkwardly. It was strange. He hadn't spoken to her in weeks, and it felt more like years. He had no idea what to say to her, and he briefly wondered if he ever had. Siren, however, had no qualms taking control of the conversation.
"Pietro, funny I run into you," Siren crooned. Pietro frowned, clearly baffled at her shift in mood. Hadn't she been furious mere minutes ago?
"If you're looking for Alvers, I think he's-," Pietro began impatiently.
"Why should I care where that loser is?" Siren snapped derisively, her green eyes flashing with anger.
"A good point," Pietro said, slightly amused. "But last I heard that "loser" was your boyfriend."
"Oh, right," Siren said, as if it had just occurred to her. "Well, not for long. He has this stupid infatuation with that dishrag Pryde. God, can you imagine being dumped for her?!" Siren said disgustedly.
"I can think of worse people to be dumped for...," Pietro said expressionlessly, but his jaw tightened angrily.
"Anyway, I'm glad I caught you, because....," Siren paused, as if to build suspense. When Pietro remained impassive, she quickly continued, "I wanted to ask you to the Turn Around."
Pietro stared at her, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Shouldn't you be asking your boyfriend that?" Pietro asked wryly. Siren shot him an annoyed glance.
"Didn't you hear me the first time? Lance and I are going to be done for any minute now. Don't you worry, I'm going to dump him," Siren assured him, mistaking the reason for his hesitation.
"Oh right, just like you dumped me?" Pietro asked sarcastically, but the anger that he'd felt towards Siren in the days following the break-up now ceased to exist.
"Come on, Pietro, I made a little mistake, okay? You don't know how lonely I've been without you. Lance has no idea how to treat a lady. So say yes, and let's get back together," Siren pouted as a symbol of remorse, but the smug gleam in her eyes indicated that she was anything but.
His mind was telling him he ought to be thrilled that finally the result of all his plotting with Kitty had worked. He had gotten his traitorous ex back, and yet his heart was remaining utterly unmoved. Pietro couldn't help looking past Siren, and feeling a warm rush of feeling when he saw Kitty standing at their booth. But his smile faltered immediately, when he saw that she wasn't alone.
"Oh, look, see the Wonder Couple is back together already," Siren said derisively, following Pietro's gaze. "There's nothing getting in the way of us now," Siren said possessively, draping an arm on him.
Pietro didn't even hear a word Siren was saying as he watched Lance and Kitty together, his heart dropping like lead into his stomach. It was done. As he was standing here talking to his harpy ex-girlfriend, that jerk Alvers was manipulating Kitty once again. My stupid plan worked, Pietro said grimly, dropping his eyes as Lance shot him a triumphant look.
"So, are you done thinking yet? Is it a yes, handsome?" Siren demanded, pulling on his arm. Pietro turned away from the nauseating scene in front of him, his emotions in turmoil. Looking down at Siren, his jaw hardened. There was no point in looking to what might've been with Kitty when it was clear that she had gotten what she wanted, Pietro thought dully. "Well?" Siren repeated insistently.
"Fine, whatever," Pietro said, his flat voice belying the pain in his sharp blue eyes. If Kitty was moving on, then so would he.