Mondays, as a general rule, sucked for Pietro. Sure, they provided something different than the tedium of nothingness that was his weekend activity. Aside from general chores around the house, such as cleaning (Good God, could that place ever get filthy fast. And he seemed to be the only one who cared.) and "acquiring" groceries for the coming week, he never had anything else that needed doing. Not even missions from their supposed leaders anymore. So school always seemed different and exciting by the time Sunday morning rolled around.

Of course the problem with Mondays, then, was that Pietro remembered how utterly dull and mind-numbing school could be fifteen minutes into first period. 8:35, and he wanted *out* when he still had five more days to suffer through, assuming he didn't skip.

This Monday was a bit different. Yes, he still wanted it over but not in order to go running. ...Okay, he wanted to run too. But before the running he'd get to give Evan his answer. He was practically vibrating with anticipation.

He'd thought quite a lot over the weekend about what he was going to tell Evan, even going so far as to ask Scott for advice. Scott had told Pietro to tell the truth and didn't give him any help whatsoever beyond that. When Pietro had remarked that he should have expected such a do-good, no-help answer from the leader of the Geek Squad, Scott had laughed and told him that yeah, he should have.

But the more Pietro had thought, the more he believed that Scott was right. For once. He *should* tell Evan the truth and see what, exactly, the blond's reaction was. It would be the make-or-break point in his mission. And if it was the make side of the make-or-break point? Oh, sweet heaven.

There was also the small matter of Evan not swallowing any of his deceits this time around to take into consideration. And Pietro figured that Scott lived with Evan-- while he did not-- so perhaps Scott was giving advice that didn't just conform to his picky moral code but also took Evan and Evan's possible reactions into consideration.

All in all, Pietro felt confident. Even more so than his typical belief in his own perfection.

By the time seventh period had rolled around, Pietro honestly didn't know why he'd stuck around the school for as long as he had. Oh wait. Yes he did. His mutant powers left him with a distorted sense of time so that he never really knew how much had passed since last looking at a clock. And because he hadn't yet found a watch streamlined and gorgeous enough to get the honor of encircling his wrist, he was stuck inside boring classrooms all day. He wanted to be right on time for Evan, and the best way to do that was to stay in school.

Unless, of course, he took Evan with him when he ditched. Then they'd be able to talk without fear of being interrupted by another psychotic girl. And if Evan felt a compulsion to finish out his sentence behind the desk, well then. They could go back easily enough.

Oh yeah. Skipping definitely sounded better than having to listen to Mrs. Edwards drone for another forty-eight minutes. Dull, dull, dull, dull, and-- wow-- still dull. Should he skip like a normal student and ask for the bathroom pass? Or should he just do his now-you-see-me-now-you-don't routine. The second would definitely be quicker, though it would also mean a bigger chance of someone figuring out about mutants.

Mrs. Edwards said, "Now in 1814, America...."

Screw the greater risk; he needed to be gone *now*, not a minute from now.

Quicker than the normal human eye could see, he shouldered his backpack, looked into classrooms until he found Evan in study hall, picked up Evan, and left the school. Once beyond school grounds Pietro slowed down just enough so that Evan could get adjusted to being carried but not enough for him to be able to keep up with Pietro if put down.

Evan hooked one arm around Pietro's neck to secure himself while Pietro ran. Evan kept his other arm near his abdomen, cradling the book bag that Pietro had oh-so-considerately remembered to grab before leaving. It only took six seconds for them to reach the park, but Pietro reveled in those six seconds. Because Evan had clung to him during those seconds. In fear of his own safety, yes, but Pietro wasn't too picky about the why. It was the experience that counted.

Pietro picked a spot away from the red-headed girl and small child he'd seen while entering to stop. He didn't want *any* interruptions whatsoever.

Evan leaned over and gasped in air once Pietro finally put him down on solid ground. "Man," he wheezed. "Is this what it's like to be you?"

"Yeah, I guess." Evan was acting weird. "What's up with you?"

Evan stopped his desperate intakes of air but still breathed deeply. "Normal humans are *not* meant to travel that fast. So, where are we?"

"The park."

"But--"

"On the other side of town."

"Oh." Evan crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So what are we doing here?"

Damn. He'd forgotten to consider that Evan wouldn't appreciate him deciding to make the decision for both of them to skip. But. He'd sworn to himself he'd tell the truth, no matter how much he hated it. And he planned to inject a touch of humility into his various explanations because Evan probably wanted him to feel contrite about manipulating his previous answers.

"I couldn't wait until the end of school to talk to you. I figured we could talk here and then go back in time for you to do your computer help thing."

Evan relaxed a bit and smiled. "Heh. I should have figured as much." The blond sat down and made a motion for Pietro to do the same. "Sit. We may as well get comfy and enjoy the sun while we're here."

Pietro did so. This wasn't going so badly. Evan wasn't upset at all. Of course, he'd skipped back at PS 104 more than once, but Pietro thought that the X-Geeks would have gotten him to ditch the habit instead of school. Evan and Pietro amicably faced off, both waiting for the other to start speaking. Pietro cracked first.

"Here's the deal with everything. What I said about wanted to be friends was true, as far as it goes. But since I found out you like guys, I hoped that you and I could also be like boyfriend and boyfriend, so I was working toward that goal while also working on the 'friends' thing. And as for that girl, I assumed that because I had come in the day before with a plan to seduce you that she wanted the same. And I wasn't about to let her snatch you away from me. So I know I overreacted, but can you at least see *why* I overreacted?" Pietro rushed through his speech in one breath. Hopefully Evan understood all of that so he wouldn't have to go through the torture of repeating himself slowly.

"Okay," Evan said slowly. "I wasn't expecting all of that. But thank you for being honest finally?"

Pietro smiled. "Didn't think I'd be able to manage your challenge? You should know better than that by now."

Evan shook his head. "No, just that-- Hold up. What do you mean 'since you found out I like guys'?"

Pietro waved dismissively. "Oh, I asked Summers."

...Shit. Evan didn't know about Scott and Lance and therefore didn't know how Pietro would have gotten a chance to question Summers.

"But Scott swore he didn't say anything!"

Pietro had expected Evan to jump down his throat for kidnapping Scott or some other such nonsense-- not condemn Scott. "He didn't. I deduced the truth from his non-answers. I'm just *that* smart. Anyways, aren't you curious about how I was able to ask Summers?"

Evan thought before replying. "No. I figured you asked sometime when Scott was... visiting Lance." Evan's eyes gleamed predatorily. "But there are better things to do than talk about than him."

Pietro leaned in closer to Evan. Evan hadn't freaked out about anything he'd said-- besides Summers-- yet, so maybe those "things" would be the sexy, fun type of things Pietro wanted?

"So what sort of 'things' did you have in mind?"

Evan got on his knees and moved toward Pietro. His right hand supported his body weight while he leaned forward, resting his left hand on Pietro's back and pulling Pietro closer. Pietro breathed in the air Evan breathed out. The rational part of his brain said he should find such a thing bizarre at the very least, but he couldn't think straight with Evan so close.

Heh. Think straight.

Evan closed that final distance between them, pressing his lips against Pietro's. Pietro closed his eyes, pressing back, and all he could feel was suppleness and warmth where Evan was kissing him. He dimly heard the soft, wet noises they made but was too caught up to recognize them for what they were. Pietro reached up and splayed his hands across Evan's back before laying down, pulling Evan along with him. Evan barely had time to remove his own hand from Pietro's back before it would have been trapped.

Evan released Pietro's mouth, and Pietro opened his eyes. Evan's were such a rich brown color from mere inches away.

"*That's* the sort of thing I had in mind," Evan said. He gave a quirky smile. "Any objections?"

"Mmm, no."

Out of the corner of his eye, Pietro saw the girl and child from when he'd first entered the park leave. Good; now he and Evan truly had the park to themselves. Pietro untucked Evan's shirt while peppering the blond's face with quick kisses. Evan responded eagerly and settled his hands around Pietro's waist.

Evan made a quick move, flipping him and Pietro so that he was on the bottom and Pietro was on top. Evan started tugging at Pietro's shirt, and Pietro had just enough sense left not to lay down on Evan. Made undressing difficult. Evan slipped Pietro's shirt up enough so that his questing fingers easily slid underneath and kneaded Pietro's pecs, but that was as far as the shirt would allow without ruining it.

Evan felt *so* good, strong and right and perfect, but Pietro was greedy. He wanted more-- exposed skin to touch and explore. Taking less time than it would for Evan to begin thinking about protesting the separation, Pietro sat back on his heels and finished removing the tight shirt, tossing it on the ground beside them. He went immediately back to kissing Evan, shifting his attention from Evan's mouth to the pulse point at Evan's throat.

He could feel the blood pumping beneath Evan's skin; it beat a fast, staccato rhythm against his tongue.

Once more, Evan repositioned them both so that he was on top. He made fast work of his shirt before-- finally-- settling on top of Pietro. The hot flush from Evan's skin complemented the heat spreading through Pietro's own body while contrasting with the cool grass against his back. Evan sucked on his collarbone, and Pietro gripped Evan's shoulder blades with fingernails digging into dark skin.

Evan worked his way along the bone, headed toward the hollow at Pietro's throat-- too slowly for Pietro's tastes. Tooslowtooslowtooslow! But Pietro couldn't do anything more than arch up helplessly against Evan's onslaught. Evan ran his hands up and down Pietro's arms. Sparks of electricity sizzled across his nerve endings, spreading the pleasure of Evan throughout his body before finally settling in place just below his belt.

Just when Pietro thought he'd have to do something or be rendered permanently immobile by the sensations he was feeling, Evan stopped.

"We should get back to school, you know."

*Now*? When things were just getting fun? Evan couldn't be serious. He was the worst fucking tease that had ever lived if he left Pietro out here alone.

Evan licked and soothed a sensitive spot on Pietro's skin-- it'd probably be a bruise by tomorrow-- but the action pushed Pietro's angry thoughts aside. Maybe Evan had decided to stay here, with him, and forget about the morons using the computer lab. Evan lifted his head up and gazed at Pietro.

"I need your help to get back; it's too far for me to walk."

Damn. There went the hope of Evan leaving well enough alone. Pietro moved a hand from Evan's shoulder blade to thread his fingers through Evan's hair. Ooh, it was as fluffy as it looked. Pietro pushed Evan's head back down so that it rested in the crook of Pietro's neck. He wasn't going to just *let* Evan abandon him without resistance.

"What if I don't want to go?" Pietro demanded. "What if I want to stay here and make out with you?"

"Think of it as a challenge." Evan drew out the last word so that it hissed across Pietro's skin. "How long can you wait? I bet I could wait until after five o'clock."

He would pick someone who knew just how to motivate him, Pietro mused.

Evan used his hands to get leverage and sit up. He grabbed the two discarded shirts and began pulling on his own; the other he tossed to Pietro. Pietro snatched it out of the air and, seeing as how Evan was currently straddling him, scooted backwards. It wouldn't do to knock Evan over in order to sit up.

"If I've got grass stains on my butt because of you, you're paying, Evan." Disrupted nookie made him grumpy.

Evan laughed knowingly. "Sounds fair."

Evan stood and offered his hand to Pietro. Pietro glared crossly at Evan for a few seconds before accepting the help. After all, he could use Evan's time at the desk to make the blond regret having ever challenged him.

~End Ch. 5~