Author's Notes: Sorry for the lack of an update. I been suffering major writer's block with how to write this out and where to go on from here in this chapter. I do want to thank everyone for their reviews and those that continue to read the story. I do hope you all continue to enjoy and I will hope that I won't let another two months slip on by without an update.

CHAPTER EIGHT: ...BUT EVEN ROSES HAVE THORNS

"Peter, you aren't looking so hot."

Peter looked up from his book up to Arcade next to him. It felt wrong as he didn't even remember why they were in the library for a second before he remember it was study period and he needed to catch up on some homework. He had been behind in a few of his classes the last few weeks. All of his time pretty much was either school, sleep or with Ana.

Mostly Ana.

"I'm fine," said Peter, rubbed the sleep from his eye. Of course, he was anything but fine as anyone could clearly see if they were close to Peter. He had dark circles around his eyes, was pale and seemed to have lost a lot of weight in only two weeks' time. He didn't look healthy at all and everyone could notice except for him.

Arcade already brought it up once already and it was enough to annoy Peter even more.

"Pete, had you even had lunch today?" Arcade asked.

"Yes Mum," said Peter with a roll of his eyes as he turned to the book in hand. What was he reading again?

"Why don't I believe you?" asked Arcade with a snort as he tried to get the other to face him, "I know you didn't, I didn't see you at the caf at all. I just saw you meet up with Ana and disappear to the back of the school."

"Maybe I brought my lunch with me? Maybe Ana brought me lunch?" said Peter, his eyes narrowed down. He didn't really like where this was going one bit.

"I talked to Fred and he knows for the fact none of you guys at the boarding house bring lunch because Ms. Darkholme has you all on the lunch program here at the school," said Arcade, "Dude, I am just worry. Ever since you started to see Ana, you seem different…"

"I'm fine!" shouted Peter as he slammed his hands against the desk, stood up which caused his chair to crash into the ground. Everyone had their eyes on them now but Peter didn't care.

"Dude…just calm-"

"You are just jealous," hissed Peter, jabbed a finger into the redhead's chest.

"Jealous, come on-"

"Just because I got a girlfriend and you don't-"

"Dude, I could care less about your-"

"I don't care," said Peter with a huff, grabbed a hold of his bag and left the library in a huff.

Arcade was left there with a surprise look on his face as he watch his best and really only friend walked out on him. The dude just didn't see that he was only trying to help him,that Arcade was worry about Pete. The guy just wouldn't listen and the only the guy seem to think about or even talk about is Ana.

"That was surprising."

Where Pietro suddenly showed up out of thin air, Arcade didn't know. He didn't even know the bleach blonde boy all that much, he just knew the guy was friends and roommates with Peter at that boarding house on the edge of town. Maybe he…

"You know what is up with Peter?"

Pietro only scoffed, "No, the guy been avoiding us to hang out with Ana. Hell, I bet if Ms. Darkholme make sure he showed up to class every day."

"The girl got him wrapped around her finger," mumbled Arcade, "I bet she could make him jump off a cliff if she asked him too."

Pietro didn't say anything, merely nodded his head in agreement as he looked over to the door where Peter had left and wonder what the heck was going on with the spider mutant.

"Come on, Kitty," pleaded Lance as he trailed on after the smaller mutant, "Its just a movie."

"Like, I said no," protest Kitty, totally fed up with this. They were outside now, away from the school with it being the end of classes. She was trying to make her way to the parking lot when Lance ran into her. Why did Lance think he stood a chance in getting a date with her?

Ok, sure he was cute in that whole bad boy kind of way, but that is what he was. He was a bad guy, but not a good way for a young teenage girl. It they weren't dealing with the whole mutant issue, she might give him a chance. But they were, so no, she wasn't.

"Why not?" said Lance.

"I don't know, like how about when you tried to bring the roof down on my friends and me, like all the time," she said holding up two fingers.

"Look, I was just pissed off at our old school, you can't hold that against me," said Lance.

"And the other times?"

"Hmmm, you're so sweet," spoke up a somewhat familiar voice to the two.

The two mutants stopped their argument at the sound of some voices in the bushes. With an exchanged look between the two of them, and they moved further up to see who was speaking. It wasn't polite, but no one should be around here at this time of day. Kitty leaned around a tree with Lance above her as they looked into a clearing.

There in the middle of the clearing was Peter Parker with the new girl, Ana Whatshername. It wasn't that much of a surprise as the two had been as tight has thieves lately. Peter always seemed to follow the girl around like some kind of lost puppy dog after his owner. Couldn't really blame him as Kitty knew a lot of the guys around the school had been caught staring at the new girl with the same kind of look of lust and longing. But really, Ana didn't seem to react the same way as she smiled and let Peter continue to act and didn't seem to really care at all for the boy.

But with the two of them in the clearing, and appeared to be in a 'position' with Ana giving attention to Peter's neck, Kitty maybe wonder if Ana did care for the Brotherhood boy.

"Maybe we should go," said Kitty but only for Lance to place a hand down on her shoulder to hold her in place.

"Wait…" he mumbled. Lance had been concern about Pete lately. Kitty didn't know that the guy was spending every hour with Ana, never coming back to the boarding house even to sleep half the time. Unlike the geeky guy Lance knew him as. Hell, he hadn't even called his aunt, which he always did once a week without fail, since he started to see Ana. That raised some flags in Lance's mind.

"Lance, come on," said Kitty as she watched Ana get off of Peter, but stopped her protest when she saw the blood.

Blood dripped down the side of Ana's mouth, her tongue lapped up the remains of it.

Blood dripped down the side of Peter's neck from a large bite wound.

Blood color eyes that Ana had as she seem to be finished her meal.

"Lance…we need to go…" said Kitty as she didn't know what to do. No doubt in her own mind that Ana wasn't human, which she was like them and was feeding off of Peter. She might not care for Peter like one of her friends, but she didn't want to see him become someone's lunch like that!

"Not without Peter," Lance hissed. He wasn't going to let a member of the Brotherhood get pushed around by some vampire freak job. He pushed Kitty back as he step up to Ana as Peter seem to still be out of it, "Back away from him!"

Sure, both boys were Brotherhood. Sure, Kitty knew that she shouldn't get in the middle of whatever was going to happen. But if things got out of control and Ana did something to hurt someone who wasn't part of this whole mess, who knows. Without really a second to lose, Kitty got up on her feet and only hoped the others hadn't left the parking lot yet.

Ana smirked at the appearance of Lance, "My my, aren't you a naughty boy," she purred, "Didn't anyone tell you not to spy on others."

"Back off," warned Lance as he walked over to Peter, picked him off of the ground, "You're crazy. Stay away from Pete or else."

"Or else what? You will bury me in a rockside or something," said Ana with a chuckle.

"What-"

"Petey has such loose lips," said Ana, a knowing smirk played across her lips, "I know everything about you and your brotherhood group, such a cute little club you have going for you right now."

Ok, when they got out of this, he was going to give Parker such a lecture on keeping his mouth shut. No matter how pretty the girl, you do not yap about the team.

"Well, than I don't have to be careful than," growled Lance as he held out his free hand and started to cause the ground under them to rumble.

"Oh Petey, see if you can take care of him for me."

To have the sudden tightness around his throat, Lance was caught off guard with how Peter was up and not had his arms wrapped around his neck. He didn't know the skinny kid was this strong as he felt the tightness strengthen and he found himself struggled to breath. His hand reached up to try and pulled Parker's arm as he looked at the cackling witch in front of him.

Wait…when did her eyes turn red? Hell! When did she have four eyes! The girl seem to change in front of him with the sudden appearance of set eyes, all blood red with now fangs that seem to emerge from that bitch's mouth. What was she?!

"Par-Let go," said Lance as he tried to focus on the ground. Maybe if he created a big enough quake or something, the idiot would dislodged himself.

"Petey wouldn't want to disappoint me and do that," said Ana.

"What did you do to him!?" demand Lance.

"A girl got to have some secrets."

Secrets, his ass. Lance let out a shout as he had enough of this bitch. His powers started to shake up the earth under them and using this movement, he was able to dislodge Parker from his neck with a jab with his elbow in Parker's face. He would feel bad about it later when he wasn't in the middle of a fight for his life as Ana and Parker were trying to kill him. Peter seem to nurse his face as Ana looked pissed that her little pet was injured. Maybe cause she had to get her own hands dirty. Either way, her fingers turned into something that could run him right through as he ran at him.

"You won't get away from me!" she screamed.

Ana never came close to Lance with her talon fingers. She got blasted right back into the trees by a familiar red beam he knew well. Lance looked over his shoulders to see Kitty and the rest of the X-Geeks with her. He should have known that she would have gotten them and for once he was kind of glad to see their faces.

Ana on the other hand wasn't. She looked even more pissed with how things seem to turned against her as she struggle to get up. Parker seem to be up now, blood from his nose from where Lance got him dripped enough to show some damage. The guy would be sure sore when he snapped out whatever trance Ana had him under.

"Vhat the?"said Kurt. The X-Geeks were surprise to see Ana' in her new form and Lance couldn't blame him as he would be in the same boat if he didn't see it happen before his own eyes. No warning about what was going on when Ana had one more surprise under her sleeve. Her mouths unnatural unhitch to like three or four times with fangs and sounded this piercing shriek.

It was painful, it hurt his ears and Lance found himself down on the ground, trying to cover his ears to block it out. His vision started to fate, Lance didn't think it was possible someone just screaming could knock him out. But her voice was not normal. Blackness was in front of his vision, but then silence.

The screaming stop…

"What…" mumbled Lance as he got back on his feet only to see Peter standing over Ana's out cold body with a large tree branch. He seem to be under some kind of a strain as he stood there, blood dripping down his face.

"Pete, whoa," mumbled Evan as the X-Geeks started to gather.

"Was she a mutant?" asked Jean as Ana seem to return to a human form in front of their eyes.

"I don't know…could be," mumbled Peter as he struggle to stand up but Lance was next to him, supported the guy so he wouldn't collapse on the ground.

"She isn't one of you," demanded Summers.

"You think we would let a nut job like that in the Brotherhood?" asked Lance, insulted but not surprise Summers would have thought something like that, "Forget it, she was just some sicko that had Parker under her control, some kind of black widow."

"Do you need a lift-" said Jean only for Lance shook his head as he dragged Parker off and the other seem to follow them a bit aways from Ana.

"We look after our own," said Lance, "You just keep that bitch away from Parker."

Without saying anything else, Lance dragged Parker back to his jeep and towards the boarding house. The X-Men would be left to deal with Ana, or at least they would had if only the moment their back was turn

He stood in the middle of the room. Blood all over the bed, floor and walls of the small motel room. In the very center of the room, it was the picture of something from a hospital room or some twisted serial killer's play room. Not if as his work was for the betterment of all human kind and merely a shadow of a being was beyond his emotions of caring.

If he had such emotions left.

He didn't understand Warren's feelings of caring towards Ana. He treated as if the creature was his own flesh and blood. The amount of praise and even allowed her to call him father and other such terms. He was a man of science and the only reason he even allow Warren to even work alongside him was because he understood the worth of their work. But to have such feelings towards the project which would only give them more information once they cut into the subject.

That is why he didn't tell Warren he had come awhile the girl had expose herself to the X-Men and the Brotherhood. At least now he had some more samples from the remains of their stomach.

He was even more curious since he had heard of this new 'mutant' to come to Bayville and how Ana made herself friendly with him. He held up the samples of the remains of Ana's stomach and while he had his own experiments for the future, he couldn't help but be curious of this.

Now to clean up this mess and tell Warren his lovely Ana wouldn't be coming back with him.

The man would get over it.