Seven Deadly Sins

There was a certain logic to these things. The Brotherhood had been expelled. Therefore, to balance out the expulsion, the Brotherhood was in the Principal’s office late on a Tuesday night, wrecking the place. The wreckage was oozing a little further than the office, but that was okay. It brought balance and order to the universe. Todd, master of the spray can, was out in the hallway, graffiting his sentiments about the school system on the walls and lockers, while Freddy did some creative rearrangement of furniture and Pietro looked for dirty little secrets in the Principals desk. He’d been hoping to find something nasty, like kiddy porn, but all he’d come up with so far was a bottle of bourbon, enough to share out a shot.



“I hear somebody!” Pietro hissed abruptly, dropping the bourbon bottle on the desk. Mostly empty, it spattered a few drops on the blotter and rolled off the side, thudding on the carpet but not breaking. Todd, in the hallway, saw them first. It was no janitor, no teacher come by late to pick up a forgotten laptop. It was XMen. Come in the same door they themselves had forced. Todd finished the last letter on his obscenity and fell back in line as the others moved out of the office into the hallway, forming two opposing phalanxes, face to face. If Todd was going to bet, he’d put his money on the Brotherhood. They were pissed. The XMen were just feeling superior.



“Alright guys,” Scott said, touching his glasses pointedly. “That’s enough. This isn’t the way to deal with Principal Kelly.”



“Yeah, fuck you, Summers.” Pietro sneered back, shifting from foot to foot. He was ready for a fight. He was raring for a fight. “Are you here to stop us? ‘Cause ah, I don’t think you brought a big enough army.” He grinned.



Todd caught sight of Kurt, hunched down like a dog behind Summers, watching them carefully. He wasn’t watching Todd, though. He should be watching Todd. Todd scowled in annoyance, ready to launch at him. Just say the word. Say the word.



“This doesn’t have to be a fight.” Summers said warningly, keeping his voice even.



“Yeah. I think it does.” Lance said. “If it’ll get you the hell out of my face!”



The earth began to tremble, and that was apparently the cue. Ranks broke on both sides and Todd launches like a missile, slamming into Kurt and sending him rolling down the hallway with an undignified squawk. He still had a spraycan in his hand, and he used it to clock Kurt soundly on the temple before Kurt got his wits to him and flipped Todd off, sending him into the lockers. Todd slid down and righted himself on the floor, sitting up as Kurt hovered warily on the perimeter. The boy immediately got a faceful of red spraypaint. Kurt howled and knocked the can away, tackling Todd blindly and hitting him, fist connecting with his jaw. He pulled back to strike again and Todd spat, covering Kurt’s face in thick, unyielding goo. Kurt recoiled, and disappeared, reappearing some distance down the hallway, away from the fighting, to pry the gunk off his face. Todd didn’t give him a break. He shouted and charged at him, not giving Kurt a chance to breathe.



Kurt disappeared and reappeared behind him, finally managing to get the slime off his nose and mouth and slinging the stuff at the wall. Todd tackled him, and they rolled, scrabbling tactlessly at each other before Todd kicked Kurt off and towards the ceiling. Kurt disappeared before slamming into the plaster, reappearing around the corner of the hall. Todd stalked after him, leaving the others behind.



“We’re back to beating each other up?” Kurt asked, slouched down in a defensive posture as Todd moved very nearly into range.



“Looks that way to me.” Todd sneered, kicking at him, but Kurt jumped back. “Haven’t heard from you in three FUCKING weeks, dawg. You got that little black bitch following you around now.”



“Her name is Amanda.” Kurt said warningly.



“Like I care.”



Todd attacked, and Kurt dodged, catching him on the rebound and hitting him in the stomach. Todd snagged Kurt and slammed him down into the floor, sitting on his chest and hitting him in the face, one, two, three, four times, before Kurt managed to get his tail around Todd’s neck and squeeze, pulling him back. Todd scrabbled at the restricting tail and Kurt kicked him in the ribs, getting to his feet and releasing Todd. Todd gasped for air and stumbled back to a safe radius, glaring poisonously.



“You just traded up, didn’t you, jackass.” Todd spat, rubbing his throat.



“Well look what I was trading.” Kurt sneered.



“Like you’re some prize!” Todd shouted, hackles up. “Some holier-than-thou fuckhead! Always better than me! Couldn’t even stoop to tell me we were through!”



“There was nothing to tell!” Kurt shouted back, envenomed. “How could we be through when we never were to begin with! There was nothing there, Todd! Nothing! Ever! I can’t end something that never was!”



He was lying. Todd realized it almost immediately. And he couldn’t think of one good reason for Kurt to do it except to hurt him. Suddenly boiling, Todd roared and launched himself at Kurt, catching him by surprise and slamming him into the lockers, hitting him before they’d even stopped moving. Kurt retaliated, and suddenly Todd’s face was bleeding. He spit a mouthful of bloody slime at Kurt’s face but Kurt moved away, wrapping his tail around both of Todd’s legs to immobilize him.



Todd was too angry to fight well, and Kurt was too personal to fight like an XMen. They scuffled like schoolboys. Back on the dirty tiles, Todd’s vision turned red as Kurt strangled him, Kurt’s face contorted with fury and Todd’s hyoid beginning to give. Panicking, Todd slammed a palm into Kurt’s nose, sending him reeling back with a fountain of blood in his face. Todd tried to stand, failed, and tried again.



Blood dying his teeth red, Kurt grabbed Todd by the front of his shirt and slammed him back into the lockers, hissing through the blood and spattering Todd’s face with red flecks. Todd flinched his eyes shut thoughtlessly as Kurt slammed him again, and again, just focusing on breathing. There was a pause as Kurt seethed; the bubbling sound of blood and breath.



Something crushed against his mouth and Todd’s eyes flew open, aware only after it was begun that Kurt was kissing him, violently, the taste of someone else’s blood mixing with his own in his mouth. When Kurt pulled back for a moment Todd gasped, filling his shocked lungs with air, but then Kurt was on him again, kissing him and biting his abused lip too hard, breaking the skin with his fang and drawing more blood.



Kurt was—



Kurt—



Todd abruptly slammed a forearm up against Kurt’s throat, pushing at him and forcing him to either pull back or strangle. Kurt moved back with a gasp and stared defiantly at him, something in his eyes making Todd’s stomach twist. It hurt, to look at him, red with paint and blood and an indefinable look that made Todd want to—



He hurt him, instead. He pulled back and punched Kurt as hard as he could, sending the boy reeling back to cover his face with his hand. Todd glared at him, teeth bared and blood still dripping, fists made up at his sides and daring him to move again. Kurt touched his bloody face and looked at the stain it left on his hand. He looked down at the floor. He said nothing.



Todd snorted, and spat at the floor at Kurt’s feet. He turned and walked back towards the Brotherhood’s fight, refusing to look back at him. Kurt didn’t look up, either, just kept his head down, blood dripping slowly on the tiles.