Gifted Youngster
Old Fiat
Summary: It wasn't the first time Scott had woken up from a dream covered in sweat, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. The memoirs of Scott Summers. Part comicverse, part filmverse.
Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men or any of the characters. They belong to Stan Lee, MARVEL and good old Fox.
Notes: After reading the character biography of Cyclops on wikipedia, I decided to write this. I've changed a couple of things and added in characters to suit myself though. I hope you all enjoy it!
Prologue: Dreams
It wasn't the first time Scott had woken up from a dream covered in sweat, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Shivering slightly, he pushed back the covers and reached up to touch his face. Cool metal and glass met his hand. He let out a breath and opened his eyes. The bedroom was still mostly dark, and his glasses made it even more difficult for his eyes to take in any light.
Not that it really mattered of course—he had had to rely on his fingertips for years. He felt his way along the night stand until his fingers met a smooth plastic cord. The room was filled with yellow light as the lamp switched on. Blinking as he tried to adjust to the light, Scott lifted himself out of bed and pulled open the curtains. The campus glowed orange from the slowly rising sun. He smiled and remembered the first time he saw the bright green lawns and smooth clean brick.
He turned away from the window and returned to the night stand, glancing at the empty half of the bed where Jean usually slept. She had gone on a mission with Storm the day before. That's why he'd had nightmares. He hated sleeping alone.
After turning off his alarm clock, he gathered up some clothes from his dresser and headed down the hallway to the shower.
In Scott's opinion, there was probably the only one annoying thing about the growth of Xavier's institute for "Gifted Youngsters"—when it was only him, Storm and Jean he got his own shower, without fear of some student walking in halfway through. Also there weren't as many people to use up all the hot water back then so you could take a shower at any time of day. Now Scott had to wake up two hours before the kids to bathe and get cleaned up.
It only took him ten minutes to get in and out of the shower so he decided, as the cook wouldn't wake up for another three hours, to go down to the kitchen and make himself breakfast. Jogging down the stairs to keep himself awake, he arrived in the kitchen only to find he wasn't the only one up in the institute. At the kitchen table sat Hailey, a small girl who had only recently come to the school. She looked as normal as Logan or Jean, but Scott knew that she could read minds almost as well as the professor. She jumped as he entered.
"Hello Mr. Summers," she said, quickly recovering from her shock. "What are you doing here?"
"I always wake up early," he said, smiling at her as he headed towards the coffee maker. "I think that I should know what you're doing here. Are you going to tell me?"
"I couldn't sleep," she said, twirling some of her pale blonde hair around her fingers. "I had a nightmare."
He nodded and reached up into one of the cupboards for the coffee. "Well, tell me about it. I had a nightmare too," he said, praying that his words wouldn't reach Logan.
She hesitated, clearly unsure of whether to tell him what had woken her up.
"Come on," he said, sitting across from her at the small kitchen table. The coffee boiled on the counter as Hailey continued to twirl her hair in her fingers.
"It was about my mom," she said, trying not to look at his face so as to avoid seeing her reflection in his dark glasses. "And the day she died…" Her voice trailed off and she looked very uncomfortable.
"It's fine to be freaked out by stuff like that, Hailey," said Scott, smiling at her. He hoped he looked supporting and encouraging, like he actually wanted to hear about her nightmare when in reality he really didn't. It was too close to his own dream for comfort. "Just relax."
She took a deep breath and looked up at him with her light blue eyes. "I saw it… When it really happened, I mean. I was in the car with her."
He patted one of her smooth, pale hands. "Stuff like that sticks. Just keep telling yourself that she's looking down on you, and loves you very much. It's true you know." He glanced over at the coffee pot, wishing he had something to distract himself with.
"What was your nightmare about, Mr. Summers?" she asked. Her piercing gaze seemed almost to burn holes in Scott's head. She was probably reading his mind, just in case he didn't answer truthfully.
"I dreamt about my parents, too," he said, getting up quickly to make himself toast. "And some other things."
It was half true. He had dreamt about his parents—more specifically, the last time he saw them—but it suddenly went dark and he had to depend on his other four senses.
"You're lying," she said with a grin.
"You shouldn't read my mind," he said. "It's not very polite."
"Why did it go dark in your dream?" she asked sweetly, cocking her head to one side in an excellent impression of innocence.
He leaned against the counter and closed his eyes, allowing the memories to wash over him.
And suddenly he was back in Alaska.
Oh! The first chapter will begin the actual childhood and stuff. I hope you guys enjoyed this. Please give me feedback and stuff.
-OFsI