Jean POV

My world turned upside down the day my best friend decided to confide in me once more.

I hadn't been expecting anything near what she told me, but I suppose that's partly my fault. I had been blind to the obvious, which is sort of normal for me, or at least it had been since Charles blocked off most of my telepathy. I always felt guilty if I knew what someone was feeling or what they wanted, even if it came from common sense and not my powers.

However, it would certainly have helped my heartbreak had I paid attention, but I didn't. Too bad, so sad. I learned my lesson and, I have to say, I more than like the outcome.

Third POV

Jean was grading some papers on her sophomore Biology class' genetics homework when she heard a knock at her classroom door just before it opened. Ororo poked her head in with a nervous smile, "May I come in?"

Jean smiled back with a puzzled expression, "You know you can."

Ororo stepped in and shut the door behind her, shuffling her feet, "Can I...talk to you about something? I warn you, it will not be pleasant and I hope you will not hate me."

Jean put down her pen and moved her hand to telekinetically move a chair over from the wall, which would be much more comfortable to sit in than one of the desks. Ororo thanked her and took a seat.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Scott."

Jean wrung her hands, not sure where the conversation was headed, "Okay, what about him?"

"I...have no idea how to start this," she laughed nervously, running her hand through her white hair. "I feel like a freshman again."

"Just say what you want, 'Ro. You're my best friend. I practically can't hate you," Jean winked, hoping to ease the tension threatening to break the other woman.

Ororo took a deep breath and slowly straightened her back to steel herself, looked her long time friend dead in the eyes and said, "I'm in love with Scott."

There was a long minute of nothing but silence before Jean shook her head slightly, smiled slightly with confusion and asked, "What?"

Ororo groaned with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Jean. I've felt this way since before you and he started dating, but I didn't want to say anything. I thought it would subside, but it hasn't. It's the opposite and I just...damn it! If I could help this, I would, but I CAN'T!"

To say Jean was in shock would be stupid. She was so shocked she couldn't think or feel, which later she realized she would have prefered, "You're in love with my boyfriend?"

Ororo began crying in earnest, a sight which Jean had seen before being as close as she was to the older woman, but one she never quite got used to. Ororo was a strong, independent woman, one who hardly ever showed weakness and vulnerability, much, Jean realized with a start, like her boyfriend.

Jean stood up on shaking legs and walked around to her friend and held her while she cried. Ororo had just turned thirty the week before, probably spurring her to think about her life and what she wanted from it. Jean herself was only twenty-seven and still very young, even to be the doctor she was. That was a longer story, however, and one she didn't exactly enjoy thinking about.

Scott had was going to turn thirty in another six months, and he had been talking about families and marriage for quite some time. Jean wasn't ready. She acknowledged that it was her fault, her being unready to settle down and that deep down, she may not have actually wanted to be with Scott anymore. Over the course of the last year, they had fallen nearly completely apart, staying together only by sheer threads.

Jean took her calming friend's face in her hands and smiled weakly at her, "Go talk to Scott. I appreciate you coming to me about this, but it's him you need to talk to. Once you two come to a decision, have him come and talk to me, understand?"

Ororo wiped her eyes, "I really am sorry, Jean."

"I know, Ororo, but I'm not angry, I promise. Just...talk to him."

She watched as her friend, her frequent confidante, got up and walked out of the classroom to discuss a relationship with her boyfriend. Jean wasn't a stupid woman by any stretch of the imagination. She knew what was coming, what was going to happen.

Because of it, she kneeled on the floor and cried, loud and long, for the loss of something she'd thought she'd had. Scott would always be precious to her, but as the best friend he'd started out as in her life, not a lover, and she knew she would never be able to hold it against her friend. Scott was an amazing man and the connection they had was deep. Jean had known it for years.

As she sobbed, she was thankful that all of her classes for the day were over and that she had no necessary engagements for the evening. However, she was completely unaware of the student standing outside listening to the crying for a good five minutes before leaving, forgetting completely about the advice he'd come to ask about.

As per usual, I'm not sure which awkward, messed up part of my brain this crawled out of, but it also craves reviews. Please feed it so it doesn't take over. ;)

I will update for the next two Fridays and will then move on to other stories for a bit. For more information, visit my Facebook page (link on profile).