Morning.

Get up. Have breakfast.

Note on the fridge. It's from Jean. "Out of tampons! Please get. Love, Jean".

Groan inwardly. Not that I don't love her, but can't she get her own tampons?

Suck it up. Get dressed. Drive to store.

Push open swinging doors. In store, look around.

Begrudgingly walk over to feminine care aisle.

I bet she doesn't make Duncan do this kind of stuff. That's what I get for being nice, for not caring.

Hold up two boxes of tampons that look the same but says they're different. Squint, trying to tell a difference in colors through this damned ruby tinge.

Bow my head when an overweight middle aged woman squeezes between me and the shelves, taking up the entire aisle. She looks at me weird and at the tampons. My ears turn hot and red.

I try to stare at nothing else but the words "Jumbo" "Regular" "Higher absorbency" and "Guard against leaks!".

Feel someone else staring at me.

Look up, so they'll stop creeping on me. I get it, I'm a guy holding tampons, show's over.

Some girl with long light silvery blonde hair just keeps looking at me, even when I look back vaguely.

I sigh and look back down at the boxes.

Then I look up again, shaking my head, and feeling kind of stupid. "Uh, excuse me, miss? Do you think you could help me?"

She looks surprised, even though she was the one who kept staring at me.

I go over to her and she looks around as if she isn't sure whether she should bolt or not.

"Can you tell me what the difference is?"

She peers at the boxes and says, "One is bigger and longer lasting, and the one in your right hand is slimmer and for lighter menstruation."

The corner of her lips curls briefly.

I nod appreciatively, "Thank you, sorry for the bother."

I figure, Jean doesn't need anything "jumbo" or bigger.. Oh gosh, I mentally slap myself for that thought.

The girl narrows her eyes, and bemusedly asks, "Girlfriend?"

I realize she means am I shopping for a girlfriend. I feel my cheeks unnecessarily turn pink and I say, "No, just for a friend."

Girlfriend, yeah right. Like I could get a girlfriend, let alone Jean my best friend, for the life of me.

The girl arches an eyebrow at me and I wonder if she can tell too, what a loser I am, shopping for a girl who has permanently put me in the friend zone.

I quickly dodge behind the next shelf to end the encounter.

Time suddenly feels slowed down, it's definitely not just me, there's a second when the grocery store music plays on the speakers like it's been slowed down, the standard, cheerful electronic jingle eerily plays at a slow pace throughout the store and then.

BOOM.

The ceiling comes crashing down, raining plaster. Can't hear a thing, but feel the rumbling of the impact.

I instinctively throw my arms over my head and run, as the shelf I am standing next to begins to tip over, starting from the end. Some falling, flaming projectiles whiz by me, trailing flames on my shirt. It is actually quite terrifying.

I race down the aisle before the shelves all come toppling down.

I am clutching onto the box of Tampax Pearls for dear life, and see a flash of white in another aisle.

I dive into that aisle and roll over just as a box of Maxi pads come raining down onto the ground.

Sound erupts in my ears again and I wince. The fire alarm has gone off and the sprinklers in the ceiling were activated. An aisle on the other side of the building has caught fire and I can hear shrieking. The air is acrid with burnt product and plastic.

The lights all flicker and its dark for a minute, and then the power slowly regenerates and comes back on.

There are hushed whispers and cries, screams from the shoppers around the store.

A hesitant voice goes into the intercom, "Excuse us, there seems to have been some sort of...accident or something, everybody please remain calm and stay where you are until the paramedics and fire department gets here."

Strange...Whatever that was...these kinds of freak accidents in Bayville can only mean one thing.

I glance at the floor, and the white that had caught my eye is from the girl from earlier who is sprawled out on the floor, and I notice she's dressed in all white. White pants, white jacket.

There are fallen boxes of feminine care all around her.

Oh shit oh shit oh shit.

I quickly get down and check for her pulse. I put my hand under her platinum hair checking for a beat behind her ears, on her temples. Her hair is like the texture and shimmer of moth wings, which is strangely beautiful on her head as weird as that sounds. Her long dark lashes are closed over her eyes which were just a moment ago staring at me haughtily.

The over weight woman who had passed me earlier is sitting against a wall a few feet away from us, sobbing and fist deep in a party bag of chips that had fallen over from the snack aisle that she had not paid for. A cart is on its side, the contents of groceries spilled out onto the shiny floor.

She seems to be in a state of shock and I try to grimly give her a reassuring grin while feeling for this girl's pulse.

I feel a faint beat, and it looks like the girl got hit on her head.

Where are the paramedics?

I hold the girl's head up against my arm, sitting her a little more upright and cradling her body.

A nasty voice comes over the intercom, "Scott Summers is the biggest geek in Bayville! HEHEHEHEHEHE!" Lance Alvers in his ridiculous costume has grappled the microphone from the sales associate at the register, and slanders me in the local market.

He has his bowl on his head that he calls a "helmet".

I growl under my breath, "All this just to annoy me?!"

Todd, who was stuck to a wall, leaps up through the crumbling hole in the ceiling, and is quickly followed by Alvers right before sirens come.

"I take it you must be who he's talking about."

I nearly drop the body in my arms, as it's talking now.

Oh great, this girl woke up just in time to hear that I am the biggest geek.

Typical day in the life of Cyclops.

I look down, "Er. Yeah...How do you feel?"

She grimaces, "Numb all over actually. I don't think I can move without it feeling all tingly."

I assure her, "Don't worry, the paramedics just got here, you'll be fine soon. I think you probably have a concussion or some head injury but nothing too bad."

She smirks slyly but requests, "Don't leave me until it's over."

I get that she's probably scared, since she should be, but she doesn't exactly sound scared and her smirk was not helpless.

I feel bad though, that damsel in distress reflex in me is being pulled. Just a little while more then, and I can go home and away from this strange person.

When the medics come and check her over, everything turns out fine.

I offer to give her a ride home, but she shakes her head, saying she has a ride, which is great by me.

A short trip to the market turned into a very long one...

It's dinner time by the time I pull up to the mansion, and my stomach drops a little when I see they've started eating without me.

All that in a day really makes a guy hungry.

I look for an empty seat, and see that the two by Jean are occupied by Amara and Jamie.

Damn it.

I catch her eye and she looks up, but then frowns at the sight of me.

I hold up her box of tampons, which I purchased after the whole mess was dealt with.

Amara notices what Jean is looking at and then drops her jaw at the sight of me.

"What? Ha ha okay, I get it, it's funny to see a guy holding tampons. Get over it you two." I announce tiredly.

Jean asks, "Scott, what the hell did you go through to get those tampons?! What happened to you?"

I look down, for the first time, noticing that much of my favorite shirt has been scorched off, and some holes were burned into my jeans. There is ash and soot all over me and smearing my skin and face a little.

I look like a mad chimney sweeper.

I toss her the box grumpily, "You wouldn't believe what it took to get these things."

Amara piped up, "Does it have to do with what was on the news about that freak accident?"

Jean looks like she's about to cry and then gets up, rushing over to my side. She fawns over me. This is something I could get used to.

"Scotty! Are you okay? Oh my poor baby, I'm so sorry I made you go buy me tampons! It's all my fault you got hurt. What if you died?"

I waited for the part where she confesses that she couldn't live without me, but it doesn't come. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?
I whisper in her ear, "Shush, Jean! It was just the Brotherhood."

The whole table has stopped eating and is looking at us. Ray laughs, "Oh, you buy her tampons, Cyke?!"

Everyone starts chattering at once. Kitty giggles loudly about my appearance, "I've never seen Scott like this! Like he's always so clean and well-dressed."

My ears turn hot and I kind of want to take off my sunglasses and see nothing but red. But then there is Jean's worried looking face in front of me.

She marches me to the first aid kit she keeps stored in the medical cabinet, and wipes some of the sore scorched spots and red cuts on me with disinfectant and bandages them.

I'm sore and extremely tired for school the next morning.

The light burns didn't hurt at all yesterday, but today they hate me.

Wince as Kitty slaps a hand down on my shoulder, right where a bandage is covering a gash from a flaming projectile yesterday. She can't see it of course because of my sleeve, so I grit my teeth and wish her a good morning.

Tune out of History class. I'm already ahead in the class. Think about Jean and how she thanked me for buying her tampons with a hug. Then remember she made me buy tampons. The memory is ruined. I look a little reproachfully at her as she sits next to me, studiously writing down notes.

Bored. Tap pencil on desk. Tap tap tap.

Name all the Roman empires in head chronologically backwards...

...Claudius, Caligula, Tiberius, Augustus... Oh god. This is why everyone thinks I'm a geek.

Jean smiles at me from underneath her red hair, she caught that thought.

She takes a break from notes and confides to me, "We had a new student in our homeroom today. She was totally snobby, you can tell she's one of those girls. She's apparently kind of famous or something, well more like notorious, Taryn said her name's often in celebrity news blogs. But she had a bandage around her head, I'm thinking she's a lobotomy victim because she sure acts like it." I nod, not really knowing what she means by those girls. I don't share Jean's excitement, I'm just wondering what a 'famous' person is doing at Bayville High.

"There she is!" I look at the front of the class where the teacher is telling someone new where to sit.

Indeed, a girl with platinum blonde hair and strips of white gauze wrapped around her forehead comes my way and sits in front of me.

Her ice blue eyes meet mine and she smiles curtly, "Scott Summers, I never thought I'd see you again!"

Jean bursts, "You know each other?"

The girl laughs but she doesn't sound like she thinks anything is that particularly funny, "This boy found me under some rubble yesterday at the grocery store catastrophe and stayed with me until help came. That's as much as I know about him though."

The other kids sitting around us looked at me with awe and admiration.

Jean did not look so pleased though.

The rest of the school catches wind of how I rescued the 'bangin' hot new chick (Ray's words not mine) in the tampon aisle. I'm somewhat of a local hero today. I've never been marveled over like this by the student body, this attention is kind of strange.

I am not popular at all usually but today I'm too popular. After 4th period, I duck outside behind the school and head to my car, sitting in the seat and leaning my head back. I had to get away from everyone, and all the people who kept wanting to hear about what happened.

Jean says I have the patience of a Birmingham guard. But inside I can't stand annoying people. It's just all about keeping it inside though, and not showing it. That's the nice thing to do. How else do you think I can stand hanging around Duncan and Jean.

A streak of white flits at the corner of my red vision.

I see the new girl wearing all white again, except showing considerably more skin than the other day, walking intently towards me.

I sit up when she gets in my car without saying a word.

"Um.." I can't think of anything to say really.

She exasperatedly looks to me with relief, "Thank goodness, someone with sense. You're taking a break from this...public school day too?"

I quirk a brow, "Yeah. I just needed to take a quick breather. All this hero crap is kind of unfamiliar to me." I worriedly add, "I don't ditch class a lot though! In fact, I never do. It's just a one time thing."

From her face, I can tell she is not the kind of girl to care about being in class or not.

She stretches her arms up, wiggling her fingers around in the open air, since I don't have the convertible hood up.

"It's enough to be new, but having this gauze around my head is like a big sign that says, 'LOOK AT ME'. The bandaging is definitely a fashion faux-pas."

I offer a, "I'm sorry..." I don't think to say that maybe they look at her anyway because she's kind of pretty to begin with.

She smiles at me.

Truth is, I have no idea why she's in my car talking to me. Then I chuckle, "In a boring place like Bayville, everything's a big deal."

She pulls a silver flask out of her white leather bag and takes a big gulp before handing it to me, and tells me, "Go."

I fumble with the flask when she thrusts it in my hands and then without thinking, put it to my lips and take a sip.

It tastes like gin... I frown and hand it back to her. "I can't drink and drive. Where do you want me to go? I wasn't really planning on driving away or anything..." I glance at my car's clock. It's 1:03 in the afternoon.

She leans over very close to me and purrs into my ear, "Stop thinking about everything and just do for once in your life."

Her whisper is chilling. Just do?

I don't even think about it as I turn the car on and pull out of the parking lot.

I'm on the open road and then I try to think about where to take the new girl who doesn't seem easily impressed by anything in Bayville.

I ask, "Are you hungry?"

She has kicked off her sandals and has her bare feet propped up on my dashboard.

"I could eat something. Where do kids around here usually go?"

"Sally's Diner. Everyone goes there, and it's 50's themed and the waitresses wear roller skates... I don't like it, it's kind of tacky and the food's mediocre at best, but Jean likes to go there a lot. Maybe girls just like that kind of thing better."

"I'm not like a lot of girls. 50's themed? Really? As if this town couldn't get any kitschy-er. Tell me, is there a drive-in movie around here too?"

I nod, not willing to say that there actually is a drive-in movie place that serves cokes and burgers.

"Jean-that ginger you were sitting next to today? Are you two shagging or something?"

I nearly let go of the steering wheel.

"What? No way! Jean and I, we'd never...no, she has a boyfriend. We're just good friends. That's an interesting term, shagging."

The girl rolls her eyes a little with a smirk, "But do you want to?"

I swallow, "I haven't even thought about...her...in that way."

The girl curls her fingernails out before her and inspects them. "Tell me, how long have you two been friends?"

I say, "About 4 years."

"So you're saying in those 4 years that you've been friends, you've never thought about it?"

I stubbornly agree, "Yup. I'm not like most guys."

The blonde agrees, looking at my profile as I drive, "Indeed, you're not."

I remember something, "What's your name again? I never heard it."

"Emma, last name Frost. Don't try to Google me, you'd be the last person to know exactly who I am. You don't keep up with current events much, do you?"

I furrow my brow, "Except for the occasional CNN news bit about what's going on overseas and anything actually important other than what heiress got a DUI and slept with who, you got that right."

Emma throws her head back in the wind and laughs out loud. Her frosty exterior has broken for a second and she is cracking up like a mad woman. I bewilderingly glance at her. I seriously wonder if she's okay, maybe the impact to her head affected her.

She looks at my concerned face and then bursts into peals of laughter again.

Hiccuping, she breathes out, "You've really never heard of me, have you?"

I shake my head, "Should I have?"

Emma snickers, "No, I like that you haven't."

What an eccentric girl.

I take her back to the mansion, knowing no one will be there now.

I let her pick stuff out and then cook for her in the Professor's tiled kitchen, simmering a salmon on a pan like Ororo taught me to with the right seasoning that I personally like.

Emma sat luxuriously on a chair as she watched my back. She kind of had a way of languishing and looking comfortable wherever she settled. Like the queen of Egypt or something, Cleopatra.

She asks in an amused tone, "Where did you learn to cook like that? Not a lot of 17 year old boys know how to make gourmet food."

I scowl, the new girl has only been here like a day, and she already knows I'm the town's usual geek and the kind of domesticated guy who cooks and buys tampons.

"I grew up without parents, and kind of had to teach myself how to feed myself."

She sits quietly for a second and murmurs, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

I shrug and grin at her, "It's okay, it happened when I was a kid. I wouldn't expect you to know, I just met you."

I whip out two plates for us and serve the salmon with some asparagus and country potatoes. I hesitantly mutter, "In this house, we kind of have to eat a lot of vegetables."

Emma forks an asparagus into her mouth with wide clear blue eyes and says simply, "I love asparagus. This is better than eating that cafeteria sludge Bayville High serves. That's not even worthy of a food stamp. I almost had the urge to throw up just looking at it."

I have to laugh heartily at that one.

Sliding two glasses onto the table, I pour a pitcher of Ororo's iced lemonade from the fridge.

I garnish the lemonades off with a mint leaf and grin politely, "Ororo makes the best lemonade, not too sour and not too sweet."

She clears her plate and stares at me expectantly, "What's next?"

I down my lemonade and choke, "Huh?"

"What are we going to do next? I am not returning to the school today, and you're a much better tour guide to Bayville than that silly bubbly brunette freshman who overdosed in pink that the principal left me with."

"Kitty?"

Emma shrugs, "Something as obnoxious as that name. Maybe you should take me to that drive-in, heaven knows I'll never see one of those outside of a little town like Bayville. Perhaps we can 'neck' and do some 'heavy petting' in your red convertible. Please, I feel like I'm in a poorly costumed version of Happy Days already."

I laugh, "You've seen that show?"

Emma asks back with arched eyebrows, "And you have?"

Surprisingly, I willingly drive Emma down to the drive-in theater. I don't go here as often as the other kids at school, mainly because it seems to be like a breeding ground for the athletes and cheerleaders nowadays.

The last time I came I had to take Kitty because she can't drive yet. So it was just me and Kitty in my car, and Kitty sobbing on my sleeve while 'Casablanca' played on the giant screen on the field overlooking Bayville.

I tried to ignore Duncan sitting in the bed of a pick up truck with a group of his team mates and Jean, throwing empty beer cans towards my car and laughing at me "baby sitting" Kitty.

Also, a main reason to come here at night is to be with a girl. The one girl I would like to come here with, is usually already here with Duncan, and other than that I don't have the guts to ask any other girl, let alone look at any other girls at school.

The stars were beginning to twinkle in the darkening sky and I kicked my seat back and showed Emma how to recline hers.

I flattened my palms against the back of my head and looked up, enjoying the cool breeze.

An attendant came by and I paid him for two cokes and cheese fries.

Emma looks uncertainly at the steamy cheese fries.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you've never had cheese fries."

Emma replies contemptuously, "Where I'm from, I've never had fries, period. I've never heard of them with cheese either."

I marvel aloud, "Where on Earth are you from, Emma Frost?"

She quirks a brow, "You really don't know...! I'm from Snow Valley, I went to an all girl's prep academy, then somewhere in Manhattan, New York, before enrolling in Bayville High."

Daringly, I hold up a clump of hot golden fries with melted cheese on the tips, up to Emma's face. "You have to try them at least once in your life. These cheese fries are the best I've ever had."

She surveys the clump for a second, before taking them in her mouth and chewing neatly.

"Not...bad. I don't think I've ever tasted anything like that."

Soon we are sharing a box of cheese fries in between us as the movie starts, and Emma has no problem grabbing for them. It's some Grace Kelly movie.

I take a sip of coke. My throat burns. I gag, "What is wrong with my coke!"

Emma giggles, and rattles her now empty flask around. She taps her paper coke cup against mine and then nips down on the straw, sipping, and looks up at me. "You made me try your fries, and I liked it. Now you try this."

She has a point. I take another drink.

Someone shouts, "Hey look it's Summers' car!"

Emma and I are giggling over something the blonde lady on the screen said, but I forget what.

There's a knock on my window.

Jean looks into my car.

Duncan and his buddies are piled into a car next to mine.

Her green eyes are so shiny under the stars. I mumble, "Jean! You look amazing tonight."

She smiles, but then sniffs the car and says, "Have you been drinking?"

I shrug, "Maybe...maybe not. But I mean it! You look amazing!"

Emma burrows under my arm and muffles her laughter against my side.

Jean looks kind of mad I think. I can't tell, sometimes Jean just looks like that.

It feels kind of good to have Emma's warm head under my arm. Everything feels kind of good, come to think of it.

Except my sweater is kind of hot.

"Scott, what are you doing?"
I look down, my hand is pulling up at my sweater.

"It's just, hot." I mumble.

Jean pulls my sweater back down and pulls me out of the car. I call over my shoulder, "I'll be righ' back Emma!"

My feet stumble a little on the ground, but soon I'm up and walking, and I can't really feel anything except good.

I pull my sweater off as soon as Jean has her hands off me. It feels so good. I breathe in and smile real wide, feeling the cold air on my skin.

Jean is staring at me, and she won't stop staring. She touches my waist as she pulls me behind a bush.

Her nice cold hand on my bare skin feels good too. I look down at my chest and gasp, "Jean! I-I forgot to wear an undershirt today!"

I grab at my chest, trying to understand where the undershirt that's supposed to be there is.

I stagger back from her and trip backwards over a log, onto my back.

Thump.

I roll around a little in the nice cool grass and giggle.

Jean is at my side and pushes me flat on my back so I'll stay still.

I wiggle a little, trying to wriggle as hard as I can away from her, but she's kinda strong.

She glares down at me, but then her lip twitches and she laughs a little. "Scott! What are you doing drunk behind the wheel? This is not like you."

I twist out of her grasp and army crawl on my stomach and elbows.

She loops her fingers through my khaki belt loop and tugs me back into place. My pants are pulled down a little, and my briefs stick out.

Jean claps a hand over her mouth and shakes as she giggles harder.

"Maybe that new girl isn't a good influence... I'm supposed to be covering an article in the school paper about her, did Emma tell you where she's from and everything? Actually, based on that I definitely don't think she's the kind of person you'd hang out with. She's a bad influence, Scott. Her reputation is-."

I holler, "Jean! Jean! Shh! Just, SHHH!"

I sit up and cover her mouth with my hand.

I kneel, and my pants are now dragged around my knees.

I urgently tell Jean, "I have to tell you something! Really, very important. I wanted to tell you for a long long long time."

I'm feeling confident, euphoric, I have a burst of courage I've never felt before.

I cup a hand to her ear and whisper, "I use' to like you."

Jean looks into my eyes, her mouth parted. She puts a hand on my chest and maybe she's gonna push me or something, but then she leans in closer.

But then I'm flying. The ground is spinning beneath me when I land on my back again, a few feet away.

A quarter back is charging towards me.

I rise unsteadily to my feet, the ground still spinning. A high school football player? Easy for Cyclops the big bad killing machine.

I move aside but totter a bit on my toes, then turn and sloppily but effectively kick Duncan's knees in, and his legs out from under him.

Jean cries out, "Scott! No! Don't fight him!"

It was a simple move, really, she doesn't have to worry about anything.

Duncan won't get up though. He's just lying on the ground cursing at me and being the big cry baby he is.

I throw my hands up, "Aw c'mon! He's fakin' it!"

Jean stomps past me and angrily calls out, "You are being such a jerk right now, Scott! Leave him alone."

Whatever, man.

I hop back to my car, after telling Jean I wasn't usually the jerk, her dumb boyfriend was.

I forget how that went though.

I climb back into my convertible, getting stuck half way in, with my legs sticking up, my pants at my knees.

Emma is no help, she's just laughing like Jean did.

She suggests, "Just lose the pants, darling!"

I kick off my khakis and fall into my seat.

Emma falls into my lap and rests her head there, as we watch the rest of the movie. She strokes my knee absentmindedly. I never knew how much better things felt without clothes on!

It's all a blur and then it's over.

I start up my car, and cut a line of cars trying to exit the lot.

I'm getting kind of sleepy.

My bed would be nice now.

Emma directs me to a hotel nearby where she is staying, I guess.

I walk her to her room, because that's the polite thing to do for a girl at night time.

I shiver, it's gotten kind of cold. I look at my watch, it's past midnight.

Emma tries to coax me into the room, "Warm up in here before you leave." She's now looking at me like a mother bird about to eat a worm.

Her blue eyes scanning me up and down makes me a little more sober and aware of how silly and naked I am, in my shoes and underwear.

"I would not have guessed that fantastic body would be hiding under that sweater and those khakis." Emma purrs delicately at me.

Muttering a good night, I dash from that room as fast as I can and speed home.

"Ughhnnnn..."

I shift under my blankets and shiver when something frozen lands on my forehead.

"Shh..." The ice pack is lifted from my face and I see Jean looking down at me with worried green eyes.

It takes a moment to realize where I am and what is happening.

I prop myself up on my elbows and groan, "Please tell me I didn't black out and make a fool of myself."

Jean tries to seem stern, "Scott, I've never seen you like that before. You do know better, right? I know you do. You not only got very drunk, but you also managed to lose all your clothes last night, and worst of all, you drove under the influence! When you came home, I had been waiting for you all night! You passed out in front of my door after banging and demanding that I let you in. I had to drag you in so none of the other students could see and then I had to-I had to bathe you, because you were incapable of doing anything!" Jean blushed and tried to hide a smile.

I gulped, and my heart sank into my stomach.

"Did I puke or something? Why did you have to bathe me?"

She stuttered, "I mean, I guess I didn't have to, you didn't puke at all...You were generally pretty clean, but it's just, you were in my bathroom, and you were already almost naked...I thought a bath might sober you up."

I nearly faint, and maybe it's from my empty stomach. I can't believe Jean Grey saw me naked and I was barely alive to remember it.

That means she...scrubbed and...touched...every bit of me. How embarrassing.

My ears go red hot.

I bury my face in my pillow, "Please kill me now, Jean. I am so. Sorry."

She rubs my bare back comfortingly.

I peek under the sheets to see that she put a new pair of briefs on me.

I blush more.

I grin lopsidedly, "Thanks for being a good friend though...I guess this is what friends are for, huh?"

Jean giggles, "I just always thought it'd be the other way around with us...Yeah this is what friends are for...Speaking of friends...You said something interesting last night about how you used to like me."

Shit.

"Ummm...That's r-r-right. I used to like you! Back in like 9th grade, when we weren't really that good of friends yet. That was a long time ago! I'm never drinking again, I say the stupidest things! I'm sorry if I was a jerk, I kind of remember fighting with Duncan." I'm not one for smooth saves. As dumb as drunk Scott can be, at least he didn't spill the beans about the whole truth, how I'm in love with you, Jean. God knows I don't need that embarrassment to be any worse.

I can't believe I was so close to ruining our friendship after a drink!

Jean changes the subject hastily, "Professor sent me up to get you for an emergency announcement.

I only have the energy to put on a bathrobe, and follow Jean down to Cerebro, my hair tousled and mussed up and each step adding to my head ache.

The Professor, Logan, Hank and Ororo are waiting for us.

Professor Xavier touches a glowing panel on the machine connected to his head and a large lit up image and panels of information are projected in the vast dark and empty space before the platform in front of us.

A new recruitment!

Logan knowingly snorts at me when I rub my forehead.

Jean whispers into my ear, "I'm going to be busy helping Duncan set up for the game, and taking pictures for the paper, do you think you can cover me for recruitment?"

I nod, feebly.

The Professor begins, "I sensed a new mutant around your age a week ago and contacted them, it's not until now that I am sending the team in to recruit. Scott you will lead today."

A large picture flickers on the projection and I rub my eyes under my glasses, not sure what I am seeing.

Emma Frost's face flickers and vacantly stares around the cerebral room.

Her information is listed as:

Hair Color: Brown/Currently: Blonde

Height: 5'10

Weight: 125 LBS

Jean hisses under her breath, "I knew her hair color wasn't natural."

I frown, I know my BMI index and for her height, Emma is rather underweight. She is thin...I'll have a word with her about that, if we're going to recruit, I have to think as a leader, about my team being healthy and fit.

I stutter, "Hey, I kn-know her...sort of. She just moved into town."

Xavier nods, "She has arranged to see where she would be living if she is to join us. We must move quickly before the Brotherhood gets to her though. She is a telepath and a very strong one at that. Also, she has a second mutation of a diamond skin, but Scott if you say you know her, this might be easier for you to approach her."

I could not believe that Emma was a mutant...and a telepath! Just like Jean, I turn to tell her excitedly, but she looks far from happy at this potential new comer.

Emma is already waiting with all her suitcases packed up, and she playfully winks, "It's so nice to see you again Scott, with clothes on this time! Though, it was nicer when you weren't wearing any."

Logan lifts a brow at me and I try to ignore it.

I grab her aside as we finish putting her trunks into the car.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a mutant too? Did you know who I was all along?"

She cups my chin and winks again, "I just wanted to have a little bit of test fun before I made any final decisions. I was very skeptical about moving to Bayville. Thank you for a pleasant first day."

I just hope she didn't read my thoughts yesterday.

Not that they were any worse than what she saw me doing.

It was easy to get Emma orientated with the X-Men. She is pretty sharp and also she used her telepathy to absorb all the information, rules, and facts she would need to know to adjust to life here.

At school, I excused myself from homeroom to get water from the drinking fountain. I lifted my head just in time from the running stream to see Emma down the hallway talking to someone. I squinted. What the hell...

She's talking to Lance Alvers. She knows about the Brotherhood and everything. I wonder what she could be talking to him about.

I go back to class before they can see me.