Title: Dance With Me
Disclaimer: Not mine… they belong to Marvel. I'm just borrowing.
Students of Bayville High groaned in frustration as they heard Principal Robert Kelly's voice over the microphone. But in a matter of ten seconds, the groans turned into a cheer as they heard what was being announced. The Annual Saddie Hawkins Dance would be held next week. Time for the girls to ask the guys out.
The moment the speech ended, none of the students were willing to listen to their teachers anymore. The girls were giggling and discussing among themselves about which guy they were going to ask, some of them even threw glares at one another if they happened to like the same guy or, complaining that they didn't have any dress to wear and that usually meant… shopping!
The boys on the other hand were discussing intimate details of what they would like to do with their girlfriends in that day. For the less popular boys, they just sat in silence, watching the girls around them, hoping that perhaps an eye contact would make the girls swoon over them.
Despite the laughter, the dreamy looks and the teacher who was screaming at the top of her lungs, Jean Grey sat on her seat quietly, looking out through the window, thinking of no one in particular. Well, that wasn't really true… She had a problem of her own and couldn't be bothered to think of a dress to wear. Besides, there was nobody she wanted to ask. So what was the point of going?
Duncan? No. she was sick and tired of him treating her like some kind of trophy he could carry around and showed off in front of his friends. She had put up with his behaviour for a year and when she finally told him off, that jerk didn't even try to look the least bit sorry. She didn't even know why she could be so stupid and agreed to be his girlfriend and did so many things which she regretted in the end. Just like now…
Scott? No. He was taken. He was on top of Taryn's list of guys and like the nice guy he had always been, Scott didn't have the heart to say no to Taryn. He would agree.
If only she had the guts to ask him to the dance, it would surely resolve some of her problems.
The bell rang and broke Jean's train of thoughts. The students ran out of the classroom leaving the poor teacher with a sore throat.
-----
"So Jean," Kitty said when she saw her standing in front of her locker. "You heard about the dance right?"
"Yeah." Jean answered unenthusiastically.
"So?"
"So what?" Jean said, still trying to open her locker.
"So which lucky guy you gonna ask…" The younger girl stated as if it was the most obvious thing on earth. "Duncan?"
Jean rolled her eyes. "No."
"No, you're not going with Duncan?"
"No, I'm not going."
"You're not going to the dance?" Kitty repeated. "Why?"
"Because I don't want to." The red head slammed her locker a little too loudly and startled Kitty a little. It didn't seem to bother her though and she had to find out why. They didn't call her the Gossip Queen for nothing.
"Why don't you want to go?" she insisted. "Don't you want to have some fun with the guys? Last year was fun…"
Oh, last year! Jean thought. 'Fun' would be the last word to describe that particular day. First, after gathering all her guts and finally going to ask Scott to the dance, Taryn had to make her moves before her. She had to watch her 'best friend' wrapped her bony arms around Scott's and pressing her body close to him. Disgusting! Duncan, who was supposed to be dancing with her, was busy telling grandmother-stories to his friends about how he scored the final touch down and won the game. And just to make it worse, some monsters from a whole other dimension decided that they too, wanted to hit the dance floor. Truthfully, Jean was pretty glad that it happened. That way, Scott would leave Taryn and go along with her to capture those horrendous creatures.
"Last year wasn't exactly fun, Kitty," Jean said matter of fact and quickly changed the subject. "Look, I gotta go now. I have to go get my Math assignment. See you around." And then she fled before Kitty could utter another word.
-----
Scott Summers wasn't feeling too excited about that dance either. Jean would go with Duncan and then Taryn would probably pop out from nowhere and asked him to the dance. That woman must be a mutant too! It seemed as if she could read his mind and track him down. Scott had spent the day at school running away from Taryn. For a moment, the thought of hiding at the boys' shower was really tempting. If it wasn't the janitor who kicked him out, Scott would stay there until the school bell rang.
But that wasn't his number one problem. It was Jean. She had been acting weird for the past week. The once cheerful and fiery red head was rather… introvert lately. There were several occasions where Jean suddenly bolted from her chair wherever she caught sight of him or sensed his presence. Was it something he did? As far as he knew, he had done no wrong…
-----
Jean strolled into the kitchen, opened the fridge and examined its content. She was hungry and decided to make herself a sandwich. She was savouring her second bite when Scott walked in.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" He said the first time that came into his mind and quickly regretted it.
"I live here. And as you can see, I'm eating." Jean waved her sandwich in front of him. "You want some?"
Scott smiled. "No thanks. I thought you just had your lunch."
"That was an hour ago," Jean said defensively. "And now I'm hungry."
"Wow, you definitely eat a lot lately." Sensing that he had created a 'friendly air' around them, Scott decided to move on with his plan.
"Jean, I need to talk to you—" He trailed off as Jean jumped off her chair and dashed to the bathroom, covering her mouth with her hand.
Scott was rooted to the ground for a second before running after her. "Jean! Jean, are alright?" He could hear her moaning from inside the bathroom. "Jean, open the door! Let me help you!" Scott started banging the door, worried beyond belief.
What… why? This can be happening! His mind was screaming.
"Jean, open the door!"
Jean moaned. "No… you can't help me with this, Scott." Her voice sounded so weak…
"Jean, if you don't open the door now, I'll blast—" His voice was drowned out by the sound of toilet bowl being flushed and the tap running. "Jean?" He knocked the door softly.
Minutes later he was greeted with a pale looking Jean. She was clutching her stomach and it looked as if she was about to faint.
"Jean, you okay? Wanna see a doctor?" Scott asked carefully.
"No, I'm fine, Scott." She said quickly. "Don't worry about this."
"Jean, you don't look fine at all," he insisted. "Let me take you to a doctor."
"Scott, please, just…" she paused. "Take me to a pharmacy."
"A pharmacy?" It was his turn to turn all white. "W-Why?"
"Please?"
Scott swallowed hard. "Sure."
During the whole ride, they didn't say a word at all. When Scott's red convertible pulled over in front of the pharmacy, he quickly got down from the car only to be stopped by Jean. She asked him to wait in the car while she went to get the thing she needed. It wouldn't take long, she said.
Five minutes later Jean appeared again, carrying a plastic bag which she kept far away from his sight. Scott didn't ask what she bought. He didn't dare to ask.
-----
Another day passed and so far Scott was really grateful that he could get away from Taryn. If she happened to catch him, Kurt, God bless the blue elf, would come to his rescue and dragged him away. He must remind himself to treat Kurt to a dozen burgers…
However, Jean's issue bothered him so much that he couldn't do anything right. He must do something!
He walked slowly to her room while rehearsing what he was going to say. He stared at the wooden door in front of him before he gathered his courage and raised one hand to knock.
"What are you doing staring at my door?" Jean appeared beside him holding a yogurt on one hand and a spoon on the other.
"Jean! You scared me."
"Well, sorry…" It was more of a question than a statement. "You haven't answered my question."
"I… uh, I come here to talk to you," Scott confessed.
"Oh." She shrugged. "So wanna come in?" She opened the door for him.
The young telepath then walked to her bed hugging a pillow while Scott claimed his place at her side. "So what do you want to talk about?" she asked with the spoon in her mouth.
Well, I…" Jean raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for some answers. "Jean, is there something you're not telling me?" he finally blurted out. "You've been kind of distant lately. Is something bothering you?"
The young telepath looked down on her pillow and studied the lose threat on the edge of it as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
"Jean, c'mon, I'm your best friend. You can tell me everything."
Jean winced at his words.
"Scott, I—" she paused and placed her food on the bedside table. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. At least not yet. I don't know how. I've to figure this out on my own."
He gripped the bed cover really hard until his knuckles turned white. "I know…" he muttered.
"You know?" Her greed eyes shot open.
"Yes, I know it, Jean. You don't have to tell me." He stated calmly even though he felt like screaming. His mind was filled with thousand and one agonizing ways to make Duncan Matthews pay for what he did to Jean.
"W-What do you know?"
"That you're pregnant."
She stared at him even more, making it looked as if her eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.
"Who told you that?"
"Nobody. I recognise the symptoms, Jean."
"Scott, I—"
"It's okay. I understand how you feel."
"Listen, Scott, I'm—"
"You don't have to explain yourself. Just tell me who did this to you and I'll—"
"SCOTT!!!" Jean finally yelled.
"I'm sorry," said Scott, embarrassed.
Jean sighed. "Scott, I am not pregnant!"
"What?"
"I am not pregnant! How can I be pregnant when I've never have sex in my entire life before!" Looking slightly embarrassed, Jean immediately shut herself before she continued again. "What do you think I am!"
"You're not pregnant? But then… I saw you're always looking tired," said Scott in his defense.
"I have soccer practice almost every day until 5, of course I'm tired!!"
"You don't eat well… I mean the other day I saw you throwing up."
"It was nothing!" She looked away from him. "And Dr. McCoy had given me something for that."
"You eat a lot!!"
Jean frowned and glared hard at him. He could swore there was an orange light surrounding her body. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
"Umm… I-I didn't mean anything… Besides, you went to the Pharmacy! And then you came out with this suspicious looking box."
This time her anger was dissipating a little and her cheeks flushed. She was mumbling something incoherent.
"What?"
"Iwashavingmyperiod…"
"You're what?"
"I WAS HAVING MY PERIOD, DAMN IT!!" yelled Jean despite her embarrassment.
Scott just stood there with an opened mouth. At the moment, he didn't know if he should be rejoicing at the fact that Jean wasn't pregnant and she was alright or, run for his life after accusing her and embarrassing her.
"I… don't know what to say…"
"How about an apology?"
"I'm sorry," he said it immediately. "Jean, I'm so very sorry. I jumped to conclusion. That was horrible of me to accuse you and— I'm really sorry…"
"Apology accepted." She said coldly.
Scott stared at his feet for a moment, not knowing what to say. "Umm, so if you're not… pregnant… why are you avoiding me? Have I done something wrong?"
"No!" Jean said, looking slightly guilty. "No, you have done nothing wrong. I'm just… tired. I guess."
Scott nodded his head. "Okay…" She wasn't ready to tell him yet. And he respected her decision.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
Jean smiled at her best friend gratefully but shook her head. "No. I'm okay, Scott. Thanks."
Unsure what he should do, Scott decided to leave the room. But before that, he walked to Jean and wrapped his arms around in a tight hug.
Jean, surprised by the unexpected froze for a moment before returning his hug. Sure, they have hugged before, but this was different. "I'm fine, Scott." She said when he finally let he go.
Scott smiled. "I know. I just want you to know what I'm always here for you, Jean."
Then he left her room.
She watched as Scott walked out and sat back on her bed. Pondering over what had just taken place. Her hearts were pounding really hard and there were butterflies in her stomach. Biting her lips, she rushed to the door and went looking for him.
He, apparently had disappeared from the corridor. So without giving it much thought, she headed for Scott's room and immediately opened the door, catching Scott off guard who was in the process of changing his clothes.
"Jean! What are you doing here?!" he quickly zipped up his pants and turned away.
His best friend ignored his question. Instead she walked up to him and planted a full kiss on his lips. Scott's mind was filled with millions of unanswered questions, but his body was going along with Jean. The kiss lasted for several minutes and when she stopped, they were both breathless. Their forehead lay against one another.
"Wha… what was that for?" asked Scott, hands still holding her face.
"That's to show you how much I love you, Scott Summers." Jean said with pleading eyes. "I am in love with you. And I can't keep it inside of me any longer. I'll understand if you don't want to be friends with me anymore, but I just need to tell this to you, or else I'm going to regret this for the rest of my life."
"Jean, I… wow… I—
Sensing the uncertainty in his voice, Jean pulled away from him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. You probably don't like me the way I do… I mean… oh God! I just ruined our years of friendship!"
"NO! Wait!" He caught her before she walked away again. "Jean, I-I'm just surprised that you love me."
"Jean, look at me, please…" he said. "I love you too. I don't know why didn't have the courage to tell you all this while, but I do love you, Jean. I was always afraid that you would hate me for that. And besides…" He looked down to his feet. "I never thought you will like a guy like me…"
Jean looked up to him immediately. "Why wouldn't I like you?"
"I don't know… I guess there's nothing in me which can be compared to other guys you dated or any of the guys who are going after you. And… you always said I'm your best friend…"
Jean only had to smile at his own observation of himself. "You are the stupidest man on earth, Scott Summers. Of course you can't be compared to them. You're way better than them."
"Really?"
"Yes! You're always there for me, you always know where to take me to cheer me up, you listen to whatever I tell you to do even if it gets you into trouble, you let me hit you and pretend that it doesn't hurt even if it does and yell it hurt even if it doesn't. There are lots of things that can make me fall in love you."
"So that you can beat me to death?"
That earned him a punch and a hug. A weird combination, but he didn't mind. "No, stupid. Because you care about me and you love me. You really love me."
Scott blushed hearing what she had to say about himself.
"And you're really cute when you blush." Jean added with a giggle.
That only made his face turned red even more. "I am not cute. Guys don't do cute."
"Well, they don't. But you do."
"I don't—"
She pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. "Hush. Don't argue with me. You know very well that I always win."
"That's because you cheat—" She silenced him using her lips this time and it worked like a charm.
It was only for a few second before she looked up to him again. "Will you be quiet now?"
Scott only nodded his head. Not a word was coming out his mouth. And Jean rewarded him with another tender kiss.
They ended their kiss with eyes closed and foreheads still leaning against one another. Both trying to savour what just took place between them.
"So… where do we go from here?" Scott asked slowly.
"I don't know. You can take me out on a date. Or…"
"Or what?"
"Or I could ask you to go the dance with me." She grinned at him.
"So… that means the whole school will know that we're going out and I will be pummeled to death by the entire male population in Bayville High?" Scott quirked an eyebrow at her.
That made her smile. "Do you think you're up for it?"
"Yeah, I think I can handle that."
"And don't get all surprised when I received death glared from the other girls."
"Girls? What girls?"
"Oh, don't be coy with me, Summers. I've seen how the girls look at you and they way they flirt with you. Taryn is one of them. Especially Taryn. So don't be alarmed if you see me in a cat fight with her at the dance."
"Oh, I'd sure love to see that!" Scott Summers grinned which earned him a slap on his arm and a very serious look from his girlfriend of fifteen minutes.
"Well, I know something that we can do now."
"What?" Scott smiled eagerly, expecting Jean's lips on his again.
"Shopping!"
"What?" He asked incredulously. His mind was thinking along the line of Jean's wonderful lips on his.
"Shopping." She repeated. "Since we are going to the dance, I need to buy a dress, shoes, purse to match, earrings…"
"Uh, don't you have enough already?" He asked, remembered seeing the whole wardrobe in her room.
"No, silly. Now, c'mon! I'm going to get Rogue and Kitty. They'll be so excited."
Jean left the room, leaving Scott pondering on what he just got himself into. Shopping with Jean was bad enough. Now she was going to get Rogue and Kitty to join too! Those two could take hours just to decide which outfit they were going to wear to school. Now they were choosing a dress? Scott might as well bring his pillow and a blanket there in case it got really late and they hadn't decided which dress to buy.
"Scott!" Jean yelled from the corridor.
"Coming!" He sighed heavily. He would do anything for her. Even if it meant he had to go shopping with three girls.
--- THE END ---
WOW! Can't believe that the last time I posted a story was in February!
The Jott stories in here are dying… And I'm guilty as charged…
So? How was it? Let me know what you think.
Review! Review! Review! Review! Review!
