A/N: Hello, there, fellow readers! I'm here with my latest story amongst my latest resurgence to the site!
I have, honestly, no idea where this story manifest. It just started out as a silly idea and came to this.
This is one of those stories that isn't meant to be taken too seriously. Its just for fun! So, I hope you all enjoy!
Swipe Right
Chapter 1: Welcome To The 21st Century, Bobby Drake
"I'm not sure, Jean. It seems kind of embarrassing…"
A soft scoff slipped through the lips of Jean Grey as the fiery-red head rolled her eyes, placing both hands on her hips; she was starting to become impatient. It was a just reaction to such a statement. Silly Bobby Drake, he was always so unreasonable.
"Bob-by," Jean exaggerated the syllabus of the teen boy's name, "This is the twenty-first century we are currently living in. This is how everything is done these days. Now, fork over your phone!" Jean demanded, extending out her hand towards the young mutant.
Bobby still wasn't convinced. Sure, things in the twenty-first century were light years different then what he was accustomed to in his own time; but, still, something deep in his gut didn't feel right.
"I just don't know, Jean," Bobby responded, biting his lower lip, unable to look the telepath in the eyes. He was embarrassed-and slightly uncomfortable, "There's just something bizarre about placing a personal add on an app-for all kinds of weirdos to see-just simply to get a date."
"Oh, Bobby, it's not bizarre. Believe me, this is how the people of today do dating. It's a little different then what we are used to, I will admit. But, get with the times. These dating apps are especially beneficial for the LGBT community." Jean continued in her effort to persuade.
"I'm still not sure…"
"Just think of it as taking out the middle man." Jean went on, "Back in our day, you actually had to have a face-to-face conversation. Now, the pressure can be taken off. You don't have to go through the agony of having to meet with someone until you are sure that you like them-or that they are indeed gay."
'Gay'. The word still made Bobby squirm a little. Sure, he had recently come to terms and accepted his sexuality-with a little help from the extremely pushy and nosy, Jean Grey. However, back in their time, to be homosexual wasn't as welcoming as it has become in the present time. Being out and proud was still a concept he was getting used to.
"I'm not sure if I'm even ready to start dating. I mean, Jean, I'm only sixteen. Shouldn't I be more concerned with my grades than dating?" Bobby was lying through his teeth; and from the look on Jean's face, he wasn't being very convincing. Sure, the idea of dating was appealing, but, in all honesty, what was holding Bobby back from diving into the dating pool was simple: he was scared and he had no clue where to start.
"Bobby, I've seen your thoughts. Every interaction you and Warren have, you're question if that can be misconstrued into him possibly being into you," Jean countered, resulting in an embarrassed reaction to emerge from Bobby.
"Jean!" Bobby whined, throwing his hands over his face to shield the pinking shade of his cheeks, secretly hoping he could vanish from the conversation. How much he envied Nightcrawler's teleportation at this moment, "You promised you wouldn't take any more daytrips into my personal thoughts!"
"In my defense, your thoughts towards Warren-and Anole, for that matter-are quite loud. And graphic." Jean justified, only resulting in Bobby to become more mortified.
"Kill me. Someone please, kill me." The human snowman groaned, shaking his head back and forth, desperately wishing this was all a dream. It had to be a dream. He would wake up at any moment.
However, life wasn't always fair.
"Bobby, I'm not trying to embarrasses you-or make fun of you, for that matter. I just want to help," Jean began in an attempt to ease the young mutants worries, "I'm your friend. That's what friends do when they see their friends in need, they help!"
"I'm not 'in need', Jean." Bobby responded, dread seeping into every word.
The redhead's face fell, "Bobby, it doesn't take a mind read to know that you aren't happy. On the outside you act like this fun-loving, no-care-in-the-world, kind of guy, but I see the truth. I mean, we attend a school primarily populated with teenagers-the hormones are through the roof! Its almost impossible to go anywhere in the school without running into some form of love birds. It's only natural to want that for yourself; and I want that for you as well. Seeing how your older self denied himself of being truly happy for all these years, I don't want to see you do that to yourself. You deserve all the happiness in the world." Jean concluded, offering a warm smile. She had to admit, it was a pretty solid closing-argument.
Bobby remained silent-still unable to bring himself to look Jean in the eyes. Jean bit her lower lip as she started nervously playing with her fingers-the silence was making her unsteady. She resisted all urge to allow herself entry into Bobby's thoughts; that approach had done enough damage thus far.
A heavy sigh slipped through Bobby's lips, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had overstayed its welcome. Finally, in what seemed like an eternity, Bobby looked the redhead in the eyes, "Alright, Jean. What's the app?"
Glee illuminated across Jean's face as she clasped her hands together, "Wonderful! It's a great little app; extremely popular with the singletons of today! It's called tinder!"
"Tinder?"
"Yes. Here, give me your phone," Jean commanded, as Bobby reluctantly obeyed. Bobby watched in amazement as she handled the tiny electronic device-her fingers moving diligently across the screen. "So, I'm downloading the app, and from there, we will set you up your profile. After that, you can start checking out other guys' profiles and select the ones that you like?"
"How do I do that?" Bobby questioned, peering over at his phone in an attempt to observe what his teammate was doing; he was completely lost. Not too long ago-back in their own time-to tell Bobby that he would live in a world controlled by technology, would seem like the perfect plot for a sci-fi movie; and yet, here they are. Jean had adapted extremely well.
"By swiping right or left," Jean responded, her eyes never leaving the cell phone's screen, "You'll swipe right if you like them and swipe right if you do not."
"Really? It's that simple. Sounds a little shallow…" Bobby commented, reluctance returning to his tone, "What if people just swipe left on me?"
"The only time that you get any notification on someone swiping on you, is if it's a mutual attraction. So, you have nothing to worry about," Jean explained, her maniac fingers coming to a stall, as she turned her attention back to the brunette, "Ok, I think I've got you set-up, you just have to finish filling out some of the more intimate details."
Sweat instantly started to bleed from Bobby's palms as he retrieved his phone. An uneasy-squeamish-feeling settled through his body. This was all starting to feel like a very bad idea.
"Welcome to the 21st century, Bobby Drake."
TBC…
A/N: I know. Jean seems a little too pushy. But, hey, you've got to have that one friend who pushes you to do things, right?
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I have a couple of ideas as to where this story will go. Please, do review, I would love to hear from you and will take any recommendations as far as potential dates that Bobby can "swipe right" on!