A/N: Hey, all! I'm here with my second X-men story. Unlike my previous story, this story revolves around Scott and Jean. I'm kind of excited for this story and the direction that I'm intending to go with it!

I must say, I was very pleased with the newest X-men fill installment. It might just be my favorite of the new trilogy (my opinion). I really like how they portrayed Jean and through that they finally did her justice!

Anyways, I hope that you enjoy. Please, please, please! At the end, do leave a review! Us writers, we really like seeing your thoughts and what you think! Enjoy!

Burn

Chapter 1: Date?

Looking around, it would be hard to imagine that just three short weeks ago-twenty-two days to be exact-the Xavier Institute was mere rubble on the ground.

The pristine institute for gifted youngsters saw its demise at the hands of an explosive blast that was triggered during a fight against one of the school's most formable foes to date.

En Sabah Nur. A mutant unlike any-even Xavier himself-had ever seen. With a power that almost saw the entire world crumbling at his feet. Driven by his desire-his thirst-to be viewed as an all powerful ruler, a type of God; no matter the cost.

He almost succeeded. Almost. The X-men rose from the ashes and the world lives to see another day. They were heroes.

But, none of them left that fateful day completely unscathed. Every single one of Xavier's students' lives had been affected or changed that day. Things would never be the same as they were before.

And yet, like the newly rebuilt Xavier Institute that stood just as proud as the one before, each student hid their personal battle scars and slowly fell back into routine. As if nothing ever happened.

"Free…me…"

A slow chill slipped through Jean Grey's body as every part tightened and became rigid. Cautiously, the redhead raised her head, removing her attention from her school notes, as she scanned her surrounding area.

Xavier's grounds. It was typical this time of day-after classes had let out-for many of the students to be found out here, engaged in some kind of activity. For Jean, it was where she spent her free time to study and do homework under her favorite tree.

As Jean's eyes moved across each student (and back again), each seemed unfazed by the voice that was still echoing in her head. Nothing was disturbed. Once again, she was the only one that heard it.

It was always the same voice-foreign, yet familiar, like a whisper in her ear. Initially, it was very faint, too hard to make out, but since the events three weeks prior, the voice has become clearer and more frequent.

Deep down, Jean knew she should probably say something to someone-especially the professor. But, what was she to say, that she was hearing voices and that these voices she was hearing, it wasn't all the time, just some of the time? They would think she was crazy…well, crazier than they had before. Only recently had the others stopped viewing her as some kind of…freak.

She wasn't about to let that change.

"Uh…Jean?"

Jean was pulled from her thoughts, taking in a sharp inhale. This voice, she knew. This voice wasn't a fabrication of her thoughts. It was one that as of recent would fill her with joy, floods her stomach with butterflies and causes her heart to skip a beat.

A voice that belonged to: Scott Summers.

"Scott!" Jean's voice escaped in a breathy mixture of alarm and delight as she offered the brunette teen a simple-and welcoming-smile.

"Did I scare you?" Scott softly chucked, smiling apologetically towards her, 'Crap. I interrupted her from something. Maybe I'm bothering her. I should probably just go…'

Jean paused as she deciphered between what Scott had said and the thoughts her telepathy had picked up on. As a telepath, Jean often struggled with unintentionally reading people's minds. It was an invasion of privacy, sure, but sometimes it couldn't be helped; she was still learning to control her powers after all.

"Oh, no, Scott. I was just…somewhere else." Her voice trailed off as she attempted to push the mysterious voice from thought.

"Oh, ok, good. Good." Scott mumbled his voice barely audible.

An awkward silence soon followed. Jean didn't have to read Scott's mind to see that he was nervous. His body language said it all. Jamming his hands deep into the pockets of his sports jacket (surely, he would soon burst through them), the teenage mutant swayed uncontrollably from left to right, digging his teeth into his bottom lip.

This was a side of Scott that was fairly new to Jen. In the time since they first met, Scott always seemed so calm and in control; confident. It was something she had grown to admire about him.

"Did you need something? Jean question, breaking through the uncomfortable silence, as she resisted every instinct to venture into Scott's thoughts.

It was easier said, than done.

'Just ask her! Ask her! You need to say something, idiot, she's going to think you're creepy and weird.' Scott's thought practically bellowed, ringing through Jean's head. Even with the greatest resistance, there was no way of avoiding this intrusion. "Oh, um, yeah, I, us, was gonna, um, ask you something…"

The awkward silence once again reared its ugly head as Scott's inner dialogue continued on, faster now, becoming distorted and jumbled.

"Oh? What did you need to ask me?" Jean asked in an attempted to get the conversation to its intended destination.

"Well, uh, Jean, I was gonna see if maybe, you know, if you weren't too busy…" Scott continued to fumble, as his thoughts roared over the volume of his voice, 'its one word, slim. One! Blurt it out-she'll say no-think I'm stupid-say it-DATE!'

A small gasp escaped the telepath's lips as the word repeated in greater amplitude: "Date".

"You want to ask me on a date?" The words blurted out before Jean had time to register what she had said. Like word vomit.

Scott's face transformed into a dark shade of red as he stared dumbfounded at Jean, before realizing just exactly who he was talking too, "I-uh, well, yeah…"

A smile-a genuine smile-broke across Jean's face, from ear to ear, as a faint blush resonated to her cheeks. Despite their initial meeting, Jean had grown quite fond of Scott and was really starting to like him.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, yes. I would love to Scott."

For the first time since Scott had approached her, his body language changed. Away went the awkward teen, and now, standing before the redheaded telepath was the confident and self-assured guy that initially caught her eye.

Well, it almost all went away.

"Really? You would? That's so awesome!" Scott exclaimed, his voice cracking in delight, as the two shared in a gleeful giggle between them. "Well, uh, I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing. Um, later we can, um, talk more about the uh…the uh…" Scott struggled in his attempt to form sentences.

"Date?" Jean finished, biting her lower lip as she smiled.

"Yes! Our-uh-date!" Scott replied, his smile broadening as he the word "date" slipped from his lips.

"That sounds great, Scott."

"Awesome. I need to quit saying awesome," Scott berated himself in an attempt of not putting his foot deeper into his mouth. It wasn't working. "Well, you have fun and later we can hook up. I mean-no, not that-discuss more about our date. You know where my room is? Of course you do. Or maybe I'll just find you. This school isn't that big, right?"

"Right," Jean giggled, while Scott slowly started in the direction back to the mansion, "I'll talk to you later, Scott."

"Bye," Scott responded, still smiling, as Jean offered a simple wave in return before he finally departed.

Jean couldn't help but watch Scott until he was no longer in site, all the while grinning like a complete fool. All her life, Jean had struggled to make friends. Things didn't change once she started at Xavier's-it only worsened. Then, Scott arrived and things took a drastic, and wonderful, turn. She started to have friends. She didn't feel so…alone.

And now: she had a date.

TBC…

Next-Chapter 2: Pre-Date Jitters