Chapter One: Break

"Woohoo! Hello summer vacation!"

The young X-Men of Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters burst through the front doors of the mansion. A sense of relief and anticipation filled the air as the students could finally relax, having finished high school for the summer. Bags were dumped and homework forgotten – for now at least – as the mutants prepared for weeks of well-deserved respite.

"Okay!" Scott Summers rubbed his hands together eagerly and smiled like a kid in a candy store, "How about a Danger Room session in celebration of the holidays?"

A unanimous groan confirmed this was the worst idea ever and Scott was thankful when a certain redhead guided him away from the oncoming barrage of rejections.

"You need to learn to loosen up a little, Scott," Jean's emerald eyes looked into the red lenses of her oldest friend's shades and Scott felt himself melt a little inside. He was about to wittingly retort when Professor Xavier's voice entered his, and every other student's, mind,

"Could you all please gather in the dining hall, I have an announcement to make."

Muttering buzzed inside the large hall as the students gathered to find out what the Professor had to say; Logan Storm and Hank stood at the back of the hall and a few of the students couldn't help but feel like they were somehow blocking the exits. All muttering ceased as the headmaster and mentor of the mutants rolled into view,

"Hello everyo-" he stopped and looked around, "Where is Kurt?"

Before anyone could answer, the furry, blue elf bamfed into the room with a slightly guilty expression on his face,

"Sorry, Professor, I got held up."

Charles raised an eyebrow but continued nonetheless, "As I was saying, thank you all for gathering here, I know you're all very excited to start your summer vacation but I must first inform you all of something."

Kitty leaned towards Rogue and whispered, "Great. I bet we're going to have extra training or something."

Rogue sighed, "Bummer…"

The Professor continued, a small smirk behind his usually stern expression, "As you have all worked extremely hard throughout the year, I thought you could all use a little break." Excited chattering echoed through the students, "And so I have organised a short trip to a private beach resort that a friend of mine owns." He was going to explain the need for safety and sensible thinking but the roar that erupted from the excited students was enough to drown out even his voice.

Logan shouted over the ruckus, "We'll be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning so get packing!" he turned to Hank and groaned, "I still don't think this is the best idea."

Hank smiled, showing sharp teeth, "Wolverine, my friend, what's the worst that could happen?"

Kurt Wagner was almost finished packing his suitcase; he's managed to somehow fit every one of his Hawaiian shirts in and was putting in his last item – his image inducer – when Kitty walked through his bedroom wall.

"Gah! Kitty, you scared me!"

"Sorry, Kurt, I was like, looking for my green sweater. Have you seen it?"

Without taking his gaze, or hands, from his case he handed Shadowcat her sweater. It wasn't that he was trying to show off, it was simply an automatic reflex to use his tail as an extra arm. Usually he tried to avoid using it as it made him feel even more out of place and odd compared to his fellow students but sometimes he simply forgot. He winced inwardly as Kitty took the sweater carefully with her thumb and forefinger, trying not to touch his tail. She probably didn't even realise she was doing it but the small action was enough to make the fuzzy elf curse himself for using his blue extension.

"Ah, sorry Kitty," he pulled his tail away swiftly, "I didn't mean to freak you out."

Kitty put on her brightest smile, immediately regretting her actions, and shrugged, "No, its fine! Really! And you won't be needing your inducer, we're going to a private resort, you can be as freaky as you like!"

She phased back through the wall, leaving Kurt to stare at his blue reflection in the mirror,

"Yeah… 'Freaky'."

"Four, five… How many should I take?"

Scott, otherwise known as Cyclops because of the optic beams behind his eyes, held two pairs of red-tinted shades and stared at his suitcase. He'd already packed five spare pairs and his visor but he felt he could never be too careful when it came to his eyes. He was just putting in his sixth pair when a light knock on his bedroom door distracted him. It was Jean. She smiled and tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear,

"Hey, Scott. You done packing?"

"Err…" he rubbed the back of his head and quickly hid the seventh pair of glasses behind his back, "Almost!"

Jean arched an eyebrow and peered around him to look at his case, "Mhmm… I see that."

Scott tried to block her way but with a flick of her wrist, Jean moved him aside and stepped over to look at his case. It was empty except for the small pile of glasses.

"Oh, Scott, you really don't need this many spare pairs do you?"

Scott stood by her side, "Well, I, err…"

Before he could make up some ridiculous excuse, Jean had her fingers lightly on the sides of the shades he was currently wearing. He gripped her forearms – a little tighter than he meant to – and swiftly lifted Jean's hands away from his face,

"Whoa! Jean, stop! I could hurt you!"

She smiled warmly, "I wasn't going to take them off, silly. I was just proving that I can be this close to you and still be perfectly safe." She cupped his face in her hands, "You'll be fine, I promise. Trust me, I'm psychic." With that, Jean sauntered towards the door and turned, green eyes locked on Scott's, "Oh, and you might want to pack some clothes. Unless you plan on going naked that is."

Scott's face flushed as red as his shades as Jean left him to finish packing.