brill: Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy

evilevergreen: In love, huh? Wow, my Scott and Ororo muses are blushing. Feel free to use that line to your hearts content. BTW, I'm still praying for a sequel to Tulip in the Sand, lovey!

Once again:

Italics- flashback

'Blahblah'-thought

Blahblah-telepathic communication

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"Take that you son-of-a-bitch," as soon as the words were out of his mouth, 15 year-old Scott Summers tore his eyes away from the television, hands stilled on the controller, and glanced around to make sure he hadn't been heard. Heaving a great sigh of relief, he returned to the task at hand. His fingers moved furiously as Rayden delivered a volley of punches to Shang Tsung, knocking him to the ground. Scott's gaze flicked between the two cartoon images in the middle of the screen and their energy bars at the top. He was winning; just one more round and he would have finally defeated Mortal Kombat.

"Scott."

The boy turned his head slightly, never taking his gaze from the television. "Yeah."

"Scott, would you mind turning that off for a moment? There's someone I would like you to meet."

"Just a minute," he continued tapping away at the controller, bound and determined to beat the game.

"Scott."

"Yeah, yeah, just a minute. I just have to – YES!" Scott jumped up from the couch, pumping his fist in the air. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Fatality," A cool voice announced from the television.

"Man, I finally did it. Do you have ANY IDEA how long I have been trying to beat this game? I never thought I'd do it. Now I just have to win with the rest of the characters and I'll—"

"Scott, put the controller down and pay attention."

Scott did as he was asked, dropping the controller on the floor and giving his full attention to the man that had taken him in. Professor Charles Xavier was a kind man, the first person to offer his help without demanding anything in return. He had brought Scott into his home, no questions asked, and proceeded to help the boy learn to deal with his mutation. The least he could do was give the man his undivided attention.

Scott's eyes briefly met the Professor's before noticing the girl by his side. She was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. To Scott, the world existed in shades of red. He could distinguish light from dark, but he couldn't tell the difference between white and pink. Despite this unfortunate fact, he could tell that the young woman before him was gorgeous. Dark skinned with light hair and eyes, she stood about 5'9" and possessed an air of grace.

Scott heard the professor clear his throat, but couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from this vision before him. Finally, after many attempts, he was able to turn his gaze upon the professor. "Sorry, sir."

"How many times do I have to tell you that it is not necessary to call me sir?" Scott shook his head, lowering his gaze to the ground. He waited for the older man to continue. "Scott, I would like you to meet Ororo Munroe. She's going to be living with us."

That really got his attention. His ruby-quartz, covered gaze met the Professor's before once again settling on the girl – Ororo. She flashed a small, shy smile. She put every one of his fantasy women (and, being an adolescent male, he had quite a few) to shame. She was tall, but not in the lanky, awkward way of some teens. He wondered briefly how old she was.

Suddenly, Scott felt very inadequate, all 6 feet of his gray sweat-clad, wiry frame. The ruby-quartz visor he wore to keep his mutation in check was suddenly very heavy on his face. He was acutely aware of every little flaw, every minor imperfection.

Scott, the professor broke him from his musings. Would you mind entertaining Ms Monroe for a few moments?

N-no, sir.

The professor turned to Ororo, a kind smile on his face, "Ororo, I have a very important call to make. Would you mind waiting here with Scott?

"But—" Ororo began, eyes growing wide with panic. She closed her eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath. When she opened them and began to speak, she sounded calm, "Yes, Professor, I will wait here."

"I shouldn't be long. When I return, I will show you to your room." With a brief nod of thanks to Scott, he was gone.

Scott was at a loss. He had no idea what to do or what to say. He looked around the room trying desperately to find something, anything to talk about.

"Scott?" Ororo's soft, slightly accented voice startled him.

"Yeah…yes?"

"Do you mind if I sit?"

"Oh…oh god, yes. I mean no. I mean," he took a deep breath before trying again. "Sure, you can sit."

Scott sat as well, on the opposite side of the couch, as far away from the girl as possible. "So…" his voice trailed off as her caught her scent. She smelled of…he couldn't quite put his finger on it. All he knew was that she smelled clean— not just out of the shower clean, but the fresh clean of the air after a summer storm. It was a heady scent, oddly comforting.

"Yes?"

Scott looked up, surprised at the sound of her voice, "I'm sorry?"

"You were going to say something."

'I was?' He thought before remembering that he had indeed been about to ask her a question. "I was just going to ask you where you're from," he began. "I noticed the accent."

"I was born here, in Harlem, but I grew up in Africa."

"Which part?" He was intrigued. Scott knew absolutely nobody from outside of the US.

Ororo hesitated a moment before actually responding. "All over. I lived in Egypt until the age of eleven. After that I spent a year and a half travelling to different villages before I arrived in Kenya, where I lived until just a few days ago."

Scott nodded. "Where are your parents?"

The girl said nothing. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and Scott could have sworn that the sky became a little darker. Realizing that she didn't want to continue the course of their conversation, he wracked his brain for a new subject.

"Do you wanna play?" The words spilled from his lips the moment his eyes fell on the television screen.

"Play?"

"Mortal Kombat," he motioned toward the television. "I've already beat the game, figure it might be a bit more challenging to play an actual person."

Ororo gave him a skeptical look as he grabbed the controllers and held one out to her. "I don't know…"

"C'mon. I'll go easy on you. Scout's honor," he promised holding up two fingers.

With a shrug, she took the controller and began to push the buttons. With a chuckle, Scott placed a hand on hers to stop her movements. He patiently explained how to use the controller and the ins and outs of gameplay.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that she was a fast learner. After one match, she was handling her own very well.

"Thanks," Ororo whispered after a moment of silence.

Scott looked at her out of the corner of his eye, confused as to what she was thanking him for, "For what?"

"Respecting my privacy and not pressing me about my parents." She was looking right at him, her light eyes seeming to look right into him.

Once again, Scott was struck dumb by her beauty, "Umm, sure. No problem."

Smiling, she turned once more to the game and proceeded to kick his ass. By the time Professor Xavier returned to show Ororo to her room, she was up four to one. Scott breathed a sigh of relief as she left the room, telling the professor of her win.