7
Alex
"You're hiding something." My brother, Scott, said determinedly for the tenth time. I rolled my eyes and opened a cabinet looking for something to eat.
"And what makes you think that?" I asked, pushing aside some boxes of ramen.
"Um, because you're all quiet and defensive." I snorted and grabbed a pack of crackers.
"I'm quiet and defensive all the time." Scott was silent but I knew he was rolling his eyes behind his ruby shades. Scott is a mutant like me but unlike me, he shoots his red beams out of his eyes. So he has to wear his shades all the time. My mind was focused on Crow. She was another mutant! But I was worried about her too. Before she had run off she had said her father was going to kill her. Distractedly, I opened the crackers and popped on into my mouth. Suddenly Scott's face lit up.
"If you don't tell me what you're hiding, I'll ask Jean to look." I shot to my feet.
"God damn it, Scott! I'm not hiding anything! Not anything you need to know anyway." Scott raised one of his eyebrows and frowned.
"Hey Jeanie? Could you come here for a second?" It took all of my willpower not to swing at him. Jean Grey is Scott's girlfriend. They've been dating forever. Did I forget to mention she's a telepath?
"Yeah?" Jean asked as she walked in and kissed Scott's cheek. Jean has bright red hair and she's one of those people who can calm almost anyone down by smiling at them.
"Can you do a quick mind search and find out what Alex is hiding?" Scott wrapped an arm around Jean's waist. Jean looked at me, a little sympathetically.
"Scott… You know Alex hates it when I do stuff like that. And it would be invading his personal thoughts." I sighed angrily and sat back down. I glared at Scott. People have told me before that I'm a bit of a hot head. I like to swing first and ask questions later. Scott pouted.
"Please Jeanie? I really want to know." Jean looked at me again and gave me a sad smile.
"Sorry Alex." She closed her eyes and suddenly I felt very cold. A few moments later, Jean opened her eyes again. I clenched my hands into fists and looked down at the counter. I counted to ten and unclenched my fists. Jean was looking at me curiously. "Who's… Crow?" I felt my face start to burn.
"A girl from school. Nothing more." Scott's face broke into a huge grin.
"It's a girl!" I glared at him and Jean lightly smacked his upper arm. Suddenly Scott's face grew very serious. "You like her." I opened my mouth to object but he cut me off. "Don't even. I can tell you do." I rolled my eyes and looked back at the crackers on the counter. "You know you can't like her, right?" He said softly. My hands clenched into fists but I didn't look at him.
"And why the hell not?" I heard him sigh before he continued.
"You could hurt her. Like… You know what I mean." I wheeled around to face him.
"NO I WON'T!" I yelled. Scott stood up.
"Yes, you will. Your anger will get the better of you and-"
"I WON'T BECAUSE SHE'S A MUTANT TOO!" I yelled then looked at them. Jean just nodded and Scott stared at me.
"What?" I took a deep breath and tried to control my tone.
"She's a mutant too." Jean smiled and kissed Scott's cheek before he could say anything.
"And she's a part of the family I'm babysitting for tomorrow." It was my turn to stare. "So don't worry. I'll meet her and make sure she's ok." She winked at me. "I promise."
