A Darker Side of Love

Summary: AU. The day Jean's older sister disappeared was a day that would turn the lives of those residing at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters upside down. She had just packed up and left without a word to anyone, vanishing into the night never to be heard from again. It's been three years and Jean still can't let go. She and Maddie never got along, and it had always been obvious that her parents preferred Maddie over her, but Jean still loves her and desperately wants to find out what happened to her. But after finding Maddie's diary, she soon learns that not everyone is who they seem, and even the Xavier Institute, a place she had considered home, isn't safe from the cruelty of the outside world. On top of all that, Professor Xavier has decided to reopen the Institute to a new class of students, and one of them is about to cause mayhem among staff and students alike, leaving a path of broken relationships in their wake.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. All the characters appearing in this story are the property of Marvel Comics and its affiliates. X-Men Evolution belongs to Kids WB. I do not own anything.

Rating: Rated M. This story will be touching on some incredibly sensitive subject matter – domestic violence, drug use, sexual assault, suicide, etc. Trigger warnings will be placed at the beginning of each chapter so you know what you're in for.

Author's Note: Hi everybody. So, I got this idea after reading Evolution of the Heart by slickboy444, who now works under the name MarvelMaster616, and One Wild Night by AGoatAteMyNameTag. As stated above, this story will be quite dark, and will focus on some pretty serious subject matter so please be aware of this going forward. For the most part, this is a drama fic with a heaping help of mystery, a pinch of adventure, and a dash of romance. I do hope you enjoy the story and remember to leave a review.

'These indicate psychic communication or character thought.'

Chapter 1

November 10, 2016

The alarm was about to go off, she knew it. She lay wide awake in the dim, muted light of her room and waited for it knowing that if she got up now, they would keep her home from school. Not only that, but they would no doubt start asking questions and insist that she see Dr. MacTaggert, and that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do.

Madelyne willed her nausea down, wringing the sheets between her fingers. Just a few more seconds, a few more seconds and she could go. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed hard, feeling the contents of her stomach go back down.

Just a few more she kept telling herself. Over and over, she repeated it in her head, trying to distract herself with her thoughts so she wouldn't have to think about her stomach. She was lucky this time, but if that alarm didn't go off soon, she wasn't sure if she could hold out any longer.

Just a—

The alarm on her phone went off, its shrill ringing signalling 6:00 AM and Maddie bolted from her bed and raced into the bathroom, making it just in time to heave her gastric contents into the toilet. When she was done, she took a shaky breath, mopping the sweat from her brow with her hand. Round one complete. Now she would wait for round two, leaning her flushed face against the cool porcelain of the toilet bowl. It had been like this for two weeks and it certainly didn't help that she was also late for her period. Her anxiety over the implications of those two facts put together was enough to make her sick all over again. She hugged the toilet, breathing heavily through her nose.

How could she have been so careless? God, she had seen the way her parents had reacted when Sarah had dropped the news that she was pregnant halfway through her sophomore year of college. Her mother was devastated, and her father was absolutely furious. He'd told her right then and there to pack up and find her own place. That was a little over two years ago, and Sarah had little contact with her family. Maddie had only met her nephew once.

Maddie wasn't worried about being forced out of her home – she knew Professor Xavier wouldn't kick her out. But the idea of disappointing her father made her chest tighten and her stomach churn. That, and she was really not ready for that kind of commitment. Sure, she had options, but she knew that no matter what she did, no one would ever look at her the same again.

Memories of that night began bubbling to the surface. It had been a month ago at the home of Duncan Matthews, son of one of the most prominent businessmen in Bayville, and star quarterback of the football team. Said team had just won against Gardendale, and to celebrate their victory, Duncan had thrown a party for all the football players and cheerleaders. She had originally planned on bringing Lance with her, but they'd had a huge fight that morning. Apparently, Lance wasn't happy that she was even going to this party because he didn't like her spending so much time around Matthews, as he'd put it. In other words, his jealous, controlling nature reared its hideous head once again, and Maddie had decided that she'd had enough.

Who the hell did he think he was? And what gave him the right to tell her who she could or could not hang out with? She hated it when he spent any time with Lila Cheney, his ex-girlfriend, but every time she expressed her feelings on the matter he'd get upset and accuse her of being insecure.

Yeah, fuck that, and fuck him. She was tired of waiting for him to get his act together. That ship had sailed a long time ago and only now was she beginning to realize that holding onto a relationship that never would be was stupid, and she was missing out on so much because of it. At least Duncan showed some interest in her.

Almost as soon as she'd walked into that sprawling Victorian house, the alcohol came out. Duncan had offered her a drink and Maddie did something that shocked everyone there – she gladly accepted it, and a second, and a third, and eventually things got a bit hazy and she'd lost count of how many drinks she'd had.

She remembered giggling like a madwoman and finding everything funny, even when Annie Ghazikhanian was pushed into the pool. Wait, had she done that? She vaguely remembered Annie getting pissed off at her for something, but she wasn't sure what, and then Annie slapped her and then there was a splash as she fell backwards into the pool.

She tried to recall how she ended up making out with Duncan in his parents' bedroom, in nothing but her panties but that part was all foggy. After that she remembered stumbling into the foyer of the Xavier Institute blubbering to Suzanne Chan about what a total bitch on wheels Annie was, and how she'd stolen her last cocktail. She hadn't thought much about that night until three days later when Duncan had cornered her alone at her locker in between classes and handed her panties back to her.

"Maddie? Are you still in there? Come on, you're not the only one that uses this bathroom, you know!"

Maddie was yanked back into the present by the sound of frantic knocking and Jean's voice right outside the door. Shit. Why did her little sister insist on showering in the morning? Exhaling wearily, she flushed the toilet and sprayed some air freshener to get rid of the smell of last night's dinner.

"I'll be out in a second," she called back, "calm down."

"I also have to pee. I've been holding it for hours."

"I said I'll be out in a second! Jesus!" She turned on the faucet in the sink and drank directly from the spigot. She swirled the water around in her mouth before spitting it out. "I've got my period."

Oh, if only that were true.

"It took you that long to change a tampon?"

Maddie took a deep breath, blocking out everything concerning her current predicament and opened the door. "I accidentally dropped it on the floor and had to look all over for it," she answered her, "the bathroom's all yours now."

"You don't look so good," Jean said, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Maddie replied, then turned and stalked off back toward her room before Jean could ask any more questions.

A sudden wave of dizziness hit her, and she had to grab onto the wall to keep from dropping to her knees. Her heart thudded painfully against her ribcage as she waited for it to pass. Thankfully, it was gone in seconds, and she made it back to her room, closing the door behind her and sinking onto her bed.

Maybe she should stay home today. There was a bug going around at school – maybe she could use that as an excuse.

But how was she going to explain her rapid weight gain? It wouldn't be long before she started to show, and wearing baggy clothes could only hide so much.

God, what had she done?

Present day

"I knew I'd find you here," Scott said, strolling across the lounge toward Jean, who was curled up in one of the leather armchairs watching something on her phone.

The Institute's lounge was spacious, and as Scott sank into the chair next to his girlfriend it was largely empty, with only a handful of students present. Several couches and chairs had been arranged in a conversation circle facing a large screen television in the centre of the room. A few arcade machines and a pool table stood in one corner, while a study area with a few computers was tucked away in another, where the rest of the student's present could be found. Windows on the west and north walls looked out onto the expansive courtyard. A set of double doors to the south led to the formal dining room beyond, while another to the east opened up onto the library.

Jean, her red hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, looked up from her phone just as he sat down. "Oh, sorry," she said, swiping at the screen to close the app she was using, "I guess I lost track of time."

"You were checking the website again, weren't you?" Scott asked, although he didn't have to. He already knew the answer.

"How can someone just disappear like that?" Jean said, "I don't get it, Scott. No one's seen her. No one's heard from her. No one's talking about her anymore. It's like they've forgotten she existed."

"I'm sorry," was all Scott could say as he put an arm around her. He wished he had the words to make her feel better, but he knew it wasn't that easy.

He was so pissed at Maddie. How could she just leave like that without a word to anyone, leaving her loved ones to wonder what had happened to her? She couldn't even muster up the decency to leave a note? Then again, Maddie had always been selfish – he'd seen it in the way she treated her friends, and especially Jean. She always acted on whatever crazy idea jumped into her head with no consideration to those around her, no thought as to how her decisions might affect others. It was always about what Maddie wanted, and what Maddie needed, and Maddie's feelings. Nobody else seemed to matter – it was Maddie's world and they were just living in it.

Of course, he'd never say this to Jean. Maddie was her sister, and no matter how much they fought, she still loved her. She would still do anything to bring her back. That was what hurt Scott the most – Jean was so desperate to find her sister she was literally losing sleep, and the other girl didn't even care. Scott hated seeing her like this, but he felt powerless to do anything. All he could do was support her, and while he knew it was what she needed most, he wished he could do more.

"No, I'm sorry," Jean sighed, "I know we haven't been spending much time together lately. This is literally eating me up. I feel like … I don't know … it's like there's something I'm not seeing."

"Don't apologize, Jean," Scott said, "if Alex was missing, I'd literally be out there 24/7 looking for him. Did you hear anything from the Professor?"

Jean shook her head. "He still hasn't been able to locate her," she replied, "and that's what really worries me, Scott. If Cerebro can't find her, then what happened to her?"

"He'll find her," Scott reassured her, "it's possible she's somewhere Cerebro can't track her. Please don't think the worst. It will kill you."

Jean sighed again. "I know, I know," she said, "I'm trying not to go there. But sometimes it's really hard to stay positive when even strangers on the Internet think—"

Jean didn't finish her sentence, but there was no need. Scott knew what she meant, but she couldn't say it.

"Maybe you should stay off social media for a while," Scott said, "deactivate all your accounts if you have to. Those people don't know what they're talking about. They just want to play armchair detective so they can feel like they've accomplished something."

"You know, that's actually a good idea," Jean said, "now if only I can bring myself to do it."

'Scott, Jean, sorry to interrupt, but I need you both to come to my office immediately,' came Professor Charles Xavier's voice into their minds.

'Is everything okay, Professor?' Jean sent back.

'Yes, everything is fine, Jean,' Xavier replied, 'we have some new students arriving today.'

'Oh!' Jean exclaimed, 'I'm sorry. I totally forgot.'

'I did too,' Scott added, 'sorry, Professor, we'll be right there.'

"I can't believe we forgot today was move-in day," Jean said, gathering her things and standing up.

"Well, to be fair, you've had a lot on your mind," Scott said.

"Yeah, it's been a rough few years, that's for sure," Jean said as the two of them walked arm in arm down the corridor toward Professor Xavier's office, "and honestly, this is the distraction I really need right now."

Next up, we meet the Institute's newest arrivals.