The warning bell rang shrilly through the school hallways. It was the first day of the second semester and Scott was rushing to get to his new first period class when he turned sharply and ran into someone and fell, his glasses skidding across the floor.

"Dammit to high heaven and back," he heard a girl mutter as she collected her books. Making sure he kept his eyes closed, he turned his face to where he guessed she was.

"Sorry 'bout that. Could you help me find my glasses?" Scott asked.

"Sure." Scott heard the girl stand, walk a few paces away, pause, and come back. "Here," she said softly, gently placing his sunglasses back on his face. He opened his eyes. The girl had dark skin, eyes and hair. She also had an accent he couldn't place.

"Are you new here?" Scott asked, standing and taking the books she handed him.

"Yeah. Could you help me find my class?" She handed Scott her schedual. He looked it over.

"We have 1st, 3rd and 5th together. You have 2nd with Jean and 4th and 6th with Kurt. It seems that you have 7th with the whole gang," Scott said, then looked at her confused expression. He grabbed her arm and led her down the hall. "I'll explain after we get to class." They sat down just as the bell rang. The teacher took role, matching names with faces.

"Scott Summers." Scott raised his hand. "Alright. Alexandra Tali . . . um . . ." The teacher looked at the class.

"Talimari," the girl next to Scott replied, pronouncing her last name for the teacher. The teacher nodded and continued taking roll. Scott turned to Alexandra, as the teacher, Ms. Murry, wrote her name and the course outlines on the board.

"Alexandra huh? Anyways, Kurt and Jean are friends from home. You'll meet Jean soon. I'll take you to the french classroom and introduce you," Scott said quietly.

"Call me Lexy. Thanks," she said. Her eyes narrowed suddenly, and, with a sharp edge to her voice, asked "Why are you being so nice to me?" Scott was taken aback. He thought for a moment.

"Because, I guess, you helped me out. Y'see, my glasses are special, I can't open my eyes with out them," he said this in little more than a whisper. She looked at him skeptically, but relaxed and accepted his story.

"Sorry. I'm not used to people accepting me when we first meet," she said, and he noticed her accent once again.

"Where sre you from anyway?"

"Egypt," she said simply, smiling slightly. "My middle name's Anura. After the gods Anubis and Ra," she stated. "My parents are. . . were archaeologists, stationed permanently in Egypt." She had lowered her eyes and was studying her nails intently. Scott gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it'll be okay. I lost my parents in a plane crash when I was little. I lived through it. " The bell rang. The class packed their things and left. "C'mon, I'll show you to the French classroom." He led her to the french classroom, introduced her to Jean and left. She liked Jean, but her preppiness got on her nerves. Lexy saw Scott again 3rd period, but she didn't talk much, except to get directions to her chemistry class. The bell rang and Lexy left quickley so as to avoid Scott. She reached her chemistry class and sat at a lab table in the back. A boy with blueish hair and boyish features sat next to her. The teacher walked in shortly after. He looked over the class and took roll. He wrote out some kind of chart while taking roll.

"Alright class. I'm Mr. Johanson and I'll be your chemistry teacher until the end of the year. And until the end of the year, these will be your seats and the person sitting next to you will be your lab partner. I'll let you all get acquainted today, and we will start working tomorrow." Mr. Johanson sat down and the students in the class started talking.

"Hello my new lab partner. I am Kurt Wagner," the boy sitting next to her said with a thick german accent, a smile lighting up his boyish features.

"Alexandra. Lexy for short. Your friends with Scott right?" She asked, pulling a ponytail holder from her wrist and skillfully twisted her black hair into a folded ponytail.

"Ja. Lemme see your schedual." Lexy handed the piece of paper to him. "Cool, you have Combat with the rest of us."

"And who is 'us' exactly?" Lexy asked, remembering Scott saying something about 'the gang'.

"The other students who live at The Xavier Institute," Kurt said matter-of-factly. He explained about Proffessor Xavier and the institute, telling a white lie how the people living there were there for 'higher learning'. They talked about nothing. Kurt, like Scott, asked about where she was from. She explained that she had moved to the states two years ago and had been 'family hopping', as she called it, until that January. She said she had gotten tired of the pity from foster parents that she moved to Bayville from New York City and roomed with two other girls in an apartment complex near the highschool. Kurt told her some of his past, mostly about his life as a child in a german circus. The bell rang shrilly and the class grabbed their things and left in unison for lunch.

"I'll see you sixth period, Kurt," Lexy said as they left the classroom.

"Ja!" They went in opposite directions. Lexy found her way into a courtyard and climbed a large oak and sat high up in its boughes. She hung her messenger bag styled backpack on a short branch and removed a bag of chips and a soda from it. Along with her lunch, she pulled out a book, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.

...........

Scott watched as Kurt bounced over to their table. He turned and saw Jean coming, smiling, from the opposite door and he smiled back, only to notice she wasn't smiling at him, but at Duncan, who was sitting a few tables closer.

Duh Scott. You know she's not interested in you. I really need to get over her, he thought bitterly as Kurt sat down, soon followed by Kitty and Evan.

"Hey man, what's wrong with you?" Evan asked, noticing how depressed Scott looked.

"Yeah, like, you look totally bummed," Kitty stated, taking a sip from her diet soda.

"How can you drink this? It has absolutely no flavor!" Kurt exclaimed, gesturing to Kitty's soda. Kitty, Kurt and Evan started arguing about the differences between Coke and Diet Coke, Kitty claiming that she couldn't tell the difference. Scott silently thanked Kurt for changing the subject, whether it was intentional or not. He stole a quick glance at Jean, who, at that moment, kissed Duncan. After he broke the kiss, Duncan looked over at Scott, flicked him off, laughed, and walked out with Jean. Scott was barely paying attention to the conversation being held at his table. His thoughts had dwelled on Jean, with Duncan. He was tempted to blast Duncan through the roof, but the warning bell rang and everyone started filing out. Scott left quickly, catching the last snippets of the coke convo. "But the fumes girl! The fumes!"

Scott sat down in the far corner, thinking about Jean and Duncan. His bitter thoughts were cut short by Lexy sitting down next to him.

"Hey, you okay Scott?" She asked quietly.

"Peachy," he said sarcastically, looking at his desk, trying to keep angry tears at bay. She nodded silently and left him alone. The teacher called roll and, like her chemistry techer, gave them a free period. Scott was silent as he looked out the window next to him. Lexy, bored, pulled out a sheet of paper and sketched Scott's profile.

He's rather cute, she thought to herself as she sketched his facial features. I wonder what's bugging him. Placing her pencil on the desk, she lightly tapped Scott's shoulder. He didn't look at her.

"Ya' wanna' talk about it?" She asked. He turned to her, opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind and shook his head. "Alright. Just don't kill yourself over whatever happened alright? 'Specially if it's a girl," she said. Scott stared at her.

"How'd you know?" He asked. She smiled sadly.

"Because, a boy at my last highschool killed himself because the girl he liked liked someone else. And before he did it, he had an expression like yours."

"Oh," Scott said. He nodded. The bell rang, Lexy stuffed the drawing in her bag and left for sixth period. She met up with Kurt and they chatted for awhile, but the teacher made them start taking notes so they couldn't talk long. The bell rang and they left for the combat course. They were the last to get there. Lexy was introduced to everyone and they were all talking amiably until the teacher came in. Lexy shuddered violently then turned sharply to see the teacher. He was deathly pale and had black eyes and pale hair.

"Hello class, you may call me Kova, as it is easier. In this course we will blah blah blah..." the teacher started. Lexy wasn't paying attention. Scott noticed she had spaced out totally.

Kova? Where've I heard that name? She thought, her eyes shut tight and brow furrowed in concentration. Scott was about to ask her what was wrong when her eyes flew open and she muttered, "Nikolai."

...Two Weeks Later...

Fifth period. It was silent reading time in their english class and Scott was upset for the fourth time that week. Bored with her book, Lexy pulled out her sketch of Scott from her first day and added some details. Scott, hearing the strokes of her pencil, looked at her desk and spied the drawing. Before she could put it away, he had grabbed it and was studying it. Lexy rifled through her bag and pulled out another sketch and handed it to him.

"Strikingly similar aren't they. The same expression on both faces. That one's you," she said, indicating the one in his right hand. "The other one's the boy who commited suicide at my last highschool. I," she stopped. Scott looked at her quizzically. "I don't want you to end up like him. I can't loose someone else," her voice was strained as she said this. Scott stared at her. The bell rang and she left before he could see the tear that slipped down her face. She sat in her desk in sixth period and took more notes. She and Kurt then left for combat. Lexy noticed Jean kissing that jock, Duncan, on the cheek before going to class. She then noticed Scott staring at them, a pained look on his face. Lexy went into the small lower gym quickly to avoid him.

"Alright class, we're taking tests today. To see what you learned, you will sparr with me using a double handed staff," Kova said. "Lexy, you're up first." He tossed her a double handed practicing staff and they took their fighting stances. "Go!" They launched at each other. After the class heard many thunks as staff met staff, Lexy had disarmed the pale teacher and had him pinned to the floor. She got up and tossed her staff down, her eyes murderous as she walked over to a window and leaned against the sill. Jean and Kitty helped Kova up. "Evan, you next," he said, flustered from the fierceness of the girl's attack.

"Hey, you okay Lex?" Scott asked, using the nickname he gave her.

"Fine," she snapped.

"Hey," he spun her around so she'd look at him and noticed she had been crying. "What's wrong?" He asked. She was silent and wouldn't look him in the face. He shook her violently. "Hey. C'mon, if it's about me let me know! I've been worried about you." She slid to the floor, pulled her knees to her chin, folded her arms on her knees and sobbed into them. Scott placed his hand on her arm. When she looked up, he hugged her and let her sob into his shoulder. After a few moments, she calmed down and pulled away. "Feel better?" She smiled slightly.

"A bit. What about you? Are you still pineing over Jean?" She asked, smirking at his expression.

"Not really. It's just that, she's with Duncan and not me," he said sadly. Lexy shook her head and smiled. "What?"

"You. Don't beat yourself up just because she's not in love with you, alright? And anyway, she's bound to find out what a dumbass jock Duncan is," she said quietly so Jean wouldn't hear. The bell rang and the class filed out.

"The rest of the tests will be held on Monday," Kova called to the retreating students.

~Hey, he's not a dumbass bitch!~ Jean screamed talepathically at Lexy after reading the girl's mind. She wanted to know why Scott was spending so much time with her. The egyptian girl stared at Jean for a minute, smirked, and went back to her conversation, unfazed by what had happened.

"Does she always go inside your head like that?" She asked Scott, nodding her head in Jean's direction. Scott was taken aback.

"What?!"

"She's a telepath. Look, I'm not stupid. She's got some telepathic powers, not much, but some," she stated. Scott stopped, grabbed Lexy's arm and pulled her into an empty classroom.

"You know she's a mutant, and you're not afraid?" Scott asked after making sure no one was listening.

"I am not afraid of her, or any mutant I've known," she stated. Then, as an afterthought, "Except one." She looked at the floor.

"Who?" He asked. When she didn't answer him, he gently cupped her chin and lifted her face so she was looking at him. "Who?"

"Nikolai." Her voice was barely over a whisper. Her eyes widened as she realized what she told him. "I-I have to go. Se ya tomorrow." She broke away from him and dashed out the door.

...........

It was near the end of supper time at the Xavier Institute, and Jean had gotten Scott's attention before he could suggest a session in the Danger Room

"That girl you were talking to earlier," Jean said.

"Lexy? What about her?" Scott ask, sipping his Coke.

"Well, I think you should stay away from her." Scott's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What?! Why?"

"Because I think she suspects that we're mutants, Scott."

"No, she knows that you are a mutant," Scott said, his voice riseing slightly.

"What is this all about?" the Professor asked, watching both of them.

"Jean read Lexy's mind earlier today and then yelled at her telepathically," Scott said, glaring at the redhead across from him.

"But she was insulting Duncan!" Jean cried. Scott roled his eyes.

"Well," Xavier started, "that is not a good reason to reveal yourself to anyone, Jean, but what's done is done and there's nothing we can do. Now, off to bed everyone, you need your rest. You have training in the morning." Everyone grumbled as they retreated to their rooms.

...........

Lexy was distant the next week, not speaking to Kurt, Scott or any of the others. Scott tried to talk to her but she was silent. He also noticed that she seemed to hate Kova. Kova had fought them each to see what they knew about single handed blades, and he swore Lexy would have killed him had the bell not rung. On Monday of the week after that, though, he really started to worry. She was wearing a short sleeve shirt because of the unseasonably warm weather, and her whole right arm was bandaged. He asked her what had happened every time he saw her that day. When he asked fifth period she sighed.

"I got into a fight last night," she said.

"Must've been a nasty fight. With who?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him. She laughed slightly.

"One of the weaker ones," she said, smirking at his confused expression.

"One of the weaker what?" He asked. She leaned closer to him.

"Vampires," she hissed. The bell rang and she left the very confused Scott behind. Sixth period was, again, spent taking notes, so Kurt could not question her on the injury. They walked to seventh and met with the others. They were waiting for their teacher to show up. When they got there, Scott pulled her aside and started whispering furtively to her.

"What the hell did you mean by vampires?" He asked.

"Exactly what I said," she replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jean glaring at them.

~Scott, I can't read her mind. She has some sort of shield around it,~ Jean telepathicaly told Scott. Scott stared at the egyptian girl.

"You aren't. . . normal, are you?" He asked her. She smirked. But she didn't get to answer, for a teacher had walked in.

"Mr. Logan, why are you here?" Kitty asked incredously. Logan grunted.

"Your teacher, Kova, was found dead this morning," he was interupted by gasps from the group. Lexy just stared at the short man, no emotion showed at the news. Jean glared at her.

"What happened?" Evan asked, comforting Kitty.

"He was murdered. Last night, around 2 A.M. There wasn't much of a struggle, he was pretty outmatched. But the prof says that he was a-" he stopped. Logan was looking at Lexy as if he just noticed that she was there.

"He was a what Logan?" Kurt asked.

"Who's she?" Logan asked gruffly, nodding his head in Lexy's direction.

"That's Alexandra Talimari," Jean said.

"I see. Alexandra, leave," he ordered. Lexy smirked.

"And who're you to order me around?" She asked. He advanced menacingly towards her. "Ooh, the scary short man's gonna hurt me!" She taunted. He leaped at her, and she dodged nimbly. She eventually let him pin her to the floor. "I'm not a hunter for nothing," she whispered, and kicked him off of her.

"Logan!" Rogue cried, worried. Jean spun to face Lexy, furious at the girl. Tekekinetically, she slammed the egyptian girl into the wall. Lexy dropped to her feet and stared at the red head.

"Stupid move Jean. You have no idea what I can do or why I am here. I have not attacked any of you unless you attacked me first. But, I am not wanted, so I take my leave of you." She left, the whole group staring at her. Logan snorted angrily.

"Kids got spirit. But back ta business. Your teacher, Kova, was a vampire," he stated quietly, because he could still smell the girl out side the door. They all showed some sort of shock, be it gasps, covering mouths etc. He did not continue until he heard her walk away down the hall.