Chapter 3
When Jean's alarm went off Friday morning, she groaned and
reached out with her telekinesis to hit the snooze button.
Thank God it's Friday, she thought as
she rolled onto her back and stretched. Her eyes shot open. Oh my God, it's Friday. Tonight's my date
with Scott. She scrunched her eyes shut as her stomach lurched with what
she could only assume was nerves. How am
I gonna get through school today? At this rate I won't be able to focus on
anything.
By the time she made it downstairs, the rest of the students were heading out
the door.
"Like, hurry up, Jean," Kitty called as Jean raced past her and into
the kitchen to grab breakfast to go. "Scott's waiting for us!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Jean muttered. "Go on out. Tell him
I'll be right there."
Jean scoured the kitchen in search of a quick breakfast, resigning herself to
raiding Kurt's supply of sugar.
"Cold chocolate Pop Tarts it is," she announced to herself as she
hurried back through the mansion, stopping only to shrug on her jacket, and
rushed out the front door.
Scott was watching for her as she burst through the door and down the steps.
His one eyebrow arched in amusement at her frazzled state.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Jean told Scott before he could say
anything. He just smirked and shook his head as she buckled herself into the
passenger seat.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, amused at his response.
"Just shut up and drive, all ready." And he did. But he was still
smiling.
The day passed in a blur. Every time Jean glanced at the clock, it told her
that she was that much closer to Date
Time. By the time 3:30 rolled
around, she was a nervous wreck. She could hardly even look at Scott on the
drive back to the Institute. Luckily, Kitty and Kurt kept the conversation
lively.
"So, Jean. Like, any cool plans for the weekend?" Kitty asked.
Jean's eyes widened and she stared straight ahead, sinking a little lower in
her seat. She didn't have a clue how to answer.
"Ja,
any big dates or anything?" Kurt joined in.
Then Kitty giggled.
"You told them?" Jean
turned on Scott with a yelp, shocked that he had shared that information about
their personal lives.
He glanced at her and shrugged, as if to say, "So?"
Jean closed her eyes and let her head fall backwards against the head rest. She
sighed, resigning herself to her fate. "Fine. Yes, Scott and I are going
on a date tonight. Is that what you wanted to hear me say?"
More giggles from the back seat.
"Ja, that pretty much covers it."
"Like, don't worry. We think it's totally cool that you're going out
together."
"I'm so glad you approve," Jean grumbled. Scott chuckled. "Mr.
Summers, would you like to share with the rest of the class what it is that you
find so amusing?"
"No, that's ok. Thanks, though," he replied smugly, a grin firmly set
on his face.
"You're far too pleased with yourself right now," Jean told him
sourly.
He just grinned wider.
*****
"What am I going to wear?" Jean asked aloud, staring at her closet.
When the perfect outfit failed to reveal itself, she let herself collapse
backwards onto her bed.
This is one of the reasons I hate dating,
she said to herself. There are too many
stupid things to worry about.
Contrary to popular belief, both at school and around the Institute, Jean
didn't have a lot of dating experience. For some reason, people had the
impression that Jean had dated lots of guys, when in reality she'd only gone
out on a handful of dates before settling into a pseudo-relationship with Duncan.
She found it a lot easier to stay with one guy she sort of liked than to
"play the field", as so many of the girls at school preferred to do.
In fact, she'd only even kissed two boys, Duncan
being one of them.
The first had been a horrible experience that she'd prefer to forget. She'd
been a sophomore, and had befriended a boy in her math class – a cute junior
named Chris. When he asked her to a school dance some months after they'd met,
she said yes. It was her first date.
The night didn't go nearly as well as she'd hoped. She was inexperienced and
shy, and he had certain expectations going into the date that had never even
occurred to her. They spent very little time at the dance itself – instead they
spent the evening in a quiet park close to the school. As nice and as cute as
Chris was, though, she could tell early on that there wasn't a spark between
them. But curiosity got the better of her, so she let the date continue. When
he put his arm around her, she didn't protest. When he leaned in to kiss her,
she let him; it wasn't anything like she thought it would be. She thought maybe
she just wasn't doing it right, so she let him kiss her some more, and it
didn't get any better. He suckled on her neck, and she found it annoying. When
his tongue entered her mouth, she thought she was going to gag. He grabbed her
breast, and she bit his tongue – hard. He thought it was a rough form of
foreplay, and got even more excited. When he reached up under her skirt, she
kneed him in the groin.
Jean had left Chris in the park, doubled over in pain and cursing her. She
walked back to the school and called Scott to come pick her up. On the way home
she'd told him what happened, and she'd started crying – partly from shame and
partly from shock. Scott pulled the car over and spent the better part of an
hour comforting her.
By the next Monday the whole school had heard Chris's version of the story –
that he'd "de-virginized" Jean in the park the night of the dance,
and that she'd been such a lousy lay that he'd dumped her. Scott beat the crap
out of him and got suspended for a week.
It was because of that bad experience that Scott was so worried when Jean
started seeing Duncan. He was
watching out for her because he didn't want Jean to get hurt. So he'd scowled at
Duncan and grumbled about him,
telling Jean that she could do a lot better. He was overprotective and
overbearing, but Jean didn't mind all that much – that's just what best friends
do for each other. Until his admission the other day she hadn't known it was
because Scott had been jealous. She'd been the same way when Scott started
seeing Taryn. At the time Taryn
was a good friend of Jean's, but that didn't mean Jean thought she was good
enough for Scott.
Maybe it just makes sense that Scott and
I would end up together, Jean thought. They
always say that the best relationships develop from friendships.
She sighed. She supposed she'd know after tonight.
~~
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