Was he in love with her?

He had known her for so long, and he knew he cared for her as a member of his new family, but did he love her. They had saved each others life so many times, too many to mention. He had spent so many nights thinking about it, he wished he could just see their relationship for what it was. He wanted to live in the "now", but when ever he kissed her, he asked himself, was he in love with her?

Even if he was, he could never look her in the eyes and tell her. He walked towards her dormitory, she had her own next to Kitty and Rogue's room, she had been one of the first students to join him at Professor Xavier's school for gifted youngsters. Scott Summers and Jean Grey, was there a destiny that brought them together? Or had luck been behind it.

He turned around the corner and faced down the corridor that lead to her room. Rogue was walking towards him. Rogue was another story all together. He admitted to himself he had once had feelings for her, when they met. He thought she didn't feel the same. She was sullen and preferred to be on her own. Given her power he could understand that. As Rogue saw Scott, he heart skipped a beat. She cared for him deeper than he would ever know. "Hey" she said, quietly in her southern accent.

"Hey, Rogue" he replied. "What you up to?"

"Ah was jus goin' to see if the gym was free" she replied, quickly adding, "you wanna hang out for a while", she watched as he frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. Rogue had been inside his mind enough to know what that meant. Absorbing Cyclops power meant absorbing some of Scott. So many of his feelings were hidden from her, except the strong ones. She knew he loved Jean, and she know what the frown and neck scratch meant. "I'd like to, but Jean and I already have plans", he started to walk away, "next time"

"Sure" she sighed, and then smiled to cover up her disappointment. She walked away, leaving Scott heading for Jean's door. Questions were still running through his head. Did he love her?

Jean?

....Rogue?

Where was he?

He's late.

Does this mean he isn't interested?

Jean was used to thousands of thoughts running through her head. Ripping through her brain, usually they where not her own. She had arranged a casual date with Scott, he was late. Had she heard the right time? Scott Summers does not run late, she thought to herself. Being punctual was part of his mutation. Suddenly there was a single knock on the door. Was that him? The single knock was followed by two in succession. That was him; he had to build up confidence before knocking twice of her door. As Cyclops he had faced Magneto, a Sentinel and many other challenges, getting him to open his heart to someone was something else. Loosing his family at a young age had scared him; Jean knew she would have to accept that if anything was to come of this relationship. She finished applying her make-up and checked her hair one last time before walking to the door. "Jean?" she heard a voice say from the other side of the wood. "Coming" she replied.

Scott looked into the room and say Jean standing in front of him as the door opened. She was so beautiful, even through the lenses of his ruby sunglasses. She suited red. He relied on Kurt to tell him the colour of things, he had told him Jean was a brunette, but after hearing Wolverine call her "Red" enough times, he figured out that Nightcrawler may have been joking. "Hey" she smiled at him, gesturing for him to enter.

Scott stood motionless for a second, then realised, and accepted the invitation. "...Sorry" he said walking into the room. "How are you?" he asked her

"I'm good, thank you" Jean walked over and sat on the edge of her, neatly made, bed. Scott stated wandering the room; he'd been in this room so many times, but never as Jean's boyfriend. They had stayed up many nights talking for hours, sitting on that bed, but suddenly it felt like unexplained territory. Jean looked in his mind, and the sudden rush of fear, added itself to her own. Could this work? She walked over towards him, and they both looked out of her window. "It's a nice day", he said

"Isn't it" she touched his shoulder. He shyly put his arm around the back of her waist. "Maybe we should go for a drive" she suggested, some time away from the Institute may relax him. "...Sorry, Logan's "borrowed" my car, he and Beast have taken Kitty for a driving lesson in New York".

Jean laughed, "It's lucky he has healing powers"

"It's a shame my car doesn't".

The jokes had done it, the two were now themselves, the walls were down and the fear was gone. They both knew they had nothing to be afraid of. They shared a passionate kiss, they had repressed their feelings for so long they, they where now free. Scott felt as if he had removed his visor and was shooting out a beam of energy not even his ruby-quartz lens could stop. The kiss also filled Jean with energy; he powers had never been so keen. She lifted herself and Scott of the floor, and moved them away from the window, towards the bed, neither noticing the movement.

These feelings were something they had denied themselves, something there eighteen year olds didn't have to worry about. Being mutants came with a life, a life that didn't allow for normal fun like this. Jean used her powers to lay herself and Scott down on her bed. She had never felt like this before. Kissing Duncan at his party a few months back had been ok, but nothing like this. She felt her own joy, as well as Scott's. With Duncan she had been to afraid to look into his mind, but Scott's pleasure was penetrating her brain, and she couldn't prevent it, she didn't want to.

"Jean...Scott....Rogue...Kurt", a voice interrupted them.

Scott and Jean parted and sighed. "It's the professor", Jean said.

Scott arrived to the briefing room first; he and Jean had separated so not to arouse suspicion. Something he thought was only done in Sitcoms. He was now in his X-men uniform, figuring that Prof X had called him to the brief room for some kind of mission, either that or to ruin his and Jean's date. Kurt ported into the room; he too was dressed for duty. "Vhat a way to spend Saturday" he joked.

"You're telling me", Cyclops replied. "Me and Jean...had plans"

"Oh" Kurt nodded knowingly, he was only fifteen but understood the feelings between Scott and Jean, he felt the same about Amanda, a girl who had accepted him, blue fur and all. "In that case I hope this is life and death" Kurt joked. "...Wait...where is Jean, I thought I heard her name mentioned".

Cyclops stayed silent, "She's...on her way"

"I hope so", Professor Xavier entered the brief room, being escorted by Storm, a teacher at the Institute and member of the X-men. "I'm sorry to have interrupted whatever you all had planed today, but Cerebro..."

Rogue entered, her hair was wet from the shower. "Sorry, I'm late", she took her seat in between Cyclops and Nightcrawler. Jean arrived after her. She was still playing with her hair, like she had been when Cyclops had left her; she had thought it looked messy. "Excellent, Jean, if you can take a seat we can begin. Professor X wield himself into the middle of the room, and addressed his students. "I am sorry for asking you all to assemble on a Saturday, I hope once I explain you will understand why"

"You were saying something about Cerebro...?" Cyclops asked

"Yes, Scott", Xavier turned on the view screen behind him and the image of a young mutant appeared on the screen. The four teenage mutants look at the screen, and observe the images. "Cerebro detected his new mutant, a few minutes ago; I believe Magneto also knows of his boys existence"

"You want the X-men to go and recruit him first?" Cyclops asked, sceptically, "I don't think that requires all four of us"

"I do" Xavier glared at his student, some what surprised at his comment, "If Magneto has detected this mutant he may have sent his Acolytes to "recruit" the boy using his own methods".

"Yes sir" Cyclops frowns, he had hoped that as leader of the X-men his recommendations would have some weight, of course they didn't, Xavier, Logan and even Storm saw him as just a boy. "You're a good leader Scott, and will one day be a fine man, but I would prefer you took a group with you on this mission...just in case".

"It does make sense, Scott" Jean touched him on his shoulder from her seat behind him. The energy that had felt moments earlier ran through them again. Kurt subtly smiled, seeing the look on Scott's face, happiness was something he rarely saw on below the yellow visor. . No one saw the pain in Rogue's, she could never touch Scott, or anyone the way Jean could. Kurt saw that Xavier and Storm were picking up on the romance, and more importantly the hormones, so decide to intervene. "So, were are we going....I hope it's somewhere worm....if all mutants were from Hawaii, that'd be cool"

His joke had worked, and distracted the Professor and Storm, "Unfortunately this is not a vacation Kurt, and you are to make contact with the new mutant and try to get him to return with you, if he chooses not to, protect him until we are sure he is safe from Magneto".

"What?" Rogue finally spoke up, her hair was still dripping, "We could be there for days"

"I will send Dr. McCoy and Storm to relieve you once they get home tomorrow. As you know he gets back tomorrow" the Professor explained turning off the view screen. "Don't worry Rogue" Storm continued for the Professor "you won't miss a day of school"