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This was the moment Scott had dreaded for the past twenty-four hours. Despite its large size, Bayville High was still a very insular place resembling a small village when it came to gossip in that practically everything interesting that happened was around the school in a very short space of time. As far as he could tell, the news regarding his rescue of the new girl got around in record time and he knew that because of this, sooner or later he'd have to explain himself to Taryn, who for some reason would definitely feel she deserved some kind of an explanation.
His apparently romantic relationship with her was one that had taken him totally by surprise in that he didn't know he had one until Evan mentioned how cozy the two of them seemed to him. Afterwards he had put the pieces together and realized that someone like Evan who didn't all the details could easily come to that conclusion. However it soon became apparent that Evan was not in the minority...not by a long shot. Every time he tried to fix the misunderstanding with Taryn, she'd somehow hijack the conversation and he'd be worse off then when he started so he just let things be. Let her and everyone else thing what they liked, he knew the truth.
What amazed him even more was that he actually liked Taryn. She was funny, outgoing and smart; things he put great stock in. However there was a little voice inside him that informed him that felt he was really just a pawn in some larger game that was going on between Jean and Taryn as let's be honest, who could really like the little blind orphan boy. For many reasons, he tried to silence that particular voice.
He was absently reading one of Rogue's trashy magazines during the lunch break when the big wave finally came ashore. When a shadow loomed over him, he didn't have to look up to know exactly whom it was.
"Hi Taryn," he stated with what he hoped was enthusiasm.
She didn't immediately sit which Scott interpreted as a sign that things were not happy and furry in Taryn land.
"So," she replied evenly, her expression betraying a little disappointment. She was handing him the rope he realized; now all he had to do was hang himself. For a moment her eyes focused on the magazine in his hand and he followed her gaze to the title, How To Keep Your Man. He immediately banished the magazine and smiled sheepishly. To be fair to him, all his friends knew that he wasn't a discerning reader and that he'd happily read the back of a cereal box for an hour if it were put in front of him.
"Listen Taryn, I know you've probably heard about-"
"Hello Scott," interrupted a new calm voice.
It was one of those cosmic things that only happened to him and people in sit-coms. You're trying to explain to a girl, who you're not having a relationship with, about another girl, who you are also not having a relationship, when that second girl shows up.
"Hi Grace," his voice cracked somewhere in the middle of the sentence.
He turned on his seat to face her. She was wearing something similar to yesterday though today her hair was no longer wrapped up in a tight bun but rather left a little looser in a long ponytail that disappeared behind her back somewhere. She gave him a small smile before turning her attention to Taryn and for a moment there was nothing but silence.
Scott realized quickly that now was the perfect opportunity to illustrate that everything was above board. First things first and get them talking to each other.
"Grace this is Taryn...Taryn, Grace," he said by way of introduction. He was aware of how there was a sudden drop in the level of background noise. Taking a casual glance around the cafeteria, he noticed that all visible faces were busy pretending to be not watching or listening to what was going on in his little corner.
"Wonderful," he thought to himself as he returned his attention to the silent battle of wills going on around the table.
Like some scene from the old west, Emma and Taryn faced each other down.
Taryn had subconsciously gone from a slight slouch to bolt upright in order that the taller Frost not be looking down at her, regarded this new threat carefully. And she knew instantly that this one was trouble. Had known it the moment she heard the name Grace Frost and Scott Summers linked in a sentence together.
Though he seemed completely oblivious to the fact Scott Summers was deemed quite the catch among the female portion of Bayville High. He seened to enjoy sports but was not part of any of the jock gangs, he was smart and clever without any geeky tendencies but Taryn believed that one of the younger girls summed it up best when she said that he was simply hot. It had taken a lot of hard work, patience and a great deal of luck to steal him from under Grey's watchful gaze but she felt it was worth it. She knew there was an element of social climbing involved but to hear her name whispered in the halls like she had once whispered Jean's made any hesitations she felt disappear.
So when she heard yesterday that Scott had somehow come to the attention of another Amazon, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What she did realize though was that she would have to move quickly to head this Frost girl off at the pass. Now that they were finally face to face, she wasn't sure how to proceed. Were Scott on his own, he would have been an easy proposition to manipulate, but now that her potential rival now standing right there, she would have to be a great deal more careful at about how she acted.
Emma seemed to give Taryn an odd almost appraising look before smiling warmly and reaching across the table, her hand extended in greeting.
"It's good to meet you, Scott has told me such nice things about you," Emma stated, the smile still etched upon her face.
Taryn who had subclnciously shuffled a little closer to Scott took her hand and gave it a brisk shake. She had a strong handshake but not so strong as to be considered aggresive.
"Nice," Taryn noted. She kind of hoped that Soctt might have used a stronger word then nice.
Scott who had sat silently through the whole exchange thought things were going as well as they possibly could. Everyone else who had been listening and watching evidently did too as they started to lose interest now that it looked like there wouldn't be any fireworks.
"I'm not intruding, am I?" Emma continued, her face the very picture of innocence.
"Intruding?" Taryn repeated automatically.
"I take it you're having lunch together," Emma responded.
"Of course you are you bitch" Taryn thought but "No, of course...sit down," came out of her mouth, taking the seat closest to Scott who was beginning to feel very much like the rope in a tug of war.
"I hate to say it but I'm actually starting to feel a little sorry for Summers," Lance practically laughed as he watched the unfolding scene from across the room where he was sitting comfortably with Kitty. She was paying absolutely no attention to what was happening but was rather happily stealing cafeteria standard chips from his plate, which meant they were chips only in the loosest sense of the word.
She followed his gaze for a moment; her brow furrowing in confusion as she tried to figure our what was going on over in Scott's corner and who it was they were talking to. Intrigued, she stood to investigate when Lance's hand shot out and took hers in his.
"And where do you think you're going?" he asked in his best teacher-like voice.
"I was going to go over and see what was going on," she answered truthfully and with full Kitty Pryde enthusiasm.
"No you are not," Lance stated with surprising determination.
"Says who," she responded, immediately rising to any challenge.
"Says someone who just wants to sit next to his girlfriend for lunch because it'll be the whole afternoon until he sees her again," Lance responded with an extra amount of syrup for effect. It worked; Kitty smiled, went all wobbly and took her seat again, a little happy sigh escaping from her.
"I just wanted to go see who Taryn's friend is," she murmured though all the fight was out of her now.
"Somehow I don't think they're quite friends…the opposite by the looks of things."
"What? You mean that…" Kitty wondered as she went back to pilfering Lance's lunch.
"I reckon so…I gotta tell ya, I don't get it," Lance began as his hand absently took one of the rapidly disappearing chips from his plate, "what is it exactly about Summers that seems to attract women?"
Kitty punched her chest a few times to help the food go down before answering, "You're…not…doing…so badly yourself," she finally coughed out.
Lance turned to her wearing one of those patented sly smiles of his. "You know you're right, I seem to be fighting off the girls with a brush these days."
"Just send any of those girls to me first and I'll set them straight," Kitty playfully pretended to be angry before noticing another couple making their way through the crowded room. "Rogue, Risty...I kept seats for you," she bellowed loud enought for the entire room to hear.
A rather embarrassed Rogue sauntered over with Risty in tow, each carrying a tray of assorted foods. Though it was far from regular for members of the Brotherhood and X-Men to mingle, Kitty and Lance's growing friendship meant that a truce of sorts had been reached between the two groups. Rogue, as a former brotherhood member, didn't mind hanging out with Lance too much and Risty who was naturally oblivious to the issues between the groups didn't really care whom she sat with so long as they weren't jocks, for whom she had a major aversion it seemed.
"Well aren't you two the cozy couple," Risty commented as she put her plate down.
Lance said nothing but turned his attention back to the catfight in the corner, while Kitty blushed ever so slightly before de-railing that particular line of thought. She was still getting used to the idea of being a couple though it was readily apparent she was loving every second of it.
She gestured over her shoulder, "Lance is getting great mileage out of Three's Company over there…hey, do any of you know who the new girl is?"
Risty leaned in conspiratorially to Kitty while Rogue watched with Lance though she was careful to listen to what was being said as well.
"I heard from May, you know May right? No…well anyway, she works part time in admissions and she told me that Blondie's name is Grace Frost and that she's originally from Boston. So I was talking to another friend of mine from Manchester, Brie, who moved to Boston two years ago and she told me that it was in all the gossip columns last year how one of the super rich Frost family was cracking up and that all the Frost kids were sent away to spare them the strain and pain of a family shattering. So putting two and two together we could very well be looking at the richest girl in the room and possibly the building. You got to figure that with a name like Frost she's bound to be a complete pampered stuck-up bitch. A rich bitch if you like," Risty stated, quite pleased with herself.
"Frost huh?" Lance muttered, though the name meant nothing to him he still sounded somewhat wistful.
Risty knew that airy tone and immediately jumped on it, "So Lance, as the only male here, what do you make of her? Does the thought of all that money make you go hubba-hubba?"
Lance turned slowly to face the table, his brain scrambling to come up with an acceptable answer given that he was sitting in a group of girls with his girlfriend. He settled on pretty much a half-truth knowing that it would be easier in the long run.
"She doesn't do it for me," Lance opened and seeing the approval reflected in three faces he continued, warming to his subject, "She's lucky she's rich 'cause she's kind of nerdy looking."
"How do you figure that?" Kitty asked, intrigued by Lance's assessment.
"Well…she's dressed like a librarian, all drab grays and browns. And with those huge glasses, you know she spends all day indoors reading about the latest way to grow plants or knit a weird pattern or something. The only way someone that boring will snare a guy is if she walks around with a bundle of notes in her hand and a board that says Will pay for friends. Like finds like I always say and she found Summers, the most boring guy in the school."
"It's an act," Rogue practically whispered.
"What's an act?" Risty demanded, intrigued by Rogue's proclamation.
"All of it," Rogue stated with a wave of her hand. Seeing that this would not satisfy the others, Rogue sighed before explaining herself.
"The glasses and the boring outfits…it's camouflage, all of it."
"You seem pretty sure," Lance stated.
"No one that dull would ever get picked on by the goon squad. No one that dull would make Taryn feel so threatened," she clarified, though she naturally left out the fact that no one that dull could make me jealous.
"I don't know…it's like I said, it would take someone that dull to be interested in Summers," Lance reiterated, any sympathy for Scott long gone.
"Can we please change the subject?" Rogue demanded, not at all happy to be speculating on Scott's romantic problems.
Kitty's face brightened immediately. "Lance and me are thinking of going to the movies tonight, any ideas?"
Well this is so much better sighed Rogue internally as Risty launched into a number of totally inappropriate suggestions.
"Well Scott and I have been -
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.
Taryn's proclamation on where she and Scott stood was rather rudely interrupted by his cell phone. He looked at the number on the display and immediately rose from the table.
"If you'll excuse me, I really have to take this," he offered by way of excuse as he left the two of them alone together. A lucky escape in many ways he figured but then again now they could talk about possibly the only thing they had in common which was him. There wasn't much he could about it either way so he concentrated on getting outside for a decent reception.
The two girls watched him go before turning to face one another again.
"So how long have you known Scott?" Emma asked almost immediately, knowing that it was better to be on the offensive in the inevitable question and answer session. She had learned of Taryn and her pseudo relationship with Scott early on in her research but she hadn't ever considered her to be other then a minor problem and one easily overcome. If she could push Taryn out of the race on their first meeting, so much the better for her.
Taryn answered without a moment's thought, "I met him soon after he moved here but he was just another boy back then. I can't say I really got to know him though until Jean arrived and-"
"Oh Jean!" Emma interrupted excitedly, smiling infectiously as she pushed her glasses further up her face, "I must confess that from the way he spoke about her, I was sure that they were a couple. I felt so foolish when he told me that they were merely good friends and that he wasn't really seeing anybody at the moment."
It was a lazy effort but she was pleased to see it had the desired effect. Taryn seemed to almost visibly falter slightly, her confidence shaken by Scott's assessment of his own status. Emma knew that Scott's relationship with Jean Grey was Taryn's Achilles heel and so she began to exploit it mercilessly.
"It's such a shame though…" she began before letting the suggestion hang.
"What is?" a still slightly stunned Taryn asked.
Emma leaned across the table and whispered like they had been friends forever rather then potential rivals, "That even though she's going out with that quarterback guy, Scott's still utterly devoted to her," she mimicked Scott rather badly for a moment, "'Oh she's the winner of this and Jean's so good at that.' What chance do regular girls like us have against this wonderful Jean Grey?" She finished with a laugh, making it sound like it was just a harmless joke when in reality it was anything but.
Even though she was attacking Taryn's already tattered belief in her assumption that Scott was somehow hers, she also knew much of what she implied about Jean and Scott was true and that it would be something she would have to overcome herself. She had garnered a great deal of information from him during the time she spent with him after the previous day's incident. Being the noble sort, he naturally wanted to make sure she got home safely and had accompanied her a most of the way. During the stroll, she questioned him various aspects of his life and in his own thoughtful though cautious manner, he had revealed much. He had indeed spoken highly of Grey but not anymore so then he had of the other people who played a major part in his life, including Taryn. Emma felt it was easier though to exaggerate the parts of the conversation that played up Jean at Taryn's expense.
Taryn mumbled something practically indecipherable about Jean though Emma heard enough to make it out anyway.
"This is really unfair of me," Emma stated as she placed a friendly hand on Taryn's, "Jean is your best friend and I have the gall to bad-mouth her without even meeting her. If people like you and Scott can speak so highly of her, it's obvious that she's a very special girl…I just can't wait to meet her," it even amazed Emma how enthusiastic she sounded.
All this unadulterated praise for Jean caused something to bend deep inside Taryn's being. No matter what she did or what she accomplished, it would always fall under the shadow that red-haired bitch cast her over everything and everyone. It had been the same since the very first moment she arrived at Bayville High. She just showed up and somehow managed to charm her way into everyone's hearts. All of a sudden here was the perfect girl next door who was pretty as a picture but could still play sports with the boys. Even someone who had never met her was already singing eulogies about her. This Grace Frost had figured out in half an hour with Scott what had taken Taryn the best part of three years to learn; that against Jean Grey there was nothing a girl like her could possibly do?
There was only so much bending her spirit could take until there was only one thing left for it to do: snap.
"You've got it all wrong, Jean and I aren't friends…well we used to be best friends but since she starting going out with Duncan Matthews she's turned into a complete snob. And Scott, well Scott's too nice to say so but you should just see the way she strings him along. I like Scott and all but you've got to wonder does the guy have a backbone at all the way she treats him. I actually feel sorry for the guy because she'll never, ever give someone like him the time of day."
Taryn knew the moment that Emma leaned back suddenly that she had noticed someone who probably shouldn't have heard what just got said. She turned slowly to find Scott standing behind her, slowly folding his cell phone shut. His shoulders sagged just a little and his mouth was drawn into a resolute thin line.
"I have to drop Bobby back to the mansion," he informed the two of them, his voice sounding strained, "something to do with his parents. I'll…I'll talk to you later." He gathered his bag and left without another word.
Taryn just crumpled, the words she wanted to say dying on her lips. Emma said nothing as there was nothing she could say. She didn't particularly feel like consoling the girl anyway as she struck her as being a particularly shallow, angry and jealous little thing. Taryn quickly gathered her bag into her arms and ran from the cafeteria in the opposite direction to the one Scott had gone leaving Emma alone.
As she carefully removed a packed lunch that Donald had prepared, reliable puppy Donald, she thought on how remarkably easy that had been. The girl had been ready for the fall for a while it seemed, all she needed was the push. She was aware of the people still watching her and so she made an effort to look someway embarrassed as she took a delicate bite from an apple when in reality she felt rather elated by the fact that things were progressing so quickly. With Taryn out of the picture it meant that only Jean Grey remained as competition and she would be a challenge that Emma would relish.
Some of her lunch eaten, she figured that she had remained in the public eye long enough. She quickly gathered up her sparse belongings and exited in a quick though dignified manner. It wasn't long she had done anything wrong after all.
"…and that's where I believe that the disk will be most likely located," Essex finished; pointing to a series of rooms on the large map he had spread open out on a table in one of the rooms of his New York residence.
Remy examined the map closely, making notes in a small PDA as he did so.
"So dis is all the security you know 'bout, but dey could be more?" he asked, looking over the map and his notes.
"I would be very surprised if there wasn't some more hidden extras." Essex replied with some relish.
"Dis a big job," Remy commented.
"That's why I came to you," Essex stated. "If I may offer my input, I think you'd be best served by going in on a weekday morning as there's less chance of being discovered.
"No…dis a night job," Remy responded with a shake of his head.
"Mmmmm," Essex murmured as he considered something silently for a moment before finally speaking up. "So…what remains to be done?"
"Need to case de grounds first, get a feel for the place. Need to take a dry run, test the fence that sort of thing." Remy replied absently as he took in his more immediate surroundings.
"You say others live here…where are dey?" Remy wondered aloud.
"At school," Essex answered bluntly.
"You don't expect me to go?" Remy asked pointing at himself in disbelief.
"Of course not. You're here to do work, not to cavort with the locals."
"Good…Never did like school…too many rules and not enough pretty girls."
Essex said nothing for a moment as if weighing something up internally. "By going at night you may have to deal with a lot of angry mutant teenagers who will not take kindly to a prowler."
"Dey never even know I was dere," he responded with trademark confidence.
"For your sake I hope so…I hope so." Essex replied though he said in it in such a fashion that Remy wasn't sure if he was talking about having to deal with the kids or about dealing with him should he fail. As much as this whole thing stunk in his guts, the money was too good to turn down. Tonight he would try a dry run and see if all the fuss was really worth it.