Disclaimer: If X-Men were mine, then I would be rich and having my books published. Not to mention I would be running for President. But since I'm not, I think we all know that I DON'T own X-Men.
Scott walked into the kitchen only to find John drinking straight from the carton of orange juice. He frowned, walked over, and wrenched the container from his hands.
"Don't drink from the carton. Others use it, too," he snarled.
John shrugged and pulled out a glass from the cabinet, grabbing back the orange juice and pouring himself a glass. Scott rolled his eyes and stormed from the kitchen.
Kurt suddenly ported in. "Hey man, give me some of that," he cried, grabbing the carton of orange juice.
"Okay," John replied slowly, not even bothering to warn the blue elf that he himself had drank from it. He left before he burst out laughing.
Ali met him in the foyer with Rogue. They waited for Kitty and Kurt to leave. For once, the two decided to walk to school instead of getting a ride with Scott.
School was a bit more interesting. Scott purposely made things difficult for John. At the beginning of the day before homeroom started, Scott walked by John just as the mutant got his locker open and slammed it shut. At lunch, Scott used the only empty chair as a footrest, until Ali gave him a look. After school, he whizzed past John and to the Institute, showing off how fast his car could go.
Then came the Danger Room.
John suited up in his trainee uniform which, in his opinion, needed a fashion update. And some flames. Oh yeah, it definitely needed flames.
The main X-Men group walked into the metal room and prepared themselves for the simulator.
They came to be on a rocky cliff overlooking a valley full of Sentinels.
"Alright, the mission: to destroy the Sentinels using whatever means necessary. Let's move!" Scott yelled.
The mutants split up. For the sake of the others, Ali and Kitty split up together and Kurt went with Pyro.
"He'll kill me instead of the machines, Ali!" Kurt cried. "Go with him instead! He's your boyfriend!"
"You have to work with everyone on the team, Kurt," Ali replied. In a lower voice, she added, "I know you want to be with Kitty, but do it later!"
Kurt looked utterly shocked at the statement, but could say nothing before Ali rushed off with Shadowcat. He groaned and followed the pyromaniac, not at all looking forward to being roasted alive.
Scott and John both attacked the same Sentinel. Scott sent his optic blasts towards the machine, while John controlled his lighter flame to become a large bull and charge the machine down. Afterwards, he looked considerably paler, but continued to fight.
Ali and Kitty short-circuited each machine they came in contact with, often helping the others when they couldn't disable a Sentinel.
John succeeded in destroying Sentinels while Scott was having trouble. The armor of the machines was thick, and his optic blasts weren't penetrating it. But his powers paired with John's did a tremendous amount of damage.
If only he had seen that instead of the failure of his own powers.
The X-Men exited the Danger Room, exhausted from the workout. Out in the hallway, away from the watchful eyes of their instructors, was when Scott struck.
He shoved John into a wall. "What the heck do you think you were doing?" he yelled.
"Scott!" cried Jean. The other mutant ignored her.
John glared at Scott. "Listen, mate. If you've got a problem, go ahead and say it," he replied.
"Do I have a problem? Do I, Scott Summers, have a PROBLEM? No! YOU have a problem! You're waltzing around in there acting like you're the king of the world and not even bothering to help destroy anything!"
"I destroyed more than you did!" John shot back.
"With mine and Ali's help!" Scott spat.
John stepped forward. "If you wanna go, then bring it on. I can take you any day," he replied, his voice shaking with a controlled fury.
Scott broke, then and there. He lunged forward, tackling the other mutant to the ground and beginning to punch him in the face.
"Scott!" yelled Jean, beginning to rush forward to stop him.
Ali was already there. She grabbed Scott's arm and pulled him back, seeing that John didn't even stand a chance of hitting him.
"Scott! What the hell's wrong with you?" she yelled.
Scott glared at her. "Nothing's wrong with me!" he replied. "He's been acting like an asshole!"
"He did nothing! You're the one being an asshole, Scott Summers!" she screamed.
"You never did like us, so why don't you just go ahead and join the Acolytes, seeing that you're siding with one!"
Ali's eyes burned. The green of her eyes was burning with hatred towards him. "I was siding with John, who did nothing wrong, Scott. But if you want me gone so badly, then fine, I'll leave and make your life easier. It'd be making mine a lot simpler, too," she replied, her voice shaking with her hate. With that, she turned on her heel and left.
John glared at him. "You bastard," was all he said before following Ali.
The other X-Men just glared at Scott, and left. Not even Jean would look at him.
And so he stood, alone in the metal hallway, with no one on his side. He suddenly felt sorry for what he had said. But what was said was said, and there was no way to take it back.
*
Ali sat on a stone bench, her head in her hands. Tears slipped down her flushed cheeks, falling to her knees. How come what Scott said hurt her so much? Why did everything Scott say get under her skin?
She wiped the tears from her eyes upon hearing someone approaching. John sat down beside her. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Ali replied, her voice slightly choked with tears.
John frowned. "No, you're not," he replied. "What's wrong?"
Ali sighed, knowing that John wouldn't leave her alone unless she told him. "I…I don't know why, but what Scott said…"
"It really hurt?" John suggested.
Ali nodded. "I don't care what he thinks, but if that's true, then why does what he said hurt so much?" she asked, turning to him.
John shrugged. "Maybe you really do care, but you're just trying to convince yourself that you don't," he replied.
Ali sighed. "John?"
"Yeah?"
"I hate it when you're right."
John smiled. "I'm always right," he said with a toothy grin.
Ali rolled her eyes. "If that's true then I'll jump off a cliff again," she replied.
John shook his head. "No, I won't let you."
Ali sighed. "Fine."
"Now, let's go back inside," he suggested.
Ali nodded. "Alright."
*
Jean walked up to Scott in the upper hallway near the dorms. "Scott, I can't believe you said what you did," Jean said, anger dripping from her voice.
Scott looked to the floor, ashamed. "I didn't mean to," he said softly. "It just came out."
Jean regarded him with cold green eyes. They instantly softened though, when she heard the guilty tone in his voice. "Well then, Scott, just go apologize to them," she suggested.
Scott shook his head.
"Why not?" Jean demanded, once again angry.
"It's not easy for me to apologize."
Jean sighed. "Well, practice makes perfect," she replied.
Scott groaned. "Fine," he replied grudgingly, and headed down to the foyer to find Ali and John.
The two teens were just coming through the glass doors. Scott took a deep breath and walked forward
"Ali? John?" he called.
The two turned to him. "Yeah?"
Scott took a deep breath. "I wanted to say that…I'm sorry for what I did and said. John, I just usually dominate the simulations, and I was afraid that you might convince Ali to leave with you to the Acolytes. I'm sorry. I got carried away. Will you guys forgive me?" he asked hopefully.
Ali sighed. "Sure, why not?" she asked with a small smile.
John nodded. "But Scott, I'm not gonna take Ali with me to the Acolytes. I joined you guys, the X-Men. I'm staying," he said.
Scott nodded. "Well then," he said, extending his hand. "Welcome to the team, Pyro."
***
Hi!!! Well, this was definitely interesting to write. Sorry if it sucks.
Sorry about last chapter. I found out yesterday from o scorched eggy that it was all one long sentence thing. It wont happen with the next chapter. I hope…
Reviews:
damien455: o ya, it went over well with scott…hope you like this chapter too!
Coco Cow: Thanks. And hey, your first fic was pretty good. Update it soon! And I'm glad mine's not too sappy.
R&R!!
~Jojo~