Title: A Series of Observations
Archive: Just ask first
Rated: T for some sporadic foul language this time 'round.
Disclaimer - Not mine. We all know this, don't we?
Chapter Two: Different Shades of 'Grey'
Lance Alvers, perched on top of one of the picnic tables outside the cafeteria, munched contentedly on the apple he'd stolen from Fred earlier, absently wiping at the sticky sweet juice that escaped his mouth to dribble down his chin. Blinking his dark brown eyes, he glanced around at the assembled groups of students who sat talking, eating lunches packed into neat paper bags, scanning the masses for any sign of his boarding house friends.
Where the hell are they? He wondered for the third time in as many minutes, impatience threading through his body.
Taking the final bite of apple, he swiped his arm across his lips and tossed the core into the nearby trash can, his actions inadvertently bringing the seated form of Kitty Pryde into his line of sight. Surprised to see her, his gaze wavered, but despite the repeated warnings his brain screamed at him, despite the painful thudding that suddenly erupted within his chest, he kept it fixed on her slight figure.
God, she's beautiful...so beautiful... whispered through his head, his eyes crawling over her body, her face, devouring her image like a starving man would a meal.
She was smiling up at her friends, eyes glittering like aquamarines in the cool sunshine, chestnut ponytail dancing with every giggle that escaped her rosy pink lips. The picture she presented was enough to kick Lance's heartbeat into overtime, the crowds surrounding them beginning to fade into a hazy, murmuring backdrop of no consequence. He continued to stare, resting his recently shaved chin on his fist, content with just basking in Kitty's happy glow - even from afar.
And then, seconds later, an arm snaked around the petite girl's shoulders, drawing her into an embrace, one that she automatically melted into, breaking the spell that Lance had woven around himself.
Kurt had arrived - much to Kitty's delight, and Lance's chagrin.
She turned to gaze up at her boyfriend's youthful - if holographic - visage, bestowing a dazzling smile of greeting upon him and snuggling more securely into the circle of his arms without breaking from the conversation around her. When Kurt leaned in for a casual kiss, meeting Kitty's eager mouth with a tenderness that even Lance could see from his vantage point, the older boy felt his stomach lurch threateningly.
Easy boy, easy...she's not with you anymore, she can do whatever the hell she wants with that German freak, he told himself resolutely, his jaw clenching against the rage that thundered through his body.
You don't need her...you don't need anyone.
Desperate for something to distract him from the sickening sight before him, Lance flicked his eyes away from Kitty, settling on the pair of students who shared the table with his former crush and her new guy.
Oh lucky day, he thought to himself in disgust, bracing his arms against the rough wood of the table in an attempt to make himself more comfortable. Scooter and Duncan Matthews' tramp. Figures, you get one X-geek, you get the baker's dozen.
Scott was sipping at a bottle of iced tea, nodding to something Jean was saying, eyebrows drawn together as if in consternation. The redhead, for her part, was speaking too softly for Lance to discern what she was saying, her ruby-polished nails drumming against the textbook that sat closed before her.
Blah, it's like watching a life-sized Barbie and an ugly Ken. Bo-oring! Lance decided with a shake of his unruly head.
He allowed himself to observe them conversing for a few seconds longer, killing time while debating if he should go find his missing compatriots, when the tone of their discussion suddenly changed, encouraging Lance to call off his hasty exodus and remain.
"...don't know why you always have to be this way," Jean was saying, voice climbing through several octaves with every word.
"What way? All I'm saying is that we have more important things to worry about - going to some stupid party this weekend is not on the priority list," Scott replied testily, glancing around to see if anyone had taken note of Jean's raised voice.
Lance snorted and looked away, not wanting to be caught spying. The noise from the other students was nearly deafening - the only reason he was able to hear them was because he was straining to.
Don't worry, One Eye, Lance assured the other boy mutely. You're not so important that anyone cares about what you or Hooters has to say.
Sneaking his eyes back over to the pair, he saw Jean fold her arms across her ample chest, her face taking on a firm cast that seemed to say she'd brook no further argument from the other boy.
"Scott, you may rule us on the training field, but you don't dictate my life off of it. I'm going to the party, whether you approve or not," she ground out.
Lance chuckled when he saw Scott taken aback by her words.
Why so surprised, Summers? Miss Priss can't be the belle of the ball if you ground her. Even I wouldn't be stupid enough to come between her and her popularity - might start her foaming at the mouth...
"I may not...dictate your life, Jean, but I can advise someone who does. Why don't we bring this issue up for the Professor to decide?" Scott replied in a clipped tone, his lips adopting a faintly mocking smile.
Yeah, go tell your 'daddy', Scooter, you fucking pansy, Lance thought, his mouth twisting derisively. Deciding that he'd heard enough Brady Bunch bickering for one day, he was about to take his leave once again, when Jean's next words stopped him before he'd taken a single step.
"Too late, Scott. Kitty and I already told him about it and he's given us permission," Jean retorted with a smug smirk, satisfaction flickering through her eyes.
Kitty? Lance's brain perked up when he heard the other girl's name mentioned.
"Yeah, Scott - Jean and I already, like, asked - so there!" the younger girl quipped, breaking from her conversation with Kurt long enough to stick her tongue out at the offending older boy.
Scott looked so crestfallen at the news that Lance was hard pressed not to jump up and laugh in his face - but Kitty was speaking again, so Lance controlled his amusement with some effort, wanting to hear what she had to say.
"Which reminds me, Jean," Kitty was saying excitedly. "Are you going to be riding up to Duncan's lake house with me and Kurt?"
"Duncan seems to think that I'm going up with him," was Jean's decidedly unenthusiastic reply.
Trouble in paradise for the 'golden couple', what a shocker, Lance thought, a mocking smile playing across his face. His mirth was short lived, though, as he began mulling over the scant information Kitty had provided him about her upcoming plans.
Kitty...Duncan's party...this weekend...could be an opportunity for me...
"Well, I've gotta jet," Kitty announced suddenly, jumping up from the table, Kurt at her side as if they were joined at the hip. "Promised Rogue I'd meet her in the library before next period. She's, like, freaking about that test we've got in geometry. We'll go over the party details later, Jean."
"Don't count on it, Kitty. I'm still going to have a word with the Professor," Scott warned ominously by way of farewell, lips pinched together in a stern frown.
Lance felt his ire swell at Scott's tone, and the fact that the other boy was indirectly interfering with his plans - plans that would result in spending some time with Kitty, time that could be used to win her back. On the verge of tossing a random insult at Scott - something to shut him up, he was unprepared to hear Jean - of all people - beat him to it.
"Oh, just give it up, Scott," she said, rolling her eyes in exasperation as she waved at Kitty's retreating form. "You're being unreasonable - and starting to sound like an asshole."
Oooh, surprise, surprise! Red's got a mouth on her. Better run for cover, Summers, this could get nasty... Lance snickered, scandalized, never having expected a goody-goody like Jean to even know how to swear, much less hear her do it.
Scott's face drained of colour at his teammate's comment. He stood with injured dignity, staring down at Jean who, having decided the discussion at an end, was already flipping open her book. "Maybe if you weren't being so selfish, I wouldn't have to be so hard," he muttered acidly - though almost too softly for Lance to hear.
Jean's eyes fluttered up from her reading, so wide with shock that Lance was able to see their intense green light burning from where he sat.
"I can't believe you just said that," she breathed, ivory skin flushing with the beginnings of real anger.
Scott shrugged, trying to disguise his unease behind nonchalance. "Hey, sorry if the truth hurts, but I'm tired of being painted as the bad guy in all of these situations," he replied coolly, replacing the cap on his drink and backing away from the table.
"You jerk! How dare you call me selfish!" Jean spat, slamming her book closed with an audible thud.
The suddenness of the movement made Lance jump and halted Scott in his tracks.
"You visit Alex in Hawaii every other month! You get to go on special training excursions with Logan, work on projects with Hank, tag along on the Professor's trips to Washington - and no one, NO ONE utters a single complaint about you missing scheduled sessions. And now you have some 'problem' with me going away for ONE weekend?" Jean demanded incredulously, half rising from her seat, tossing her hair behind her shoulders with a violent motion.
Lance - through no fault of his own, he assured himself - was transfixed by the sight of her.
Holy shit...she's pretty hot when she's pissed... he realized with a start, not surprised to see Scott regarding the girl with the same speechless awe he hoped wasn't painted across his own face.
"L-look, Jean," Scott stuttered seconds later in an obvious attempt to smooth things over, but Jean interrupted him before he could finish.
"I don't want to hear it, Scott, I have to study. Kindly take your anal retentiveness and just go," she said, dismissing him as she sat back down, returning to her book.
Scott opened his mouth - then seemed to think better of what he was about to say and snapped it shut. He pivoted on his heel and prepared to walk away, muttering under his breath.
It was simply too much for Lance to resist.
Scott putting his wimpy attitude on display demanded some form of ridicule - a demand that Lance couldn't - wouldn't - deny.
He surrendered to the mirth that had been building throughout Scott and Jean's argument, allowing his laughter to come forth, making sure that it was loud enough for the other boy to hear. He wanted Scott to know that he'd witnessed their little altercation, wanted to rub a little salt in the sore spot the other boy had revealed. When Scott spun around, having determined the source of the laughter, face drained of colour, Lance felt a stab of victory.
Scott looked positively furious - the boy's homicidal visage only serving to increase Lance's amusement.
"Something funny, Alvers?" Scott grated through clenched teeth.
"What could possibly be funny, Summers?" Lance sputtered innocently, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes at the other's macho tone.
Scott wasn't fooled by the show of mock ignorance. "I wonder how amused you'd be with my fist in your face?" he threatened, taking a step towards the chuckling boy, cheeks going crimson with rage.
"Bring it on, One Eye. I can take you no problem," Lance countered, sobering instantly at the prospect of a fight.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Scott - cut it out," Jean muttered irritably, not even bothering to look up from her book.
"Stay out of this, Jean. It doesn't concern you," Scott replied, advancing towards Lance slowly.
Lance allowed himself to briefly glance over to the redhead, wondering if she was going to join the fray and double the odds against him, only to find her still seated, her narrowed green eyes now intent on Scott.
If he hadn't been watching her, he would never have credited Jean's interference with what happened next.
Lance caught the sudden flick of her hand in Scott's direction, saw her eyes become slits of concentration - and then he heard Scott's shout of surprise.
The auburn-haired youth, - last seen striding purposefully towards Lance - had seemingly tripped over his own two feet, causing him to fall towards an approaching Duncan Matthews and his heavily laden lunch tray.
Lance blinked, watching the inevitable happen as if in slow motion.
Scott, arms windmilling, fell against Duncan.
The football star, hands full and oblivious as usual, was unable to stop or avoid Scott's momentum.
The more slender of the two invariably made the acquaintance of Duncan's cafeteria meal, though not in the manner he may have hoped for. Scott's grasping hands forced the tray up, propelling a plate of the school's daily special - a gooey, unappetizing macaroni and cheese - right into his face. Cubes of green Jell-O followed, tumbling to the ground soundlessly to be crushed beneath Scott's feet. It was those slippery, gelatinous blobs that caused him to lose his footing and sent him careening backwards, the rest of Duncan's meal in hot pursuit.
As Scott lay covered in a variety of slop, vainly trying to wipe lukewarm gunk from his face, the entire student body who'd been privy to the event, erupted in laughter - all except Duncan, of course, who howled at the loss of his lunch.
Lance, unable to do otherwise, started laughing again, looking away from the spectacle his rival had created to glance at Jean with disbelief, curious as to what her reaction would be.
Had she really intended for Scott to end up like he did? Or had it truly been an accident?
The look of superior satisfaction she was currently directing towards her housemate was enough of an answer for Lance.
Now the only question that surged to the surface of his mind was 'why'? Why had she used her telekinesis against someone that, for all intents and purposes, was supposed to be her friend? Sure, she may have been angry with Scott, but he'd been on his way over to shake things up with one of the 'bad guys'. Had she tripped Scott to keep him from fighting? Why not just hold him in place with her powers? Lance knew she could do that - he'd seen her use a similar trick against his boys on more than one occasion - or better still, why not send him sprawling into Duncan instead of Scott?
He shook his head in confusion.
Staring at her with renewed interest, Lance wondered if there was more to 'Princess Jean' then she'd let on.
Hell, he thought to himself with something akin to grudging admiration for the redhead. That stunt she just pulled was nearly Brotherhood caliber...almost...
Jean's eyes suddenly strayed from Scott - who was, at that moment, rising from the mess he'd made with Duncan's reluctant assistance - and met Lance's, the impish glow radiating from their depths revealing just how truly amused she was. Lance's laughter subsided as he returned her stare, not sure if he should be sharing any kind of moment with the enemy - regardless of how funny it had been. It seemed...abnormal, like he was betraying some nonexistent Brotherhood Code of Ethics.
Slightly unnerved, he turned back to Dumb and Dumber, sad to discover that they were both on their way inside - one to clean up, the other to get a replacement lunch, neither wasting any time to discuss the incident with the still avidly watching student body.
Lance sighed, certain that what he'd just witnessed was going to be the solitary high point of his day.
It's all down hill from here, he thought disappointedly, a smile resurfacing as he mentally replayed the episode in his head, eager to relate the details to his housemates - wherever they were.
The sound of a bell suddenly broke through his thoughts, announcing that it was time for him to return to his classes, but he paid it little mind. He had more important things than school to worry about - like his plans for Duncan's weekend soiree.
Plans that'll see me back with Kitty... he assured himself excitedly, his brain already devising the means to get what he wanted.
The tables were clearing as students were called back to the grind, but new crowds with a later lunch period were replacing them, their chatter and intermittent shrieks distracting Lance from his scheming. Deciding he'd be more productive with some solitude, he rose from his seat, stretching muscles that had begun to cramp, and made a beeline for the grouping of trees that he usually napped under. On his way past Jean, he couldn't resist another sidelong glance at her, still unsure as to why she'd turned on one of her own, still curious without really knowing why.
Should I even care about her motives? She's a bitch, and bitches do unpredictable, nasty things. That's how they get their reputation. So why am I even concerning myself?
In spite of his thoughts, though, he looked.
He realized that she must be on her spare, as she was idly reading through her book, unconcerned about the bell, sitting cross-legged on the wooden bench while her free hand toyed absently with a strand of hair.
Unbidden, the memory of how he'd discovered her watching him the other day floated up to the forefront of his mind - watching him with an expression on her face that he hadn't been able to categorize. It hadn't been one of animosity, or irritation - emotions he was pretty familiar with. No, it had almost been...friendly? Good-natured? In any event, it had confounded him enough so that he hadn't been able to give it much thought at the time - aside from classifying it as decidedly odd. He'd later decided that she'd been spying on him, or maybe trying to skim his brain for information on the Brotherhood, or a dozen other nefarious imaginings that had him alert for the remainder of that afternoon. But since nothing had come of his worrying, he'd forgotten the incident, downgrading her voyeurism to a mere happenstance, something to ignore.
Until now...
Lance moved past her, but she didn't seem to notice his presence, bent over her work as she was. His brain gave a mental shrug.
She must have screwed with Scooter to get back at him, he told himself. Nothing more.
He didn't know why, but to think otherwise was just too weird, wouldn't have added up - and he was the kind of guy who liked things plain and simple, open and honest, black and white.
No shades of gray, regardless of what people believed.
As those words streamed through Lance's mind, Jean's head tilted slightly, a furtive glance of her own unintentionally catching his. Lance wasn't sure what his face registered at the moment their eyes connected, but if he went by Jean's reaction to gauge his own, he was sure he looked guilty as hell. At finding her stare returned, Jean's face blanched slightly before she looked away, the flush crawling up her neck announcing her obvious embarrassment at the situation. Lance, feeling a similar heat prickling beneath his own skin heralding his own discomfited infusion of blood, hurried off to his destination without further delay.
Attaining the partially denuded shade of his favourite oak tree, he allowed himself to look back, half apprehensive at the prospect of finding Jean staring after him - though he couldn't have said why. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the table she'd been at was now empty. She'd taken advantage of his departure to retreat as well.
Lance shook his head in an attempt to rid his thoughts of the confusing redhead - she was proving too difficult to dissect at the moment.
But more importantly, she wasn't Kitty.
Stretching himself full length on the leaf-strewn grass, arms going behind his head, he allowed himself a full smile - Jean and her bizarre behaviour dissipating from his mind, replaced with images of the girl he adored above all others.
Kitty Pryde.
Kitty... his inner voice murmured, caressing her name with reverence even within the confines of his skull. This will be the most incredible weekend. I'll show you that leaving me was a mistake and you'll ditch that annoying fur ball. We'll be together...happier than before...
His eyes slid closed under the waves of dizzying pleasure that assaulted his senses at the prospect of being able to wrap Kitty in his arms once again, the smile of a truly contented man stretching his lips wide.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to crash Duncan's party...