Here's 3!

Chapter 3

While Scott was buying snacks and a drink for the two of them, Jean stood by the theater door wringing her hands waiting for him. She sighed to herself as her thoughts drifted to something that had been bothering her for hours. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she watched Scott. Never had he made her feel such emotion just by looking at him. She saw him in a new light now, looked at him differently. She realized how incredibly attractive he was, even wearing the same jeans and three-button shirt she had seen him wear a thousand times before. But now the outfit brought a new thought to her mind, other than it just looked good on him. Scott was hot. Jean felt her heart skip a beat as he walked toward her.

"You ok?" he asked handing her the soda with two straws sticking out of the top. Jean looked at him and nodded. "You sure, you look flushed."

"I'm fine." Jean assured him. "I'm just…it's hot in here."

"Ok. Then let's go in the theater, it's always cool in there." Jean smiled and took the hand he offered her. The night was going well, in Jean's opinion, and went even better when after the movie; Scott took her out for dinner. That hadn't been part of their plan, but Jean wasn't about to say something.

They shared a plate of "piled high nachos", and another Coke. Jean plucked a huge piece from the plate and pulled it in half picking the jalapeno peppers off the piece and placing them on her plate.

"So how did you like the movie?" Scott asked biting into a piece of his nacho.

"It was ok." Jean responded sipping on the Coke. "I liked it. You?"

"It was ok. I just enjoyed being with you."

Jean smiled at him from across the table. "Thanks. I liked being with you, too."

"You really don't have much to say, do you?"

"No, I don't know what to think or say right now."

"Can you answer a question for me, though?"

"Sure."

Scott leaned in towards and indicated for her to do the same. Jean did. "Kiss me? For real this time, I need to know something." Jean was taken aback. She looked at him as she sat back in her seat.

"Scott…" Scott reached across the table and took her chin in his hand and pulled her close to him pressing his lips to hers. Jean felt her blood surge through her body, her hand reaching around the side of his head to bring him closer to her, and Scott doing the same. As they engaged further in the kiss, Scott wound up cupping both sides of her face and running his fingers back through her hair and pulling her very close. When they parted, Jean could only stare at him.

"That's what I thought." Scott said quietly as he pulled away.

Jean touched her lips lightly. "Wow." She whispered. She stared at him for a minute then rose from her seat and sat back down next to him. She didn't wait. She reached up and held his head in her hands and kissed him. He gently held her waist; this was a much easier position to kiss her in. After a minute of engagement Jean pulled back and placed a finger on Scott's lips to stop him. "I think that's enough for now."

"Yeah."

Jean fixed herself so that she sat straight up in the booth next to him, his arm across her shoulders. They finished the plate of nachos and the Coke with minimal talk of the night and more talk about each other. They already knew each other inside out and backwards, but they wanted to know more about what made the other tick.

Lights were still on when they arrived back at the Institute. Thank God, Jean thought. Scott parked his car then got out and opened Jean's door for her again and took her hand interlocking their fingers. "Have fun tonight?" he asked as he raised the back of his hand to his mouth and kissed it. Jean giggled.

"I did. We should do this more often."

"We should. I love you."

"I love you, too." They stopped at the front door to share a kiss. Jean felt her foot leave the ground momentarily then set back down when they parted. She smiled at him then leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You are so wonderful." She whispered into his ear.

"And you are so beautiful." He whispered back. They walked in together, hand in hand, and headed straight for the stairs, trying to avoid the foyer. Jean could hear voices and the TV. She steered Scott to the left of the room and towards the grand staircase and up to their separate rooms. They stopped at Jean's door. Scott leaned in and kissed her passionately. "So, do we call it a date?" he asked stroking her cheek.

"Yeah, I'd say tonight went well enough to call it a date."

"Ok, see you in the morning. I love you." Scott kissed her one last time and started toward his room.

"I love you, too." Jean said as she held onto his hand as he walked away. Jean didn't let his hand go until he was out of reach, and even then she was hesitant to let him go. She blew him a kiss as she opened her door behind her then disappeared behind it. She stood with her back to the door, breathing hard, her heart pounding. She knew that if she hadn't gotten away from him soon, her body would've taken over. She placed her hand on her heart feeling the throbbing thumping under her skin. This emotion felt so… She couldn't find a word. It was love, true and deep, and that was all that mattered.

She was having such a wonderful dream. She lay on her side in her bed, her head curled into her pillow, hand curled by her face, and her fingers twitching in her sleep. She let out a groan of protest as she felt a weight shift on her bed. Someone sitting down. Jean opened one sleepy eye and looked up. Scott smiled down at her as he rubbed her side. Jean turned her head with a smile and looked up at him with both eyes open. Scott leaned down and kissed her tenderly on her lips. Jean returned it with warmth and wholeness, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him down, pressing her mouth to his. Scott pulled away as Jean snuggled herself deeper into her pillow with a silly-girl smile.

"Good morning." She mouthed more than spoke.

"Good morning." Scott returned. "At least I know you're awake."

Jean shrugged. "More or less." Scott leaned down and kissed her again.

"It better be more. We're going out for breakfast, twenty minutes, to avoid the others."

"Smart." Jean praised. She closed her eyes as Scott kissed her forehead.

"Be ready."

"I will." She promised. Scott rose to leave, but Jean reached out and grabbed his wrist, as a thought crossed her mind. "Wait." She said pulling him back down beside her. She sat up as he sat back down.

"What is it?"

"We need to discuss something. I know we just got together last night, but neither of us is a virgin-"

"Taryn and I never slept together." Scott cut in.

"Oh, I was under the impression you did."

"Nope, but I know you and Duncan did."

"Yeah, once, I didn't really like it, though. But what I'm getting at… Are we going to sleep together? I guess I can consider myself a virgin. Duncan and I barely even had intercourse. We got halfway there and I chickened out."

"So nothing serious happened?" Scott asked. "You never got past foreplay?"

"Not really, no."

"Then I guess we do have to discuss it."

"Ok? It's just something I need to get out." Jean explained taking his hand.

"Don't worry. We'll talk about it." Scott placed his hand on hers then he kissed her one last time. "I'll knock in twenty minutes, be ready to go."

"I will."

Scott stopped at her door and looked at her. "Good. I love you."

"You, too." Scott smiled, and then left Jean to herself.

Ororo looked around at the foyer and then outside. It seemed to her that everyone was present, minus two people. "Maybe I'm imagining it, or Jean and Scott just disappeared." She said to herself as she scratched her head. She walked to the kitchen, opened the door, and sat down. "Logan, have you seen Jean or Scott?"

"Yeah, they took off for breakfast about thirty minutes ago. I don't know how they functioned. They didn't get in until almost midnight last night."

"Why, where were they?

"Movie, they went on a date." Ororo looked at him. Logan nodded as he sipped his coffee. "Yeah. They're together now, and I only have one thing to say. It's about time."

Ororo nodded in agreement. "Yes, I've seen their relationship grow over the years, and I knew it was only a matter of time until they actually became a couple."

"I'm glad they did. They need each other." Logan reached for the paper and opened it. "Wait, let me rephrase that, they deserve each other." Ororo nodded in agreement once more, this time with a smile of approval.

Kitty stood outside Amara's door knocking fervently. "Wake up!" she hissed through the door. "Amara! Wake up!"

"What?" Amara asked sleepily as she opened the door. "I was sleeping."

"I know, but this is important. Jean and Scott hooked up. They're a couple. I just heard Ororo and Logan in the kitchen, and I saw them disappear earlier. Come on, Kurt's going to drive us around to find Scott's car. Come on!"

Amara was awake as soon as she heard 'hooked up', and disappeared behind her door then reappeared five minutes later spritzing herself with body spray. "Let's go."

The local bookstore was the perfect place to sequester oneself and find solitude for hours at a time. Jean thought the institute library was good, but she was away from everyone else here. Well, everyone that is, except Scott, and he was the exception to anything, including solitude. She stood at one of the shelves reading the back of a large paperback book. After a pleasant, quiet breakfast at The Brooke, Jean requested a trip to the bookstore to see if they had the books she'd been looking for. Jean felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and a head rest against her shoulder.

"Anything interesting?" she asked. Scott shook his head.

"Find what you were looking for?"

"Yes, finally, I did. All four of them. I already have the other copy of this." Jean held up Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire. "The difference with this one, the cover is the ply logo and there are pictures of the play inside with the original cast."

"What about those?" Scott looked down at the other three books in her hands.

"Oh, these are other books by him; Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister; Mirror, Mirror; and Lost. I've been looking for them everywhere. I'm so happy I finally found them, I've been dying to read them."

"I'm glad you found them. Ready?"

"Yeah, I just need to find a new journal and a couple bookmarks. Want to help?"

"Yeah, how many do you want?" Scott unhooked his arm from around her waist.

"Three or four, I guess. I'm going to go look for a leather journal, I may be a while so find something to keep yourself entertained."

Scott nodded and took her books. While she headed to the back of the store he headed for the front, toward the bookmark display. He saw dozens of colorful bookmarks that he knew Jean would love, and took his time narrowing them down to the top five. He plucked them off their respective hooks and got in line. When he reached the check-out counter, he told the clerk that he was waiting for his girlfriend, and that she should be along shortly. While he waited he let his eyes wonder, and they fell on a display of mini, pocket-sized books. He noticed the mini version of the Kama Sutra. He picked it up and thumbed through it for a minute. Jean said to find something to keep me entertained, he thought. He looked up and motioned that he buy it. Just as Jean appeared, he shoved the book and receipt in his pocket. Jean smiled at him and placed her selected journal on top of her pile. She apologized to the clerk for holding him up and waited while he rung up her purchases; then she turned to Scott.

"So what did you shove into your pocket as I came up?"

"Nothing."

"Let me see." Jean persisted and began working her hands into his pockets. She pulled the book out. "Scott…"

"Well, I thought after the discussion you and I had at breakfast…"

Jean reached her hand up and around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. "You're such a sneak." She whispered as she stroked his hair. They turned back just as the cashier finished with Jean's order. Jean paid and took her two bags. They left the store with their arms linked. Jean stopped short just outside the door. "Oh, God!"

Scott looked across the road; the X-van sat parked windows rolled up. "Come on." Scott took her hand and led her to his car. They got in and he started the engine, then they took off down the street and turned the corner. Just as they rounded it, Kitty and Amara popped up from behind the van. Kurt opened the back door for them and ushered them inside.

"Hurry." Kitty hissed at him. Kurt took off around the corner Jean and Scott had. But they had already had a lead. Scott had turned down an alley at the last second and turned the engine off. Minutes later he and Jean watched as the X-van sped past them, not even noticing them. Scott waited another minute, then started his car again and backed out of the alley.

"Good job." Jean praised him patting his knee.

"They're so gullible it's actually scary. So what do you say? Lookout Point? I've got lunch in the trunk."

"What? You're such a little sneak today!" Scott leaned over and kissed her quickly. "You're such a sneak."

"Anything to be with you."

"You're sweet. This is why I love you so much."

A/N: I'm currently working on chapter 4, and hope to have it and several other things done by today, maybe I'll even update again today, too! Merry Christmas everyone! Oh, and another thing, I've read Wicked, it's SOOOOO good! Its my favorite book ever. And i'm getting the other three for Chritstmas, but here's the ironic thing... I borrowed Confessions from my school library before i knew i was going to get it for Christmas, and then my parents took my shopping with them, and i saw them buying all three books for me. I just finished Confessions last week!

RedPhoenix1821

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