A/N: Hey! New chapter. Thanks for the reviews. Does it seem like I always say the same  thing? Anyway, I had to delete a review last time that someone posted. Basically, this review said "MOREMOREMORE" and so on. First off, that's not a review. If you're gonna give feedback, at least give me something that says a little more than that…please. Second, the reason I had to delete that review was that there was such a long line of MORE's without a break that it drastically stretched the page out. That gets on everyone's nerves. Anyway, I apologize to Blowfish the Monkey Tamer for deleting your review but it had to be done. So with all that said, on with the story!

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It had been three days since Kurt had broken into the police station. No one had noticed his absence at the mansion and not even the Professor knew he had left that night. Everyday since his covert mission, though, Kurt had spent all his free time contemplating the meaning of the tape he'd found. He had watched it dozens of times by now. He had memorized every minute detail of the tape right down to how much money Scott paid for the gun.

Frankly, the tape concerned him more than he could even admit to himself. It terrified him actually. Each time he watched it, Kurt couldn't help but sense a disturbing hole gnawing through his stomach. That tape meant maybe, just maybe Scott might be guilty! Finally, he realized that he had to let someone else see the tape so he could get their reaction.

Monday afternoon after school, Kurt knocked on Jean's door and waited for her to answer it while he held the tape inside his jacket. Finally, Jean came and opened the door.

"Hey Kurt. What's up?"

"Hi Jean. Can I come in?" he asked anxiously.

Jean nodded slightly and stepped to the side. "Sure Kurt. What do you need?"

Kurt stepped inside Jean's room and shut the door behind him, then locked it.

"Kurt? Is something wrong?" asked Jean. He had been acting strangely paranoid for a few days and now he was locking her door. Jean was completely confused. Frankly, she had been worried about him for a while. Ever since the fight with Evan started Kurt had been acting strange.

"Jah, I'm fine. I just want to show you something but I don't want anyone else to see it," said the boy as he pulled the tape out of his jacket.

"Okay," said Jean, grabbing her VCR remote and turning on the video player. "What is it?"

"First," said Kurt as he slipped the tape into the VCR, "don't ask me vhere I got this. I can't tell you."

"Um, okay." He was definitely acting paranoid. Jean began to seriously worry about Kurt's state of mind. He was taking all the events of the last two weeks even harder than her!

Kurt finally hit play and stepped back to sit down on Jean's bed. She watched the TV screen with curiosity and sat next to Kurt on the bed. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but the picture that appeared before her was not it. It was a video from a surveillance camera at some store! She turned to Kurt with a puzzled look.

"Like I said, don't ask vhere I got it," he said calmly, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Jean sighed and turned back to the TV. After a moment, a teenage boy wearing sunglasses appeared and started talking to the man behind the counter. She leaned closer to the TV.

"Is that Scott?"

"Jah. Keep vatching."

She watched closely as Scott and the cashier moved to a case of guns and kept talking. Just a few minutes later, she saw Scott pull out his wallet and give the man cash for a handgun, then leave the store. She waited in shock until the screen went black, then turned to Kurt again.

"Yes, that vas exactly vhat you think it vas," said Kurt before she could ask the question.

"How did you…"

"I'm not saying and that's final," interrupted Kurt.

Jean stared at him for a moment, then decided it wasn't worth pushing the matter. "So I guess this is just more evidence against Scott," she said finally, her face dejected.

Kurt frowned slightly and stood up from the bed. "Or its been doctored. Or maybe someone set him up. Maybe someone asked him to buy the gun for them then framed him. Or maybe he…"

"Kurt," said Jean sympathetically with a raised hand, "do you even believe what you're saying?"

Kurt paused as he looked at Jean's face. She was looking deep into his eyes. He never liked it when a telepath gave him that look. He averted his eyes back to the TV screen.

"I believe Scott's innocent and that's all I have to believe," said Kurt defiantly.

"But you have to admit that the evidence against him is pretty staggering," said Jean.

"And you," retorted Kurt, "have to admit that it isn't like him to kill someone just because they didn't get along!"

There was a long pause as both teens sat motionless and stared at the blank TV screen.

"Kurt, I need to tell you something. I think you need to hear this," said Jean finally.

He looked over at her face again. She looked scared and her voice was filled with defeat. He suddenly realized that she knew more than she had been telling everyone. He nodded silently and prepared to listen to whatever Jean had to say.

"Duncan knew I was a mutant," began Jean.

"I know. I saw it on his…" Kurt trailed off.

Jean watched Kurt quizzically now. "On his what? How could you possibly know about that?"

"Vell," said Kurt slowly, "let's just say I've been vorking on a special project. The point is I know that he knew you're a mutant. I just can't figure out how he knew. Did you tell him?"

"No, he figured it out on his own," said Jean. "But I didn't deny it. I think I wanted him to know, deep down I mean. I guess I thought I could be honest with him. After all, he was my boyfriend, right? So when he asked me, I told him, 'yeah, I'm a mutant.' I had no idea he'd get so violent when he found out. He tried to hurt me, but I stopped him. Then he threatened me. He said he'd do things to me. He said he'd blackmail me and hurt me. I was scared! Now, here's the important part."

Jean repositioned her legs on the bed so they were crossed under her. She hadn't told anyone but Professor Xavier about this.

"This all happened the day before Duncan died. The next morning, the morning before it happened, I told Scott what was going on. He was mad, to say the least. Not at me, but at Duncan. But he tried to comfort me and we tried to forget about it. Then that afternoon was the fight. Scott was protecting me that day. Duncan was about to hit me so Scott hit him first and that's how the fight got started."

Kurt sat perfectly still and silent on the bed as Jean's story unfolded. Slowly, he began to see a motive that he had never considered before.

"After Duncan got back from Darkholme's office," continued Jean, "he found me and threatened me again. He grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm over my shoulder and around my back. He held me there with my back against his chest so that I couldn't move. Then he threatened to hurt me and my friends if I didn't do what he wanted! I never told this to Scott, but he even threatened to…"

Tears began sliding down the girl's cheeks as she trailed off. She blinked her eyes a couple times to bat them away. Kurt started to ask what else Duncan had threatened, but realized what she meant before he actually spoke the words. He could feel rage building inside himself as he imagined Duncan threatening to rape his friend.

"That afternoon," said Jean, "I went to talk to Scott. He saw the bruise on my arm and found out what had happened. Then he got real quiet and just whispered something about how he could kill Duncan. I didn't think anything about it so I left him alone. I thought he was just mad so I decided to let him cool down before we continued the conversation. I didn't get a chance to talk to him again until the Brotherhood attacked."

Kurt reached out with one hand to comfort Jean. The only noises they could hear were Jean's sobs and the downstairs phone ringing, probably another reporter wanting an interview. They sat still for a few minutes as Jean tried to compose herself and Kurt analyzed her story. He still believed that Scott didn't kill Duncan, but he also knew that Scott had feelings for Jean. Strong ones. He had never heard Scott actually say it, but it was obvious to Kurt how he felt about Jean. If Duncan was threatening to hurt her, maybe Scott would kill him! Maybe he did it protect Jean! For the first time, Kurt found himself faced with a possible motive that made complete sense to him and he didn't like it.

Jean sobbed one last time and looked up at Kurt's face. The tears had stopped now, but her face was still red from the crying.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I didn't mean to break down like that."

Kurt shook his head. "Don't be sorry. Vhat's a friend good for if not a shoulder to cry on?" A kind smile crossed his lips.

Jean smiled back at him. It was the first time she had seen him flash that smile in weeks. "You're a good friend, Kurt. And loyal too. Scott's lucky to be so close to you. I only hope you're right about all this."

Kurt opened his mouth to press her for her thoughts. After Jean's story, he wondered what she thought about it all. Did she think he could have done it? Looking back, could Scott have been serious when he said he'd kill Duncan? There were so many questions Kurt had to ask. But before he had a chance, Kitty ran into the room without bothering to even try opening the door.

"You guys better come downstairs!" she cried quickly. She was slightly out of breath from running through the mansion.

"Vhat's vrong?" asked Kurt, slightly annoyed that she would barge in on such a serious conversation.

Kitty pointed down the hallway as she spoke. "The police just called. Scott's escaped!"