Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Gwen and her story, no suing please!!!

A/N: Wow, I just want to say thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! It might seem pathetic compared to other stories on , but 53 reviews is a big deal for me! Again thank you all for reviewing! I love you guys! About the story, this chapter should start to clear up any questions you guys may have about how Gwen ties in with the X-Men (ME, this is for you!). Enjoy!

Time seemed to pass slowly from the time Gwen left Xavier's office to the time of her first class. She simply wandered through the halls, ignoring the stares of other students as they passed her in the halls. Her mind was lost, searching for a way out of the world it was in. Xavier's words stung her: 'Do you even understand?' Gwen had asked, never expecting his answer of 'I know this may come as a shock, but yes, I do.' She'd been surprised by his answer, but, then again, he had been her age at one point. She wondered if he'd ever dealt with the same treatment, the same abuse, you could say, as she had.

"I wonder if anyone else here has dealt with this . . . " she wondered aloud.

Allowing her feet to simply lead her wherever they pleased, Gwen absentmindedly rolled up one of her sleeves, her fingers running over the pink scars that ran down the length of her forearm. This would normally be one of the moments, at the orphanage, when she would find relief in a blade slicing her pale skin.

Gwen stopped in mid step; "Why not?" she asked herself quietly, "No one will ever find out."

With that conclusion she began to wind her way through the immense labyrinth of halls back to her room. She got lost just once, opening the door of one of the boys' dorms, thanking God that no one had been inside. It took her about ten more minutes before she got to her own dorm. Finding it empty, she quickly shuffled over to her bed. Reaching into her pillowcase, she unearthed her knife. After double-checking to make sure the room was otherwise unoccupied, Gwen flicked it open, the blade catching the sunlight. She wiped the dried blood off its edge and rolled up her sleeve.

The feeling of cold steel was a welcome sensation against the white of her skin. She knew what she was doing was wrong, that it was a 'destructive' habit, and she'd tried to stop, but sometimes the pain just needed to go away. It had been the only refuge she'd had ever. There was never anyone to go to, to pour to heart and soul to. She had lost the ability to trust when she was fourteen, right after people at school found out that she was a mutant. Without trusting anyone, there was no one confide in, so one day she found relief in a Swiss Army knife she'd taken from one of the younger kids at the orphanage. After that was reported missing, Gwen joined in the search, 'finding' it under the sofa. She knew it was too suspicious to take knives from the kitchen, so, after ignoring the powerful urge to cut again, she went out and purchased a knife from some old pawn shop. She had to soak it in alcohol and sharpen it after getting it home, and then it was her own little secret. No one saw the knife, or the slashes it made on her arms. She felt alone because of what she did to herself, even though she knew perfectly well that lots of people did it.

A small, slow streak of blood ran down the side of her arm, its few drops falling onto the yellow sheets of Gwen's bed. She didn't think about the fact that it would stain, or the possibility of someone noticing it. The idea of someone walking in on her didn't even cross her mind. She had just barely escaped being sent back to her own personal hell, which would normally have been a reason to be rejoicing, but for Gwen, it was just the opposite. The idea of being safe and having friends to trust was one she couldn't grasp. Everyone had betrayed her when she was at her weakest, and with that kind of record, what else was she to expect?

Gwen made one last cut, a feeling of guilt running through her. She thought back to the night she arrived, what she had told herself: 'You will never feel safe again. These people will only add to your pain.' She remembered that night clearly, how she wanted to turn back in fear, even though that was part of her motivation to go the Xavier's in the first place.

Gwen looked to the clock, it was 8:10, she had ten minutes before her first class. Putting the knife on her bed, she quickly turned to the secound drawer of her night-stand, pulling out a roll of gauze. Gwen carefully began to wrap up her arm, but to her horror, the roll ran out. Gwen sat on her bed, her eyes fixed on the cuts she had made. Hastily, she covered as much of the slashes as possible and then ran for the door.

Wrapping one arm tightly with the other, Gwen made her way to a bathroom in hopes of finding some spare gauze. Finding one of restrooms, Gwen began to rummage through the cabinets, only to find toilet paper, spare toothbrushes and toothpaste.

"Need something?"

Fear ran through Gwen, straightening her spine. She slowly turned to see who had spoken to her, only to be met with the warm, welcoming face of Dr. Jean Grey. Gwen instantly stood, staring at the gentle smile on the doctor's face. There was something about this woman that Gwen felt like she knew, or had known. Gwen quickly ran through her memories, trying to place her, but the only thing that she could think of was their first meeting, two days ago; "Dr. Grey, uh . . . Hi." Gwen said, breaking her silence. There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. She wanted to know what the connection was between them, if there even was one that she wasn't imagining.

"Good morning. What are you looking for?"

"Well, you know, it's that time of month."

Jean Grey nodded in understanding; "Follow me." Gwen followed her to a very small, cramped supply closet down the hall that any claustrophobic would die in. The room was full of medicine like pain killers and fever reducers, feminine supplies and, much to Gwen's pleasure, bandages. "I'm not supposed to show students where this is," Dr. Grey explained, "considering that some of the students come in with addictions to pain killers and what not. But I let most of the girls know where it is, just in case." She grabbed what Gwen required and handed it to her.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

"Is your arm alright?"

"Huh?" Gwen asked, realizing that Dr. Grey must have noticed her clutching her arm, "Oh, yeah, I just, you know, slept on it funny."

"Okay."

"Thanks again."

"Sure, no problem." Dr. Grey replied, walking off.

Gwen went the other way, back towards the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, Gwen used her mutation to go invisible and walked back towards the closet. One plus to Gwen's mutation was that not only could she go unseen, but also unheard. She could have literally stomped her way down the hall and no one would be able to hear her. It took her awhile to be able to figure out how to speak while invisible, though she still experienced some problems.

Finding the door, Gwen looked around to make sure no one was there to see the door magically open by itself. Gwen stepped in, quickly grabbed a fresh roll of gauze and then sprinted back to her dorm. Gwen quickly covered the wounds, which were still bleeding, and then hid the roll.

Jean Grey calmly walked into the office of Professor Xavier. There was something about Gwen that was confusing her, something that was haunting her thoughts, memories of long ago . . .

"Good morning, Jean. How are you?"

"Fine, professor."

"What's the matter?"

"The new student, Gwen. What do you know about her?"

"She grew up in an orphanage, like some of the other students. Went to a public high school, fairly simple knowledge."

"What is her last name?"

"She said it was Simon, though I don't believe that is her real surname."

Why is that?"

"Beatrice Simon runs the orphanage where Gwen grew up. Why are you so interested in this student?"

"There's something about her, something that makes me feel like I know her, like we've met before."

"Well? Have you?"

"You already know the answer to that, Professor."

Xavier leaned forward in his chair, his face suddenly very stern, "Jean, you don't think that Gwen is - "

"No." Jean interrupted, "Please, I don't want to think about that, I don't want to remember."

"Have you spoken to Scott about it?"

Jean paused, she hadn't brought it up with Scott, nor did she have any desire to do so; "No."

"I think it would be a wise choice."

"I'm not so sure of that."

"Jean, you cannot run from it forever. I understand that it was painful for both of you, and that neither of you want to relive the past, but the best thing for the both of you to do would be to think it over."

"Okay," Jean agreed reluctantly, "I will."

"It will be good you both."

Another A/N: I hope this sort of ties some things together! Now, on to thank yous!

EbonyFirePhoenix - (freezes in place) Please! Don't shoot! Sorry, the speediness has failed, please don't kill me!

Remus Is Mine - I agree immensely, The Incredibles is a fantastic movie! (even if those bloody wankers at Pixar stole my character . . . ) Anyway, thanks! I'm sorry about that last update, school is hell. You haven't read my profile? TEAR! I'm so insulted! Ha, I'm only bluffing, I mean, seriously, do the profiles really matter? I just get bored and skim over them sometimes. Hope you liked this chapter!

ME - Thank you! I hope this chapter answered your question about Scott and Jean a little, there will be more of that soon, I promise.

General Mac - Here you go! I hope you liked!

A Lost Soul - Dude, your review made me smile so much! Yay! I'm glad you like! BTW, here are your cookies (hands Tupperware full of chocolate chip cookies through computer), they're fresh! J Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Neko the Ninja - Duh! How could I have forgotten! Dear lord, what's wrong with me?Diaz F - Mein Gott! I'm so sorry! (smacks forehead) Wow, I guess it was a good thing that I added the male part! I feel so terrible now! (bangs head against a wall) Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.

Chiko - oh my goodness, thank you kindly! Wow, that so nice of you, I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!

Diaz F - Duh! How could I have forgotten! Dear lord, what's wrong with me? Mein Gott! I'm so sorry! (smacks forehead) Wow, I guess it was a good thing that I added the male part! I feel so terrible now! (bangs head against a wall) Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.oh my goodness, thank you kindly! Wow, that so nice of you, I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!