Thank you all for all of your wonderful reviews! I'm glad you all liked the scene between Jean and Scott, I knew you would! I can't wait to explore what I have in store for the Phoenix portion of this Fic, I'm sure you'll all love it!
Chapter 4: No More Lies
Early-Mid June
Scott Summers knew that tonight was the night, but he had picked the worst night in a girl's case. It was the night of the senior prom. He was standing just outside the door of the hotel waiting for Taryn who had said she saw someone she wanted to talk to quickly, but Scott knew better. He had seen this "someone" lurking in the shadows on the darker side of the building. He didn't know who it was, but he could tell from where he stood that it was a guy. Now Scott had all the evidence he needed to complete his triangle. The box of cigarettes in his pocket was becoming very tempting as he paced back and forth waiting for Taryn. Scott normally wasn't one to smoke, and he didn't even do it that often only when he was really nervous, it was either that or bite his nails. Jean was making him quick she kept stealing all of his lighters and boxes that she found in his room and threw them out. Scott was grateful for it, but he never told her that. He was about to pull the box from his pocket and light up when a familiar silver car drove into the parking lot. Warren stepped out looking sharp in a black tuxedo and Jean in the same red dress she had worn to the Christmas family dinner. This was the second time Scott had seen her in that dress. He thought she looked even more beautiful than the last time. Her hair was loose and flowing down her back in small wavy curls. Scott watched them from the entrance as they shared a few small kisses before heading for the door. Scott stood there with his head down.
"Hey, Slim, what's wrong?" Jean asked as she approached.
"Nothing." Scott mumbled fidgeting with the box in his pocket. Jean noticed and held her hand out.
"Both of them." She said. Scott turned out his pockets and handed over the box and lighter. "You're doing very good with this, Scott." Jean encouraged as she tossed both items in the nearby trashcan. "I don't want to see you falling of the wagon. Come here." Jean enveloped Scott in a soft hug. "Are you sure everything is ok?" She whispered to him.
"No," Scott answered back.
"Taryn?"
"Yeah."
Warren began dragging Jean inside but Jean held out for a moment longer. "It'll be ok, Scott. Just tell her you're though and be done with it."
"You make it sound so easy." Scott smiled at her. "You look beautiful, Red."
"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself, Slim." Jean finally allowed Warren to pull her inside as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Scott heard him whisper to her, "who the hell is that?" Then he heard Jean answer, "A very good friend of mine." Scott smiled to himself as he thought about Jean. He couldn't believe that she and Warren were still together after all this time. Their end had to be coming near.
"There you are!" Scott looked up to see Taryn flouncing toward him with her arms open. Scott refused her. "What's wrong, Scotty?"
"Nothing, I've been standing here for the last hour waiting for you to finish talking to your "friend"."
Taryn placed her hands on her hips and stared the young man down. Was he implicating what she thought he was implicating? "What exactly do you mean by that, Scott Summers?"
"I know you've been cheating on me, Taryn. You pretend to be all lovey dovey around me and then when we're not together you've got your hands all over someone else. Except tonight, you did it right in front of me thinking I'd never know the difference. Well you were wrong, I saw you walk over to someone and start making out."
"So what does this mean, I'm off the hook?"
"No, more like I am." Scott answered quietly then turned and walked inside leaving Taryn outside, by herself. When he reached the room where the prom was taking place he saw Jean and Warren on the dance floor already getting into each other, and several other couples who were dancing about as fast as they were. The lights hadn't been turned off yet. Scott worked his way over to the table that he and Jean had assigned themselves to and sat down.
"Hey, Scott!" Jean smiled as she walked over. She sat down beside him and kissed his cheek. "Did you do it?"
"Yeah."
"And…?"
"We're over. Taryn and I are officially over." With that said Scott leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. "Feels like a thousand pounds of weight has been lifted off of my shoulders."
Jean smiled seeing Scott happy. "I need to talk to you about something. Warren's parents and my parents want me to move in with him in the city while I'm going to college. I really don't want to, I'd rather be at the institute with you, and Ororo, and Mr. McCoy, and the professor, and Logan… I could go on and on."
"Then tell him that." Scott offered as an easy fix.
"The thing with that is, Warren supports both of them. I'm the deciding factor here."
"Once again, Jean, I'll say he's only in this relationship for the sex."
Jean nodded. "Yeah, I know that now. A couple months ago we went out and had the most spectacular night. It was romantic, and dreamy, it couldn't have been more perfect. Except for the fact that Warren kept asking when were we going to go back to his apartment and make love? All evening the same question over and over. "Are we going to my apartment after this? When are we going to back to my place? Can we go to my place when we're done here?"."
"Oh, Jean…" Scott reached out for her to give the shaking redhead a hug. "Maybe you need to call it quits with Warren?"
"Yeah, you're right, I probably do… Did you know that Duncan Mathews has been hitting on my incessantly for the past three months. He thinks I'm seriously interested in him!" That caused both teens to laugh out loud. "I'll admit that he is hot, but I don't do jocks."
"I'll bet you that Duncan is the guy Taryn has been cheating on me with. I see them together a lot and she always gave me the same excuse, 'oh we're just friends, Scott'."
Jean shook her head as she curled a lock of her fiery hair around a finger. She looked around until she saw Warren coming back from the bathroom. He sat down next to Jean and draped his arm across her shoulders, he didn't even say hi to Scott, didn't even notice him.
"All right," the DJ announced from the corner, "I've got one more fast one for you then we're gonna slow it down with a few slow ones."
"Want to go dance some more?" Warren asked looking over at Jean. Jean shook her head. "Man, when are they serving dinner? I'm starving."
"Not for a while." Jean answered. It was the just the three of them at the table for the time being, everyone else was on the dance floor. They were all silent during the next song, and then the first slow one of the evening came on. "Oh, I love this song!" Jean exclaimed.
"Want to go dance?" Warren asked.
"Actually, I want to dance this one with Scott. Come on, Scott." Jean took the young man's hand and began to lead him to the dance floor.
"Who?" Warren asked as Jean stood up.
"My friend, Scott, I was talking to him outside."
"Oh yeah, sure, I'll let you. Have fun."
Jean shook her head as she led Scott by the arm to the dance floor. "I don't remember asking for your permission. I'm my own person, I don't need your permission to dance with someone."
"I like you when you're pissed off. You're very beautiful." Scott whispered as he turned to wrap his arms around Jean's waist and hold her close. Hers wound around his neck and she pressed herself to him. So this was what it was like to really hold Jean Grey. Her body was soft and supple yet strong. Her hair felt like silk, and the soft material of her dress flowed over her like water running down a waterfall. Jean hugged herself closer to him as they moved together as one, but it didn't even feel like they were moving at all. If she could pick any song to dance with Scott Summers to, it would be this one. It said so much to them both about their current lives and their relationship.
There's another world inside of me that you may never see.
There's secrets in this life that I can't hide.
Somewhere in this darkness there's a life that I can't find.
Maybe it's too far away or maybe I'm just blind, maybe I'm just blind.
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong.
Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone.
Everything I am and everything in me
Wants to be the one you wanted me to be.
I'll never let you down even if I could.
I'd give up everything if only for your good.
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong.
You can hold me when I'm scared but you won't always be there,
So love me when I'm gone, love me when I'm gone
When your education x-ray cannot see under my skin.
I won't tell you a damn thing that I could not tell my friends.
Now roaming through this darkness I'm alive but I'm alone.
Part of me is fighting this but part of me is gone.
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong.
Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone.
Everything I am and everything in me.
Wants to be the one you wanted me to be,
Ill never let you down even if I could.
I'd give up everything if only for your good.
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared, you won't always be there,
So love me when I'm gone.
(Maybe I'm just blind)
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong.
Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone.
Everything I am and everything in me,
Wants to be the one you wanted me to be.
I'll never let you down even if I could.
I'd give up everything if only for your good.
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong.
You can hold me when I'm scared, you won't always be there.
So love me when I'm gone, love me when I'm gone.
As the song ended Jean let Scott go and stared up at him, she so longingly wished to see his eyes. Scott began to lean in towards her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Jean didn't care if Warren saw; this was the man she wanted to be with more than anything. She prayed Scott couldn't hear her thoughts, and didn't know that Scott was thinking the same thing. They parted slowly staring at each other, not knowing what they had just done. Jean smiled brightly and hugged Scott fiercely. "You are so wonderful." She whispered into his ear. "Thank you." As soon as the next song began Warren had moved to where Jean and Scott were standing and took her hands.
"Jean," he said, watching Scott walk back to the table. He began dancing slowly withher."What the hell was that?"
"What?" Jean asked confused.
"That kiss I saw you give him. Why?" Warren allowed a little of his control to slip and shook Jean.
Jean wasa little shocked, Warren was normally such a gentleman."It was nothing, Warren, it meant nothing. I didn't realize it had happened until we parted. Don't worry about it." Jean tried to sweet talk her way out of this, but Warren wasn't the kind of guy to just let up.
"Don't worry about it, Jean, you're my fiancé!" He hissed.
"Only if I want to get married to you!" Jean hissed back.
"Are you saying you don't?"
"Maybe. Maybe if you stopped beingso goddamn over protective and controlling of me I would want to marry you. I don't want to marry a guy who is going to control my life like a pimp!"
Scott watched the couple's argument from the table knowing he was the seeing the beginning of the end for Jean and Warren. The thought of it brought a wide smile to his face.
A/N: the song Jean and Scott danced to "When I'm Gone" belongs to 3 Doors Down, i do not own it and take no credit please do not sue me! REVIEW PLEASE!
