Second chapter. Let me know what you think

I don't own the X-Men. Just Mattie

Enjoy

Twice In One Day

The next morning, while most of the students were groaning about the start of school, Paige and Ray were still not communicating.

"We could take Paige with us." Mattie suggested to Bobby as they finished up their breakfast.

"No."

"But, Bobby, there's plenty of room in your car."

"No." He repeated. "I know you want to help, Mats. But I'm telling you. When it comes to a Paige and Ray fight, the best thing to do is stay out of it."

"Can't we take her with us?"

Having just stuffed a mouthful of cereal in his mouth Bobby had to settle for shaking his head emphatically.

Mattie sighed and watched as her room mate avoided Ray with deliberate care.

She turned to Bobby and opened her mouth to plead Paige's case one more time.

Bobby, who knew his girlfriend well, silenced her with a slice of toast.

Mattie glared balefully at him as she munched.

"Ten to one, they'll have made it up by the time that they get to school." Bobby told her. "You know these things never last."

X

Mattie strolled through the grounds of the Bayville High School, Bobby's arm casually slung across her shoulders.

Back to school, she pulled a face. The summer holidays never seemed long enough.

She felt Bobby's hand tighten slightly on her shoulder. She looked up at him. "Too fast?"

Bobby grinned back at her. "You could slow it down a little."

She sighed. After an extended absence from 'normalcy' she had a tendency to move too fast. At the Institute she could move at any speed she liked and no one even noticed anymore. Here, she needed to move at a more sedate pace. It all seemed so desperately slow.

She forced herself to move slower, she'd have it down by the end of the day. But for now she just needed to focus.

"See I told you." Bobby said, breaking into her thoughts.

"Told me what?"

Bobby nodded over his shoulder and Mattie turned to see Ray and Paige arm in arm.

"Cough up, Drew." Bobby said grinning at her. "I believe the odds were in my favour."

"I don't recall shaking on it." Mattie corrected him.

"Too bad. I aim to collect my winnings?" Bobby asked leaning down and stealing a kiss.

Mattie giggled and kissed him back.

"Ewww, public display of affection." Jubes moaned as she and Sam caught up to them.

"Morning, Jubes." Mattie murmured.

"You'd not doing to bad at the PDA yourselves." Bobby said, staring pointedly at the arms wrapped around each others waists.

"But you guys have been together for over a year now." Jubilee pointed out. "You should be over that by now."

"I didn't know we were so ancient." Mattie said with a laugh. "Honey, do you want me to fetch your Zimmer frame?

"I see Paige made up with Ray." Sam commented.

"Sure." Jubes smiled. "Do you really think either of them wants to be arguing on the first day back?"

"Don't hold back, Jubes. Tell us what you really think." Bobby teased.

Jubilee raised an eyebrow. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"Wrong about what?" Ray asked as he and Paige joined them.

"Your sudden forgiveness for each other." Jubilee said.

Paige and Ray exchanged guilty looks.

The others laughed.

"Posers." Mattie said.

The first bell rang and Paige pulled free of Ray and slipped her arm through Mattie's. "Sorry to tear you two apart. But I've heard that through the magic of modern science boyfriends and girlfriends can actually separate from each other."

Mattie rolled her eyes at her room mate. "Come on then. Let's get this thing over with."

Waving goodbye to the others they headed to registration. The room was already half full by the time they got there, with more students trailing in after them.

Selecting a couple of seats near the rear of the classroom, the girls settled back to see who was in their class this year.

"Can you believe that we're actually back here?" Paige sighed. "Why is it that the first day back always feels like we haven't really had any time off at all?"

"It's the generally depression that accompanies school hallways." Mattie replied. "It sucks out all the goodness and replaces it with…" She wrinkled her nose. "School."

"Well it sucks."

"That it does."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Paige exclaimed.

"Hu?" Mattie looked up.

"If it isn't Little Miss Shy."

The blonde from the Mall food court stood framed in the doorway, sporting another tiny skirt. This time in red, with a white buttoned shirt and matching red backpack. She gazed regally around the room, pursing her lips at what she saw. The rest of the room all turned to gawk at the new girl. The staring didn't seem to phase her, in fact she paid no attention to the scene she was causing, she just sighed and slide gracefully into a seat.

"Well, today just got a whole load more interesting." Paige muttered.

"Did you figure her to be in our year?" Mattie asked.

"I guessed older."

"She doesn't seem all that shy, for a new girl." Mattie shrugged. "I was just a bundle of nerves my first day here. What with the getting lost, the new timetable, all the strange people."

"Have you seen her? She's riding high on shear good looks. What does she have to be nervous about? She's like an honorary cheerleader."

"Is it wrong of us to judge her like this?" Mattie wondered.

"You saw the way that she treated that guy at the Mall."

Mattie raised an eyebrow. What Paige really meant was that way that Ray had stared at the girl. The way that all the boys had stared at her. Including Bobby. On the other hand, she couldn't speed the rest of her life hating anyone pretty. "We can't damn her forever, just for that. What if that was an off day?"

Paige eyed the blonde suspiciously. "Okay. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt."

Mattie laughed. "Yeah. Sure. I can tell you are welcoming her with open arms, by your aggressive tone and evil eye."

"All right, so I don't like blonde competition." Paige pulled her face back into her usually sunny expression. "I'm over it."

Mr Hall walked in and took his seat at his desk calling the class to attention. "We have a new student with us this year." He told the class, or though anyone with eyes could have figured that much out. "Emma Frost. Where are you Emma?"

The blonde raised her hand, smiling perfunctorily.

Mr Hall smiled back at her. "Emma, why don't you tell the class something about yourself."

Emma smiled graciously then rolled her eyes once Mr Hall had looked away.

"My name is Emma Frost, and I recently moved here. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you."

"Judging by the avid stares, I know several members of the class that are waiting in line to get to know her better." Paige whispered to Mattie.

"Is this you being over it?" Mattie whispered back.

Paige grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Could I get someone to show Emma round the school today?" Mr Hall asked.

The response was a forest of hands.

X

"This is getting so old." Paige muttered as she, Mattie, Jubilee and Tabitha sat in the cafeteria.

Emma sat, holding court at her lunch table.

"You know I actually heard one of the cheerleaders ask her to join the squad." Tabby said.

"Hey, you know the beautiful people have to hang out together." Mattie told her.

"Owen Perry has asked her out already." Jubes told them.

The four of them stared at the growing mob that surrounded Emma.

Tabby scowled. "Did she have to be so…"

"Blonde." Paige supplied.

"I was going for pretty, but yeah, blonde pretty much nails it." Tabby said.

"You don't like her because she's blonde?" Mattie asked, eyeing the two blondes slightly incredulously. "Is this some secret society that I don't know about?"

"Anyone can be blonde and pretty." Paige said.

Tabby nodded. "She's giving the rest of us a bad name."

"Did you understand any of that?" Mattie asked Jubilee.

Jubes shrugged. "Not a bit." She played with a length of her dark hair. "But then what would I know."

Mattie grinned. "Well I'm scared. I've never been so glad to be a brunet in all my life."

Paige gave her a mock glare. "Sure what have you got to worry about? Everyone assumes you're intelligent. She grinned. "Wrongly of course. But there we go."

"Hu? What was that now?" Mattie asked.

Tabitha sighed. "You see and brunet and you think she's intelligent. See a blonde and you just know that she's dumb and pretty."

"I do?" Mattie asked. She looked at Paige and Jubilee for help. "Do I?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "She can be so cute sometimes."

Mattie made a face, while Paige grinned.

"I get it." Jubes said. "It's stereotyping. Like thinking that all guys are car fanatics, or that all girls like to shop."

"But you do like to shop, Jubes." Mattie pointed out.

"Yeah, but you moan after more than a couple of hours." Jubilee pointed out.

Mattie rolled her eyes. "There is only so much a body can take."

"That's my point. Not all girls like to shop and cook and clean and darn socks and stuff."

"Did we just skip back to the middle ages?" Paige asked.

"This is your point I'm trying to prove." Jubes told her.

Paige held up her hands to appease her. "Excuse me. I'm just a dumb blonde, remember."

"Yeah right." Jubilee scoft. "A dumb blonde whose Trig home work I copy each week."

"Not if you keep calling me a dumb blonde."

"You started it." Jubes pointed out.

"Got you there, Paige." Mattie agreed. "And how come you never let me copy your Trig?"

"Cause you're a speed freak and always get yours done first." Paige told her. "I copy yours and then take out the wrong answers."

"What!" Mattie glared at her room mate.

"The point is." Tabby said. "That people expect blondes to get by off their looks. Frosty over there is the total case in point of that."

Paige nodded. "She ruins it for the rest of us."

"Why do we even care?" Jubilee asked. "Three of us have boyfriends and Tabby is never wanting for male attention. What do we care?"

The four of them exchanges glances.

"Good point."

"Well made."

Tabby grinned. "Let's go watch the boys playing basketball."

X

Bobby fell onto the sofa in the Rec room with a sigh. "I hate the first day of school."

"Seconded." Sam said.

"Thirded." Ray said.

"They should change the rules so that we start back on the second day." Mattie said.

"Wouldn't that make the second day the first day?" Jubes queried.

Mattie frowned. "That sucks."

Bobby shook his head and ruffled her hair. "Don't ponder too hard over it. Those cobwebs won't know what's hit them."

Mattie hit him with a cushion and went back to the problem.

"I'm hungry." Tabby said.

"You know where the kitchen is." Amara pointed out.

"Roberto and Jamie are in there already." Rahne told them.

"Aw man." Ray whined. "Multiple shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen unguarded. He's worse than Kurt."

"Well go stop him then." Paige said. "And while you're there, a bar of chocolate would be great."

"Get your own." Ray replied staying rooted to his seat.

Sam rolled his eyes, and then shook his head as Jubilee looked pleadingly at him. "No way Jubes."

"I got it!"

They all turned to stare at Mattie.

"Cheers, Mats." Bobby said. "Mines the chips and dip."

"Everyone else starts on the first day back. And we get special dispensation, for being great or something, and so we start on the second day back. That way it's not the first day." Mattie said, grinning proudly.

"Mattie, we've kinda moved on." Rahne said.

"Yeah, we're more into whose going to get the food and bring it back here." Amara told her.

"Good point, I'm starving." Mattie left the room in a blur.

Bobby groaned. "Come on. We'd better get in there before the Tasmanian Mattie cleans out the cupboards."

Moaning, the rest of them followed him into the kitchen.

Four Jamie's sat eating cereal, chips, scrambled egg and a sandwich.

"Jamie, how can four of you eat at the same time?" Amara asked.

"Doesn't it make you feel sick?" Jubilee asked.

All four of the Jamie's shook their heads, mouths too full to answer.

Rogue, Kitty and Kurt sat at the other end of the table. Kurt was putting away as much as the four Jamie's all by himself. Kitty and Rouge had coffee.

"Ah said we should get out of here before the rabble arrived." Rogue muttered.

"Love you too, Rogue." Ray said as he raided the refrigerator.

Kurt snorted into his food, and then smothered a smile as his sister glared at him.

"You two not hungry?" Rahne asked, grabbing the bagel Roberto had just toasted.

"Just watching those two eat is filling." Kitty said, glancing between Kurt and the Jaime's.

Roberto made a swiped at Rahne, glared, and then reached for another bagel.

"Who had the last of the cheese?" Ray asked, momentarily appearing from the fridge.

Paige guiltily looked up from the cheese melt jacket potato she was half way through. "Do you want half?"

Ray scowled, then disappeared back into the fridge again.

"How was school, you guys?" Kitty asked, watching the mayhem unfolding before them.

"You know. You've been there." Bobby said, lunging at the bag of chips in Mattie's hands.

"How was college?" Mattie asked, speeding out of Bobby's reach.

"Dull." Rogue said.

"You said that you liked it." Kitty argued.

"Ah did. It's way better than school." Rogue replied.

"A Danger room session with Wolverine is better than school." Sam said.

Rogue nodded. "But that didn't make it any less dull."

"It was only the first day." Kurt pointed out. "Give it a chance."

Students. Could you please all come to my study? The professor's mental thoughts projected into their heads.

They exchanged glances.

"Have you two been pulling pranks again?" Rogue asked Mattie and Bobby.

Bobby shook his head.

"Not us." Mattie backed him up.

X

They found the professor and the rest of the Institute in the professor's study. Professor Xavier smiled and them as they filled in.

"I wanted to introduce you to some one who will be joining our team.

Mattie looked up with interest. She wouldn't be the new member any more.

The professor turned to the figure standing next to Ororo. "Allow me to introduce Miss Emma Frost."

Paige and Mattie's eyes met in a clash of disbelief.

"Emma will be training with us from tomorrow. She has chosen to have her own accommodation." He smiled at Emma. "But we hope that you feel that the Institute is as much your home as it is ours."

Emma smiled back at him.

The professor regarded the rest of them again. "Emma has telepathic abilities. She will be learning to hone them with myself, while she also learns the art of defending herself physically. Could you please show Emma around and introduce yourselves to her."

They gave him collective nods.

Jean and Scott stepped forward to greet Emma first, Jean explaining that she was also a telepath.

"She's stalking me! I swear it." Paige hissed in Mattie's ear.

"Telepath?" Jubilee asked.

"That sure does clear some things up." Tabby muttered.