Chapter 12
"C'mon, kid. Yer gonna be late," Logan growled softly at Jean from the kitchen doorway.
"But I'm not done breakfast," she protested, making no move to get up from her chair.
"Then ya shoulda eaten faster instead of spending so much time gabbin'. Let's go."
"But Logan – "
"Now, Red," he said in a tone that left no room for argument. Logan pinned Jean with a look that told her he meant business, and all further protests died on her lips. Satisfied he'd made his point, Logan turned and stalked down the hallway towards the door to the garage, knowing Jean would not be far behind.
Scott snickered quietly as Jean groaned and pushed herself out of the chair next to his. Because of the duct-tape secured over his eyes, he couldn't see the expression on her face, but he could well imagine it.
"What are you laughing at?" Jean grumbled at him as she passed behind him, purposefully bumping the back of his chair with her hip on her way to put her plate on the counter. "As soon as Dr. McCoy's finished those glasses he's designing for you, you'll be going to school. Thank god we're starting high school in the fall – only two more months of hell."
"C'mon, Jean, it can't be as bad as you let on," he said soothingly, knowing how much Jean hated school. In the eight months Scott had been at the Institute, he and Jean had become best friends, and she'd confided in him about how unhappy she was at her school, about how isolated she felt. He knew she didn't have many friends, and he couldn't understand it. Jean exuded such warmth and had such an outgoing nature that it seemed impossible not to be drawn to her.
"No, you're right – it's a blast," Jean said sourly, as she walked back over to the table and snagged the strap of the backpack sitting on the floor. "I'm just little Miss Popular. Don't you hear the phone ringing off the hook every evening? Those are all my non-existent friends not calling."
"Jean – "
"Forget it, Scott."
"Jean," he said again, and reached out, instinctively knowing where she was so that he could grasp her hand.
"What?" she asked, her voice soft and sad.
"You'll always have me," he told her gently, but firmly. "No matter what, I'll always be your friend."
He heard her sniffle softly, and he wished, for the umpteenth time, that he could see her face.
"I know," she replied, squeezing his hand. "And I'll always be yours."
Scott could hear the smile in her voice. Jean leaned in suddenly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tight. He hugged her back, smiling into her hair.
"As far as best friends go, I could sure do worse," Jean chuckled as she released him and stood up.
"Jean," came Logan's warning yell from down the hall.
"Yeah, well, you're not so bad yourself. Now go before Logan kills you."
Jean laughed, making Scott smile. When Jean laughed, he couldn't help but feel happy. Her joy was almost contagious.
"'K. See you later," she called as she darted out of the kitchen and started running down the hallway toward Logan. "I know, I know, I'm sorry," she told the older man as she approached, rolling her eyes.
He shrugged his annoyance. "You ain't doin' me any favors by being on time for school, kid. I couldn't care less."
Jean snorted. "Yeah well, neither could I. So let's just go."
Scott finished eating and cleared his plate, placing it in the sink with Jean's. He then carefully made his way through the mansion's labyrinthine corridors to the basement lab to visit with Hank McCoy."Scott, my dear boy, your presence is serendipitous!" Dr. McCoy exclaimed. "I was about to go in search of you."
Scott said nothing, waiting for the doctor to continue. The big man turned and looked at the boy with a wide grin. "I believe I am a mere few hours away from having a working eyewear prototype for you."
Scott was in shock. He didn't believe it – he wouldn't allow himself to believe it, for fear of being disappointed. But oh, how he hoped…
"All right, Scott. Henry is going to remove the tape, so keep your eyes closed," Professor Xavier instructed the nervous boy. Scott did as he was told, flinching slightly as his sensitive eyelids were exposed to air for the first time in almost nine months. Then the gentle weight of the glasses settled across the bridge of his nose, and the arms wrapped securely behind his ears.
"Doncha think we should be doin' this little experiment outside?" Logan asked from behind Scott.
"True," Ororo agreed. "If the lenses were to fail, then nothing would be damaged that could not grow back."
"It's unlikely that Scott's optic blasts would cause much damage to these walls," Charles chuckled. "Remember, they're….reinforced."
Logan shrugged and exchanged a glance with Ororo. "Should we perhaps not wait until Jean can be here?" Ororo asked.
Logan barked out a laugh. "She'll be pissed as hell when she finds out she missed this."
"Scott? Would you rather wait until this afternoon, when Jean is able to be here?" Hank asked the boy.
Scott thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I'd like to surprise her," he replied.
"All right then," Hank said as he made sure the glasses were on firmly, then moved around so that he was slightly behind Scott. "Go ahead – open your eyes."
Everyone held their breath.
Scott opened his eyes for the first time in almost close to a year, and saw the world through a red haze – the ruby quartz that kept his optic blasts in check.
"It's working," Scott said in quiet amazement, slowly turning to take in his surroundings. He looked upon his saviors for the first time, and grinned.
"Now I know why the girls at Jean's school say you're scary," Scott said to Logan, smirking. Logan laughed and smirked back.
"They've got no idea, kid," he said with a feral grin.
Scott sat in the passenger seat of Logan's convertible, watching as the world flew by in a red wash. Scott was gradually adjusting to the color. He knew seeing a world of red was better than being blind, so he didn't complain. Everything seemed beautiful to him – the trees, the houses, and the winding road. It was as if he were seeing everything for the first time.
"How much further?" Scott called to Logan, over the rushing wind.
"'Bout five minutes," Logan answered. He glanced over at Scott and couldn't help but grin at the teenager's nervousness. "Don't worry, kid. You'll get to see her soon."
They pulled up in front of Jean's school after the last bell had gone. There were groups of girls everywhere, and Scott scanned the area, seeing if he could identify his best friend.
"You tryin' to pick her out on yer own?" Logan asked, watching as Scott scanned the grounds. Scott's nod was the only reply.
Scott was busy assembling everything he knew about Jean and trying to create a physical image. All he knew of her physically was that she had red hair and that she was almost as tall as he was. That helped narrow his choices down, but not enough. As his gaze wandered to the far end of the yard, he knew he'd found her.
She was apart from the rest of the girls, sitting cross-legged on top of a low stone wall, reading a book. Her long hair hung like a curtain around her, obscuring her face from view.
"There," Scott said, motioning at her. "That's Jean over there, isn't it?"
Logan glanced at the boy and cocked an eyebrow at him in approval. "Not bad, kid," he muttered, and gave a couple of quick blasts of the horn. At the sound, the girl's head snapped up and she glanced at them. She gave a cursory wave, bent back over to collect her things, and hopped down off the wall. As she started towards the car, it became obvious the moment she realized it wasn't just Logan waiting for her. She paused mid-stride as she absorbed what she was seeing. Scott smiled at her, and he waved before opening the door and climbing out of the car.
Jean started running towards them, grinning widely. One of the girls she passed must have said something snide, because Jean turned to her, flipped her the bird, and then continued running towards the car. Logan laughed. "Thata girl," he muttered, pride sneaking into his words.
"Scott, oh my god, you got your glasses!" Jean squealed in excitement as she threw her arms around her friend and hugged him fiercely. Scott hugged her back, at a loss for words.
Jean was beautiful.
He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it wasn't that. From what she'd told him about how she was treated at school, he'd thought maybe she was plain, or maybe even odd looking. That would have easily explained why Jean was ostracized by her peers. Not that it would have justified the teasing, but he knew first-hand how cruel kids could be to anyone different. But even had she been plain, certainly her vivacious personality should have more than compensated, so he'd still been confused. Now that he'd seen her, his confusion mounted.
Why would a girl like Jean - sweet, smart, funny, and beautiful - not be surrounded by friends? Why would she be teased by the other girls at school? He looked past Jean's shoulder at scanned the faces of the girls who watched, carefully taking in their expressions. Suddenly he understood.
Jean was different from the other girls. Together, those differences made her beautiful. But if picked apart, they could be fodder for torment. He knew the names they called her; Jean had cried on his shoulder more than once after a particularly rough day. But now the reality struck him. The other girls were jealous of her.
"You two gonna stand there all day, or are we gonna get outta here?" Logan asked finally, watching the two young teenagers with amusement.
Scott and Jean jumped apart, embarrassed that they had held each other for so long. Jean's cheeks flushed bright red and her eyes focused on an interesting spot on the ground. "Sorry," she murmured, not making eye contact with either Scott or Logan.
Logan chuckled as Scott climbed into the backseat behind the driver's seat, and Jean took the front passenger seat.
Scott didn't take his eyes off Jean the entire ride back to the Institute. He had to make up for all those months of not being able to see his best friend's face. Jean chatted about nothing of consequence, and he realized it was out of nervousness. He smiled. A couple of times Jean turned around to address Scott, only to find him already looking at her.
"What?" she finally asked, clearly uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
"Nothing," he replied with a smile.
"Then stop it," she told him, scowling at him. "You're creeping me out."
Logan howled with laughter, and Scott grinned even wider.
Once back at the mansion, Logan went off on his own, leaving Scott and Jean alone.
"So, is it strange to be able to see again?" Jean asked as the strolled through the main hallway.
"Kinda. I'd almost gotten used to being blind," Scott admitted. "But it's great, too," he added, glancing sidelong at her.
Jean just nodded, eyes on the floor.
"What's wrong?" he asked after a long minute of Jean's silence.
She shrugged noncommittally and continued walking.
Scott stopped and crossed his arms, staring at her. "Come on, Jean, what's bothering you? I'm not leaving you alone until you talk to me."
Jean sighed and glanced back at him.
"Fine. Meet me on the dock in 10 minutes. I've gotta change out of this stupid uniform," she said, indicating her kilt and blouse.
Scott nodded and watched her walk away.
"Hey," he greeted when she was close enough to hear.
She smiled at him and sat down next to him on the wooden dock. Neither of them spoke for several long moments.
"So..." Scott finally said.
"Yeah…so..." Jean repeated with a self-deprecating smirk, and fell silent again.
"What's going on?" he prodded.
She sighed and flopped backwards, lying down with her legs dangling over the edge of the dock. She flinched slightly as the elastic band holding up her hair dug into her head.
"I'm sure I'm just being stupid," she said, closing her eyes to gather her courage.
"Probably, but go ahead anyway," Scott teased, trying to lighten her mood. He knew he'd succeeded when she opened her eyes to glare at him and stick out her tongue.
"Seriously, Jean, what's wrong?"
"I'm really glad that Dr. McCoy was able to design those glasses for you. I just...oh, I don't know," she trailed off, closing her eyes again. Scott waited patiently for her to work out what it was she wanted to say.
"I guess I'm afraid that this will change our friendship," Jean finally admitted in a small voice.
Scott looked at her in confusion. "Why would you think that?"
"I don't know," she said in frustration, sitting up again and staring down into the lake. "I guess...I guess I'm just scared. I've never had a best friend like you before – nobody's ever accepted me the way you have. I've never connected with anyone else this way.
"You're the first friend my own age that I've had since I came out of my coma. Why is that? I've been going to that damn school for the past two years, so why haven't I made any other friends? I'm the same person, whether I'm here or there. What's the obvious difference between you and the girls at school? They could see me, and you couldn't. So I have to wonder how much of your acceptance of me was because you didn't know what I looked like – you judged me solely on who I was, not the fact that I'm a giant, gawky red haired freak. And now I wonder if you'll still want to be friends the way we've been."
Scott stared at her, completely at a loss for what to say next.
"Jean..." he began and stopped, not knowing how to articulate what he felt. She looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes, and Scott's heart broke. He reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, hugging her to him. "I've told you before, I will always be your best friend. For as long as you want me to be. Of course, you'll probably want nothing to do with me when you get a boyfriend," he joked.
Jean snorted a laugh. "Yeah, right. I'm sure I'll be beating the guys off with a stick," she said derisively.
Scott chuckled and hugged her tighter. "If it makes any difference, I think you're really pretty," he admitted, swallowing his pride and embarrassment in an attempt to boost her self-esteem.
He could feel her head shaking "no" against his shoulder. "Stop it," he said firmly. "Have I ever lied to you?"
Jean pulled away and looked at him, meeting his eyes through the thick red lenses of his glasses. "No," she admitted.
"Then shut up and say 'thank you'," he said, smiling.
She blushed and looked away, but he saw the corners of her mouth curl up in a small smile. "Thank you," she finally said. They sat in a comfortable silence for several long minutes.
"Now that that's settled, what do you want to do?" Scott asked, removing his arm from her shoulders.
"Hmmm….I dunno," Jean said, but he noticed a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"What're you up to?" he asked suspiciously.
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him with wide, innocent eyes and a sweet smile on her lips.
Man, I am in so much trouble, Scott thought. Now he understood exactly what Logan had meant all the times he'd said, "Jeannie, don't give me that face!" It was what he said just before he caved to whatever it was she was asking, or forgave her for something. Scott was sure that Jean would be stunned to learn how much power she had over the men in her life – himself included. Scott just hoped that she'd always use that power for good, otherwise God help them all.
The thought made him grin. He took in her expression of innocence and told her, "You're so full of shit."
"Fine," she relented, instantly trading her angelic smile for a wicked grin. "Wanna go swimming?"
The word "Huh" was barely out of Scott's mouth before he felt the telekinetic shove that dumped him in the lake. Luckily the water right by the dock was shallow, so he ended up only knee-deep in frigid, spring lake water.
"Oh, you are so dead," he threatened as he started boosting himself back onto the dock.
"Doubtful. You'd actually have to catch me first," Jean announced, grinning at him before sending another telekinetic shove his way, knocking him back down into the water as she jumped to her feet. She grinned impishly at him, and then took off at a run across the mansion's grounds.
Scott watched her for a few seconds, grinning like a fool. He was done for, and he knew it.
"Oh yeah, I'm in trouble," he said again, shaking his head slowly. Then he climbed up onto the dock, and chased after his best friend.
Coming soon, Chapter 13
Author's Note: Ok, yeah, so this chapter was a bit of a cop-out. But I needed to address the issue of Scott getting his glasses, and I didn't think I could do it any better than I did in First Sight. I was stuck on it for so long, but I finally decided to just suck it up and get it done. Maybe now I'll be able to move on and get this story done, once and for all.