Authors Note: Hi guys – so I realise that my last chapter was a bit off the point of the f but I think it will make a bit more sense or have more of a point as I continue. Though I can totally abandon the idea if no one likes it, its up to you – you are the readers!
Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter! Lemme know your thoughts.
Ta muchly:o)
The Hearts Choice
Chapter 13
It was a grey evening, dark rain clouds roamed the sky, crashing together, threatening to leak a shower of rain.
Scott rummaged through his small pine closet, making judgment on his clothing, deciding what would be suitable to take away with him. Even though it was only a weekend in Taryn's holiday home, Scott still wanted to look his best. Picking out a pair of dark blue jeans and a few jumpers, he carried them over to his suit case which was lying open on his bed.
"Packing finally I see"
Scott turned to look over his shoulder to see Jean leaning up against the door frame. He smiled, shaking his head. Jean had been nagging him to start packing since the beginning of the week. He loved how she was so organised. Jean signed, raising a hand to her face, she rubbed in between her eyes with her fingers.
"Are you ok?" Scott asked, a slight frown creeping across his brow. Jean nodded, throwing herself down on his bed, almost knocking the suit case to the floor.
"I just went to see the professor to see if he knew anything about why we were entering each others dreams". Scott stayed silent, waiting for her to continue as he stuffed a handful of boxers into his case.
"He seems to think that over the years we have formed some sort of psychic rapport between us".
Scott looked up from his packing. Jean was laying flat on her back, her long legs hanging off the edge of the bed, her green eyes plastered to the ceiling. He glanced upwards, confused and then looked back at her.
"A psychic rapport?" he asked not understanding what that was. Jean bent her face down to look at him as he moved the case to the floor and joined her, lying on his back next to her.
"A bond." She said simply "a link between us where we can enter each others minds freely, hear the others thoughts, feel the others feelings.." she trailed off, turning on her side, holding her head up with her hand. "I'm sorry" she said, tracing her index finger down Scott's cheek bone. He turned to look at her.
"What for?" he asked. She swallowed and let out a sigh.
"If you didn't want this. I mean it's a lot for you to take on. Constantly hearing and feeling me in your mind" She searched for his eyes from behind his ruby glasses. For a moment she thought she saw his frown lower in confusion.
"Jean i…." he paused as he propped himself up on his elbows. He scratched the back of is neck before meeting her gaze.
"I love you Jean, you don't need to worry about me. I wouldn't have us any other way" his voice lowered to an intimate whisper as he raised a hand to her face, lightly grazing her cheek with his finger tips.
For a moment, Jean thought she was going to cry. She swallowed, desperately trying to get rid of the lump that had formed in her throat. She was so afraid of what Scott was going to say about sharing a mental link with her, risking her seeing and hearing all his thoughts. This moment was one of many where he reminded her of why she loved him. Placing a hand at the back of his neck, she pulled Scott closer to her, capturing his lips with hers. Jean closed her eyes, leaning back down on the mattress. She could feel herself going limp in his arms as she deepened the kiss. She was amazed how he could do this to her.
Scott felt her lower lip tremble under his as he rolled forward, gently pushing her down on the bed. He could feel the soft skin of Jean's palms caressing the sides of his face as he kissed her. He could hear Jean's breathing deepen through her nose as he brushed his tongue against hers.
Jean reached up, resting a hand on the beck of his neck, pushing him closer to her. Scott rested his hands on her temples, stroking her hair line with his thumbs. He jumped at the sound of his bedroom door shut, breaking the kiss he looked over hi shoulder. Jean chuckled breathlessly, not moving from where she lay.
"I didn't want any one walking past and spying" she sighed. Scott looked back down at her. She looked beautiful, her cheeks slightly pink and her green eyes sparkling. He lent down to capture her lips in a light kiss, causing Jean to lift her head off the pillow in fear that if she didn't the kiss would break. Scott pulled away just enough to stair her in the eyes.
"You are beautiful" he whispered stroking her cheek with his thumb. Jean smiled almost embarrassed, running her finger tips over the freshly cut hair at the back of his neck.
"So are you" she whispered back with a smile. She laughed at Scott when he offered her a goofy grin before claiming her lips once more.
It was dark when Jean opened her eyes again. Lifting her aching neck off of the mattress she looked around confused. The room was dark, the open curtains allowing the almost unnoticeable glow of the full moon light shine in through the closed windows. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to move away from Scott's hot body. She couldn't remember falling asleep, but she knew she had to get back into her own room before any one realized she was in here. Hers and Scotts little sleep overs had come to a stop when the new students had arrived. Jean pursed her lips knowing full well that this would be classed as anything other then a sleep over. She propped herself up on her elbows and peered over Scott's sleeping body at the digital clock resting on the bed side table. It read half past 5 in the morning. Jean mentally cursed as she sat up, scratching the back of her head, trying to comb her fingers through her tangled red hair. The mansion stood in a deafening silence but she knew that Logan would be up by now, probably ripping his claws into something. She used to resent her early morning, crack of dawn training sessions where he used to drag her out of bed at 5 in the morning to get her awareness up. She shivered. Her eyes wondered to the radiator in-between Scott's bed and the wall it was against. She reached out and touched it, knowing before her hand clasped the cold metal that the heating wouldn't be on. Energy saving Hank had said. Jean signed, rubbing her tired eyes with the palms of her hands. Beside her, Scott twitched in his sleep, exhaling deeply before relaxing back down again. Jean smiled looking down at his peaceful face. Moving as slowly as she could, she lent forward and brushed her lips against his forehead, sweeping a few stray brown hairs out of his face. He grunted once more as she eased herself down the bed and over his legs onto the floor. She stood frozen for a moment waiting to see if she had woken him. When she was satisfied that he was still in dream land she continued to make her way to the bedroom door. Even in the silence, she winced as if she was making a noise when she opened the door and look out into the hall way. Like Scott's bedroom, the tall corridors stood in darkness, naturally lit by the moon light shining in through the tall windows at the far end. Jean quietly stepped out into the hallway and turned to close the door. Just as she did a grunt came from the foyer. Jean looked up, gritting her teeth, frozen on the spot. She wasn't sure whether she should make a mad dash down the hall to her room or if she should slip quietly back into Scott's room and hide. She could sense it was Logan before she heard his heavy footsteps up the marble stair case. She cast a nervous glance down the hall, spotting her closed bedroom door at the end of the corridor. There was no was she could make it there with out him seeing her. A rush of adrenaline shot through her as she jumped back into the safety of Scott's room and closed the door.
Jean held her breath, leaning her back against the smooth wooden surface, listening intensely to Logan's foot steps.
Logan signed as he reached the top of the marble stair case. The sound of a door closing didn't go unnoticed as he stood listening. He didn't hear the sound of a toilet flush so either some one was being very unhygienic or some one was fooling around out of bed. He raised a bushy eyebrow standing at the bottom of the hallway. All the bedroom doors were closed. Cautiously he stepped forward, his heavy biker boots sounding a creak in the floor boards as he did so.
Jean's ear twitched and her eyes widened and she pressed the side of her face against the door. With years of experience in playing hide and seek with Logan she could always tell when he knew some one was hiding. She bit her lip, slowly sliding down to crouch on the floor, still listening.
Logan sniffed, his eyes narrowing. This was a scent he had come to recognize even in the most difficult of situations. The scent sent him back 6 years ago when he used to find a certain red head and cyclops hiding away some where getting up on no good.
Aren't they a little old for this? Logan though to himself as he slowly begun to walk up the corridor.
Jean hung her head in defeat, cursing to herself again. She should have known there was no way she could escape that nose of his. Another wave of adrenaline washed over her body and she shivered. Some where deep inside her she felt a pang of excitement wrench at her stomach as she stood up and ran over to Scott who was still asleep on top of his bed sheets.
"Scott" Jean whispered loudly and she shook him violently in a desperate act to wake him up. Scott shot up in a panic at the uncomfortable awakening, his hand on the rim of his visor ready to attack. Jean caught his wrist with a small gasp trying to keep her laughter in.
"Jean, what the hell…" Scott started only to be cut off by her hand against his mouth.
"Logan's coming!" she whispered, jumping to her feet, standing in the middle of the room as if she didn't know what to do with herself. Scott was now wide awake. He knew that if Logan found Jean in here that he would get a kick up the ass, especially with Jean's current attire. His eyes took in his over sized shirt hanging loosely off of her body, her black girl boxers hidden underneath the long shirt, like a dress over her slender legs. Not that anything had happened last night, Jean just changed into something more comfortable, not bothering to go into her own room. Neither of them had planned to fall asleep.
"Your clothes!" Scott exclaimed swinging himself over the side of the bed. Jean ran around the room like a mad woman scooping her beige combat pants and purple shirt from the floor.
"I can't find my bra!" she yelled in a panic filled tone. She could feel Logan coming dangerously close. "Scott he's coming!" she squealed failing to keep the amusement out of her voice. She could see Scott was clearly panicking but she couldn't help but find the moment funny.
"Hide!" Scott told her as he began tossing about his clothes attempting to find Jean's bra.
"Where?" Jean asked dryly looking for a seriously place to fit her body. Scott's room wasn't exactly the biggest in the mansion and there wasn't any where she could hide her self that wouldn't be painfully obvious and embarrassing once she was found.
"Scooter!" Logan's muffled grumble sounded right outside the door. Scott and Jean froze, their eyes meeting. Jean laughed silently. Scott cast her a serious look and she pursed her lips. Scott ran to his closet, desperately looking for some where to hide Jean. He knew how fatherly Logan got when it came to Jean seeing as he had practically raised her and he hadn't been exactly happy with the idea of him taking her out on a date. He was going to lose his legs for sure!
"Scott" Logan's voice sounded right over his shoulder, he hadn't heard him walk in. Scott gasped spinning around to face the older man. Scott retreated back a few steps trying to create a bigger gap between them. Logan straightened up, inhaling the air around him, a look of thought spread across his brow. Scott looked past his mentor around the room and frowned when he couldn't spot Jean. Cautiously he closed his closet doors, continuing to look around the room.
"What's up Logan?" Scott asked trying to sound as innocent as possible. Logan eyes him suspiciously as he watched the teen walk around him to stand in the middle of the room.
"You lost something Cyke?" he asked noting Scott's confused expression.
"Umm…No" Scott let you scratching the back of his neck.
"Its five thirty in the morning, can I ask why yer awake?" Logan asked, his gray eyes following Scott as he looked around his bedroom. He sniffed the air again.
"Um… I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." Scott said bluntly. Logan grunted. Scott had always been a lousy liar. It had always been Jean who gave the excesses when ever they were in trouble, its was Scott's job to stay quiet.
"Where's Red?" he asked looking around Scott's empty bedroom.
"I…I don't know" Scott replied honestly. At least he didn't have to worry about making that answer up. Looking around his small bedroom he didn't have a clue where Jean had gone.
"Enough with the games Scott, its too early and I know she's in here I can smell her"
Scott swallowed running a hand through his messed brown hair.
"Logan I really don't know where she is" he said again "She's probably in bed" he added abruptly. Logan raised an eyebrow and sniffed again. Scott's eyes fell upon an item at the end of his bed, hanging off the mattress. His eyes widened when he realized that the small garment was Jean's bra.
"I heard her Scott, come in here" Logan said as he started to look around the room. "I can smell her here"
Scott looked around nervously trying to think of a way to move the garment and hide it without Logan seeing him. He turned to look over his shoulder at the wolf like man to see him opening his closet again and start leafing through the hanging coats. He took this as a change and dashed for the bar, scooping it up in his hands and tossing it under his duvet. That's when he saw her, hovering outside his window, her clothes still bundled in her arms. He hasn't noticed before but it was raining and his over sized shirt now clung to her slender body. Strands of her long red hair were stuck to the sides of her wet face and her fiery mien hung heavily down her back. She cast him a sheepish wave from under the rain fall when she noticed him looking at her
'Go
to your room' he sent her mentally glancing over at Logan.
'The window is locked, I can't get in'
she sent back.
'Your powers?' he questioned
matter-of-factly
'Oh yes I forgot about those whilst floating
magically in the air!' Jean shot back not appreciating his tone
when she was freezing her ass off trying to stop him from getting his
butt kicked.
'The professor must have the mansion under some
sort of mutant power protection over night'
Scott looked at her through the window hoping she wouldn't catch a cold being out there in just a shirt and shorts. He frowned when she suddenly dropped down out of sight. Automatically Scott lent forward to try and keep her in sight, it hadn't occurred to him why Jean had disappeared.
"Something interesting out there to look at?" Logan's ruff voice caused Scott to gasp before turned abruptly around to face his mentor.
"No, I just didn't know it was raining" he said bluntly. Logan raised an eyebrow not convinced and walked over to the window.
Outside, Jean shivered against the cold wind. Her eyes half closed trying to see through the hard rain. She never realized how cold December was until now. She pushed herself up against the wall underneath the window unsure if Logan had seen her. Her breath was sort and carried away by the bitter wind. Using her powers she could sense Logan and Scott's movements on the other side of the wall and begged that Logan would give up the hunt soon. The sound of the window above opening caused her to jump. Casting a glance upwards she could see a large, toned arm clutching the handle of the window and before she gave herself a chance to think she was flying around the corner of the mansion. She did not get soaking wet just to be found now. Thinking quickly she realized that Kitty and Rogue's room was next door to hers. If she could wake Kitty up then the younger mutant could phase her through and she would be home free. Of course there was still the case of her being soaking wet and all the questions Kitty would fire at her the next morning. There was also the painfully obvious factor that Kitty was the gossip queen and nothing could be told or asked of her without every one else knowing about it.
Jean pushed her soaked hair out of her face and shivered looking around her. Another heavy sheet of rain washed over her, carried by the strong wind. Clutching her sodden clothes closer to her body, as if they could bring her some form of warmth, Jean floated to the corner of the building to see Scott's bedroom window now closed. Closing her eyes, she could sense Logan leaving Scott's room, trudging away down the hall. Jean smiled, despite herself, she had won this round of the hunting. In a hurry she was back at Scott's window. She could see him already in the process of opening it for her. Even though the central heating was turned off, the dry, cozy remorse of Scott's bedroom was a relief for Jean as she set her dripping, bare feet on to the wooden floor boards. Scott had pulled her into his arms and, ignoring the cold layer of rain which coated her skin, held her tightly as if trying to warm her. Jean shivered, resting her chin on his shoulder.
Scott lightly griped the tops of her bare arms and pulled her away from him to look at her. Her skin was a creamy pale and her perfectly shaped lips had gone a light shade of purple. She was shivering violently; her heavy long hair had begun to wave, the ends dripping with rain. Despite this, her green eyes shone happily as she met his gaze, a small smile lingering on her coloured lips.
"You ok?" he whispered, his hands finding their way to the sides of her face. Jean found herself leaning into his touch. From behind her closed lips, her teeth chattered loudly in her mouth, her breathing exhaling through her nostrils in a matching rhythm. She nodded her head and let out a small laugh.
"You're crazy" Scott laughed, a worry line creasing his brow. Jean's eyes glinted playfully. She said nothing.
After drying herself off, Jean made her way into her own room. Peeling off the wet shirt and boxer shorts, Jean discarded them into a pile in the corner of her room and changed into her blue night gown. She gratefully slid between the sheets of her bed, snuggling down deeping underneath her thick duvet. Letting out a sigh she closed her eyes, failing to stop her body from quivering. Some how, she knew that the next hour of sleep was not going to be pleasant. One thing was for sure, Scott owed her big time.
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! A bit more to the point I think! Please read and review! It means a lot.
