Chapter 4

The next day dawned bright and early, and Scott was watching the legendary X-men fight in the Danger Room. Xavier told him he wouldn't need to start Danger Room training until tomorrow, as he needed to see some of the things he'd be doing in there. Impressed wasn't a strong enough word to describe the way Scott felt in that moment. He was downright mesmerized!

First of all, and best in his opinion, Jean was in tight spandex. But he kept those thoughts hidden, not wanting Xavier to see any dirty thoughts again. He watched as they flew, flipped, phased, and everything else you can think of in the room. It was incredible, the way they handled themselves. They made it look so easy!

He watched in wide-eyed wonder as Remy and Rogue worked together, destroying any machines that came near each other. Rogue had Remy's back and Remy had Rogue's. Scott hoped he and Jean could be like that one day. Speaking of, the redhead was doing a fine job herself.

She lifted various things with her telekinesis, and threw them at other things – Scott wasn't sure what half of the machines in the Danger Room were called (and neither was the authoress) – effectively destroying them. Her green eyes narrowed in determination, as she flew herself across the room to help Kitty with yet another robot.

Jean knew Scott was watching, which made it harder for her to concentrate than usual. She refused to allow herself to screw up this time, though, for she wanted to impress the boy. She smiled vaguely when she saw his attention directly on her, and she picked up a giant spiked ball, throwing it into a mechanical tentacle shooting towards her. He looked really impressed, even with the sunglasses on, and she allowed herself a moment of self-praise.

Her attention was soon drawn from him to Kitty, however, when the young mutant was knocked to her knees. She'd been so busy focusing on one robot; she hadn't noticed the other sneaking up behind her. She flew over to the phaser, mentally asking her if she was okay. Jean sighed in relief when Kitty answered in the affirmative, and she quickly threw the robot into the wall, destroying it rather easily. She looked at the window where the instructors usually watched, and smiled inwardly when she saw Scott was looking at her appraisingly.

The redhead shook herself when she realized she was letting a boy get to her. She had only met him a little while ago; she shouldn't be worried about impressing him now! She growled, ignoring the questioning look Kitty shot her, and shook her head. She would have to stop thinking about Scott, or else Duncan would get upset. Not that he'd find out, he was rather clueless in the 'Jean' area.

She was brought out of her reverie as the room flickered back to its usual empty self. Time for another fun-filled day at school with Duncan and Taryn. She looked at Rogue enviously. Lucky woman didn't have to go to high school anymore.

"Good job, X-men," Xavier smiled. "You can get ready for school now."

Various groans accompanied that statement as, one-by-one, they filed out of the Danger Room. The minute Jean exited, Scott was beside her.

"Hey, you were really good in there!" Scott grinned boyishly. Jean blushed, not used to being praised on her skills alone.

"Thanks!" she smiled, "I mean, the X-men work as a team, so really, we all did good."

"Oh, I know," Scott said, waving his hands in a placating manner. "I just meant that you were really impressive! So were Kitty, Rogue, Remy, Kurt...everyone! But especially you. And the way you went to Kitty's rescue…"

"Thanks," Jean said again, softer this time. Her blush had intensified, and she was both thankful and sorry that they'd reached her room. "Well, um, this is my stop."

"Oh, right," Scott blushed and looked at the ground, shuffling his feet. "Hey Jean?" he looked up, only to see her door had closed. He sighed. "Never mind."

"Howdy sugah, why the long face?" Rogue asked, seeing Scott walking away from Jean's room dejectedly. "Red not bein' nahce?"

"Huh? Oh hi Rogue," Scott half-smiled at her. "No, Jean's great! I-I mean…she's nice, really nice. I just…I…um…" he trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Relax honey," Rogue smiled easily. "Ah know what ya mean. C'mon," she gestured for him to follow her. "Ah'll make ya some o' mah famous pancakes."

"Pancakes?" Scott asked, perking up. He'd always loved pancakes.

"That's what Ah said."

&&&&&&&&

"Mmm, dese're very goof!" Scott complimented through a mouthful of syrupy goodness. He raised his fork in mock-cheers, and quickly began digging into his pancakes again. Rogue laughed as she watched him from her place atop the counter. She swung her legs boredly, looking around the room.

Remy was off tinkering with his beloved bike again, and Logan was out who-knows-where. Since Kurt was still in high school, Rogue had no one else to hang out with. She turned her attention back to Scott, as he finished off another pancake in the quickly disappearing pile. Apparently, he had quite the appetite.

"Ya know the fastah you eat, the sooner you get hungry again."

Scott blushed and swallowed his mouthful, taking a sip of his orange juice before replying.

"Yeah, sorry, but pancakes are a sort of weakness for me," he admitted. "And yours are the best yet!"

"Merci monsieur," Rogue chuckled lightly. "Lucky you, pancakes are one o' the few thin's Ah can cook."

"Ah, I'm sure you can cook lots of things!" Scott smiled, "I was always told that southern women could cook anything."

Rogue laughed. "Sugah, that's what we call an 'urban legend'. But, at least, Ah don't practically burn downthe school the way Kitty does."

"There ya go," Scott smiled. "So, what else can you cook?"

"Hmhm," Rogue chuckled, jumping from the counter and leaning across the table towards Scott. "Don't tell anyone Ah admitted Ah couldn't cook, an' Ah'll tell ya."

"Deal!" Scott laughed.

"Okay, well," Rogue shifted her eyes left and right, as though about to tell some big secret she didn't want anyone else to know. "Ah can make any kahnda breakfast, an' Ah can make some okay Jambalaya. Gumbo is mah favorite thin', but Ah gotta admit…mah gumbo is nothin' compared ta Remy's!"

Scott irked a brow. It wasn't often that women admitted their boyfriends could cook better than them, or, at least, he'd never met a woman that did. He chuckled lightly. Rogue was certainly one of a kind.

"Hey…Rogue?" Scott asked after a few minutes of silence. An interesting idea had hit him.

"Yeah sugah?"

"This school of Jean's…" he trailed off, smirking at her curious expression. "Does it let you take kids off campus?"

"Not that Ah know of," Rogue shook her head. "Why?"

"What's say you help me go pick her up? I was thinking…maybe I could take her out to eat or something. Then she might…think…about…ya know…" he blushed, suddenly not feeling so confident in his idea to woo Jean.

"Sugah," Rogue laughed, "don't be so shy! You can say it aroun' meh. Ain't lahke Ah don't know what yo' tryin' ta do!"

"Right, sorry," Scott smiled again. "So? What d'ya say?"

"Ah'm all fo' it, honey," Rogue sat across from him, "but Jeannie ain't exactly known as a rule breaker."

"Well," Scott smirked, "all the more reason to do it!"

Rogue raised an enquiring brow. "Ya know Scott, you nevah struck meh as the rule breakin' type."

Scott looked down at his outfit, the same one from the mall. Slowly, his gaze slid back to Rogue. He shrugged and smiled.

"I think it's the clothes."

A/N: Rather or not they can go off campus at Bayville High in the show, doesn't matter. In this story, they CANNOT do it. Why? Because it goes with the whole Scott wooing Jean thing!