Chapter 5

"I don't know…" Jean trailed off, staring unsurely at the hand. Scott had shown up with Rogue in her cherry red convertible, and was currently trying to talk her into coming with him to some Mexican restaurant.

It wasn't that Jean didn't like Mexican food, it was one of her favorites actually, but it was just…it would be breaking school rules! If the professor found out…or worse! If Logan found out! She didn't want to think about it.

"No," she pulled her hand away from Scott's. "I can't!"

"Oh, I see," Scott looked dejectedly at the ground. "You want to stay with your boyfriend, Dumb Kid, huh?"

"Dumb kid?" Jean questioned, glaring at the car. "You've been talking to Rogue, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "Is that bad?"

"No," Jean sighed. "Well, yeah, he isn't dumb! But…" she trailed off. She looked towards her boyfriend, whom was currently sitting with the other jocks and cheerleaders. He was laughing, clapping his friend on the back because he'd successfully managed to squirt milk out of his nose. Now, he was working on the spaghetti.

She cringed. The cheerleaders looked impressed, though there was an unmistakable hint of disgust in their expressions. They didn't want to insult the football players, who really ran this school, but they didn't particularly care for the trick either. Jean's mind was made up in an instant.

"You know what? Let's go!" she smiled, and Scott returned it. Taking her hand, he led her away.

"Hey dude, isn't that Jean?" asked Ted, one of the football players. He pointed towards the leaving redhead and the mystery guy.

"Yeah it is…" Duncan confirmed, watching as his girlfriend left with some strange jackass.

"Who's that guy she's with?" Lily, a cheerleader, asked, eyeing Scott appreciatively. "He's cute!"

"I don't know," Duncan growled, "but I'm gonna find out!"

&&&&&&&

"Well, well, looky who finally decided t' break a rule!" Rogue greeted when Jean reached the convertible. She blushed and glared at Rogue.

"My boyfriend isn't dumb, Rogue!" Jean exclaimed, oblivious to the wince Scott gave when she said the b-word. Rogue looked concernedly at Scott before turning her 'charming' smirk back to Jean.

"Sugah, if Ah do recall, he once said yo' hair was the most beautiful brown he'd evah seen."

"Well…my hair could pass for brown in certain lights!" Jean said, trying to defend her boyfriend, even if she did think he was an idiot herself.

"Almost black," Rogue finished with a knowing smirk. Jean looked like she wanted to protest, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. There were far too many incidents like that, which Rogue could bring up against her.

Scott stayed quiet throughout the exchange; though he felt anger burn within him when Rogue said Duncan didn't even know what color Jean's hair was. He could tell – even with the sunglasses – that it was a red he'd never get sick of looking at. A red that, under no circumstances, could ever be considered brown – of any shade! He wondered how the blonde could be so stupid as to not notice red hair when he was looking at it.

"Are ya gettin' in or not?" Rogue asked when Jean and Scott continued to stand outside the car. Scott quickly opened the door for Jean. She blushed and thanked him, smiling sweetly. He blushed as well.

As he started to get in the backseat, Scott turned to face the popular table. He shot a cocky smirk in Duncan's direction, much to the blonde's ire, and hopped in the car. Rogue laughed, seeing what he'd done, and shrugged at the questioning look Jean shot her. She sped away before the football player could think to run across the yard after them.

"I saw him at the mall," Taryn informed darkly, glaring at the spot Jean had been sitting at before that geeky kid told her someone wanted to see her. "If you think he's cute now, you should see him up close!"

"Wow," Lily grinned, looking at Taryn. "Someone's jealous!"

"Jealous?" Taryn laughed, "Please! I'll have him eating out of the palm of my hand before Jean even realizes he exists!"

"You'd better," Duncan said warningly, turning to face her. "I don't like that guy sniffing around my girl!"

"Don't worry," Taryn grinned. "He's as good as mine."

The cheerleaders giggled while the football players went back to watching Rick snort spaghetti out of his nose.

&&&&&&&

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Jean gushed, looking around the restaurant in awe. It wasn't a large or overly fancy place, just a simple little building that served Mexican food. It smelled delicious, and had a cozy atmosphere about it. Not the fancy places Professor X had them attend, or the junky fast food places filled with teens that Duncan liked so much. It was just the kind of place Jean liked, but she'd never noticed it before. She wondered how she could've missed it.

"How did you find this place?" Jean asked, looking at him. "I've lived here for nearly two years, and I never noticed it!"

"Actually," Scott tilted his head towards Rogue, "she showed it to me."

"Rogue? I didn't know you even liked Mexican food!" Jean said, shocked. She looked at the southerner, blushing when she saw the mocking smile on her face.

"Sugah, there's a lot you don't know about meh," Rogue informed.

"Rogue!"

She looked up when the voice called her name.

"Rosario!" Rogue shouted happily, running to hug the middle-aged woman. They pulled away from each other, both smiling widely.

"How've you been, child?" Rosario asked.

"Fahne, an' you?"

"Oh, just, as you Americans say, keeping it reality."

"That's 'keepin' it real', sugah," Rogue corrected with a laugh. "You remembah Scott, rahght?"

"Ah yes, the Hawaiian boy!" Rosario moved towards Scott, opening her arms. "Give me a hug!"

Scott laughed, blushing slightly when Jean shot him an amused look. He leaned down to hug the short woman, and patted her back. She turned her gaze to the redhead.

"And who's this? Your girlfriend, perhaps?"

"Oh, no," Jean blushed, chuckling lightly. "I'm Jean, Jean Grey! I'm just a friend."

"That's what they all say," Rosario informed, much to Rogue's amusement. Scott smiled and shrugged at Jean, both blushing a shade that couldn't be healthy. "Come on, come on!"

As she led them to their seats, Rogue lagged behind. She whispered something in Rosario's ear, and the plump lady nodded. She handed Jean and Scott their menus, then headed for the kitchen with Rogue following behind.

"Rogue? Where are you going?" Scott asked, though Rogue detected a hint of gratitude in his voice. She smiled easily and shrugged.

"Ah'm jus' gonna make sure Pedro ain't puttin' nothin' in people's food!" before Jean or Scott could protest, not that either would, Rogue disappeared into the kitchen.

"So, um…what would you recommend?" Jean asked with a small smile. Being alone with Scott at this place seemed almost like a date. She wouldn't admit it, but she kind of liked the idea.

Scott shrugged. "I've only been here once, but I know they don't serve their food in little quantities. How about we order one burrito and half it?"

Jean blushed and smiled. "Sure! Um…bean and cheese?"

"Okay."

Rogue watched the two converse from the circular window in the kitchen door. Eleanor – Rosario's sixteen-year-old – was going to be their waitress, but she was determined to give them time to 'speak of their love in words of casualness'. What the hell that meant, Rogue had no idea! But if it worked, it worked. She turned, smirking at Carlos, Benny, and Gustavo. They were triplets, and Rosario's baby boys, despite being twenty-six.

"Alrahghty boys, ya'll know the plan!"

They nodded. Eleanor grinned; deciding now was the time to intervene with their little casual-love-expressing thing. She straightened her skirt, primped her hair, and strutted out with the backwards call of 'jealousy works wonders for love!'

Rogue rolled her eyes. Leave it to her to know everything-about-everything when it came to romance. She was obsessed!

Scott looked up as the young girl sauntered towards their table, a bright smile showing rows of gleaming teeth. He was thankful for his sunglasses, else that smile might've blinded him! He smiled back. She looked kind of like a young Rosario – a young, cute Rosario. Must have been her daughter, he thought, remembering what Rogue had told him about this being a family-run restaurant.

"Good afternoon, sir, madam," she said with a thick (exaggerated) accent. "My name is Eleanor, and I will be your waitress for this evening."

"Aloha," Scott greeted with a wide grin. "We'll have one bean and cheese burrito, please."

"Just one?" Eleanor asked, looking between him and Jean. She smirked inwardly when she saw the redhead's face nearly matched her hair. She was not happy with this interference, something that made Eleanor exceedingly pleased. That meant she would, more than likely, be announcing her love for the boy sooner rather than later. It was too bad he was so obviously caught up in the redhead; he was very attractive.

"Yes, we're going to share." Jean stressed the last word, an unsaid claim on Scott. She couldn't believe she'd just done that, considering they were only friends, but she didn't think on it too long. The girl was bending forward and smiling flirtatiously at Scott, which sent all thoughts – except ripping her head off – out of Jean's mind.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked, giggling a bit. He smiled at her, though he was watching Jean from the corner of his eye. Not that anyone could see it, though Eleanor could 'sense' it. Her mental smirk widened into a grin.

"Sprite, and…what do you want Jean?" he looked at her; surprised by the upset expression she was sporting. Realizing his attention was back on her; she smiled innocently and turned to the waitress.

"Sprite."

"Two Sprites and one burrito, coming up!" Eleanor grinned, winked at Scott, and flounced back into the kitchen.

Jean sighed in relief when she was gone, but waved away Scott's concerned look.

"So, I suppose you like Mexican women then?" she asked sardonically. "Or is it just Eleanors?"

"Huh?" Scott blinked. "Oh, no!" he shook his head. "I mean, she was cute yeah, but I've always been partial to…redheads."

Jean blushed and lowered her gaze to the table, so he wouldn't see the goofy smile on her face. Then she realized something.

"You can see colors with those things?"

Scott shook his head. "Nah, but I learned how to differentiate the shades of red a looong time ago – with my family's help of course. They would tell me what color an object was, and, eventually, I memorized the differences. Everything I see is in red, but I can tell you have green eyes, Rogue has auburn and white hair, and Remy's eyes are red-on-black."

"Wow," Jean muttered, impressed. She smiled, embarrassed by her earlier behavior. "That's amazing."

"Thanks," Scott blushed and looked at the table. "It's nothing really. When you think the only color you'll ever see again is red, you kind of learn to make due."

"I guess so," Jean whispered. She felt bad for him. Scott seemed like the kind of guy who would love colors, and yet, he might never see anything beyond red. A sudden determination to help him learn control over his powers filled Jean. She made a silent vow in that moment to help him get control, one way or another!

Meanwhile, inside the kitchen

"Ready t' romancify the air, gentlemen?" Rogue asked, once their food was done. The triplets nodded and smirked at each other.

They were dressed in large sombreros with their usual waiter outfits. Each held a small guitar, as they marched out with the food. Eleanor placed it in front of Scott, winking again, and quickly left as her brothers crowded around him and Jean. They looked startled by the three men, and blushed darker than they'd blushed yet – which was an accomplishment in itself – when the first song started. It may have been Mexican, but it was, quite obviously, a love song.

"Um…wow, dinner and entertainment," Scott muttered.

"I didn't know they sang here too!" Jean said, watching the guys' play and sing.

"Neither did I," Scott said honestly.

He had the strangest feeling Rogue had planned this. From the waitress to this, she had the whole thing set up! He smiled. He'd have to remember to thank her later. Maybe he would buy her a big Christmas present. Whatever she wanted! She had certainly earned it.

The rest of their 'non'-date was in companionable silence, as they halved the burrito and listened to the music. From the kitchen, Rogue, Rosario, and Eleanor watched on, and smiled.

A/N: Mexican food is like my ninth or tenth favorite, so I don't know all that much about it. But pizza sounded more hang out than date, Italian seemed cliché, I can't pronounce, much less spell, or even know what half the things on a French menu would be, besides that was far too fancy (same with Italian), so Mexican it was!

A/N2: Sorry I keep changing Rogue's and Remy's accents a little, I know it's annoying. I'm trying to get them understandable without making the accents disappear. Remy comes back next chappie, I promise! I know some of my reviewers have been missing him.