A/N: I'm sorry for taking so long to update. My computer decided to be a bitch, and even though I still have Matchmaking on my disk, nothings coming up. It's completely blank when I try and pull it up. It especially pissed me off because I had both chapter 8 and chapter 9 finished, and I was starting on Chapter 10 when it pulled the Houdini act on me! So now, I have to start them all over, and attempt to remember at least half of what happened in them!

A/N2: I know I promised more jealous Remy, and I'll try and come through on that, but I can't promise anything. Most of it from here on out will just be one big joke rather than actual jealousy. Why am I doing this? Because Scott's pretty much made it obvious his interest lies in Jean, and I'm finding it rather difficult to keep Remy jealous after that.

Chapter 8

Scott took a deep breath, and stared at the building before him. His first day at Bayville High had finally arrived, and he was more than a little nervous. He patted the hood of his car to reassure himself, it always worked before, and awaited Jean's arrival to the school.

His car arrived two days ago, and was the subject of discussion for him and Rogue. Its presence brought forth an argument of who had the better car, which led to a long talk about the engines of both convertibles. He was surprised by Rogue's intense knowledge of cars, but only temporarily. Since he arrived, she'd proven to be anything but like other girls, so why shouldn't she know a thing or two about mechanics?

Speaking of mechanics, he'd been surprised to find the mansion had its own 'personal mechanics'. Remy, Rogue, and Logan. They worked on all the cars, and as of yesterday, he was a part of them. His 'initiation' had brought him a whole new acceptance from these particular three. He was let in on a lot of jokes, stories of the past, and even Remy was nicer to him. Somewhat anyway.

It seemed he was finally getting over his dislike now that Scott made it obvious he was attracted to Jean. Still, he watched Scott suspiciously, and seemed more than happy to berate him on everything. He was already used to it though, and found it was more like a game for Remy – a joke – than actual dislike. He was in on the joke now, and played back just as much.

Rogue didn't mind, and quite enjoyed the attention that was laved on her by the two men. Of course, there was only one man for her, but it was all in good fun. She was still trying to set up Scott and Jean, and so far things seemed to be going okay. Though, Scott had a feeling her latest scheme was more for her own amusement than actual desire to help.

She and Remy messed with Jean's shower, forcing her to seek another one. Making sure that every available shower was taken, Rogue kindly 'suggested' she ask Scott to use his. She was sure he was out of there by now anyway, and surely he wouldn't mind.

Scott was out of his shower too. Just out. He was still in his towel, digging around for that day's outfit, when Jean came into his room. Apparently, Rogue had also told her he hated it when people knocked. Why Jean believed that he'd never know, not that he minded her barging in or anything.

Her appreciative gaze had not gone unnoticed by him, and he felt a new sense of confidence in his ability to woo her away from Duncan later on. However, her embarrassment was even more obvious, and he too was less than okay with the whole ordeal. He'd really have to remember to get back at the southerners for that particular prank.

He was slightly surprised Jean could still look him in the eye – er...well, you know what I mean – after that little scene. He figured she was a strong woman though, and his surprise only lasted a little while. Now, he was waiting for her and Duncan to get to the school so she could show him where the office was, as promised.

Scott had the oddest feeling Duncan was taking longer to get there than usual. He wouldn't put it past him, though as far as he knew, the blonde knew nothing of him starting Bayville High today. Shrugging it away, he pushed away from his car and started towards the building. She told him she wanted to meet by the door anyway.

"Hey!"

Cyclops turned when he heard the female voice calling, thinking maybe Jean had finally gotten there. Instead, he came face-to-face with Taryn. He smiled, hiding his disappointment rather well, and nodded in greeting.

"Hey, Taryn right?"

She nodded with a wide smile. "Yeah, Taryn Fujioka at your service. So, what are you doing here?"

"My first day," he answered. "I'm not sure if I should be glad it's my last year here, or upset. Guess I'll just have to wait and see how people accept me."

Taryn nodded again. "Yeah. So, you're a senior too then?"

"Hm," Scott confirmed with a nod. "Top of the food chain. Possibly bottom being the new boy..."

Taryn laughed shrilly, making Scott cringe inwardly. He just smiled on the outside though, attempting to look pleased that she found his little joke funny. He was glad the glasses hid his eyes from view, otherwise his distaste would've been given away for sure.

"You're so funny," she giggled, hitting his chest lightly. "Do you need a guide?"

"Actually," Scott gave a mental victory dance that he wasn't going to have to stay around her longer, "Jean said she'd show me around today."

Taryn frowned. Jean? Typical, she thought heatedly. Little bitch was always taking what she wanted!

"Well," Taryn said, making a show of looking around the schoolyard, "I don't see her anywhere. I heard Duncan saying he wanted to take her somewhere special and give her something before school today. They'll probably just get here before the bell rings."

It was true too. Duncan was going to give Jean something special. A bracelet Taryn picked out in her attempt to attract the redhead back to her boyfriend. A reminder of sorts for why they were going out. Plus, it pushed her further away from this little cutie here.

"Oh?" Scott said lowly, feeling jealousy rise within him. He wanted desperately to get in his car, find Duncan, and beat the shit out of him. But it wasn't his place, and Jean still wasn't his girl. Besides, she deserved nice things, even if they did come from an uncaring bastard.

"Yeah," Taryn nodded, "isn't that sweet of him?"

"Very," Scott agreed through clenched teeth. Smiling at the girl, he offered his arm. "Miss Fujioka, would you mind showing me to the office?"

Taryn did her own victory dance in her mind, and grinned at Scott. It could've just been his imagination, but he could swear the grin was evil. She looped arms with him, and led him inside the school.

"I would be glad too, Mister..."

"Summers, Scott Summers."

"Scott."

&&&&&&

The blue convertible pulled up beside a red one with white stripes. Duncan had to admire the car, and all its shininess. Whoever owned it sure took care of it. He looked at the hood of his own car, feeling a little embarrassed at its dirty appearance. When was the last time he took it to a carwash?

"Scott's here," Jean murmured to herself, noticing the car. She smiled slightly and hurried to get out of Duncan's. She'd loved the bracelet, but it was more Taryn's style than hers. Besides, she couldn't stop herself from wishing it had come from a certain brunette mutant that happened to wear ruby quartz glasses.

Of course, the thought made her feel guilty, so she had kissed Duncan and bragged about it all the way to school. Now though, seeing Scott's car, she felt butterflies in her stomach. Butterflies Duncan had never made appear.

"What?" he asked, looking at Jean bewilderedly. She shook her head, smiling brightly.

"I said, Taryn's here! Wait until she sees this! She's gonna be so jealous!"

Duncan smiled proudly, slightly amused by Jean's proclamation. If only she knew Taryn was the one who picked it out. Of course, then Jean would get pissed, and he might lose another point to that guy – whoever he was – that had been whisking Jean away at lunch for the past few days.

They talked about him a few times, though Jean never gave a name, and she explained that he lived at the mansion. Since he moved here from Hawaii, he didn't know his way around. She was sort of his tour guide around Bayville. It wasn't a complete lie, right?

Luckily, Duncan believed every word. Jean wasn't sure if she should be flattered her boyfriend trusted her so much, or upset that he didn't seem to care if she was telling the truth or not. After she said that, he just grunted an okay, and never talked of it again. In fact, it was almost like he'd completely forgotten there was another guy out there, possibly interested in Jean.

"I'm going to go ahead and go in, okay? I have some things I have to do." Jean told him. Duncan nodded and watched her go. He followed behind at a much slower pace, watching her ass as she moved. Good thing Jean couldn't read his mind, otherwise she would've been very pissed with his thoughts.

Meanwhile, it was taking every ounce of Jean's willpower not to turn around and pound Duncan. How dare he think such raunchy things about her? While it could be flattering, the way he was thinking depicted her as a weakling only around for his pleasure. That just wouldn't do, but, she reminded herself, saying something would mean giving away that she was a telepath. That wouldn't be good.

As she neared the doors, she was confused when she didn't see Scott. He agreed to meet me up here, where is he? I know that's his car...

"You okay?" Duncan asked, coming up behind her. "I thought you had other things to do?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine," Jean smiled. "You know what? Those things can wait until later."

Duncan shrugged and wrapped an arm around Jean's waist. She couldn't find it in her to protest the gesture, and what's more she had no reason to protest. He'd done this plenty of times before, and she always enjoyed it. Proof that he did care for her. Now though, she just wished it was someone else's strong arms. A certain someone who saw everything in red.

He probably just forgot, or maybe he was afraid he'd be late. Scott seems like the type to enjoy being punctual. Yeah, I'm sure that's all it is. What else could have happened?

A/N: I know it's depressingly short, right? I'm sorry! I just really wanted to get it out there, and let everyone know why it was taking me so long. Here's this chapter, but the others will be their normal length at least, I promise.

A/N2: You know what? I don't think I'm mad anymore. This chapter actually came out better than the other one, shorter, but better I think. However, chapter 9 probably won't be up for a while. I want to get through chapter 11, possibly 12, depending on how fast I work, before I update anything else. I'm just putting this chapter up to give you all the heads up on what's been going on.