Runaway Rogue
Chapter 3
Comfort

"At this hour?" The Professor asked, raising a brow.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience," The other officer spoke up. "But it really is important that we speak to Mr. Summers now."

Scott, at the first mention of his name, had moved forward from the gathering crowd of students and now stood behind the Professor, one hand on the back of the older man's chair. "It's not a problem for me, Professor. I'd be happy to--"

Charles silenced him by raising a hand. He could sense these detectives' hostility towards Scott, that they were beginning to know what he was, and more importantly what the school was. "I'm sorry officers, but I'm afraid I would be remiss in my duties as headmaster of this school to let one of my students enter into any legal questioning without a lawyer present." The smugness could almost be heard in Xavier's voice. "And since I would not be able to get a hold of one of the school's lawyers until morning, I can't allow you to question him."

The detectives looked highly irritated and somewhat deflated at Xavier's quick maneuvering. They obviously hadn't been counting on it. The one on Charles' right spoke.

"Alright then." He smiled tightly in a way that did not reach his eyes. "I think that will give us time to gather the resources we need to question all the students present at the party at once. Don't you think, Marv?"

The other detective, Marv (obviously), nodded. "I think so. We'll be back in the morning with a list of names. Have a good night."

"Good night." The Professor replied to the detectives that were now walking down the front steps. He wheeled back in his chair a bit and shut the door.

"What did you do that for?" Scott exploded. "I could have handled them myself."

Charles smiled a small smile and headed for his private study. "While you have become very good at getting out of tough situations as team leader of the X-Men, Scott, going up against law enforcement in their own environment is something entirely different than any Danger Room or battlefield situation."

"With all due respect, Professor, I'm not stupid."

Charles stopped his chair. "I never said you were." He said. "However, it is those detectives' jobs to coax people into unknowingly telling them the very thing they are trying to hide. And I'm sure with the very public display of Kurt's powers there are already rumors flying about that are much more interesting than a tragic accident at some high school party."

Scott closed his mouth with an audible click. "I didn't know it was that bad already."

Charles smirked. "You of all people should know how fast gossip can spread." With that the Professor continued towards his private study, leaving Scott alone in the hall.

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"Is it true?"

Scott turned to see Jean walking down the hall towards him, concern written all over her features. "Is what true?" he asked.

"That the police want to question you." She said, stopping in front of him. She was obviously dressed for bed or just relaxing in her room, wearing only gray sweatpants and a white tee with her hair tied back into a low ponytail.

"Yeah." Scott replied. "Only the Prof did some fast talking and got it pushed back to tomorrow."

"Something tells me that's not a good thing." She frowned.

"They want to question everyone who was at the party now." Scott sighed.

"Shit." Jean breathed, earning a pair of raised eyebrows from Scott. "What? It's not like you never said it before."

"I didn't say a word." Scott said, raising his hands in defense with a half smile on his face. "Just…sounds funny coming from you is all."

He was expecting an offended "Hey!" or maybe a shove to his shoulder, but Jean didn't do any of those things. Instead she closed her eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line and breathed deeply through her nose. "Is something wrong?" Scott asked.

Jean opened her eyes and shot a smile at him. It was so genuine looking that he knew it had to be fake. "Fine. Everything's fine."

Scott gave her a look. "Is there something you need to talk about?"

"No." She quickly said, shaking her head. "I'm just going to go up to bed now. Goodnight Scott." She turned to leave.

Scott caught her wrist as she left and tugged her back to him, turning her to face him. "We're going to be questioned by the police tomorrow, the school's secret is probably out and you're saying that everything is fine?" He paused. "What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything Scott, I'm just tired."

"You're not blinking enough."

Jean's brows knitted together in confusion. "What?"

"You concentrate too hard on keeping a straight face when you lie to the point that you hardly blink. I don't think you've blinked this entire conversation."

Now she blinked rapidly, flustered at Scott's statement. "I-I-I do not! My blinking is just fine! And why are you watching me blink?"

Scott didn't go after her obvious try at changing the subject. For one reason, he wouldn't find out what was bothering her and second, he would have to tell her that he paid very special attention to her whenever she talked, entered a room, walked…did anything really. "Because it's obvious." He semi-lied; it was obvious to him at least. "And don't change the subject because you know I'll just bother you about it tomorrow if you manage to get rid of me now."

Jean sighed in a harsh way that made it sound more like a growl. "Fine! You want to know what's wrong? I am tired, so fucking tired, of people thinking that I'm so goddamned perfect! That I don't get stressed out, that everything comes easy to me, that good grades and friends are just given to me when no one stops to think that maybe, just maybe, I work my ass off for those grades and I say things that I later hate myself for to get those stupid so-called friends!" Jean's eyes began to shine with unshed tears and a familiar pricking began behind her eyes. "So don't you dare say I suck at lying because you know what Scott Summers? I lie all the goddamned time! To you, to myself, to everyone! And I'm just…I'm just…I just want it to stop." The last part sounded more like a plea as she broke and cried, burying her face into Scott's shoulder.

Well, Scott certainly wasn't expecting that. He had been expecting something related to her mourning for Duncan, but this….this seemed like it had been bothering her for a long while, long before Duncan came into the picture.

"It's alright." He said, wrapping his arms around her and stroking the back of her head. "It's okay."

"You know," She sniffed. "I think that maybe if I hadn't started trying to be so popular, that maybe somehow Duncan wouldn't have died. If I didn't start hanging around his friends we never would have gotten together and then he never would have hit me and that guy never would have saw and there never would have been that fight and Duncan wouldn't have gone over the edge…"

Scott shoved aside the feeling of rage that built up in side when Jean mentioned Duncan hitting her. He pushed her away and held her out by her shoulders. "Jean, look at me. It wasn't your fault. Duncan was drunk and spoiling for a fight. He bit off more than he could chew and paid the price for it."

While Scott got the sense that his words offered some kind of comfort, Jean seemed to only cry more. "Why?" She cried. "Why did I freeze like that? I could have saved him!"

"I…I don't know." Scott said as Jean took refuge on his shoulder again. "But what happened, happened and you can't change it."

Jean didn't reply, but continued in her crying. Scott did the only thing he knew to do which was to hold her and run his hand down her long red hair. He hoped it was soothing in some way because he still had no clue when it came to crying girls. They were just so…overwhelming.

"Hey, hey, come on." Scott stooped down a bit so he could see Jean's face and swipe away some of her tears. "How about we go out real quick for one of those smoothies you like at the smoothie bar in the mall. It should still be open."

"I don't even like smoothies. I just said I did to fit in"

Crap. "Um, ok then. How about we just go out for a milkshake or something? Just get away from here and relax for a little bit."

Jean gave him a look that reminded Scott of an angry, pouting five-year-old only much sadder. "A stupid milkshake isn't going to make me feel better." At Scott's frazzled, 'please-God-throw-me-a-fricken-bone!' look, Jean added. "But it might help."

A relieved smile appeared on Scott face. "Great. Let's go then."

"What? No." Jean dug her heels in the ground and stopped Scott's progress down the hall. "I can't go out like this, I look like a bum."

Scott looked up and down the deserted hallway they were in. "You're tired of people thinking you something you're not, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you're tired of putting on appearances for other people, right?"

"Right."

"So then just go out the way you are. You look fine to me. If anyone doesn't like it, tell them to fuck off."

Jean blinked at Scott's use of harsh language, but then let loose a short burst of laughter. "Um, okay."

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"Scheisse, Scheisse, Scheisse…"

Kitty frowned as she stood outside of Kurt's door. She went to find him after she had heard from Jubilee that the cops had come and wanted to ask Scott a bunch of questions and then something else happened (from what Kitty could decipher from Jubilee-speak) and now the whole lot of them were being dragged in. After the initial worry and nervousness took hold, a want to see Kurt had taken her to where she was now, standing outside of his room, listening to him cursing and pacing back and forth. She raised a hand and knocked. "Kurt? It's me, Kitty."

The pacing and German cursing stopped and a few seconds later the door opened. "Katzchen, hi."

"Hi." She replied with a small wave that she immediately felt foolish for. "Um, I heard about the thing with the detectives."

"Ja, sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, totally." Kitty looked him over briefly, noting the agitated state of Kurt's hair. Probably from running his hands through it. "Are you okay?"

"Ja." Kurt said, nodding. There was silence for a few seconds before Kurt asked, "Uh, Ze Adventures of Robin Hood vith Errol Flynn is on, vant to vatch it?"

"Who's Errol Flynn?" Kitty asked, making a face.

Kurt's jaw dropped. "Vas! You don't know who Errol Flynn is? Now you have to vatch it! Come and zee vhat acting really is." He pulled her into the room.

"Wait, aren't I, like, not allowed to be in your room after 8 or something?"

"Ve'll keep ze door open. Bezides, it's not like ve'll be doing anything, ve're just vatching a film."

"Yeah, okay." Kitty smiled, stepping further into the room.

Kurt immediately made himself comfortable, lying on his stomach at the foot of his bed and quickly becoming entranced by the movie. His pose reminded Kitty of a little boy watching his favorite television idol on a Saturday morning. Kitty herself sat Indian-style next to him and took in the sword-fighting and swashbuckling antics of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. It was an entertaining movie, with a good mix of action and romance and a little bit of comedy but Kitty could just not make her self feel about as carefree as Kurt looked. What if she told the detectives something tomorrow that she wasn't supposed to? What if they asked about the Danger Room or the X-Jet? She was a horrible liar, Ororo and Kurt could attest to that. (She had accidentally let the cat out of the bag before Kurt's surprise birthday party.) What if she phased in front of them? What if they made her spy on the Institute for them and if she refused they would hurt her family like in that movie she saw one time? Or what if—

"Katzchen!"

"I don't know anything!" Kitty started.

Kurt gave her a weird look. "Vhat are you talking about?"

"Oh, um, nothing." Kitty's cheeks colored in embarrassment. "What did you say?"

"I asked you vhat you zought about ze movie. Tvice."

"Oh. It was good, I liked it."

Kurt gave her a suspicious look, golden glowing eyes narrowing in the dark of his room. "Vhat vas your favorite part?"

"Um….the first one?" Kitty at least had to good grace to look sheepish. "I'm sorry Kurt; I didn't really pay attention to the movie. I'm just, like, totally freaking out right now."

"Ja, Ich auch."

"That means 'me too', right?"

Kurt nodded and shrugged. "More or less."

"Cool, I remembered." Kitty smiled briefly for a second before the expression slid from her face. "So anyway, like what if they ask me about something I can't tell them about? I totally know they're gonna do it too and I'm like the worst liar ever, I mean, you remember the birthday party right? And then if that happens then they'll like arrest me for lying under oath or perjury or something! Ohmigosh, Kurt what if they know about the Sirens?"

Kurt blinked at Kitty's rambling for a minute, his language centers not quite up to the task of deciphering Valley-Girl-English that fast. "Who's going to do zhis again?"

Kitty looked at him like he was missing something obvious. "The police? Tomorrow? Questioning everyone about the party, remember?"

"Oh zhat." In all honesty, he wasn't that nervous yet about the questioning tomorrow. He probably would be in the morning, but now all he was worried about was whether or not his holo would work tomorrow. If it didn't, the Professor could just come up with some lie about him being sick until it did work.

"Why, what were you thinking about?" Kitty asked, giving him a odd look.

"Oh, ja, I vas zhinking about zhat too." Kurt quickly lied. In actually he had been trying to figure out what had happened between them this morning before Kitty came knocking on his door. He had made attempts of flirting with her during the movie, but only receiving distracted responses, he stopped, thinking that maybe Kitty was really enjoying the movie. Or that she wasn't interested. But as he was finding out now, the movie had been the farthest thing from her mind.

"No you weren't" Kitty accused. "Or else I wouldn't have had to tell you what I was talking about." Kurt didn't have a response for that, so Kitty continued on. "What were you cursing about in here before I came in? Oh no, nothing bad happened at home did it?"

"Nein, nein. Nozhing like zhat." Kurt said, waving her concern off. "It's just…I vas zhinking about vhat happened zhis morning betveen us."

"Oh." Kitty's eyes widened with realization. "Yeah, that was--"

"It vas just a kiss right?" Kurt opened his mouth before he could stop himself, already prepared for Kitty's rejection.

"Yeah." Kitty hesitantly nodded, becoming more confident in the movement as she continued it. "Yeah, it was just a thank-you kiss." If it was, then why do I feel so let down all of a sudden?

"Right." Kurt nodded. "Zhat's vhat I zought."

The air became thick with masked hurt from both parties and it quickly converted into awkwardness.

"I think it's getting late." Kitty said, breaking the heavy silence like a gunshot. "I'm gonna go to bed, I wouldn't want Ororo to find me in here this late."

"Ja, I zhink zhats a good idea too." Kurt got up from the bed and walked Kitty the short distance to the door. "Night, Kitty."

"Night, Fuzzy." She turned around and looked at him, lips slightly and unknowingly parted, for just a second before turned back around and headed off to her own bed.

Kurt shut the door after her, leaning back on it when it was closed.

"Scheisse."

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A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to get out. Those of you that read Affliction probably already know that I had a real job this summer, complete with 8 hours of work and a 45 minute commute. And if you didn't know, well, now you do. On a brighter note, I am finished with that job. On a not-so-bright-note, I start school in a week. Which gives me a week to update things. So hopefully I'll have easy classes this fall and will be able to update this (and other things) more.

I know, there was no Rogue in this chapter, but she'll pretty much be the star of next chapter, which will be a big turning point in the story. Let me know what you guys thought of this one!

Mercedes Watson