Hey, how have you guys been? I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything. But it's SUMMER now, so hopefully I'll be posting more in coming weeks. I'm sort of figuring out what the actual story behind this is going to be, and I think it's pretty cool, so...yeah.

Um...so...read on!

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Previously in First Class…

As I turned to leave, he called out, "Oh, but while you're here…I'd like to introduce you to a new student." I turned around and tilted my head, questioning. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but then I saw her.

She was standing off to the side, her emerald eyes large and her red hair shining in the early morning sun. She slightly looked up when she heard me approach her, and she smiled shyly. Girls never having been my area of expertise, I looked nervously back at the Professor, but he just subtly winked at me. I hesitantly extended my hand to the girl.

"Hi," I said. "I'm…" Whoa, what was my name, again? "I'm Scott." Oh, yeah. That was it.

She slowly accepted my hand and looked back at Xavier.

"Go on, Jean," he told her. Then he looked at me. "Give her a tour of the mansion, Scott. I'll meet you in the dining room in about an hour for breakfast." I nodded silently as I let go of her hand and we walked into the hall. She looked up at me nervously, and her green eyes shone brightly.

"I'm Jean," she said softly. "Jean Grey."

-X-MEN-

Jean Grey sat beside me as we took our seats for dinner that evening. Normally I would've been annoyed if someone took the seat beside me (because either Hank or Ororo usually sat there), but I was hardly complaining. Every time she smiled and her bright green eyes shone, I experienced a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I didn't exactly know why at the time…but even for a mutant…Jean Grey wasn't normal.

"Scott?" her soft voice interrupted my disturbing thoughts. I blinked and looked to my side.

"Yeah?"

"What is this place?" she asked. I frowned, confused. Surely the Professor had told her about the school…surely she knew…who she was?

"It's a school for-" But she shook her head impatiently.

"I know that," she said. "But there's…something else. I can feel it." Nonplussed, I shrugged.

Feel it? Since when did this become the Jedi Academy?

"Like…what?" I asked instead. But the look she gave me suggested she knew exactly what was going through my head.

"Like…the Professor knows more than he's telling any of us," Jean said, running her fingers through her deep red hair. For another moment, I was distracted by my own fantasies. "Scott?"

"Huh?" I shook my head to clear it. "I mean, I don't know. But Xavier's a good guy, Jean. He's going to help us." But even as she smiled brightly, I saw something deeper in her eyes. I had a feeling…for a moment…that maybe the Professor wasn't the only one concealing something.

And maybe…this redheaded girl who enraptured me…was beyond what I thought she was. Maybe…she just couldn't be helped.

And that thought made me sad. Silently, I swore to myself that Jean Grey would be safe…I would keep her safe. I wouldn't ever let anything happen to her.

"Do you promise?" I heard her soft, gentle voice ask. I gritted my teeth, and before I knew what I was doing, I extended my sweaty palm and closed it around her pale hand. She looked at me cautiously, her emerald eyes wide.

The next thing I said would change my life…probably forever.

"I promise."

-X-MEN-

A night or so after that, I found myself unable to sleep, which was weird. My younger brother Alex had always been the one that had trouble sleeping. I'd never had any problems. If you gave me a blanket and a pillow, I could fall asleep almost anywhere. But as I lay in my bed that night, something wouldn't allow me to sleep. I tried to close my eyes, but I fidgeted and turned, my body slowly covering in sweat.

Ever since I had met Jean Grey…it was like I'd entered into a new world. And maybe…maybe I had. There was so much that I didn't know about her…unlike my other friends. Ororo was from a village in Africa…Hank was a regular American kid who just happened to be covered in blue fur. But Jean…there was something that surrounded her that told me that she wasn't like any of the others. There was just something…almost like an invisible force…something so strong…that separated her from the rest of us.

At times, my curiosity almost got the best of me. But at other times…I almost didn't want to know. Something told me that I'd be better off not knowing. And me…being just plainly who I was…I couldn't help but to wonder: Who can have the ability to scare me to death? What is Jean Grey hiding under her beautiful green eyes that look haunted and her flowing red hair that mesmerizes me?

And it was on these thoughts that my mind dwelled as I accidentally entered a new part of Professor Xavier's Mansion…that would end up becoming my life.

I would risk everything…sometimes too much…for the team that ultimately ended up being affectionately known as the X-Men.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

So...what'd you guys think? I'm going for the angsty angle, if you couldn't tell, so be sure to tell me if it's an epic fail or not :)

Thanks in advance,

William D. J. Watson