I warily eyed my new course schedule, wishing not for the first time that I wasn't starting at Bayville High two weeks into the spring semester. I felt a light touch on my left arm and looked over to see Jean reading over my shoulder.

"Okay, so your first class is down that hallway to the right, all the way at the end. Trig will be right here," she subtly nodded toward the door just to our left. "And you're in my history class after that, so I'll make sure I happen to be at the water fountain here so I can show you where our classroom is." She looked over at me, suddenly apologetic. "Sorry, I just know I felt like a dork being the only sophomore with a school map last semester."

"No, no, I appreciate it. Really." I ran a hand through my hair. "It's, uh, it's nice knowing someone here."

She smiled. "Happy to help. Oh, hey, Duncan!"

A hulking blond in a varsity jacket put an arm around Jean's waist, drawing her away. "I didn't see you all weekend, babe."

"Yeah, I decided to hang around the Institute. We got a new student. Duncan, this is Scott Summers."

"Hey." I wondered why Jean hadn't mentioned she had a boyfriend. We'd talked a lot the past few days.

"So you're living at the Institute, too, huh?" The way Duncan looked me up and down told me why Jean hadn't informed him about me.

But then maybe she hadn't deliberately hidden my existence; she didn't seem to notice the tension as Duncan sized me up, evidently trying to decide if I was a threat or not. Shifting her bag onto her other shoulder, she said, "I gotta get to class. I'll see you in history, Scott."

I wished she hadn't said that. She walked away, oblivious.

Duncan turned to face me. "You stay away from her, Summers."

"Oh, come on," I said, rolling my eyes. "We're not in middle school. Don't go pulling that crap."

"You'd better not give me a reason to."

I took a step closer, happy to discover I was a good two inches taller than him. "Look, man. There's nothing going on between us. I'm not here to steal your girlfriend. But if you don't like us being friends, take it up with Jean. I'm sure she'd love to know that her idiot boyfriend doesn't trust her."

Duncan opened his mouth to say something when the bell rang. I turned away and headed off to be late to my first biology class. It wasn't really my business who Jean dated, but why Duncan? She seemed way too mature for him. It might not be my place to question her relationship, but that didn't mean I had to like it.