Scott was leaning against the doorway as Ororo checked Kurt's temperature and helped clean up the vomit from the floor. Kurt was holding a bucket now, a delirious, fanged grin on his face. Ororo had given him some medicine to help him sleep. And it was obviously starting to work. " Ich habe nie Medizin zurück in Deutschland ," He slurred, unable to be understood by either of them well. Scott knew that Ororo had begun to study German so that she could talk to Kurt more comfortably in his own tongue. And Scott was able to place certain words together. He knew Ich was usually I and habe was had. Medizin sounded like Medicine and Deutschland was Germany. Probably something referencing his past had been said and even though he didn't quite know what he said, his heart hurt.

" Ich dachte, dass, wenn ich zum ersten Mal Kopfschmerzen Medizin versucht, dass es war unglaublich. Aber das ... Das ist erstaunlich. " He continued to ramble on in German until his voice became nothing but heavy breaths and he was asleep. Kurt looked so small on the bed, curled up with blankets pulled to his chin. His cheeks were damp with tears that hadn't fully dried since the last time he had thrown up.

Ororo turned to Scott and gave him a soft smile. "Go clean yourself up and get ready for school. I'll drive you in after I've finished talking to the Professor." She placed a hand on Scott's shoulder, looking past his glasses with her icy eyes. "He'll be okay, Scott. Thank you for coming to find me; I'll make sure he's properly looked after today." She walked out of the room and Scott looked back over to the small ball of blankets and fur. He made Kurt feel human.

But why did he feel so sad?

School was over and done with before Scott even knew how to start processing what Kurt had told him. How did he approach Kurt with the knowledge before him? He didn't want to pressure him into anything or make him feel like he had to give him something because he made him feel human. Despite being told exactly wanted he wanted to hear- that Kurt returned his feelings- nothing felt better. Only worse. He sighed as Jean pulled into the mansion's garage, eyeing him funny. But he didn't feel her presence in his mind and for that he was thankful.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No… It's not my place."

"Alright," she cut the engine and proceeded to get out, and Scott knew she wanted to pry but she was still trying to make up for invading his thoughts the other day.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk," he breathed, shrugging his backpack up onto his shoulder and making his way into the main building. "Maybe that'll clear my head." Jean smiled and took his backpack, making it float a few paces behind her. His smile in return felt forced and wrong on his face.

Scott made his way down the dirt path behind the mansion, walking into the woods until he found a small clearing in the trees where some lush grass was growing, dotted with wildflowers. He sat down and stared at his hands for a few moments, thoughts wandering. "Do I tell him he told me? Or will it set him off? Will he feel like I took advantage of him and pried the information out of him? Will he remember telling me when he's more lucid?" He pulled at his hair and laid back with a groan. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

He let out a low, almost pained breath. "A lot," he answered. "There is a lot wrong with you, Scott Summers."

Alex was splashing him with water, laughing as his older brother squealed for him to stop. The sun was beating down on them as the Summer brothers swam in their pool as their parents sat off to the side, basking in the warmth of the sun. Suddenly, Scott felt a tingle behind his eyes that ran through his skull. He stopped, reaching up to his temples which had begun to itch and burn. He closed his eyes and started screaming as the worst pain he had ever felt shot through his skull, burning at his eyes. There was an incredible pressure that made him want to stop breathing.

He felt hands pulling him out of the water as the burning behind his eyes only got worse. It was sharp and hot and felt like it was tearing his head apart. There were voices but he couldn't hear them over his screaming. He was begging for it to stop and suddenly it did.

He was breathless but no longer writhing in pain and he could open his eyes and the light of the sun hurt a little bit, but Alex's face was blocking it out soon enough and the worry in his eyes made Scott feel scared.

And then it happened again at school. He was in line for lunch, bouncing on his heels and talking to a friend. Suddenly, his breath was gone, and his vision went blurry and he reached out to catch himself but he was falling fallin ng. . . The pain was just as bad as the time in the pool. He was clutching his head and screaming, his eyes were burning behind his lids and he wanted to open them and find help but it just hurt so goddamn bad and he was sure he was pulling out hair from how hard he was pulling on it. And it was taking so much longer this time for it all to stop and he was dying and it was horrible and then it was over.

Soon it got to the point where his parents were taking him to hospital after hospital, doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist. All anyone could say was that Scott was experiencing sporadic and serious migraines, but that this medication should help. And when that medication wouldn't work, it was some other medication.

Time passed and Scott was often in more pain than not and Alex had stopped talking to him and their parents and Scott had been pulled out of school and there was tension in the house, always.

And the Summer parents decided what the family need was a nice, calming vacation. They were flying there, where? Their parents wouldn't say. Scott was feeling well for once and it had been the first time in a long time that he and Alex were actually around each other. Despite the older brother holding himself distant, they were all talking and laughing and watching a movie. Suddenly, the airplane didn't sound right and the pilot was speaking over the intercom, telling them how they were going down and what they were supposed to do and Alex and Scott were being shoved against each other and Scott's head was hurting so he closed his eyes and tried to listen to his parents past the ringing in his ears but he couldn't understand them. When he opened his eyes, he and Alex were by the emergency exit and his father was prying the door open and his mother was hugging them and crying and kissing their foreheads. "I love you," she yelled over the air as their father pushed them out the door.

Alex was wearing the parachute, but he yelled over the rushing air into Scott's ear. "I saw your head was hurting again, so I don't know if you heard Mom. I have the parachute, but if it doesn't work, there's a smaller one on you. It won't work as well and we could get really hurt, but it's better than nothing. So if mine doesn't work, I need you to pull yours!"

Scott nodded his head and took the arm that was wrapped around his chest and held it tighter. He was scared, and he felt the throbbing in his head starting up and he could hear the airplane falling. He turned his body some to look above and behind them, only to see the airplane was much lower than them already. He felt close to crying, but the air dried his eyes too quickly.

They free-fell for a while until the ground suddenly seemed close. Alex pulled on his cord and swore and suddenly Scott wasn't there. His head was hurting and he couldn't hear Alex screaming for him to pull his cord and Alex was struggle to grab it. Scott opened his eyes and they were too close to the ground that even if he deployed his parachute, they'd be horribly injured. And suddenly, he was seeing red and the pain in his head was so intense and it was burning his eyes and he felt the ground without touching it and he was thrown back into the air and the weight of Alex was gone and he was falling. He hit his head as he landed and blacked out.

When he woke up, the pain was nauseating, his whole body hurt and there was a burning behind his eyelids that was different than the pain he had become accustomed to. He opened his eyes, only to be thrown back by red light. His back slammed against a tree and forced his eyes open more. The light was exploding from him, up into the sky. Scott was screaming.

He screamed as he woke up, eyes snapping open to be greeted by the darkness of the woods. Suddenly, red light erupted into the sky, illuminating everything. He screamed, eyes wide open and throat tasting of copper until he couldn't anymore. He shut his eyes and fell back onto the ground, crying silently but hard. His body shook with quiet sobs. He didn't bother searching for his glasses. He didn't want to move; he didn't want to worry.

There was the sound of someone walking on the grass and then Jean's hand was on Scott's face. "You never showed up for dinner, and I thought you'd want some alone time. I started getting worried because of how late it was getting. The Professor and I could see your optic blasts from the mansion." He felt her slide his glasses into his palm. "Put those on, I'll carry you back to the manor."

Scott slipped the glasses back on and let Jean lift her with her powers. His body hurt like he had actually fallen from the plane again. They got back to the manor and she gently lowered him to his feet. He looked around and didn't see anyone waiting for them and decided to sneak off to his room.

"Scott." The Professor's voice cut through his skull and Scott actually flinched, bringing a hand up to his temple. "Come to my office." Scott trudged to meet him, feeling bone-tired. His eyes hurt and his throat hurt and he just wanted to sleep. He opened the door and frowned when he saw the Professor sitting there, Ororo at his side. Jean slipped in behind him. "What happened? You disappeared and we can't find you. I almost used Cerebro, but suddenly we saw your optic blasts."

"I… I fell asleep, I'm sorry."

"You're lucky there were no Danger Room activities, Scott."

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "There's been a lot on my mind lately and I went for a walk and I guess I fell asleep. My glasses must have fallen off while I was sleeping which is why my optic blasts happened."

The Professor and Ororo made eye contact and Scott's stomach sank. He knew they knew he was hiding part of the truth.

"But you did not close your eyes as soon as you realised that you were sending them out. You're better than that, Scott," Ororo stated. "And besides, Jean told the Professor she could hear you screaming, but when she found you, you were unharmed. Just crying."

Scott's face went hot and he turned to glare at Jean who looked at him with sad, understanding eyes. He frowned. "I'm going to bed." He turned on his heel and walked out, Jean and Ororo protested, reaching out for him. The Professor stopped them. "Let him go."