AN: Sorry that this update's come a little late, but I've been working on another story that's stricken my fancy. So for now, bear with me as I get my new story on its feet and really rolling. Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of its property. I also have to give credit to Slaughterhouse for the chapter title. This comes from a track off of their Slaughterhouse EP. Great stuff.
Chapter 22
Not Tonight
"Are you sure about this, Professor? Do you really think I can do this? I mean, we only just got the team back together and now you want to split us up again. It doesn't really seem right. And what will the others think if I get put in charge and they weren't picked?"
Charles Xavier's office only had two occupants, but those two were arguably the most powerful in the mansion. One was the man himself, sitting behind his desk, his fingers intertwined in their signature pose as he thought deeply and carefully. He had to tread carefully now, lest he cause a rit that could push his students apart. But no what angle he looked things over, no matter the method he examined the dilemma before him, the only sound conclusion was sitting in front of him.
"I have faith in you, Jean. I believe you're strong enough in your gifts and mature enough to watch over the younger students. You've always shown exceptional leadership skills to supplement Scott's, but this will let you set the pace for once. You've always expressed a interest in becoming a teacher, correct? This would be a great place to start. I'm asking this of you because it's become increasing apparent that we aren't quite yet ready for everything, and everyone, out there waiting for us. These younger students need a strong role model to guide them and keep them safe. You are my choice to fill that role."
Jean Grey sat back further into her seat, biting on the inside of her lip, part of a bad habit she had yet to kick. She didn't meet Xavier's eyes directly, letting them wander over his desktop while she thought to herself. Doubts were rising up and tossing her focus around. Could she really take care of a bunch of mutant kids? Keep them safe from all harm, even the imposing threat that the Network still remained to the mansion, regardless of a few being apprehended? How would she even keep them from hurting each other?
Young mutants had a near non-existent control over their powers in most cases and like all other teenagers, the desire to have fun would make them reckless. No amount of reasoning with them would prevent that. Accidents would ensure, maybe even fatal ones. Could she protect them from that? Did she even want that? She was only just a girl. She had school to attend, soccer practice, homework, and training with the older mutants as well. Could she really afford to tack on yet another burden? Would it be worth it?
A bit of selfishness rose up within Jean. Her lips parted, almost uttering out the firm denial to Xavier's proposition. But she faltered, her consciousness not letting her make such a decision based on just her own whims. At this turn, Jean managed to mutter out "If you think it's best, Professor, then I'll try. But what about the others?"
The Professor smiled at the girl across from him, pleased with her decision. "I'm sure Scott and the others will make it just fine without you. They've all grown enough to handle situations without you. And with the return of Luke, they'll fare even better. He's grown well in his absence."
"Why didn't you pick him for this? He's closer to their age, in control of his powers better than I am, and they would listen to him better than they would me. He's more experienced dealing with other mutants than I am and he'd never let the other students come to harm if he could help it. Wouldn't he be a better choice?"
There was silence for a moment in the room. Jean had quickly taken it a sign that she had spoken out of place or that she now looked like she was trying to push responsibility off on another. That wasn't the case, so when Xavier spoke, it relieved that minor worry from her.
"Luke was a possibility that I considered for a longer time than I did with you. Several of the things you mentioned were some of the positives I thought of when I considered him. But there wasn't any getting around that Luke's circumstance isn't fitting for the safety of the younger students. At the moment, he's missing a rather large part of his personal memories and has been out of contact with the world for nearly a month. He'll have a tremendous amount of work to catch up with at school as well as the doctor's appointments he'll need to make for his alibi. On top of that, Luke's growth has been unchecked and it would be unwise to let such a loose power lead. He's not sure what he's capable of and that compromises his judgment. If some of things were sorted out, then I would offer you both the choice and let you decide. But he's not safe for them at the moment."
Jean quit her chewing, suddenly noticing that she had been doing it. A further self-examination made her shake her head to clear her thoughts, before refocusing on the Professor. "Rebecca still will be supervising over the team's sessions, correct? You just want me to be a team captain?"
"Yes. Her second-in-command, if you would. Her powers wouldn't place her in the midst of a fight and that could make it hard for her to protect her students. With you, you could read her thoughts and follow her instructions to protect the younger students in ways no one else could. You telekinesis is very powerful, Jean. Your telepathy is growing as well. You can do this."
The smile was still on his face, reassuring the girl. She trusted Xavier's judgment better than her own, so she would do this for him. She nodded her head, her red hear bobbing along with it. "I'll help out the best I can. I'm sure the others will understand. Thanks for the talk Professor. I gotta head off to school now. They're having an awards day for the soccer team!"
Xavier nodded his head at her departure, smiling until the door to his office latched shut again. At that point, his smile began to taper and slip off of his face. His hands collapsed to his desk, palms first. Lately, the man had been exhausted. He'd been surrounded by bad news and trying situations. He'd recently recovered from his Astral Plane experience to find his mansion in disarray. It'd taken most of his effort to straighten things back out to a sense of normalcy. And what was left of his time and energy was sent conferring with his newest adversary.
Nick Fury had proven to be a very difficult person to manage with words. He was a hard negotiator and seemed to only attempt anything if he had several contingency plans set up to make sure nothing fell through. He was an inspiring man for Xavier, who could only applaud the foresight the man had for protecting the people. All people. From everything. While Xavier didn't admire the dirty hands Nick had, he could only bear through that not everyone understood peace could be gained without forcing it.
The man had come into contact with him again over a secured telephone line and the conversation had been a troubling one for Xavier to sit through. The very first statement from the man was an accusation that the mansion had deliberately left out information of another Network operative and it had cost him 17 soldiers and his prisoners. The second was a warning of what the repercussions could be if Xavier didn't explain in a satisfactorily way why the mansion hadn't deliberately left Nick flying blind. Needless to say, the warning was enough to inspire a thorough explanation from Xavier.
It had been proven that the agent who was missing, the one who could cloak herself, could also seem to remove her presence from people's minds. When her powers activated, people lost their ability to fully remember or register her. Logan had literally been unable to remember her to warn Nick, even after her near fatal attack on his students.
Nick had accepted this explanation as it collaborated with the few reports he had personally taken from the few surviving soldiers of the squad. The man admitted that it wasn't an entire loss as they did manage to gather a full report on that squad and also been led to an abandoned Network facility. It wasn't much of a lead, but it was more than they had seen before in their case against the Network. The man had then asked for Xavier's assistance in their case against the crime organization.
This had left Xavier in a precarious position. He couldn't outright refuse Mr. Fury, as the man had power that could harm Xavier's goals and work. But he couldn't promise assistance unless he was willing to involve his people any more than they already were, something he was dead set against. He had been left with carefully wording that he would assist at the benefit of them both.
Fury, catching onto Xavier's drift, had returned rather bluntly that it would be of assistance to both of them to put the crime organization six feet under. Xavier complied to help as he could, but told Nick that he had his own priorities before putting mutants behind bars. Fury then threatened him, telling the man that he wasn't putting mutants behind bars, but criminals, and he'd do well to learn the difference.
The conversation had ended shortly after that and the bald cripple had been left exhausted ever since. He'd spent near all of his waking time spent on finding a way to deal with the Network should they ever show themselves back at his school. Thus, he'd been led to appoint a more experienced X-man to watch over the New Mutants with Rebecca, who wasn't combat savvy. Jean had eased his mind greatly with her acceptance of the position and now he could look into tackling other problems.
Other problems had been solving themselves as well. Luke's memory had been returning. It wasn't immediate, but at the rate he was recalling the trivialities of life at the mansion, he would have it back shortly. And it wasn't even Xavier's doing. It seemed that the method used to hold the memories back wasn't permanent and was like a dam that hadn't been regulated. It had now sprung a leak and Luke's memories were coming back. The only problem would be if the dam gave way completely, causing a flood. That could be very painful for the boy, which was something Xavier would like to avoid.
There was also a strong connection between the new students that surprised Xavier. He hadn't expected them to fall together as a team so quickly. It was an unexpected boon of the Network's invasion of his home. At the moment, all of them would be staying in the mansion. They were to inexperienced to place in public school, so Xavier would be teaching them, with help from his staff of course.
The man's weary eyes caught sight of the digital clock on the corner of his desk. It was five till eight. He had a class to teach in just a few minutes. Turning his wheelchair, he made his way out of his office and deeper into the mansion. He was tired, exhausted even, but his students required of him and he would provide. He had sworn to.
"Fibromyalgia? You want me to believe that you were out for nearly a month because you have Fibromyalgia? Oh man, you're full of it. You better pray that your Professor can pull the wool over the principal's eyes. It sounds like complete bullshit."
"Oh what would you know? You're just some dumb blonde. I've seen enough episodes of House to know that this is legitimate enough to work. All I have to do is act hurt all the time. Can't be that hard. Xavier's getting a doctor to do all the paperwork and it'll all be official. Your one and only friend will be in chronic pain. The least you could do is have some sympathy."
Luke's first day back at school was much less exciting than he had expected. His teacher had hardly noticed his return, but when she did, she gave him an even dirtier look than normal, as if reprimanding him for missing so much school. But she had returned to her lecture soon enough, ignoring him per the norm. Other students glanced back at him occasionally, whispering questions about where he had been, but he hadn't bothered to give any answers. The rumors would spread soon enough.
Amanda hadn't even that surprised at his return, smacking him on the shoulder when he sat down. When he asked for an explanation, she merely said it was payback for leaving her by herself in this class for so long. It had hurt Luke some when she didn't ask any about what had happened after the asteroid, or what happened after the fight at the soccer game. It was like she wasn't worried about his well-being for that time period. Like she didn't care at all how he was, so long as he was back now to entertain her.
They hadn't exactly made up after their shouting match at the airport, but he still expected her to be a bit more worried for him than this. He would've been worried if she'd gone missing for a month. He'd of been even more worried if he'd seen her get hurt like he'd been. But Amanda didn't seem to have that kind of worry. She was fine.
Luke had pushed back his feelings over her lack of care. Thinking about it made him feel like a drama queen trying to make a big deal out of it. It was a big deal, but if she didn't want to bring it up, then fine. He'd settle for them getting back to the way they were before. He'd missed that, in a way. She was a lively person and one of his only friends outside of the mansion. He didn't remember talking to anyone else as much as he did with her.
He faced her again, cocking his head to the side to get a good look at her. She looked the same as always. Pretty, devilish, and full of mischief. She caught his gaze and grinned. He returned it cheekily.
"You know, Randy did end up hooking up with Sarah. They got caught in the bathroom last week, glued to each other in one of the stalls making out. The Principal was swearing so loud you could hear him in the gym. I just thought it was lucky he caught them before they'd made it to the good part. The last thing this school needs is another girl carrying a Randy Jr. like Rebecca. It's made her moody and miserable to be around."
Gossip was a majority of the conversations the two had, mostly because Amanda always had her nose in other people's business and she was a cheerleader. Practice was practically a hotspot for school news. The reason she talked to Luke about it was mostly because he didn't mind talking about other people as crassly as she did. The two were notorious for going too far when picking fun at people.
"I just don't understand you girls. You claim to want real relationships, but yet you hook up with the nearest guy who's willing to put his junk out there for you. Everyone already knows that Randy's been out there getting some, but Sarah's probably been screaming that it's true love, right? It's retarded."
"Scientifically, Sarah was attracted to him because women are drawn to men who are known to be fertile. It's just one of those things, like guys being attracted to girl with a big rack because it's a sign of fertility and men instinctively go after women who can bear their children." Amanda said that with a completely straight face, before cracking up at the confused look Luke gave her.
"Someone must've been watching Animal Planet. At least you learned something for once. I'm astounded you haven't been telling me about Snooki's wedding or some crap like that."
"Snooki's getting married?!" Amanda all but shouted, getting a majority of the class to turn and look at her. She slunk down into her seat some at the incredulous stares. Mrs. Barnes lecture slowed, but the woman pushed through the outburst from her trouble making student. The students could tell the strain it was causing her from the edge her voice took.
Luke laughed at Amanda before answering "Do I look like the kind of person who would know that? I could care less if she got married. I'm just saying that you look like one of those girls who would know, because you love your MTV idols to death."
Amanda glowered at Luke for a moment, before she was interrupted by the bell. The two exited the class among the chattering students, before Amanda pulled Luke back from the loud hall for a second. He turned around, already guessing what she would say.
'I missed you Luke. I'm so glad that your back and not being mind controlled anymore. It's also a plus that you don't have a giant hole in your chest and aren't bleeding profusely all over the place.' Luke thought to himself sarcastically, already preparing himself to spit some smart remark whenever she got around to saying it.
What she actually said caught him guard and left him unaware for a moment. "So I think you should take me to this party tonight. Since you're just now coming home and everything, you owe me. So I'll expect you to pick me up at 7."
"Huh?" That was all Luke could say. He was dumbfounded. Not only by the fact that she would want him to take her to a party, but that she felt he owed her that much. She was crazy.
"Ok then. You'll need to dress up some because my escort can't look like a homeless bum when he opens the door for me. And it's at Duncan Mathew's house. You'll need to figure out where that is so you don't waste my time tonight. Anyways, I'll see you at lunch."
With that, she slipped out of the door right beside him and left her friend dumbstruck. Luke's sense finally came back to him and he stuck his head out of the door, ready to call her back so he could say something, but she had already turned the corner down the hall and vanished. Luke withdrew his head, still stumped at the turn of events.
Mrs. Barnes came up beside him before shooing him out of the door, saying "I wish she would shut you up like this when you two are in class. Now get out of here before I send you to the principal!"
Luke barely made it to his next class before the tardy bell rang, squeaking in just as the teacher was shutting the door.
"Ah, so you've finally chosen to show your face back at this school, Mr. Hensley? I'm afraid you'll have a lot of catching up to do in your spare time. We've moved on from chapter 4 and we're now halfway through chapter 6. I expect you to come in during free time and make up all of the quizzes and tests that you have missed in your departure."
"Sure thing, boss man. I'll get around to it."
Luke sat down in his normal seat and tired to make sense of what was on the board. None of it looked familiar, but the teacher began his lecture and Luke caught on soon enough. It wasn't like the class was that hard to begin with. He was busy scribbling things down in his notebook from the time the he sat down till the bell rang, not giving him much time to contemplate what he was going to say to Amanda at lunch.
The thought of going to a party with her wasn't comforting. It made his stomach hurt. But she wasn't the type of girl to simply take 'no' for an answer. And even if he did say no, he'd regret it. The girl had her ways of getting back at him. They were almost as numerous as his ways of getting even. So when he sat down next to her at the lunch table, he wasn't sure what to say. So he just put it out there.
"I don't want to take you to the party." There. Now she knew and she would process it. She'd probably take it bad, but it'd be better for them both if she just got the message outright instead of figuring it out afterwards. Luke watched a few emotions pass over her face, before a rather nasty one settled on it.
"And why not? Are you too good to spend any time with your only friend who's not an X-geek? Or do you just not want to be friends anymore?" The accusations were very serious in her point of view, but she ruined the vibe by the way she was holding her corndog at him like it was a threatening weapon of his demise.
"First off, get your food out of my face. Second off, I never said any of that, I just said I didn't want to take you. Third off, why would any of those questions even come to mind unless you think our friendship is insecure? The only way it could be is if you feel bad about it, cause I feel fine, except for the part where you expect me to gallivant you around like a show pony just for your own sick amusement."
The corndog was retracted from his personal space, but the blonde was still waving it around as she said "You jerk! You turn me down after I offer to let you take me out for a night and then you have the nerve to say I'm the one feeling insecure? I'm not that one who's having to do a reality check and catch back up to how everyone's doing after being off playing around for a month or so."
"Oh, so now my month of being captured and held against my will is about you, huh? Tell me, how was your miserable little life without me by your side for you to spit on a kick like a lost puppy for five minutes? It must've been terrible to not have your whipping boy here to do exactly as you say and to drop everything at your whim. I could only imagine the suffering you went through, staying locked up with the Brotherhood clowns, blowing through your dad's money like there was no tomorrow doing whatever you wanted. It must've really sucked to be here without me. Is that what you're saying?"
"I'm making this about me? Well excuse me, but in case you hadn't noticed, you dropped out of my life and now you just want me to let you back in like nothing happened. I was alone without you. I didn't have hardly anyone to talk to or anything even remotely fun to do when you were gone. Now you've come back and I want you to come hang out with me at some stupid party that's probably gonna be lame anyways, just so we can spend a little time together. But no, you want to wallow in your own self-pity at the bad things that happened to you. Fine. Go back to your mansion and sulk the night away. But this is your shot at having a friend who actually wants to help you do something for once and quit being the guy that's always alone in a room full of people."
"I'm not a socially inept outcast! I couldn't possibly have as many friends as you do, but I think that's mostly because of the fact I don't have my chest flopping out of my shirt every other five seconds to attract guy's attention. I'm not sulking. I'm fine. I've moved past getting shot and all that other good stuff. You're the one who thinks I should be stuck wallowing on it! I'd love to go out and do something, but I'm not gonna be your servant and take you wherever while you walk around ignoring me for everyone else that's gonna be at that party. Maybe for once, if you thought about anyone asides yourself, you'd ask for someone else what they want for once. That why you were all alone without me in the first place, because no one asides me will put up with your selfish attitude!"
"Fine, let me beg you to come do something you've picked out for us to do so we could have a little fun. Oh wait, I forgot! You don't ever do anything! You stay locked up in your fancy home and stay there because you're scared to come out and be with people. So I guess I better apologize for being a little overbearing when I told you our plans for tonight. I didn't realize I'd hurt your sensitive little feelings by not asking for your permission to ask for you to go somewhere. I didn't think I would need to because I thought you were a little more mature than that!"
"Are you freakin' kidding me? It's like I'm talking to a 12-year old over here. You're the one being childish about this. You're worse than I am!"
"Like that's really such a bad thing. That the only reason we hang out in the first place." Now she really was being childish, smirking at him now that he was all wound up and making a weak argument. Luke noticed and let some of the tension slip ease as he answered.
"You're right. My friendship priorities are out of whack because the only people I enjoy being around a terrible and have no proper sense of value for friendship."
"So this is really all just your fault and you should shut up and admit it!" The smugness on her face was as apparent as the sun. The argument had built up and the two had gone from snapping at each other's throats and settled back down to this. They were grinning ear to ear at trying to get one up at each other. Whoever got the last word in would win it all.
"I can't admit anything if I shut up, you ignoramus. And what did I just finish saying about you telling me what to do?"
"If I didn't tell you what to do, you wouldn't ever do anything. So together we make an incredible team because I'm the brains of this operation."
"If only you had any brains of your own, then you'd be perfect."
"Well I guess I'm the closest thing to perfect you'll ever get the chance to see."
Luke's grin couldn't get any bigger as he stood up from his seat and pulled her up from hers as well, wrapping her up in a tight hug and squeezing her to the point of the display of affection almost being painful and lifting her off her feet.
"I missed you. A lot."
He set her down as the cafeteria erupted in clapping and cheering from the other students, who had all been watching the two's shouting match with great interest. Those two were the biggest pranksters in school and were well known for the great insults and comebacks they spewed. Luke noticed the applause and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before settling down in his seat. Amanda was still shocked by what he'd whispered to her when he'd picked her up. She sat back down and stared at her tray for a moment, thinking and waiting on the redness of her face to settle back down. When it did, she looked up and saw Luke looking back at her.
"So you'll pick me up at 7?"
The boy threw his hands up in the air in exasperation before slumping down and cradling his head in between his hands.
"Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes, you incessant woman! Why I ever decided to talk to you my first day here, I'll never know."
"Because you thought I was sexy, that's why. Don't feel bad for it. I've suckered a lot of guys over the years with my feminine charm and amazing smile."
"You sure it wasn't you're wonderful, people pleasing personality?" Luke called out from in between his hands.
"Oh stop, you're embarrassing me. You really know how to compliment a girl, don't you? I never expected you to be such a sweet talker."
A resounding thud filled the air as Luke's hands slipped from around his head and his forehead collided with the table.
"Someone, have mercy and shoot me now!" Luke pleaded into the table, barely audible to Crystal.
"I would, but you'd just live through it again, you super-powered freak of nature." The rebuttal was barely audible, but Luke could still hear the mirth in her voice. She was enjoying this.
Luke's head lifted up off the table just enough to catch her gaze, hissing out a "Shut up. You're just mad because I'm harder to get rid of than you thought."
"To be honest I'm thankful. Now that I know you're bulletproof, think of all the fun things I can put you through without having to worry over your safety!"
"I hate you so much sometimes."
"I know."
The two were about to continue like this for a while longer, but a bell rang, followed by an announcement over the intercom. "Students, please report to the auditorium at this time. Instead of going to your third class, we'll be having our award ceremony for the triumphant soccer team this season. Go Bayville Hawks!"
The masses of teenagers all began to mill about, making their way to the auditorium for the ceremony. Most were thankful of the chance to miss their third class, while others were swearing up a storm at how boring this was going to be. Luke didn't care much about the ceremony, but he knew that Jean was part of the soccer team and that it meant a lot to her. So if it was important to her, then he didn't mind it so much.
He tried to sit close to his housemates, but somehow ended up between Amanda and Terrence. The later had a large scowl on his face to match his heavily bandaged hand. Other students were warded off by the angry aura about him, scared for their safety. Terrence was known for having a mean temper and for picking fight in school. No one wanted to risk his wrath, even if he was injured.
Terrence hardly noticed Luke's presence beside him, just grunting a greeting at his rival before slumping down in his seat and cradling his injured hand. Luke sat down carefully next to him, before indiscreetly asking Crystal what had happened to him.
The girl glanced at Terrence, who just huffed in annoyance at the assembly, before returning her gaze to Luke and whispering "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."
Luke just shrugged in his seat before turning his attention to the principal. He was different from the last one, but Luke figured that with as busy as Mystique had been the last few weeks, she wasn't in place to run a school and they brought someone else in. This man looked to be even more stern and a stickler for the rules, no matter how supportive he was of the athletic program he was.
He began his speech on school pride and thanked everyone for turning out for a successful soccer season, then went on to announce the team's MVP. Jean was the unanimous choice, but the girl still had the modesty to act surprised when she was called out for the award, something that Luke doubted she had faked.
Amanda wasn't as convinced and said as much. "Oh, look at her acting all surprised. She probably used her little mind games to bamboozle the other teams to make herself look good."
Luke poked Amanda in the side, making her reflexively jump in her seat. "Quit being so jealous. I'll start to think the watch is malfunctioning from how green you're turning."
The blonde just glared at him as Jean took to the podium. She smiled at the crowd of students, accepting the trophy offered to her by the principal. Apparently, she was expected to say a few words as she began to talk into the microphone, thanking everyone.
But for some reason, mid way through thanking everyone, she broke off, as if she was somewhere else. A moment later, she tried to start again, apologizing for her lapse, only for it to happen again. Her head was beginning to swivel rapidly, locking on to different spots of the crowd. Taking a step back, the redhead began to clutch her head in pain. So lost, she knocked over the trophy table behind her, sending the awards flying in a clatter. Her own award slipped out of her hand and smashed on the floor, knocking the head off of it.
Jean recovered shortly after that, picking up her trophy and returning to the podium in a much calmer state. She made a joke about loosing her head, which most of the kids laughed at. Luke was too busy wondering about what had happened to Jean to hear the joke, and even if he was paying attention, all he would've heard was Amanda griping and complaining about the girl.
Jean finished thanking everyone and the assembly was shortly over, everyone heading off to their fourth class. Luke made it out of the auditorium quickly, saying a short goodbye to Amanda as he headed to class. His arrival at the computer lab was greeted with silence as the teacher clacked away on the keyboard. She seemed to be in one of her signature bad moods and as soon as he plopped down in his regular seat in front of her desk, she dug in one of her drawers and grabbed a pill container.
She popped it open wordlessly and downed to of the small tablets and followed it with a sip of her diet soda. The sight reminded Luke of his recent experience with medication after his arms had broken. It wasn't a comfortable memory.
"So, how've you been? I haven't seen you in a little wile. You get up to much this past weekend? I heard that there were a bunch of good parties around town while I was away."
"Shut up. Don't talk to me like you're familiar with me. You've spent more time absent from my class than you have in it. Just sit there and be quiet."
"Well when you treat me so warmly, it's hard to stay away from this wonderful and educational environment." Luke replied sarcastically.
The woman's eyes came unglued from her computer monitor and she narrowed them on Luke's own. His gaze shifted after a second as she began to rant "I'm not in the mood to waste my breath with such an insolent child like yourself. If you were a little more mature and had any sort of decency in your upraising, then you would understand this. I'm sure your parents must be turning in their graves right now if they're seeing how you act."
Luke bit his lip for a moment, holding back what he was going to say at first. The woman seemed satisfied by this and returned her view to the monitor. Luke steeled himself before thinking over his next course of action thoroughly. Bending over and acting as if he was getting something from his bag, Luke looked under the teacher's desk to see his target. He followed the wire to it's outlet. With the flick of his wrist, the cable unplugged and the boy could hear the computer die out.
The woman sat in shock as her monitor went black. She stuttered for a moment, still watching the screen, trying to make sense of what just happened. Only the sound of a chair pulling up next to her stirred her from her mourning. Luke was sitting right next to her, looking directly at her pretty face.
"Now that I have your complete and undivided attention, let's talk."
Luke stood in front of the mirror for the umpteenth time that night, looking over his state of dress and combing over his short hair needlessly. He had gotten ready for Duncan's stupid party over an hour ago, but didn't have anything else to do and his mind was too distracted for him to stop and think. So he was stuck in front of his dresser, staring at the small mirror attached to it as he meticulously groomed himself for no reason.
He was going on his first real date tonight. But it was with a friend who was firmly keeping him grounded in the friend zone. And that kinda bothered him. He didn't like that he was so friendly to this girl that he would do this for her and they weren't going for a couple's relationship. They were just two people who enjoyed having fun with each other. They were only friends. So if this was a friendship, then what was a real romantic relationship like? He tossed the question out of his head. He had other things to think on.
He'd have to apologize sometime to her tonight for not being in class tomorrow. He had most assuredly been chewed out by his teacher and the principal for his little stunt in his last class. They'd assigned him 3 days suspension to contemplate his actions while also giving him time to make up his missing assignments. Luke didn't really care about that part, but Amanda would be pissed at him after she finished laughing at the story.
He'd also have to make it up to the Professor. Only spending one day in school before being suspended wasn't a good show. But the principal did seem to buy the whole fibromyalgia thing. That was part of the reason his punishment was so 'lenient'. They were giving him time to adjust to a life harasses by sickness. How touching.
Throwing thee comb down on his dresser, he stared at a moment and thought about picking it back up again, but decided against it and left his room, making sure he had his phone and keys for later. He headed down to the break room, hoping to find someone to talk to and take his mind off of things.
Instead of Kurt or even Evan, Luke found one of the new girls. He wasn't even sure of her name, but he knew she was one of the girls he'd saved. From the doorway, he almost thought of leaving her be as she seemed focused on the TV, but something must've given his presence away. She turned and stared at him for a moment, before she remembered him and her face brightened.
"Hey! I'm glad to see you! Me and Marley hadn't had the chance to thank you properly after you had rested up. We got busy with the classes and training and you always seemed to not be around when we had free time. So how are you?"
Luke's hand slipped behind his head ass he scratched at it sheepishly, replying "Oh, you know…I've been busy getting settled back in and all that. I've got a mountain of schoolwork to catch back up on at some point and my friend is dragging me out to some lame party tonight."
"Duncan Mathew's party? I heard that his parents let him have the house to himself and that everybody was gonna be there! How could you not want to go? I've always wanted to go to a party like that!"
Luke just grinned, before fully entering the room and sitting down in a chair near the couch the girl was perched on. "Why don't you come to this one? The Professor doesn't have the younger students on house arrest for icing over the front walkway, does he?"
The girl looked confused for a moment as the two both called out "Bobby." simultaneously. The girl giggled before saying "No, we're free to go places so long as we go in a group or one of the teachers comes. And it's not like most of us can drive anyways. And besides… My powers aren't exactly easy to hold back like yours are. All it would take would be a little slip up on my part and the entire house would go completely crazy. It's best that I don't ever get in a crowd like that. At least not until I learn how to control myself better."
That was a downer if Luke had heard one. The poor girl was afraid to go out and have fun with other people because of what she might do to them. Luke's powers might've been a literal pain, but at least he could control them enough to go out in public.
"Don't worry to much about it. Xavier knows what he's doing. You'll be out there partying the night away like the rest of us before too long. And then you'll realize they're not all they seem cracked up to be."
The girl twirled a strand of hair around her finger, thinking about what he'd said, when Scott rushed past the room in a dash. Luke arced his head to see where the fire was, before the realization hit him and he jumped up.
"Oh crap! I forgot what time it was! I'm soooo late now! She's gonna kill me! I'll see you later. Nice talking to you!"
With that, Luke vaulted over the comfy chair and ran out of the room after Scott. The girl got up and stuck her head out of the door, hollering after the boy "My name is Katie, you know!", but the teen was long gone and out of ear shot. Logan walked by the girl and said "He must be late for picking p that little girlfriend of his. What an idiot."
Katie stepped back inside the break room, forgetting all about the movie as she muttered to herself "He's got a girlfriend?"
The party was well in swing when Luke arrived, Amanda in tow. Luckily, he managed to park his motorcycle close to the house instead of far away from the house. It probably went a long way in easing some of Amanda's anger at him.
She hadn't taken his tardiness well, even less so when she finally pulled out of him that he was late because he was talking with some girl. Amanda didn't show just how much this angered her, instead choosing to give Luke an icy shoulder.
Luke opened the door to the house and discreetly ushered the blonde inside. The two made an inconspicuous arrival and mingled into the crowd without anyone knowing they were late. When the two had made the rounds of waving and chatting to everyone they knew (quite an effort on Amanda's part, due to her knowing near everyone at the party on some level), Luke was left with just standing around watching everyone else.
"So what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Luke whispered into Amanda's ear, ducking down to make his question near inaudible. The girl looked up at him, surprised, before gesturing him to lean back in.
"I'm not real sure. We could go make out in a corner somewhere or you could lead me over to the ping pong table. It looks like Scott and Duncan are fixing to go at it."
Amanda began to make her way to the table, causing a red-faced Luke to aimlessly follow behind. Indeed the high school football star and the sunglass-sporting Cyclops were facing each other off at the table tennis table.
As soon as it started, the two began to hammer away at the poor plastic ball as hard as they could while still keeping it in the court. It was both impressive and lucky. Both of them were making incredible shots, but they were knocking guests around in an attempt to make and return shots. The two began getting more and more out of hand until finally Jean intervened.
Luke narrowed his eyes when he noticed Jean using her powers, but no one else seemed to pick up on it. He didn't like it, but he wasn't going to butt in when she was in her lecture mode. Scott slipped off towards the large balcony over looking a great view and a pool below. He perched up on the rails and seemed to be taking a breather from the intensity outside.
Luke excused himself from Amanda and made his way outside, tapping on the railing to let Scott know he was there. The tall teen turned to see who was bothering him and seemed to slump down some when he saw it was Luke.
"That was a nice little game there. Remind me to play you some other time."
"Pfft. Who cares about the stupid game? Jean's furious at me now. I shouldn't of even bothered to come to this stupid party. Even you have an actual date to this thing while I'm just a third wheel." Scott's head hung low as he admitted this, obviously feeling bad about his match with Duncan.
"Don't feel too bad, man. Jean probably asked you to be here. And it's not like I would be here if Amanda didn't want me here. Jean appreciates you being here and you're there for her when it really matters. She'll come around and see Duncan for the jerk he is and all you have to do is wait."
The team leader's face reddened some, but in the dimly lit balcony light, it was hard to tell. "Duncan's been great to her though. He's given her a lot and she really likes him. I don't want to come between that and her hate me for it. But he is a serious jerk."
"She'll realize it soon enough. Besides…It's not like he really know her. You know her better than he ever will, dude. Mutant powers aside, you two can tell what the other's thinking without even being in the same room. It's creepy. But it proves just how much you two mean to each other. Now I'm gonna go find my 'date' and see if I can't find something to eat. A place this big has got to have a fridge somewhere, right? You stay out here until Jean finished yelling at Duncan, then apologize, okay?"
The teen didn't answer as Luke slipped back inside. He saw Jean head his was hurriedly, clutching at her head in pain. He got out of her way, before making his way over to Amanda by the punch bowl.
"What happened to Jean? Did Duncan finally make her come down to his level of stupid and make her brain melt or what?"
Amanda crossed her arms, giving the door that led to the balcony distasteful looks. "I don't know. I'm not the girl's keeper. We're not even friends. Why don't you go ask if you really care?"
Luke just sighed before pouring himself a small glass of punch to sip on. 'I shouldn't of bothered to ask. Crystal hates Jean. But Scott's out there, so he'll take care of it. Now where is that fridge?'
Before Luke could spot it, he heard the sounds of screaming and rushed to the balcony with the other partygoers, to where the sound had come from. Jean and Duncan were both there, peering down over the ledge. Luke made his way over and looked down. Scott was down there, bobbing up and down in the water. How he'd made it down there, no one seemed to know. He clambered out and began to ring out his clothes, soaked to the bone from his little dip.
Luke could tell there was a story waiting to be told from the look on Jean's face, but decided not to bug her for it. He'd get it from Scott later anyways. The crowd all laughed at the unexpected swim and made their way back inside for the last bit of festivities, but Luke was ready to go. He didn't have anything else to do here and he hadn't had that much fun in the first place.
Amanda didn't mind when he nudged for the door, making towards it quickly. They escaped the house without any notice and before long, Luke had them coasting down the paved drive and back towards the city of Bayville. As she clung on to him, the blonde girl leaned in and shouted over the background noise "Are you hungry? I'm dying for some ice cream."
With that in mind, the two quickly found themselves in a small ice cream parlor, minutes before it closed for the night. Amanda went right to the cashier, who wasn't exactly happy to see them at such an hour, but smiled nonetheless.
"I'd like a small scoop of the diet vanilla ice cream right there. And could you add sprinkles?"
The cashier complied, getting her order before turning to Luke, who was still looking at all the choices. Luke noticed his time was up and asked for a scoop of chocolate-peanut butter ice cream. The worker scooped it up before ringing up the purchase. Amanda started digging at her small purse bag, only to realize she hadn't brought it with her for the party. Luke didn't care as he merely paid for them both and led her out of the shop so the worker could close.
"Thanks for that. I'll have to pay you back for it later."
Luke waved his hand dismissingly, declining the payment. "No need. It's not that big a deal."
The two made small talk while Amanda leaned on Luke's bike, laughing and joking until their ice creams were gone. All the while, Luke couldn't help but wonder if this was what a date really was supposed to be like. After the two finished, they both got back on the motorcycle and Luke took her back to the Brotherhood house. He dropped her off and walked her up to the doorstep, chatting with her the entire way and laughing.
Why? Why was he walking her up to the door? Why couldn't he remember what they were talking about or why her face was crinkled up in that cute way when she laughed? And why was she leaning in so much?
Luke wasn't sure what was going on and his head was spinning, but when the door to the Brotherhood home jerked open, everything stopped. Terrence stuck his head outside before taking a few steps out into the night. He still looked to be in a bad mood. Luke looked at his good hand and saw the new scratches on it and guessed that the teen must've been taking some of that anger out recently.
"Crystal, what're you doing? Are you gonna stay out here and talk with dipshit over there or are you gonna drag you ass in here? I don't really give a damn what you do, but you've got all of five seconds before I shut and lock the door and you have to shack up with your lover boy."
Crystal glared at Terrence, but before she could say anything, Luke did. He wasn't sure why Terrence's words had made him so mad, but for some reason he was. Maybe some of Scott had rubbed off on him?
"What happened to your hand there, Springboy? You look like you've had a little accident there. Maybe you should invest in a little lotion next time and save yourself the wrist injury. That looks pretty painful."
Amanda nearly choked on air when Luke said that, but Terrence wasn't so easily amused. Before Luke could even really see what was going on, Terrence had cocked his fist back and decked him in the face, flooring him. Terrence hadn't even charged his powers up, but Luke's face lit up in pain. His head was swimming again and he faintly heard Crystal shout something. Springload reached down with his good hand and dragged Luke upright, ready to hit him again.
A crystal wall grew straight from the floor, splitting the two teens and preventing a fight from starting. Amanda grabbed Terrence by his shoulder and shoved him towards the door. He glared at her for trying to boss him around, but smirked when he looked back at Luke. Amanda snapped her fingers and shattered the crystal wall as Terrence left the two alone again. Must've been a new trick she'd learned.
Luke stared at the door, not sure of what to say and not wanting to look Crystal in the eyes. He felt horrible now and couldn't think of anything to say to save any face.
"I'm sorry, Luke. He's been real upset since his hand got busted up at the soccer game. He went to a doctor, but they couldn't do anything asides set it in a cast. I don't know why he barged in on us, but he was a real prick for doing it. Listen, I gotta go now. I'll see you later, okay?"
Luke didn't even look her in the face, just nodded his head as she slipped inside the house and shut the door behind her, shutting him off and ending his night with her. Luke stared at the door for a while longer, not really sure of the time passing. Finally, when some sense came back to him, he decided to leave. Undoubtedly, Springload was watching him to see if he'd start anything else tonight. He wouldn't give the boy the satisfaction.
Revving up his bike, he drove off of the gravel drive and made his way back to the mansion. Parking it in the garage in his normal spot, he slipped back inside. The foyer was deserted, but he could see a large stain in the carpet and knew Scott had returned home at least. He made his way up the stairs, headed to his room to turn in for the night.
He was tired, hurt, and he didn't have any other reason to stay up. He'd deal with Xavier lecturing him tomorrow and get started on all of his school work then too. On his way to his room, he passed by the break room again. The TV was on, making Luke stop and see what was on. It was some reality show on people with weird medical conditions. Luke stepped inside the room and cut the screen off and turned to leave, when he heard something mutter "Hey! I was watching that!" sleepily.
Luke looked around, before finding the voice. It was coming from the same girl from earlier, only she was buried under a blanket and a few pillows. She was barely awake, but she started waking up again when she stretched and sat up on the couch.
"My bad. I didn't see you. But it looks like you were watching the back of your eyelids than you were watching the dwarfism guy."
The girl didn't fret over it, accepting his apology easily. "It's ok. I need to go to bed anyways. I heard that we've got a big training exercise tomorrow and I want to be ready. My powers don't let me do a lot in the Danger Room, so I need to be fully rested to not be such a liability."
Luke's bad mood seemed to be pushed to the back of his mind momentarily at the girl talking. Someone who talked down on herself so much shouldn't of been. He'd witnessed her powers and knew for himself that she was tremendously helpful to him when Magneto had brought him back to the mansion.
"That's not true you know. Everybody here thinks you can do some amazing things. I know I do. You woke me up just by touching me. You made Marley brave enough to help me. And there's something else about you…You just make everything feel better. I don't know how else to describe it. Even now I can tell. My night has sucked and just being in the same room with you makes me feel better." Luke laughed at that, before adding "Man, that was so corny. My bad."
She laughed at that, brightening up some. "Thanks. I'm glad you all feel that way. I'll try my best to keep it up then."
Luke nodded, before heading towards the door. Both of them needed to go get some rest and he wasn't gonna keep her up talking about nothing. She followed behind him, as the rooms were all in the same direction.
The walking stirred the girl further from her sleep and as she secretly looked Luke over, she saw his face bruised and swollen. It certainly wasn't like that before he had left for the party.
"Did you get in a fight tonight? Is that why it's been so bad?"
Luke looked at the girl for a moment, rubbing at his sore spot before answering "Partially. It wasn't at the party. But I got hit for running my mouth too much is all. I made a mad guy even madder, so what was I expecting? I really felt bad because of who it happened in front of."
The girl winced in sympathy, making Luke look at her funny. Did she know something? The girl saw the look and decided to explain herself.
"I'm sorry. Getting hit in front of your girlfriend must've been hard."
Luke stopped mid-stride and caught the girl by her arm in a loose grip, turning her towards him. Looking directly at her, perhaps a little too intensely from the redness of her face, he declared "She's not my girlfriend. I don't have a girlfriend. I don't even have anybody who would want to be my girlfriend. Who told you I had a girlfriend?"
"Mr. Logan? He just said that was why you were in such a hurry to leave. He must've not have meant girlfriend literally."
Luke just shook his head and started walking towards his rooms again. The girl caught back up before apologizing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. But if this girl isn't your girlfriend and doesn't want to be your girlfriend, then why do you feel bad about getting hit in front of her? Do you like her?"
Luke didn't look the girl in the eye as he answered slowly, picking his words carefully, lest they come back to bite him.
"She's my best friend, really. I just felt bad about the whole thing is all. And it's not like we're interested in each other like that and all. Or at least, I don't think she is. We just like to tease each other is all, I guess."
The girl didn't respond immediately, instead stopping at a door that Luke assumed led to her room. "It sounds to me like she matters a lot to you. It's none of my business though. Sorry for prying."
She opened her door and was about to enter and close it when Luke stopped her and asked "You hollered something at me when I was leaving, didn't you? What'd you say?"
The girl turned and twirled her hair around her finger, looking a little embarrassed by the question. She answered it regardless. "I had thought you didn't remember me after everything that had happened. So when you left, I told you my name. it wasn't anything important."
Luke nodded, before turning and heading down the hall again. "Goodnight!" was spoken over his shoulder, not paying much attention. The girl nodded and was about to shut the door, when something sprung her into action. "Wait!"
Luke stopped and turned yet again, wondering what the girl could want this time. "You still haven't said it. You still haven't called me by my name. Don't you remember it?" She was leaning on the door, hoping that the boy would remember her name. That would be so embarrassing if she'd pried into his business so much and he didn't even know her name.
Luke just grinned at the girl before answering "Sure. Goodnight, Katie!"
AN: And there you go! I hope you like this little chapter pretty well. It's only the first half or so of Jean's power surge episode, but I didn't want to make this too lengthy, did I? I think this was a decent enough chapter anyways. I got to write out some more character relations and all the good stuff that comes with being a teenager. So I hope you guys enjoyed.
I'm on the verge of changing the rating up to M, mostly because I have a guilty conscience over chapters like this. I know I've seen worse swearing and adult content in rated T, but I'm still uncomfortable with it. Let me know on how you feel I'm doing when it comes to staying inside the T-rating.
I know that this chapter looks like I'm pushing for a pairing, but to be honest, I'm still up in the air about any pairings, if any. Katie is gonna be an important girl, but I'm just not sure about trying to write a pairing at all. I don't think I'd be good at it cause I've no real experience at relationships. But that's why I have a computer! Anyways, review if you have an opinion on the pairings and I'll keep it all in mind as I continue writing. I'll probably be busy for a while because as of tomorrow, Dead Space 3 will be my baby! Booya! Can't wait. As always, BigWillis, out!