A/N: Some notes at the end. Enjoy!

After she was checked for any physical problems (down in the lab she never knew existed) Carolyn found her way back to her room. She snuck in quietly, trying not to wake Jubilee, before finding her bed and collapsing into it.

Something that should have happened 10 hours ago.

She laid there, hoping exhaustion would win over excessive worry, but it did not. No matter how tired she was, she could not stop thinking about everything that had transpired.

And my hair! My beautiful hair!

She knew her hair was the least of her problems but it sure didn't feel like it. There was a very small list of things she liked about herself and her hair was at the top of said list. She loved how soft it was and how she never seemed to get split ends. It was always healthy.

Was.

It had such rich color and shine.

Had.

And since her go to style was curly and teased to the heavens it really did make her look like Frankenstein's bride.

Or monster.

After a long, angst filled internal lament about her loss she began to face the real issues. The ones she'd hoped to avoid until the next day.

What the hell happened?

Carolyn thought back to the moment she traveled forward, trying to piece together what happened and how it happened. She had no clue what triggered it. She had been having a casual conversation and just like that she was flung forward in time.

When it came to the Harvard incident, she figured it had something to do with stress. But this time around...she couldn't find an explanation.

There was no trigger. It. Just. Happened.

The memory replayed a hundred times in her brain before finally exhaustion got the best of her and she slowly drifted to sleep.

She woke to the sound of Jubilee singing along to Wham! in the bathroom as she got ready for her classes.

"Wake me UP! Before you go GO! Don't leave me hanging on like a yo YO! Wake me up before you go GO! I don't want to miss it when you hit that" She put a finger in her ear and raised a hand, "HIIIGGHHHHHHHH"

"Jubilee..." Carolyn groaned, rubbing her eyes, "It's 6 am."

Jubilee stopped and stepped out of the bathroom, "Yeah it is. You gotta get up! We start early around here. Plus you better get a shower in before all the hot water is gone. Trust me...you don't want a cold shower."

Carolyn sighed and threw her covers off. "Alright" She said before yawning,"Uh do you have shampoo and soap I could borrow...I forgot mine."

"Yeah of course. It's already in there. There's also clean towels below the sink."

Carolyn spent thirty minutes in the shower, letting the steaming water hit her back as she stared at the glossy tiles that lined the wall in front of her. After washing her hair and scrubbing her tired body she stepped out and wrapped a pink towel around herself.

She wiped the steam from the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her usually olive skin had taken a turn for the pale. She was exhausted. This year had been a whirlwind and she was only five months in. She could only imagine what other horrors awaited her in the second half of the year. There were heavy bags under her tired green eyes and the thick brows above were in dire need of waxing. She rubbed two fingers between her brows, feeling the fuzz that was starting to form, before sighing.

She really needed to get herself together.

There was a brush and hair drier lying on the counter so she decided to dry her hair. After that, she found a srunchie and pulled her thick hair into a ponytail. Makeup and various creams that belonged to Jubilee were spread out on the counter.

"She wouldn't mind...would she?" She asked herself quietly. She contemplated for a moment before finally picking up an eye-shadow pallet and brush. She swiped a dark brown onto her lids and topped it off with a lighter brown. Jubilee definitely wasn't the same shade as Carolyn, so foundation wasn't going to happen, but she did pick out a light blush and used her fingers to lightly spread it on her cheekbones.

She stared into the mirror and examined her features, "Better at least."

Carolyn opened the door and stuck her head through the crack, "Jubilee, could you hand me my bag? I forgot my clo-" Jubilee was laying on her bed with her hand in the air. Her fingers twirled around in the air as light bounced and danced around. Whitney Houston was blasting from her radio but it didn't fully drown out the popping noises that came from the light.

"...wow." Carolyn said, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"Cool right?" Jubilee said before dropping her hand and standing up. She grabbed Carolyn's bag and walked towards the bathroom.

"Amazing actually. Is that your mutation?" Carolyn asked, taking the bag.

"Some of it. The professor has been helping me utilize it. Anyway, I'm gonna head for breakfast because classes start at seven and I've got training at nine. I'll see you later." She said as she picked up a backpack and headed towards the door.

When she left, Carolyn shut the door and began to pull clothes from her bag. She picked out a plain white shirt with a pair of yellow shorts. After getting dressed she returned to the room and searched for her white canvas shoes before she found them hiding under her bed.

It was around seven that Carolyn decided to hunt for some coffee. Quickly, she pulled a grey baseball cap from her bag and stuffed her curls inside so no one would see the white streaks. She then groggily stumbled around the empty halls trying remember where the dining room was before running into Jean.

"Hey," She said with a smile, "Come on I'll show you where you can get some coffee." Carolyn considered for a moment that it was strange Jean knew exactly what she was looking for...but decided it really didn't matter.

She just wanted coffee.

After a short silent walk, they arrived at the kitchen and Jean immediately walked over to a large and complex coffee machine. The kind Carolyn had only seen once while visiting Italy with her parents.

Jean seemed to know what she was doing and Carolyn wasn't about to attempt to understand how the machine functioned, so she let Jean do all the work.

Finally, she walked over with two cups in hand and set them down on the counter before sliding one to Carolyn. With half lidded eyes, Carolyn brought the cup to her lips and took a sip. Her eyes opened with the realization that it was exactly how she liked it, two creams and five sugars.

"How did you-"

"I'm a telepath...sort of like the professor." She replied as she raised the cup to her lips, taking a sip. Jean's drink was rather odd, it was topped with white foam. She thought back to Italy and recalled the array of drinks they served in their restaurants. This had to be one of them.

Carolyn then realized what Jean had told her. "Wow…" she said, "So does that mean you can read minds? What is that like?"

"Annoying." She said before taking another sip.

"I can see that." Carolyn replied. "I know people who I don't even want to talk to...let alone read their mind."

Jean laughed before pulling the scrunchie off her wrist and throwing her hair into a ponytail. "Tell me about it." She said.

They were quiet for a moment before Jean spoke again. "So, you went to the future?"

Carolyn choked on her coffee a bit, "I...I guess."

"What was that like?"

"Weird. I don't know." she paused for a moment, "I think I saw Peter."

"You think?"

"I mean the guy was old but not old enough to have silver hair. And who else do you know that has that?" she paused for a moment, "Wait do you know anyone else that has that?"

"No." she laughed a little. "Just Peter"

"I think he said something about 'older me'." Carolyn sighed, "I guess I stick around here for a while."

"Maybe. Or maybe by going there you have already changed the future because you know what's going to happen...so you make different decisions. Or maybe nothing happens. Who knows." Jean shrugged.

"The professor told me we would work on control this afternoon. How am I supposed to control it if I don't even know how it happened?"

"I was like that once. Still am in a way." She said, as she moved to rinse her empty cup in the sink, "You'll get the hang of it."

"But what if I don't?"

Jean shrugged, "Then I guess you better get used to the future."

"You're listening to 98.5 hit fm the best station for all the latest hits! Up next we have a new one for you. Here's Madonna with-"

Peter slammed his alarm clock, nearly knocking it from his bedside table. His face was buried in a pillow. He was not a morning person.

This whole "x-men" thing was really starting to seem like a bad idea. Every weekday at 9 am they met for training. It wasn't that he hated it...but he did not enjoy getting up early just to do the same things over and over and over again.

"And for what?" he mumbled to himself as he got out of bed. He picked a shirt from the ground, giving it a quick sniff before deciding it was clean, "We never do anything."

They hadn't actually fought anyone since Apocalypse. He knew that was a good thing, he didn't actually want to see real action, but he also didn't want to waste his time doing the same drills over and over.

*Two years earlier*

"Jesus man what do I look like? The flash? I'm not wearing this," Peter said as he held up the bright blue prototype suit. He began to laugh, "Wait is that a lightning stripe?"

"I color coded them for easy recognition on the field…" Hank explained.

"Don't you think bright green and yellow is a little...flashy.." Jean said as she warily examined her suit.

"Hey what's wrong with bright yellow?" Jubilee asked, before quickly snatching Jean's suit. "I'll take it!"

"I like mine but...can we cool it with the yellow around the crotch here…" Scott said, pointing to his suit.

Storm furrowed her brows, "Why does mine have a cape?"

"Oh that's not a cape," Hank said as he moved towards Storm, "I just haven't finished sewing it. When I'm done it will aid your flying."

Raven stood in the corner, unamused, examining her suit. "Hank….why is mine so...revealing."

"You walk around naked anyway. Why does it matter?" Storm said. Raven shot her a look.

"That's what I had in mind when I made it. I thought you would want it that way." Hank quickly added.

"I vike mein!" Kurt said excitedly as he held up the bright red suit.

Raven put a hand on his shoulder, "Kurt you are not wearing that monstrosity. We'll get you something better," she said before turning to Hank, "Who put you in charge of design anyway?"

"I say we design our own." Scott said as he threw his on the table.

"Yeah! I'm not wearin this shit...No offense bro." He said to Hank before turning to Jean and mouthing 'full offense' behind his hand.

"Fine. Just make sure you get the designs to me by the end of the week." And with that, Hank stormed out.

Raven shook her head, "I can't imagine what he had planned for Charles." She began to laugh at the thought of Charles wearing any of the suits that were spread out on the table.

"Probably a laser-shooting, flying wheelchair. With a cape.." Peter said, as he imagined Charles zooming around the battlefield, "Actually that sounds sorta cool."

After two weeks, the suits were finally completed. They had been toned down exponentially, but Jubilee had managed to make hers even more flashy than Hank had. Peter went with a simple silver design. One that didn't have a cheesy lightning stripe, which was all that mattered to him.

Ever since then, they had been training and waiting for the next danger to arrive. But it never did.

Peter zoomed into his bathroom, quickly brushing his teeth and fixing his hair. His life was starting to get boring again.

But there was Carolyn.

She's not boring.

But I also don't have a chance.

She had been the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. But he couldn't have her...it was just facts.

"She has a lot more to worry about than some guy." He mumbled as he slipped on his shoes. Peter glanced at the mirror one more time before grabbing his goggles from the counter and heading out the door.

Carolyn had been wandering the grounds for what seemed like forever. Several hours prior, the professor had told her to get some rest so they could start practicing control around noon. After several attempts at rest, she decided it just wasn't in the cards for her. So she opted for exploring the mansion and the surrounding area by herself. She was tired but figured it was better than laying in bed, stressing about her situation.

It was cooler than it was the day before. The sun was shining but it was paired with a pleasant breeze and large clouds were scattered throughout the sky. The leaves on the trees danced in the wind and it was silent save for the distant chattering of birds. A rather large gust of wind came through and nearly knocked her hat off but she quickly caught it before it went too far.

The area around her seemed familiar and it was then that she realized the shack Peter had shown her was near, so she headed towards it.

When she arrived, Carolyn lifted an adjacent rock to look for the key but found it was missing and that the door had already been unlocked. She quickly entered to find Peter draped on the couch, music blasting from his headphones. His eyes were closed and his hand held a blue popsicle that was beginning to drip.

She stood there staring for a moment before Peter opened his eyes.

"Jesus Carolyn. Howlonghaveyoubeenstandingthere?" he said as he yanked his headphones off.

"Not that long." She said as she headed to the fridge before pulling out a red popsicle. Peter threw his melting popsicle away and wiped his sticky hand on the side of the couch before she could even blink. She unwrapped the popsicle before sitting down next to him.

"So are you gonna tell me what happened last night?" He asked, turning towards her.

"I went to the future." She deadpanned.

He raised his brows, "You did?"

"I did."

"Have you ever done that before?"

"Nope." She said, tasting her popsicle.

"Are you sure you did it?" He asked.

"I guess. There's really no other explanation." She said, pondering his question.

He disappeared and reappeared with another popsicle. A red one this time. "For all you know it could have been aliens or a time machine test gone wrong. I mean...who knows what they do down there in that lab. I've only ever been in the danger room." He said, unwrapping the popsicle.

"The what?"

"The daaaaannngggerrr roooom." He repeated, slower this time.

"No I heard you. What the hell is a danger room?"

"It's where some of us go to train. I just got back from there actually." He said, taking a bite of his popsicle before grimacing, "Why do you like this flavor? It's disgusting." He took another bite and made a gagging noise.

"It's not! Why didn't you just get a blue one? I saw plenty in there..."

"Because you got red. I figured I must be missing out something." He said before launching his popsicle at the trash.

Carolyn stared at him for a moment. "Anyway….what do you train for? Jubilee was saying something about that earlier. Does this place have a sports team I don't know about?"

Peter laughed, "Yeah that's exactly what it is. A sports team."

"Really? Because I did track and cross country in highschool. And I think I did soccer for a while in middle school…" She trailed off trying to remember if she did anything else.

"You did track? We're you fast?" Peter asked.

"Well...not as fast as you." Carolyn said.

"Of course not. Nobody is fast as me Carolyn. I'm sayin' compared to everyone else."

She shrugged. "I was okay. I didn't get a scholarship for it or anything. My parents told me to never use my mutation to win or 'it would raise suspicion' but if I had...I probably would've won a lot more. There was this girl, Heather McAdams, who I was always trying to beat. I would've wiped the floor with her if I would have just stopped time...if only for a second." She sighed.

"Why didn't you?" Peter asked.

"I told you….my parents told me not to."

Peter looked at her with disbelief "So? It's not like they would've known. Jeez Carolyn...didn't you have any fun in high school? That's the whole point of being able to do stuff like this "

"I highly doubt the universe gave us mutations just so we could screw around in high school. And they would have found out...they have an eye for that sort of thing because….because well...it's a long story."

"I've got time." He said as he disappeared and reappeared holding another popsicle, blue this time.

"Well I don't. The professor wanted me back before noon so we could work on control."

"That reminds me," He said, leaning forward, towards her, "What did you see in the future. Was it cool? Any flying cars? Personal robot butlers? What's the deal?"

Carolyn thought for a moment, "I...I saw you."

"Oh shit really? So it was cool. How old was I?"

"Old." She said.

"Like how old? Gimme an estimate." He said, moving even closer.

"Uh I dunno...late 40s? Maybe early 50s?" She said, raising her hands into a shrug.

Peter leaned back and scoffed, "Ah man that's not old...I was hoping for 500 year old mutant master with a long grey beard or somethin."

"Well you're already halfway there old man." She laughed, pointing to his silver hair.

Peter quickly snatched the grey baseball hat from her head, "You're one to talk Ms Frankenstein!"

Her hands flew to her head, covering the white streaks, "Give that back!"

"Mmmmm...no. I don't think I will." He disappeared and reappeared at the opposite side of the room, the hat now on his head.

Carolyn stomped towards him and reached for his head only for him to disappear before she could touch him. She turned around and found him sitting on the couch with a wide smirk.

"I'm serious Peter! Give it back!" She said.

Peter pursed his lips, "Hmm...No." Carolyn ran to the couch and reached for the hat, but Peter disappeared and she fell onto the cushions. She rolled over only to find Peter standing in front of the couch, practically trapping her there.

She looked up, "Give it back."

"Apologize." He said, "For making fun of my hair."

"I didn't!"

"You did." He said.

"Fine! I'm sorry! Please just give it back!" She pleaded.

"Why? I like your hair like that. It looks cool." He said, twirling the hat around on his finger.

"I don't! Please just give it back."

"Alright. Here you go." He said as he handed it to her. She snatched it from his hands and pulled it over her hair before standing up and pushing him out of the way.

"I need to go." She huffed, as she headed for the door.

Peter appeared in front of it, "Hey why are you mad at me? You started it."

Carolyn stared at him, "Just move. Please."

Peter didn't budge. "I'll take you back if you want. So you don't have to walk all the way there."

Carolyn eyed him warily as she thought about it.

"Look...I'm sorry about the hat...and the hair. But hey, at least you didn't get the hair when you were a kid. Could you imagine being the only kid in class with silver hair? It's not fun FYI. At least here...nobody cares."

Carolyn finally sighed. "No I can't imagine that. But I can imagine what it's like being the only girl in the class with bushy eyebrows and brown skin." She said, remembering all the times she was picked on for her foreign appearance, "I'm sorry for making fun of your hair."

"It's fine dude. I look cooler than everyone anyway." He said with a smug grin, "So do you want me to take you back?"

"Yes."

"What's the magic word?" Peter said, with a hand on the doorknob.

Carolyn sighed. "Please."

Peter opened the door and lowered his goggles to his eyes. "Alright then, let's go."

A/N: Alright...so some side notes that are semi relevant but like...I didn't put in for different reasons. The prototype suits are based on the original various comic designs. I just thought it would be nice to add that in there...give a little explanation as to why the costumes arent comic accurate. Another note, I know a good handful of information about comics. I'm no expert...but I know enough...so there will be nods to the comics here and there but nothing too major because this is a movie story not a comic story. One nod to the comic would be the mention of Crystal in an earlier chapter. If you don't know who that is... it's Peter's(PIETRO'S) on again off again wifey in the comics. Some people like her...others don't...I don't really have an opinion. ALSO...so...my headcanon is that in marvel comics...dc comics are what people read...and in dc comics...marvel comics are what people read. So when peter talks about the flash...he's talking about a comic book character. In my head mutants wrote comics to vent and share their stories without actually exposing themselves. ANOTHER note is that Carolyn is indeed not white. Her race will be further explored in the later chapters when we get into family business. ALSO I know i keep talking but one more thing Jubilee is an xmen because I can and I will. ALSO ALSO...one last thing...this is indeed set in the 80s and lattes and such did not really take flight in america till the late 90s and beyond. So that explains why carolyn has no idea what Jean is drinking.

ANYWAY! Thank you so much to all my readers who have stuck around or are just here in general. I appreciate the support and I'm grateful for the reviews, follows, and favs! I read every single review and I'm so grateful for them! Love you guys!