Chapter 15 - Being A Kid?

AN: Boy-howdy, did this chapter take a while! You guys have no idea. But, I am so, so happy to bring you the next chapter of Excelsior and it's even one where we get to hang out with our favorite psychic girl :)

I had SOOOO much fun writing this chapter! After this one, I think I'm gonna see if I can knock Puddin out of the park once and for all, so any Dragon Ball fans should keep their eyes open for those chapters sometime soon.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Make sure to tell me how you think Jean's socializing went. See you next time!

All things considered, Jean's first day as an SLA student hadn't gone that bad.

Yes, she had been gently castigated by Kate for being overly familiar with her in the classroom, but she also didn't have to try her luck at the rigged test she set before the rest of the class. Jean could only imagine how embarrassing that would have been.

But now their first day of class had been unceremoniously cut short. It was barely lunchtime and the whole had been let loose. To do what? That was anyone's guess.

A lot of people had departed to their rooms upon returning to their dorm building. Everyone else was milling around in different areas of the common room, none of them knowing what to do.

"So…" one of the girls — Elena, Jean thought her name was — ventured, "what now? With class being over for the day."

"I thought it was obvious!" said Gwen. Gwen was easy to remember with her blond hair dyed pink at the ends. She sat at the dining table, hands clasped in front of her with a dramatic, intense expression on her face that might even give Magneto a run for his money. "Our story together has just begun. The page has been flooded with tons more names than previous updates. And, most importantly, we are ladies in the springtime of our youth. There can only be one logical conclusion…"

She paused for dramatic effect, gaining a gleam in her eye.

"Class 1-A Girls Slumber Party!" she cried excitedly.

"Yeah!" cheered Kamala, feeding off her friend's energy. All of the girls gave her their full attention while some of the boys looked up in curiosity.

"Huh," Kate – the Bishop, not the Pryde – said, scratching her chin with a smile. "I can't remember the last time I had a slumber party."

"Me neither," Tandy said. "It sounds like fun."

"Doesn't it need to be night for people to have a slumber party?" asked Noriko, jerking a thumb at the window, where the sun had not yet reached midday.

"Slumber party is not a time, Noriko," Gwen said in a voice that was comically Zen. She closed her eyes and clasped her palms together. "Slumber party is a state of being. Where the stresses of the outside world fall away and let girls just have fun being with friends."

"I'm down," Elena said with a nod.

"Alright then!" exclaimed Gwen. "All the rest of you ladies get in your pajamas and meet in my room! I promise you a totally fun time!" With that, Gwen and Kamala both dashed to the stairwell. Kei made to follow them but a withering glare from Kate kept him in place. Tandy squeezed Tyrone's hand and whispered something to him before heading off herself. Jean and the other girls stood around awkwardly for a time before they all started excusing themselves to get changed.

Jean headed for the stairs, determinedly not looking in the direction of the boy who had been trying to meet her gaze all day.

Remember. Nothing good could come of that.

Abigail Boylen closed her door with a sigh. Even if it was barely afternoon, the day had been a slog. A full day of classes was going to be difficult to deal with, she just knew it.

But now wasn't time for that. She crossed her undecorated room with a purpose. She did not change into her pajamas. She did not grab her pillow. She did not take any actions that would help her prepare for a slumber party. Instead, she pushed open her window and clambered out onto the sill. After taking a deep breath, she exhaled a large, thick cloud of white fog. When she had finished, the last tendril of fog bent toward her and gently caressed her cheek as she breathed in a bit. With a small smile on her face, she stepped off the window sill. With both feet planted on the cloud, she donned a pair of goggles and sped off, weaving through the trees.

She would not return for some time.

It wasn't until Jean started searching through her drawers that she realized her hands were shaking. She clutched them in her lap and tried to get herself under control. This was nothing to worry about. It was just a fun hangout. With girls of Jean's age. Who she had never met before. After being around only one group of kids for almost her entire life.

The Wards had never done something like a slumber party before. They all lived in the same mansion, so there wasn't really a point. This was unknown territory for Jean. Sure, she'd seen enough movies to know what girls traditionally did at sleepovers, but she wasn't foolish enough to think that that translated to real world experience. How was she supposed to swap gossip when school hadn't even really started? How was she supposed to giggle with a bunch of people she had only met today? How was she supposed to swap tips about makeup that she didn't even understand, let alone use?

Part of her wanted to call Scott. Ask him how his day was going. Ask him what she should do. Ask if he had any advice, since he'd always been amazing with people.

"It certainly can't hurt," she said to herself. She reached for her desk and floated her phone into her hands. Even if he didn't have the perfect answer for what she should do, it would at least be nice to talk to him and let him know how her first day had gone. She selected Scott's number from her favorite contacts and brought the phone to her ear. It rang and rang and rang some more.

" This is Scott. You know what to do," said his answering machine before the beep sounded.

"Um, hey Scott…" Jean trailed off, unsure how to voice her dilemma. It suddenly occurred to her that she may be coming across as a frightened kid calling their mother from summer camp. "The other girls in my class were… well, they were talking about-"

Jean was interrupted by someone rapping hard on her door. She blinked and stared at the door, which continued to knock insistingly.

"I… gotta get back to you," she said, lowering the phone. She crossed the room and opened the door, blinking in surprise to see Gwen outside, bent at the waist and breathing hard. She was wearing a t-shirt with a cartoon shark on it but she was still wearing the skirt of her school uniform.

"Good… made it…" Gwen gasped. "Glad… voicemail… oh God… lungs dying…"

"Are you okay?" Jean asked, reaching a hand out to take Gwen by the shoulder. She stopped a few inches away, her mind uncertain. What if Gwen didn't like being touched, like Kevin? Jean couldn't let herself commit a social faux pas right after meeting someone, but leaving her hand hanging there could be just as awkward.

Gwen gasped out a laugh and then seized Jean's hand out of the air and pumped it twice. "No worries, Jeannie," she said, getting her breath back. "Just wanted to come and see if you were doing okay." She stood up straight and gave Jean a beaming smile. "I'm really looking forward to having you over at the slumber party."

Jean stared and swallowed. She thought she felt her cheeks flush. "Umm…" she said in confusion. "W-why are you looking forward to me coming?"

Gwen somehow managed to smile even wider before taking both of Jean's hands and bouncing in place. "Because I really REALLY want to be your friend!"

Now Jean knew that her cheeks were flushed. "You do?" she managed to squeak.

Gwen giggled and put her hands behind her back. "Well, duh. Aside from the fact that I have a thing for main protagonists, I like the cut of your jib!"

Several beats of silence passed between them.

"I…" Jean stammered in confusion. "I don't have a jib."

"Well," Gwen said with another giggle, "you do now."

Then she took something from behind her back and handed it to Jean. It was… a model boat?

Jean stared at the vessel in her hand. Yup, it was a model boat, one of those single-mast yachts that adventurous rich people always sailed on in the movies. It had all the pieces, the sails, the tiny ropes, everything. Jean also noticed that the front sail had a cartoon drawing of a nose on it. She blinked and looked up at Gwen, who smiled and winked.

"That's just a joke for any aspiring etymologists who are reading."

Huh?

"You finish getting changed," Gwen said, "and head on up. We're looking forward to having you!" She gave one last wave before jogging down the hallway to the elevators.

Jean stared at the strange girl as she left before staring down at the boat in her hand. She blinked a few times before retreating into her room. "I guess I have a boat now?" she said, placing it on her desk. She'd find a better place to put it later. Glancing down at the phone that was still in her hand, she was surprised to see that she had failed to hang up on her call to Scott. She mashed the disconnect button in embarrassment.

Right now, she needed to get changed for the slumber party. Apparently, some people were excited to have her.

Maybe this won't be so hard after all, she thought.

It didn't take too long before Jean was dressed in her pajamas and walking down the hall toward Gwen's room. She could see the door at the end of the hall, seeming to grow larger and more imposing with every step. Jean's earlier confidence had departed the moment she set foot on Gwen's floor.

Jean swallowed, wondering what to do when she arrived. The Professor had always taught her to thank the host whenever you arrived somewhere new, but Jean had already spoken to Gwen. Wait, had she thanked the girl for inviting her? Oh no, Jean couldn't remember!

Uncle Kurt liked to do something to impress everyone or make them laugh, usually bamf-ing around the room and hanging from the ceiling. Jean was feeling pretty confident with her telekinesis now, but making things fly around the room didn't feel like the way to start a hangout. She didn't have Kurt's easy charisma so everyone would probably accuse her of being superior or conceited.

Jean shuddered when she suddenly remembered a lesson that Professor Frost had tried to teach her about using her entrance to 'subdue and command' a social gathering. That was absolutely not an option.

Jean still didn't have an answer, but she was out of time. She had reached the door to Gwen's room. Clutching her pillow to her chest she hesitantly reached out to knock.

The door opened before she could, though. Gwen stood in the doorway, smiling excitedly while Kamala waved from her place sitting by the bed.

"Welcome to the party, Jean!" said Gwen, gesturing grandly. "Me casa is you casa!"

Jean stepped into Gwen's room. She looked all around, immediately struck by-

"Nonononono!" yelled Gwen, waving her hands frantically. Jean startled, her eyes going wide.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You're the POV character right now!" Gwen said while making an X with her arms, her expression deadly serious. "Don't think anything about how my room looks! I don't want this setting to get locked in if I need things to change later, you know?"

Jean blinked. And then blinked again. She really didn't know what this girl was talking about.

"That's alright," Gwen said with a smile and a pat on the shoulder. "It took me a while to figure it out too."

Gwendolyn Poole: Quirk —

Excuse me?

AH!

Hellooo!

Um… hi?

Hey, so, I know you're just doing your job, but would you mind if I took care of my own intro?

Oh… uh, I guess not?

Much appreciated. Can I just go ahead?

Um, sure.

Thanks. Ahem…

He~llo~ True Believers! My name is Gwen Poole! My Quirk is a little something I like to call Author's Note, which makes me aware of the narrative. Basically, I can hear everything you're reading right now. Because of this power, I can also mess with some things that aren't explicitly stated. For instance, as long as a POV character doesn't describe my room, it will exist in the abstract and I can do whatever I want with it. Maybe there are arcade machines. Or hot tubs. Or fountains of Capri-Sun! YOU'LL NEVER KNOW! AH-HAHAHAHAHA!

Jean blinked at the cackling Gwen before turning to Kamala. "Is… is she okay?"

"She's fine," Kamala said with a mild expression. "She's just been really hyper these last few days. Once she starts eating snacks, she'll calm down. At least she's not out accosting strangers again."

"Oh. Okay," Jean said with a nod. She couldn't help feeling a little skeptical.

"Want some pizza?" Kamala asked, leaning over to a tall stack of pizza boxes. She opened the top box, allowing a cloud of steam to waft up from some of the most delicious pizza Jean had ever seen. Just the scent made her mouth water. She nodded vigorously as Kamala served her up a slice on a paper plate.

"Wait," Jean said before she could take a bite. "Where did this come from? When did Gwen order this? She told us about the slumber party, like, ten minutes ago." She craned her head to look at the label on the box.

"The details are unimportant!" yelled Gwen, leaping up to block Jean's view of the boxes.

"Gwen's always been able to get her hands on snacks," Kamala said, taking a bite of her slice of chicken pizza. "You learn not to question it."

It must have really been a weird day, because Jean decided to accept that answer. She sat down on her pillow and took a bite of pizza, closing her eyes to savor the taste. She could count on one of Kurt's hands the number of times she had had pizza in her life. Scott was lactose-intolerant, so pizza had never been one of the foods the Wards indulged in during celebrations. Also, the Professor and Magneto didn't care for greasy foods and Marilyn outright refused to cook pizza, considering it beneath her prodigious cooking skills.

"Oh! That's right!" said Gwen. She bounded to her desk before bounding back to their little grouping with a wicker basket in hand. "I'd like to have our slumber party be uninterrupted, so here's rule number one: everyone puts their phones in the basket." She smiled and held out the basket to Jean. There were two phones already in the basket, one pink and the other red, blue, and gold. Jean took another look at Gwen's smile before she obediently placed her phone in the basket as well.

"Can we grab our phones if we get an important call?" she asked.

"I think that sounds fair," agreed Kamala.

Gwen nodded in agreement, setting down the basket next to her spot.

Jean was popping the last of the crust into her mouth when Gwen's door opened again, admitting a gaggle of girls inside. Kate and Elena entered at once, with Kate laughing about something Elena had said. Then Tandy came in, a polite smile on her face, and bringing up the rear was a slightly annoyed looking Noriko.

"Is that everyone?" Kamala asked, passing out slices of pizza to the new arrivals while Gwen collected their phones. Everyone was grabbing pillows to sit or sprawl in a rough approximation of a circle.

"Abigail's not coming," Gwen said, taking a sip of soda. "She's off doing her own thing."

"Rahne's not coming either," said Elena as she bit into her pepperoni slice. "She's not very good with people so she's gonna stay in her room. But don't worry about her too much. She just needs some time."

"Do you know her well?" asked Kate.

"Ehm-hem," Elena said with her mouth full. "She's like my sister. We have the same foster mom."

"I wish I had a sister," Kamala said with a suffering sigh. "I've just got a jerk brother who spends all day praying in the basement. He's always going on about how 'superheroing is not meant for young ladies'." She blew a raspberry. "He actually threatened to never speak to me again if I came to SLA, like that was supposed to be some sort of deterrent."

"Oh, Amir's not that bad," Gwen said, waving her hand dismissively.

Kamala stared at her and arched an eyebrow. "When he first clapped eyes on you, he told me that you must be some sort of maniacal djinn whose sole purpose was to make me unmarriageable and an outcast from our community."

"And I think I'm doing an absolutely wonderful job as your bestest pal ever," Gwen said proudly before shoving an entire slice of pizza into her mouth.

"I know a bit about what you've got, Kamala," Kate said, rolling her eyes. "I've got an older sister. She hates pretty much everything I like. She doesn't understand why I don't just want to hang around and spend Dad's money."

"Sooo… is this what we're doing?" Everyone turned to look at Noriko, sprawled on her side and resting her head on one of her gloves. "Are we just going to sit here, talking about our feelings and sharing our life stories? Because, honestly, I'm not interested."

Silence descended on the group. Jean stared at Noriko and blinked a few times. For an uncomfortable moment, Noriko's sparse attire, lounging posture, and prickly demeanor all reminded Jean far too much of Jubilee, who made statements like that in the past. Luckily, Scott had always been there to talk to her and bring her around.

But Scott wasn't here right now.

Should Jean say something? She had never been good at interacting with Jubilee, but she at least had experience. She should try, but what could she do?

"I know something we could do!" Gwen said, suddenly leaping to her feet. "Who's feeling up for a game of Primal Fight?"

Primal Fight?

"What's that?" asked Tandy.

"It's the best!" Kamala said excitedly while Gwen started messing with a TV Jean hadn't noticed before. "You pick from a bunch of mutated animals and try to smash each other off the stage. Gwen and I play it all the time."

"Yeah, it's pretty fun," Noriko agreed, "but I have to grab something before I can play. I've got a special controller that's-"

"Right here!" said Gwen, dumping a larger-than-normal video game controller into Noriko's hand. Noriko stared uncomprehendingly at it for several moments before shrugging and shifting so she could comfortably see the screen.

Their group transitioned to gaming, getting into the excitement of smashing each other with big monsters. While Jean didn't play games as much as some of the other Wards, she had enough experience with them to at least know where all the buttons were. When everyone had a passable idea of how to play, they started a little tournament between them, with everything coming down to a nail-biting showdown between Gwen and Kate. Gwen was yelling and swearing like crazy while Kate stayed eerily silent, her eyes glued to the screen and her fingers flew over the controller. It was a pitched tug-of-war between the two of them that had everyone all on the edge of their pillows. In the end, Kate succeeded in slamming Gwen down into the abyss beneath the battle stage. After Gwen was finished being dramatic about her 'callous defeat in this cruel world', they all decided to set some music in the background and chat for a while.

As Jean got herself settled again, she smiled. The slumber party had been going on for at least two hours and she had been having a lot of fun so far. She might actually be getting the hang of this.

Next to her, Gwen rubbed her hands together and smiled hungrily at the circle. "I have a new topic!" she cried. "What do you all think of the boys in our class?"

While Jean stared at Gwen in mortified shock, the other girls had their own reactions. A few rubbed their chins and furrowed their brows thoughtfully, like this was somehow a normal question to ask. Others looked askance, like they were trying to avoid eye contact with the question.

Across the circle, Kamala suddenly gained an enormous grin. "Did you guys get a look at Prince Charming?"

"Oh my gosh, he really is one!" Elena said with excitement. "We are going to school with an actual prince! And he's gorgeous!" The other girls nodded in agreement, now seeming united in the cause of appreciating an attractive young man.

"Seems a little serious, though," Tandy said, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Sometimes serious and stoic might be what you're looking for," Kate responded. "That Tyrone seems like a nice guy as well."

"Careful," Tandy said, looking over from the corner of her eye. "I'm not especially fond of people making eyes at my boyfriend."

Kate squirmed under Tandy's glare. "Oh. Sorry. My bad."

"You two are together?" asked Kamala.

"Yeah. We're dating," said Tandy, a wistful smile on her face.

"Like dating-dating?" asked Gwen. "Not like that 'lasted for twelve minutes' middle school dating?"

Tandy's only answer to that question was a glare.

"Tyrone seems really nice," Kamala said, trying to salvage the topic. "I saw him jump out of his chair when that Axel guy was being a douche."

Tandy favored Kamala with a small, but still genuine, smile. "Yeah. He's the best."

"I think that David looks pretty sweet too," Gwen said. "Seems like an adorable nerd. And he looks real good in glasses."

Jean suddenly realized that Gwen was focused on Noriko when she said that, wearing a wide smile on her face.

Noriko met Gwen's gaze, her metal fingers curling into a fist. It might have been Jean's imagination, but she swore that the lights flickered for a second and the air smelled… metallic.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Noriko said in a low voice. She stood up and left the room without another word.

After a few beats of silence, Tandy stood up as well. "I'll go with her," she said before collecting hers and Noriko's phones from the basket and leaving the room.

The remaining girls sat in a very long, very awkward silence.

"And then there were five…" murmured Kamala. Her eyes were troubled and she looked like she was trying to shrink in on herself.

Jean heard Gwen sigh and rub her temples.

"Well, that didn't work," she said quietly to herself. "Better get the question out while I still have a chance." Then she lifted her head and turned to face Jean. "Hey, Jean…" Gwen said in an excited tone that sent a chill down Jean's spine, "what do you think about that Peter boy?"

All of Jean's thoughts screeched to a halt. Her heart did a belly flop into her stomach. She felt a prickling sensation in the base of her scalp.

"Uh, Gwen?" Kamala said hesitantly.

"What?" Gwen asked, failing to look innocent. "I heard that they became friends over the summer. I just wanted to get the hot goss'."

Jean swallowed and stared at the carpet. It was true. That day they had spent together had been incredible. She still felt her spirits try to rise just by thinking about the wonderful time they had had.

But then…

She and Scott had talked about that day, as well as the other times she had run into Peter Parker. How it was strange that she kept running into him. How he seemed to appear at times when Scott was gone. How he had fled — yes, she had realized in hindsight, fled — when Scott arrived during their dinner.

Kamala cleared her throat. "Gwen, I don't think-"

"Hold on, Kamala. Let her cook." Gwen said quietly.

Jean continued staring at the carpet, worrying at her lip. Her impression of Peter during that day they had spent together had been great. A boy she would have loved to be friends with. One who shared her interests and openly accepted her Quirk for what it was.

But that was the part that was most impossible to believe.

"Wait, wha?" said Gwen.

Scott had made a pretty decent argument the day after. What were the chances of running into someone who shared an interest in hundred-year-old movies? That he would so readily accept her status as an amateur mind reader, let alone trust her? The longer Scott had talked, the more sense it had made to Jean. This Peter kid might be deceitful. He was staging all these interactions. Trying to create a connection. Trying to impress her. He wasn't a Ward. She hadn't grown up alongside him. What reason could he possibly have to be nice to her, some random girl, when it didn't benefit him?

No, Jean couldn't take that chance. She needed to be careful in her upcoming journey to being a hero. She needed to trust Scott's insight, since he had always been the most emotionally intelligent of all of them.

Peter was not someone she could let herself be involved with. It would all be for the best if she avoided talking to him ever again.

"You gotta be freaking kidding me," said Gwen, no longer quiet and startling Jean out of her thoughts.

"W-what?" Jean stammered.

"You're serious?!" Gwen demanded, her eyes going wide. "You think this guy," she held up a student ID — Peter's student ID, Jean realized — "is capable of being a schemer?! Look at him! He looks like a cartoon lamb!"

Jean opened her mouth, unsure whether to ask what Gwen was talking about or where she had gotten Peter's ID, when a high-tempo pop song about enduring, burning love started playing from the phone basket. Jean immediately recognized it. It was Scott's ringtone. She'd picked it out herself. A smile appeared on her face as she made to crawl toward the bag.

"EGH!" Gwen said, doing an impression of a wrong answer buzzer while holding out an arm to block Jean's way. "I said no calls during the sleepover."

"But you said we could answer calls if they were important," Kate spoke up.

Jean felt a surge of gratitude.

"Trust me, it isn't."

"How do you know?"

"Well, Katie," Gwen said confidently, "let's just say you've got your superpowers and I've got mine. Scott has nothing worth saying to anyone."

Something happened in Jean's mind. Throughout this get-together, Jean had felt as if she were under pressure, like her anxiousness about this party had been rubbing up against everyone else's awkwardness. Suddenly, it was as if all that friction suddenly struck sparks inside her.

One way or another, Jean had had enough.

Jean sprung to her feet and extended her hand toward the basket of phones. Her own cellphone, wreathed in red energy, flew to her hand, spilling the rest of the basket over in its wake. Then, Jean turned on her heel and marched from the room, closing the door behind her.

She had more important people to talk to, anyway.