“Wait, I don’t get it? So when do I use a Decode statement and when do I use a Case Statement?” Bobby’s expression was a study in frustration as he and Kitty huddled around the computer in the library.
It was finals week. Nerves and Anxiety had moved in and taken residence for the duration. Even in a school like Xavier’s where the students tended to have higher than normal IQs and could reasonably expect to succeed, finals week carried the same significance as it did at any other school in the nation. Every where one looked, students were studying frantically, hastily quizzing each other until the eleventh hour and quaffing coffee by the bucket loads.
With a sigh Kitty pointed to the examples in their textbook “In some cases, it doesn’t matter which one you use, but see here, example number three? You need to use a Case statement because you’re asking it to look for a range of items rather than a specific item? See? That is one time when you definitely can’t use Decode.”
Bobby studied the page intently as Kitty continued to tap out the SQL statements that they’d need in order to pull the data for their computer science final exam.
Grunting in anger, Bobby slammed the book shut and slumped back in his chair. No matter how much he read those pages he couldn’t seem to grasp the concepts. Thank God he didn’t have to do this next term.
“I am totally going to fail this.” He moaned “And my parents will yank me out for senior year. They’re already hinting about how much it costs to send me here.”
Kitty emitted a rude snort, “You’re not going to fail. This is a group project, remember? Between me and Artie we’ll keep your ass from failing. You won’t get an ‘A’ like moi, but you won’t fail.” She tapped away, consulting her notes only intermittently.
Bobby was amazed at her computer knowledge. He barely knew when it was time to put in a WHERE versus a WHEN, but Kitty could make a computer sing. And her numbers were always exactly perfect whenever Mr. Summers gave them an assignment. They had been working on their final project for a few days and through some tacit agreement neither had mentioned Marie’s accusations from a week ago.
“Besides,” Kitty was continuing “Professor Xavier doesn’t care if you can afford to go here or not. I know plenty of poor kids here who can’t pay a cent. Look at Jimmy, he doesn’t even have a family. It isn’t about money, it’s about ability.”
Vaguely irritated at Kitty’s self assured manner yet fascinated at the way the sunlight streaming through the tall windows glinted off her cinnamon colored hair, Bobby shifted in his seat “Yeah, well, I don’t know what ability I have other than getting a row of spectacular C grades this term.”
Shifting, Kitty looked at him incredulously “Are you kidding me? Have you ever noticed that you are the only person who argues with Professor Xavier in his advanced ethics class? The rest of us are too in awe of him to even pipe up an original opinion. And you always make him laugh. You’re a whiz with numbers “ although how somebody can be so good with numbers and yet such a computer lame-o is beyond me.” Kitty shrugged and turned back to her computer completely missing the expression of baffled pleasure on his face.
Slowly opening the textbook again, Bobby decided to give it another try.
“So you really think I’m good with numbers, huh?” He asked after a long minute where the silence was punctuated only by the tapping of the computer keys.
Kitty met his eyes and smiled shyly at him. He wasn’t half-bad when he wasn’t being a smartass. “I’d trust you to do my taxes.” She said solemnly.
Bobby just grinned.
To Marie, who had just come from a very uncomfortable meeting with Miss Frost about her failing grades, seeing Kitty and Bobby snuggled up closely and smiling into each other’s eyes was like pouring gas on an open flame.
With a snarl, Marie lifted her foot and gave a forceful kick to the back of Kitty’s chair.
“Can’t find a man of your own Kitty Kat?” She sneered.
Jarred by the abrupt movement of her chair, Kitty looked up at Marie with astonishment.
“What is your malfunction, Darkholme?” She asked her face tightening with anger.
Heads turned in their direction to see what was causing the disturbance; some curious, others angry that their last minute desperate studying for finals was being interrupted.
“Marie --- ?” Bobby’s startled exclamation was cut off by a stern voice.
“Is there a problem here?” Miss Grey materialized behind them and speared each student with a questioning look.
“Ask her,” Kitty jerked her head toward the other girl. “I was working on my assignment and she comes over and kicks my chair.”
Jean looked at Marie who still wore a look of anger on her face.
“Well, Marie? I noticed that you did kick the chair unprovoked? Were you unprovoked? Is there something I don’t know about?” Jean looked at the girl probingly. She had some idea what was going on but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to try to mediate a teenage love triangle. However, if Marie was turning the altercation physical, Jean had to intervene.
“No.” came Marie’s succinct reply.
Jean turned to look at the other two students. Kitty still wore an expression of righteous indignation but Bobby just looked miserably embarrassed.
“You two go on and finish what you were doing.” She turned to Marie “Marie may I speak to you in my office please?’
Without checking to see if the young girl was following her, Jean turned and walked briskly, her stiletto heels tapping on the marble flooring.
At her office, Jean allowed to Marie to precede her in before closing the door and taking a seat behind her own desk. Looking at the girl who radiated misery, Jean couldn’t help but feel a spark of pity.
“Marie, I need to know why you felt it necessary to attack Kitty?”
“I didn’t attack her,” Marie burst out “…well, not really.”
“You walked up to her, spoke to her in an aggressive tone and then you kicked her chair, almost causing her to fall out of it. I witnessed the entire thing. Under school policy that constitutes assault.”
Silence greeted this remark as the younger woman sat silently her expression now mutinous, her arms crossed defensively over her chest.
With a sigh Jean went to her filing cabinet and returned with a thick file. Marie’s eyes flicked to the file as Jean began reading through the papers.
“Marie, your midterm grades were dismal. Your best was an ‘A’ in Mr. Howlett’s personal defense class. But other than that, you were barely passing. Ms. Braddock notes that you do not hand in your assignments promptly in her Intro Psych class. And Mr. Rasputin writes here that you do not even attempt to participate in his Russian course ““ Jean broke off at an impatient sound from Marie.
“Look, Miss Frost already told me all of this. I spoke to her less than an hour ago. I know all of this.”
“Marie if this continues we will have to notify your mother.” Jean’s voice was steady, her eyes grave.
“Good luck with that. I hear she’s in the South of France with her new husband.” Marie’s voice was bitter but Jean noticed the lost, frightened look in her eyes.
She tried another tack, one she knew would be more successful “Okay then, if this continues you will be expelled.” Jean watched the girl intently.
There was a moment of stricken silence.
“I can’t go home.” Marie’s voice was achingly small. Finally something had broken through Marie’s tough shell and Jean could see the panic leaking through. “I didn’t even know my mother was getting married until I saw it on the internet. I don’t know where she is.”
Not for the first time, Jean wanted to wring Raven Darkholme’s neck. Marie’s mother was a supermodel-socialite whose favorite past time was serial marriage. Her second favorite pastime of serial adultery inevitably led to messy, tabloid worthy divorces. Her various husbands ranged from young feckless playboys to old, decrepit billionaires. She was a jet-setter who flitted from party to party and whose questionable exploits with men and drugs were often the fodder of late night talk show comedians and internet gossip sites. Meanwhile, she’d tucked her daughter away at Xavier’s exclusive private school at the age of eleven and rarely ever saw her.
“Okay then, you know what you need to do next term.” Jean spoke briskly, careful to keep the sympathy in her voice masked. “You need to do better. I know you can do it Marie. Until now you’ve been such a promising student. Did you know that Professor Xavier’s mid-term evaluation of you says ‘I have faith Miss Darkholme will improve’? That man is fighting for his life in a hospital room right now, don’t make a liar of him.”
Marie swallowed visibly before nodding. “I will do better. I don’t want the Professor to be disappointed.”
Jean studied the girl for a moment “You normally stay on school grounds for the Holidays don’t you Marie?” At the girl’s nod, Jean continued, “I have a proposition for you. My wedding is next week and there are still a thousand things to do. Miss Munroe has been helping me a lot but since the Professor and Ms. MacTaggert have been in the hospital she hasn’t had as much time to help lately. I could always use an extra pair of hands. How about it?”
Marie hesitated not quite sure how to answer.
“Jubilee has taken it upon herself to help and I think she needs someone to….reign her in a bit.” Jean’s smile was teasing.
Marie’s answering smile was full of acceptance and gratitude “Sure. I think it’d be fun.”
They were interrupted by Scott walking in. Taking this as her cue, Marie stood giving Jean one last grateful look before leaving.
Jean smiled warmly at her fiancé as he stepped to her desk and leaned down to give her a warm kiss.
“Hmmm,” she moaned after he lifted his lips from hers and gazed adoringly into her eyes “I’ve missed you this week.”
“I missed you too.” He murmured, unable to help himself he drew her up to give her a deeper, more passionate kiss. His hands restlessly caressed her back through her thin crepe blouse.
Jean allowed herself to revel in the kiss. She really had missed this. They had had very little time alone and no intimate time at all since she had voiced her wish for them to be celibate before the wedding.
Unbidden, her thoughts moved to Logan and she ruthlessly swept them aside. Some small part of her would always thrill at the thought of him. Ororo was right. Logan was hella sexy. But Jean knew that she had dodged a very big bullet where he was concerned. No matter how good the sex had been there was no way she was going to risk her relationship with Scott again.
She settled herself deeper into Scott’s kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. This was her man. This was her destiny. This was what she was meant for. Not a few cheap fucks in cheaper hotels with a guy whose idea of refinement was beer bottle that required an opener.
Pulling away with a groan, Scott settled his lips to nibble on her neck. With a happy sigh, Jean threw her head back to give him access.
“I can’t wait.” His voice was husky with lust and longing. Jean could feel his erection against her thighs. “I love you so much. God, Jean, I need you.”
“One week.” She whispered, just as huskily, just as aroused. “Seven days. I’ll be yours. You can do to me whatever you want.”
Scott groaned again, grinding his erection into the cradle of her pelvis. “Baby, I just want…” He couldn’t even form the words, so great was his need of her.
For a long minute the two of them grappled in front of her desk, allowing their fevered bodies to slither over the other, searching for fulfillment yet destined to disappointment. Until with a shuddering sigh, Jean pulled away, her lips swollen from Scott’s kisses, her face flushed from her desire, her green eyes sparkling with passion. Scott knew his own face was just as strained with frustration as hers.
“I’m dying.” He wailed but there was humor in his voice. He sat in her recently vacated chair and pulled her so that she sat on his lap. She snuggled into him simply enjoying his closeness and this rare quiet time together.
“So did you straighten out Marie?” Scott questioned idly, playing with a lock of Jean’s titian hair.
“I hope so. That poor girl is so full of anger. That harpy she calls a mother ran off and married a 70-year-old man without even telling her. Marie says she found out on the internet. God, that woman hasn’t even been here to visit her own daughter since that awful business a few years ago. And I think Bobby Drake has a thing for Kitty Pryde.” Jean sent Scott an accusing glare “What were you thinking pairing those two together as lab partners?”
“What…?” He shot her an outraged look “How am I supposed to know the romantic entanglements of these kids? I’m just trying to concentrate on my own.” He tweaked her nipple roguishly causing her to swat his hand away.
“Speaking of romantic entanglements, my first order of business after we get back from Australia is to fix Ororo up with someone.”
“Why on earth would we fix Ororo up with -- ” Scott’s eyes widened “Hey, wait a minute! How did you know Australia was the honeymoon? It was a secret.”
Jean laughed delightedly “Scott, I know your e-mail password.”
“But I changed it.”
“I know your backup.” She said with a grin. Grabbing his hand excitedly she couldn’t help but crow with glee “Oh Scott, Australia! The Sydney Opera House, the harbor, The Royal Botanic Gardens, flying on Qantas. How did you know I’ve been dying to go there?”
“I dunno, maybe all the times you’ve said ‘Golly, I’d love to go to Australia?’” He said dryly. “Well I am glad the cat is out of the bag. No more subterfuge. I am not a good one at keeping secrets.”
Jean felt a small pang in her conscience. God, when would the guilt end? Ever? She hid her disquiet by sending a small trail of kisses down his jaw line. She was rewarded by a sigh of satisfaction. She’s make it up to him. He’d never know it, but she’d be atoning every day for what she’d done.
“So what bee is in your bonnet about fixing Ro up?” He murmured enjoying her small attentions.
“She told me something very disturbing.” Jean responded sitting up so she could see the expression on his face “She thinks she and Logan are beginning to develop feelings for each other.”
Scott laughed delightedly, confounding Jean “Well it’s about time they admitted it.”
Jean’s red brows all but disappeared into her hairline at Scott’s reaction. “What on Earth are you talking about?”
“Good Lord, Jean, you can’t be that blind. Those two have had a thing for each other for ages. They’re both too stubborn and too deep in denial to admit it.”
Stunned Jean just stared at her fiancé.
“Haven’t you ever noticed that whenever we all go out Logan’s eyes follow her everywhere? He’s forever warning guys away from her. Hank once told me that Logan all but threatened to gut him if he ever hurt Ororo. Hank was laughing when he told me, but I think he was a little spooked at the same time. Logan’s a scary guy sometimes.”
Jean spluttered, “But…But…what about Hank and Ororo and…and Logan and….”his feelings for me “…and his harem?”
“I loved Hank,” Scott’s voice was now sober “But if he’d lived, he and Ro wouldn’t have lasted. He was part of her denial. And the fact that Logan couldn’t settle into one relationship is part of his. Those two are at their best when they are with each other.”
“Scott, you sound pleased. How can you be pleased by this? It is terrible. Horrible.” Jean didn’t want to examine why the idea of Logan and Ororo filled her with such disquiet.
Scott just looked at her in disbelief “What’s so bad about it?”
“I just don’t think Logan is right for Ro. I mean, she’s cultured and refined and he’s, well, he’s so earthy.”
“God, Jean, we’ve known Ororo since we were kids and you’ve never once noticed she can be just as earthy as Logan and then some?” Scott was tickled that his two friends were realizing they belonged with each other. Ororo was his sister. They weren’t related at all, but he considered her link to him as deep as a blood bond. He’d met her almost seventeen years ago on these very grounds. And while he and Logan had had a prickly start, they had become good friends over the past year. “Remember the Mohawk when she turned sixteen? Remember the lightning bolt tattoo at seventeen?”
“Typical teenage rebellion.” Jean dismissed “I’m talking about now. She needs someone else. I won’t stand by and see her with him. It’s just wrong.”
All of the humor had drained from Scott’s expression and he looked at Jean with a seriousness that one didn’t often see on his boyishly handsome face. “Jean it isn’t up to you to decide who Ororo should see. Let me remind you that you pushed her toward Forge and look how that ended up.” Jean had the grace to look abashed “I don’t know what you have against Logan. But you just need to back off and let the two of them figure it out. Ro deserves some happiness after all that she’s been through. I think Logan can give it to her.”
Jean was silent but her insides roiled. How could she begin to explain to Scott her objections without raising a whole host of questions? It wasn’t that she still wanted Logan for herself. That was completely out of the question! No, the simple fact was, she was Ro’s friend and she couldn’t stand by and see Ro used by Logan to get over his feelings for Jean. Surely that was the only reason Logan would be turning to Ro now after all this time.
Scott’s hands continued to rove over her luxuriously and Jean let her troubling thoughts and tension slip away.
“I have a review session in about ten minutes.” He whispered in her ear, nibbling at it “I’ll need all of that time to get rid of this boner. Unless you have other ideas how I might rid myself of it?”
Jean laughed silkily and devilishly let her hand drift down to his groin area. He gripped her arm forcefully to forestall her getting any closer. The next bite on her ear was a bit harder and deeper.
“Don’t start anything you aren’t prepared to finish.” He warned her.
Sighing, Jean disentangled herself and stood up a little shakily. She looked down at her fiancé regretfully.
“I am sorry. I don’t mean to tease. I really do want our wedding night to be special, Scott.”
Standing now and giving her a chaste peck on the lips, Scott smiled ruefully. “I know. I’d better get going before I throw you on the floor and ravish you. Wedding night be damned. What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I need to meet with Emma and go over some student files. Then I have an exam to proctor. And then I am off to the hospital.”
“Alright. I’ll see you there then.” They kissed lingeringly one last time before Scott went whistling out the door.
Jean dropped back in her chair as soon as the door closed. Her thoughts caromed back toward Ro and Logan. There was something visceral inside of her that simply rejected the idea of Ro and Logan together. Despite Scott’s objections Jean was sure she could convince Ro that Logan simply wasn’t for her. She’d figure out a way how. She just had to.
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