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Once the mansion had quieted down but just before the students slipped back into a comfortable routine, unofficial one woman welcoming committee Jubilation Lee took it upon herself to implement what she called “operation average American teenager.”
“Look, you guys missed out on a lot so we're here to make it up to you!” The savvy Ororo was having a much easier time adapting to everything going on around her. Kurt on the other hand was cheerfully overwhelmed by it all. Hank had quite a time taking the kids with him just going grocery shopping. The Professor usually had the bulk of their groceries delivered, but he agreed it was good for the new kids to experience everyday life. He seemed more than a little pleased to see everyone smiling.
They must have spent 10 minutes in the produce section alone.
“There is more than one kind of apple?”
“What ARE those?”
“You call those coconuts?”
“What are those, can we get some?”
Hank was patient and very thankful Jubilee tagged along as she fielded most of the questions, by the end of it they had a few more snack foods than usual to try and fit into the truck.
They went bowling just once, it wasn't exactly Kurt friendly, and they went rollerskating a few times despite Scott not really ever getting the hang of it. He'd complain about it all the way there but suspiciously stop when they would arrive. Secretly they all suspected it was because Jean would let him hold her hand as he wobbled around the ring.
One weekend they rented a bunch of VHS and rounded everyone up for their semi monthly “sleepover” in one of the larger rooms. Disney movies were always a crowd pleaser the mansion had it's own copies of Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. If the Professor was around when they watched the latter he'd always make some of the smaller things around the room dance to “Substitutiary Locomotion.” A lot of the younger kids loved climbing all over Peter and he honestly seemed to enjoy gently roughhousing with them. After they watched Peter Pan he even decided to call them his lost kids much to their delight. Oro declared Robin Hood was her new favorite movie and nobody was really prepared for how hard Kurt cried during Dumbo. Jean wound up holding him through most of it and only had to shoot Scott one dirty look over Kurt's head to make him change his sour expression.
The next weekend Pete rented them a few horror movies. Oro was generally unimpressed by most of them but liked Dawn of the Dead best. Being the most unaffected she had Kurt duty this time managing to predict some scares in time to cover his eyes for him. She even accepted the end of his tail wrapped around her arm for security. Evil Dead was a little funnier when they started comparing Scott to Ash (but it was still pretty scary). Scott who strategically positioned himself next to Jean and was disappointed when she and Jubilee would scream and giggle and clutch each other when scared. They made it through Halloween and then My Bloody Valentine before deciding to call it a night.
Later in the night Oro woke with a start to see a sheepish Kurt hugging a pillow to his chest and standing next to her bed.
“I can't sleep.” he whispered.
“What do you want me to do about it?” She asked less than half awake.
“I don't know, Es tut mir leid-I'm sorry.” He shuffled his pillow around a little and prepared to leave.
“Wait, wait, here.” She slid over in bed and moved the sheet.
“I, ah.” he hesitated.
“Then you have to go back to your room and be all by yourself and you won't sleep at all. I know you're not going to try anything funny, it's okay.” She assured him. She was asleep again nearly as soon as he tucked himself in leaving Kurt to feel secure in the sound of her gentle breathing.
They went to the mall a few weekends, mostly because Jubilee was friends with a lot of the girls who worked there, and partly because it was free to just hang around. Since most of the regulars were comfortable with Jubilee herself it was easier for them to warm up to her mutant friends too. Jean was still kind of hesitant but the other girls didn't mind her hanging around until she got comfortable. Of course they adored Ororo's mo-hawk and spent time helping her try things on.
Across the mall on the benches by the fountain Peter, Scott and Kurt were having a much different time.
“You know it's really hard to pick up girls with the two of you kids here.” Peter teased.
“Because you're so good at it when were not around.” Scott's response was dry.
“I don't see you winning any fair ladies pretty boy.” He ruffled Scott's hair and it took the teenager a few moments to realize what happened.
“Hey, I could get a date if I wanted to, I just don't want to.” He pouted fixing his hair.
“It's alright, everybody knows you're in love with Jean anyway.” Kurt contributed not looking up from the Rubik's cube he was working on.
“I am not!”
“Ja, right.” Kurt still didn't look at the other two.
“Ya kinda are man, I mean if Kurt can tell it's pretty obvious. No offense buddy,” Kurt gave him a wave, “but it's alright, everybody loves a red-head, and she could totally blow us all to smithereens if she freaks out, which is pretty cool, but also kinda scary. Unless you're into that.”
“Ugh, I'm going to look at records.” Scott got up leaving the other two to follow along.
As they flipped through the stacks the two not focused on multicolored squares noticed a pair of girls looking in their direction from a row over. Peter pretended to look a a record bringing it close to his face.
“Too young man, they're all you.” Scott rolled his eyes behind his red lenses. The girls rounded the corner and clearly pretended to be interested in the records in front of them. “Play it cool.” Peter offered his advice.
“Phantastisch I got a whole row!” Kurt looked up clearly pleased with himself, his tail curling a little behind him.
“I've never seen anybody solve one of those before.” The bolder of the two girls spoke up.
“Oh, it's only a row and I've been working on it all day!” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. The girls giggled. Next to him Scott and Peter exchanged a look.
“You have to be pretty smart to do those things though.” She leaned in on the crate in front of her.
“Ah, danke schoen, but I think it might be beginners luck.”
“I like your ears.” The other girl said.
“Danke, they're not beginners luck, I've had them since before I was born!” The girls giggled again and if Kurt had looked to his left he'd see the other two boys staring at him in disbelief.
“Are you from around here?”
“I am now, I think, but I came from Munich, Germany. “
“All the way from Germany.”
“Ja, I was with the Munich Circus!”
“Oh the circus!”
“I was the Unglaugliche Nachtkriecher, the Incredible Nightcrawler!” He shifted the Rubik's cube to his tail so he could claw his hands and give a little snarl.
“Ashley! Tiffany!” The conversation was cut off by a familiar voice.
“Jubilee!” Ashley cooed and the three girls hugged.
“Okay, this is Ororo, she's staying with us at the mansion and you guys met Jean. Oh there you guys are!” She said noticing the boys for the first time. “Okay we have to get together next time we're here for sure, “she addressed her friends, “but we have to get back for dinner, the professor called.” She motioned to Jean.
After dinner the group of them sprawled on blankets far out in back of the mansion.
“How did you do that man?”
“I just concentrated really hard and - “
“Not the cube! The girls!”
“Do what with the girls?”
“They were flirting with you! Here my man Summers and I were sitting around there all day and nothing and then BAM! They were all over you!”
“They were flirting with me?” Kurt looked up from his pile of dandelions and wild flowers.
Yes!” Scott assured him.
“They were flirting with you!” Jubilee's turn.
“Yes?” Kurt still wasn't sure.
“Who? Tiffany? Ashley? Are you going to ask one of them out?!”
“What?” He dropped the small bundle of flowers he had started to weave together.
“Like on a date?”
“I've never been on a date? I'm not even sure anybody's flirted with me before? I was never really around anybody my own age for very long. They were mostly just circus guests.”
“Nobody even held your hand or called you cute?” Jubilee was getting more and more disheartened.
“Oh, ja, the wardrobe lady, she would pat my head and call me Satansbraten. Sometimes she would smuggle me lutschen candies.” He added a few more flowers to whatever he was making.
While Jubilee thought about all of this Peter was summoned away by a few of the younger kids to come play with them leaving just the teenagers on the blankets.”
“We're just going to have to have date lessons then!”
“You can count me out, I don't need lessons.” Oro looked a little smug.
“That's what I'm talking about!” Jubilee crowed with excitement and put her hand up for a high five. “Tell me you guys have at least like practiced kissing or something.” She gestured to Jean and Scott.
“What?” Scott's voice actually broke a little and he flushed pink. “We haven't – I've never!”
“Not together!” She clarified.
“I've been kissed.” Jean wrinkled her nose. “It was awful.” She looked up to see her friends waiting for her to continue. “His name was Jason and he was a year younger than me. We were at a dance, and slow dancing, and he missed my mouth. He just sort of slobbered on the spot under my nose, then he ran away. It's funny now couple years later, but it was gross then!”
“Sounds like mine, we were sitting on top a building watching the sunset, and he closed his eyes too soon and got my chin instead. Not romantic any more!” Oro laughed.
Pete zipped back over to them then.
“No powers hide-and-seek, lets go! Come on!” He urged them and with the slight tension broken they went to play. While dashing around looking for somewhere to hide Oro found a tree she could easily climb. Settling herself on a mid-level branch overlooking the path she waited. Then something softly landed on her head from above. She looked up startled to see Kurt lowering himself down a few branches.
“I thought it would look nice on you, I was right.” She felt the thing on her head. Flowers, he had been making a wreath of flowers. “You don't think we're cheating do you? I climbed up here just like you did.” He asked settling down next to her.
“We didn't use our powers and we can see the path from here, so they can see us if they look up. They just have to look up.”
“That's fair,” he agreed and they sat in companionable quiet while they waited to be found. At some point Oro slid her hand over to Kurt's. He didn't look over at her, but he couldn't keep a little smile from his face.
“Do you want a kiss?”
“What?”
“A kiss?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I don't want your first kiss to be like mine... and I think I'd like to.”
“I'd like to too.” He answered quietly. She turned to him, straddling the branch and cupped his chin. She tipped his head gently and leaned in to kiss him. “That was nice.”
“It was. You're very cute.” She smiled when he leaned in for a second one.
“Oro and Kurt sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” They could hear a voice beneath them. Peter of course was smiling up at them. Oro glared at him and here eyes whitened, she summoned just enough cloud to cloud lightning to cause a rumble of thunder. “Okay okay!” He laughed and took off again.
“Come on, let's get down and go help find the others.” She started down the branches, and Kurt followed behind in a couple of leaps.
Sunday was rainy and kept everybody inside. Groups of kids with homework left to do formed in some of the common spaces. Others played board games, and there was even a small impromptu dance party in somebody's bedroom. Scott was on a mission though.
“Jean I um, was wondering if- Oh, hey Jean I? So we should totally have a practice date just so we don't have to have date lessons. Or it could be a real date? Um, do you want to get some ice cream or something, just the two of us? I won't miss your mouth or anything, haha, ah crap.” he attempted to psych himself up on the way down the hall to Jean's room. As he got closer he realized he couldn't take a breath and collect himself at her door, it was open. She was lying on her stomach, sock feet in the air reading a book.
“You know I try not to listen to other people's thoughts all the time right? But sometimes I hear my name over and over in a familiar voice and I can't really stop it, my brain just zeroes in. You think really loud Scott.” He paled a little, Jean just sat up and patted the bed space next to her. “When did you want to get ice cream?” He opened his mouth a little but nothing came out. “You were going to ask me on a date right? Or did you change your mind?”
“No! No! I'd like to go for ice cream with just you. Or anything else you want to do, you could read me the phone book if you wanted. I'll listen.”She could tell he was being serious.
“Do you trust me?” she asked, he didn't hesitate before nodding. Gently she brought her hands up to the sides of his face and even more gently she slid his sunglasses off. His breath caught at the first contact and he held it -eyes closed- as he waited for whatever she was going to do. Then her hands were back on the sides of his face and he could feel when she got closer to bring their mouths together. Jean had only intended to keep it at one kiss but the moment their lips touched she got caught up in the blank-out-bliss of Scott's mind. Then her hands were around his neck and he was scooting her a little closer. Neither was exactly sure how much time they spent kissing, but they both heard the interrupting laughter. By the time they turned the culprit was long gone.
“Right, okay next weekend then.” Jean composed herself and slipped Scott's glasses back on his face.
“Mhm, next weekend, yeah okay. See you then. See you during the week too. Right.” He was not as quick to get himself together. He did make it all the way to his room before cheering to himself though.
Moments after interrupting the teenagers Peter found his way to Hank.
“Alright man, pay up!”
“What are you talking about?” Hank put his bookmark in.
“I might have seen a certain love-struck mutant finally kissing the girl of his dreams.”
“Really?! Are you sure he started it?”
“I passed him in the hall heading to her room, he was practicing asking her out!”
“But did you see him do it? You can't underestimate the most powerful being on earth Pete. Unless you saw him ask her out you can't count it as a win.” Hank waved his book at him a little.
“You are never any fun Hank.”
“We'll call it even, and you have to stop making bets against telepaths!”
“You're right, the important thing is that they're' together.” Peter covered his heart with his hands.
“And he'll stop moping like a character out of a Jane Austin novel.”
“Do you want to bet on when he'll pop the question?”