Archive of Our Own

The water drummed down against her head perfectly soaking her hair and washing out the rather fancy brand of shampoo. The organic solution that smelt distinctly of coconut poured down the drain between her feet in the en-suite shower attached to her bedroom. The fact it was a waterfall shower really did help sell the place. The fact it wasn’t just hers wasn’t the end of the world, it was co-ed with the bedroom on the other side and really, that wasn’t the end of the world. It beat the cold, low pressure shower at the F.E.A.S.T community centre anyway. She reached forward and gripped the silver tap and twisted it once and the waterfall seemingly vanished like magic. It wasn’t really, she knew that, but the giant house certainly had a magic castle hidden in the woods vibe to it that did make it more enjoyable. Plus she could always make the broomsticks move if she felt like it. Her roommate wasn’t too bad either, she was a little more excited that Jean felt she needed to be at hearing she now needed to share the bathroom but in a sense it was nice. It felt strange to not have to be on edge all the time, ready to possess someone to not be attacked but there were still moments where she reacted on instinct. The heart takes longer to process information than the head.

She had finished drying herself off and was sitting on her bed in some sweatpants and a vest when there was a knock on the door that she had just come from. She could tell who it was without using her powers. She didn’t need any clues to guess who would approach her room through the shared bathroom rather than the main corridor. She glanced across the room and with a flick of her finger, opened the door from where she was on the bed.

“You didn’t have to do that, you could have just called out.” Kitty said, a smirk on her face.

Jean rolled her eyes, “that’s more effort.”

“Really?” Kitty asked in an exasperated tone, “it’s more effort to speak than use your powers?”

She stepped through the doorway into Jean’s bedroom and Jean tilted her head to the side and then with her gaze on the door, moved her eyes from left to right. The door closed behind Kitty with a faint whoosh, earning another scowl.

“Yes.” Jean answered smugly and then shrugged, “besides surely it’s more effort for you to knock and wait to be let in instead of just, you know, walking through.”

Kitty pouted and then moved to join Jean on the bed, “yeah but that’s rude, even before I could walk through walls, I didn’t just let myself into people’s rooms, it’s rude.”

“Right. No of course, sorry, I’m still learning we don’t-”

“Don’t need to be so defensive all the time.” Kitty said sweetly.

“I was going to say we don’t need to use our powers all the time, but sure, I guess that also works.” Jean replied.

Kitty nodded and then looked around the room and then back to Jean and smiled broadly, “so, all moved in? That was quick.”

“I had one bag of clothes Kitty, I didn’t have any stuff.” Jean said bluntly.

The brunette sucked her lips in and looked to the side out of the window and then raised her head slowly. Jean watched her twitch her mouth side to side before she then smiled and turned back to face her.

“Well then, you know what that means.” She said giddily.

“No.” Jean said.

“We need to go shopping.” Kitty beamed.

“I’m not going shopping, anything I want I can just order, plus I’m pretty sure the Professor has like an entire room full of clothes for all of us.” Jean said, popping Kitty’s balloon of excitement.

Kitty pouted, “fine, let’s go check that out then.”

“No.” Jean said again.

However, this time, Kitty was not deterred, she clapped her hands and stood up suddenly and reached out and grabbed Jean’s arm roughly. Jean flinched. Instantly Kitty removed her hand and pulled away and furrowed her brow while she raised her hands up. Jean looked at her and unclenched her hands and felt her shoulders sag.

“Jean…I…I…I’m sorry…” Kitty said quietly.

“It’s…fine.” Jean muttered, looking away.

“Are you okay?” Kitty asked.

“Just don’t like to be grabbed is all.” She said, moving to stand up.

“I’m sorry, I won’t grab you again.” Kitty said firmly.

Jean nodded curtly and offered the bubbly brunette a small smile of gratitude and then moved towards the main bedroom door, “come on, let’s go, I know you won’t let me go to bed without finding at least one new item.” Jean said.

Kitty smiled and walked past her through the door, “uniforms don’t count.”

Jean scowled and then quickly dodged out of the way as two younger students ran past them in the hall. Music could be heard from the room opposite them, loud and heavy, posters were already visible on the door. Through the walls, two voices could be heard singing along to the song.

“Lorna and Rogue are clearly getting along.” Kitty commented.

“Mm.” Jean replied.

“You know, now that you’ve been here a few days we need to talk about your codename.” Kitty said as they reached the stairs.

“My codename?” Jean frowned.

“Yeah, you know, your superhero name, like mine’s Shadowcats, Lorna’s is Polaris, Ororo’s is-”

“Storm. Yes, I get it.” Jean said, her gaze focused on the large grounds visible through the window.

“See, exactly, so we need to think up one for you.” Kitty said.

“I mean, do we? Not everyone has a code name if you think about it.” Jean pointed out as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Well, I mean, I guess, but-“

“I mean, we still call Rogue ‘Rogue’.” Jean pointed out.

“Technically her name is Anne-Marie. She just doesn’t like it.” Kitty said quietly.

“And Jubilee doesn’t have a code name that’s different to her name.” Jean continued, ignoring Kitty.

“Well yeah but that’s…different.” Kitty huffed.

“How?” Jean asked, throwing her hands up into the air.

They walked past the common roomof and glanced through the door, inside Jean could see the long sofa that stretched along the width of the room before the tv. A few other small tables were dotted around the room behind the sofa where others sat playing card games. They glanced up at the two girls as they walked past the doorway.

“Because it is, you know, besides it’s not like your name actually sounds like a code name.” Kitty said.

“We could always call me X-Jean.” Jean said.

Kitty paused at a door and turned to Jean with a frown and raised eyebrows.

“You know, like X-Gene, but Jean instead of gene, as a play on words…fine never mind I didn’t like it anyway.” Jean said sourly.

“Let me work on the code names, and you work on choosing some clothes you like.” Kitty said, opening the door.

They stepped into a small room that at a glance was most likely a study in a previous lifetime. The rectangular box room was designed for bookcases and a large desk in a corner. Instead it had been carved out of all furniture except for rails of clothes in two rows on each wall and two in the middle of the room on the floor. Kitty closed the door behind them and gestured to the space before them.

“So? What do you think? Pretty cool huh.” Kitty beamed.

“Uhh…yeah, yeah I guess.” Jean commented.

She stepped forward and moved to the left side where the more feminine styled clothes were kept. She pushed a large collection of sundresses aside and focused on the tops. She chose a small collection of plain tee’s and a couple of band tees and then moved along. Kitty came to stand beside her and flicked through the dresses that Jean had ignored and pulled one out. Jean turned to look at her and glanced down at the dress.

“Your colour?” She asked.

“Not really but that doesn’t matter, I picked it for you kitty said.

“Oh.” Jean said.

She looked down at the bright pink dress and smiled weakly and glanced up at Kitty who was standing there before her with wide eyes and a bright smile, the dress raised up between them.

“That’s so kind.” Jean said awkwardly.

“That’s okay, my pleasure.” Kitty said.

Jean stood in silence, unable to think of what to say while she watched Kitty fold the dress over her arm and on top of the t-shirts balanced on it. Jean quickly worked her way through the rest of the rails but couldn’t avoid Kitty’s ability to add to the selected options to throw in her own opinions on how to boost Jean’s wardrobe. Eventually they left the room both carrying a selection of tops, pants, jumpers, jackets, dresses and skirts. A small collection of shoes floated behind them in the air above their heads.

“Anyways, so yeah, basically I went to pick something up but couldn’t and I got more and more frustrated and ended up sinking into then floor. Was only later I realized I could phase through anything.” Kitty explained.

“Anything?” Jean asked with intrigue.

“I mean, yeah so far, I haven’t really tested it but you know, it hasn’t been something I’ve gone out of my way to catalogue. Besides the professor said he wanted me to master it fully before I learn the full range of my abilities.” Kitty answered.

They reached Jean’s room, which Jean unlocked with her powers and stepped inside. The shoes floated in behind them and then fell to the floor loudly. The many clothes in Jean’s arms were deposited onto her bed while Kitty placed her selections carefully onto the chair in front of the desk.

“Thanks for helping me this evening.” Jean said kindly.

“You’re welcome, we’re technically roommates if you stretch it, you know the bathroom being the middle sharing space.” Kitty pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah I guess so.” Jean said dryly, “anyways…”

Her point was interrupted by a loud sharp knock on her bedroom door which opened before she could answer. Jubilee stood in the doorway. Her hair was short and spiky, her eyes brightly coloured by a mix of pink eyeshadows that paired with her top. A big grin separated her lips as she pointed at Kitty and Jean with raised hands, her fingers pointing at them.

“There you are! Good! Slumber party in Rogue and Lorna’s room. You two in?” Jubilee asked.

“Um.” Jean began.

“Yes! We’re in.” Kitty answered earning a scowl from one girl and a fist bump from the other.

“Great! I’m going to go raid the kitchen for snacks, Rogue already got drinks. You two go change into comfier clothes and bring pillows and comforters and whatever else you want.”

With that she left, and vanished out of sight yet Jean felt her mind move down the hallway, warm and bright, full of explosive joy that felt like it could go off any moment. Jean scowled. She moved her hand through the air to close the door that Jubillee had left open.

“Our first official slumber party, this is so exciting.” Kitty said loudly.

“I could kill you.” Jean deadpanned.

“But you won’t, right? Right?” Kitty asked nervously.

“Not today, but I’m not happy about sleeping on the floor.” Jean said.

“So move the mattress in.” Kitty said matter of factly.

“Oh.” Jean said, caught off guard, “yeah, okay.”

With that Kitty turned and walked towards the wall and then vanished through it. Jean smiled in amusement at the display of the other girls power and then changed into the black baggy sweatpants and grabbed a matching jacket from the pile. It wasn’t long until she was walking into Rogue and Lorna’s room with Kitty. Two mattresses followed them and then slowly moved to the floor in the middle of the room. Jean concentrated on the sensation she felt in her mind. The shape of the mattresses pressed upon her psyche. Two large rectangles weighed on her thoughts as she rotated them and then let them go psionically.

“Well now that was a fancy way to carry ‘em.” Rogue said from where she sat on her bed.

“Thanks.” Jean answered simply.

“Might as well join ya.” Rogue said and then grabbed the edge of her mattress and dragged it off the frame and onto the floor.

“Yay! This is so good, okay, I’m thinking we go classic vibes with a movie, do our hair, swap stories, journeys how we got here, that sort of thing and then all sleep on the mattresses here.” Kitty said.

She moved to sit down on her own and gave Jean a big thumbs up which Jean did not return. Yet she couldn’t deny the reminiscent feeling that was inside of her. It had been so long since she had really truly spent time with other women just to hang out. The last two years had been solely devoted to learning how to use her power and then attacking Damage Control. The mansion was neither a hotel room she wasn’t meant to be in or a foster home she was forced to be at. After five years of misery she was finally in a safe enough environment to enjoy herself. She wiped her nose with a sniff and took up her position on the mattresses. Eventually Jubilee returned along with Lorna. Her green hair stood out, even more than Jean’s red. It was refreshing. She nodded at the rest of them already gathered and with help from Kitty, dragged her own mattress off of its frame and down onto the floor. Rogue loaded up her laptop and after a quick discussion, selected a romcom that those few that had seen it agreed it was a must watch for the two that had not. Jean watched with little interest yet couldn’t help but compare the soft brown eyes of the male lead to another set she knew or find him lacking in virtues against a man who had shown her what true sacrifice looked like.

“Man I love that film.” Jubilee said as the credits began to roll.

“Yeah, same, shame the second one sucked.” Kitty said, emphasising the last word.

“They made a sequel?” Lorna asked in a strained voice.

“Yeah but we don’t have to watch it.” Kitty answered.

“Thank god.” Lorna replied.

“Ha! Sugar you are so funny with it, ‘specially when I saw you drooling over Bobby earlier.” Rogue answered.

“I wasn’t drooling, I was simply aware of how hot he looks when he’s not transformed into a human snowman.” Lorna replied sharply.

“Whatever, least you’ll be cool in Summer.” Rogue replied.

Kitty and the others chuckled while Jean sat there in silence. Rogue closed the laptop down and then helped herself to another handful of sweets in the bowl and then offered it up for the others. Jubilee took a handful, followed by Kitty and Lorna and then Jean took some as well and ate them one by one.

“Lorna can I braid your hair?” Kitty asked.

“Sure.” She replied and then moved to sit on her mattress in front of her facing Rogue.

“One braid or two?” Kitty asked.

“Two.” She replied and then looked up at Rogue.” You know if you’re gonna call me out like that you could at least admit who you like.” She challenged.

“What good would that do?” Rogue asked sadly and raised her gloved hands up, “not like I can touch anyone let anyone kiss ‘em.”

The girls frowned and hummed in agreement and then Jubilee moved to rest her head on Lorna’s lap and stare across at Jean. Jean met her gaze with a blank expression, grateful that the rest of the girls couldn’t read minds. It was one thing to compare physical traits and character attributes, it was another thing entirely to picture him fully in her mind. She really shouldn’t anyway. They hadn’t spoken since that day at Damage Control.

“Jubes?” Kitty asked, her fingers moving quickly as they separated strands of bright green hair into threes.

“I dunno, I mean why choose one dish when you can stand at the buffet and look at all the options.” She said earning a few chuckles.

“Come on, out with it, give us a name.” Rogue ordered, pointing at her.

“Urgh! Fine!” Jubilee huffed, her hands in front of her face, “Roberto.”

Kitty smirked along with Lorna while Jean simply raised an eyebrow at Rogue who smiled sweetly. Kitty pulled a hair and off of her wrist and tied it securely around the end of the first braid and then shuffled to her right slightly and began working on the second.

“Ah I get it, he has a charm, not quite my style though.” Rogue answered.

“Yeah well, I’m not making any moves yet.” Jubilee stated.

“Let him do the work, if he’s interested he’ll want to spend time with you.” Lorna advised.

“Mm, thanks Lor.” Jubilee replied. “What about you Jean?”

“Me?” Jean asked, now unable to shift the memory she had seen, the image of the bunkbed lodged securely in her mind.

“Yeah dummy, you. Anyone else in here called Jean?” Rogue teased.

Jean rolled her eyes at the comment and then met Jubilee’s gaze, “nope.”

“Oh come on.” Jubilee said loudly, moving to sit up.

“What?” Jean asked simply with a shrug.

“What do you mean “nope”? You’re telling me that with this giant ass house packed full of hot guys that not even one of them floats your boat.” Jubilee asked.

“Yes.” Jean answered.

Rogue groaned while Lorna and Kitty chuckled. Jubilee pouted and then narrowed her eyes and clicked her fingers. A small spark of lights appeared over her hand only to fade away harmlessly.

“Okay, any girl in this big fancy house make you double take?” She asked.

Lorna and Rogue looked at her yet Jean’s gaze was on Kitty who suddenly looked intensely at Lorna’s hair, her lips tight and eyes twitchy. Jean felt her emotions shift and then calm as Jean shook her head.

“No one?” Jubilee said in disbelief.

“I mean in her defence she’s been here what, a day?” Lorna asked.

“Three.” Kitty pointed out.

“Exactly!” Jubilee said loudly, “surely three days is enough to tell me if you find any of the guys here hot. I mean it’s not hard, wings, sunglasses, snow cones-“

“Hey!” Lorna interrupted.

“Sorry! Not snow cones, but there are options, who knew moving to Westchester would be so fruitful.” Jubilee said.

At that Jean smiled, a small strain of her lips that was more polite than heartfelt. Her heart suddenly ached to be elsewhere and her fingers twitched as she breathed in only to feel her own body and no one else’s.

“Oh?” Rogue said loudly, drawing out the noise.

“What? Is there a bug? If there’s a bug I’m not getting it.” Kitty said.

“No no, but that’s it, there’s no one in Westchester that Jean likes.” Rogue announced. “She likes someone from back home.” She turned to look at Jean, a smirk on her face “don’t ya.”

Jean breathed in and out again slowly and let the last breath leave her body with a loud sigh and glared at Rogue.

“Ha! I knew it.” She said as if she had somehow been vindicated by Jean’s silence.

“So?” Kitty asked, looking up from Lorna’s hair to stare at Jean.

“So what?” Jean asked, tired.

“Who?” Kitty asked.

“Who…?” Jean echoed, stretching out the word.

Kitty huffed and pouted, “who is it? Tell us? Guy or girl.”

“It’s…no one.” Jean said.

“Boo!” Jubilee moaned, earning chuckles from the rest of the group.

“Come on, surely there was someone back home, surely there was someone in that huge ass city.” Kitty said in disbelief.

“Guys come on, if Jean says it’s no one, then it’s no one.” Lorna said, shifting her position.

“Thanks.” Jean said quietly.

“Fine, fine, don’t tell us doll, but at least promise to tell us if you do ever start crushin’ on someone here, you know, so we don’t end up fighting over the same guy.” Rogue said.

Jean rolled her eyes and met Rogue’s gaze, “Sure, if I ever start crushing on that cajun you keep flirting with I’ll let you know.”

“Ooooohhhhhhh!” Jubilee and Kitty said together while Lorna laughed.

Later, after they had settled down, Jean lay on her mattress and looked across at the small group of fellow residents and smiled. The morning arrived. Another one followed it, and another, and one by one, the days drove past and were filled with noise. Practice, training, ethics, various scenarios. Worst of all was the fact that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t escape the fact she wasn’t alone anymore. It was awful. Everywhere she turned there were people that saw her, people that knew her name, people that asked her how she was. If moving to the mansion full of other mutants would have been so difficult to navigate socially she would have considered actually staying away. As it were she was now stuck with a handful of younger teens that seemingly saw her as someone cool to look up to and also a group of girls who seemed insistent on breaking her out of her shell. It all grew so much worse when she was made aware of the Professor’s plan.

“So have you guys heard who the special guest is tomorrow?” Kitty asked as they all stood around in one of the kitchen areas.

“Just that it’s someone important in the community.” Lorna said quickly while she scooped coffee out of the bag.

Jean watched as she continued to scoop more and more out and pour into the glass container. Clearly Lorna didn’t plan to sleep tonight. The kettle glowed green and lifted up from the side and then tipped forward and poured into the cafetiere. The coffee bubbled and transformed the water into a deep dark black that filled the room with a strong nutty smell. Jubilee stood on the opposite side next to Roberto, shoulders and hips together, noses scrunched at the question.

“As long as it is not one of the pretend Avengers.” Roberto said.

“I mean aren’t they all technically Avengers if they call themselves it?” Rogue asked.

“Yeah but, I know which Captain America I would rather meet and it isn’t the one wearing the silly hat.” Roberto said.

“Beret.” Lorna said.

“Bless you.” Jubilee said with a snicker.

“No, you pain, as in a beret the hat. The current one wears a beret like a soldier.” Lorna explained, pouring the coffee into a mug.

Jean frowned and felt the fridge exist in the space her mind could interact with and opened the door and watched as the bottle of cream lifted up out of the shelf and floated across the room towards Lorna.

“Thanks Jean.” she said with a wry smile.

“Okay but back to the point, it is clearly an Avenger right? I mean, the blue ones are in space right? Thor is wherever he is, so yeah, it’s probably a low level Avenger.” Rogue added.

The group frowned and hummed together and held their silence as Scott and Warren entered together and quickly fell silent. They looked at the small group and then grabbed some cans from the open fridge and closed it.

“What you guys talking about?” Warren asked.

“Oh you know, who we’re going to vote for as class president.” Jubilee smirked.

Scott paused and stood up straighter and locked his jaw for a second, “Wait! Is that a thing?”

The whole group stopped and turned to look at him. He stood still, his eyes hidden behind his glasses and then shyly rubbed his neck.

“No Scott, it is not a thing, but I assure you, I am sure you will obtain the votes you desire.” Ororo said from the doorway.

“Ororo!” Jubilee beamed.

Scott deflated and slumped against the counter next to Warren who gently patted him on the elbow and then resumed his own enjoyment of the conversation.

“Ororo, do you know who the guest is tomorrow?” Lorna asked, offering the jug of coffee around the room.

Despite herself, Jean nodded when Lorna looked her way and watched as the green haired woman filled a mug for her and then splashed a healthy amount of cream into it to change the liquid from black to brown. She pushed the mug along the island to where Jean rested against it. She removed her elbows and stood up tall and picked up the mug and blew it gently and watched the steam drift away. She glanced to her left to see Scott and Warren both quickly look away.

“What?” She asked.

“Nothing.” Scott said quickly.

“Just wondering what you’re staying up late for.” Warren asked, “you planning to sneak out to meet anyone again?”

At the question, Jean scowled and felt the whole room turn and look at her, including Scott, whose glasses glowed for a second before dimming. She held a blank expression and sipped the coffee and then shrugged at Warren’s question.

“You snuck out? Without me? Why are you so cool, Jean?” Kitty whined.

Jean looked up and across the room at Kitty who was sitting on the counter next to Rogue, a pout on her face.

“I didn’t sneak out. I simply went for a walk, we’re not children you know,” she said and then paused with a glance at Jubilee and Roberto, “well not all of us anyway.”

“Hey!” Jubilee shouted indignantly.

“So you didn’t meet up with anyone?” Scott asked.

“Why you askin’ sugar? You sound awfully interested.” Rogue teased.

“I’m just curious, surely if anyone sneaks out they’re putting the school at risk.” He argued.

“Again, I didn’t sneak out, I simply went for a walk in the grounds because I couldn’t sleep, I didn’t meet anyone, I didn’t see anyone and after a while I returned back to my room.” Jean answered.

“I don’t buy it,” Warren said.

“Really? All that money and you can’t buy the truth?” Lorna teased.

“It’s my family’s money.” Warren answered lamely.

“So humble.” Roberto said sarcastically.

“I went for a walk, I went back to my room, just like I’m doing now, see you all tomorrow.” Jean said.

With that she made for the exit and disappeared into the hallway and up to her room. She closed the door with a sigh and pressed the back of her head against it. She closed her eyes. Within her mind she felt the whole mansion full of voices crash down upon her. It was different with how her mood fluctuated. At times it was like she was in a swimming pool with echoes all around her, at other times it was like she was standing under a waterfall, the pressure of the voices crashing down on her mind too heavy to stand under before she eventually fell. She gasped and let out a raspy cry of pain. Mind after mind bumped against hers like shoulders in a packed subway carriage. She fell to the ground and curled up in a ball. Ever since her powers bloomed she had been able to feel people’s minds in a close vicinity, Sarah had taught her that they could hop in and out of them and chain them, but that didn’t help when they overwhelmed her and threatened to drown her. She needed to block them all out. She needed him. Her fingers twitched and clenched open and closed while she lay paralysed on her bedroom floor.

“Jean? Jean? You okay?” Kitty asked on the opposite side of the door.

The audible question cut through the cacophony of thoughts, like a lighthouse in a dark stormy sea. Kitty knocked and the sharp vibration of her knuckles on the door struck Jean’s mind as if she was struck herself with each rap on the wood. She wheezed and brought her hands up to her ears only for the noise to bypass her ears and vibrate directly into her consciousness.

“Jean?”

Her breath was ragged, sharp, painful, she opened her mouth to gulp in fresh oxygen only to feel her lungs remain empty. Her vision blurred and the crash of every loud mind thinking, thinking, thinking continued.

“Jean?”

“I know I said I didn’t do this but I’m coming in.” Kitty called out.

The audible voice vanished for a second and then Jean felt a bright loud mind press directly against hers in the physical space she existed within. Knees landed on the floorboards which squeaked in protest to the additional weight and then hands gently pressed down on top of her own and fingers threaded through hers.

“Jean…are you okay?” Kitty asked.

“Loud…too…loud…” Jean wheezed.

“How can I help?” Kitty asked loudly, once again cutting through the background noise.

It faded into static, white noise that fuzzed loudly against her mind. She gasped and blinked quickly and then shut her eyes again sharply and squeezed Kitty’s fingers.

“Keep…keep…talk…” Jean rasped.

“Keep talking? Oh gosh, okay, yeah, yeah I can do that, I can do that…” Kitty said.

Her voice trailed off and Jean scrunched her eyes shut again as all the minds crashed back down on her.

“Kitty…”

“Right! Sorry! Okay, everyone thinks Lorna and Bobby are going to end up, Rogue and Remy saw them in the common room at like 2am the other night. Although Rogue didn’t explain why they were also up that late. Hank reckons if we aren’t careful we could end up with all sorts of uhh what did he call them…oh yes…”according to my analysis if the school continues to grow and develop we are bound to end up in a biochemical cardiovascular failure.”” Kitty said, her impression of Hank surprisingly good.

Jean breathed in and out and found that her lungs expanded and shrunk steadily, oxygen reached her bloodstream. Her heart beat drummed loudly in her chest, appreciative of the fresh burst of oxygen.

“Basically he reckons people are gonna end up heartbroken if relationships implode. Although given this place I think they’re more likely to explode. Although you never know, I reckon some could go the distance you know. Although I guess not seeing as you don’t like anyone, even if half the boys seem to like you…I don’t even know if you can hear this but it’s okay, it doesn’t matter. I’m sure the other half will straighten them all out to leave you alone. But if it helps I don’t have a crush on you, I’m more into blonde’s.” Kitty rambled.

Jean’s breathing continued to calm. Her grip on Kitty’s fingers loosened and eventually the crushing weight of the waterfall of minds lessened and eventually lifted. She breathed in and opened her eyes and then loudly exhaled and sighed.

“You didn’t strike me as being into blonde’s.” Jean whispered.

“Hey! I can be into multiple types.” Kitty said.

“And multiple siblings?” Jean teased weakly.

She moved to sit up, her body stiff and brought her knees up to her chest and breathed in slowly and then out again and blinked rapidly to see Kitty looking sheepish.

“Is it..was it…was it that obvious?” Kitty asked.

“No, but…it doesn’t help you broadcast your thoughts when you write in your diary.” Jean said with a smile.

“Jean Grey, are you snooping on me?” Kitty asked, with a scoff.

“Not on purpose.” Jean said weakly.

A beat passed and Kitty reached out and squeezed her hand again, “are you okay?”

Jean shook her head.

“No but…I will be, it just…sometimes it just overwhelms me you know.” Jean said.

“I…uhh…kinda…I mean, I know it’s not the same but at one point I couldn’t stop phasing for a few hours, I got freaked out until I fell asleep and eventually woke up solid again.” Kitty replied.

“What happened?” Jean asked.

“I woke up underneath the floorboards, had to figure out how to move up as well as forward.” Kitty said with a chuckle.

“Guess that’s why we’re all here.” Jean said glumly.

“It’s not that bad, the Professor is pretty good with it all, and I guess at least we’re all in the same boat this way.” Kitty said.

“Mm.” Jean answered half heartedly.

“Want me to stay?” Kitty asked gently.

Jean looked up and locked eyes with her and nodded. The door remained locked, the bathroom used and Jean sat in bed and watched as Kitty phased through the wall from the bathroom, changed into pyjamas. The bed dipped under the added weight of a second body and Jean rolled over and stared at the other girl in her bed and smiled sadly.

“First time sharing a bed with a roommate?” Kitty whispered in the soft glow of the bedside lamp.

“No. Just…first time in a while.” Jean whispered.

Kitty nodded and then tapped the space between them.

“How do you wanna do this, side by side, pillow wall between us, big spoon, little spoon, top and tail.”

Jean felt heat rush to her face and then rolled away and closed her eyes, “you…can hold me…it…it helps…ground me.”

Kitty chuckled and shifted. The light clicked off and the room plunged into darkness and then Jean felt her arm press down on her and her body slide against her own. The mansion was still an active beehive but there in the dark she was grounded in a way that felt familiar and yet different. It might not have been her sister, but it was a friend, and it was nice to have one of those again.

“Thanks.” Jean whispered.

“No worries, what are best friends for.” Kitty said.

Jean didn’t challenge it. She didn’t feel the need to anymore, but it did make her smile. Darkness helped ground her along with the body weight of her friend and roommate. She felt Kitty wiggle on the bed and fidget.

“Who do you think it is tomorrow?” Kitty asked.

“I don’t know, maybe the Professor has friends from before all this.” Jean answered.

“Maybe…although I can’t see him inviting Magneto.” Kitty said.

“No. But I can’t see him trusting the avengers either right now.” Jean pointed out.

“Guess we find out in the morning.” Kitty said.

The room fell silent and Jean concentrated on Kitty’s breathing, in and out, in and out and then her thoughts, the unique shape of her mind pressed against hers. Every mind was unique, it had taken a while for Jean to learn that, each one was a different shape and colour and size. Once that had been pointed out to her it helped her sort through them, to find and identify individuals. In the darkness of her room with a bright pink mind beside her cycling through subconscious thoughts of duolingo lessons for Russian Jean relaxed and drifted off to sleep herself.

The morning came quick and fast and Jean felt Kitty beneath her. She blinked and sat up and looked down at the brunette currently asleep on her back, a small stain on the pillow next to her mouth. Jean smiled. The shower was warm and welcoming. She took her time. By the time she was dried and dressed, she walked back into her room to find Kitty awake and sat up in her bed.

“Hey.” Kitty said.

“Hey.” Jean replied, a more relaxed air between them.

“So…uhh…you…you better this morning?” Kitty asked.

“Mmhmm.” jean said, placing herself down on the corner of her own bed.

“Good.” Kitty said and then twitched her mouth side to side and looked away, “uhh…I didn’t…didn’t do anything last night did I?”

Jean smiled and shook her head, “No, but you did mumble something about Yana.” Jean smirked.

“Oh god!” Kitty groaned and hid her hands in her face.

“It’s fine, your secret is safe with me, you did me a favour, I won’t out you.” Jean said.

“Cheers. I…it seems silly, you know, out as a mutant but not out in that sense.” Kitty said.

“I get it. It’s not like I was honest about my feelings the other night.” Jean said.

Kitty lowered her hands and looked at Jean and smiled, “so there was someone back home.”

Jean rolled her eyes, “there was someone, but I can’t see it happening.”

Kitty frowned and slid out of bed, “why?”

“He’s too busy.” Jean said simply.

“Too busy? To what? Date you? Come on, have you seen you? Half the school fancies you, surely whoever this guy is he can get a bus up and come visit on weekends.” Kitty asked.

“He…he’s far too responsible, and far too busy with work.” Jean insisted.

“Boo!” Kitty said.

“It’s fine. It’s who he is. We had a couple of moments before I came up here, but…” Jean looked out of the window and then after a moment shook her head, “it’s okay, I know who he is, I’m not mad.”

“Fine. But I’m pushing this later, I want more details.” Kitty said.

“You are insatiable, but fine, we can go for a walk later in the grounds and talk.” Jean said, “want me to wait for you to go downstairs?”

“Yeah okay, give me five.” Kitty said.

“Sure.” Jean said happily.

Breakfast was a loud buzz of excitement. At some point in the night, posters had gone up with groups listed and time slots given for each group. Jean found herself sitting next to Kitty at the main large dining table alongside Ororo, Rogue, Scott, Warren and Bobby. Team one had gathered together to be ready for when they were called by the Professor. The rest of the groups had also formed up, spaced around the ground floor rooms of the mansion. Jean looked over at Kitty who had her gaze fixed on team two who were sitting at the other end of the table. Eventually after multiple bowls of cereal were consumed and mugs of coffee drunk, the professor wheeled into the kitchen.

“Good morning, my X-men. Team one, please follow me to the danger room, our guest lecturer is ready to begin.” he said calmly.

“Let’s go guys.” Scott said loudly.

“Sure thing, Slim.” Bobby said, copying his serious tone.

Jean chuckled along with the others and marched out of the kitchen with the small group that were dubbed Team One. Lorna looked longingly from where she sat with Jubilee, Roberto, Peter, Ilyana and Hank. The wooden walls of the mansion and its many decorations filled the hallway until they reached the elevator secretly built into the wall. Despite their number, they all fit and silently watched the Professor push the button to the basement. The elevator lurched and moved down. Even though they had all seen it before, the sight of the blue metallic wall panels of the underground corridor still sparked a ripple of excitement. The professor exited first, followed by Scott and Warren and then the rest of them.

“So who is the lecturer today, Professor?” Scott asked.

“A trustworthy ally to us and all mutantkind, and after I contacted him he readily accepted my offer to come and teach all of you and the others combat experience.” Professor X answered.

“Combat?” Warren echoed.

“Yes Warren, despite my own powers, I am not the most suitable teacher for such physical activities. I have agreed with today’s teacher on his plan and trust that you will all treat him with the same respect you give me.”

“Of course we will, Professor.” Kitty answered.

The professor came to a stop at the end of the corridor before the large circular door that led into the danger room and spun around to face them. He smiled up at Kitty.

“I know you will, Kitty.” He said simply and then moved to the side of the corridor and through the open door into the observation room.

“Alright, guess we find out how good we are at combat skills.” Scott said.

“And more importantly find out if the Professor invited his evil frenemy to teach us.” Bobby added.

The doors opened and the group stepped through together into the large open spaced room that was hidden by bright white lights. The group all held their hands in front of their faces except for Scott who stood amongst them with his mouth open. The light’s dimmed. Before them the room became visible, large and all encompassing, a spherical room of white panels that at any moment could change and simulate any environment. In the centre of the room stood a lone figure, his silhouette sharp and powerful, his face hidden. He turned and stepped towards them and with each step the red and blue costume became more visible.

“No way!” Kitty said in awe.

“Is this real or part of the simulation?” Bobby asked.

Spider-man stepped forward one last time as the lights levelled off and revealed him to the group. Jean gasped at the sight of him and upon instinct reached out to him with her mind and felt the same comforting presence she had felt that day in the Damage control building. He twitched and turned his head to face her.

“Oh it’s the real deal alright. I hope you guys have warmed up because I’ve been given full permission from the professor to test all of you.” Spider-man said.

Bobby and Kitty high fived while Scott and Warren exchanged a glance. Ororo stepped forward and nodded at him.

“We would be honoured to learn from one such as you, Spider-man.”

Jean felt her heart beat in her chest, loud, hard, fast. It was as if her ribs were being struck with each beat and weakened. No doubt her heart was trying to escape its cage. Her mouth opened and her voice tried to reach him yet her mouth had run dry and only an awkward croak escaped her.

“Come on Jean, surely you’re as excited as the rest of us for today.” Kitty said, turning to look at her.

Yet Jean hadn’t looked away from the man in front of her. His shoulders were as broad as she remembered, his limbs as powerful as the last time she saw them. His face was hidden but even with the mask she still pictured it in her head. Those kind brown eyes hidden behind the large white lenses.

“You…you’re here.” Jean whispered, silencing the group.

Spider-man stepped forward once more and faced her fully in the centre of the group and nodded once.

“Hi Jean, it’s good to see you again.”

A pin could have dropped in the large simulation room and they all would have heard it. Jean inhaled shakily and felt her mind whirl a mile a minute with every question she wanted to ask him. Every other mind vanished as she reached out for his with her own and once again felt that familiar feeling of the shape of his mind. Peter. He was here. In front of her. She could see him, feel him, touch him, hear him. Peter.

“Wait wait wait wait hold up! Hold up! Time out! Back track! You two know each other?” Bobby asked, turning to look at Jean.

“Jean?” Scott asked while Warren suddenly looked across at Spider-man.

“Well it is good to know we are in good company then.” Ororo said in her formal tone.

A hand gently curled around Jean and she flinched and blinked and turned to see Kitty beside her once more, a silent question on her lips.

“Kitty…meet…Spider-man. Spider-man, this is my friend, Kitty.” Jean said slowly, her voice thick with emotion.