Chapter 041 – Cowardice

[2009 – June]

"Elijah and Jean make such a cute couple, don't you think so too, Ellie? Let's invite them to eat dinner in the hall together.", Yukio mused as she walked with Ellie through the corridors of the mansion, their fingers entwined with each other.

"Sure. Kinda cliché though, the hot new guy and the school beauty.", Ellie remarked casually.

"Hehe, I know! That's what makes them so cute!", Yukio insisted excitedly, her head turned towards Ellie.

Turning back forward, Yukio spotted Jean walking their way, seemingly leaving towards the training rooms.

She was obviously wearing one of Elijah's hoodies as the dark-blue sweater almost reached down mid-thigh, coupled with the skin-tight light-blue jeans, white sneakers, and her ponytail, she gave off a girl-next-door vibe while still displaying her incredible beauty.

"Jean, just who we've been looking for!", Yukio greeted the somewhat distracted redhead.

"Ah, hey Yukio. Hey Ellie. What do you need me for?", Jean asked with a small smile after seeing who had greeted her.

Yukio's gaze though couldn't help but fall on her neck and throat, where Elijah had seemingly left his marks on her skin.

Jean's hand moved upwards reflexively as she noticed her look. But as her fingers brushed over the love bites, an involuntary smile appeared on her face as her eyes just shined with love.

Yukio's breath hitched for a moment as she caught the look in Jean's eyes, the intensity of the redhead's emotion surprising the quirky Asian beauty.

…

Life in the mansion wasn't very exciting, but hardly anything was to Pietro.

A short five-minute conversation often felt as if five hours had passed, his perception of time basically making it impossible to find much enjoyment in the endless hours each day had.

This was also the reason why he was always on the lookout for some excitement, or a change of pace since he came to the mansion two years ago.

Especially the normal residents of the mansion were utterly uninteresting to him, with most of them having gobbled up the Professor's talk about peace and coexistence, being completely out of touch with the real world.

Until now he didn't really understand the reason why his father had taken such great lengths to place him in this school.

Hearing a heated argument in one of the training rooms, Pietro didn't hesitate to enter, curiosity burning inside of him. What he saw though was Jean, Yukio, and Ellie standing on one side, with Kurt and Scott standing opposite them while Rogue seemingly neutral, still stood silently behind her male teammates, a judgemental look on her face.

Ellie's whole demeanor practically screamed aggression, as yellow sparks flew from her fingers and even the ever-quirky Yukio had a cold expression on her face while electricity ran down her arms.

Jean stood in between them, a hurt look on her face as she gazed at her teammates.

Kurt looked at Jean with a disapproving expression on his blue face, while Scott carried an angry scowl on his lips, the look in his eyes though was hidden by his visor.

And while Pietro had never liked Scott and had, more often than not, wondered why Xavier made some obsessed fool like him into a team leader, Pietro never thought that even he was dumb enough to say the following words with the situation being what it already was.

"It's the new guy, isn't it!? That prick infected you with his cowardice when you screwed him?!"

The atmosphere alone was tense enough that even Pietro realised that there was no enjoyment to be found here, but a serious problem instead.

Thankful for his Superspeed once again, he retreated before they could react to his presence and went to look for Elijah, certain that the other teen wanted to know about the possible fight happening.

Finding him in the nearby gym, Pietro disengaged his Superspeed as he directly addressed the normally easy-going newbie.

"Jean is about to have a fight with her recruit team, along with Ellie and Yukio. You may wanna have a look at that."

Gone was the calm smile on his face as something dark appeared in the shield-creating mutant's eyes, his whole vibe changing from a charming teen into a beast ready to pounce on his prey.

Seeing the changes in Elijah with his own eyes, Pietro realised that he might have finally found a true gem amongst the students. Someone, who would be a viable candidate for the Brotherhood.

"Take me to them.", Elijah said without hesitation, his tone making clear that this was more an order than a request.

Pietro obliged, not only wanting to see how this would end but also genuinely liking the newcomer's character.

…

It was pure luck that Jean had met Ellie and Yukio on her way to the training room, after leaving her teammates a message and asking them to meet her there as soon as possible.

After a short teasing from Yukio, Jean had told her and Ellie about her decision to quit her position as an X-Men trainee. And she was relieved that they hadn't judged her like she expected her team to do.

Individualists that they were, the two of them just accepted her decision, before Yukio suggested for them to come with her to the team meeting as a form of moral support.

Accepting their offer, Jean had to acknowledge that she was truly happy about their presence as the judging thoughts of Rogue entered her mind, along with Kurt's disapproval about her spending the night with Elijah due to his strict religious code.

She wasn't that surprised that her actions last night had already been discovered by the students, as it was quite impossible to hide such a thing in a house full of superpowered individuals with differing abilities.

Scott's obsessed and toxically envious thoughts were the hardest to endure, as she felt his hateful jealousy towards Elijah raging in his mind.

Still, she had long since learned to not act based on others' thoughts but to take their actions into account, as she considered her involuntarily catching their thoughts an intrusion into their privacy.

"It's the new guy, isn't it!? That prick infected you with his cowardice when you screwed him?!"

Scott's next words though were like a match that had been thrown at a puddle of gasoline as fiery anger exploded in her mind. It wasn't even his crude words that ignited her anger, but his sheer gall to call Elijah a coward.

Remembering Elijah's nonchalant attitude about her loss of control, and his encouragement to stop suppressing her own power without a shred of fear for his own safety. And his willing acceptance of incredible pain, just so that he could gain a bit more strength.

Scott, on the other hand, had never once been upfront with her, hiding his obsessive intent as best as he could, while his mind spoke volumes of his hope that she would approach him on her own as she had to be aware of his feelings after all.

Fire poured out of Jean's body, creating a fiery dome around her as her telekinesis erupted from her form and threw back Kurt and Rogue, while gently moving Yukio and Ellie out of the way too.

With anger in her voice, she glared at Scott and declared: "You take one step into my fire and I will stay in the team. Don't do it, and I never want to hear you speak to me again!"

…

Gone was the anger he had felt a moment before, as the scalding heat of Jean's flames licked at his face. Even his single-minded obsession to conquer Jean's heart was forgotten for the moment as he looked at the inferno before his eyes.

Jean's wrathful glare weighed on his shoulder, as pressure built up inside him with every passing second she looked at him. His body though refused to move even one step forward, primal fear freezing him in place as he looked at the hellish fire surrounding Jean.

Trying to save the last dregs of his pride, Scott called out: "Don't be ridiculous, who would do su-"

His voice stuck in his throat as he saw Pietro appearing with Elijah in tow, who without even a microsecond of hesitation, stepped into the field of fire around Jean.

Shattered was his pride as humiliation and self-loathing bloomed in his mind.

Even worse was looking at Elijah wrapping his arms around Jean before whispering something into her ears, which replaced the anger in her with affection and calm.

Turning around, Scott couldn't bear to watch anymore as the love of his life was kissed by another man. And with clenched fists and hurried steps, he left the training room.

After what just happened, he didn't even need to remember Jean's words, as the shame he felt was enough to prevent him from ever approaching her again.

…

As Jean looked at the unmoving form of Scott, her anger only grew at his audacity to call Elijah a coward, threatening to consume her whole.

It was at this moment when she felt two familiar arms wrap around her from behind. One around her waist, while the other around her shoulder.

"It's ok, my love. You don't have to be angry anymore.", affectionate whispers echoed in her ear, as she turned her head back and looked up into Elijah's beautiful eyes.

And when a moment later Elijah's lips softly pressed against her own, even the last embers of her anger seemed to be extinguished while Jean practically melted into his embrace.