Chapter 016 – Dinner

[2009 – June]

Looking at the time displayed on my laptop, I saw that it was already 7 pm, so I decided to get something to eat. The others planned to come by around 8.30 pm, so I still had enough time.

Leaving my room, I ran into Jean who was also on her way to the dining hall and seemingly lived right across from me. Giving her a short nod, I was just about to move past her as she addressed me.

"I didn't get a chance to introduce myself yesterday, I am Jean Grey by the way."

Surprised that she had taken the initiative to talk to me, I couldn't help but give her a deeper look.

There was a slightly nervous expression on her face, while her posture also suggested a lack of confidence.

It seemed that being unable to read my mind had not only awakened her curiosity but also made her more self-aware as she didn't know what I thought about her.

Seeing no reason to reject her, I gave her a slight smile and said: "Elijah Frost. You wanna grab a bite together?"

A smile bloomed on her beautiful lips, as she answered with a shy nod: "Mhm."

Walking towards the dining hall together, I couldn't help but ask: "So Jean, you seeing anybody?"

"Wh-what?", the red-haired girl stammered after nearly tripping over her own feet at my direct question.

Her answer was rather important for me to figure out more about the timeline and admittedly I was also rather curious about that, as she was very attractive.

"Well, being an X-Men trainee is rather dangerous work, so I was just wondering if you have someone and how ok they are with you endangering yourself like that. I mean the X-Men do great work, but they have to face equally great risks, don't they?", I elaborated to diffuse her nervousness a bit.

…

Never in her life, did Jean wish more to be able to read someone's mind than right now.

Elijah's question had greatly surprised her and with the tranquil charm he exuded coupled with his good looks, Jean – like every other teenage girl – couldn't help but ask herself if he was interested in her.

Normally such a question was easily answered by her telepathy, but all she got from Elijah's mind was silence, his thoughts perfectly shielded from her powers.

Hearing his next words, Jean's rapidly beating heart calmed down somewhat, as she answered.

"I-I am single right now. I mean there were a few guys that were interested in me in the past but they were just horny teens, no one that genuinely cared about me.", she said, elaborating more than she had initially planned.

"I don't know if I should be envious of your ability to find out people's true intentions with only a thought, or pity you for having to see all that ugliness hidden behind a mask of deceit.", Elijah said, greatly surprising her with his words.

Jean may not have been able to sense the sincerity with her powers, but his voice and shadowed eyes told her that he truly meant what he said.

Gulping down hard, she didn't know what to answer, as he was right. She had often been plagued with nightmares in the past from things her power had made her a witness to, and just the memory of those things weighed heavily on her mind.

"Well, don't worry. My own darkness is safely hidden away, you won't have to burden yourself with that."

Surprised, Jean looked to the side and met Elijah's gaze.

At that moment it truly was as if shadows were hiding behind his eyes, telling of his painful past and yet the burden was entirely his, as silence reigned in her mind. Almost out of instinct, Jean grabbed Elijah's hand as if to comfort him.

Shocked by her own actions, her whole body froze up as he also stopped and looked at her in surprise.

Too embarrassed to look him in the eye, Jean lowered her gaze and tried to pull back her hand but didn't succeed as Elijah held onto it softly.

His thumbs softly brushing over the back of her hand, he addressed her gently: "Thanks."

Letting go of her hand, Elijah moved away a few steps, while she still tried to process what had just happened.

"Jean, you coming?"

His words caused her to finally shake off her surprise, as she raised her eyes and smiled before once again following right next to him.

…

While we ate, Jean told me a bit about her X-Men training and some of the missions she had been on, while also telling me about some douche called Duncan from her highschool that pestered her with messages, wanting her to go out with him.

In response, I told her to just fling him into a wall the next time she met him after the summer vacation was over, or meet him and take care of the problem once and for all with her telepathy by making Duncan interested in men.

Appalled but still laughing, she admitted: "While he may deserve that, we aren't supposed to use our power for selfish purposes and especially not to harm others."

"The Professor taught you that?", I asked her, getting a nod as an answer.

"Well, I don't want to argue with you about whether he is right or not, but I don't think that this Duncan deserves much mercy if he can't accept a simple no.", I reasoned.

"Maybe not.", Jean agreed with a small smile, though I had no doubt that she probably wouldn't follow my suggestion as she was too nice of a girl.

Looking at the clock hanging over the entrance doors, I saw that it was already 8.15 pm.

Jean noticing my actions asked in curiosity, much of her earlier nervousness gone after we spent the last hour together.

"You have somewhere to go?"

"Pietro, Yukio, and Ellie are coming over to my room to watch some movies together. You wanna come too?", I invited her with a smile.

"Sure, sounds like fun."

Just as we were about to leave, a young teen with a visor over his eyes came over and introduced himself.

"Hey, I am Scott Summers. You must be the new guy everyone is talking about."

His words sounded nice, but even with his eyes not visible I could practically feel him glaring at me, so I didn't bother being polite.

Grabbing Jean's hand, I moved towards the doors as I simply brushed him off with a quick: "Sorry, no time to chat."

Jean was surprised at my actions and just let herself be dragged away by me, while Scott stood rooted in place like a lost lamb.

I knew she wouldn't be angry at me, as she had also mentioned Scott being kind of clingy, though not as annoying as Duncan.

Either way, I didn't care about Scott as he always seemed like an arrogant douche to me. Also, I had long since noticed him staring holes into the back of my head the whole time which felt particularly unpleasant.