Chapter 1- Icy Roads
Kitty pantomimed banging her head on the table methodically. Kurt practiced origami with his napkin. Rogue made abstract art with her peas and mashed potatoes. Evan stared glumly out the window, counting snowflakes. Logan was slicing his meat into smaller and smaller pieces, wondering how much longer Scott and Jean would be at it. Although dinner was usually a feeding frenzy at the Institute, everyone had lost their appetite to the sound of never ending arguing.
"Why are you always criticizing Duncan! He’s always nice to you! Besides, you don’t even know him!"
"Jean! I know him! For God’s sake don’t tell me I don’t know him! He’s a jerk!"
"Who’s the jerk? If you want to talk about jerks-"
It had been going like this for all of the drive home from school, all afternoon and all of dinner, ever since Jean had mentioned she had a date to the Winter Formal in front of Scott.
Which turned out to be a not-so-great idea. Duh.
Kitty rolled her eyes at Kurt as another round started.
"If you feel that way about him, maybe you should just switch schools! So you don’t have to see him! Or how about states! Move out of this country, just shut up!" Jean roared. Kitty was amazed. So was Scott. All was silent. Scott stood up stiffly and silently, and left the room. The whole group listened for a minute, there was a thunk, the sound of Scott pumping up his loud ‘Angry music’, and an almighty SLAM of his door. Everyone turned and looked at Jean. She was pale.
She pressed her lips together tightly, stood, and left. Well, at least they’re done fighting…Kitty thought optimistically. But they weren't.
*
Jean was usually good about staying out of other people’s thoughts. She had to keep reminding herself that she could not sneak into Scott’s head and see why he didn’t like Duncan, why he acted like a snob, and a jerk, and a judgmental megalomaniac and a-
"JEAN!!!" Scott’s voice trumpeted from his room, two away from hers. "CUT THAT OUT!!!" She immediately felt guilty- she had accidentally sent her feelings. But she was also glad that she had reminded Scott exactly what bugged her about him. Arrogant jerk, she thought, as there was a knock at her door. She yanked open the door, ready to yell, when she saw a cringing Kitty.
"Oh, Kitty." Kitty smiled weakly at her deflated tone.
"Like Hi!" Whoops, too perky "Um... remember this morning when-"
"There wasn’t so much noise?" Jean asked, smiling, letting the littler girl in. Kitty giggled.
"Well, yeah. But like, I meant when you said we could like, go shopping for Formal dresses together? You, me and Rogue?" Kitty put on her most innocent puppy-dog face. Jean smiled back, it was hard not to. "Well, like what better time to do it then on a Friday afternoon? We could go shopping just us girls, and- get out…?" She suggested timidly. A particularly loud and obnoxious song blasted from Scott’s room. Kitty saw Jean narrow her eyes in annoyance, she absolutely hated this song of Scott’s. I’ve got her! Kitty gave her a big hug. "Thank you Jean! I’ll go grab Rogue!" Jean watched in amazement- and amusement, as the girl sped away. Funny how she knew exactly what Jean was about to say- perhaps she was the mind reader. Jean grabbed her jacket and the keys to the Mini, and strolled down the hall, looking right and left before sticking her tongue out childishly at Scott’s closed door.
Ha, she thought. I’ll show him, he can stay in that room for as long as he wants. He’ll miss the dance, and then he wont have to see Duncan. Or me. Jerk…
*
"Ooh, look guys!" Kitty gave a test spin in the dressing room isle, so Jean and Rogue could see knee-length white skirt ruffle and flare out. "I feel like a snow princess! Wow…" The dress had embroidered snowflakes on the top, and on the flaring skirt, you could just barely see them against the white fabric. Rogue grunted, turning back to her magazine. Jean and Kitty had yet to get her to try something on.
"It looks very nice, Kitty. You should get it." Jean encouraged.
"Yay!" Kitty exclaimed, glad for Jean’s stamp of approval. "Are you going to get the green one?" She asked, re-entering her stall. Jean looked at the pile of green silk on her lap. She always wore blue and purple, those colors were out of the question. But so many times she had worn green dresses exactly like this one to dances- she was sure she had more then 10 of them in her closet at the Institute.
"No," she decided "I’m going to look for something else." She exited just as Rogue started pestering Kitty again about the point of going to a dance when you didn’t have a date.
Those two, she shook her head. They’re like sisters. All of us are, really. And brothers, of course. She amended thinking of Kurt, Evan and … The Jerk.
But as time passed by, and Rogue was finally pestered into buying a long black (what other color?) dress with long sheer sleeves- Jean realized that she still had no idea what she was going to wear.
It was Kitty who finally found it- a pale gold silk dress, simple short sleeves and a scooping neck.
"Wow." Kitty said appreciatively, when Jean tried it on. "Very nice. Veeeeeeery nice." Rogue even smiled. "Like, It’ll be a hit with guys, too! I can’t wait to like, see the look on Scott- I mean Duncan’s face when he sees you." She quickly recovered, blushing slightly, before looking down at her shoes.
Jean looked at herself one last time in the mirror. Scott indeed…