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X-Men: Evolution of the Heart: Chapter Seventeen
Author's note: The song "Wonderwall" belongs to Oasis.
Party Gone Wrong
As Scott and Jean rode in the car towards Duncan Matthew's house, there was an unusual silence between the two friends. This whole party deal left both of them with some mixed feelings. Scott didn't like the fact that it was Duncan throwing the party, for it would be much less an issue if it was somebody else. Jean was also on edge because she had never even been to a real 'party' before and did not know what to expect. Ever since she hooked up with Duncan, she had come to realize the true nature of his character and it was far from honorable. Duncan had been complicating things between her friends, her family, and worst of all Scott. At this point Jean wished she could just erase her association with Duncan all together.
"You okay over there Jean? You look a bit on edge," said Scott breaking her train of thought.
"That would be a big understatement," muttered Jean in reply.
"Wanna talk about it?" said Scott hoping it wasn't too late to call this off.
Jean only sighed. Should she tell him? How could she?
"I guess it's just this whole party in general. It's kind of got me spooked for some reason," said Jean knowing it wasn't the whole truth.
"What's there to be spooked about?" asked Scott even though he felt his knew the answer.
"...I don't know Scott. It's just...Duncan isn't the guy I thought he was. He's really not who he makes himself out to be."
"Well, why don't you tell him that? Or break up with him if he isn't somebody you like being with?" asked Scott trying to use logic over his own personal feelings for Jean.
"I...It's complicated Scott."
Jean only sighed in frustration as the stress of simply thinking about it was almost too much for her. Then, Scott reached over and held her hand hoping to comfort her like he had so many times before.
"It'll be okay Jean...I promise," said Scott softly.
Jean felt her nerves calm upon feeling Scott's touch. It was so...Right. She wanted to keep holding his hand, but they had arrived at their destination. Scott pulled up near the front door of the large, expensive house that was already booming with loud music from within.
"So...I guess I'll pick you up at 11?" said Scott at a loss for better words.
"Yeah...That sounds good. Well, I'll see you later tonight," replied Jean with a smile towards him.
"Okay then, have fun Jean," said Scott before he drove off.
As Jean walked up to the house, Scott waved back at her hoping she would be safe.
"What were you doing with Summers back there? I don't remember inviting him!" demanded Duncan as Jean entered the house.
"He gave me a ride okay!" said Jean taken aback at Duncan's harsh tone towards her best friend.
"Whatever, forget him. As long as he doesn't stick around this party will stay loser free!"
Jean fought back the anger she felt brewing within as Duncan continued to insult Scott for no reason other than the fact that he gave her a ride and he was her best friend. She had a powerful urge to yell at him for his words, but he had already started dragging her towards the living room that was already booming with loud dance music and crowded with dozens of people.
"Yeah! Soak it up Jean, is this a party or what!" exclaimed Duncan as he stepped in to the crowded room.
Jean gradually felt herself ease out of the early anxiety ever so briefly, but she still had a few lingering fears. She tried not to let it show as she started to talk to a few friends of hers.
"Hey Jean, glad you could make it!" said Taryn as Jean approached her.
Jean hadn't liked to talk to Taryn much ever since that incident between her and Scott, but she had no reason to judge and no inclination to show any of her resentment.
"Yeah, this is some party," said Jean trying not to make it too obvious that this was her first.
"It's okay...But from what I've been told, the real fun has yet to begin!"
Just as Jean was about ask what she meant by that, a large cheer erupted from the crowd as six of Duncan's football buddies came in to the room carrying large metal beer kegs. Duncan immediately ran over and triumphantly stood before them.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...LET THE REAL PARTY BEGIN!" yelled Duncan as he slammed back the first shot of beer to the cheers of the crowd.
While everybody cheered, Jean cringed at the fowl scent of liquor that had suddenly filled the air. She felt a surge of panic come over her as she saw Duncan and a crowd of others start to drink. Images and painful memories of her past with alcohol and her drunken father came screaming back through her mind. These were things she had forced herself to forget after all these years, but now they were back and worse then ever. She immediately wanted to get out of there, but her friends and Duncan looked like they weren't about to let it be that easy for her. As she tried to suppress the dark memories that were beginning to paralyze her, she immediately wished that she hadn't come and she deeply regretted not heeding Scott's earlier warning. Now she wished he were here.
***
As Scott sat on the hood of his car looking up at the stars, he couldn't stop worrying about Jean. The crystal clear night and the cool autumn breeze did little to calm the young mutant down. He had decided to stop on the way home at someplace quiet to clear his head, but so far it had only grown more cluttered with each passing second. He just couldn't stop thinking about Jean and worrying about what would happen to her.
Scott couldn't forget about Duncan's words from earlier that day. The thought of him actually trying something like that with Jean was almost too hard to think about. He wanted to tell Jean about what he had heard, but he knew she wouldn't believe him. She would just think that he was jealous...And it really wasn't too far from the truth. Ever since she hooked up with Duncan she had grown more distant from him. They still talked, but the ever-present thought of Duncan did little to keep either of their minds at ease. It tore him up inside...But he hid it. Scott knew he couldn't let Jean drift apart from him, she meant more to him than he could ever have realized. He loved her; it was that simple. They had been through hell on the streets and had stood by one another's side through it all. And they both owed their lives to each other in many ways.
"Jean..." he said aloud in to the sky as if he hoped she would hear him.
Suddenly, Scott felt a terrible sense of foreboding come over him. He then jumped in to the drivers seat of his car and sped off down the highway back towards Duncan's house. Something bad was going to happen to Jean, for he could feel it and he couldn't let that come to pass.
***
Duncan downed another cup of beer amidst the cheering crowd that was growing tipsier by the second. It seemed that everybody had taken advantage of the free-flowing beer offered from the party...Everybody that is, except Jean.
"I have to get out of here," said Jean from a corner that she had been staying in for the better part of the last half-hour.
"Hey Jean!" yelled one of her soccer friends. "Here, I got you a cup!"
Jean looked at the cup and the fowl scent soon filled the air now more than ever. She wanted to just run, but she had just become so tense it was as if her legs were totally paralyzed.
"Come on Jean, live a little!" said the girl in an overly happy voice as she shoved it in to her hand.
She then let out a drunken laugh as she went back out on the dance floor. As soon as she was gone Jean threw the cup of beer away and ran out of the room to find someplace quiet. Jean found herself in the adjacent room to the living room that looked to be a guest bedroom. She quickly closed the door and sat on the bed trying to catch her breath again.
"I can't stay here," said Jean as the anxiety in her head reached to new heights. "I can't..."
Suddenly, the door flung open and in to the room stumbled a drunk Duncan Matthews.
"Hey Jean...What cha doin' in here?" said Duncan in a slurred voice.
***
Scott pushed his car further as the bad feeling he had within grew ever more ominous. He was not far from Duncan's house now and the closer he got the worse he felt. There, he remembered what Rogue said about following his instincts and how they had proved right over the years they had spent on the streets. Now, Scott deeply hoped that his instincts were wrong about this and that Jean would be okay. However, he already felt that wasn't the case and he had to get to her as soon as possible before something terrible happened.
*It's okay Jean, I'm coming...I'll be there.*
***
"Duncan? Are you okay?" asked Jean wearily as he stumbled in closer towards her.
"Yeah...Never better!" replied Duncan as he slammed back another cup of beer. "What the hell are you doing in here babe? The party's out there!"
"I...Duncan I don't think I can stay any longer."
"Oh come on the party's just getting started! You can't leave now!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't be here anymore. I have to go."
"Why Jean? We've got everything here. We got music, food, beer..."
"That's just it Duncan! I didn't know there was going to be alcohol here! If there was I wouldn't have come here in the first place!" said Jean starting to get frustrated and anxious in the presence of a drunken boy.
"Oh come on! Don't be such a straight arrow! What's the matter with a little beer?"
"I...It's..." Jean stumbled, struggling to block out the dark memories of her drunken father and the terrible ways he used to beat her.
"You know something Jean...You need to loosen up," said Duncan in a half-incoherent tone.
Jean felt panic consume her as Duncan moved in near her.
"Look Duncan...We need to talk. I don't think that we..." but soon Jean was cut off as Duncan became more and more drunk.
"Talk?! You're not breaking up with me NOW are you?" said Duncan in a slightly angrier tone.
"This isn't working and you know it! It hasn't worked from the start!" said Jean sternly trying to get the drunk teen to understand, but it didn't seem like it was working.
"Oh we can make it work Jeannie," said Duncan as if he hadn't heard Jean's tone. "If you don't loosen up...I'll just have to loosen you up."
Before Jean could respond Duncan placed a forceful kiss upon her and forced her down on her back. She tried to push him away, but she felt paralyzed as thoughts of the past bombarded her mind. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as he started to get more aggressive. In an act of desperation she pushed him out of the kiss and slapped him hard across the face.
"What are you doing Duncan!? You're drunk!" yelled Jean trying to hide her fear.
"Oh so you like it rough don't you? Shit I can do rough!"
The tone of his voice was soused with beer as he forcefully overpowered her again and started to aggressively kiss her face. Jean briefly contemplated using her powers to get him off of her, but her mind was too paralyzed to focus. Her head began to spin as he started run his hands up her legs and kiss her with ever increasing ferocity. Jean felt like crying, for she felt powerless to stop this from happening. As she felt her mind devolve in to chaos she started to hear his thought.
*Oh yeah this is gonna be good. If she don't put out...I'll just fuckin' make her.*
Duncan's thoughts were partially incoherent from the alcohol, but they were clear enough for the young telepath to hear. She felt tears start to stream down her face as his hands moved up towards her breasts and old memories of how strange men use to do this to her whenever she spent time in a mental hospital. Jean's cries were going unheard by the drunken Duncan Matthews as he didn't let up. She just begged for this to be all a bad dream...And she begged for Scott to be there.
***
As this was going on Scott Summers burst through the front door and immediately started to look for Jean. He smelled the alcohol in the air and felt his fears come to life. Unfortunately his instincts had been all too right. Scott knew Jean had a terrible past with liquor and knew he had to get her out of here. He started to scour the large crowd of dancing teens for any signs of Jean.
"Hey Scott!"
Scott turned around to see Taryn standing before him and she definitely looked a little tipsy.
"I didn't know you were invited," said Taryn in a slurred voice.
"I wasn't. I'm here to pick up Jean."
"Oh Jean, I think I saw her slip in to the guest room or something. Now how's about a little dance," said Taryn as she stumbled a bit closer to him than Scott would've wanted. "I'm pretty good on my feet...But I'm even better off."
Taryn's sultry voice did little to dissuade Scott. He felt more and more anxious with each passing second, as if he was feeling all the anxiety Jean was feeling.
"I'm sorry Taryn, but I've gotta go," said Scott as he walked past the drunk girl.
He spotted a closed door adjacent to the living room and felt a wave of nervousness as he got closer. Without hesitation he opened the door and was greeted with the sight he hadn't wanted to see.
*Scott...Help.*
Scott felt an anger overcome him unlike anything he had felt before. Duncan was fumbling to get Jean's shirt off and was tying to make it so she couldn't move.
"GET THE HELL OFF HER, ASSHOLE!"
Scott then stormed over and shoved the drunken jock off of Jean and punched him as hard as he could in the face.
"Summers...What the fuck are you doing here!?" yelled the drunken boy as he lashed back at Scott.
However, Duncan proved to be too drunk to fight back as Scott easily blocked an incoming punch and sent him a punch of his own, knocking Duncan flat on the floor. Duncan tried to get up, but Scott wouldn't allow it.
"You bastard!" said Scott as he forced him down again. Then, he grabbed Duncan by his shirt collar and head butted him out cold. "Don't you ever touch her like that again! EVER!"
Duncan was out cold now and Jean was back on the bed hugging her knees and sobbing uncontrollably. Scott quickly sat by her and wrapped his arms around her, which helped calm her down. Jean sunk in to his arms, unable to control her feelings.
"It's okay Jean...I'm here now. I'm here," said Scott in a soft voice.
A warm sensation in her head came over her as Scott's presence helped her greatly.
"I can't believe you heard me...I can't believe you knew I needed you."
"I just felt it Jean. I don't know how I did...But I just felt it, that's all."
Another tear rolled down her cheek, but this was a tear of happiness and not sorrow.
"It must be a bond we have...Thank you Scott."
Those were the only words Jean could manage, but they were enough.
"Anytime Jean...Anytime. Come on...I'll take you home."
***
"HE DID WHAT!?" yelled Logan.
Scott had told Ororo, Logan, and the Professor what had happened to Jean at Duncan's party.
"He tried to rape her," said Scott flatly.
"That son of a bitch! I swear when I get my hands on him..."
"Logan please calm down!" urged Ororo.
"I can't calm down Ro! I knew that kid was trash, but I didn't think even he would stoop this low!"
"I know Logan, but we still must let the authorities handle this," said the Professor. "We should really be thankful that Mr. Matthews didn't get too far."
"Damn it Chuck, you just expect the cops to handle this kid! His folks are rich, he'll probably get off and you know it!"
"Logan please...For Jean's sake you must calm down," said the Professor.
As the initial shock started to wear off, Scott stayed silent. He hadn't wanted to interject in this; he was still weary from the night's recent events. At least Jean wasn't present for this, for Scott had led her up to her room for the night, so that maybe she could come to terms with everything that had happened to her. As the adults continued to argue, Scott just sat there...Worried for Jean.
"Scott...Scott are you okay?" asked to Professor noticing the concerned look in his face.
"Yeah...I'm fine."
It didn't take a psychic to know that was a lie, but the Professor didn't want to pry any further.
"Well, why don't you go check on Jean? Just see how she's doing."
"Sure," replied Scott unable to think of better words.
He silently walked off leaving the Charles, Ororo, and Logan to discuss what to do next. Whatever it was, Scott knew it wouldn't help. Logan was right when he said Duncan would just buy his way out of trouble. In fact, Scott was willing to bet that this wasn't the first girl Duncan had tried to rape. He knew this wouldn't help Jean that much, for she had been raped before. She never liked to think about it much; in fact Scott was the only one she was ever willing to actually discuss it with. Scott understood...For he too had experienced rape. His foster home hadn't been a pleasant place and the people who lived there were ex convicts and he was a weak little pretty-boy. In some ways it was worse for Scott because Jean was usually drugged to the point of being comatose when she was raped in the insane asylums her father had sent her.
As Scott passed his room on the way, he noticed Jean sitting on his bed. He could feel her emotions as he walked towards her. They were all too familiar for the both of them, but hopefully Scott's presence would help her.
"Jean..." said Scott as he sat next to her, "How have you been holding up?"
Jean felt Scott's worried presence before he entered the room. She hadn't wanted to stay in hers; she wanted somebody to be there...Somebody like Scott.
"I've been better," she said dryly. "I just can't believe that he...I mean I didn't...I should have listened to you. I should have realized it sooner...I should have..."
She then fell in to Scott's arms her words turned to sobs. She hated feeling so weak, but in the end she knew she had done this to herself by not listening to her heart and to Scott.
"It'll be okay Jean...I know what you're going through...I know how it feels, believe me I know," said Scott softly as he held her close.
Jean knew what Scott was referring to, for he had told her about certain things in his past that made it all too true. However, this did little to help either of them.
"I wish I could change this Scott...I wish I could change a lot of things for the both of us. I should have known sooner...I just kept lying to myself about Duncan and everything he made himself to be. I just...I was so stupid all because I was star struck that he could ever like somebody like me."
"Come on Jean...How could anybody not like you?" replied Scott hugging her a little tighter. "You are a beautiful, kind, caring person. I've known that since the day I met you. You've never let anybody taint that before, so please don't start now. You saved me Jean; you were the first person who was ever there for me since my family died. And I promise I will always be there for you as well...Always."
Scott's glowing words helped heal the inner sickness within. Even after being the one who started this whole thing, Jean was still in shock that Scott was willing to forgive her. She had done something to hurt Scott and she had long vowed never to hurt him. She felt she couldn't atone for it, but Scott still forgave her...And that made all the difference in the world to her.
"Thank you Scott...Thank you for everything," said Jean as she finally managed to smile.
"Hey, what are friends for?" said Scott with a smile as well.
For a brief moment they simply looked in to each other's eyes, grateful that they had each other. There were so many things they wanted to tell each other. There were so many things they wanted to reveal, but for some reason they couldn't. The events of the night had taken too much of a toll on the both of them, so they just sat there in silence, enjoying the warmth offered by each other. The night grew cold, for the hour was late. Both teens were tired and sleepy. As Jean Grey's eyes started to get heavier, Scott reached over by his bed and picked up his guitar and started to play a soft tune for her. As she listened to the lyrics, the events of the night seemed to fade away and she could enjoy feelings of peace once more.
Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now
Because maybe
Today was gonna be the day but they'll never throw it back to you
But I don't know how
I said maybe
I said maybe
After the song was over Jean laid back on Scott's bed. Scott lay by her side and wrapped his arms around her. Through all the trauma and nightmares Scott and Jean had faced in their lives, they still had each other. As the two young teens fell asleep in each other's arms, there were still things they wanted to say to each other. They knew that one day they would tell each other and hopefully...That day will come for them.
By now you shoulda somehow realized what you gotta do
Back beat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before but you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
By now you shoulda somehow realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now
And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
You're gonna be the one that me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me