Hanging By A Moment

Hanging By A Moment
Chapter 31: Dinner Disaster

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The next day at the home of the Greys, Scott and Jean chose to avoid her parents for the most part in the morning. Under the guise of showing Scott around the neighborhood, Jean took her boyfriend out of the tense household and walked him around the streets that bore so many memories for her. It was a good way to start the day and unwind after what happened last night, but in addition, it also gave Jean the chance to show Scott the world she had been a part of and the life she had lived before she left for college at the Xavier Academy.

Among the places Jean showed him were the nearby mini malls which had many high end shops to complement the high end tastes of the neighborhood, a few of the places she liked to eat when she wanted to get away from the bland food her parents always made, and some of the places she went to where she just wanted to be alone when the going got tough for her. Overall, Scott found that the surrounding areas of the neighborhood were every bit as affluent as the homes it serviced. Everything seemed as if it was pricier or richer in terms of quality and taste. It was a world that Scott had never gotten a chance to experience and it was all quite alien to him.

However, despite all this affluence that Jean had grown up in, it did not leave the same stigmatizing affects on her as it had on her family. It was somewhat remarkable in Scott’s eyes that she had come to enjoy life’s simpler pleasures after having been surrounded by so much luxury and wealth. In many ways, he came to admire her in an even greater sense because she had broken away from such a superficial world that was clearly shallow and narrow minded. Now Scott was beginning to truly understand why she saw herself as the black sheep of her family and her whole world, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in his eyes.

Seeing how she had dealt with such a complicated world and turned into such a kind, caring, fun loving young woman that had captured his heart only increased the amount of respect he held for her. She was clearly very strong to have survived in a world like this which had rejected her time and time again, and Scott truly admired that as he began to piece together parts of the enigma that was Jean Grey. And by doing so, it practically made him fall even more in love with her because it showed him just what a remarkable woman she was.

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Neither Scott nor Jean was sure just how long they had been out. Jean must have checked in with her parents on her cell phone at least a dozen times explaining to them what she was doing and where she was, but that quickly became just a mere nuisance in their eyes as they shared a nice lunch at Jean’s old favorite restaurant, toured the high end mini-mall and window shopping through all the expensive merchandise, and generally just spent time together as they would on any ordinary outing.

Their extensive excursion didn’t seem to bother Jean’s parents all that much, for they were already busy enough preparing for Sara and Paul’s arrival…Which Jean knew they would make a bigger deal out of since Sara was their more ‘preferred’ child. But she could care less about what they thought in that regard, as long as they gave Scott a chance by the end of the week. In the meantime, she once again found herself giving Scott a few guidelines about how to deal with her older sister and husband, and in doing so managed to give Scott a little insight into her relationship with her sibling…Which, not surprisingly, didn’t seem all that better than the one she had with her parents.

“So let me get this straight…Your sister’s an accountant and her husband’s a corporate lawyer,” said Scott, recapping some of the many details Jean had told him as casually they walked down the well kempt streets of her upper class neighborhood.

“Yep…And they try and rub that shit in my face every chance they get,” said Jean, rolling her eyes at previous memories she had concerning her sister and her oh so perfect rich husband, “It’s as if they’re trying to say, ‘Hey! This is what you have to do and this is who you have to be!’ It’s really fucking annoying.”

“But hey…You’ve managed to resist them all these years,” shrugged Scott, “That’s a victory against them in of itself.”

Jean laughed slightly at that notion, for it made her feel a bit better about it.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Jean as she smiled back at her boyfriend, “And in a way…That’s they ultimate payback for all her bullshit. Because with all the success she’s had in her life with being a so called ‘proper Grey,’ she just can’t seem to succeed when it comes to dealing with her wild little sister.”

“Just goes to show that success doesn’t always go hand and hand with money,” commented Scott as they both passed a nearby park.

“Amen to that…” said Jean, smiling in agreement as she locked arms with her lover, “Of all the crap I had to put up with when I lived here, some of the worst came from my sister because she chose to follow the life my parents had laid out for her and I chose to follow my own life. She conformed…I rebelled…It’s as simple as that.”

“Doesn’t sound like too bad of a trade off,” said Scott as he felt Jean lean into his warmth as they made their way past another corner.

“Well it wasn’t in my mind,” she responded as they took a moment to stop near the curb of a crosswalk, “Sara seems determined to show me that she made the ‘right’ choice in life by going the route of family tradition and conformity…Marrying the guy she was groomed to marry and getting the job she was groomed to get. And she always flaunts how she’s always been more favorable in the eyes of our parents and keeps trying to change me in the same way they always have. And in some ways, it was worse…Especially after I got sent to the hospital after attacking her after she tried to feed me anti-depressant medications.”

“Yeah…You told me about that one,” said Scott as he felt her hug his arm more tightly.

“It was hard enough dealing with it…” said Jean as she went on, “But Sara only managed to rub salt in the wound by saying things like ‘get over it!’ or ‘accept it!’ But she didn’t understand…Nobody could understand what it was like to see my best friend just dying right there in my arms.”

“I know…But I understand,” said Scott, his voice filled with compassion as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a comforting hug.

Jean quickly sank into his embrace, knowing that only Scott had a genuine idea what it was like to live with such pain. Having been forced to watch his parents and little brother die right before his very eyes, he knew probably better than anybody else what it was like to have one’s childhood forever shattered by tragedy. He knew how hard it was…And he knew that the pain never went away. He had become one of the few people Jean felt comfortable confiding in with such memories that haunted her to this day and in many ways, it helped bring them closer together over the course of their relationship. Her family may not have understood, but none of that mattered to her anymore…She had long since accepted that they would never understand. She just hoped they would one day come to see that and accept the choices she had made in her life…Scott being one of them.

As they stood there in a comforting embrace, Jean’s eyes fell upon the unoccupied street of the crosswalk adjacent to the park. It was here where her life forever changed and her childhood was forever shattered. It took only one day for her to lose her innocence…And that one day would forever stick out in her mind no matter how long she lived or how much her life changed.

“This is the street…” she told Scott as she loosened her grip on him and walked with him down the road she had so often avoided over many years, “This is where it all happened…This is where my life changed forever.”

Scott stayed close as he heard the strain in her voice at the recollections of Annie and the accident that remained so vivid in her mind.

“It happened right over there…” she said, pointing to an area in the middle of the street, “The drunk driver came up from way down on that end of the street…Speeding and swerving at 60 miles per hour…She didn’t even have a chance to react…She didn’t even have a chance to…”

It soon became all too much for her as she once again collapsed in Scott’s arms and let herself sob at the horrible memories of holding her best friend in her arms as she died. Nothing had ever hurt so much before…And nothing was ever the same after that. The memories of her life before Annie died had become faded and obscured by the tragedy that left her so deeply scarred. Such memories of the innocent times before it all happened seemed more like fading dreams now and only withered ever more as time went on. She had since made new memories…Good ones that helped her cope. She had made many close friends, she had grown and matured so much, and she had become her own person. And now…She was a full grown woman. She was an aspiring college student, she lived a comfortable life, and she had a wonderful boyfriend. Annie may have never been far from her mind, but in many ways…Such a tragedy had given her so much strength in dealing with such overwhelming sorrow.

“Shh…It’s okay Jean…I know…I know,” Scott told her softly as he let her sob into her shoulder.

“Even after all this time…I still think about it…It still hurts,” she told him as her sobs began to wane.

“It’ll always hurt, Jean…Believe me, I know,” said Scott as he wiped away her tears with his gentle hands, “You can never truly get over it…You can only learn to cope. After I lost my parents, I felt the same way…But as time went on, I came to accept that it would never leave me…The pain would never go away. I learned to live with it…And if I can do it, so can you. You’ve already shown me just how strong you are…”

Jean couldn’t help but smile at his words as she pulled him into another powerful hug, planting a passionate kiss upon her lips as a token of her gratitude for being there in a way nobody else had been. He understood her in ways that even her closest friends couldn’t…He could give her strength even when she revisited the most trying and traumatic ordeal of her life. And for that, she was eternally grateful to have him in her life. And if Annie’s spirit was still out there somewhere…She knew she would be smiling down at her.

“Thank you Scott…” she said as they finally parted, “It’s never been easy for me to come here no matter how much I’ve learned to cope.”

“Anytime Jean…Just don’t ever think you’re ever alone in having to deal with it,” he told her as they finally began walking back towards Jean’s house.

“As long as I have you to remind me, I’ll never forget…” she told him, managing a smile as she once again locked arms with him and made their way around the corner and back down her street, “And we’re definitely going to need each other if we’re to survive my sister and my parents tonight at the big Sunday dinner.”

“Sounds like a quite a challenge…” he said as he smiled right back at her, “But I’m game if you are.”

“That’s my soldier boy…” she grinned in response, “Now come on…The combat zone awaits.”

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Upon returning from their little outing, Scott and Jean were met with the sight of a black Lexus already parked in the driveway…Indicating that Sara and Paul had arrived. Jean knew Sara’s presence could only exacerbate the situation if they didn’t stay sharp and keep up with her incessant drive to make her feel even more like a black sheep than she already was. Her husband, Paul, wasn’t much different and had always looked down upon her with pity because he considered her to have what he called an ‘unsavory attitude.’

Jean hadn’t seen her sister in over a year since she and Paul lived in Manhattan and often traveled the world with their surplus bank account, mingling with other foreign rich folk. But she knew she was going to be here and she knew the chances of being different than she was when she had last seen her were practically zero. But as with her parents, Jean was willing to work around such rough ends for the sake of helping Scott’s chances for acceptance. However, in the back of her mind, she knew they would never change at heart…They could only hope to change in perception. That alone wouldn’t exactly make them and Scott too close, but like he had told her earlier…They had to take this one step at a time.

“Jean! My little sister actually made it home for a change,” said Sara as Jean and Scott entered through the front door to see her and Paul standing there in the hallway, looking as through they had just arrived.

“Hey Sara…Nice to see you too,” said Jean, rolling her eyes at her off beat greeting as she gave her a welcoming hug as they were so often inclined to do.

“And it seems she’s brought another one home with her…” commented Paul, who was standing over near Jean’s parents, looking as though he was fairly comfortable in their presence after having gained their acceptance long ago in a way Jean and the boys she brought home never could.

“Yes, well…He’s not just ‘another one’ Paul,” said Jean in response, shooting him an annoyed glance, letting him know that she was not in the mood for his bullshit this time, “He’s my boyfriend. Sara…Paul…This is Scott Summers.”

“It’s a pleasure too meet you,” said Scott with a friendly smile as he shook Sara’s hand and moved to shake Paul’s…Only he left him hanging and didn’t seem to want to shake back.

Paul gave Scott a curious look…Almost as if he was studying Scott. He had never been one to shake the hands of Jean’s boyfriends, many of whom Paul had always considered to be misfits who didn’t belong in their upper class world, yet who Jean simply loved trotting around for sexual reasons. And judging from Scott’s appearance, he seemed to reach the same conclusion and didn’t both even returning his greeting, an act which only served to irritate Jean even more.

“Ah, so you’re the boy who was important enough to keep Jean from coming to Italy this year…” said Sara, shifting Scott’s attention away from Paul and immediately putting him on the spot.

“Um…Well,” stammered Scott, not expecting her to break the ice like that, “That was Jean’s choice…Not mine.”

“And I’m sure you had no hand in influencing it…” she said, her words dripping with sarcasm.

‘Oh shit…Not this,’ thought Jean, already feeling a headache coming on.

It appeared that Jean had been right about her sister not having changed since the last time they saw each other…And like always, she had to bring up an incident that would put her on the spot. But this time, she had gone beyond just putting the heat on her and actually put it on Scott as well…Showing just how much she could count on her sister for the worse kind of sisterly support. Luckily, John Grey stepped in and kept Sara from making any more comments as looked so eager to do.

“Sara…We all know what happened during Thanksgiving and we don’t need to dwell on it,” said John, placing a hand on his older daughter’s shoulder, signaling her to stop, “Let’s just get you situated for now and you can talk to Scott and Jean about it later if you want…In private.”

“Goody…I’m sure that’ll be fun,” said Jean, frustrated because of how her parents always seemed to take Sara’s side.

“Okay then, Daddy,” said Sara, ignoring Jean’s comment as Paul took their somewhat oversized suitcases, “We should probably get ready for dinner anyways. After all, it has been a while since we all had a chance to sit down to a nice dinner together without somebody being a no-show.”

“Can it, Sara…” said Jean in response, knowing exactly what she was referring to, “We’ll talk about that later just you and me…Sister to sister.”

“Whatever you say Jean,” said Sara, rolling her eyes at the notion of her younger sister actually talking to her without it turning into a fight.

Once Sara and Paul were gone, Jean immediately felt the eyes of her mother on her and quickly suppressed another frustrated grunt, for her sister seemed extra pushy this time around.

“Jean! That was not an appropriate greeting for your sister!” she scolded her, not really considering whether or not Sara was the one who started it with her comments.

“Appropriate?!” shot Jean, “She started it with her bullshit comments!”

“Jean, watch your language!” scolded her father, “Stop acting like a child for once and at least try to make her stay here pleasant! She’s only going to be here for two days, so please just try to behave and not make a scene like you did last time…”

Jean was on the verge of yelling at them in response, but once again Scott’s hand upon her shoulder helped to keep her from going that path that she had been so many times before and she managed to take a few deep breaths to help calm herself down. She wished she didn’t have to deal with this…And in her mind, she felt she shouldn’t have to. It was never even remotely this hard when she met Scott’s parents, but nothing seemed to be going right at the moment.

“Fine…” she finally said, “I’ll manage for two days. But at least try not to always take her side every time we have a disagreement.”

“Jean, don’t start with this,” said Elaine, showing she was not in the mood, “Dinner will be ready soon, so just forget about your petty qualms for the time being and at least try to make this night pleasant for all of us.”

Looking back at Scott, Jean swallowed her frustration, knowing she couldn’t afford to let another small fight grow larger than it had to be with something like this. And if she was going to get her family to give Scott a chance, she would have to go outside the manner in which she usually acted around her family for the sake of making this visit worth while for the both of them.

“Okay mom…I promise I’ll try,” she conceded, “As long as you make the effort as well.”

“We will Jean…We always do,” said her father, although Jean could have probably argued that point all night, “Now you and Scott should get ready. Dinner will be served in about a half hour.”

“Okay daddy,” she said as she once again took Scott’s hand and led him upstairs, “Come on Scott…”

Not saying another word, Jean retreated to her room with her boyfriend while the rest of her family prepared for the big Sunday dinner that much of this visit had been planned around. While last night’s dinner hadn’t gone too well to say the least, this dinner would be even more trying now that Paul an Sara were present. But as long as Sara didn’t keep pestering her about her Thanksgiving absence, she didn’t think she would be too great a problem. While their difference in attitude had long since divided them in the past, there were some aspects about her relationship with her sister that were better than the one she had with her parents. In the past, she had been willing to give her a chance when it came to friends and boyfriends…But after she met Paul, that one saving grace about her seemed to go out the window.

Jean had a feeling Paul would quickly move in on Scott to make him feel uncomfortable. As a powerful and influential corporate lawyer, he had a genuine talent for speaking and he wielded his demeanor like a sword when it came to the people who spoke in opposition to him. As the son of a rich family with a vast corporate legacy not unlike her own family, Paul seemed to epitomize the world Jean held a thorough distaste for. He was smug, arrogant, shallow, and self-centered…Qualities that helped him blend right in with her family. He and Sara had only been married for four years and already he had a better relationship with her parents than she could’ve ever hoped to gain.

Up in her room, Jean was laying out the dress she had bought specifically for this dinner before they had left. Scott was with her, trying to keep her calm since he could tell she was still tense about the initial meeting between her and Sara. While he had been greatly shocked at how quickly her own sister turned on her as if she purposefully wanted her to lose her temper, Scott had not said a word to fan the flames of the already heated situation.

As a guy who loved his sister to death and had a very close relationship with her and the rest of his family, Scott had to admit he found a lot of this tension to be very strange. And the more he saw it, the more vindicated the things that Jean had told him about their smug ways seemed. It was as if they purposefully put Jean on the spot, not accepting that she just wasn’t of their world and had long since diverged from it. It was almost as if they flat out rejected her…Their own daughter. Scott never once doubted her when she said that things between her and her family were bad…But he never thought they could be THIS bad.

“I’m sorry I nearly lost my cool down there, Scott…” said Jean as she kept her eyes on her dress, feeling as though she was failing him with everything that had happened with this visit thus far, “Thanks for keeping me from making it any worse.”

“Hey, no biggie…What are boyfriends for?” he smiled, helping her to lighten up a bit.

“I just hope you can keep me from ripping her head off during dinner…” she mused, “I swear…If she keeps bringing up that whole Thanksgiving bit, I’ll…”

“Jean…” interrupted Scott, stopping her once again from losing her cool, “It’s okay…We’ll get around it. If she brings it up, I’ll just change the subject.”

Jean couldn’t help but laugh somewhat at Scott’s creative ways in dealing with her family. Even though each incident seemed to make things worse and worse, he still remained determined to gain their trust and acceptance. She just hoped he could keep that determination with this dinner…For she was certain that Sara and Paul’s presence wouldn’t make it any easier.

“I hope you can do more than that against, Sara,” she told him as she took out her earrings and put in a fancier pair that she often wore during more formal occasions, “She’s very stubborn when it comes to dwelling on every little thing that puts me on the spot.”

“Yeah…I can tell,” said Scott, not doubting that for a second, “And I honestly don’t blame you for getting so mad at her. I could never imagine my sister tearing into me like that in the presence of family or friends.”

“Well to be fair…Your sister, and the rest of your family for that matter, isn’t a total bitch,” she said with a smirk, using some of the fond memories she still had of that fateful Thanksgiving week she had spent with them to help her cope with her current situation, “And now that Paul’s here, it’s going to be even more difficult.”

“Yeah, I figured that…” said Scott, remembering back to his greeting, “He didn’t seem all that impressed with me.”

“And don’t think he’ll stop there…” warned Jean as she smoothed out some of the wrinkles in her dress, “The man is a successful corporate lawyer for a reason. He’ll pitch every skill he has against you in order to make you feel as though you’re right on the stands in a murder trial. He’s done that with pretty much every friend I’ve ever brought home and don’t think he’ll go any easier on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect him to in the first place,” said Scott in response, “But lawyer or not, he isn’t the guy I’m trying to get acceptance from.”

“Well be that as it may…” said Jean, shaking her head at the current situation, “He’s not going to let that keep him from tearing into you. Not to mention…My parents absolutely adore him and he exacts quite a hefty influence on them…One way bigger than I could ever hope to muster.”

“Ouch, that sounds pretty rough,” commented Scott.

“Believe me…You have no idea,” said Jean, emphasizing her point, “He and Sara are practically made for each other…And together, they are the dynamic duo of making my life a living hell.”

“Hmm, I’m beginning to see why you didn’t want to spend Thanksgiving with them…” said Scott as it all began to fall into place for him when he considered what he had experienced here so far.

“Yep! Best decision I ever made…” she told him as she gave him a small peck on the cheek, letting him know just how certain she was of that choice.

With a warm smile, Scott felt a bit more optimistic about the looming dinner. He knew as long as he and Jean stuck together, they could make it through the interrogation style setting that seemed so common for anybody who set for in the Grey family household.

“Well, I had better go and get changed,” said Scott as he turned to head out, “I’ll see you downstairs.”

“And I’ll be waiting!” affirmed Jean, “Just stay calm, be yourself, and be sure to keep me from going ballistic as I so often tend to do around my family.”

“Good advice…I’ll be sure to remember it,” replied Scott with a chuckle.

And with that, Scott exited her room and returned to the guest room where he changed and prepped himself to face what was sure to be the biggest challenge of this visit…A big Sunday dinner.

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Like the dinner on the night before, much of the food had already been prepared by hired cooks and was every bit as bland as the previous meal taste-wise. Only this time, the food was in larger portions because of Sara and Paul’s presence and included a large roasted chicken, peas, and mashed potatoes with gravy. And unlike the previous night, there was a lot more discussion…Mainly between Paul, Sara, John, and Elaine about their most recent accomplishments in the corporate world.

For the first twenty minutes of the meal, Paul enthusiastically talked about how he had won a very difficult case against a slew of obstacles for a big software company. Jean’s parents listened attentively as he described the difficult tasks he managed to accomplish and help the company come out on top, earning him a big payday as a result, which was always something that garnered praise from John and Elaine.

While Scott and Jean remained silent while they all talked, Scott quickly took in a few details he noticed about Paul and Sara. Right off the bat, he noticed that Paul was a man who simply loved the sound of his own voice and just talked and talked all through the case as he so vividly described it. From this, Scott could see why he was a lawyer, but the overall smug nature of his demeanor was clear for anybody to see.

Sara wasn’t much different. After Paul told his little story, she went on to give her parents details about her job as well, working as an accountant for one of the largest banking firms in the country. She boasted how she had negotiated a major contract with an international firm back in Italy and how her co-workers threw her a little party in appreciation for everything she had done. This of course garnered her a great deal of praise for her parents as well, who seemed to only be enthralled with success…A trait Jean always found reflective of their shallow nature and one that was not lost upon Scott.

However, as much as Sara, Paul, John, and Elaine wanted to talk about their ongoing success…They certainly did not forget about Scott’s presence and eventually got around to confronting him in the way only the Grey family could.

“Well I could go on for hours about my job,” said Sara as she and her husband let out another round of laughter upon telling her about the glories of corporate life, “But as long as we’re all here…I think we should hear a little more about the little guest that Jean brought home with her from the Academy.”

“Ah yes, Mr. Scott Summers…” said Paul as he too shifted his attention in the young man’s direction, “John tells me you want to become a fire fighter, is that right?”

“Yes…That’s right,” said Scott simply in response as he swallowed the last few bits of his mashed potatoes.

“So…Does that mean that you are in one of the greatest Academy’s to come along in the last quarter century and you chose a field that you could have probably gone to a community college to attain for a fraction of the cost?” reasoned Paul, sounded almost humored by his choice.

Scott looked over to see that Jean was noticeably irked by his comment, but he quickly stepped in and spoke before she could respond in any way.

“Well, I guess you could say that,” said Scott in response, not showing any animosity to Paul’s tone even though it was clearly condescending, “But the Academy has so much more to offer than other colleges and I chose to go there for many reasons.”

“Oh I would never argue that,” said Paul, “I’ve seen the Academy and it’s truly a magnificent place. But of all the prestigious people it has been able to churn out into our society, I can honestly say I fail to see how going to a school such as that just to pursue a job of running in and out of burning buildings makes logical sense.”

“Well not everybody has the same life goals as you do Paul,” quipped Jean in response, not wanting to stay silent while yet another family member pissed all over Scott’s dream, “Contrary to what I know you believe…Some people aren’t driven by money.”

Paul didn’t seem too fazed by Jean’s comments, being that he had become quite good at tuning her out over the years. But the lawyer in him just wouldn’t stop pushing, however before he could respond to Jean, Sara decided to step in and divert attention away from her rebellious sister’s comments.

“Jean…That’s not what Paul was implying,” said Sara, “The point he was trying to make was that it seems a bit odd for someone with a goal not nearly as ambitious as the rest of the Academy to attend such a place when there are far easier means in which to earn them.”

“And I can see why you would think that,” said Scott, intent on justifying his decisions, “But I’m going to the Xavier Academy for more than just working towards being a fire fighter. I’m also studying for an engineering degree and even a few advanced math courses. I’m going there to learn and get an education. And that’s the main goal of any college or college student last time I checked.”

“But still…Going to the Xavier Academy in pursuit of a career like that?” said Paul, still sounding a bit cynical, “That’s definitely an expensive venture any which way you look at it.”

“It is…But it’s worth it,” said Scott, showing clearly that he had no regrets.

“Well then your family must be quite well off if they can afford to send you there,” concluded John, “What do they do for a living if they are able to send you to such a prestigious school?”

Scott tensed up a bit at the mention of his family and Jean quickly noticed as she saw him hesitate briefly in his answer. Jean was about to step in, knowing this might not be a good route to go because she knew how emotional he got when he talked about his family. However, despite her obvious worry, Scott signaled to her by shaking his head that he could do it…He just needed to collect his thoughts.

“My family’s dead…” he said in a low tone, hiding his emotions behind it, “They all died in a plane crash when I was seven.”

A heavy silence fell upon the table as everybody suddenly became more interested on the remaining food on their plate. That had not been what they had expected to hear from the boy, but it was clearly something that upset the balance for them since they were completely unfamiliar with how to deal with somebody like that. Looking at him from the beginning, they never would have suspected as much. But now that they knew, it was almost as if they looked down upon him…Something Jean knew could only lead to more trouble.

“So…You’re an orphan,” said Elaine, not sounding too enthralled by this revelation.

Scott began to feel a little uncomfortable with how they were reacting to this. He didn’t know why it was such a big deal for them, but it clearly meant something in their minds as he saw how they looked back at him in a manner that made it seem as though it made them think less of him. Nevertheless, he did not falter and held himself back from getting too worked up about it.

“Well…Yes, I am,” affirmed Scott, “But I was lucky to get adopted into a really nice foster family when I was ten.”

“Adopted huh?” said Paul in his still condescending tone, “Well then who were they?”

“They must have been quite nice if they saw it fit to send you to go to the Xavier Academy,” added John, “What do they do for a living?”

“Well…” said Scott as he set aside his now empty plate, “My father’s a mechanic who owns an auto garage just outside of Buffalo.”

“A mechanic?” said Paul with a raised eyebrow, “You mean he fixes old cars for a living?”

“And motorcycles…” added Scott, ignoring Paul’s tone.

“Well then…What does your mother do?” asked Elaine, wondering how some kid with such lower class parents could get into a place like the Xavier Academy.

“She works in a botanical garden,” answered Scott, “Both jobs don’t exactly pay a fortune, but they’re jobs my folks love to death and they’re happy with them…Which is all that should matter.”

Paul could have argued Scott’s point until doomsday, but he along with the rest of the family seemed a little bit baffled as to how he ended up at the Xavier Academy. For John and Elaine Grey, they had sent their daughter there because they hoped that the prestigious school would knock some sense into her and set her on the path to becoming a more proper Grey instead of some rebellious brat that kept defying them with her free spirited attitude. But hearing how a boy such standing got into the Academy, they were beginning to think that maybe Xavier’s school wasn’t as prestigious as they once thought.

“But then…How on Earth did you get into the Xavier Academy?” asked Sara, not seeing how it was possible, “Do you have any idea how expensive tuition is for that place? How in the hell can a mechanic and a gardener pay for it?”

“Actually…They don’t pay for it,” answered Scott.

“Yeah…Ever here of something called scholarships?” added Jean, thinking her family just wasn’t trying hard enough.

“Oh, so you got a scholarship,” said John, finding that somewhat more preferable, “What kind? Was it in academics? Was it sports?”

“Well…Not exactly,” explained Scott, “While I did get a pretty decent scholarship for my grades at my old high school…It wasn’t nearly enough to send me through four years at the Xavier Academy.”

“Then how on Earth did you manage to attend such a college?” asked Paul, not seeing how it was possible.

“Well…” he began, “The military pays for the majority of my college expenses.”

“The military?” said Elaine, sounding as though that word was alien to her.

“Yeah, the military,” affirmed Scott as he reached into his shirt and pulled out his dog tags, “When I introduced myself, there was a little part I left out. In full, I am Lieutenant Scott Summers…United States Marine Corp.”

This revelation prompted mixed reactions among the dinner table, which was something Scott had not expected. Even as a soldier, they looked down at him as if he were somewhat more of a brute or something. He always spoke with pride whenever he told somebody that he was in the military. It was a part of his family’s rich tradition of duty and service. But such meaning seemed lost upon the Greys as they took a moment to digest this new information about this man who was currently so involved with their daughter.

“You’re…A marine?” said Elaine, looking at him as if he had two heads.

“Yeah…I’m a marine and I’m very proud to be one,” said Scott, still holding his head high despite their glances, which made Jean smile somewhat as she saw some of their rather humorous expressions, “You see…My family is just as dedicated to tradition and heritage as yours in many ways. My father was a soldier…My Grandfather was a soldier…And his father before his father was a soldier. It’s a strong tradition going back to the American Revolution and it’s a tradition I wanted to keep…If for anything, for the memory of my family.”

The rest of the table was silent as they took in this somewhat unfamiliar tradition. As a family descended from the noble blood of England, there probably wasn’t a soldier in any way, shape, or form in their entire family tree. And in a neighborhood such as the one they had been privileged enough to reside in, they just didn’t get soldiers around these parts and pretty much everything they knew about the military came from CNN and newspapers.

They didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about having a soldier in their presence, no matter how dedicated, decorated, or dutiful he may be. Many of those sides of him…The one of a proud and honorable soldier…Were the parts of him that Jean had come to love. But no matter what he told them about the pride he had for his service and dedication, it still didn’t garner any such approval from her parents in the slightest.

“So you’re a marine…” restated John, still trying to process that since he had never really met anybody from the military.

“Indeed I am…” said Scott proudly, “Six months of basic and advanced training…Two and a half years of combat in Iraq.”

“Wait…You were in Iraq?” said Sara with shock apparent in her tone.

“Yep, I headed a platoon called X-Factor that operated in high risk insurgency areas in places like Falluja, Mosul, and Tikrit,” explained Scott, going into detail about the extensive experience that had tested so many of his limits as both a soldier and a person, “I was supposed to be there for only six months…But I ended up staying for over two years after the insurgency escalated.”

“And he served every last day he was required,” added Jean, with a grin, taking his hand and showing that she supported Scott in his military standing.

“I most certainly did,” said Scott in response, flashing a grin at his girlfriend, “I only left after I got wounded and nearly died. But I’d do it again if I had to…”

Scott spoke truthfully and bluntly about what he believed…Something that may not have been the smartest thing to do in the presence of people like the Greys. As a family of strict tastes and habits, there were certain things that just didn’t sit well with them no matter which way they looked at it and this was unfortunately no exception.

“Wait…You mean to say you’d actually go back to that barbaric, hellish, hopeless region again that for all intensive purposes should’ve been burned off the face of the planet long ago?” said Elaine in an almost appalled tone.

Scott, not having expected such a strong reaction, tried to remain true to his position and did not falter or stammer in his response, even if it was possible that it would only garner more of a negative reaction from them.

“Well to be fair…The Iraq you see on the news and the Iraq you see up close and personal is a lot different,” explained Scott, “I’ve told Jean many stories about the country and it truly is a magnificent place. I mean…It’s the cradle that gave birth to civilization.”

“And yet it still remains as uncivilized now as it was back then,” commented Sara, not showing any signs of letting up in her assessment of that part of the world.

“It may seem that way for somebody who’s never been there…But I spent two and a half years in that country and I got a chance to see what the real Iraq was like,” said Scott, not letting up in his position or showing any remorse for what he had so dutifully carried out as a soldier, “It’s a beautiful country and it has a lot of truly wonderful people…People that I believe are definitely worth saving.”

“Well I don’t see how such a conflict defined by so much bloodshed could ever be justified,” said Paul, who had been a staunch opponent of the war over the past few years even though he had never really met anybody involved with it.

“You may think that, Paul…” said Scott, sounding as though he now had the upper hand in this argument since he had been there and he had lived it while they had just followed it from back in their expensive, luxurious homes in America, “But once you’ve truly lived amongst the people who are suffering so much because of war…It really gives you a lot to think about when you pick up an M-16 and head into combat. It reminds you of who exactly you’re fighting for. In many ways, I wasn’t just serving my country…I was serving the people who’s lives I was trying to protect.”

“And I think that’s incredibly noble, Scott…” said Jean, smiling proudly at her boyfriend, “I don’t think anybody here at this table can honestly say they could do what you’ve done.”

“And I don’t see why we would want to…” said Elaine, this revelation about Scott being a soldier not doing much to help her respect him, “It’s outright barbaric.”

“Mom! How is defending one’s country, not to mention innocent people, barbaric?” shot Jean in response, trying to keep her tone in check.

“Noble or not, it’s a war I don’t think this country every should have gotten involved with,” said Paul, “Now I have nothing against soldiers…But they should fight for the freedom of America…Not for the ignorant bloodshed of foreigners who can’t seem to get along. It would have been easier to simply leave such people to fight their own battles and kill their own kind.”

“At the expense of the loss of countless lives who neither had nor want nothing to do with such conflicts?” quipped Scott, “Believe what you want Paul, but there’s a difference between fighting for a cause at home and fighting for a cause abroad. Now I know you’ve all seen and heard plenty of things about the war…But none of you have been there, so I don’t think it’s right to judge a place you haven’t been or a group of people you don’t know.”

The table fell into a tense silence and Jean looked noticeably concerned with how her family was looking at Scott. Unlike many of the other people she had brought home, Scott’s views were quite different and even in the face of such scorn, could defend them effectively. For Paul, a man who was paid handsomely to win arguments, it was clear he didn’t like being stopped cold in his tracks…Which said a lot more about Scott and is sharp wit than it did about Paul’s debating tactics.

Sara, Elaine, and John were also noticeably irked by Scott’s resistance since they were never too fond of those who flew in the face of their family ideals. And an upper class family and a middle lower class orphan and marine didn’t leave much room for compatibility. The silence was starting to get to Scott as he looked down at his dog tags that so seldom ever left his neck and thought about what he had just said about the war he had fought in with all his heart and soul.

“So you were there…” said Elaine, finally breaking the silence, “Did you ever kill anybody?”

“Yes…” answered Scott simply, “It comes with being a soldier…It comes with fighting a war.”

“And would you do it again?” asked Sara, who seemed to know what her mother was getting at.

Scott, never one to be dishonest when it came to his duty as a soldier, sighed as he looked up from his dog tags and faced the family that he had been desperately trying to gain acceptance from.

“For my country…And for the innocent people I met over there in Iraq…I can safely say that I would,” he told them.

Silence once again pervaded after Scott spoke the words that he had come to so passionately believe in through his time as a soldier. Every experience in that war had an affect on him…Some good and some bad. He often confided in Jean or his family about what it had done for him and for his views on life, but talking about it with people like this didn’t seem to be the best way to gain their approval.

Then suddenly, Elaine got up and left the table, quickly heading upstairs and not making eye contact with Scott the whole time. John soon followed, leaving Scott with an anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had just done something so horribly wrong. Paul and Sara didn’t seem too pleased with him over what he just did, but Jean didn’t want this…She couldn’t allow them to do this to Scott.

“Come on Scott…I think we’ve both had enough dinner for tonight,” she said as she took his hand and stood up.

“But…” began Scott in protest.

“Besides…I need help with something in my room,” she said, cutting him off and leading him out of the room and up the stairs.

This just left Sara and Paul to look back at each other and shake their heads in abhorrence over what had just happened. While they were both aware that Jean had a knack for bringing home people that got under their skin, this latest guy friend of hers was in a class all his own. It was clear he had tried, but to them he was just of too different a world to ever fit in with a sophisticated bunch like them.

“I must say darling,” said Paul as he and Sara thought about what had just happened, “It’s times like this I’m glad your little sister skimped out on Thanksgiving. Does she always have this affect on family dinners?”

“More often then not I’m afraid,” said Sara, rolling her eyes, “And that brute of a man she brought home is a new one on me. Honestly, did he think he could ever live up to our standards?”

“I guess we’ll never know, dear…” said Paul in response, “Because I doubt your parents are going to let this one slide.”

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Back up in Jean’s room, the young redhead was fuming. To say that she was mad at her parents for how they had treated Scott would have been the understatement of the century. They hadn’t even given him a shadow of a chance. They tore into him like a pack of dogs would tear into a piece of fresh meat. Time and time again he had shown them the dutiful, noble man he was, but each time they shot them all down as if such traits meant nothing to them.

Jean was now wallowing on her bed, so angry and frustrated with what her parents had just done that she just wanted to yell out at the top of her lungs. Scott was noticeably worried as he stayed close to her, feeling as though he had messed up with how he had handled this. He knew that it sure as hell could have gone better, but he just told them all the truth…He didn’t mislead or deceive them in the slightest. Yet wasn’t enough for them…Being honest and forthcoming just wasn’t enough for these people.

Scott didn’t know what more he could have done, but that wasn’t his key concern right now. At the moment, he was entirely focused on Jean and tried to help her calm down.

“Jean…I’m so sorry,” he said to her, slowly sitting down on the bed with her and placing his hands upon her shoulders.

“No Scott…You have nothing you should be sorry for,” she said her response, swallowing her and taking deep breaths as she tried to deal with all this frustration concerning her family.

“I sure as hell did something wrong…” he told her, kicking himself for not doing more to show her parents just how much their daughter meant to him, “I mean…Did you see how they looked at me? I just…I don’t know what I could have done to make them so…”

“Scott…There’s nothing more you could have done,” she told him, resting her head against his shoulder, “You followed every rule and guideline I told you. You were polite, respectful, and honest. You were just being yourself and that wasn’t enough for them.”

“But I still crossed a few lines I probably shouldn’t have,” said Scott, still blaming himself for most part, “I don’t know if it was the war or the thing about me being adopted, but I…”

“Scott, you were just being yourself for Christ’s sake! You were just being honest!” she exclaimed, “And it still wasn’t enough for them…Nothing is ever enough for them! I’m so sorry Scott…I wish I could have done something but…This is just who they are. And they’ll never change…”

Scott let Jean work her frustrations out for a minute as he gently held her in his arms and rocked her back and forth. It did help sooth her, but she was still reeling. She didn’t want Scott to blame himself for what happened. This was just the way her family was…Shallow, narrow minded, and unapologetic in everything they said or did. She had dealt with those unfortunate attributes for many years and she had learned to manage them for the most part…But to go all out on somebody like Scott…Somebody who she felt was above them in so many ways…It was just more than she could take.

She had never been so angry with her family before. Finally, she finds the man for her…The one man who she could see herself being with forever…And what do her parents do? They tear him apart. They don’t even stop to consider for a moment that there’s more to him than what they see…They just looked at him and scorned at what they saw on the surface, not taking the time to see him for the truly wonderful man he was.

“I should go apologize…” said Scott as he got up off the bed, “The longer I wait, the more difficult it’ll be.”

“Scott, wait…” she said, taking his arm and holding him back, “Please…Don’t let it get to you. Don’t let them look down on you…You’re better than that.”

“I have to, Jean…” he said to her in response, “I know I messed up in some ways…And they weren’t very understanding in others.”

“Weren’t very understanding?!” exclaimed Jean, not feeling her parent’s deserved any such leniency, “Scott, you were right and they were wrong on pretty much every level!”

“Then I at least need to talk to them,” he said, showing his determination not to let such a tumultuous dinner slide, “I at least need to let them know…”

“But Scott…” she began, however she didn’t finish as her grip on him broke and he was already out the door.

Once he was gone, Jean found herself curling up on her bed in a fetal position in a fit of frustration, wondering just how much worse this could get.

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As Scott Summers made his way towards the master bedroom down at the far end of the hall, he went over in his head what he was going to say to them. He wasn’t sure what more he could say since everything that came out of his mouth only seemed to make things worse. He just kept telling himself what he wanted to get them to understand the most, which were first and foremost, his feelings for Jean.

‘Please Mr. and Mrs. Grey…I love your daughter…I love her more than anything…’ he rehearsed in his head, ‘I know I can be the man I have to be for her…I know I can…’

Then suddenly, his train of thought was cut off as he approached the slightly ajar door. He saw the light coming from the room slightly creeping from the narrow side and as he neared the door, he could hear the voices of John and Elaine Grey within. And from the sound of it, they were pretty urgent. Feeling curious, Scott put his ear to the door and listened intently on the heated conversation that was raging within.

“John, we can’t have this!” exclaimed Elaine, “We’ve been putting up with this kind of behavior for way too long now! Something has to be done!”

“I thought we already did what we had to do…” said John, who was sitting on the bed, rubbing the temples of his head, “We’ve done counseling, psychotherapy, and sent her to one of the best schools in the country…”

“And look what it’s yielded!” said Elaine, her tone wrought with frustration, “She’s an unruly, ill-mannered hussy who can’t even adhere to the simplest of rules! She defiles her body with countless men, she squanders every opportunity we give her to be a part of this family, and she goes against every value we’ve taught her!”

“I know…I know,” said John in defeat, “I just…I just want what’s best for her.”

“And so do I John…” said Elaine, her tone finally calming down a bit, “We’ve been trying to get her to see that for years…But she just won’t listen. And now she has to go and drop something like this…This boy on us.”

Scott immediately grew more attentive as he heard them mention him, growing all the more anxious as he listened to how they talked about him.

“Well to be fair, at least he’s not like some of the other men she’s brought home before,” reasoned John, who to be trying to at least speak with a little reason.

“No…In many ways, he’s worse!” exclaimed Elaine in response, “John, this boy is not of our world…How can he provide Jean with what she needs?!”

“That’s just it Elaine…I don’t think Jean knows what she needs,” said John.

“Since when has she EVER known?!” said Elaine in response, her tone still not waning, “She’s brushed off, rebelled, and scoffed at this family for too long now! And it has to stop! I’m not about to see my daughter go down in history as the most ill-conceived Grey to ever come into the world!”

“I don’t want to see that either, Elaine,” said John to his wife, trying to keep her calm, “But I don’t know what more we can do…She’s just one apple that fell way off the tree.”

“But it doesn’t have to be like this, John…” said Elaine, not wanting to just accept the fact that her own daughter would forever be a taint upon the Grey family legacy, “We’re still her parents and we can still do something about it.”

“I don’t know if we can…” he told her, feeling so much at a loss, “She’s shown us time and time again that she wants nothing to do with her legacy. And this boy proves it. I saw how she was acting around him…She wants him.”

“Well we are NOT going to let it happen!” said Elaine in a determined tone, “We are NOT going to let her throw her life away with some ill-mannered orphan boy who probably grew up in a shack with those foster parents of his and need I remind you…He’s a soldier and a killer for God’s sake! He said it himself…He killed people!”

After hearing that, Scott couldn’t take anymore. He had heard enough…For those last words struck him deep. He had been called those things before…But never did they hurt this much. These were the people he had come to gain approval from…These were the people he wanted to gain respect from…But despite all his efforts, they still saw him as unfit to even set foot into their world…Less alone be the man for their daughter.

As a soldier, he always prided himself for being a defender of his country, his freedom, and his honor…And these people practically spit on it as if it meant nothing. They talked about their daughter as if she were some stubborn stain on a dress…They talked to him as if he was a criminal for stealing their precious time and attention. They ridiculed him and everything he held dear…His duty, his family, and even the woman he loved. They were still her parents…But all hope for gaining their approval was lost and Scott knew it.

Hanging his head low, he made his way back down the hall…Knowing he couldn’t stay here. He wished he hadn’t pushed Jean to bring him here…He wished he hadn’t driven her to come to a place like this. Family or not, those people were not the kind of thing he fought and nearly died for as a soldier…And they were not the people who he needed respect from. Jean had been right…They were every bit as shallow as she said they were. But never could he ever have imagined them being so hurtful towards him and everything he was…And for that, he couldn’t stay here…It was just too hard.

************************************************************************

Unable to get any kind of rest whatsoever, Jean got up from her bed and went across the hall to talk to Scott. She hadn’t heard any arguing or bickering, so she assumed that either he had spoken to her parents to calm her down or he had chosen not to go at all and call it a night. They still had the rest of the week left to work around them, but it was a week that had already gone on long enough for her.

She had no idea as to whether or not Scott apologized to them for things she didn’t even thing he should have been sorry for, but she had to know. She desperately wanted things to get better between them…She desperately wanted them to approve of their love just as much as he did.

Then…As she entered the guest room where Scott was staying, she was completely shocked to find him completely dressed in his casual attire and packing all his things into his suitcase with a grim, solemn look on his face.

“Scott…What are you…” she began, feeling greatly confused over what she was seeing.

“You were right Jean…I should have listened to you,” he told her in a low monotone voice, “Coming here was a bad idea…I never should have pressured you to take me.”

Jean’s heart immediately leapt up into her throat, not believing in what she was hearing.

“I’m going back to Bayville…” he told her as he zipped up his bag, “I saw a motel just outside of town today…And I guess I’ll stay there for the night and get to a bus station tomorrow.”

“Scott, wait…Don’t go,” she said, her voice deeply strained, for she couldn’t imagine what had just happened to make him do something like this.

“I have to go Jean…I’m not wanted here,” he told her as he turned to face the beautiful redhead who had captured his heart, “You were right and I was wrong…This was a mistake. I’m never going to be the man your parents want for you…There’s no way I can ever live up to their standards. I’m so sorry…”

Tears began streaming down Jean’s face, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. Scott gently took her in his arms and wiped away some of her tears with his hand, not wanting to see her cry…For of all the things he had suffered in life, seeing this woman cry was something he knew he could never handle.

“Don’t think this means I don’t love you Jean…Nothing can ever change that,” he said to her softly, “I’ll always love you…No matter what your parents think. I just…I can’t be a part of their world…And I can’t be the man they want me to be. I see that now…And I should have seen it sooner. I just…”

But Scott found himself unable to continue, for seeing Jean cry and trying to deal with all the turmoil that had come as a result of this visit was just too much for him.

“I’ll see you back in Bayville…” he told her, planting a deep, loving kiss upon her forehead, “I’ll call you…I promise. We’ll put this whole thing behind us…I swear. I just…I can’t stay…I’m so sorry.”

And with that, he broke their embrace, picked up his things, and walked out of the room. He didn’t know just how he was going to get back to Bayville…But anything was better than staying at the Greys. He left Jean standing in the darkened guest room in a trance as tears continued streaming down her face, feeling so angry and distraught over what had just happened. She didn’t know what he had heard or been told to make him leave like this…But it had to have been unbelievably cruel and hurtful, something she knew only her parents to be capable of.

Jean Grey didn’t know how long she had been standing there, stuck in a distraught trance, feeling cold and at a loss after seeing her boyfriend pick up and leave so suddenly and unexpectedly. She had never felt this bad…For she knew that whatever had happened to Scott, it had truly hurt him. And with that thought in mind, her tears of sorrow soon became tears of unspeakable rage. The expression on her face quickly turned to one of great anger as she clenched her fists in a rage…Feeling nothing but unbridled hatred and disgust. She knew who had done this…She knew who was responsible for hurting Scott in a way he never deserved to be hurt. It was her parents…The only people capable of shooting down the one piece of true happiness she had found in her horribly complicated life.

Now all she could feel was anger…Untold, uninhibited anger. She knew her parents had done a lot to make her suffer over the years…But they had finally crossed a line…They had finally done something that was utterly and totally inexcusable. They had hurt the man she loved…And family or not, she was sure as hell not going to let them get away with it.

As she snapped out of her trance and began breathing through her immeasurable anger…She stormed out of the room and down the hall with only one destination in mind…Her parents’ room…And unlike every other time she had clashed with them in this past…This time, she would not hold back.

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AN: I’ll stop there for now! I know it’s a bit of a cliffy, but the next part will come soon enough and it’ll definitely be one you won’t want to miss! What will happen between Jean and her parents? And what affect will this have on her and Scott? Stay tuned to find out and don’t forget to REVIEW! As always, I urge every one of you to tell me what you think of this story by sending your thoughts to me via email at slickboy444@aol.com or by posting it on the fanfiction website! Thank you all very much for reading and until next time, I wish you all the best!