Thorn • Scott Summers

twelve

Throughout the uneventful day, the group eventually emigrated to the parlor, sans Florence. Kurt was curled up with a book in his usual armchair, Ororo was on the floor sketching on the coffee table, Jean and Jubilee studying on a couch, and Scott sprawled out on another one with a Rubix cube. Peter walked in, Walkman in hand, gravitating towards his usual spot, where Scott was laid out. Although there was an empty armchair,
He waited for Scott to move his legs. When he stayed in the same position, Peter spoke up.

"Um, dude?"

Scott looked up from his hands, raising an eyebrow.

"Can you move over? This is my spot."

"There's an empty chair right over there, man."

"I don't like that chair! It's not as comfortable."

"Why can't I enjoy myself and lay down when you're going to be sitting anyway?"

"Because-"

"Peter, here. It's the exact same couch. I'm leaving anyway to meet with the Professor." Jean stood up, gathering her books under her arm.

"They're like children," she muttered under her breath as she walked out. Peter trudged to the other side, sinking into his seat and putting on his headphones. The silence continued after that for a while, everyone minding to themselves.

Later on, Florence went to the parlor with the botany textbook she had gotten from the boys. Scott saw her enter and they made eye contact, his pulse quickening when he saw her. He noticed she looked different, then he realized it was because her hair was different. She had gathered it into a low bun, small stands framing her face. It was a big difference from her usual style, which was usually covering the sides of her face. She looked flushed, her doe eyes lively. She walked towards Scott and he took his legs off the couch, sitting upwards. She sat down with her legs crossed on it, placing the book on her lap.
Peter looked over lazily at Florence, then his eyes widened when he saw her sitting next to Scott. He rolled his eyes at the pair, neither of them looking, then went back to his music.

"Is it just me, or do you guys want to die when doing math?" Jubilee said, breaking the silence. Verbal agreements were made, and the group began discussing their different math classes. Florence stayed quiet the entire time, as she usually did, and Scott veered away from the conversation, turning to her.

"How was your training?" He asked, moving closer to her.

"Not a lot happened," She replied quietly. "We just kind of talked." She flipped through the book, satisfyingly landing on a page about tulips.

After a reading a paragraph, she whispered back to Scott.

"What did you do today?"

He held the Rubix cube out in front of her, and she snickered.

"A kid's toy? How mentally exerting."

"I'll have you know that not everyone can solve this, Florence." She laughed louder than she intended, earning a raised eyebrow from Ororo.

"Yeah, because not everyone has the patience of a twelve year old, Scott." He laughed, poking her side playfully. Florence snatched the cube from him, giggling. The other's conversation went on for a while, until they slowly noticed the absence of comments from the usually talkative Scott. Jubilee saw the pair sitting closely, Florence trying to read her book and Scott trying to distract her. She smiled slyly and decided something had to be said.

"What's going on over there?"

The two looked up at Jubilee and her words like two deer caught in headlights.