FicWad

The Phone Booth: X-men Style

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The bell had rung; school was over for the weekend. For the X-men it had been a difficult week. They were still reeling from the exposure of mutants to the world. Scott had been attacked, Evan had been abandoned by his friends, and Kitty was no longer the little angel she was perceived as anymore. The whole world knew and it left the whole team in isolation. Even with the school allowing mutants to stay, it didn't make it any easier. However, Jean Grey was a bit more fortunate. Her popularity helped and the fact that she didn't show it like Scott, Kurt, or Evan only enhanced her chances.

"Hey Jean," said Scott as he approached while putting some stuff back in her locker.

"Hey Scott."

"You wanna come with me and the rest of the team for some ice cream?" asked Scott.

"Actually..." began Jean, "I was going to do the same thing with Duncan and his friends."

"What?!" replied Scott in shock, "I thought you said it was over between you two after he tried to get you to cheat!"

"Well...We met up earlier today and he apologized over and over. He just kept saying how sorry he was and...Well I thought he deserved another chance," replied Jean.

"You believed him!?" said Scott hysterically, "Jean you know what he's like. You know he's no good. If I recall it was him and his boys that tried to pick a fight with me a few days ago!"

"He apologized for that too. He told me to tell you..."

"Why? Because he couldn't do it on his own?" said Scott dryly.

"Maybe it's because he knows you'll just throw it back in his face like you always do!" responded Jean.

"I do that because I know he's lying! I don't have to be psychic to know that," said Scott in defense.

Jean grunted in frustration. "You're just jealous! I know it and so do you!"

That stung, both her tone and her words were harsh. She knew it, but she was a bit too irritated and self-conscious to be aware. Scott was stopped cold in his tracks. Jean had played an unfair card.

"I'm just watching out for you Jean," said Scott trying to lessen his mood with sincerity.

"You just don't get it do you?" said Jean going in for the kill, "You're so anal-retentive sometimes. I know it's because you're the leader of the team, but I don't need you to thinking for me and trying to protect me all the time. I can take care of myself."

After that, Jean just walked away towards the south exit to the school. Scott just sighed, still slightly irked, but he tried to calm down. It hurt him to see that Jean was going back to Duncan even after all he had done and what they had been through. It also hurt him that Taryn now refused to acknowledge his existence anymore. She had been a way to let Jean know that he wasn't deterred by her relationship with Duncan. But now Taryn was ashamed to have been associated with Scott now that it was known he was a mutant. It hurt to know that people felt that way about him, but he knew there was nothing he could do to change it.



Outside at the south exit, Jean was waiting for Duncan to pick her up. At the south exit there were numerous payphones surrounding the doors. They were there mainly for those without cell-phones, but they were getting less and less use. They had become ghosts to most of the people at Bayville. Jean didn't think about that, for her thoughts kept replaying the fight with Scott she just had. It seemed that every time she and Duncan got together they had a fight. She thought that Scott was just jealous, but she still felt bad about some of the things she said. She knew Scott so well and she knew that attacking his character, which was part of him she actually really liked, was foul play. She also knew that it had been a lot easier for her adjusting to life after the sentinel attacks that exposed mutants. While she saw Scott and the others were teased and looked down upon. She tried to reassure them, but it was hard when she didn't face the same kind of ridicule. She was still lost in her thoughts when she was startled by a sudden ringing noise.

She looked around and traced it to one of the payphones near her. Jean felt she shouldn't answer it, but as it rang she became more and more curious. Others that passed by her didn't even notice it. She walked back and forth, still waiting for Duncan, but the phone wouldn't stop ringing. Nobody even tried to answer it. Soon, the noise began to get to her. The phone was near the 35th ring. Jean looked over at the ringing phone and slowly walked towards it curiously. She put her hands on the phone, contemplating whether or not to answer it. However, her curiosity was just too great to overcome. Slowly, she took the phone off the hook, put it to her ear, and spoke.

"Hello?" said Jean in to the phone, unsure who would be on the other end.

"Isn't it funny? You hear a phone ringing and it could be anyone, yet a ringing phone has to be answered and you took it upon yourself to answer this one, Miss Jean Grey."

Jean felt a slight shock when she heard the voice call her by her name. The voice sounded like a man in his mid thirties. His voice was deep, serious, and had a sinister tone. "Who is this? And how do you know my name?"

"Oh I'm just a lone man who likes to watch the day pass him by. I'm just an observer of time as the day passes and an observer of the people I see through my window. And I've been watching you and the rest of the school from this view. In fact, I can see you right now as clear as a picture." Jean began to look around her and psychically scan the area for somebody that might be the source of this call. "Don't bother searching Jeannie, you couldn't find me if I was right in front of you."

"Okay whoever this is, what do you want?" said Jean getting a little freaked out.

"Why...I just want the truth."

"What truth, and why me? Sorry mister, but not interested." Jean then was just about to hang up on this strange guy.

"If you hang up...I will kill you," said the sinister voice in her ears with a dark, ominous tone.

Jean froze, she couldn't move all of the sudden. "You're bluffing."

"Oh..." Just then she heard a horrifying sound from the phone. It was the ominous sound of a gun being cocked. "You hear that sound Jean? You know what it is. It's really scary isn't it?" Jean began to get more anxious as she heard the man talk. "I am currently aiming a state of the art, bolt action, military sniper rifle right at your head. And I am watching the sweat beginning to form on your face through a high tech, telescopic scope complete with a stabilizer for extra accuracy. Oh, and if you think somebody will see me shoot you're sadly mistaken, for that is what a silencer is for."

Jean could feel the nervousness begin to grow within her. She tried to make herself believe that this was just a crank call or something. "Why do you want to kill me? What did I ever do to you? Is it because I'm a mutant?" she asked bitterly.

The man on the other side just laughed. It wasn't an ordinary laugh, it was a very sinister laugh, one that made her skin crawl. "If I was doing this because you are a mutant, believe me you would be dead already and I would be long gone. And don't even think about using your powers! I have specially treated bullets that pass through any telekinetic shield and if you try and use psychic communication, rest assured I will know and you will die. Don't test me!"

"Then why me?" asked Jean.

"If you have to ask then you are not ready to know. I am watching you right now and I can see that you are afraid. I can also see that lousy boy Duncan is less than a few minutes from you in that nice, fancy car his daddy bought him," said the voice snidely.

"Is that what this is about? Duncan?" asked Jean hoping it was.

The man just laughed again. "Jeannie...I though you were suppose to be smart."

Jean began to get angry at the voice. "Okay, then what!? If you're so smart..."

She was cut off, "What is it about that boy you find so alluring?"

"What?" she responded.

"That's not an answer Jean," warned the voice.

"I...I..." stammered Jean.

"I...I..." mocked the voice in humor, "You're not answering me Jean. You're irritating me...And I don't like to be irritated." She heard madness in his voice. She feared that he was going to shoot.

"Okay, okay I just...He...Let me in with his crowd and he...Accepted me with the rest of his friends and let me be a part of them," she shakily responded.

"And you think he just wants you to be a part of his own inner posse?"

Jean knew that wasn't entirely true, but she had come to make herself believe it.

"Jean..." said the dark voice, "That's just plain stupid."

Just then Duncan came up in his car along the curb.

"Oh...What do we have here..." said the dark voice with intrigue.

"Jean!" said Duncan, "Come on the rest of the guys are waiting. Let's get going!"

"If you leave, I will kill you," reminded the voice.

"Uh...Sorry Duncan I can't. Uh, something's come up," said Jean who was still trying to hide her fear.

Duncan got out of his car. "Are you all right Jean? You look like you've just seen a ghost." He began to walk towards her.

"Wait, NO! Don't come any closer!" yelled Jean.

Duncan stopped in confusion. "What? Why? And who are you talking to on that phone?"

"If you tell him," said the voice, "You will die..."

"It's...It's nobody...I..." She didn't finish.

"Jean, ask him why he wants to be around you so much..." said the voice.

"What?" She said in to the phone.

"Ask him, or you will die..." said the man.

"Duncan...Why do you want to be around me so much?" asked Jean nervously.

Duncan stopped moving towards her and looked at her quizzically. "What? Well, your...One of us. Uh...You're a part of...Me and my friends. And..."

"Oh this guy is asking for it. I gotta blow his head off."

"No wait!" yelled Jean in to the phone.

"Then ask him one more thing. Ask him if he just wants to have sex with you..."

"But..."

"Ask it or you will die," said the man.

Jean nervously started shaking. She felt the cold sight of the man aiming a gun at her head. She had no choice. "Duncan, do...Do you just...Do you just want to sleep with me?"

Duncan stood by and blushed. However he stayed completely silent and didn't answer the question. Now other people were beginning to take notice of Jean's predicament.

"That wasn't the question," said the man through the phone angrily, "Does he just want to have SEX with YOU!"

Jean stammered again as she spoke once again. "Duncan...Do you just want to have sex with me? Is that why you hang around me?"

Duncan's expression became one of great fury as his face began to turn redder and redder. "WHO are you talking to on that phone?! Is it that looser Summers?! What are you doing talking to him anyway?"

"Look don't do this!" yelled Jean, "Just stop...Stop right there."

"It is him isn't it?" said Duncan getting more angry by the moment.

"Ooo, I sense anger," said the voice on the phone sarcastically.

"No it's not him, I swear..." said Jean trying to stop him.

"It is! Stop lying!" yelled Duncan.

"That's it...This guy has got to pay a price," said the voice.

"No wait!" but that was all Jean got out.

Suddenly, Duncan's car exploded in a huge fireball. No warning, no sound of a gunshot, it just exploded. Duncan was thrown off his feet by the force of the blast. The students around her began looked around in horror as the sound of the blast ripped through the air. All of their eyes looked towards Jean with fear.

"She did that!"

"She had to have been, she's one of those mutant freaks!"

Jean listened to outcries like these as everybody began to run away from her. She looked at the fear in each one of their eyes as they fled and saw the anger in others as they insulted her. Jean watched as Duncan slowly got up and looked back at his car.

"Oh man! Oh man my dad's gonna kill me!" said Duncan in angst. He then turned towards Jean in an enraged mood. "You! Why'd you do that!?"

"I didn't do it I swear!"

"You're lying!" yelled Duncan as he began to move towards her.

"Uh oh, he's getting too close Jean," warned the voice, "If he comes any nearer, I'll have to take him out."

"No! Duncan just stay back! Don't come any closer!" yelled Jean, desperate to get him to leave.

"After what you did to my car? No way!" yelled Duncan.

"Please!" yelled Jean as she closed her eyes and used her telekinesis to throw Duncan back and to the side.

"Oh no, you cheated," said the voice with a small hint of anger.

"What? No, I..." she began, but before she could continue a sharp pain screeched across her neck.

"Ah!" she yelled out in pain as she slammed her hand over the side of her neck, almost falling to the ground. She felt blood; she felt a large wound on her neck slightly below her right ear. She felt the harsh sting from the wound as she saw the panic around her continue. She also started to hear sirens from police in the distance.

"That was a warning shot Jean," said the cold voice in to the phone. "I can assure you that my next shot will be fatal and at from this viewpoint the exit wound should be about the size of a tangerine."

Jean felt like crying, she was at the mercy of somebody she could see, touch, or even sense psychically. She felt weak in her legs and stomach.

"Aw, what's the matter Jeannie?" mocked the voice of the unknown man. "You feel like crying? You feel like nobody can help you now?"

"If I say yes," said Jean wearily, "Will you let me go?"

The man just laughed, "Ha, of coarse not. The game has just begun."

She then saw as police cars and heavy vans began to pull in to the school. They began to encircle where she was and armed personnel began to position themselves around her. She became all the more scared and anxious.

"There's no way out Jean. You can't escape," taunted the voice.

Jean began to sob uncontrollably. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

The man on the other side of the line just chuckled. "Oh you obviously don't get it do you? Like I've said, I've been watching you. And you are a really pathetic soul. Look at you, crying at a phone booth."

Jean weakly responded, "Well forgive me if I have a gun to my head."

"Oh listen to yourself. You are so afraid even with your great powers. And on top of that you are pitiful human being. You are noting but lies."

Jean began to sob again as the man over the phone continued.

"Just look at what you've done to the people who care about you the most. You're ashamed of them. You're ashamed of yourself!" taunted the voice.

"That's not true!" yelled Jean.

"Once again, you lie. If you weren't then why do you run off with the 'beautiful people' who just want get in to your pants. Why do you distance yourself from the rest of those who are like you, but don't look normal enough to be in the same crowd? You do things that you know hurt others. And the worst part about that is the ones you hurt care for you so dearly."

Jean kept listening on as the man tore apart her soul from the inside. His words were harsh and they blocked out her ability to listen to the police as they tried to get her to listen and hang up the phone.

"Just look at what happens with the rest of your team when you fight with them. You try and say to them exactly what they want to hear and not the truth! It's things like that, that cost lives!" The man's voice was showing more anger. "And let's not forget what you do to stay away from the rest of your team. You go and mingle with the popular crowd and don't let your friends in. Let's not forget that little Duncan boy who you think is just trying to let you be a part of his crowd. You know his real reason, BUT YOU STILL DO IT! Look at what that has done! You hurt your teammates because you rub it in that they can't go out and be normal while still being a mutant! And let's not forget how you hurt the one you love and care for the most by making him jealous with another boy and attack him and his character when you know what he says is right and you know you're wrong...You know who I'm talking about."

Jean cringed at the harsh words, but it hurt even more when she felt the truth in his words to be real. That last part hurt the most, however. And she did know who he was talking about. She replied weakly, "Scott..."

"Yes...Mr. Summers."

Just then she heard a voice coming from the large crowd gathered behind the police cars.

"Jean!"

She looked over wearily. "Oh no. Scott." She saw as Scott was talking to her through a loudspeaker. She also saw Kurt, Evan, Kitty, and Rogue not far behind him.

"Ah, speak of the devil," said the man on the phone.

"I'm here Jean," reassured Scott, "What's happening? What's wrong?"

"Scott! Just get back! Get the others and get away from here!" yelled back Jean.

"Just calm down Jean," said Scott in a lower voice. "Look, I'm coming over there."

Scott then crossed over the police cars and slowly began to walk towards her.

"This guy is nuts! That freak will lobotomize him!" said one of the cops.

"Hey...Have some faith," said Rogue who overheard them.

Scott continued to slowly make his way up to Jean. He then stopped not far from where Duncan's burning car was.

"Oh this kid is really stupid," said the voice on the phone. She then heard the sound of the gun being cocked again. She knew now that Scott was the target.

"Please Scott...Get out of here, while there's still time," begged a sobbing Jean.

"It's okay Jean...I trust you. I trust you with my life. Now don't worry, whatever has happened we'll get through this," reassured Scott.

"It's out of my hands Scott, you...You don't understand," said Jean.

"Well maybe you can help me with that. Tell me what it is that I don't understand," asked Scott.

"If you tell him, you will be killed."

Jean didn't say a word, she was too afraid to say anything at this point.

"Come on Jean, I know you. I can help you," said Scott trying to get her to talk. However he was unaware that the gun was now aimed on his head now.

Meanwhile back behind the tense police standoff, uncertainty continued to grip the onlookers.

"What are they saying?" asked Kurt.

"I can't hear..." said Evan.

"Scott...Please, don't question this. Get away from here," begged Jean.

Scott didn't move, he was determined to help her. "Look Jean...If this is about the fight we had earlier, I'm sorry. Okay, I was out of line."

"No, you weren't. I was, but that doesn't matter now," admitted Jean who once again was loosing control over her sobs.

"Why Jean? Why doesn't that matter?" asked Scott.

Jean didn't say anything, she looked to distraught to talk. Scott could see that she honestly did want to tell him.

"I know you want to tell him, but if you do...You will die," taunted the deep, sinister voice.

Unknown to Jean, Scott caught a quick glimpse of something on the burning car that was not far from him. He looked at the front, near the engine and saw something that didn't seem right. Jean was still unable gain control of herself, and didn't notice Scott's curious gaze. He looked closer at the side of the burning car and noticed something. He noticed a circular point near the gas tanks that didn't look natural. He looked closer, until it dawned on him that it was a bullet hole. It was a bullet that caused the explosion.

"He's getting too close Jean," warned the man. "If he comes any closer I will have to kill him, and you will have to see somebody you really care about die right in front of you."

Now tears began to form in her eyes as she felt powerless stop the man from killing Scott. It was an image that she couldn't handle. "Scott...Please."

"Okay...Okay Jean. I understand," said Scott backing off now. "I'm backing away." Slowly, he began to make his way back to the police line. "Don't worry, I promise I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." After that Scott retreated behind the cop cars.

"Aw, ain't that sweet," said the man sarcastically, "He's not that stupid after all."

Jean didn't respond; it was out of her hands and the sniper knew it.

As Scott returned the rest of the team rushed towards him.

"Why'd you back off? You were getting through to her!" exclaimed Kitty.

"Yeah what gives?" added Evan.

Scott was undaunted. "Guys, I think I know who's on the other line."

"What? Who?" asked Kurt eagerly.

"I think it's a sniper. He's got Jean in his sights and that's why she won't hang up," explained Scott.

"How can you be sure?" asked Kitty.

"I can't, but now we've just got to get her out of there," said Scott.

"I can just phase through the ground and get her out," suggested Kitty.

"No, I'm sure this guy is prepared for that. If she gets out somebody else will die because of it. That also makes Kurt's powers not useable," explained Scott.

"How can you know this?" asked Kurt.

"Don't ask how, just trust me. I'm gonna stay here and keep an eye on her. You all have got to find this guy before it's too late," said Scott.

"But how can we, there's tons of places he could be," said Rogue.

"That's why you guys have got to get going!" exclaimed Scott.

After that the rest of the team grabbed on to Kurt and they teleported out of there. Scott then went to the police chief and explained the same thing to him.

"What? Are you sure those funky glasses aren't playing tricks on you boy?" said the chief.

"Yes, I saw what I saw. It makes the most sense," said Scott getting frustrated.

The police chief sighed. "Okay, we'll start looking. But don't get in our way kid!"

"I won't sir," said Scott.

Back at the phone booth it wasn't over for Jean.

"You gave up on a perfectly nice boy for a nimrod like that Duncan Matthews. You really are a pathetic human," mocked the voice from the phone.

"You've already made that painfully clear," said Jean weakly.

"Ah, yet you won't say it or admit it," said the man dryly.

"Okay...I'm a pathetic excuse for a human! I'm a fraud okay! You happy?!" exclaimed Jean hysterically.

"Finally some honesty! That's a start," said the man in a humored voice.

"Well what more do you want!?" yelled Jean in to the phone.

"You're telling me things I already know. It's the rest of the world that doesn't know," replied the voice in the phone.

"So what do you want? You want me just up and tell all these strangers?" exclaimed Jean.

"What's so hard about that? It should make you feel better. But if you don't..."

Once again she heard the cock of the gun through the phone. She closed her eyes and let her tears flow freely, for she was truly at this man's mercy. She felt the sight of the gun she could not see at her head. From a distance Scott could see her inner turmoil, yet he still felt tortured by the fact that he couldn't hear what was upsetting her so much. Suddenly, she looked towards the line of police, kids, and friends.

"I'm a fraud!" she said out loud to the crowd. "I'm nothing but an act. I act proud to be a mutant, but I still feel ashamed. I...I desert my friends for others that make me feel normal. I lie to myself when I know I hurt others I care about. I...I never admit when I'm wrong and I don't see people for who they really are when it matters. People think I'm a princess because I act like it, when I...I'm just a fraud. I can't tell the truth, I only tell people what they wanna hear. I even tell myself what I wanna hear when I know it's a lie. Because that's what I am, a lie."

The crowd looked at her in silence. Scott looked at her distraught face and saw the tears in her eyes. The normally calm, upstanding Jean Grey was gone and her weakest side had taken over. She collapsed on the phone booth that was her world now. There was nothing else beyond it.

Unknown to the rest of them Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, and Evan were searching feverishly for the alleged sniper that Scott was sure of. Their search went fast thanks to Kitty's phasing powers and Kurt's teleportation powers. It wasn't long before their search lead them to an old building overlooking Bayville in the distance. It was run down and little of it was in use. They frantically began to search each room, but there were a few rooms that couldn't be entered even with powers for some reason. Upon this discovery they felt that they found where their mysterious assailant might be.

"What do you think Kurt? You think he's here?" asked Kitty as she tried unsuccessfully to phase through the door again.

"I'd bet money on it Kitten," said Kurt as he tried to teleport in again, but to no avail.

Back at the phone booth Jean wanted nothing more than for this day to be over. This man had her at his mercy. She looked back over at Scott, who kept assuring her subconsciously that she was going to be okay. But she couldn't get away.

"You're not gonna let me go are you?" said Jean weakly in to the phone.

She heard the man burst out in to another round of sinister laughs. "No...The game isn't over yet."

She felt like crying again when she heard his laughs. "But why?! I did what you said! I told everybody the truth!"

The man continued laughing. "You didn't say the WHOLE truth!"

"What whole truth?!" demanded Jean.

"You know what I'm talking about...You know what you left out," said the man angrily.

Just then Jean got a psychic reading. It was from Kurt, Kitty, Evan, and Rogue. She knew where they were and she knew they were on to something. Scott could see it too. He could feel it as Jean looked at him, and he heard her mind. He began to get more anxious by the minute.

Suddenly, Jean felt the first ray of hope she had felt all day. "Listen psycho, I don't know why you're doing this to me, but they're going to find you," yelled Jean in to the phone.

"No they won't," said the man with a cocky tone.

"Yes they will! You hear me!? My friends are gonna find you!" yelled Jean as Scott began to listen to her with more and more anxiety.

"Well then I'll just have to take somebody with me," said the man as he changed his sights to Scott. "Your boyfriend will do."

"WHAT!? NO!" yelled Jean hysterically. "Leave him alone please!"

"You said it was over for me, I have to take somebody with me," said the dark voice, undaunted by Jean's threat.

"NO!" Then Jean proceeded to slam the phone down back on the hook. "I'M THE ONE YOU WANT! HERE I AM! IT'S ME YOU WANT!"

She proceeded to yell out in to the air, indiscriminately. As onlookers watched in shock, Scott jumped the barrier and rushed towards her. As this was happening, the rest of the team forced the door that had kept them out open. As they entered they found a small room with numerous occult paraphernalia around it. No doubt that this is the force that kept their powers out. In front of the window there was a large, mounted gun pointing at the school. However, there was nobody manning it. The trigger had a mysterious little electronic on it and other metallic like arms were around the gun, acting as remote operators. Quickly, they rushed to the gun. Scott had run up to Jean who was still screaming for the man to take her, but before anybody could react a single shot came from the gun.

"NO!" yelled Scott as he shielded Jean with his body, instantly he felt a sharp pain blast through his right shoulder. He yelled out in agony as his body fell to the ground.

"SCOTT!" yelled Jean in horror. She ran up to his side. At that instant, where the shot had come from the gun in the room where the rest of the team was sounded out a loud, screeching alarm. Promptly, Kurt teleported them out right as a huge blast erupted from the entire room. In the distance, every onlooker was shaken as deafening bang came from the distance where the sniper was. Jean saw the explosion, but it barely registered in her mind.

"Scott! Scott..." said Jean hysterically as she felt his blood from the wound on his shoulder.

"...Jean," said Scott in a weak voice.

"You...You're okay..." said Jean in relief as he took her hand and lifted his head slightly.

"I promised you...That I wouldn't let anything happen to you...I had to keep my promise," said Scott weakly through the pain.

Jean just smiled at him as she squeezed his hand in relief, for it was finally over.

**********
As the police cleaned up the area and Scott's gunshot wound was treated everything seemed to be returning to normal. Scott and Jean waited by an ambulance.

"How you doing?" asked Jean.

"Okay I guess, they said the bullet just missed the major arteries. Aside from the pain I'm okay," assured Scott.

Jean rested her head on his shoulder as they sat in silence trying to make sense of the events that had transpired over the last hour. Soon the police chief approached them.

"Are you okay Miss Grey?" asked the chief. Jean nodded lightly as he then turned his attention to Scott.

"Kid...That was really stupid what you did back there...But it was very brave of you," said the chief.

Scott responded with a smile, "Thanks chief."

"I've heard a lot of crazy things about mutants," started the chief, "But you...You're all right kid. You're all right."

Scott's smiled back as the chief walked away. As Jean sat beside Scott, her thoughts drifted to one last thing the mysterious gunman said to her on the phone after he forced her to tell the truth about herself. She remembered him saying that she left something out and it was troubling her since she didn't know what it was. She then looked at Scott and suddenly she realized what he meant.

"Scott...I never said how sorry I was about earlier before all this happened," said Jean.

"Jean, it wasn't your fault," replied Scott.

"No...It was. I wasn't being very honest with myself. I wasn't being very honest with you. I just want you to know that..." She didn't finish. She couldn't get the words out.

"Hey, it's just something we have in common. Neither of us is very honest with ourselves. I think maybe this experience could help us both," assured Scott.

Jean felt comforted by his words. "Thank you Scott...For everything. You helped me through this...And you saved my life."

"Of coarse...I had to keep my promise. I love you Jean. I always have, and I always will." Scott's voice lowered to deeper, more intimate tone.

Once again Jean felt her eyes tear up again, this time in joy. She embraced him tighter than before and didn't want to let go.

"...I love you too, Scott. I love you..." she began to sob again.

Scott put his arms around her and comforted her as better than anybody could. He then slowly lifted her face up to his and gave her a soft kiss. From that, all the pain and anxiety seemed to melt away.

************
As both of them rode off in an ambulance, they both gave way to exhaustion, for it had been a long day. As Scott lay sleeping beside her, Jean felt herself too weak to stay awake. Suddenly, she heard a ringing in her head. It was like a phone, but there was none near. She was too tired and dazed to react in any way. The ringing continued in her head until she heard a strange click.

'I hope your newfound honesty lasts. You have a very nice life despite what you may see and think. Don't waste it in your own mind and take it for granted. Just remember to remain truthful to yourself and the ones you love. Because if you don't, I may have to return and fix that. And rest assured, I will be there.'

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AN: Well, that's if for this tidy little fic. No cliffhangers, none of that. Just a little story I whipped up in the span of a day. Please remember to send your reviews to me, I beg of you. Post them at fanfiction.net or send them to slickboy444@aol.com. Please don't make me resort to using cliffhangers again to make you all tell me what you think. I hope you all enjoyed this little Phone Booth/X-men story. Remember to review and best wishes to you all.