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"I officially hate training," River mumbled. She rubbed her bruised shoulder. Scott laughed.

"It's not that bad, Riv," he said.

"It is," Jubilee groaned.

The X-Men had been in the Danger Room again, but this time, Hank had upped the Sentinels' ability to adapt. The team had to stop the simulation because almost all of them had gotten injured. The ones who had gotten out with only scratches were Scott, Mystique, and Peter. Which was expected.

"We're just too good for the rest of you," Peter sped over and used Scott's shoulder as an armrest.

"Hey Peter! Scott is MY armrest, excuse me," River said and pushed the older boy's arm off. Peter raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm too tall for you, River," laughed Scott. She made a face. It was true though; Scott was at least a head taller than her.

"It's not your fault that you're short, 'cous," Jubilee smirked. Jubilee was also (just a little) taller than River.

"Hey! Is it 'Make Fun of River's Height Day' or something?!"

"Oo if it is, I'm about to have a lot of fun!" Peter clapped and then ran off. River groaned.

"He's going to call me 'shrimp' all day now."

"Oh why? Did I miss something?" Ororo cut in. Jean walked up and paused. She was reading River's mind.

"It is officially 'Make Fun of River's Height Day,'" she said. "This'll be fun!" River facepalmed.

"Let's all meet in the parlour. We're supposed to discuss codenames right?" Jubilee said, still laughing.

"I got a good one for River!" Kurt said, bamfing in front of them. "The Short One!" There was a burst of laughter.

"Kurt, that was lame. And I hate you all."

~

"Codename ideas! Anyone?" Jean ripped out a piece of lined paper from River's notebook.

"Hey! Don't hurt my notebook!" River grabbed the notebook from Jean and held it tight to her chest. Jean rolled her eyes but telepathically picked up a pen from the table in front of her.

The group was in their signature parlour in their signature spots: Ororo and Kurt on the couch, Jean by the table, Peter and Jubilee on the floor by the couch, and River sitting next to Jubilee with her legs draped over Scott's. All of their school supplies were scattered across the table and floor, homework stuck inside binder and textbooks.

"Anyways," Jean said. "Codenames! Anyone want to go first?" Peter looked up.

"Well, I've always liked to be called Quicksilver," he added. The group hummed approvingly as Jean wrote it down.

"Ok Quicksilver..." she said. "Next!"

"I think Ororo should be called Storm," Jubilee suggested. Ororo's eyes lit up. Her eyes turned white, and she raised her hands with a smirk. Lightning flashed and some rain sprinked inside the parlor somehow. Some papers flew around due to the wind and water. River put up her hand and then rain was drawn into her hand in a little ball. Ororo lowered her arms, and everything went back to normal. Her eyes flashed into brown again. River manipulated the water into a nearby cup. Ororo looked satisfied.

"I like that," she grinned. She fist bumped Peter.

"Storm it is."

"Show off," Scott muttered. Ororo gave him a look.

"Can Jubi be Sparky?" River asked. Jubilee smacked her arm. "Ow! I'm joking!"

"I will NOT be called Sparky. Ever." She narrowed her eyes. River put her hands up.

"Ok geez." Scott laughed.

"What about just Jubilee?" Kurt said. "It fits her personality, and it's already a nickname." Jubilee thought.

"Yeah sure. Jean, write that down." Jean nodded.

"Kurt, do you still go by Nightcrawler?" asked Scott. He turned to look up at the blue mutant. "Wasn't that what they called you in the circus?" Kurt's tail swayed as it did whenever he was conflicted with thoughts. "You don't have to; I just think it sounds cool-"

"I'm ok with that," Kurt nodded, cutting Scott off. He smiled.

"Nightcrawler is an awesome codename," Peter commented. "Seriously."

"Thanks," Kurt said happily.

"Ok, we just have Riv, Scott, and me left," Jean said. "Any ideas, River?" Scott saw the raven-haired girl thought. She's cute when she is thinking, he thought. Woah woah where did that come from?!

"-cott, is that ok? Hello?" Jubilee waved a hand in front of his face. He shook his head.

"Sorry, what?"

"River just suggested your name should be Cyclops," Jean recapped. What?! Scott widened his eyes and looked at River, who winked. She remembered our conversation from a couple weeks ago... He gave her a look, and she shrugged slightly.

"Uh that's ok; I actually like that," he said. Jean raised an eyebrow but then wrote the name down. "River's should be Tsunami." It was her turn to give him a look. He grinned at her.

"Aren't tsunamis like earthquakes and water?" Ororo remarked. "Not wind and water..."

"It's fine, no one will know," River said with a wave of her hand.

"That leaves me," said Jean. She looked up. "I mean, I kind of want to just go as Jean. I don't really care." Jubilee shrugged.

"Works for the rest of us," she said. Jean wrote her own name down and placed the sheet on the table.

"Quiksilver, Storm, Nightcrawler, Jubilee, Cyclops, Tsunami, and Jean. The new X-Men."

"Add Mystique and Beast," River said. "They're part of the team too." Scott nodded. Jean wrote the two names in parentheses. "That works," laughed River.

"So we're X-Men now?" Peter said. "That's pretty awesome. We get to save the world and stuff."

"After we get better at training," said Jean.

"Well yeah," Peter shrugged. "We're pretty good already."

"River's bruised shoulder says no," Jubilee said. She slapped River's shoulder.

"OW! JUBI!" River yelled. Everyone laughed, and River attempted to kick Scott but he scooted away.

"Not today, RJ," he grinned.

"Great rhyming skills, laser eyes," River mocked.

"Couple fight!" Ororo shouted. River and Scott both groaned.

~

"Hey Scott, c'mon and hang out with us," Peter said, waving to the other boy. He was lying down by the lake, Kurt was leaning on a tree, and Ororo was picking at the grass. Scott had just gone outside from studying to look for River.

"What are you guys doing out here?" he asked as he walked over. Peter sat up and dusted himself off.

"Just relaxing," Kurt said. "I think the others are in someone's room." Ororo nodded.

"Some secret meeting." She crinkled her nose. Ororo liked to hang out with the guys much more, even though she got along with River and Jubilee just fine. She was a bit more tentative with Jean. Scott guessed that she was either still a little scared or terribly impressed with the fire phoenix Jean had conjured in Cairo.

"What are you doing here?" Peter asked back. Scott sat down, putting his books next to him.

"Looking for Riv. She said she had to meet up with Jubi though. I forgot." He shrugged. Peter and Ororo exchanged smirks. "Um...what did I say?"

"You like her, don't you?" said Kurt, tail swinging. Not this again...

"For the last time, no I don't," Scott said. "Why do you guys keep asking?!"

"Because it's true!" Ororo said, clearly frustrated. "Just admit it! Or ask her to go to the movies or something!"

"Ro's right," remarked Peter. "Just ask her to go to the mall with you. I'm sure she'd say yes." Scott furrowed his eyebrows. That is a good idea...but I don't like her...

"Sure. Whatever," he mumbled. Peter grinned.

"Don't get mad, we're just trying to help." Ororo and Kurt nodded.

"Thanks. See you guys." He stood up.

"Bye Cyclops!" Ororo called. Scott turned around and gave a small wave.

He walked back inside and then stopped to think.

River was nice. More than nice. She was practically his best and closest friend. He didn't like her. As a friend, sure. But maybe not as a...crush?

C'mon, Scott. You like her, he heard Alex's voice in his head. Scott leaned on the wall and slid down slowly until he was hugging his knees, squeezing his eyes shut. He had forgotten about his dream from last night. It all came rushing back. The explosion, the heat of the flames, the dead body...

"Hey Scott, are you ok..." He heard Hank's voice above him. Scott shook his head, his face still in his arms. "You don't have to tell me. I'm here." He felt Hank sit down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks," Scott mumbled.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm asking Charles if we can go on a field trip or something in January," Hank said after a few minutes of silence. Scott smiled despite himself. A field trip? I guess we are still in school.

"That would be fun," he said softly.

"I'm going to teach my next class, are you better?" Hank asked. Scott looked up at the teacher and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm ok," he cleared his throat.

"See you!" Hank stood up, waved, pushed up his glasses, and walked away. Scott leaned his head on the wall. Get yourself together, Scott. Geez. He stood up and went to find River. He didn't really know why, but that was his first instinct. Weird.

Scott walked up to River's room and was about to knock but then stopped. He remembered Ororo saying that there was a "meeting" or something. 

So instead, he turned and walked into a different hallway. Into a different room. He looked at where his feet had taken him. Alex's room. Scott took a deep breath.

Someone had cleaned up. The bed sheets were neat, and the room looked tidy. But there were still traces of his brother from the few days he was in the mansion again. The curtains were open, the closet door also open slightly. He also saw an opened box on the desk, a turned over paper next to it. Scott sat on the bed with a heavy heart. It had been a month, and he still wasn't over the death of his brother. He imagined his parents' reaction when Charles had told them. Scott didn't want to go, and Charles acknowledged his decision. They would've been devastated. Their first child, the high school superstar, dead.

Scott laid down with a sigh. He somehow felt that his brother was...alive. It was cheesy, but Scott thought of the phrase: "The ones you love the most will always be there. In your heart." But it was true. He felt as if Alex was still there. He knew that Alex had died as a hero. He was trying to save Charles, Hank, Mystique, and Moira. Alex Summers was a hero. A superhero even. He would always be in the memory of everyone who met him or saw him. Scott sat up and smiled a little. He still didn't feel much better, and he knew that Alex was never coming back, but he felt better. Just a little bit.

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THIS CHAPTER SUCKED I APOLOGIZE

NEXT ONE WILL BE BETTER

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