Five // Scott Summers

touch

Despite being told by Professor McCoy, Professor Xavier, and Alex that his mystery girl was all right, Scott continued to panic. He did well to keep cool during the examination of his power. As soon as they split ways, he lost the act. 

Scott was sure he looked strange. He knew not how far the lake ventured. He ran in quick, short steps, in case he needed to backtrack carefully. His fingers, stuck in front of his body, wiggled in preparation to hit an object. 

"Stop," she called to him. 

He did as she said. His hands fell to his sides. 

"You're about to cross over a dip in the ground. It would send you rolling straight into the lake, if you stepped on it. So, I want you to listen to me and step a little to the left."

Scott stepped to the left.

"Is that really what you call, 'a little,' Summers? Come on. That's way too much left. There, that's better. Two steps forward... One step back."

Scott raised his foot, then stopped, once he heard her giggle. He shook his head. He tried to stare, annoyed, at the spot where he believed she stood. 

She giggled. "Okay, okay. I'm serious this time. One step forward and you've got me."

A step wasn't necessary. His long arms reached her body when he raised them. On accident, his fingertips brushed past her short shirt and touched her bare hips. With a gasp, he tucked his hands into his jacket and apologized. 

"You're quite all right, Summers. So, tell me, what is your power?" she asked curiously.

"Professor McCoy called them optic blasts. He said he was in the process of creating glasses so I could see without hurting anyone," he answered. "Earlier, when I directed them on you, why did you scream?"

"Honestly, for a moment, I was scared," she admitted.

"I scared you," frowned Scott. 

"You could never scare me," she assured. "I scared myself."

Scott felt her shoes bump into the tips of his own. Instinctively, he looked at his feet. Her curled finger tilted his chin to align with her own. Slowly, she placed her hands on his cheeks. He flinched, which made her hum in admiration. 

"You're so warm," he breathed. 

"That's because of you," she told him. 

Utterly confused, he asked, "But why?"

She placed an uncapped pen in the palm of his hand. She curled his hand into a fist, pressed the tip to her hand, then told him to stab her. 

"What? No!" he protested instantly. "Are you crazy? I could kill you!"

"With a pen? Through my hand?" she asked skeptically. 

Against his own will, Scott's arm was jerked down. He jabbed the pen into her hand. It connected, then he dropped it, inhaling a frightened gasp. 

"I-I-I don't know what came over me, I am so sorr--"

"Thanks, Jean," she called. 

Scott paused. "Jean? What does she have to do with this?"

"She took control over your arm, since you were being a wuss," she teased. "Touch my hand, Summers. Feel the damage."

Scott, his hand trembling, reached into the air. She pressed her palm against his fingers. He ran his fingers up and down her skin to find the point of impact. He found nothing. 

"When I'm not focusing, my skin is reflective. The pen bounced right off," she told him. 

"I didn't hurt you," said Scott, relieved. 

"You can't. Even when I'm focusing, my mutation is absorption. We traditionally used lasers, because I can absorb those and exert it, if I get charged with enough of it. It didn't work with people."

"'Didn't'?" repeated Scott. 

Her hands slid from his face. Next, he heard the familiar sound of his optic blasts, only it was being released out of her hand. The remaining power she gained from him was used to make a minor splash in the water behind them. 

"You're the first mutant who's been able to charge my powers," she admitted. 

"Is that a good thing?" asked Scott nervously.

"Summers, you happened to meet, perhaps, the only girl in the world who can't be harmed by your eyes."

"So... In other words, I'm a lucky guy."

He could hear her smile when she said, "That you are, Summers, that you are."