Chương 43: Chapter 42: Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters

Walking down the all-silver hallways, we eventually arrived at an elevator, which Jean, Professor X, and I entered; the other five had taken a right down the hall, walking to what looked to be a locker room.

"I was about to say. We don't need six people guiding us around the school; shit, I could've done that myself." Muttered Pharaoh as he watched Storm enter the women's locker room while the three went up, though he looked away when she started to strip her X-Men outfit.

Once we arrived at our destination, we exited the elevator and walked down yet another all-silver hallway that, unsurprisingly, led to another circular door with an X, though thankfully, beyond that door was a typical hallway.

"Welcome to my school, Pharaoh and Jean; I hope you two enjoy your temporary and possibly permanent stay." Announced Professor X as he looked at both Jean and Pharaoh, who were busy observing the mansion.

"Well, wasn't expecting this? Where is all the silver, Professor?" Remarked Pharaoh with a raised eyebrow, causing Professor X to chuckle lightly.

"It's a beautiful hallway." Said Jean awkwardly as she looked at Professor X, who simply smiled before continuing down the hall.

"Thank you for the compliment; this mansion is quite old, so the aesthetic taste was different when it was built." Commented Professor X with a smile as he turned left, walking down a hallway, though, unlike before, kids were also occupying it.

"Hey, Professor!"

"Good morning, Professor!

"Nice haircut, Professor."

"Nah, that one was good." Said Pharaoh with a smirk as he high-fived the kid who said that before looking at Jean, who was trying not to laugh.

"Please, Jean, laugh if you so wish; I'm bald by choice, after all." Remarked Professor X as he glanced at Jean, noticing her suppressing her laughter, and his words set her off.

Hearing Jean laugh so happily was almost like music, considering her current state of mind.

'But jeez, it was good, but not that funny, Jean; get a hold of yourself.' Thought Pharaoh as he looked at Jean, who was laughing her heart out while leaning against his shoulder for support.

Letting Jean do her thing, I looked back at Professor X, who seemed to be well-loved by the students here, though that didn't mean much when you've got someone who can read and possibly manipulate minds; still, I wasn't trying to be over-cautious, sometimes too much of a good thing was bad.

"So, where are you leading us, Professor? Cause it doesn't seem like you're giving us a tour of the place." Asked Pharaoh curiously as they walked into what looked to be the front area of the mansion, which was filled with students.

"To you and Jean's guest rooms; regarding giving you two a tour, I believe it would be better for you two to do that at your own speed." Replied Professor X lightly as he approached a large staircase in the middle of the lobby, which branched off into two separate ways that led to the same place.

Seeing Professor X face his most challenging enemy, stairs, I walked forward and grabbed the back of his wheelchair before lifting him in the air while walking up the stairs alongside Jean, who had finally managed to regain her composure. I didn't know where we were going, but considering the stairs both led to the second floor, it didn't really matter, so I just made a left before setting Professor X on the ground once we reached the top.

"I appreciate the assistance, young Pharaoh, but such a thing isn't necessary." Said Professor X with a wry smile as he tapped a button on his armrest, causing the wheels on his wheelchair to face the ground and making him hover in the air.

"Woah! You can fly, Professor! I didn't know you could do that!" Yelled a young girl with red and white hair, wearing yellow gloves, as she ran towards Professor X.

"Rogue, please control yourself; you've seen me do this plenty of times before." Said Professor X with a sigh as he pressed the button again, returning the wheelchair to a normal one, while Rogue just mischievously chuckled before noticing both Jean and Pharaoh.

"Hmm, who are you two? I've never seen you guys before; haa, don't tell me they're new students!" Rogue said energetically as she looked at Jean and Pharaoh before leaping forward and grabbing Jean's hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rogue." Added Rogue with a smile, while Jean looked slightly overwhelmed by her enthusiasm.

"I'm Jean Grey, Rogue; nice to meet you too." Replied Jean with a slight smile as she shook hands with Rogue, who nodded before quickly moving on to Pharaoh.

Rogue tried to do the same thing, but I thought it would be a little funny to see her reaction when she couldn't budge me, though I was mistaken since she seemed wholly unbothered by the fact she couldn't move my hand.

"Awesome, are you like, super strong!? I can't even move your fingers!" Exclaimed Rogue enthusiastically with a smile as she tried her hardest to open Pharaoh's fingers, though she failed even at that.

"Just saying I'm super strong is a bit of an understatement, but yes, anyways, I'm Pharaoh Kent, though you can call me Tut." Said Tut with a slight smirk as he shook Rogue's hand.

"Calm yourself, Rogue; they aren't students; they're merely guests right now, so please behave yourself." Said Professor X as he grabbed a metal stick from his pocket and lightly hit Rogue's head, causing her to howl in pain, though she was being grossly overdramatic.

"But they can still become friends!" Remarked Rogue in excitement as she quickly stood up from the ground and grabbed both Jean and Pharaoh's hands, only to be smacked in the head by Professor X's stick again.

"You can befriend them later, Rogue, but I must show them to their rooms; now run along." Stated Professor X as he stared at Rogue, who pouted, but nonetheless, she abided by his words.

"Hmph, fine. Bye Jean, by Tut!" Said Rogue with a frown before running down the stairs while happily waving at Jean and Tut.

"Well, not exactly what I was expecting, but at least I wasn't forced to fight." Remarked Pharaoh with a wry smile as he and Jean watched Rogue run out of the school, going who knows where.

"She reminds me of a dog." Muttered Jean softly, though her words caused Pharaoh to look at her quietly.

"What?" Asked Jean defensively with a frown as she eyed Pharaoh, who simply looked away.

"Hmm, nothing." Said Pharaoh calmly, his remark eliciting Jean's ire.

"What do you mean nothing? You clearly meant something, Tut."

"Have you heard the metaphor pot calling the kettle black?"

"No, what does that mean?"

"Nothing." Replied Pharaoh as he followed behind Professor X while ignoring Jean, who kept pestering him for answers.

___

"Here we are, Jean and Pharaoh, your room. If you wish for separate rooms, that can also be arranged." Said Professor X as he stopped before a door in the dorm side of the mansion while gesturing to Pharaoh and Jean.

"Nah, it's fine; we've slept together plenty of times in the past." Remarked Pharaoh calmly while shaking his head as he opened the door and entered, not even giving Jean a chance to say anything.

"H-He means sleeping at night, Professor. Nothing weird." Stated Jean with a slight blush, while Professor X nodded in understanding.

"Of course, Jean, I hadn't thought of it any other way; you two are still children. I sincerely hope Pharaoh didn't mean it the other way. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I'm sure I've got some things to take care of; if you ever need me, well, I'm sure Tut will simply just follow my voice." Replied Professor with a knowing smile as he looked at Jean before turning around and wheeling away, leaving an even more embarrassed Jean.

'Now, this is a nice room.' Thought Pharaoh as he observed the room painted grey with one window overlooking the tennis court.

The room was like a fancy hotel room, if anything, with two twin-sized beds, two small wardrobes, a bathroom, and a TV; there was no kitchen, which wasn't surprising as I'm sure you'd just eat at the cafeteria. Throwing Jean's backpack on her bed, I glanced at Jean, only to see her cheeks were unnaturally red, almost the same color as her hair.

"Yo, you good Jean; your cheeks are burning red." Asked Pharaoh in slight worry as he forcefully grabbed Jean's shoulders and looked inside her body, though his actions only caused her blush to deepen.

"Y-Yes, I was just a little hot." Replied Jean as she avoided eye contact with Pharaoh, who noticed it but didn't bother commenting on it.

"Well, you should remove your jacket then; we're inside now." Said Pharaoh as he released Jean, who promptly threw her jacket onto her bed.

"Y-You're not hot, Tut?" Asked Jean curiously while trying to cover up her embarrassment.

"Nope, never been hot or cold in my life; I don't even know what the sensation is. Now, let's go and walk around; this school seems like fun, especially Rogue; she's the type of girl who's bound to get us into trouble." Remarked Pharaoh while shaking his head before opening the door and gesturing to Jean, the two exiting the room.

"Yeah, but I don't want to get into trouble." Said Jean lightly, earning her a playful push from Tut.

"But that's where the fun is; the two go hand in hand." Declared Tut with a smirk, while Jean just shook her head and walked alongside him.

___

Yo, is it just me, or has Jean been acting a little weird lately? Hmm, interesting, very interesting, if I do say so myself.