Too Powerful? [COMPLETED!]

23- Caught

Scott:

I watched from a distance, as Alex shot a streak of laser at a piece of zinc she had managed to pull from god knows where. The metal, solid as it looked, snapped into half before disintegrating completely just inches before hitting Alex's nose. I smiled to myself. It was week two of Alex's real training, and she had progressed much, much faster than I had imagined. Thanks to long hours, and a ridiculous amount of determination from Alex's side, she was now very much in control of her powers and could even use several of her abilities at once; just like what she was doing right now.

Although I was immensely proud of her, I worried that she was putting too much strain on herself. Ever since practices began, Alex was irritable, and a single word or action could easily trigger her bad mood. In fact, her frequent mood swings reminded me strongly of the time in the hospital ward, but I tried to shrug it off, thinking myself to be too paranoid and over-protective.

Alex is just stressed out, she'll get over this phase soon enough.

"Hey Scott, how'd I do?"

I was startled, and not to mention extremely shocked. Alex's voice was clear, much too clear coming from a person who was at least 2 miles away from where I was. As I gaped at Alex, who was smiling serenely back at me, I realized what had happened. Alex had just talked to me telepathically! My mind whirred, frantically trying to figure out from which mutant she might have learned the ability from.

"Pretty neat, huh? Now I can listen to everybody's thoughts, even hear their deepest, darkest, secrets!" She laughed mischievously. "Isn't that so cool, Scott?"

Alex's 'voice' was bursting with happiness, pure excitement ringing through her tone.

But, where did you learn it from, Alex? 

"The professor, of course! Remember that time, in the study? I didn't realize I could do it already, up 'till a couple of days ago, when I... uhh... overheard Bobby's and Rogue's thoughts..."

Alex! Were you eavesdropping? I admonished her teasingly, chuckling. Her obvious discomfort was so... oh snap. I tried to lose that train of thought, forgetting that my thoughts were no longer private.

"I couldn't help it, Scott! I mean, their thoughts were so... loud! And it was so disgusting! I mean, seriously, if I could help it, I would rather stop listening! But anyway, that was when I realized I could do it, so I've been perfecting my ability whenever I could. So what were you thinking about before you interrupted your thoughts, Scott?"

I ignored her question, and motioned that I was going downstairs to meet her. To be honest, I was nervous. What did she mean by perfecting her ability? Had she been listening in to my thoughts? Drats! I was so doomed! This is so unfair, thoughts were meant to be private!

I had reached Alex by then, and she was smiling at me. I thought I detected a faint blush, but I couldn't be sure. She could have just been very tired from her trainings, after all.

"Hey!"

I spoke to her normally, deciding to drop the subject. I really wasn't the type to confess my feelings to another, no matter how much I cared for the person, and especially not to a person who I was supposed to be a mentor to.

"Hey back at you!"

Alex smiled back at me, shyly. Awkward silence fell over us.

I didn't know what to say, partly because I was dead embarrassed. What if she knew about how I felt? What'll happen to our friendship? Will she still regard me as one of her best friends? Most importantly, does she feel the same way...?

"Sheep," I mumbled to myself, when I remembered that Alex could hear my thoughts. She was blushing again, and was looking anywhere but me.

I couldn't help it.

"Look, Alex, whatever you hear, please forget it.... I mean, it... it doesn't mean anything... You know, just some stupid crazy thing going through my head... Just... forget about it..."

I started talking incoherently, ashamed. What was wrong with me? Seriously, why did I have to have these feelings for her? She is my mentee! Just a teenage girl! Did I really want to affect our friendship by having these stupid emotions? I mean, Alex is great and all, but, I mean, there are so many other-

I stopped, for I suddenly felt a stinging sensation on my cheeks. With a jolt, I realized that Alex had slapped me.

I touched my cheek gingerly, shocked at Alex's behavior. Her eyes were watery, and the blush on her cheeks were replaced by a look of hurt and betrayal. 

"Alex, I..."

"Don't talk to me, Scott! How could you? I thought we... but... I'm just a silly teenager aren't I? Unworthy of your stupid attention... Just... one of the many girls in your life!" she spat at me, her eyes already a shade of black; always a danger sign, I realized suddenly. Her lips quivered, as if she was trying to hold in a sob, before she turned around and ran towards the school, leaving me alone on the grounds.