Thud, thud, thud. Jamie bounced the basketball against the pavement, watching Lance with an excited gleam in his eye. Scott never would have played with him. But now that he was with the brotherhood, he could forget about the neglect from his peers he had recieved from his fellow X men...NO...fellow EX-X men...

  "Shoot it Jamie! It's a perfect shot!" Jamie could almost hear Lance grinning as his voice broke into his thoughts. He looked to the ragged old hoop Lance and him were useing and cringed when the memory of the tall, shiny basketball hoop at the Xavier institute came into view in his mind.

  "You think I can make it, Lance?" He asked questionably, forgetting about the game and looking up at Lance from the back of the court. "I think it's too far...I don't even think Michael Jordon could make THIS shot..."

  "Mike's a rookie compared to you, short stuff." Lance laughed, giving him a thumbs up and motioning towards the basket with a game show heir. Jamie grinned and blushed, not used to being encouraged so much, and finding it was a nice feeling. He picked up the ball and stole a look at Lance, who was grinning maniacally in his direction. Upon seeing this he put an identical grin on his face and shot, squinting his eyes shut and crossing his fingers it got in.

  "WOOOHHOOOOO!!! Jamie! Numba ONE! YAH!" Lance's cries confirmed it. Jamie opened his eyes. "You got it in, Jamie, you got it in! That was amazing! Better than some high schoolers! Wow! That was awesome!"

  "Can people in the NBA do that?" Jamie asked, now forgetting the game altogether.

  "There are people in the NBA that can't!"

  "You mean-" Jamie's eyes widened."I could be in the NBA?"

 Lance nodded, an amused but encourageing smile plastered on his face.

  "Wow....noones ever told me that before...." Jamie walked towards the basketball and picked it up, slowly turning it around in his hands and stareing at it, as though all the secrets of the world lay in the small, orange ball. "I always wanted to be a basketball player, but everyone always told me I was too small."

 The smile vanished from Lance's face as he walked over and put his arm around the younger kid's shoulders, pulling him close in a big brother fashion.

  "Dude, your only too small if you believe you are. As...someone...used to say, you're not a loser if you fall, you're a loser if you let yourself stay fallen."

 Jamie smiled up at Lance with admiration in his eyes, but Lance was too far gone on his encouragement to notice.

  "If you want to be a basketball player, you gotta practice! And who's gonna help you practice?!"

 Jamie grinned, then pretended to look confused.

  "I dunno...who?"

 Lance grabbed the ball away from the smaller boy and shot it into the basket, missing completely, but flashing him a victory grin and examining his nails in a narcissist fashion just for effect.

  "ME!"

  "HEY!" A voice shouted. The shadow of Pietro overlapped Lance and Jamie's. "How's a guy supposed to get any sleep when you ideots are playing basketball in the middle of the night?!"

 Lance and Jamie both crossed their arms and raised an eyebrow identically at Pietro.

  "Considering it's only nine o'clock, smart one, I beg to differ. Plus, I'm training a future MBA champion!" Lance grinned his familiar grin and put his arm on Jamie's shoulder proudly.

  "Dude," Pietro sighed, and shook his head at them. "You guys are so pathetic. You could NEVER beat me in a game!"

 The two cast glances at each other confidently.

  "You're on!" They shouted in unison.

********** **********

  "One more game..." Lance panted, holding the ball under his arm. After twenty four games of basketball, and six hours of playing, Lance and Jamie were royally and undoubtedly on the biggest losing streak of either of their lives.

  "Man, you're no competition." Pietro grabbed the ball and twirled it expertly on his indexfinger. "Too easy!"

 Jamie, who was also breathing rather hard, straitened his back to make him taller as he looked up at Pietro.

  "I have an idea."

 Lance, catching on, helf out his hand for a high five, and Jamie slapped it with no hesitation. At that moment, seven multiples poured out from Jamie onto the basketball court, to the eyes of a staring Pietro.

  "Oooh..." He muttered. "Sounds like a CHALLENGE..."

********* *********

 The ball bounced pathetically down onto the grass as the final shot was scored. By Pietro.

  "He...won...AGAIN..." Lance breathed, practically screaming in frustration.

  "I...can't...beleive...it!" Jamie also breathed as his multiples merged back into him slowly, though not nearly as frustrated as Lance. All in good fun was his motto.

  "Thirty six games of playing...nine hours...and he won them ALL..."

 Jamie just shook his head.

  "Well, we'll just have to beat him next time." Lance concluded as Pietro walked smugly back inside the Brotherhood house.

  "Well, looks like WE'RE not gunna get any sleep tonight, so how about some cofee?" Lance pulled the keys to his jeep out of his pocket, dangling them in front of Jamie.

  "Sure!" Jamie gasped, happy to go anywhere with Lance.

********* *********

  "Boston played an important role in the turning points of the revolutionary war. In 1773, two events marked Boston as risk takers. Can anyone name those events for me?"

 Jamie's eyes drooped as he slumped down further into his seat. The teachers ramblings went in one of his ears, and slipped rather gracefully out the other. Usually he was very interested in History. The sound of Mrs.Sanderson talking grew foggy, and Jamie's mind took a turn as all the background noises he had just been listening to became out of focus...

  "Jamie, why don't you indulge us?"

 His eyes immediately flying open, Jamie stared up at the face of his must-have-been one hundred year old history teacher.

Her teeth are crooked. He noticed as he stared up at her in total surprise.

  "Wha...What?"

 Mrs.Sanderson tapped Jamie's closed textbook with her rather long, fake index finger nail. Her stench wafted in his direction, reminding him of how hungry he was by giving the scent of chocolate.

  "Answer the question, Mr. Madrox." She ordered, not moving from where she was standing beside his desk.

 Jamie stared up at her once again.

  "Um...what was the question?" He asked as scattered giggles echoed through the room, courtesy of his classmates.

  "Perhaps you should go to the Principal's office for the rest of the period, Jamie. It appears you've had a rough night."

 Jamie just nodded silently and picked up his notebook and textbook, and walked from the room to the front office.

  "Shouldn't you be in class?" A deep, youthful voice questioned behind him.

 Oh no...Jamie thought to himself. Mr. Reegan.

  "Uh, no..." He muttered, trying to escape the wrath of the teacher.

  "Where are you supposed to be then, Jamie?" Mr. Reegan's voice was happy and non-judgemental, so Jamie turned and hung his head in shame. Linking his hands together behind his back, he stated sadly,

  "I fell asleep in class..."

 Mr.Reegan stared at him, blinking, then signalled for him to wait a moment. Moving quickly, he searched through a drawer in the secretary's desk, then came back around with a brown folder, the name "Madrox, Jamie" inprinted on the tab.

  "Have a seat, Mr. Madrox." He all but ordered, gesturing to the unoccupied seat next to him. Jamie sat nervously.

  "Uh, Mr. Reegan..." Jamie started, but was cut off by the twenty six year old english teacher.

  "JAMIE! Call me Sam, Mr.Reegan is my father's name. It makes me feel like an old fart."

 Despite himself, Jamie grinned and let out one small laugh.

  "Well, um...Sam, I was supposed to go to the principal's office..."

 Sam waved him off carelessly.

  "We can fix that, I've got it under control. Let's see now...it says here you came in the MIDDLE of the year?"

 Jamie just nodded mutely.

  "And, were you by any chance...UPSET by this move?"

 Jamie this time shook his head with no sound.

  "Aha," Mr. Reegan let out, finally realizing perhaps he was going to be doing all the talking. "So you are staying at Charles Xavier's school...interesting, very very interesting..."

 With blank eyes, Jamie stared at him.

 This is worst than Prinicpal Johnstone...He thought to himself.

  "...your sleeping patterns, Jamie?" Sam was saying, unaware that he had, for the moment, lost the boys intrigue.   "What about my sleeping patterns, Mr...Sam?" Jamie asked, looking confused.

  "What are your sleeping patterns, Jamie?"

 Jamie shrugged.

  "I was up studying last night."

 Sam didn't look convinced, but after a few seconds of giving Jamie a penetrating stare, he stood up.

  "Well, I'll write you a pass to the nurse's office, and you can..." He winked. "Catch some z's if you know what I'm saying."

 Even at this surprising uncoolness, which was not expected from such a young teacher, Jamie nodded and smiled.

  "Thanks, Sam."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 Lance drove his jeep past all of the pateintly waiting parents in the elementery school parking lot. Why wait in that HUGE line, when you can just pick up your kid and dash?

 It was kind of hard getting use to that fact that Jamie was, indeed, HIS kid. There was no adult to help him in raising, and that was what made having his kid so great. No adult around to screw up his plan.

 Searching the crowd of kids expectantly, Lance grinned as he spotted Jamie. He parked his car in one of the closest spots possible and got out, walking sneakily torwards the spot where his kid stood. Who knew he would become infatuated with girls so quickly.

 Okay, so maybe Jamie wasn't INFATUATED with girls. But girls were sure infatuated with him!

  "Um...hi Sarah..." Lance heard Jamie mumble as a girl hitched herself onto his arm.

  "Hiiiii Jamie!" The girl twittered back, unfased by his seemingly mutinous attitude torwards her. Jamie pulled his arm away from the girl, named Sarah, blushing.

  "So um...Jamie, you wanna do something tonight?" Sarah asked, once again attaching herself to Jamie. He shook his head.

  "It's a school night, Sarah..."

 That's when Lance chose to reveal himself from the shadows.

  "JAMIE! Who cares about school nights?" He said casually, as though spying on small elementery schoolers was an everyday hobby of his. "You two should cruise the town, get some coffee, see a movie, stay out late. Isn't that what life is all about?"

 Jamie stared at him in disbeleif, while the bouncing Sarah nodded and squealed in delight.

  "EXACTLY!" She cried.

 Lance formed his fingers in a gun shape and pointed it at her, clicking his tongue in the process of "shooting".

  "I like your style, kid. You sure know how to pick 'em, short stuff! Common, we gotta go. I gotta date tonite with Kitty-kat."

 Jamie smiled shyly and nodded, waving to Sarah as he left.

  "I'll CALL you!" She yelled happily as they walked away.

*********** ***********

 Rrrrriiiinnnnngggg....rrrrriiiiinnnnngggg...

  "I'LL GET IT!" Tabby screeched obnoxiously as she flew down the stairs with surprisingly graceful stealth.

  "Hello?" She answered seductively. "You have reached...oh Jamie, hold on. SHOOOORRRTTTTT STTUUUUUUUUUUUFFFF!"

 Jamie bounded down the stairs, though not as gracefully as Tabby as he was going down too fast to control himself as he crashed his shoulder against the wall. Four or so multiples came out, grumbling about, "clumsy ideots" and such.

  "Is it for me?" The original Jamie asked, walking up to Tabby with an apolegetic grin.

 Tabby just rolled her eyes and handed him the phone, ruffling his hair in the process.

  "Uh, hello?" He asked curiously, shushing his multiples. "Oh hi Sarah."

 Lance coincedentally raced into the hall at that exact moment, holding a bottle of water and grinning his head off.

  "The mall? Um..." Jamie stifled a laugh at Lance's convulsive nodding, and tried to hide his increased blushing. "Sure. "

 There was silence for a minute as Jamie listened, and then stared at Lance for a moment, before breaking into a happy grin.

  "Yeah, of COURSE my big brother can drive. He'd be happy to!"

 Lance spit the water that was in his mouth onto the hardwood floor in surprise, then grinning himself. Did Jamie just call him his big brother?

 Then he'd just have to act like a big brother. But how did big brothers act? He'd never had one himself. Never really been one either, besides to Todd. But Todd was differant. Jamie was differant. He was differant.

 As Jamie hung up the phone, Lance felt like hugging the small boy. Was that what big brothers did?

 Who knows.

  "Sooooo...Jamie..." Lance asked, the grin never fading from his face. "Ready for your first date?"

  "First DATE?!" A high pitched voice sqealed from the kitchen. "Did I just hear something about a first date?"

 Tabby appeared in the doorway, looking flustered as she pulled Jamie into a vigorus hug, than held him out at arms length.

  "We have to get you ready, you have to be cool, calm. Why didn't anyone tell ME about this?"

 In unison, the two in question shrugged.

  "Well," Tabby continued, seemingly not caring. "Now that I DO know, we have to make you PERFECT!"

  "Oh god, whats she doin' now, yo?" Todd asked with a groan as he walked in the door from Detention. ("It wasn't my fault!" He complained earlier.)

  "I'm getting Short Stuff ready for his FIRST DATE!" Tabby stated matter-of-factly, signalling for Jamie to hold his arms out and twirl around so she could examine his posture.

 Todd just stared in shock, then jumped forward eagerly.   "Hey yo, I wanna help!"

  "You can do one of the multiples." Tabby agreed slyly.

 This seemed to work out all for the best in Todd's point of veiw, so everyone was happy as Tabby dragged Jamie upstairs to her unknown tomb (Mystique's lair), and Todd settled a multiple in the living room for a "pep talk". Lance just looked confused for a moment and shook his head, chuckling as he walked up the stairs to find Pietro. This was going to be a loooooong night.

******** ********

  "There! Now you'll look GREAT for the girls!" Tabby exclaimed as she stepped back to examine her, (and Pietro's) work. About a second after Tabby announced for people to leave her alone because she was working with Jamie for his first date, Pietro zoomed in and wanted to help. Not taking no for an answer, he was, indeed, a help.

 They had situated Jamie finally with a sort of sportsy look. It consisted of: an old pair of jeans (baggy, with holes in the knees, courtesy of Pietro), a red and white basketball jersey (courtesy of pietro, white t-shirt worn underneath courtesy of Lance).

  "It's cold outside!" He argued. "You have to wear something underneath that."

 And so settled the white t-shirt. Tabby then grabbed a red hat of Pietro's, inscribed, (by himself) "Quicksilver" in silver letters, and plopped it backwards on his head.

  "Check it out!" Tabby swooned, admiring her work.

  "We did good." Pietro, too, was impressed. "I'm such a great fashion consultant."

 The two high fived and waved as Lance and Jamie pulled out of the driveway.

  "Sooo..." Lance started as they drove. "First date, eh? She'll be droolin' over you in a heartbeat!"

 Jamie blushed, but said nothing as they pulled into Sarah's driveway and she came running out.

  "Wuh...I...h-hi, Jamie..." She stuttered as she slipped into the backseat beside him. "I-I'm glad you could come tonight, Jamie..." Sarah finished, practically falling over in the seat.

  "We just have to pick up Kitty, and then we're off to the mall!"

 Jamie sunk back into his seat.

  "Kitty's...coming?"

 Lance nodded, and said no more of it as they drove down the private lane leading to the xavier institute. Kitty, of course, was waiting at the door, and jumped in as soon as Lance slowed down enough.

  "Hey kiddies." She giggled, obviously on a full sugar rush. "How ya like, doin tonight?"

 They nodded, and Kitty took a closer look at both of them.

  "Like, Jamie? Is that like, you?"

  Jamie nodded, pulling the hat down in front of his eyes as much as it could go.

 He knew what was coming next.

  "Like, Jamie! The professor would be like, spinning in his WHEELCHAIR if he found out you were like, going OUT!"

 Sarah stared at Kitty with confusion.

  "What Professor?" She asked, glancing looks at Jamie, than to Kitty, then to Lance.

 Jamie looked Kitty in the eyes in a determined manner, than turned to Sarah.

  "I have no clue what Professor she's talking about."

 Kitty gasped and her eyes widened as she turned around, most likely to talk to Lance about what she had just heard.

 The mall was just a few blocks away, and it was very crowded. Most of the parking spaces near the actual mall were taken, so Lance indulged them all by making a very exciting trip up to the empty top of the parking garage.

  "Well um...bye Lance!" Jamie called as Sarah dragged him inside the mall. His eyes darkened as he looked at Kitty, and he turned away abruptly, being swallowed up by the mall.

 Kitty turned and glared daggers at Lance as soon as they had dissapeared.

  "LANCE! How could you let him DO this?!" She asked him hotly, looking up into his eyes.

 Lance leaned against his car casually and examined the mirror.

  "What? Kitty I think he's old enough to go on a date..."

 With steam practically leaking from her ears, Kitty leaned up against the car next to him.

  "Lance, what if someone like, bumps into him?! Why do you think the Professor didn't let him GO ANYWHERE?!"

 Realization and panic dawned on Lance's face about a quarter of a second after Kitty stated this should-have-been-known fact.

  "We...we gotta go find 'em!"

********* *********

  "Look Jamie! There's Adam and everyone!" Sarah called out to them and dragged Jamie over to their group of friends rougly, causing Jamie to gulp and cross his fingers.

  "Heeey Adam! Hey Alan! Hey Andrew! Hey Allison! Hey Ashley! Hey Angela! Hey Andrea!" Sarah greeted as her and Jamie aproached the group of A's. It wasn't B's, it was A's. If you asked the A crowd what they got on their report card, it wasn't, "Oh nothing, a couple of B's, a C here or there..." it was, "Strait A's again!"

  "Oh, like, HEY Sarah, HEY...Jamie?" Angela stared and blinked. "You look..."

  "Nice duds!" Adam complimented, him wearing the exact same as Jamie, as he held his hand out for a high five. Almost forgetting about his mutant power for a split second, Jamie raised his hand also, but was stopped the moment before the hands touched by a shrill,

  "JAMIE!" From across the mall.

  "Hey Jamie, look, it's your big brother and his date!" Sarah mused waving at them excitedly. Jamie, on the other hand, gasped and realized what they wanted. They want to take me home, He thought icily. I don't want to go home yet, I just got here!

  "Common Sarah, um, let's go into the..uh...STORE!" He said hurridly as Lance and Kitty ran torwards them.

  "Hey guys, can like, we come?" Allison cut in, following them.

  "Maybe another time, Allison." Sarah answered for Jamie as they sped away. "We're on a date!"

 There were gasps and excited squeals following that remark, and even a hoot that sounded like a "YA JAMIE!" from Alan as they ran.

  "Where are we going, Jamie?" Sarah's cries of delight made his head pound as they ran.

  "Uh...uh..." He pondered. Where to go? "The PAYPHONES!" He yelled, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him as they ran into the small hallway reserved just for bathrooms and payphones.

  "They won't find us here..." He gasped, tired from running. Sarah was positively beaming.

  "You are SO fun to be around..." She marvelled, leaning against the wall beside him.

 They stood there, just breathing for a few minutes. Neither of them noticed a large group of people exit the bathroom, coming strait torwards them, feeling no mercy.

  "Ugh!" Jamie cried as a heavyset man pushed past him, knocking him into the wall as the group dissapeared. Three multiples fell beside him.

  "Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Sarah screamed loudly, taking a step back. "There's four of you!"

  The scream echoed in the small hallway, probably being heard halfway throughout the mall.

  "Shhh!" Jamie pleaded, grabbing her hands with one hand and covering her mouth with the other."Please don't scream."

 Sarah gently pulled Jamie's hand away from her mouth, but kept his other on her hand.

  "W-what are you?" She asked, staring at him with large, frightened eyes.

 Jamie looked down shamefully.

  "I'm...a mutant. I'm not supposed to go to public places, because of my power. Whenever someone hits me, or I hit something solid, more of me appear."

 Her eyes darted from him, to his three multiples, then back to Jamie. He closed his eyes and hung his head, waiting for her to start shooting insults at him.

  "That is...SO COOL! I wanna be a MUTANT! I mean..." But Sarah's sentence was cut off by the call of Lance and Kitty in front of them. Kitty had phased them through the wall.

  "Jamie!" Lance stood in front of Sarah, blocking her veiw of him. "How could you be so stupid! YOU knew what your restrictions were, and you LET me forget! You did it on PURPOSE! Do you WANT to get discovered?!"

 Jamie shook his head and looked downcast.

  "No, I didn't mean it...It's just...when I was with...THEM," He pointed to Kitty, as though accusing her of something. "I never got to do anything normal...I never got to BE normal. I thought, maybe for once, now that I was with you guys, maybe...you'd let me be a regular kid."

 Lance opened his mouth to start ranting once again, but Jamie interrupted him, now crossing his arms like a stubborn child. It was then that Lance was reminded...he WAS a stubborn child.

  "But NO, I was WRONG to think you were DIFFERANT. You're all the same. Every single one of you. Sure, you guys don't have the fancy equipment and the BIG house, but as much as you try to deny it, you're EXACTLY like them!"

 Lance widened his eyes, speechless. Was this true? Did he sound like...Q Ball? Or worst...Summers?

 Taking Sarah's hand in his, Jamie walked past Lance and Kitty back into the mall. And Lance made no move to stop him.

********* *********

  "So he's NOT your big brother?" Sarah asked cautiously, as her and Jamie walked on the side of the highway. A small tear had somehow managed to free itself from Jamie's watery eyes, but in the dark, he hoped Sarah couldn't see. Inside he felt like sobbing but outside he was tough. Or at least, as tough as he could manage himself to be in the pitch blackness.

  "No..."Jamie answered back guiltily. "I don't have a big brother."

 He could feel Sarah snuggling up to his side as they walked through the cold, March night air.

  "Well thats okay." She said, trying to cheer him up. "Big brothers are dumb, I know, I have one!"

 Jamie's face cracked into a small smile

  "Yeah. But I have to face him sooner or later. Might as well be later."

 Sarah nodded next to him.

  "Later's always better!" And then giggled as they approached her house.

  "Well, bye Sarah. Thanks for listening."

  "Bye Jamie, thanks for talking!" She laughed at her own joke. "I hope everything turns out okay, for you and all. Bye!"

 A semi-deep voice inside yelled,

  "Hey sis, is that you?"

 And Sarah smiled and yelled back,

  "Yah, bro, it's me!" Before closing the door.

Jamie started for what he was seriously doubting as home once again.

********* *********

 It took a half of an hour, but Jamie finally found where the brotherhood house resided on the street. A clump of bushes blocked it if you were looking from far away, he realized. Lance was still not home, Jamie realized with releif. Tabby was in the kitchen, and Todd and Fred were watching "Monster Trucks...Releived" on ABC. Jamie decided he didn't want to know about the monster trucks and walked glumly into the kitchen to keep Tabby company.

  "Hey, Short Stuff!" Tabby said enthusiastically as she stirred some sort of mixture in a bowl. "Makin' a cake, wanna help?"

 Jamie nodded and gave a small smile, but Tabby saw past it in an instant.

  "Hey whats wrong?" She asked, sitting beside him on the old, rickety table. Jamie sighed and tried to hold back his tears, explaining in the best way he could.

  "Lance...yelled at me."

 Tabby gasped.

  "About WHAT?!"

 Despite his best efforts, a few tears fell from his eyes as he explained.

  "I wasn't supposed to be going to places like..the...mall because of my p-power and Lance...forgot and I took advantage of it." More tears came down as let out a sob. "I wish I wasn't a mutant!"

 Feeling arms around him, he looked up to see Tabby hugging him.

  "Jamie-wamie! Short stuff, getta holda yourself, you're gunna make me cry! Now, what happened on your DATE?" She rocked him back and fourth slowly.

  "I...me and Sarah..."

  "Sarah and I."

  "Sarah and I met some friends but then...Lance realized that I...wasn't supposed to be in there 'causea Kitty and so he came in to get me...and I ran away from them..."

 He paused to take a deep breath.

  "And so, me...Sarah and I were hiding in the hallway with the pay phones and... and... someone bumped into me and now Sarah knows I'm a mutant...then Lance came and YELLED at me...so me and...Sarah and I walked home."

 Tabby stopped rocking him and pulled him back so she could look at him.

  "There! All dry! Now, common, we'll talk while we're making my FABULOUS cake!"

 Both Jamie and her jumped down from the table (making it wobble profusely) and get the incrediants to make the frosting of the cake.

  "So..." Tabby asked, pouring the cream into a mesuring cup. "Where ya from, kid?"

 Jamie sighed and cracked an egg into the bowl they were using.

  "Rhode Island."

  "With your mom and dad?"

 He shook his head.

  "I lived with my dad, but I could tell he didn't care about me at all. My mom's in AFRICA..." At this point he sounded excited, but it toned down to confusion. "...I think."

 Tabby looked downcast.

  "I know how that feels." She sighed, but was immediately cheered by the sound of another egg cracking.

  "Don't be SAD, Tabby! We have a CAKE to bake!"