Disclaimer: I am not Marvel Comics. I do not own X-men.

The building had looked inhospitable from the outside; it was low, stark white, and flat, without windows, with forbidding security that had made it difficult to pass through the barbed wire electric fencing that surrounded it even though they were invited. Once they'd stepped inside, Jean was even less convinced that anybody could thrive in such a place. Her heels clicked sharply on the clean white tile as she wheeled the Professor into the front room where a tall woman, blonde hair pulled back into a strict bun, sat behind a stainless steel desk.

"Professor," the woman said as she stood up and walked around the desk, stopping in front of them. She held out her hand. "I'm Francine Webber. Thank you for coming."

"Not a problem, Mrs. Webber," the Professor replied, giving her hand one firm shake before allowing Jean to take it. "This is Jean Grey and Scott Summers," he added as Scott took hold of Mrs. Webber's hand and shook it once before letting go. "I take it the girl is ready?"

"Yes. If you'll follow me?" Without waiting for an answer, Mrs. Webber turned and led them through a door that brought them to a white hallway. The woman took them through a maze of passageways, leading the trio past rooms that nobody could consider normal. The bedrooms were plain and white, with plexiglass windows in the doors and bars across the windows. Jean caught glimpses of people: a man huddled in a corner, a group of people in a large room listening to what she thought was a therapist speaking, a boy talking animatedly to himself in the middle of his room, and others, so many others. She silently thanked the Professor for warning her ahead of time what this place would be like, though she didn't open her mind to actually send the message. It would affect her, and she didn't think she'd like the changes.

Finally, Mrs. Webber stopped in front of a door, typical of the others in that it possessed a barred window. Jean peered into the window and saw a white room with three padded chairs sitting in the middle. A petite girl with bright red hair sat in one of the chairs, swaying from side to side as though listening to a song only she could hear. A moment passed and she leaped up from the chair, knocking it over in the process, a look of sheer panic replacing the calm that had been there seconds before. She stared wildly around the room before running over to a wall, dragging the chair with her, and crouching to hide behind it as she pressed herself up against the wall, covering her ears with her hands.

"Kaylie Croft was diagnosed three years ago with acute schizophrenia," Mrs. Webber began, handing the professor a file. "She hears voices and has severe and unpredictable mood swings. She was admitted to this institution roughly three months ago after attempting to take her own life at the institution in Denver where she used to be hospitalized. Apparently they believe that we can do something to help her."

"You don't believe that," Scott guessed dryly. Mrs. Webber nodded.

"Correct. For the past three years, Kaylie has seen doctors, therapists, taken medications – nothing works. When she was sent here the doctors at the other institute had taken her off her medications since they weren't working and were just keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't get worse. Clearly, they failed."

"I see," Professor Xavier murmured, closing the file that he'd been looking through as Mrs. Webber had been explaining. Jean glanced through the window again to see that Kaylie had vacated her spot behind the chair to pace back and forth in front of the door, muttering to herself. "Do you believe the girl is a mutant?"

Though Mrs. Webber didn't shrug, Jean thought she might as well have; the helplessness in her face was apparent even to Scott, who caught Jean's eyes and shook his head with a gruff sadness. "I have no idea," Mrs. Webber replied honestly. "I do know that Kaylie believes herself to be insane, which may be a side effect of everyone treating her as such, and is highly unusual since most people are very adamant that they aren't insane. I also know that even though the psychiatrists down in Denver believe this to be a coincidence, the person in the room next to hers killed himself minutes before she tried."

Jean shook her head. "Poor girl."

Professor Xavier handed Mrs. Webber back the file. "Well, I don't believe anything can be accomplished by standing out here. Shall we?"

Mrs. Webber nodded and unlocked the door, pushing it open so that Jean could wheel the Professor through. As she did so, Scott following behind, Kaylie froze in her pacing, staring at the trio with wide hazel eyes as though she'd never seen anything like them in her life. "I'll wait outside," she heard Mrs. Webber say as the door shut behind them. She took a seat next to Scott and watched as the Professor wheeled himself up to Kaylie, offering a hand.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier," he said kindly as Kaylie eyed him suspiciously. "Are you Kaylie?"

"Are you another therapist?" she asked him, folding her arms as though trying to protect herself.

"No. I am a teacher," Professor Xavier explained patiently. "A principal, if you will."

"Then yes." Kaylie reached out towards his hand, but withdrew before actually making contact. Her eyes flitted over the professor to land on Jean and Scott, and she tilted her head at them curiously. "Who're they?"

"I'm Jean and this is Scott," Jean introduced with a glance over at Scott to see if he minded her introduction. His slight shrug told her that it was fine, and so she looked back at Kaylie and smiled gently. "We're teachers too."

Kaylie frowned at Scott. "We're not allowed to wear sunglasses indoors."

"I have to."

"Why?" Kaylie asked, eyes narrowing in confusion. "What happens if you take them off?" There was a moment of silence before Kaylie nodded, wincing. "I agree. That's bad. Better not take them off then, or Mrs. Webber will get mad."

Before Jean could do much more than give Scott a confused look, Kaylie turned her attention back to the professor. "Why are you here?"

"I am here to talk to you," he replied calmly. Kaylie let out a short laugh devoid of humor and crossed her arms again.

"Why talk to me if you're not a therapist or a doctor or a psychiatrist?" she demanded. "Why would anyone want to talk to me? I hear voices, so many voices, and I can't tell what I'm thinking sometimes because it's so loud!" Her voice rose to a shriek at the last two words and Jean stood up, eyes wide at the same time that Scott did. "I don't know what I think, I don't know what I feel, I don't even know who I am!" Kaylie backed up against the white wall, body tense and eyes wild. "They won't stop! They never stop! It's all just random and it doesn't make sense and I can't tell what I'm thinking half the time so I have to say it out loud so that I can keep track!"

"Kaylie," Professor Xavier said quietly. Kaylie ignored him.

"Why don't my voices tell me to do things?" she demanded, leaving the wall in favor of standing in front of Scott, hands clenched into fists. "If I'm a schizo like everyone says, why don't my voices tell me to kill people or set fire to things or steal stuff like everyone else's? Why?" Kaylie turned to Jean and her voice rose another decibel. "It's as if I'm listening in to five hundred different conversations and none of them make sense and nobody knows I'm there! They don't know I'm there!"

"Kaylie," the professor said again. This time Kaylie acknowledged him, turning to look at him, body shaking in her plain clothes. "Come here."

Obediently, quietly, Kaylie walked over to him and cringed. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, pushing red hair out of her face.

"When did they first say you were crazy?" the professor asked quietly. Jean watched as Kaylie shuddered, reluctant to reply. Finally the girl opened her mouth to say, "Just after the fire. I was thirteen."

"What happened?" Jean asked from behind Professor Xavier, daring to take a small step closer. Kaylie shrugged.

"I don't know. The firefighters said it was an electrical fire. The wiring in our house was really old."

"Did the fire burn down your house?" Scott wanted to know. Kaylie nodded, eyes on the floor.

The somber mood in the room might have lasted for quite a while longer if Kaylie hadn't straightened and stared at the wall behind Jean with a look of utmost confusion on her face. It lasted for a second before her face fell and she sighed, plopping down to sit on the floor, legs crossed. She propped her chin in her hands and shook her head sadly. "I hate chili," she moaned. "They always put in too much pepper."

"Kaylie, you're changing the subject," the professor said.

"Am I?"

"Yes."

Kaylie let her hands fall into her lap and stared up at them. "And I thought I was doing such a good job of it." There was a slight pause before she directed her gaze to Professor Xavier. "I'm not gifted, I'm crazy," she told him. "Why come to me about your school?"

The professor nodded at Jean and she stepped forward kneeling next to Kaylie. "The professor's speaking to you telepathically, Kaylie," she told her. "He believes – and Scott and I agree – that you are a mutant."

Kaylie stared at her. "Telepathically?"

"Yes."

This news seemed to shock Kaylie. Her eyes widened, her face went white, and she slowly turned to look at the professor. A clump of red hair fell in her face but she ignored it, remaining motionless. For several minutes there was no movement in the room, until Kaylie gave a small nod, and Professor Xavier leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of her head. After a few moments, he withdrew and Kaylie looked around the room in wonder. "They're gone," she whispered. "The voices are gone."

Professor Xavier nodded. "I can't keep those blocks up forever," he warned her. "You're going to need to learn how to block them out yourself."

Kaylie nodded fiercely. "I know. Believe me, I – wait." She frowned.

"What is it?" Jean asked.

"I can still feel them," Kaylie muttered after a moment. "It's still there. It's a lot better than it was before, but they're still there."

"The voices?" Jean asked.

"No," Kaylie replied, shaking her head. "Those are gone. But…" She trailed off, looking worried. Jean looked at Professor Xavier, who shook his head. "Later," he told them firmly. "Kaylie?" She looked up and nodded.

"I want to learn," she said, voice quiet. "I don't want to be crazy anymore."

Jean stood and offered the girl her hand. Kaylie looked at it for a moment, then accepted it, allowing Jean to help her to her feet. Now that Kaylie was standing and the tension in the air was gone, Jean was struck by just how short the teen was. At sixteen years old, Kaylie's head barely came up to her shoulder, and Jean wasn't all that tall herself. Kaylie didn't seem to notice the distinct height difference between her and nearly everyone else in the room, instead retrieving her hand and turning to look at the professor. "If I hadn't agreed, would I have had to come anyway?" she asked.

The professor sighed. "Your situation is unique," he started. "In most cases, no, we would not force you to go someplace you didn't want to be. However, your mind is on the tenterhooks of insanity. It's not because of you," he added as a look of horror flashed across Kaylie's face. "It's because you hear the thoughts and feel the emotions of everyone around you. That sort of confusion in your mind would be enough to drive anyone insane," he finished kindly.

"But I'm not crazy?" Kaylie asked uncertainly.

"Definitely not," Jean told her firmly. Kaylie looked at her, then at Scott, who nodded, then finally back at the professor, as if asking for confirmation.

"Jean's right, Kaylie," Professor Xavier said. "I saw your mind. There isn't a seed of insanity in there, except for what people have driven you to believe and the confusion of everything you hear and feel."

"You'll teach me how to control it?" Kaylie whispered pleadingly, looking up at Jean.

Jean nodded. "Of course."

As Kaylie looked at her, a look of hope and disbelief on her face, Jean did the only thing she could to reassure the girl: she offered Kaylie her hand. Kaylie stared at it for a moment as though she'd never seen anything like it before, then smiled and gave Jean a brief hug that she broke off almost as soon as she'd started. Stepping away to stand in front of the door, Kaylie looked at them all, a tremulous smile on her face.

"So, when do we leave?"

A/N: Welcome to the end of the first chapter of Playing With Fire! I know, Kaylie's personality's all over the place right now, but consider where she is and what her power is (which shall not be revealed for those of you who havn't figured it out yet). At this point, she's pretty much a ball of emotion and disconnected thoughts. She'll settle down next chapter. Promise. Anyways, this is my first attempt at an X-men fanfic and feedback would be much appreciated since I'd like to know if I'm doing it right. Oh, and if you can guess what Kaylie's powers are, you get a virtual cookie!