A/N: This fic is about something personal that happened in my life although a bit altered. Thanks to my best friend who beta-ed/co-wrote this. We are aweosome and we know it.

After X1- (AU from there), contains many Bobby bashings cause my real life Bobby is a douche!

Rogue sat on the school bench, swinging her legs back and forth, watching her friends play with the younger children. She smiled as Jubilee ran past her, letting off a few fire crackers to distract the kids. It was a warm Saturday afternoon and everyone was either enjoying the sunshine in the school grounds or on a beach trip with Jean and Scott. Rogue had wanted to go to the beach but the whole poisonous skin had put a damper on her plan. Tugging at her gloves, she sighed and rubbed her forehead, her gloves dampening from the perspiration on her skin. She tugged at her scarf and wondered if maybe she should go inside and spend the day next to her air conditioner. It was a tempting thought. A whistle from Jubilee made her frown and look up.

"Roguey, dork approaching."

Rogue grimaced at Bobby's nickname, courtesy of her best friends Kitty and Jubilee, and turned to smile politely at the boy she considered a good friend. Though lately he'd been acting weird around her. He smiled goofily at her and sat down next to her. She shifted a little, when she noticed his bare arms were too close to the strip of skin exposed between her glove and her t-shirt. Bobby never understood that she was deadly to touch and that she also liked her personal space. She appreciated when people didn't flinch away from her at the proximity of her skin but Bobby invaded her personal space in a way that would make someone with normal skin uncomfortable.

"Hey Bobby."

"Hi Rogue."

"Did you finish your ethics homework?" She asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, I did. You?"

"Of course. Xavier's classes are my favourite."

"I know, that's because he understands us."

"Well, he is a telepath."

"Yeah..."

Bobby drifted off and started fidgeting. Rogue looked towards Jubilee and Kitty who were leaning against a tree, giggling. She frowned and tried to catch their attention but Bobby cleared his throat, making her jump.

"Rogue... um... you... you... you know that... um... that I like you... right?"

Rogue's eyes widened and her eyes flickered to Jubilee and Kitty who were on their knees, laughing hysterically. They obviously knew what was happening and found it hilarious, shame she didn't feel the same. She looked towards the mansion and wondered how fast she could run there without Bobby noticing. Shit, she should have absorbed Kurt this morning. But Nightcrawler was their newest recruit and very shy. He rarely came out of his room. She realised Bobby was still stumbling on his words and suddenly felt very nervous. Bobby was her friend, and she hadn't known him for long. She never considered him as more what with everything that had happened. Her dying on the statue a month ago, coming back to life, Logan memories, Logan going away, Logan...

"Rogue?" Bobby's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Would... um... would... you go... out... with... me... maybe... we could like maybe... um..."

"Bobby, I..."

Her hand moved to her heart where the tags rested. The cold metal chains that bound her to a man that never loved her back. And yet, she couldn't let go so easily. But she didn't want to hurt Bobby. Doing this would only save him from future pain.

"No." She whispered, "Not right now."

She stood up and ran towards the mansion, her head pounding and guilt overtaking her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear whispers of how she was a terrible person for what she had just done. She didn't even notice Jubilee and Kitty pull themselves off the ground to chase after her, flipping off Bobby on their way past.

Rogue stared at the ice-cream in front of her, her stomach suddenly refusing to accept it. She cursed Bobby for ruining ice-cream for her. He always bought her ice-cream but now she knew it just because of how much he liked her. It added more guilt to her heart. She shuddered and pushed the carton away, smacking her head on the kitchen counter. Absentmindedly, she wondered if sending Jubilee and Kitty off to rent films and get more ice-cream was a good idea. It left her alone with her thoughts.

"Rogue?"

Rogue sighed and looked up. Jean walked into the kitchen and reached into a nearby cupboard for a box of crackers. Rogue knew they were Scott's favourite and figured that it was an after sex treat. Jean raised an eyebrow and Rogue smiled sheepishly, realising she was projecting her thoughts.

"Sorry Jean."

"That's okay. So what's wrong?"

"Bobby asked me out."

"Oh? That's wonderful."

"I said no."

Jean frowned and put the box down, taking a seat opposite her. Rogue suppressed a groan knowing what was coming. Jean was like a sister to her, and in that sense could be very annoying. She liked Bobby, thought he was funny and charming and sweet, and also liked the idea of Rogue dating someone to help her feel confident and stop complaining about not having a boyfriend. Rogue had pointed out on many occasions that she never complained, it's just that sometimes she wished someone would love her and hold her in an intimate way. Someone she was attracted to and that made her feel like she was floating on clouds. Who didn't really?

"Oh Rogue." Jean sighed.

"What?"

"Why... Bobby's a good kid."

"He's younger than me."

"By a year."

"By about seven years mentally. And he's more like a brother."

"Just give him a chance."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it is my life, and I'll live it the way I want to. If I say no, then that should be okay. You shouldn't force me to change my mind. Why should everyone else be happy when I'm not? Everyone is telling me to do it, but I don't want to! I don't feel that way about him, why should I force myself to?" Rogue defended herself.

Jean shook her head and stood up, grabbed her box and stormed out of the kitchen. Not seeming to understand why Rogue would deny herself a chance at a relationship. Rogue rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. She needed to get away from here. It was all too much. She stood up and walked out the kitchen, towards the professor's office.

"I don't want to go in there."

"You can't stand out here all day."

Rogue sighed and turned to Logan with a glare. He smirked and shook his head, hitching his duffel bag higher on his shoulder.

"Get in there kid."

"Quit the kid stuff. I'm fucking nineteen." She sulked.

Logan snorted and nudged her forward. She threw her bag at him, leaving him to carry it inside and walked into the mansion. She'd spent the last month and five days in Canada with Logan, helping him search for his past. It had been good to clear her head for awhile and also the quiet of the Canadian wilderness had helped her with her meditation. She could restrain her powers for a full hour which was long enough to get a few kisses from guys she met there and then some. She'd met a lot of people and gone to a lot of parties to boast her self confidence. She still pined for Logan but he only saw her as a friend and she respected that. She hid her feelings and learned that sometimes it's better that way because some people need to time to fall in love. And sometimes you didn't fall in love but you were always there for each other.

"Roguey-roo!"

"Kitty-kat!"

Rogue hurried forward and hugged her friend carefully. She was still a little worried about the news she'd received a week ago. Bobby had stopped calling and texting about how much he loved her and asking why she wouldn't date him and decided to ask Kitty out. Rogue was glad on one hand because it meant she was free from Bobby's overwhelming love which sometimes bordered on stalker-ish, but she felt as if she was losing Kitty. She was worried that Kitty might replace her with Bobby and that it'd be just her and Jubes. But Jubes had a boyfriend, Piotr, and that left just Rogue all alone. But after a long conversation with Jubes, she realised she was being silly and that Kitty would never abandon her. The two girls walked to the kitchen and Rogue sat down, smiling as Kitty pulled out a bottle of vodka from the inside of her jacket.

"Damn girl, how'd you get that?"

"Phased it from Scott's room, you in?" Kitty grinned.

"Heck yeah." Rogue laughed, glad to be back with her friend.

They snuck through the backdoor and started walking to the forest. As they reached the bench where Rogue usually did her thinking, she froze up inside to see Bobby and Pyro already there. Pyro greeted her, flicking his lighter back and forth, and Bobby gave her a brief nod. She looked between Kitty and Bobby, expecting a big explosion of love and kisses but Bobby merely murmured a greeting, staying perched next to Pyro. Rogue looked at Pyro who shrugged, he didn't understand either. It was more awkward then the time she kissed Piotr at a party and Bobby had gone off in a sulk. It hadn't been a good kiss since Piotr had to metal up so that Rogue's poison skin didn't suck him dry. Yet Bobby had spent the night looking at her like she'd betrayed him. Kitty finally sat down on the grass, glancing at Bobby and a small frown on her face at the obvious blanking that had started the week before and didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. It was starting to piss her off, not that Bobby seemed to notice, which only severed to frustrate her even more. She quickly opened the vodka and took a drink to stop that train of thought before handing the vodka to Rogue. Rogue sat next to her and took a long sip, her eyes looking back at the mansion. She wondered if she came home at a bad time.

"So... Rogue... how was your trip?" asked Pyro.

"It was good."

"Meet anyone?"

"Well yeah. I didn't exactly sit in the house and knit. Well, it wasn't a house... more an apartment."

"What made you come back?" asked Kitty.

"I realised I was running away. And you can't run away from your problems."

Kitty nodded and took a swig of the vodka, handing it to Rogue. They spent most of the afternoon there, drinking, talking and making jokes. As the sun went down, Bobby stood up and scratched his head.

"Kit?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk?"

Kitty nodded, following Bobby deeper into the forest. Rogue looked at Pyro who shrugged and stood up, stretching his muscles. Rogue stood as well and gestured towards the mansion.

"Shall we go in? I've still gotta unpack."

"Sure Roguey, lead the way."

"Okay Johnny."

"By the way, you didn't talk to Bobby a lot today. What's up with that?"

"I did at first but he started getting quieter as the hours ticked by. That and he started acting weird towards Kitty." Rogue frowned, glancing back at where Kitty and Bobby had disappeared.

"They're usually so lovey-dovey." Pyro mused.

"Really?"

"Yeah... it's weird."

Rogue shrugged and looked over at the mansion. She had a bad feeling, Kitty hadn't seemed like herself around Bobby, not smiling nearly as much as usual.

"Damn, I missed Bobby."

"Really?" asked Pyro.

"Yeah, for the past week I've had the sudden urge to punch someone."

Pyro cracked up.

"That jerk! That unbelievable jerk!"

Rogue looked up from her magazine and frowned. Kitty was rarely angry so this had to be serious. She was even phasing as she walked.

"What did dork do?"

" He asked me last night if you were angry with him?"

"What? Shouldn't he ask you if you were okay?"

"He didn't seem to notice I was upset. He thinks I'm okay. He assumes that I'm not frustrated with the way he treated me today."

"Bastard." Spat Rogue

"I know!"

"Come on, let's go to the gym for awhile."

Kitty stopped pacing and nodded. Rogue headed to her closet, changed into a black tank top and grey sweatpants, and threw on a hoodie, gloves and a scarf for skin coverage. She smirked as Kitty stomped out the bathroom in tight black lycra cycling shorts and a pink tank top.

"Looking cute."

"You too Roguey."

"Whatever."

They giggled and headed down to the gym. Thankfully it was empty, save from a few grunts coming from the weights in the corner. Rogue looked and felt her knees grow weak. She reached out and used the wall for support. Logan was working out, sweat dripping down his naked torso, muscles flexing with every movement. Rogue whimpered and pressed her thighs together. Kitty gripped her arm and shook her little.

"Stop staring."

"But he's shirtless Kitty, SHIRTLESS!"

"I know, I know. But he's starting to notice."

Rogue noticed that Logan did indeed have a small smirk on his face. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. It worked somewhat, considering she had the image of half naked Logan still floating around her mind. Kitty rolled her eyes and headed over to the treadmill. Rogue discarded her hoodie, gloves and scarf. She stepped onto a treadmill about two away from Kitty and set it at a light run. She jogged contemplating what to do about this whole Bobby thing. She didn't want to interfere but she felt it was kinda her fault. She had never considered herself as a sexually appealing girl and yet she attracted attention. Of course it was always the attention from the boys she didn't feel the same attraction. It was different with Logan. She felt like she'd known him her whole life or rather his whole life. She knew so many things about him and felt connected to him. He was an outcast, like she was. Everyone else didn't understand what she'd been through. What is was like to be shunned from the world, the whole world, mutants and humans alike. Footsteps echoing across the floor broke her from her thoughts. She stopped the machine having done an hour and turned around. Bobby was walking slowly towards them. Rogue saw that Kitty hadn't noticed, she was humming along to her iPod. Rogue stormed up to Bobby and put her hands on her hips.

"Good boyfriends do not ignore their girlfriends. They take them out and treat them with respect. How dare you ignore her-"

"Don't, okay! You have no idea what's going on in my head-" Bobby snapped at her, only causing Rouge to get more annoyed at him.

"And I don't really give a fuck!"

"Rogue, you know how I feel... felt... about you. Look, I don't want to lose you as a friend." He sighed.

"Then you shouldn't act like such a dick."

"Is there a problem here?"

Logan had walked over with his arms crossed. Rogue smiled at him before glaring at Bobby and poked him in the chest.

"You hurt her ice-boy, and I'll break your face." She growled.

She shoved passed him and walked out of the gym. Logan collected her clothes before following. They walked side by side after Logan handed Rogue her items, earning a small smile. They stopped by the elevator and Logan put an arm around her shoulder.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"You okay?"

"I'm starting to think love is a curse."

A few days later, Kitty and Rogue were sitting on the bench outside, enjoying the sun. Kitty had vented the previous night about Bobby, but seemed okay about the break up. Jubilee was on the war path and Rogue figured she'd ignore him. Despite everything, the girls had decided to try to be friends with Bobby. But it was hard when he acted like none of them existed. Rogue sighed and looked up as Pyro and Bobby walked towards them. Bobby noticed them and turned around, walking back into the mansion. Pyro continued towards them and sat down. He sighed and looked at Kitty and Rogue.

"You broke his heart." He stated.

"OOO, hi five." Giggled Rogue.

She and Kitty hi-fived and then burst into hysterics, clutching at each other to prevent themselves falling. Pyro shook his head and rolled his eyes, smiling slightly.

"The whole school knows. Jubilee walked up to him this morning and was like, 'Wow, you're a douche!', and don't get me started on the amount of glares he's been giving."

"Oh boo hoo. Poor Bobby. Mean bitchy Rogue doesn't love him and Kitty didn't give him headspace because of course it's all about him. Nobody cares that I can't make myself like him and that Kitty gave him so much space he could have contemplated more than just his little teenage angst dilemma. But no, we're bad girls. We should have cheated on him or killed him, that wouldn't have been so bad. No because what we did is the worst thing we could have done." Rogue stared pointedly at Pyro, one eyebrow raised.

Pyro sighed and rubbed his head in defeat.

"Must you be so sarcastic?"

"It's a gift."

"She's right, you know? If we were so important to him, why is it so easy for him to leave our friendship behind." Kitty pointed out sadly. It wasn't as if they didn't try to keep his friendship, but she didn't really enjoy being blanked. It made her feel as if she'd phased out of existence.

"Boys will boys my dear." Sighed Rogue.

"Eww, don't do that." Shuddered Kitty, bad mood gone before it could fully develop.

"Do what?"

"Channel Magneto. It's freaky." Kitty told her, scrunching up her nose.

"The man might be evil but his sadistic side is a trait I've happily taken on."

"So I've noticed." Pyro deadpanned.

"Shut up flame pixie."

Later that evening, while Kitty, Jubilee and Rogue were hanging by the pool table, Pyro ran in. He took a few moments to breath before speaking.

"Someone tied Bobby to the front gate naked."

Rogue looked at Kitty, who looked at Jubilee, who looked at Rogue. Rogue took a deep breath and gasped.

"Oh dear!" she exclaimed.

"Do you three know anything about it?"

"Us? No! It's not like we knocked him out with my skin, had Kitty phase him quietly through the school and then carefully tied him to the front gate using the rope Scott left with the camping equipment. That would be too much effort."

Jubilee let out a titter and turned around trying to hide her smile.

"You did it, didn't you?" sighed Pyro.

"Heck yeah."

"You know, we could have just asked Kurt to teleport him to the gate." Said Jubilee as if this had only just occurred to her. In truth, it had. Let no one say that Jubilation Lee always took the easy route.

"Yeah, but then we wouldn't have been able to bump Bobby's head on every obstacle all the way to the gate." Pointed out Rogue with a sadistic look on her face that made Pyro shiver and decide then and there never to get on the bad side of these girls.

"True, true. That makes it completely worth the extra effort." Jubliee nodded sagely, her arms crossed.

"Yeah, well, Scott says you have detention."

"Still totally worth it." The girls all nodded in agreement, before Kitty smiled.

"Rogue-" She started, with a pointed look at Rogue.

"I'm on it!" She grinned, already knowing her mission before Kitty had even finished.

Rogue left to find Scott. Kitty purposely glared at Pyro until he left, looking a little nervous. Jubilee tapped her chin deep in thought, before smiling. Kitty sighed and rubbed her head.

"What are you up to now?" She asked, not sure if she really wanted the answer.

"I'm thinking Roguey needs some cheering up. I'm going to go talk to Wolvie."

"Jubes!" She was right, she didn't.

"Relax Kitty-kat. She'll thank me at her wedding."

"But he thinks that she's a kid."

"Oh, that's just a cute nickname. Besides, if he doesn't like my idea, I'll drop it." Jubliee brushed aside Kitty's worries with a wave of her hand.

"Fine, just try not to cause too much destruction."

"I'm offended by that."

"I'm sorry, was it not your idea to turn up at a danger room sessions with frying pans."

"They make good defence weapons!"

"Whatever, no more Disney movies for you."

Jubilee pouted and stormed off towards the kitchen, grumbling about how frying pans make perfectly good weapons and if her favourite characters could use them then she didn't see why she couldn't. A few seconds later Rogue walked back in, adjusting her top. Kitty sighed and shook her head.

"Did you flash Scott?"

"Heck no, Logan was on his way to the kitchen, so I needed to show the girls off. They like the attention. Anyway, after putting on the baby voice and crying a little, Scott took my side. By the way, you have a date with Kurt tonight." Rogue told her casually.

"What?"

"You have a crush on him right?"

"Yeah, but-" Kitty hadn't expected anyone to actually pick up on that.

"It's okay, he's like a brother to me and he only sees me as a sister. He likes only you, he's cute, a gentleman and you guys are great friends." Rogue reasoned.

"But what if-" Kitty flailed a bit, still a bit surprised.

"It's a date. You go to a movie, then dinner, little kiss on the cheek and your back in bed by ten. And I mean ten!"

"Ten?"

"Okay, okay. Eleven. But no later than that. Keeps the mystery in the relationship."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Thanks Rogue. You're the best."

"Hey, you're my friend. Friends stick together no matter what."

"Yeah."

"So where's Jubilee?"

"Umm..."

"Kitty?"

"Hey darlin', wanna hang out tonight?"

Rogue opened her mouth and everything went dark. Kitty squeaked as Rogue fell to the floor and shook her, looking up as Logan knelt beside her.

"She's fainted."