Happy Valentines Day
Rogue's Room 8:30am
Warm yellow sun shone through the ice-covered window of Rogue's room. Kitty had stayed up most of the night with her preparing for today, February 14th, Valentine's Day. Rogue didn't loathe it's coming, but she didn't welcome it. She was indifferent to it. Logan had gone away to who knows where and hadn't come back. Plus she was single.
She twisted herself out of her sheets, letting part of them fall to the floor with her feet. It was 8:30 am and breakfast was already over.
There was pounding at her door, three knocks, sweet but insistent.
"Rogue, you up?" It was Kitty.
Pulling a few white strands from her face she stumbled over to the door and swung it open.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Kitty said enthusiastically.
"Where is your energy comin' from?" Rogue asked, slipping on a pair of transparent gloves.
"Three cups of coffee."
Rogue raised her eyebrows.
"It was a practical choice at the time, I had something to finish."
Rogue shook her head, yawned, and then her face turned its expression from tired to puzzlement.
"We finished everything last night I thought?"
Kitty shifted her weight from one foot to the other, avoiding Rogue's eyes, "Well I had one more thing to do…it's not a big deal."
Rogue opened her mouth, than shut it. She hadn't gotten enough sleep to try and figure out what her pixie haired friend had done.
"Ok, well, is everything still set?"
"Sure, the dance starts at 7:30, I've got the play list…not that anyone will dance," Kitty rolled her eyes and Rogue shook her head in agreement.
"You know, I saw Bobby this morning," Kitty said, turning her back to Rogue so she could change.
"Oh, yea? How is he? Did you give him your valentine?" Rogue asked, trying to mask the true interest in her voice.
"No, not yet, I'll give it to him later at the dance," Kitty waved non-chalontly, "You know, all the years I've known him, which is only a few but still, he hasn't looked as nervous as he did this morning."
Rogue smiled slightly. Fully dressed she moved to the door, passing Kitty, who was smirking.
"Let's just go ok?" She led the way out of her room, walking down the main stairs to the lounge.
Lounge 8:55am
"Fuck man, I was drawing something important on that!" Shouted Piotr, waving his hand around as the paper he'd been sketching on went up in flames.
John was snickering from behind a hand of cards Bobby had dealt him.
"Sorry man," he said smirking, "I was just practicing."
'Practicing for what?" Bobby asked skeptically.
John shrugged, "Just practicing."
Bobby sighed and looked down at his cards, "I fold."
John smiled, throwing down his cards and snatching up the various pieces of chocolate heart shaped candy he'd won.
"John Allerdyce!" Kitty shouted from the entrance to the lounge, Rogue at her side wide eyed at Kitty's sudden outburst. "I know you aren't eating the candy we're using for tonight."
John learned back coolly, popping a piece into his mouth, and before swallowing answered, "Aw Kitty you've got like, five hundred bags of the stuff, you won't miss the little bit we're using."
"I can't believe you're gambling with my candy!" She shouted again.
John placed his hands behind his head, smiling. Rogue caught his eye for a moment and the corners of her lips turned up. Piotr rose from his seat, sketchpad in hand, casually flipping John off as he walked over to the entrance.
"Oh real Mature," John spat out, still amused with himself, mouth half full with chocolate.
Piotr stopped in front of the girls, smiled at Rogue and turned to Kitty.
"Hi," he said to Kitty, slightly smiling, gripping his pencil tighter
"Hey Piotr," Kitty said, not looking at him, her eyes set in a glare at John.
Piotr looked at Rogue again, who raised her eyebrows questioningly, and he left the room quickly.
"Bobby!" Kitty shouted.
Bobby choked a bit on the chocolate he had just attempted to stealthily put in his mouth, sending John into hysterics.
"Kitty, it's just some damn candy!" He shouted, John's laughter filling the room as Kitty's face turned red.
Rogue was smiling, hid her smile as best she could as Kitty turned to her, "Can you believe them, after all our hard work."
Rogue looked very seriously back at her, "No."
Kitty, with a final glare at John and Bobby, stalked out of the room.
Rogue let out a burst of laughter, Bobby smiled and John popped another piece of candy into his mouth.
Rogue's Room 7:15pm
Rogue's clock read 7:15pm as she buttoned the last of twenty buttons on the side of her just-above-the-knee length black dress. She didn't really like pink, and red felt too much like Christmas among her green things in the closet. She had crossed off white because she felt she glowed in the dark enough because of her skin and she couldn't find a purple dress that didn't look like it was straight out of the eighties.
Kitty had protested the color, until she saw the dress on her friend. It was very form fitting, very flattering, and Kitty had told her so.
Rogue, taking a final look in her mirror, exhaled as someone knocked at her door.
"Bobby." She smiled as she swung the door open.
He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a neatly placed white tie. It was a formal dance after all, school requirement. His shirt was as dark as his suit and Rogue thought the colors were fitting.
"Hey Rogue," He held out a single rose, made of ice, and she took it with a wide smile, "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Thank you," She looked again at the rose. Knowing it would melt she walked over to her window, opened it and shivered as the cold winter air surrounded her.
"There," she said, placing the rose outside. "Oh and…" she walked over to her desk, pulled out a sparkling card and handed it to Bobby, "Happy Valentine's Day to you too."
Bobby's smile became as big as Rogue's.
Ballroom 8:50pm
"I can't believe this," Kitty said to Rogue as they stood on the platform that held the music equipment, no band, just a DJ, Kitty's work to be exact.
"People are actually dancing!" she said in amazement.
"Yeah," Rogue sipped her drink, "Hey have you seen Bobby?"
"Uh, nope," Kitty said, swaying slightly to the beat scanning the room with her eyes, "Not since the two of you walked in together." She winked
Rogue rolled her eyes, "Well if you see him, tell him I'm looking for him ok?"
"Yea sure," Kitty waved her off as she changed the song.
Still in the Ballroom 8:55pm
"Hey Rogue, grab that end." John said as he struggled with one end of large banner. He was wearing a black suit, his red tie loosely hung around his neck.
Rogue grabbed the free flying end as instructed, and held it up as he tacked it to the main doorframe.
"Piotr was supposed to help me hang it but I don't know where the hell he went."
"Nice banner John," Rogue said, standing back admiring the large evenly proportioned red lettering, Happy Valentine's Day.
John snorted, "Kitty made me do it."
"Ah," Rogue smiled, than sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"
John just shrugged, smirking, "What smell?"
"It almost smells like…gas?" Rogue was making an inquisitive face as Bobby joined them.
"Hey man," Bobby greeted John, "We still on for later?"
John smirked, "Most definitely." He began to back up towards the crowd, pointing at Bobby, "You better not chicken out Drake."
Bobby rolled his eyes, "Just don't burn anything." He shouted back as John waved him off, disappearing into the crowd.
"What was that about?" Rogue asked.
Bobby shrugged, wrapping his arms around her, "We're going into town tonight…wanna join us?"
"Of course!" she smiled.
Yeah, still in the Ballroom 10:15pm
"Hey Kitty," P shyly said.
"Hey Piotr!" she returned his greeting enthusiastically, "Just let me set the last song."
A slow, slightly sappy ballad began to play and she tossed the headset off and jumped down from the platform.
"What's up?"
"I just…" he paused, looking from her, to the piece of paper in his hand, than back at her, "Happy Valentine's Day Kitty."
He handed her the paper, a very good likeness of herself inked onto it. She smiled wide, than suddenly hopped up onto the platform, riffled through her bag for a moment, then came back to stand next to him again.
"Happy Valentine's Day," she said, handing him a large red heart, dripping in sparkles. "I know it's not as amazing as this," she motioned to his drawing, "But I'm not very good at arts and crafts."
He smiled, looking directly at her, and his face lit up with a glow of fire.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" John shouted from the entrance, laughing, the large painted letters on the banner burned fiercely.
"I knew I smelled gasoline," Rogue said quietly to Bobby, as they sat on the couch observing the banner burn.
Rogue looked over to the platform and saw Kitty standing next to Piotr, she was shouting something, her face as red as her dress. Piotr was struggling to keep her from running over to John, but Storm beat her to it.
Bobby stood up extinguishing the flames; the banner became ice, or what was left of it.
"Man I told you not to burn anything." He said as John just smiled and shrugged. He winked at Rogue, who smiled back at him.
And then Storm came.
"John Allerdyce," she said, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him out of the room, "What gave you the idea…you could have burned the mansion down!"
The rest of her speech was lost to the din of students chattering as they slowly left the room. The last song had ended, something had gone up in flames, candy had been eaten in excessive amounts and valentines had been given, so naturally the party must be over.
"Hey Rogue," Bobby stopped her, holding lightly to her arm, "Can I talk to you for a second."
"Don't worry Bobby, I figured the trip to town is off."
"No."
"No it's not? But John…"
"No," he paused, "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
They sat back down, Rogue fiddled with her gloves.
"I like you Rogue," Bobby said, almost too quickly, "and I…I was hoping you liked me too, and I was wondering if well…you wanted to be my girlfriend?"
He looked up from his hands, hesitantly smiling.
"Yes Bobby," she said happily, "I would like to be your girlfriend."
His smile grew confidant; and he brushed a strand of white hair out of her eyes, "Happy Valentine's Day Rogue."
She caught his hand in hers, "Happy Valentine's Day Bobby."
