Summary: The hardest thing in life was to watch helplessly as someone you love slipped through your fingers.
Disclaimer: Property of Marvel and Fox and Stan Lee and blah blah blah...
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It had happened while Storm had been trying to explain to them the significance of the Louisiana Purchase.
John could feel his eyelids droop, his eyes rolled back, everything in the room started to spin, Storm's voice turned slow and twisted like a broken cassette tape. He felt himself falling out of his seat but he couldn't even find the strength to break his fall with his hands. He just fell.
The last thing he remembered was someone screaming his name.
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He slowly opened his eyes. For a moment, he thought he was still in class but realized quickly that they must have gotten him down to the med lab. The room was dark but he could feel the IV needle in his arm and hear the slow steady beep of a monitor. They even changed him into one of those stupid hospital gowns.
He sat up and took a deep breath. He pulled the needle out of his arm, removing also the wires that had him hooked up to that damn annoying machine. He got out the bed and tried to see where his clothes might be.
"They're in the cabinet over there," a quiet voice said.
To say John was startled would be an understatement. "Jesus fucking Christ…you almost gave me a fucking heart attack."
"Good thing we're in the med lab then, huh?"
John squinted, his eyes adjusting to the darkness and saw a figure sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed. "Rogue?"
"Dr Grey said you fainted."
John snorted derisively. He opened the cabinet door and pulled out his clothes.
"She also said this hadn't been the first time."
He was silent. So much for doctor-patient confidentiality, he thought to himself as he buttoned his jeans.
"She wasn't blabbing it to the entire school. I just…I overheard her talking with the Professor."
"I didn't take you for one to eavesdrop. Isn't that more Jubilee's job?" he joked.
"What's going on with you, John?"
John was quiet, pulling his shirt over his head. He checked his pockets to make sure his Zippo was still there.
"John…" She pleaded for an explanation. Like he could give it to her. Even he didn't understand what was going on with his own body.
"I'm fine, Rogue. Everything's fucking peachy."
And with that, he walked out, leaving her alone in the still dark room.
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He was trying to finish his math homework but his hand seemed to have other ideas. His hand started to tremble slowly, he thought it was just maybe an oncoming cramp and tried to shake it off. But the more he tried to write, the harder it became to maintain his grip.
"Are you okay?"
He looked up quickly, hiding his hands under the library table. He found Rogue standing next to him, a gloved hand on his shoulder, a worried look on her face.
"Are you on some kind of mission to scare the living daylights out of me?" He shrugged off her hand, stuffing his things into a bag and leaving in a hurry.
He made it back to his room, managing to hold onto his things without having them spill out from his tremors. He threw the bag onto the floor and looked down at his hands. He kept clenching and unclenching them but he just couldn't stop shaking.
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The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.
Everyone was rushing out, eager to not think about homework or tests or book reports just yet.
Rogue, however, was oblivious to all of it.
During the entire class, she sat at her desk, either staring at John's empty chair or glancing over to the door expecting John to come through it at any moment – a lighter flicking between his fingers and a knowing smirk curving his lips.
He never came. He didn't show up to any of his classes.
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A/N: Thank you to Crystal-Luna for the help! You rock, girl! And you need to update your stories! ;)