Spook (Claire's Demons' 2012 Halloween fic)

Heh, yeah, I decided to do one of these too.

Not going to spoil the festive atmosphere with a disclaimer. It dampens my spirits… Being reminded that I don't own Rem- ahem, I mean, the X-Men.

Here we go!

Update: I'm going to co-create a Facebook page with tokipocky (my illustrator) where we will restart our old project, X-Mice Comics. Yes, you heard me. Mice. :) Once we finish it, the link will be provided on my Facebook page, Claire's Demons. May I get some likes please? :D Do take a look at our upcoming comic, which is centered around the plot of this story and has the same title. My goodness, the cover to Spook is full of awesome. A round of applause for the ever-wonderful Toki! *clap clap clap*

To say that Rogue had no idea what she was doing was correct.

So there she was, decked out in a midnight black witch's costume (complete with a broomstick that might have been fresh off the set of Harry Potter), carrying a basket full of goodies and going trick-or-treating.

Her- the Rogue, the grumpy Goth among her sassy female teammates, the one whose heart was icy and cold. Her. Trick-or-treating.

It's okay to be confused, because Rogue herself was, too.

Well, it had all started when Kitty and her gang (if a gang could be completely made up of giggly teenage girls to whom shopping was practically a religious ritual) cornered Rogue after breakfast.

'Rogue! Wanna, like, come to the Halloween party with us? You can dress up as anything you like!'

'No.'

'But-'

'No.'

Rogue remembered well how a diabolical smile had spread across Kitty's deceivingly innocent face…

'Well, then, we can go trick-or-treating! Don't you think so, huh? Huh?'

And she had whipped out her secret weapon. Rogue's blood still runs cold every time she ponders how evil that petite girl can be.

Kitty pulled out Rogue's diary from behind her back.

'Oh mah Gawd, Kit! Is that mah DIARY?!'

'Well, are you coming or not?' asked Tabitha impatiently, tapping her foot on the floor.

'Or would you rather a certain Cajun know about-' Kitty never got to finish her sentence because Rogue pounced on her and firmly planted her palm on Kitty's lips. 'Don't ya dare,' she growled. 'Unless ya'd rather die a slow and painful death at mah hands. Ah swear, Ah will murder ya in cold blood.'

There was a brief and shocked silence.

Then Jubilee said tentatively, 'So, I guess you're coming then.'

And that was how Rogue had ended up with the younger kids, knocking on doors and handing out teeth-rotting candies with painted smiles. Never mind that Kitty and co. were trying their best to 'involve' Rogue in the evil activity, chatting with her despite her single-sentence grumpy replies. The whole thing still sucked.

At least my outfit is actually passable. Kitty had, thankfully, not forced Rogue to dress up as a girly-girly fairy princess. Although she had shook her head disapprovingly when she saw Rogue's costume (haphazardly put together at the last minute), she had relented, thank God.

Rogue was wearing one of her many dark and long-sleeved tops, complimented by a flowing black cape and long pants- which were, of course, black. The whole look was nicely rounded off by a pair of red gloves and some eerie makeup decisions. Think eyeshadow done the Wicked Willow way, and Rogue's usual violet lips.

Unfortunately for Rogue though, she'd had to borrow a pair of black leather boots from the new recruit Betsy as her other ones had been mutilated in severe missions and DR runs that could give Wolverine a run for his money. However, the innocent-looking shoes were extremely tight and they were making her feet scream out in agony. Why did that girl wear such extremely skin-hugging clothes? Her uniform was a violently purple thong leotard for God's sake. (1)

Rogue lagged behind to pull off her heels, which she imagined to be getting tighter with every painful step she took. They were clenching around her ankles and causing blisters. Not to mention, they were high and she could barely walk in them, much less run as Betsy had done in them, the other day.

She ripped both boots off and wished that Kitty had never gotten the chance to carry out her evil scheme. Rogue mentally cussed herself out for not securing her diary properly.

But then again, it was Shadowcat she was protecting it against. Kitty Pryde could go places even Nightcrawler couldn't. (2)

After her feet had stopped aching and she had stepped back into the torture shoes -because she was not going barefoot on the concrete sidewalk, which had suspicious sticky patches on it- she decided to go home and enjoy the rest of the sweets by herself, preferably while watching The Blair Witch Project for the five hundred and fifty-second time. Because nothing eliminates a bad mood like a sugar rush and a… Fear rush.

As she started on the way back to the mansion, two things came to her attention immediately.

One, she had somehow been diverted away from the merrily lit avenues of Central Bayville Park and was now strolling down a dark and deserted street, where no one could hear her if she shrieked for help.

Two, someone was following her.

Rogue could hear the sound of the stalker's footsteps close behind her. Dammit, what was she supposed to do in such situations? Oh yeah… Run for her life and scream bloody freaking murder to the town- oh wait, no, that wasn't it.

She should-

'DAMMIT!' she screamed, when someone grabbed her shoulder. Out of pure instinct- and maybe a tinge of fear- she spun on her heel and whacked the mystery person with her broomstick.

'Oof!' cried the man, kneeling on the floor and writhing in agony- because, you see, Rogue's aim had been perfect and she'd hit him smack between his legs.

'Gambit?' hissed Rogue in horror, staring at the boy spluttering on the pavement. Indeed, it was her Swamp Rat, the one who'd kidnapped her and whisked her off for a crazy adventure in the bayou. One that she had, admittedly, kind of enjoyed.

'What de-! Rogue! Dat hurt, chérie!' gasped Gambit once the pain had subsided enough for him to stand up.

He was dressed up as a devil (go figure) with devil horns, a devil tail and some more red horns attached to his bo-staff which was apparently supposed to be a devil's pitchfork or trident. His magenta armor had been replaced with a crimson shirt, but his beloved trench coat stayed- it was probably his security blanket or something.

Actually, in Rogue's opinion, he didn't look too bad…

'Serves ya right for following me,' she muttered, trying to distract herself from those thoughts running through her mind. 'What the hell do ya think ya were doin'? And what kind of thief are ya, anyway? Ah could hear ya behind meh!'

Gambit shrugged, not seeming remotely abashed. His trademark smirk was once again making its way back to his face.

'Trust me, Roguey. If I hadn't wanted y' t', y' wouldn't have heard moi. Besides, I was jus' checking up on y'…'

'So, ya couldn't have dropped by the Institute like any normal person?!'

'Nice costume,' he replied quickly, changing tack at the speed of light.

'What exactly do ya want from meh?' snapped Rogue, crossing her arms over her chest irritably.

He bowed with a sophisticated flourish and a Queen of Hearts appeared between his fingers. 'A kiss from mon belle Queen, 'f course,' he said grandly, looking very pleased with himself- until Rogue elbowed him in his stomach. Her arm made a satisfying sound as it connected with its target.

'Won't y' even pacify m' wit' a dance? Pretty please?' he pleaded, clutching at his abdomen and wheezing pitifully. Most girls would have felt sorry for him and danced with him for the heck of it. But Rogue was not most girls.

'No.'

Just as he was about to open his mouth and beg some more (Gambit was nothing if not determined), Rogue's cellphone rang. It was Logan calling and she answered it quickly.

'Kid, Kitty told me you'd gone missing and strayed. Where the hell are you? I'm coming over to pick you up.'

'Ah'm at-' she paused as she glanced at a nearby roadsign- '103 Brisdane Road, near this nightclub-'

More swearing from Logan. 'You're near a club? Rogue, any one of those drunkards in there could have attacked you. Stay there, I'm on my way. Don't move away from that spot.'

'But Ah-' Logan hung up. Rogue cussed like a sailor before shoving the phone back into her pants pocket. Great, just great. She didn't want this- she could take care of herself. She didn't want Logan or anybody else breathing down her neck every single time she went off on her own, though she knew that it was just Logan's crazy way of saying, I actually care about your physical health, even if I do half-kill you with 5 am. DR sessions and beer fumes at the dinner table.

'Y' have t' go?' asked Gambit sadly, pulling a long face and giving Rogue puppy-dog eyes. Logan's voice had carried from the phone.

'Yeah. Ya should be leaving because Logan will murder ya if he finds ya here with me. He still hasn't forgiven ya for that little stunt ya pulled by whisking me off to Louisiana…'

'As y' wish,' he said, pulling out a red gypsy scarf from his trench coat and kissing Rogue with it.

Through the gauzy material, she could feel his tongue pressing against her mouth, coaxing her lips apart. He wound a hand into her silky hair but he wasn't concerned about absorption because of his leather gloves. They were actually touching… Sort of.

She gasped and let herself succumb to the delicious sensation of his mouth on hers and kissed him back, tossing caution to the wind.

A vivid mental image came to her mind. She was standing at the edge of a cliff, and she fell, falling, falling… Into his ready arms…

It was only when they pulled apart for air that she wanted to cuss at herself for being so stupid. She'd willingly kissed an Acolyte, and by the looks of it, that kiss would have gone on for a lot longer if she hadn't stopped it in time. Stupid, stupid, stupid me.

She channeled her fury into a thrown punch that he easily dodged. 'Until we meet again, chère,' he purred with a wink, slinking into the shadows and disappearing into the night.

Shell-shocked, Rogue stared at the spot where he had vanished, still mentally kicking herself all the way to North Dakota and back.

Logan had excellent timing (or crappy, depending on how you looked at it), zooming up on his Harley at that very moment. 'You all right, Stripes?' he asked gruffly.

'Just dandy,' muttered Rogue, mentally debating with herself if she should chase after that Swamp Rat. 'Aren't ya supposed ta be at that teachers' Halloween party drinking whiskey and being bored or whatever else it is that adults do at events like that?'

'Had to come save your sorry ass from potential muggers,' he grunted. 'Still not sure why you would follow Kitty and Jubes for Halloween.'

'One terrifying word: blackmail. Man, Kit-Kat's evilness transcends universal limits.'

Logan smiled an amused smile. 'Mus' have been painful for you, kid.'

Rogue grinned to herself as she hopped on his bike, remembering Gambit's parting gesture- the feel of his lips through the scarf, the warmth of his chest as it pressed up against hers, the passionate glow of his devilish eyes under the tacky illumination of street lamps, and his promise of another meeting. 'What do ya know,' she murmured, 'maybeh it wasn't so bad, after all.'

(1) Just me complaining about Psylocke's crazy threads from the comics. Like it or leave it, you have to admit, they were rather unconventional.

(2) A quote from the comics, when Kitty was trying to convince the Professor to pull her out of the New Mutants and place her into the senior X-Men team. For the life of me, I can't remember what the issue number was but it had Lockheed in it, and it was Madelyne Pryor's first appearance.

I'm using a new writing style, so tell me what you think. Hate it? Love it? Want to rain bullets on me because of it! All are welcome!

And I know I said this before, but it bears repeating, so… HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Mitchy x

P.S. Review!

ATTENTION: To the person who's been spamming me with reviews asking me to contact her, this site censors all email addresses so I couldn't see yours. Please create an account and PM me. Thanks.