AN: Okay, so this is a sorta re-write of my other story Because of you, since I read through it yesterday and realized how terrible it was. But still, this is not a re-write since I changed it...Anyway, read and enjoy. Song is still Because of you by Kelly Clarkson
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the song, only the plot.
Because of you
Logan frowned slightly when he saw Rogue walk towards one of the rec rooms, and wondered what she was still doing here. Storm and Beast had taken all the kids to the beach, and Logan thought that he was the only one staying behind. Apparently he was wrong. Rogue had been avoiding him for the past few days, giving him the excuse that she had a lot of papers to grade for the Ethnics class. He saw through her lies though. It had been almost six months since Alcatraz, and over a month since she and Bobby had broken up. Apparently, Rogue had found him in bed with Kitty, and it was a good thing for Bobby that he had left, or else Logan would have killed him.
Moving as soundlessly as only Logan could, he walked closer to the rec room, wanting to know what Rogue was doing there. When he was standing right outside the door, he heard the click of her tape-recorder. Her southern drawl was more obvious than usual, as it used to get when she was sad or upset.
"I wrote this song for you, but I don't think I'll be brave enough to play it to you, this is why I'm doing this," she took a deep breath, and then started a melody on the piano, a melody Logan recognized as the same one she'd been playing on and off for over a month.
"I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did you fell so hard
I've learned the hard way to never let it get that far"
'It's about Bobby', was Logan's first thought when he heard her sweet and clear voice sing out the lyrics, and he listened carefully.
"Because of you, I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you I am afraid"
A part of him wanted to rush into the room, but he opted against it. Something told him that Rogue wanted to be alone, and he respected that.
"I lose my way and it's not to long before you point it out
I cannot cry because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh, every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break when it wasn't even whole to start with"
Because of you never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you I am afraid"
'That damn Iceman is lucky he's not around anymore' Logan thought, and a low growl escaped from his lips. Luckily, Rogue didn't hear as she continued to sing.
"I watched you die, I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young, you should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else you just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night for the same damn thing"
Rogue stopped playing, and it was with a wave of shock Logan realized that he had been wrong. The song wasn't about Bobby. The song was about…him. About the things he had put her through. He listened carefully, and when Rogue started to play again, her voice was shaky, as if she was fighting back tears.
"Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you, I learnt to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you I am afraid"
Because Of you
Because Of you"
When Logan realized that she was finished, he panicked and quickly left, racing towards his room at a speed that even surprised him. When he came to his room he sat down on his bed, progressing what he just had heard. He stared blankly on the wall, and was so wrapped up in his thoughts, that he didn't notice when the smell of Rogue outside the door appeared. It was when the faint sound of someone putting down a hard object on the floor reached his ears he reacted, and his head shot up. In a millisecond, he had opened the door, expecting to see Rogue there. But she wasn't. Instead, on the floor lay the tape-recorded he had given her for Christmas two years ago, and he picked it up. A note that said 'play me' was stamped on, and he couldn't help but to let out a small grin before he pressed the on button. Immediately Rogue's voice came out of the speaker.
"I wrote this song for you, but I don't think I'll be brave enough to play it to you, this is why I'm doing this."
Logan sighed, and when a different noise reached his ears, he carelessly dropped the recorder on the ground, and raced down the stairs. When he came to the front door, he sank down on his knees. It was closed, but on it sat a note, with writing he recognized as Rogue's. "Don't come after me," he read out loud. "I've made my choice and you can't stop me. Have a great life Logan, you deserve it. Yours forever and ever, Marie." When he had finished reading the note, tears were running down the mighty Wolverine's cheeks. Tears cried for the bastard he had been, and tears that the girl, the woman, he had sworn to protect, and who he had come to love in the progress, had left. She didn't want him to go after her. She was finished with him.
THE END