Not Worth the Save

Chapter 1

"I never asked you to save me!" Pyro screamed at Rogue during the height of their argument.

"You're right. Now why didn't I just leave you to die?!" She was very sarcastic and the next words of her sentence dripped with hurt and anger. "Why?" Tears formed at her eyes. "Cause I'm not a heartless monster." Pause. "I'm not you."

He watched her reatreat to herself and sit of the edge of her bed, bending down so her face was covered by her hands anad her arms were supported by her lap. He could hear a sob, but it didn't matter. He grabbed his jacket off the bed from behind her and put it on, glaring at her with disgust.

"Yeah," he said, shoving one arm into the jacket. "You're not like me. You're weak." Emphasis on the last word, he strode out of the apartment, slamming the door extra hard behind him. He ran down the staircase flicking his lighter open and closed repeatedly. Was this anxiety? He stopped on the bottom stepped and breathed deeply. Damn it. He turned, and ran back up, half-colliding with her on the way. She took a step back and folded her arms, unsure.

They stood there for a few moments, him staring at the ground, and her straight at the wall beside her. Finally –

"I was gonna ask you to come back," Rogue muttered. She looked down at him, hoping he'd atleast make eye contact.

He didn't, but stared even harder at the ground. She moved a step down and placed her hand on his cheek. He looked up at her, and took her hand, placing it near his mouth and kissed it tenderly.

"I was gonna come back." A pause, and he gritted his teeth at the words he was about to say. "I'm sorry." He moved up a step, and, said, even more sincerely, "I'm sorry."

With that she leaned in and kissed him square on the lips. He complied to her action, and kissed her bag, one of his hands cupping the back of her head and the other lying softly on her hip. They're kiss grew deeper. Her hands locked around his neck and pulled him closer. He directed her swiftly as they made their way back to her apartment.

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Was it coldness she saw in his eyes as she watched him fight Bobby down to the death? It was a very stiff fight, with no exit. Pyro had sealed the two of them an arena with fire for walls. They were standing on empty land, near a dock, near the sea. This was it. He would win. He would definitely win.

Pyro glanced at Rogue, and it only caused him to strike at Iceman even harder. The flames were practically coming alive, with their own desperation for vengeance. He wanted to cause pain. But on the other hand, Rogue's glance at him, from frightened and on guard, turned softer. What was she seeing in his eyes? It was true, the man – oh yeah, cause we're all grown up now, she added with a bitter afterthought – could burn from the inside. Ferocious. But yet he looked so cold. Colder than anything Bobby could freeze. It was a cold that ran like an abyss in his soul. It was like something had finally torn his heart to dust.

Rogue broke from her momentary trance as she saw Bobby send a large sharp bolt of ice at Pyro, and have it strike him down as it hit him in the shoulder. Pyro backed up slightly in shock, but kept focus long enough to merely be decked. Things were not going his way anymore. The wall of flames seemed to lose control and slowly die down. Rogue looked at Bobby, who was acting just as merciless as Pyro, and then in a split-moment, took action. She took a step back for momentum, and ran at the wall, jumping through a slightly open path, and landing on her feet, pulling off her jacket, which had caught on fire.

"Bobby, stop it!" she called to him, hoping he'd hear her out.

But no, the once-friends were clearly beyond reasoning. She could see the venom in Bobby's glare, despite the self-defense, and she knew well beyond anything that if given the chance, Pyro would rip out his old friend's throat. She looked back at the walls that surrounded them. They were growing weaker. Pyro was growing weaker.

Rogue jumped forward and took hold of Bobby's shoulder. Her ex-boyfriend was pummeling her ex-bestfriend up, hitting him across the head with great timing and repeated sharp blows. She pulled off Bobby from the bleeding Pyro. It seemed like a quart of his blood supply had already poured out from his shoulder wound, and the side of his bleeding mouth. Even Pyro could feel and taste the blooding jamming up in the back of his throat. Bobby backed away slightly, examining the damage he'd inflicted, examining the person he couldn't believe was once his most trusted ally. Rogue, however, knelt down next to Pyro and whispered a flurry of curses in shock of the sight of him.

"We have to get him some help," she declared, turning frantically to Bobby. He shook his head, his eyes hardening with disagreement.

Rogue turned back to Pyro, trying to stop the swift flow of blood from his shoulder with her bare hands – no use, he was still bleeding. Pyro winced slightly at the feel of her touch. She was warmed up, maybe cause of the fire. But she was still holding onto him tightly, willing him to hang on, wanting him to live.

"Rogue," he said, bracing himself, and causing her to bend down so that her hair hid their faces and their conversation. "This will hurt." He coughed slightly. His lighter flicked open, and as Bobby saw the flame burst out and trace around Rogue, Pyro stood up groggily, and ran through the flames that surrounded his old friends.

Rogue was shrieking at the sudden burst of fire, and trying to shake off the fire. The girl really couldn't keep her head in certain situations, Pyro mused. He walked through the fire as it grew stronger, ready to burn the two inside, or, atleast, burn Bobby. But no, as he succumbed to the darkness and to his escape, he saw that Iceman was in the process of turning the place into a winter wonderland. Ice had burned up all the fire walls, and the area inside it. He was holding Rogue tightly, freezing off the fire that stuck to her.

"I think it's time you gave up on him," Bobby whispered to her.

She whipped towards him, and glared daggers. "He's still John." Pause. "Somewhere, in him, I saw John."

And she was sure of it.

A/N: Comment it, love it(maybe?), let me hear what you gotta say, cause I'm starting up a second chapter.