Summary: Rogue is touring college campuses and runs into who she thinks is an old friend. X-Men/Traveler crossover. Oneshot.
Disclaimer: X-Men is property of Marvel and Fox and Stan Lee and blah blah blah... Traveler is property of the Jinks/Cohen Company and Warner Bros and ABC and blah blah blah...
A/N: Set somewhere in AU-land where Rogue can magically control her mutation and, obviously, pre-Drexler days for the Traveler boys. Probably would help if you had watched the show Traveler to read this story… Should probably mention also, this isn't really a Rogue/Will story. Maybe I'll write that one some other time...
"I can't believe how huge this place is..." It was truly a rare moment when Jubilee was in awe of something and this was definitely one of those moments. Her attention shifted away from the ivy-covered buildings to her friend who was still reading the thick novel-like brochure the tour guide had given her as a prospective student. "Hey, can you please stop reading that damn thing for just a second and take a look around you? And why are you looking at pictures of Yale when you're right smack dab in the middle of it."
"Sorry," Rogue said, sheepishly, putting the brochure away in her bag. "Did we just leave Logan behind?"
Jubilee snorted. "I think he wanted to be left behind. He kept saying 'I'll catch up...I'll catch up...' and then went back to eyeing that mother with the 'juicy' sweatpants."
Rogue giggled, knowing exactly who Jubilee was talking about. There had been several parents on the tour with them earlier in the day but one definitely stood out. Not only did she look way too young to be a parent of a 17-year-old son but she was also the only one who was wearing black sweatpants with the word 'Juicy' stretched across her ass. That definitely got Logan's attention.
"So what's the verdict on this place?" Jubilee asked, snapping her gum.
"I don't know... Like you said already, it's huge. And remember when we went into that one library? I think I would get lost in that damn place and not be seen again for years."
"You just don't like this place because you want to go to Michigan and become a Wolverine!" Jubilee saw how red Rogue's face gotten at that comment and laughed. "HA! I'm right, aren't I?" Jubilee then switched to her baby-talk mode whenever she teased her friend. "Widdle Roguey wants to be a mini-Wolverine? Aww...isn't that cute? Widdle Roguey Wolverine..."
"Just stop it... You're embarrassing yourself and need I remind you that you're on a college campus and you're surrounded by potentially available college guys?"
"Widdle Roguey gettin' cranky..." Jubilee muttered under her breath, getting a little cranky herself. She was going to say more but then she spotted one massive looking bookstore and her mood changed dramatically for the better. "Hey, look! I need to get a t-shirt from here, let's go check it out."
"Jubilee, I don't think you should be adding any more apparel to your already massive amount of clothing. Have you seen your closet lately? What I would define as 'overstuffed.'"
"So not the point, Rogue! I need to get a shirt from here to add to my collection."
"What collection?"
"See, it started when we went to that university...the one in Chicago..."
"You mean, the University of Chicago?"
Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Yes, the University of Chicago. No need for the sarcasm... I would have remembered the name...eventually... Anyways, I got a shirt there then another one when we went to Norte Dame then Michigan then Penn State, Princeton, Harvard, and now Yale. I'll have to ask you to remind me to get a shirt from NYU when we get there. And then my shirt collection of this god-forsaken road trip will be complete." Then added as an afterthought, "Ta-da!"
"You couldn't just get postcards, could you?"
Jubilee just smirked and tried to tug her friend toward the store. "Come on! I'll even buy you one of those ginormously cheesy beer mugs with the Yale logo on it – you'll need something to put your morning coffee in when you finally decide on a college, right?"
"Tempting...but I think I want to go look around the quad again."
"Don't wander too far. I'd hate to go back to Logan alone and tell him I lost ya..." Jubilee winked and ran off toward the store, handbag already half un-zipped for easy access to her wallet.
Rogue couldn't help but shake her head as she walked toward the quad.
There was a group of guys throwing around a football, people just reading books or newspapers, doing homework, she even saw a guy spread out on top of a towel sleeping soundly in a patch of sunlight. She was so preoccupied looking around, she didn't hear someone call out "Head's up!" It was only when she felt something hit the side of her face that she knew that the warning was meant for her.
"OW!" She crumpled to the ground, holding her face, as the football landed by her feet.
"Ah, crap. Nice throw, Tyler!" She had her eyes scrunched up so tight, she started when someone touched her hand. "Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay? What is wrong with you?! I could have..." She trailed off when she finally opened her eyes, the pain disappearing as she looked at the guy kneeling in front of her. "John...?"
"Who?" He looked genuinely confused.
Before she got a chance to reply, two guys had jogged over, hovering above them. They looked like Abercrombie and Fitch models, she thought to herself, still holding the side of her face. "Are you okay? Jesus, Tyler, you're suppose to aim for the person you want to catch the ball, not an innocent bystander."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time... Like you throw any better, Mr Football Man. I bet Kim could kick your ass."
The dark haired boy wearing the Cubs t-shirt just laughed. "She would kick my ass and yours, Fog. I don't doubt that for a minute."
Rogue wasn't paying much attention to the conversation swirling around her. She just couldn't stop staring at him.
But the longer she looked, the more she realized it wasn't him. It wasn't John.
His hair wasn't the right color, his eyes just not the same. He looked older too - too old to be seventeen.
God, he would be seventeen now, she thought. His birthday was a month ago. Did he celebrate it somewhere? Did he get presents? Did he blow out candles? She was pretty sure he probably didn't do any of those things...wherever he was.
She knew the three boys were still talking, probably asking her questions, but she just continued to stare at this John Allerdyce look-a-like. She had pictured John like this sometimes - that he might have left the mansion to go to college, make new friends to throw a football around with, maybe even once in awhile go to class and learn something, give her a call and tell her all about what he was doing. If only...
A light touch on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts. "Didn't mean to scare you. You look like you saw a ghost."
She gave him a small smile. "Sorry...you just remind me of somebody I used to know."
"Will? He reminds you of somebody? Really?" She looked up and saw that the boy who had thrown the football at her had spoken. She tried to stifle her laugh at the incredulous expression on his face.
"Tyler?"
"Jay?"
"Shut the fuck up."
And with those words, the two Abercrombie and Fitch boys started to mock wrestle. They were both laughing as they had each other in head locks, tripping over their own feet and falling onto the grass.
Rogue watched as Will's eyes followed his friends' horseplay - she thought she saw regret in his eyes but in a flash, it was gone.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked.
"I think I'll live." He helped her to her feet. They looked at each other for a moment awkwardly. "I have to go find my friend. She has the tendency to buy out entire stores."
"Right...just make sure to avoid those flying footballs, okay?" he grinned. "The Yale ones can be especially hard on the face."
"Thanks for the tip," she smiled and waved good-bye to him as she hurried over to the bookstore.
In the end, she didn't go to any of the colleges they had visited on that road trip. She wasn't sure what was the exact deciding factor but she was pretty glad to be at Columbia - it was still close to the mansion which pleased both Logan and Jubilee and it was still an Ivy League school which pleased her.
She was excited to go to her first class, English literature. It was one of those mandatory classes for all incoming freshmen but it was still exciting for her to go.
The classroom turned out to be a large auditorium and most of the seats were already taken by the time she got there.
She picked a seat near the front, sitting between a girl who was busy texting something on her phone and a guy who was bent down, looking for a pen in his bag. When he straightened, she was going to introduce herself - she wanted to make friends after all and possibly someone she could study with - but it seemed that her power of speech had left her.
He looked over at her and grinned. "Fancy seeing you here."
"John..."