|Author's Note:
This is a very alternative storyline. Basically, John doesn't leave, or if he did, he came back quickly. John can create his own fire now. Rogue has learned some control over her powers – she can call up on other powers she has absorbed but not as strongly as the original mutant's - and if she focuses hard enough, she can touch someone without draining them. But she still can't touch freely.
I use John and Pyro interchangeably. If enough people find it really annoying, let me know and I'll change it. I basically took 8 hours that I was supposed to be working on a final project to write this – I am a huge procrastinator. It is by far the single largest piece I've written and it is un-beta'd. Oh god, here we go.
I re-edited the story in light of the reviews and having some time after finishing my coursework for this quarter. Many thanks to hotbritt5000 and Unenlightened, who reviewed the first version of this story. |
[] indicates a person's personal thoughts. I didn't distinguish between different people – it should be evident whose thoughts are whose
{} is a telepathic call.
Italics means the words are spoken or thought with emphasis.
** usually indicates action.
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
A glowing ember stands out on the roof top amidst the darkness of the New England late fall night. There are no stars or moon to add to the nightscape, only the mansion's brazen but fog-dulled security lights blaring at the lower lawn. Rogue brings the cigarette back up to her lips, but before she can inhale again, the ember dies.
"I should act surprised, but I suppose I'm not. To what do I owe the displeasure, John?"
*chuckles* "No Rogue, just minding the 'non-smoking' campus policy"
A figure steps out of the shadows; it is the silhouette of scrawny but growing teenage boy. His face is hidden, but Rogue is sure it holds a sneer.
"Well, now that my peace and quiet has been violated by an unwelcomed and unwanted presence, I'm gonna get outta here."
Rogue stands, Pyro can barely make out the edge of her long skirt and a white streak in her hair before she's gone. [Wait, gone? Where the hell did she go?]
"Rogue?"
A trace of a smile sneaks across Rogue's face as she escapes off the side of the mansion along a trellis she discovered a few months ago that leads straight to her room. She quietly shifts her window back open and scuttles inside, checking that her door is still closed and locked, and her emergency "fake" self, consisting of pillows stuffed socks under her mattress, is undisturbed.
*sigh* [Yet another almost successful escape to smoke. At least Logan didn't catch me]
Rogue leaves her window slightly cracked – in spite of the cool weather, her room gets hot at night because she is right above Bobby and John's room, and that freaking pyromaniac puts off heat like a boiler on full throttle. She disrobes to a minimal amount of clothing and crawls under her sheets, trying to go to sleep while she still has at least a partial nicotine high.
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
*ring ring ring*
*ring ring ring*
Sunlight streams through an open window onto her bed, as Rogue reaches over and hits the snooze on her alarm clock, rolling deeper into her bedding. [I don't have to get up quite yet. I'll just skip breakfast]
*bang bang*
*bang bang bang*
[What the fuck? It's too early]
"Mmmm … You want?" Rogue mumbles through her covers in the general direction of her door.
"Oh Roguey, I know you don't want to miss breakfast on a danger room session day, do you?" the sickeningly sweet voice of one St. John Allerdyce sang through her door. Her lock clicked open [what the hell] and she popped her head out just in time to see Gambit's trench coat sail out of view, leaving John in his wake and her doorway.
"Oh my GOD, John. Why won't you just leave me alone?"
"Now what would be the fun in that?" John walks over to Rogue's bed and in one fail swoop, pulls off the bedding.
"AHHHH John!" Rogue blushes furiously as she makes a grab for the bedding – she has opted to sleep in less and less as her stay at the mansion continues. Last night she only wore boxer shorts and a tank top. "Can't you see I'm freaking naked over here Allerdyce? Give me back my sheets!"
"Oh no you don't Rogue, up and at 'em. I think I'll take these with me." John escapes Rogue's bedroom with her comforter and sheets in hand, turning on her overhead fluorescent lights and leaving the door open as he departs.
"You BASTARD. You will die in DR session today! I swear it on my grand mamma's grave so help me … UHHH" Rogue rolls out of bed and slams her door in the face of the small crowd that has gathered to watch John taunt the most dangerous mutant of the mansion (or for some, to catch a glimpse of the body that was always hidden under multiple layers of thick, heavy clothing). Rogue locks the door with disdain, eyeing the lock that apparently Gambit – [that no good thieving Swamp Rat] - was able to pick just fine. [Maybe I can get permission from the professor to add an interior lock]
{Rogue, I would like to see you in my office before first period starts.}
[Okay Professor.]
Rogue turns the lock in spite of its inadequacies, [at least it will keep most people out], and jumps in the shower. Fifteen minutes later, she finds herself knocking on the Professor's office door. {Come in}
"Hi Professor, what did you need me for?"
"Well Rogue, it has come to my attention that the latticework on the west side of the mansion has been damaged, apparently by a small fire. You wouldn't happen to know how this happened, would you?" The professor's steely blue eyes locked onto Rogue's while he awaited her answer.
"Well I certainly didn't damage it professor. Why would I catch it on fire?"
"Small fires can be caught by unwatched embers, Rogue. My tolerance for your smoking habit notwithstanding, please see to it that you take care of your butts properly. That will be all"
"But Professor I…"
*brrrriiing brrriiing*
*brrrriiing brrriiing*
"I believe you should get going Rogue."
"I… yes Professor." [Goddamn John Allerdyce. You will most definitely be hurting by the end of the day today]
Rogue ran to her first class [Of course I'm late for Mr. Summers' class, shit] and barely made it in before the tardy bell rang.
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
"Rogue, how kind of you to join us this morning. Now, as I was saying, your test next week…"
*Psst*
*Psst*
Rogue tried to focus on Mr. Summers but someone kept buzzing in her ear. As covertly as she could muster, Rogue turned her head to see who was making the racket. [Oh of course it's you. What else do you have to do besides annoy the piss out of me, you freaking Aussie pain in the ass]
As though he could read her mind, John smirked at Rogue and forced a wad of paper into her hand.
"Rogue, what is the quadratic formula?" [Oh shit]
"Ummm, hang on; I have it in my notes here somewhere…" Rogue scrambled to open her binder and flip to their current section of notes, only to have several pages fall out of her binder onto the floor. [FUCK, today is not my day.] "Sorry" she mumbled as she bent over to pick up the pile of notes.
"Next time Rogue, please pay attention during lecture and take out your notes before class. Kitty?"
"Yes Mr. Summers, the quadratic formula is…."
Rogue put all of her notes back into her binder front pocket [I'll sort these later] and kept searching for today's note page. [Why doesn't Mr. Summers just use a text book instead of creating his own printouts, that would be way neater, and isn't he like, Mr. Neat Freak himself, or whatevOUCH]
Rogue shot partway up in her chair at the sudden scorching heat on her backside. She whipped around in her chair only to see John smiling innocently and pointing to his hand, then to hers. [Oh right, you torch my freaking backside to get me to read your note. Let's see how you feel about this]
Rogue turned around, holding the note behind her back, and summoning up the Phoenix's power (she accidently touched Jean during the "Liberty Island Incident" and discovered in a later danger room session that she too could partially wield the power of the Phoenix) she atomically dissolved the note, letting the dust drop to the floor. Rogue smiled and tuned back into the lecture, certain the pyromaniac would leave her alone. [Top that, jack ass]
"When solving a first order function, how many points do you need along the function to define its parameters?" Rogue raised her hand and caught Mr. Summers' eye. "Rogue?"
"A first order function, or a line function, can be defined by 2 points. It has 2 parameters that you need to solve for, the slope and the y-intercept." Mr. Summers beamed at Rogue. "Very good Rogue; now, who can tell me the difference between a first and second order function?"
*psst*
*psst*
[Oh for god's sake, what the hell is the matter with him?]
Rogue waited until Mr. Summers was writing something on the board and turned in her desk to glare at John. "What?" she whispered
John leaned forward as though to whisper back, but then quickly popped the note down Rogue's shirt and sat back in his chair like an attentive, or at least a typical, student. The color in Rogue's face drained as she fought back anger, humiliation, and rage. John caught her eye and briefly looked a little frightened - [since when are her eyes black?] - before covering it up with a smirk and a nod towards the head of the class.
The head of the class where Mr. Summers was now staring Rogue down. [I'm so killing John Allerdyce. Maybe I can do it right now in class.] She smiled meekly at Mr. Summers as she turned back around and then pointed her eyes back at her notes, breathing a sigh of relief when it finally appeared that both Mr. Summers and Mr. Allerdyce had done the same thing. [Should I do it? I bet I can. The notebook, John's notebook.] Rogue concentrated her, no, Jean's power on John's notebook and smiled when she could hear his faint cursing as his notebook, like the note he passed her at the beginning of class, disintegrated right in front of him.
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
At DR session that afternoon, Rogue suited up and was out in the big empty room first, well, except for John of course who always seemed to beat her to it. She smirked at him, and he followed suit. As everyone filed in around them, Rogue and John continued their staring contest, his eyes developing a reddish tone and hers going all black. [wow, that is totally freaky; the sheila's whole eye is going black]
"Alright kiddies, today we practice sparring. Thirty minutes, no powers. You all need to shape up a little more if your last DR session is anything to go by." Groans filled the room in protest, but everyone assembled with their usual sparring partners, Peter with John, Jimmy with Rogue, Bobby with Gambit, and Kitty with Jubilee.
"Nope that won't be any good either. You guys have gotten lazy with your usual sparring partners, so I am reassigning partners. Peter, your with Gambit; Bobby, you and Kitty; Jubilee, you with Jimmy; Rogue, your with John."
"What? Wait a minute, I spar with Jimmy cause he can't be hurt by me. That puts me at an unfair advantage." [Not to mention you put Bobby with Kitty. What are you tryin' to get at Logan?]
"Get used to it darlin'. And your spare time starts, now"
"Well isn't this convenient Roguey? Did you get the chance to read me note?" [And you paired me up with John. I guess I get to take out my anger after all.]
"No asshole, and this is spar time, not talk time" Rogue pounced on John, her momentum causing them both to tumble to the mat, on which they began to wrestle.
"You should learn to work through distractions. It might come in handY." John grunted as he threw Rogue's weight off of him while simultaneously flipping off the ground. He caught her gloved hand as she was falling and swung her towards the wall.
"You're certainly one to talk about distractions you son of a BITCH" Rogue roared as she abruptly changed her direction, charging at John and landing two good punches, one to his face, one to his gut, before he blocked her third.
"That's the whole point, girlee. You still didn't fess up. Did you read it or not?" John twisted Rogue's arm behind her back, getting her down to one knee as she fought the pain of her arm nearly breaking.
"Oh that thing? Maybe, maybe not. Next time, send it certified." Rogue tumbled out of the position, dragging John to the floor with her, under her. She pinned his shoulders to the mat. "One, two, three…"
John flailed under Rogue, but she had distributed her weight effectively, and Logan shouted "That's enough. I see it. Keep it up Rogue. Firefly, you gotta try harder than that, otherwise I'm going to start thinking you wanted to be in that position." Rogue blushed as she jumped off Pyro; he laughed as he got up. "What, suddenly 'conquering your enemy' doesn't seem that appealing?"
After another two matches, one of which went to John, in which he had Rogue in the most compromising of positions, and the other went to Rogue, Logan announced to switch to powers sparring.
Rogue's eyes went solid black as she circled Pyro. She smiled at him, before she disintegrated his shirt and shoes with a blink of her eye. "Oh come on Rogue, that was brand new!"
"Well then I guess it was too much of a distraction, St. John." Rogue's voice sounded hallow, like it always did when she had used Jean's powers. He shot a fireball at Rogue's hair, catching the tips of it on fire before she smothered it with John's own power. "I suppose you should consider putting it up next time, witch"
Rogue threw a telekinetic shield through John – [damn that freaking hurts] – before creating an ice rink beneath his bare feet and watching him slip on it for fun. She laughed "Don't mess with me"
John shot a superheated wave of fire towards Rogue, but it was blocked by an ice wall. They traded blows for the remainder of the session, both mentally, physically, and emotionally drained from their extensive power use, John to keep from being killed, Rogue to try to make due on her promises of earlier that day. When Logan finally called time, they both collapsed where they stood, sweating profusely. They waited until the other students had left before they both got up, still glaring daggers at one another, except this time, the glares lacked heat.
"Rogue, John, I want to see you two in the observation room after you've showered."
Both groaned and made way to their respective showers. Rogue jumped in the shower as soon as she was sure the other girls were out - no chance of them rubbing her skin while she was too tired to be careful. Suddenly, a mischievous thought came to Rogue, and she put her hand against the shower wall that connected to the boys' showers. When she left the shower, her spirit was much improved, especially after hearing the screams of one St John Allerdyce suddenly screaming about cold water.
Rogue managed to beat John to the observation room, and was surprised to see not only Logan, but Mr. Summers, and the Professor there as well, watching the tape of her and John spar. [Either this is really good, or really bad]
Logan sensed her presence and smiled at her as he looked up from the screen. "Don't worry Rogue, this is a good meeting. You and John both showed marked improvement today, far superior to most of your classmates." He gestured towards the other screens, and Rogue had to bite her tongue not to laugh at Peter's too slow punches failing to land on Gambit, who likewise found his mutation useless against Peter. Bobby got stuck in the concrete by Kitty before he could form a snowflake of ice, and Jimmy and Jubilee did more of a girly cat-fight than really throw any punches. A warm laughter floated over Rogue's shoulder as she suddenly realized that John had finished his cold shower - *snickers* - and decided to join them.
With a twinkle in his eye, perhaps sharing one or both of their amusements, the Professor addressed the pair, "Logan called us down during the spar match because he said he believes you two are ready to start training with the X-men for missions. After watching you both spar with and without powers, Scott and I have agreed with his judgment and would like to offer you both the chance to join our training sessions. This does not mean that you will be heading off on any missions any time soon. You do not need to decide right now, but if you choose to accept this offer, the X-men training session is at 10 am Saturday. If you have any questions, concerns, or doubts, please feel free to stop by my office between now and Saturday." With that, the Professor smiled at the pair and left the room, followed by Scott.
"Holy shit" (John and Rogue at the same time)
They looked at each other, and the animosity that had been brewing all day suddenly dissolved. Before anything else could be said, however, Logan incepted. "Well kiddos, it looks like you might be joining the big leagues now. Regardless of your decision to join us in Saturday training, you now both have permission to reserve the DR for your own personal sessions. I am setting your max levels both to 10 – if you have a problem with that, come talk to me and I will increase it, but only after marked improvement." He then pulled out a cigar, put it in his mouth, and left the two dumbfounded teenagers in the observation room alone.
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
"What you say we go celebrate our new freedom?" John says as he stretches his arm over Rogue's shoulders. Rogue maneuvers out of his grasp and locks eyes with him [Oh I guess the
"Fuck off John; I still haven't forgotten all the shit you put me through today. " Rogue got into John's face, pointing a finger into his chest, jabbing with every point. "And what was up with my cigarette last night huh? You snuff it, and then you light the roof on fire? You now the professor blamed me for fire damage to his trellis this morning? And Mr. Summers told me he wants me to do extra homework problems to make sure I've covered the freaking material from his lecture today?" Rogue's eyes started to go black on Pyro for just a second, but she caught sight of Bobby through the window in the door and forgot about John. She left and chased after Bobby, only to just miss him heading up the elevator with Kitty in tow.
[Those two spend way too much time together. No, don't be foolish Rogue, they are just friends.]
As she mentally fought with herself – having several personalities can make it difficult to decide how one interprets say, your boyfriends very suspicious actions – John snuck up behind her and grabbed her gym bag. "Last one to the top gets their stuff thrown off the roof," and he ran.
[Oh no he did not… ARRRGGGHHH]
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
Rogue caught up with John in the game room, where he was already lounging on the couch, staring at the T.V. and seemingly oblivious to her presence. Her bag was nowhere to be seen. [How'd he do that?] Rogue wondered to herself before she snuck up behind John and put one hand over his eyes and the other around his neck. John immediately froze, but before he could say anything Rogue whispered in his ear "So Johnny-boy, are we doing this the easy way or the hard way? I want my bag – you want to live. So let's make a deal, eigh?"
John's breathing was terribly un-steady and as he tried to calm his raging hormones [warm breath, husky voice, does she know what she does to me?] he lifted his arms in truce. "A sly smile crept across his face as he broke the news to her "Sorry Rogue, that bag has been confiscated and its contents taken as evidence. Gambit's orders. But while you're there, can you rub my neck? It's feeling kind a stiff after you threw me around in the DR."
Rogue ripped her hands away from John and shot him a glare. "What do you mean it's confiscated. John, Where. Is. My. Bag.?" Rogue said in a low, deadly voice. Jon smiled brightly. "Nope, can't help you there." He jumped off the couch as he announced this, placing the couch squarely between him and Rogue. Rogue opened her mouth to speak, but the door beat her to it as Bobby and Kitty walked in, his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist, laughing and carrying their gym bags in their respective un-occupied arms.
Rogue was shocked – [why is she touching my boyfriend? And for that matter, why is he letting her?] – and cleared her throat. Bobby and Kitty jumped from each other's arms. "Umm, Hi Bobby. Wanna catch dinner with me?" Rogue said, trying to catch her boyfriend's eye. Bobby opted to glare at John instead of looking Rogue in the eye. John smirked - [you are so busted, Bobby-boy]. "Sorry Rogue, I already promised Kit-kat here I'd help her with that assignment in Ms. Munroe's class." Bobby slowly replied, finally catching her eye and smiling at her, "You know how much of a stickler she is about those papers, and Kitty needs help with some of the grammar. You understand, right?"
Rogue looked defeated for a second, but she quickly covered it up with a smile and replied, "Of course Bobby, I'll catch you later then. Good luck." She then left the room, forgetting all about her gym bag and John [Stupid Kitty and her stupid assignments. 'I already promised'.] .
John glared at Bobby before he too walked out, saying as he left, "Good luck with that Math assignment Kitty." "Thanks John. " She sheepishly replied as she sat down on the couch next to Bobby. [History assignment my arse.]
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
That night, Rogue once again found herself crawling up to the roof. She tried after dinner to get Bobby's attention so she could tell him the great news, but he was still helping Kitty with her assignment. Still miffed over her boyfriend's lack of time for her, Rogue lit up her half-smoked cigarette from the night before and deeply inhaled. [On top of brushing me off all afternoon, he went to bed early tonight. I guess I'll have to catch him tomorrow. He has been so freaking distant lately.]
Surprisingly, the stars were shining and there was little fog – [I guess Ms. Monroe is feeling better]. Rogue wandered over to the backside of the roof, where she could see the yard and fountain. [Is that… that's Bobby. What's he doing?] Rogue watched as her boyfriend sat down by the fountain as if in thought. Just as she was considering going down to join him, she heard the soft click of a door and Kitty walked out to join him. [Jesus, what time is it… oh, it's like midnight. What are they doing?] Rogue's concern grew as she watched Bobby stand up, though she couldn't clearly see his face, and embrace Kitty. He took her hand in his, iced over the fountain – [he's going to kill the Koi fish], and they started skating. Rogue couldn't tear her eyes away from Bobby, who had spent the evening with Kitty and apparently, wasn't getting more sleep after all.
[The wench. That freaking no good two-timing son of a BITCH.] Kitty and Bobby came to a stop and – [Oh my God, he kissed her.] Rogue didn't notice until she went to drag on her cigarette that she had disintegrated it. Shocked by her own lack of control she closed her eyes, ignoring the cold trails of salty tear water streaming down her face. [I'm not seeing this; I'm not seeing this. This is not freaking happening right now.]
"You wanna talk about it?" His comment was so soft and quiet Rogue almost didn't hear it over the drum of her mental break down. She tried to stop herself from trembling and quickly wiped her face with her sleeve before shifting so that she could look at her tormenter. "With you? What are you gonna do John; tell me how I shoulda seen it comin'? Tell me how I musta been stupid not ta know that he was gettin' it elsewhere? Remin' me 'bout how no matter how much I canh do fah mutant-freakin'-kind I still can' keep a boyfriend, or 'ave anyone close ta meh?" Rogue's accent got thicker and her voice got quieter as she went on, "Maybeh ya jus' wanted ta remin' meh tha' Ah'm nothin' compared ta ya, ya can get anyone ya wan' John, she coulda gotten anyone else. Why him? Why meh?"
Rogue started to get up from her spot to flee, but she slipped and began to roll off the roof. John noticed immediately and reached down to catch her hand. Rogue grasped it but let go when she realized her skin wasn't covered, him having to grab her wrist instead to keep her from falling and pulled her back up to a crouch. Unlike Rogue, he didn't let go.
"No Sheila, I wanted to remind you of how beautiful and perfect you are, just the way you are." John, using his free hand, rubbed her bare knuckles, his face baring the dark lines as a sure sign of her mutation, but paying the pain no heed as Rogue continued to struggle in his grasp. "Rogue, Bobby is an ass, but don't let them get to you. He is the problem, not you. It is not your fault that he is cheating on you."
Rogue stared at John a moment, taking in the thoughts behind the words he was saying. [Go out with me Roguey; I won't hurt you lke he has.] Without warning, she jerked her hand from John's grip, "Are you freaking nuts? Do you think I need a pity party and mercy date, John? I know you don't like me; you can't stand me and are always finding a way to make my day hell in the mansion. Just leave me alone. " John looked back at her in shock, which Rogue took as an admission of guilt. [Figures, of course it's all bullshit. It always has been and always will be.]
Rogue got up and turned to her side of the mansion's roof, but paused after a step. Giving one long look at the fountain - [Fuck it] - she disintegrated the ice under Bobby and Kitty's feet, feeling some relief, though small and petty, at the sounds of them screaming at the cold water. She turned back and hurried as quietly but quickly as she could back to her spot, crawled down the fire-damaged trellis, shoved open her window, and collapsed on her bed in tears. [I hate it. I hate John. I hate Bobby. I hate Kitty. I hate everyone] she sobbed to herself, as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
*bang bang bang*
*bang bang bang*
Rogue awoke to feeling unusually cold [damn I left the window open], a strong nicotine craving, and a loud knocking on her window. She checked her alarm clock – [who the hell is up at 7 in the morning?]. Rogue yelled at whoever was at the door, "Justa minute," and changed out of yesterday's wrinkeled clothes. [What happened last… oh, that's right. My boyfriend, excuse me, ex-boyfriend, cheated on me with my ex-best friend Kitty. And, John decided to make fun of me for it. And, I didn't get to smoke. I freaking wake up to a cold room, in wrinkled smelly clothing, and who the fuck is that knocking at this hour?]
*bang bang bang*
*bang bang bang*
"Rogue I want to talk about this. It's not what you think."
[Oh no he did not.] Rogue stormed to the door half-dresssed in her long-john pants and a tank top undershirt, threw open the door, and locked eyes with Bobby as his hand was in midmotion to knock again. To his credit, he gulped and meekly lowered his hammering arm. Rogue just glared.
{And you were saying, Robert?} she telepathically shoved into his mind, along with her Birdseye view of the whole thing.
Bobby winced as his head started to hurt, "Rogue stop. You're hurting me."
"Not as much as you have freaking hurt me. Tell me Robert - how long have you been banging Kitty? A few days, weeks? Has it possibly been two months? You haven't had time for me in ages Robert." Rogue sneared at Bobby, maintaining an onslaught of her memories, and mostly her emotional pain, of his withdrawl from her life. Just as his nose started to bleed, Rogue had mercy. She stopped her barrage fast as a trainwreck, and Bobby had to catch himself on the door to keep from falling to the floor.
" Leave me the hell alone, Bobby; I have nothing left to say to you." Rogue went to slam her door in his face, but Bobby stuck his foot in the door. Furious, Rogue disintegrated his shoes, and stomped his foot with her own. "Out you freaking pathetic sack of shit." He hastily withdrew his foot in pain and then fell back as the solid wood door collided with his forehead.
"Drake! I'd say she let you off easy." Pyro smirked at Bobby, having witnessed the scene from down the hall. "You know how the saying goes, hell hath no fury …" Pyro waved his hands at the dusty remnants of Bobby's slipper, "well, you get the picture," and left.
Rogue crawled into a ball on her bed and moved all her photos of her and Bobby into her garbage can telekinetically. [Not good enough, they should burn like my heart does right now] Laughing at her own lame thought, she shot fireballs, courtesy of John's touch, at the garbage can, watching it, and all the photos, go up in smoke. [Bye bye Bobby].
After moping around for a bit, watching her photos and memories of her and Bobby's relationship burn away, Rogue got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs. [Damn I still need a freaking cigarette – especially after all that bullshit with Bobby.] She grabbed a cereal box and milk carton from the kitchen buffet table - [I can just pretend I wanted to eat breakfast outside] - and went outside, making a beeline for the trees. As soon as Rogue thought she was out of sight, she climbed one of the large trees near the edge of the forest and settled on a fairly high branch. *sigh* [I hate smoking in the mornings, but if I don't I'm going to have a headache all day.] Rogue reasoned with herself as she light up a new cigarette and considered the day ahead.
[Boyfriend? Nope. Best Friend? Nope. Ability to Touch Freely? Nope.] She took a long drag of the cigarette. [I guess I should be happy that I am closer to being a real X-man. Oh yeah, and John hasn't decided to bug me, well, not yet anyways.] Rogue snickered to herself as she thought about John busting into her room yesterday morning [that was kind of funny now that I think about it] and pondered his words from last night.
[What was he getting at anyway?]
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
Rogue went to inhale her cigarette, only to realize it had been snuffed. [No, the fire just died. Thanks to Pyro. I guess now is as good a time as any to talk.] "Hey flame boy! You gonna join me or just ruin my first smoke in half a week?" Rogue couldn't see him, but her now smokeless cigarette was a smoking gun as to his presence.
"I thought you didn't want to talk to me anymore, Rogue." Pyro's voice filtered in through the leaves below, but Rogue couldn't see him – she had hidden herself from view too well, thus hiding the forest floor from her view. Rogue closed her eyes and tried to use her borrowed mutations to pinpoint Pyro, but in the end it as her natural sense of hearing that told him where he was.
"Are you calling a truce, Roguey?" he whispered into her ear, his voice riddled with amusement. [Damn how does he do that?] "Not a truce per say, but Ah figured that since you were heah ya had somethin' ta say." Rogue replied in a false bravado tone, her accent betraying her true feelings.
In a trickling warm breath over her ear [Gawd his breath is makin' meh tingle down ta mah toes], John replied "Well then, Roguey, I guess we'd better get to talking" [Oh God, what has gone wrong with me? This is Pyro. Get a hold of yourself girly] Rogue steeled herself to turn around and get her o-so-sensitive ears away from Pyro's warm and soft voice.
Facing him, she was startled [his eyes are glowing again, but they ain't as angry as they were yesterday while we were fighting. They look like the embers of a bonfire, just softly burning away.] Resisting the urge to curl up in his arms and let him melt away her worries., Rogue stuttered out a reply. "I, uh, Ah guess tha' I'm sorry fo' las' nigh'. I was upset and I wasn' really thinkin' 'bout wha' I was sayin'…."
John smiled at her and reached for her hand. Rogue went silent as he gently pulled the glove off [why does this feel so much more, uhh, intimate than it should. I mean really it's just a glove]. John held her bare hand in both of his and tried to project his thoughts, emotions, and memories of the past few weeks, focusing on what he really wanted Rogue to see.
xxxxxoxxxxx
"Bobby mate, where the hell are you going at 11:00 at night? I can't imagine your conchy little Rogue is really this much of a night owl." John calls out from his bed, shortly after curfew is called on the boys' floor as he watches Bobby walk out their door dressed, well, like he was going on a date.
"No John, you're right. She isn't much of a night owl at all." Bobby says mysteriously as he leaves the room, chuckling. John frowns, and turns back over to sleep…
xxxxxoxxxxx
John sneaks up to the roof – it's a different night cause this time he's wearing dark sleeping pants and a dark hoodie – using the 3rd floor window ledge. He has been caught previously sneaking out on the front lawn, and doesn't want a repeat. He walks as gently as possible across the roof to find a good spot to think, but stops abruptly when he feels it.
A flame is calling to him – its small, like that of a lighter or cigarette [or cigar he thinks]. Now with a different direction in mind, he crouches and wanders towards it. [Maybe I can bust Logan smoking on the roof.] But once he reaches the apex of the roof and looks to the other side, he sees a lonesome figure in a skirt [definitely not Logan]. Whoever it is, she isn't facing him, so he watches as she brings the cigarette up to her face, watches the smoke float away as she exhales. When the figure turns around, he is surprised to see two white stripes [Rogue?]. He ducks as to not be seen, but when he sneaks a peak again, she is gone.
Later that night, Bobby struts into the room, his hair disheveled, lips puffy, and John gets it. Bobby isn't going out with Rogue at night.
xxxxxoxxxxx
John starts to flirt with Rogue – or at least he tried. She wards off his every advance, and he starts to give up. Then one day the Cajun pulls him aside and asks him what he is doing to Rogue. "Look Remy, Bobby isn't good for her. Don't you see how he's as mean as cat's piss around her?" John asks of Remy.
"Well little Aussie, if you be seddin' ya sights on de Roguey, den you gunna need da get her da see you. Dat chere got eyes only fo' de Iceman, cochon dat he is."
"And how am I supposed to do that, mate? I have tried everything I can think of, but she won't even speak to me!"
"Oh homme, you goin' bout dis da bad way. Ecoute, mon ami, if you wan' her to see you, she gotta know you dere. Get her fired up, homme. Dis Cajun will help you."
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Several short memories stream through Rogue's conscious – John and Remy pulling her pigtails one day, Remy helping John break into Rogue's room to steal some of her things, which were then promptly put on display at breakfast and taken down just as quickly, John slipping Rogue notes in class, purposefully getting her into trouble with him so that they would have detention together…
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John is running out of the observation room with her gym bag in hand, passing Remy on the stairs and handing it off,barely beating her to the den. Just as he sits down, he feels Rogue walk in. After she leaves, he taunts Bobby and Kitty "Good luck with that Math assignment Kitty," and Bobby looks frantically for Rogue, apparently relieved once he realizes she truly did leave.
John leaves the room and meets with Remy. As soon as he shuts the taller man's door, he blurts out what just happened in detail. Remy nodds as john continues, "Remy, what do I do? It's getting bad. Bobby is going to get himself caught with Kitty and it's going to break her heart. Should I tell her?"
"No Homme, dis be one ding dat Remy have learned from experience. Dey neva' learn if dey told. Dey gotta see ihd da believe ihd."
"But… I love her too much to let her get hurt."
"No John. If you really love da girl, and if she has started da fall pour vous, den let ihd happen. Just be dere when ihd does."
xxxxxoxxxxx
John lets go of Rogue's hand as the faintness from touching her sets in. A smile is plastered across his face as he watches her expressions change from happy, to sad, to angry, to happy again. Rogue kisses his forehead and whispers back, "I love you too, my little egotistical pyromaniac. I love you too."
(((((((((((((((break)))))))))))))))
|A/n: There may or may not be a sequel. I now feel content to leave it here, so I have marked the story as Complete. Review, let me know if there is anything that makes it terribly unreadable (I tried to distinguish between the Mississippian and Louisianan accents – but if you aren't from the South, you probably won't get it.). I know I brought it to a quick close… sorry to disappoint. I am contemplating a sequel, but it will be in a different story header, as it most likely will be rated M for mature audiences only.|