AUTHOR: always krissy
DISCLAIMER: X-Men: Evolution belongs to the wonderful people at KidsWB (what? they rule, man. They brought us so much animated fun. :D) and Marvel, and millions of other people. Please don't sue me, mmkay?
AUTHOR NOTES: This is for Emma and Palla, who were both my supports throughout ALL my X-Men fics (ugh, so long ago since I wrote Evo regularly...) so they get applause because I am thinking about writing more. :D :D
PAIRING: Rogue/Scott implied, Rogue/Alex implied
RATING: PG
"Hi,"
Rogue said, uncertainly into the mic in her gloved hand. She
threw Scott a pleading look as she turned the mic off,
ignoring the cheerful greeting she got in return. "Do I have
to do this?"
"Yes," he said, firmly, and he grinned at
her. Her breath caught in her throat. His smile, she thought
dazedly, was the thing that attracted her most to him. He was
never afraid to smile at her, and it was never nervous or
half-hearted, like everyone else's. "I want you and Alex to be
friends! Besides, Jean asked me for help with tonight's
supper, and Alex is here," at his words, he gave a wave at the
web cam on his desk, "and someone needs to talk to
him."
"Why can't Kitty?" she demanded. "She's better at
this kinda stuff, anyway."
"She's helping Lance and his
goons study, over at their place," Scott said. Rogue felt a
trickle of annoyance at the blatant distaste in his tone of
words. Scott would never hide his feelings about her
ex-teammates. And as much as Rogue liked him, Rogue knew it
was one of his (little, in her opinion) flaws. "She should be
back soon," he continued, "but not soon enough."
"Oh.
Well... I can make dinner, and you and Jean can talk to Alex,"
Rogue offered, hopefully.
It wasn't that she disliked
Alex, because she really didn't, it was just the idea of
talking on a microphone with someone she didn't know. She was
used to being able to run when she got uncomfortable at
school. She could hide in the girl's room until they were
gone.. But here... On a mic? She couldn't run. She couldn't
hide and just wait for him to log off. Scott would get mad,
and Alex would think she was rude. And Rogue really wasn't,
she just... Liked to protect herself.
"I can see
everything you're saying, you know."
Rogue jumped at
the sound of Alex's voice and she snuck a peek at the screen.
Alex offered a small wave, and Rogue felt her cheeks
burn.
"How?" she asked. Her flushed cheeks darkened,
under her layers of makeup, and she quickly turned her mic
back on. "How?" she repeated. She didn't notice Scott's silent
exit, or the smile that was playing on his lips.
"I
learned how to read lips when I was younger," Alex explained.
"My best friend is deaf and she taught me."
"Oh," Rogue
said. She digested this piece of information, and squinted at
the screen. "You can see that clearly?"
"I'm used to
it," Alex laughed. Rogue decided, then and there, that she
liked his laugh. It had honesty in it that she'd only heard in
one other, who happened to be his brother. She could see why
they were related. "Scott isn't clear sometimes, because
there's always loud rock music blaring nearby when we
chat."
Rogue glanced at her lap. "That would be my
music," she said, embarrassed. Was her music really that
loud?
"I know," he grinned. "Scott told me that. Who do
you listen to, anyway?"
Rogue looked back up, and
grinned sheepishly, "Garbage. Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails...
Stuff like that."
Alex's nose wrinkled and Rogue
couldn't help but notice how cute he looked when he did that.
"Ugh. You actually listen to that?"
"What do you listen
to?" Rogue eyed him curiously. He was a blond, and from her
memories of pictures Scott showed them, she could remember
surfer clothing. She'd heard Scott speaking to him on speaker
phone once, and his speech sounded just like the clich?d
surfer. Pop music. It had to be. "Britney
Spears?"
"Well..."
Rogue's eyebrows rose, and a
silence fell between them, before she commented, "I guess it
is expected."
"What does that mean?"
Rogue
smirked, but felt a twinge of self doubt at his words. "Well,
you're a surfer, right? That's the kind of thing you listen
to, isn't it?"
"I like rap, mostly," he corrected, "but
I just like to jam to her music. Awesome to dance to, you
know."
"I wouldn't know," Rogue countered, snidely.
Alex looked taken aback by her tone, and Rogue sighed. "Scott
never told you about my mutant powers?"
"That you can't
touch anyone? Yeah," he looked puzzled, "but you can't dance,
either? You don't need to touch someone to dance. Unless I'm
doing it wrong."
Rogue sighed, "I just don't." Vivid
images of absorbing Kitty's dancing skills were still
imprinted in her every waking thought and she was suddenly
glad Alex didn't know about that.
Alex was wise enough
to change the topic, although Rogue could see the desire on
his face to continue it. He's just like Scott, she thought,
and he wants everyone to be happy.
"You don't sound
like a surfer," Rogue ventured, after another moment's pause.
"What gives?"
Alex hesitated. "Tell you what. If I
answer, you have to answer me a question, too."
It was
Rogue's turn to hesitate. What could it hurt? It wasn't like
he could be too personal. ...Could he?
"I guess," she
said, at last. She bit her lip nervously. She hoped this
wouldn't turn into one of those "let's spill our guts" talks
that Kitty tried to get her and Jean to do. It was bad enough,
then, and now here she was, doing it with a total
stranger.
But, she decided, Alex was a good stranger to
do it with. And... He was awfully cute...
"It's a
mask."
The word 'mask' caught Rogue's attention, and
she blinked, in surprise.
"A mask?" she repeated. "What
do you have to hide?" She couldn't stop the anger that laced
her words. Of all people... How could he possibly have
anything to hide? He was cute, and he could touch, and he
lived at the beach and surfed, and could have anyone he
wanted...
"Everything," he said. His lips twisted into
a bitter smile. "I'm not really all that cheery, and happy.
Family life sucks, and my friends deserted me at school,
because it accidentally slipped that I'm a freak, with 'mutie
powers.' Mom wasn't too pleased that everyone found out... And
she and dad are talking about me changing schools, and why
should I have to hide behind," his voice turned more laid
back, and his words came out lazy and almost childish, "my
mask? Especially with you?" He was glaring, and Rogue felt bad
about her question now. "I thought you'd
understand."
There was a pause.
"I'm sorry,"
Rogue told him sincerely, and she really did mean it. "I
guess... I guess... I know what you mean," she told him. She
carefully made her face blank, and continued to speak,
"I'm...like that, too. I..."
"You really suck at
heart-to-hearts," Alex commented. He was giving her a
tentative smile, which broadened when she started to growl
beneath her breath. "Do you still have pieces of Sabretooth in
you?"
Rogue blinked, and the growling stilled. "What?
How did you know about that?"
"Scott told me," Alex
told her, cheerfully. His smile was back, and Rogue knew their
previous conversation was over... For now.
"Oh, big
surprise," she muttered. She wondered how much Scott talked
about her.
"You'd be pretty without so much
makeup."
Rogue weirdly eyed him, and made a face. "I
like my makeup," she said, defensively.
"My turn to ask
a question," he informed her. He continued, before Rogue could
tell him she didn't want to play anymore, "Why do you wear all
that makeup?"
She felt like telling him off. It would
be the easiest way to end the return of the questions, but she
had agreed.
"It's my mask," she dully
explained.
"I poured my whole heart out to you and
that's the only answer I get?" he asked, in mock
outrage.
"It's my escape. If you can't see the real me,
you can't see me at all..."
"Hey, I'm back," a voice
commented, before Alex could reply. Scott stood in the doorway
to his room, and Rogue blinked in surprise at seeing
him.
"Already?" Rogue asked in disbelief. She glanced
at the computer clock. A half hour had gone by. THAT was
thirty minutes?
"Aww, can't you go away, big
bro?"
Scott grinned, and glanced sideways at Rogue, who
looked just as disappointed as his brother. There was also
something else he couldn't decide about her expression, but
before he could wonder, it was gone.
"Yep, sorry. We
have to go eat in a minute, and I wanted to talk to you before
we had to go."
Rogue listened to the conversation
between the two brothers with little interest. She was too
busy staring at the computer screen. Alex was so calm, and his
accent was fully back, and she wondered why he hid from Scott.
Scott, out of everyone, could understand. He wore an identical
mask, although it wasn't as complex as hers. Or even
Alex's...
Alex seemed to notice her gaze, and looked
from Scott's tall, lanky form, to her, and
grinned.
"Hey, Rogue," he broke through her reverie,
and she peered curiously at him. "Tell Scott to get lost
tomorrow and we can talk again."
Rogue wondered if it
would be a good idea. It had been nice, talking to someone who
kinda understood, and was so different from herself. And it
wasn't like she had to worry about touching him. It was
impossible through the Internet.
"Okay," she told him.
She nodded at Scott, and as she passed through the doorway,
she touched her bottom lip, and rubbed her finger tips against
the thick lipstick. Traces came off on her white glove, and
she could just think of Alex's words.
"Can I borrow
your Britney Spears CD?" she asked Kitty, as the younger girl
joined her in the hallway.
Kitty opened and closed her
mouth in surprise. "Like sure!"
When Scott joined them,
seconds later, they went downstairs together, and Rogue
couldn't hide the smile when the others greeted
them.
Maybe she didn't have to hide, all the
time.
"So," she said, when everyone was sitting, "where
can a girl go dancing at?"
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