I got a ton of hits and views on this story so I figured I would write a second chapter. Please review! Please! Haha, anyway, enjoy this next chapter.
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"I want to come back," Rogue finally admitted about halfway through the meal. Logan eyes her with surprise.
"You do?"
"Yeah. I just… After taking the cure I feel like I don't belong there. Even though my powers have returned I know that I chose to give them up and if I had the money I would give them up again. I don't belong among those who appreciate the gifts they've been given," she poked at the ice in her cup with her straw, keeping her eyes anywhere but on him.
"Marie," he sighed. He didn't use her name very often, for the most part not at all, but when he did it sent shivers throughout her body. Stop! She screamed at herself. He is older and practically her father, she tried to remind herself. "Everyone back at the school misses you. No one cares that you took the cure, everyone understood. Out of all the mutants that walk this earth you were given the hardest power to deal with,"
"I hate it," she mumbled, "Why couldn't it have been saddled on someone else?"
"Because you are the only person strong enough to deal with it," he gave her a smile that sent warmth straight to her heart.
"I feel like a freak Logan,"
"I've never met a mutant who doesn't," he said, "Look, it's up to you whether you want to come back. If you do, though, there will always be a spot in the X-Men, waiting just for you. Anyway, I should probably see how Bobby is doing. Would you like to come?" He offered. She thought a moment before slowly nodding.
Logan called to check on Bobby's progress and much to his disappointment; Bobby reported that he probably made things worse with the girl. She was terrified of herself and about to slit her wrists.
"This would be a good time to drive a little faster," he told Rogue, his fingers clenched into fists. She pushed down on the gas pedal, praying that no red and blue lights would appear. To her relief they made it all the way to the girl's house without a single siren.
"What is her name?" Rogue asked as they climbed the front steps.
"Heather,"
Heather's parents were nowhere to be seen when Bobby came and let them in. He led them through the small house, to the door of the bathroom. It wasn't locked but apparently Heather had threatened to kill herself if they tried to come in.
"Heather?"
"Who are you?" She choked from the otherside of the door. It was obvious that she was crying.
"My name is Logan, I just want to talk to you okay?"
"I don't want to hurt anyone, please stay out,"
"You can't hurt me. Trust me, you can't," which was true. No matter how powerful this girl was, she wouldn't be able to hurt Logan. He would heal and everything would be peachy keen as usual.
"You don't know what I can do,"
"It doesn't matter. Please let me come in. I want to talk to you about somewhere you can go, somewhere that will help you so that you don't have to hurt anyone again," Logan's tone was soothing and soft, something Rogue wasn't used to hearing.
"No!" She screamed. Suddenly the sound a loud shattering sound echoed from the bathroom followed by the tinkling of glass hitting the floor.
"Let me try," Rogue placed her hand on Logan's shoulder. He gave her a look of uncertainty.
"School counselor remember?"
"Fine," he gave a tight-lipped smile before stepping away from the door.
"Heather, my name is Marie, can I come in?"
"Marie?" Heather's voice was noticeably calmer. Just as Rogue had expected, the presence of another female had calmed her.
"Yes, can I come in?"
"I… I don't want to hurt you," she stuttered.
"I don't care if I get hurt, I can take care of myself. Besides, you aren't going to hurt me,"
"How do you know?"
"I just do," Rogue tried to sound as friendly as possible. After what seemed like an hour, which was probably only five minutes, the girl answered.
"Fine, but just you, no one else," she muttered. With a wink towards the two shocked men she slipped inside the bathroom, making a scene of closing the door behind her. She wanted the girl to feel as comfortable as possible so she sat on the edge of the bathtub, clear across the room.
Heather was no older than sixteen and had rivers of mascara flowing down each cheek. Her blonde hair was a mess and she was curled up in a protective position in a corner. The mirror over the sink had been broken and shards of glass littered the white linoleum floor. The final thing Rogue noticed was the shine of a sharp razor pressed against her wrist.
"Hi," Rogue smiled as warmly as she could. Heather eyed her wearily.
"What do you want?"
"Just to talk," she shrugged, unwrapping the scarf from her neck and pulling off her gloves. She wanted to show the girl that she was making herself vulnerable.
"I'm scared,"
"Why?"
"I almost killed my boyfriend!" Her voice raised a bit but she quickly brought it back down.
"What happened?"
"We were arguing. He wanted me to stop flirting with this guy from school. He was being a total idiot, I wasn't flirting with anyone. He was convinced that I was going to cheat on him, so we started yelling at each other outside of McDonalds. One minute I'm screaming and the next he is on the ground and there is glass everywhere. They took him to the hospital, and it's all my fault," she began to sob again.
"I know how it feels, to hurt someone you love," Rogue spoke carefully, not sure how much she wanted to say aloud, knowing that Logan may be listening to their conversation.
"You do?" Her big blue eyes gazed at Rogue with sudden hope. Rogue understood that this girl simply wanted to feel normal and knowing that someone else was dealing with similar problems tends to help.
"Yeah. I'm like you, I'm different. I have it worse than you do though,"
"I doubt that," she murmured.
"Really? Did you know that the first guy I kissed ended up in a coma for three weeks?" She raised her eyebrows. Heather stared at her with shock.
"What happened?" She wondered. Rogue noticed she had decreased the amount of pressure she was exerting on the razor. That was a good sign.
" As I said, I'm like you. I'm a mutant. I can't touch anyone with my skin. For some reason, whenever I touch someone, I steal away part of them. If I touch a mutant I can steal their powers for a while, but I also steal part of their lives. I literally suck out their life. A while ago I had been… Well I have this friend, he has a lot of nightmares. One night they were really bad, I could hear him yelling all the way from my room. I went to try to calm him down, and he ended up stabbing me by accident. I was going to die, so I did the only thing I could think of. I touched his face and took some of his powers to heal myself. In the process I nearly killed him. I never forgave myself for that," Rogue couldn't believe that she was pouring her heart out to a stranger but she had never spoken to anyone about what happened that night since she had left the school. It felt good to get out.
"You mean you can't touch anyone?" She gulped. By the time the razor had slipped completely from her fingertips and fallen onto the floor with a metallic clatter.
"Not unless I wear gloves. I went to school though, and they helped me out. I learned how to steal my enemies powers and use them for a while. I made a lot of friends too, and the teachers were all very nice. They would accept you in a heartbeat. They would teach you how to control your gift, and maybe even learn to fight with it. It's really a very nice place, I think you would feel at home,"
"I… I can't. What if I hurt someone again? How did you move on from hurting that person?" Her eyes fell to the floor.
"I never got over it, I don't want to. That mistake, that experience, it helped me learn. It drove me to try harder. I still don't have control over my powers, but I'm going to go back, and I'm going to learn. Why don't you come with me? I haven't been there in years and I would prefer not to go alone," Rogue slipped her gloves back on and wrapped the scarf around her neck. She crossed the room to Heather and held out a hand, hoping she would accept it.
"You'll be there too?" She asked, her voice had evened out and the tears had stopped flowing.
"Yes," Rogue nodded. After a bit more thought Heather took her hand and they left the bathroom together, side by side. Rogue avoided Logan's eyes, knowing that he had heard. Bobby gave her a smile of approval before helping Heather into their car.
"We'll be flying her back to the school tonight. Are you coming with us?" Logan asked.
"I already told her I would," she sighed.
"Well then, I suggest you go home and pack, meet us at the airport at seven," and without warning he leaned down and gave her a swift kiss on her forehead. She was shocked by the sudden contact and thankful that he had kept it short. The last thing she needed was a repeat of that one night…
"See you later kid," he smiled, climbing into the car and driving off.
"I wish you'd stop calling me that," she shook her head.
That's the end of this chapter. Please review!
