5. Rumour
"Come on, Rogue… Just tell me!" Jubilee whined, tugging on her friend's arm sharply.
Rogue waved her away like she was trying to swat an irritating fly. "Jubilee! I'm not going to tell you something like that! Now if you're not going to help me do the grocery shopping, go…browse the magazine racks or something until I'm done…"
Rogue steered the shopping cart down the aisle, stopping to browse which pasta sauce she wanted to buy. For a precious few minutes, she had peace and quiet to read the ingredients before Jubilee shoved her way into Rogue's consciousness again.
"Okay, I'm going to tell you something… And don't get mad…"
While placing the jar of pasta sauce into the half-full cart, Rogue looked up sharply. "You better have not done anything, Jubilation."
Jubilee put her hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, I didn't do anything. I didn't start the rumor, I actually heard it from Kitty."
"Rumor? What rumor?"
"Well…uh…there's this rumor going around the mansion and…well…" Jubilee scratched at her cheek nervously, shifting from one foot to the other.
Rogue narrowed her eyes. She had never seen Jubilee this nervous, especially when it concerned her favorite activity in the entire world – gossiping. "What rumor?" she demanded.
"See…and remember, I don't know who started it!...there's this rumor about John and…well, you know…"
Rogue's eyes widened in shock as she finally understood what was going on. "Is this why you've been harassing me day and night?! Jubilee! I ought to kick your ass right now!"
Jubilee placed her hands on her hips in righteous indignation, as if she had a reason to be angry too. "Didn't I tell you NOT to get mad? And besides, it's not like it's a terrible, end-of-the-world, my-life-is-ruined kind of rumor. And it doesn't hurt your reputation either, you know. The girl who managed to snag herself the boy with the really ginormous…"
"PINEAPPLE!" Rogue yelled out, eyes shifting up and down the aisle afraid another shopper might have overheard them. She grabbed Jubilee by the arm, forcing her closer to the pasta shelf as if that would somehow protect them from eavesdroppers. Then she whispered harshly, "What the hell is the your problem?"
Jubilee's response was to burst out in laughter. "Pineapple? Oh my God, that's just awesome… Only you could come up with pineapple as a euphemism for…"
"Shhh!!" Rogue could feel her face burn as another customer passed them, giving both girls a look that made Rogue think he knew exactly what they were talking about.
"Dude, why are you so embarrassed? You're the one fuc… OW!! Don't pinch me!!" Jubilee rubbed her arm tenderly, giving Rogue a hurt look. Then she paused, really noticing for the first time just how red Rogue's face had gotten – a ripe tomato had nothing on her. "Wait a minute…oh my God…is it true? You have to tell me!"
"I'm not telling you anything! That sort of thing is private. And as his girlfriend, I'm the only one who should know about that sort of thing, thank you very much."
"Come on, Rogue, just tell me. There's 300 dollars riding on this…"
Rogue looked at Jubilee incredulously. "There's money involved?"
"Err…no…" Jubilee tried to stop Rogue when she turned away in a huff, leaving the shopping cart behind and storming out of the store. "If you don't tell me, the money will go to Scott and he'll just buy something stupid like another 'NSYNC CD!! You don't want that on your conscience, do you?! Do you?!"
That was the last thing Rogue heard as she stomped back to the apartment she shared with John. When she opened the door, he was sprawled out on the sofa, flipping through the channels. He dropped the remote back on the coffee table when she threw herself onto the sofa, landing mostly on top of him.
"Hello…" he greeted, wrapping his arms around her as she snuggled deep into his chest. "I thought you were grocery shopping with Jubilee." He paused. "And that she was going to eat dinner with us."
She shrugged. "I got mad at her. So I left."
"Does she even know how to get back?"
"Eh… I'm sure she'll call Logan and make him come pick her up." She propped herself up on her elbows, looking down at him, a mischievous smile curving her lips. "That rumor is still going around the mansion."
John chuckled. "Really?"
She rubbed her thigh against him, feeling the bulge in his jeans. She pressed her lips against his, murmuring quietly, "I'm just glad it's true…"
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A/N: Oops! Forgot to mention that we're all going to pretend in some of the stories, Rogue has control. We're going to pretend…right? Right?! Do eet.
