A/N: Thank you for all the replies and I want to apologize for the late update but I've been busy lately. But here's the new chapter and sorry it's so short. I tried to make it longer but my mind wouldn't let me. Grr... stupid brain. Anyway, hope you enjoy and hopefully the next one will be much longer than this one.
Part Two - Confrontations
Logan sat on the sofa with the remote in one hand and a beer in the other. He had one leg propped on the table in front of him while the other rested on the floor. He sat in his jeans and white tank top sighing as he took a swig of the bitter necture as his thoughts wandered once again to Marie. Her image still shocked him; he couldn't believe she turned out that way. He left her here hoping she'd be safe and this is what happened. His thoughts wandered to the conversation he had with Xavier earlier that day.
"How could you let this happen!" Logan asked furiously, he could feel his claws pushing against his skin.
"We can't control who she hangs out with." Xavier replied calmly; Logan's anger not fazing him.
"Can't control... have you seen her?" He then asked.
"Yes. She's been this way for quite sometime now."
"And you just let her do this to herself!"
"Logan, believe me. I've tried talking to her about this. We all have. But she won't listen to us. She's gotten an attitude. Worse than yours." Xavier explained.
"How... when did this happen?" Logan slouched in one of the chairs placed in front of Xavier's desk.
"It happened gradually. First she started wearing dark colors. Then her whole wardrobe became nothing but black or gray and then the piercings. And the final change was your dog tags. She stopped wearing them." Xavier explained.
"So I've noticed." Logan growled.
"It wasn't her clothing I had tried talking to her about, Logan. As of late she has been returning to the mansion at late hours. I'm not talkingeleven at night or at midnight. I'm talking three or four in the morning. And she..." Xavier trailed off as he looked Logan in the eyes.
"What are you trying to tell me, Chuck?" Logan asked, suddenly sitting straighter at the look in the professor's eyes.
Logan heard the car pull into the driveway and he quickly stood up off the couch, beer and television forgotten as he peaked out the window which showed the driveway. He saw Marie climb out of the passenger side as a boy came out of the driver's side. His hair was short, black and spikey and his clothes were also all black. Logan noticed piercings in his ears, nose, eyebrows, and in the middle of his bottom lip. He couldn't help his lips snear in disgust at the sight. His eyes grew wide and and his nostrils flared in anger at what he witnessed next. The man grabbed his Marie and pressed his pierced lips against hers. Pulling her closer to him as his hands wandered down to her ass. At the sight, Logan's claws withdrew from their fleshy prison. He quickly pulled away from the window and stormed to the front door, determined to get that boy's grubby hands off his Marie. As he opened the door he retracted his claws and rushed over to the young couple making out before him. Grabbing the boy by the back of the neck; he flung him on the hood of the car as he pushed Marie behind him.
"Logan! What are you doing!" Rogue screamed as she watched the boy scramble in a hurry off the car.
He just ignored her as he grabbed the boy again and pushed him against the driver's side door andslid the claws out from his right hand slowly. The middle one pressing ever so slightly to the boy's throat. Just as he had done in the bar at Laughlin City.
"You stay away from her, ya here me?" Logan growled, his eyes glaring menacingly at the boy.
"Ye... yes sir." The boy stammered as he shook with fear in Logan's grasp.
"Get out out of here." Logan said as he pushed away from the boy, slamming him against the car door as he did so. The boy stumbled around for the door handle as he kept an eye on Logan, fear of getting attacked off guard, again. As the black mustang sped away down the driveway, Rogue couldn't help the anger that built up in her.
"What the hell did you do that for!" She screamed in his face as he watched the car drive out of sight.
"What do you think." Logan replied quietly as he turned to head back inside.
"I don't know! That's why I asked, you dumbass!" Rogue screamed at him.
Logan stopped abruptly and slowly turned to face her. "I'm the dumbass? You're the one going out with those people staying out late and mutilating yourself!"
"Mutilating? How am I..."
"All those peircings. The tattoo."
"It's my body, Logan. It's my life. I'll run it the way I please."
"I just have one question for you, Marie." Logan said as he stepped in front of her.
"What?" She asked irritated.
"What..." Logan started before his nostrils flared with a new scent wafting off her. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to recognize the smell.
Logan's eyes opened slowly as he recognized the smell, "are you on drugs?"
"What! No! No." Rogue replied laughing as she walked around Logan to get inside.
"I can smell it all over you, Marie." Logan followed her inside.
"Logan. Please. Don't you know me better than that? Oh, wait. You weren't here the last four years of my life. So that would be no. You don't know me. At all." Rogue replied as she started walking up the stairs.
"Marie... you've got to stop this." Logan replied.
"Stop what? Enjoying my life. Stop not moaping over you. Start wearing your tags again? Start chasing after your heals like a little lost puppy dog? Sorry, Logan. I don't care anymore if you're in my life or not. I had given up on that. And now that you're back, I really could care less. At first, about two years ago, I thought I would. But that was before I met these guys. With them, I'm not a mutant among humans. I'm a human among humans. Did you know they envy me, Logan? They don't fear me. They love me. And I couldn't be happier." Rogue said with a small grin and a faraway look on her face as she explained.
"Look, Marie. I know you want to be happy. And I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. I really am. But you can't do this to yourself." Logan argued.
"Logan, sugah, I know you care about me. But you know what I want? What I really want?" Rogue asked as she placed a gentle hand on his cheek.
"What?" Logan whispered as he stared intently in her eyes.
Rogue leaned closer to him, her lips mear inches from his ear. "I want you to stay out of my life."
Logan quickly pulled back from her; receiving a laugh from her as she turned and hurried up the stairs.
"Marie!" Logan called after her but all he got in response was her flipping him off without looking back or slowing down.
"Damn it." He said under his breath as he ran his hands through his frazzled hair.
Logan walked out of the bathroom in just his blue jeans while rubbing the towel through his wet hair. As he picked up his white t-shirt the memories of the night before filled his mind and he shook his head at the thought of Marie and what she had become. Just as he was about to pull his shirt over his head, the door flew open and Rogue stormed in with anger flashing through her eyes.
"You bastard!" She screamed and Logan raised a confused eyebrow at her.
"I just got off the phone with Ben! And you know what he said? He doesn't want to see me anymore! And I mean that literally! At all! Ever again! And that probably means that all of my friends are going to find out through Ben and they all won't want to see me! No thanks to you!" Rogue screamed at him.
"Marie..."
"NO! Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it." She interrupted him and then threw the tags roughly at him. "I'm giving you those back. I don't want anything to remind me of you. I don't even want to know you." Rogue said as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Marie, please..." Logan said quickly; knowing she meant what she said.
"I said no! And don't call me Marie. My name is Rogue!" Rogue screamed at him as she placed her hands in front of her in a defensive manner.
"I see," Logan started softly, "but your friend Casey..."
"She's a better friend than you could ever be." Rogue replied dryly as her bottom lip trembled.
"Wh..." Logan looked at her in shock at her words.
"Good-bye Logan." Rogue turned and stormed out of the room, determined to close him off from her life forever.
Logan looked down at the tags in his hand and then at the spot where Rogue had just been standing. A growl escaped his throat as he threw the tags on his bed and chased after her. He wasn't going to let her get rid of him that easily. He was, after all, the wolverine.
