XOXOXO

Chapter 1

When it all started…

XOXOXO

"Gambit!"

The outraged exclamation could be heard throughout the entire institute. Down in the rec room, the few X-men who had been awake at that hour simply rolled their eyes. To them, this was a usual occurrence.

"Wonder what Gumbo got himself into this time," Logan sighed, flipping over his morning newspaper.

Ororo only smiled, taking a sip of her tea.

Back upstairs in the Dormitory section of the school, Rogue yanked her bedroom door open, practically ripping it off the wall. She continued to stomp down the hallway to the before mentioned Mutant's room.

Without knocking, she entered with another outraged burst of "Gambit!" She found the Cajun sitting in his window sill, leisurely smoking a cigarette.

"Mornin' Chère," he crooned, turning to give her a lopsided grin. "Looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed dis mornin', non?"

"Save it, swamp rat," she snapped. She slammed the door behind her and stalked her way towards the now very confused Remy LeBeau. "What did you do with it?"

His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he took the last drag from his "sanity stick". He flicked it out the window and turned to the furious southern belle. He studied her for a moment, trying to figure out what would enrage her enough to cause her to come storming into his room at seven o'clock in the morning in only her very revealing nightgown. At that moment, he didn't really care. He was just thanking the Lord that it had finally happened!

Rogue noticed his roaming mind, as well as his eyes, and that only added to her fury.

"Gambit! Where the hell did you put it!" she demanded, now turning to look around his cluttered room for the missing item.

Remy sighed and stood from his comfortable spot in the window. He walked over to where she stood, and said: "Well, chère… if you told Remy what you were lookin' for, maybe he could tell you where it is…"

Her eyebrows shot up and she placed a sassy hand on her hip. "Don't pretend ya don't know what Ah'm talking about, Remy! Ah want it back! You had no right take it from mah room!"

Now he was really confused. He hadn't even been in her room since… since… Hmm. Had it really been that long?

"Well?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.

"Well what, chère? Remy don't know what your talkin' bout." He scratched the side of his head for added affect.

She glared, raising a bare hand to his face threateningly. "If you don't tell me where mah diary is right now, Ah will suck the memory from your body and Ah'll find it for mahself."

Her Diary! He rolled his eyes. Why would Remy want her diary? Although… he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't thought of stealing it before.

"Remy don' have your diary," he said, and then added more seriously. "I would never take anythin' from you Anna…"

She watched his red on black eyes spark and she felt a twinge of panic rise within her. She knew he had to be telling her the truth.

"Well…well… if you didn't take it, swamp rat…."

"Den Remy would imagine dat you misplaced it," he concluded with a smirk.

Rogue rolled her eyes, turning towards the door. "Ah don't think so, Sugah. Ah put mah book in the same place every night…"

Remy frowned. Something had been going on for a few weeks now. She just wasn't acting the same. She would misplace things on a regular basis. Just the other day, she splashed orange juice all over Logan because she thought he took her glass… when in all reality, she splashed him with her own orange juice.

"Chère…how bout we go to your room and look, huh?"

She sighed, opening his door. "Fine, we can look, but Ah've already searched everywhere…"

Gambit followed her down the hallway to the "forbidden" room. He felt his breath halt as he entered, realizing that this was the place he so desperately wanted to sleep at night. The air smelled fresh and had a hint of sweetness to it. He'd remember the many times he'd come and sit in her room, bugging the living daylights out of her. At that moment, he couldn't really remember why those days were over. The thought saddened him. Things between Rogue and himself were on a hold… but that was normal. Maybe he had quit trying hard enough? ... Had he?

With a sigh, he pushed the bothersome thoughts to the back of his mind and he scanned her now very messy bedroom.

"What your diary look like, chere?" he asked, stepping over to her large wooden dresser.

"It's green," she replied with a grin. "Ah guess that shouldn't surprise ya…"

The grin that would have appeared on the Cajun's face was now far from appearing. There, sitting in plain and open sight, was the little green book. He turned, slowly taking in the moment with thoughtful consideration.

Was something wrong with her? Or was it just a phase she would get through in a day or two? Worry was creeping through his system with achingly slow velocity.

His dark eyes rested on her. She was frantically rummaging through her bedside table, pulling out papers and other gadgets. He continued to watch as she stood, walked past the wooden dresser, even glancing in the direction of the book, and continued over to her desk. She hadn't even noticed it.

"Rogue," he said softly, just barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?" she asked, not even looking up from the new chaotic mess she was making.

"Remy found your diary, chere…"

Her head popped up and she turned to him with a relieved expression splashed across her delicate features.

"Thank gawd! Ah was so worried that Jubilee might have…"

Her words halted when she met the Cajun's eyes. The look on his face made the blood freeze inside her veins. Why was he looking at her like that?

"Anna…" he said softly, taking a cautious step toward her. "Where do you usually keep your diary?"

Every word he spoke was laced with concern. She heard it, and she became frightened… but she didn't know why.

Her mouth was dry as she opened it to speak, "On mah dresser…" she croaked.

Gambit inhaled slowly, taking in her response with painful consideration. "And did you bother to check your dresser, chere?"

Rogue looked slightly confused as she opened her mouth to reply. "Ah…Ah…don't know, Remy…" Her mouth quivered slightly and she couldn't help but notice his gaze had only increased with concern. "Why?"

With two long strides, the Cajun came within half a foot's distance from his precious angel. "Anna…" he started, taking hold of her bare hand in his gloved one. He looked deep into her eyes, searching her orbs for a tiny glimpse of hope. "The diary was on your dresser…"

Her eyebrows knit together and she started to deny it, but Remy placed a gloved finger on her soft pink lips.

"Remy knows sometin' is wrong, chere. You gotta let Remy help you. Tell Remy what's wrong!" he whispered desperately with eyes as wide as saucers.

Rogue's green eyes widened and it all hit her like a ton of bricks. The Cajun was right. Something was wrong. Her mind had been a mess lately and her powers were giving her more trouble than they were worth. Fear and dread had suddenly seized her, and she couldn't remember the last time that feeling had ever surfaced in her mind. Something was very wrong.

"Ah don't know, Remy…" she replied, her eyes filling with tears. "Ah….Ah…Ah'm scared…"

In an instant, his long arms were draped around her seemingly fragile body. He held her close and felt his heart shatter when she wrapped her arms around him in simple desperation.

This was not his Rogue. This was not his sassy, invulnerable, independent Southern Belle.

Something was very wrong… and he was determined to find out what.

XOXOXOX

A/N: Alrighty then… sorry it took me a while to put this chapter up. Friend of the family died so we had to travel and all that lovely stuff. So sorry.

Anywho! Let me know how I'm doin so far! Thanks! Oh! And thanks to all of you who reviewed before! Means a lot to me! ;-)