And another chapter! I meant to upload this earlier, but things got in the way so I was delayed, sorry! I've made the decision (thanks to my wonderfully annoying friends. Love you all) to continue this fanfic for as long as I can...or until interest in this dies out.
Enjoy!
Days like this were far too common for Anna's liking. Being stuck inside a tiny, stuffy lecture hall for a subject she was only taking for class credit for hours on end; having zero wifi reception in said hall (this end of the campus absolutely sucked for any technology lover, or anyone bored enough to surf Vine videos during a speech); not being able to text Kitty, Tabitha, Wanda, Amara or even her parents for various reasons, and so many tiny things that just irked her for no rational reason the entire time she was away from her apartment. Throughout each semester, that cramped dirty space in the complex had become her temporary happy place - until she could go to her dad's ranch up in Quebec or stay with her half-brother Kurt on the East Coast. Those were home to her, no matter how long she stayed away between each visit.
Now, with her day of lectures over and a schedule full of projects, Anna was about ready to give zero craps about her bookstore job.
Not that she hated it, no. The job was something she could have only dreamed of in high school, and even after long shifts that left her with only a few hours sleep, Anna could honestly say she loved it more than anything. She just hated the events that led up to her arrival at the establishment that Wednesday afternoon.
With it all coupled together, Anna reserved herself to just get her uniform on and work on the shelves. Hopefully any customers would think she was too busy to help them find any book that was sitting right in front of them. Or maybe someone up there hated her and wanted her dreams crushed.
"Ain't dis a nice surprise, fille?" Day: ruined.
Holding back a groan that would get her fired once released, Anna slammed a book set down onto the trolley beside her and shot a glare in the direction of that voice. As she dreaded, the Cajun man was standing nearby over the Art And Culture section, actually cleaned up and looking decent enough to be in public which was a far cry from their first encounter the other night. Though that long trench coat left something to be desired...
Despite that, she much preferred the maroon shirted and ratty jeans toting creeper to the shirtless drunk bum that was on her couch not long ago. Didn't mean she didn't hate him though. Ohhhh, nooo.
"What the hell are ya doin' in here?" Anna spat the question through her teeth, trying not to raise her voice and bring attention to herself. Remy closed the book he was sifting through and smirked at her - that god damn smirk! She was gonna punch it off him in a minute - before moving closer. Anna moved the trolley between them. "Answer."
"If y' must know, fille, I'm doin' research. Got a job to keep 'n' all, non?" Remy's smirk only widened and he held his book up. 'Arts And Crafts For The Modern Victorian', the title read. Anna just rolled her eyes.
"You, a job? Ah hardly think anybody would be insane enough ta hire you. And stop callin' meh 'girl'! Ya think Ah don't know basic French? Ah'm old enough ta friggin' drink in this country, thank ya." Anna slammed her palm onto the trolley and felt a burst of joy at seeing Remy flinch back slightly. His expression remained unchanged, however. Dammit.
"Okay okay, désolé." Remy tucked his book under his arm and held up his hands in surrender, even taking a step back. "What would y' rather I call ya, hmm?"
"Mah name, Rogue."
"Dat's not a name."
The pale girl gritted her teeth and almost growled - it scared her sometimes how much like her father she was - but just glared at him instead. From the look on his face, he was enjoying this way too much.
"It's mah name and you'll use it before Ah ban ya from this store, Swamp Rat." She pushed the trolley towards him but he didn't back down.
"No need to get violent, madame. I know y' mad at moi for breakin' into y' place–"
"Damn right I am!"
"But I honestly t'ought I was in de right place. I didn' mean anyt'ing by it; I'm sorry, really."
Anna narrowed her eyes and looked Remy up and down, studying him intently. She had to hand it to him; he certainly wasn't acting like the guy she had met that morning. Sure, the smirk was there but it wasn't a constant presence nor nearly as sleazy. That was probably the best word to describe the first Remy – a sleazy slimeball thinking he was hot stuff. Now he was subdued and sincerely apologising. But Anna wasn't a woman to be fooled.
"Who set ya up to this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Remy's eyes snapped wide open and he put a hand on his hip. "Y' t'ink I'm not bein' genuine?"
"Maybe, maybe not." She replied, checking her fingernails and cocking her hip to the side. "Ah've known enough guys like you to know that ya either expect somethin' from meh or somebody set ya up to apologise."
"So y' just assume I'm like de rest?" Brown and green eyes stared each other down, unmoving for what seemed like hours. Anna nudged the trolley just hard enough to bump it into Remy's foot. He flinched and lifted his leg away from the offending wheel. Anna chuckled and stood with a straight back.
"Well, Swamp Rat?"
"Name's Remy, remember?" Said Cajun adjusted himself and dusted his jeans down, glaring at Anna half-heartedly. "If it helps, Pete did ask moi to patch t'ings up with ya. But I was gon' apologise anyway, whether mon ami asked or not."
"Oh, Ah see now." Anna just raised her eyebrows and picked up a pair of matching books from the trolley, placing them on the half-empty shelf above her head. She didn't want to look like she was slacking off if any of the other employees came walking in. Things were relaxed around here but there were still standards to perform to.
"Oui. Somet'ing 'bout not wantin' t' make a bad impression on," He made air quotes with his fingers. "'Katya'. Y' roommate, I t'ink?"
"Kitty?" Anna blinked and shoved a book into a random spot on the shelf, snapping her head to face Remy again. "He likes her?"
"Je ne sais pas." Remy shrugged and shoved his hands into his coat pockets, rolling back on the heels of his shoes. Somehow the book under his arm managed to stay in place. "By de way, y' never answered my question..."
"Ya do realise Ah got a job to keep as well, right?" Anna drawled, turning away again to switch some books around from shelf to shelf. She could practically hear the thump of disappointment next to her; she smiled.
"Seriously, lady, what's y' real name? Dis is gonna keep moi awake at night an' I'll keep comin' back here 'til I get m' answer." That made Anna cringe unwillingly and she shuddered at the thought of having to deal with this bastard for 3 days a week until Thanksgiving or whenever one of them left town. Then a thought struck her.
"Ah ain't telling ya mah name, but Ah'll make ya a deal." Remy perked up and leaned against the trolley, motioning for her to continue. "Just call meh Rogue an' don't pester meh for mah name, and Ah'll forgive ya for breakin' in."
Anna then leaned against the trolley herself, giving Remy a hard look. He shot her one straight back, running her deal through his head a few times. He then held out a hand and that stupid smirk returned to his face.
"I t'ink I can deal on dat." Anna nodded and gave his hand a firm shake with her own.
"Also, if ya tell Piotr that Kitty would like to go out with him, Ah may consider not guttin' you next time ya show up drunk."
Remy ducked his head and laughed, pulling his hand away to give Anna a mock salute. "Have ya no faith in me, Rogue?"
"None whatsoever."
Sorry for the shorter chapter this time, but I really wanted to get the Kiotr subplot rolling. The main plot will return soon enough, no worries! Thanks for all the appreciation you've shown this fic; I didn't expect so much! I'll update this again with a longer chapter soon enough, and if you think you know where this is heading...well, you don't.
I've done my research and done a lot of plotting on my part to avoid the tropes that plague a lot of romance fanfics and the Romy pairing, just to give you all a unique experience. So when I say this fanfic is a slow build, I mean it.
Keep sending your reviews, follows and favourites!
