Double Dilemma

Chapter Three – Confusion

I sat on my bed that night trying to clear my head. I had skipped dinner, and was trying to do some extra work on my powers. The Professor had given me a weight ball that would deflate when I touched it – so I could try and work on my powers by myself. I took a deep breath and tried not to worry, while focusing in on keeping my powers in check. When I thought I was ready, I reached over and picked up the ball. I smiled, for just a few minutes –nothing happened. Then, just as the smile started to form on across my face, it began to deflate. I dropped it, and it began to inflate again as it hit the ground.

I had to get out of my room, so I walked out of my room and headed down towards the grounds. It made me so angry, the way the professor explained it – it should be much easier controlled. I got out to the front yard, and it was dark – I had passed some of the students playing a game in the common room with Storm, Stark, and Warren. I managed to get out without anyone seeing me, or at least I thought I had. I sat down on the bench for a few minutes, a couple tears had been shed – and all of a sudden someone was sitting down next to me.

"Hey," Stark said as he sat down, "There's a bunch of people inside playing some sort of game, seems pretty lame… some weird version of charades… but – What's up?"

"Nothing," I wiped away my tears and he smirked.

"Well that's a downright lie," He replied, "There's stars, and the atmosphere, and – hey look a plane."

I chuckled a little bit.

"But that's not exactly what I meant," He continued, "I meant I was wondering what was wrong, so much so that you decided to come out here and cry rather than join the game when you passed it. But I'm assuming you knew that's what I was asking, because I assume you have adept social skills, perhaps a little lower than the norm due to other factors, but still quite acceptable. But I'm willing to bet you being upset means the whole trying to control the whole skin thing isn't going well? – I'm just spit balling here, you can stop me any time."

"It's just so frustrating," I replied, "The reason I don't usually play the games is because I'm terrified I'll brush one of the little kids by accident. I just want to be able to live without having to worry about hurting people, and hug people…"

"Touch me," He said, offering up his arm, "C'mon just a little poke. See if you can hold it back."

"No."

"C'mon, what could it hurt?" He asked.

"You?" I was terrified – he was nuts.

"Just a little touch."

"You're not going to let up, are you?"

"Just a few seconds," He replied, and I rolled my eyes.

I de-gloved my hand, and let the very tip of my finger brush his arm. I retracted my hand as soon as his face began to go a little pale – putting my glove right back on.

"See that wasn't so bad," He said once he recovered, then suddenly he stood up.

"What're you doing?" I asked and he held out a hand to shush me.

He tapped his bracelets like he had earlier on in the day, and suddenly he was standing in front of me in his suit, helmet up. He turned back around, and opened his arms up.

"C'mon."

"Seriously?" I smiled lightly.

He smirked as he sat down.

"C'mere," He pulled me into his metallic arms and I smiled.

"Thanks for this," I said and he chuckled, "I mean, you hardly know me."

"See, that's where you're wrong," He replied.

"Oh?"

"Well see I do my homework," He teased, "I know your real name's Marie D'Ancanto, but you don't seem to let people call you that. You're originally from Louisiana, but you ran away after a certain incident with some hick teenage boy. You're generally a loner, but I don't think that's really you – I think it's that you're afraid, hence the sunbathing in the middle of the woods."

"Why're you such a smart ass?"

"It's part of my charm," He quipped, "Feeling any better? Because I know I am."

"I should head back in," I said, "That way I can work on 'the whole skin thing' a little more before I go to sleep."

"Ok," He hopped up as I stood, letting his suit disappear, "Mind if I walk you in?"

"I'm not going to stop you."

We reached the door and I opened it, and then held it open for him, he ducked in before me.

"Ah, Good night, Rogue," He replied.

"Night," I said and he took off towards the guest rooms, where I assumed he was staying.

"Out for a midnight stroll with Stark, huh?" Warren said, coming around the corner into a doorway near the stairs.

"He was just being nice," I rolled my eyes as he followed me up the stairs.

"Stark isn't just nice to women," He replied as we reached the hallway, "Damn, why're you so lucky? You got two fabulous looking men on that tail."

"Would you stop it?" I asked, stopping outside my room, "You know why I was so pissed with Wolverine? He was being a jackass about no guy ever wanting me because of my skin. And Stark? He's just got too much time on his hands, I'm not straight forward, I'm just a puzzle to him."

"Wolverine said that?" Warren looked murderous, "I will kill him."

"Don't, he let it slip – but you understand now?" I asked, "I'm safe, to both of them – Stark's gone in a couple months, and Wolverine knows all he has to do is show up and he'll get someone who cares about him. Now, I want to go to bed."

Warren rolled his eyes.

"Good night."

"See you in the morning."

I went inside and got into some sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt to go to sleep. I was about to crawl in for the night, when there was a knock on the door.

"Warren," I mumbled under my breath as I opened the door.

"Hey, Kid," Logan was standing on the other side of the door, my favorite burger place's take out in hand, "You skipped dinner – thought you might be hungry."

"Thanks," I said, stepping aside so he could come in.

"You're not still angry, are you?" He asked.

"No, I'm not still angry with you Logan," I replied as he shut the door behind himself.

"Good, because if you were still mad I would have to use your favorite as a bribe," He smiled playfully, going to hand me the burger, "But since your not…"

"Thanks, Logan," I smiled, sitting on my bed to eat and he sat at the foot of it.

"No problem, kid," He replied, picking up the remote, and flipping the TV on.

"Make yourself at home, Logan," I commented, but he didn't seem to catch the sarcasm as he leaned back.

"Move over, Marie," He set his head on the pillow, neck angled up at the TV up on my bureau.

"You wanna fry too?"

"No, those are yours," He said, "The TV in my room's broken."

"What'd you do to it?"

"Had a nightmare last night," He said casually.

"Care to share?"

"Nothing, I was just worried – about things when I fell asleep, that's all."

"Worried, you?"

"I could go use the TV downstairs…" He grumbled.

"No you can't," I said, looking at what he was watching, some car shop show, "Storm's having a slumber party with the little kids – they're watching a movie."

"You mind, kid?" He asked as I finished my burger, and threw out my trash.

"Fine," I said, crawling into bed, he shifted so I could get under the covers, I shut off the light, "Shut the TV off when you go."

"Will do, Kid," He replied and I shut my eyes and went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to the sun streaming in through the window onto my face, and noise coming from the morning news on TV. I groaned, rolling over. Typical Logan, not remembering to shut the TV off – HOLY HELL. Logan was still lying where he had been when I had fallen asleep. He must've fallen asleep watching TV the night before. Damn he was attractive, I sat up in bed, watching him sleep. God, he was gorgeous. And all I could think of was how much I wanted to hold him, wanted to be lying in his arms.

Then I caught a look at the clock – I was going to be late for breakfast with Warren. I took a deep breath, I hated the idea of having to wake Logan. I went into the bathroom and took a shower, then got ready and dressed in there. I came back out and Logan was still sleeping.

"Hey, Logan," I said, just above a whisper as I tossed my pillow at him, "Logan!"

"What, huh?" He jerked awake, "Ah, I'm sorry, Marie."

"It's fine, it's not like you shredded my pillows or anything," I said, "I just have to get to breakfast with Warren."

"Rogue! Breakfast time!" I could hear Warren outside the door.

Logan shot me a look, then I smirked.

"C'mon, don't," He whispered, "Marie-"

"How the hell are you going to get out of here?" I hissed back and he shrugged.

"I'll go after you two leave." He whispered back.

"And can I borrow that book you were reading?"

"C'mon in," I replied, opening the door.

"Oh, hey Wolverine," He said, he seemed surprised to see Logan standing in the middle of my room – at nine-thirty in the morning.

"Hey," Logan said, "I was just coming by to see if Rogue wanted to have some breakfast, but apparently you beat me to the punch – I should get going."

He left the room faster than Warren or I could open our mouths to speak.

"What was that?" Warren said, surprise and happiness for me spreading quickly across his face as the door shut.

"He fell asleep in here last night."

"I got that," He replied, then smirked, "Evening strolls with Stark, sleepovers with Wolverine…"

"Both completely innocent circumstances," I said defensively as I handed him the book he wanted, "Wolverine brought me a burger, he noticed I go to dinner. He had a nightmare and broke his TV the night before last, so he was watching it in here, I went to bed, he fell asleep. Stark just felt bad that I was upset –"

"Stark nearly body checked me to run out after you," Warren revealed and I glared at him suspiciously.

"What?"

"Don't worry, no one else saw," He filled me in, "But he took off after you."

"That's weird," I said as we walked out into the hallway, I closed my door behind us.

"So is Wolverine off the hook?"

"He brought me a peace-cheeseburger," I said, and Warren raised his eyebrows, "I can't stay mad at him…"

"You're sick," He replied.

We got down to breakfast and I had just filled my plate and turned around when the professor wheeled in. Warren and I were just about to figure out where to sit when the professor stopped in front of us.

"Warren," He looked less than of normal cheerfulness, "I was wondering if I could borrow you today."

"Right now?" He asked

"I'm sorry, I'd love to let you eat – but I don't think there's enough time," He said cryptically.

"Ok," Warren said, and followed him out of the kitchen.

I took a deep breath, it was Saturday, which meant it was a day off from training. I went and sat near the big picture window. I was about to dig into my omelet when Tony walked into the dining room with a plate of food. He spotted me immediately, and smiled – making a b-line directly for the table I was sitting at, alone.

"Doesn't anyone here believe in Saturday morning cartoons?" He asked, looking around at everyone eating.

"I think there's a group of kids that watch them after breakfast," I said thoughtfully and he chuckled as he sat down.

"But seriously, you guys don't train on Saturdays, right? So why not sleep in?"

"Some do, but most of us are on a schedule – the two days off doesn't really click with our internal alarm clocks," I cut off a piece of omelet, "Besides, the professor might need us for something."

"Like your winged buddy?"

"You saw him?" I asked.

"Talking with Xavier out on the front lawn, looked serious," He replied and I nodded, "But honestly, what's their to do here on a Saturday?"

"There's plenty," I replied, "You can fit in some extra training, or relax, I usually do something with a friend or tw or train."

"It seems like you train all the time," He said, and I nodded, "Well since your friend's away, why don't you entertain me for the day?"

"I was planning on doing some training," I replied and he nodded.

"You mind if I help?" He asked, "It must be dismal doing it yourself. How about out on the front lawn before lunch?"

"I don't know," I said into my food.

"C'mon, it'll be fun," He tried to convince me, "I think it'd be a wonderful way for you to spend your day."

"You're flirting with me," It was more of an observation than anything else.

"Apparently not very well."

"Don't flirt with me, Stark."

"Tony," He corrected, "And why not?"

"Because, we both know it's not worth it," I said as Logan walked in, a plate in each hand.

"Not worth it because you're into someone else? Because I think you're into me – so that doesn't really compute," He said, "Or not worth it because of some other reason, like you thinking that you'll never be able to control yourself?"

I didn't answer, I didn't have to. He, very kindly, dropped the conversation as soon as Logan sat down next to me, across from Tony.

"So, Rogue, what're we doing today?" He asked me as he bit into some sort of large breakfast sandwich he had made himself as part of his breakfast.

"You know, we were just discussing that," Tony interjected, "And we were thinking we'd do a little training on the front lawn. It's beautiful out."

"Really?" Logan looked to me, as if he was just waiting to ask him to rescue me.

"Well I told him I was thinking about training a little while, and he offered to help."

"Be careful, sometimes she fights dirty," Logan teased.

"Kinda hopin' for that, actually," Tony retorted, and Logan's face hardened.

The rest of breakfast was relatively silent, until Tony finished eating, got up – and motioned for me to go with him. I said goodbye to Logan, and got up and headed out to the front yard grounds with him. He didn't suit up.

"C'mon, suit up," I told him, "Let me dodge some bullets."

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind," He replied and I just waited for him to continue, "I was planning on playing the dummy, or more preferably just following whatever work out you were thinking of."

"I usually jog about eight miles in the morning," I replied, and he nodded.

"Let's do it," He said and I chuckled.

"Ok."

We jogged to about a fourth of my route, and I noticed that Tony was starting to drag. I smirked to myself, there was no way he was used to physical exercise, at all. That's what he had his suit for. I couldn't help but notice just how amazing he looked, struggling to keep up with me, the smirk on his face and the sweat on the neckline of his t-shirt. I turned around, not wanting him to hurt his pride at all and headed back towards the mansion.

"That wasn't eight miles," He pointed out as we walked back up the front lawn towards the mansion.

"I didn't want you to get too tired," I replied and he chuckled.

"I coulda made it," He bluffed, and I just sort of looked at him, "I was just worried about you not making it. You sure you do eight every day?"

I chuckled.

"Hey, how was the run?" Logan was standing up on the front porch, and it seemed like he had been waiting for us.

"Good," I replied.

"We had to cut it short, Rogue here got a little tired," Tony said matter-o-factly and Logan gave a suspicious nod, "Now, I'm going to go snag a shower, unless you'd like to join me?"

I chuckled, but shook my head.

"Shame," Tony smirked, "I have something I wanna work on after that, so I'll see you both at dinner?"

"Yup," I said and he smiled at me, heading into the mansion.

"Why you hanging out with him, Marie?" Logan asked as soon as he was gone, and we were alone.

"I don't know," I replied, except I did, "Why do you care?"

Except I did know. He was charming, he was cute, and he was showing interest. He was a nice change from just trailing around after Logan, who would drag me around to everything he wanted to do, and occasionally throw me a little bit of hope – only to crush it later. Actually, my relationship with Tony was a complete one-eighty from my relationship with Logan. A guy who'll show interest and make an effort to do the things that I wanted was appealing.

I felt an instant pang of guilt. I was starting to like Tony, but it was impossible to know whether it was because I liked him, or simply because I was tired of waiting for Logan. And what did that mean about me? I had been in love with Logan for so long, was it even possible for me to move on? How was that fair - to either of them? If I was in love with Logan, wasn't I supposed to stay in love with Logan, no matter what? How would it be if I was able to let myself fall for Tony? Tony had himself a bit of a reputation for womanizing, but I was far too curious to wonder about that. I was still perplexed. What would it be like to actually like someone who liked me back? Was I already there?

"Just be careful around him, ok Marie?" Logan said, breaking my train of thought, "There's just something about him I don't like."

"Have you even spent enough time to make a conclusion like that?" I asked and Logan rolled his eyes.

"I always thought you were smarter than that."

"Of course he was joking," I couldn't believe we were having this discussion, "He's a friend, Logan."

"Well, I'm a friend too," Logan nearly growled, "And I'm telling you – this guy's bad news."

"He hasn't done anything," I said, then waited for his response, but it didn't come, "What has gotten into you lately?"

He pointed behind me, and I whipped around just in time to see Warren land a few feet behind where we were standing. He was covered in soot and looked like he was bleeding from somewhere. He looked as if he was about to pass out, and we both ran to him. But that wasn't the reason why, he was carrying the limp, bloody, and bruised body of what seemed to be Scott Summers in his arms.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave me a review… I love 'em (So also thanks for the reviews so far too )… and I'll update as soon as I can (But it may be a little longer…. :)