A/N - A special "Thank you" goes out to my BETA UltimateGammy91. I don't know if she knows this but, I am one of her biggest fans.

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Instead of dropping Remy off at his house, John suggested that he come to the boarding house to meet the rest of their friends, and since Remy didn't have anything better to do, he agreed. When they arrived, Lance and Kitty led the way, while John and Remy followed. As Lance opened the door the first thing that hit Remy was the foul smell coming from inside, making his stomach turn. He noticed that the smell didn't seem to bother the other three, probably because they were use to it by now he thought as he walked inside. He stopped short of the doorway as he surveyed the house. He noticed trash scattered everywhere on the floor, with stains and things he couldn't even describe etched into the carpet, and giant holes in the wall that closely resembled a human shaped outline.

Lance called out to see if anyone was home, and when there was no reply, they settled into the living room to wait. Lance sat down on the lazy boy with Kitty on his lap, and John plopped down on the loveseat, while Remy remained standing.

"So how many people live here?" Remy asked as he looked around, and shuddered when he caught sight of the dirty kitchen, not doubting that the cockroaches were lurking somewhere in the shadows waiting for nightfall so they could come out to feast.

"Well there's me, Lance, Fred Dukes, Todd Tolensky, and Piotr Rasputin." John answered. "I know this house isn't much, but its home."

"So Remy, do you have any plans for tomorrow?" Kitty asked, as she tried to swat at Lance's roaming hands.

"Yes, but it's nothin' I can't cancel. Why?"

"Lance and I are going out to dinner tomorrow."

This was the first time Lance heard about this. "We are?" Kitty elbowed him, signaling him to play along. "Oh, yeah, sorry, I forgot."

"Well like I was saying, we're going out to dinner with a friend of mine. You should come along and keep her company." she said.

Remy was immediately interested. "Is she pretty?"

"Of course. She has auburn hair with white streaks, you can't miss her, and she's also very athletic…."

Remy's face paled. "You're not talkin' 'bout Rogue are y'?" After the incident with Rogue, he had stayed as far away from her as possible. His ego couldn't take another bashing.

"Yeah."

John suddenly burst out laughing. "She turned him down in English class today. You should've been there, it was hilarious. First he forgets her name then she burns him, and..…."

"Shut up John." Remy warned.

John only laughed harder, and Remy picked up a coke can, and threw it at him.

"Like, I know Rogue can be harsh, but she's really a great person." Kitty said coming to her friend's defense. "You just have to get to know her."

"I'm sure she is petite, mais (but) de t'ing is…"

Kitty interrupted him. "Oh come on, it'll be fun."

"Well..." Remy tried to come up with a good excuse as to why he couldn't go, but nothing was coming to mind at the moment. He just knew that he had to get out of this, but there was no way out of it.

"Like, its okay." Kitty said trying to sound disappointed. "But like, where am I supposed to find another guy that's as hot as you? I mean, she is my best friend, so I can't set her up with someone that's just mediocre. I need a guy who's stud material, and who can show her a good time, not like those other guys…Gosh, what am I supposed to do?"

Her change of tactic worked, and she had to bit her lip from smiling when she saw Remy's chest puff up. "Is 5 o'clock good fo' y'?"

"Perfect!" Kitty squealed. Now all she had to do was convince Rogue to go on the date. She knew Rogue could be pretty stubborn when she wanted to be, but again, Kitty was no quitter.

"I still have my money on Rogue for round two." John said.

Without warning Remy pounced on John and tried to strangle him as John tried to defend himself. Throwing insults at Remy between choking noises.

Taking little notice of Remy and John, Lance finally spoke up. "Kitty?"

"Yes?"

"Shouldn't you warn him about Rogue's powers?"

"He doesn't need to know right now."

When they heard a scream they looked over to see Remy jumping off John, flinging off his fire scorched trench coat, and stomped on it until the flames were out. Once Remy was sure that the flames were definitely out, Remy took off after John, who was already running out the front door.

"Know what Kitty?"

"What?"

"If Remy can put up with John, he will definitely be okay with Rogue." Lance said with a chuckle.

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It was still early when Kitty got home, and Rogue was in her green and orange PJs reading a book when Kitty walked into their shared room, and flopped down on Rogue's bed.

"We should hang out tomorrow."

"OK." Rogue said without looking up.

"Like, seriously?" Kitty asked excitedly.

"Yea."

That was too easy, Kitty thought. "We're being invaded by aliens!"

"Great."

Kitty rolled her eyes, and grabbed the book from Rogue. "Like, you weren't even listening to me."

"Yes Ah was, now give me back mah book." she said agitatedly, and held out her hand for the book.

"What did I say then?" she asked.

"Somethin' 'bout goin' out with some guy name Alan this weekend." Rogue answered, trying to swipe the book from Kitty, but Kitty simply held it out of her reach.

"No, I said we should hang out this weekend." she repeated.

"No."

"Come on Rogue, we hardly ever hang out anymore."

She hated when Kitty did this to her. "Stop with the guilt trip."

"But it's true."

"Give me back mah book, an' Ah'll think 'bout it."

Kitty jumped up from the bed and headed toward the window, before Rogue could figure out what she was doing, Kitty phased her arm, along with the book out the window. "Say yes, and I won't drop your book."

Rogue gave Kitty the evil eye, but it had no effect on Kitty. "Fine, Ah'll go! Now give me my book!"

"Great! It's going to be fun!"

"Yeah, can't wait." Rogue said as she snatched the book from Kitty, and got comfortable in her bed again. "Now leave me alone."

Kitty rolled her eyes at her friend but smiled in triumph nonetheless. She headed towards the door intending to walk through an open door way, but instead, she felt the hard wood of the closed door collide with her nose. Her triumph was forgotten and embarrassment replaced it when Rogue's scoff of laughter rang through her ears and followed her as she opened the door and stormed out.

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"So where are we goin'?" Rogue asked Kitty, as they waited outside the mansion for Lance to come pick them up.

"Lance wants to try this Italian restaurant he heard about. It's supposed to be really good."

"Why didn't you tell me you guys were goin' t'dinner? Ah don't want t'be a third wheel on yo' date."

Just then they saw Lance's jeep coming up the driveway, and stopped in front of them. When Remy saw Rogue he gave her a smile.

Rogue turned to Kitty. A scowl spread across her face. "You didn't tell me that he was comin' too." she said, pointing toward the Jeep with her thumb.

"Oh, you mean Remy? He's a friend of Lance."

"Ah know who he is."

"Really?" Kitty said pretending ignorance. When she saw Lance waiting for her, she held up her index finger to indicate she needed a minute.

"He's in my English class, an' tried t'hit on me the other day with some cheesy pick-up line."

"What happened?" she asked even though she knew the answer.

"Ah turned him down. Ah mean, Ah probably would've been nicer if that nincompoop hadn't called me by the wrong name t'begin with!"

Kitty tried not to laugh, and before she could say anything more, Lance honked his horn and tapped his watch impatiently.

"Let's just go, and you can't back down because you already promised me you'd come." Kitty said as she pushed Rogue into the back of the jeep before she could protest.

Remy greeted her as she took her seat next to him. "Bonjour."

Rogue didn't even turn to look at him. "Just t'make this clear, this isn't a date."

"Understood." he said easily. "I know we got off on de wrong foot de other day, maybe we could start over, neh?" When she didn't answer Remy continued. "I'm Remy Lebeau, an' y' are?"

Rogue wanted to keep ignoring him, but she made the mistake of looking into his hypnotic eyes, she was lost and all the anger she felt melted away in seconds. "Rogue."

"It's nice t'meet y'." he said as he picked up one of her gloved hand and kissed the top of it, without taking his eyes off hers.

Rogue wanted to roll her eyes, knowing that she wasn't the first girl he did that to, but instead she smiled and found herself enjoying the attention he was giving her.

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Remy glanced at his clock on the nightstand. 1:13. He's been lying in bed for the last three hours tossing and turning, and he blamed Rogue for it. It was her fault that he couldn't sleep. It was her fault that he kept thinking about those emerald eyes, and it was her fault that he was frustrated. He was never a one-woman guy, and he planned to keep it that way.

His past fears suddenly resurfaced, his greatest fear being abandonment. He was afraid to open his heart, and have it broken again. It seemed like he was only opening himself up for disappointment, but tonight, being with her felt different. She was different, and he trusted her. Something he didn't do very often. Trust.

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Earlier that day

"Don't tell Kitty that I told you this, but I thought I should warn you about Rogue." Lance said to Remy as they made their way to the mansion to pick up the girls for their dinner date.

"I already know dat she can be kind of cold."

"There's more too it than that I'm afraid. As you know she's a mutant, and well she has the power to absorb your memories, and abilities just by skin-to-skin contact."

Remy didn't know what to say. "So she can't ever…touch anyone?"

"Exactly."

"Dat's kind of sad." he said more to himself.

"Just be careful."

"Don' worry."

A few minutes later they pulled into the mansion's driveway, and Remy jumped into the back. When they stopped, Remy saw Rogue and gave her a wave, and instead of waving back, she immediately turned to Kitty and started talking to her, about him probably. He took the time to look her over. She wasn't exactly the type of girl he usually went for, but her spunky attitude made her more appealing to him. She was wearing a long sleeved green top that left her shoulders exposed along with black pants, and her usual purple eye shadow and lipstick. After a few minutes of watching them talk, Remy grinned as he saw Kitty push Rogue into the Jeep.

During the short drive to the restaurant Remy and Rogue talked easily, mostly about their homes in the South, and about the things they missed. The more they talked, the more Rogue relaxed, and this didn't go unnoticed with Remy.

"I hate t'brag, but Remy makes de best gumbo."

"You? Brag? No way." she said rolling her eyes, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Remy walked into that one, but it was worth it, just to see her laugh. He had a feeling that not a lot of people got to see this side of her, and he was glad he was the one to bring it out of her. He was glad that Kitty talked him into coming onto this "non" date. "Alright, are you done laughing?" he said in mock-anger.

"Ah'm sorry." she apologized, but still grinning at him. "So who taught you how t'cook?"

"I had a few foster parents who were nice enough t'teach me. How 'bout y'? Do you know how t'cook?"

"Ah never learned. My adoptive mother wasn't the maternal type."

"Do you still talk t'her?"

"No."

Remy noticed the flash of anger in her eyes, and decided to change the subject. "Have y' been t'New 'Awlins before?"

"Yea, a few times fo' Mardi Gras."

Remy wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Did you flash anyone fo' beads?"

Rogue rolled her eyes and laughed. "No!"

"Do y' t'ink dat you'll ever go back t'Mississippi?" he asked in a more serious tone.

Rogue shook her head. "No. My home is here now. There's also a lot of bad memories Ah don't want t'go back too."

"Remy can relate."

Before Rogue could ask him, what he meant, Lance interrupted. "We're here gang." He announced as he pulled into the parking lot. When they walked in, the place was full but because they had reservations, the hostess immediately seated them and after a few minutes their waitress came to take their orders.

"Wow, like, this is such a nice place! Look, there's even a small dance floor!" Kitty squealed excitedly. "Lance, let's go dance!"

He didn't care for dancing, and he didn't feel like making a fool out of himself. "How about later?"

"Please Lance, just for one song?" she pleaded with a pout.

He could never tell her no, and she looked so cute, how could he start telling her no now? "Fine, but just for one song." he said as Kitty pulled him out of his seat, and dragged him onto the dance floor.

Remy stood up, and held out his hand to Rogue. "May Remy have dis dance chére?"

Rogue didn't remember giving him a response, only that he was leading her to the dance floor by the hand. She had to admit that he was quite handsome and secretly smiled when she received a few jealous stares from some of the other ladies. He had on a fitted gray shirt that gave away his nice physique, along with black pants, and shoes. When they got to the dance floor, Remy turned around and placed her arms on his shoulders while he wrapped his hands around her waist. As she looked into his black on red eyes, the world stopped spinning. Everything faded away and it was just them. It felt natural as she moved closer to him, and laid her head on his chest, breathing in the scent of him. Rogue closed her eyes when she felt him pull her tighter against him, and rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart as he swayed her to the music. When they finally returned to their seats, Kitty and Lance were already halfway through their meal.

"Sorry we didn't come get you, like I didn't want to interrupt you two." Kitty said with a sly grin.

The rest of the evening went faster than Rogue wanted, and at some point she wished it wouldn't end at all. She couldn't remember a time when she allowed herself to let her guard down and have fun like this. For once she felt normal, and found herself smiling a lot more in the presence of the charming Remy Lebeau. Unfortunately, it was getting late, and the evening came to an end, for they all had school in the morning. The guys paid for the meal, while the ladies took a restroom break.

"So what's going on with you and Remy? You guys looked kind of cozy out there." Kitty commented.

"Nothing, so don't be startin' any rumors 'bout us." Rogue warned.

"Rogue, you can't tell me that you're not at least interested in him!"

"I'm not." she said, not ready to admit her feelings to Kitty yet.

Kitty looked at her friend, and by her mannerism, knew she was lying but Kitty only smiled and kept the comment to herself. "Like, if you say so."

When they arrived at the mansion, Lance got out of the jeep and opened the door for Kitty, and walked her to the door, while Remy and Rogue stayed inside the jeep.

"Thanks, Ah had a good time."

"Me too chére."

Forgetting about her mutation, Remy lend in to kiss her, but Rogue stopped him by placing her fingers over his lips and pushed him back, surprising him, before he remembered. Damn.

"Ah'll see you tomorrow." she said softly, and quickly got out of the jeep.

Remy watched as she walked towards the mansion, his face falling slightly.