Mimeo
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Chapter 7: Strange and Interesting Plot Twists!Coffee caught on, and became more widespread than my real name. In fact, more people knew the nickname Coffee than knew me!
"Hey Coffee. Wanna meet us for lunch?"
"Hi Coffee. Looking good,"
"Hey, Coffee, do you think you could help me with my geometry homework? It's really hard and crap."
"Hey, you're that new chick, Coffee, ain'tcha?"
"I've never even seen you before!!" I exploded. "How do you know who I am?!"
"This weird girl in a yellow trench coat told me to watch out for a girl with gray skin whose name is Coffee," he replied.
"Gah!" I whirled around and stormed off
Benny was standing in front of me, eyebrow raised. I snarled a little and tried to go around him, but I felt like I was pushing against a solid wall in the air. I gave up and snapped out, "What do you want?"
"Coffee, huh?" he snickered.
"Shouldn't you be doing something else? Like re-coloring your hair? It's starting to get a greenish tint to it." His hands flew up to his hair, and a look of sheer horror passed over his face. I doubled over laughing.
"You really do color it, don't you?" I wheezed in between laughs
"Monkey turd." He spat
"Fish face." I shot back
"Numbskull."
"Pizza face."
"Butt muncher."
"Poisonous poodle feces."
"Monkey butt!"
"Snot brain."
"Coffee freak!"
"Oh, I'm so hurt!"
"What in the world are you two doing?"
"Cram it, ape!"
"You're an ape!"
Of course Bobby Drake just had to get involved. And THEN of course . . . it turned into a full-out pillow war.
"Take it back, boot-licker!" I shouted, beaning him in the face.
"Not a chance, gorilla!" Benny bellowed, tripping me up by tangling my feet in his pillow. And then both guys proceeded to try and stifle me, by pushing the pillows on my face.
"Do you surrender?" Bobby shouted.
"Mmph!" I cried, muffled.
"I think she said no," Benny said wickedly.
"What in God's name are you three doing? And why are you doing it without me?" Rachel asked.
"We're having an orgy!" Benny laughed.
I popped up, shrieking, "Eeewww!" Even Bobby looked horrified.
"Dude, you just don't make jokes like that!" he spluttered. "You just don't!"
"What? Why?" Rachel asked. "It sounds cool to me."
We all paused to stare at her. Benny muttered something about needing to do something upstairs, and slid out of the room as fast as he could. Bobby made a similar excuse, and was similarly gone.
Finding myself alone with the succubus, I squeaked out an excuse, and headed the same way.
I grinned for a moment, but then blinked, and slapped myself in the cheek. I had been having fun with the Benny monster! I had to make sure that never happened again!
"Jerk," I muttered, just to keep in practice.
"I certainly hope you're not referring to me?" a big booming voice to my left said. I whirled around in embarrassment.
"Oh, no! Of course not Dr. Hank! I'm sorry, I was just practicing," I winced at how stupid that sounded. He raised a furry blue eyebrow at me.
"Practicing?"
"It's a long story," I muttered.
He laughed. "Most stories are," he said, tapping his nose. I didn't see anything funny about that, but I laughed too, just to be polite.
Something like a watch beeped on his wrist. He looked at it in surprise, and then said, "Excuse me, I need to take this call,"
Call? It was a watch, wasn't it?
I went into the kitchen, and started making myself some coffee. I hesitated, but the ducked in the fridge, and raided the candy supply there. I grinned in triumph, pulling out a Hershey's bar, and dropping it in my coffee.
Dragging Jubilee down to the rec. room, I made her watch a movie with me, while we gorged on popcorn.
"And the point of the movie is that the Phantom was totally redeemable!" Jubilee said, waving her arms.
"No it's not! The Phantom stinks! Who likes a guy who's so vain he hides away the rest of his life because of a sunburn? Now, that Raoul . . ." I said, trailing off.
"Yeah, just think of something to say about him. No? Nothing? Of course not. Because there isn't anything to say! He is soo boring. I like someone with a little angstiness!" Jubilee said snobbishly.
"You would!" I said, bopping her on the head.
"Hey, you guys! They're back!" Bobby yelled.
For a moment we just stared at each other, and then leapt off the sofa at the same time. "Rogue's back!" we yelled simultaneously. We barreled down the hall towards the entrance.
"God, be careful!" Ms. Munroe was saying. We rolled to a stop.
Everybody was knocked out. Ms. Munroe and Dr. Hank were the only ones standing. Glasses man, Mrs. Jean, another man I didn't recognize, and Rogue, were all being carried in on stretchers. For some odd reason, Benny was sprawled out on the floor. I slowly walked closer. He turned his head and grimaced. Blood was smeared across his teeth. I started to hyperventilate. They all looked dead.
Dr. Hank bounded over, and picked Benny up. "Broken rib, at least," he murmured. He whisked him away.
For a moment, everything slowed down, and then sped up. Rogue was lying there pale and lifeless. Her bare fist was clenched around a clot of bright blonde hair.
I looked at it for a moment. I had just realized, I had never seen Rogue's hands before. The nails were neglected and raggedy, decorated with hangnails.
There was blood on her face. Part of the white streak in her hair had been ripped out, taking a chunk of scalp with it. There was a mark on her face shaped exactly like a large handprint.
I snapped out of my reverie of shock. The sounds of a panicking Jubilee washed over me.
"What happened? What's wrong with them?" she shrieked over and over.
"We're not sure yet," Dr. Hank murmured, gently pushing her aside.
I looked over at the strange man. His hair was reddish brown, raggedy, and long, reaching just past his chin. He had what seemed like a permanent five o' clock shadow. He was wearing a long brown trenchcoat. His hands were clenching the gurney in a death-grip.
Just then, his eyes opened. Red on black eyes. Strange, like mine were. Less crazy though. He peered up at me, and said in a breathy voice, heavily laden with a French accent, "Is Remy dead?"
I tried to summon up some enthusiasm, but I felt numb. I said blandly, "You're in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
"What's a pretty cheri like you looking so unhappy for?" he asked softly. I looked at him, startled, but Hank swept in.
"Gambit, no flirting while you're injured. Come on, we're going down to the medlab."
Hank and Ms. Munroe started wheeling all of them downstairs, Jubilee in tow, who was bawling. Bobby awkwardly patted my shoulder.
"It'll be okay," he said quietly, going off and following Jubilee.
I stood in place, a valid question bouncing around in my head.
What in hell happened here?!
Alas, it seemed that I would never find out. The remaining teachers had their mouths firmly shut, none of the students knew anything, and Jubilee was as close-mouthed as the teachers.
I was fine. Just fine. I wasn't hurt, Rogue and I weren't even that close, and a hot French guy had just told me I was beautiful. What more could I want?
I was standing in front of the TV, pounding away at Dance Dance Revolution. I was panting and stomping in a blur. I was breaking a record, I just knew it. Then I heard one of the controls under my feet break.
Okay, maybe I overdid it. Just a little bit.
"Overeager much?" Someone calledout. I hunched my shoulders. I was going to have to pay for the game.
"I'm fine," I called out, forcing cheerfulness into my voice.
"Sure y'are. And thas why you just wrecked an innocent video game," he called back, amused.
I clenched my fists. Stupid tears were suddenly pouring out of my eyes. It wasn't like I was sad or anything. I was fine. If I could just stop crying . . .
My visitor shifted, alarmed. "Stop crying!" he almost begged. The tears only came faster.
"I'm fine," I insisted, hating the wobble in my voice.
And that's how I came to be crying on the shoulder of an almost complete stranger.
Notice how I'm not giving out names?
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. My brain was so full of uncomfortable thoughts, I couldn't even close my eyes, without seeing Rogue lying there, looking dead. Or Benny, also looking dead. Or HIM; coming to comfort me.
"Gah!" I yelled, throwing my stuffed Garfield at the ceiling.
I got up and left my room, leaving Garfield on the floor, neck twisted at an odd angle.
Going down to the kitchen, which was quickly becoming my refuge, I scooped myself some ice cream. I sat at the table, focusing on the patterns in the marble top. They were pretty. At some points, the lighter sworls reminded me of the veins standing out clearly on my skin.
Spoon goes down. Comes back up to mouth. Bite off ice cream. Repeat. Wait, there's no more. Get up, put bowl in the sink. Maybe wash it. Probably not.
Walk up to your room. Warm up after brain freeze. Almost there.
"Aah!" I screamed. I was flung back all the way down the corridor, and crashed into the wall, a painting falling down and catching the corner on my head.
I whimpered and curled up. Hearing a slight whoosh, I looked up.
"Rogue?" I whispered hoarsely. "You're all right? Should you be up here? What are you – urrk!" That was the noise I made as my wind-pipe was compressed onto itself, Rogue's gloved hand closing around my throat with astonishing strength.
"Don't scream," she whispered harshly, and then she flung me back down to the other end of the hall.
I landed on my hands and knees, bouncing back in the air, doing a flip, and then landed again. Hard.
Rogue was coming back down after me. I might have just hit my head particularly hard, but it looked like her feet were a good foot off the ground. It occurred to me that I never did find out what her powers were.
I squared myself, and kicked her in the gut. She didn't even flinch. So I ran the other direction.
Screaming.
It only lasted about two seconds before her hand grasped my hair, and slammed my head into a wall.
I was truly out. I couldn't see, and everything was buzzing. Nothing made sense. Why was I lying here?
The most ferociously loud bang I had ever heard went off next to my ear, drowned in the alluring scent of brimstone. A pair of yellow eyes peered into mine. Mr. Kurt. Good, he would save me. A loud processions of bangs, each one further away, dashed my hopes.
The most uncomfortable sensation in the world was starting to brew in my stomach. I felt like I was being pulled inside out, and my eyes were being burned out with red-hot pokers.
Strangely, the pulling increased, while the pain in my eyes decreased. I physically could feel myself turning inside out, pulled back, and being forced through something much too small.
With a loud bang, I was suddenly three feet above the ground. I dropped to the ground, slamming my abused head once again.
Ah. Mr. Kurt must have teleported me to safety after all. Bless you, Mr. Kurt.
"Bless you Mr. Kurt," I murmured again, losing consciousness.
I slowly woke up. I was staring at a metal ceiling, which was all too familiar. Somehow, I'd gotten hurt again.
I gripped the edge of the metal bed I was on, wincing as I felt it twist easily in my grasp.
"Damn cheap bed," I muttered. I sat up, and looked around, gasping in dismay. The whole room was filled with students and teachers alike, all out cold, covered in various assorted bruises, and stuffed into casts.
I slid off the table. Something caught the corner of my eye.
A tail. I had a goddamned tail trailing behind me.
I tentatively reached for it, and yanked, hissing in the unexpected pain. I looked, and kept looking, my eyes getting bigger and bigger. I was covered in bluish-gray fur, tail included.
So I threw my head back and screamed.
Travelling Army Brat
Hey y'all! I'm not sure I'm happy with the title of this story. It comes into bearing later on, but still, I just don't like it anymore. If anybody has a suggestion, or wants me to leave it as is, please let me know.
PLEASE REVIEW! Please?
