A/N: Sorry, sorry, so sorry! This took way longer than I thought it would! I hope you all forgive me enough to read and give me some more amazing comments.

Logan's heart was beating furiously as he followed Kitty towards Rogue's room, his eyes narrowed and teeth clenched. "When did this happen?"

"Bobby said last night, about eleven, I guess." Kitty answered over her shoulder, phasing through Rogue's closed door in her hurry. "Rogue?" He heard her ask as she disappeared into the room. Logan let out an annoyed sigh and turned the handle, bursting inside to see Kitty holding a folded piece of paper, standing in the middle of an essentially empty room.

Her bed was made, with an old sweater tossed onto it. The closet door was open, showing empty hangers, while her dresser top was empty, her few possessions and photos gone.

He froze and met Kitty's eyes as she glanced up at him. She let her eyes drop as she handed the paper to him.

I'm sorry, I don't belong here anymore. I'll miss you all.

-R

Logan growled as he shot out the door and down the stairs. "Storm!" He called as he made his way toward the Professor's old office. He opened the door and slammed the note on her desk. "She's gone. She just took off."

Storm took the crumpled paper and read it, her eyes scanning the few words before glancing up at him. She took a moment before answering, her thoughts swirling through her head. "Logan, this is shocking, but--"

"But?" He cut in.

"But…maybe this is what Rogue needs now."

"What?"

"She's been feeling left out ever since she got back, and her break up with Bobby only made things worse." Storm began slowly, "If this is what she wants, then we have to respect that."

"But she thinks that we don't want her around anymore," Kitty put in from the doorway, coming inside. "She has no idea that she'll always be accepted here."

"Of course she knows that, Kitty," Storm said, standing. "That's the entire aspect of this school: being accepted, being safe. But this is a confusing time for Rogue right now. There's no reason we shouldn't let her go out and have a normal life in the real world if she wants. She can't stay hidden in the school forever."

"You don't even care." Kitty said accusingly. "You've always been resentful of her because you think she's a coward for taking the cure." Her voice was spiteful and strained. Storm blinked, surprise coming to her face as she opened her mouth. "No, you haven't stopped being angry about that. You're probably happy that she's gone. You probably think she betrayed us by taking the cure. You-you probably think she doesn't deserve to be here anymore because she's not 'one of us' anymore!"

"Kitty. Enough." Logan said, cutting her off, his voice curt. Kitty closed her mouth, face pinched, keeping her angry glare on Storm.

"You know that's how she feels, Logan. Everyone knows. Everyone can tell."

"Kitty." His voice was curt now, dangerous.

"Even Rogue." She stepped closer to the two adults. "You're one of the reasons she felt so out of place here. Did you know that? She felt like you were constantly judging her." Kitty took a breath to continue but Logan stepped toward her and she halted, clenching her jaw.

Storm stood in place, her face full of shock. She opened her mouth to speak but Kitty cut her off, holding up a hand. "Don't bother." She turned, throwing a glance to Logan before walking out of the room.

The two professors stood in awkward silence for a moment, Storm blinking. She took a step towards Logan. "Logan,"

He studied her, his face unreadable. "Let's just focus on this, alright?" He said quietly after a moment, turning and walking out of the room. They would have to focus on Storm's issues some other time, he wasn't in the mood.

Silently, he thought about how the kid hadn't even said goodbye. Not even to him. She had just vanished.

A small voice in the back of his head whispered to him. It's Rogue, it's what she does. After a moment, the same voice continued. It's what you do, too. He felt a great weight fall on his chest as he realized that she was gone.

Rogue kept her jaw clenched as she rushed toward her connecting train. Her bag was getting heavier the longer she had to carry it and her long coat only seemed to keep getting in her way as she tried to move faster. She had taken the train ride to Northern New York and then caught her connecting one to Indiana. The train had come in late, so she had approximately 2 minutes to make it to the train that would take her to Texas. From Texas she was supposed to catch another train north to Montana.

She knew in reality that she did not need to take such a roundabout route, but she also knew it was important for her to play along with her new "buddies" in the Friends of Humanity. She scoffed to herself as she hopped on the train, the door closing directly behind her.

She let out a deep sigh and wiped the sweat from her brow as she slumped into a seat. She closed her eyes in exhaustion, and smoothed her hair away from her face. As she heard the beginning announcements from the conductor, she glanced out the window, stifling a yawn, which made her miss the movement of a hooded figure step onto the car and slip into a seat a couple of rows behind her.

She pulled her bag towards her and pulled out her tickets, making sure she had the correct one pulled out, and was relieved that none of the group men had been able to come with her. At least one or two had been on her earlier trains, watching over her like a hawk. She had begun to get the feeling that they didn't trust her, after all, but since they weren't following her around anymore, perhaps they were realizing that she could be trusted.

She smirked, except that she actually couldn't. Apparently they would be making contact with her once she reached Montana and keep tabs on her. She managed to stifle her snort. Fat chance.

With a small grimace, she settled into her seat and closed her eyes as she listened to the opening announcements. Her mind began to drift, and she gave in, finally letting the memories of the past day swirl in her brain. With a pang, she let her final memory of the Mansion play in her mind.

She had managed to land pretty well on the ground after her fall. Her hurt ankle was throbbing slightly, but it wasn't nearly the amount of pain that she had expected. She was able to walk just fine, which would help her later on, she knew.

She had rushed toward the front of the grounds, pausing to punch in the security code for the front gate. As it swung open, Rogue kept her face serene. She couldn't let herself think about what she was doing; if she thought too much, then she would turn back towards the Mansion and never follow through with her plan.

"You're leaving." A hollow voice said from behind, causing her to gasp and spin around.

"J-Jimmy." She said, her throat tight. He was standing on the pathway, his coat wrapped tightly around him.

"You're not even going to say goodbye." His voice was still hollow, his breath showing up in white puffs in the cold air. She bit her lip, taking a step forward.

"Jimmy." She paused. "I have to go." She ran a nervous hand through her hair. "I'm sorry. I…I just don't belong here anymore."

"Everyone is always welcome here." He began, but she cut him off.

"I know. But that doesn't mean I belong here." She swallowed. "I'm not an X-Man, Jimmy. I'll never be one again. And," she stumbled, the tears gathering in her eyes. "I need to be on my own, now. This isn't my life anymore. My staying here only put everyone in danger."

"I don't want you to go."

With a pang she recalled saying those exact words to Logan only a few years ago and she swallowed, trying desperately to dissolve the growing lump in her throat. "I know." She answered. "I'll miss you, too. But I need to do this, Jimmy."

He glanced at the ground, avoiding her gaze. "No one understands me like you."

She stepped forward, squeezing him into a tight hug. She took a deep breath, pulling away after a short moment. "I told you, they'll get over it." She forced herself to smile. "It might help without me around, the outcast that I am."

He grinned and let out a sigh. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet. Probably north," She lied, hating herself for it. She took a moment to continue. "Jimmy, don't tell anyone you saw me leave."

He nodded, accepting her request with no questions. She thanked him, hating herself for using his crush on her to her advantage. He would do whatever she asked, she knew it. But if he didn't tell anyone, it would take longer for them to follow her. If they followed her at all.

"I have to go, now." She said, still fighting against the lump. "I really will miss you. I'll miss everyone."

"I'll miss you, too." She nodded and pulled him into another hug.

"Don't worry, pretty soon you'll have all the girls chasing after you. And you'll forget about me." She grinned and picked up her bag, moving through the gate. "Bye, Jimmy."

"Bye." And she had vanished into the dark winter night, rushing to the meeting point a mile away. There was supposed to be a car there, meant to bring her to the train station. As she walked the long mile, she let herself feel her sadness and had finally let her tears trail down her cold cheeks, the pain seeping out of her with every step.

Taking out a blue hooded sweatshirt, she yanked off her regular green jacket and pulled the sweatshirt on. She pulled out a different scarf and wrapped it around her neck, stuffing her other items back into the bag. Now, she thought, time for the real disguise. She picked up the black baseball cap she had bought in New York and threw her hair up into a ponytail, yanking the cap on and pulling her hair through the hole in the back. She pulled and worked with the loose hair behind her head, painfully, to make sure the white streaks were covered by her darker hair.

Taking a deep breath, she studied herself in the mirror. Completely different from her usual style. None of those goons would be able to recognize her if they saw her. She gave a nervous smile and hauled her bag up, rushing out to get to the ticket counter.

"Hello, ma'am, can I help you?" The bored blonde woman said, and Rogue felt a pang at the familiar southern twang.

"Yes, hello," She answered, adopting her old drawl. Might as well try to throw them off the trail even more, she figured. None of the Friends of Humanity people even knew she was from the south. "Ah'd like a ticket to Pennsylvania, please."

"Where, Pennsylvania?"

"Uh," What was a city in Pennsylvania? "Pittsburgh, the first one available." She dug in her pocket for her cash.

"There's one leaving in 30 minutes, dearie," The woman said, clicking the keys on her keyboard.

"That's great, thanks." Rogue sighed.

"That's $82.76."

Rogue could feel her eyes bulge, but managed to keep her surprise at bay. Good thing she had saved so much of her tip money from the diner. She handed the woman five twenties and watched as change was made, again missing the hooded figure peeking at her from a pay phone nearby. As she rushed toward the train she had to meet, she walked right past him and failed to notice him slowly set the phone back on the receiver and set off behind her.

I know this isn't going in the directions that some of you are suggesting/hoping/urging me to do (Yes, nevermindthebuttocks, I'm talking to youP) but what fun would it be if this story was exactly what you expected, hmm?