Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men: Evolution or any of its characters.
Title: The Differences Between Us
Summary: Kitty doesn't understand Rogue, and Rogue doesn't understand Kitty. But when they are suddenly thrown into the other's body, they'll have to learn to cope quickly.
Author's Note: Sorry about the lengthy wait for the next update. I swear I am not doing it on purpose. This is just a short little go between to show the aftermath of the party, hence the title. The fun stuff will continue in the next chapter, although it was kind of fun to write Rogue with a hangover.
Chapter 10 – Aftermath
Everything was painful. The sun shining in and landing precisely over her closed eyelids, the state of being conscious, but most of all, the invasive squeal of the voice directly next to her sensitive ears. Rogue groaned, being drawn from her restful sleep.
"Stop barking," she muttered insistently, impatiently. "Wh-What do you want?"
Rogue's eyes fluttered open slowly, and immediately squinted against the harsh light. Yet, steadily, an image came into view. It was Kitty. Well, it was Rogue's body carrying an angry expression, leaning over her. It certainly wasn't how she would have preferred to be greeted after rising with a hangover.
"Barking?" Kitty said, aghast. "You haven't heard anything yet, Rogue!"
Rogue pulled a pillow over her head with another groan. "Can't you just leave me to suffer in peace?"
Kitty wrenched the pillow out of her hands. "Oh, you'll suffer alright. What happened last night?"
"Last night?" Rogue attempted to recall the previous night, but ending up wincing as her water-starved brain ached in response. "Nothing?"
Her answer was weak and she knew it. But, it was difficult for her to care about anything in the state she was in. Her eyes kept closing much against her will, and her attention kept ebbing in and out.
"Nothing?" Kitty released a noise of disgust. "You're so useless right now!"
With that, she stormed away. In the back of Rogue's mind, she knew that this wasn't over. However, she was just too happy to be able to go back to sleep for the time being. She could worry about whatever Kitty wanted to know later.
xXx
It was late afternoon when Rogue finally managed to pull herself out of bed to find nourishment. She was still weary, but the protestations from her empty stomach refused to allow her to continue to sleep. It was much like Kitty's disruption earlier, except this one wasn't about to leave her anytime soon.
She had awoken to find herself still wearing the same clothes she had adorned specifically for the party. So, she had managed to change into something a bit more comfortable before padding casually downstairs toward the kitchen.
She had been hoping to make it there without any interruption, but such things could not be relied upon in a crowded mansion.
"Kitty!" Kurt appeared and came straight toward her. "What was that last night? You were, like, a different person."
Rogue rubbed her head. "Was I?" Her throat was dry and sore, and her voice matched that.
Kurt laughed. "You must have had more to drink than I thought."
"Yeah, please tell me that I, like, didn't do anything I'll regret."
"No worries, Kitty," Kurt said, patting her on the shoulder. "I kept an eye on you all night."
Rogue bit her lip. "Thanks, I think."
She continued on past Kurt and into the kitchen, refocusing on the task at hand, which was food. A pile of red apples called to her, gathered in a mound in the fruit bowl on the counter. She was drawn, like a magnet, to them, and wrapped a hand around the topmost apple.
"Finally!" Kitty caught her, causing her to physically jump.
The apple fell from Rogue's hand and rolled across the floor before coming to a stop just in front of Kitty. Rogue's hand flew to her chest, as if to keep her heart from leaping out in surprise. For a moment, she forgot that she wasn't feeling terribly well.
"Don't do that!" Rogue insisted, turning toward her roommate. "You scared me half to death." She groaned and rubbed her temple. "I'm not exactly myself at the moment."
"Guess what, Rogue?" Kitty said angrily, her arms crossing tightly over her chest. "Neither am I."
Rogue shrugged, picking up another apple and washing it off. "Well, until we can find a way to reverse this, I don't see what other choice we have."
"At least you don't have to, like, completely destroy my life in the process."
"Destroy your life? Why would I ever want to do that?"
"I don't know, but you sure did a hell of a good job last night."
Rogue froze, her mouth slightly open in the middle of taking a bite. "Last night? Wait, how do you know about last night? I can hardly remember a thing."
"My point exactly." Kitty plopped down into a chair with a huff. "Jean told me everything as soon as the three of you got back." Rogue slowly lowered herself across from Kitty, allowing her to notice the tears forming in her eyes. "How could you do that to Lance? How could you do that to-to us?"
"Kitty, I…" but Rogue trailed off. She wasn't entirely sure what she was supposed to say at this part. "I never meant for anything like this to happen. It's not like I went there with the intention of breaking you two up."
"But you have never liked Lance from the beginning," Kitty accused.
"Of course not! He is technically an enemy."
Kitty rolled her eyes. "Excuses." She stood with a disgusted sigh. "Well, if you aren't going to take this seriously then why should I?"
"Kitty, that's not-"
She pointed a finger at Rogue. "You better hope Jean and the Professor come up with a solution soon, for your sake."
Rogue shot out of her chair. "Wait a second. Jean? You told Jean about our-our condition?"
"She discovered it on her own. She's not dumb, you know. It is rather obvious if you think about it."
"How could you? We agreed to keep this a secret."
Kitty was getting upset. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "How do you expect us to return to our own bodies if we keep it a secret, Rogue? I don't want to stay you forever, especially after you completely decimated my love life! This is the worst thing that could have ever happened!"
Rogue frowned. "Well it's not like I'm having the time of my life either!"
"I'm sorry if dancing on a table in the middle of a crowded room doesn't scream 'horrible time,'" Kitty shot back. She shook her head. "Listen, from now on, you just do whatever you want, and I'll do the same. Damage control can be taken care of when this hell is finally over."
With that, Kitty stormed out of the room.
It wasn't until the silence had finally fallen and her temper had calmed that Rogue realized her head was pounding. She sat down with a sigh, attempting to rub the tension from her temples.
"I hate hangovers," she groaned.