*Note # 2 (Yeah, I get to have more than one A/Ns, cause I say so! Nyah! ^_^): I know it took me longer to update, but I have a good excuse! The site shorted out on me when I went to update, and so to pass the time, I went on Yahoo to look at some pictures, got distracted by this one scan of a shirtless Scott Stapp leaning over a waterfall, and forgot all about my chapter! -_- Oh, well. It was well worth it--for me, anyway! ^_^ And Ashi, don't go start whining and singing November Rain or anything to retaliate for the lateness of this chapter, I'm gonna put Scooter Boy through some serious humiliation (I couldn't find an appropriate moment for Rogue to bitch-slap the hell out of him, so you'll have to settle for public torture), so be happy and don't even think about warming up your vocal chords!
Rogue leaned against the railing of the ship's deck, staring out into the dark, glossy ocean and fighting back a wave of guilt as she recalled the arsenal of furious words she'd fired off against Scott...specifically, the part about how if he suddenly decided he now wanted her, that was too bad, because she wasn't that easy. It wasn't as if she was being a bitch when she'd broken his heart, nor was she purposely tormenting him by playing hard to get--she wasn't that type of person. What she was, though, was someone with at least some degree of integrity, and it wouldn't have felt right to her to just suddenly jump into a guy's arms after the way he'd been ignoring her ever since they'd met. Rogue growled, glaring off into the darkness. Sometimes--or most of the time--she hated and resented her angel of conscience.
"Rogue!"
Rogue winced, as the familiar voice called out her name, before turning
around and deciding that Scott deserved far better than just the silent
treatment from her. As the hurt-looking Scott trotted over toward the ship's
deck, Rogue spoke up in a tired and weary voice, drained from its previous
anger and resentment.
"Look, Scott, don't do this.
It's not fair to you, it's not fair to me...and in a sense, it's not even
fair to Jean," she murmured warily. "I know you're not like most other
guys our age, but even you have your shallow side--and you've more than
shown it tonight if all it took was a song to make you fall out of love
with the one who's been your dream girl from the moment you met her." Scott
stopped dead in his tracks upon her words, looking both hurt and upset.
"But Rogue," he began quietly,
"Jean Grey is not my dream girl. She hasn't been for a long time." Rogue
leaned back, stunned by his words.
"What do you mean she's
not your dream girl?" she wanted to know, speaking in an almost accusing
voice. "I mean--for the last several weeks, all you've done is haul me
around in an effort to break up Lance and Jean so you could go out with
her."
"I'm afraid that was more
jealousy on my part than anything else," Scott admitted guiltily. "I mean,
Jean and I have always been like brother and sister...but ever since we
both entered high school and everyone was paired off into couples, most
people just naturally assumed that eventually, the two of us would hook
up, since we complemented each other so perfectly. And I guess I've always
gone along with that notion."
"But--" Rogue started to
protest, before Scott cut her off.
"Jean and I both thought
we had no other choice but to date each other--it was almost expected of
us," he admitted. "And when Jean realized that the one she wanted was Lance,
and not me...I guess I got a little jealous and overprotective. And I didn't
know what to do, since our entire lives, it was like, Jean and I had
to end up together somehow. I guess I just went along with that, and since
I'd always liked Jean, I just kind of naturally assumed that meant I loved
her as well."
"Don't you love her?" Rogue
ventured shyly. Scott paused, pondering over the particular question, before
meeting her eyes and answering honestly and simply, "No," as the concert
noises carried over to the deck, signaling the end of No Doubt's set and
the beginning of the Goo Goo Doll's set.
"Oh." Rogue didn't know
what else to say, and instead drifted off into an awkward silence.
Meanwhile, off in the distance,
the opening chords of Black Balloon carried over to the silent deck,
and Scott began to smile, remembering their escapades earlier in the evening.
As Johnny Rzeznik's sweetly soft voice began to sing, Scott broke the silence
by teasing, "Hey, notice how it's Baby's black balloon makes her
fly...not ate a fly?" Rogue ducked her head, blushing lightly, but allowed
a guilty laugh to escape nonetheless, as she protested, "You're never going
to let me forget that, are you?" Scott smiled, but then admitted, "Yeah,
well, so long as you don't spill about the whole Axl Van Halen thing...I
think we're even."
"It's a deal," Rogue murmured,
smiling but casually avoiding eye contact with him. A stretch of silence
followed, until Scott broke the ice again by speaking up in a simple and
sincere voice, "Hey, Rogue? I'm sorry. For...what happened." Rogue cleared
her throat.
"Yeah, well...I'm sorry,
too. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that," she apologized quietly.
Just then, Black Balloon finished, and the soft, sweet opening chords to another classic, Iris, began to play. Scott and Rogue stood silently for a few moments, just quietly listening and appreciating the sweetly sincere love song.
And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
"Hey,"
Scott murmured, and Rogue opened her eyes and glanced up to meet his gaze,
unwittingly locking eyes with him.
"Mmm?"
she murmured, as Scott made a suggestion that sent a happy flush staining
her normally pale cheeks.
"Care
to dance?" he asked quietly, and Rogue blushed.
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
'Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
"Scott...we're
nowhere near the dance floor or the concert," she pointed out, blushing
furiously and looking down at the ground. Scott shrugged it off as a minor
inconvenience, and instead held out his hand.
"Does
that really bother you?" he wanted to know, speaking in a soft voice. Rogue
blushed again, but then a smile shone on her face, as she shrugged and
muttered, "Not really." Extending one carefully gloved hand, she shyly
and tentatively accepted Scott's invitation to dance, and the two began
slowly swaying to the music carried over from the Goo Goo Dolls concert.
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
And you bleed just to know you're alive
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
"Rogue?"
Scott murmured, as Iris drew to a close.
"Mmm?"
came her quietly content response. Scott blushed, as he stammered out,
almost shyly, "You think...you think we could...do something...sometime?"
Rogue raised her head, and grinned.
"Now,
now, Scott," she began in a chastising tone, "have you forgotten?" And
then, quoting from Happy Now?, she repeated, "If you think you just
might want me, that's too bad, I'm not that easy!" Scott blushed furiously,
and instinctively backed away a few inches from Rogue, dropping her hands.
"I...I'm
sorry; I didn't mean to act like that, I..." His voice trailed off, when
he saw the teasing grin on Rogue's face. Leaning up to more or less match
his height, Rogue placed one carefully gloved hand onto his lips, and kissed
him in that style, before drawing back and saying lazily, "Now, Scott,
we can go out if you want to...but only on one condition."
Scott nervously pulled at his collar.
"What's
that?" he wanted to know. In response, Rogue cracked her own version of
his infamous maniacal grin that he'd use when chasing after Jean.
"You'll
see," she drawled in that maddening tone of hers.
Jean, holding Lance's hand,
called out a quick greeting as she walked up to Rogue, lounging on the
lawn in front of the school's outdoors amphitheater and lazily chewing
on a French fry.
"Hey, Jean, saved you and
Lance two front-row seats," Rogue waved. Just then, Kitty and Jubilation
bopped up to the trio, wide-eyed, as Kitty chirped, "Wow, Rogue. I can't
believe you've, like, managed to convince Scott to do this."
Rogue shrugged, offering some fries to Kitty and Jubilation, who each
took a couple, before replying modestly, "Well, guess I'm more convincing
than I'd thought." As Kitty and Jubilation giggled, Rogue further explained
in a gleeful tone, "Besides, I figured that since No Doubt were the ones
who helped get me and Scott together, I felt it only fair one of us paid
tribute to them!"
Just then, Tabitha climbed
up to the stage, welcoming the growing audience that had come to see the
performance, before gloating, "And now, here to sing No Doubt's 1995 smash
Just
A Girl, give it up for mine and your MVP of the boys' soccer team,
Scott Summers!"
The familiar upbeat intro started, and an embarrassed Scott, decked
out in a pair of poofy blue jogging pants, a tiny white tank top, a dash
of platinum dye sprayed into his hair, and a tacky red bead glued onto
his forehead, grudgingly shuffled over to the audience, blushing furiously
as he took a hold of the microphone.
"Take this pink ribbon off
my eyes..."
~ The End ~