A.N.: Several people have asked for a Ryro so here it is… My thanks to those of you who've inspired this tale. I'd love to read your comments, so please share your thoughts. No flames, please. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I'm just having fun with the possibilities they hold.
Rogue sat sideways in the window seat, her back supported by John's side. He was seated facing the room enjoying the weight of her pressing against him. Both were engrossed in their individual books, the only sounds they made coming from the pages being turned occasionally. It was late Friday afternoon and this was one of their favorite days to work in here since they pretty much had the place to themselves.
He grunted and she turned to see what he was pointing at. She uttered a couple of synonyms for the word in question and he just nodded before they went back to the companionable silence they'd been enjoying. A voice was heard calling Rogue's name and they both sat a little straighter. The next call included him as well and was a little bit louder and closer.
Rogue felt herself lifted to sit across his lap and his arms wrap low around her waist and hips. John's chin rested on her shoulder as he quickly went back to his reading. When she started to squirm, thinking he was temporarily insane, he only lifted one hand enough to nudge her book up while muttering "Read, Marie." Realizing, finally, what he was doing and she assumed the proper position and attitude just in time.
Siryn appeared and at first smiled in relief at finding them, but her look turned resentful in a hurry. Trying to act as though nothing was wrong, she approached a little hesitantly. "Rogue, Jubilee and Kitty sent me to find you. They said you're late."
John held his wrist up so she could check the time. "I had no idea so much time had passed." She slid from his lap, somewhat relieved at having a valid excuse to move away from him… it was way too unsettling to be so close to him. "I really do need to go. I promised them. And the guys will be looking for you anyway, right?"
He shut the book and laid it in the seat before coming to stand near her, one hand going to curve around her waist possessively. "Behave, young lady," he teased.
"I always behave! The question is will I behave well, or not," she flirted back with a wink and one of those giggles that never failed to get to him.
"Have fun tonight, baby. I'll miss you." He leaned down and kissed her cheek quickly enough to avoid being drained, but longer than anyone other than Logan had touched her since her mutation had kicked in. His lips brushed her ear as he murmured in her ear, "I will miss you, Marie." His eyes bore into hers, driving the assertion home.
"Ah'll miss ya', too, Johnny," she whispered back. With boldness she didn't think she had in her any more, she rose on her toes and kissed his cheek so fast he barely had time to register what she was doing before she was spinning around to run from the room, a furious blush staining her cheeks. "Come on, Siryn! Let's go have some fun," she called with genuine friendliness to the younger girl.
Siryn stared without blinking at John for several heartbeats before she started to speak. "I," she couldn't continue. Finding the words stuck in her throat, she just stood there.
"You'd better go, Siryn. You don't want to miss the fun." He wasn't unkind, but hoped she would pick up the double meaning in his words.
Siryn's sad expression led him to believe she had, but then, before he knew what was coming or had time to prevent it, she'd popped over to him and kissed his lips before racing off to catch up with Rogue. He blinked once, twice and then propped his hands on his hips and leaned his head back to stare up as thought consulting the heavens for help. "Oh man," was all he could say.
Rogue smiled at Jubes and Kitty's goofy conversation as she polished her toenails. The three of them, along with Siryn and a couple of other girls were all either polishing nails, applying face masks, or snacking while answering questions from the stash of chick magazines. Music played in the background and bursts of laughter were frequent. This felt great. It was one of the first times she'd really felt normal since her mutation sucked her old friend almost dry. She sighed at the return of such depressing memories and tucked them back into a dark corner of her mind. Tonight she was determined to be a normal teen.
"What's the deal with you and that amazing, hulking hunk of manhood Peter, Jubes?"
Jubilee just grinned and said, "He is a really sweet guy and we're going to see what happens. That's all, girls."
"Uh-huh… right! Well, I sure know what would be happening if I was the one he asked out!" teased another girl, which of course prompted another round of laughter.
"Hey!" Jubilee protested.
Kitty piped up, "Come on, Jubes… face it – Peter's hot."
Jubilee tried to fake moral outrage for about three seconds before laughing with them and admitting, "I know!"
Rogue shook her head and screwed the lid on the polish she was using. She leaned back on her arms, feet stretched out before her with cotton balls puffing from between her toes. Her hair was braided on each side of her head and, were it not for her figure she would have looked all of twelve years old.
Someone walked by, almost brushing her bare feet as they passed and she drew her knees to her chest. She could pretend all she wanted, but the truth was even here at 'Mutant High' she was a freak. She sighed then grabbed a soda from the stash in the cooler. "Here's a good one," called out the girl looking for another quiz for everyone to do. "It's 'What do Guys Like About You?'. Let's all do it." Quickly paper and pens were tossed to everyone and the girl began asking the questions aloud.
The first question involved be invited to join in a movie night and what film you'd suggest renting. "A. The Ring, B. Dodgeball, or C. Love Actually are the choices." Rogue was deep in thought. It was hard to choose because it would kind of depend on her mood. She finally jotted down her answer just in time to hear the next question. They went on to answer questions about what to ask a guy when first meeting him at a party, ways you react to a flirtatious comment in class, how you handle being asked to dance at a school dance when your feet hurt, what to say when a guy doesn't do well on a test and over reacts, and a bunch of other scenarios that were pretty believable… more so that most of these stupid things. When all was said and done and the scores were added up she learned that presumably guys liked her (if they even did she thought with a wry smirk) because….dun dun DUN! She's sensitive. They may start out flirting, but they leave thinking how smart, thoughtful, and good at meaningful conversation she was. Yay.
The younger girls were getting tired so they decided to go collapse in one of their rooms to veg out and fall asleep watching TV on the small set her parents sent last month. They continued further quizzes which told Rogue that she would, in theory, meet her boyfriend at a club (HA! Yeah, right!). The last one was supposed to determine her kissing style. She had to wing it with that one. "When do you get around to kissing that guy you really like for the first time?" Well, let's see… when she wanted him DEAD maybe! She played along, though, not wanting to bring the party down. Apparently she was "Air" and had to be friends with a guy first and had to respect him intellectually also. She figured that just meant not a tramp, but what did she really know about it all, right?
Even with her long sleeves and sweats she was having a hard time preventing any contact. The girls were doing each other's hair and all and she just wasn't comfortable with that kind of proximity. It was too dangerous. Kitty noticed her new friend's mood slumping and nudged Jubilee before declaring. "Now that the younger kids are gone, let's get to the good stuff!"
Jubes was quick to agree. "So who's up for some Truth or Dare?" The truth was Rogue was done. She was a little tired, she missed John, and she was getting really stressed out with the close quarters. Now that her toenails were dry she had her fluffy socks back on, but she still didn't like being in here with so many people, some of whom she knew only by sight.
"I think I might go on to my room for the night."
"Not a chance!" Jubilee declared as though she actually had any authority.
Rogue's jaw tilted in a rare show of her deep-seated stubbornness. Kitty cajoled her next. "Aw, come on Rogue. It'll be fun! Really."
The other girls joined in and she wound up giving in to their entreaties. She settled back down and silently decided she'd keep a low profile and just enjoy the show, not getting involved though. They chose Kitty to go first. "Jubes… you enjoy torturing people so let's start with you first just to make sure we get in something good on you. What's it going to be? Truth or dare?" Although she asked in her most menacing tone, which wasn't all that menacing by the way, the grin on her face kept it from being even remotely serious.
"Truth," was her quick answer.
"Chicken," Kitty mumbled. "Fine, who do you think is the best looking guy at the Institute?"
"Mr. Summers. And you know you agree Kitty Pryde so don't even try to deny it. Let's be honest here… teacher or not the man is hawt!"
Rogue smiled. She disagreed, but could see the attraction for them. Jubilee looked over the room, her eye finally lighting on Siryn. "Siryn, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Aren't we wimps?" Jubilee laughed good-naturedly poking fun at herself as easily as she did at everyone else. "Okay, who are you most interested in romantically right now?"
Siryn opened her mouth with a slight smile curving her lips and then as she looked around her glance fell on Rogue and uncertainty crossed her features. "Um… Well, I'd have to say John."
"As in Allerdyce?" one of the girls tried to clarify while shooting a wide-eyed look at Rogue.
"Well, yeah," Siryn confessed with a shrug. "He's nice and funny and really good looking… and he's available at the moment." Rogue honestly hadn't been ready to make anything of it, but after walking in to see her on his lap earlier and their, admittedly quick, kisses she thought it was pretty ballsy of the girl to add that last bit while looking at her dead on.
Jubilee and Kitty were looking from one girl to the other and then Jubes' quick wit kicked in. "Well, that's not what it seems like to me. From what I hear, he's showing an awful lot of interest in not being available." She stared right at Rogue as she said it, making it clear what she meant.
Kitty tried to ease the sudden tension in the air. "Well, only time will tell, I suppose. Siryn, it's your turn!" She tried to inject the fun back into things with her chipper attitude. Thankfully, it seemed to work.
Siryn asked Karen, one of the girls Rogue didn't really know and Karen chose to accept a dare. Jubilee gave an evil smirk and joyfully exclaimed, "At last we get some real action!" Karen had to go to Bobby, say 'Hey honey, you want some of this?' and then imitate a duck before finally quacking his face. They all slunk downstairs and watched from around the corner as the girl, whose face was as red as a tomato fulfilled the requirements and then fled the room leaving behind a group of stunned and then laughing young men.
Things kept escalating little by little after that. By the time all was said and done, a pair of underwear from every male in the building was strung together and hung across the balconies like a banner. Ororo and Jean each had bras in the freezer, and there was a sign attached to the back of the professor's wheelchair proclaiming "Chicks dig bald men". Rogue was done and bid the other girls good night. That seemed to break things up. She hadn't meant to do that, she was just tired. It was late and that paired with the constant strain of worrying about accidentally brushing up against someone with her skin while they hid and prowled around was enough to have her ready for her bed.
Once there, however, she tossed and turned for quite awhile before finally falling asleep. It didn't take long for the dreams to start. The lab, the glasses of champagne, the green liquid, the searing pain… She bolted up in her bed her pulse racing so fast it felt as though her heart was going to burst. No way was she going back to sleep right now. She knew what it was; she knew whose it was. Turning on the light she went and splashed cool water on her face and then just stood and studied the reflection looking back at her.
Marie felt so far removed from the girl she remembered being back in Mississippi that the two felt like entirely different people. Who was this girl looking back at her with the white streaks in her hair and the old soul looking out of haunted eyes? Surely it couldn't be that silly giggling girl who'd finally let the boy from down the street, the boy who'd been her friend her entire life, kiss her only to almost kill him. Why her? Why was she cursed with this mutation? Even Mr. Summers', who also couldn't control his ability, was still able to lead a relatively normal life. What horrible wrong had she committed that made God punish her with this?
Blinking back the tears she turned away from the image and accepted that she ought to get John up. Being alone was not a good option right now. She crept through the corridors and barely tapped on his door. Now that she was here, she felt guilty about waking him at three in the morning. There were limits to what a person wanted to put up with, even from friends. The door opened after only a few seconds. John wore sleep pants and a T-shirt, his hair stood on end, his eyes were bleary with sleep, and his smile made her believe everything was okay. "Hey, just a sec, Marie." Leaving the door open he went to his closet. She watched him pull out a long sleeved hooded sweat jacket.
He joined her in the hall and wordlessly led her downstairs by the hand. They joined Jones on the sofa in the rec room. He was blinking his way through the stations and didn't pay them much attention. "Do you want to tell me about them?" he asked quietly.
She looked towards the younger boy who never looked her way but assured, "Don't mind me… I won't listen."
"They were Logan's tonight," she whispered to John. Shivering just a little in the cool air, she hugged her arms tightly around herself. John pulled her over to him and wrapped his arms around her, letting his body temperature rise just a little. She sighed and snuggled closer to his warmth.
"Jonesy," he called softly, gesturing to something nearby. Jones tossed the blanket to them and John draped it over her and drew the excess over his lap. They settled in and she would quietly share some bit from the nightmare every once in awhile. Her words slowed and slurred while her lids drifted shut for longer and longer periods. Finally she slept peacefully.
John was getting pretty tired, too, but wanted to tie up one loose end before surrendering to sleep. "Jones, man…"
"Don't worry, John. I won't say anything."
"Thanks," John muttered.
Jones looked over ten minutes later and the two of them were soundly sleeping, John's mouth hanging slightly open and Rogue's hands cupped together under her chin where her head rested on John's chest.