Rogue was walking down the forest path leading to the Xavier school from town. She was smiling to herself, taking her time in getting home just to continue to savor the brief encounter with the cute boy from the library. It wasn't so much his looks that made him cute, but everything he said and did. In fact, when she first saw him sitting sprawled in the aisle, with his scuffed tennis shoes, rumpled light-colored jeans, faded tee-shirt covered over with a lumpy brown coat, she thought he was a vagrant. His hair was a tangle of brown that fell to his shoulders and he was wearing a pair of sunglasses. She thought he might be drunk at first, and when he slowly appraised her body from foot to head, she was about to give him a piece of her mind. Instead, he'd made a goofy television show reference, and then smiled sheepishly as if he was embarrassed by his outburst.
She saw then that he was surrounded by hard science books. The combination of academic plus his haphazard attire put her into the mindset that she was encountering not a derelict, but an eccentric. When he bounced to his feet as if pulled by an invisible string, she saw that he was tall and narrowly built, but with broad shoulders, shaped not unlike a down-pointing arrow. His features, what she could see of them behind the hair and the sunglasses, were what one of her romance novels might have described as 'chiseled,' except when he smiled there was a big dimple in his cheek that made him look boyish. He had a nearly straight nose that might have been broken once, a mouth that curved up at the corners with a full lower lip, a scruff-covered angular jawline that could have been drawn with the precision of a triangle ruler.
When he asked her to dinner, she heard the sound of a thousand elephants thundering through her mind on why she couldn't, just couldn't accept, even though she dearly wanted to. No one had ever asked her out before. No one had ever wanted her phone number. But the elephants trumpeted about "mutant" and "townie" and "your powers" and "the school" and "secrecy" and a host of other conflicts. But she relented, and when presented with her name, he didn't even blink, just took it at face value. Despite her reservations, she was now taking the time to bask in the sensation that for once, she wasn't the one pursuing a silly unreciprocated crush. For once, someone wanted to pursue her. She did a little twirl in the middle of the path, hugging her recipe book to her chest. She knew she shouldn't get her hopes up, or get too worried about her elephants, he probably wouldn't call her anyway.
She found she was disappointed when she turned out to be right. Inspired by his suggestion, she'd started making a giant pan of macaroni and cheese. She decided to attempt some kind of healthy option by also providing sauteed green beans and a side salad. People inevitably arrived in the kitchen at the first hint of food preparation. Logan and Kitty set out plates and cutlery in the center of the kitchen table. Sometimes everyone would come at once, but more often than not, Xavier School residents would filter in, eat and chat for awhile, stand at the counter, or just grab a plate of food and retreat. Ororo drifted in, her usual serene expression had been recently transformed into downright glum. She surveilled the prepared food and Rogue assured her there were no meat by-products in any of the dishes.
She took out a second pan of pasta from the oven when she heard several of the New Mutants coming in from the foyer. They tended to decimate the place, there were never leftovers. Piotr entered from the back door leading to the patio, filling the kitchen with his enormous presence. When Rogue offered him a plate he told her: "I will bring this to Kurt. Will return. Please save me a plate?"
"Will do, sugah," and placed a large serving on a plate, and covered it with Saran Wrap in case anyone got any ideas about stealing it.
The younger students arrived en masse to begin their big loud food frenzy. They were followed by Magnus, who when offered a serving, declined.
"I will be in my office," he said, and passed through the kitchen with little interaction between himself and the other adults.
Xavier's office, Rogue thought to herself.
Lastly, Rogue took a plate for herself and sat with Logan and Kitty at the table. She had some of her attention on her food, some on the conversation happening between Logan and Ororo, and all the rest on the cordless phone hung on the kitchen wall. It remained silent. Still thinking of the cute boy, Remy, which was about as cute of a name as a boy could have, she smiled to herself.
"Whatcha thinkin'?" Kitty asked in a sort of wheedling tone.
Rogue shook her head. "Oh, nuthin'. Just, somethin' funny I saw at the library."
"What's that?" Kitty asked.
"A recipe for disaster," Rogue said idly.
Kitty was interrupted from further interrogations when Piotr reentered. He found his plate and joined the table, sitting himself next to Kitty. Rogue smiled at them both, raised her eyebrows at Kitty, who said nothing but concentrated on eating macaroni as if she'd been practicing her whole life for this very moment.
With dinner finished, Rogue continued to linger in the kitchen.
"You did all the cookin, darlin'," Logan told her. "Let us do the clean up."
"No, it's okay. Ah got nothin' better to do anyhow."
She stayed in the kitchen post-clean up, idly reading the newspaper at the kitchen counter. Stragglers emerged and were disappointed to find there was no more food, then consulted the pantry for snacks and junk food. By nine-thirty, she gave up. Why was she waiting on some boy anyway, like some nineteen-fifties era teen girl waiting by the phone for Johnny Football to call? Slightly miffed, she huffed out the door to go fly around the lake for a while.
Saturday. No phone call. Sunday, crickets. "Oh, well," Rogue decided. "You can't mourn something you never had to begin with."
Sunday night was the night everyone was expected at the table, provided there were no hordes of aliens or Nimrod sentinels to destroy. It was Logan's turn to cook, so that meant chili. At least two kinds of chili anyway, since Ororo didn't eat meat. Afterwards, Rogue hung back in the kitchen, eating a piece of cornbread she'd poured milk onto as a dessert. She had her recipe book propped open and was looking to plan her next dinner. Maybe something Cajun? When she was done, she bussed her empty bowl and spoon and began towards the foyer to go upstairs. She thought about reading her latest romance novel for a while before bed.
In the foyer, the office door was open. A rectangle of yellow light shown on the polished foyer floor. Rogue suspected Magnus was inside, she could hear the shuffling of paper. Rogue made her way to the staircase when the phone suddenly rang.
Rogue froze with her foot on the first tread. How fast could she make it back to the kitchen, she wondered? Before she could turn she heard a click and the sound of Magnus' voice. "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," he answered curtly.
"'Ello, and bonsoir!" announced a voice. Apparently, he was on speaker phone. Rogue's face began to pinken. "My dear sir, can you please direct my phone call to the roguishly delightful enchantress with de bi-colored locks? The gorgeous girl who has claimed my very heart at the first sight of her emerald eyes?"
"I beg your pardon?" Magnus asked, nonplussed.
"Please don't tell me I am too late, and my Princess Aurora has pricked her finger and fallen into a deep sleep?"
"There is no one by the name of Aurora here. Do you perhaps mean, Ororo?"
"Nay, for none can compare to the one they call Rogue. She is the fairest one in the land."
"I am hanging up now."
"No!" Rogue said suddenly, appearing in the office doorway. More quietly she added: "Ah'll take it in the kitchen, thanks."
"Who is this strange person?" Magnus asked her quizzically.
"Oh, a boy Ah met," she said, turning to leave. "In town."
She could tell that Magnus had more to say but she was all ready running back to the kitchen. She picked up the receiver and called back into the hall: "Ah got it!"
She held the receiver to her ear, waiting to hear the click that meant Magnus had hung up the phone. She heard him draw a breath, but then the phone went silent. Too silent.
"Uhm, ah...hello?" Rogue asked.
"'Who is zis strange person?!'" Remy mimicked in a heavily-laden German accent. "I'd like t'know, who was that Wet Blanket?"
Rogue smothered a laugh and a snort, shoulders shaking. When she composed herself she said: "That was the headmaster."
"Oh, sorry chère. I hope I didn't get you into any trouble," Remy said concilliatorially. "I'm not callin' too late, am I?"
"No, it's fine. He just doesn't have much of a sense of humor."
"That much was obvious from de first five seconds," Remy told her. "Are you awful mad at me for not callin' earlier?"
"No. Ah mean, okay a little." She perched herself on a barstool near the phone cradle.
"I'm really sorry. Only I had some studying I had to catch up on."
Rogue recalled the books he'd had spread all over the floor, that she'd seen him last going through to the library's quiet study area. "You crammin' for midterms?" she asked.
"Got a big test comin' up, for sure," he answered. "What'd you all end up makin'? That night you wouldn't go out with me?"
Rogue smiled. "Ah realized Ah was hungry for macaroni and cheese," she said.
"Liked de baked kind? With all the browned cheese on top?"
"You got it."
Remy groaned. "I sure do miss home cooking," he said. "And then pour a bunch of Tabasco on top! C'est magnifique!"
"That sounds appalling," Rogue told him.
"You had it?" he challenged.
She had to concede that she had not.
"Don't knock it til you try it! I don't know too many foods that aren't better with Tabasco. Where I come from it's basically salt and pepper."
"Where is that then, exactly? In Louisiana."
"N'Awlins," he answered. "You been?"
"Couple times," Rogue said. "When Ah was a kid."
"Oh yeah, what'd you do when you were there?"
"Some sightseeing," Rogue answered. "Rode a street car, visited Cafe du Monde. The usual stuff, Ah guess."
"Ah, chѐre, you gotta get away from de main drag. If it were me, I'd take you out somewhere, my favorite restaurant. You like oysters?"
"Bleagh, no," Rogue said.
There was a pregnant pause. "I'm afraid our relationship is over," he said. "I'd say it's not you, it's me. But alas, it is you."
Rogue laughed. "Okay, maybe Ah'll try one!"
"Anyway, can't keep talkin' about food, I've only got Ramen in de house."
"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"
"How about our date?"
Rogue twisted a lock of hair around her gloved finger. "Did Ah agree to go on a date with you?"
"Technicality!"
"Okay, then sugah, what would you want to do on our hypothetical date, if one should happen?"
"I don't know, you tell me. As far as I can see, alls there to do here is ride hay wagons and drink cider."
"There's a pub in town," Rogue suggested.
"You mean Harry's Hideaway. I'm familiar. Only I won't be going back in there anymore."
"Why on earth not?" she asked, perplexed. Harry's was a perfectly cozy pub with good food.
"Let's just say me and my friend did not get a warm reception at this afternoon's gametime. Lucky some big fella stepped in and shooed them off. I think he may go to your same school. Russian Goliath, is what I call him."
"Oh, that's Piotr," Rogue said. "He's no Goliath. He's a gentle giant."
"Well, chère, unless Pete wants to stand as bodyguard, I don't want to go back to Harry's in a hurry. And frankly, three's a crowd."
"Ah guess that means hayrides and cider then," Rogue smiled.
"How about we just go for a walk?" he asked. "I am a bit cash-strapped at de moment."
"That sounds just fine t'me," Rogue said. "Where in town are you?"
"I can come out by you, no problem," he told her. "Where can we meet up?"
"Do you know where the school is?" she asked, when he made a sound of confirmation she said: "There's a little path by the side of the main gate. Takes us all around the property. It's nice."
"We gone look at some leaves?"
"It's that time of year," she informed him. "For leaf peepers."
Remy began to laugh. "For what?"
"Leaf peepers, people who travel around looking at the foliage, taking photos."
"That can't be a thing."
"It is."
He laughed some more. Rogue grinned, happy to have made him laugh.
"Are you free tomorrow afternoon?" he asked her. "For some peepin'?"
"Let me check my schedule," she said, and flicked through the calendar mounted on the wall near the phone. Of course, there was nothing on it. "Hm...Ah might be able to pencil you in. Say...round four?"
"That sounds real nice, chère," he said, his voice low. She felt herself blush. "Looking forward to it."
"Me too, Remy. Ah'll see you tomorrow. G'night."
"Bonsoir, petite. À demain."
Rogue floated from the kitchen to the foyer. It didn't bother her in the least to see Magnus standing there, silhouetted in the office doorway as she made her way up the stairs. She had a date, her first ever date. With the cutest boy in the world. With or without the power of flight, nothing could bring her down.
Next: A Queer Librarian, A Cajun Thief, and a Russian Artist walk into a bar.