Chapter 13, "Deny"
By: RogueBHS
A/N: Alright, lets see if I can finish this one faster than I did the last chapter. By the way, I have to send a thanks to DEBS for the critique on Rogue's current state in LTYE. Yes, she is rather "perfect" right now, but just be patient. Everything I write has its purpose, including her being that way. I'm hoping to wrap this up in 3 chapters, thus ending it when that little titled up there says "Chapter 15." Ok? Don't panic. There's more to the arc...much much more. LOL. I still need more Cable, X-man and Maddy info! If you'd rather, you can email it to me at MidnyteRogue@MSN.com
Thanks again to my reviewers! (Even you Randi, despite your weird little first review on last chapter!) Also, Italics with the star (*) on either side is telepathic communication. Hope that's not too tricky. LOL.
The downtown club was in full swing by the time the four X-men arrived. It took a slight nudge of telekenesis to move a car over into one parking space insead of the two it was in originally, thus making room for the Seabring. Smoothing the jeans over her hips, Rogue glanced at Scott who said something about them getting a table on the second floor of the club rather than on the main floor. Nodding in agreement, she glanced to Ororo and Bishop for their opinion on the idea.
Storm and Bishop voiced their agreement as well, and walked a few steps behind Rogue and Scott on the way into the club. When the doors openned, a song by Lenny Kravitz was blaring, and the dance floor was packed. Taking Scott's hand, Rogue led the way up the staircase to the open second story that overlooked the main dance floor and the bar. Pausing at a table near the railing, Rogue glanced around for a waitress.
Spotting one, Rogue waved the young woman over, and everyone order something to drink. Accepting a keychain from the waitress, Rogue unlocked the small safe kept on the table for ladies' purses, and put both her own and Ororo's purse inside then locked it back up. As the music changed, Ororo and Bishop waved the other two off, saying they'd wait for a different song. Shrugging, Scott and Rogue made their way back down the stairs, then moved towards the dance floor.
Now J Lo (Jennifer Lopez) had her turn on the speakers, and was belting out her song "Play" while the dancers took advantage of the upbeat tune. Finding a spot on the dance floor, Rogue and Scott started dancing, using Rogue's telepathic abilites to speak since the only other way to communicate would have been yelling. Laughing at a joke Scott made about the way the others had stared after them, Rogue glanced upward, sensing being watched.
Ororo's blue eyes and Bishop's brown ones watching her. After waving briefly, Rogue turned her eyes back to Scott, then noticed him jolt when someone hit him from behind, almost knocking off his glasses. Rogue immeadiatly steadied him, and readjusted the glasses for him, earning her a smile of appreciation. His mental thank you wasn't needed, but she smiled back at him.
*It was no problem sugah. Don' worry 'bout it.*
He answered her, never missing a beat in the dance. *But I do worry about it Rogue. That's the thing. I hate doing damage to things simply because my glasses fell off, and I've done it before. I really don't want to do that again, so any time they slip I hope and pray that I can close my eyes before anything bad happens.*
Rogue's expression turned thoughtful, and she questioned him on something as yet another song started up. *What about some sort of band to hold the glasses on? Wouldn't that work?*
Scott shook his head. *The type you buy in the store wouldn't, I know that much. Besides, those are a pain in the neck. All the adjusting and readjusting the straps...that's not for me.*
Rogue said no more on the idea, despite the fact that her mind was still thinking on it, wondering if Beast might know of something that would work. Promising herself to bring it up to the X-mansion's doctor soon, Rogue smiled broadly when she saw Ororo pulling Bishop onto the dance floor. Pointing discreetly in their direction, Rogue turned Scott's attention to the couple as well.
No matter what life might have been like in his future, Bishop was a naturally good dancer, and with Ororo's influence, he loosed up to the point that he was smiling and even joking with her a little. Still watching the two off and on, Rogue and Scott continued their third dance so far, conversing only occasionlly now. A slower song came on as Rogue went back up to the second floor, checking the neon-lighted clock on the far wall, noticing that it was only 9:30. Taking a seat at the table, Rogue debated turning on her invunerability or Logan's healing for a while. Dancing was excersize, no matter how you look at it, and her body would only take so much since it was highly used to having the invunerability to combat the usual wear and tear. Deciding to use the invunerability for tonight, but have Hank, Scott or Logan start a weight lifting program for her, she took a sip of the taquilla sunrise she had ordered.
Her eyes watched Storm and Bishop dance, and noted with pleasure the terrific couple they would make if only Bishop would gather up some courage and ask Ororo out. Scott seemed to have attracted the attention of another young woman, and the rather petite blonde was all but hanging on Scott's arm while she tried to convince him to dance with her. His gaze, oddly enough, wasn't on the blonde though. He was scanning the room for someone, and Rogue presumed it was her.
*Somethin' ya need sugah?* Rogue laughed softly into her drink as Scott disguised his surprise under a cough. *Or were ya lookin' for someone else?*
Scott glanced upward, realizing that she was watching him, and the only good vantage point was from upstairs. Spotting her, he frowned. *You know, you pick the damnest times to desert a man.*
Rogue smiled slyly and cupped her chin in her palm as she rested her elbow against the table. *What's th' mattah? Don' wanna dance with blondie there?*
Scott tugged his arm away from the blonde's grasp, much to her dismay, and headed off the dance floor and towards the stairs. *Here I thought you were just going to get few sips of your drink then be right back down, and all along you were just waiting to leave me alone and watch what happened weren't you?*
Rogue put on as innocent a look as possible, knowing full well that Scott wouldn't buy it. *Now Scott, what makes ya think Ah'd do such a thing to ya? Aftah all, Ah was th' one to invite you.*
Scott laughed, meeting her eyes as he got to the top of the steps and started towards her. *That you did, but I know you well enough to know you love playing a joke when its harmless. And that one was, mostly.*
It was Rogue's turn to frown. *Mostly?*
Scott slid into his chair and picked up his own drink. "Yes, mostly." He took a long drink of the beer, then set it back down. "I agreed to come here to spend time with you and Ororo, not to spend the time fighting off other women or anything like that." He smiled. "You ruined my plans to dance with you one more time then see if Bishop was willing to switch partners."
Rogue smiled and shook her head. "You're crazy, ya know that?"
He kicked her gently under the table. "If I remember correctly, we've had this conversation before, and we agree that everyone was at least a little crazy."
Rogue shrugged then took another sip of her drink. "True enough." She glanced towards the stairs when she saw Ororo and Bishop heading that way. "Looks lahke we're about t' be in good company then, cause here comes two people Ah know are as crazy as you are."
Scott glanced over his shoulder, then smiled when Ororo and Bishop took a seat. "Having fun there Bish?"
Bishop nodded, then glanced at Ororo and Rogue. "I'm glad that you two invited me to tag along. God only knows what I'd be doing if I had stayed at the mansion."
Rogue couldn't resist the opertunity, and grinned. "Ah dunno...maybe redone th' tatoo ovah your eye, or polished your guns or..."
Rogue was cut off when Scott kicked her in the shin, this time a little harder. Pouting, she sat back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. "Ah was jus' teasin' 'im Scott, ya didn't have t' kick meh for it."
Scott shook his head, the spoke softly. "That wasn't what I was kicking you for." He glanced over her shoulder. "The others just showed up."
Rogue turned and looked over her shoulder. Her good mood almost deflated the second she spotted the other X-men, led by Bobby, heading their way. Turning back to Bishop, Scott and Ororo, she frowned. "Why is it Ah cain't go no where without them endin' up there too?"
Two hours after the arival of the other X-men, Rogue was about ready to explode. Bobby had insisted on having a few tables pushed together to make room for everyone, and to keep from having to be spread out, much to the annoyance of the four original clubbers of the evening. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, Remy had placed himself at Rogue's side, and did his best to cut in on any dance she started with Scott. Rogue may have had her temper under better control that she used to, but she had her limits now too, and they were close to being pushed past that limit.
Sensing her rising temper, Scott announced that he was ready to go, and was immeadiatly backed in that vote by Ororo and Bishop. Whether or not Storm and Bishop knew of Rogue's rising temper wasn't Scott's concern at the moment, getting Rogue away from the others before she exploded was. Grabbing her purse out of the safe on the table and handing Ororo's to her, Rogue left the key for the waitress, and stood, thankful for a way out.
The other X-men watched them leave; some watched with annoyance, others with mild amusement and two with a rising temper of their own. Of course, Rogue cared nothing for the temperment of her colleagues at the moment, and once again led the way through the crowds, this time fighting to get to the door. Once outside, she took a deep breath of the warm night air, hoping to calm her emotions. By the time they had reached the car, Rogue was once again calm, and briefly thanked the others for getting her out of there.
Smiling comfertingly, Ororo put a hand on Rogue's shoulder. "Don't worry about it Rogue. After all, Xavier may be rich, but I don't think we need to have him paying for damages done to the club building do we?"
Rogue laughed softly, then shook her head. "No, that we don'."
Before starting up the engine, Scott glanced at the others. "Where are we headed? Back to the mansion or to another club?"
After a moment of mental debate, Ororo shrugged. "I myself wouldn't mind spending another hour out on the town."
Bishop gave as close to a smile as he ever really achieved. "The same goes for me. I was rather enjoying myself until they showed up."
Turning his shaded gaze to Rogue, he waited for her answer. "Well? You wanna go to another club or what?"
Rogue nodded. "Yeah. Might as do somethin' t' make up for th' lost enjoyment of th' past two hours raght?"
Scott started up the car, then briefly messed with the stereo, turning it to a local rock station. "Alright, another club it is. And I think I know just the place too."
Fifteen minutes later, the Seabring pulled up at another club, one Scott assured them was secluded enough to lower the chances of the other's knowing of it. Once inside, the two women were brought to the realization that despite the roughed brick exterior, the interior was quite nice indeed. The hardwood floors were polished, as was the long oak bar that ran across the far side of the room. Tables and chairs were scattered about, and like the club they had just left, this one included a second floor balcony of sorts for those who wanted more privacy.
After ordering 4 beers to be sent to the selected table upstairs, Scott joined Rogue on the dance floor for an uninterupted dance to "Kryponite" by Three Doors Down. The songs that followed where danced to as well, with the occasional change of partners, or with the men leaving the floor entirely for a moment as the women found that the men who had been at the club when they arrived were rather willing to dance as well.
It wasn't until nearly three hours later that any of them showed signs of fatigue. Scott and Ororo were down on the dance floor, dancing to some song by Sheryl Crow while Bishop and Rogue took a moment to rest their feet and nurse their drinks.
Feeling Bishop's brown gaze on her, Rogue turned her head slightly, lifting an eyebrow in curiousity. "Somethin' wrong Bish?"
Bishop shook his head, but continued to study her. "I was thinking about asking you the same question."
Rogue shrugged and turned to face him completely. "Nothin's wrong that Ah know of."
He frowned for a moment, then checking to make sure that Ororo and Scott were still down on the dance floor, the questioned her. "Are you sure? After all, you've been a little off ever since you bumped into me in the kitchen that night that you ended up in the medlab."
Rogue sighed. "Ah guess its just that here Ah though Ah had full control of mah powers, then Ah go an' bump inta you accidently and absorb a little of ya. Its just frustratin' really. An' besides...Ah haven't tol' anyone that it happened eithah. Hank's pokin' at meh enough as is, and Ah sure as heck don' wanna give him anothah reason t' poke an' prod."
Bishop gave a half smile. "I can understand that. But...why is he poking at you? I thought that he said you were alright earlier at the meeting."
"That's what he said, sugah. But truth is he's coverin' mah butt so that Xavier don' start pokin' around in mah head...or rather, start tryin' to."
Frowning, Bishop leaned forward a little. "Than something is wrong."
Rogue nodded slowly. "Th' headaches Ah've had for forevah are gettin' worse, an its takin a lot of medicine an' time in th' danger room t' keep 'em down t' bareable."
"Then why don't you see if Xavier can help you? He might know of something. Or if he doesn't, he'd know of someone who could help."
Whether it was what he meant or not, Bishop's comment pushed Rogue's mind into gear again, and she realized there was an option she had overlooked. Smiling, she patted Bishop's hand. "Thanks for bein' concerned sugah, but Ah'll be fahne."
Glancing up when she heard footsteps, Rogue flashed another smile at Scott and Ororo who were walking towards the table, obviously ready to go. Standing, Rogue finished off the beer in the bottle. "Ah suppose we're headin' home?"
Scott nodded then glanced at Bishop. "Yeah, if you're ready to go now."
Ororo slid her arm through Bishop's as they all four turned to head down the stairs, then laughed when Rogue handed her the purse.
"Ah think ya might want that latah Roro."
Storm nodded in agreement, still smiling. "You're right. I know I'd miss my wallet next time you and I went shopping to be sure."
Rogue laughed softly. "Yeah you would."
Scott shook his head as he led Rogue out of the club after Ororo and Bishop. "If you two go shopping, don't expect to go clubbing right after. I don't want to be tailed by the other guys again for a while."
Rogue nodded as she slid into the car. "Believe meh, you ain't th' only one sick of bein' watched Scott."
Out of the three others in the car, Bishop was the only one who knew exactly what she meant and why.
A/N: WOW...I finished this in one night! That makes this my second upload in 24 hours! That hasn't ever happened on this story before. It happened on my Evo story, and on my new story The Evil Within, but never on this one. LOL. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. :)
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