Okay everyone, I'm still in CA, but lucky for you I found some free time. I
sort of owe you anyway, since the last chapter had like no Romy or Kietro.
Forgive me? Good. (If you said no, I'll pretend I didn't hear that.) So
here you go, chapter 11. Reviewers, I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A whole
honking lot! (Ooookay, shutting up now!)
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Pietro had a problem. I BIG problem. After carefully creating a list of the schools most beautiful and popular people, he called each one and did his best to charm them into a date. But Melissa was grounded, Katie wasn't allowed to date yet, Diane had a dentist appointment (It wasn't a lie either, she had practically been in tears on the phone.) Lisa, Roxy, and Hannah already had dates (they had all offered to cancel, but Pietro declined. He didn't want to face angry boyfriends over a convenience date.) Finally he got so desperate he had to call girls NOT on his "A" list. And all of them were busy too! Krissy's family had a 'pic-nic' planned she couldn't get out of, Alice had promised to babysit, and the list went on and on. By eight o'clock he was desperate. Where could he find ANY female around his own age that was free?
Tabbi stuck her head in his door. "Dinner in five, Pietro."
He nodded, his eyes never leaving the phone in his hand. Where was he going to find a girl who-Suddenly he leapt off the bed and dashed into the hallway. "Tabitha!"
"What?" She turned around. "And I'm right here, you don't need to yell."
He put on his best smile. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
"Why?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I'm not going to help you pull a prank on Evan. Wolverine ALWAYS catches us."
"Nothing like that, I promise." He held his hands up innocently. "I just wondered if you wanted to go to the carnival with me tomorrow."
"Why are you asking me?" Her voice was stinging, but he could tell she was curious.
"Everyone else is busy, and I don't want to go alone." It was probably the only reason she'd buy. She'd never believe he 'liked' her, and he didn't want to tell her about the bet with Kitty unless he had to.
She paused, considering his suggestion. "Fine." She said. "I wanted to go anyway. If I go with you, *I* don't have to pay!"
He grinned. It didn't matter that he'd be broke at the end of the night. Kitty was gonna lose! The thought almost made him laugh out loud. Suddenly he froze. How was he going to turn TABBI into a perfect date by tomorrow night?
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At school the next day, Rogue rushed to her next class, hoping against hope she'd make it before the tardy bell rang.
"Oof!" She bumped into something hard. "Move it will ya, Ah'm late!" She glared up angrily only to meet the amused gaze of the thief.
"Pardonez-moi, chere." Noticing the slightly confused and even more angry look on her face, he translated. "Excuse me."
Both jumped at the sound of the bell. "It figures YOU'D make me late." She groaned, not even bothering to hurry as she moved down the hall. The damage had been done.
"Want Gambit ta make it up ta you chere?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yesterday was a ONE time thing Cajun. Ah don't know why Ah gave in but ya can bet that it won't happen again!"
"Was it really that bad chere?"
She whirled around, ready to retort, when she saw his face. He was grinning at her, and she found herself wanting to grin too. *You're crazy girl.* She told herself firmly. *He doesn't like ya, and ya don't like him. It's just. . . hormones or somethin'* "Yeah. It was really that bad." She told him, meeting his gaze squarely.
He loved it when she argued. Something about the way she looked with one hand on her hip, and her head tilted in defiance made him want to aggravate her more. He nonchalantly reached into his trench coat and pulled out a cigarette. She watched as he raised it to his lips and pulled out a lighter.
"Those things are gonna kill ya." She commented wryly.
He grinned. "Ya care?" It was almost a reenactment of their conversation at Lance's party.
"Not a bit." She matched his grin. "What started ya smokin anyway?" It didn't matter if she was a little bit later to class, for some reason she didn't want to leave just yet.
"Mon pere, my father, didn't want me to." It was true. For some reason his father had taken a tremendous dislike to the habit in spite of the fact nearly every Cajun was addicted.
"An' bein' the obedient son you are. . ." She let her voice trail off, smirking.
"Yeah, me bein' dat." He cocked his head and looked at her. "Why do you wear so much make-up?"
She looked at him sharply. "None o' your business, Swamp Rat."
"It's only fair chere, a question for a question."
"You're a thief, since when do you care about what's fair?"
"Since now."
She looked at him, and for a second he thought she'd refuse. "Because." She averted her gaze. "When people can see your face, your emotions, clearly, they always try to analyze or understand you. Ah don't want people ta try ta understand me. They're never right anyway." The last sentence was almost a whisper.
In a way, he could relate. His whole life people had tried to find out the meaning behind all of his actions. That was part of the reason he had left. He wanted to be held accountable to no one but himself. "Why were you having a bad day yesterday, chere?" His voice was soft, and for the first time in his life, he found himself really wanting to be a comfort to someone. He caught his breath as she met his gaze, and for a second he could have sworn there were tears in her emerald eyes, but than he blinked and they were gone as if they had never been.
"Ah, had a flash back with my power." Her whisper echoed through the silent hall.
"Was it bad chere?" His voice was concerned, but held no pity. She wasn't the kind of girl to be pitied.
"It was. . ." She sighed. "It wasn't what everyone thought." He didn't interrupt as she tried to figure out how to word what she wanted to say. "People think the worst part of my powers is knowing that Ah hurt those people. Knowing that Ah took something from them and can nevah give it back." She took a deep breath. "But that's not what hurts the most."
"What hurts the most chere?" He didn't understand what he was feeling. He didn't have plans for this girl like he had for others. He didn't feel the same passing interest that he felt for other girls. And looking at her, trying to get the courage to tell him what was wrong, Remy knew he could never hurt her.
"What hurts the most?" She repeated his question, and this time he knew her tears weren't imagined. They stayed in her eyes making them sparkle almost as much as when she was laughing. "When Ah go into a restaurant and see something Ah absolutely love on the menu. Ah want it so bad Ah can almost taste it. And then it comes. And Ah take a big bite," She paused, ignoring the single tear that escaped her eye and made it's way down her cheek, smearing her make-up, her shield. "An' Ah spit it out." Her voice was bitter. "Because Ah don't like it. Someone else, someone Ah absorbed likes it." She looked at him, and her eyes seemed to be begging him to understand. "An' for a second. Just for a second. Ah hate 'em. Ah hate 'em for confusing meh, and makin' me not know who Ah am or what Ah like." She looked at the ground, ashamed. "And than everybody comes and tells me not to hate myself. They tell me that no one blames me for what happened and Ah shouldn't blame me either." She stopped, and than added in a whisper. "And that's what makes me hate myself."
Remy mentally cursed the X-men for their self-righteous insinuations. Rogue was only human. In two quick steps he was at her side, and wrapped his arms around her. "Remy don' hate ya." Fore a brief instant he could feel her relax in his hold, when suddenly she stiffened and gently pushed him away.
"You're the bad guy." She whispered, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself.
He grinned crookedly. "An' you're an X-geek, but Remy gonna overlook dat for now."
"This still doesn't mean Ah like ya." Rogue warned him, trying not to be obvious as she wiped the wetness off her face.
Gently he brushed away a tear with a gloved finger. "Course not chere." His hand lingered on her cheek for an instant, savoring the softness of her skin. "Remy not stupid."
"That's debatable." She flashed him a grin and Gambit felt his heart soar.
"Well den, let's debate it. You pick de time and place chere."
She shook her head. "Ya nevah give up, do ya Swamp Rat?"
"Never."
"Ya goin' ta the carnival today?"
"If you'll be dere."
"Ah might." She turned to go to her class. "But only to debate whether or not you're stupid!" She called over her shoulder.
He waved. "Of course chere!"
The whole way back to his own class he couldn't stop grinning.
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Kitty glared furiously at the board as her math teacher answered one of the equations. Another spitball hit her in the back of the neck, and stuck for a second before dropping down to the floor. That was so gross! Her cheeks flushed. *I will NOT commit murder in school. I will NOT commit murder in school.*
Pietro smirked as her face began to heat up. She got angry so easily! It was beginning to become a habit with him. After four or five more spitballs he'd start throwing paper airplanes filled with insults on her desk. He knew it was immature . . . But that didn't make it any less fun.
Kitty had had enough! Who did that guy think he was? Well, she would show HIM that no one messed with Kitty Pryde. Smiling evilly she tore off a piece of paper from her notebook.
*Four more to go.* He thought to himself, lifting his straw to take aim.
*THWUNK!*
His eyes widened in surprise as the gooey paper wad fell off his forehead and onto his desk. Kitty couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.
"Is there something you find amusing Miss Pryde?" Mr. Jones looked sharply in her direction.
"Nope, nothing funny at all sir." She hid her paper makeshift straw under her binder.
He continued to stare at her suspiciously. "Good."
Kitty breathed a sigh of relief as he turned back to the blackboard. Suddenly a paper airplane landed on her desk. Shooting a how-lame-are-you look in Pietro's direction she opened it.
--You think you can take me on?--
She didn't even bother to reply. With one smooth gesture she crumpled the note and let it fall to the floor. Pietro grinned. The war had just gotten more interesting.
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Whew! That was pretty quick of me updating-wise, wasn't it? My entire family thinks I'm anti-social though so it could be awhile before the next chapter. Of course, if enough people review it. . . NO I'm NOT bribing you! It's just a thought! (I'm not really worried about reviews though. You guys are WONDERFUL!!! And I'll update as soon as I can.) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
**~*~*~*~~**~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~
Pietro had a problem. I BIG problem. After carefully creating a list of the schools most beautiful and popular people, he called each one and did his best to charm them into a date. But Melissa was grounded, Katie wasn't allowed to date yet, Diane had a dentist appointment (It wasn't a lie either, she had practically been in tears on the phone.) Lisa, Roxy, and Hannah already had dates (they had all offered to cancel, but Pietro declined. He didn't want to face angry boyfriends over a convenience date.) Finally he got so desperate he had to call girls NOT on his "A" list. And all of them were busy too! Krissy's family had a 'pic-nic' planned she couldn't get out of, Alice had promised to babysit, and the list went on and on. By eight o'clock he was desperate. Where could he find ANY female around his own age that was free?
Tabbi stuck her head in his door. "Dinner in five, Pietro."
He nodded, his eyes never leaving the phone in his hand. Where was he going to find a girl who-Suddenly he leapt off the bed and dashed into the hallway. "Tabitha!"
"What?" She turned around. "And I'm right here, you don't need to yell."
He put on his best smile. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
"Why?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I'm not going to help you pull a prank on Evan. Wolverine ALWAYS catches us."
"Nothing like that, I promise." He held his hands up innocently. "I just wondered if you wanted to go to the carnival with me tomorrow."
"Why are you asking me?" Her voice was stinging, but he could tell she was curious.
"Everyone else is busy, and I don't want to go alone." It was probably the only reason she'd buy. She'd never believe he 'liked' her, and he didn't want to tell her about the bet with Kitty unless he had to.
She paused, considering his suggestion. "Fine." She said. "I wanted to go anyway. If I go with you, *I* don't have to pay!"
He grinned. It didn't matter that he'd be broke at the end of the night. Kitty was gonna lose! The thought almost made him laugh out loud. Suddenly he froze. How was he going to turn TABBI into a perfect date by tomorrow night?
~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~
At school the next day, Rogue rushed to her next class, hoping against hope she'd make it before the tardy bell rang.
"Oof!" She bumped into something hard. "Move it will ya, Ah'm late!" She glared up angrily only to meet the amused gaze of the thief.
"Pardonez-moi, chere." Noticing the slightly confused and even more angry look on her face, he translated. "Excuse me."
Both jumped at the sound of the bell. "It figures YOU'D make me late." She groaned, not even bothering to hurry as she moved down the hall. The damage had been done.
"Want Gambit ta make it up ta you chere?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yesterday was a ONE time thing Cajun. Ah don't know why Ah gave in but ya can bet that it won't happen again!"
"Was it really that bad chere?"
She whirled around, ready to retort, when she saw his face. He was grinning at her, and she found herself wanting to grin too. *You're crazy girl.* She told herself firmly. *He doesn't like ya, and ya don't like him. It's just. . . hormones or somethin'* "Yeah. It was really that bad." She told him, meeting his gaze squarely.
He loved it when she argued. Something about the way she looked with one hand on her hip, and her head tilted in defiance made him want to aggravate her more. He nonchalantly reached into his trench coat and pulled out a cigarette. She watched as he raised it to his lips and pulled out a lighter.
"Those things are gonna kill ya." She commented wryly.
He grinned. "Ya care?" It was almost a reenactment of their conversation at Lance's party.
"Not a bit." She matched his grin. "What started ya smokin anyway?" It didn't matter if she was a little bit later to class, for some reason she didn't want to leave just yet.
"Mon pere, my father, didn't want me to." It was true. For some reason his father had taken a tremendous dislike to the habit in spite of the fact nearly every Cajun was addicted.
"An' bein' the obedient son you are. . ." She let her voice trail off, smirking.
"Yeah, me bein' dat." He cocked his head and looked at her. "Why do you wear so much make-up?"
She looked at him sharply. "None o' your business, Swamp Rat."
"It's only fair chere, a question for a question."
"You're a thief, since when do you care about what's fair?"
"Since now."
She looked at him, and for a second he thought she'd refuse. "Because." She averted her gaze. "When people can see your face, your emotions, clearly, they always try to analyze or understand you. Ah don't want people ta try ta understand me. They're never right anyway." The last sentence was almost a whisper.
In a way, he could relate. His whole life people had tried to find out the meaning behind all of his actions. That was part of the reason he had left. He wanted to be held accountable to no one but himself. "Why were you having a bad day yesterday, chere?" His voice was soft, and for the first time in his life, he found himself really wanting to be a comfort to someone. He caught his breath as she met his gaze, and for a second he could have sworn there were tears in her emerald eyes, but than he blinked and they were gone as if they had never been.
"Ah, had a flash back with my power." Her whisper echoed through the silent hall.
"Was it bad chere?" His voice was concerned, but held no pity. She wasn't the kind of girl to be pitied.
"It was. . ." She sighed. "It wasn't what everyone thought." He didn't interrupt as she tried to figure out how to word what she wanted to say. "People think the worst part of my powers is knowing that Ah hurt those people. Knowing that Ah took something from them and can nevah give it back." She took a deep breath. "But that's not what hurts the most."
"What hurts the most chere?" He didn't understand what he was feeling. He didn't have plans for this girl like he had for others. He didn't feel the same passing interest that he felt for other girls. And looking at her, trying to get the courage to tell him what was wrong, Remy knew he could never hurt her.
"What hurts the most?" She repeated his question, and this time he knew her tears weren't imagined. They stayed in her eyes making them sparkle almost as much as when she was laughing. "When Ah go into a restaurant and see something Ah absolutely love on the menu. Ah want it so bad Ah can almost taste it. And then it comes. And Ah take a big bite," She paused, ignoring the single tear that escaped her eye and made it's way down her cheek, smearing her make-up, her shield. "An' Ah spit it out." Her voice was bitter. "Because Ah don't like it. Someone else, someone Ah absorbed likes it." She looked at him, and her eyes seemed to be begging him to understand. "An' for a second. Just for a second. Ah hate 'em. Ah hate 'em for confusing meh, and makin' me not know who Ah am or what Ah like." She looked at the ground, ashamed. "And than everybody comes and tells me not to hate myself. They tell me that no one blames me for what happened and Ah shouldn't blame me either." She stopped, and than added in a whisper. "And that's what makes me hate myself."
Remy mentally cursed the X-men for their self-righteous insinuations. Rogue was only human. In two quick steps he was at her side, and wrapped his arms around her. "Remy don' hate ya." Fore a brief instant he could feel her relax in his hold, when suddenly she stiffened and gently pushed him away.
"You're the bad guy." She whispered, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself.
He grinned crookedly. "An' you're an X-geek, but Remy gonna overlook dat for now."
"This still doesn't mean Ah like ya." Rogue warned him, trying not to be obvious as she wiped the wetness off her face.
Gently he brushed away a tear with a gloved finger. "Course not chere." His hand lingered on her cheek for an instant, savoring the softness of her skin. "Remy not stupid."
"That's debatable." She flashed him a grin and Gambit felt his heart soar.
"Well den, let's debate it. You pick de time and place chere."
She shook her head. "Ya nevah give up, do ya Swamp Rat?"
"Never."
"Ya goin' ta the carnival today?"
"If you'll be dere."
"Ah might." She turned to go to her class. "But only to debate whether or not you're stupid!" She called over her shoulder.
He waved. "Of course chere!"
The whole way back to his own class he couldn't stop grinning.
~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~~**~~* *~*~*~*
Kitty glared furiously at the board as her math teacher answered one of the equations. Another spitball hit her in the back of the neck, and stuck for a second before dropping down to the floor. That was so gross! Her cheeks flushed. *I will NOT commit murder in school. I will NOT commit murder in school.*
Pietro smirked as her face began to heat up. She got angry so easily! It was beginning to become a habit with him. After four or five more spitballs he'd start throwing paper airplanes filled with insults on her desk. He knew it was immature . . . But that didn't make it any less fun.
Kitty had had enough! Who did that guy think he was? Well, she would show HIM that no one messed with Kitty Pryde. Smiling evilly she tore off a piece of paper from her notebook.
*Four more to go.* He thought to himself, lifting his straw to take aim.
*THWUNK!*
His eyes widened in surprise as the gooey paper wad fell off his forehead and onto his desk. Kitty couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.
"Is there something you find amusing Miss Pryde?" Mr. Jones looked sharply in her direction.
"Nope, nothing funny at all sir." She hid her paper makeshift straw under her binder.
He continued to stare at her suspiciously. "Good."
Kitty breathed a sigh of relief as he turned back to the blackboard. Suddenly a paper airplane landed on her desk. Shooting a how-lame-are-you look in Pietro's direction she opened it.
--You think you can take me on?--
She didn't even bother to reply. With one smooth gesture she crumpled the note and let it fall to the floor. Pietro grinned. The war had just gotten more interesting.
~**~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~
Whew! That was pretty quick of me updating-wise, wasn't it? My entire family thinks I'm anti-social though so it could be awhile before the next chapter. Of course, if enough people review it. . . NO I'm NOT bribing you! It's just a thought! (I'm not really worried about reviews though. You guys are WONDERFUL!!! And I'll update as soon as I can.) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
