The Rogue

Author's Note: Hey all! Thanks for the support and all of your reviews, as I said you will all get your moments of fame ^-^ at the last chapter after the epilogue!

By the way, I've changed my mind about the last date that you can vote. I will keep accepting votes until June 30th!

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Scott gently placed Marie down on his bed and noticed a slight dampness on her clothes. His red glasses prevented him from seeing other colors than red, but it did not prevent him from seeing hues. He knew that the substance coming from her arms was blood.

He rushed towards his bathroom and took out his first aid kit. Hoping she had not lost too much blood, he cleansed her wounds and wrapped them in a gauze bandage.

" Scott?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and smiled as he saw Marie wake up.

" Hey there babe," Scott said playfully. " Never do that again, alright?"

Marie nodded. " I swear… I just… I thought I could handle it…"

Scott nodded and took Marie's hands in his. He knew the consequences of his actions, but hoped the gauze was enough. He ran his thumb over her knuckles and looked into her eyes.

" Never do that again," he repeated in a more serious tone.

Marie nodded and smiled. It had been almost 8 months in the Xavier School for the Gifted and she finally found someone other than Logan that she could be comfortable with.

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Jean ran as fast as she could towards Rogue's room. As she burst in, Jubilee and Kitty both screamed in surprise.

" Dr. Grey!" Jubilee exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

Jean looked around and found Rogue's bed empty.

"Where's Rogue?" she asked panic clear in her voice.

" Rogue? Like, we thought she was with Mr. Summers down in the Medbay or something…" Kitty replied.

Jean wrinkled her brows with concern. " Jubilee, are you sure they didn't come here?"

Jubilee nodded hesitantly. " Is something wrong? What happened? Is Rogue okay?!" she cried hysterically.

Jean didn't bother to answer her question, but ran towards Scott's room, hoping that he was there. 'Rogue… where are you?'

*Jean, what is wrong, child? *

Jean whimpered slightly as she remembered the pools of blood on the floor. She stopped to catch her breath and heard the Professor ask her if she was all right.

*I can't find them Professor! I can't find Rogue and Scott! She was hurt and bleeding! * Jean cried. Tears flowed freely from her eyes and coursed down her cheeks.

*Jean, be calm. Scott has just informed me of Rogue's situation. They are in his room right now. *

Jean stiffened slightly, but managed to thank the telepath. Pain clenched at her heart as she opened her eyes to the truth. Scott was moving on. She staggered down the hallway and bumped into a mass of muscle.

'Moving wall? Walls don't move!'

She blinked her tears away and found herself staring up at a rugged black-haired, brown-eyed Canadian. He smirked at her and held her balance.

" Hey Red," he said gruffly, somewhat hoarse from the lack of use.

"Logan," she breathed, still recovering from her close encounter with his adamantium filled chest.

He chuckled and gave her a wink. " How're things?" he asked, his tone serious.

Jean lowered her head, saying nothing. Logan sighed and punched the table in the hallway, shattering it into splinters.

"Marie got hurt," he said. He didn't ask her if he was right. He just stated it, just knowing.

"She over-exerted herself, Logan… she's resting in Scott's-"

"Woah… Cyke? She's with One-eye? What's she doin' with him?" he asked.

Jean swallowed the bitterness she tasted in her mouth and the pain that went with it. " He- they've gotten… Scott and I are…uh…"

Jean had no idea what to say. What do you say to a man who's been gone for nearly half a year without a phone call or a postcard? What do you say to a man who ran from his emotions only to come back to the girl he left… who has another chasing her?

Finally, she just broke down crying. " It was my fault… If I hadn't been drunk that night, I wouldn't have kissed Bobby… and Scott wouldn't have broken the engagement and then he and Rogue wouldn't be so cheeky!"

Logan felt embarrassed seeing Jean breakdown like that. It was more Scott's duty… but then again… right. She and Scooter broke it off. So he found himself scooping up the sobbing red-head and shushed her soothingly like he did with Marie, only more on a brother-sister way. Jean smiled softly after a few minutes, sniffled and looked into his eyes. Placing her hand on his cheek, she sent him a telepathic thank you and hugged him.

Thus was the position that Scott and Rogue had seen them in. Jean opened her eyes and found Rogue with a blank expression on her face. Though Scott… had been projecting. Jean cursed herself of her bad luck and Logan growled and clenched his jaw as Rogue walked numbly past the two and went towards her room.

Scott glared at the two and marched up towards them. " You know what? I actually felt guilty of breaking it off between us, but after seeing that… you two deserve each other," he spat bitterly. " Don't even think of going near Marie, Logan. You've done enough. To think, after six years of putting up with rumors… thinking they weren't true…"

Logan was about to retort, but was held back when he felt Jean's hand on his arm. He sensed guilt coming from her that was more than inches thick. Scott turned around and made his way towards the garage.

Facing Jean, Logan tilted her chin so that she was facing him. " What was that about Jeannie?" he asked.

" It's true…" she said looking into his eyes. " The rumors… they're true. I-I just didn't think Scott was the right one…until now."

Logan watched Jean walk away sadly. Feeling nothing more than pity for the woman, he decided to raid the fridge. Rogue was mad and he knew she should have time to cool off.

'Did Scooter call Marie…Marie?' he thought. He suddenly felt possessive. He had never thought of Scott as competition before, with Jean or anything else. Now, he felt threatened by him.

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Marie sighed as she hugged her knees. Scott's room was quiet and gave her time to think things through. She had been thinking of running, thanks to Logan's contribution to her psyche, but Scott's influence on her was greater than she thought. She managed to climb into Scott's room and holed up in there until dinnertime. She knew Scott would come sooner or later with food, of course he would always check his room first, knowing that was where she would go nowadays.

Logan's room was the one place that she was comfortable with in the first months that she stayed at 'Mutant High', but somehow after Scott had caught her sneaking out of his room… Everything changed. Scott earned her respect, regardless of what Logan may have thought of him.

She found that she and Scott had many things in common, and his room was good for afternoon and morning meditation. She would meditate in his room while he exercised, they were comfortable with each other.

Scott had opened up to her, telling her what life was like when he and Jean were still together, how happy he was. Then things went sour. Rumors about her and other men filled the mansion, everyone noticed how much Jean would look at other men even when Scott was around.

" Hey baby, thought I might find you here."

Marie's thoughts broke as she snapped back to reality. She found Scott with two plates in his hands by the doorway with a grin on his face.

" I liked your room," Marie said smiling.

" Here I thought you came for the company," Scott teased. Marie thought she saw his eyes through the ruby quartz glasses, but shook it off as her imagination.

He placed down the plates on his desk and pulled up a chair. He watched as Marie trudged towards the desk with one of his metal chairs.

" Sorry you had to see that," Scott said sincerely, the mirth gone from his voice.

"Its not your fault sugah," Marie whispered. " I mean, Logan's just a mass of muscle and hormones put together… Ah'm sure that it wasn't Jean's fault…"

Scott shook his head as he popped a forkful of peas into his mouth. " No… time to face facts Roguey. Jeannie's not the woman we all thought she was… "

Marie fell silent. She loved Jean, she was like an older sister to her, but no one was perfect. No matter how much Marie had thought Jean was the dictionary definition of perfect, she was as bit as imperfect as anyone in the world.

" What are we doin' just moping here?" Marie asked. "We should go out or somethin'…"

Scott nodded, he placed down his fork and smiled mischievously. " Hey hon."

"What?" Marie asked. She was used to his nicknames now, and he was used to hers. She laughed at first when he tried to call her names to see which fit, but so far the only ones that sounded good coming from Scott was 'hon', 'baby', 'babe' or 'Roguey'.

" Wanna go riding?" he asked.

Marie's eyes widened with happiness. Scott being spontaneous was rare, and when it did happen, Marie knew when to take the opportunity.

"Would I ever!? Let's go!"

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Author's Note: cruel no? But fun to write! Anyway, as I said vote now! June the 30th the last day to vote!

Scott: 26

Logan: 25