Ethan's tour of the mansion was the most fun Roxy had in a long time. He showed her the back routes, they hardly saw any of the other students at all. He led her back up to her room and explained that he had Danger Room sessions. Roxy went to ask what Danger room sessions were but he was gone before she could.
By now it was late, Roxy headed back upstairs to her room.
"Is he still there?" Rogue's voice quavered.
Roxy opened the door. "Yup." She went into the bathroom changed her clothes and went to bed.
Roxy awoke in the middle of the night, or the next morning rather
1:45
Her clock flashed red in the light.
She slid out from under her covers. Cody was floating an inch or so away from Rogue.
"What are you doing?" Roxy hissed. "Get away from her." Cody looked maliciously at her but backed away from Rogue. "Don't make me call an exorcist." She snapped before flipping on a robe and heading out into the hall. Everyone had gone to bed. It was quiet and dark. Just the way Roxy liked it.
She walked downstairs to the kitchen. She opened the freezer and pulled out a pint of Ice cream.
She sat and ate it for a few minutes, unsatisfied, she decided to walk around the mansion. She simply wasn't tired.
She wandered to a large tapestry that hung in a random spot on the wall. What was it Ethan said about secret escape passages?
She pushed the tapestry out of the way. To her surprise, it swung. A blank wall was behind it. Why would the tapestry swing if there was nothing behind it? Ethan said that if anything happened that they would escape through a tunnel that connected to all the floors. She smacked the wall with both hands. The wall slid open to reveal a large passage. Roxy slipped in letting the tapestry swing behind her. There were cobwebs all around, and the whole passage was covered in dust. Ethan said the mansion was raided two weeks ago. He said they escaped through the passage. Then why are there cobwebs everywhere? Unless…..This isn't the escape route. It's a real secret passage. Roxy crept along in the darkness. The hall way ended. There were two doors. Roxy chose the one to the left. She pushed through to a closet. She shoved her way out of the closet to the bedroom on the other side, Scott's room. Something inside her pushed her to go on. In the darkness she could see that Scott was fast asleep. She took a step forward. Jean sat at the edge of the bed, gently running her fingers through Scott's hair, or trying to anyway. Jean wept silently, bitterly as she watched her lover sleep. Roxy slid back into the passage and went through the opposite door. Behind that door was a library. It was old and dark and it looked like no one had used it in years. It was beautiful. Full walls of books and swing that hung from the ceiling. Roxy smiled. Her own corner of the mansion to hide in. A place of refuge. Her heart leapt for joy. She went to bed that night torn inside. Happy for her discovery and sad for Jean and Scott.
………………………………………………………………………………….
The next morning Roxy was awakened by Rogue.
"Get up. We've gawt danger room today. C'mon We gotta go, get up."
Roxy scowled and rolled out of the bed.
5:30
That brings the grand total of sleep to 2 hours and 45 minutes. Roxy dragged herself to her closet. Pants. Shirt. Socks. Roxy was so tired she could hardly see straight.
"Nuh-uh. Take this." Rogue threw Roxy a spandex uniform.
Tired and cranky, Roxy screwed up her face in preparation to curse. Apparently, The face was enough to get the point across to Rogue. She promptly cut Roxy off before the expletives could start. "I don't make the rules, sugah" She shrugged.
Fifteen minutes later, Rogue and Roxy shuffled into the ready room.*
"Sorry we're late. Someone was bein' slow this mornin'" Rogue shot a look to Roxy.
"Can it." Roxy snapped.
"hmmm…. This wouldn't have anything to do with your sleepwalking habits would it? I saw you by the way." Jean said snidely.
"Shut it, Jean." She snarled to what looked like thin air.
"What's gotten into her?" Bobby whispered to Storm. Storm shrugged.
"She seems to have the same attitude as yesterday to me." Storm shared a smirk with Bobby.
"Where's Scott?" Roxy asked rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"He opted out today. Something about emotional instability." A girl with long dark hair answeredâ. She smiled, but it was a sad smile, the kind that comes from someone who had been through a lot in a short amount of time. She held out her hand and smiled, "My name's Kitty Pryde."
Danger Room passed quickly and luckily uneventfully with Roxy dragging behind the other students. Storm was merciless.
Roxy was so tired she could hardly move. She dragged herself down to the living room where she promptly collapsed on the couch.
"Dibs on the remote!!!" Roxy stuck her head up. Two young boys came running. One bumped into the other knocking him to the ground. The boy on the ground suddenly became four boys, and the other boy promptly leapt over her to the remote. Roxy decided to seek a more peaceful place to sleep.
She slowly walked up to her room and opened the door. Rogue and Bobby were engaged in a make-out session (through what Roxy thought looked much like a large dryer sheet). They hardly noticed.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry…leaving now…" Roxy said grabbing her sweatshirt and running off.
Roxy was about to pass out now, and she stumbled down the hall way. She stopped at a door she'd never noticed before and flung it open. A library, quiet and devoid of any students, lay behind the door. She didn't look around. She simply plopped in the nearest squishy chair. She tried to bury her head in the corner of the chair. Sleep. Must have sleep…
Scott watched Roxy lazily wander in, fall out in a chair and instantly sleep. She has no idea where she is. Jean's library. Jean loved to find solace in this often forgotten library. The professor had told her it was one of three in the mansion. She had only seen one of the other ones, the main one downstairs. Older students mostly used this one. And when they did it was during the day. Jean usually came in here at night, reading until she fell asleep in a chair. Much like Roxy was now.
Scott turned back to looking sadly out of the window. Roxy had made things more difficult for him. Before, he believed Jean was in a better place. The thought of her wandering forever with no meaning, hurt him more than losing her in the first place.
â- From now on, characters with this symbol made minor appearances in the movie. I am basing their characters on X-men: evolution a rather brilliant cartoon.