FYI:
~Personal thoughts~
"Normal Conversation (Duh)"
{Musical Lyrics}
My fighting scene needs some work, so please R&R to give me some advice.
Kiss This--Aaron Tippin
ROGUE
~Why did Ah bolt like that? How did Ah bolt like that. Awww man…Ah must have tapped into Pietro's powers or something. Damn, Ah just wish all these powers would just go away, especially mine. Oh well, Ah'm at least out of that crowd, so now Ah can just drive around the block a few times an' think for a while.~ Ah got in my jeep an' started the ignition. The end of one song came blaring out of the radio an' the DJ came on next.
"This is your host, Davy Croakit, and you're listening to Froggy 98, ribbit ribbit."
{She Was A Woman On A Mission, Here To Drown Him And Forget Him}
~Yeah, Kitty, whatever ya say. This station is so much better than my punk. That was just really weird how Gambit showed up at that dance. Ah hope Ah wasn't to harsh on him, but if Ah don't find something about him to pick at, he'd be way to perfect.~ Ah was rudely brought out of mah thoughts as my front windshield spider-webbed with a horrendous cracking sound. ~What in the world is goin' on!~
{So I Set Her Up Again To Wash Him Down, She Had Just About Succeeded}
"Hey muttie, don't you want to come out and play with us?" With that my driver's side window broke spraying me with broken glass.
{When That Low-Down, No Good Cheating, Good For Nothing, Came Strutting Through The Crowd}
~Couldn't these jerks tell Ah was a little preoccupied trying to forget about what had just happened?~
{Oh He Was Laying It On So Thick, He Never Missed A Lick
Professing His Never-Ending Love}
"Come on baby, we just want to play awhile."
{Oh But I Never Will Forget, When She Stood Up And Said,
"So I Guess You Think We Are Just Gonna Kiss And Make Up Don't Ya?"}
~Guess not.~ "All right ya scum, Ah've had enough of people patronizing me today." With that Ah threw open my car door right into the first guy knocking him down.
{That's When She Said, Why Don't You Kiss, Kiss This!
And I Don't Mean On My Rosey Red Lips
And Me And You, We're Through
And There's Only One Thing Left For You To Do
You Just Come On Over Here One Last Time
Pucker Up and Close Your Eyes, And Kiss This Goodbye}
There were three of them creepy mutant haters. It didn't seem to matter to them whether ya were a good guy or not. Ah thanked God once more for Logan's training as Ah prepared to defend myself against the three of them. Ah knew the professor would be pissed for fighting back but right now Ah didn't see any other options.
{Well, The Next Thing I Recall, She Had Him Back Against The Wall
Chewing Him Like A Bulldog On A Bone}
One of them had a baseball bat an' he came at me first. He swung at me but Ah ducked down an' grabbed ahold of the bat before he could try again. Using a similar move as the on Ah had used earlier on Gambit, Ah twisted his arms around so that he was choking on the bat Ah held securely at his neck. Ah kicked him in the back of the knees so that he fell down an' Ah turned around just in time to see the second one coming at me.
{She Was Putting Him In His Place, I Mean Right Up In His Face
Dragging Him Down A List Of Done Did Wrongs}
He came at me swingin' his fists an' Ah knocked his punch aside. When he swung at me again, Ah grabbed his arm an' knocked him down next to his buddy. When the third guy came at me Ah kicked at him but he dodged it. Ah then dropped down and kicked his legs out from underneath of him. But being the stupid idiot Ah am, Ah forgot about the first guy who then tackled me from behind when Ah wasn't expectin' it.
{It Was Just About Now, That The Crowd Gathered Around
They Come To Watch Him Pay For His Every Sin
She Called Him Everything Under The Sun, And When We Thought She Was Done
She Rared Back And She Let Him Have It Again }
He had me pinned to the ground an' Ah could see the street lamp's light flashing off of the knife he was holdin'. To be honest Ah was petrified an' the only thing Ah could think of doin' was to knock him unconscious using mah powers.
{She Said…She Said
Why Don't You Kiss, Kiss This!
And I Don't Mean On My Rosey Red Lips
And Me And You, We're Through
And There's Only One Thing Left For You To Do
You Just Come On Over Here One Last Time
Pucker Up and Close Your Eyes, And Kiss This Goodbye}
Ah struggled against him as he used his weight to keep me pinned down. "Kiss this!" As Ah leaned forward to kiss the guy's cheek, he went flyin' into the air. ~What just happened here?~ Standing between mah attacker and me was a man in trench coat holdin' several flaming cards in his hands. It was Gambit. ~What in the world is he doin' out here, an' what does he think he's doin'? Ah had this all under control!~
"May I suggest you leave the Cheri alone, or else it's going to get mighty painful for you messiur." The creeps seemed to find Gambit more threatening than me, 'cause they all picked themselves off the ground an' started runnin'.
GAMBIT
"Demon…God, we're gonna die." The scumbags that had been attacking Rogue ran off mumbling stuff about demons. I reached down to help her back onto her feet. "It's a good thing Gambit was here to save you, Marie."
"Who the hell do ya think ya are?!?! Ah didn't need ya to save me." She slapped my hand away and stood up on her own. "Ya know, Ah'm getting real tired of people treatin' me like Ah can't take care of mahself." She brushed herself off and checked to see if she had any injuries. From what I could see only her shirt was torn, leaving a section of her stomach exposed. "Damn, Ah just bought this shirt. What are ya starin' at?"
I quickly turned my eyes away and began staring at her jeep. "Trashed it pretty good didn't they, Marie?"
She turned and looked at her car for the first time and saw that there was no way she would be driving it home tonight. "Shit, now what?" The hood was all banged in, all of the windows were broken, but the radio seemed to be working just fine because it was still playing country music. She walked over and took the keys out of the ignition. It appeared that she was checking her cell phone, which must have been dead because she tossed it onto the back seat. When she turned around she tried to pretend everyt'ing was just fine, but I knew better. "Do ya mind, or do ya always make it a habit to stare at people?"
Once again I quickly looked elsewhere. I didn't want her to know I had been staring at her again. "How do you plan on getting home, Cheri?"
"Look, if ya don't mind Ah need to find a payphone an' call a tow truck. An' then Ah need to find mah friends so they know to call a cab." She started walking towards the corner where a street lamp was shining down on a pay phone booth. ~Hmm…I guess I should follow her, just in case t'ose guys come back.~ As she went inside the phone booth I leaned back against the building and pulled out my deck of cards. When I cut the deck I saw that the card I had pulled was the Queen of Hearts. *Bang! She slammed the phone back down, and stormed out of the booth.
"Somet'ing the matter, Marie?" She looked fit to be tied. I knew she didn't want my help so it was funny watching her try and figure out another way.
"The phone's dead. Look…you wouldn't happen to have a cell would ya?" She looked down at the ground but I could still see she was desperate.
"What about yours?" It was a sick game tormenting her like t'is.
"It's dead. Come on do ya have a cell or not?"
I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it over to her. The look on her face was one of relief, I guess she t'ought I didn't. She flipped it open and started dialing a number into it.
"Hello?"
"Wyndts Auto Body, we fix your dents." I could just barely hear the man on the other side. ~What kind of slogan is that?~
"Ah need ya to pick up mah jeep. It's sittin' in the parkin' lot of the Moon Dance Nightclub on the corner of 5th Avenue and Park Street…It's the one with all the window's smashed." She winced as she relayed the last detail.
"Miss, what's the license number?"
"Huh, oh yeah. It's R-O-1-7-M-Y." ~Unusual license plate.~
"Somebody'll be there to pick it up in an hour."
"It's gonna take ya guys an hour to pick up mah car! That's…fine. *Beep. Do ya mind if Ah make another call?" She was talking to me t'is time.
"Gambit would give you the moon and stars, Cheri Amour. All you have to do is ask." She gave me a dirty look as she turned her back on me and began dialing another number.
"Kitty, can ya hear me?"
"Yeah, like what's up. Kurt and I have been looking like everywhere for you."
"Ah'm outside, look ya guys are gonna need to call a cab to get back home."
"Rogue, like what's going on?"
"Some guys thought it would be funny to take a baseball bat to mah car." She was trying to sound tough on the phone, but she was still shaking from fear.
"Oh my gosh, are you all right?"
"Look, Ah'm fine. Ah'm gonna wait out here for the tow truck, so you and Kurt just have a good time."
"Like ok, but you're gonna have to tell me everything later."
"Fine, bye. *Beep. Thanks." She handed me my phone back and brushed past me as she walked back to the parking lot. She walked over to her car and sat down on the pavement and hugged her knees. I followed her into the parking lot and could see that it wasn't fear that was making her shiver but the cold. I took off my coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Ah'm fine." She kept looking straight down at the pavement and never once looked up at me.
"Of course you are, Marie, but I'd hate to see you catch cold out here." I knelt down beside her but she still refused to look anyplace else but the pavement at her feet.
"Ah said Ah was fine." ~Of course you did, but that doesn't mean it's true.~
"An hour is a long time to wait. I could give you a ride if you prefer to leave now." She finally looked up and seemed to t'ink it over in her head. She wouldn't give me the satisfaction of a verbal answer and just nodded her head. I stood up and once more that evening offered her my hand. She gladly took it and followed me to the ot'er side of the parking lot.
I grabbed my helmet off of the handle bar and tossed it to her. She caught it but seemed a little stunned that she had just accepted a ride on a motorcycle. "Thanks, Ah don't really know how Ah was plannin' on getting back home." She flushed with admitting her own ignorance but put the helmet on after sweeping her white streaks back behind her ears. I was already on the bike and had it started up, she looked a little lost standing there.
"It helps if you get on, Marie." I could tell t'rough the visor she was giving me the dirty look but I laughed any way as she got on behind me. "Might help to hold on, too." As she put her arms around my waist she gave me a jab to the stomach just to let me know she didn't like my attitude. ~I can live with that jab as long as her arms are around me.~ I let the engine roar as I raced away from the parking lot and towards the main highway that led back to Bayville.
ROGUE
~He can be extremely annoying and cocky, but Ah do owe him one. He just saved mah life. Ah'm still not sure why Ah felt the need to run though after that dance. Ah was so happy just to be held by him, why would Ah want it to end like that.~ "Think ya could slow down just a little, Cajun? At this rate we'll be in the next state in less than an hour."
"You telling me you don't like speed, Cheri? Or maybe you just don't trust Gambit's driving?"
"It's not that Ah don't like speed or that Ah don't trust ya, it's just that Ah'm used to being the one in control of that speed." Ah gave him a little extra squeeze as Ah said that an' he seemed like he wanted to do something back to me but didn't quite want to take a hand off of his bike at the moment.
We were driving over a bridge that was only about a mile away from the institute. Once Ah realized how close we were to the mansion Ah began to panic a little. ~What if Logan smells him comin'. He'd be out there waitin' an' try an' kill Gambit before either of us could explain.~ "Hey, ya best stop here. Ah'll walk the rest of the way." He slowed to a stop along the side of the road, where Ah climbed off an' handed him his helmet back. He grabbed mah arm an' pulled me back towards him.
"If you're really worried about Wolverine figuring out who you've been with, I suggest you give me back my coat, Marie." ~Could he read mah mind. Nah, he probably just sensed that Ah was worried, besides why else would Ah ask him to drop me off a mile away.~ Ah had forgotten that Ah was still wearing his coat an' Ah shed it off an' handed it back to him.
"Thanks, Ah wasn't really plannin' on a motorcycle ride or else Ah'd a dressed warmer." Ah turned to walk away again but he pulled me back once more. This time he held me around mah waist an' looked down at me with those beautiful demon eyes of his. He reached up an' brushed some of mah white streaks back behind mah ear an' left his gloved hand at the side of mah face.
"Can Gambit kiss you, Marie?"
"What are ya crazy?!?! Of course not, unless ya have a death wish."
"We've kissed before, Cheri, it's just a shame neither of us remember it." He had a point there. With that he leaned down an' kissed the top of mah head using mah hair for protection. "Leave it to me, Cheri, I'll find a way. Gambit's always liked a good challenge." He was still holding me, so Ah slid mah arms beneath his coat an' held him back. We stood there like that for about a minute before Ah pulled away. ~Ah can't afford to get to close to him. If Ah do, I could end up seriously hurtin' him. Then what would Ah do, he's the only person who's ever offered to try an' find a way around mah powers.~
"Ya would be wastin' your time, Cajun. There ain't no way to touch me, Ah'll hurt ya if ya even try."
"When can I see you again, Cheri?"
"Ya already seem to know where to find me." With that Ah turned an' started running down the road towards the institute. Ah couldn't stand the thought of lookin' at him anymore, knowin' Ah couldn't have him.
GAMBIT
~She's got a bad habit of running off just when things are starting to look good.~ Piotr and I had moved back into Magneto's old base. It's not that I liked hanging around the place, but for the time being we had no place else to go. Once I pulled a few jobs, we might be able to find an apartment someplace, but I was certain I couldn't count on Piotr unless he got himself an "honest" job. The boy didn't seem to have any guts anymore. Takes a guy like Magneto to make a good guy, bad. I walked in to find him reading a book, that's all he seemed to do in his spare time. I almost wish John would have stuck around, he at least talked, even if it was nonsense.
I walked over to Piotr and touched the cover of his book. It looked like it was on fire and I waited for him to respond. "Don't even think about it my friend. I would hate to have to put you through a wall." I let it go and sat down across from him.
"Gambit thinks if you're going to read that much, you might as well be in school."
"That may be so, but you're the one who needs the education. That way you would stop talking about yourself in the third person."
"At least I talk." He looked up over the top of his book, shook his head and continued to read. "Aren't you even going to ask Gambit how the dance was?" I was dying to tell someone about seeing Rogue again, but then I was relieved when Piotr ignored my question and continued reading. Maybe it was best if I kept this to myself for now. With a sense of de'ja vu, I walked down the hall and collapsed onto my bed, allowing t'oughts of the Rogue to fill my head.
ROGUE
I walked up the drive of the mansion to find Logan sitting outside waitin' for me. "What, did I stay out past curfew?"
"It ain't the curfew I'm worried about. Kitty and Kurt got back here half an hour ago. Where have you been all that time, kid?"
"Didn't they tell ya, mah car got trashed, so I needed to wait on a tow truck."
"So that's why you smell like the Cajun?" ~Damn his sense of smell.~
"What does it matter what I smell like?"
"Just tell me kid, have you seen him?"
"Yeah, so what if I did."
"He's trouble and you know it. He's been forced to leave New Orleans because of his past, and you deserve to know what you're dealing with."
"Look, I can take care of mahself…ya ain't gonna tell the professor about me being out past curfew are ya? He'll never let me back outta the mansion again."
"Look kid, you broke the rules, you know the consequences."
"Aren't you the one who's always breaking the rules! I'd a thought of all people you'd be a little understanding to the fact that mah car had to be towed." I was starting to cry out of frustration. "Look, whatever, I just wanna go to bed." I pushed mah way past Logan an' ran up the front stairs an' didn't stop running 'till I had reached mah room. I pushed the door open to find Kitty sittin' on her bed typing away on her laptop.
"You're back! So, are you like gonna tell me what happened, or what?"
I told her the story minus all the parts having to do with Gambit, so she was left with just a sketchy version of the fight outside in the parking lot. That's all she seemed to want to know an' she fell right off to sleep after I finished telling mah story. I didn't want her to know too much, just in case the professor decided to ask her questions about tonight. I changed mah clothes and collapsed onto mah bed where I just let mah mind wander from the dance to the goodbye kiss he had given me.