FYI:

~Personal Thoughts~

~"Inner Voices"~

ESP

[Flashback]

"Normal Conversation (Duh)"

{Musical Lyrics}

Fight Test—The Flaming Lips

ROGUE

Three days had passed before we found a spare moment ta even start practicin' for tryouts. It was Thursday an' we both decided ta spend lunch rehearsin' outside. A lot had happened in between then an' now. Logan of course read us the riot act for tryin' ta take on Sinister by ourselves the moment we got of the Velocity.

["What were you two thinking facing Sinister by yourselves?!?!"

"We had everyt'ing under control, Messieur."

"Under control—that's what you call Rogue passed out on the floor and you about to blow yourself and Sinister up? That's your definition of 'Under Control'?"

"Wolvie, we had it covered." He turned an' snarled at meh next.

"Kid, you weren't even conscious." ~Damn, good point.~

"Like Mister Logan give them a break. They like just got back."

"Ja, zey must be tired. Zey should just get some rest."]

Logan had quit there because of Kurt an' Kitty's protests, but the professor still had his two cents ta put in. We had ta go meet him in his office as soon as we could, which for Kurt meant we should teleport.

[*Pop! "Here zey are Professor."

"Thank you Kurt. That will be all." *Pop! Kurt was gone in a flash of smoke an' sulfur fumes. "Rogue, Remy, please take a seat." We sat down expectin' the worst. "You did a very brave thing today facing Sinister on your own, however, it was also a very rash move. As punishment both of you are grounded for a week and neither of you are allowed to use your powers during that time, except in training or on missions if any should arise." ~Well, that could have gone worse.~ "That means no empathetic powers, or using others powers, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Oui."

"Good, you will both be attending morning sessions with Scott and Jean every day as well as Logan's afternoon sessions."

"Merde." Ah jabbed him in the ribs so that he would quit cussin' that might get us is in more trouble.

"Ok, is that everythin'?"

"No." ~Aww man…what more could he dish out on us?~ "I think you'd like to know this, Rogue. When you use Gambit's full powers, you are able to shield yourself in an electric field, allowing you to touch others without absorbing them. This is why you were unable to hurt Sinister."

"So, Ah can't use mah powers an' Gambit's at the same time, basically."

"Yes, that's correct, but when you're using his powers, you are normal for the most part."

"What's that supposed ta mean?"

"Well, when you use Gambit's powers it causes a physical change, in your eyes."

"So that's why mah eyes change colors."

"Yes."]

Ah was sittin' beneath a tree lookin' over the script one more time before we ran through it. "Ah ain't ever gonna remember all of this by tomorrow."

"Sure y' will, Cherie. It ain't t'at hard."

"Ok, lets do this." Ah stood up while he knelt down on one knee by mah side. "What are ya doin'?"

"T'is is what I'm supposed to do, non?"

"Yeah, Ah guess so."

"If I profane wit' my unwort'iest hand t'is holy shrine, de gentle fine is t'is: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand t' smoot' t'at rough touch wit' a tender kiss."

"Mah god, Remy. Romeo was Italian, not French."

"Have y' ever heard about de French killing t'emselves over such a silly affair?"

"No, but if ya any indication, the French would just move on an' find another girl."

"Y' wound me real bad, Cherie." Ah laughed as Ah tried ta remember mah line.

"Good pilgrim, ya do wrong ya hand too much, with mannerly devotion shows in this;…umm…for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch an' palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

"I don't t'ink Juliet sounded like a Southern Belle eit'er."

"Shut up."

"O, t'en, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; t'ey pray, grant thou, lest fait' turn t' despair."

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

"T'en move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." He stood up an' kissed meh. Ah was caught completely off guard even though Ah knew it was comin'.

"Ah, uh…Then have mah lips the sin that they have took." He gave meh one of his devilish grins before startin' his next line.

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again." He kissed meh again an' this time Ah forgot it was supposed ta be just a peck an' kissed him back.

"Ya kiss by the book."

"Non, t'at wasn't in de script." He was leanin' against the tree lookin' at meh when he popped the question at meh.

"Will y' go t' homecoming wit' me?"

"What? Ah mean, of course." ~Aww man, what am Ah gonna wear ta a dance?~

~"Like last time we went to the mall I like saw the most beautiful emerald green dress that would like so bring out your eyes!"~

~Thank's a lot Kitty. But Ah'm grounded, when am Ah supposed ta go get it?~

~"Like, good point."~

~"I smell trouble"~

~What? Where?~

~"Like, not those guys!"~

"Not now."

GAMBIT

"What is it, Cherie?" I looked over my shoulder t' see a group of jocks standing t'ere watching us. "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of t'em."

"Remy, ya can't, remember."

"I don't need my powers t' take on t'ose goons."

"Yeah, but if ya fight them, we all get expelled from school." ~She's right, I can't fight them, I promised de professor. Merde, what is a Cajun t' do?~

{I Thought I Was Smart, I Thought I Was Right, I Thought It Better Not To Fight}

"So you freaks really think they'll let you in the school play? Well, they won't when you can't spit out the lines for all the teeth stuck down your throat."

{I Thought There Was A Virtue, In Always Being Cool}

~Play it cool, homme.~ "Remy, lets get outta here."

"Yeah, Remy, go run off with your girlfriend. She wouldn't want to see your pretty little face getting messed up." They started in t'wards me and I stood in front of Marie protectively.

{So It Came Time To Fight, I Though 'I'll Just Step Aside', And That The Time Would Prove You Wrong}

"Non, I'm not going t' fight y', hommes." Marie was holding on t' my arm, probably t' keep me from lashing out at t'em.

{And That You Would Be The Fool, I Don't Know Where The Sunbeams End, And The Starlight Begins}

De first of t'em hit me square in de jaw wit' a left hook and had me seeing stars.

"T'at was a cheap shot, homme." Marie left go of my arm and tried t' get in between us.

{It's All A Mystery, Oh, To Fight Is To Defend}

"Stop this, we can't fight ya an' ya know it."

"Yeah, well maybe we want you to fight and get your asses expelled."

{If It's Not Now Then Tell Me When, Would Be The Time, That You Would Stand Up And Be A Man}

He shoved Marie t' de ground and hit me again in de stomach. I doubled over trying t' catch my breathe when I felt a blow t' my back. "Oomph!" I laid t'ere on de ground trying t' find a way out of t'is but t'ere was no way I was going t' charm my way wit' a bunch of jocks.

{For To Lose I Could Accept, But To Surrender I Just Wept}

~T'is be killing my pride.~

"Get up you mutant freak." I felt one of t'em lift me up by de collar of my trench and shove me up against de tree.

{And Regretted This Moment, Oh That, I Was The Fool}

I started seeing stars again as I received blow after blow from the football players as t'ey treated me like t'eir personal punching bag.

{I Don't Know Where The Sunbeams End, And The Starlight Begins}

~Why would de professor make t'em all take t'is. I can't imagine him wanting t' see Marie or any of de ot'ers getting hurt like t'is.~

"Had enough yet freak? Maybe your girlfriend wants some?"

"Non, not mon Cherie."

{It's All A Mystery, 'Cause I'm A Man, Not A Boy, And There Are Things You Can't Avoid}

"Aww…isn't that sweet guys. He doesn't want us to hurt his girlfriend." Marie was now on her feet and had removed one of her gloves.

"Don't ya dare come near meh, or lay another finger on him, or ya all will end up in a coma." Her eyes were burning red as she spoke. ~She ain't gonna be able t' hurt t'em. She's angry and using my powers.~

{You Have To Face Them, When You're Not Prepared To Face Them}

"Y' better listen t' her, hommes. It ain't pretty having y' mind sucked dry." T'ey continued t' stare at her as t'ey tried t' make up t'eir minds. ~Like t'ey have minds t' make up.~

{If I Could, I Would, But You're With Him, Now It'd Do No Good, I Should've Fought Him}

"We'll finish this some other time, freaks." T'ey left us as I used de back of my hand t' wipe de blood from de corner of my mout'.

"Are ya alright."

"Oui, just my pride is hurt." She put her gloves back on as her eyes changed back t' t'eir proper green shade.

{But Instead I Let Him, I Let Him Take It}

"Ya lucky that's all that's hurt." I was still bent over double trying t' catch my breat' as she put an arm around my waist and helped me stand upright.

"Why does de professor make y' stand down like t'is? All t'at happens is y' get hurt."

"Ah don't know."

ROGUE

"Like you would be doing this to me at the last possible minute."

"Ah'm sorry, Kitty. He just asked meh taday if Ah wanted ta go."

"Like, that emerald dress is probably gone by now because some other girl like made up her mind two weeks ago." We were standin' in our room arguin' over what we should do about the homecoming dance.

"What are ya wearin' anyway?" She ran over ta her closet an' pulled out a beautiful pink formal gown that reminded meh of cotton candy.

"Like wouldn't it be great if Piotr would like wear a pink vest to match?"

"No, Ah can't see him wearin' pink at all. Maybe he should just go with silver."

"He'll like wear pink if I ask him to."

"Ah doubt it."

"Am I interrupting?"

"Sweety, you'll like wear pink if I ask you to, right?" Piotr frowned at the suggestion, Ah could tell he wanted ta say no, but also didn't want ta hurt Kitty's feelin's.

"The Mate is not going to wear pink." John stuck his head up over Piotr's shoulder an' Ah could just barely see Remy standin' a little further back as well. *Pop! Kurt showed up in our room next holdin' a picture of Amanda in a blue dress.

"Vho's vearin' pink?"

"Nobody but Kitty is, Kurt." Ah was anxious ta save Piotr from answerin' the question, so Ah changed the topic. "John, who are ya takin' ta homecoming?"

"The Sheila, Tabitha."

"Like isn't she wearin' an orange dress? You guys will like stand out for miles!" ~Is that a good thin'?~ John smiled as he nodded.

"She's asked me to wear an orange vest with my tux." ~That is gonna stand out with his orange hair.~

"I'm feeling left out of t'is conversation. What am I supposed t' wear?" Remy finally walked inta the room an was standin' next ta meh as Ah watched Kitty continue poutin' at Piotr.

"Like we have no clue, because Rogue doesn't have a dress picked out. I don't know who's worse, her or you." She turned ta Piotr who became nervous again knowin' the topic was goin' back tawards pink.

"Maybe he can just wear a pink carnation or somethin'." Piotr smiled gratefully at meh for the suggestion.

"T'at sounds like a good idea, mon amis. But I still don't have a clue what I'm t' wear." Remy had one of his pouts plastered on ta his face.

"Amanda vants me to match, but I don't know vhat to wear."

"Like duh, blue to match her dress."

"So, should I just go as ze blue fuzzy dude?"

"Like no way! You guys are all giving me like one huge headache."

"Why don't we all go shoppin' at one time. The guys can get their tuxes under Amanda's supervision, an' ya can help meh find a dress."

"But I still don't know what I'm t' even try and match."

"Like you'll just have to wait until Rogue finds a dress." Remy screwed his face up at this suggestion then broke out in a wide grin.

"I'll help y' look t'en, mon Cherie."

"No way, Ah'm not havin' ya watch meh try on dresses. Ah know what goes on in that head of ya's."

"Y' make me sound like a perv, Cherie."

"Maybe that's because ya are one."

"No, like I think it's like a great idea for him to come along. He can like put in his opinion then we'll go straight to picking out his tux."

"But we can't go until Tuesday, remember. We're grounded."

"Oh, like that is a problem. Nothing like cramming all that prep work into three days."

"Kitty, what prep work are ya talkin' about?" The guys all got weird looks on their faces an' started headin' for the door.

"Well, goodnight Sheila's."

"Bonsoir."

"Goodnight, Kitty."

"Night sis, Kitty."

~Great, they had ta leave meh with the party plannin' queen.~

"Ok, like here's the plan. Tuesday we'll like shop for the dress. If we like have to, we'll go back Wednesday for Remy's tux. And on Thursday we'll have to like try out makeup and hair styles." ~Ain't Ah a lucky girl.~

~"You're starting to repeat yourself, Stripes."~

~So sue meh.~

GAMBIT

De weekend crawled by so slow t'at I never t'ought it would end. Monday and Tuesday were 'bout a t'ousand times worse waiting for de school day t' pass by. Finally de last bell rang and Marie and I walked out t' de parking lot toget'er.

"Ah still can't believe it." We walked up t' her jeep t' find Kitty and Piotr already waiting t'ere.

"Are you two like ready to go? The mall closes in six hours!"

"Really, is t'at all de time we have, Petite?"

"Yes, now like hurry up! Kurt, Amanda, and John have like already left. Like what took you guys so long?" We were already cruising down de highway before we had de chance t' tell our exciting news.

"We were checkin' out the results of the tryouts."

"Oh…like how did you guys do?" Rogue was blushing extremely hard as she gripped de steering wheel a little t' tight.

"Well Petite, y' be talking t' Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague."

"Congratulations, my friends."

"Ooo…that is like so romantic."

We eventually reached de parking lot outside of de mall and found Kurt, Amanda, and John waiting inside for us in de food court. Amanda saw us first and waved us over.

"Hey you guys!"

"Vhat took ja so long?"

"Like those two took their sweet time getting out of French, because they like wanted to know if they like got the leads."

"Well, did you Mate?"

"Oui."

"Congrats! That's really exciting. But we really should get going, you ready guys?" Kurt, John and Piotr made t' follow Amanda but I stayed behind wit' Marie and Kitty. "Umm…aren't you coming Remy?"

"Non, I'm helping Rogue pick out de dress." I grinned as I linked my arm in hers and escorted her t' de nearest dress shop.

ROGUE

Kitty and Ah had sorted through what seemed ta be hundreds of dresses without findin' one that we could agree on. Not only did Ah have the real Kitty's slams but the inner Kitty was havin' a tough time keepin' her comments ta herself as well.

"What about this black one?"

"Like, no way."

~"Like you just got away from gothic, like why are you going back there."~

"Ya think it's gothic don't ya?"

"Well, like yeah. It's way too eerie looking." Ah frowned as Ah put it back onta the rack. We had not even come close ta findin' the emerald dress we had seen weeks before. Remy was standin' in the isles lookin' completely lost.

"He looks like a lost little puppy."

"Like all guys are lost and hopeless when it comes to like dress shopping." We laughed which caught Remy's attention.

"Mon Cherie, have y' found a dress yet?"

"No, this takes a while." He walked over ta us and started lookin' through the rack behind us.

"Would t'is be de emerald dress, I've heard so much about?" He pulled out an emerald green gown that was slim an' fittin'.

"Like oh my god, yes! How'd you like find that so fast?"

"I'm a t'ief, Petite. I know how t' find what I need quickly." He was grinning as he handed meh the dress ta go try on.

"Kitty, do meh a favor. Keep him away from the dressin' rooms." Ah hurried inta the closest one an' slid the dress on. It fit meh perfectly. Ah snapped the halter around mah neck an' turned around in front of the mirror watchin' the jewels catch an' throw off the light.

"Ooo…that is like so perfect! It matches you eyes like perfectly."

"Oui, I agree wit' t'at." Remy poked his head in above Kitty as Ah stood in front of the mirror admirin' the dress.

"Like, don't you have someplace to be going now?"

"Where would t'at be, Petite?"

"The tux shop with like the other boys."

"Oui, but I want ta see her change back first."

"REMY GET OUT!" He was still grinnin' as he ducked back out of the dressin' room door. Ah changed out of the dress inta mah street clothes as quickly as possible. Ah met Kitty at the cash register an' she was just itchin' ta heat up the professor's credit card. The cashier carefully placed the dress in a garment bag an' handed it back ta meh. Ah took it as we headed out of the store tawards the tux shop ta help Amanda with the insane boys.

GAMBIT

"Oui, John y' look like construction cone wit' all t'at orange."

"Whatever, Mate. At least my girl can pick out a dress."

"Cherie, picked a dress. It's a beautiful emerald color t'at matches her eyes and I picked it out myself."

"So Kitty and Rogue will be joining us soon?"

"Y' bet, Piotr."

"Oh, good, because you guys were starting to give me a headache. I could use more of the female persuassion." I looked up from where I was sitting and saw Kitty and Marie enter de store holdin' a garment bag over one arm. "Oh, lets see it already!"

"Ja, I vant to see vhat my sister is vearing." Rogue pulled up de garment bag t' reveal de gorgeous emerald dress wit' it's sparkling rhinestones along de bottom.

"Isn't it like the most beautiful dress you've ever seen?" Rogue blushed under all of de attention so I walked over t' her and asked her t' help me find a matching vest.

"Y' gonna help me pick a tux now?"

"Well, ya did find mah dress. It's only fair." She draped de dress over a chair as she helped me look at de tuxes wit' de help of a man who worked t'ere. She had me fitted int' a black tux wit' a green vest.

"Now, who gets ta watch who change?" She was grinning as I stood stupidly on a box while de man made de alterations.

"Oui, y' do. Y' always get de last laugh, Cherie."

"Well, that is how it's supposed ta be."

"Alright sir, that's it. You can pick the tux back up on Thursday."

"Merci, Messieur." I walked behind a curtain and changed back int' my own clot'es before I stepped back out and took Marie in one hand and her dress in de ot'er. I kissed her on de forehead.

"See, t'at wasn't t' bad, now was it?"

"Ya weren't the one with Kitty the whole time."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I thought I needed to throw in some Kurmanda and more Kiotr so here you have it, Homecoming Prep. Hate it? Love it? Tell me when you click that little purple button. (Flames are completely welcome—My pride cannot be killed so easily)