Chapter 3: Falling Out

             Rogue jumped when the cellular phone in her back pocket rung as she was heading towards laundry room with a large basket of the new recruits uniforms that needed washing.  It was four days later, and she had chores to do, a very large amount of them.  She kicked the Laundry room door open, dropped the basket on the floor and reached into her back pocket, pulling out her cellular phone, she glanced at the LCD screen.  An unknown number – but it could have only been one person.

             She answered it, "Remy?" she asked, she pressed her shoulder against the phone so she didn't have to hold it, and she opened the washing machine.

             "How'd ya know it was me?" Remy's voice came from the other end, his voice sounded lighter than it had in a long time, as if he were finally coming out of the depression he'd been in since the death of his child.

             "Who else would be calling?" Rogue smiled a little, she grabbed a hold of the black uniforms and tossed them into the machine, "what's up?"

             "Not much," he admitted..

             "Same here," made a face at the smell of sweat from the uniforms. 

"I emailed you four times this last three days, haven't you checked your email?" Remy asked.

Rogue felt a gasp catch her throat, and she had to pull herself together before she let him know she'd completely forgotten within the last few days, "sorry…I haven't had time…I'm still on punishment you know," Rogue explained, referring to punishment for the fiasco in the nightclub three weeks earlier.  She hadn't been on constant chores the last four days, but a big part of it had been.  She could have found time to check her email if she'd wanted to.  But somehow…she'd forgotten.
             "What do they have you doing now?" Remy asked, there was a sound of coins chinking into the phone booth he was obviously in.

             "Washing uniforms," Rogue sighed, "I don't mind doing laundry, but man, a weeks worth of the recruits uniforms is the worst…they stink!" she closed the washing machine door, and opened the drawer, adding detergent in.

             "I can sympathise, I've had to do it" he reminded, "when I first came to the mansion I was on days when I had to do everyone's general laundry during the week…" he admitted, "you don't know how hard it is to try and figure out who's clothes belong to who one they've all been thrown into one big pile and shoved into the machine," Remy sighed, "Jean bitched me out big time when I accidentally mixed up her underwear with Amara's…Scott said something about Jean pulling on Amara's tiny little panties and having trouble getting them off again!"

             Rogue smirked, "I'm sure with Scott's help, she managed," she commented.  "But still…ewww…underwear sharing, how scary…"

             "Tell me about it!  After that, the professor put down the policy about everyone doing their own laundry," he laughed.

             Rogue smiled a little, she switched on the washing machine and sat up on top of it, taking the phone in her hand once again, "so are you going to tell me what it is you're doing down there, yet?"

             "I'll tell you when you come down here," Remy stated, "Chere, c'mon, have you even asked yet?"

             "Asked what?" Rogue played innocent, she leaned back against the wall, the machine under her beginning to vibrate under her.

             "If you can come to Muir Island…" Remy trailed off.

             "Oh…sorry, no, I was busy and forgot…so much to do here," Rogue explained, she grit her teeth, why was she lying to him?  Why couldn't she just tell him that Jared had her distracted, that he'd brought MutantX into the mansion, that he'd been in Remy's room.

             Remy gave a soft, "Hmmm," on the other end, and then a long pause of silence.

             "Hmmm, what?" Rogue asked.

             "You're too busy to even get in touch with me?" he asked, "And you didn't ask if you could come down here…hell, didn't even ask how I was…why do I get the distinct feelin' you're fallin' outta love with me?"

             "Don't be stupid," Rogue tried to keep her voice from sounding over dramatic, her attempt at controlling the emotion in her voice faltered, and left her sounding apathetic, as if she didn't care to even make the effort to sound concerned.

             "Am I bein' stupid?" Remy asked, "My girlfriend stops getting in touch, and doesn't even make an effort to wanna come and see me…jesus, Chere, I'd go to the end of the earth for you…"

             "Don't take it that way, Remy," Rogue sighed.

             "How should I take it?"

             "Like it is.  Everything is fine."

             "Yeah, right, get in touch with me when you're ready to make some effort," Remy sounded quiet angry, Rogue was about to retort with something as bitchy, but there was a click, and she realised he'd hung up.

             "Fuck," Rogue muttered, she turned her phone off, she sighed.

             "Uhm, Rogue…"

             Rogue turned, realising Jared was standing in the open threshold, he looked concerned.  "Not now, I don't wanna see you," Rogue looked away.

             "Uhm…okay, but I have something to tell you…" Jared trailed off.

"Not now!" Rogue yelled at him.

"Did you realise there's water and foam EVERYWHERE?" Jared folded his arms.

             Rogue blinked, "huh?" she climbed down from the top of the machine, and heard a splash under her feet, she realised Jared was right, she was standing in a great pool of water on the floor, foam streaming out the washing machine door.  "Oh fuck!" she cried out, she reached to the machine and turned it off, she ran outside into the foyer, water was everywhere, had travelled along one end to the other across the marble floor, "shit shit shit!" she cried out, "I need to clean this up before someone finds out.

             Jared looked at her, "what do you propose to do?  This hall is massive, water is everywhere and this isn't something a couple of towels is going to dry up!"

             Rogue tried to run towards the laundry room again, hoping she'd find some towels or something that would soak up at least some of the water, she slipped, falling backwards, she let out a gasp, the pain that had been in her rib suddenly felt intensified by about ten times.  She pulled herself up slowly, dripping in foamy water.  "Shit…"

             "Rogue?! What is happening?!" Ororo Munroe came running down the stairs, her mouth hanging open in shock seeing all the water and foam on the floor.

             "The machine is broken!  I couldn't stop the water coming out," Rogue tried to explain.

             Ororo raised her hands to the air, Rogue felt wind stirring the air, the front doors flew open from the currents, and the water and foam was blown outside in small tidal waves by the wind Ororo was controlling with her abilities to manipulate the weather.

             With most of the water gone, the floors now only with small puddles of water and foam remaining.  "Clean this up," Ororo instructed, and headed back up the stairs.

             Rogue sighed and sat on the bottom of the stairs, "I can't believe this.  I swear she has it in for me lately…"
             "I'll help…" Jared suggested.

             "You'd do that?" Rogue queried.

             "Sure…" Jared nodded, there's no way you'll be able to do all this yourself," He smiled.

             It took some time to mop most of the water and foam up, eventually, the floor was a lot dryer and less slippery than it had been, Rogue leaned on her mop, exhaustion settling, her side hurting more than it had been in the past seven days.

             "Remind me why mansions have to have massive rooms…"

             "Because if they were small it wouldn't be a mansion," Rogue sighed, she surveyed their work, the floor gleaming.

             "Have…you thought any more about the other day?" Jared asked softly, he was still mopping at the floor.

             "No," Rogue sighed.
             "So…have you told Remy about me and you?"

             Rogue looked at him, "what do you mean?" she asked.

             "About our relationship," Jared responded, he glanced at her, his unbelievably green eyes glittering as if in some secret amusement.

             Rogue frowned, "there is no relationship," she said firmly, she was trying to convince herself of this more than trying to convince him of it.
             "So you've told Remy about me being in love with you, then?" Jared asked, he looked at her intently.

             "No," Rogue looked away, and continued to mop the last few spots of water and foam away.  She was beginning to feel very uncomfortable in his company.  And yet, intrigued, she would have given anything to know what that kiss was like, and at the same time, she wanted the kiss with Remy, and only him.

             "Then we have a relationship," Jared stated, "if we didn't, you'd have told him," he remarked.

             Rogue frowned, "Maybe I just don't want to upset him," she responded.

             "Or maybe you just don't know how to tell him that you don't want him anymore," Jared smirked a little, he wrung his mop out in the nearby bucket, "why are you running away from this – you want that kiss, don't you?"

             "Not with you," Rogue chewed the inside of her cheek, looking down at the floor, trying to keep her gaze off of his.

             "I think you do."

             "You can think all you like, but you're never going to be right," Rogue gripped the mop more tightly, feeling anger beginning to seethe inside of her again.  "Me and Remy LOVE each other, don't you know that?  And I believe in a thing called love, and I've told you, I'm not going to let anything screw it up," she tossed the mop towards him, "even you," she muttered, and with that, ran off.