Ahem! I am now starting the first chapter in the very unusual and never before done style of my revamped story 'Till the End. If you have no idea what I am talking about, please see chapter nine.
'Till the End
Chapter Ten
Two Weeks Notice
It had been two weeks since Alana Shea had "died" and everyone thought Rogue was taking it all rather well. To their knowledge Rogue had not shed a single tear. In fact she had become more sociable than she was normally. And, of course, everyone of the Institute's students welcomed her into their "cliques" with open arms. She smiled so much and said the right thing at the right time so often that through out those two weeks the students were vying for her attention. The X-children weren't the only ones looking at the Rogue differently.
Though she'd only put on slightly less make-up and worn slightly less clothing the students and teachers at Bayville High were drawn to her new confidence. Rogue was continually called on in all classes, and she always had the right answer. She never came to class unprepared, the two quizzes and one test she had during those couple of weeks were perfect hundreds, and her grades soared.
She hung out with different people at lunch every day. Rogue was repeatedly asked out, and though it confused her friends and classmates, she turned down each request. People at both schools started to realize that if you had a problem you went to Rogue. Rogue could be observed counseling girls about their boyfriends, boys about their girlfriends, and jocks about their math homework. She was seen in the halls talking to the "nerds" and "geeks" about the preeminent PC or the most recent Yu-Gi-Oh! pack. She hung with the Anime "freaks" and talked about the new DVD of Oh My Goddess or the newest manga of Bubble Gum Crisis. (A.N. I'm not picking on anyone. 'Cause you know if you thought about it you'd realize I couldn't possibly know as much about this stuff as I do if I wasn't in at least some of these categories.)
At home Rogue was frequently noticed in the kitchen baking a snack for every-single-solitary-student. These snacks ranged from an assortment of pies, carrot cake, double chocolate cake, thick chocolate brownies, homemade peanut butter fudge, and cookies that smelled so good they made the students float toward the kitchen. She kept the Institute's students well feed too. They could always count on a dessert after their tasty, but nutritious, dinner made by the new "Miss Popularity."
The only thing the students could find a fault in was the time in which she wasn't helping other people, working on schoolwork or cooking. That lump of time was usually spent as far away from people as she could get.
The Danger Room.
Every night after supper was time that the students had to themselves. Most stayed in the common room talking or watching TV. Rogue, however, spent the time in the Danger Room, every night. No one knew why she did it. They spent plenty of time training in there with Logan, or Storm or the Professor watching over them. But Rogue went in there every night for three hours doing who-knew what and came out for a shower and a bed, soaked through with sweat and utterly exhausted.
*Two weeks exactly,* Rogue thought excitedly. She hummed quietly to herself as she took her lemon sponge cake out of the oven. She and Logan had been secretly dating for exactly two weeks! "Mmmm," Rogue breathed in the smell of the squishy cake. They had dared to sneak out to a couple of movies, a restaurant and a couple of bars over that period of time. Logan had wanted them to have a "normal" relationship. *Ha! Normal. Like anything about Logan or me is "normal."* But it was so sweet of him to want her to have what everyone else had that she went along. (A.N. Of course they went outside of the Bayville area, they also left after all the other students.)
The first movie they saw was a chick flick, Two Weeks Notice, she'd picked it out just to let him know exactly what a "normal" relationship was. Rogue laughed to herself remembering the look on his face when she'd told him what movie she wanted to see. The next time she picked a movie that was more what she liked than what girls her age wanted to see, Terminator 3. Again she laughed at the relief she had seen cross his face. She knew, using her new powers, that he had been afraid she would pick Down with Love.
*Speaking of new powers,* Rogue thought, placing her sponge cake along side the two apple pies (one red, one green) on the window sill. She washed her hands hung up her apron and hurried off to her weekend training session in the Danger Room. Rogue had been having daily sessions with the "Mistress of Torment," who called herself Alana Shea. On weekdays they had their session after dinner and on the weekends they had Saturday afternoon sessions that lasted for four hours straight. Rogue changed out of her civvies (A.N. civilian clothing) and into her "school uniform" and raced into the Danger Room. (A.N. Does anyone else think that there should be a sinister dum-dum-dum after Danger Room?)
**Alaaaaana, time to wake up. Alaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaana,** Rogue whined to the spirit that shared her body.
**Oh, damn an Ah was havin' a good dream too. Alright. Ahem. Go drough the list of people we've conquered and built little housies for.**
Each session Desert Rose and Rogue had gone through each different personality Rogue had touched. They let that person come to the foreground of Rogue's mind and consoled them about being in someone else's body. They "talked" to that person and tried to understand who they were. Rogue, with Desert Rose's help, built what they called "houses" where these analyzed personalities went to live. The "houses" were built according to the individuals taste, in other words they would want for nothing. And they would stay put too.
"Alana, Scott, Jean, Kurt, Evan, Kitty, Bobby, Amara, Jubilee..." Rogue and D.R. had gone through the children at the Institute, and herself, first. "Logan, Charles, Ororo and Hank," then they went through the teachers. "Todd, Lance, Fred, Pietro and Wanda," next came the 'Hood kids. "Juggernaut, Mystique, Sabertooth, Destiny and Magneto," the so-called adults. "And Cody," they'd done the one human last; it was still uncomfortable for Rogue to think about. "Hey, wait a minute! That's it, that's everyone. In two weeks we've "built" "houses" for all the people I've touched!"
(A.N. I know that's not all of them but I wasn't going to go through them all. Besides that I don't know if I want to put an exact time period on their relationship. Which explains why the Movies don't make sense. That and I don't give a damn whether or not Movies make any sense at all. I'm rambling...)
"Ah, so we 'ave. Now ya'll learn how to use more dan one person's power at a time. We'll start wid Mystique."
And for four hours, four incredibly long hours, they mixed and matched powers. When they were done going through the toughest, most dangerous and terrifying Danger Room course Rogue slowly limped and moaned her way up to the shower and a clean outfit.
Walking down to dinner Rogue was pulled into the empty library by some ruffian. As soon as the door shut she whirled around prepared to give him an earful and was caught completely unprepared for the sight that greeted her brown eyes.
"Happy two week anniversary, darlin'," whispered Logan. He'd been planning this for a few days and had gone over and over what he would say and do. He was down on his left knee with a long, thin jewelry box held out to his lovely lady. He looked into her eyes as he said it and saw the exact expression he'd expected in his rehearsals.
Tentatively, she took the blue velvet box and opened it. Marie was at a loss for words at what she saw. It was a silver chain with a thin silver heart. (A.N. Like the ones that are in style now. I have no idea what they're called. Umm...In the first Legally Blond Elle wore one. Sorry, I know I'm pathetic.) Etched onto the heart were the words:
Normal Isn't For Us
Two Weeks Notice
(A.N. I picture this in Annalisa font. That's in Microsoft Word if you want to look at it.)
TBC...