A/N: X2 - 05.02.03 (yeah, I already mentioned that in the last chapter). Rio, if you don't continue 'no place to call home', (insert ominous threat that will make you want to finish it). Thanks Tatiana for your help. Saw Swimf@n yesterday (by the time this is posted, it'll be last week). Movie was good, funny. Audience sucked, a bunch of horny teenagers. I hate teenagers, so ignorant. Most of them make me ashamed to be one.
I didn't really like last chapter, but it was needed. I added a scene from the original version of this story. I reread this, and I realize my overly strong concern for grammar is holding me back (comma, happy). This chapter is a lot shorter than what my chapters usually are, but hopefully Ryro lovers will like it. I hope it isn't a too fast paced, but if it is that just shows how dedicated I am to finishing this story. ; ) I thought that the song (my fav) at the end of the chapter went well with this chapter, though this isn't a song fic chapter.
Saturday, 07 September 2002 – Wednesday, 11 September 2002 (Thursday, 12 September 2002)
VIII. Johnny
"Where'd you find him?" Scott asked inquisitively. How could this actually be taking place? This had to be something that came with being a guy, like ignorance. I looked back and forth between them eyebrows furrowed, and disbelieving what I was witnessing. Bobby turned to me.
"Actually, he found Rogue. At the mall," he answered. "He had an eye for her… or a hand. Yeah, and I'm not sure I'd trust him here with Rogue."
"Why is trust an issue?" Scott asked. I had been sitting here watching and listening to Scott and Bobby talk about a new mutant that might be coming here. A certain mutant named Ben. Bobby and Scott sitting in front of me, talking about Ben, and how he could be coming here.
"How old did you say he was? Twenty-four?" Bobby asked me.
"Twenty-three," I almost whispered, still in shock that they were having a conversation about this. A conversation about Ben coming here going on between Scott and Bobby.
"Not that much younger than you, Mr. Summers. Maybe he could teach, but after the way he treated Rogue, how could we trust him with the rest of our young beautiful female students?" Bobby replied. I rolled my eyes. He still had not answered Scott's question. 'Then why would you tell him to come here?!' I screamed in my head to Bobby.
"How did he treat Rogue?" Scott asked. Bobby's eyebrows furrowed. I could tell it was forced.
"You haven't heard?" he asked, knowing the answer. He looked at me, raising his eyebrows. I narrowed my eyes slightly. This is where he made me sound like a slut… unless he was actually sorry.
"Basically he forced her into a kiss, and… touched her…." he said, adding a fake sigh, and shaking his head slowly. I rolled my eyes at his overdramatic behavior; at least he had not been lying when he told me he was sorry.
"Kissed? Her-your lips?" I nodded. "You-"
"Can control her powers. Yes, somewhat," Bobby answered for me, sitting back in his chair, and stretching his back. Scott looked at me questioningly.
"Yeah, she can control her powers. Nice and everything, but he touched her…" Bobby said louder, "I mean he touched her breast. How demeaning."
I almost laughed at his agitation over Ben's fondling.
"Are you okay? Does the Professor know about this? He didn't try to hurt you or force anything else on-?" he asked concerned. I shook my head.
"I'm fine," I replied cutting him off.
"Why didn't you tell any of this to the professor or Jean?" Scott asked.
"She wouldn't listen," I replied. Bobby and Scott were talking and acting… parental.
"Jean hates her and Tess," Bobby stated. Scott raised an eyebrow. Bobby nodded.
"She feels that Tess is a threat to her relationship-if you can call se… intimacy a relationship- with Logan, and Rogue is basically making her revenge for you void."
"Revenge?" Scott asked.
"Jean's a very vengeful person. Jealous, too. I mean Ms. Grey," he answered. Scott sat back in his chair, amused.
"I would have dumped her, too. She's not my type. She would have seriously been cramping my style. The way she acts like she owns her boyfriend. I mean sometimes she can be a crazy bitc-" Bobby stopped talking, and cleared his throat. "Crazy. Sometimes she's… crazy."
He sat silently for a moment while Scott and I stared at him. He looked back and forth between us.
"Enough about her…." He started. "I think we should talk to the professor about Ben. What do you think, Rogue?"
"Well if you don't like him, I'll be greeting him with open arms," he looked at me, confused. Scott just grinned.
"Have you not heard anything I've said? He'd probably use you until he found someone waiting for him with open legs."
"You're so vulgar. You-" I started.
"When did he say he was coming?" Scott asked, precluding an altercation.
"He didn't say. He's bad news. The way he thinks of Rogue… judging from the note he gave her, and the conversation I had with him…" Bobby paused, and slowly turned to me. "…Maybe you should leave."
My eyes went wide. He wanted me to leave? I am sure I could handle whatever he had to say about Ben. I doubt he could say anything worse that what he already had. Scott did not look like he disagreed. I opened my mouth to remonstrance, and then changed my mind. Pushing my chair back, I went along with it, and stood up. Where was I supposed to go? I felt so stupid being sent out of the room, like a child when the adult's conversation got over G-rating. I pushed my chair in, looking at them once more, before I walked out of the kitchen into the lounge. Logan sat on the couch watching TV, but Jean was nowhere in site. Maybe she had found that her birth control pills were missing. I looked at the game room entrance, and started towards it. I did not want to disturb Logan while he was watching TV. John was visible through the entrance. This could be the day I took up his offer on joining him in the game room.
"Not even going to say hi?" Logan asked, turning to look at me over his shoulder. Surprised, I stopped dead in my tracks. I did not think he even knew I was in here. He motioned for me to come over and join him, not taking his eyes off me. I wrapped my arms across my stomach as I slowly walked towards him feeling awkward. I walked around the front of the couch, and sat down on the far side. He raised an eyebrow curiously, and I moved closer to him, scooting towards the middle of the couch.
"Hi," I finally replied. He looked pass me into the lounge.
"What's Bobby up to?" he asked. I looked into the kitchen to see they were still talking.
"He's trying to launch an anti-Ben campaign," I answered, noticing that Scott did not look too blithe. Whatever he had said had gained him a vote.
"You against that?" he asked.
"Why would he call Ben, and tell him to come here if he doesn't want him to?" I asked, "...and he asked me to leave."
"Ben's coming here?" Logan asked, his voice getting low, and his countenance turning to stone. I shrugged.
"Maybe, I hope not," I answered, looking behind me into the game room trying to spot John again. When I turned back, Logan was grinning.
"What?" I asked, suspecting some sort of mischief. He turned back to the TV, still grinning. I turned glanced over my shoulder again, but could not see John anymore. I turned back to Logan.
"All I did was turn around to look," I stated, watching him. I rolled my eyes, and sat back turning to face the TV, ignoring my urge to turn around again. I glanced at Logan who turned and caught my eye.
"All I did was turn around," I repeated. He did not try hard to stifle his laugh. I narrowed my eyes, glaring at him, and turned back to the TV.
"What did he say about Ben?" Logan asked.
"Who?" I asked.
"John," he replied, grinning and knowing that I was pretending not to know. Of course, I knew whom he meant.
"Not nearly as much as Bobby," I said answering his question, still staring at the TV.
"Maybe you should make your feelings clear," he advised. I turned to him.
"I did. I told him I didn't like him," I answered. He looked confused.
"You lied to him?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, and then turned towards the TV. "If that's how you play it."
"I'm not playing anything. I don't like him," I retorted. What would make him think I liked Bobby?
"And yet, you 'hang out' with him," he stated. And then it dawned on me he was talking about John.
"Oh… John," I replied. "I'll make my feelings clear when I feel they need to be cleared."
Wait, what? What did that mean? He turned and stared at me blankly. I shrugged, not having a clue what I had meant by that, and started to turn towards the TV. Next thing I knew someone plopped down in between us, even though there was not enough space for someone to sit there. I could not see who it was, considering her hair flew into my face. I spit the hair out my mouth, coughing, and swatting it out my eyes and face. As soon as I got a clear view, I could not help but scowl at her. If I had had a handful of her hair at that moment I would have detached it from her arrogant head.
"Excuse me," she said, glaring at me.
"You're excused," I replied, standing up, disgusted that an adult would act like such a child. She flipped her flaming red hair over her shoulder where my face would have been, and turned towards Logan smiling. Logan opened his mouth to say something as I walked away. I waved to him as I walked into the game room. Bitch. Now, it was officially four against one.
The students' feelings about the game room where about the same as a child's feelings for sugar. They swarmed around the room like bees in a hive. I had forgotten how crowded it could get. Jubilee, Kitty and Tess were nowhere in sight. Thankfully. I weaved between the students in and out to the door trying my hardest not to touch anyone; it was a struggle to keep myself from running towards the exit. Maybe today would not be the day I joined John in the game room. Relief inundated me as I walked out and down the hall.
"Rogue," I stopped in front of the stairs, and turned to see John coming to me.
"Why aren't you in the kitchen eating?" he asked.
"Bobby and Scott are having a private conversation," I answered. He sat on the third step; I joined him on the stairs sitting on the second.
"Scott and who?" he asked just as skeptically as I had felt before.
"Bobby," I repeated. He raised an eyebrow.
"Why?" he asked resting his arms on his knees.
"Bobby's telling Scott about Ben, and how he shouldn't come here," I answered spiritlessly.
"He's coming here?" he asked gravely. I did not bother to respond. The noise from the game room floated down the hall. I turned slowly sideways on my step, facing and looking at him. He lifted his eyes, watching me.
What Logan had said only a couple of minutes ago echoed in my head. 'Maybe you should make your feelings clear.' I looked away. What feelings? How is it that he knew I had feelings, but I did not? Maybe he could smell it. Logan and his senses.
"I don't know if he's coming, but Bobby definitely called him, and told him to come here," I answered looking at the wall now, "and now he's talking to Scott about why he shouldn't come."
"Maybe he shouldn't," John said, in a testing tone. I looked at him, to see he was still watching me. His eyes… suggested no sign that his closest companion was fire. I gazed into his eyes taking in their pattern. How could I make my feelings clear if I did not know if he shared them? I could not just read his face like Jubilee or Tess could have.
"Rogue?" he called. I snapped back into reality, realizing that I had been staring… staring was an understatement. I had been gawking at him. I bit my bottom lip, ashamed. I shrugged nonchalantly, not really caring about Ben at the moment. His eyes dropped from mine to the step his feet rested on next to me, breaking our eye contact. He looked a little angry, and with his jaw clenched the way it was, he reminded me a little of Scott before he had dumped the bitch. I had obviously said or did something wrong. It must have been the ogling… or was it the shrug. Did he think I wanted Ben to come here? My hand involuntarily moved towards his head to brush his hair out his face. He looked up at me, his countenance showing he was stunned. I stopped in mid-brush realizing what I was doing. He caught my wrist before I could pull my arm back, and lightly tugged at it. What did that mean? He scooted over. I took the hint, and tentatively moved up a step joining him. My hand had taken the place of my wrist in his hand. He raised it up, and delicately started to pull my glove off.
"John…." I said in an almost whisper. I had no idea what I was going to say, or if I needed to say anything. I bit the inside of my cheek not knowing if I should let him take the glove off. It slid over my palm, then my knuckles and my fingers until my hand had been completely revealed. He took my hand back into his intertwining our fingers. I was in complete shock. Was this his was of 'making his feelings clear'? What was I supposed to do? Say something or do something back? I just watched him hoping that this meant what I thought it meant. I relaxed feeling my hand in his. John's touch was nothing like Ben's. I was not in any kind of pain, and there was no aggressive control. I heard something down the hall. It was getting late, and some of the students might have been leaving the game room. I do not know why I panicked because they were nowhere near, nor could they see us. Capriciously, I felt morose, and had a fear that my actions might resemble Ben's. Then I saw myself holding and talking to… me? And then, I began to envision myself leaning forward and kissing… myself. I realized that these were not some erratic feelings of mine; they were John's thoughts flooding into my head. I had lost control, and was absorbing his feelings… or desires, and his life. I hastily pulled my hand out of his, and stood up.
"Are you okay?" I asked quickly. Shit. He tried to stand up, but sat back down, and nodded.
"John?" I asked. He rose to his feet slowly holding the stair bar for support, and grinned.
"Perfect. I feel fine," he said, his words were slurred. He stood there, and blinked a couple of times. I reached down, and took my glove from his hand, slipping it back on. There were not any more voices coming from the hall. Damn, why had I not been concentrating on repressing my powers?
"John, you should sit back down for a second," I proclaimed. He shook his head.
"No, I feel okay," he protested. "I'll walk you to your room."
I nodded indecisively. He took my hand again, and pulled me upstairs as if I needed the assistance instead of him.
"I'm really sorry about that," I apologized, and tried to pull my hand away. He ignored the attempt, and kept a steady grip on it.
"Don't be," he said, trudging up the stairs like a hiker up a mountain. The aftershock of me draining his energy must have been strong. He turned back and gave me a lopsided grin. Was this what melting felt like? I could not help but smile back, but I managed not to laugh when he almost fell over the last step from looking back.
He glanced back, and loosened his death-gripped on my hand, as we stepped away from the stairs.
"Rogue," he said slowly, as we walked down the hall, "Can I call you Marie?"
"Yeah," I answered smiling. He grinned again this time with more control.
"You can call me John," he said, not realizing what he had said. Hopefully.
"What about Johnny?" I asked jokingly. He nodded a little too vigorously for comfort.
"You should get some sleep," I advised. He shook his head.
"Not until I'm finished walking you to your room," he stated.
"That's fine," I replied. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, just a little dazed," he replied. His words were still slurred. I tried to sort through his thoughts and mine as we walked down the hall towards my bedroom. I felt like a trespasser, knowing now exactly how he felt about me.
"Wait," I called, "this is it."
He was walking pass my room. I turned to press in the code, but he pulled me back.
"What-" I started. He wrapped his arms around me, and buried his face in my hair. I had no idea he would dare to get so close to me or wanted to after I had drained him. My face lay pressed against his shoulder, and I could feel his breathe through my hair against my neck and collarbone. Well this was obviously a good sign. My arms were bent at the elbow against his chest. I was unsure of what to do with them. I slowly moved them down and wrapped them around his lower back, hugging him back, and let my eyes close. I liked the way this felt, being in his arms. He mumbled something I could not understand.
"What?" I asked quietly against his shoulder.
"You like me better than Ben, right?" he asked into my hair. I laughed, and nodded.
"Yes," I answered.
"Good," he replied. "Cause I like you better than Ben."
"I think you should go get some sleep now," I stated, smiling to myself.
"Okay," he replied, not making any moves to release me. I waited for him to let me go, and opened my eyes when he did not. I could see some people coming up the stairs. I sighed and pulled away from him. He resisted me, holding me tighter, but then went with it, and released me from his arms. As soon as he stepped away, I regretted asking him to.
"Bye Marie," he said. He stepped back, and turned towards his room.
"Night," I said, letting my arms fall to the side, and then smiling added, "…Johnny."
VIII. Johnny
~Things I'll Never Say~ (one of my favorite songs)
I'm tugging at my hair; I'm pulling at my clothes
I'm trying to keep my cool; I know it shows
I'm staring at my feet; my cheeks are turning red
I'm searching for the words inside my head
I'm feeling nervous
Trying to be so perfect
Cause I know you're worth it
You're worth this, yeah
If I could say what I wanna say
I'd say I want to blow you away
Be with you every night
Am I squeezing you too tight?
If I can say what I wanna see
I wanna see you go down on one knee
Marry me today
Guess I'm wishing my life away
With these things I'll never say
It don't do me any good; It's just a waste of time
What use is it to you what's on my mind?
If it ain't comin' out; we're not going anywhere
So why can't I just tell you that I care?
Cause I'm feeling nervous
Trying to be so perfect
Cause I know you're worth it
You're worth it, yeah
If I could say what I wanna say
I'd say I want to blow you away
Be with you every night
Am I squeezing you too tight?
If I can say what I wanna see
I wanna see you go down on one knee
Marry me today
Guess I'm wishin' my life away
With these things I'll never say
What's wrong with my tongue?
These words keep slipping away
I stutter I stumble
Like I've got nothing to say
Cause I'm feeling nervous
Tryin' to be so perfect
Cause I know you're worth it
You're worth it, yeah
Guess I'm wishing my life away
With these things I'll never say
If I could say what I wanna say
I'd say I want to blow you away
Be with you every night
Am I squeezing you too tight?
If I can say what I wanna see
I wanna see you go down on one knee
Marry me today
Guess I'm wishin' my life away
With these things I'll never say
These things I'll never say