Panic

Rogue woke up feeling save and good for the first time since a very, very long time. She didn't need more than a few seconds to remember the last day. She had to smile. It felt strange. Her mouth wasn't used to smile.

She remembered the first time she'd seen Logan. How he'd stood beside the professor, starring at her. And then in the hallway when he'd tried to get around Scott. She'd known that she could trust him in some way. She was amazed about the way he made her feel. And when he'd asked her after her name she'd been able to do anything else but told him. But when she saw the other kids moving closer she panicked. She hated it. She hated to be scared all the time.

And it was the biggest relief to know there was someone she could talk to. Finally. She stood up and opened the door. It was quiet. The others were in their classrooms, so she could get into her room easily.

Quickly she ran across the hallway to her door. Suddenly she heard a voice behind her. Jean stood a few metres away from her.

"Good morning Marie. How are you're feeling"?

She needed just a few seconds to realize. The name made her shiver. Everything inside of her turned on alert. Fear, boundless fear flooded through her. She stared at her in panic. He had told them. He had really told them. How else could she know her name. She tried to get into her room but the door was closed. Scared she turned around.

Jean stepped closer. "Hey, what's going on"?

Rogue pressed against the wall. They knew. They knew that she was an monster. They would throw her out or worse. Everything she'd done was in vain. All this secrets she had to keep to have at last a place to sleep and eat were for nothing. Her heart beat madly in her chest. Her face turned deathly white.

Jean watched that in worry. "Are you okay"?

She was too close. Rogue stormed away. She stumbled through the hallways in her pyjama. Some students stared at her but she didn't even noticed them.

Panicked she tried to get out. She acted like a caged animal. Suddenly she bumped into someone. She looked up in shock. Logan noticed her disconcerted look and her feared eyes. He grabbed her arm instinctively. She let out a scream and struggled.

"No! No.. don't touch me.. don't touch me", she whimpered and began to sob. He stared at her in shock. "Marie, what's going on? What happened"?

She couldn't breathe. "You told them.. you told them", she yelled. "I trusted you. Now they'll hate me.. they'll threat me like a monster. Why did you tell them? Why"?

Storm, Scott, Jean and the professor had arrived and stared at her in disbelief. She kicked around but he wouldn't lose his grip. She couldn't feel anything but fear and panic. Finally she had found a place to stay and now she had to go again.

They would threat her like everyone else had done. Hate her, fear her. Chase her away. She didn't think she could handle this. Not again. Last time that had happened to her it almost ripped her apart. She couldn't go back to the road.

She didn't even noticed when Logan wrapped his arms around her and she sank to the ground. Jean was soon beside them, checking her pulse and breathing.

They were shocked. Shocked to see this little girl in such a panic and fear. Wordless they followed Logan when he carried her into the medlab. Storm, sensible she was, couldn't hold back her tears.

"Did you see her fear? Did you see this boundless fear in her eyes?" It made her shiver again. Scott took a deep breathe.

Logan didn't let anyone come near her. He turned around to face Jean angry. "What did you do? What did you say to her"?

She shook her head. "I didn't do anything. I said hello and asked her how she was feeling. That's all"!

He stepped closer. "And how was she able to know that I have told you"? She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I don't have a clue".

"Did you touched her"? He asked with a shaky voice.

"No", she said. "No I didn't touch her. I couldn't get any closer to her than two metres".

He sighed. "I told you all that she is scared."

Suddenly they heard a scream and saw how Rogue jumped up and ran to a corner. Logan was by her side in less than a second.

"Go away from me", she yelled loudly.

He sighed. "I'm sorry Marie. I had to tell them, they had to know."

She shook her head. "You have no idea what you did. They like them, they will do it too". He looked at her. "What"? He asked softly.

The others didn't dare to move. So they just kept on listening.

Rogue hugged her knees and sniffed. "Hate me. Fear me. Chase me away", she answered quietly.

Logan wrapped his arms around her and she let him. "I promise you, they won't do that. I won't let them okay? I take care of you".

She snuggled against him feeling a bit more save again. The professor stepped closer. "Rogue, you have to listen to me. It doesn't matter what your gift is. Nobody will hate you or chase you away. No, we'll help you handle and control your gift so you can't hurt yourself and others. You can trust us darling", he said softly and looked straight into her eyes.

Amazed she looked up. Scott nodded. "We are a family and you're a part of it. We were terribly worried about you because you didn't talk and everything. We care about you. We care about every kid who comes to us".

She hold her breathe. That really wasn't what she had excepted. These people said nice things to her. They didn't scream, they didn't flinch away. Logan had to smile about her taken aback look.

Storm hold out her hand to her. She stared at it and hesitated. But Logan nodded to her. "Remember you are wearing gloves. You can't hurt her", he whispered into her ear.

Slowly she reached out and took it. It was strange to feel touch again. They smiled at her warmly. And they knew that had been a big will power of her. It was the first and most important step to the right direction.