Rainy day road trip by Melfina Lupin
Author's note: Story rated hard pg-15 for sexual content and language. Thankies for all the lovely reviews (I mean it! You're guys reviews made me so happy!). I was very worried that no one would like it. Gothic Cajun isn't the only one who thinks my fic has gone of the deep end. ^^;
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men. They are property of Marvel and the brainchildren on Stan Lee.
~*~*~*~
Chapter 2
The Problem with Leaving
It was an absolutely glorious day when the final bell rang, calling for an end of that grueling school day on Friday. Spirits were carefree and sky-high as cheers and wild laughter filled the swarming halls of the high school while the eager students raced to freedom (some more so than others). The stress of the last week before break suddenly seemed worth it as they breathed in the fresh air and tasted salvation at last.
"New Orleans here we come!" Kitty sang out her blue eyes bright with anticipation as she haphazardly tossed her schoolbooks inside her locker. "How lucky am I, like, that no homework was assigned over break? It totally rocks!"
"Man, I'm so excited we're leaving today!" Kurt told her, grinning wildly, as he waited for his friend to finish up. He laughed when he saw sparks of electricity and shots of ice further down the hallway. "And so is Ray and Bobby," he added with a wide grin.
Because of the crowd in the hallways, the younger mutants let their powers run a little unchecked. Kitty giggled and tugged her lifeless backpack onto her shoulder. "I hope Jean and Scott don't find out," she said. "Ya know how, like, touchy they can be about us using our power."
Kurt nodded deeply. He knew only too well. "I know."
"Well, come on, Kurt," Kitty said, grabbing his attention once more. "I don't wanna stand around all day. We, like, ought to get home as quickly as possible. I still have some packing to, like, do."
"What?" he gasped, staring at her as if she had grown two heads. "You've been packing all week! Aren't you done?"
"As if!" Kitty laughed before jogging down the hall not waiting for Kurt to follow. She didn't get far when she bumped into somebody.
"Oof!" Kitty gasped, winded by the impact. She blushed when she looked up and saw that he was John. He reached out to steady her by her shoulders when she took a quick step back and almost fell over.
"Oh...um…sorry," she hastily murmured. "I didn't, like, see you."
"S'okay," he told her, smiling down at her. "You headin' home now, Kitty?"
She flashed a stunning grin, embarrassment slightly forgotten. "You bet! We're leaving in, like, an hour and I still need to pack some things."
John had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. How in the world did she still need to pack when she was doing it ALL week long?
"You and Magma are so strange," he said at last. "Take a bathing suit and call it done," he joked. "There is no need to take everything you own on the trip."
"Just a bathing suit? Whatever! I don't think Logan wouldn't approve of that," Kitty laughed, a hot pink blush creeping into her cheeks again. "Who are you going home with?"
"Piotr, I think," John replied, his brow wrinkling cutely in thought, "if I can find him. You haven't seen the big lug anywhere have you?"
"No," Kitty said, shaking her head. "But you might wanna, like, check in room 108. I think his last class is Honor's Algebra 2."
"Thanks." John paused and scratched his fiery orange head. "Why in the bloody world would he still be in class?"
"Don't know," she replied honestly with a small shrug. "Well I'm going home with Scott. I'll see back at the institute okay?"
John smiled. "Okay. Thanks again, Kitty…. Oh, wait, before you go…"
Still glowing, Kitty tried to move passed him but she stopped in her tracks when she noticed that he wanted to say something more. She looked back at him and waited. He looked really nervous too. Like he was going to ask her something important but didn't know if he should or not. There were butterflies in her stomach suddenly and her mouth was totally dry as she gaped at him, her eyes were large as saucers.
Oh God, was he going to ask her out?!
"What is it, John?" she squeaked softly.
"Um…," the Aussie continued to struggle. Kitty held her breath. "I was wondering if…"
"Yes?" Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her throat. If he asks me out on a date, she thought, I'm so going to say yes! Please ask me out on a date, John!
Oh, if only Kitty was a telepath!
"I was just wondering and hoping that…It would be really nice to…erm…" John suddenly smiled and offered a shaky laugh as he scratched the back of his neck.
Kitty bit her lower lip, finding his bashfulness completely adorable. Come on, John! She urged with her mind. I'll say yes!
"We've known each other for a good 4 months now, right, and I…" John muttered then stopped. He sighed and looked defeated for a moment before numbly proceeding, "Never mind, Kitty. I'll see you back at the mansion, okay?"
(A/N: the time line of this story is completely whack! Just go along with it, okay?)
Kitty struggled not to let her poignant disappointment show in her expression but it was so hard to keep from crying in front of John or from kicking him as hard as she could. "Oh…okay," she whispered, hanging her head. "I…I guess I'll, like, see you later then." With that she turned and hurried down the hall to outside.
John watched the younger girl walk off, soon to be lost in the gigantic crowd of bodies. He sighed as adjusted his backpack, feeling an awful pang of something hit him square in the heart. He didn't know what it was. Love? Longing? Fear? John sighed. Maybe it was a deadly combination of all three plus as pinch of regret that he did ask her out when he had the chance. She looked so sad when he didn't. He really didn't mean to hurt her.
But Kitty sure did look cute today in her pink hoodie, he help but muse. It really brought out an attractive glow in her cheeks. He sighed again thinking that Kitty would never be interested in a guy like him. They would stay friends and remained as such no doubt. Still he ought to ask her out again or something, right? There was no use in pinning away day in and day out without having the gumption to do anything about it, was there?
"Why you be lookin' so down, John?" the Cajun asked, suddenly standing at the pyromaniac's side.
Usually John would grin and say something smart, but now, with his jolly mood weighed down by his girl troubles, John just shrugged and offered another sigh of remorse. Then he looked at Remy and glared. How was it that he got all the girls?! It wasn't fair. John had a damn accent too and was almost as tall as the Cajun. What was he lacking?
"I fucking hate you, mate." And he meant it. With every fiber of his being he wished that he could cast that charming handsome boy into the bowels of hell so the other guys on earth could have a chance of making it with a girl.
Remy was too startled to be angry and then too amused to be confused by his friend's outburst. "Um…sorry?" he muttered. "What's eatin' you, John?"
"It ain't nothing," he snapped sourly, shaking his head. It wasn't long before his eyes returned to the spot where Kitty had been before she had disappeared from sight. John bit his lip and pouted. He was never going to get the balls to ask a girl like Kitty out on a date.
Remy cocked a brow, his eyes following John's stare. "This is serious," he said. "Since when is John ever this melancholy?"
"Since a fellow x-girl stole my heart as well as my guts without knowing it," John whimpered.
"I see. It's Kitty again."
John turned to look at Remy, an inch from whining like the frustrated boy he was. "How'd you fucking guess?"
"I didn't need to guess. You've been pinning after the fille for a long while, mon ami. You gonna do anything about it?"
"I've tried!" John shouted out, looking extremely exasperated. "But I totally freaked! Besides she might not even like me that way! And why would she? I'm a fucking weirdo!"
"You're not a weirdo, John."
"How many people do you fucking know have orange hair?!"
"Kurt has blue hair. He's pretty normal."
"He's not even human!" John whined.
Remy's good intentions faltered. "Err…Point taken."
The younger boy sighed again. "Forget about it. I can't tell her how I feel. She'll probably turn me down but will still want to be friends." John frowned. "I hate when girls say that."
Remy moved to pat the other boy on the shoulder consolingly. "You gotta do something," he told him. "Maybe she's waitin' for you? She's pretty shy herself ya know."
"Man, why do all the guys have to make the first move?!" John complained.
"Dunno, homme. Just give it a try. It could work. I mean I've seen Kitty stare at you when you're not noticin' her at the dinner table," Remy told him.
A light was immediately on in John's eyes as his head snapped towards the Cajun with ungodly speed. "Really?" he squeaked in disbelief.
Remy nodded. "Oui. She stares like she trying to figure something out in that pretty little head of hers, like she's trying to say something but can't find the right words."
"Shit! Are you fucking serious!?"
"Remy never lies."
"Whatever. Man, I gotta do something!" John replied, his bravado doubled and as strong as ever. "Maybe take her somewhere in New Orleans or do something nice for her." Remy could just see a plan form in his mind and grinned.
"So, you going home with Piotr?" he asked after a moment.
"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. I can't find him," John said. "Kitty said he might be in class still. Wanna help me get him?"
Remy smirked, loving the devilish pitch in his friend's voice. "What d'ya have in mind?"
"Just wait and see, Cajun!"
~*~*~*~
Practically running to the parking lot, Kitty meant to make it all the way to Scott's car before she burst into tears but when she saw Rogue standing by Remy's motorcycle she decided to take a slight detour. Scott would not be as sympathetic to Kitty if she sobbed all over the inside on his car.
"Rogue!" she cried out, breathless from her frantic run. "John, like, totally hates me!"
Her somber roommate didn't have time to prepare and defend as Kitty flung herself into Rogue's arms, the pent-up tears finally streaming down Kitty's flushed face.
"Kitty?! What the fuck?!" Rouge gasped, the wind knocked right out of her lungs from the violent impact.
Helpless, she stared down at the girl he clung to her and was sobbing all over her brand new trench coat. Rogue didn't really know what to do. She had half a mind to fling the blubbering mess off of her before she remembered that Kitty was her friend.
Gritting her teeth, Rogue sighed and wrapped her arms around Kitty's trembling form. "What is it?" she asked, forcing her voice to sound sympathetic.
"It's John!" Kitty wailed loudly through her rush of tears. "He hates me!"
Rogue frowned. What a load of bullshit, she told herself. "That's crazy," she replied instead, shaking Kitty's shoulder as if trying to knock some sense into her. "How could he? What did he do?"
"He…he…"Kitty choked between her gasping sobs. "In the hallway, it looked like he…want to say something to me. Then he totally didn't and, like, brushed me off! I totally thought he was going to ask me out! And he didn't! He's a big…JERK!"
"That's crazy too," Rogue repeated firmly. "Get a hold of yourself, girl! John can't hate you. He likes you. He has liked you all along. He probably was going to ask you out or something but lost his nerve."
Kitty sniffled pathetically and wiped her running nose with the back of her hand. "Really? You think so."
"Yes," Rogue heaved exasperatedly. "And if you're so sure that he was going to ask you out, why don't you ask him out yourself?"
Kitty was horrified. "Me? Ask John out? What if he says no?"
"He won't."
She pouted. "It's so hard! Like, why do all the girls have to make the first move?!"
"You'll have to try something soon before one of you looses interest and finds other guy or girl to drool over," Rogue told her with a shrug.
"Fine! I will!" Kitty replied. The image of John with another girl sent red-hot anger coursing through her body. She'd be damned if she left him slip away from her so easily.
Rogue smiled. "Good," she said and promptly heaved the girl off of her. She frowned when she saw the front was completely drenched. "Damn it, Kitty! This was brand new! Remy's gonna kill me!"
"Sorry," the contrite looking girl replied.
Rogue growled and started to clean herself off with her scarf. "It's nothing," she murmured.
"Okay. Um…like, thanks, Rogue."
She looked up, the bright irritation glowing in her eyes quickly dwindling, and offered a small smile. "It's no problem, Kitty," she said in an unusually soft voice.
"Are you, like, waiting for Remy?" Kitty asked as she dried her face.
"Yeah. You going home with Scooter?"
The younger girl nodded, wiping her eyes. "Yeah," she answered, sniffing. "Hopefully Jean can, like, talk him into driving fast. I still need to pack some things."
The other girl cocked an eyebrow and Kitty stuck out her tongue childishly.
"Are you, like, getting totally excited?" she asked, feeling her high spirits rushing back to her. "I could hardly sit still in my last class. I kept thinking about Mardi Gras and hardly paid any attention."
"It's gonna be great," Rogue replied, another small smile brightening her pale features. Then a slight frown creased her forehead as she sighed; "Though two days in a car stuck with Bobby or Kurt ain't all that appealing to me," she added.
Kitty smiled. "I'm looking forward to the drive. What's a road trip without, like, cars? I'm glad the professor isn't, like, taking the X-jet. Besides Remy's driving one of the cars so you'll, like, get shotgun to whole way."
"Probably. See you back at the mansion, okay?"
"Okay." Kitty waved at the southerner before hurrying across the lot to Scott's bright red mustang.
Rogue watched Kitty leave and then waited for another five minutes for Remy to show up. She sighed and leaned against his motorcycle, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at those who stared at her. Well it wasn't every day that the Bayville rogue had a beau. People were still getting use to the idea. Finally she her boyfriend emerge from the side entrance of the school. She smiled and pulled her thin wet coat tighter around her form.
"Bonjour, chere," Remy said, smiling as he joined her as his bike. When he saw the front of her coat, he cocked an eyebrow. "What happened to you? You've been cryin'?" Wasn't it just adorable that he looked ready to kill someone?
"Settle down, Gumbo. I drooled on myself when I saw you," she replied sarcastically, securing a slow chuckle from Remy. "It was Kitty."
"Oh? And what was Kitty up to?"
"Nothing. A girl thing."
"Oh. D'accord," Remy muttered, looking slightly puzzled.
"She was crying her eyes out because she thought John hated her," Rogue cried out in irritation. She shook her head and blew the hair out of her eyes. "Those two are totally hopeless!"
"Yeah, they are," Remy murmured, opting to help Rogue out and smooth a lose strain of hair behind her ear.
Rogue blushed, once more touched by Remy's thoughtfulness but not enough to show him. "Thanks, dad," she joked. "You gonna tie my shoes too?"
He laughed, leaning in quickly to steal a kiss, and said, "I ran into John in there. Bummed as hell 'cuz he didn't have the balls to ask Kitty out. You've been waitin' long, chere?"
Rogue shook her head as she watched him climb onto the vehicle. She was mighty appreciative that he was wearing his leather pants that day. "Nope," she took her eyes of his long enough to answer. "I just got out here."
"John was running around trying to find Piotr. So he, of course, had to drag me around with him."
"Did he?" she asked, mounting the seat behind him.
"Yeah. Piotr was still in class, finishing up some notes." Remy shook his head and kicked the motorcycle into gear. "We hauled his ass outta the classroom before he could finish though. Desk and all. Not a light task, mind you. Remy thinks he strained his back some."
Rogue laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder. "Poor baby," she cooed close to his ear. "Well I'm glad to see that things haven't changed for you three. I hope he'll lighten up in New Orleans," she told him.
"Don't worry, petite. He will. Somber moods don't last long there. And if he doesn't, I'll get him drunk. Easy as pie. You still have some packing to do, chere?"
"Kinda," she admitted shyly.
Remy chuckled and shook his head. "And you said Kitty was bad, chere!"
"Hey! At least I'm not taking half my wardrobe!" Rogue told him and pinched his shoulder.
"That mean you be walking around New Orleans in nothin'?" His teasing smile made her glare at him. "That's somthin' Remy would dearly love to see."
"No, I'm not going commando!"
"Damn. Well I know one thing you still have to pack."
"What?"
He shot a smile over his shoulder. "Remy got you somethin', chere."
They rode out of the parking lot before Rogue had the time to ask what it was.
~*~*~*~
Utter pandemonium reigned supreme when Remy and Rogue arrived. Most of the students had gotten home earlier so they were running up and down the steps in a frenzy, shouting at each other and hauling luggage to the x-cars that waited outside in the front driveway. The adults were supervising or at least Ororo, Jean, and Scott where. Being the overachievers they were, Jean and Scott were probably already to go.
Sam almost knocked Rogue to the ground as he shot down the stairs to the door in cannonball form while the couple was walking through the entrance. Rogue was thrown against Remy who automatically reached out to collect her before she fell flat on her ass.
Rogue was on her feet in an instant and shouting out the front door. "Watch where the hell you're going, Sam!" she yelled.
"Sorry, Rogue!" the younger boy replied before he crashed into the front lawn, his suitcase popping open and spilling his clothes.
"Kids these day," she muttered, turning away in disgust. "It's like they have never been on a trip before."
"At least there won't be a dull moment," Remy offered, smiling down at her.
"That's what I'm afraid of."
Their loitering soon caught the red eye of Scott and before they knew it Boy Wonder was marching over to cuddly couple, his face set in a grim expression. "Rogue, Gambit, we leave in half an hour," he told them in a no-nonsense voice that was just plain laughable. "Could you get ready?"
Rogue frowned at him. "What the hell's your problem?" Out of all the students, Scott seemed the most argumentative about the former Acolytes joining and to their relationship as well. Just because he wasn't getting any from Ms. It's-not-that-I-want-to-stay-a-virgin-it's-just-that-your-dick-is-so-small-Scott Grey didn't mean he had the right to harp on any other relationship in the household.
"We can't be behind schedule, Rogue," he explained it to her like she was stupid or something. "If we want to be in New Orleans before Mardi Gras, we need to leave as soon as possible."
"Calm down, homme," Remy replied in his unhurried drawl. "New Orleans will still be there. It ain't going anywhere anytime soon. Come on, chere, before Scooter explodes or somethin'."
Rogue laughed and followed her boyfriend to the main steps where the Wind Rider stood and observed with a bottle of water in one hand and a bottle of aspirin in the other.
"Hey, Ororo, letting Scott take over for you?"
The weather goddess turned and smiled. "Of course. Let him worry about everything. These are for him anyway." Ororo gestured to the painkillers. "He's making his way towards a massive headache."
Rouge chuckled. "Where's Logan?"
The other women shrugged. "Most likely sulking in the garage with his beer," she said, cracking a smile that lit up her brilliant blue eyes. "He just found out that there will be no drinking on the trip."
"What?!" Rogue felt like screaming. "Oh man, Logan's going to be more short-tempered than ever," she complained, feeling righteously mortified. A weeklong sober Logan was a scary thing to deal with.
Ororo nodded and turned to look at Remy. "No drinking," she repeated firmly.
Remy smirked. "I head de first time, Stormy. No drinking."
The teacher glared at him. The deadly chill in her blue eyes could have trapped the world in a nuclear winter for a good century and maybe then some. To bad Remy was a warm-blooded creature. "See to it that you follow through."
"But I don't drink," he said, offering his best act of wide-eyed innocence. "I'm underage."
She didn't make a point to hide her disbelief as she scoffed. "And I don't water my plants seven times a day."
"Fine," Remy gave in with a sigh. "No drinking. Thief's honor."
Ororo just shook her head at him and walked away. Rogue watched her leave and poked Remy in the side.
"I don't think she believes you."
Remy ginned. "Why would she? Xavier's out of his mind if he thinks he can get away with no drinking in New Orleans."
"Whatever. Let's go. I wanna see what you got me."
"Eager aren't we?"
She nudged him up the steps. "You bet. Now move that fine ass of yours before I do it for you."
"Ooh, please do, chere." He shook his ass and Rogue grinned as she smacked it soundly.
Laughing, Remy grabbed her hand and walked with her to his room. When the door was opened, Rouge hurried it and slumped down upon the bed, swinging her legs from side to side in her excitement. Remy smiled and moved to his closest, retrieving a box wrapped in shiny silver paper and a black bow. He handed it to her and Rogue had to stop herself from giving it a good shake to hear if something rattled inside.
"What is it?" she asked instead.
Remy shrugged and walked to the other side of the room where he waited. She looked at him, confused.
"Why y'all the way over there?"
"Protection."
She smiled and pulled off the bow. The silver paper followed until only the plain bow was left in her lap. Biting her lower lip, she tugged off the lid and gazed inside. All she saw was tissue paper and she eagerly tossed that aside until her fingers caressed something plastic. Frowning with concentration, she pulled it out and saw that it she was holding Mardi Gras beads. At the bottom of the box, was a dozen or so more multicolored necklaces, some simple and some very elaborate. Her laugh became out as a low snort.
"What? I don't have to flash you?" she asked, pulling some on.
Remy smiled. "You don't need a reason to flash me."
"Man, Logan's going to kill me," she said, fingering the plastic beads carefully.
"But what's Mardi Gras without 'em?" he asked. "You like?"
She looked at her boyfriend and smiled. "Yes." She jumped up and ran across the run and proceeded to jump in his arms, warping her own as well as er her legs around him. She kissed his chin. "Thank you."
"No problem, chere," he purred, happily locking his hands together under her bottom so he wouldn't drop her.
"You still have to pack?"
He shrugged. "You women and your damn packing," he sighed. "Believe it or not, chere, but a man could take just one outfit and call it done. Why do you have to take so much?"
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Fine. I don't have to take my sexy lingerie. I can just leave it here. Don't want to take too much, ya know." Grinning quiet evilly, she pulled herself out of embrace and walked to the door.
"No, take the lingerie," he said, grabbing her hand before she could leave and kissing it. "You can leave anything else behind."
She laughed and ran a finger under his chin, scratching his goatee playfully. "Nice try, Remy," she purred, trying to pull off her most sensual voice.
"You can't blame me for trying, chere."
"Whatever. I'll see you later, Cajun." With her box of beads, Rogue headed out of Remy's room to her own to finish packing.
~*~*~*~
Amara and Kitty were chatting excitedly with one other about the trip when Rogue walked in. They stopped and turned to her, their eyes almost bulging out of their skulls when they saw what she was wearing.
"Oh my god! Where did you, like, get the beads?" Kitty asked.
Rogue snickered at them. "My boyfriend," she replied in a sly dreamy voice. "Hmm…I do like the sound of that!"
The girl giggled hysterically. "Logan's, like, gonna kill you!"
Rogue shrugged and walked to her closet.
"What's the big deal with the beads?" Rouge heard the innocent Amara ask and shook her head. "They look so tacky. I wouldn't walk around with them on my neck!"
"The beads are totally cool!" Kitty replied. "If you want them in New Orleans, you have to lift up your shirt and, like, flash people! It's, like, such a big deal!"
Amara gasped. "You kidding, right? That's so…obscene!"
Kitty shrugged, not really caring if the princess didn't see her as ladylike anymore. "Too bad Logan won't let us do it," she mused to herself. "Sounds like fun."
"Oh my God!" Amara sounded completely horrified. "Kitty, you sound like a…a common tramp or something! Don't talk like that! And don't tell me you would actually do it?"
The presumably pure Kitty offered a mysterious smile and replied, "I don't know, Amara. I mean, like, I'm only going to be there once. Might as well try it."
Rogue laughed. "My cute little corrupted roommate," she said, pulling a silky and very sheer black slip from a secret location in her closet. She didn't even try to hide it from the other girls.
For the second time, Amara gasped, her eyes widening at the lewd outfit.
"What is that?!"
"Lingerie," Rogue replied, smiling wickedly as she folded the luxuriously thin silk carefully and packed it into her suitcase.
"Oh la la!" Kitty chimed in. "Where did you, like, get it?"
"Yesterday at Victoria's Secret."
Kitty pouted. "You went without me?"
"It was a secret."
The other girl rolled her eyes and continued to sulk. "Nice pun."
"No really. It was a secret."
"Does your hunky Cajun boyfriend, like, know about it?"
"Kinda. Man, I can't wait to put it on and show him!" She blushed a little. Though it might be hard to try to find some time for more private moments, Rogue would make sure she'd slip that silky temptation on at least once before the break was over.
"Remy's gonna die when he sees you in that!"
"I hope so," Rogue added. "I even got a garter."
Kitty gaped. "It is that short?!"
"You bet, sugar!"
"Oh my god! I saw have to get a picture of you in that!" the younger girl exclaimed, clapping her hands together in front of her as if to hold her excitement.
An evil idea suddenly popped into Rogue mind and she grinned, quite pleased with her mischief. "That's a good idea!" she said. "We can make a copy and send it to Remy."
"That's so wrong," Kitty replied, looking repelled. "Let's do it!"
Amara sighed and shook her head. "You girls are so weird! Why would you want to give him something that…sleazy?"
Rogue smirked. "An instant hard-on makes for instant sex."
Kitty screamed and fell to her bed in a fit of giggles. "God! That sounds like a dirty Chinese proverb or something!" she laughed hysterically. "Now we definitely, like, have to do it!"
Amara rolled her eyes and marched out of the room, her nose turned up in disgust.
"Damn, that girl needs to lighten up!" Rogue contemplated when she heard the door slam shut.
Kitty shrugged. "Princess Amara doesn't, like, want to talk about sex with, like, commoners," she said. "Oh well. No more pg-13 for us!"
"What's this? Kitty wants to talk about…sex?" Rogue forged surprised as she gaped at her roommate.
"Come on. You never gave me any of the details and I've, like, been quiet and kept your secret."
"But John talked," she pointed out
"That was a totally accident!"
"Fine." Rogue realized that she was just as eager as Kitty and gave up trying to change the subject. "You want the R version or the NC-17?" Rogue asked, sitting down besides the younger girl. "We gotta talk fast though or else Scott will come up here and kicks us out the door."
Kitty's blue eyes were bright with excitement. "NC-17 version all the way!"
"I was hopin' you would say that. Now on to all the naughty, sweaty details." Rogue found it hard not to clasp her hands in front of her and give an evil cackle.
"Next time we fool around, why don't you tape it and send Kitty-cat a copy, chere?"
Both girls proceeded to blush and drop to the ground in utter humiliation for a Cajun was suddenly standing in the doorway, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
"God damn it, Remy!" Rogue groaned, her bright red face buried 3 inches into the rug.
"It is so, like, embarrassing." Kitty moaned.
Remy shrugged and strolled on in.
Rogue lifted her head from the ground and glared at him. "What the hell do you want?" she snapped, frowning.
"Stormy wants me to tell you to get down into the foyer," he told his girlfriend. "You finished packing?"
Rogue nodded. He closed her suitcase and walked with it out of the room.
"I won't be able to look at him anymore!" Kitty spoke up, her face still crimson with humiliation.
"Damn that swamp rat," Rogue swore again, quickly sitting up. "I think he was just waiting for the right moment to walk in. Jerk. Let's see if he gets any now."
Giggling, Kitty buried her face in her hands and waited for her bright blush to leave her so she take her suitcases with her to the entrance on the mansion.
~*~*~*~
"All right everyone!" Scott called their attention has he stood in front of the large crowd of excited mutants in the front lawn. There fearless leader was more than a little eye sore dressed in a pair of khaki shorts, bright floral tee-shirt, sandals, and black socks.
Rogue tried not to laugh at her questionable attire but how could she not? She snorted behind her hand, trying to be as quiet as possible, but Scott caught her.
"What is it, Rogue?" he asked her curtly, frowning.
"Nothing," she laughed before coughing and trying to compose herself. "It's nothing."
Beside her, Remy snickered.
Still glaring, Scot continued, "Like I was saying. Before we load into the cars, I have a list of where everyone's going."
Muttered disappointment ran throughout the group as the students shifted uneasily, scowling all the while.
Ororo stepped forward, dressed in a pale pink gown and a light overcoat and no doubt much more pleasing to look at, and said, "Xavier, Evan, and Sam are riding with me."
"I'm with two adults?! That's so lame!" Evan moaned, slapping his forehead with his hand.
"It ain't bad," Sam told him with a sheepish smile, thinking that Ororo was looking very pretty today.
"And I've the rat pack," Logan snarled, glaring daggers at everyone, especially at Rogue who was still proudly displaying the gaudy beads. "Bobby, Jamie, and Ray."
"Oh man!" Bobby sighed. "Some fun this trip will be."
"Rat pack?!" Ray shot out, sparks of electricity sizzling at his fingertips.
"And Jean, Kurt, Amara, and Roberto are coming with me," Scott announced.
Rouge looked at her boyfriend and glared. "I'm not riding with you."
"Too bad, mon petit champignon," he purred, smiling. "I'm driving and you, Kitty, John, and Piotr are in my car."
Rogue's glare turned even icier. "I'm not a mushroom," she hissed.
"But you're my little mushroom," Remy cooed, pinching her cheek before she bared her teeth at him.
Beside Rogue, Kitty giggled lightly and asked, "Whose idea was it for, like, all of us to be stuck in the same car?"
"Luck of the draw, petite," Remy replied with a shrug.
"All right, everyone," Xavier announced, grabbing their dwindling attention. "Quickly find your cars and settle in. I would like us to be on the road in five minutes if possible."
With that said, the students broke their formation and hurried to the cars. Grumbling, Rogue followed Remy to one of the large X-vehicles with Kitty, John, and Piotr not far behind.
"Well, at least we're not stuck with a teacher," she said, climbing into the passenger seat.
"And you get to be with Remy all the way to New Orleans," Remy told her, shutting her door like the gentleman he was.
Rogue shrugged. "I'm still mad at you."
He pouted and rounded the car to the driver's side. In the back, Rogue turned and saw the other three climbed inside.
"Damn, you could fit anything in here!" John exclaimed, his eyes gazing over the large, comfortable interior of the SUV. "It's like a mini house!"
Blushing, Kitty settled next to him on the seat with Piotr taking the back seat by the window. John leaned forward and started to fiddle with some of the gadgets, also blushing and nervously avoiding eye contact with Kitty.
"Ooh, I wonder what this does," he murmured, playing with a knob. "Piotr, look and see what's back there!"
"Um…a case of beer. And a bottle of vodka?"
"Happy Mardi Gras, Piotr," Remy said, climbing into the driver's seat. "That vodka's for you."
"Thank you."
Rogue's eyes immediately snapped to Remy and he snickered as he turned on the car.
"What, chere?" he asked, pulling out of the driveway behind Ororo's car.
"No drinking," she told him, snapping her seat belt in place. "You brought that in here, didn't you?"
"Maybe."
"Hey! Did you get anything for me, mate?"
"Coffee."
"Woohoo! Thankies."
"But no talking about the alcohol. It's a secret."
"You're bribing us?!"
"You say it as though it's something bad, John. And for the kitty-cat, I got Malibu Rum."
In the rear view mirror Rogue saw Kitty's eyes gaze over and some drool from in the corner of her mouth. "Really? That's, like, my favorite drink! Thanks!"
Rogue turned to look at her roommate. "I didn't know you drank," she said.
Kitty smiled. "I can also tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue."
"Hey, I can say the alphabet backwards," John added, grinning as she drank his coffee happily. "Piotr, what's something we don't know about you besides the fact that you like to move things?"
The Russian frowned in contemplation. "My favorite movie is 'Beauty and the Beast'," he replied, not even ashamed. "Rogue?"
"Hmm…I was totally in love with N'Sync when they first came out," Rogue replied, sheepishly.
"Bitch!" Kitty gasped. "The Backstreet boys could totally whoop their butts any day!"
"Whatever! Lance Bass was cuter than all of those loser put together," Rogue argued. "I honestly thought I would marry that man one day."
"I was in love with Howie," Kitty sighed. "He was so sweet. Kinda like a big teddy bear."
"Thank God I discovered punk rock and grew out of the phase," the other girl said, shuddering.
"Me too." Kitty frowned. "Sorta. I still like pop but no more teenyboppers for me. I hate Brittany. She's such a ho."
Rogue laughed and looked at her boyfriend. "What's a secret of yours, Cajun?" she asked.
"You know all my secrets, chere," he murmured softly so only she heard as he continued to drive down the street. She blushed and thought about smacking his leg. "I have great timing," he teased.
"Boring," John yawned.
"Hmm…One time I won 50 thousand dollars playing a hand in poker," he tried again.
"Really?" Kitty asked. "What did you get with the money?"
"A new trench coat?" Piotr offered.
"A hair cut?"
"Nah. All the money went to my…er…job," Remy replied, looking slightly uneasy for a moment.
"That sucks."
The Cajun just shrugged without further comment.
"So what's the plan for, like, today?" Kitty asked.
"We're gonna drive as far as we can today. Xavier hopes to get to Philadelphia tonight. We can spend the night there since he already has reservations at one of the hotels," Remy told them. "It gonna be a long drive so, everyone, get comfortable."
To Be Continued
Author's Note: I don't know if you can get to Philly from Bayville in a day. I'm just guessing. ^__^ Well I really hope you like it! More to come soon! Please review. **begs**