Like A Moth To A Flame
Author's Note: Hey all! Thanks for your reviews! Sorry for the update delay, I'm trying to cut back on my computer usage so that I don't get a shock when I get to school. Yes, that's right. I am a computer addict. I dream of computers- well actually I dream of using one when I sleep… I pretty much rush to my room so that I can update and read stories… as I said I have no life. I'm dedicated that way- it makes me more sarcastic in real life and gives me a Roguey-snappy-preppy-kittyish attitude that you wouldn't want to see. Plus, it gives me a helluva temper. Don't threaten to take my computer away or I WILL haunt you at your house no matter WHERE you live!!!
^-^ back to the story at hand… By the way, I don't own Klondike nor any foodstuffs I may use in the near future. I don't own any songs that I may post up here, I don't own the fast food chains, the brand of vehicles, nada! Okay, so just for future references, I do not own anything in this story, but the plot. So… no sue-y, sue-y okay? Me piggy-bank's low on the greens.
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St. John couldn't help but glance at the Gothic girl every once in a while. They had gone out to buy- much to his chagrin, ice cream. His once hated dessert has now become his favorite. It gave him an excuse to watch the girl slowly eat her mint-swirl ice cream. He'd found out a lot about her. She loved almost everything that other girls liked. Stuffed animals, some pop songs; she actually liked the beat or the lyrics to, high heels, dresses, and boys. But she chose to hide that part of her.
" Say luv, why is it you choose to hide that 'girly' side of you?" he asked as he took another bite of his Klondike bar.
Rogue shrugged, continuing to walk by his side. St. John had decided to park his bike at the hill and walked all the way towards the Bayville City Park. Considering that the hill was pretty close to the mansion, they'd walked a considerably far distance.
" Ah don't rahgtly know," Rogue replied. " Ah guess, that would be a sahn (sign) that Ah was actually human, ya know? Ah mean as the Rogue, they don't expect me ta be lahke them. Ah'm different and Ah lahke that, besides… they wouldn't undahstand."
St. John spotted the same bench that they had first opened up on. He grabbed her gloved hand and pulled her towards it.
" What?" she asked.
He looked at her skeptically and then eyed her boots. " You're not tired, luv? I'd love to know what kind of boots those are!"
Rogue laughed and sat down. " Well, Ah've been on walks and danger room sessions on th'same days. Ah could probably walk from here ta Atlanta if Ah wanted to, Ah'd be sore, but Ah could make it!"
A huge silence fell over them. Rogue finished her cone and St. John's mutation had caused his Klondike bar to melt too fast. As he watched her lean back and close her eyes, he felt his chest tighten. He didn't want her to want to leave yet. He wanted to tell her everything. Though that scared him, he didn't care.
"You know… when I was younger, I was as obsessed with fire as I was now, maybe even more so," he blurted out. Not knowing why he had just brought it up.
Rogue turned to her side and propped her elbow on the back of the bench. " Really? What brought that on?"
St. John shrugged, resting his arms on the backrest as he faced the grass, making Rogue stare at the side of his face. " Well, I got bullied a lot in school. Me only comfort, was my lighter," he replied quietly, his accent growing thicker as if remembering a somewhat cruel part of his childhood. " I remember that I got sent from one school to another, from one aunt to another, never having friends. So, me father's lighter was me only companion."
As he said that, St. John noticed that Rogue had scooted somewhat closer to him, urging him to go on. " See, m' parents suffered an accident… It was a harsh winter, lots of snow. I was sent to m' Aunt's house for her to baby-sit me," he said. Rogue noticed that his eyes were glazed over, recalling every detail of his shady past. " They never told me the straight truth- but I found out later on that they skidded and when the car stopped, they never noticed that the gas tank had leaked. An electric wire was cut by how thick the snow was falling…"
He felt a tear fall. His voice was choked. Rogue was smart enough to know what had happened next. She scooted over until she was sitting hip-to-hip with St. John. She wiped his tears with her glove and placed her head on his shoulder.
" Ya don't have ta continue, if ya don't want ta…" she whispered. Hoping that she was giving him enough comfort for his grief.
He shook his head and smiled at her. " I… I want to- I haven't said this to anyone; it feels good to let it out," he said. He sighed, placing his arm around the girl's shoulders, pressing her onto him as if she were his only lifeline.
" I got thrown about down under. From one relative to another, never really settling in. Somehow, they always kept me moving; I never experienced summer. I was always placed to someplace cold. The only thing I kept with me for warmth was my lighter," he continued. " Then one day, after I got used as a punching bag, I went to my present home and I played with the lighter… I imagined that I had a dog or something and suddenly, the fire on the lighter took shape and started barking."
"I never told anyone that I had that power to manipulate fire. I kept it a secret. Soon, I got sent abroad, about a year ago. I got an uncle who ran a glass making company. I got bored one day and decided to play with the fire. I made a cat. It purred and everything. My uncle saw and he didn't take too kindly to me being a mutant."
St. John clenched his fists and found Rogue placing her hands over his. He smiled gratefully and hung his head. " Then I met Magneto. Apparently, he'd seen the whole thing. He was buying something at that moment, a glass figurine- but instead he got me."
Rogue didn't say anything. She merely put her legs on the bench and used his shoulder as a pillow. She loosened his grip on her shoulder and entwined her fingers with his. She didn't know why she was being so close, but it felt natural, just being with him.
" Ya know… Ah never knew who mah parents were… in fact, Ah don't know much about mah childhood," Rogue said. " Ah was adopted by a woman, Raven Darkholme. She was never there, another lady took care of me- Irene Adler. She was pretty much mah mother. She's a mutant too- she can see the future."
" Ah never received human touch because she said that someday mah skin would be lethal. During a school dance, mah crush, Cody Robbins asked me ta th' dance. Apparently he liked me too- he told me that and kissed me. Next thing Ah knew he was sprawled on th' floor, gasping for breaths and all Ah could think of was his thoughts-how pretty Ah looked. Ah got his memories, his thoughts, everything… and Ah put him through a coma," she continued. " Ah ran away and took a bus ta Bayville, ended up with th' brotherhood after being recruited bah Raven- who Ah latah learned was Mystique… then a few months later, Ah was 'bribed' ta go ta the x-men."
St. John looked at her. " 'Bribed'?"
Rogue nodded. " Ya know th' one with th' red shades an' th' stick up his butt?" St. John nodded and waited for her to continue. " He said that Xavier could help me control mah powers- its been a year now… Ah overheard that Ah'd nevah control mah powers, at least not mah original one"
"You have others?" St. John asked, a bit dazed as he smelled the scent of her shampoo.
Rogue nodded. "When Ah absorb someone, they're in there permanently. Their memories fade, but they're still there, depending on how long Ah touch them and their psyches go away after a while. But Ah absorb their mutation as well. Ah have a time limit ta it though. Dependin' how long Ah held on, or how many times Ah touched them."
St. John fiddled with her hair and unconsciously pulled her in closer. " Can you control them yet?"
Rogue shook her head. "No. Ah don't intend to. It'll only remind me that Ah'm a mutant vampire."
St. John shook his head. " Come on luv, don't be like that- if I thought that I was a devil because I control fire, my fear would eat me up inside. It's your defense mechanism, luv."
Somehow, that reassurance didn't make Rogue feel any less saddened by her mutation.
" So, other than a cat or a dog, can ya make any other fire thangs?" Rogue asked, changing the subject. St. John noticed and was about to retort, but the look in her eyes convinced him to comply.
He nodded. Instead of telling her what he could make, he decided to show her. He flicked his lighter and soon a small flame appeared. St. John took his palm and cradled the small flame and soon, it grew larger. Rogue couldn't help but be fascinated by how it seemed to dance in his hands.
As she stared, St. John smiled slightly, knowing what to show her. Before long, a shape appeared. It looked like a small figure of Rogue.
" Johnny, that's amazin'!" Rogue exclaimed.
"It's just like you, luv," St. John whispered. Rogue turned to him, searching his eyes for some sort of explanation. " Untouchable, uncontrollable, enticing and dangerous…fascinating, beautiful…"
He leaned in to kiss her, only to feel her hands on his chest, gently pushing him away.
" Johnny…Ah…"
St. John closed the lighter and made the fire figurine disappear. He took her gloved hand and kissed it. " I don't know how long I can hold it together, luv," he confessed. " I've been addicted to you since you bumped into me in the theatre…I think about you at night- I need you…"
Rogue closed her eyes and stood up. " Johnny… it wouldn't be fair ta ya-"
St. John stood up and held her firmly by her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. The laughter was gone from his eyes. " You know as well as I do that relationships aren't based on touch. We can work something out-"
Rogue, just to remind you, curfew is in 30 minutes
Rogue mentally thanked Jean. For once, she was grateful for Ms. Perfect interfering with her business.
" Ah gotta go… curfew is in a few minutes and-"
St. John sighed and nodded. " I'll walk you there."
Rogue didn't say anything, but trailed on behind him. Tears threatening to fall, knowing that she might have made a mistake- but thankful that the one person she knew she could count on was going to be safe from her mutation.
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Author's Note: man… after so long… that's all I could come up with. Not so sad… But next chapter I'm hoping for the most angst I've ever written in my life!