When There's No One There To Catch You
Disclaimer: don't own 'em. Just having a little fun at their expense. don't sue. I have no money.
Note: okay, so I know I said that this would be up on Friday or Saturday and I really am sorry it took so long, but I ended up playing Dance Dance Revolution for hours on end for the past few days. it's the most addictive game ever! I highly recommend it. Anyway, here's the next part. Hope you like it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are the best, and the reason I actually keep writing this thing. Oh yeah, and sorry about Kurt's voice. I suck at accents and the sort.
CHAPTER3
By midnight, every resident in the institute knew about the arrival of Rogue. As could be expected, the news brought a variety of reactions from the students as they were risen from their slumber. Jean had promptly headed for the younger girl's rooms and announced that the Rogue had moved in and would be staying for a while. Then, without staying to witness the shocked and frightened looks on their faces, Jean returned to her own room down the hall. A tirade of whispers erupted from the room that she had just left, and the sound was echoed in the boys' dormitory as Scott notified the younger boys who had been up anyway trying to come up with a plan to prank the girls. Their reaction was similar to the girls', but was filled with more fear than shock. Jamie turned pale as he remembered a time in school when one of his duplicates had accidentally bumped into Rogue in the hallway. What happened next wasn't pretty, and he still had nightmares about her pounding him and glaring with her icy green eyes. The newer x men recruits certainly hadn't been prepared to deal with someone like Rogue when they had joined. She had scared them into submission without even using her mutant powers against them. Needless to say, a pitiful moan was heard amidst the whispers that night.
After the newer students had been notified, Scott also returned to his room for the night. It had been too much for him tonight, and he really didn't want to think about it for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, even whenever he closed his eyes, his thoughts were plagued by images of the gothic girl and their interactions in the past. She hadn't been all that terrible towards the X Men in comparison to her teammates. She had even helped out some of them in tight situations, earning her endless protests from the brotherhood boys. But, then again, just when Scott thought that she was really going to join the X Men, he would see her with the brotherhood boys, laughing and fighting and interacting like family. Ugh, this is too much, he thought to himself, and then fell asleep, wiping all thoughts of allies and enemies from his mind or the night.
Meanwhile, Evan had gone straight to his room to wake up Kurt and tell him what was going on. Unfortunately for him, Kurt turned out to be much more difficult to wake up than he had hoped. After five minutes of poking, shaking, and calling, Spike finally yelled directly into the German boy's ear "KURT!!!! Wake up, man!" This outburst earned him as stir from Kurt, and eventually his eyes blinked open.
"Vhat? Did you vant something, Evan?" the blue boy asked sleepily. Evan let out an exasperated sigh as he sat heavily on the other side of Kurt bed and began shaking him again to get his friend to sit up.
"Geez, Kurt," said Evan with an exasperated sigh. "Can you sleep through anything or what? I've got news from the professor and I'm supposed to tell you about it, so wake up." With that Kurt rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed.
"There. Are you happy now? I'm up. Vhat's so important that couldn't vait until morning?" he responded as he gave Evan an annoyed look.
"I'm supposed to tell you that the Rogue left the brotherhood, man! She's staying here now. She's one of us, I guess. Me, Scott, Jean and Kitty were listening in on some meeting that the prof and the others were having, and we heard that she left, but no one knows why. Or, no one's saying why," Evan recounted quickly so that the tired blue boy couldn't interrupt. Kurt just looked at Evan for a moment, and suddenly it all seemed to sink in.
"Are you serious? That's great! We have a new teammate! We should go welcome her to the team, don't you think?" he said excitedly.
"Hey, slow down, Kurt. Don't you remember how she was a brotherhood member before? I know you gotta remember how she helped to kick our butts a few times in the past. And no one knows why she's here. NO ONE! I know we're supposed to trust her, but it's a little weird?"
Kurt gave his friend a funny look. "So vhat vhy she came? She's here now, isn't she? If she's here, she's family. If the professor hasn't taught us that, vhat has he taught us? I was like her vhen I came," he paused. "I vas misunderstood. But you guys made me feel velcome." Unfortunately, he could tell from the skeptical look on Evan's face that the skateboarder had no intention of paying the newest member of the team a visit that night. "Fine, I'll go myself." And with that, Kurt teleported out of the room.
"You're funeral," said Evan when the room was empty, and he flopped into his own bed and turned over to get some sleep.
In Kitty's room, Rogue sat on the window seat, overlooking the institute grounds. The sound of her new roommate shifting in her seat momentarily distracted her from her thoughts, and she turned to regard the freshman. What have Ah gotten mahself into this time? I won't fit in here. They were mah enemies, not mah roommates! It's like they're different people now, even though Ah've known then for months. Ah don't know if Ah can do this…. She turned her attention back to the window and gazed longingly at the gate leading back to the town; the way back home. She shifted in her seat, causing her loose green pajama pants and her long-sleeved white shirt to rustle softly in the silent room. The rain had cleared away, and the dark sky was beginning to peer through the clouds. Rogue could almost see the outline of the moon shining from behind a thin layer in the sky. She slowly closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall behind her.
The peace in the room was abruptly disturbed by a loud "bamf!" and a cloud of brimstone. Rogue's jade eyes snapped open to meet with the identically shaped yellow eyes in front of her. "Gutentag, frauline," said Kurt as soon as he had the girl's attention. The color quickly drained from Rogue's face, though her intruder hardly seemed to notice. "Velcome to the institute," he continued, "Ve're all glad you have come to live vith us, Rogue." His pale eyes crinkled up happily and lacked the fearful expression that was present in everyone else in the mansion. His smile faltered a bit when he got no response from the girl sitting before him. He then realized that she was very pale and her eyes were wide and scared.
Eventually, Rogue found her voice and responded with a weak "Th… Thank ya." She fought to offer a small smile to her brother as he gazed obliviously into her eyes. Her heart raced as she desperately tried to find the courage to tell him why she had come and that she had always wanted to see him, really see him, and have a brother to love. But, in her shocked state the girl couldn't get her thoughts straight, and lost all the courage that she had built up in preparation for this moment.
Again unfazed by Rogue's silence, Kurt went on "I know that ve haven't been friends, and ve have known each other for many months, but I a glad that ve vill have the chance to get to know you now that you are vone of us. I know that you have been sad and alone. I told you before that I vas like you vonce. But, the institute iz a good place to live, and I have learned a lot about friendship sinze I moved in. I am sure that you vill, too, Rogue." He smiled again at Rogue, and this time, Rogue was able to return it to some degree. "Good night, then, Rogue," Kurt said, "And I really am glad that you came," he finished. The blue boy waved happily at Rogue, and then teleported out of the room, leaving his sister alone again in the pale moonlight by the window.
Rogue sat quietly on the window seat for many minutes, hardly seeming to blink. It was the same Kurt that she had know since she moved to Bayville, so why did she feel so different when he was around? Because now he's your brother, girl, she answered herself. She gazed back out the window and sighed. And he's more than you could have hoped for. Kurt's words echoed in her mind. "I really am glad that you came," he had told her. He was glad. He's only glad because he doesn't know who you really are, she silently scolded herself. Ah know he must have been upset when he found out Mystique was his motha, now he gets to find out he has a life sucking vampire mutant for a sister. Ah'm sure that'll just make his day, she thought dejectedly to herself. She looked down at her gloved hands and fought back a flood of tears that threatened to fall. Ah can't tell him. Ah can't do that to him….
Her inner monologue was interrupted as Kitty suddenly turned in her bed and mumbled something to herself as she slept. Rogue sighed as she stood and moved towards her own bed. She pulled back the dark sheets and climbed in, grateful for the warmth the blankets provided against the sudden chill she felt. She closed her jade eyes in the dark and struggled to fall asleep in the room that now seemed very empty and very cold.
In the boys' dormitory, Kurt bamfed back into the room that he shared with Evan. Evan cracked open an eye and looked questioningly at the fuzzy guy. "So, how'd it go with the rogue, dude?" he asked sleepily.
"She seems so sad…." Kurt answered in a distant sort of voice. "Her eyes seemed scared when I talked to her. It must be hard, to leave everything that you know…"
"Yeah, I guess so, man," said Evan sleepily as he rested his head back on his pillow and drifted back into unconsciousness. Kurt, too, got into bed and eventually fell asleep.
The next morning, the entire institute was buzzing with activity. The younger students had woken up early and eagerly made their way down to breakfast to await the arrival of Rogue to the table. Jubilee, Amara, and Rahne sat together whispering excitedly amongst one another. Each of them had seen Rogue in school and in battle, and had plenty to say about the gothic girl. "I, like, can't believe the professor's letting her stay here! She's soooo one of the dark, evil side," Jubilee said under her breath to her two friends.
"Forget what side she's on. Have you seen the way she dresses? What's with the black anyway?" interjected Amara. "You'd think she was going to some kind of vampire funeral or something."
"Wait, vampires don't have funerals, do they?" questioned Rahne. "I mean, they're already dead when they become vampires, so would they have another funeral once they die as vampires? Who would go to one anyway?"
"Well, if all vampires looked like Brad Pitt, I'd go to their funerals, alright!" said Jubilee, causing the group of girls to erupt in laughter. Their conversation soon went off on a number of tangents, and the girls had all but forgotten the new recruit until Rogue came through the door with Kitty. The entire dining room went silent upon the girls' entrance, causing Rogue to hesitate at the door. Kitty stopped from a few steps ahead and urged Rogue to follow her. The silence remained as they approached the table.
Evan, Kurt, the younger boys, and even Scott sat staring at Rogue as she entered that room. There was something about her that seemed different. She still wore her usual dark colors. She was clad in a pair of black, ripped jeans, a black tank top covered by a long-sleeved dark purple shirt that was cut short and was tied just above her naval, and her ever present well-worn black boots (you know, her new civilian outfit from this season, well, except for the shoes). Even her makeup was still there, done in blacks and purples that matched her clothes. Her shoulder length hair was pulled back into a low, loose bun, leaving only a few wayward strands of white framing her face. She was the same, scowling Rogue that they had known when she was one of the Brotherhood. And yet, she was different today. Today she was one of the x men. That thought put a satisfied smirk on Scott's face before it was misinterpreted by Jean and he was rewarded with a light smack in the shoulder.
As Rogue took a seat at the table beside Kitty and Evan, she returned their stares with one of her own. The boys at the table quickly lowered their eyes to avoid to dark glare of the rogue. Yes, she was definitely the same Rogue; x man or not. Conversation slowly built back up into a quiet murmur mingled with a few "Hey, Rogue"'s mixed in. Rogue ignored the greetings of her new teammates as she absent mindedly moved the food on her plate around with her fork. Now this she definitely wasn't used to. A group breakfast? There was no such thing back hom….. back at the brotherhood house. Food was even a scarce commodity back there. She suddenly felt a pang of guilt for leaving her boys there while she was sitting in a mansion and picking at better food than they had seen in months. Her shoulders slumped when she realized that today would be her first day at school as an x man; without the brotherhood behind her. No matter, she thought to herself, Ah'll just have ta be that much tougher on mah own.
Kurt seemed to sense Rogue's thoughts from across the table. "Don't vorry, frauline, school vill be fine. You're an x man now. Ve stick together," he said to her in a cheery voice. Rogue offered a small smile in response to his concern. "If any of those brotherhood guys mess vith you, you vill have us to back you up." Rogue's smile quickly changed to a wince as she realized that he didn't really understand the source of her anxiety.
"Yeah, thanks, Ah guess," she quietly answered as her gazed lowered back down to the table.
Ororo looked over and noticed that Rogue hadn't touched her breakfast and was looking rather pale. "Are you feeling alright, child?" she asked; her voice tinted with concern.
"Ah'm fahne," Rogue answered without looking up from her set gaze on the table.
"Let her be, Storm," said Wolverine from his seat beside the weather goddess. "It's gonna be a rough day for the kid. Just leave her alone for a while." With that, Logan looked momentarily at Rogue and then returned to his breakfast.
Scott stood up from his seat at the table. "Alright guys, we better get going before we're late. Let's pile into the van and get going." The rest of the x men nodded and left the table in pursuit of Cyclops as he headed for the door. Rogue slowly pushed out her chair from the table and followed' lagging behind the rest. Yeah, betta get going. It's gonna be a long day, she thought to herself. Picking up her bag, Rogue exited the dining room and the mansion; mentally preparing herself for what promised to be a hard day indeed.
Author: okay, so there it is. I wanted to get more into the school thing, but I have a huge number of exams to study for on Friday. College is no joke. So much for my master plan to slack off and still graduate with honors. Anyway, pleeeeeease review. Let me know how you think it's going so far. More fights and twists and stuff to come as soon as I finish establishing a good enough base for the story. I promise. Sorry it took so long. The next part should be along soon.