Title: In the End

Author: Crimson Lipstick

Rating: PG (Will go up)

Category: Angst/Tragedy (Applies more to later chapters)

Summary: Chronicles Rogue's life from the beginning of her downward spiral to her tragic death…

Chapter 1

"Rogue! Rogue! Rogue, wake up!"

Rogue moaned and turned over, pulling the sheets firmly over her head. It seemed to her that she had just fallen asleep an hour ago.

"Rogue, come on! If you don't wake up now you'll be late for like the third time this week!"

"Ah don't care," Rogue's voice echoed from under her quilt, "Tell Scott Ah'm feeling sick."

"Rogue! I am not lying for you! Again!" Kitty reached forward and yanked the sheets away. Rogue winced as the bright light hit her and immediately closed her eyes.

"Kitty," she pleaded.

"Rogue," Kitty said, "Just get up. You know how pissed Mr Summers gets when we're late."

Rogue sighed and opened one eye, noticing how Kitty had said 'we're' not 'you're'.

Can't she just go by herself for a change?

"Rogue, please just get up!" Kitty was almost begging her.

"Ah guess it wouldn't be fair to get you into trouble as well," Rogue said finally, guilty for her last thought.

"Thank you," Kitty smiled brightly, "And besides we get the afternoon off! We can like go to the mall!"

Rogue swore, grabbed the sheets and immediately buried herself under them again.

"What?" Kitty sounded hurt. After all she was talking about the mall for god's sake! The mall! It was like her second home! Actually third, the mansion was kind of her second….

"It's June," Rouge interrupted Kitty's train of thought.

"So?"

Rogue sighed, "All the clothes in the shops are sleeveless, skimpy and midriff bearing! There is no way Ah can where any of that, without killing y'all!

Kitty looked apologetic and frowned, "You don't have to like cover up like all the time. I mean everyone knows better than to touch you."

Everyone knows better than to touch you.

Rogue winced. Was that how the rest of her life was going to be?

"Rogue?"

"Well what happens if Ah bump into someone? If someone trips accidentally and grabs me? Then what?"

"If, Rogue, if."

Rogue didn't answer and instead stared at the ceiling. She didn't have the strength to argue with Kitty and besides Kitty was trying to help her.

Kitty must have sensed she had upset Rogue.

"Like, I'm sorry Rogue. I'm –I'm just-"

God! Ah must be such a bitch for Kitty tah be scared of me!

"Hungry?" Rogue smiled slowly, "You better go Kit-Kat if you want tah get some breakfast.

"You want to come?" Kitty asked.

"Nah," Rogue said, "Ah gotta change and find mah books."

"Okay," Kitty grabbed her bag, "I'll see you in class."

"Bye," Rogue said to the retreating figure.

The door closed gently.

Rogue heaved a sigh and spoke to the to the walls, "Another day. Yay!"

Yawning, she slowly pulled her covers off. She swung her legs over the bed and found her brush. Running it through her hair, she lumbered over to the mirror that decorated Kitty's open wardrobe door.

Ah, there she was.

A girl around seventeen. Average height, medium build, green eyes. Her most prominent feature was her hair; long and dark brown it had two white streaks that framed her face. She looked quite pretty actually; mostly due to fact her pyjamas were the one piece of clothing she owned that showed flesh.

"Ah guess Ah gotta change," Rogue sighed again, knowing what would happen when she opened her closest.

Oh yes. It wasn't as if she had no clothing, on the contrary she had as many clothes as Kitty. But all Rogues' were long, baggy, around the same colour and covered a different part of her body, whether it be her elbows or stomach.

Rogue grabbed clothes at random.

Jeans, jumper, gloves, boots. It didn't matter if they didn't match. All her clothes looked the same.

Ah gotta snap out of this self pity crap. It's mah own fault Ah don't have a wide variety of clothes.

She pulled on her clothes in a hurry and hurriedly brushed her teeth. There was no time to have a shower so she made do by washing her face

That done she dared to explore the underworld, otherwise known as the space under her bed. Sure enough, wedged between her Elephunk CD and a pair of elbow length gloves, were her math books.

She didn't look at her mirror again. There seemed no point.

Instead she marched purposely out of the room.

The day had begun.

By the end, she would want to forget it had ever existed.

"Look! A third off! Wouldn't it be like cool if it they had one in your like size?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes at the valley girl, "You're forgetting the fact that I'm like five foot one. There won't be any clothes in my size."

"So? You can always like get it altered! What do you think, Rogue?"

Rogue shrugged, "Ah think you're lucky that you won't kill someone bah wearin sumthin two sizes big."

Jubilee raised one eyebrow delicately, "Someone's in a bad mood."

Rogue sighed, "Sorry, Jubes. It's just that Ah'm having a really bad day."

"Yeah I know," Kitty said, "But you didn't really have to like throw your math book across the classroom. You're lucky Mr Summers didn't give you detention."

Jubilee grinned impishly, "It was kind of funny."

"Yeah," Rogue smiled, "Ah pretended it was the Logan inside me that prompted me to express my utter hatred towards geometry."

She stopped short, silent for a moment, as she thought of the Canadian in question.

When is he coming back? It's been six months…

Her thoughts were so focused that she missed the look passed between Jubilee and Kitty.

Kitty cleared her throat, "Changing subjects… Jubilee, look I found a size six!"

Jubilee squinted her eyes as she inspected the tank top "It's too dark for me. If it were a brighter colour…"

"What's wrong with dark green?" Rogue ran a coated finger down the top, "I like it."

"Then buy it!" Kitty exclaimed, "It's like a bargain!"

Jubilee shook her head sadly, "Kitty if you want people to take you seriously in life, I advise you go brunette."

"Very funny."

"You know Ah can't buy it. Ah…"

"Yeah we know. But if you wear it with your gloves…"

"They'll still leave some flesh exposed."

"But who's going to touch your upper arm. I mean especially since you broke up with Bobby."

"Jubilee!" Kitty sounded scandalized.

"Well I'm sorry. It does give Rogue more reason to buy it though."

"Don't worry," Rogue carefully placed the top back into the rack, "Ah'm not going tah buy it."

"Rogue…"

"Ah don't have money, okay Kitty? Look, why don't ya go and buy that skirt, already? It looks great on you," she added quickly as she realized how bitchy she had sounded.

Kitty shrugged and picked up the mini, "Okay."

They walked in silence to the counter, where a tall blonde stood. Rogue read her nametag: 'Nicole'.

"I love that skirt," she gushed as they paid, "I have one like that, but in red. I've had it for so long and it hasn't as stretched so much as inch!"

Yeah, right. Is it just me or do all sale assistants say the same thing?

"And it's on sale too!" Kitty added.

"You're lucky," Nicole said as she folded the skirt, "Today was the last day!"

Rogue couldn't help snorting.

Nicole cast a cool glance at her, "What's the weather like outside? I thought it was going to be around ninety today."

"It's more like hundred," Jubilee said.

"Oh," Nicole gave Rogue the once over, "I couldn't tell."

Rogue took a breath and bit her lip to stop herself retorting.

Kitty didn't appear to hear and Jubilee had wandered off to look at the sunglasses.

Another sales assistant walked over, flipping her red hair in the process, "Anyone need anything?"

"No," Rogue said quietly.

The red haired took one look at her before bursting out in laughter.

Even Kitty couldn't ignore this.

"Aimee!" Nicole scolded, her lips twitching, "They're customers!"

"Sorry,' Aimee apologized, "But like gloves? A jumper? In summer! Aren't you taking this Goth thing a little too far?"

"Listen," Kitty began, her eyes narrowing in anger.

"Ah'm not a freaking Goth," Rogue said quietly, turning on her heel and marching out of this shop.

Ah'm not taking this crap.

"Rogue!" Kitty called after her.

Rouge ignored her and marched down the mall.

How dare she? Ah am a human being! No wait, Ah'm a mutant! One with a very crap power, come tah think of it.

Rogue quickened her pace.

How she would love to say that it hadn't hurt.

That it didn't matter.

That she didn't care.

But it had hurt.

It did matter.

She did care.

Does everyone think the same thing when they see me? Am Ah a freak?

Rogue slowed her stride as she walked through the automatic doors and realised her next dilemma.

"Great! Kitty has the keys," she sighed and slumped down on the first bench she saw.

"She's just a red haired bitch," Rogue muttered under her breath as some means of comfort, "She doesn't know what she's going on about. God, is it just me or is it hot?"

She stopped short, realizing what she had just said. Swearing, she lowered her face into her hands and stared at the ground miserably.

Why me?

Whoa, this chapter was longer than I expected! I'm sorry about the slow start, but the fact is you don't wake up one day all of a sudden and go, "I'm going to kill myself!" This chapter shows the beginning of Rogue's depression, which will grow with every chapter. Anyway, please review! Feedback is appreciated!

Crimson Lipstick