:six:

Things lasted peacefully for a while, John remembered. But then something happened that wasn't exactly planned. And that was a pretty little Southern girl who went by the name of Rogue. Neither Bobby nor John dated during that long period of time. It was just all sarcasm and competitions. When Rogue arrived, John saw the perfect opportunity.

John had actually been the first to meet her. He remembered seeing all the adults headed somewhere, all in the same direction. That rose John's curiosity just a bit. And what better way to see what all the fuss was about than to follow them? So that's what John did. It turned to be all about some Wolverine guy or something. He didn't really care. They probably just found another adult that could torture them.

On his way back to wherever he had been going, he bumped into her.

"Sorry," She said, her accent being southern. "I didn't mean tah."

John stared and looked at this new girl. She was pretty good-looking. Brown hair, not such a bad figure. John smiled as he looked at the perfect opportunity. Surely, Bobby would think that he could get all the girls. John would prove him wrong.

"That's okay," John said. "You're new, right?"

She nodded and looked back at John.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Marie D'Ancanto," She replied. "But, please, call me Rogue."

"Alright then, Rogue," He said. "I'm John Allerdyce. Welcome to the Institute. I was wondering when someone pretty would show up. This place is such a bore."

Rogue blushed. John knew that she was checking him out. He thanked God or whatever entity ruled the world, that he was not wandering around unkempt.

"Well, it can't be that bad, can it?" She asked. John laughed.

"No, it's worse," He muttered. "There's too many rules and it's run by a bald guy."

"You mean Professor Xavier?" She asked. "He doesn't seem so bad."

"Not bad in the way that he can read your mind?" John said. Rogue laughed. It would only be a matter of time before he would have something that Bobby didn't. He had to admit that Rogue was pretty cute, but he remembered the last time he fell in love. That ended up badly. He didn't want to make that same mistake.

John and Rogue stood there and talked for a while. It went on for a while until Scott Summers and Jean Grey happened to walk by.

"Oh, there you are Rogue," Jean said. Rogue and John looked over at Jean and Scott. John sighed. Just the people to make him look bad. "I see you're making friends already."

"But you've got to be careful of this one," Scott said as if John wasn't even there. John stared. "He's kind of a rebel."

John smiled. He was rebellious and wasn't afraid to admit it. There were also a lot of other things he excelled at. Showing off, lying, writing, and of course, kissing.

"Well, the Professor wishes to speak with you," Jean said. Rogue nodded.

"Okay, Ah'll be there in a second," Rogue said to them. Jean nodded and they walked off. Rogue looked back at John.

"It was really nice meeting you, John," Rogue said to him. He smiled.

"It was nice meeting you, too," He said in agreement. "Oh, and before you go, I was wondering something."

"Yeah?"

"What are your powers?" He asked. She shuddered and sighed. She wasn't too happy with the ideas of being a mutant quite yet. She had just put some guy in a coma last time. She wasn't so keen on being considered a freak.

"Ah can suck the life out of people," She muttered. "The Professor tells me Ah should be able to take the powers of other mutants if Ah touch 'em. Ah, personally, don't want tah find out. How about you, John?"

John grinned. He took out his lighter and flipped the cap open. He ignited the flame. "I hope you like playing with fire."

Fire added even more flames to his bad boy appearance. Rogue smiled and nodded.

"That's seems cool," She said. "Well, Ah better be going. Ah'll see you later."

"Later," John said, as Rogue walked away. Showing off would be plentiful in the future. He just had to get Rogue and he had to do it before Bobby got the chance to woo her off her feet. And Rogue seemed to like him, already. It would be no problem. But he of all people should know how strong the charm of Bobby 'Iceman' Drake could be. After all, he was with him not too long ago.

Rogue eventually met Bobby. And the competition was on. It was either golden-haired, super good boy, Bobby or the not so golden, really rebellious John. It was ice or it was fire. They both became extra competitive and tried even harder to show off in front of her. When they were around each other, they didn't talk about her, just to keep the suspense. And when she was around, the two started showing off.

Neither knew which one of them was winning Rogue over. That wasn't until a certain class. John wasn't afraid to get in trouble in class. Bobby wouldn't dare show off in class, right? Rogue sat behind him. That made things much easier. He started playing with his fire, behind his back in his hand. Rogue watched, intrigued. He was about to make a shape, when he felt his control lost.

Bobby had turned his small ball of fire into ice. The ice instantly fell on the floor, causing Storm to yell at him. He muttered an apology and looked back at Bobby who was making an ice rose for Rogue. She giggled and was fascinated by him. They now knew who was in the lead. John knew who was going to win and it wasn't going to be him.

John stopped his attempts with Rogue for a while. He deemed it useless. Bobby moved right on in. She disappeared for a while. She was kidnapped by Magneto, but shortly after, she was saved. Bobby asked her out.

She said 'yes.'

A/N: I have no time for anything anymore. Curse that thing that created educational institutes we call schools. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review. This will soon be going into the time around X2.

Thanks: crazy4horses, Pheonyx, and Yuki-chu!