PRE-A/N: Um... nothing much to say, actually.

-TheDreamerLady: Pyro vs. Remy for your favorite? Dunt-du-du! Lemme know how that turns out.

-Rogue4787: Glad you caught the Empire Records reference. It is an awesome movie, and only about half of my friends get it when I say, "Damn the man, save the Empire."

-Panther: 'Only four years'? Are you joking me? I already feel like I should be going home soon, or that this is going to be harder than I thought. I still don't really have a close friend here, so it gets a little lonely. I'm becoming more of an introvert than I already am. However, I did pass a threesome on the steps outside talking about past lives, so maybe there's hope. 'Four years...' Psht! Wait til you start! %#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#

"Okay, so Alex is-" Tabitha was asking as they entered Spencer's.

"Alan," John cut in, correcting her.

"Close enough," she shrugged.

"No, it's not," he persisted.

Tabitha rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, this Alan (A/N: emphasis on the second syllable) is a touchy-feely kinda guy?"

"No pun intended," St. John smirked.

Tabby laughed. "Okay, okay. So what's Marian like?"

"The classic I-ran-away-from-home-cut-my-hair-traded-in-my-petticoats-for-pants-and-impersonated-a-man-to-get-out-of-a-horrible-engagement type sheila," he replied.

Wanda rolled her eyes when she caught what the two were talking about. Pyro was either always going on about the pretty fire, who he'd shagged, or one of his books. It had to cover one of those three topics, or he seemed at a loss for actual coherent thought.

Rogue had heard what Pyro was saying and started to listen intently. She'd never have suspected the Acolyte-turned-Brotherhood member to have any form of intelligence in him, much less to be a writer.

Remy just frowned for the same reason Wanda had.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Rogue asked.

"Johnny's book," Tabitha grinned. "He's a romance novelinst."

"Me first one sold so well, I thought I'd keep going," John shrugged, almost managing to pull off nonchalant.

"First one?" Rogue asked, curious.

"Butterfly Nights," John named the title of his first book with pride.

Rogue's face paled, (um...went paler?) and her mouth dropped. She had that book at home. It was one of her favorite reads when she was in the mood for it. Hey, everybody needs to do something to take the edge off, right?

"Y-you're...?"

"Sara Jane Allerdyce?" Pyro mentioned his pen-name. "Yup, that's me, sheila."

"Ya jokin'."

He grinned evilly. "Would you like me to sign it for you? You'll then have one of only three signed copies. A collector's item!"

Rogue scowled. It seemed like an invasion of privacy to have one of her favorite smut novels written by one of the bad guys. Not to mention, it upped Pyro's IQ at least forty percent. Rogue didn't like being proved wrong about people; it made her second guess herself about pretty much everything.

Remy thought about what John just said, and about the emotions rolling off of Rogue at the moment. The instant his former teammate had said the name of his book her heart had thumped and she got turned on. It was just the briefest moment, and then it flagged to utter shock. Now Rogue was confused and getting grouchy, but it was that second of lust she'd had that was interesting. He'd have to interrogate John later.

Wanda shook her head. "I've never understood the allure of reading trite characters who don't deserve to live find true love."

"Me neithah," Rogue agreed. "Ah just read 'em for the sex."

Remy's eyes went wide and bright, and then his face twisted into an evil- and very sexy- grin. "Really, chere?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. So much for him being a female expert!

"Oh, please!" she said. "Ya think any woman reads romance novels for the plot? No. Harlequin is the Playboy of the female world."

"How good is de sex?" Remy couldn't help but ask.

"It varies," she shrugged. "Mostly pretty good."

Tabitha and Wanda traded a look, thinking the exact same thing about little Rogue. 'Virgin.'

John draped his arm over Rogue's shoulders and smiled down at her teasingly. "How about my book, love? What'd you think of the sex in there? Come on, Roguey, you can say it."

Rogue blushed a little. "It was...um... did ya do a lot o' research fo' it?"

"Lots," Pyro nodded devilishly.

"Even the scene with the..." she glanced at Remy and found that she couldn't describe the scene with him in the room. She was at least raised a lady, damn it! "With the...you know... an' the... in the..." Rogue used significant looks and vague hand gestures to fill in the words she wasn't willing to say aloud.

"Oh oh oh! Thaaaaat scene! Yes, yes lots of research for that one."

"You are so nasty."

"You loved every line of it. Admit it, sheila."

Rogue shrugged off his arm and stepped away. While she and Pyro had been talking, Remy made a mental note to find some of Rogue's romance novels and read them as soon as they got back to the Institute.

Rogue jolted as she remembered a passing idea she'd had a few weeks ago. She'd been considering it and decided to ask someone who was already published, so she turned back to St. John. "Do ya think there's a market fo' goth romance novels?"

This got Wanda's attention. She had wandered a few feet away to inspect the new merchandise, but she hopped back when she heard Rogue's question.

"Are you planning on writing a romance novel featuring goths?" she asked.

Tabitha wondered mentally what the hell research Rogue was planning on doing for her sex scenes, considering the whole virgin-can't-touch thing the girl had going on. Remy was wondering along that line, as well, but he was hoping to be the one helping with that research. &%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

POST-A/N: I only have about 8 hand written pages left to type up, and in that will be some editing, and I still need to write the ending. About 4 or 5 more chapters and we're done. I'll try not to make it too much longer.