Chapter 9: Cajuns on Motorcycles (Who could resist that?)

A/N: This story has officially gone past 100 reviews! I'm really excited!!!!

Thanx to everyone who reviewed. I am SO serious. I probably wouldn't be updating if it weren't for you guys! Rock on^^*

Jolly B: Thanx a lot! Yeah, I do speak some German (not exactly fluent or anything…) and I'm…15…but almost 16…kinda…

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"Wake up!" Scott shook his roommate's sleeping form violently. It was true that he had not expected Gambit to be a morning person, but this was ridiculous.

Even St. John had woken up by now, and was already on his way downstairs. Scott sighed in frustration.

Technically, this wasn't his problem. He had tried to wake up the sleeping Acolyte, but it wasn't any use if Gambit didn't want to get up. Scott released his hold on Gambit's shoulder and trudged out the door, slamming it after him.

Gambit stirred slightly and then turned onto his side.

Meanwhile, the entire mansion was in a state of chaos. Most of which was coming from the girl's wing of the hallway.

Luckily for the male population of the household, Professor Xavier had installed two more bathrooms on either side of the hall. It wouldn't be fair to say that all the girls were fighting each other to get into the bathroom, but Amara was a prime example.

The princess poked her head into Kitty and Rogue's room and smiled brightly at Kitty who was sitting at her vanity.

 "Hey Kitty! Can I borrow your hair dryer? There was a power shortage in the bathroom. Completely destroyed mine…something about too many plugs in an outlet…"

Kitty, who was happily dotting some pink rose lip balm onto her lips, nodded and opened a drawer in her vanity. "Here," Kitty said as she handed the hair dryer to Amara. "Thanks," Amara said. She paused a moment to look around the room.

"Is Rogue in the shower or something?"

"No, ah am not in the shower. Ah'm trying to get some sleep. Go away," answered Rogue's muffled voice from under the covers. Amara looked from Kitty to Rogue's bed, and back again. She shook her head and walked out the door to rejoin the race to get ready in time.

Kitty closed the door after her and turned on her heel to face Rogue's bed. "You know Amara has a point," Kitty said. "You only have fifteen minutes to get ready and grab something to eat."

Rogue turned on her side and pushed her head out from under the covers. "Do Ah look like Ah care? Besides, all Ah have to do is get dressed. Ah'll just skip breakfast."

 "You can't skip breakfast, Rogue! You're like going anorexic on me!" Kitty yelled angrily. Rogue flinched at Kitty's grouchiness and slowly sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Fine! Ah'll get dressed now, but Ah'll just get breakfast at school!" Rouge shot back, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Kitty tapped her foot on the floor agitatedly.

"Whatever. As long as you eat." Kitty grabbed her purse from her vanity and walked out the door to go get breakfast. Rogue watched as she left and gave a small smile.

It was good to know someone cared…even though Rogue could swear that Kitty looked after her like she was obligated to sometimes. Sluggishly, Rogue made her way to her pile of clothes that were stacked against her closet door.

 She dug through the pile and found her usual sheer green shirt and black tank top with her black skirt. She slid both on quickly and began searching for her black combat boots. Kitty may have thought that they looked "horribly dark and gothic", but Rogue liked them just because they were comfortable. She finally found them under Kitty's bed.

 After pulling them on she moved over to the vanity and slid open the drawer that contained her make-up. It had gotten to the point that it took Rogue more time to get dressed than to apply the thick layer of make-up that she usually wore. She didn't even pause to look in the mirror after she finished. She walked out the door and made her way down the hallway.

There were exactly ten rooms between her room and the stairs. She counted them lazily, not even noticing the stragglers like herself who had not yet finished getting ready. When Rogue reached the stairs, instead of going down them, she continued down the hallway. She wasn't ready to face everyone…she wasn't sure when she'd be. True, she left for school in five minutes, but the longer she was by herself, the better.

Walking by the partially opened doors, Rogue realized that she was on the guy's side of the hallway. It wasn't like she had never been there, but the realization woke her up from her dream-like trance. She was about to turn around and head down to the garage and sit in the car when she heard the sound of slow breathing.

It was coming from Scott's room. Curiously, Rogue stuck her head in the door. She wasn't sure if it was Scott or not, but if it was him, he had to be downstairs in three minutes to give her a ride. Rogue walked over to the side of the sleeping figure's bed and shook him lightly. No response.

"Scott?" she asked quietly.

"Nope," came the answer in a thick Cajun accent. Before Rogue could move out of the way, Gambit had pulled her next to him in the bed. "Now isn't this cozy, chere?" he asked, smirking at her sleepily.

Rogue hated that smirk. He used it to show that he had control over a situation, but he most definitely did not have control over her.

Rogue shoved him angrily off the bed. Gambit landed on the floor with a loud thump. "Now why did the Rogue go and do that?" he asked, lying still on the floor. Rogue bounced off his bed quickly and leaned over to face the Cajun.

 "Because, Swamp Rat, killing you on accident would be too good for the likes of you."

"Oh, but chere, Gambit would love to die in your hands," he answered. Rogue snorted and walked out into the hallway.

"Oh, by the way," she shouted back into Gambit's room. "Scott leaves in a few minutes, so if you need a ride-"

"The river rat does care!"

"River rat? Where'd ya get that from?" Gambit sat up. "Well if de Rogue is gonna call Gambit Swamp Rat, than Gambit is gonna call de Rogue river rat."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She began walking down the hallway and glanced at her watch.

"WHAT?!" she screamed. Rogue ran down the stairs and out to the garage. Of course, there was no trace of Scott's sports car or Jean's SUV. They had left her. At first it seemed like an alarm was going off in her head.

All her psyches seemed to rain down upon her. How could you like miss your ride? Too busy flirting with that Cajun, huh? Kitty psyche said. Rouge could picture Kitty with her hands on her hips, scowling. You know, this isn't your fault. You should just go back upstairs and go to bed, Lance's psyche rang out. Shut up Lance! Since when have any of your ideas been good? Kitty's psyche countered.

"Both of you shut up," Rogue said absent-mindedly. She was trying to think of how to get a ride. She did not, under any circumstances, want to go to Logan for help. He would chew her ear off with responsibility talk and would probably make her clean the X-jet or something. He was always looking for an excuse to punish the team when it was about time to get the jet cleaned.

 "What are ya doing, chere?" Rogue turned around to find Gambit, fully dressed, standing behind her. He was wearing a black t-shirt with blue jeans and his favorite trench coat.

"Because of you I missed mah ride!" Rogue said, crossing her arms in front of her. Gambit shrugged. "You can ride with Gambit den," he said. "Now, which bike should we take?" he asked, looking over at Wolverine's collection of motorcycles.

"Oh, no! Ah am NOT going to get caught going to school on Wolverine's bike with you!" Rogue exclaimed. "Now chere, ya know Gambit would never let any harm come to ya. If we get caught, Gambit'll take the blame," he answered, selecting a black bike with red flames painted on each side.

Rogue glared at Gambit's back. She was running out of excuses. The last thing she wanted to do was have her arms around his waist, but it looked like it was either Gambit or Wolverine. "You coming chere?" Gambit asked as he was getting on the bike. Rouge sighed. "Yah, Ah'm comin'."

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"Ah can't believe you did that!" As soon as Gambit put the bike in park, Rogue hopped off the back. She pointed an accusing finger at Gambit.

"Ya could a killed me!" she shouted.

Gambit smiled. "When? When Gambit nearly hit that mailbox? Or maybe when Gambit came about three inches from hitting that parked car?"

Gambit saw the look Rouge gave him. "Oh, you know you enjoyed it chere."

 "Ya know ah didn't!" she said grumpily. Without another look Gambit's way, Rogue marched up the stairs leading to the main door. "Stupid Cajun…Logan's gonna kill me," she muttered under her breath.

"If Gambit didn't know better, he'd say that de Rogue is trying to get away from Gambit." Rogue looked over to her side to see that the Cajun had already caught up with her. Rogue just glared at him and continued walking. She opened the doors to the school and hurried over to the main office. Not that she cared if she was marked late, but it wouldn't look good if the Prof decided to check over her attendance records.  Gambit followed close behind her.

The only person in the office was a student helper who was sitting behind the sign-in desk. Rogue signed her name and her made up excuse on the sheet. When she was done, she turned around and started towards the door.

"Are ya just gonna leave Gambit?" Gambit asked, trying to look as pitiful as possible. Rogue crossed her arms across her chest irritably.

"Give me one reason not to," she countered. Gambit shrugged. "Fine, leave. I'll see you in first period then."

 "What?!"

"Didn't Gambit tell his river rat? Old Mags and Xavier decided it would be a good idea if I kept an eye on you," he said, moving closer to Rogue. "Or maybe vice-versa." Rogue rolled her eyes. " I don't care.  Follow me or don't. Ah've got to get ta class."

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He knew she was seething on the inside. She looked about as down as she always did, but he knew there was an extra pang of irritability caused by none other than himself. Still…he did feel kind of bad for her.

He knew she didn't like him all that much…all right, more like assumed she didn't like him much. His empathy didn't work wonders; at least not all the time. But after all, who could really resist his Cajun charm? Not any woman he had ever met.

He glanced over at his new fan club: the cheerleaders at the opposite end of the classroom. He grinned at them and watched as they whispered and giggled to one another. That was how women were, prone to romantics. Gambit shifted his gaze back to Rogue. She sat in the desk diagonal to him. She was paying even less attention to the teacher than he was, if that were possible. She was staring out into space, her emerald eyes unfocused and her head resting on her propped up hand.

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There were too many things going through her head right now. It turned out that Gambit was in all of her classes, including German. That was more than just mere coincidence, but she hardly suspected the Professor to have been part of it. No, it had to be Magneto, scheming again. But the thought of scheming made her think back to Apocalypse.

It had been quite a while since the ancient mutant had created mayhem, and it was making her nervous. Being a pawn made her nervous. She was no more than Apocalypse's pawn, and he didn't even know it yet. But he would find out. And then he would turn have Mastermind turn her mind against her friends. Well, maybe she was overreacting…Rogue had no reason to start worrying about it yet.

It was the present situation that had her at unease; how Gambit and Magneto had to be planning something. It made her sick to think that egotistical Gambit was a lapdog for somebody else. Gambit seemed like the type of person who worked for himself.

            The bell rang, snapping Rogue out of her thoughts. Fifth period had ended, and it was time for lunch. After that she just had German, and then she could be free of school and have a much better chance of avoiding Gambit. Rogue scanned the nearly empty classroom for the Cajun, and found him completely surrounded by girls, including the teacher. Rogue shot a look of disgust their way before exiting the room.

            When she found the x-men in the cafeteria, Rogue gave them a dirty look and ignored them. How could they have left her like that? "Wait Rogue!" Kitty called out, trying to get out of her seat without bumping into anyone sitting by her.

"What is it Kitty?" Rogue asked, trying to be as cold as possible. "Oh like come on Rogue! I'm sorry! I like tried to make them wait for you, but Scott got into this whole speech about how people who are late shouldn't be allowed rides, and how it was our duty as publicly known mutants to get to school on time," Kitty pouted in one long breath. Rogue smiled a bit at how sorry her friend looked.

"It's okay. Ah'm not mad at you, Kit," Rogue said. "But listen, Ah've got some work to do, so tell Kurt Ah'll see ya'll after school."

"Alright!" Kitty answered, smiling happily as she bounded back to her seat next to Piotr. Rogue didn't stay long enough to see Kitty get back to her seat.

She walked away as quickly as she could and made her way out to the courtyard. There was hardly anyone there during lunchtime anymore. The winter cold kept most people inside, and that was why it was a perfect place for her. That, and the fact that everything was cold and dead outside…just like her.

Rogue didn't consider herself that way, but she knew that was the vibe she put off to others. She found her usual tree and sat down on the cold ground. Opening up her book bag, Rogue pulled out a pack of peanut butter crackers, her journal, and a pencil. She began to draw lazy strokes on a blank sheet of paper in the journal, not exactly sure of what the sketch was going to be.

Slowly but surely, her strokes started to form a face, and the face started to form into one she knew too well. Rogue slammed her journal shut and put it back into her book bag. She had just drawn a sketch of Gambit, and not even known it. Rogue closed her eyes and leaned her head against the tree. Why had she done that? It must have been because she was spending too much time around him…that was it. It had to be.

She opened her eyes and looked around the courtyard. The only other person out there had left, but she did not feel like she was alone. Slowly, Rogue brought her knees to her chest and buried her head into them.

Her head was hurting again.

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Gambit watched as Rogue made her way to the tree he was sitting in. She sat down and leaned her back against it. He waited for her to notice him, but instead she pulled out some crackers and a journal.

It was interesting to him that a girl like Rogue had a journal, but at the same time it seemed natural. He watched her as she started sketching something. A few moments went by in silence.

Then suddenly Rogue slammed her journal shut and threw it in her book bag. Gambit was hardly startled by her actions, but he noticed when the only other person in the courtyard went inside.

More silence.

He didn't dare move because even the slightest noise in Rogue's direction would clue her in that he was above her.

He waited…

…and waited.

No noise; just the sound of Rogue's breathing and the faint sound of his own. Maybe it was time to drop down and give her some company. Just then the bell rang. Gambit watched as Rogue rose to her feet and walked back inside. When he was sure that she was gone, he dropped down to the ground.

Now came the fun class…German.

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"Guten tag und wilkommen!" Frau Haney sang out, giddy as she always was.

"Ah! Und we have a neu schuler!" she exclaimed, pointing to Gambit. "And what is your name?"

Gambit stood up, grinning. "Gambit." He surveyed the classroom for his new German fan club, and found them sitting up front.

He also saw Rogue scrunch up her face in disgust. "Oh? Und wie alt bist du?" Frau Haney asked, eyes wide. Gambit looked over at Rogue and smirked before answering the teacher.

 "Neunzehn  (19)."

Rogue rolled her eyes. Naturally he knew some German. What else could she have expected? Frau Haney, on the other hand, seemed thrilled.

 "Sprechen sie Deutsch, eh? Sehr gutt. I suppose you need somebody to help catch you up in our class though. Do you know anyone in this class?" Frau Haney asked.

"As a matter of fact, Gambit does," Gambit said. "Gambit believes that he knows Rogue very well."

Rogue slumped down in her chair and sent him an evil glare. Frau Haney clapped her hands together. "Very well then! Rogue and Gambit, you two go to the back of the classroom and see if you can catch Herr Gambit up with the rest of the Klasse, yah?"

I am living in hell, Rogue thought as she grudgingly stood up and moved to the back of the room.

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A/N: Oh, forgot to mention something: about Gambit's eyes…I'm going to explain that next chapter. This is quite possibly the longest chapter I have ever written! What did you guys think?  Review and let me know!

Over and out,

                        Lady k.