Disclaimer: The only compensation I am making from this fic is the warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart whenever I open my email and see that someone took the time off to review it. Obviously, none of the characters are mine. It's Marvel's. And Warner Brothers'. I think.
A/N: There are not enough excuses in the world to explain why I've been gone. Just know that I'm terribly, terribly sorry. I have a two-week vacation coming up in two week's time, I could probably make it up to you by then.
I'm anticipating that I might take a long time (again) before I could update. But you can check my blog for teasers and announcements at triple w dot xanga dot com slash khayee
Since I believe that you've forgotten all about this story, here's the summary, then.
Cody and Anna (aka Rogue) is a couple which actor Remy LeBeau wants to break up because he's fascinated by the fact that Anna's not interested. However, all his efforts are rendered ineffective as Anna deflects his 'smooth' moves one after the other. Until Cody called Anna, confessing a yet undisclosed act which broke Anna's heart. Upon hearing this, Bella Donna, Remy's co-star, decided to act and get Anna and her friends really, really drunk. Remy found out and went to the bar where he and Bella Donna had an altercation. He and his bodyguard Piotr decided to take the ladies home for the night to keep them from doing things they'd regret in the morning. That's where our story starts for today, kiddies…
The Immunity Challenge
Chapter 7
This Love
"Watch your step, chere."
"Not your cherry!"
Remy bit back a sigh when the statement was repeated for the thousandth time that night. "Of course not, che—er—Anna."
Half-supporting, half-dragging the drunk girl towards his condo unit, Remy cursed when he noticed a paparazzi having a field day snapping pictures. No doubt that he would once again be decorating the front pages of a tabloid magazine.
"You alright there, mon ami?" Remy asked the bodyguard who were a few steps behind him.
"Da." He replied. Both women in either arm had fallen asleep in drunkenness and exhaustion.
"Merde." Remy almost fell on his face when his companion suddenly stopped. "What's the matter?" He asked in concern.
A thoughtful frown crossed Anna's face as she squinted and peered closely at Remy. "Who are you again?"
"It's your Prince Charming, petite," he grinned as he released Anna for a second. He then took her hand, bowed gracefully, and kissed her hand. "Remy LeBeau."
Anna giggled.
Remy's pride swelled. Finally, he was getting a response he wanted, even if she was drunk. He quickly relinquished his hold on Anna when she tilted dangerously.
"Remy's not a prince." Anna declared between giggles. "Remy's a girl's name. So you must be a princess!"
"Remy's pretty sure he's a hundred percent male, petite."
"No!" Anna pouted prettily. "Remy's a girl."
"He is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is—" Remy paused to take a breath. "Chere, if you don't want Remy to prove how much of a homme he is, I suggest you stop that right now."
"No! Want proof right now." Anna stomped her feet.
Remy smirked. Well, the fille did ask for it…
As he was leaning towards the expectant (and unbelievably drunk) Anna, Anna suddenly pushed him away. Remy frowned as he took in her whitened face.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," was the only warning he got from her.
Why he even considered himself as a ladies' man was beyond him. It turned out that he knows nothing—nothing!—about ladies. Apparently knowing Belle for two years and dating the fairer sex for half of his life never prepared him in dealing with a woman in the everyday, ordinary way.
Either that or the ladies with him were not your average women.
For one thing, the raven-haired (with streaks of red in it) one up kept following him around and touching him from the moment she regained consciousness, hangover notwithstanding.
The other one, the perky petite, kept snapping pictures around his house and squealing that she was in a celebrity's house and that she can't wait to upload it in her blog (whatever that is).
"Petite," Remy LeBeau sighed in exasperation. "Careful on handling the vase. Belle's gonna throw a fit if that breaks."
Which was apparently the wrong thing to say because the girl's brown eyes grew wide. "You mean Bella Donna lives here, too?" She let out a high-pitched, inhuman squeal and continued snapping pictures with twice the vigor.
"So, uh, Mr. LeBeau," the one called Wanda started. "Can I call you Remy?" Taking his silence as a yes, she pressed on. "What does a star like you have for breakfast? Oh, wait, no, don't answer that." She giggled. "Can I ransack the kitchen and guess? That way I can prepare breakfast for us, too."
Glad for any excuse to escape her company, Remy waved her away. Wanda practically skipped to the kitchen.
Remy gazed longingly at the door to his bedroom. There was only one woman whose company he wanted, but right now, she was still out to the world.
"She really can't hold her liquor." For once since she woke up, the perky Kitty was quiet.
Remy saw that she had followed his line of vision towards the room there the Rogue was sleeping in. She must have felt his longing for the spitfire's company. "And you and her?" He motioned towards the kitchen where Wanda was making some rather questionable cooking noises.
She grinned sheepishly. "Being here with a celebrity is waay more important than nursing a hangover." Her grin got wider as she raised her camera once more. "This," she said gesturing to Remy's place. "Is a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity."
Her mother often told her she was evil incarnate when she was seventeen.
And she looked the part too.
Ivory skin horribly complimented with dark make-up, shady clothes that seem to conceal and reveal the flesh it hugged at the same time, enchanting, piercing green eyes, and a dark, depressing attitude to match. In a final act of rebellion, in a total act of defiance to the mother whom she thought betrayed her trust, she dyed her bangs white—blindingly shocking white which contrasted heavily with her brunette locks which she ironed everyday to cast out the curl away (because she was told that the curls were cute).
But that was then. Soon, she found peace within herself and with the woman whom she rebelled at. She found herself.
She soon outgrew the dark image she cocooned herself in.
She grew up.
She began to emulate the woman whom she used to hate.
She was soon fitting in the crowd again.
The dark clothes evolved into business suits and light-colored sundresses. The make-up lessened and lightened. The white streaks faded away or were cut out as her hair grew longer.
Therefore the only explanation for the image looking back at her from the vanity was that time had somehow turned back and she was in the past again. Or maybe, she was still asleep and this is just a silly dream.
Either that or she got really, really drunk the night before and did a lot of really, really stupid things.
Basing from the cottony texture in her mouth and the orchestra of anvils playing in her head, the latter option was more viable.
Anna groaned as she decided that sitting up is sooo not worth the effort and burrowed back into the comfortable bed very, very slowly as not to aggravate further the pain she was in. She squeezed her eyes closed, as if in doing so would make the pain go away.
Wait. Back up.
She was in a bed.
Which was not hers.
She was wrapped (or is it trapped) in blankets.
Which was also not hers.
A tangy masculine scent (mmm…yummy) surrounded her, enveloped her.
A masculine scent, which she soon realized, was not Cody's.
Oh, no! Cody was going to kill her!
Wait.
Cody.
Cody…
Breaking away from that train of thought, Anna focused instead on figuring out where she was.
She sniffed. Nope. Not Pietro's. Not Kurt's, nor Lance's, nor Todd's. It was not even her father's.
The scent was familiar yet strange. It was a scent that she wouldn't mind on her man, for it was neither overpowering nor revolting.
She knew that none of her friends wore that scent, but she also knows that she associates it with sensuality. Masculinity. Pure pleasure. Lust.
Where have she smelled it before?
"Allo, cherie,"
Her eyes widened even as the torturous orchestra in her brain protested.
Forget about Cody killing her! Her daddy was going to kill him!
Anna gratefully accepted the steaming cup of coffee Remy handed her. She curled up pitifully on the couch in the living room.
"How's the head, chere?" Remy asked as he folded his wiry frame beside the Rogue, grateful that the two of them were alone at last. Wanda was in the bathroom while Kitty and Piotr were on an errand.
Anna's eyes widened. "Are you smirking at me?" She asked indignantly. "Well, I'll have you know that the effect is lost on me 'cause you're all blurry," she immediately regretted her tirade as the pain in her head, which had abated considerably after downing painkillers, acted up in remonstration.
"Blurry?"
True enough, she didn't see Remy's worried face as he peered at her. "Is something wrong? Are you still tipsy?"
Anna shook her head. "No. Bella Donna took away my glasses last night. Hence, everything's just one big blur,"
"We checked everywhere!" Kitty groaned as she entered the living room. "We're trapped here for the time-being. There are reporters everywhere!"
Remy looked up questioningly at Piotr, who had accompanied Kitty to check whether the three women could find a safe and unpopulated exit to escape the bloodhounds sniffing out the latest scandal on LeBeau.
Piotr merely nodded at the petite's assessment of the situation.
"We call X23?" Remy asked.
"Da." Piotr nodded. "We call X23."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "X23?"
"Oui. She's this stuntwoman on the show." He grinned. "Pretty much lives on adrenaline. On situations like this one, she smuggles herself in here and tricks those bloodsuckers into thinking that it's me. She leads them on a wild goose chase."
Piotr nodded his assent, not adding that had it just been Remy, the lean man would've been able to give those media people the slip. He was stealthy as a thief. But sneaking out three women out of his condo was way too risky.
Kitty giggled. "Oh, this I gotta see."
"Where were you last night? And this morning?" A harried Cody asked her, his worry traveling though the telephone line. "I was worried sick when I couldn't find you and you wouldn't answer my calls."
"Sorry, Cody, but I couldn't deal with you yet," Anna whispered as she shut her office door.
Leaving Remy's place was like leaving her refuge, a feeling which caught her by surprise. Since when did she associate Remy LeBeau with relaxation and escape?
Oh, yeah. Since he saved her big time from doing something incredibly stupid last night.
After a long moment of silence, Anna heard Cody sigh.
"And right now?" He pressed.
Anna closed her eyes as she leaned against the closed door. "Not right now, Cody. I missed work this morning. I have a lot of catching up to do."
"It's OK, Anna," he murmured to her. "Take all the time you need."
"Thank you,"
"I love you,"
"Love you, too." She answered after a moment's hesitation.
After they hung up, Anna sagged boneless to the floor. She never felt more tired in her whole entire life.
Remy grinned as he finished off his drink when he saw none other than Anna Darkholme walk up to him. His good deed for last night really paid off. He knew that he and Anna are fast moving into the territory of friendship. "Cherie!" He called out.
To his surprise, Anna didn't smile. She simply took his arm and pulled him to his feet. "We gotta get outta here."
So, they were moving faster than he thought. They were bypassing the 'friendship' part and going straight to 'sleeping with each other' part. "So, your place or mine, cher?"
"I think I'll smuggle you to Pietro's place," Anna grimaced.
"More privacy, henh?"
Anna looked at him like he just lost his mind. "We're going to Pietro's place 'cause that's the last place where my daddy will look for you,"
"Your daddy?"
"Yeah. Someone showed him the tabloids a while ago with our pictures on it. I've been warned that he went on a rampage, swearing vengeance on the man who sullied the virtue of his baby." Anna told him gravely. "He's going to kill you now."
tbc
To my reviewers, who hopefully, have not yet forgotten about me… THANKS!
EmeraldKatsEye, I don't understand…How can anyone hate the salty goodness that is Remy? ;) anyway, since I've been sooo long away from this fic, I honestly don't know the answer to the question whether or not Remy knows that Logan's Rogue's dad. But I would have to answer it for my next chapter, right? So, stay tuned!
Sweety8587, glad that you're delighted by my fic. More Bella Donna in the future chapters. ) And hopefully, I would get my sense of humor back (which escaped when my professors decided to torture us with exams and graded recitations).
Krac, and you just have to say that I'm updating again! lowers head in shame and guilt I'm so sorry. But I won't be regular until I am let out of the prison they call 'school.' Hey. Do you have plans on updating your blog? I subscribed to yours and looking forward to updates!
willa. j, thank you. I liked that part too. I was like, can the big guy carry the two? And then I said, what the heck. It's fun and it's fiction. I can do whatever I want. )
melancholic, yeah, I know. Tenses are my weakness. I'll try and improve 'em somehow. Thanks for the great compliments. And more (mis)fortune would come to Bella Donna, just stay tuned.
ishandahalf, glad my fic cracked you up. But I'm still not going to tell you what the secret is between Cody and Rogue. It would be revealed in due time. Unless you wanna bribe me. Yup. I think bribing me would reveal the secret sooner.
Veronica, you're my first reviewer that had a nice thing to say about Cody and Rogue's relationship. ) But I guess the Bella Donna hate thing is universal. Anyways, thanks.
Cathain Nottingham, you have a xanga? Can we be buddies and stuff?
evosmylife, I'm still thinking about the Kitty-Piotr thingy. And I don't know about the Anna-Bella fight. And yes, I also like Anna better over Marie. ) So thanks for the support.
Leishy, thank you for reassuring my fears that my attempts at humor would fall flat on its face. And yup! Remy's finally evolving and Rogue's finally thawing.
dreamschemer, and now we see the effects of paparazzi and stuff. Unfortunately, it seemed that Remy is the one who would have to deal with it!
enchantedlight, don't worry about Petey-baby. He's tough. He'll survive. He'll get over the trauma…eventually. ;)
Lady Farevay, thanks! I love your review. Sorry this installment took so long. Felt that I've let you down somehow…Hope this chapter makes it up!
And of course to curlygurly and LittlFreak whose comments in my blog sustains me in moments of draught.
