Learning to Deal
I don't own X-Men Evolution (or X-Men for that matter) characters or anything concerning the show, comics, ect. No suing! Be civil in reviews (if there are any).
Okay people, school has started once again and I'm stressed out between homework, school, piano lessons, horseback riding, and marching band. So, since most of my weekends will be stressful until mid-October I'm going to just try to update every other week.
So, my point is, don't ask me to update soon because I won't. Thank you.
"Charles," Logan spoke up as he sat down on the chair with a can of soda, unfortunately the good professor banned any liquor of any form in the mansion.
"Yes Logan?" Xiaver returned, staring at the chess board, he was playing against Hank, trying to resist the temptation of entering the other teacher's mind.
"I've been thinking about these counceling sessions you've been having with the students," Logan began, trying to find a way to actual word what he wanted to say. "Do you really think that Rogue's disappearance has affected anyone other than Kurt or Kitty?"
Charles glanced up at his friend. "What exactly are you trying to say Logan? That the students do not care that Rogue is no longer here?"
Logan could already see where this was going to lead, down the path he didn't mean for it to lead down to.
"No," he corrected, "I'm just saying Charles, that Rogue was a loner and very few people got close to her. We may feel like family to each other, even to Rogue, but I seriously don't think that many of the kids are emotionally involved in her being gone."
He could sense that the professor was not buying the idea.
"Charles, I'm no pyscratrist but these kids don't know Rogue too well and I think they could care less about her being gone for the most part. In fact, I think some of them probably feel safer without her around," explained Logan.
Moving his knight, Charles looked up at Logan, "You mean without her powers around."
"Exactly. I know you're good at reading minds and all Charles, but even you can't read how the kids feel about other students unless you watch them closely. Most of them flinched away from Rogue when she was here," Wolverine stated.
"Sorry Charles," Hank interjected, "I must agree with Logan on this observation. They did flinch away and I don't think it was because of her status as a loner either."
Charles sighed, he always thought he had known all of his students well enough to know that they held each other in the highest of respects and that they felt safe with each other. Apparently not if they were all afraid to touch one girl who was probably more paranoid than any of them.
"So, then I should stop these counseling sessions and just focus on Kitty and Kurt than," he muttered while scanning the board. "Checkmate."
She was laughing! Why was she laughing? What did she find so amusing about Rogue being a mutant? Was there some sort of inside joke that Rogue was missing?
Rogue was shocked at first but then she began to feel offended.
Marian slowly began to notice as she calmed down with deep breathes between laughs. "Ah'm sorry," she apologized, still partically laughing with a hand to her lips to help contain her laughter.
"Don't ya believe meh?!" Rogue questioned, feeling offended and possibly even more offended if Marian didn't believe her.
Sobering, Marian put down her hand and looked at Rogue for a moment before realizing that the teen obviously was taking her reaction the wrong way. This miscommunication had to be corrected.
"Ah do believe you, Rogue, an' that's what's so hilarious to me," Marian explained.
"Why?" Rogue demanded, perplexed. Where exactly was the hilarity in that situation? She believed Rogue, good, but what was so hilarious about believing in Rogue? That was the part that Rogue couldn't understand.
"Because Ah almost thought it was something serious like you killing someone or something the like," answered Marian with that winning smile that she could throw at anyone and make them weak.
Rogue's eyes narrowed a bit. "So meh being a mutant isn't serious?" Marian was taken aback but she didn't say anything since Rogue was not done with her demands. "How so? And don't you know what happened?!"
The older woman's eyebrow rose as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and taking a slice of pizza. "Ah never asked Timothy 'cause Ah wanted you to tell me what happened," Marian stated, taking a bite of the pizza.
Once again, Rogue was stunned into silence for a moment. She doesn't know what happened…she had never asked Timothy what had happened, her brain finally realized. "W-why?" Rogue muttered.
Marian shrugged, swallowing, "Ah figured you could explain it better than him, but do say something if you think differently."
Biting her lower lip, Rogue down at her hands for a moment and twisted them in her lap. When she glanced up, Rogue saw that Marian was sitting there, eating her pizza while waiting patiently for the tale.
Sighing, Rogue began her narrative, "Ah went to pick up Timothy, just as you had asked med." Marian nodded. "Ah met with Mor…Sydney an' we were talkin' until Timothy came out. After that Ah seriously have no idea what happened, all Ah Know was that his hand touched mah face!" Throughout the enter story Rogue's voice steadily grew louder until it sounded as though she were defending herself from an ansault of accusations.
Marian's brows furrowed together in confusion. "What happens when someone touches your face?" she asked.
Immediately, Rogue's mind began to panic as she thought of a way to explain her powers. Perhaps Ah should explain it like Ah did with Rist…Mystique. It still hurt to think of how Mystique disguised herself to be Rogue's friend, it hurt even more the manner in which Rogue found out. Ah feel so used…
"Rogue, are you okay over there? You look like you're about to cry," Marian spoke up, setting aside her pizza and moving from her seat across from Rogue to the chair beside her.
"Ah'm fine," Rogue lied, peeling off a glove and holding up her bare hand with three rings on her fingers. "If Ah were to make skin to skin contact with you right now, Ah would probably put you into a coma. All of your memories, life force, everythin' about you would flow from you an' into me."
Marian didn't say a word or make sound for that matter. It made Rogue very nervous because now she didn't know if it was a good sign or not.
"So," she continued, "that's why Ah wear these gloves all the time."
Again, the older woman didn't say a word and just sat there watching Rogue intently. Shifting about in her seat Rogue began to fidget with her gloves and steal glances between her hands and Marian.
"Say somethin'," Rogue pleaded in a soft voice.
There was no way that she was going to be able to take anymore of this silent treatment without knowing if Marian was disgusted or afraid of Rogue to the extent that she was going to kick the teen out. Even though that was the last thing Rogue wanted, she couldn't help but wonder if that was exactly what was going to happen within the next few seconds.
"Well," Marian piped up, glancing at her watch and then at the clock on the wall, "that was quite the tale, Rogue."
There it was, the hanging sentence that just had the unspoken 'but' or 'yet' in it. Rogue could just sense it as she stared down at her hands, slipping her glove back on her hand.
"But?" Rogue murmured, knowing that she would have to be the one to say it or the sentence would have been left hanging for a long time.
"But it's late an' we have work in the mornin'," Rogue snapped her head up, "so Ah suggest that we go to bed so that we can wake up bright 'n' early an' meet the day head on." It was the typical, energetic Marian speaking as though it was any other evening and they had just shared a casual dinner conversation that had nothing to do with Rogue being a mutant.
Rogue was still in a state of shock when Marian grabbed her plate and threw it out. Then Marian began to head for the stairs, yawning, and ready for bed.
"Why?" Rogue questioned, recalling herself to reality.
Marian stopped on the stairs and didn't ask for clarification. "Because we need money to pay the bills an' the diner brings in that money that we use to pay those bills with," she responded.
"No, why are you still lettin' meh stay with you even after all that Ah just told you? About meh bein' a mutant an' about mah powahs, an' everythin'," Rogue clarified, she was not in the mood for joking. No, Rogue wanted straight answers this time.
No normal person would let some mutant stay in his or her home, especially not one with powers that could put them into a coma with a simple touch of the skin. Besides, there was too much prejudice in the world against mutants that there was little to no hope that anyone was not in the least a bit prejudice. So, why was Marian being so open-minded about it?
The normal cheery disposition on Marian's face just fell. In her eyes Rogue could see that she was thinking of something from a long away memory that probably had a great affect on her.
"That…" she choked out in a quiet voice, "is a tale that must be saved for a later day, one where we'll have time to stay up an' talk about it. But tonight's not that night, okay? Can you settle for that for now?" Marian looked Rogue in the eye with such an imploring expression that the young girl couldn't say 'no' to.
So, instead of saying anything Rogue just nodded.
"In the meantime, let's get some sleep," Marian commented and Rogue again nodded.
The smile had returned then and Rogue couldn't help but smile back. "Can Ah trust you not to run away or do Ah need to tie you to the couch?" teased Marian with a wink.
Cracking into a full-blown smile, Rogue shook her head. "No, Ah promise not to run off."
"Okay." Leaning over the banister, Marian gave Rogue a searching look before she turned to go finish going up to her room. "'Night Rogue, see you in the mornin'."
"Night Marian," Rogue returned absently as she turned to her cold pizza, her appatite had finally decided to return with a vengeance as her stomach growled.
Obliging her inner needs for food, Rogue ate her slices of cold pizza and cleaned up after herself before heading into the living room. Quickly she debated whether she really should change into pajamas or just sleep in her clothes, Rogue decided to go with the latter. She would change clothes in the morning as it was.
So, Rogue laid down on the couch in her clothes and kicked off her combat boots.
Guess mah life is turnin' 'round. How lucky am Ah that Marian is so understandin'…Suddenly a thought struck Rogue that made her just jolt into a sitting position. "Oh mah Gawd, could Marian be a mutant?!"