4/13
The first week of school after the Christmas Break flew by almost instantly, with almost no change in the students. Well, no change visible to their eyes anyway. Kitty and Kurt were still at it, playing their childish games; Evan was still the skater boy; Jean was still with Duncan; and Rogue was still quiet.
The day after the incident, the Professors informed Rogue who later on informed Scott, as she was advised by the good doctors that it would be best if she had someone her own age to confide in that they had agreed to give the experiment another go. But they agreed on it, only under the condition that if the second one were to fail, she would have to at least try and control her mutation manually. That meant that if this batch' serum didn't work, Rogue would be meeting with Professor X three times a week for mental exercises until she can master her powers.
But that didn't seem to make her happy. If anything, Scott noticed that she had become far more anti-social than ever. He barely even saw her hanging out with Risty anymore.
On his way to the Rec. Room one Saturday morning, Scott passed Rogue staring out the window and leaning against the wall, at the other X-men members lolling about under the Sunday afternoon sun, still wearing somewhat thick clothes as the winds were still sharp. He didn't even have to see it in her eyes that she was sad, he could feel it in the aura that she was emitting around her.
He shrugged it off and walked on. He had tried his best to cheer her up these past few days, and nothing worked. He knew that there was a big possibility of the second serum to fail and he could only imagine how devastated Rogue would be if it did fail, but enough is enough. He decided to let her mope by herself, as his words of comfort certainly weren't working.
He flopped down the sofa, reached for the remote and clicked open the television. He clicked and he clicked and he clicked the remote, and in a few minutes, he had surfed all the eighty-three channels available. So far, the only movie that was appealing to him was the rerun of the movie 'Born Yesterday'. As he was about to flip back to the said movie, Rogue's distinct voice echoed throughout the first floor of the building, screaming.
Scott didn't even hesitate; he jumped up from the couch and ran back to where Rogue was. He saw her by the door, hugging a man wearing a trench coat. When she let go, he immediately recognized the man as Warren Worthington III.
"Angel!" Rogue exclaimed, patting the blonde man on the shoulders.
The man smiled graciously and sat down his luggage. "Rogue," he greeted in that deep, elegant voice of his, and when his eyes roamed over to Scott, he greeted him too.
Scott walked over to them, and shook the newcomer's hand. "What are you doing here, man?"
"Well," Warren started. "I decided to take up your invitation way back when. I had some free time on my hands so I decided to go here,"
"Ah," Scott replied. He was about to say something but Rogue beat him to it, asking questions about their guest's travels. It was unnerving to see Rogue smiling again; he had to admit, even though he was truly happy for her. And it was even more unnerving to Scott Summers that a newcomer like Warren could do it so easily.
He shook his head and followed Rogue and Warren, who seemed to be heading down to the Professor's office.
On their way, Scott and Rogue found out that Warren had already telephoned Professor X regarding his short vacation in the Institute. The Professor agreed of course on the whole arrangement. Any probable addition to the X-team is welcome with him, and even more so if it is for the sake of beating Magneto to the said addition.
Scott took the opportunity to knock on the door, as Rogue and Warren were too busy catching up. She was, by the way her eyes shone through her make-up, very impressed by whatever the blonde was saying. When they entered the office, the Professor was looking at Scott weirdly, a question in his eyes that Scott couldn't quite answer.
The paralyzed man behind the desk brought his attention to their guest. "Ah, Warren," he started. "Glad to see that you could make it. I, on behalf of the whole Institute, am welcoming you and I wish that you would find your stay here quite pleasurable,"
Warren nodded. "Thank you, Professor. I do believe that I will," Scott noted that his eyes lingered on Rogue a little bit longer as he said those words. What he failed to note was the slight annoyance he felt at that particular fact.
Rogue all but shrieked and immediately grabbed Warren by the hand. "Come on," she started, already walking out the door. "I'll show you your room,"
Scott looked at the Professor, who looked back, and then turned his eyes on the suitcase by the door. Scott sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'll take it, Professor," and with that, he picked up the said luggage and followed Rogue and Warren's trail.
'Jeez, how long is he planning to stay here?' Scott inwardly asked himself as he trudged along the hallways towards the guestroom carrying the unusually heavy suitcase.
As he reached the said destination, he heard muffled sounds coming from inside the room. The door was slightly open, deliberately or otherwise, and he could hear Rogue's laughter from inside.
When he pushed open the door and entered, he was somewhat surprised to find Warren on top of Rogue and the two of them messing up the sheets of the bed.
He was tickling her. Charming.
He cleared his throat to interrupt the two. Again, it was unnerving to see such a display of closeness from Rogue. It was good to see her having fun but he was a little offended that she would jump on the first rich and handsome guy that comes along the mansion. He tried his best after all, right?
The duo finally noticed him and got off the bed. They stood up, their posture sheepish, as though Scott had walked in on them doing something that they shouldn't be doing. At least, that's what Scott saw.
His vision also noticed the faint pink tinge in Rogue's cheeks. Scott dropped down the suitcase on the floor rather carelessly and muttered with a scowl "Enjoy,"
He turned around and walked out of the room, towards his own, leaving the door wide open. Like hell he was going to lock them up together.
"What's his problem?" he heard Warren ask.
He walked up to his room, the sound of Rogue's laughter ringing in his ears. How could she act so comfortable around him? It's not like they have a bond or something. He's just a newcomer and she's clinging onto him like they're lifetime best friends. 'Wonder what got her though?' he thought to himself with an uncharacteristically sarcastic tone. 'The stunning features, the charm or the wealth enough to feed three third-world countries?'
Scott went inside his room and flopped down onto his bed, face first. He disregarded the fact that the pillow prevented him from breathing properly. Like he disregarded the fact that deep down, he knew that his ego had been scarred once again by Rogue's actions.
Ah, the inner workings of a male's psyche.
He continued on with his internal rant. He was the one who was at Rogue's side when she was asking for help; he was the one who she used as a guinea pig last week; he was the one whom she confided in and blast it all, he was the one who gave her the ice cream!
He was vaguely aware of the fact that his face was all red and that his glasses were askew because of the pillow that was pressing against his face. He tilted his head to one side and saw the chair in front of his computer.
The sweater that Rogue gave him hung on the said object and it sparked up irritation inside him.
Why exactly was Warren Worthington III in here?!
tbc