7/13

Scott Summers trudged up the stairs that led to his room, dragging all of his body weight along the plush carpet. Great. He should have known that such a bad start of the day would and only lead to something much worse.

Traffic was terrible, he didn't know where exactly all the cars came from, but he knew where they were headed: to the Bayville Mall. He heard Kitty squealing something about some kind of a sale. It took him thirty minutes more than normal just to get back to the mansion. And before that, he actually failed a quiz in Trigonometry. Granted, it was a pop quiz but it was Trigonometry. Trigonometry . . .!

He was banged his door open, dropped down his things down the floor haphazardly, took off his shoes and plopped down the bed face down. He had just closed his eyes, preparing to nap when the Professor's voice rang inside his head.

Scott, Rogue, Warren, Hank has the new serum prepared and he'd like to test it as soon as possible. The Med. Lab, if you please, -

Scott groaned, the sound muffled by his pillow.

The Med. Lab now? And with Warren, nonetheless. He really wasn't in the mood to be Rogue's guinea pig this afternoon, thanks very much. He has lots of things to do, like staring at nothing all day after all. Didn't they know that?

But then again, he really wanted to be there for Rogue for this. This might just break or make her. He felt like he should be there just for support, just like he was there for her way back when Warren wasn't staying here. She had trusted him after all, and that had formed some kind of a bond that somehow made him feel required to be there for her.

With a frustrated sigh frustrated at what, he didn't know exactly, he pushed himself off the bed and walked towards the Med. Lab., thinking whether this new batch would work or not. A part of him wanted it to work, just for Rogue's sake. And a slightly bigger part of him wanted it to fail. If the serum failed, and the other X-men reacted the way Rogue had predicted . . . he didn't think that he could look at the world the same way again.

Plus, he really couldn't see the Institute without her, even if she had only stayed here for a short amount of time. Those light chats that they had, the sports matches, he knew he'll miss them. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he really felt flattered and proud that he was one of the few people that Rogue had chosen to show her smile to. That smile that makes her seem younger and far less problematic. He knew that if she leaves, he'll miss that smile the most.

It just hit him. He had made a friend out of Rogue without him even knowing it. They had become close without him noticing. He actually got close to the resident Goth. He didn't exactly know what to say to that.

When the doors to the Lab. slid open, he immediately found Rogue seated at one of the metal tables with Warren at her side, his hands on her shoulders to show support.

"Ah, Scott," Dr. Mcoy greeted as he emerged from the storeroom. He was already holding the syringe. "Just in time," He walked over to Rogue and Warren stepped back. He looked at her in the eye and raised his eyebrows. Are you ready? It was a question that needn't be voiced out loud.

Rouge took a deep breath and nodded.

Hank Mcoy dabbed an area on her forearm with a piece of cotton soaked in alcohol and injected the needle and pushed on the syringe ever so slowly. He waited for a while. Scott could visibly see that Rogue was holding her breath.

He walked a few paces towards the table, ready to ask the unvoiced question that hung in the air. But Warren beat him to it.

"Did it work?"

Scott stood frozen on his spot.

"I don't know," Hank replied, his voice sounding tired. He massaged the bridge of his nose. "It all comes down to one thing. Rogue?"

She refused to look up at anybody.

Scott stepped forward once again. "I'll--"

Without warning, Warren suddenly took off his leather gloves and touched Rogue's cheek gently. She looked up sharply and turned her head away but Warren's hand followed her movements.

Seconds passed.

Her eyes grew wide when it finally registered that nothing was happening. Her lips slowly formed a huge smile. She jumped from the bed and hugged Warren. Amazingly, not even the barest of the smallest squeals escaped her.

The words died in Scott's throat at the obvious display of affection. He felt like he had just been punched in the gut, and all the wind was knocked out of him. No, not just the wind, everything. He didn't know why he suddenly felt hollow.

"I think we've got it," Hank said with a satisfied smile. "Of course, I'll need to take some blood samples to see if it really did work, so I need you to stay awhile,"

Rogue didn't seem to be listening. She seemed to be crying onto Warren's shoulders and he was patting her back and was muttering some well-chosen words that Scott would never have thought of if he were under the same circumstance.

"Congratulations," Scott muttered mechanically to no one as he made his way out of the Med. Lab.

No one really noticed the sliding doors closing after him.

tbc