Disclaimer: With the exception of the boyfriend and his ex, who just aren't terribly important, I own no one in this chapter. Sniffle

A/N: This story is slow moving because it takes me a while to get inspired (I'm working on it) so apologies if you're actually keeping up with it. The comic canons I'm introducing will probably be departures from the personalities established in the comics, because, deprived individual that I am (that's deprived with an I, not and A), I don't read the comics.

Plea: If you review after reading this, I'll be extremely grateful. I've no other certain way to tell what I'm doing wrong, or, if I should be so lucky, what I'm doing right. Peace out folks!

The Lucky Ones

'It's looking dire,' Taylor sighed to his sympathetic girlfriend. 'And if I get substituted in, I'll get mauled as well. What's the use wanting to help when I know it won't work?' A soft hand ran through his hair and came to rest at the back of his neck. Taylor looked up at its owner with a grateful smile. He was so lucky to have Jenna, he decided. No one could be more supportive than her. She had always been there for him, and had even taken on the post of equipment manager of the basketball team just to keep him company while he sat on the bench.

'Taylor,' she said tenderly, 'you're a star. The coach knows it, and that's why he'll put you in the game any time now. And that's why you'll be terrific.'

It was a minute or two before the substitution took place. The coach nodded toward Taylor, who steeled himself, trying to take heart from Jenna's words, and stood up. Jenna rose next to him, and swiftly leant in to give him a brief, but deep and affectionate, kiss. He broke away, with an awkward grin on his face that acknowledged his struggle not to look too pleased.

'For luck,' she cooed, and waved him off as he dashed out onto the court.

Jennifer Stavros was, by many accounts, a very lucky girl. In the looks department, she was blessed with a shining mane of curly, dark blonde hair, tanned skin, and a lithe figure. As far as grades went, she always got by without too much trouble on her part. But the success of her social life was almost ridiculous. The powerful, the beautiful, and just those she thought were a good kick, somehow always ended up drifting towards her. Those suspicious or, more often, jealous, of her success swore that she must have done some nudging to cause everything to fall into place for her. But they had a hard time pinning anything specific on her.

Take her current boyfriend, Taylor Lloyd. How could she have been the cause in any way of the things that went wrong in his previous relationship with Colette Phelps? But frustratingly impossible as it was, it had to be noted that the long-lasting relationship didn't have as much trouble before that Stavros girl set her sights on Taylor. From that time on, Colette somehow managed to botch every little thing.

Tripping in the cafeteria whenever Taylor came into sight. Jennifer was always around then, but never near enough to stick out a foot or issue a shove.

Continually bumping into people. Stubbing her toes. Dropping things. Jennifer was never far away from any of these instances. Never knowing the answers to the questions she was asked in the classes she had with Jennifer. It was as if her mere presence was enough to unnerve Colette into loosing her cool.

These minor imperfections might not have bothered a devoted boyfriend like Taylor, but he did start to become irked when Colette started to arrive progressively late for their dates. A few times she didn't make it at all. She wretchedly claimed a run of bad luck that prevented her from being on time, but Taylor, being human, was highly sceptical of that excuse. No one's luck could be that bad. When, after some weeks of this behaviour, he broke it off with Colette, his reasoning was that deep down, she had surely had enough of him, and hence was pushing him away. It must have been very deep down, because she denied it hysterically and burst into tears every time she saw Taylor for days after.

All Jennifer had ever done, as far as anyone could tell, was flick the occasional elastic band or balled-up gum wrapper at Colette. The teachers had reprimanded her for childish behaviour. She let up on it as soon as Colette had been dumped.

'You're evil, you know,' Sharon grinned at her friend. 'That poor boy still thinks you're the best thing that's ever happened to him.'

Jennifer had just emerged from the gym wearing a satisfied smirk. Their team had not only recovered during that game, but also won staggeringly, apparently thanks to Taylor, but more likely thanks to her. Sharon's affirmations only lifted her spirits further. 'Well, I am,' she replied lightly. 'He doesn't know how lucky he is to have me.'

Sharon groaned and rolled her eyes. 'Enough with the puns, Roulette.' Sharon Smith was one of the few friends Jennifer had gained without 'stacking the odds.' They were of like kind, and helped each other a great deal, though mostly outside of school and all its social spheres. As far as the high school population was concerned, Sharon was an odd sort of girl that Jennifer only hung around with because she was 'a laugh.' They also incorrectly assumed that her hair was that light lavender colour because she dyed it.

'It's good practice, all this social experimenting that I do,' Jennifer went on conversationally, though her voice dropped several notches. 'I'm testing the limits of my powers. And learning that I can use them to manipulate people... given enough time and planning. Maybe not as effective as what Manny can do, but hey, whoever said I'd be working with him forever? I've got the skills to go it alone someday.'

'And modest to boot,' chuckled Sharon.

'I'm not kidding, you know,' Jennifer was now whispering. 'Who wants to be tied down to the Hellions? I don't intend to get stuck as a pawn for-'

Sharon had turned a startled stare on her friend at the mention of the Hellions, and was now frantically shushing her. 'Jenna! Not here, not here- what are you thinking?'

'Thoughts nowhere near as paranoid as yours,' Jennifer threw back with raised eyebrows. 'People have better things to do than eavesdrop on us, Sharon.'

'You're overconfident,' Sharon sighed, suddenly looking tired and worried. 'And when that gets you into trouble, I hope your luck can get you out.'

'Confidence and luck!' Jennifer said with mock anxiety. 'Oh, however will I make it in the world?'

Sharon was saved replying when Taylor appeared, fresh from the changing rooms and wearing the glow of victory. Spotting his favourite girl, he grinned and trotted over. Following Sharon's gaze, Jennifer showed off her own dazzling smile when she caught sight of her sweetheart. 'Darling!' she squealed, throwing her arms around him. 'You were wonderful!'

Taylor waved a hello to Sharon before planting a loving kiss on Jennifer's cheek. 'Couldn't have done it without you, Jenna. You always manage to bring out the best in me.'

'Rogue, wait up!'

'If you're gonna ask for a ride,' Rogue sighed, swivelling around to face Kitty, 'kindly bear in mind that I'll be dropping by the art school first.' She gave her a pointed look, but Kitty just smiled at her and didn't seem to pick up on the hint. 'And going to a lecture.' Still nothing. 'For an hour.'

'I don't need to go anywhere,' Kitty shrugged good-naturedly. 'I just...' The sunny facade seemed to melt for a moment, and gave Rogue a brief glimpse of some unsettled emotion lurking beneath. 'I just need to get out of the mansion for a while.'

Kitty had her troubles too, Rogue realised, and her gaze softened a little. They were more related to a certain few men in her life than anything particularly earth-shattering, but that didn't make them unimportant.

'I wouldn't want to butt in on your class or anything,' she added quickly; 'maybe I could just hang around campus?'

'Whatever suits ya,' Rogue replied with an affected tone of disinterest, and waved a hand to motion her friend to follow her to the car.

The college was local enough to subway or bus to; those routes required being walked part of the way, and while Rogue didn't usually mind this, perpetual downpours such as was the weather's speciality today made it a whole lot less desirable. Rogue wandered, as they listened to the steady drumbeat of rain of the car roof and the wheels splashed through the surface of water on the road, if the damp was getting Kitty down. The girl was staring complacently out of the window and had not once attempted to strike up any idle chatter.

Maybe she needed the peace.

Maybe she needed to talk.

Maybe she needed girl-talk. Rogue shuddered inwardly at the thought. No, she wasn't good at that. But it was just so unnerving, sitting next to Kitty in complete silence. Now that she thought on it, it was starting to make her uncomfortable.

'So what is it with you and Colossus?' she asked abruptly.

Kitty looked at her with an expression somewhere between nervous and grateful. 'Piotr?' she said meekly.

Rogue shook her head tiredly. 'Ah just don't understand why you always fall for the bad uns. Is it because you're so good and all that, you need a balance?'

'Piotr's not bad,' Kitty said quietly. 'And he definitely isn't anything like Lance.'

'Good, one of him's enough,' murmured Rogue.

'And just because Piotr never joined the X-Men doesn't mean he isn't on our side.'

Rogue chanced giving her a sidelong glance before returning her eyes to the road. 'And are you so sure that he -is- on our side?' This resulted in a longer pause than Rogue would have expected. 'Kitty?'

'He's good,' she said quietly. 'I mean, he cares so much for his sister, and...'

'Kitty, Ah cain't tell if you're trying to explain him to me or to yourself.'

'I've... I've been wrong before, you know? I used to think that Lance... really cared. Sometimes I still do.' She was staring steadily at her knees now, shame creeping into her voice and onto her face. 'It felt like he wanted to help me, only he couldn't. Or wouldn't. And now with Piotr... I want to help him but I don't know how.'

'Give yourself some credit, Kit,' Rogue told her firmly. 'You're smart. But no one's smart enough to figure out that whole gender.'

'I dunno,' Kitty answered with the trace of a smile, 'Jean, maybe?'

'Telepathy's cheating,' said Rogue without hesitation. Then, 'Say, why're you talking to me about this, anyway, when you could talk to her?'

'You started the conversation,' Kitty pointed out.

'You asked to come with me,' Rogue retorted.

'I talk to her sometimes,' Kitty sighed after a moment's thought. 'But I'm starting to think she can't remember a time before she and Scott were happily joined at the hip. It's getting to be enough to make me very slightly bitter.'

'So if Ah get a boyfriend you won't vent at me anymore?'

'I guess. Well, unless it's Gambit, 'cause-'

A faint flush of scarlet struck Rogue in the cheeks. 'It won't be,' she growled.

By the time they reached the art school and were pulling into a parking space, Rogue wondered if maybe quiet Kitty was preferable to chatty Kitty after all.

'Doesn't look like it's going to let up, does it?' Kitty remarked, indicating the rain.

'Maybe we should give Storm a call,' added Rogue, dubiously eyeing the unsheltered distance to the door of the building. 'Are ya gonna come in, or will ya be staying where it's dry?'

'Hm, tough choice- Oh, wait a minute,' Kitty exclaimed with the air of one remembering an ace up her sleeve. 'Am I Shadowcat or am I Shadowcat? Come on.'

And she got out of the car. Rogue stared at her, walking through the rain to the other side of the car and looking remarkably pleased with herself. Before Rogue could comment upon her friend's sanity, Kitty's hand shot through the closed door, grabbed her arm and phased her through. Now standing outside, still in Kitty's grasp, and starting to severely doubt Kitty's desire to remain uninjured as well, Rogue was suddenly surprised to note that she was completely dry.

'Oh. Phasing through the rain,' she realised without much enthusiasm. 'Clever. You oughta be careful though, if anyone saw-'

'Run like you're getting soaked, then,' grinned Kitty, and they both sprinted up the path, Rogue grumbling something about the locking mechanism and how Kitty's powers better not have messed with it.

It didn't occur to them that someone nearby might have stayed in his car to avoid the rain.

Waiting outside the door an hour later for the lecture to finish, Kitty suddenly found her thoughts interrupted by a door opening and then closing- not especially loudly but, in the stifled corridor, very audibly. A young man came striding into view a moment later. He was rather tall, and Kitty felt her heart flutter for an irrational instant in which her mind jumped to Colossus. But the boy that appeared was Native American, with coarse black hair tied back into a loose tail, and sharp, stern features than nevertheless looked as though they would lend him a kind smile. He came to a halt next to Kitty, who looked at him in slight confusion until she remembered the art class that was about to come out. Not wanting to seem like she was staring, she quickly offered him a smile.

'Waiting for someone too?'

'A friend of mine, yes,' he replied, his voice deep and resounding but kept to a hush outside the lecture room.

'Still wet out?' she asked absentmindedly, noting a faint glimmer of raindrops on his skin and hair.

'Drizzling.'

'Ah.' He was almost as good a conversationalist as Rogue usually was. Kitty was just struggling to think of something friendly or intelligent to say when the classroom door opened and a lone student swept out, head bent forward with her length of lank, dark brown hair swinging forward to hide her face, and a small stack of notebooks clutched to her chest; body language that said she wanted out, and fast. Kitty peered sympathetically after her retreating back. 'She looks like she could use a hug,' she remarked to the boy, who to her utter surprise promptly turned from her and started to follow the art student. 'Wait! I didn't mean-'

'Ange,' he called out, and Kitty quickly subsided into a pink-cheeked state of social awkwardness.

The student named Ange only acknowledged her friend so much as to glance briefly behind her before continuing to stride ahead. He caught up to her on the path outside and began speaking in a low voice.

'You're allowed to act as if you know me, Tarot.'

She ignored the comment. 'I thought you were waiting in the car?' she muttered in her light French accent.

'There was a girl I wanted to check out.'

This was enough to make Tarot glance at him, eyebrows raised. 'That's not like you, James.'

'Not like that,' he assured her mildly. 'She's a mutant.'

Yet another surprise; this time the girl didn't let her tone betray that fact. 'How can you tell?' she asked lightly.

'She can go through solid objects; just phase right through, and lend that power to others as well. I saw her from in the parking lot, melting through a car door, then pulling her friend through as well.'

'Friend?' Tarot's interest was evidently piqued.

'And I took a closer look at her inside just now,' James went on. 'They both ran inside when the rain was at its heaviest, that would have been enough to soak anyone-'

'No kidding,' put in Tarot. 'I still haven't dried off.'

'And that girl was bone dry, not a drop of water on her. Her friend is in your art class; brown and white hair, and she wears gloves.'

'Do you think she could be a mutant to?' Tarot asked cautiously.

'It's possible. At the very least, she's not a mutant-hater,' James reasoned. They strode on in silence for a few moments before he suggested, 'I think maybe you should look into the pair of them.'

Tarot snorted with surprise. 'What do you want me to do?' she demanded incredulously. 'Offer them an invite to the next Hellfire Club Ball?'

James shot her a warning look, then glanced about to be sure no one was close enough to hear. The rest of the lecture group was milling out, but he and Tarot were far enough ahead to be safe. 'Just see what you can find out about them,' he urged. 'Try and figure out if they'd be inclined to join our... organisation.'

'That's Black Bishop's territory,' Tarot pointed out. 'White Queen has us trained as muscle, not recruiters.'

'There's nothing to say we can't do both,' James replied, his voice slinking ever further down the range of volume until Tarot had to strain to hear him. 'We'll be helping out Bishop. Moreover, we'll be helping out those girls. Think about where we were before White Queen took us in.'

'We -were- pretty lucky for her to find us,' Tarot consented.

'The sooner we throw them a lifeline,' James continued, 'the better.'

'All right,' Tarot sighed in resignation, 'I'll see what I can do. You'll help me out though, won't you James?'

James smiled and nodded, and rested a grateful hand on his friend's shoulder as they made their way through the parking lot.