Et Tous le Musique Arretee
Chapter 6: First Date
A/N: Survey! I wanted to put it in chapter five, but I… forgot. Oops. So, it's a chapter late. Check out the bottom after you read this!Anyways, READ THIS CHAPTER BEFORE THE SURVEY!
Any other suggestions are welcome.
And, I ask you now, review. Please?
Disclaimer: I own: the plot, Willow/Esme, Bronwyn, and nothing else. Please don't sue. The dress she has on is actually one from Lip Service. You can view it at
, and I described as well as I could and made it a bit longer.
This is dedicated to my wonderful sister who made me make it longer and spiffier and who is making me write two versions of Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse. She's also probably also my best friend on the freakin' planet.
Oh, and it's safe to e-mail me again. I like e-mail. I check about three times a day, so it's almost guaranteed I'll get it the day you send it or the day after.
~~~~~~~~
"This is jus' great," Rogue muttered as she slammed her locker shut. Everyone had seen her on Remy's lap and they completely disregarded the fact that she couldn't touch- and she still wasn't sure if they knew about that- and spread rumors about her being his bitch or something. She had rolled her eyes when she heard Taryn whispering something along those lines to some girl. Yeah, right. He wished.
"Hel-loooo!" Kitty all but yelled as she approached her. Rogue winced. Great. Kitty on caffeine. "So what's goin' on between you and that new guy?" she asked her teasingly. Rogue kicked the locker underneath hers, pretending to be unaware of the fact that it was Jean's friend's.
"Nothin'!" she replied indignantly as the two girls walked.
"Great!" Kitty said cheerfully. "Because tonight, I like, wanna go see Pirates of the Caribbean, and I thought you'd totally want to go!" she told Rogue as they headed towards the cafeteria. Rogue's mind instantly went to her plans for that night.
"Sorry, Kit, Ah can't." she said without thinking. Shit!
"Why?" Kitty asked her. "Does this have anything to do with all your mysteeeeerious like outings with Willow?" she asked.
"No," Rogue said. Oh, fuck. Open mouth, insert fucking foot.
"Ooooh, something even more mysterious." Kitty stated. "Who?" she asked bluntly. Rogue was taken aback.
"What are ya goin' on 'bout now, Kit?" she asked her suspiciously.
"It's Remy, isn't it! Like, oh my GOD!" Kitty squealed. Rogue groaned.
"Why did Ah tell ya?" she asked rhetorically. "Oh, God, Kit, please don't tell Jean!" she said suddenly, fully aware that Jean would 'accidentally' follow them in her trashiest clothes. Kitty was babbling on about how cute they would be together. When they reached their table, Rogue banged her head on the top.
"I won't." the Valley girl finally promised. And Rogue knew she meant it.
~~~
"What're you gonna wear tonight?" Kitty asked Rogue who was leafing through a CD binder. The latter shrugged, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling.
"Ah dunno," she drawled. "Ah dunno why Ah even agreed ta go, but Ah guess it's no big deal." Kitty looked at Rogue in amazement.
"No big deal?!? Rogue, a guy is like, totally interested in you! It's a like, huge deal!" Rogue rolled her eyes and Kitty's level of volume.
"Thanks, Kit. Thanks a lot." She muttered. Kitty rolled her eyes.
"I meant a guy who doesn't care that he can't, like, you know, touch you!" she explained. Rogue stiffened somewhat. The memory of her dream- cold hands and soft eyes- flashed through her mind, but she pushed it to the back of her head. Kitty hadn't noticed her friend's momentary silence, and babbled on. "I mean, I don't even like the guy, but you know, if he doesn't care that he can't like, touch you, then he's totally OK in my book!" she continued. Rogue rolled her eyes.
"Kit, Ah'm not even sure Ah like the guy." She pointed out. Kitty looked at her pointedly at rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.
"Yeah, and you agreed to go out on a date with him for like, totally no reason!" she said. Rogue struggled to think of something to say.
"I knew it!" the Valley girl screamed at her friend's silence. She rolled around on her bed, laughing.
"Knew what?" Remy asked from the doorway.
"That you're an asshole." Rogue stated without looking at him. He shrugged.
"Dress nice, chere," he called as he walked away. Rogue screamed into her black pillow.
"Does he have to announce it to the whole house?" she shrieked. Kitty laughed even harder and Rogue scowled, practically boring a hole in the wall with her eyes. Jean walked by, seeing Rogue looking pissed and Kitty in hysterics, and shrugged.
It was always best not to ask when you lived in this mansion. It was called an Institute with good reason.
~~~~~~~
Willow looked up from her book- Cranberry Queen- and whistled. Rogue was wearing a red dress with long, peasant shoulder-sleeves. A little past the elbow, the burgundy fabric became black fishnet woven into a pattern. It laced up and had lines in black like a corset on the top, and the front of the skirt had the same black mesh pattern set into it over black satin. It came down to her knees, and she wore black gloves, black tights, and black boots with crimson laces.
"What?" she demanded. She wore the same crimson lipstick, but her eyes were outlined with black eyeliner and a brush of deep red eyeshadow also adorned them. Willow just shook her head.
"Goin' out somewhere? Where?" she asked, then raised an eyebrow, her own eyes heavily circled in deep blue eyeliner and green mascara. "Or, should I ask, with who?" she added.
"None o' yoah business, city brat," she snapped as she sat down and crossed her legs. Remy walked in, wearing a gray dress shirt and nice black pants, both of which hung on him very nicely.
"I knew it!" Willow cried, and Rogue threw a glare at her.
"Why does everyone keep sayin' that?" she demanded angrily. Willow shrugged. "Es- Will," she fixed quickly, glancing worriedly at Remy, who looked curious but didn't question it. "It's just a first date! Nothin's gonna happen!" she snapped at Willow, who slunk out of the room, but not before she called a mocking parting.
"Yeah, keep in mind that some people were BORN because of a first date. Most people, actually, but whatever…"
She gestured to them. "Why the gloves?" she asked. He gently reached over and pulled one of her own gloves off.
"So y' don' have t' wear yours," he told her simply, but she pulled her hand away.
"Remy!" she hissed. "Ah could accidentally touch someone!" She tried to get her glove back, but he pulled it away.
"Non, belle femme," he said gently. "Tonight, y' wear no gloves," She sighed resignedly and pulled her other glove off, handing it cautiously to him.
"Good," he said, entwining his fingers with hers. "Ready?" he asked her, and she nodded. She herself wasn't sure why, but she didn't untangle her fingers from his.
~~~~~~~~~
The restaurant was nice. She felt stupid for thinking that- he had told her to dress nice, after all- but if he had told her it was this nice, she probably would not have worn a dress from Lip Service. Maybe something from the back of her closet, something Kitty or Jean gave her. She felt incredibly out of place- people, especially men, were blatantly staring at her. Remy wrapped an arm around her waist, and she didn't shove him away. She didn't let him pull her closer, and the Cajun had the brains to not try that. She assumed he was basically telling all the rich bitches where to stuff it.
Remy noticed all the men staring with obvious interest in Rogue. From her nervous shift to rest most of her weight on one foot, he gathered she thought that they were staring at her choice of clothing. He, however, realized that they were staring at her because she was beautiful. He wasn't exactly sure what to do- if he put an arm around her, she might push him away. But, then, the others would realize they didn't have a chance. And being humiliated was better than having all those men- most of which had girlfriends, but the girls were too busy staring at Remy to notice their men staring at Rogue-looking at Rogue like she was a trophy, not a person.
He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she didn't pull away. The red velvet-like fabric of her dress brushed against his wrist as he stretched an arm to pull her closer. It was worth wearing gloves; he could tell she felt more normal at not having to cover up almost every square inch of skin.
"LeBeau," Remy told the waiter simply, and he nodded, but not before he threw a disrespectful look at Rogue. Once he sighted the closeness though, he looked away, somewhat embarrassed. Remy was highly amused and Rogue was uncomfortable. His arm around her felt right in a way she couldn't really describe- had it been anyone else, she would have pushed them away without a doubt. But with Remy, it just seemed…natural.
Much as she appreciated him wearing gloves so she wouldn't have to, she wasn't sure if he realized the full danger of her going without gloves. But to look down and see her bare hands, she could almost lie to herself and say she could touch. If she didn't look at his hands, then she could pretend they were normal people on a normal date.
"Chere?" Remy said cautiously, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Sorry," she said quickly. "Ah was just thinkin'." She said as a half-explanation.
"'Bout what, p'tite?" he asked her. She shrugged and looked sadly and at a couple holding hands. No gloves. Skin. On. Skin.
"Ah just wish that Ah could touch…" she sighed. He shook his head.
"It is a pity, belle femme, but not'in' y' can do, non?" he said. She snapped her head up.
"You jus' don't know what it's like," she said, emerald eyes ablaze. "You've always been able ta touch. Ah mean, when Ah was little Ah nevah was the touchy-feely kind. But now? Ah see everyone so happy, and Ah just wish that Ah could be that happy." She stated firmly. He reached over slowly and entwined their fingers again.
"I will find a way t' let y' touch, p'tite," he vowed, even as she gently tried to disentangle their fingers.
"Why do you even care?" she asked him, somewhat amazed that he did.
"B'cause a femme as beautiful as y' should b' able t' touch," he answered without thought. She arched an eyebrow.
"Did you just call meh beautiful?" she asked him.
"Oui,"
"And ya don't think that Ah'm a psycho depressed freak because Ah like to wear dark colors an' Ah'm rarely nice?"
"Non. Dat's who y' are. Remy like dat, chere,"
"There's a firs'," she muttered, and he squeezed her hand gently.
"Remy don' see why de other guys aren't askin' y' out ev'ry night,"
"Maybe it has somethin' ta do with mah inability to touch?" He waved his hand as if that was insignificant.
"If y' really cared 'bout a femme, y' wouldn' need t' touch her f'r her t' know," he pointed out.
"Ah… really appreciate that, Remy," she said softly. He smiled at her again.
"Mebbe by now y' know Remy cares 'bout y', chere." She didn't know what to say to that. He'd made it very clear he cared about her, and now he'd made it clear he didn't mind not being able to touch her.
"I know ya care, Remy," she finally said.
"Good,"
And they spent the rest of their time together. They talked about everything and nothing. And Rogue decided that, maybe, she cared about him, too.
~~~~~~~~~
After dinner, they went for a walk. They ended up on the cliffs near the mansion. She was wearing his jacket, and they sat, looked at the stars, and talked. They talked about their pasts. He was honest about his past as a thief, and she told the truth: she couldn't remember. She told him that it had been worse whe she couldn't tell which child life was hers and which was someone else's.
He draped an arm around her shoulders as it began to get darker and some of the lights at the Institute were turned out. His gloved fingers gently stroked her cheek, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Had anyone seen them that didn't know them, they would have said that they were a normal couple.
Rogue couldn't help but notice how much he liked touching her. Even if it was covered, he seemed to always want to touch her. He would stroke her face, entwine their fingers, wrapping an arm around her, anything he could. It made her feel like someone normal when she saw his hand reach out to stroke her face. But instead of the feeling of skin, she felt fabric, and again she knew it was a curse.
"It's late, p'tite," he whispered in her ear, much closer than anybody was, but she didn't mind.
"We should head back," she murmured in response. As they walked by he held her hand again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Rogue came back to the mansion, she flopped onto her bed in her dark room and sighed.
"Have a nice daa-aaateee?" Kitty asked her teasingly. Rogue just threw a pillow at her.
"Well, that answers that question," Kitty observed as Rogue walked into the bathroom to change.
~~~~~~~~~~
Finished chapter six! I am a cruel, cruel person. Ha. And thus starts the romance, whee! Aren't I special? Sorry about the language up to this point, it's kind of going to stop. I mean, I'd hate to upset anyone. That's just how my friends and I usually talk when we're not around adults.
And if you read my bio, you read that right. I do in fact go to a private Catholic school.
Anyways, on to the story. I'm taking suggestions on how much romance I should do before I explain what that dream was all about and get to the actual plot.
I know what you're all saying: There's a plot here? Shock, horror, we couldn't tell.
I had to re-write the date scene. Originally, it had Evietro in it, but then I just gave up on that. I can't do slash-on-the-side. It's either slash, or no-slash, and they wouldn't be a main couple, so I'm not going to waste my time. I had to rewrite the date-scene where they talk like, three time. In the original two, Rogue was still making snappy comments but being all touchy-feely with Remy, which didn't make sense because in all the other chapters, she was playing hard to get. But it makes sense now, right? He's being all cute and sweet.
Please review!
Shout-Outs:
Passionate Crow Rat: Eh… no new girl. Oops. And I don't think she's in the next chapter, either. Oh, well, just remember her. Please?
Heartsyhawk: Yeah, Willow's the kind of girl that would stay up until two in the morning and then wake up at six. I did that once, actually. On accident. Anyways, I'm so glad that I got a new reviewer. It was a pleasant surprise.
Yumiko: Yeah, now I think you know I'm an angst addict. But, there's no angst in this chapter! Just fluff. But, hey, it's "Drama" for a reason.
Skye: I'm glad you like it! And… eh… I continued? Anyways, that isn't dorky, I love that song too.
Laureate: I'm glad you're still reading and the bad-bad-bad French didn't make you hate it. Anyways, thanks so much for beta-ing!
Weeble Wobble Chic: Keep in mind I wrote that before I knew you existed, so… Yes, your reviews count! The whole on-Remy's-lap thing seems very popular. It was inspired by my life- I'm the skinniest person in my family, so whenever we ran out of seats when I was little, I would have to sit on my sister's lap. Once they thought I was her daughter. Anyways, yeah, I wouldn't mind sitting on his lap. ^^;
Ishandahalf: As for the dream, you'll find out…eventually. Mwa ha ha ha.
Agent Goodnight-23: Let me put it straight: Willow and Bronwyn are completely different people. Willow is actually a girl named Esme O'Connor- and I AM aware that that's an Irish last name- going by the name Willow, who is in all senses of the word, immortal. Bronwyn Corr is a teenaged girl who has wings that burst out of her back at spontaneous moments. That's a good question, though.
Rynn Abhorsen: Eh…thanks? I'm glad you feel that way, but if you have anything else in common with Bronwyn, personality-wise, you need a therapist+_+. Anyways, glad ya like it.
Rogue Pryde: Sorry it took so long…meh. You were my thirtieth reviewer, so… I love you!
Lyrics: "First Date" by Blink-182. I took it not because of the lyrics, but the title. So sue me. Or, rather, don't. Anyways, the lyrics:
In the car I just
can't wait
to pick you up on our very first date
is it cool if I hold your hand?
is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance?
do you like my stupid hair?
would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?
I'm just scared of what you think
you make me nervous so I really can't eat
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
When you smile, I melt inside
I'm not worthy for a minute of your time
I really wish it was only me and you
I'm jealous of everybody in the room
please don't look at me with those eyes
please don't hint that you're capable of lies
I dread the thought of our very first kiss
a target that I'm probably gonna miss
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
Survey: Ha! I tricked you into thinking I lied! Er, not really. Anyways. The survey:
-Should I keep naming chapters after songs, or give up on that?
-Should I change the "drama" to "action/adventure" and do a different plotline that I was saving for the sequel?
-Should I skip a few months to make Rogue and Remy's sudden closeness make more sense, or write most of their dates for more romance?
-Should I introduce one of the big baddies of the sequel in this story, or should I wait in case I change my mind?
-Should the Brotherhood team up with the X-Men and ex-Acolytes?
-Should I make an actual attempt at writing the accents decently?
-Should Remy confront Rogue about what's terrifying her, or should he trust her enough to believe she'll tell him?
-What is your honest opinion of the story so far?
-Should Kitty end up with Piotr or Lance?
-Should Kurt make more of an appearance as the over-protective brother?
-When should Willow reveal who she really is?
-Should I go into more detail on Bronwyn, or wait until her importance is revealed? (And, before someone asks- because I know at least ONE person must be wondering- she's not Belladonna in disguise. The fact that it was a possibility occurred to me later, but, since I'm unfamiliar with her character, no. Sorry, but no. And I'm not familiar at all with her personality. So nyah-nyah.)
-Should I leave the dreams unexplained for the sequel, or use the plot I have fully planned out?
-Finally, should Rogue write her first song a) in this story, with Remy's help, b) in this story, and have Remy be the first to listen to it c) in this story, takes place during the last chapter but doesn't talk about it d) in this story, takes place in last chapter and makes a big deal about it or e) in the sequel?
Please review! Just know that I may not go on what gets the most votes. And note that changes will not appear until chapter twelve, BUT there's a combination of fluff and plot in chapters seven-eleven. Heh, seven-eleven…
Any other suggestions you have, feel free to add them.
-The Tourniquet