Et Tous le Musique Arretee
Chapter Ten: Panic Song
A/N: Chapter ten… oh my God, I didn't think I'd get this far without a flame. Wow. Keep those reviews comin', ok?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Bronwyn, Esme, and the plot. Ha.
Dedication: A friend of mine whose life I want desperately; my gorgeous-model, talented, and sweet friend.
"Rogue, you've been staying out too late," Professor Xavier told the girl in fromt of him, who merely looked bored. She turned so her legs were draped over the left arm of the chair and her back was pressed against the right.
"OK," she said unenthusiastically. He sighed.
"Rogue, if you don't start coming in earlier, I may have to forbid you to see Remy," he told her, hoping it would hit a nerve. She sat straight up suddenly.
"You can't do that!" she hissed at him. "For one, it's not like ya have to worry 'bout anything happenin'. And Ah have proof he wasn' with me!" Xavier sighed again, and folded his hands. Rogue noticed he had really girly hands, but tried not to project that thought. He didn't seem to pick up on it.
"Ever since Mr. LeBeau has arrived here, you seem to have attained disregard for the rules," The Professor pointed out. "You have become more secretive, especially about what's been terrifying you at night-" she cut him off there.
"For your information, Professor," she snapped at him, "Ah haven't told Remy 'bout that. No one knows, unless Jean's done some probin' Ah should know about."
She waited for him to say something else, carefully keeping her mind blank, then turned. At the doorway, she looked over her shoulder.
"If you'll excuse me, Ah have somethin' Ah have to do."
"You talk too much." Roberto told Willow this without hesitation, and she stopped speaking rapidly to Kitty about a dream with some guy named Tidus long enough to throw him a glare.
"If you're implying that you would rather put my mouth to different uses, I suggest you save it." Then she turned back to Kitty and started talking about a Danger Room session. Rogue walked slowly into the kitchen, and the New Recruits scrambled out hurriedly, terrified of the Goth girl. She rolled her eyes before turning to the insanity that was breakfast. Willow was teaching Jamie to swear like a sailor, with a very serious look on her face. Apparently she knew how to swear like that at his age, and felt it was her responsibility to pass on the knowledge.
Kitty, apparently, has ceased her conversation with the girl, getting an extra plate of food that Rogue assumed was for her. She wasn't hungry, but she knew Kitty wouldn't buy that. Kurt was 'porting in and out of the madness, and Evan was spiking sausages. She tried to slip out the door unnoticed by Kitty, but apparently several young teenagers running away from the room with food like a bat out of hell alerted her to Rogue's appearance.
"Rogue!" she exclaimed, and Rogue mentally slapped herself for letting the New Recruits see her. Damn, damn, damn. As Kitty headed over, she tried to think of something to say. "Aren't you going to eat?" the Valley girl breathlessly asked her Gothic room-mate. Rogue searched her mind, and came up with an excuse relatively quickly.
"Ah was goin' to wait 'til it wasn' as crowded," she said instantly, then, remembering Kitty's extra plate, looked down at it and said, "Oh, Ah didn't know that ya were getting' me food." Kitty nodded and eagerly smiled at her. Rogue mentally slapped herself again for not saying she'd already eaten. Oh, well. She smiled weakly at Kitty, who probably knew she wasn't going to eat, but then Remy came up behind her before Kitty could hand her the plate.
"Let's go, Remy," she said instantly, and dragged him out the door before he could say anything.
Kitty shook her head and sighed. She just didn't know what to do.
"What was dat all 'bout?" Remy amusedly asked Rogue as she dragged him away from the mansion.
"Ah don't want ta talk about it," she snapped. "Now let's go somewhere before the Professor decides to forbid that, too," she stated sarcastically, looking for all the world like she wanted to kill someone. Or several someones. Remy wasn't quite sure he wanted to know which was correct.
"Y'r real cute when y'r homicidal, p'tite," he told her casually, leaning on the gate and watching her sulk. Sulk? He never thought he'd see that. Or was she contemplating the best way to kill the bald man? Once again, he didn't want to know, and he thanked God for not giving him telepathy.
"Flattery is not goin' to make meh any les homicidal," she told him. He blinked at her, and she looked right at his brown eyes and sighed. "Damn it," she muttered, and stepped next to him. "There. Ah won't kill anyone. Happy?" she asked him, and he slipped his arm comfortingly around her waist. She tensed and flinched slightly, which confused him. When had he ever hurt her? Well, aside from almost blowing her hand off, but… She smiled softly, though, and he didn't mention it. He knew her well enough to know that if she wanted to tell him, she would.
She shivered suddenly. The whacked-out weather was really getting to her, and she'd forgotten because the mansion was always so hot. She blamed Amara and the heaters. Remy tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer. She normally would have pulled away, but it just felt so right. She'd momentarily freaked because of those dreams, but pushed those thoughts out of her head. This was Remy. He'd never hurt her. She hadn't known him for that long, but she trusted him. His constant shows of affection made her feel special, somehow.
So she let him pull her closer. She let him keep her there as they began their walk, neither speaking. He broke the comfortable silence.
"Why do y' go t' school, p'tite?" he asked her suddenly, and she looked at him like he was crazy.
"Ah guess graduating from high school is… important to everyone else. Honestly, Ah could care less. The world sucks, an' a high school degree ain't gonna change that," she anwered after little thought. He laughed slightly, drawing her even closer. She might have tensed a little, because he didn't keep pulling her in, but she idn't flinch away.
Good, she told herself, don't think about those stupid dreams.
"Where'd y' come up wit' dat?" he asked her, "The way Remy see it, y've 'ad a pretty good life, chere," She frowned suddenly, as if thinking hard, She looked extremely upset, and brought a hand up to rub her temples.
"Ah…Ah don' know," she said slowly. He turned her gently so she was facing him, and they were so close. He drew her into his arms gently, but holding her tightly as well. She let him hug her, even though she had hated hugs before he came, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Why not?" he whispered into her ear. People walked by and stared, and he felt Rogue flip some guy off behind his back. "Why can't y' remember, p'tite?" His voice was hoarse and his breath warm on her ear. She shook her head, but he felt rather than saw it.
"Ah don't know, Remy. Ah just… don't remember." He knew how horrible it must be. She couldn't seem to remember much of anything that hadn't happened since she joined the X-Men, really.
"Remy'll help y' find out, belle femme," he promised.
They continued their walk, his arm holding her tightly against him, as if to protect her. Rogue realized this and pressed herself against him, enjoying how he treated her like anyone else would look twice at her. He would protect her; he wanted to.
But could he protect her from the horrors of her own mind?
I watched them. They spoke briefly. Then he pulled her into a hug. Didn't he know that you don't do anything to a girl without asking first? But, to my surprise she didn't slap him like I'd hoped she would when he put an arm around her waist.
The bitch hugged him back!
She was supposed to be mine! Mine! Didn't she remember?
Apparently not.
This could get interesting.
"This is not good."
"Like, DUH," Kitty snapped at Scott after he made that wonderfully observant statement. "They probably think we like, kidnapped Gambit or something. Wait. Like, can we, Scott? Kidnap him and then, like, dump him in the woods?" she said the last part hopefully.
"Uh, guys?" Willow said tentatively, "Why don't we just, um, talk to them?" They looked at her like she was crazy, but realized that with the Professor off in England for some conference, they really had to. Especially because Ororo had left with him, Logan was off God-knows-where, and Mr. McCoy had his own series of conferences to attend. The oldest person there, then, was either Remy- whose real age no one knew- and Willow- and, again, no one knew her age.
"Like, whatever," Kitty said, and Jean looked around.
"Where's Remy?" she asked, pouting.
"He, like, went out with Rogue," Kitty answered helpfully, and the telepath scowled.
"Why didn't he ask us?" she snapped. Willow decided it was time to step in.
"Jean, when was the last time you asked permission to go on a date?" she asked her, and at her guilty look, glanced around the room. "OK, I figure, what wth strength in numbers, we can take them if they start something. They just can't get inside the mansion. So, let's suit up and meet them out front in five." All of the X-Men nodded and ran off to follow her orders.
"This is pointless," Piotr told his insane Australian partner, St.John, who wasn't paying attention anyways.
"Whee… pretty fire, ain't it, mate?" Piotr shook his head and watched them approach. They were lead by someone he had never seen before.
"What do you want?" she asked Piotr curtly. "Wait. Let me guess. You are to deliver a message?" He looked at her suspiciously, but shook his head.
"We wish to join you."
"Um, like, hello?" Kitty said from the back. Willow took another deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Right. If you're looking for mister sticky-fingers, he's out with his girlfriend. If you want to join us, all the official, non psycho-bitch losers in charge are off elsewhere. So you stay here and wait and don't let anyone or anything on fire, or you come back at a later date. Let's say, twenty years from now." Kitty elbowed her, but Piotr only nodded.
"We will stay," he said simply, and Willow responded with an unenthusiastic
"Great."
Rogue and Remy walked back towards the Institute, his arm still wrapped around her tightly. She saw Willow sitting atop the gate and humming. She pulled a face at them.
"You. Suck." She said, pointing at them. "While you were off doing whatever it was you were doing- and, please, never tell me –we were visited by your boytoy's ex-teammates, who, apparently, miss him so much they wanna join the X-Geeks. Gawd, I wonder why..." Rogue ignored the last statement and dug her nails almost painfully into Remy's arm.
"Wait. Are you tellin' meh that Pyro's here?" she asked. Willow sneered.
"'My name's St. John'," she snaps, doing a good imitation of his accent. She then jumps down. "I was waiting for you. Now I can leave. If he sets the house on fire, not my fault. If he sets my stuff on fire and has an 'accident' a dew days later, well, it wasn't me." She looked at them, probably the first time she really looked, and noticed how close they were. Rogue shifted uncomfortably, but Remy just smirked at her.
"Oh, Rogue," she said as she paused on her descent. "Someone sent you a letter." Rogue slipped it into her pocket, and decided to open it later.
Gun. She cackled. Again. It was all ready to be set in motion.
Only a few months left.
Do you remember me? Well, I know you don't. But you will. Yes, you will… Stay away from that other guy. If you don't, I'll have him killed.
You are mine. Remember?
Rogue tore the letter in half with trembling fingers, then shoved it under her mattress. She sat on her bed and buried her head in her hands. She didn't know what to do. She normally would ask Remy, but then he would think she had a psycho ex-boyfriend.
Maybe she did.
Did it matter? She gets a letter from someone who seems to know about her memory issues just days after she has dreams of being…attacked. Did he think she was someone she wasn't? Maybe someone she absorbed?
She hoped so. If that was her past, she was glad she couldn't remember.
It almost made her…hate herself. She felt like something that had no right to live.
And who said she did?
A/N: And a chapter I hate! Whee! Isn't life grand?
I've been insanely distracted lately, and I haven't been able to work on anything…
And, please, I need romantic songs!
The Tourniquet
Lyrics: "Panic Song" by Green Day, on Insomniac:
Ready for a cheap escapeOn the brink of self destruction
Wide-spread panic
Broken glass inside my head
Bleeding down these thoughts of
Anguish…mass confusion
The world is a sick machine
Breeding a mass of shit
With such desolate conclusion
Fill the void with… I don't care
There's a plague inside me
Eating at my disposition
Nothing's left
Torn out of reality
Into a state of no opinion
Limp with hate
Shout-Outs:
Silver Tiger: Why, yes I do watch Buffy, and yes I do love Spike. Thanks for the review.
Chica de los Ojos Café: Thank you very much for your review- I've never gotten 'interesting' before, and I appreciate it.
Enchandedlight: Sorry it took so long, I've been having computer problems.