"Well, well, well" Pyro crossed his arms, "little Rogue out all on her own" he teased. "No Bobby, no crazy Wolf man?" he questioned, smirking. Marie crossed her own arms over her chest,
"Same old John" she scolded, "where's your boss?" Pyro looked taken aback for a moment, anger flashed over his eyes for a second,
"At least I can make it more than ten minutes on my own. How long do you reckon in will be before Wolverine or Xavier finds you, and when that happens your not likely to refuse to return to that prison they call a school, are you now?" He hit a nerve with Marie, she realised he may actually have a point. Pyro realised this and smiled triumphantly,
"Why don't we sit?" It wasn't really a question as he was already heading to a table, Marie followed and it crossed her mind that maybe running into John here was a good thing, a blessing in disguise. She just couldn't figure out why yet.
"Where is the Iceman?" He questioned casually after they had taken seats, Marie didn't know whether to tell him the truth or not. But decided she had nothing to lose, and he was her only company
"I don't know. We broke up" She tried to sound casual about it, but a lump was forming in her throat. She wasn't upset, but the betrayal was still raw,
"Why's that then?" She noticed him looking her up and down curiously, but didn't think anything of it,
"He cheated on me" comprehension seemed to dawn on his face
"Oooohh" he accentuated, amused almost, "please don't tell me that's why you ran away - I take it you did run away- because some guy without a pair got laid elsewhere" it amazed Marie even now how insensitive Pyro could be about matters of the heart.
"No" she said coldly, regretting even telling him, "I got cured"
Pyro's attitude seemed to change drastically after hearing this news, he became cold and standoffish, and Marie was curious,
"What?" She asked, annoyed
"Nothing" he said nonchalantly, "didn't think you'd actually go through with it, that's all"
"And why did you think I wouldn't?" She asked defensively, she didn't like the idea of having to justify herself to him,
"Because it's a part of who we are!" He began to shout, but hushed down a bit to avoid catching anyone else's attention, his voice still held onto it's anger though, "you shouldn't just get a cure and get rid of it. Our gifts are what make us us. Special. Different. Better" He exhaled and leaned back in his chair, his anger apparently evaporating.
Marie was confused, she didn't understand why Pyro cared so much whether she got cured or not. But for the first time since taking the cure she had second thoughts, regrets even. Pyro's words made her think for a second that maybe she had done the wrong thing. She pushed these thoughts from her mind though, she had no time for regrets. She couldn't change things now even if she wanted to.
"I…." she began, not knowing quite what she was going to say,
"Look don't worry about it" he dismissed, "look" he turned serious, "We've got nothin' here. I'm going to California, to start a new life. Why don't you tag along?"
"Serious?"
"Wouldn't say it if I weren't"
Marie was tempted. In fact she was more than tempted. She knew she shouldn't be, not with everything he had done, but he was right about one thing - they didn't have anything left here. And what if she didn't go? What would she do then? And she didn't want him to be right - she didn't want to run back to Wolverine and Xavier, she wanted a life of her own. To prove she didn't need a hero anymore.
"I'll come" she said before she could even stop herself. Pyro smirked,
"Knew you would"
After paying the bill, Marie and Pyro walked to her Motel and up to her room, "this is where your living?" Pyro asked, disbelievingly,
"Not no more" she smiled. She was glad she ran into John, at least she had company now. She knew she wasn't the sort of person who should be alone, not really.
Pyro sat down on her bed, and Marie shoved her luggage back into her case. Ready, she carried the case to her door and pulled it open, when she saw who was standing in the doorway she dropped it in horror,
"Just what do you think your doing Kid?" A gruff voice scolded.
