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Chapter Twenty-Seven

Freedom was something that Rogue had always struggled with. So often she'd had the option to embrace it, but fear constantly kept her from taking action. It always came back to controlling the competitive environment, a tactic she had mastered over the years, which she was beyond hesitate to surrender. She loved Bayville, for the charming gilded-cage that it was. However, it was full of dangers. Having chosen the world's most densely mutant populated area to become her home, what else should she have expected?

Strolling around Empire State University's campus, with her image inducer active and psionic emanations off, was the most controlled environment she had ever managed to create, the most hidden she had ever been, and perhaps the safest.

'If only I was here to hide,' she lamented to herself as she walked up to the lecture hall. 'You've gone back and forth on this so many times now, girl,' she thought talking to herself. 'Maybe doing this is profoundly stupid, but if I don't do this soon, I'm never gonna. It's worth the risk. It only a matter of time before it all comes out. At least, I get ta control when it happens,' she told herself.

"Anna," Candy called out. She turned around to see her friend walking up to her, her hand raised waving at her. Her naturally black hair, far longer than Rogue's own, was wore down, going midway down her back. She always favored red and pink hues in her clothing; today it was a stylish red sun dress, which made her blue eyes pop, with white high heels.

Rogue didn't know what it was she liked about Candy so much. Maybe it was that she reminded her of the persona Mystique had created for Risty, which she had genuinely liked. Or perhaps it was her thick accent that so easily placed her from Long Island, as everyone was able to effortlessly tell she hailed from the south. Most likely, it was because the first time they had met, Candy hadn't batted an eye when she projected her thoughts into her mind, explaining who she was and why she was wearing an image inducer.

"Hey," Rogue called out as she waved back as she started to walk up to her. "Where's Warren?" she asked.

"Attempting to avoid his turn at buying us lunch," she grinned. Rogue let out a laugh at that. "Not that it's gonna work," she said as she pulled out her cell phone.

"I ain't sure we got time before the lecture to get something to eat, anyhow," Rogue pointed out.

"Nonsense," Candy said as she linked arms with Rogue and the she started to lead them away from the building. "I'm thinking pizza and a nice tall glass of diet Pepsi," she said as she flipped the phone open.

"That does sound good," Rogue smiled.

"See, it won't take much time at all," she said as she dialed a number. "Hello, Angel-cakes," she said enthusiastically into the phone. Rogue let out a loud snicker at the nickname- it wasn't the first she had heard Candy use it, but it got her every time. "It's me. Candy Southern. The women who loves you, your girlfriend, remember?" she asked with mirth. Rogue tried to keep her laughter low. "It's your turn," she said firmly into the phone. "Seriously?" she said annoyed into the phone. "All right, fine," she said before she flipped the phone closed.

"He can't make it?" Rogue asked.

"He said his dad needs him to take care of something for the company and he might not make the lecture either. A likely story," Candy said unconvinced as she pocketed her phone. Rogue let out a laugh.

"Its fine, I'll get lunch," she said.

"You paid for dinner last week," she pointed out.

"I don't mind," Rogue said. "It's not like it's actually my money," she grinned.

"I almost forgot. All right, lunch is on you then," Candy laughed. "So, how has your week been?" she asked as they walked.

"Nothing too crazy," she answered with a smile as they crossed the street.

"Really?" she grinned. 'Anna,' she thought loudly; telling her to start reading her mind, 'Why do I find that hard to believe? Less than a month ago you and Warren saved the whole world from a mad-man hell-bent on killing half the population, in order to enslave the other half of the population. You don't do boring. So spill,' she demanded.

'I ah-' Rogue started to say as she ran a hand through her hair. 'I kinda lost my virginity,' she admitted.

'I knew you were going to hold out on me. Congratulations,' she grinned.

'Thanks, Candy,' she said embarrassed. The other's girl's smile faltered for a moment.

'I just assumed you had a good time. Should I not have assumed that?' she asked.

'No, I had a great time, multiple times,' Rogue answered quickly.

'Excellent,' she said her grin returning as they walked into Napoli's pizzeria. Rogue let out a short laugh as they walked up to the waiter.

"How many are yous?" the waiter said, an older Italian man with salt and pepper hair, with a thick New York accent that brought a smile to Rogue's face.

"Just the two of us," Rogue answered as the waiter grabbed two menus.

"Right this way, ladies," he said and they followed a waiter to a small booth towards the back of the pizza shop.

"We know exactly what we want," Candy said before she slid into the booth. "Can I have two plan slices with a large diet Pepsi?" she asked as Rogue sat down across from her, placing her backpack next to her on the booth.

"No problemo," the waiter said. "What can I get for you, sweetheart?" he asked looking down at Rogue.

"Same thing with a regular Pepsi," Rogue answered.

"Got it, half a plain pie. Nice easy order," he said. "I'll be right back with'cha drinks," he said.

'So, Anna,' Candy started again drawing attention to her thoughts. 'If I remember correctly, both of your love interests were wildly inappropriate,' she thought as she winked at her, her tone teasing. Rogue smirked as her faced blushed. 'So, tell me, was it the southern lad, you had chemistry with, who brought you to Mississippi to rescue his father?' she started to ask.

'Kidnapped,' Rogue corrected as her smile faltered. She always ended up talking to Candy about something messed up from her life, usually it took several questions to get into it. They were starting early today. 'Gambit stalked me for weeks, knocked me unconsciousness, tied me up, and forced me onto a train down south against my will,' she said as she watched Candy take a deep breath, taking all of this in. 'Then he had the audacity to think I would fall for that ridiculous hypnotic charm of his,' she thought while rolling her eye. 'He spent an entire day manipulating,' she thought as she used her fingers to make air quotes, 'me to help him rescue his thieving father,' she said.

'Why did you go along with it, then?' Candy asked.

'I didn't have any money or my ID. I was underage, so the police weren't an option,' she started to say.

'Right,' Candy said with a sigh. 'That would have complicated things,' she said.

'Yup,' Rogue thought dryly as the waiter returned with their drinks. "Thank you," Rogue said as their drinks were placed on the table.

"We'll making a fresh pie. It'll be out soon," he said.

"Thanks," both girls said before the waiter left the table.

'Keep going,' Candy thought as the two of them open their straws and put them in their drinks.

'If I'd used my powers on Gambit,' she started as Candy took a sip of her beverage, 'he'd know I knew what he was up too, but if I helped him I knew we'd end up using our powers and then Cerebro would be able ta find us. It was safer to play along until my family came ta pick me up,' she finished explaining as she sipped her soda.

'If not Gambit, than it must have been the older German gentleman you've had a crush on for years? The one's who class you've been taking,' she declared.

'Actually, I'm his Teaching Assistant now, but yeah,' she answered.

'Someone's had a productive week,' she rolled her eyes at the other girl with trying to hold back a smile.

'Why do I tell ya things?' she asked.

'The way I see it, the girl with an impenetrablevault for a mind, is hardly your worst choice in confidante,' Candy grinned which Rogue laughed in response. 'Besides, your life is much too interesting not to talk about,' she answered. Rogue let out an amused huff. 'Okay, we've touched on your crush for infamous Master of Magnetism before, but you always get vague. I have questions. Lots and lots of questions,' she grinned.

'Okay, fine,' Rogue huffed. 'Go ahead.'

'Magneto's also stalked you, but you're not angry at him about it. Not in the same way you are with Gambit. Why is that?' she said confused.

'It's about intent,' Rogue started to explain as she sipped her drink. 'Gambit stalked me 'cause he wanted to use me for my abilities. I told you how that all played out,' Rogue said. The girl nodded in response before sipping her drink. 'What Gambit did was highly predatory. That's my problem with it,' she explained.

'And what Magneto did wasn't?' she asked puzzled. 'This is the same mutant who once tried to blackmail my boyfriend to serve in his mutant army, isn't it?' she asked skeptically.

'To be fair, at the time, Magneto was still shaking off the effects of a machine that turned off all of his emotions, making him really cold and indifferent towards well- everything,' she answered. 'But yeah, same person,' she finished.

'So, because Magneto was under the effects of an experiment he did on himself, he's absolved from the guilt over trying to kidnap Warren?' she asked.

'No, 'course, I ain't saying that. I would never ask Warren to forgive him, not after what he tried ta pull. But this ain't about your boyfriend's relationship with him. It's about mine. Ya gotta remember, Magneto didn't target me outta the blue, like Gambit did. I attacked him. Stalking me was a defensive strategy he utilized to figure how out much of a threat I was. All he wanted was ta keep an enemy from hurting him. I can understand that. I've done similar things myself, when I had ta,' she explained.

'Like securing our funds for this lunch?' she asked with a grin as she held out her glass for a toast. Rogue let out a laugh at that as she clinked her glass against Candy's.

'Yup,' Rogue smirked before they both took a drink of their sodas.

'And that business with Pow-R eight,' Candy added.

'Exactly,' she said placing her glass on the table. 'I know Magneto has done some pretty fucked up stuff to a lot of people, but he's always seems to do exactly what I need him to do, without me saying a word,' she said.

'What do you mean?' she asked.

'When I first joined the X-Men, Mystique wanted to break into the institute with an AK-forty-seven and drag me back to the brotherhood kicking and screaming,' she thought with a sigh, shuttering at the thought.

'Did she?' Candy exclaimed. 'Have we not gotten to that story yet?' she asked.

'No, she didn't. Magneto convinced her to give me some space, after he destroyed her AK-forty-seven,' Rogue answered.

'Oh my god. She actually had one?' Candy exclaimed in disbelief.

'Underneath her desk, in her office, at Bayville High School,' Rogue answered. 'She was loading it when Magneto showed up and put a stop to it,' she said.

'What is wrong with that women?' Candy asked.

'Ya got a couple years?' Rogue asked. 'Cause explaining that is gonna take a real long time,' she added. Candy let out a sigh.

'Oh, I'm sure, you'll get to it,' she thought dryly. 'Keep going. How did Magneto convince her?' she asked.

'He told her to think of the institute like a military school for mutants. I go by Rogue. It ain't exactly a secret, I ain't the most cooperative. Magneto told her to let Charles instill some disciple in me,' she explained rolling her eyes. 'That once I got older I'd eventually outgrow the X-Men and be willing to come back to her. Me and Kurt. I mean- that's never fucking happening, but Magneto didn't even know me yet, he wasn't getting anything out of it, he just helped. Like he always does,' she said with a smile.

'Wait- is that when you started to develop feelings for him? After he helped you?'

'Hmm-' Rogue paused thrown off by the question.

'Okay- obviously, you weren't there for that conversation. So, when did you find out?' Candy asked. Rogue stopped to consider the question.

'It wasn't too long after I moved into the institute. I ended up having to absorb Sabretooth,' she started to explain.

'Why did you have to use your powers on him?' she asked.

'He's got this long-standing grudge with Logan and was looking for some leverage to use to cox him inta a fight,' she said. She watched Candy's eyes widened.

'That leverage being you?' she asked in incredulity.

'Yup,' she answered dryly.

'Let me get this straight, your step-father also abducted you?' she asked, getting angry.

'He tried,' Rogue said quickly, 'but I stopped him with my powers. Evan's master plan,'she said as she rolled her eyes.

'I thought he was the good parent?' Candy exclaimed confused.

'No, I said he was the least fucked up parent. I never said 'good'. He wasn't married to Mystique long enough for it to matter. He doesn't see me as a daughter. Just some kid he lived with for a year,' she explained.

'You have his last name,' Candy barked.

''Cause Mystique kept him around just long enough to justify it,' Rogue clarified.

'That's so-' she started to say before letting out an angry grunt. 'It's so messed up. You've been kidnapped so many times. Honestly, I've lost count,' she exclaimed.

'Story of my life, Candy,' Rogue sighed as the waiter returned with their food.

"Half a plain pie," he said as he placed the pizza pan on the table.

"Thank you," Rogue said.

"Yous need anything else? Refills on those sodas?" he asked.

"Yes, that would be great," Candy said with a forced smile.

"I'll be right back," he said as he took the empty glasses from their table.

"Candy?" Rogue asked aloud. She watched Candy touch the crush of the pizza and pulled back her fingers, letting out an angry yelp.

"Are you okay?" Rogue asked aloud.

"It's hot," Candy said aggravated.

"Let's give it a minute," she sighed. 'Maybe, I should give it rest, talking about myself,' Rogue wondered to herself as they sat in silence. 'I think I made Warren uncomfortable last week. Maybe, that's why he didn't show up today,' she considered.

A few minutes later the waiter came back with their drinks.

"Alright, enjoy your food," he said.

"Thank you," Rogue said softly before he left the table. "Are you okay?" Rogue asked again. "We don't have ta talk about any of it, If you don't want. I know, it's a lot,' Rogue said.

'Anna,' Candy thought, letting Rogue back into her mind. 'No, I like that you trust me enough to talk about it. We haven't known each other for a long time, but I feel like we've gotten close,' she said.

'We have,' Rogue said strongly.

'I know, I laugh at some of the crazier things that happen around you. Magneto building a space station on a giant asteroid. A house party that turned into a bothersome danger room session because some computer geek thought he was playing a video game. Robots, literal giant robots, were built to hunt mutants. That Magneto, now lives with all of you, as if none of it ever happened. And oh- my favorite by far, that Charles Xavier is actually paying Magneto a salary. Which he's openly using to fund the household of the X-Men's past enemies as long as they all go agree to finish high school,' she said with a laugh.

'Candy. I don't mind ya poking fun. Makes me feel normal when I'm anything but,' Rogue said.

'I'm sorry, I got angry. I- you've been through so much and I know- I know you haven't told me everything yet,' she said. 'Not that you have too,' she added.

'I like talking to you,' Rogue said. 'It's kinda nice to have an outsider's point of view on all of this.'

'I don't understand how you can talk about it so calmy. All of the stalking and the plotting and the kidnapping,' Candy said.

'You think, I ain't angry? I'm furious, but all that hate ain't good for me. Last time I had ta confront it, I did something terrible,' she started to say, casting her gaze away from the other girl's.

'What?' she asked.

'I don't know what hocus-pocus Agatha Harkness was up too, but I might've been able to help her rescue Mystique from Apocalypse. Instead I threw her off the side of cliff and watched her break into a bunch of little pieces,' she said.

'Anna,' Candy said sympathetically as she placed her hand on top of Rogue's.

'Kurt was so mad at me when I did that,' she said sadly.

'I thought you two made up?' she asked.

'We did and right now he wants nothing to do with her. It just feels like it only a matter of time before he's willing to give her another chance,' she explained.

'Because he doesn't understand how deeply she's hurt you. You haven't told him,' she said. 'I know you've sorted of adopted him and you don't want to see him hurt, but he's going to learn the truth about her eventually. You can't shelter him forever,' she pointed out.

'I can try,' Rogue thought softly.

'But that doesn't mean you have to keep letting that women into your life. Even if he does,' she pointed out.

'I know,' Rogue sighed.

'I'm sorry, but Warren made the right decision by not joining the X-Men,' Candy said as she picked up a slice of pizza, folding it in sighed as she followed suit. 'If you ever want to leave Bayville, you're welcome to stay with me,' Candy offered as she started to eat.

Rogue let a sigh at the second offer she had received to leave the X-Men this week. Maybe, it was time for a change, but on the other hand.

'Candy, it ain't all bad,' she said as she took a bite of her pizza.

'It sounds like it is,' Candy replied as she ate.

'That's cause we keep talking about the worst things that have ever happened to me. I complain, but I do love my family. I don't wanna leave them.'

'It's an open offer, Anna,' she said. Rogue smiled at that.

'Besides, if we wanna talk like this, I need access to a telepath,' Rogue let out an amused snort at that."Okay, enough about me. What's going on with you this week?" she asked.

"Really? You want to switch to this kind of conversation just as we start eating?" Candy asked.

"Come on, answer the question," Rogue demanded.

"All right, all right," Candy laughed. "Same old, same old," she said dismissively between bites. "College classes, The Bachelor. Have you been watching it?" she asked.

"I've been a little too busy getting laid to watch TV," Rogue grinned.

"If only I had that problem," she laughed. "We're both still living at home. It's hard to get alone time," she said before taking another bite of her pizza.

"You can't find a single unused room between two mansions?" Rogue asked in disbelief before taking a slip of her drink.

"The way I see it, it's more about our parents knowing the other is over," Candy said.

"Why doesn't Warren just- you know-" she started too said aloud before she tapped her temple.

'Yes, Anna?' Candy asked curiously.

'Fly into your room one night?' she finished telepathically. She watched Candy's blue eyes light up with excitement.

"Because that's a wonderful idea, I wish I thought of weeks ago," Candy said before the two of them shared a laugh. "That. That is happening. Thank you very much," she said.

"You're welcome," Rogue laughed which Candy joined in for. "So, what else is going on?" Rogue asked before she took a bite of pizza.

"My mom's still pressuring me go to that club they're a part of," she said.

"The Hellfire Club?" she asked.

"Yes, the membership's my birthright, apparently. I don't know. Maybe, it'll be fun," she sighed.

"A bunch of middle aged New York socialites networking? It's gonna be boring as hell, Candy," Rogue pointed out dryly.

"I know," she exclaimed. "And my mom keeps asking me why I don't want to go. What's a girl to do?" she asked with a sigh.

"If you keep putting it off, she's just gonna end up getting mad at ya. Why not get it over with?" Rogue asked. Candy shook her head from side to side as she chewed. "I mean, make Warren go with you," Rogue advised. Candy face lite up as she swallowed. She started to laugh.

"Obviously, I'm not suffering alone," she grinned. The two girls shared a laugh. "It's his birthright, too," she added, before taking another bite.

"He's gonna love that," she pointed out.

"His dad's been asking him to go too," she said.

"All the more reason to get it over with," Rogue said as she glanced at the watch on her wrist. "Candy, we gotta go. It's one-fifteen," Rogue said before her last bite of pizza, the tossed the half eaten slice back on the pan.

"Okay, okay, let's go," Candy said quickly before taking her last sip of soda as Rogue reached into backpack and pulled out her wallet. She closed the zipper on her bag as they both stood up. They rushed up to the front of the pizzeria as they spotted their waiter behind the front counter.

"Sorry, we gotta go in such a hurry," Rogue said as she opened her wallet.

"We'll gonna be late for class," Candy explained.

"Will a fifty cover us?' Rogue asked as she held out the bill to the waiter.

"Yous ladies are welcome here anytime," he grinned as he took the money out of Rogue's hand. "One sec," he said turning around to the refrigerator behind him. Rogue stuffed her wallet back into her backpack's front pocket as he grabbed two twelve oz bottles of pepsi, one regular and one diet. "For your class," he said handing the bottles too Rogue and Candy.

"Thank you," they both smiled before they hurried towards the door

"Have a good one," he called out as they exited the pizzeria.


Rogue fidgeted in the uncomfortable red seat, towards the back of the lecture hall, where she and Candy had elected to sit. Her foot tapped repeatedly against the floor.

'Get a hold of yourself. You're better at controlling your emotions than this,' she reprimanded. You're ready to do this,' she told herself. Maybe, if she kept telling herself that lie, she might exactly start to believe it. 'Right after class, you're gonna do this,' she told herself as she took a deep breath. She turned her attention to the small stage at the front of the room.

"Thank you for coming to my lecture today," Owen Rankin said addressing the room, his southern twang emanating through-out the hall. He was a middle-aged man, wearing a light brown tweed jacket with brown sacks that complimented the matching tones of his hair and beard. Even from the back of the lecture hall, Rogue could see his vibrant green tie. The little gold deer printed on it reminded her of something a child would select.

'It's sweet, he's actually wearing it,' she thought to herself with a small smile. She felt a twinge of envy, but pushed it away, choosing not to dwell on the fleeting emotion.

"As an alumni, it is always a pleasure to come back to our fair campus and help facilitate the education of the next generation. Now, I know y'all hate hearing this phrase, but I'm begging ya patience. When I was your age-" he started to say which was met with a few groans of discontent. "I know- I know-" he said apologetically as he waved his hand up and down at the class. "Whether you listen to me or not, either way, y'all get credit just for being here. I ask you, what's the worst thing, I could follow that up with?" he asked with a smile; which was met with a few laughs. Rogue let out a short laugh herself. "Bear with me, now. It'll be worth it, I promise," he assured the room.

"Say it with me now," he called out enthusiastically, "when I was your age," he said, a few more sounds of amusement echoed in the hall, "my daddy," he said with a laugh in his voice, "a brilliant man," he said his voice back to normal, "he asked me to his study, sat me down, looked me dead in the eye and said, 'Son, I know you had a good time in High School. Your grades were so-so, but ya got by. Ya got your diploma and you did well enough. But now, boy, it's time for university. Ya gotta buckle down, stop all this tom foolery and dedicate yourself full-heartedly to your studies."

"Do you know what I said to my daddy? A successful business man. Self-made, in fact. Richer'n Croesus. A millionaire by the time he was thirty-five years old. The CEO of his own company that he built from nothin'. Do you know what I said to this highly respectable man of the community when he gave me thoughtful, intelligent advice?" he asked the class. Rogue watched him paused for a moment as he let the room mill over his question.

"I said to him, 'Yeah, I ain't gonna do any of that. I wanna go on a road trip across our great country, get back to nature and fall in love,'" he declared. This was met with a laugher and sounds of confusion. "No, truly, that is what I said to him. I assure y'all that ain't a joke," he said as said as more laughter filled the room.

"Now, my daddy, he said to me, 'if you aren't going to university then you cannot stay under my roof.' To which I replied, 'road trips, typically, require traveling. I do not see that being an issue,'" he said as the class erupted with laughter. "See, in my younger years, I was known for being, as my mamma often described, exhaustingly sassy," he said.

Rogue found herself laughing along with the class. A quick glance at Candy showed her friend was just as entertained as she was by the charming southern gentleman's speech.

"Y'all can probably guess what happened after that. My daddy, he flew off the handle for a good long while but I would not be deterred. Broke my poor mamma's heart that we couldn't reconcile. In the end, he threw his hands up," he said as he did the same, "and wash 'em of me," he said as he rubbed his hands against each other dramatically. "And I skedallded, fixin' to start my grand adventure."

"So y'all are probably asking yourself, why is he telling us any of this? Well, I reckon, it's apparent that I have your undivided attention now, don't I?" he asked, as he smiled knowingly, as laughter continued to full the room. "Yes, I do," he grinned with a nod.

"The other reason, is well- there's a point to be made. Ain't there always?" he asked with a smile. "And this is it, at some point in your life- You may have already done it. You may be in the middle of doing it right now. Or you may not have yet discovered it what will cause you do it. But at some point in every person's life, they look back on a single event, a single choice, and realize that they have done something profoundly stupid," he finished.

Rogue's eyes widened as the rest of the class continued to laugh. She felt frozen, like she couldn't move, as she felt her breaths starting to come fast and shallow.

'You don't have to do this today. its okay- it's okay,' she told herself, trying to push down her fear.

"No matter how good of a head you got on your shoulders, you're gonna end up in that situation. Of course you are," Owen Rankin continued. "It's human nature and that's okay," he said with a smile.

'You gotta whole month. It doesn't have to be today,' Rogue thought as she fought to control her breathing.

"Everyone does it at some point in their lives," Owen Rankin continued. "The real trick, the real measure of your worth, is recognizing that mistake and learning from it. Which is exactly, what I did. After I was done messing around, I did take my daddy's advice. I went back to school, this fine university, in fact, and I got my degree in business management. Then my daddy, he gave me a shot and I started to work at Rankin Chemicals Incorporated."

'I gotta stop talking to Candy about everything before these lectures. It's messing with my nerves,' Rogue thought as she managed to get her breathing under control.

"Now, I know what y'all are thinking and yes, you're right. Nepotism did get me through that door. But at this point, my daddy still thought I was too big for my britches and he was right, I was. He wanted to teach me a lesson in humility that I sorely needed teachin'. I started low on that totem pole. Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. I was hired as an intern. Worked that position for a year till I proved myself capable enough to be hired outright as an associate. I spent another two years growing and learning in that position till I was promoted to team leader and I'll tell you right now, these were some of the best years of my life," he said as Rogue felt tears run down her face.

'I ain't doing this today,' she told herself as he quickly wiped her eyes.

"I have cherished the relationships I built with my team members," he continued. "Bonds to last a lifetime. In fact, I met my beautiful wife, Dr. Susan Montgomery, while aboard a cruise ship on a business trip. You see the higher ups needed some boys to gopher files, faxes and whatnot while they talked business like with the clients. I, however, ended up spending most of my time in the medical ward. I met a couple of doctors on that trip. Only one of them mattered, my beautiful Susan. Every time I look at my son's sweet face, I thank the lord for not givin' me the constitution for seafaring," he said with a grin.

Rogue fought to push down her envy again, as she wiped more tears from her face.

"Now again, y'all must be asking yourselves, what is this old man prattling on about? What is the point of all of this? This is it. You are going to make mistakes. It's gonna happen. Nothin' for it. But you don't let those missteps define you. No, sir. No, ma'am. You learn from them. You grow from them and you keep going. You keep working and you try your darnest not to repeat any of 'em. You prove yourself; to yourself by putting in the work; to your family, but being present and loving; and to your employer by being attentive and diligent in your efforts. You do all of that and good things'll come to you. Just you wait," he said.

'I'm good at waiting,' Rogue thought bitterly to herself. 'Real good.'

"Now, who wants to learn about effective communication techniques?" he asked. There were a series of groans from the room. "You didn't think, ESU, asked me to come all the way from Alabama, just to tell y'all colorful anecdotes from my past, now did ya?" he asked with a grin. Rogue let out an amused huff at that, as she wiped the last of her tears from her eyes. "Come on now, I'll make it as entertaining as possible.

'Next week. I'll do it next Saturday,' she told herself as she focused inwards, drawing her attention away from Owen Rankin's speech. 'Déjà vu,' she thought, her tone in her mind dry, fed up with herself. She had told herself the same thing the first week she had come to his class and she wasn't all that sure she was going to be able to bring herself to do it next week. 'I'm okay, everything's okay,' she told herself. 'I'm allowed to take my time with this,' she told herself. 'Just cause I can, doesn't mean I have ta,' she thought. 'I'm okay,' she thought. 'I'm a damn coward, but- that's okay. I'm okay,' she thought as she turned her attention back to the front of the class.


Please let me know your thoughts!

Little Red Dove: Hi! So, I ended up re-posting this chapter because the next scene (Which I thought was going to be chapter by itself, wasn't as long once I had it written out) and with the tone of the chapter I couldn't just keep writing. It needs a chapter break at that point. So, we we are.

No worries about not telling you I updated. I hope you see I re-posted this :) Okay, so I'm going camping tomorrow so I'll probably be a couple of weeks until I post again :) I hope you enjoy this chapter! I can't wait to hear your thought!

By the way, I'm so glad you're enjoying the plot with other characters, like Kitty, Jean and the Brotherhood. I have plans, so many plans. So many plot points, I'm going to work into this fic. I've laid down a lot of the framework for plots which will all have payoffs down the line! I'm so happy you're excited to see where I'm going with this :) So, all of the show is cannon in this fic and the X-Men evolution comic books 6-8. If you haven't read them, no worries. I'll be explaining what happened in those comics well enough throughout the story.

Next chapter will be movie night: Savage Vendetta!