Disclaimer: I'm making no money off of this. These characters belong to Marvel Comics, Twenieth Century Fox, and all the geniuses who make thse characters come to life.

Bobby

Tears streamed down her face before the door was shut, only to find (to her dismay) Jubilee sitting on her bed (didn't she have class?), popping bright pink gum and listening to obscenely loud music while painting her toenails neon blue. She didn't notice Marie's entrance until the distraught girl was already lying on her own bed, facing the wall, smothering her tears in her pillow.

"Rogue, you're back! Did you really take it? Did it hurt? What's it like, you know, being human? Have you-"

"Not now, Jubilee," Marie said thickly, cutting off the stream of incessant questions. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed her frazzled emotions, as well as her tears. A loud knock made her jump and sit up straight in her bed, glaring at the door. Couldn't Bobby leave her alone for five minutes?

"Rogue, are you there?" Storm's strong voice filtered through the thick door, to the surprise of both girls, as Jubilee turned off her music when she saw Marie jump.

Marie walked to the door, wiping away her tears and smoothing her mussed hair, and opened it swiftly. If Storm noticed her distressed state she didn't comment on it.

"I need to speak with you, in my office, now." Marie though confused, nodded and began to follow the older woman down the now deserted halls when Bobby came running towards him.

"I need to speak with Marie," he said in a rush, pleading the new headmistress with his dazzling eyes that apparently didn't work on the strict woman, who stayed firm. Storm opened her mouth to speak, but Marie beat her to it.

"I'll come back to see you once we're finished," she said to the woman who tried to discourage her from taking the Cure. Marie figured she and Bobby might as well get their conversation finished so she could speak with Storm with a clear head.

"I'm sorry, Bobby, Marie, but this can't wait. Come with me," she said to Marie in a clipped voice, turning on her heel and leaving Marie no choice but to smile at Bobby apologetically and rush off after her.

They entered Storm's office in silence, and the pit in Marie's stomach grew when the older woman sat before her with a stern face.

"Rogue," she began softly, but firmly and the seriousness in her voice stopped Marie from correcting her. "Because of the choice you made, it would be quite…unprecedented to keep you here at the school. There has never been a human within these walls before, voluntarily, that is." Marie shivered at the memory of the soldiers who invaded the school last year. Storm's words were starting to sink in and Marie panicked. They couldn't kick her out, her parents would never let her back into their house. The hate and the fear she saw in their eyes was enough to keep her away from her childhood home forever.

"However," Storm's voice brought Marie back from her dark thoughts. "I spoke to several people, mainly those who know you, some who only know of you. With their input, I have come up with a solution to keep you here. With the Cure, though now unavailable, comes a lot of ethical questions, some which can't be answered by an ethics professor. So, I'd like to make you a counselor. Just like a human high school counselor, you will be available for students to come to when they have questions they can't ask their professor. You'd have regular office hours, but you also should be available for them after those times. Classes start next Monday, a week from now, and I'll give you until then to think about it."

Marie could barely digest all the information Storm piled on her, the proposition of this proportion made her head spin. She also realized her entire future depended on this one decision. She could either accept this giant responsibility, do something progressive for once in her life, or she could turn Storm down and hitchhike…somewhere. She always wanted to go to Europe.

"Like I said, I'll give you time to think about it, but I have some other pressing matters to attend to, and I think you have someone waiting for you." Marie looked up at Storm, who was already halfway across the room, ready to throw Marie out.

Marie walked back to her room, her mind already weighing the options, her teeth gnawing at her lower lip in worry. She barely noticed Bobby standing in front of her door, waiting patiently, until she very nearly ran into him. She looked up at him, feeling no anticipation, good or bad. Whatever the two of them decided, it would be nothing compared to the decision she had only days to consider.

"Is Jubilee still in there? I'd like to talk in private," Bobby said softly, his voice a little rough. Had he been crying? Marie looked at his face carefully, but saw no signs of tears, and rubbed her forehead with her hand wearily.

"She was in there when I left with Storm, but I don't know if she has class or not," Marie spoke as she opened the door, peering in. Sure enough, the room was now void of the electricity-wielding girl, leaving only the stench of nail polish behind her. Marie opened the door wider, and sat down on her own bed, Bobby opting to stand. She didn't know what to say, their fight seemed so unimportant once she thought about everything that had happened to them the past few days, but she couldn't just brush Bobby off.

"Look, Marie, I'm sorry for getting upset, I've just been very confused about…everything, and I havn't been able to think about what has happened, since it all happened so fast," he sat down beside Marie and took her hand, which she didn't fight. "I love you, Marie, and Kitty knows that, but I talked to her, after you left, just to make sure she knew I was never going to betray your trust. I was so scared when you left, and it was then I really understood that I love you, and I don't want you to leave again."

Marie's heart had never beat so fast, her head seemed to spin, in fact, her entire body was reacting the way it had when they first started dating. She never wanted that feeling to go away.

"I love you too, Bobby." He smiled at this, and leaned in for a kiss, and for the first time, she didn't pull away.