I'm experimenting with ways to show a change of scene. I think I'll just try one + sign and see if it works this time lol! Thanks for the reviews ya'll! Keep em' comin'!

Chapter 2 " Slap in the face"

"What do you mean you told him where to find me?" Rogue roared at Jubilee.

Rogue had come stomping into the room that she shared with Jubilee and Kitty after seeing Logan in the Danger Room. She'd been shocked at the sight of him. She hadn't seen him in over three years and then he just walks right back in like nothing happened.

Jubilee basically ignored Rogue's ranting and raving. She and Kitty had learned over the past few years that the best way to deal with Rogue's attitude was just let her rant and rave until she was blue in the face.

"How was I supposed to know you didn't want to see him?" Jubilee asked, not looking up from her toenails that she was painting while sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Possibly because you're one of my best friends and you should know how I feel about that hairy Neanderthal!" Rogue yelled. Jubilee glanced up at her.

"Yeah, I know how you feel about him. You're in love with him." She said, point blank. Rogue's jaw dropped. Jubilee sighed. "I'm not walking on egg shells around you when it comes to Logan. I never have. You're right, Kitty and I are your best friends, and if we can't tell you how it is, who can?"

Rogue walked over and sat on the window seal, leaning over until she felt the cool glass against her sweaty forehead. She saw Logan and the Professor walking leisurely, seemingly deep in conversation. Probably talkin' about me, Rogue thought.

Rogue knew that she had changed almost drastically in the past few years. She had finally come to terms with her mutation and the fact that she would never touch, and after Logan left, it hadn't mattered anyway. Though she was with Bobby at the time, Logan was the only person she'd ever really wanted to touch anyway. But when she learned to control her powers…everything changed.

Something snapped in her the day she touched the Professor without hurting him. The day that she could turn her power on like a switch in her mind. The day she realized that, even though she could finally experience that intimate skin to skin contact, it didn't matter anymore. He was gone. He had left her and no amount of wishing and wanting was gonna bring him back. That was the day that Marie was swallowed by the anger and grief that she had been dealing with since the day that Logan drove away from her, leaving his dog tags laying on the garage floor, and was no longer the person she had been. She was the Rogue and she was going to stay that way.

Rogue thanked God for Kitty and Jubilee. They were the only two people that could break her down just a little bit and make her smile. But right now she was about ready to rip Jubilee's head off. And that was when Kitty, the ever peace maker, came sprinting through the door.

"Logan's back!" Kitty cried, leaping up and down. Rogue gave her a cold stare.

"She knows." Jubilee muttered, still painting her nails.

"Oh! So you've seen him? Gosh, isn't he still the most handsome thing you've ever seen?" Kitty sighed, plopping dramatically down onto her bed, pretending to faint.

"I wish Bobby could hear you say that." Rogue mumbled, not taking her eyes off of Logan and the Professor in the court yard below.

"Oh, Bobby knows I'm not interested in the Wolverine. He's your man. Always has been, always will be." Kitty said cheerfully. Rogue rolled her eyes.

"He's never been mine." She said sadly.

"Of course he has." Kitty said.

"Rogue's pretending not to love Logan, remember? She's been in this 'I'm pissed at the world' state of mind for the past three years over that guy, remember?" Jubilee said to Kitty.

"Shut up Jub's." Rogue snapped.

"No." Jubilee said simply. Rogue almost laughed. Leave it to Jubilee to be the only person in the mansion with enough balls to stand up to her. Rogue got up and hugged Jubilee.

"I love you both. But don't tell anyone." And with that she walked out of the room. She needed to do something to clear her mind so she decided to go outside for a little walk… as far away from Logan as she could get.

Logan left Charles in the court yard so that he could go for a quick walk out in the woods to clear his head a little. It was hard for him to stomach some of the things Charles had told him about the changed Marie had been going through. He was thrilled that she could touch again but hated the fact that she wouldn't. Logan knew, of all people, how badly Marie wanted to simply hug someone without flinching away from them… but that Marie was gone. And it was up to Logan to salvage whatever could possibly be left.

Logan was walking through the woods when he picked up an odd noise with his sensitive hearing. It sounded like string popping and something hitting wood going fast.

He walked toward the noise quietly, getting further into the woods that were behind the mansion with every step he took, until he saw a girl practicing archery about a yard away from him. He nearly shrugged it off and turned around until he recognized the scent. Marie…

He took several careful steps, making sure not to make a sound, and watched her put another arrow into her bow and pull back. He was paying so much attention to her perfect form that he got sloppy and stepped on a twig which made a loud snap. Rogue whirled around and let the arrow fly, hitting the tree growing next to him, about an inch away from his face.

"That's what you get for trying to sneak up on people." Rogue muttered, turning her back toward him. She tried to act unaffected by his presence but Logan could smell her surprise and nervousness.

"Good thing you missed, huh?" Logan said, taking a few cautious steps toward where she was standing. She visibly tensed but allowed him to stand next to her.

"I was aiming for the tree." She said evenly, without feeling.

"Oh…"

"What do you want Logan?" Rogue sighed, slinging the bag of arrows over her shoulder and putting her bow away.

"Since when did you learn archery?" Logan asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I've been practicing archery ever since I was a little girl." Rogue said a hint of a smile on her lips. Her accent's still as thick as ever, Logan thought. At least her Southern charm ain't changed.

"You never told me that." Logan said surprised.

"There were a lot of things I never told you because you never asked Logan. Now please, what do you want?" Rogue was beginning to get impatient. Being next to him made her feel like a little school girl again. All of her feelings were coming back to her and she decided that hating him was much easier than loving him.

"I wanted to see you. Is that too much to ask?" Logan said, getting a little defensive, even though he knew he had no right to be. She was right, there was a lot about her he didn't know because he never asked when he should had.

"After three years? Yes." Rogue said coldly and started walking toward the mansion. Logan followed.

"Look Marie…"

"Rogue." She interrupted. Logan sighed.

"Fine, Rogue, whatever the hell your name is. I'm sorry for the way I left but, you really never let me explain…"

"Explain what?" Rogue whirled around, stopping dead in her tracks. "You told me point blank that you had to get away from everything, and everything included me. I don't want a damn explanation from you now Logan. It's too late. I'm not the person I used to be."

"Apparently," Logan muttered.

"Excuse me?" Rogue demanded.

"You're angry, I get that, but why did you have to become so cold?"

"You're one to talk. I do recall being stabbed in the chest and nearly killed quite a few years ago." Rogue said coolly, her voice never rising. She started to walk away but Logan grabbed her sleeved arm. Rogue wouldn't let herself flinch even though it hurt. She just jerked her head around and their eyes met.

"Now you listen here," Logan growled. But he never had a chance to finish because Rogue punched him in the face so hard he released her and nearly fell backward. No one had punched him that hard in years! Not even in one of his cage matches!

"Dear God!" Logan said, shaking his head.

"Now you listen here," Rogue growled. Her voice was low and threatening and Logan knew he'd crossed the line.

"You have no right to come back into my life and expecting everything to be the same. I am different. I am angry and cold and that's because you made me this way. Don't expect to come back and just have me melt back into your arms because it's not gonna work like that this time. So don't you dare pass judgment on me you bastard!" She spat.

When she tried to walk away Logan didn't try to stop her. Shit, he thought, rubbing his jaw in the place she'd hit him. Getting close to her was going to be a challenge. Logan sighed. It wasn't healthy for Rogue to hold all of that hurt inside of her. He had to make her understand. But how?

Rogue went back to her room, slamming the door so hard behind her she thought a few splinters flew off, but she paid no mind. She threw her bag of arrows and her bow under her bed and plopped down onto her bed.

She rolled her shoulders, trying to work the tenseness out of her muscles. Rogue almost couldn't believe she'd hit Logan! She remembered a time when that would have been a possibly very dangerous thing to do.

The Rogue in her wanted her to sneer. So the great Wolverine had been tamed. Rogue would never let anyone get away with someone hitting her in the face like that. She'd tear them apart.

On the other hand, the small portion of her that was still Marie knew in her heart that Logan would never lay a hand on her. Sure he'd snatched her by the arm, but that was to get her to pay attention because she was being cruel. He'd never purposely hurt her…

The Rogue inside mentally slapped Marie. Logan had hurt her. He'd broken her heart, rode off into the night, and never looked back. That, in her opinion, was worse then a slap in the face.

Authors Note: Woohoo. Not sure where I'm gonna go from here. Could use some help from reviewers folks! Cmon! Thanks to the whole like 2 folks that have reviewed so far lol!