Chapter 6 "Barging In"

"I am so STUPID!" Rogue roared at the top of her lungs. She had bolted into the mansion as soon as she ripped herself away from Logan and out of the trance she had been trapped in. She was glad that all of the students were at the dance because she surely would have drawn attention to herself by yelling in the hallway so loudly.

She couldn't understand what the hell had gotten into her! She was angry with herself because she knew better then to let her guard down and let loose. Rogue lost her composure and demeanor for just a night and she almost kissed Logan! That's probably just what he wanted too, she thought spitefully. That arrogant bastard!

She walked quickly through the school until she reached her room. She flung the door open, still seething, and even more confusing was… she wasn't quite sure why she was so angry.

Logan had tried to kiss her. Isn't that what she'd always wanted? Hadn't she dreamt of that moment every night since the day that she hid in his trailer? Yes, it was what Rogue had always wanted, but it just seemed too simple. It seemed too… easy. And one thing that Rogue had learned throughout her life was that life was never simple or easy. What if she kissed him and then he left her again?

Rogue stopped the pacing she had been doing as a realization rained down on her like a million shooting stars. She was afraid. Rogue, the angry uncontrollable woman she had become, was afraid. That was the source of all of her anguish. She was scared that he would come back into her life only to leave her again. She thought all this time that if she stayed numb to everyone around her that no one would ever get under her skin the way that the Wolverine had been. The way that he was.

Rogue shook her head. She was so angry right at that moment that she wanted to put her fist through the wall! She grabbed her knives off of her dresser and headed out the door. It was time to hit the Danger Room.

……..0…….

Logan looked all around the grounds searching for Rogue. He sniffed around the woods for a few minutes until he realized she hadn't been out there. He almost gave up until he caught her scent at one of the side entrances into the mansion. The last place he'd thought to look for her was inside.

Logan didn't know what to think at the moment. He'd almost kissed her. God, he'd gotten so close. He could smell the fear on her when she'd realized what was going on and Logan thanked God that she could, in turn, not smell the fear on him as well.

Every night since the incident with Mystique Logan's dreams had been plagued with Marie's face. Desire had coursed through his entire body as Mystique changed her form to Marie's and Logan had never felt so guilty. How could he, the Wolverine, the man with nearly no past except for what William Stryker had divulged to him, be with Marie? Compared to him she was innocent and untainted. He wouldn't allow himself to tear what little childhood she had left away from her. He wouldn't be the man to do that.

It didn't take him very long to figure out that he'd fallen in love with Marie. That was why he had to leave her. He'd promised her that he would take care of her and he would, even if that meant hurting her in the worst possible way.

It took him years on the road to realize that what he had done wasn't fair. Logan had never told Marie how he felt because he was afraid to hurt her or taint her in someway and he came to understand that he'd never given her a choice in the matter. He'd taken away her ability to choose in the matter and that wasn't fair by far.

Logan caught her scent lingering down the hallway, interrupting his thoughts. He checked in her room but she wasn't there. He followed her scent down into the lower levels. It didn't take long for him to figure out where she had gone.

When Logan reached the Danger Room he found Rogue was fighting fiercely with the simulations. Logan took note that this time, though, she was battling simulations with no faces. Just robots. Rogue was no longer at war with herself. Now she didn't know who she wanted to be angry with.

After a few moments of hesitation Logan opened the door to the room and stepped inside, ending the simulation.

"Why did you do that?" Rogue exclaimed. Her once straight hair was a mass of tangles, wild about her face, and the shirt she'd been wearing was torn in the front. She's beautiful even when she's not trying to be, Logan thought.

"I couldn't let you run away like that." Logan said, trying to gain a fragment of composure.

"You can't just barge in here!" Rogue yelled.

"Barge in where? Here? This room?" Logan asked softly, taking a small step toward the still panting Rogue. "Or your life?"

Before she could stop herself Rogue felt herself begin to move backward but he kept on coming. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think. She just wanted to get away. He kept walking toward her until he'd backed her up against the wall, and that was his first mistake. Never corner a wounded animal.

Rage burst loose in the pit of Rogue's stomach. Logan's eyes went wide and he began to back up but he was too late. Before he could blink Rogue threw a hard right, hitting him square in the nose. He growled as the blood began to gush from his nostrils. He knew his nose was broken. He stood back for a few seconds and let his mutation kick in and heal himself.

Rogue was taken a back a bit by the look in Logan's eyes. She'd pushed him a little too far, she knew, because she knew that look. The Wolverine was rearing his ugly head and Rogue knew things were about to get hairy.

Logan pushed Rogue hard against the wall. Rogue bit back a scream as her shoulder collided hard against the metal wall.

"Now, listen here…"

Logan suddenly stopped and pulled away from Rogue. She felt it too. The air seemed to of lifted and she knew it was Charles communicating with them.

"Get to the jet." Rogue heard Charles' voice in her head and she knew Logan heard him also. She looked at Logan, who was looking at the floor, looking almost ashamed.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, his voice small. Rogue shook her head, obviously lying.

"We'll discuss this later. We need to go." Rogue said, ending the conversation before it could really get started. Logan nodded, knowing that she was right, and they headed toward the X-Jet together.

Authors Note: I swear I tried to make this one longer! I'm sooo sorry I haven't updated lately. I've had major writers block. I wanted this one to be longer but it just felt like a good place to stop. So the next chapter may be a lil while till it gets up but I promise it will be a whole lot better then this one! Thank you to all who have been reviewing. You're all sweethearts!