Queen of Hearts

Chapter Nine: Saint Valentine

* ~ *

Normal Friday mornings at Bayville High would've been slow and boring- if it was just any other day. Only after sixth hour would the chaos reign. After noon the school day would be coming to an end and would soon open its arms to the weekend. However, that Friday was no normal day. It was Valentine's day, and the pandemonium had already started at 7:45 AM.

The whole hall swirled around Rogue in a blur of reds and pinks. The plain, beige walls of the school had been heavily decorated with cut-out hearts, cupids, and arrows. Couples exchanged kisses and gifts by the lockers, while the solo students exchanged kiddy Valentines with their friends. It was enough to make her sick.

Being the usual rebel, Rogue had ignored the Valentine hype. Instead of wearing the Old Navy red and rhinestoned, Valentine's day-themed, six dollar tee shirt everyone in their wrong mind was wearing, she decided to stick with her usual grunge style. Even Kitty couldn't get her to change her mind about her dress.

"Don't you want to, like, impress Remy?" Kitty had asked.

"He's never complained about mah clothin' b'fore. An if he don't like it, tough. Ah ain't changin' anythin' f'r him."

Rogue shook the memory away with a smile. She was right. She shouldn't have to change to make Remy happy. He should like her just the way she was.

As she walked into the bathroom, the age-old insecurities struck the girl again. She caught her reflection in the mirror as she reapplied her make-up. Maybe ah shoulda done somethin' different t'day... she thought with a frown.

She stared at the green shirt she wore. It brought out the emerald in her eyes. Gambit would like that. Her eyes caught the patches and pins that cluttered the top. You suck and that's sad, a teary eyed bunny proclaimed. It was fastened to her right shoulder. Another brilliant mind ruined by education, another pin said. Rogue smirked. Charmin'...

And the jeans weren't any better. Kitty bought them last Christmas. The fifty dollar Silvers were another foiled attempt to bring Rogue back into the trendy world. She wore them because they looked good on her, and her roommate was surprised and please- only to flip out when Rogue tore the knees and punctured the denim with various safety pins.

Her face? She looked like she had been resurrected- too pale. And her make-up just looked like dark rings around her eyes. She wore it because it was her fashion, her protection.

"Ya look too pretty t' be coverin' yo' self up wit dat crap."

Maybe he's right...

Rogue experimentally wiped off the purple eye shadow on her right eye with the back of her hand. She looked beautiful, but exposed. As if in a trance, she wiped off the make-up on her other eyelid. Then she wiped off the purple lipstick. She smiled at the finished product: a softer, prettier Rogue and a completely purple hand.

She laughed softly and washed her hands. He bettah be happy... Rogue paused. It's pretty obvious t' everyone that ah like the Swamp Rat... she thought. An ah guess ah am pretty fond o' him, despite mah tryin' t' hide it. There's somethin' about Remy that just makes me feel... happy.

Happiness wasn't something she'd felt for a long time. Between fighting evil mutants that wanted to take over the world, fighting nasty humans who wanted to kill her, going to school, and dealing with wacko powers, Rogue didn't have much time to feel good. And Gambit filled that void whether she liked it or not.

But ah still can't trust th' Cajun.

Sure, she had been inside his head, but she still questioned his relationship with her. Was it all for business or all for kicks? She didn't even want to consider that Gambit might actually like her. She still couldn't let her guard down. She had hurt so many people- and been hurt herself- in the past that she didn't know how to handle the new feelings Gambit raised inside her.

Well, ah guess you'll see t'night, Rogue thought. She cast a weak smile at her reflection. She slung her book bag around her shoulder and blew a kiss into the air. "Eat y'r heart out, Remy LeBeau."

* ~ *

"Yo' sure she gon' like her present?" Remy whispered to Kitty during their first hour Geometry class. "I don' wan' screw dis up."

"I'm, like, positive," she replied with a smile. "I know Rogue like the back of my hand. Anyway, we've planned this for, like, weeks. You can't change anything now."

"Ya got a point dere, chere," he said. "Remy jus' wan' impress her, non?"

Kitty grinned. "I've seen the way she looks at you. She even stands up for you. Like what happened with the garage. You've, like, already impressed her."

"Ya think?"

She giggled. "I, like, know."

Gambit smiled. "Dat makes Remy happy. I really like her, ya know?"

The girl nodded, and Remy was lost in his own thoughts. Haven't felt dis way 'bout a fille since Belladonna. Non, he thought. Never even had dese feelin's fo' Belle. An dat's somet'in' t' say. After all, me an her, we s'posed t' be married. W gon' bring peace t' de guilds. Least dat's what Papa an Henri say. Gambit, dough, he know bettah den dat.

Home sickness tugged at his heart with each memory of the home he used to have. I miss mon famille my family... he thought somberly. Rogue almost made me forget de life I left b'hind. But even if I wanted t' come back, I couldn't. Now dat de world know 'm a mutant, I could never go an' but everyone in danger.

Seeing Nicole and Malick nights before had risen some hope. He though he might see his family, but he knew why Malick and his sister had come to New York; they were escaping the guild wars that ensnared the LeBeau family. If they left, the Assassins would kill the remaining thieves and destroy their home.

"Hey, like, are you listening?" Kitty demanded.

Remy blinked. "Huh? Oh, désolé sorry, chere, but I was jus' t'inkin. What did ya say?"

"Oh, like, never mind!" she replied huffily.

Roguey is really startin' t' rub off on de fille, ain't she? he asked himself, turning his attention over to the assignment Mr. Mohling had given. Great, now I have two attitudes t' deal wit. At least one o' dem, she worth de effort!

* ~ *

"I feel so depressed," Tabitha whined as she, Amara, Jubilee, and Rahne ambled down the halls before their second hour class. She stopped by her locker to grab her Biology text book. "I mean, no one's given me a Valentine yet! And what's worse? I don't have a date either!"

Rahne sighed. "Well, me either," she replied shyly.

Amara looked sharply at the girl. "That's not true. Didn't Jamie give you a Valentine?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't count," she replied, trying not to blush.

"Well I didn't get one either," Jubilee admitted. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean us mutants aren't that popular around here, right?"

"Unfortunately," Amara groaned.

The pretty Asian bent down and dug into her locker and Boom Boom shut hers. "Hey, 'Mara, didn't you say that you got a Valentine from Roberto?"

She blushed. "Yeah. It was... cute."

"Awwww.... so sweet!" Tabitha teased while making kissy faces.

"Hey, Jubes, what's that?" Magma asked suddenly.

"Don't change the subject-!" Tabitha stopped and snatched a card from Jubilee's hand. "Oooh, looks juicy! This from your secret lover?"

"Hardly," Jubilee retorted. "It's from- well, I haven't gotten that far!" The teen put her hands on her hips and glared at Tabitha. "Give that back, Tabby."

"One of those stupid Hallmark cards. What a dork! Oooh, look there's a note though!" She coughed and continued in a funny voice. "'Dear Jubilee, I know you probably don't even know who I am but I sit a row or two across from you in Criminal Justice. Well, you're cute and so I was wondering if you'd want to be my Valentine? I know this is stupid, but I've never written something like this before. I'm going bananas so just please say yes.' It's signed by John Allderyce," she said while scratching her head at the last part. "Who the hell is John Allderdyce?"

"Obviously he's in my Criminal Justice class. Though I don't see why he's in there. After all, he's Pyro. You know, the one who almost set an entire bridge on fire? One of Magneto's yes men?"

Rahne looked at her friend suspiciously. "It doesn't sound like you're too fond of him."

Jubilee shrugged, shutting her locker and tossing her long, raven locks behind her shoulder. "I don't want to sound like a bitch, but he's an Acolyte. I'm an X now, and we both need to stay where we belong, which is on our teams."

Amara let out a low whistle and tagged after her friend, who was already ten steps ahead of her and the others. "That was harsh."

"Real harsh," Tabitha agreed. She dropped the card. "Are you PMSing again?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes and put on her headphones. The Strokes drowned out Tabitha's voice. "Whatever."

Pyro had seen the whole thing and now watched the card float slowly to the tile floor. He felt the pain of rejection twist at his heart.

"Guess we all can't charm the X girls into liking us, can we?"

* ~ *

"Get me my Valentine's present yet, chere?"

Rogue nearly jumped out of her skin. Well, in reality she jumped about two feet and bumped her head on the top locker's edge. "Oww! Cajun, you retard! Ya always have t' scare me. Cain't ya like cough or somethin' t' save me the heartache?"

"An ruin de chance o' surprisin' you? Not a chance! An ya never answered my question."

Rogue dumped a load of notebooks into the messy contents of her locker. "Maybe ah do an maybe ah don't," she replied demurely. "But you won't find out until after school."

"An neither will you," he replied evenly. "Not even de date."

"Not even where we're goin'?" she asked, surprised.

"Non."

"But-!" she protested. "How am ah gonna find out what t' wear?"

Remy raised an eyebrow. Maybe Kitty rubbed off on her too. Jeesh, one day dey're gonna be jus' like twins or somet'in'. "Since when did 'Miss 'm A Rebel' care 'bout what people t'ought 'bout what she wore?"

"Ah don't," she snapped. "Just thought it might be helpful. Ah gotta look good 'cause some real gentlemen might be there."

He laughed. "Check yo' backpack, chere."

Rogue gave him a quizzical glance, and did as he told her to. She peered into the black JanSport anxiously. A red box had been placed inside- presumably by Gambit. She took it out and untied to silver ribbon fasten on the outside. Inside the box was black, lacy lingerie and a note that read: Thanks for the suggestion.

"Ah cain't b'lieve you actually did that-!" she began while turned beet red, but when she turned to give Remy her famous "death glare," he was gone.

Stupid Cajun, she thought, shoving the skimpy clothing back into the box. Even so, she couldn't help but smile. Soon, that smile turned into laughter that echoed down the hallways. Lingerie... ah mean, really!

* ~ *

"Piotr, why don't you sit next to Katherine today? Chris was ill, and he'll need a seat up front so I can explain things to him," Mrs. Schultz, Bayville's middle-aged art teacher, said.

He rose from his seat and moved to the back row, taking a seat beside Kitty.

"Uh, hi," she said nervously.

"Hey," he said quietly, pulling out his sketch book.

"What's that?" Kitty inquired.

He showed her some sketches he had drawn of anything from a vase to the trees outside the classroom. "Just some doodles I make."

"Wow, they're, like, so great! No wonder why you have an A in this class," Kitty said with a smile. Her smile faded. "Man, I have a B-. I've never gotten a B- in my life! I haven't even gotten an A-. Well, except for PE. I just, like, don't get art at all!"

"There isn't much to get," Piotr said honestly. "But you're such a smart girl. Maybe you're just focusing on getting things perfect and not expressing how you feel."

Kitty pointed to the painting she was working on. It was a portrait of a forest wilderness. "Well, I don't feel anything. It's, like, just trees."

"The object is to have a mood or a theme in your painting," he said.

Piotr was pretty impressed about how easily he could communicate with Kitty. Even when he was talking about his one true love, painting, he could never express himself verbally. That's probably why he was so good at communicating things in his paintings. Kitty was a natural born talker; he could tell. Some how, though, the two of them just seemed to click.

"I do have a mood... it's trees."

Who is this guy? Kitty thought. He's, like, way dreamier now than when he was just Colossus...

"No, you don't understand. See, my forest represents the dark feelings of hatred and fear that humans direct towards mutants. You just have to find something you want your forest to personify."

"That's, like, sooo... deep...." she sighed, staring into his brown eyes.

He stared back, too, for the longest time. She's really pretty and smart, he thought. It's what I've always liked in her. Should I ... ask?

"Uh, Kitty?"

She blinked and blushed. "Um, yeah?"

Piotr swallowed hard. "Well, um, I was wondering what you were doing tonight. I'm sure you already have Valentine's Day plans, but I wanted to know if you'd like to go out some where to-"

"Yes," she interrupted.

"Really?"

Kitty nodded enthusiastically. "Like, totally!"

I guess Rogue won't have to wear Jean's uniform after all! she thought with a mental giggle. Because I'm going on a date with Piotr!

* ~ *

Author's Note: I know Valentine's day was a few days ago, but deal. This is the only time I could get the chapter up. And Jubilee being a bitch about Pyro liking her was for drama, but I also felt that too many people were accepting the Acolytes. So far only Kitty and Rogue have deep connections with the team, but many (mostly female) X-Men have no problem with the team talking to them. So I wanted Jubilee to be a representative of the other side. Maybe she likes John, but since he's the enemy she won't say yes. Get the idea? Aw, poor Johnny! And, Jubilee and Rahne never left cuz I love them, but Evan can stay in the sewers! I'm sooo sorry that I didn't write the date yet! I have it all planned out in my head, but I've had less than 24 hours of sleep and am only updating this much out of the kindness of my heart. If I updated more, you wouldn't want to see it. I've been sick and tired and sleep-deprived. My writing is lacking and would be worse.
Also, I have good news for you. Any of you who saw the Dare Devil movie saw the cool new X2 trailer. For those of you who didn't see DD (like me), you can still see it. Go here: , and download the file by following the instructions. It looks mucho kick ass so I can't wait until May! Plus, there's one part involving Rogue and Bobby that really perplexes me... you'll figure that out after you watch. I'm just wondering how it's even possible... hmmm...
More goody updates coming up. Sick day today, yay! I swear I'm sick every flippin' day. I have upper-respiratory infection or something. Not fun. Anyway, I'm planning on having a plot to this story because I'm getting sick of writing something and not having it go any where. When I first started this fic I was planning on having it go to about 5 chapters and just be Gambit and Rogue getting touchy feely and mushy and yadda yadda. It was just a story about their interactions. Of course, I'm now on chapter nine. I feel the characters have gotten to know each other enough that they should embark upon some personal mission... one involving the guilds in New Orleans. Malick dropped the hints, and Gambit and Rogue will have to go save the day. Plus, I'm really testing the waters out and trying to get into the characters heads more. So please don't hate me if I've totally changed the style or if it sucks. But anyway, not much else is going on. STAY TUNED KIDS!

And some shameless self-promotion on my part. I just finished a cool Evo-Mystique site. Go check it out pleeeeze. I'll love you forever! ;

And for my awesome reviewers:

Panther Nesmith: Yeah. I hate Scott. He is a mucho ass. Wow, if Scott's car has died as many times as Jean... wouldn't it have like nine lives? Maybe twenty? Your wish was granted- Piotr/Kitty-ness! I will play on the Bobby/Rogue angle more, but in this fic they will only remain friends. Mystique and Pyro? *scratches head* Hmmm... she's a little too old for him (especially in Evo), but I'll see if I can squeeze in our favorite fire-maniac flirting with our (or mine at least) favorite blue-skinned temptress.

Nychus: I've been cut from the Marvel loop too. Gambit teamed up with Sinister and caused the whole Morlock massacre in order to get Belladonna back- if I remember correctly. And Rogue absorbed his memories of this, couldn't cope, said ciao, and left him to die in Antarctica! Lovely storyline, huh?

Neurotic Temptress: :-) I'm glad my Remy is in character and providing entertainment for all.

ishandahalf: An update, an update! I'm not dead- I think. *checks cemetery just in case* Yep, not there. Still here. All is good. The one bathroom is NOT my idea! Have you seen the bathroom fiasco in Evo? They're the evil ones! Risking teenager's bladder and hygiene for comic relief. Hmph. As you can see, the Acolyte's valentine's escapades were only a side-bar. You're not bitter about V-day? I am! I had to baby-sit! Now THAT'S cruel and unusual punishment. Scott garbage face? You make me laugh.

ristyness: Yes, I did not write in the bamfing thing for ickness. I did it for humor, so rest at ease. Kitty and Rogue are opposites only on the outside. Inside, I think they're very much alike and dealing with many of the same feelings.

Lady MR: Grr... you ruined Mysti! Now she'll have to sit out for a chapter or two to recover from her injuries... unless I get bored... "Stormy" finally meet Gambit later in the date chappy. Yayness! Hope you'll enjoy that little tidbit!

hannah: I'm glad you enjoyed the story so far!

Sujakata: Yes, you can tell Rogue secretly (or not so secretly) enjoys all of Gambit's attention. Tabby and Pyro were not the couple I was thinking of. As you can see, it's actually Jubilee. And, Kurt is not Rogue's biological sibling, so it's not technically incest... not that I meant for it to be taken in an icky way.

bunny angel: Sorry to say, but I'm mean and your little date will have to wait until next chapter. Along with the lovely interruption aka start of a storyline I have planned.

Trunks-Girl: I was going to make Gambit tell Piotr to tell Kitty (wow confusing) to keep their date a secret so Gambit could see Rogue in the uniform... but I guess the lingerie is better anyway. :-)

Skye Haerrington: Wow, thanks a lot! I'm feeling all teary-eyed from all your compliments! He he you really love things don't you?

Sakura Scout: I'm glad you're a fan of mush too. A great suspenseful plot? Hopefully one's coming up, but I don't see anything in the previous chapters. ;-)

girl4chat86: Ha ha Kitty and Piotr have gotten together, but the date will have to wait!!!