-New: Added Dialogue-

Chapter Four:
Good and Bad Impressions

"Well, Squirt --" I rolled my eyes. "--Welcome to Xavier's," Mr. Logan said, motorcycle slowing down until it completely stopped in front the main entrance of the school.

I sat in awe, open-mouthed and I was pretty sure my eyes were bulging. It hadn't been until we reached the large gates up front that I started to feel nervous. The expression: butterflies in my stomach didn't compare to the feeling.

The school - more like mansion, if you asked me - was huge and had an impressive garden and, on the drive up, I had spotted a pond filled with lily-pads. "Are you sure we're in the right place?" I asked, eyes never leaving the building in front of me. "This doesn't look like any school I've seen."

"I'm sure," he responded and I finally tore my gaze away. "Come on," he said, giving me a half smile. I hesitated. "Need some help getting down?"

I felt the heat in my cheeks rising as I gave him a sheepish smile and nodded. So sue me for needing help. I was short and my thighs for a little numb from sitting so long. Wrapping his arm around my waist, Mr. Logan pulled me down gently and gave me a moment to gain my balance before he started towards the school. I hesitated again, jerking back a bit.

Mr. Logan looked over his shoulder, down at me. "What's wrong?"

"I just…" I trailed off, looking towards the school. I suddenly felt very out of place. "I'm just a little nervous…. What if," I shifted. "What if he doesn't want me here?"

He looked towards the school then back at me. "Who? Chuck?" I raised an eyebrow. "Listen, kid, you really don't have anything to worry about. Chuck's more than glad to have you here than out there, wanderin' the streets, alone." He outstretched his arm and helped me inside the school.

And as soon as we entered the school, excited whispers could be heard all around. "It's Logan. He's back." The excitement and wonder hit me a little too hard and I had to back away, grimacing when a couple of students seemed to notice my presents. Mr. Logan looked over his shoulder to say something to me, but stopped when he heard, "Logan!" I slowly moved, further away behind him, not wanting to be seen by this newcomer. I turned to face the door, my back to his. I didn't want to ruin their reunion. I could feel the excitement.

"You miss me, kid?" I heard Mr. Logan ask, his tone cocky and I could almost hear a smile in his voice.

The girl responded with a sarcastic, "Not really." I looked over my shoulder a bit to get a peak at her. She was my height, maybe a little bit taller. She had long dark hair, except for two thick white strands in the front. I thought it looked cool.

"Mm, how you doin'?"

"I'm okay," she replied, smiling brightly and her eyes twinkled. For some reason, I suddenly felt the urge to hug Mr. Logan to death. I shook that feeling. "How are--?" she stopped mid-sentence when her gaze landed on me. Busted, I thought with a groan. "Hi," she greeted, tilting her head to get a better view of me. She then looked up at Mr. Logan and asked, "Who's this?" Motioning to me with her gloved hand. Weird.

"This," he said, turning his body slightly. "Is Carolina. Carolina, this is Rogue."

I shot him a glare as he nodded, motioning for me to speak. I sighed as my gaze met hers, face still half hidden by my hair. "Nice to meet you," I said, forcing myself to smile.

"Same here," she smiled too, outstretching her hand for me to shake. I hesitated.

"It's all right. Go ahead."

I nodded to what V had said and grabbed her hand, mindful of my injuries. I barely felt anything at all. "Rogue's an interesting name," I told her, trying to make conversation. I sucked at small talk.

She laughed a little, "Real name's Marie," she said and I noticed that she had a southern accent. "I just thought Rogue sounded cool so--" again, she stopped mid-sentence, this time it was because she caught site of my injured hand. "Oh, mah God," she gasped, lightly. Her eyes narrowed as she took a step closer to me. "Are you okay? What happened?"

I hesitated. Did I really want this girl to know what happened to me?

"She got into an accident," Mr. Logan stepped in, answering for me. He spoke calmly, but there was still a bit of edge in his voice. "Which reminds me, have you seen-- Who's this?"

Marie shot me a worried look before turning around to face a boy with spiky blond hair and blue eyes. "Oh this is Bobby," she said, introducing him excitedly. "He's my--"

"I'm her boyfriend," he said, cutting her off quickly, obviously trying to prove a point. Boys. He extended his hand for Mr. Logan to shake, which surprisingly the older man took. "Call me Iceman." I raised an eyebrow at his chosen name. Couldn't he have picked a better one? Then again, Gypsy wasn't all that great either. I looked down at their hands and noticed, with fascination, that they were turning a shade of blue with a bit of frost. I bit back giggle at Mr. Logan's expression as he shook his hand out of the other boy's grasp.

The boy - Bobby, was it? -- turned his gaze to me. I suddenly felt very self-conscious and looked down at my muddy shoes, trying desperately to hide behind Mr. Logan. Another good looking guy in my presence and I looked like a mess. I have the best luck.

"Bobby," Marie began, her voice light and friendly. "This is Carolina. She's a friend of Logan's."

Slowly, I looked up from my shoes to find that he was till staring at me. "You know, it's not polite to stare," I told him, quietly but in a tone that made it clear that I was annoyed.

He nodded and averted his eyes elsewhere, but didn't say anything. Prick.

"Right," Mr. Logan cleared his voice. "Boyfriend?" He asked, taking the attention away from me. I sighed in relief. "So how do you guys...?"

Bobby and Marie exchanged looks before he said, "Well, we're still working on that."

He didn't say anything, but it was obvious that Mr. Logan understood what they were saying while I, on the other hand, was completely lost. And before any one of us could speak, someone else interrupted.

"Look who's come back--" Everyone's attention, including mine, turned to a pretty black woman with shocking white hair, walking down the stairs. "--Just in time."

"For what?" Mr. Logan asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"We need a baby-sitter," she replied, calmly as she made her way towards us.

"Baby-sitter?" He repeated, taken aback.

The white haired woman laughed, "Nice seeing you again, Logan." He gave a short nod in agreement. Then of course, like everyone else, she turned her attention to me when she noticed me partially hiding behind the bigger man and something in her shifted. "Oh, dear," she muttered, eyeing me. "What happened?"

"Accident," I answered stiffly.

She nodded, "Jean's going to have to check you out before we leave today," she said. Mr. Logan nodded. She gave me a kind, friendly smile and I immediately liked her. "What's your name?" she asked.

I stole a quick glance at Mr. Logan before answering her. "Carolina… but I'm - I'm also known as, um, Gypsy," I added, feeling slightly uncomfortable. I wasn't use to having people pay a lot of attention to me, at least not in a good way.

"Gypsy...?" I heard Marie say, "Cool."

"My name is Ororo Munroe, I'm a teacher here," she said, her smile growing warmer as she held out her hand for me. "It's very nice to meet you, Carolina."

Without checking in with V, I grabbed her hand and almost immediately felt that jolt, the stab of pity and sadness, it was even stronger when she let go and her eyes landed on my hand. "It's nice to meet you, too," I said, in all honesty, but still forcing a smile. It was just what I needed - another person throwing a pity party for me. I blinked, harshly and turned away, feeling a few tears prickling in my eyes.

"Hi, Logan."

"Hi, Jean."

I turned my attention to a tall woman with short, spiked hair, coming down the stairs. She was pretty, I had to admit. "She's Jean Grey," I said, under my breathe.

"Pardon?" Ms. Munroe asked, turning her attention to me. I shook my head dismissively. She smiled again, and then turned to Jean as she approached. "Before we leave, you may want to take a look at Carolina," she placed a hand on my shoulder and took a lot for me not to yell out in pain.

Jean walked towards me and offered me a smile, which I hesitantly returned. My cheeks were beginning to hurt from all the smiling, real or not. "I'm sure you'll want to get cleaned up first before I take a look at your arm and cuts?" It wasn't much of a question, but I was happy as hell she offered. I probably smelled. I nodded, gratefully. Her gaze left mine after a while and shifted to Mr. Logan, who was staring at her too.

They stood quietly, just staring. I blinked. And, out of curiosity, I let my hand brush against his and I could feel this happiness and, um, lust. My eyes widened - Mr. Logan seemed to have a crush. I snickered a little, looking between the two. Dr. Grey's eyes met mine and the corners of her lips twitched, forming a small smirk.

Had she heard me? No...

"Uh, I should go... and get the jet ready," Storm spoke awkwardly, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "It was nice meeting you, Carolina. We'll have to talk when I get back," I nodded and watched her walk away.

Bobby spoke next, "Yeah, well it was good to meet the both of you," he said, grabbing Marie's hand, trying to pull her away. "Come on, let's go," he told her, tugging at her arm, but it seemed like she didn't want to go with him.

I bit my lip, trying to keep myself from laughing. "It was nice meeting you," she said to me. "Bye Logan. I'll see you later!" She called out as her boyfriend successfully managed to pull her away.

"Okay," Mr. Logan replied, nodding in her direction as I waved. With everyone else gone all that remained was him, Jean and me. Can you say awkward?