Standing On the Edge of Summer
Signals Over the Air
Ah think Ah've checked mah phone a zillion an' a half times since Ah got that text message last week. Unfortunately, nothin' from Remy since then. Ah guess he figures he'll give me space ta contact him. Ta be honest, Ah want nothin' more than to set up a meetin' so the two of us can actually talk instead of me bein' freaked out half of the time, but Ah'm so worried of gettin' caught.
Ah'm grounded, as expected. Xavier wasn't too happy with how Ah disappeared an' Ah've been told to come raht home daily foh two weeks, meanin' Ah've been hitchin' rides home with Scott instead of walkin'. Logan's been on mah ass more than usual too, which is just great. Ah could tell he was disappointed in me foh lyin' so blatantly. What Ah said worked on Kitty an' pro'bly would've worked on anyone else in the school, but not Logan. He didn't say anythin' directly to me 'bout it though, which Ah'm grateful for. He just gives me this partially-wounded sneer any time Ah talk ta him, darin' me ta try somethin' else.
He's the main reason why Ah haven't tried even textin' Remy back. Ah feel like Ah've been on constant watch since the entire incident – if one of the other students isn't hangin' out with me, Logan's there like a hawk. Ah don't think Ah've had a moment of privacy all week save for when Ah'm in the bathroom – and that's moments long at best thanks to havin' ta share with everyone. Even if Ah were ta contact Remy with mah phone on silent, Ah'm sure Logan's senses would go off with the phone waves or whatever, knowin' mah luck.
Ugh why did Remy have ta be here of all places? An' now of all times, when things have gotten so much worse for all of us? An' with Magneto of all people to work for? Ah know Ah've asked mahself those question so many times Ah can't even make up a number foh it. He's makin' it so very hard ta focus on school work now (not that Ah particularly cared in the first place). After seein' him again… Ah'm achin' ta know what the last six years have been like foh him…
-----
Anna opened the back door slowly, peeking into the kitchen. Upon seeing neither Irene nor Val, she stepped inside. "C'mon," she whispered to Remy as she ushered him past the doorway. "Reenie's pro'bly in the other room."
Remy nodded, following closely behind her. She stopped for a moment to pull her long sleeved t-shirt over her head, revealing a brightly colored tank top underneath. She tossed it on one of the table chairs and sighed with relief. "Much better," she giggled. "Ah can't stand layerin' like that inside when Ah don't have to."
"I don' know how y' do it," Remy commented quietly as he followed Anna out of the kitchen. She tip-toed around the corner, her steps silent on the hard wood floor. Remy slipped along behind her, his stride innately soundless.
She stopped him right before they reached the sitting room upon hearing Irene and Val talking. She put her finger up to her lips with a smirk. He nodded, his eyes alight. Spying on grown-ups was always fun. They pressed their backs against the wall and listened as best as they could.
"We need to be more cautious, Irene," they heard Val say. "You said you weren't sure when-"
"Raven, it could be years before we need to worry about her," Irene interrupted softly, her voice low. "The frequency of the visions leans more towards her adolescence – let her enjoy her childhood."
Remy blinked and glanced to Anna, who in turn shrugged. "Who's Raven?" he mouthed.
"No clue," she whispered. "Maybe a nickname foh Val?" Anna's eyebrows knit in confusion as she leaned closer to the archway dividing the hallway and the sitting room to get a better look.
Anna could just see the back of Irene's head as she peeked around the corner. She watched as her guardian lifted her mug of tea to her lips gingerly. Val sat on the adjacent sofa, a scowl set across her face. "You can't blame me for being worried," the blonde continued, her profile in plain view of Anna's curious eyes.
Remy tapped Anna on the back as she crouched close to the edge of the wall. "Careful," he whispered.
"Ah'm fine," she murmured over her shoulder. She turned her head. "Ah can see them sittin' now."
"I know. I'm doing what I can though. Please appreciate that," Irene said patiently, lowering her mug to the arm of the chair.
"I do," Val sighed. Her eyes fluttered shut, briefly appearing bright amber before fading back to crystal blue.
"What the-" Anna gasped.
"What?" Remy asked, edging closer to her.
"Her eyes… they just did this thing!"
"What?" he repeated curiously, leaning closer. He hovered over her, trying to get a look himself.
"Hey, watch it!" she hissed loudly. His hand braced the wall over just over her head. She took a step back, her foot covering over a loose shoe lace from Remy's sneaker. He tried to step backward himself, but lost his footing with Anna on his shoe.
"Merde!" he muttered brashly as he fell backward, reaching for anything to keep him from falling flat on his bottom. Unfortunately, Anna wasn't ready for him to latch onto her arm and she joined him on the floor.
"OW!" she cried, scowling at him. She rolled off him and realized how much noise they made when they hit the ground. Her eyes were wide with shock. "We're totally caught," she whispered fearfully.
Val sat upright on the couch, her eyes set on the hallway. "Anna?" Irene called gently.
"Shoot," the young girl whispered harshly as she stood up and smoothed out her hair. "Good job, Swamp Rat!"
He shrugged sheepishly with a grin as he picked himself up, watching as Anna rounded the corner. "Ah'm here," she announced, a blush settling on her cheeks.
"Are you alright, dear?"
Anna laughed gently. "Yeah, Ah'm fine." Remy came up from behind her and bent down to tie his shoe laces. "Now Ah know whatcha mean when you're always tellin' me ta double knot mah sneakers," she added, her blush deepening.
Irene smiled warmly, placing her mug on the end table carefully. "Come here, sweetheart. Did you bring a friend with you?" Her tone was even and calm. Val eyed Anna and her friend with wariness as they joined them in the sitting room.
Anna beamed, taking a seat in the arm chair next to Irene. "Ah met that boy from the Quarter the other day down by the river!" she said excitedly. "This is Remy, Irene."
Remy stood up and moved over to where Anna was sitting. Irene outstretched her hand in his general direction and he shook it gently. He was slightly unnerved by how she didn't seem to look at him even through the dark glasses, but ignored the feeling as best as he could. "Nice t' meet y'."
"Likewise," the older woman sincerely greeted. She motioned her hand in Val's direction. "This is Valerie Cooper," she introduced.
The blonde nodded curtly. "Pleasure, Remy." She stared at him with cool blue eyes through his sunglasses. He ignored the urge to push them back further on his nose and took a seat next to Anna on the large arm chair.
"What brings you two indoors on a day like this?" Irene asked.
"We were hopin' you could make some of that iced tea that you make back home. It's really hot out an' we're really thirsty," Anna explained grinning.
Her guardian smiled. "Say no more, dear. Would you want to give me a hand in the kitchen?"
"Ah'd love to!" She stood up, grabbing Remy's hand. "Are ya comin', Val?" she asked, turning to the blonde.
"I've got a few phone calls to make," she replied with a small smile as she stood up and headed for the stairs. Her crystal eyes didn't leave Remy's, as if she was searching for something behind his sunglasses – as if she knew that he was different. His hand itched at his side, aching to adjust his sunglasses in case even a glimmer of red was shining through.
Anna tugged him out of the sitting room, out of Val's line of vision. Only then did he reach up to push them back. Anna glanced sideways at him, catching him fiddling with his glasses. "Ya don't need ta worry about those near Irene," she said with a laugh.
Remy glimpsed over his shoulder to the older woman, tapping along the hardwood floor with her cane as she followed them into the kitchen. She ain' de one I'm uneasy 'bout. "Y' can' blame me f' worryin'."
Her smile fell into a neutral line. "Ah know."
Remy opened his mouth to respond, but Irene spoke up from behind them as they entered the kitchen. "Anna, could you get the tea bags from the cupboard?"
She nodded, dark auburn and white curls bouncing enthusiastically. She left Remy's side to cross the kitchen, pushing herself up onto the counter with ease to reach the high shelf where the tea was kept.
"So, Remy," Irene asked as she found her way to the sink. "I take it you live in the area?"
"Oui," he responded. "M' house isn' far from here."
Irene smiled warmly as she ran the tap. She motioned to one of the lower cabinets close to Remy. "Could you find me a pitcher in there? I remember Valerie searching for one in there yesterday."
Anna jumped down from the counter, tea bags in hand. "How long do ya think it'll take ta make it, Reenie?"
"Not long, dear. I just need to get the kettle on and we'll be drinking iced tea in no time." Her smile suddenly faded as her hand fluttered up to her temple. The kettle she held in her other hand clanked noisily out of her grasp and into the sink.
"Irene?" Anna was instantly by her side, her eyes cloudy with concern and iced tea forgotten. "Is it another headache?"
"Just a slight one…" the older woman grimaced. She held fast to the counter, the pain of her headache excruciating.
"You should lie down," Anna insisted as she tucked a stray lock of white hair behind her ear before her hand grasped Irene's arm again. "C'mon, Ah'll help ya ta yoah room."
Remy stood helplessly as Anna cautiously escorted her guardian out of the room. Unsure of what to do, he walked over to the sink and turned off the running faucet.
After a few minutes of standing awkwardly alone, Anna rushed back into the kitchen. "Sorry Ah left ya alone like that!" she apologized, tucking her hair behind her ear again anxiously. "Ah told ya about those headaches she gets… they're always real bad," she sighed. She walked over to the sink and emptied out the kettle. "Guess we're gonna have ta settle foh whatever's in the fridge."
"Y' said she's been gettin' dem a lot?" Remy asked, following her to the fridge.
She opened it up, glancing over the contents. "At least once a day since we got here – she's scarin' me with them." She reached into the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of grape juice. "Is this okay?"
"Works fine, fille."
Anna closed the door to the fridge and placed the juice on the counter. She readied herself to leap onto the counter as she had before to retrieve two glasses from the cabinet, but Remy reached over her head with ease and located the glasses. With a mock glare, she accepted the glasses from him and began to pour the juice. "She worries me though… She always says it's nothin' though an' that Ah shouldn't think twice 'bout it."
She filled one glass to the rim and nodded towards it for Remy to take. As she repeated the same to the other glass, Remy lifted his glass to his lips and took a sip. "Has she seen any doctors f' it?"
Anna topped off the glass and set the pitcher on the counter with a sigh. "She won't. She really thinks it's nothin', even though she gets them all the time. Ah mean, Ah'm not bein' a pain over this, am Ah?"
Remy shook his head. "She can' blame y' f' wantin' t' help. If Henri or mon tante were like dat, I'd want t' get dem help too."
She picked up her glass, staring at him curiously over the rim. "Not yoah daddy?"
"He's not m' favorite person right now, 'member?" he responded wryly.
"Oh, raht," she giggled, sipping her juice. "You'd be sad if he left ya though, wouldn't you?"
He shrugged, running his free hand through his hair with a sigh. "I would, pro'bly. I'd be a lot sadder if I lost Henri or Tante dough. Dey're de ones I know I can go t' wit' everyt'ing."
Anna smiled wistfully. "Ah wish Ah had a brother or a sister. It's hard with just me an' Irene sometimes… it'd be nice ta have someone else ta talk to." She began crossing the room to the table, motioning for Remy to follow. "Tell me 'bout yoah brother. Ah wanna know why he doesn't like river rats," she grinned as she hopped into a chair.
Remy smirked and slid into the chair next to her. "Y' won' want t' hear it, fille."
Her eyes danced playfully. "Try me."
-----
He'd been coming to the school daily, hoping to catch sight of her. Usually he only stopped by for a few minutes when he knew her classes were changing, ducking in the shadows and hoping for just a glance at her. Was it stalkerish? Definitely. Did Remy necessarily care? Not really.
'Sides, least now she knows I have been spyin' on her. Maybe she's expectin' it, Remy mused with a smirk.
He wanted to be hurt that he hadn't heard from her at all, but he knew she was probably laying low for the time being. Judging from what Pietro had told him of the X-Men and their firm rules, Rogue was probably grounded like she had assumed she would be, and could be for at least a couple weeks. He didn't know when to expect to hear from her, so every time his phone buzzed in his pocket, his red eyes lit up as he answered it as casually as possible, only to be disappointed by other callers.
Magneto was getting on his case recently, too – said it was time for a mission of sorts. Piotr had done some message delivering on behalf of the Acolytes with dismal results and St. John was… well, St. John. Magneto wasn't too keen on sending him out for task work on the fear that he'd set everything on fire. The guy was a critical weapon in a fight, but otherwise, Magneto just kept him close by as a safety precaution. Not dat I blame him, Remy thought with a chuckle.
But now it was Remy's turn. It was petty work at best, but at least it was something to do; even if he did have to visit the Brotherhood for it. It wouldn't take him long to take care of but it would help keep his mind off Rogue for a little bit - though barely since he was still required to go to Bayville High.
He had 'originally' gone to the small campus to contact Lance. He'd run into the rock tumbler minutes before to tell him to get the rest of the Brotherhood together at their house as requested by Magneto. Lance had stormed away in a huff insisting he wanted no part in it, even though he had nothing better to do with his time since he, Todd and Fred had all been expelled from Bayville High.
All that was left to do was head over to the Brotherhood Manor, seeing as how Lance had raced off angrily in his Jeep, but something else just happened to catch Remy's attention…
Classes were changing and in the distance he could see Rogue walking with that Spyke kid he'd read about vaguely when he'd flipped through Magneto's files. In Remy's spot by the parking lot, he could see a couple of thugs go over to them and stir up some trouble. Without thinking, his feet started walking closer to the group until he was leaning up against a tree, not too far off from their mini spat. He saw Rogue get pushed to the ground and his hand clenched into a fist, ready to charge anything at a moment's notice. Suddenly, Evan popped spikes all over his body – Remy relaxed his fist as his eyes widened. He was pretty sure he'd read in the paper that the Xavier students weren't allowed to use their powers on school property as part of the agreement to allow them back into Bayville High.
The thugs ran away, and Remy saw them coming his way. Maybe I could still get dem back. He glanced past them and saw Rogue off the ground, trying to relax her friend.
The dumb-duo stumbled across the grass and right in front of him. He glared at them and they froze, unsure and intimidated by his piercing red eyes.
"I got two words for y'," Remy said darkly. "Drop it."
Thug #1 turned his nose up. "We didn't ask you," he snarled.
With a sly smirk, Remy reached for the pencil hanging out of Thug #1's pocket. "Then consider dis free advice," he drawled smugly. With a thought, the pencil began to blaze under his fingertips. The two brutes watched as Remy threw the pencil into a nearby tree. It exploded on contact.
Wary eyes turned back to Remy. "Don't. Mess. With the mutants," he warned.
"Uhh… no problem," Thug #1 muttered unintelligibly as he and his buddy scattered off.
Remy chuckled to himself as they tripped over themselves embarrassingly trying to get away. Dat was too much fun. He'd almost forgotten about why he was still there when a familiar voice sounded through the air. "What are you doin' here?" He heard behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Rogue standing there, her hands on her hips in a stance exuding annoyance. His gaze traced up her body to her eyes and saw that she was genuinely surprised to see him there.
"Y' know how it is – doin' work for de big man, checkin' out de view. Dis school ain' half bad, Anna."
Rogue glanced over her shoulder warily, sensing one of her friends coming near. "Ya can't be here!" she hissed.
"Out of every time I've been here, chére, dis is de first time y' seen me. T'ink I'm doin' pretty good f' m'self, non?" His smirk faded as his eyes grazed down her body, concerned. "Y' alright? I saw dat punk shove y'."
She blushed ever so slightly for a moment before her cheeks paled once again. "Yeah, but just so ya know, Ah can take care of mahself just fine, Remy," she retorted softly, her voice tinged with apprehension as her eyes jetted past her shoulder again.
He looked past Rogue and saw her brunette friend stalking up behind her with worry etched across her face. "Guess I should be on m' way," he concluded with a nod past Rogue towards her friend.
She caught sight of Kitty and mentally cursed. "Wait!" she said, wishing she could close the distance between them. "Ah'm sorry Ah haven't… ya know."
He smiled warmly. "Figured y' haven' had de chance to."
"Ah'm grounded foh another week," she explained, casting another glimpse over her shoulder. "Ah'll try ta befoh then though so we can set somethin' up."
"I'd like dat, but now, I've gotta get t' work," he said, his eyes blazing brightly. He watched as the corners of Rogue's lips turned up in a small smile. "Till den, chérie." He turned and walked away casually, just as Kitty caught up with Rogue.
"Hey, isn't that one of Magneto's new guys?" Kitty asked immediately, eyeing Remy's retreat.
Rogue cringed at the affiliation. "Yup," she replied, her face like stone. "And he's up to somethin'." An' Ah really want ta know what.
Kitty grabbed her arm. "We better tell Scott!"
"Forget that, there's no time! Let's follow him," her gloved hand found Kitty's arm instead and began tugging her in the direction Remy exited. If he can spy on me, Ah can spy on him, she mused sinisterly.
"But what about sixth period?"
-----
The next day, Remy exited the Brotherhood Manor with a satisfied smirk on his face. Magneto would be happy to know that he was successful with getting Pietro rescued and would perhaps lay off him for awhile. He truly disliked being an errand boy, but it was the best he could do given his circumstances.
Not like anyone in de Guild's willin' t' hire me dese days anyway, even if dey could. 'Sides, it won' last f'ever – Mags is bound t' get his plan rollin' soon enough an' we'll see real action 'gain… an' here's hopin' de X-Men don' get too involved.
With a sigh, his thoughts were once again brought back to Rogue. Being under Magneto's command didn't seem like too bad an idea when the contract was drawn up. He didn't mind being around other mutants seeing as how he'd been an outcast for so long, even amongst the Thieves. Sure, the man's ideals were intimidating, but Remy could appreciate Magneto's realistic point of view; however, knowing that Rogue was on the team vehemently opposing his boss's principles made things a lot more complicated than the job was intended to be. He might've only known her for a short while, but he meant every word that he'd said to her about making an impact on him then.
He extracted his cell phone from his duster pocket, intending to call Magneto to update him on the status of his mini-mission. He flipped it open and was about to search for the proper number when the phone shook with life as a message came in. His eyes knit with curiosity as the little envelope swirled on the screen. Theoren better not be wastin' my time again… His cousin was notorious for sending ridiculous chain-text messages. Dieu, how I hate dem.
The envelope stopped moving on the screen.
Remy's eyes widened.
Message from: A. Marie.
"Merde!" he cursed under his breath. He glanced back to the Brotherhood Manor to make sure none of the boys were outside before quickening his pace to his motorcycle. His thumb slid anxiously over the 'read' button.
Hey, I'm in study hall hiding in the back of the library. Told you I'd try to find a chance to get back to you.
Remy couldn't help but smirk. His thumb slid eagerly over to 'reply.'
-----
Rogue casually slid her phone just far enough into her bag so she could see it if it lit up and picked up her book again, though she had no intention of reading it. Her eyes shifted around the library, making sure no one would catch her on her phone. Bayville High had strict guidelines against cell phone usage during school hours, but she knew getting back to Remy would be practically impossible anywhere else at this point.
Just as the librarian passed her table, her phone lit up in a frenzy. Repressing a grin until the librarian was out of sight, Rogue palmed the phone as she had before, flicking it open quietly.
Message from: Etienne
She snickered inaudibly at the use of his middle name in his attempt to be inconspicuous. She had fought the urge to change it to something like 'Swamp Rat' for laughs, but the last thing she needed was one of the others grabbing her cell phone and inquiring as to who that could possibly be. Bobby had a knack for being intrusive (Rogue liked to think he was masochistic) and would no doubt spread the news to the others. At least with 'Etienne,' she could play it off as someone from her French class.
I hope you didn't get yourself in more trouble seeing as how you followed me yesterday.
This time, Rogue couldn't help but let her snickers slide past her lips.
------
Remy sat on his motorcycle, ready to take off, though he was afraid of missing a message from her while driving. The phone rested open in his hand as he waited in anticipation for her next message. "C'mon, Anna…" he whispered to his phone.
And to his amusement, his coaxing apparently worked as his phone buzzed with a new message. Without hesitation, Remy opened the text.
And here I thought you didn't see me… haha. Guess we can't all have great spying skills, Mr. Thief. I did end up with detention on Saturday for skipping my last class though.
-----
With a satisfied smirk, Rogue buried her nose back in her book after she replaced her phone in her bag.
She couldn't even pretend to read a whole sentence before her phone sprang to life again. As casually as she had before, she flipped it open and stifled her laughter once again.
You don't seem too broken up over that.
-----
What if I told you I planned the whole thing?
-----
You wanted to get in trouble??
-----
I was going to be stuck at the institute for another couple days until the middle of next week! Spending my entire weekend in a hole in the ground was not my idea of fun.
-----
And detention is?
-----
You're not thinking with a broader perspective here, Rems.
-----
Wait… are you saying that you're planning on skipping out on detention?
-----
Ugh, can't do that. I'd never hear the end of it plus I'd probably end up with another month of house arrest.
-----
Then what's the big plan?
-----
I'm skipping out on Kitty afterwards. I can lose her since we have different teachers, no big deal.
-----
And she won't notice you disappearing?
-----
Why don't you try and sound a little more skeptical? This isn't a full proof plan but it's kinda all I have right now.
-----
Sorry. Anything I can do to help out?
-----
Yeah, but that'll have to wait. Study hall's over. I have it again on Friday so maybe I'll have a concrete plan then.
-----
I'll see if I can come up with anything.
-----
That would be greatly appreciated. I'll talk to you later, Cajun. :)
With an almost giddy smirk, Remy snapped his cell phone closed and slid it into his pocket. He kick-started his bike and drove away from the Brotherhood Manor, already having lingered there too long. De last t'ing I need is dem wonderin' why I was laughin' at text messages like a love sick pup when I had left dem with Pietro almost a half hour ago.
He sighed, trying to get his head back to the task at hand, which was informing Magneto of the success of his mission. Pietro had been instated as the Brotherhood's new leader with no Mystique to speak of.
Wait. Wait a damn second.
Love sick?
As Remy road along the winding back roads of Bayville towards Magneto's base, his mind shifted back to Rogue despite his best efforts. These days he wondered if his mind had been plotting against him to ruin what he'd done to detach himself from his old life for the time being. As he had confided to Rogue, he couldn't focus on tasks anymore. While he hadn't accidentally slipped anything to any of the other Acolytes, nor had he come close, with how his thought patterns seemed to consistently revolve around her, it was only a matter of time.
What was it about her though? Seeing Rogue – Anna – again had drudged up long repressed memories. Sure, he'd thought of her occasionally over the last six years. He looked upon their few weeks together fondly. She'd been his first real experience with the female population; in their friendship, he'd won her over, so the rest of the gender usually fell for his wily charms in the subsequent years following without an ounce of effort on his behalf.
But what was it really that kept her at the forefront of his mind? It went beyond purely wanting to know how she ended up in Bayville of all places of the world. Was it how he constantly compared her young infectious giggle to her present husky snicker, or was it the way her eyes still managed to dance with green sparkles when she smiled around him? Maybe it was the curiosity of wondering if she thought the same things about him, wondering when she found out she was a mutant, wondering if they'd had similar experiences through out the years. Thoughts like those and others swirled around and around his head, confusing him to the core.
One thing was for sure – Saturday couldn't get there soon enough.
He curved around a bend smoothly, his motorcycle reacting to his movements as if they were the same entity. He was only a matter of miles away from the large mobile silver dome that his boss called headquarters. It was time to get his head back in the game – for both his and Rogue's sakes.
-----
With her phone back in her bag, Rogue slipped the rest of her belongings away and picked herself up from her seat. Her cheeks flushed slightly at the thought of Saturday, even though she had no idea how she planned to actually get away from Kitty.
She wanted to tell her desperately what was going on – she hated lying in general, especially to Kitty. The younger girl had become a great friend to Rogue, despite their obvious differences in… well, everything. They'd been roommates since Rogue initially moved to the Institute and while they had both been relieved to know that the newly built mansion would give them separate rooms, neither would admit that they'd miss the company of the other.
Telling Kitty would admit to lying before though and Rogue wasn't sure if she was ready for that. However, she knew that if she continued to lie about everything dealing with Remy, all the lies would just come crashing down on her like some horrid after school special. It was only a matter of time.
She sighed, the blush fading from her cheeks. She honestly had no idea of how she was going to pull Saturday off. Maybe, just maybe, things would work to her advantage somehow.
-----
"An' den she made me eat all o' it!" Anna burst into giggles at the conclusion of Remy's story about how he attempted to evade Mercy's notoriously bad cooking only to be foiled by Tante Mattie.
"You're lucky you have meals made foh ya all the time! Try livin' with a blind woman!"
Remy snickered. "Alright, y' got me beat, fille. Dis time…"
"You two okay?" Anna and Remy turned from their conversation to see Valerie standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Remy reflexively pushed back his sunglasses while Anna's grin diminished to a neutral smile. The blonde glanced around. "Where's Irene?"
"She was havin' another one of her headaches so Ah helped her ta her room," Anna explained, her green eyes dimming from the laughs she'd been sharing with Remy. "She said not ta worry."
"That's what she always says," Val murmured as she cast a glance down the hall to the blind woman's bedroom. Anna nodded knowingly. "How long ago?"
Remy glanced at the clock over the stove. "'Bout twenty minutes ago." He looked to Anna. "How long do dey last?"
She shrugged. "It's always different."
"I'm sure she's fine now," Val insisted, her blue eyes shifting uneasily. "I'll go check on her." And as quickly and quietly as she appeared, Val was gone from the kitchen doorway.
Remy leaned in closer to Anna as she turned her attention to him again. "I can see why she give y' de creeps."
"Ya feel 'em, too?"
He glimpsed at the doorway again, fearful she might overhear them even if she was down the hall. "I t'ink she knows 'bout m' eyes," he whispered.
"Really? Ah mean, I s'pose it's weird ta be wearin' yoah glasses inside, but ya think she saw yoah eyes? You're really careful 'bout keepin' them hidden."
"I don' t'ink so, but it felt like she was searchin' f' dem… like she knew somet'ings diff'rent 'bout me. It was tres uncomfortable."
Anna frowned. "Sorry 'bout that… It's always hard ta think of how someone else besides me would react ta somethin' that Reenie wouldn't think twice about seein' as she's blind, especially her friends… even though it's like they're all the same, anyway…" she trailed off.
"What makes y' say dat?"
It was Anna's turn to check over her shoulder for any lingering Valerie Cooper. "They're all really annoyin', but it goes beyond that. Like they're always tryin' ta impress me, tryin' ta pamper me an' make sure Ah'm fine with Irene, especially when she isn't feelin' well. An' their visits are always so… scheduled. Ah feel like they're on rotation sometimes." Remy gave her an estranged looked. "This whole thing with Val havin' a house is strange though – like Ah told ya befoh, Irene doesn't let me explore often. Ah don't want ta say she's mean ta me or anythin' but… Ah just wish she'd let other people get close ta me besides her and her friends, ya know? It'd be nice ta have friends of mah own."
Remy smirked. "Y' got me."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Ah guess you'll have ta work foh now – even if ya are a boy."
"Y' f'got 'swamp rat,'" he added, his eyes gleaming from behind his sunglasses.
She giggled. "Ah was tryin' ta be nice."
-----
Friday came and went without word from Rogue. Remy lay in his bed in his apartment, glancing periodically at his alarm clock. Normally he would've gone out and ventured to New York City to a club or two, mingled with a few girls, collected a few numbers with empty promises of calling them back with a lingering kiss or two, but his heart just wasn't in it for the night.
Y' gone soft, LeBeau.
He considered calling up Piotr to see what he was doing for the night, but he figured that Russian would be holed up in his quarters at Magneto's, painting or something. Still, he would've been proper company that evening for Remy's somber mood. Piotr spent most of his time plodding around the base quietly save for his heavy footsteps. Remy knew he hated being at Magneto's. He wasn't quite sure what the boss had done to manipulate Piotr's membership to the Acolytes, but he knew it was nothing voluntary on the tin man's behalf.
Plus, Remy really didn't want to be anywhere near work at the moment. It was the weekend after all, even though his job could hardly be called a conventional nine to five weekday occupation.
Another glance to his clock. 9:27.
Y' suck, Remy. It's Friday night at nine-thirty an' y' by y'self, broodin'! He nodded in agreement with his mind. "I know," he sighed.
His phone began to ring suddenly. Blinking against the darkness, Remy sat up and plucked the phone off his nightstand. One look at the name on the screen had his eyes wide as he flicked open the phone and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Remy. Sorry about earlier."
-----
Friday night had its perks at the Institute, especially now that it was almost whole again. The students were exploring the new residence and moving their few belongings from the subbasement to their new rooms. Others who hadn't taken to the new levels of the mansion cautiously traveled out in packs to celebrate the weekend in Bayville; Kurt was out with Amanda, Kitty had gone out to the movies with Amara and Tabitha while Scott had taken an impromptu trip down to Mexico to get his brother out of a fix.
Rogue had taken to surveying the new mansion, curious of how her new room looked like now that it was all furnished with its new bedroom set; also she wanted to know where the bathroom was placed and how far away her room was from certain other teammates, like Kitty and Kurt.
She ventured away from the other explorers which included Bobby and Jamie and the other younger students, hoping for some of the privacy she hadn't gotten for the last several weeks. Logan had taken off for the night, presumably doing… whatever it is that Logan does on Friday nights, so she was in the clear from him thankfully.
She glanced over her shoulder, noting the other students were way down the hall, ooh'ing and ahh'ing over the new bathrooms. She laughed quietly at how they were all amazed by the new work done and how easy it was to forget that it had been a pile of rubble only a month before. They were all excited to move out of the subbasement and up into a normal living arrangement once again.
Silently, she ducked into her room and shut the door behind her with an inaudible click. She pressed her back against the door and marveled over the spacious room. She couldn't wait to decorate it to her liking. Living in the basement with Kitty had been a bit bland – neither of the girls could furnish the tiny room with anything and it felt like living in a futuristic one-star motel for a month.
Standing still for a moment, she listened for any of the other students coming down the hall. Hearing no one, she pushed herself away from the door and plopped onto her new bed. Cautiously listening for anyone else to randomly come down the hall, her hand slid inside her hoodie pocket and pulled out her cell phone.
Flipping it open, she scrolled down her phone book list to his name. Here's hopin' he doesn't have a life like me tonight… she thought as her thumb pressed the call button. Tentatively, she held the phone up to her ear.
It rang once. This is dumb.
Twice. He's not gonna answer.
Three times. "Hello?"
Her lips curled into a smile. "Hey, Remy." She sighed, "Sorry about earlier. Turns out Ah didn't even have school today. The professor let us stay home since construction on the new mansion finished last night."
"Don' worry 'bout it," he said smoothly. Rogue could practically feel his smirk ooze through the receiver. His voice sent inviting chills through her body and she hugged herself with her free arm.
"Ah didn't interrupt anythin', did Ah?'
"Well, I am in de middle of a heist but 'm sure de security guards won' mind too much if I just stop in plain view of deir cameras t' answer m' cell."
"Are ya serious?! Ah'll let ya go," she hissed into the phone, watching the door warily.
"'M kiddin', Anna. I'm jus' sittin' in my apartment, not doin' a damn t'ing," he laughed.
Her lips pursed. "Real nice, Swamp Rat," she spat before continuing. "But yoah apartment? Why don't ya live with what's his face anyway? Ah meant ta ask ya that befoh."
"Got m' own place away from de big dome of doom. Much as I'm a big fan of Petey an' John, needed somewhere away from de big man t' escape to. Plus, livin' anywhere near Creed ain' on m' list of priorities."
"Oh. Lucky you foh havin' yoah own place then. Ah'm finally gettin' mah own room foh the first time in two years."
"Dat school of yours all ready t' go den, I take it?"
"Jus' about. All that's left ta do is move stuff up from the subbasement ta our new rooms. Ah figure Ah'll decorate 'round here a li'l befoh Ah head to mah detention tomorrow. Speakin' of which…"
"Are y' still sneakin' out?"
Rogue paused. "Yeah… Ah'm just wingin' it foh the most part at this point though. Ah'm hopin' foh some big distraction that'll keep me outta the radar on this one an' the only one that'll know Ah've been gone is Kitty."
"So where do I come in?"
"Ororo'll be our ride there 'round ten. Detention is an hour, so can ya be ready ta get me 'round eleven?" Rogue bit her lip, hoping she wasn't asking too much.
"Y' want me t' pick y' up at school?" Remy sounded astonished.
"Not at the school… Ah'll meet ya at the strip of stores across from the school at eleven. Ya know the ones Ah'm talkin' about?"
"Oui. So…"
"'So…' what?"
"Where are we gon' go?"
She shrugged. "Ah dunno, some place neither of our teams'll see us – not ta mention the Brotherhood, too."
Remy paused for a moment and Rogue could hear him sigh into the phone thoughtfully. "How about my place? Mags doesn' even know where dat is."
"… Ah'm not sure about that one, Remy. The last thing Ah need raht now is ta be caught by Logan with yoah scent all over me thanks to yoah apartment, or worse yet, Ah get caught there period by anyone on the team."
"I realize dat, but I t'ink anywhere else public might be a risk unless we head in t' de city."
"That won't work. Ah can't risk stayin' out too long either."
"What are y' gon' tell your friend?"
"Ah'll call her after Ah leave an' let her know ta go ahead of me. She'll get mad at me but she'll understand. She knows Ah can't stay cooped up foh too long."
"If y' say so," he said with a light chuckle. "What happens when y' get in trouble again?"
Rogue snickered. "Yeah… Ah'm not concernin' mahself with that. Small price ta pay, don't ya think?"
A creak in the hallway erased the smirk from her face. Remy could tell she froze. "Anna? Y' alright?"
"Yeah," she responded, her voice barely above a whisper. "Ah should go though. Talk to ya-"
"Rogue?" Evan tentatively called to her through her door.
She sighed angrily. "What do ya want, Porcupine?" she shouted after she slid her hand over the mouth piece.
"… Are you still mad at me?" He had only almost pierced her about eight times with his bone spikes earlier in the day thanks to his magic carpet ride through the new dining room.
"Ah'm goin' ta be if ya don't leave me alone foh two more minutes!" She could hear Remy laughing on the other end. "Ah mean it, Evan!"
"Fine, man… just wanted to know if ya wanted to come down for a movie to break in the new rec room," he responded dejectedly.
"Ah'll be down in a few," she replied in a calmer voice. "Go ahead an' start without me." Evan mumbled a response before Rogue could hear his footsteps fade away from the door. "An' you," she said as she slipped her hand off her phone. "Quiet."
"Y' reminded me of me an' Henri, dat's all," he said with a chuckle.
She smiled at the mention of the older LeBeau brother. "How is he?"
"Bon, chére."
"Think he remembers me?" she asked with a small smile.
"How could he not? He an' Tante loved y' after y' came t' dinner dat one time."
Her smile widened. "Even though Ah was a horrid li'l river rat ta him," she laughed. "Ah'd love ta go down an' see them… Ah was so jealous of you, ya know."
"Oui, I know." His voice was soft and wistful. Rogue could tell there was something he wanted to say, but couldn't over the phone.
"So… like Ah was tryin' ta say befoh," she laughed. "Ah should get goin'. Ah'll see ya tomorrow, Remy."
She could feel his smile through the phone. "Bonne nuit, chére." With a content sigh, she closed the phone with a near silent clap. She allowed herself to smirk a moment more before she forced her face into a neutral smile so she wouldn't be questioned when she saw the others downstairs.
-----
Remy clasped the phone shut, holding it in his hand and staring into space. His trademark smirk splayed across his face as he began to twirl the phone idly in his nimble fingers.
After a few moments of reflection, he dropped the phone beside him on the pillow and turned onto his side, not willing to get up. It may have been minutes before ten o'clock, but going out was definitely not an option, especially after knowing exactly when he'd see her next. Then again… sleeping wasn't going to come easy, either.
Bonne nuit, indeed, he sighed, a wry smile still playing with his lips.
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(1) The known scene with the thugs is obviously ripped directly from episode 3x04, "Stuff of Villains." And as obviously, continuity stops right about here and picks right back up after Remy exits stage left. (smiles) The good side of this is that I got to rewatch that scene probably five times while I figured out how to fit what I wanted in – it's definitely one of my favorites purely for that small interaction between them, hehe.
(2) I know only one teacher was mentioned at the end of "SoV," but let's face it – the likelihood of Rogue and Kitty being in the same class – slim. Different interests lead to different electives, plus Kit-Kat was in mostly honors classes dealing with mathematics. The only class they could've possibly shared was Honors English or something along those lines, so yeah. If that isn't plausible enough, please just go with it. (smirk)
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Also, I would like to point out that mazdamiatta has my eternal love for guessing where I'm getting my chapter titles from! She guessed from the band Thursday which would be correct. The title of this story was taken from Standing On the Edge of Summer, obviously, which is on their album, Full Collapse, and it is just amazing beyond words. I recently saw them again on May 1st, and their newest album came out the day after that… plus it's safe to say I've been on a Thursday binge for the last couple months since I originally saw them in December, haha.
So, what I'm going to recommend - if you want to know how the story's going to shape up, check out the lyrics to that song. However, if you want to be surprised… (smiles)
I've been sitting on this chapter for a week or so now… I've been having massive computer problems. Sydney, my laptop died, so I bought a new one that I named Marshall (whoever gets those references get my next dose of undying love, haha. Something tells me that won't be as difficult to figure out though). And then Marshall started being a total douche and had to be taken back to the store and ahhhhh it's still a huge mess, but whatever. Point is: I was inspired to get the story posted, so here it is. Chapter Four already has 5,000 words – I was just super frustrated with the computers and lazy which is why this one wasn't up sooner. Plus I had to be convinced by my wonderful friend J that I'm being paranoid about something not feeling right about this particular chapter. So here you are. Let me know what you think!
-- Courtney