Rogue was eating lunch caught between a laughing Bobby and Kitty. She couldn't quite bring herself to laugh with them. They were talking about how perfect the wedding was going to be, well Bobby was. Kitty just seemed to smile and nod and agree, as if she weren't exactly thrilled about it herself. Rogue had to give her credit though. Kitty had managed to gather up more enthusiasm than she had. It was the most Rogue could do to nod her head and agree, even though her wedding was just one day away.
It was bugging her that John hadn't shown up to lunch today. Of course she hadn't sat with him since the news broke of him and Kitty. She went to an early breakfast just avoid him most days. When he tried to talk to her, the first few days after the incident, she couldn't even face him. Bobby and John ended up in a huge argument over the fact of it, Logan having to pull John off Bobby in the end of it. Rogue blinked at the huffing John who Logan was restraining, there was small amount of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, that seemed to be the only apparent wound he had.
He looked her dead in the eyes, it was hard not to fall over just by looking into his eyes, after all she had almost fallen for those eyes before. After a long second, he shrugged away from Logan and wiped his mouth free of blood. Then he went up the closest flight of stairs cursing under his breath.
She didn't search for him every spare second she had now, instead those were spent with Bobby. Instead of spending time laughing at John's snide comments, she spent it buried up to her ears in wedding preparations.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen John in a day or two. The last time she had seen him was when so awful kids dumped their full-of-food trays on his head. Since she wasn't sitting with him anymore, he had been forced back to the table next to the garbage bins. He didn't hurt the people who did it though, instead he took in a deep breath then shoved away from his table.
"Real mature." She heard him growl as he took some of the pasta off his shoulders and threw it on their feet, causing them to yell something about ruining their new shoes.
She wanted to help him, her body even jerked to do so, but Bobby's hand held hers tightly as if to keep her in place.
"He deserves it." Bobby told her.
That didn't make it any easier to watch. That was her John! The one who saved her life, more than one time! Who despite the fact she had traded away her mutant powers (and the hate he felt for that) spent time with her. He made sure she was still breathing. He made her laugh at times when she wanted to cry.
He forgave her for her past, yet…at the drop of a hat she gave up on him. She wouldn't even listen to what he had to say. Albeit when he first got here, he intimidated her so much she couldn't talk to him…in the end he still did. He laughed with her and entrusted her with his secrets.
Rogue stared blankly at the empty seat across the room from her own. She had forgotten why she spent so much time with John before. Even sitting here next to her fiancée and friends---she was so alone. He was the only one who could releive her of that feeling.
"Bobby, I've gotta go to my room." Rogue suddenly spoke up, "I forgot to take my medicine this morning."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Bobby asked, Rogue could tell by the tone of his voice that he really didn't want to come. He would rather sit here and talk to everyone.
"Nah, I'm a big girl. I can handle it." She pushed away from the table and briskly made her way towards the hall doors.
The hall was so much more quiet than the lunchroom had been. Rogue took a deep breath and leaned against one of the columns protruding from wall. What was happening in her life? It was beyond sucking…this was bottom of the pit and digging down further. She wasn't supposed to be feeling like this. It was the day before her wedding…she should be happy and buzzing about.
She pushed all those thoughts aside and continued to walk down the hall, the heels of her boots clicking behind her.
Who was she kidding? Tears were threatening to pour out of her eyes while she walking. She could simply push it away. She hated this whole situation.
Using the sleeve of her jacket, she wiped away the tears that had slipped out. She didn't want to get married tomorrow!! She wanted to be back spending time with John while Bobby was off doing God knows what!
"Dang-it." She sniffled, fanning herself to try and cool her heated cheeks.
"Rogue?" A voice came from around the corner, startling her. "Thank God its you!"
John emerged from around the corner, making Rogue gulp. She didn't want to runaway. She had no reason too.
"They're lying. Kitty isn't having my baby! Rogue you have to hear me out!" John took her hands in his own. "He has you freezing again. What a prick. Just to save his face."
Rogue's mind was screaming at her to do something aside from stand there. Slap him, kick him, kiss him, hug him, just SOMETHING!
"So you are denying the baby?" That wasn't what she wanted to say! This was John! There was no way he would do that. When he first came back he might have, but now…he was a completely different person.
"Listen to me, damn it! She has been sleeping with-"
"Rogue you forgot your purse!" Bobby's voice called from down the hall Rogue had just come.
Just as he rounded the corner, Rogue turned her head to face that direction. It all went in slow motion. Bobby wasn't even looking up at first, he was smiling looking down then his head began to turn up. Unconsciously, Rogue's fingers tightened around John's, as if they had just gotten busted cheating. John's tightened around hers well as he looked over by her to see Bobby's facial expression change. His smile diffused into a scowl.
Then things were back in normal time.
"John! Stay away from her!" Bobby ordered as he marched up the hall.
"I'm telling her the truth." John caught Rogue's chin and made her turn back to face him, "Bobby and Kitty have been sleeping together."
He laid it out so plain. Rogue slowly processed his words, each one sinking in and hitting a different nerve.
How dare he say that about Bobby! Why would Bobby ask her to marry him if he was sleeping with Kitty?
Then just as if it had been wrote out in a script, Rogue's eyes narrowed at John, "I don't believe you. Bobby loves me too much to ever do anything like that. You're just saying that because you got busted for not wanting to help Kitty with your baby."
She could have stabbed him and it would have hurt worse. Hell, she could have shot him at close range with a shotgun and it would have hurt worse. Hadn't he done everything in his power to show her that he had changed? Couldn't she see the evidence when Bobby and Kitty disappeared at the same time?!
"What is wrong with you? Just because you have issues with Kitty doesn't mean you can try to ruin our relationship." Bobby pulled Rogue away from the empty grip of John by her shoulders.
Everything had flipped. John wasn't picking on her anymore. She was the one making him feel like nothing. It was her making the hateful comments and glaring looks. She was no better than every other person here now. She had sank down and threw the last accusing stone at John.
She might as well just told John to leave.
"Fine. Maybe next time he wont kill your baby." John spat out.
"I had a miscarriage, asshole!" Rogue didn't like to talk about that subject at all.
"That's what he told you. Why don't you ask him what really happened to your baby? Ask him why you never got a chance to hold it or to play with it. Go ahead. I'm sure his answer will be better than the truth." John straightened out his jacket with a grunt.
"Bobby?" Rogue blinked and turned to face him.
"I did it to save her. It was either the baby or her, and the baby wasn't far enough along that it would have lived! I made a choice to save her!" Bobby's eyes shifted back and forth between John and Rogue.
"You killed our baby?" Rogue's jaw dropped.
"Don't say it like that." Bobby rubbed her arms.
"Is it true?! I would have rather our baby have lived!" Rogue, for the first time in a while, sounded firm and pissed.
"Yes. I had them abort the baby. I figured it would be easier if you thought you lost it." Bobby confessed to at least one of his lies.
"I cant believe this. This is just-crazy. All of this. Its going to give me a heart attack or send me into another coma!" She broke from Bobby's hold and continued to march towards her room.
"Rogue! The wedding?" Bobby called after her.
"I'll let you know how I feel tomorrow." She snapped her response back, then was gone.
"You lying prick. All your are doing is hurting her." John growled at Bobby.
"I don't see why you care so much. You helped her a few times. I was the one who was here when she was in a pathetic form. When she got so sick she couldn't get out of bed for days. It wasn't you." Bobby retorted.
"So is that when the thing with Kitty started?" John spat back at him.
"Like you would have bothered. I'm better than you, if it was just with one girl with me, I cant fathom what you would have done. Like I said, I don't see why you care so much. Wait---do you 'love' her?" Bobby laughed, "That's great! Did you think if you exposed me and Kitty she would come back to you? She hates you and thinks you're the bottom of the bucket scum."
"Wonder what she would think of you if she ever figured out it were true." John clenched first began to build a fire around it.
Bobby stared confused at John's fist for a second.
"Cool right? She taught me to have patience enough to do it. I don't need the lighter. I can pull it out of my own body." John scoffed a laugh at Bobby's expression.
"It doesn't matter. Tomorrow she will be my wife. There is nothing you can do about it. It'll be a graceful loss if you quit now."
"You're sick. You don't even love her. You don't know what you want!"
"And you want Rogue? Is that it? Well too bad, if it is just to keep her away from you, I'm going to marry her. You'll never have a chance with her after that."
Bobby went on past John, who was quaking with anger once again.
How was he supposed to save her now? She was so set that he was the bad guy. It was the one time he didn't do it! The one time where he is innocent! Why is it when he finally figures out what he wants, it gets taken from him.
***
Rogue sat in her window with all the lights off in her room. She had been watching the orange glow from all the places in the woods where John's hide outs were, burn up. It was John who was doing. Burning a branch wasn't going to it this time. He had started just after midnight. One by one he was burning down everything he had built in the woods.
She hugged her pillow tightly against her chest. Where was he going to hide now? Not that it mattered to her. He was probably burning them cause she knew where they all were and he was scared she would tell Bobby.
She might have been cruel to him earlier, but she hadn't meant to be so hard. It was just too much to take in. There was no way she could believe all of it was true. Though some if it did line up. Bobby disappearing from time to time, Kitty always disappearing about the same time.
No! She shook the thought from her mind and focused on the new glow. It was the furthest back of them all so far. It must've been the big one. The one that was his favorite and he had shown her.
With regret, she pushed her hand against the cold window pane, "I'm sorry."
***
John was burning everything that held a memory with her. Anything he had shown her or anything she had touched. He didn't want these stupid hide outs anymore. He built most of them for him and her to hide out in since she became such a big and constant part of his life.
He let everything burn, then with little effort, killed the whole fire. Hide out by hide out, he went through burning everything.
When he finally made it the last one he stopped. Carefully he stepped through the curtain of leaves and into it for the last time. He had brought her here on the day everything fell apart. He had been so close to saving her from Bobby, but just as this place would soon be, it went up in flames.
With a snap of his fingers, a flame appeared in his hand and he threw it into the center of the area. He threw a few more fireballs around then help them spread and burn. He didn't want a trace of her memory to be left. After tomorrow it wouldn't matter. He couldn't talk to her, since she wasn't coming out of her room. He had told her everything anyway. He could only hope that over night it would sink in and make her realize he was telling the truth!
The chance of the happening were slim to none though. He wasn't going to sit around here and wait for miracle.
Tomorrow is another day. One that is gonna bring either a new start or a tragic end.
Whoot! I'm tired!!!! I needed to write this though. I was almost crying through the whole thing. Its in my head and I can see it so perfectly…really makes me sad. So tell me what you think!!!! I'll be eagerly waiting to hear back from you before I write more!
RAWR