Much had changed at the Xavier Institute in the past few months. Everyone effected by Apocalypse's wrath was dealing in their own way, some better than others. Take Kitty and Rogue for example. Rogue had been plagued with nightmares of the images that filled her mind when she had absorbed all of her friends and enemies. Kitty on the other hand had filled her life with romance and fixer uppers. Piotr had moved into the mansion, and much to Rogue's dismay, so had Remy.
"So, Piotr said that he'd like, love to take me out this weekend, but like, Lance just called and invited me to a movie Saturday." Kitty sat on the edge of her bed on a Friday morning. Rogue groaned and threw a pillow over her own head to try and block out Kitty's whining.
"Kitty- Ah didn't git any sleep last night."
"Thinking about a certain red eyed mutant?"
"What?!?" Rogue sat straight up in bed and glared at her roommate. Kitty looked rather pleased with herself.
"Oh, come on Rogue. Remy is totally hot for you. And I mean, once you get passed the total lack of style and the 'I-wanna-kill-everyone' attitude, what's not to love." She let out a giggle and motioned to the window. Rogue reluctantly glanced in the direction the other girl was pointing.
"Hello, chere." Remy was waving from the open window.
"Gambit!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jean and Scott were walking hand in hand around the outside of the mansion, talking lightly about college next fall. One was ready to take on a new life, but the other was more reluctant to leave. There was a nice breeze today, which was an improvement from the rain and cold nights that they had become accustomed to.
"With Apocalypse gone, everything seems to be returning to normal." Scott smiled brightly at his girlfriend. "We'll go to the university and show the world that mutants can be everything humans are."
"Sounds great," replied Jean dryly. Her companion didn't seem to notice the change in heart.
"Hey, have you found a roommate yet? It's been hard, since, you know..."
"You mean you being a mutant and all?" Jean stopped and pulled away from him. "I've run into the same problem."
"Jean, what's wrong?"
"This whole thing is wrong! You keep talking like the world didn't almost just come to an end!"
"I know, but we have to move on." Scott put a gentle hand on her shoulder as she turned away to hide her tears. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her. "It's not about college, is it? It's about Phoenix." Jean immediately tensed up at the word.
"You don't- ahhh!" They both hit the ground, rolling out of harm's way, as a body came plummeting down from one of the upper stories. Scott's hand flew to his sunglasses, but it didn't take him long to know he didn't need to use them. Jean was covering her mouth, laughing silently.
"And stay out, ya no good, son of a-" Rogue was leaning over her balcony, chewing the Cajun out right and left. Kitty's hysterical laughter could be heard from within the room.
"Dem women just can't get enough of me," said Gambit, dusting off his trench coat. He winked at the other two and limped off. As soon as he was gone, Bobby came sprinting around the corner with Amara close behind practically screaming at him.
"You can't want to go out with me and then spend all day on the phone with her!"
"You are totally misunderstanding me!" Fire and ice went flying as the two passed, completely oblivious to Jean and Scott.
"This place has gone insane," commented Scott.
"And that is the only thing I won't miss next year." They both burst out in laughter as they got up. His earlier comment regarding Phoenix was conveniently forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind, seemed to be the new adopted motto of the mansion. They continued to walk, only picking a lighter topic of movies and music to satisfy their need for conversation.
"Jean! Scott!" They both looked up to see Ororo leaning over the edge of her balcony on the top floor. She had to shout a bit for her voice to carry, but they could hear her fine. The older woman had her X-Men uniform on. "Logan needs the two of you in the Danger Room. Get suited up and meet us there in ten minutes." Storm turned back into her own room with the swish of her long cape.
"Wonder what's gotten into Logan?" Scott frowned. This wasn't a scheduled meeting, but Ororo didn't give the air that something had been too terribly wrong. "He's been going psycho trainer on us ever since Apocalypse. Which is a little redundant seeing as we handled the biggest disaster in the world just fine."
"I think this is his way of worrying," smiled Jean. "Logan doesn't exactly like to show how much he really cares."
"He doesn't show any emotion. Except anger. He seems to have that one down."
"Still, Scott, Logan cares more about us than you realize. And the only reason I know that is because I'm a telepath."
"I thought you couldn't get into his head," said her boyfriend.
"I can't, but I can...feel what he feels...you know?" Scott had long learned he would never understand everything that happened to Jean or what went on inside her mind. Both were complex creatures that no one really understood. "He's been having his own difficulties..."
"Like what?" He opened the door for her as they entered the mansion.
"I think he's worried about Storm." He raised an eyebrow over the frame of his glasses before letting out a small laugh. However, when he realized she was serious, he quickly shut his mouth.
"Look, everyone in this mansion is pretty close, but..."
"I'm the telepath, Scott, and I say he has other feelings for her than just those of a mere companion," she whispered in his ear in case there were prying ears (which there usually were). "Now, I'm going to get dressed and into the Danger Room before Wolverine decides to gut me." She winked teasingly in his direction and took off down the hall. Scott sighed and headed to his own room.
A/N: Ok, now that the situation at the Institute has been introduced we can get on with the story. The next chapter will focus mostly on Ororo, and the time line will pick up a bit for about two chapters and then things will settle down again. Please do not hesitate to review. I need input- even if it's negative. Byebye for now.