Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate them.
FYI again, my story doesn't exactly follow the X-Men movies. Just keep that in mind.
009.
Despite Hayley only being able to move around her room, it wasn't too bad. First off, she was free to catch up on her books that she hadn't picked up due to teaching certain classes at the school and Danger Room sessions. Rogue always brought up her meals which was always nice. She got to catch up on sleep as well, seeing that she hadn't slept well for two months since John had left.
Rogue and Jubilee came into her room every night to update her on the latest happenings within the school. Despite them being in their early 20's, some things never changed.
Rogue often informed her of the advances that Kitty tried to make on Gambit. Some days he'd pay attention to her but other days he didn't. It made Kitty frustrated that he was hot and cold with her but it made Hayley laugh. Serves her right.
"Think Gambit will finally give in to her?" she asked.
Hayley shrugged, sitting up straight. Her back wasn't in too much pain anymore. "Honestly? I don't think so. He seems like the loner type, kinda player-ish. He'd probably use her for a booty call."
Rogue laughed hysterically. "Probably. He doesn't seem like the boyfriend type." She pretend to pout at Hayley. "Does that make you sad?"
"Why on Earth would it make me sad?"
"That you and Gambit would most likely never be."
Hayley threw her pillow at her as the girl laughed even louder. "You're really gross."
"Logan told me about your little intimate moment from last week when you were getting your stitches!" Rogue said, leaping up to her feet and pointing at her. "You didn't tell me anything so spill!"
Hayley rolled her eyes. "Look, I was just freaking out about getting stitches- you know how much I hate needles! Anyway, he just helped me calm down."
Rogue giggled. "I think you two would be cute together."
"Gross, Rogue. All we'd do is fight."
She smiled. "I've been talking to him, Hayley. He's a good guy."
"Yeah well, if he was any better he'd stop hitting on me."
"Oh c'mon, you know you like it."
"As much I love tomatoes."
Rogue smiled. "Well he was asking about you today. Asking if you were alright and stuff." She winked. "I think he misses having ya around. Misses having someone to bother and hit on."
"Well he can hit on Kitty."
"Kitty's too easy. If he gave her even a minute of his time, she'd phase out of her fucking clothes," Rogue giggled. "You're harder. You play hard to get with him."
"I don't!"
"Unintentionally. But you really do, Hayley. What, with all the arguing, the tossing him around with your telekinesis. Makes the guy want you even more. You're more of a challenge."
Hayley rolled her eyes. "I refuse to be compared to some advanced level of Sudoku."
"Oh you know what I mean." Rogue plopped onto her bed. "I think he likes ya."
"You say that about everyone."
"Not everyone," Rogue shot back. "Just two. John and Gambit. I was right about John, wasn't I?"
It hurt to hear his name nowadays. Hayley sighed. "You were. In the beginning."
Rogue had a sad look on her face. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring him up."
She shook her head. "It's okay. I'm fine." She stood up slowly from her bed. "I think I'm gonna go walk around a bit."
"You sure? Want me to come along?" Rogue asked.
Hayley shrugged. "If you want."
Leaning onto Rogue, Hayley walked out of the room. Most of the students were in their rooms, getting ready for bed. They talked quietlly to one another as they made their way downstairs. Hayley requested to go outside because she needed some fresh air after being holed up in her room for so long.
The air was unusually cold. Hayley and Rogue laughed as they walked through the backyard.
Suddenly Rogue stopped in her tracks. Hayley nearly tripped, caught by surprise by Rogue's abrupt stop. "What the hell, Rogue?"
But Hayley followed Rogue's gaze and her eyes widened in rage.
The cement fountain in the center of the backyard would usually be flowing with water. But on this night, the water had frozen solid. It was an ice fountain for that one evening and skating around the ice fountain were Kitty Pryde and Bobby Drake. They were laughing, skating and holding each other's hands. Kitty skated faster than Bobby but Bobby's grip on her hand pulled her back. Back into his arms.
That was enough to get Rogue's blood to boil.
"I am going to kill that bitch," Rogue hissed. She let Hayley go and ran after them.
"Aw crap," Hayley said, cursing her inability to run fast enough to stop Rogue from killing Kitty Pryde, literally.
"You filthy stupid whore!" Rogue yelled.
Her outburst interrupted Bobby and Kitty from their intimate moment and Bobby's eyes widened with fear and guilt. He jumped down from the fountain. The jump shattered his handmade skates as he walked over to Rogue to stop her. "Rogue, let me explain-,"
"How the hell are you going to explain this, Bobby?" Rogue spat. "You and her! How long has this been going on?!"
Bobby hesitated.
Hayley walked as fast as she could before things got out of hand. Bobby tried to stop Rogue from scrambling after Kitty who was still standing on top of the ice. But the thing that made this whole situation even more wrong was the fact that the phasing bitch was smiling. She had a mischevious smartass smirk on her face as if she was proud to cause the pain in Rogue.
That gesture alone was enough to stop Hayley in her tracks and allow Rogue to pull away from Bobby to beat the shit out of Kitty.
"Rogue! Rogue!" Bobby cried out, running after her as Rogue took off her gloves.
Rogue lunged for Kitty but Kitty merely phased herself and Rogue went right through her, falling onto the hard ice. Kitty turned around to look at her with a grin.
"Rogue, stop it!" Bobby grabbed hold onto her, careful not to touch her bare hands but it was hard when Rogue's hands were flailing around, trying to hit anything that came in her way.
"No, don't fucking touch me!" she screamed.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Hayley turned around to see a few of the older people coming out, weary-eyed and in their pajamas. Hayley jabbed her thumb over at the quarreling couple and Kitty fighting on the fountain. "Bobby and Kitty are officially dumbasses, that's what's going on."
Logan snarled and ran towards them. He managed to grab Rogue by the waist and pull her off of Bobby and away from Kitty. Rogue was still screaming obscenities at Bobby and Kitty. Her red face was streaming with angry tears. It broke Hayley's heart to see her good friend in this condition. She didn't deserve this. Not one bit.
With all the anger she had in her, Hayley walked quickly over to Bobby and gave him a good slap across the face. "You're a fucking jerk," she spat.
She pushed past Bobby and over to Kitty who remained standing. "Get your ass down here right now Kitty Pryde so I can shove my damn foot up your ass," Hayley snarled.
Kitty smirked. "I doubt that you're going to be able to do that."
Hayley shoved her hand out and forced Kitty hard against the stone angel that was in the middle of the fountain. Kitty looked terrified and tried to budge but of course there was no way she could get out of it.
"You know Kitty, we've never liked you from the beginning and who knows? Maybe we could've been friends," Hayley said. She leaned over the fountain and pressed a finger on the cold ice. "But after the bullshit that you pulled, I don't think that's ever going to happen."
"Bite me," Kitty hissed.
Hayley merely smirked and with one finger, the ice was on fire.
Kitty's eyes widened and she started to scream in fear. But Hayley chuckled. She wasn't that sadistic. She snapped her fingers and the fire disappeared, leaving only the smell of the smoke above the water that had once been ice.
"Hey, can cats swim?" Hayley asked and she snapped her fingers once more.
"AHHH!"
Kitty fell into the water, causing the water to overflow. Hayley laughed at the soaked little girl who gasped up the surface for air. She shrieked in horror and spat out curses at Hayley. "You little bitch! You're a fucking bitch!" she screamed.
"Enough!" Logan barked out.
Hayley turned around to see that Rogue had put on her gloves and was being taken back inside by Piotr. She could still hear her weeping as she went back inside. She also saw Gambit hanging out from afar and if her eyesight was failing her, she could see a smile on his face.
"Get back inside, Hayley. Go take care of Rogue," Logan ordered softly. When Hayley opened her mouth to protest, he narrowed his eyes at her. "I mean it, kid. Get back inside right now."
Hayley sighed but turned to give Kitty one last look. "This ain't over, Kitty."
She turned around, ignoring all the screams and threats that Kitty yelled at her. She limped towards Gambit who had been standing by the doorway. He had a rather amused look on his face, as if he had enjoyed the incident.
"Was the show good enough for you?" Hayley asked with a grin.
Gambit chuckled. "It was actually. Thanks for the late night entertainment though I much prefer other ways," he said with a wink.
"Oh God," Hayley muttered, rolling her eyes. "Do you think we can have one decent conversation that doesn't involve you hitting on me?"
He winked. "You don't like it?"
"What do you think?"
Gambit laughed, patting her shoulder. "How you feeling, cherie?"
Hayley knew he was referring to her back. "It's getting better. Getting stitches pulled out tomorrow."
He smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He looked past her and his eyes looked troubled. "Your friend gon be alright?"
Hayley's smile dropped and turned into a frown. "I don't know," she said softly.
He sighed and gave her shoulder a small squeeze. "I'm sorry for holding you up, cherie- you should be with your friend." He held the door open for her and motioned for her to step inside.
She smiled at his manners. "Thanks, Gambit."
"Now it'd be wrong of Remy to not escort a beautiful injured woman so." He extended his elbow out towards her, flashing her a rather seductive grin.
Hayley rolled her eyes. She had been around Gambit long enough to know when he was using his powers and right now, he was. His red eyes were glowing very brightly.
But his hypnotic charm was quite strong and even she couldn't resist it. Hayley thought for just a minute and she linked arms with him. She was tired and her back was still in a bit of pain. She could use the help.
As they walked up the stairs, he unhooked his arm from hers and put it around her waist while holding her hand. She looked up at him and noticed that his eyes were no longer glowing. She gave him a small smile as they continued their way to her room.
The kids were peeking out from behind their doors and Hayley instructed all of them to go back to bed. Some of them whined but all Hayley had to do was force their doors shut. Gambit chuckled.
"Firm hand you got there."
"You gotta do what you gotta do."
"Like what you did to that Kitty Cat."
"Exactly."
Gambit let out a low whistle. "She's a bit feisty. Much like yourself."
"PLEASE- don't even compare me to that filthy whore," Hayley said angrily.
"Easy cherie. Just sayin that you two are both real feisty."
"You'd be best to stay away from her," she warned.
Gambit grinned from ear to ear. "Why, Hayley? Jealous?"
"When pigs fly out of my ass, Gamby."
As they approached her door, they could both hear Rogue's weeping. Hayley opened the door to find Rogue crying on Piotr's shoulder. Piotr looked up to see her and smiled sadly.
Hayley sighed and turned to Gambit. "Thanks for walking me," she said softly.
Gambit shook his head. "No problem. Tell your friend that if she needs me to kick his ass, I'd be more than happy to."
She chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." She shut the door and walked over to Rogue, stroking her long brown hair. "Oh Rogue.. I'm sorry.."
Rogue ignored her and continued to cry.
Hayley sighed and forced Rogue off of Piotr so he could leave. He had done enough for tonight.
Rogue collapsed on her bed, weeping into her pillow. Hayley looked up at Piotr and gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks.. you can go if you want."
Piotr nodded. Hayley sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her friend's hair. "I'm so sorry Rogue.. I really am."
"I knew this would happen," Rogue sobbed loudly. "I knew it... I knew Bobby would get tired of being with me." She looked at her gloved hands and Hayley was stunned and a bit scared to see the hatred in her eyes. "It's my fault.. this is my fault."
"Don't say that!" Hayley hissed. "This is not your fault. You did nothing wrong!"
But Rogue just cried into her pillow. And like a good friend, Hayley sat next to her and continued to stroke her hair soothingly until Rogue cried herself to sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Hayley woke up the next morning, she found herself sitting against the wall on Rogue's bed. But Rogue was nowhere to be found. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. She was a bit confused and wondered if Rogue had left to go hunt down Bobby and Kitty. She wouldn't be surprised if she heard screams within the next hour.
She stood up, stretching out her body. A pink piece of paper, however, caught her eye in mid-stretch. It was on top of Rogue's tearstained pillow.
She picked it up and started reading.
Hayley,
I'm sorry that I'm doing this but this seems like the best solution for me right now. I can't be here with them two sucking face in their rooms. I can't look at Bobby without feeling any sort of pain. He broke my heart badly, Hayley and I just can't be around him. And of course, I can't be around Kitty and you know what I'd do if I were alone with her.
I'm leaving. Please don't be mad at me. But I feel like this is the only solution that I have right now to really think about me, Bobby, our relationship, my life for the future. I just need to get away from everything.
Please don't try to find me. I've asked Professor to not tell you anything about where I'm going. Again, I'm really sorry... please don't be mad at me. I love you so much, Hayley. Thanks for always being there for me, for being such a good friend. You truly are the best friend that anyone could ever ask for. Thanks for everything. I'll call you soon.
Love, Marie.
Hayley ran out of her room, not even thinking once about the pain ripping through her back. She pushed through the students, climbing up the stairs two by two. She reached the professor's door and opened it to find Logan, Storm, Piotr, Bobby and Warren Worthington Jr. standing solemnly in front of the desk.
Professor Xavier looked up. "We've been expecting you," he said sadly.
"Professor, we have to find Rogue," Hayley said urgently.
"I'm afraid we cannot. Rogue requested that I not tell anyone about where she's going."
Hayley was already growing frustrated. "Look, we have to find her! We can't just let her go off just cause some stupid asshole broke her heart!" She glared at Bobby who looked away in guilt.
"Language, Hayley. But I have given her my word."
Hayley's heart began to race. She felt acid rising up to her throat. Her whole body trembled and sweat was appearing on her forehead. She hadn't felt this way since John had left.
"Please.. please Professor. We have to find her.. we can't just let her go," she whimpered.
Professor looked incredibly sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Hayley."
She did her best to hold her tears back but looking at Bobby made them fall. Anger coursed through her veins as she walked up to Bobby and punched him hard in the jaw. He stumbled backwards, his hand holding his jaw. He groaned in pain and glared at Hayley.
Hayley felt the arms of Logan pull her back and she didn't struggle. She glared at him angrily, tears streaming down her face.
"This is all your fault!" she yelled. "You're the one who drove her away from here! You're the one that made her doubt her self-worth and made her feel so damn useless because of her powers! It's you, Bobby! It's all your fault!"
"C'mon, kid... not here," Logan whispered as he pulled her out of the office. Hayley hid her face in his arm as he led her down the stairs and into the backyard.
"This isn't fair!" Hayley screamed once they were outside. She turned around to face Logan. Her breathing came out ragged. "Why does she have to leave? Why does everyone think they have to fucking leave?!"
"It's something she thought she had to do," Logan said calmly.
"She could've just dealt with it here," Hayley moaned, wiping away her tears. "She could've stayed here..."
"Rogue thought it was necessary for her to go." Logan put his arms around her. "She'll be back."
"Everyone leaves me," Hayley said softly, sniffling.
"What are you talking about, kid?"
She pulled away from him to give him a cold stare. "You. John. Now Rogue. You all left."
"I came back."
"Yes but you always leave, don't you?!" she yelled. "John left and who knows if he'll even come back? And how do you know Rogue will come back, hm?" Hayley pointed at the school building. "Everyone, everyone judged her straight from the beginning. How do you think that made her feel since she was a student here at this damn school?!
"And do you really think she's going to come back? That even after being at this school for so long, being here as a TA, she's going to want to come back? After fucking Bobby cheated on her?!"
"What do you want me to say, Hayley? What do you want me to do?" Logan said. He was surprisingly calm despite Hayley's anger and complaints that even Hayley, despite her angry state, suddenly calmed down.
Hayley walked back to him and hugged him. "Stop leaving me. Everyone, just stop leaving me."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was suggested that Hayley stay in her room for the day. One, Hayley wasn't even feeling that well to begin with- physically and emotionally. Two, she was told to stay in so she wouldn't bump into Bobby or Kitty. Everyone in the school knew Hayley was incredibly calm and chill but when she was provoked, she had a nasty temper.
Hayley hated being confined in her room but even she knew that it was best if she stayed. She didn't know what she'd do to the two if she crossed paths with them.
Rogue's side of the room was cluttered with Rogue's usual mess but it felt so empty. The room was not the same without her. She and Hayley had been roommates since they had both started attending the school. Hayley had been here first and had been the first to welcome Rogue when everyone else withdrew from her, talking about the Southern belle behind her back. Rogue was considered weird, strange but Hayley didn't let the words affect her judgment on Rogue.
Rogue had always been there for her through the good times and the bad and Hayley had been there for her through the good times and the bad. They understood what it felt like to be alone despite their situations being different. But now, now was different.
Her thoughts went back to the conversation that she had with Logan. Or more like her venting out her feelings. She hated it when people left- whether it'd be for a mission or for good. It just broke her heart whenever she had to say goodbye to people.
Hayley sighed and covered her body with her blanket. She didn't want to do anything, not even eat.
There was a knock on the door and she sighed again. "Come in."
The door opened and the tall blonde Warren Worthington came in with a soft smile. "Hey Hayley.. you alright?"
She smiled. "I'm good."
Warren had joined the X-Men team after the battle on Alcatraz Island. His father had been the creator of the Cure that would supposedly rid of the mutant powers. It turned out to be only temporary for certain mutants. Rogue, for example, gained back her powers within a few months. Others such as Magneto's powers remained to be gone but Hayley knew the professor was keeping a close watch on him.
"I just stopped by to say hi. I don't think today's little meeting would've been the most appropriate time to catch up on life," Warren said with a grin. He walked over towards her and sat on the edge of the bed. He patted her leg. "So. How's life?"
Hayley laughed. "Life has had its ups and downs. How's your dad?"
Warren chuckled. "Dad's been good... keeping to himself since the Cure."
She giggled and sat up straight, stretching out her back.
"Have you heard from.. him yet?" Warren asked, hesitating a little bit.
Hayley's eyes narrowed. "No. I haven't." She saw the shiftiness in his eyes. Something didn't feel right with the way he asked the question. "What is it?"
"Hm?" Warren pretended to look dumb.
"What, what is it? I know you know something. What do you know?" she demanded.
Warren sighed. "I... shouldn't."
"If it has something to do with John, then you better fucking tell me or-,"
"Professor said-,"
Hayley raised an eyebrow at him and he relented. She knew he remembered the last time he had withheld information from her. He sighed. "I saw him."
Her heart nearly stopped. "John?"
Warren nodded.
Her eyes filled with tears but she blinked them away. "When? Where?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"When I went to visit my dad. We were walking around town," Warren explained. "I knew it was him, I can't forget him," he said with a sigh, being reminded of the Alcatraz battle. "I confronted him."
"What?"
Warren gave her a small smile. "I knew you missed him. I knew you were hurting because of him and I told him. I told him what he had put you through, in hopes that he would maybe come back or even at least consider the thought but he didn't.
"He told me to get the hell out of there but I said no. It was stupid of me to do so but I knew how much he means to you," he continued to explain. "He basically told me he'd set my wings on fire right there on the spot. There were too many people. So I let him go."
Hayley sighed. She was disappointed with the outcome but she knew that Warren had done what he could. "Is that why you and the rest of the teachers were in the office? Talking about John?" she asked accusingly.
He didn't answer but the look in his eyes read guilty.
Hayley glared at him. "YOU are going to tell me where he was and take me there right now."
Warren looked shocked. "Wait, what? No, I can't. I won't."
"Why not?" she snarled.
"Because," he said, "it's clear that he doesn't want to be found."
"What the fuck are you talking about? What kind of stupid comment is that?"
"Because, because if he really wanted to be found, if he really wanted to then he would've come back with me," Warren firmly said.
She glared at him but didn't say anything. Aside from Logan, Warren was the next person on the list that she couldn't ever argue against. While he was a chill, outgoing guy, Warren had a seriousness to him that made him stand out from the other people their age.
"Fine," she said finally.
Warren sighed. "You know I'm doing this for your own good."
"Yeah yeah, whatever," Hayley sighed, throwing the blanket over her body.