Disclaimer—I own zilch, just so you know.
Chapter 8—Trust
Lance was pissed, and that was putting it nicely. All day long he had heard rumors about Rogue; apparently she had been seen walking some guy home to the Xavier mansion at around three in the morning from the new nightclub. But that wasn't what had Lance so angry. He was fuming over the fact that Rogue had been seen conversing with Scott Summers…and the whole thing had looked pretty steamy from passer-bys, drunk ones yes, but that wasn't important.
The funny thing was that Lance believed the rumors. Why? Because Rogue had been dead tired that morning before school, and she had barely said two words to him all day. Her mind was obviously elsewhere, and Lance knew she wasn't thinking about their date later in the day. No, she had to be thinking about the X-Freak.
Lance's first date with Rogue was already ruined.
The teen narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of Rogue at her locker. He had never been one to take the low road and wait for things to happen. He had always been the assertive type, and this time around he wasn't going to be any different. He marched over to Rogue's locker and slammed the yellow door shut. Rogue didn't even flinch; she simply tightened her lips in anger.
"What the hell is your problem?" she asked darkly.
"What the hell is yours, Rogue? Did you think I wouldn't find out about your three a.m. romp with Summers?" shot back Lance.
Rogue looked up at Lance and glared. "I thought all that was settled, Lance. We aren't a couple! You can't tell me who A can and can't be friends with!"
"You do know who Summers is, don't you? He's one of them," hissed Lance leaning closer to Rogue.
The southern girl took a step back at the invasion of her personal space. "You're not my keeper!" she insisted.
"Dammit, Rogue! Don't screw around with me! You can't date two guys at once!"
"I wasn't planning on dating Scott. I was barely planning on dating you!"
Lance opened his mouth to say something, but closed it with a mixture of anger. He had a feeling that admission, while nice to hear, hadn't been meant as a compliment. "Screw you!"
"Is that how it's going to be?" demanded Rogue. Lance furrowed his eyebrows. She continued with an intense tone of voice. "Lance, I like you, I really do…but, you need to trust me. There can never be an us if you don't trust me, understand? Just because I'm…different doesn't mean I'm going to throw out all the morals I was taught!"
"Roguey, I—"
"No, Lance, listen to me. I promised myself I would only date a guy who truly cared for me, someone who would trust me to be loyal to our relationship; someone who would do anything for me—like cross the world for a single kiss; or even someone who would forsake his family to be with me, kind of like a prince giving up his title.
"I guess my expectations are a little high, but truthfully, I don't think you could be that guy, Lance. You don't seem to me…and if you can't trust me then I don't want to give you the time of day. I'm sorry."
Lance was left speechless as a teary eyed Rogue brushed past him. A crowd had gathered around the feuding pair—and at the very edge of it, Lance could see Scott staring after Rogue.
Bobby was torn. Part of him wanted to run after Rogue and make sure she was alright, but the other part of him wanted to stay hidden in the group with his friends so as to stay out of Lance's way. He knew the rumors circulating around the school were revolving around Scott and Rogue…but he wasn't stupid enough to think Lance wouldn't pound the first guy to make a move on the new girl.
"Man, you're screwed," whistled Kurt shaking his head. Kitty instantly latched onto Kurt's arm to join the conversation.
"No kidding! Wait until Lance finds out if was you who broke him and Rogue up!"
Evan smirked. "You might even have a chance with her now, Bobby. I think Lance is set on killing Scott rather than you."
Bobby looked to where Evan was pointing in time to see Lance's fist connect with Scott's jaw. Scott hit the ground hard, but was instantly on his feet and lunging right back at Lance.
Oh boy. Bobby was screwed if Lance discovered the truth.
Later That Day
Mystique paced back and forth in her office as principal. Hours earlier she had broken up a fight between Lance Alvers and Scott Summers. Both boys had been suspended for a day.
All for Rogue.
"Damn that girl! Where the hell did she go?" exclaimed Mystique plopping down in her seat.
"Why do I trust you to protect my charges? Maybe I should find a replacement for you," came a voice from the shadows of her office. Mystique narrowed her eyes as Magneto came into view. He had no right to threaten her loyalty to him.
"I can handle Rogue…unfortunately the girl seems to have a mind of her own. Not all of my charges can be as susceptible as your son!"
"Don't push me, Mystique. You know damn well how important Rogue is to my plans! The machine is almost complete—I need Rogue in order to succeed."
Mystique gave a small sigh as her features softened. "I know, Eric. I'm sorry. She's just so…so headstrong."
"Don't grow attached to her, Mystique. She is a pawn in my hand…she is only useful for so long, you understand? Don't use her as a replacement for that child you lost! Attachments are equal to failure. Do not forget that."
Mystique nodded. "I'll find her, Eric. She's simply upset with Lance at the moment. She's still a teenage girl. I'll go and take her shopping or something to help her bond with me to cement the deal."
"Teach her to fight."
"Excuse me?"
"Teach her martial arts, Mystique. Until the machine is ready she may do a complete turn around and join the Brotherhood. She must learn how to defeat the X-Men in some form or another until she decides to use her powers," explained Magneto calmly. Mystique was silent. Seconds later her boss was gone. Now all she had to do was find Rogue.
Mystique pulled on her coat and grabbed her keys. She walked out of her office and towards the parking lot. She stopped short when she saw Lance standing beside her car.
"What do you want?" she snapped.
"Rogue slashed my tires. I was going to go after her, but I can't get anywhere without a set of wheels," answered Lance pulling a cigarette out of his vest pocket. Mystique slapped his hand, causing the cigarette to drop to the ground. Lance looked up in anger.
Mystique quickly jabbed a finger in his face. "You screwed up, Lance. I told you to take care of Rogue, and what did you do? You stomped all over her heart!"
"Don't you think I already know that? I fucked up big time, Mystique! Bigger than I've ever fucked up before. That's why I need to find her…I have to make it up to her, start over…" Lance dropped his arms to his side in resignation. He knew that Rogue wouldn't be in the mood to listen any time soon, but he had to try to prove he cared about her.
"Not this time, Lance. This time you stay behind and I'll take care of Rogue. It's high time that girl was trained to protect herself. She needs to be on our side, Lance. But if you chase her into the arms of an X-Man, I swear to God I will kill you. Leave her alone. If she really likes you then she'll go back to you. Until then don't push it. Let her fall in love on her own time." Mystique locked eyes with her charge and waited for him to back down. He did.
"Fine. I'll leave her alone…for now, but the first chance I get I'm winning her back," spat out Lance spitting close to Mystique's shoes.
"I wouldn't expect any less from you." With that Mystique opened her car door and slammed it in Lance's face. She pulled out of the parking lot and watched the angry teen kick at Scott Summers' car through the rear view mirror.
The Park:
Rogue sniffed as she swung listlessly on the swing. She hurt twice as much as she had after putting Cody in a coma. She hadn't wanted to break things off with Lance, especially since they had barely come to an understanding over their relationship, but she had felt that she had had no choice. As loyal as Lance was, it all came down to one thing:
Lance didn't trust her.
Hell, Rogue didn't trust herself half the time now that she worked for Magneto, but she desperately wanted to believe that others could trust her. Others like Lance. Or Scott.
Rogue bit her lip as she thought about the X-Man known as Cyclops. He trusted her to a degree, she knew that. He believed she would one day make the "right" choice and join the X-Men…but Scott was in for a disappointment if he thought her life was that easy.
"Boys are so stupid," she muttered to herself wiping more tears away.
"I could have told you that," came a quiet voice. Rogue glanced up and gave a tiny smile as Mystique sat in the swing next to her.
"You've had bad luck too?"
Mystique sighed. "Men have never stuck by my side; it's one of their failings. As soon as the going gets rough, they check out of the relationship. The last guy in my life left after I got pregnant."
Rogue frowned. "You have a kid?"
"Once upon a time, Rogue. I had a son. I had to give him up to a family with a stable home. I was always on the road hiding who I was. I haven't been in touch with him for years now. I used to send cards and gifts…but he's just a reminder of how my life has gone downhill."
"I'm sorry."
Mystique simply shook her head, trying to hide her silent tears. "I didn't come here to discuss my love life with you…are you okay? I had to forcibly break up the fight between Lance and Scott. You put on quite a show back there today."
Rogue chuckled. "That's Lance for you. Hot headed…he doesn't like to think things through. He doesn't trust me, Mystique. He made it seem like I was cheating on him, but we haven't even been on a single date yet. I wouldn't do anything like that—not to Lance."
"He is called the Avalanche for a reason. He's a walking natural disaster. What about this rumor with Scott?" Mystique eyed Rogue out of the corner of her eye warily.
Rogue frowned. "He argued with me. All I did was go on a cigarette run this morning and I came across that Bobby Drake fellow stumbling around drunk. I couldn't leave him to the muggers and other drunks. I was nice, I walked him to that damn mansion, and then Scott comes out and yells at me for being with y'all."
"Did he try to hurt you?" Mystique sat up straight and looked to her charge for the word to kick Scott Summer's ass. She herself had gone through her fair share of abusive relationships and as a result she had no tolerance to anything even remotely close to abuse.
"Please, that guy wouldn't touch me, he saw my powers first hand…I'm pretty sure I scared the X-Men I saw in Louisiana for good. They won't try anything, unless Lance lets them."
Mystique stood up and motioned for Rogue to do the same. "Come on, get up and I'll teach you some defense tactics. You need to be prepared in case you're alone and attacked. God knows how many more middle of the night walks you'll go on from now on to be away from the boys in the boarding house."
"Defense?"
"And some attack moves. I refuse to lose my foster daughter to some lame ass, half drunk rapist because she doesn't know how to fight. Come on, you remember some of the moves I taught you on the way back from New Orleans, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Alright then, attack me." Mystique positioned herself in a defensive stance as Rogue looked at her with caution. Then without warning Rogue launched herself at her mentor. At first it looked as though Rogue was going to punch Mystique in the stomach, so the shape shifter moved to protect her upper body, but in a flash Rogue dropped to her knees and kicked Mystique's legs out from under her.
Mystique gazed up at Rogue's innocent face in surprise as she lay in the sand on her back. That move had been completely unexpected. Then Mystique broke into a grin. "Perfect! Let's try some new moves, alright?"
"Sure, just don't expect me to help you up each time I knock you down," teased Rogue perking up. This was exactly what she needed…a way to vent rather than cry herself silly.
From within the woods Scott watched in wonder as Rogue and Mystique parried with each other. Rogue was a quick learner. She had knocked the blue shape shifter to the ground more than once, and didn't show any signs of letting up on the older mutant. What amazed Scott the most was the bond between the two mutants. Rogue trusted Mystique like a mother-type figure, and Mystique treated Rogue as though she were her own. It was strange, how natural the scene was. And he knew then and there that it would take a major betrayal for Rogue to leave the Brotherhood for the X-Men.
Time passed quickly as Scott studied the mock-battle. Soon the park lights were lighting up and the sky began to turn a pink color. Scott was about to turn away when he saw Mystique and Rogue part. Mystique returned to her car and drove away as Rogue walked along the park path. Scott hesitated a moment before leaving his spot to join the southern teen.
"Hey," he said softly the second Rogue caught sight of him. She simply bit her lip indicating she wouldn't be speaking immediately.
Scott continued. "I'm sorry about what happened between you and Lance today."
"It would have happened sooner or later." Rogue shrugged off the apology and turned to walk away. Scott quickly grabbed Rogue's shoulder and turned her back to face him. Rogue looked at him with a mixture of apprehension and fear.
"I…" Scott let go of Rogue as he tried to organize his thoughts.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you're not used to apologizing are you?"
"No. I've never really hurt anyone like this before. Truthfully, I've never been the cause of a breakup before."
"Look, Scott, Lance and I weren't together yet. All you did was ruin the first date, Lance did the rest by himself."
Scott frowned. "So you are blaming me for part of it, huh?"
"Well I can't blame Bobby, he was drunk, and I don't want Lance to try and kill the kid. I heard your fight was a real doozy."
"Yeah, it was." Scott fingered his bruised cheek tenderly as Rogue watched. Then with a timid air she lifted her gloved hand up towards his bruise. Scott was silent and watched through his ruby lenses as Rogue's hand neared his face. He gave a shy smile as he felt Rogue's fingers brush against his cheek and bruise.
"I'm sorry you got this. It was my fault, I should have fought with Lance at the house—that way he wouldn't have attacked you," murmured Rogue quietly.
Scott reached up and grabbed her gloved hand in his. "Don't apologize; I think you were worth the bruise."
Rogue dropped her eyes as she felt butterflies in her stomach. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Not with Scott. Not with anyone for that matter.
"Hey, I'll give you a ride back to your place," said Scott. He prayed she wouldn't turn him down. Rogue gave a small nod in agreement and allowed Scott to lead her to his car. The entire walk they were both very much aware of the fact that Scott wouldn't let go of her hand.
From the shadows a large and imposing figure watched the two teens walk through the park hand in hand. This was exactly what the master had ordered.
A/N—As of July 18, 2007 this chapter has been revised.