Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own this stuff.
31-Pure Resolve
Rogue felt a soft breeze blow across her cheek, waking her out of a light slumber. Her eyes fluttered open to gaze out at the quiet street. She had been lounging in the porch swing at the boarding house for the afternoon. Around her Rogue could hear birds chirping in the trees, signaling warmer weather on the rise. Rogue took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
After yesterday's events Rogue felt whole again. Her head was ache free, and the voices had seemed to vanish. But, all was not well. Today Rogue's mind was busy rethinking her life. Or at least the part that dealt with relationships.
She had kissed Pietro. Twice. Rogue had cheated on Warren—something she had never intended considering the fiasco with Lance. But that's what had happened, and now Rogue was trying to sort out her feelings for Warren and Pietro.
Sure she never saw Warren anymore, only talking to him on the phone every once in a while, but that wasn't important, was it? Warren was a nice guy; very caring; concerned over her well-being and always on her side. Pietro on the other hand was a part of her everyday life, and she was working with him now. He also cared about her, and tried to protect her from others, but he was always a real charmer. And that could lead to problems…just like the distance factor with Warren.
Rogue sighed in frustration. Why didn't anyone take her status as The Untouchable serious? Did she have a sign on her forehead asking for trouble? Whatever it was Rogue wanted it to stop. She was tired of dealing with love.
And going along with that line of thought, Rogue was also tired of family. Her mother was a terrorist; a bitch; and a betrayer. Mystique had handed Rogue over to Magneto on more than one occasion now—and she still wouldn't say who Rogue's father was. And Rogue hadn't been able to gleam that little piece of information from Mystique yesterday.
Then there was Kurt. Her brother. The brother she had never asked for and the one who had ultimately replaced her. Mystique wanted a real relationship with Kurt. He was part of the reason Rogue had been abandoned to fend for herself. And that wouldn't be a good icebreaker when it came time for some sort of family reunion. No, Rogue wasn't sure if she would ever want anything to do with Kurt. He was mad at her. She had seen it in his eyes after she had tried to kill Mystique. Kurt genuinely cared for their mother; Rogue did not.
Rogue had a dark feeling that it would be a long time before she decided to get to know the furry blue mutant. She had other things to worry about. Like getting Magneto his acolytes before he got out of prison. Then she would deal with finding out who her father was. And then she would kill Mystique. It was as simple as that.
The rumble of Lance's jeep stirred Rogue out of her reverie. She looked up in time to see Lance pull up in the driveway. Tabitha was the first one out and over to Rogue.
"You missed a fun-filled day at school," remarked the blonde plopping herself down beside Rogue.
"Ah'm sure Ah did."
Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, don't rub it in that you got to ditch while the rest of us decided to put up an appearancefor the X-Geeks. Didja know that they were asking about you? Little Miss Four-Point-Oh practically had a heart attack when you didn't show up. I think she wants to talk to you or something. She's gone a little zany since yesterday."
Rogue chuckled. "Like it was hard to push her over the edge? Damn girl is too serious. Maybe now she won't beso stuck-up."
"Just stressed, but that's no biggie. Anyway, Scott wanted me to pass on a message. Warren's coming down later today. He's been worried about you. I guess he had Scott give him the low down on your freak out. So now he's coming to town…" Tabitha's voice trailed off as Pietro passed by with a dark look on his face. Glancing over at Rogue the blonde could see the southerner biting her lower lip, seemingly lost in thought.
"What am Ah gonna do?" murmured Rogue to herself.
Tabitha sighed. "Whatever it is, someone's gonna get hurt, Rogue."
"Ah really need ta join a convent. Ah'd be ten times safer there than anywhere else."
"Yeah, but just think about all those cute guys you'd be missing out on," teased Tabitha. Rogue snorted. "Are you gonna tell him?"
Rogue looked up quizzically. "Tell who what?"
"Tell Warren that you and Speedy smooched."
"Aw man." Rogue gave an audible groan and slumped in the swing. Things weren't looking up for her anymore.
"And," continued Tabitha changing topics, "There's a new kid at school. Some good looking Russian giant by the name of Piotr Rasputin. Turns out he's an artist—I would've thought he had come for the football team, but apparently he's not much of a sportsman. But god is he hot. You shoulda seen the look on the Kitty-Cat's face when he walked in. Priceless. And would you believe he's living with Dr. McCoy? Imagine being a foreign exchange student and having to stay with your chemistry teacher."
Rogue glanced up with a thoughtful look on her face. "Really? A foreign exchange student ahn an artist all in one? Interestin'."
"No, not interesting, hot. But that's just me. You have your own problems to deal with. And problem number one just pulled up." Tabitha pointed towards the street where Warren had parked. Rogue felt her heart break upon seeing him. He looked so worried and concerned about her…Rogue wasn't sure she could handle it.
Tabitha gave Rogue a small smile before disappearing into the house. Rogue took a deep breath as Warren made his way up the steps. She had to come clean to him, she had to fix this mess, and she had to end it.
"Rogue, thank god…I've been so worried about you. When Pietro called yesterday he made it seem you'd gone off the deep end. I wanted to rush down here last night, but I couldn't get away. Scott kind of filled me in last night. How are you?" Warren sat beside Rogue on the porch swing and took a gloved hand in his.
"Ah'm…alright. Ah kinda lost it yesterday…but Ah'm alright. Ah didn't mean ta make ya worry," replied Rogue softly.
"Hey, it's okay, Rogue. I'm just glad you're okay. I should have been here for you. I wish I didn't have to spend so much time in the city. People are going to start thinking I'm a horrible boyfriend now. I'm sorry, Rogue. I let you down."
"Ah'm the one who should be sayin' sorry," murmured Rogue dropping her gaze to the ground. "You're a wonderful guy, Warren, ahn Ah don't deserve you."
Warren frowned. "What are you saying?"
"Ah made a mistake…ahn Ah wish Ah could say it was a big mistake, but Ah cahn't. Warren, Ah…Ah kissed Pietro yesterday." Rogue swallowed the lump in her throat and snuck a quick glance at Warren. The older teen stared at her, stunned.
"You…you what?"
"Ah'm really sorry, it just happened…ahn…Ah don't even know what to say."
"How about you'll never do it again," suggested Warren as the information seeped into his brain.
Rogue hung her head and spoke in a whisper. "Ah'm not sure Ah cahn promise that."
"Are you trying to tell me that you have feelings for Pietro?" demanded Warren.
"Yes. No. Ah don't know. Everything's hazy right now. Ah don't know what Ah feel for anyone anymore. Ah'm so sorry, Warren. Ah never meant ta hurt you."
Warren took a deep breath. "Rogue, I'm sure it was just an in the moment kind of thing. We'll get through this. I can't lose you."
Rogue sniffed back some tears as she finally looked up at Warren. "That's the thing, Warren. Ah don't think it was just in the moment. Ah…Ah've been thinkin' since yesterday…ahn Ah think Ah need to reconsider things."
"Reconsider things? Like us?"
"Yeah, like us."
"You're breaking up with me?" asked Warren quietly.
Rogue nodded solemnly. "Ah think it's the best thing ta do right now. Ah need ta think, Warren. Everything's happenin' so fast…Ah don't wanna make any more mistakes. Ah'm sorry. Ah really care for you…but Ah don't wanna hurt you any more. Do you understand?"
"No. No, I don't understand. I think you're scared. So you kissed another guy…Rogue, I know I'm not the ideal boyfriend because I'm never here, but I think you need to give me another chance," said Warren.
"Ah don't know, Warren. Ah think Ah should figure out what's goin' ohn with Speedy ahn meh before Ah cahn make that decision. We cahn still be—"
Warren brushed Rogue's hand away from his shoulder and stood up. "I've gotta go, Rogue. I…I've got some thinking to do as well." Without another word he stormed off the front porch and back to his car. Rogue sighed wearily as she watched him drive away, before letting the tears come freely.
The front door opened and Pietro stepped outside. Rogue quickly brushed away her tears as the speedster took the empty spot beside her. "I heard," he said softly.
"Ah don't wanna talk about it right now," murmured Rogue.
"You don't have to," replied Pietro pulling Rogue into his arms. "We can always talk later."
Rogue nodded silently as she began to cry in Pietro's arms. She cried for Warren, she cried for Kurt, she cried for Mystique, but most of all Rogue cried for herself.
The Next Day:
"That's him," hissed Tabitha pointing. Rogue glanced away from her locker and over at the student Tabitha was indicating. He was a tall, broad shouldered teen with short dark hair and brown eyes.
"He's…big," remarked Rogue turning back to her locker.
Tabitha snorted. "Just because you're leaning towards Pietro doesn't mean you can't appreciate a good looking guy when you see one."
"Well then," teased Rogue, "if Ah see one Ah'll let ya know."
"Ha ha," deadpanned Tabitha sticking her tongue out at her friend. Rogue made a face and the two girls dissolved into giggles.
"Glad to see we're in a better mood today," murmured Lance joining the girls.
"Does everyone know?" demanded Rogue.
"That you dumped wing boy for Pietro, yeah, everyone knows," replied Lance seriously. Rogue narrowed her eyes at the dark haired teen. "What, it's true isn't it?"
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Where's Kitty?" she asked. "Ah didn't know she let ya wander ohn ya own. Is she sick?"
Lance cursed under his breath. "Damn girl is driving me up the wall. 'Lance, like do this…Lance, like don't do that.' Man, when did I ever stoop as low as to follow a girl's orders? Except yours, Roguey," he amended quickly upon seeing the look on Rogue's face.
Tabitha sighed dramatically. "Ah, young love. I can't wait for the wedding. It's gonna be a regular ol' showdown…I'm so bringing the alcohol."
"There ain't gonna be any wedding," snapped Lance through gritted teeth.
"Better tell the Kitty-Cat that then…last I checked she was ordering the bridesmaids gowns." Tabitha stalked off humming the wedding march aloud, gaining another dark look from Lance.
"Good luck," whispered Rogue as she shut her locker. Lance watched helplessly as Rogue walked away just as Kitty came to stand in front of him with her arms crossed.
"Lance, we like totally need to talk," she started coldly.
"About?"
"Why do you insist on hanging around Tabitha? She's like nothing but trouble…and it's so like not cool that you're letting Rogue stay over at the boarding house—especially with all the history you guys have!"
Lance took a deep breath. "First of all, in case you haven't noticed, Rogue and I are over. For good. She's after Maximoff now. And second of all, Tabitha is a friend. Just a friend. Dammit, Kitty, if you can't get that through your head then I don't think we're gonna work out. And if you keep nagging me I'm gonna dump your skinny little ass, got it?"
Kitty's mouth dropped open in horror as Lance stalked away shaking his head. Then she burst into tears. That wasn't how the conversation was supposed to go.
Meanwhile, Rogue was taking her time heading towards homeroom. As she neared the classroom, though, she bumped into Kurt. The two teens locked eyes as they halted their steps. Neither one said a word, but both could feel the tension in the air. Rogue shook her head with a dark look on her face before pushing her way past Kurt.
Amanda furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to figure out what had just happened. But judging by the look on his face, she knew it wouldn't be a good idea to ask him about it. Instead, Amanda spied Kitty retreating into the girl's bathroom. Amanda gave Kurt a quick peck on the lips before dashing in after Kitty. She stopped short upon seeing Kitty wiping away smeared mascara with a tissue.
"Oh…are you alright?" asked Amanda cautiously.
Kitty glanced up and gave Amanda a small smile. "I'll be fine. I'm like totally rethinking the whole Lance deal though. What about you?"
"Oh, well, I was just gonna ask you if you knew what the deal was with Kurt and Rogue. I swear you could see bombs going off when they bumped into each other."
"Oh that." Kitty sighed as she leaned back against the countertop. "You wouldn't believe what happened yesterday."
"I got the shortened version from Kurt on the phone. Something about Rogue having a total meltdown and lashing out at you guys."
"Please, like that's not even close to the truth. See, Rogue and Kurt are related. They like share the same mom, and yesterday Rogue was like trying to kill their mom. She's been through a lot. Their mom chose Kurt over Rogue…and Rogue is so not letting it go that easily."
Amanda's eyes widened in surprise. "Omigod! I can't believe that...but…I thought Kurt's mom was the enemy."
"She is. But you know Kurt; family is like everything to him. Of course, when one family member like totally tries to kill the other, than obviously he's going to side with the woman who gave birth to him. He feels that she's changed. Rogue doesn't think that. And me, Itotally have to agree with Rogue. Mystique isn't going to change just like that. She's up to something."
"Kurt has a sister," murmured Amanda softly. "She's tough too. He needs to forgive and forget. He doesn't need Mystique if he has Rogue."
Kitty snorted. "Like try telling the Rogue that. She can be just as stubborn as him."
"Details, details." Amanda waved off the comment just as the first bell rang. Both girls groaned as they made a mad dash towards homeroom. Kitty slipped into her seat beside Amara just as the late bell rang out.
Behind Kitty and Amara sat St. John. The Aussie teen was in a sulky mood after having been reprimanded that morning for playing with his lighter during breakfast. And to make matters even worse, Logan had actually taken the lighter away from him. Now St. John felt incomplete.
He blew out a deep sigh and glanced at the two girls sitting in front of him. His eyes settled on Amara before lighting up in delight. "Hey, Shelia," he whispered.
Amara turned around with the air of a princess. An ice princess. "What?"
"I was thinkin' that maybe you and I could have lunch together. Light a little fire—"
"You actually think I'd consider having lunch with you? You've got to be joking." With that Amara turned back around and whispered conspiratorially with Kitty. The two girls glanced back at St. John who was glowering at them and then they burst into giggles. St. John practically ground his teeth.
Beside him Pietro shook his head before speaking. "I don't know why you even bothered. Everyone knows the girls at the mansion are stuck up."
"Rogue isn't," replied St. John cheekily.
"But Rogue doesn't always stay at the mansion, does she?" Pietro smirked and pulled a lighter out of his pants pocket to hand to St. John.
"Oh, thanks, mate," murmured St. John with a wide grin on his face. Pietro rolled his eyes at the evil glint in the Aussie's eyes. The pyromaniac was definitely a little out there.
Pietro nodded slowly. "Just remember who you can trust at the end of the day. It's a two sided world, buddy. It's either us," he pointed at himself, "or them," he finished indicating Kitty and Amara in front of them. "All you gotta do is pick the right side."
St. John gazed at Amara with a faraway look in his eyes. The bell rang indicating the end of homeroom, shaking St. John back to normal. The Aussie took one glance over at Bobby getting ready to leave and then at Pietro who was already headed towards the door.
"Hey, Slick," called out St. John hurrying after Pietro, "you boys picky about who you hang out with?"
On the other side of campus Rogue was making her way towards chemistry. Truthfully she was itching for a cigarette. The clear skies outdoors were clearly calling her name, and it wasn't as though she really liked chemistry. Of course, she probably should attend to try and get to know the new kid, Piotr.
Rogue paused and kept shooting furtive glances between her chemistry classroom and the side door leading outside when she felt a tentative hand on her shoulder. Rogue turned around and found herself face to face with Kurt's girlfriend.
Amanda cleared her throat nervously and shuffled her feet. "Um…I know this is gonna sound totally weird, and completely out of nowhere, but uh, I think we should try and get to know each other. For Kurt's sake."
Rogue bit back her initial reaction and chose a calmer route. "Ah don't think Kurt ahn Ah are gonna be gettin' ta know each other any time soon. It'd be kinda pointless for meh ahn you ta become friends, don't ya think?"
"No," replied Amanda shaking her head. "Kurt's confused right now, sure. But soon he's gonna shake himself out of this funk and want to bond with you. Rogue, you and Kurt share the same blood. Whether or not you guys want to admit it, you've really only got each other. I know about your mom…and I have to say that personally, I don't like the idea of Kurt trying to protect her and defend her from you. She's not a good person. I don't want Kurt to look up to her…I'd rather he looked up to you instead."
"Look, Amanda, you don't even know meh. You sure as hell don't know the first thing about meh. Ah'm not a role model—especially not for Kurt. Right now Ah really don't want anything ta do with him. Our mother loves Kurt, not meh. She abandoned meh ahn don't think Ah'll ever be able to forgive that."
"But it's not Kurt's fault," insisted Amanda.
Rogue sighed. "Even so, the harm has already been done. Ah just want some peace ahn quiet. Ah don't need to try ahn make things work with a brother Ah never had…a brother Ah never wanted."
Amanda grabbed Rogue by the arm, preventing the southern bell from walking away. "Rogue, I've heard a little about your past from Kurt and Kitty. They say your adopted parents were going to sell you out too…just like your mother did. And they also say that you were about to become a big sister. You can't possibly tell me that you didn't want a younger sibling once upon a time…and that you would have ignored them for being born. And you can't tell me that you wouldn't do everything in your power to save your brother or sister from parents like the ones you've had. Rogue, I'm begging you, help me help Kurt. I love him, but I can't save him. Only you can do that. You're his sister. Me, I'm just the girlfriend. He'd never listen to me about something this big. Please, you have to make him understand that the mother he wants is not the mother he has."
"Ah don't know…" Rogue wasn't able to finish her sentence as Kurt showed up shooting her a dagger eyed look.
"What's goin' on?" he demanded.
"Nothing," said Amanda. "Rogue and I were just talking."
Kurt rounded on Amanda, taking his anger out on her. "Didn't I tell you what she did yesterday?" he hissed. "You can't go behind my back and talk to the enemy."
Amanda felt her eyes begin to tear as the late bell for first period rang. "You didn't tell me the whole truth, Kurt. Kitty filled me in on the rest. You're being a total jerk over the whole thing. Rogue's your sister—she's had it rough the last couple months and you're not being considerate at all. What's the big deal?"
"What's the big deal?" repeated Kurt. "I'll tell you what's the big deal. My supposed sister tried to kill our mother yesterday and now my girlfriend is trying to protect her."
"Kurt—"
"No, Amanda. I thought you loved me. I can't trust you if you're going to be talking to her. And right now I don't think we should be together. Not until you get your priorities straight."
Amanda's mouth quivered in shock before she turned heel and ran to her first period class. Rogue stood her ground, turning over what Amanda had just told her and what had just happened. Instead of going to class she turned to Kurt.
"What's your problem? Cahn't ya see she's just tryin' ta help? She loves you, ahn she wants to help you out. Ah cahn't believe you just dumped her. Of all the geeks to be the most inconsiderate assholes in the mansion, you were far from the top of the list. But thanks for provin' meh wrong. It's nice ta know Ah'm not the only screw up in the family."
"We aren't family!" snapped Kurt.
Rogue didn't even blink as she launched a fist into Kurt's face, knocking the younger teen to the ground. She glanced down at him with an intenselook. "Just because you ahn Ah don't wanna be related doesn't change the fact that we are. It's a good thing you dumped Amanda, Kurt. Ah'd hate to see your face when you realized she's too good for you. Because you, you are nothing more than a child. Grow up; this is the real world, not some goddamn story book." Rogue shook her head in regret and headed towards chemistry leaving Kurt lying on the ground. She was determined to move on with life one way or another.
A/N—I hope to get another chapter up this weekend, but it is the super bowl, so we'll see if I can get it down before then. Anyway, I do have a forum up in case you guys would like to give me some input about this story and maybe voice what you did like so far, or what you haven't. It would be a big help so I can improve this story from now on. Oh, and yeah, one more chapter before you know who arrives. Enjoy!