Thank You for the reviews! I really appreciate it. :)
CrossfireMisty85 - Lol, Can't say much about Rebel. Thank you for the 40th review! :)
tx peppa - Haha. No idea! She could go both ways. Yeah, they did need time to talk about the past. :)
TieDyeJackson - I'm glad (hope) you got the reference. :D The chapter after this will probably be heavy.
TheRealTayler13 - Updated! :D
"So...What did Nate do?" Rogue asked bearing in mind that not much was revealed about Scott's past at the orphanage.
"He just kept bullying me. I guess he thought i'd break down or something. In a way i did get the better of him and didn't give into his constant harassing. Guess that made me stronger, but i don't know why i feel like something's missing. I can't seem to put the pieces together. And lately, it's been happening a lot." Scott said with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Since when has it been happening?" Rogue's thoughts immediately went to the accident Scott had gotten into, but kept quiet since she didn't want to interrupt him.
"A few days before the accident." He said as his heart paced. He could feel it in his gut that something wasn't right and thoughts about it had been gnawing at him ever since. A second later he felt relieved that he could share it with someone.
"Does the professor know about it?" She inquired him.
"No. Things haven't been going well with him and I. Once things do settle down, i will talk to him." He replied with a sad look.
"Alright." There was nothing else she could say. She reached and hugged him tightly. Scott flinched in the beginning but relaxed a little and hugged her back. The hug was warm and it felt nice to have a shoulder to cry on.
"Rogue..." He said with a muffled voice while his face was buried near her neck.
"Don't worry. I don't bite." She said with a sad smile. This only made him pull her tighter into his arms as she sat on his lap. He let go after a few minutes and looked at her with tenderness. He pulled her on his lap as she complied and brought his hands near her face. He cupped the side of her face and traced her cheeks gently with his thumb while he looked into her eyes. He felt like he could get lost in her forever. And that's what he wanted to do. She looked at him, yearning for a kiss from the man she loved. She felt herself leaning in and closing the gap between them and kissed his lips. He backed away but she kept kissing and lingering until he parted his lips, inviting hers in. They locked lips and embraced until she felt her powers kick in and pushed him away. He resisted the push and lingered a little longer, however once she started absorbing him she pulled away. He felt dizzy briefly until he regained himself and watched her shut her eyes as she tried to sort out the memories. His most recent feelings came pouring into her. They were of how he looked at her staring at the lake and of how deeply he loved and cared for her. She felt her heart leap at this revelation and her eyes grew watery.
He got up and tried not to stumble and lent her a hand to get up. Once she was up, she wobbled because of the alcohol affecting her abilities. He caught her just barely as she managed to stand. "Rogue. Open your eyes." He said, turning her towards the lake. She complied and opened her eyes slowly. She knew she could control Scott's optic blasts but it burned her eyes every time she absorbed his powers. The optic blasts went through the lake and she felt much better. She turned her attention towards him as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Ya love me!" She exclaimed in Joy. "But why did ya...? What about Jean?"She trailed off questioning him.
Scott realized his mistake of hanging on to her when her mutation kicked in. He looked defeated and admitted. "Yes. But i can't get into a relationship with you right now. I'm sorry Rogue. As for Jean, i never really loved her...I was just in love with the idea of being with her. " He tore his face away from her gaze and looked down at the patch of grass.
"But why not?" She asked impatiently.
"Because, I don't deserve you. I'm a street kid. A druggie. A messed up person..." He shouted out loud.
"Doesn't matter to me. I think ya deserve me as much as i deserve ya. I'm messed up too! We all are." She said trying to remain calm.
"I'm not in the right state of mind. I don't want to hurt you by doing something stupid and dragging you into a mess. Please understand that." He said pleadingly.
"We can handle it together! I love ya!" She said in exasperation.
"No. I have to figure this out myself." He replied calmly.
Rogue exhaled and a look of sadness flashed in her eyes. "I understand." She spoke, knowing too well the need of trying to figure things out by oneself.
"Thank You." He showed a sad smile. "I promise we will always be friends Rouge. No matter what." He stated and pulled her into a hug. "God, what did i ever do to deserve you?"
"Everything. Ya're the most amazing guy i know. Although your self esteem could use a boost! Maybe Pietro can help ya in that area. Boy's got the self esteem and ego ten times his speed." She said trying to tease him.
"Back to teasing are we?" He laughed and pushed her head playfully as he stumbled.
"Only pointing out the obvious." She chuckled and pushed his head back while he stumbled, pulling her with him. They were both a little drunk at this point and couldn't stand straight.
They spoke and had a playful banter for a while, forgetting about all the bad memories. It was getting late and they were both tired from the harrowing day.
"Well, it's getting late. Guess we should head back." He said and picked up the Pizza boxes and the bottles of Alcohol. He covered the bottles in a paper bag and carried it with his left hand and Handed over the pizza boxes to Rogue. He grabbed her waist so she could lean on him for support as they trudged up towards the mansion. Once they reached the mansion, he opened the door and peeked inside to see if any students were around. Since the coast was clear, he grabbed her by her arm and pulled her inside. As they were proceeding towards the stairs, they encountered a miffed Ororo.
Ororo appeared and looked at the kids. "The professor want's to see you both in his study." She spoke as the two teenagers looked at her. Scott and Rogue followed the weather goddess while the rest of them went up to the rec room. As they entered the study, the professor spoke out. "Scott. Rogue. You're late."
"Well, not really. We were around the mansion. At the lake." Scott said nonchalantly.
"I see you two have been consuming copious amounts of alcohol." The professor said solemnly.
Rogue looked down in shame while Scott looked blankly. "Yeah. We have." He admitted looking at the old man.
"Do you two have anything to say for yourselves?" The professor asked with a hint of disapproval and anger in his tone.
"No." Scott simply replied.
"And you Rogue?" Professor looked at her directly and asked.
"Uhh...I'm sorry." Rogue said looking at him guiltily.
"I know the two of you are old enough to make your own decisions and choices. But i hope this won't happen again. You are both role models for the younger students. You must act responsibly. Might i remind you, you're both just 17. Now, please hand over the bag. I will not allow it around the mansion." The professor hoped his students would understand.
"Sorry Professor. We'll be careful." Rogue said before Scott had the chance to reply. She took the bag from his hands and handed it to Ororo who was standing beside the professor.
"Very well then. Don't worry. I am not going to ground you for coming past curfew or for drinking. I know this is a hard time for the both of you. I will be here if you need me." Xavier glanced at Scott and Rouge with a stern face.
"Thanks Professor." Rogue replied and tugged Scott's arm and walked out of the room. They headed upstairs in silence when Rogue managed to walk to her room. Scott followed her and stood outside her door. She looked at him and smiled. "Well, I'll see ya later. I need to get changed." She said and closed the door behind him as he simply nodded and left. As Scott entered his room, he took off his clothes and crawled under the sheets. He let out a moan. "Dammit. Why did he have to take the bourbon away." He laid on his bed thinking about the kiss with Rogue.
Rogue had managed to change into her pajamas. She kept thinking about Scott and the time they spent at the lake. They had kissed and confessed to being in love with each other. She felt content after a long time and had a smile plastered on her face. She looked at her bed and suddenly wished Scott was with her. She decided to go over to his room. She walked towards the boys dorm and went up to Scott's door. She contemplated for a moment and decided to knock.
Scott's thoughts went back to the orphanage. He felt like he had forgotten something important. He tried recollecting his memories but could not understand why he had this feeling of dread growing each day. He felt his stomach churn as the bile rose up to his throat. He sat up trying to calm himself down just as he got distracted by the sound of someone knocking at his door.
He pulled his sheets over him and told the person to enter, thinking it was probably one of the guys. His glance went upon Rogue who was standing at his door in her pajamas. A slight blush crept around his cheeks as he noticed he was in just a pair of boxer briefs in front of the girl he confessed his love to. A smile showed on her face and she walked towards him.
"Rouge, what are you doing here?" He managed to ask her in a squeaky voice. "I was wonderin' if i could sleep here tonight." She said in her thick southern drawl. She had no idea how much that accent of hers aroused him.
He mulled over the thought for a minute and continued. "I don't think it's a good idea."
"Why not?" She asked him confused about his denial. "Because..."He spoke unable to finish his sentence. He couldn't comperhend why he would refuse a beautiful girl like Rogue to spend the night with him. Before he could think up of a way to finish his sentence, Rogue spoke out. "Just as i thought."
She crawled over to him and slipped under his sheets. "Oh and sugah? Ya might wanna put on some clothes. Not that i mind. But better safe than sorry!" She teased and pointed at her gloved fingers. Scott's face turned red at the comment as he hurriedly got up and put on his sweats and a long sleeved T-shirt. He jumped back on the bed and muttered. "Oh yeah, i'm definitely going to get in trouble for this." Rogue let out a giggle just as Scott glared at her. "You find this very amusing, don't you?" Rogue simply nodded and stifled a chuckle. "You do know that Kitty sleeps in the same room as you do...And that means she'll probably tell everyone that you did not sleep on your bed." He spoke. "Yeah. And i don't care." She said and smiled at him. "Rogue, what the hell has gotten into you?" He demanded, not understanding why she was doing this. "Nothing. I just want to sleep here. It's difficult...not being able to touch people and now that i can touch, i want to enjoy it as much as i can. Who knows when I will go back to being untouchable again." She stated sadly. "Hey, you'll not go back to being untouchable. You are making progress and the professor is helping you. You will be alright." He reassured her and pulled her closer to him.
They stayed in a friendly embrace for a while. They found it rather comforting and felt more assured than they had been all night. With Rogue close to him, they drifted off to a peaceful sleep.