BENEATH THE SURFACE
Part Thirty-Seven
Remy LeBeau was in the best mood he'd been in for some time.
All through school he couldn't help from smiling, despite getting answers wrong all through the day, despite getting in a few teacher's bad books. All through most of his classes, he'd been unable to help himself from glancing over at whichever desk Rogue was sat at in their shared classes, staring at her and thinking of how incredible the night before had been.
Things were looking up. The Professor had agreed to overlook their private relationship behind closed doors despite previous requests, Logan was being told to look the other way, and Rogue...well, his sexual relationship with her was definitely improving.
And the best part...she'd agreed to tell the others. She'd promised she would.
His last class of the day was P.E., one of his more tolerable classes. He had a love-hate relationship with the class, really. In some ways he enjoyed the class...it was the one point of his day when he needed very little concentration and it was about the only time he wasn't being constantly picked at by the teacher for poor work or attention. However, there was the hate part...which was that he hated being the brunt of jokes from the others in his class and he'd grown rather sick of the accusations that his skill and agility were to do with his mutation rather than any actual hard work and training he'd put in.
Today's class had him playing basketball; sports had never been his forte, really, but basketball allowed him to use his natural speed and skill. He was light on his feet and his good mood had led to him playing a rather outstanding game; he'd even enjoyed the game immensely and the others on his team had been rather accepting of him for a change.
Jean-Luc had even kept out of his way, which had been somewhat encouraging. Although he'd forgotten to go get a sedative from the Professor that morning, Jean-Luc had been strangely absent. Remy wondered if it was his happiness which was a factor in keeping the bastard at bay.
Or perhaps it was just because it was Halloween.
Always thought the dead was supposed t' come out on Halloween...maybe it's the opposite, he thought at the end of class. Maybe it's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he wondered, thinking of how Rogue sometimes watched it on the Horror Channel in the evenings and he'd put up with it merely to spend time with her. Maybe Halloween is like a holiday t' the dead.
"LeBeau," whistled his teacher, Mr. Blumenthal, a balding man in his mid-forties who may have once been a fine physical specimen before a beer belly and bad back had cut his football career short.
Remy waltzed over, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"You played good today," Mr. Blumenthal nodded in the direction of his small office which was in the hall opposite the gymnasium.
"Not really," Remy decided to play it down. He was aware he'd played superbly; he'd scored more times than he had been able to count.
"Bullshit," the teacher commented, he was always that direct type who swore in front of the students and at times at the students, he was the kind of guy who told it as it was and somehow never got picked up on it, never got fired for poor conduct. Remy might have liked him if he was sure the teacher hated mutants and only feigned tolerance for them.
Remy followed towards the office, wondering what this discussion was going to be about.
"You play better than half the guys I've been coaching for the past three years," Mr. Blumenthal dropped into his slightly torn leather chair, he gestured for Remy to sit on the ugly orange chair opposite his desk. Remy couldn't help but think that chair was probably older than he was. "Were you on the team at your last school?"
Remy had almost forgotten the teachers here had no clue he'd left school years ago. "For five minutes," he supposed.
"For five minutes?" Blumenthal raised a thick brow.
"I joined the team in ninth grade..."
His thoughts drifted to his time in high school before he'd ever left it. At the time he'd signed up for the basketball team things had been particularly bad at home. Jean-Luc's drinking had gotten out of control and if he wasn't in a violent rage from lack of money or losing it all on gambling, he'd be looking to take his frustration out with his fists unless Remy was quick to go out and shoplift a couple of bottles of the best booze he could get from the nearest store just to placate him. Henri had been no better, strung out from any number of drugs he'd been on, always losing his temper or passing out. Remy had used joining the team as an excuse to stay away from home, so he didn't have to be there when Jean-Luc and Henri were in their foul drunk and drug induced moods.
It hadn't lasted long of course. Remy remembered Jean-Luc's exact words. I didn' take y' from the fuckin' street so y' coul' piss y' life away on a basketball court. Y' think this a fuckin' game?
It hadn't been long after that Remy had been taken out of school entirely. The wolves had been at the door of the LeBeau house, bank wanting money or they were going to take the house, loan sharks wanting paid or they were going to take Jean-Luc's fingers...dealers wanting their drug money or they were going to take Henri's life. A nasty incident with a band of loan sharks who had been pretty competent had convinced Jean-Luc to sober up enough for a few months, focus on throwing Remy into an intensive training regime that had meant him leaving school entirely, so that they could start accepting jobs.
That had been the end of Remy's high school career and his time on the basketball team.
"I left the school 'cause o'...family obligations," Remy said honestly, "I...did homeschool after that."
Could it be classed as homeschooling when all he'd been learning was picking locks, fighting and how to sneak into any secure location?
"You have a lot of potential," said Mr. Blumenthal, he tapped his fingers on his messy desk absently, "You're the best I've seen in a good while. You got talent. Natural talent."
Remy gazed at the teacher, he knew what was coming. He'd been asked before and he'd turned him down.
"I just had to kick a player from the team, and I think you'd be the perfect one to fill the slot."
It was no secret that one of the star players had recently been kicked for being caught smoking marijuana on school grounds. Ray had been talking about it at Lunch time, Bobby had even mentioned wanting to try out for the team himself – Remy had seen them both play and neither had a chance in hell. Bobby was too much into showing off to take being on the team seriously and Ray had anger issues that always made even friendly games unpleasant.
"It's a nice offer 'n' all," Remy admitted, "But I'm really not interested."
"Come on, LeBeau, this could open a lot of doors for you," Mr. Blumenthal explained. "Scouts come by this town all the time looking for young talent. You could have a scholarship in a heartbeat."
Remy snorted at the thought, "lets be realistic, no scout is gon' give a scholarship or sign up an amateur player who happens t' be mutant. How many famous mutant sports people are out there? How many are known? How many mutants y' know have been outed by the media and been able t' keep their professional positions in teams? I bet that number is pretty slim," he grunted, "mutants got the edge, we're faster, we're stronger and we've had a rough time o' it so we try harder, and we get persecuted f' it. Y' all assume any ability we got boils down t' powers."
The teacher frowned.
"How about y' cut the bullshit? I ain' stupid, I weren' born yesterday and I know exactly how this works," Remy admitted. "Y' see me play and see, okay, yeah, he's a capable kid, can score a few shots. Every time I throw I never miss and what y' see is opportunity. Y' looked at my grades, y' see I'm skimmin' by and y' know that it ain' gon' be enough t' get me int' a college. Y' look at me and my record and y' see me as a kid wit' limited options, a future minimum wage part-time worker who don't got much o' a future. Academically I ain' smart enough as it is t' get a good job, and I'm a mutant so that chance is even further cut in half..."
Blumenthal's face darkened.
"And so y' come and offer me a slot after y' lose y' star player. Y' know y' in a bit of a bind already but y' hit the jackpot when y' see me play. And y' come t' me, palmin' me off about promises about how I coul' go far...that scouts and college people are gon' come and grab me up in a heartbeat 'cause they see that same potential. Y' talk about how I coul' have a brilliant career in professional sports...make a lot o' money...be successful. But it's all a lie, ain' it? Y' don' see any o' those things happenin'. Y' don' see my potential, y' see potential t' exploit my potential. What you see is a step on the ladder. Y' snag me, y' get me in the team, y' ensure y' win a few games wit' my help and them bam, y' shit record of wins at Bayville High goes up considerably. Y' get some attention, y' recommend others f' the scholarships – y' know, the human ones – and then at the end o' the year I got nothin' t' show f' my effort except y' laughin' in my face about how I'm a sucker? Am I in the ballpark?"
"Not at all," said Mr. Blumenthal, but his expression spoke volumes. Remy could see the scam written all over the man's face. "I think if you pass up this opportunity, you'd be making a huge mistake, you could go far..."
"I'll go far on my own terms, and it won' be thrown a ball f' a livin' in a ridiculously overpaid profession," Remy stood up. "I might not be book smart, Mr. Blumenthal, but I ain' stupid."
"If you change your mind," the teacher offered, Remy saw the man trying to hide his disgust at the rejection.
"I won' be," Remy headed for the door, "thanks but no thanks."
Remy left the office and headed towards the locker room; the locker room door was at the corner where the main hall led to the lockers. As he got there, his glance past the corner caused him to catch Rogue in his sights. She was standing at her locker, digging through it for something, things falling out of the messy locker, her struggling to stuff them back in again.
He'd been in a good mood all day – he was still in a good mood despite the con that teacher had tried to just pull. But Rogue...she didn't seem to be in a good mood. There was something about her expression...she was preoccupied and unhappy. The moment Kurt approached her, she completely changed her expression and forced a smile, her face lightened a little, but Remy already knew it was an act.
Wish I knew what was goin' on wit' her, he thought, standing for several minutes watching her talking with Kurt as she fished things out of her locker. His mind drifted to last night in bed, a few tears had spilled from her eyes not long after their love making, he wasn't sure he quite bought that they were tears of happiness.
Maybe she still thinks somethin' is goin' on wit' Tabitha, he thought dully. He rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe we shouldn' go t' this party t' night...maybe we shoul' stay home, talk it out...
No, he wasn't going to do that. He'd looked forward to this party since the moment she'd asked him, and he was excited about finally getting the chance to reveal their relationship subtly to everyone. It was the first time publicly they would be able to be close with each other, he couldn't give it up, it meant too much to him. He was even looking forward to the lameness of it.
No, he was definitely not giving the party up for anything right now.
We'll talk after the party, he thought. In bed t' night.
He leaned against the wall, eyes glued to her. Maybe tonight was the night to tell her the things that had been on his mind. About Jean-Luc, about his insecurities and how he had nightmares...about everything. They'd gotten closer over the past few days, he was starting to feel less and less apprehensive about the idea of being honest with her.
Rogue left the building with Kurt in tow, Remy realised he'd been hovering for quite some moments, he still had to get changed from his sweaty shorts and t-shirt.
By the time he had made his way to the locker room, the last of the boys of his class had already left it. Everyone was in a rush to leave school early because of the Halloween party, they had costumes to get into, makeup and fake blood to apply. He went into the L-shaped locker room, sighing inwardly. It was very quiet other than the sound of the students passing by outside and the sound of water dripping from the nearby shower room. Remy shed his clothes and began changing quickly, he didn't care about a shower right now, he'd shower before getting into his costume – the Tuxedo he still had to mess with a little blood.
He sat for a few moments, picking at the laces of his left boot, it had gotten quite knotted somehow, and he'd carelessly just kicked it off earlier. How d' I start the conversation wit' Rogue? He wondered, his eyes unfocused on the laces, his short fingernails made it hard to get a good grip on the knot – he wished he'd thought to bring his lockpicking kit, those tools were always handy for picking knots too.
Rogue...I think...we got close enough t' the point where...I think maybe I can talk about some things, he imagined, he stopped, trying to visualise her face. I know y' know about some o' the things that happened t' me, but there's so much more and...maybe it'd help y' t' understand why I did some o' the things I did in Louisiana...and in St. Tropez...maybe it'd help y' understand why I get so angry...
The words sounded good enough in his head to use, it wasn't the first time he'd rehearsed in his head how he may talk to her about these things. The problem was that despite how much he rehearsed, by the time he got face to face with his wife, he was unprepared and blank of thought. He could rehearse all he wanted but he'd never be able to say it how he wanted to when the time came.
A sudden sound caught his attention, a low grunt. It seemed to echo a little, and he raised his head, turning to look towards the shower room. The knot came undone finally, and he pulled his boot on hastily, tying the laces as swiftly as he could.
"Yeah...that's it..."
Remy blinked. Someone was talking in there, but to whom? He felt that strange pull; logic told him not to go investigate, to go and meet Rogue at the van, to not waste any more time, while curiosity lulled him to see what was going on.
He walked slowly and quietly to the entrance to the shower room and he stopped at the wall, leaning to the side and peering around to gaze in. He had been prepared for what he was going to see, but at the same time, he wasn't prepared for whom he'd see doing it.
Tabitha, he thought, his stomach flipped at the sight of the blonde on her knees in front of one of the boys from his P.E. Class. Her curls bouncing, as her head bobbed, the guy gasping and moaning, a handful of her hair in his left hand.
Remy couldn't help himself; it was that same car-crash sense of being unable to tear his eyes from this tragedy. What the heck was she doing with this guy? This was the same guy only an hour ago Remy had heard bragging to one of his friends about how he was going to the Halloween dance with the dark haired girl who was in their French class.
And yet there was Tabitha on her knees with him.
As Tabitha finished the work, he hid behind the wall out of sight and listened, he heard her spitting into the nearby drain, he winced at the thought of that.
"Twenty," said the guy from Remy's class.
"No, thirty," Tabitha said, sounding rather offended.
"Richie Rowe said you gave him it for twenty."
"Thirty," Tabitha said again, sounding quite irritated now.
"All I got is twenty, so you'll have to deal," the guy remarked. Remy heard that distinct sound that money made when it grazed against itself. He sighed, shaking his head.
"I told you it was thirty," Tabitha huffed.
"Beggars can't be choosers," said the guy, "and neither can whores."
Remy moved swiftly away from the wall and ducked behind a locker as footsteps approached. He saw the shadow of the guy passing by but his presence wasn't noticed. Remy pressed his back against the wall and kept out of sight, waiting until the boy had left the room completely; he heard the sound of the locker room door slamming shut.
It took a lot of restraint from going after the sick bastard and beating the shit out of him for what he'd just said. He wanted to make a scene but at the same time, he wasn't about to humiliate Tabitha in front of the whole school; beating up the guy in broad daylight in the middle of a hallway was bound to cause some revelations.
He stood there for a moment, wondering how long it was going to take Tabitha to follow. After a moment, when she still hadn't appeared, he pushed himself from the wall and stomped to the shower room.
Tabitha was leaning over a sink at the wall, holding her hair away from her face as she drank water from the faucet and spat it out.
"Y' fuckin' kiddin' me?"
The blonde shot up, she gasped a little and turned around, wiping the water from her mouth, "Remy...I was just-" she began.
Remy wasn't sure how she expected she was going to explain herself. She was in the men's locker area shower room, what business was she possibly going to have that would be logical for her to there.
"Don' bother tryin' t' make up excuses," Remy warned her, "I know what y' been up to."
It wasn't often Tabitha looked embarrassed; Remy had never seen her face go so ashen or her eyes so wide. Her lips trembled a little.
"Really?" he snorted, "twenty? You're sucking guys off in the locker room for twenty dollars?"
He had to hold himself together from wanting to yell at her. Part of him seriously wanted to slap her but he wasn't sure it would actually smack any sense into her.
Tabitha took a breath, she said nothing, she looked away from him.
"Are you fucking crazy?!" he demanded, his voice getting louder, he tried to contain it, he approached a little more, fists tight at his sides, "y' have any idea the kind of things-"
The blonde seemed to pull herself together, "What I do is none of your business," she went to walk away from him.
Remy grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her back, he threw her towards the corner, "y' wan' catch a disease?! That guy...he goes on about all the girls he sleep with..."
"I-" she tried.
"Y' didn' even use anythin', did y'?!"
"What I do," she took a deep breath, she was struggling to keep herself calm but he could see her eyes were glazed with the threat of tears, "is none of your business. You turned me away, remember? You didn't want me. You don't get to jump into my life and start making commands like you have rights, Remy LeBeau. What I do with my time and my body...is nothing to do with you."
"These guys are jus' usin' you!"
"And you didn't?!" she demanded.
He fell silent, staring at her, not sure how to take the accusation. He couldn't fathom how exactly she'd come to that conclusion.
"You had no one else to talk to, you had no other friends and you used me as your little venting board. You freaked out and I was there for you, and then you just dropped me! I try to talk to you and you ignore me...I look at you and you won't even look back at me, you act like I don't exist!"
He groaned, "I have to!"
"Why?!"
He drew a breath, "my marriage depends on it, Tabitha. I wish I coul' say it were different. I wish I coul' be y' friend! This is hard f' me! I never met anyone I coul' talk t' about the things I've talked about t' you...y' helped me in ways y' won' ever get..." he admitted, "But bein' y' friend means puttin' my relationship wit' my wife at risk...it ain' fair t' her."
"It ain't fair to me!" she snapped. "I love you!"
"Y' don' love me, Tabitha, y' jus' never connected t' anyone like y'. Y' never had anyone understand...never had anyone like y' f' who y' are, not what y' are...but I'm sorry...I don' love y' back...not in the way y' want me to."
She turned and retched unexpectedly, throwing up into the nearby sink, gripping onto it. He stood watching her, slightly sickened by the sight and sound of it.
"Tab?" he asked worriedly.
"Leave me..." she groaned.
"But-" he tried, he stepped nearer, hoping that she was okay, confused by what had brought on the sudden sickness.
"I said leave!" she spat.
"I'm sorry," he sighed quietly, he gave her one last glance as she leaned over the sink, breathing heavily to try and calm her sickness, and then he left.
Rogue stared at her watch, "What the hell is takin' them so long?" she raised he eyes and gazed through the windshield towards the school. Remy and Tabitha were still not out of school yet; both were almost twenty minutes late.
"Maybe detention," Bobby said from the back.
"No...he'd have text to say," Rogue assured, "so that Ah didn't hang around waitin'..." she swallowed back her afternoon nausea. She hoped she wouldn't have her morning sickness in the van; the last time someone had vomited in the van the smell had lingered for months. "Besides...Ah'm in nearly every class with him, Ah'd know if he got detention."
Where are they? She wondered. She hated that she'd just got to the point of trusting Remy and now she was starting to doubt him again. Tabitha was nowhere to be seen and neither was he. Were they off together somewhere?
Stop thinkin' it. He said he loves you, he promised he'd never talk to her again, he said he'd stay away and he will. After last night he has no reason to go lookin' elsewhere for what he needs...
Rogue's eyes fell upon the date and time stamp on the dashboard display of the van. Friday the 31st of October. It had been six days now since she'd learned about her pregnancy. A week already sliced away from her, taken away abruptly, less allowance for decisions.
Time was flying, she felt as if she'd barely had any time to think at all and yet had done nothing but think of it. How much bigger had the baby grown in six days?
The longer you wait, the harder this is going to be, she thought unhappily; instinctively she touched her stomach. She kept touching her belly expecting it to have swollen and grown, expecting to feel the bump of it, but nothing felt different except she felt hormonal and sick and incredibly depressed.
"You okay?" asked Kitty, who was in the passengers seat.
"Yeah...why?" Rogue asked, she turned to look at the petite brunette questioningly and then realised Kitty had noticed the way she'd touched her stomach. "Oh, uhm...just...you know..." she lowered her voice.
"Cramps?" Kitty whispered.
"Yeah."
"Tell me about it," Kitty muttered, rolling her eyes, "always the night of a party, right?"
"Yeah," Rogue stared through the window, waiting.
"And you're going as Carrie," Kitty realised, "that whole...scene at the beginning."
"Yeah," Rogue understood the reference, glad Kitty actually believed the excuse.
"What?" Bobby leaned forward, "the scene with all the boobs?"
"Shut up, no one was talking to you," Kitty warned him.
Rogue drew her breath, tapping her fingers absently upon the steering wheel.
"You're still going to go with Remy to this thing then?" Kitty queried.
"Yeah," Rogue answered.
"That all you got to say?" Kitty raised an eyebrow.
"Tabitha is super pissed by the way," Rahne said suddenly from the back.
"Why?" Kurt asked.
"'Cause she can't go with Remy."
Kurt rolled his eyes, Rogue felt slightly sorry that Tabitha was completely overlooking him and his more than obvious affection for her.
"So is this thing a date then?" Rahne queried, "You and Remy?"
Rogue ran her gloved finger along the dashboard, brushing a little dust away. "Ah don't know what it is..."
Is it still a date if Ah got knocked up before we went out?
"I just thought you'd know since you were the one to ask him out, is all," Rahne shrugged.
"Look, Ah..." she paused, we're already married and Ah'm havin' his baby. How do Ah explain that. "Ah don't really know what to make of this right now. You all seem to think he's into Tabitha...that they're a thing so..."
"Actually," Amara spoke up, "Have any of you noticed how he ignores her?"
Rogue hated the gossipy nature of this discussion, she drew in a breath and tried to imagine it ending. Yeah, Ah've noticed. Ah've noticed because Ah made him ignore her.
"Know what I think?" asked Jamie after a moment, "I think he's married."
Unable to help herself, Rogue turned around in her seat and stared at the boy.
"What makes you think that?" Kitty asked.
"That ring."
"He said he found that," Kurt reminded.
"Yeah, but...he never goes on dates," Jamie pointed out.
Bobby nodded, "that's right...I mean, he has this reputation and no one has ever seen him go out with a girl...and I've heard all sorts of stuff about how he used to get laid all the time..."
"Exactly," Jamie continued, "I think he's got a wife somewhere and he's being real or whatever...he doesn't want to cheat."
"Rogue," Amara said, looking straight at her, "You must know, you're his friend..."
Rogue opened her mouth to speak but she honestly wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond. Just as she was about to try and suggest it wasn't her place to say, there was a bang at the passenger's side window that startled them all.
Kitty gave a little squeal, Rogue gazed through the passenger's side window to see Remy standing in the rain, fist banging on the glass.
"C' mon, unlock the door already!"
Kitty frowned, "I'm riding shotgun."
Rogue hit the unlock button the dash, watching as Remy opened the door.
"Sorry, petit, age before beauty," he gestured to the back.
"No."
"I'll flip y' for it," Remy offered, leaning in.
Rogue looked at Kitty, "when he says that, he means he'll actually flip you...right out of the van..."
Kitty grumbled and climbed between the seats into the back, much to the chagrin of the others who had to rearrange their seating.
Remy climbed in and shut the door, "pourin' out there."
"Yeah, Ah kind of noticed," Rogue eyed him as he wiped his face on his sleeve, "where were you? It's been nearly twenty-five minutes..."
"Sorry," he said, "straight after gym class, Blumenthal wanted t' see me."
"Oh?" Rogue asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He's such a creep," Jamie muttered. "He hates mutants. He always acts like he likes us but I see him give us dirty looks when he thinks we're not paying attention."
"What did he want?" Kurt asked.
"He wanted me t' join the basketball team..." Remy responded.
"You're wicked at basketball," Ray admitted, "You'd kind of kick ass."
"Yeah, that was his feelin' too," Remy pulled his seatbelt on, "he gave me this spiel about how I coul' join and get spotted by a scout, get a scholarship. It was such bullshit."
"Yeah...scouts don' ever pick muties to sign up or for scholarship, 'cause they think we don't play fair," Bobby muttered. "That our powers help us cheat."
"Anyway, I tol' him I wasn' interested. Then I had t' change," Remy explained, he looked around the back, "we're missin' someone?"
Rogue eyed him, "Tabitha hasn't appeared yet."
"She in detention or somethin'?"
"Not to my knowledge," Rogue muttered, "But Ah don't keep up with her schedule."
"I'm texting her," Kurt decided, he took his phone out and began texting her awkwardly, he always struggled to text with his slightly larger fingers.
"So, Remy," spoke up Rahne from the back, "what's up w' this dance?"
"Huh?" Remy asked, glancing over his shoulder at the girl.
"You know, you and Rogue...gon' together."
"Yeah..." Remy replied with a shrug, "so?"
"Is it a date?"
Remy turned and glanced briefly towards Rogue, he raised an eyebrow at her, she lowered her eyes to the wheel, her cheeks flushing a little.
"Coul' be," Remy stated, trying to be as vague as possible.
"Ooooh," a few cooed from the back mockingly.
"Rogue and Remy sittin' in a tree-" Bobby began singing teasingly.
Remy snapped around and threw a look towards Remy, Rogue was surprised by the dark and angry intensity of it. Bobby quietened down immediately, his cheeks paled a little, he didn't get to the K-I-S-S-I-N-G part of the song.
"Bobby..." Kitty gasped quietly to him, Rogue felt the humiliation of having her situation pointed out to the boy.
"Sorry...wasn't thinking," Bobby mumbled.
"Remy," Jamie said, suddenly taking a rather direct tone of voice as if he were pretending to be a field reporter, "are you married?"
Remy handled the question rather well, Rogue thought. She on the other hand felt sick to the stomach.
"T' Rogue?" he asked with a vague laugh, he faked a confused laugh. Rogue shrugged down in her seat a little, wondering if someone had answered yes would he have actually admitted it.
"No...to someone. You have that ring and stuff..." Jamie pointed out.
"This ring..." he held up his hand and showed them his wedding ring, "this is my lucky ring."
"What's lucky about it?"
"Since the day I got it, my life has gotten a lil' better," he supposed.
Rogue stared down at the steering wheel, a slight smile playing about her lips. Right then she thought of announcing it. It is a weddin' ring...Ah put it there...when Ah married him...
"Well," said Amara, "I sincerely hope you're not married, or taking Rogue to the dance is going to be a problem."
"Hey, it's Rogue he's taking, not Tabitha," joked Jubilee.
Rogue saw the strange angry look on Remy's face, he stared through the window, pursing his lips. She thought it was going to be him to speak up, but instead it was Kurt.
"Do you think you could stop making those mean jokes about her? She's still our friend..." Kurt pointed out.
Kitty sighed, "Yeah, enough is enough guys."
"But-" began Jamie.
Remy drew a breath, "enough wit' the jokes about her. She's still one o' us. She's supposed t' be y' friend. Whatever she does in her private life...that's her business, it don' mean it's fair t' mock her."
Rogue couldn't help but wonder if Remy had more invested in this comment than he was letting on.
There was an intense silence in the van until it was broken by the beeping of Kurt's phone. He checked the messages quickly.
"Tabitha got back to me, she's staying to help decorate the gym, she says she'll just get changed there. We can leave."
Rogue sighed. "Finally."
Remy stared at himself in the mirror; he hadn't worn a Tuxedo this old fashioned his entire life, it was very out of date, a little threadbare and stained. The blood he'd splattered over it after dribbling blood onto his head didn't make it any the more attractive either. It struck him that the last time he'd worn a black suit was at Jean-Luc's funeral. He wished he hadn't had that morbid thought today of all days.
Although he wanted to focus on his date with Rogue...his first official date with her, his first time out with her in front of the others, all he could think of was what had happened at school.
Tabitha in the bathroom, the oral sex with some boy she hardly knew...taking money.
At first it hadn't occurred to him why she'd be selling those kind of services. She didn't particularly need money; as far as he knew she never paid anyone back the money she'd borrowed, she was clean of drugs and alcohol and she hadn't bought anything in weeks as far as he'd noticed.
And then she'd been sick so suddenly in the sink.
Everything suddenly made sense to him. Her dramatic weight gain, her mood swings and tears, her hormones, the sickness.
He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed; it was somewhat hazy because he'd been under the effects of a sedative at the time, but he remembered overhearing the distant echoes of the Professor and Hank discussing someone's drug test coming back with some strange results. They'd talked about early symptoms and signs.
The results referring to someone who was a she.
It was Tabitha.
Tabitha is pregnant, he realised, his neck tensed at the thought. All the rumours that had been spread about her sleeping around he'd pretended not to believe, but he'd always logically known it was likely some of it was true. He didn't doubt some rumours that had been spread were merely rumours, but some rumours started from a seed of truth.
Tabitha had been spreading those seeds herself.
He supposed with a girl with Tabitha's reputation, it was bound to happen eventually. Her having oral sex with some boy she barely knew in a school shower room and using no protection showed she certainly wasn't as careful with sex as she probably should have been.
It was just so tragic. The girl wasn't even seventeen yet and now she had a life inside of her. He thought of all the times since Sunday she'd been trying to talk to him and he'd ignored her, wouldn't look at her. Had she wanted to tell him then?
He wondered what Rogue's response to this would be. 'Serves her right', probably, Remy thought uneasily. She'd probably say it was boun' t' happen eventually...and that she was stupid f' lettin' it happen.
Remy found himself wondering if he should offer to give her money to get some kind of help.
Money f' what, Remy?
It struck him exactly why now she'd been exchanging her services for money at school. She needed money because she had to take care of this herself. She didn't want anyone knowing. But the Professor knew...and Hank knew, surely they would give her some money towards an abortion. They weren't unreasonable, they were caring people.
If the Prof is willin' t' put up the money f' me t' go t' a shrink, then he'd pay f' her t' have it taken care o' in a heartbeat...
Remy wondered if perhaps with Tabitha it was a pride situation. She wanted to get the money together herself. It seemed slightly counter productive to be turning to sex to solve the problem that sex had caused in the first place.
I can't think about this right now, he told himself. T' night, it's all about me and Rogue, I need this and so does Rogue. The situation wit' Tab has t' wait.
Remy walked downstairs feeling slightly apprehensive; he wasn't sure if it was the idea of the date and the thought of their finally being a little more public about their relationship, or if it was still the worry about Tabitha.
The others had congregated in the foyer, in their fancy costumes. Jamie had decided to go as Harry Potter while Rahne was simply going as a werewolf much to Remy's amusement. Some of the other costumes included Jubilee going as a character from a computer game (what it had to do with Halloween, he wasn't exactly sure), and Kitty dressed up as Cleopatra. Kurt had decided to dress as 'Cousin It' from the Addams family, which Remy found quite amusing although the boy seemed to be struggling to see through the piles of hair.
"That...is some tux," Kitty eyed Remy, she smirked with amusement. "I think it's older than Logan."
"What y' expect for four dollars from a thrift store?" Remy raised an eyebrow at her, "y' think I'm gon' be dressed as Valentino?"
"You have money, what are you doing shopping in a thrift store?" Kurt made a face.
"Jus' 'cause I got money doesn' mean I have t' spend it all," Remy decided, he wondered if he'd based this decision unknowingly on Rogue's constant worries about money. "Besides...Carrie was made in the seventies...why not wear a tux from the same era, right?"
"Whoah, Rogue!" gasped Kitty.
Remy turned and gazed up to the staircase as Rogue was making her way down in heels that he recognised. His heart jumped a little in his stomach. Those were the shoes she'd worn to their wedding.
Her pale pink dress was satin, it clung to every curve of her feminine body while floating around her ankles. She wore a sheer mesh body stocking underneath it, it was so very pale that it nearly blended with her skin. Her strawberry blonde wig didn't look quite as fake as he'd imagined it would thanks to the imaginative way she'd poured blood onto most of it, the blood had soaked through half of her dress and Remy tried not to let it get to him that the blood had soaked through the entire left side of the bust, making it cling to her right breast and making her nipple stand out a little . He wasn't certain but she didn't seem to be wearing a bra beneath.
"Wow..." Remy breathed, she was the most incredible Carrie White he'd ever seen. Everything from the way she'd styled the wig to the way the way her makeup was subtle on the un-bloodied section of her face and the sparkle of her 'prom queen' tiara. He'd never thought he'd find that costume quite so arousing.
"What do you think?" she asked as she got to the bottom of the stairs.
"I'd say you're definitely winning that laptop..." Kitty pouted. "That's some costume."
"It was Remy's idea..."
"Give us a twirl, lets see..." Remy took Rogue's hand and raised it, forcing her to spin around so he could examine the costume further. Wanting her to twirl had given him the perfect excuse to touch her hand in front of the others and he felt quite smug about the fact.
"Well?" she asked.
"Yeah...y'...definitely comin' home t' night wit' a prize..." Remy smirked.
Remy chewed her lip a little, she hesitated for just a moment then took her hand from his. Remy was aware everyone was looking at them both.
"Well well well," came Logan's voice as he approached from the hall, "looks like a comic con convention over here..." he eyed them all. "Amara, what the heck are you supposed to be?" he asked.
"I'm Bella Swan..." Amara gestured to her costume, which wasn't all that imaginative. Skinny Jeans and a plaid shirt, her long hair loose, her makeup toned down. "From Twilight..."
"She looks more like a geek from school," Bobby snorted.
Jubilee muttered, "She is a geek from high school."
Remy looked at Rogue, "surprised you didn' go as somethin' from Twilight too, Rogue..." he said pointedly. "Coul' have gone as...uhm...what's that character's name? Is it...Alice Cullen?"
Rogue threw him a look, he felt ever so slightly pleased with himself at the in joke.
"Remember the rules," Logan said, folding his arms, "no drinking, no drugs, no promiscuous behaviour," he warned. Remy noted Logan reserved a glance specifically just for him. "No leaving the party alone, no misbehaving, no powers."
While the others were given their set of rules, Remy slyly brushed his hand against the small of Rogue's back. The cheap dress was so silky and sensual beneath his fingers and he stroked downwards a little and cupped her backside, she brushed his hand away from her sneakily, glancing over her shoulder to shoot him a warning look.
"Also," warned Logan, "no pranks."
"Seriously?" gasped Bobby, "it's Halloween!"
"I don't care if it's world prank day," Logan frowned, "If I hear so much as any of you have egged a single house or car, or TP'd a tree...you'll answer to me. Remember, your behaviour out there reflects on all of you and this school."
"Damn," said Remy with a sigh, "there goes my night of fun. Shoul' I jus' leave that twelve pack of toilet paper and the twelve dozen eggs in the garage then?"
"Very funny, smartass," Logan made a face. He looked around, "where's Tabitha? She not going?"
Kurt answered, "She's getting ready at the school, she said she was helping with the decorating."
Does Logan know Tabitha is pregnant? Remy found himself wondering. Could Logan sense something like that?
"That probably means she didn't want the Professor to see her costume," decided Amara.
Remy took that to mean that Tabitha's costume was probably risque. In fact, knowing Tabitha, he doubted it would be anything else. Of course, he wondered if Rogue's outfit could be considered the same, that was slightly clingy at the bust, especially the left side. He wanted to mention to his wife about it but there were far too many people around for him to say so. He hoped no one was going to notice, she'd be humiliated and he had to admit, he felt slightly humiliated to think anyone might notice. No one should see her body like that except him.
Logan retrieved a small camera from his shirt pocket, "Professor wants a few photos taken for the rec room wall of fame."
"You mean the wall of shame," Bobby grinned.
The others went about posing the best way they could to emphasise their costumes, scary faces and sharp teeth. Remy slipped an arm around Rogue's shoulders and drew her close, grinning so wide he realised that when the photo was printed he most likely was going to look like an idiot.
He didn't care. Other than his wedding it was the first time he and Rogue had ever been in a picture together, and he didn't care about the fake blood, the old stained Tuxedo, or that his hair was ridiculously short and didn't quite suit him. This would be the photo that was going to be on the inside of his school locker.
He felt Rogue's body stiffen a little as he drew her to him, he didn't blame her for her slight apprehension. They hadn't told the others yet after all. He caught sight of Jean and Scott standing at the top of the staircase leaning on the rail overlooking the foyer, he felt Jean's gaze, could tell she was whispering something to Scott, he read her lips. "Look at Rogue and Remy."
Yes, that was going to be it tonight. Everyone was going to be saying that, weren't they? 'Look at Rogue and Remy...do you think there's something going on there?'
There was somethin' goin' on the whole time, no one figured it out...y' all trusted Rogue's powers far too much t' believe it.
"Okay, you can all scoot now," Logan put the camera away, "Time does this thing finish?"
"Ten," Jamie spoke up, "we can stay out 'til it finishes, right?"
Logan eyed them all for a moment, normally ninewas the limit for parties.
"As long as you're back before eleven. That gives you an hour for travel. And if any of you come back past that, it's instant grounding for a month," Logan warned, "but I'll warn you all again...any pranks-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Bobby interrupted, "Any pranks and we're dead meat."
Rogue pulled away from Remy, he could see the blush on the left side of her cheek, the only side fake blood hadn't been splattered. It made his heart swell and his palms slightly sweaty, it felt different already. He wasn't sure if anyone asked if he'd be able to explain it, only that it was starting to feel real.
It's always been real, it's jus' we could'n' be honest.
The group made their way to the van, piling in trying to be sure dresses, capes and wigs weren't getting caught in the doors or the seatbelts. Remy leaned back in the passenger's seat, he'd never felt so excited about anything this lame before...he'd been to school dances, certainly, but he'd been young, and it hadn't been like this. Now, he felt almost as if he was going to prom. He supposed the idea of going as Carrie White and Tommy Ross to the dance was as close as he might get. Or was it?
"Rogue?" he asked as he slipped his seatbelt securely into the buckle.
"Yeah?" she asked, she was slowly backing the van out of the garage, arm resting on the back of the seat, her focus on the back window as she struggled to see past the costumes and wigs on the students.
"Y' wan' go t' the real prom?"
Rogue stepped on the brakes, the van shuddered a little, she turned to look at him, she said nothing.
"I know it's like a million years away from right now..." he began, "But I was wonderin' if maybe you wan' t' go wit' me..."
Rogue chewed her lip, he could see the clockwork in her head beginning to shift, the thoughts, the anxiety of him asking her in front of the others. But she'd made promises. Was she about to break her promises so soon? "Ah...Ah don't know if Ah'm gonna be goin' to prom next year..." she admitted.
Why wouldn't she? Her last chance? Didn't every girl secretly want to go and wear the big dress and the hairdo and fight to be prom queen?
"C' mon...y' ain' gon' make me go t' my only prom stag, are y'?" he asked with a smirk.
There were a few hushed whispers in the back, the loud raucous carry-on of the movie monsters back there fell silent rather quickly. They'd definitely heard him ask. He supposed in all honesty with himself that he'd intended them to hear.
Rogue's eyes dropped to the steering wheel; her expression was slightly troubled. He could see the way she was thinking, thinking of what the others may think if she said yes but it didn't matter. Tomorrow everything was going to start making sense.
"Please?" he asked, "go t' prom wit' me..."
Rogue was suppressing a slight uneasy smile, he saw it; he wasn't particularly sure if she was playing coyness or it was sincere. Perhaps it was just a little of both.
"Ah'll tell you what..." she drew her breath, she tried to sound so casual but he heard the slight tremor in her voice, the nerves were still there. "When the time of prom comes around if you're still around too, and you still feel like goin'..." she explained, "then sure..."
Remy wasn't sure what she meant by this, he supposed it was only in her nature to not believe he was there for the long run. Why did she think he'd leave?
"Uhm," spoke up Kitty, "what about Tabitha?"
Remy wondered how long it had been she'd been holding her tongue, and why she'd had to ruin that moment. Already the tiny smile that had been on Rogue's lips seemed to fall, as did her expression. Rogue's shoulders seemed to droop a bit, a silent sigh escaping her lips.
Remy turned slowly to gaze over the seat at the petite brunette, she looked rather like Elizabeth Taylor in the movie Cleopatra, her makeup was rather fetching, although it wasn't very scary. "What about Tabitha?"
"Weren't you and her, uhm...together or something?" Kitty asked.
Fighting the urge to snap and to tell Kitty to butt out, Remy responded calmly, "Look, I think we better clear this out the way right now. Tabitha an' I have never been t' gether, and I don' know where y' got that information or what kind o' impression she's given y'..."
"It's just-" Kitty tried to quickly explain.
Remy interrupted swiftly, "Tabitha is a nice girl...but I ain' interested an' never was. I hope the rumours are gon' stop now."
Fuck, what if they think it's me that got Tabitha pregnant? He suddenly worried. What if Tabitha lets them think that? Lets Rogue think that? Fuck...I need t' straighten this out before it gets out of hand...
"Nothin' ever happened. Nothin'," Remy stated, "an' that's the honest truth."
Rogue didn't say anything, she simply backed the van out of the garage, being slightly less careful this time, and swerved it to take it down the drive. Remy studied her expression, she was definitely not quite as happy as she'd been a few minutes ago thanks to Kitty's question.
Why couldn't she have just left it? Why had the girl had to push? He understood Kitty was trying to be somewhat loyal to her friend Tabitha, but wasn't there loyalty for Rogue too? Didn't she want Rogue to be happy?
He sighed inwardly, he didn't want thoughts of this to ruin his night.
Despite there was a moment or two of awkwardness after the discussion about Tabitha, things went back to being relatively noisy, so noisy he couldn't hear himself thinking much during the drive to school. The party meant they were slightly rowdier than usual.
Remy sighed inwardly, he supposed tonight should be the night he should have words with Tabitha about what was really going on with him and Rogue. He needed to clear the air and get things out into the open.
He just hoped it wasn't about to ruin everything.
Rogue parked outside of the school in the usual spot. Remy climbed out first and moved forward to have a look at the other cars parked around; he'd half expected to see Tabitha's father's car there, but he didn't see it anywhere.
He's still in jail, Remy reminded himself. Leas' as far as I know.
The others began to make their way towards the school, eager to get to the party, Remy hovered back as Rogue made a point about ensuring all the windows were locked before she was ready to leave the van. He met her at the driver's side and opened the door for her, he leaned in.
"Hey," he said softly.
"Hey," she replied.
"Somethin' wrong?" he asked. He'd expected her to seem happy tonight, Halloween had always been one of her favourite things. Tonight, she seemed rather unenthusiastic and preoccupied.
"No," she answered.
"Look, if it's abou' wha' Kitty said..." he said, his drawl lazy, "y' know she's talkin' out her ass, right? 'Cause I swear there was never-"
"Ah know that..." she nodded, sitting on the edge of the driver's seat, one leg dangling out.
"I'm...thinkin' we shoul' maybe take Tabby aside t'night...hash it out..." he said, "About us...tell her the truth."
"You know it's gonna cause trouble..."
"Tabitha can keep a secret," Remy assured.
"Because she kept yours?" Rogue asked, she looked hurt at the thought he'd told anyone else his problems.
"Because she kept her own," Remy replied, thinking of the pregnancy she was holding to herself. "C' mon...lets stop wastin' time..."
"Ah just need a minute," she said, "go on ahead, Ah'll catch up."
"But-"
"Please? Ah need to fix the makeup, it's dried out a little..." she switched on the light on the ceiling, "and Ah need to fix this dress..."
"What's wrong with it?"
"Ah didn't notice until we were at the stop lights when we'd left...this part is sort of...uhm...clingin'..." she gestured to her breast, "Ah swear Ah didn't know..."
He dropped his eyes, and sneakily reached forward to brush a finger along the fake-blood soaked slightly damp breast, brushing it against the protruding nipple which made her shiver a little, "Yeah...it is kind o' uhm...obvious y' ain' wearin' anythin' under it..."
"It's not the kind of dress you wear a bra under," she pointed out.
"What y' gon' do?" he asked.
"There must be some tissues or somethin' somewhere in here Ah can stack beneath to hide it. Just go on ahead, okay?" she took one of the two tickets from the dashboard where she'd left them, "here."
"Y' sure? Aren' we supposed t' make an entrance t' gether?"
"Just go," she said, "Ah'll catch up."
Remy wasn't sure why she was suddenly so apprehensive about walking in on his arm. He couldn't help but feel the sting of that a little. Was this because of Kitty? If it was he'd have to find a way to make her suffer for it.
Perhaps I'll break int' her locker and piss int' it, Remy thought darkly as he passed over his ticket to the teacher at the entrance to the gymnasium.
Remy entered through the double doors to the gymnasium and gazed around; the students who had worked on the decorating committee had done a fantastic job of making it look like Halloween in the three or so hours they'd probably had to do so since the last class at the end of the school day. Large paper spiders hung from the ceiling, orange, black and purple banners and decorations hung from every corner and wall, a few tables had been set up with drinks and food, everything was Halloween themed, including the bright green punch that was backlit to look like it was glowing. The music was booming so much he couldn't hear himself think.
He'd almost been feeling all right until he began to notice the costumes...witches, wizards, fairy princesses and comic book heroes.
Zombies.
Some zombie costumes were impressively realistic, not too far from the kind of thing he'd seen in movies.
Before he'd started seeing the ghost of Jean-Luc, this wouldn't have bothered him so much. He tried to hold himself still as he stood looking at them all. Half the student body seemed to be fans of The Walking Dead.
Hold y'self t'gether, he warned himself. Don' fall apart now.
End of Part Thirty-Seven
Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Who's not shocked about Tabitha in the locker room? Plot thickens (guess those assumptions about why she wanted gum that day after school make more sense now? lol). Annnnnnnnyway, I have part 38 to edit so I'm going to make this note rather fast. Hope you all enjoyed this part (can't wait to see some of the thoughts that might come of it, haha).
As always, thanks so much for the reviews, you guys rock and I appreciate them so much.