16 February

Earth. –n. 1. (often initial capital letter) the planet third in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 7,926 miles (12,755 km) and a polar diameter of 7,900 miles (12,714 km), a mean distance from the sun of 92.9 million miles (149.6 million km), and a period of revolution of 365.26 days, and having one satellite 2. the inhabitants of this planet, especially the human inhabitants: The whole earth rejoiced 3. this planet as the inhabitants of humans often in contrast to heaven and hell: to create a hell on earth 4. the surface of this planet: to fall to earth 5. the solid matter of this planet; dry land; ground 6. soil and dirt, as distinguished from rock and sand; the softer part of the land 7. the hole of a burrowing animal; lair 8. Chemistry. any of several metallic oxides that are difficult to reduce, as alumina, zirconia, and yttria.: Compare alkaline earth, rare earth 9. Also called earth color. Fine arts. any of various pigments consisting chiefly of iron oxides and tending toward brown in hue 10. Chiefly British Electronics. a ground 11. Archaic. a land or country –v. 12. Chiefly British Electronics. to ground

The heavy thump of the backpack carelessly thrown beside her was an obvious attempt at gaining Rogue's attention. She eyed it warily, swallowing before breathing in deep to center herself. She wasn't getting out of this confrontation. She wasn't getting away from her friend until the bell tolled. Veronica swiftly plunked down into the chair beside Rogue, instantly clutching her own hand and crossing her ankles to stare her down.

"Okay, are you going to explain what's going on this week?" She craned her neck to the side to better catch Rogue's eyes to no avail. "You also can't tell me nothing. I know you didn't skip out on Valentine's Day with Remy to avoid me for nothing."

"Ah'm not … " Rogue trailed off before she had a chance to finish the lie. She was avoiding Veronica, even if that wasn't her ultimate goal. She was simply avoiding most people, especially humans.

"Avoiding me?" Veronica scoffed. "Try again."

"Alright, Ah know. Ah didn't mean it. Ah've been feelin' real off all week, Sugah."

"Wow," Veronica deadpanned. "Really."

"It ain't you," Rogue clarified.

"Great. So what is it?"

Rogue bit her lip and tapped her finger against the desk. She didn't know if she could actually trust Veronica or not. Rogue didn't want to come out as a mutant, but she wasn't sure if she could align herself with the mutant community at all and keep her cover in the high school, let alone her friend.

"You remember what you told me on Monday?" Rogue asked in a low voice. She swung her head in Veronica's direction so that she didn't need to project her voice.

Veronica thought for a moment, her eyes narrowed. "The attack?" she asked.

Rogue nodded, her hair swinging before her eyes. "Yeah. The Brotherhood attack. Turns out, that's a little personal. Ah've been havin' a hard time processin' it all."

Veronica jolted back into her chair, her eyes suddenly wide. "Did you lose someone in that attack?" Veronica fiercely whispered, leaning in again. "I didn't think there were casualties…."

"No, Ah didn't – " She cleared her throat lightly. "Everyone Ah know's fine, but it's a lot."

"You know we're friends, right?" Veronica asked. "You could have told me something. You could have come to me."

"Ah didn't even go to Remy 'bout it," Rogue murmured with a sidelong look. "'Roro's 'bout the only person that knows, an' that's 'cuz she stopped me from havin' a panic attack in the hallways." Kurt knew the most out of anyone, but Veronica didn't need to know there was another boy in her life. Especially one she didn't know and felt safe enough to confide in.

Veronica squinted in a brief burst of thought. "That black girl with white hair?"

"Yeah. She goes to Xavier's school, too. She's kinda mah … Ah dunno, like a leader or somethin'."

"Look, I knew you didn't take the news so good when I told you – your entire face went white – but I didn't mean to scare you. We're going to be safe, right? The cops will stop them or something."

Rogue snorted before she had a chance to stop herself. She quickly covered her mouth with a couple fingers and slowly stole a look at Veronica.

"What?" Veronica demanded with a quirked eyebrow.

"Cops, Sugah?"

Veronica shook her head to show she didn't understand Rogue's point.

"Cops can't do a thing against the Brotherhood." She lowered her voice into a mutter and added, "Wouldn't put mah life in the hands of a cop, neither."

"Well, we're not just going to roll over and let them kill us," Veronica said with a roll of her eyes.

Rogue tapped the desk in front of her. "A friend last night … Ah asked him why he ain't angry or afraid 'bout it all. You know what he told me?"

Intrigue crossed Veronica's eyes, and Rogue knew that it wasn't over the question she posed. An unnamed friend was a mystery to the rumor seeker, knower of all things high school.

"We gotta stick tagether. He knows we're all gonna be fine because we're all gonna stick tagether and community will win over the bad. He made it all sound better than how I can say it, but he says there's a lot more good out there than bad." Rogue looked away and gripped her own upper arm with her hand. "Ah'm havin' a hard time believin' it yet, but he was so confident about it. He said we can't be afraid, 'cuz that makes monsters of people. So we gotta stick together."

"I'm sure that would sound wise if you knew what you were talking about," Veronica snickered.

Rogue frowned. "Ah know what he said, he's just better at sayin' it."

"Well, you've got me. And you have all those people at your school that all seem pretty cool. So I think our community's pretty safe." Rogue felt a ghost of a smile pull at her lips. Veronica didn't know the half of it, if she included herself with the rest of the X-Men. Yet Rogue still didn't know if Veronica was against mutants' very being and right to live. "Maybe this other guy that doesn't have a name is right about that. Are you, like, done pouting about it yet? You owe me a double date."

Rogue breathed out a small laugh. "Ah do, don't Ah? Ah'll ask Remy if he's busy tomorrow. Sound good?"

Veronica nodded. "If you back out this time, I'm going to get Josh and make him bring me to that school you don't do any learning at. We'll drag you out kicking and screaming if we have to."