XXXXXX

The next morning, Rogue awoke to someone knocking softly on her door. Her first reaction was to throw something toward the sound of the disturbance, but all she could muster was a soft groan as she pulled her pillow over her head.

Apparently the visitor was NOT a telepath, because they entered anyway.

"Guten Morgen!" Kurt exclaimed happily as he held a silver tray of food out in front of him. Trailing behind him was Kitty who, thankfully, was not carrying any food.

With a sigh, Rogue reluctantly sat up and managed a small smile. She hadn't spent much time with her friends since waking up from her 'coma', and she knew they were eager to talk to her.

She watched as Kurt placed the silver tray on the nightstand. She could see various plates of pancakes, toast, eggs, fruit, hash browns, and an assortment of pork products.

"I uh," Kurt stammered nervously, "I vasn't sure vhat you vould like, so we made some of everyzhing…"

"We…?" Rogue asked, casting a dubious glance at Kitty.

The brunette rolled her eyes as she sat on the end of Rogue's bed. "Oh come ON! My cooking's not THAT bad. I only burnt the first, like, four pieces of toast!"

Rogue stifled a chuckle.

Kurt sat down on the other side of Kitty and winked at his sister. "Don't worry I didn't let her touch anything else. In fact, Storm and Jean did most of zhe cooking."

Rogue's stomach growled and she reached for the bowl of fruit, taking a quick bite as Kurt and Kitty continued to tease each other.

"Mmm. Remind meh t' thank 'em both," Rogue murmured as she chewed on a tasty strawberry. "And thanks t' both of you, too. Looks delicious." She cast a dubious glance at all the food on the tray. "Just not sure ah can eat it all. Please tell meh ya'll are hungry too."

The two visitors shook their heads no.

"Drat," Rogue exclaimed as she snagged a piece of sausage from the tray. After quickly chewing and swallowing the juicy patty, she wiped her hands on the napkin they'd provided and smiled widely.

"And I'm guessin' ah should also thank one of ya for savin' mah door. Ah half expected t' find it in pieces. Suppose that's what ah get for lockin' it."

Kurt and Kitty shared confused glances.

"But," Kurt started, "it vasn't locked. In fact, it vas open vhen ve arrived."

Rogue turned a suspicious eye to the door in question. "Ah swear ah locked it when ah got t' mah room that day. In fact, ah know ah did 'cause ah remember thinkin' it was kinda pointless."

"Vell," Kurt explained, "Scott, Jean and I vere the first to get to your door after we heard the explosion and it was already ajar."

"What?!" Rogue exclaimed as she chocked on a bite of toast. "What explosion? Ah don't remember an explosion…"

Kitty looked at her friend, concerned. "Yeah, Tabby and I were downstairs with the Professor when we heard an explosion from upstairs. Professor Xavier told everyone it came from your room."

"Ja," Kurt agreed. "Vhen I ported just outside your door, there vas still smoke in the hall. We thought your powers were out of control again. I vas… I vas nervous to enter your room for a moment. I thought you wouldn't be yourself."

Rogue stared hard at her dresser and the clock. "But that doesn't make any sense," she stated, gnawing on a slice of bacon. "Mah powers were never the problem. Just that voice in mah head." She chewed thoughtfully as she tried to remember the exact events of that day.

"I, I remember headin' for the door, thinkin' ah had t' find the Professor, and ah started t' black out. Ah must've fallen against mah dresser, 'cause mah hand hit that clock."

Rogue stared at the German Cuckoo Clock in confusion. " Last thing ah remember was knockin' it off the dresser. "

"But," Kitty chewed on her lip as she watched Rogue stab a piece of pancake. "If it HAD fallen, wouldn't we have found it on the ground?"

"It vas still on the dresser vhen we found you there," Kurt pointed to the spot near Rogue's dresser where they had found her lying unconscious.

The three teens were quiet for a moment-the only sound was that of Rogue pensively chewing her food.

"What ah don't get," the Southerner finally spoke as she swallowed another bite of pancake. "Is how ya'll found me in here, but ya say the smoke was in the hall. Ya said the door was only open a crack – how big of one?"

Using his thumb and finger, Kurt indicated less than an inch of space.

"So if the door was only open a tad, how did the smoke get in the hall and not in mah room? Ah couldn't have thrown anything through that small of a space, an' nothin's missin' from mah room that would explain what blew up."

Kitty stood and stuck her head into the hallway. As she returned, she stood at the door with her hands on her hips. "Nothing's missing in the hall either, just a little bit of black soot near the top of the ceiling. So something definitely blew up out there."

"But vhat?" Kurt asked. "And how did Rogue blow something up if the door was only open a little?"

"Are…" Rogue held a piece of toast in her hand, about to take another bite. "Are ya'll sure AH'M the one who caused the explosion? Is there any way it could have been another student and the timin' was just a coincidence?"

Kurt and Kitty thought on the matter for a moment as Rogue chewed her toast.

"Nein," Kurt finally responded with a shake of his head. "I was here within seconds of Xavier's call and no one else vas around. Scott and Jean came out of her room moments after zhat."

Rogue sighed, swallowing. "Guess it's time ah talked t' the Professor, huh?"

The three sat silently for a second before Rogue's stomach growled again.

"Well," the Southerner debated, "maybe right after ah finish eatin'."

It was at that moment, when Rogue bent to take another forkful of pancake that Kitty finally noticed the emerald necklace still adorning Rogue's throat.

"Oh my gosh, that's new, isn't it? Is it from the secret admirer? Is that what was in the box?" the brunette squealed.

Rogue sighed. It was going to be a LONG day.

XXX

Rogue's talk with the Professor proved no more insightful than her conversation with Kurt and Kitty. She told the telepath about her newest revelations, but she left with as many questions as before.

The Professor had remained oddly quiet throughout Rogue's story. The only thing he had really said was "Try to get some rest. I'm sure it will work itself out in time."

Rogue had left his office feeling rather dejected. She didn't have much time to dwell on her problems, however, as the weekend was nearly over and she had to focus on preparing to go back to school the next day. Unfortunately, she had no homework, books or backpack with which she could use to do so.

Thankfully, however, she did share a few classes with some of the other students in the mansion. She had the same math class as Kitty, who gave Rogue all of her notes to study; she'd already read "Midsummer Night's Dream" for English, so she wasn't particularly behind for that one (aside from the report that was due in two days); and Jean was going to review some of the history unit she'd missed over the last week. The telepath had the same teacher last year and knew the syllabus by heart. She'd even kept her all her notes and reports and was perfectly happy to spend a little time reviewing them with Rogue.

Regardless of her friends' help, however, Rogue still felt anxious about returning to school without any of her materials. Sleep did not come easy for the Southerner that night, and by morning she felt as if she hadn't slept in a week.

XXX

"Any luck finding your backpack?" Kurt asked as he drove Rogue, Kitty, Bobby, Ray, Roberto, Sam and Jaime and himself to school in the X-Van.

"Nope, Ah'm just gonna have t' wing it ah guess." Rogue replied as she stared out of the front passenger window. With her powers, the issue of calling 'shotgun' was null and void, so she was able to relax a little within her personal space.

The rest of the boys were in the back seats with poor Kitty wedged in the middle row between Sam and Bobby. The brunette was still pouting – they'd voted 7 to 1 that she should NOT be in the driver's seat. She'd HAD the option of driving to school with the other girls, but she'd wanted to keep a sharp eye on the boys. After all, she figured ONE of them had to have Rogue's stuff…

A similar thought ran through Rogue's mind as she stared out the window, and she took a quick peek in the vanity mirror, trying to guess who it could be. It didn't appear that any of the boys had brought an extra backpack with them (that would have been pretty obvious after all), but a few of their bags DID look a little heavier than normal…

One such boy was Bobby, who caught Rogue's gaze in the mirror and smiled broadly at her. Embarrassed to be caught staring, Rogue quickly slammed the visor closed and slunk down in her seat a tad.

When they finally got to school, Rogue had fully intended to bail from the car immediately and book it into the school as fast as she could (whilst trying to LOOK like she wasn't still embarrassed, of course). Her plans failed, however, when Kitty snagged her arm from between the seats as soon as they came to a stop.

"Did you want to borrow my math book, Rogue? I know it's, like, your first period and mine's not until after lunch. You can just give it back to me then."

Rogue turned slightly to meet Kitty's gaze as she tried to avoid Bobby's, who was sitting just to Kitty's left.

"Uh, sure," she responded with a small smile. "Why don't we get to y'r locker first, though. Don't want to deal with the bags right now."

With her lunch in hand, Rogue turned to open her door - still hoping to flee with some dignity - when she was startled to find it opening on its own.

Withdrawing her hand in surprise, Rogue was flabbergasted to find Sam holding it open for her, a wide smile on his face. She must have looked like a deer in the headlights because the Southern boy chuckled as he stood to the side.

"A proper Southern gentleman always holds the door f'r a lady," he replied as Rogue finally overcame her shock and exited the vehicle.

Another blush dusted her cheeks as she ducked her head and sidestepped the boy. "Um, thanks," she muttered, forcing a small smile as she met his eyes briefly.

She could hear Kitty snickering from behind her and she turned to glare at her friend. "Get a move on, will you Kit!" she growled as she then turned and practically ran for the safety of the building.

Once inside the school, Rogue took a deep, calming breath as she waited for the brunette to catch up. She didn't have long to wait, however, as Kitty practically fell through the glass doors with barely contained laughter.

"And just what do you think is so funny?" Rogue snarled, her arms folded and brow raised. She was determined to play this off like it was no big deal, but she knew Kitty was going to have a hayday with it, regardless.

"You should have seen your face!" Kitty squealed between peals of laughter. "Kinda like the time the Professor pelted Logan with a water balloon."

"Oh shut up," Rogue growled again, and shoved her friend by the shoulder, inadvertently causing her to phase through someone's locker.

Rogue paid the girl no mind, however, and stormed toward her own locker. She wasn't very well going to carry her lunch and coat around all day, and she at least had an extra notebook or two in there.

By the time Kitty caught up to her friend, Rogue was already dialing in the combination. Her scowl quickly turned to surprise when she finally got it open, though.

There, resting neatly inside her locker was her missing backpack with a note pinned to the front of it. Rogue yanked the small white paper from the bag before Kitty could get a chance to read it.

Sorry to make you worry about your stuff (and for the "cheating"), but I figured you could use a little extra help with your homework this week and wanted you to relax. Hope the new tunes help out with that, too.

As Rogue read the note, Kitty was furiously tearing through Rogue's bag and locker.

"It was here!? Are you freaking kidding me? I checked this locker every day last week and NOW it shows up?! How the heck did he get it in here so quick?" the brunette ranted. "We all got here at the same time!"

Rogue snickered at her friend's distress. The girl was more infuriated by the situation than she was. Sure she'd had to worry about her missing books and homework all weekend, but it HAD been kind of nice to just lay back and relax.

And speaking of relaxing, what was that about the new tunes…?

Rogue didn't have to wonder for long, as Kitty rummaged through Rogue's school bag and quickly shoved a small red box into her friend's stomach.

"Here," the normally peppy valley girl grumbled, "you got another stupid gift." Rogue rolled her eyes at her friend and watched as Kitty dropped the backpack on the floor and crossed her arms, impatiently waiting for Rogue to open the box.

Handing the note to Kitty, Rogue pulled off the green bow and simple red paper. The box was only a few inches long and not very wide. It was too small to be a CD (not that she had a player anymore) and at least an inch thick.

After pulling off the paper and tossing it inside her locker, Rogue opened a brown cardboard jewelry box to reveal a small, flat device nestled within tissue paper. There was also a pair of black ear buds inside.

Kitty strained her neck to see and quickly gasped. "Oh my gosh, that's an IPod Touch Gen 6! Those are SO expensive!"

Rogue turned a concerned eye to her friend. "They are?"

"Yeah," Kitty nodded enthusiastically, forgetting about her irritation. "They're like $300!"

Rogue's eyebrows nearly met her hairline. "WHAT?!" She quickly closed the box and started to place it back in her locker. "No way ah can accept that. Ah'll just have to get him t' return it somehow."

Kitty chuckled. "Um, you can't. It's not in the original packaging anymore and he might have already downloaded some music." She took the box from Rogue and pulled out the device, turning it on before quickly thumbing through the screen.

"See," she pointed to a list of songs, "There's, like, over a hundred songs on here already." Kitty handed the device to Rogue, who began flicking through the songs. The titles were mostly those that she already had on CD (which were useless now), plus a few she didn't recognize.

Rogue sighed and carefully put the device inside the small cardboard box before placing it inside her backpack. As she did so, she also pulled out one of her homework assignments and looked over the piece of paper with a sigh.

The handwriting was somewhat similar to hers; it was simple and straight without any extra flourishes or embellishments. It was neat and legible too – definitely NOT something written by a boy. It was the same handwriting as was on the new note and, coincidently, the same handwriting that had adorned the first note from her "secret admirer."

"MANDY!" Rogue nearly hissed, half amused and half perturbed.

"Who?" Kitty asked, handing Rogue her backpack as the two girls made their way to Kitty's locker.

Rogue sighed, but explained the whole story (minus the part where Duncan had flirted with her) to her friend.

XXX

After school, Rogue, Kitty, and Kurt dropped the other students off at home before heading to the mall. Rogue wanted to talk to Mandy again and her friends insisted on going with her.

It was a long shot that Mandy would actually be working, but as it turned out luck was in their favor and they found the petite blonde happily helping a customer check out.

When Mandy saw Rogue, she waved enthusiastically. "Hey Rogue! I heard you were under the weather – glad to see you're feeling better." The girl smiled widely at Kitty and Kurt as she came out from behind the counter.

Without invitation, she reached out and took Kurt's hand, shaking it vigorously. "I'm Mandy!" she exclaimed, "Nice to… meet… you." Mandy trailed off with a curious glance at their interlocked hands.

Kurt quickly pulled his hand from her grip and hid them both behind his back as he stared at the ground.

"You have, like, a great grip and SUCH soft hands. Love it!" Mandy declared with a wink.

Kurt met the girl's eyes and smiled brightly. "I'm – I'm Kurt, thanks!"

Next, Mandy held her hand out to Kitty and actually waited for the brunette to take it. Kitty quickly extended her own and introduced herself. "Kitty. Hi! Nice to meet you."

"Good to meet you, Kitty," Mandy smiled before turning back to Rogue. "So, Rogue, did you like the flowers? I picked them out!"*

Rogue sighed and smiled. The girl's enthusiasm was almost contagious. "Ah did, thanks. And ah also came t' thank ya for your help with mah school work. Ah can't imagine that boy'd ask you t' do it for me. Ah'm a little embarrassed that ya went t' all that trouble."

Mandy simply smiled. "Oh it was nothing. He did most of it – typing reports and stuff. I just filled in the worksheets. Math isn't my best subject, but he just told me what to write. Didn't take long at all."

Rogue smiled gratefully, and then pulled out the new IPod to show Mandy. "So ah'm guessin' ya probably had somethin' t' do with this, too?" The Southerner handed the device to the blonde, who oohed and aahed over it for a moment.

"Sad to say I did not. I just wrote the note – I'd wondered what he meant by 'the tunes.' What kind of songs did he put on there anyhow, anything you actually like?" Mandy was itching to flip through the playlists, but reluctantly handed the music player back to Rogue.

"Actually, there's a lot of mah old music on there already. He must've gone through mah CD's or somethin', which is a bit unsettling see how they're in mah dresser with some of mah clothes." Rogue mused aloud as she pocketed the device once more.

Kitty had been quiet for far too long and the suspense was killing her. "Mandy PLEASE tell us who it is!? Please, please, please?!" The brunette begged, all but groveling on her knees.

Mandy giggled, but shook her head. "Sorry Kitty, no can do. I made a promise, and I'm very good at keeping promises."

Kitty huffed, but shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "No big, I can figure it out," the brunette stated.

"After all, he knew Rogue was in a … under the weather, and had the foresight to collect AND deliver her homework. And he also had access to Rogue's CD collection, so it HAS to be someone at the mansion. Plus, he's got to be pretty smart and efficient to do all her homework… unless," Kitty's face scrunched up in doubt, "it's someone like Warren or Pete that doesn't LIVE there, but DID visit while she was … sick; but that doesn't explain how he got the flowers inside without anyone knowing it or how he got the backpack and…" Kitty threw her hands up in the air.

"ARGH! JUST TELL ME!" The brunette grabbed Mandy's hands and shook them vigorously, as if it would jostle the answer out of her. Rogue nearly laughed at her friend's irritation, but managed to hide it behind her gloved hand.

Mandy simply laughed. "Nope, sorry. I will tell him to lay off the stalking though. It sounds like he's getting a bit too … involved in things. Especially if he's traipsing through your room to find a CD collection; I mean, I know he's just trying to impress you Rogue, but there's a limit, you know?"

"Thank you!" Finally someone who sees it mah way!" Rogue cried happily as she flourished a hand toward the blonde, " I think ah'm beginnin' t' like you."

"Of course you do," Mandy agreed with a wink toward Kurt, who was obviously uncomfortable with the entire situation. "No one can resist my innocent charm."

Rogue snorted. "Tell me again how ya'll are innocent in the invasion of mah privacy?"

"Oh it's romantic and you know it!" Mandy nudged Kitty with her elbow. "TELL me you don't think it's romantic?"

"Oh my gosh, it so totally is!" Kitty squealed as Rogue rolled her eyes and Kurt pretended to gag.

"Dude, that's my sister," he protested in disgust.

Mandy looked from Rogue to Kurt and back again. "I'm sorry, but I REALLY don't see it…"

"Adopted sister," Rogue clarified simply.

"Ah, that explains it," Mandy nodded before skipping right along to the next topic. Thankfully for her the store was absolutely dead on Monday afternoons and there wasn't a customer in sight still.

"So, what are you guys all doing for holiday break?" she asked, happily changing the subject – much to Kurt's relief. "Isn't it coming up soon?"

"Ja," Kurt nodded, "Two veeks. I thought EVERYONE kept a countdown!"

Mandy smiled again at the trio. "Oh I'm homeschooled, so it really doesn't affect me. I get to work here on whatever hours I want and as long as I'm meeting certain objectives and state curriculum standards. I can pretty much study whenever I want. I plan on working here most every day except for Christmas and New Years," she explained. "How about you guys? Going to see family?"

"I'm heading to Illinois to celebrate Hanukkah with my folks," Kitty replied quickly.

Mandy looked confused as she addressed the brunette, "Hanukkah starts on the 24th this year, right? Are you going to make it home in time?"

Kitty seemed impressed by the other girls' knowledge and smiled warmly. "Yeah, I'm catching a flight with the rest of our … friends, on the 23rd. It's the first time in YEARS I'll get to be with my family on the actual holiday! I'm super excited."

"That's awesome!" Mandy nodded and turned to Kurt and Rogue. "What about you two? Any family plans?"

Both Rogue and Kurt looked slightly uncomfortable, but Rogue spoke up first. "Actually, I'm gonna be hangin' around the mansion with the adults while Kurt heads to Germany t' see his parents."

Mandy looked confused again, but didn't want to pry.

"So… Huh?" the blonde quirked an eyebrow. "I'm betting there's a story there – probably the ice cream and chocolate kind…"

"Oh, you're not wrong," Kitty quickly interrupted before Rogue could reply. "But she's like, the emotional Berlin Wall; there's no chance of getting through THAT."

Mandy gave Rogue a mischievous smirk. "Oh, I have my ways." Her expression quickly changed from calculating to excited, however, as she jumped up and grabbed Rogue's hands. "Hey! Maybe we could hang out some when everyone else is gone! I've never been in a mansion before. And it would be so fun to get ready for the New Year's party together!"

This time Rogue looked puzzled. "Uh, New Year's party? I'm not sure ah follow." Kitty and Kurt also raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Oh there's this HUGE masquerade dance party every year at a club downtown. It's so much fun!"

Rogue shook her head, half amused and half irritated at the girl's audacity. Mandy had simply assumed Rogue would join her at this party despite the fact that she'd never even asked…

"I'm uh, ah'm not one for crowds … or New Year's… or parties for that matter," was all Rogue could say as way of declining the invite.

"Oh," Mandy smiled secretively at Rogue and winked. "I don't think you'll want to miss this one. After all, you never know who you could meet!"

Kitty practically squealed with delight. "OMG is he going to be there! The secret admirer? For real?!"

Mandy simply shrugged her shoulders and shook her head negatively. "Don't know yet, but I DID suggest it. It's a costume party after all. You could dance with a hundred guys and never know if any of them are him or not."

Rogue groaned as Kitty clapped gleefully. "You know," the Southerner stated with some annoyance in her voice, "this is gettin' old real fast. Why don't you just TELL me who it is, and ah'll simply ACT surprised when he finally goes for the big reveal?"

When Mandy crossed her arms and shook her head, Rogue narrowed her eyes, placing both hands on her hips. "Fine. If ya ain't gonna spill the beans, ah'll just have t' borrow some telepathy and come back later." With an uncharacteristically cheerful wave, Rogue smiled at the blonde and turned to leave. "See ya'll soon," she called over her shoulder as she exited the store.

Kitty and Kurt simply exchanged nervous glances as they looked toward Rogue, then at Mandy, and finally back at Rogue.

"Uh, she's just kidding," Kitty stated nervously. "It was nice meeting you. Bye!" With that, the brunette grabbed Kurt's hand and followed after their friend.

When they were out of Mandy's earshot, Kurt asked, "Do you really think Rogue was joking?"

"Do you?" Kitty questioned back.

With a knowing glance, they sprinted to catch up with their friend. "ROGUE!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

*Every year my mom would pick out and buy presents for everyone and my dad would joyfully exclaim, "I picked it out… what is it!?" Just a little inside joke that made me laugh.