Disclaimer: I needed someone to be mean so I picked Kitty. I am sorry to any Kitty fans I may have offended by this. Fear not, for she has upcoming plot to make up for it later.
Yeah, ah suppose Remy and I shoulda been struck by lightning. Or maybe a mild case of spontaneous combustion. But as he said befoah, that didn't happen. Ah shoulda taken a hint from those eyes o' his. Ah shoulda taken a hint when he tried ta snatch mah notebook. Ah 'specially shoulda taken a hint when he didn't show up foah lunch. But ah didn't. Ah guess ah had a lot more patience then than ah do now. Or maybe ah was just a lot more hopeful.
Y'see, when Remy showed up, ah had only been on the X-men scene foah couple of months. It was made clear ta me from the moment ah knocked at the door that there wasn't gonna be no welcome party. An could ah blame them? Not really. Ah had been fightin' with the Brotherhood, and against them, (fairly successfully, ah might add with just a tinge of pride) and they were none too keen on me just showin' up an walkin' in. But ah didn't have any other choice. The dreams had gotten worse an worse, an ah was even startin ta forget who ah was an who ah wasn't. Didn't matter much to them, not at first. Which is why they were very surprised when the Professor said that not only could ah stay, but ah was gonna join the X-men. Ah don't know why he did it, but ah ain't one to take kindness from strangers lightly. From that moment on, ah was determined not to let him down, but somehow ah had to prove it to the others. That turned out to be easier said than done.
Kitty was, as always, a doll. She made sure ah had lots of friends at school, by tellin' them all the great things about me, like that ah could steal your soul by touchin you, maybe even by gettin' too close, that Cyclops was worried that ah was a spy, tryin' to steal other mutants powers an become the new Magneto, the list goes on. After hearin' about all that, the kids were even nice enough ta give me mah own room.
Thus far, ah had two 'friends' per se. The first an' foremost was Logan. He was sorta an outsider himself, and he hadn't been around long enough ta have a good reason ta hate me. Ah kinda think he liked me because Cyke didn't, at first anyway, but turns out our personalities got on pretty well. But Logan ain't around most of the time, and he's busy for a lot of the rest. Not really a social type. The other was Bobby Drake. He enjoyed makin' fun of me, an ah think that was his primary motivation, but he was decent to me, as long as he thought nobody was lookin', at least. So mostly, ah was pretty lonely, an a little nervous. Ev'rybody was just waitin' for me to screw up and then ah'd be outta there faster than greased grits, with no where to go and no one who cared.
Then Remy showed up. At the time, ah was curious about somebody new, so I paid attention. At least that's the best ah could come up with in the way of a well thought out lie. When ah first saw him, he had his brown leather trench coat slung over on shoulder, black boots, torn up jeans and black tank top on. He walked in the room with as much ease as though he owned the place, and pushed a strand of red hair away from his brow. And ah got stuck. Mah brain just quit, and went into a state of shock. The song "You're So Vain" played faintly in mah head, and ah was overwhelmed by extreme and unexpected hotness. He looked over at me, an ah was still stuck. Ah just stared at him. Right into those red on black eyes. An then the curse took over. Ah have a real bad habit of grinnin' real big when ah'm thinkin' somethin' I probably shouldn't. He smiled back at me, and cocked his head to one side, curiously. Foah a minute, he looked like he was gonna come over an talk ta me.
"Please God, if you ever had mercy don't let that man come over here." I thought to mahself. See, phase two of the curse happens when ah try to open mah mouth while ah'm stuck. It never goes ta mah advantage. Fortunately, God's mercy came that day in the form of 'Ro, or Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, puttin' a hand on his arm an hurryin' him along. Ah watched him till he got out of the room, and then set about the sometimes complicated task of breathin'.
'Course, God's mercy only runs so far, an we ended up talkin' after all. Several times. Ah told 'im the first time about mah powers. Ah didn't want to, but ah figure he's got a right ta know if he's gonna be around. Ah didn't tell him all of it, ah'll admit that, but some things ah liked ta keep on a need ta know basis. He didn't seem to mind that much, and ah can't tell you how nice it was just ta have somebody ta talk to. He'd show up ev'ry so often, an we'd play cards, an talk. Argue, really, but ah think he enjoyed it as much as ah did. He was cute, he really was. An ah knew that, so I had ta get my intentions straight right from the beginnin'. Ah mentioned mah first reaction, but ah was well aware that bein physically attracted ta somebody did me absolutely no good. And mah previous experiences with lettin' people get close ta me hadn't gone too well. So ah wasn't lookin' ta start anything. But the more he hung around, the more ah noticed me enjoyin' his company, and missin' him when he wasn't around. But ah didn't pay attention, cause ah figured ah didn't have ta worry about it with Gambit bein' the way he is. He has "playa" written all over him, and as long as he didn't care about me, then ah couldn't really care about him, could ah? Sweet naivety.
Well, the plan was foolproof until the day he decided to play "knight in shinin' leather". Ah was walkin' down the hall, tryin' ta get to mah next class, when Jubilee accidentally bumped into me. Wasn't a big deal. Our shoulders touched, and she turned around to say "'Cuse me." But then she saw it was me, and her eyes went big. She backed off real fast and started examinin' her shoulder like it had broken out in leprosy. Jubilee isn't a mean girl, mostly. She's just not a philosopher, either. Ah sighed. Ah should really be used to things like that afta all these years. But ah ain't.
"It's all right, Jub'lee. If ah had touched ya, you'd have known about it. Sorry ta have startled ya."
Jubilee looked at me, and then looked kinda embarrassed. "S'alright. It's not like you meant to or anything."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Jubes." Kitty stepped out of the crowd. Goody. Mah favorite. "After all, she is a member of the brotherhood. Just because the Prof is a sap doesn't mean we signed a contract to trust her."
"Kitty…" Jubilee began, kinda nervously.
"Dontcha worry about it Jubilee. It's not like ah give a shit what she says about me. If it makes her feel better, then that's fine by me."
"I think you care a lot more than you let on. I think you're terrified about what I could tell them about you."
"You haven't left much out, thus far. Ah'm just sorry that your life is so boring you cain't find anything better ta do than talk about mine." Ah tried ta walk away from it. Mainly cause there was a crowd gatherin' and ah didn't feel like bein' in the middle of it.
"So Rogue, you heard from Carol lately?" Ah stopped in mah tracks. That was somethin' nobody was supposed to know outside the Professor, Hank, Jean, and Cyclops. They swore to me!
"You don't know what yoah talkin' about, Kitty."
"I think I do. But I wonder who else does? I wonder what Bobby would think. You like Bobby, don't you? Oh wait, it doesn't really matter. Not like you could hold hands in the hall or anything." She was cuttin' me up, real good. There were several snickers, and I could feel the heat risin' ta mah face.
"No Kitty, ah cain't touch other people. Thank you foah pointin' out the obvious. You about done?"
"Hardly. Just give me second to consult my list." She pulled out a familiar green notebook. Mah familiar green notebook. The one that was missin' since psychology class yesterday. A big "awwwwwww!" went through the crowd.
"You give that back! That's none o' your business!" She grinned triumphantly. She had me, an she knew it. What the hell had I done ta her?
"What's the matter, Rogue? You're looking a little pale, all of the sudden."
"Kitty, come on…" Bobby said from somewhere in the crowd.
"You curious, Bobby? You're mentioned several times. Ever wonder what would happen if you two ever kissed? Well why don't we ask Cody? He was her first kiss, ya know. Oh wait, he's still in a coma, isn't he?" Ah felt a lump risin' ta mah throat, and ah prayed that ah would just pass out. Ah still missed Cody. An ah spent most of mah time tryin' ta get away from him, only ta have this hussy throw it back in mah face.
"At least people wanna touch me, Kitty, ah think that's what makes you so mad. You couldn't get yoah hands on Colossus no matter how much deodorant you put on in the mornin'." Cheap shot. Anythin' to get her off mah back. "Ooh" went the stupid crowd that follows fights around makin' dumb noises. Ah really hated highschool, come ta think of it. Boy did she look mad, though. Then Colossus stepped up on the other side. Great. Usually ah can rely on the fact that boys don't hit girls. But considerin' our previous relationship….ah wasn't feelin' terribly confident. But ah wasn't about ta let it show. Ah put on as much steel as ah could, but ah was still hurtin', an' ah was afraid of what Kitty was tryin' ta do.
"I've got a lot of things I could throw at you, Rogue, you sure you want to gamble with me?"
"No, ah don't. Ah want you ta give me mah notebook and leave me alone."
"How about I give you the notebook and you get the hell outta here? Can't you see that you're already alone? Nobody wants you here. I don't know what Mystique has you trying to pull but if you're still here when the game's up you're gonna be in serious trouble."
"Are you threatenin' me?"
"Maybe."
"Even ah didn't think you were that dumb."
"You accepting?"
"Ah'm not gonna fight you, Kitty. Ah don't care what you do."
"Then get outta here."
"No. An' get used to it."
"Too bad you weren't cocky enough to say that your daddy."
"STOP IT!" Ah'd had it, ah tried to snatch mah notebook, but she teleported to mah left and slammed it against the side of mah head. The crowds went wild. And that's when ah got mad. REAL mad. Ah knew that Betsy, 'Ro and Scott had just come around the corner, and were about to come get in the middle of it, but ah didn't care. Ah pulled my arm back and got ready ta knock that girl into next week, and then somebody caught mah hand.
"Whoa there, chere. You don' need ta do that. S'alright." Ah turned and saw Remy standin' there, and ah wanted ta die. Dead silence all around. He held onto mah hand until he figured ah wasn't gonna try anythin', and then he let it go. He walked over ta Kitty, and just stared at her. It almost looked like his eyes were glowin', he looked so mad. Suddenly, he snatched the notebook out of her hands so harshly it made her jump.
"You wanna talk about yo' pa'ents today?" She just stared at him, afraid ta say anythin'. He was real intimidatin' just then.
"I didn' t'ink so." He turned to look at the rest of them. 'Ro and Scott just watched him, waitin' ta see what he'd do.
"What about de rest o' ya? Anybody wan' ta talk about dey pa'ents, or dey old best friends, or dey old boyfriends?" He looked around challengingly. Nobody met his gaze. "Non? Y'all oughta be 'shamed o' yo'selves. Y'all got a rare chance fo' somet'in special here, and you 'bout to destroy it wit' stupid crap like dis. You." He turned back to Kitty. "I hope, fo' yo' sake, that I don' have to hear 'bout any more trouble from you." He gave her a meaningful glare. She looked away. He turned back to me. Ah had forgotten how ta breathe again. An' much as ah hate to admit it, ah was shakin' somethin' fierce from a combination of everythin'. He handed me mah notebook, and ah took it from him slowly.
"You late fo' class, chere?" Ah couldn't do anythin' but nod.
"I'll walk wit' ya, make sure you don' get in trouble fo' it." He took mah books from me, all except mah notebook, and then looked around one last time. Ah swear to this day his eyes were glowing. He took his jacket off and slung it over his shoulder. Then, he put one bare arm firmly around mah shoulders, an' walked me to class. Almost, anyway. Afta that, ah decided ta hell with class an' ah just had him take me back ta mah room. We left Storm, Psylocke, and Cyclops to finish cleanin' up the mess. Ah went in an sat on mah bed. He just hovered in the doorway.
"You gon' be all right, chere?" Ah couldn't help but chuckle a little, sarcastically.
"Yeah Remy, ah'll be just fine."
"She didn' have no right ta say any o' dat to you." Ah looked up at him.
"'Xactly how much of that did you hear, sugah?" (Sorry ta interrupt, but dis is de first time she called me "sugah". Not "swamp rat", not "Cajun", not even "Gambit" or "Remy". I jus' t'ought dat it would be interestin' ta note.)
"I heard enough."
"You didn't have ta do that."
"But I wanted to. 'Sides, turned out ta be quite a shinin' moment fo' me, non?" He smiled.
"Remy, ah don't know what you must be thinkin' about me…"
"Remy's not t'inkin' anyt'ing he wasn' already. I don' got much of a platform ta condemn anybody else." He walked in a little ways, an' ah felt mah fingahs tighten against the bed. He stopped in front of me.
"C'n I sit down, petit?"
"If ya want to."
"Well bon, cause I wan' to." He sat down, and he was close enough that his arm touched mine. Ah was wearin' a jacket, and as much as ah would've liked to snuggle up ta him just then, ah moved away, just to be safe. He watched me, notin' every move. It was just a lil' nerve wrackin'.
"Seems kinda funny that mah guardian angel should have glowin' red eyes." Ah meant it jokingly, but he looked away from me. Ah didn't realize it was a sensitive subject.
"No, don't look away. Ah didn' mean it like that. Ah…..ah like yoah eyes."
He looked back up, a half smile playin' around his mouth. "Yeah, chere?"
Ah felt the heat risin' ta mah face, and so ah tried real hard not ta let it show. "Yeah."
"Well dat's a nice surprise. Den, you hate all de t'ings about me dat people norm'lly like, so it only makes sense dat you should like de one t'ing dey all seem ta be afraid of." He laughed. Ah smiled jus' a little bit.
"D'ere now. I saw dat. You gon' be jus' fine after all." Ah sighed, and smiled a little wider.
"Yeah, ah'll be fine. Had you any doubt? You didn't think ah was gonna cry or somethin', did ya?"
"Now you lef' me wit' two unpleasant options, chere. One, say no and deny you yo' femininity, or two, say yes an' say yo' a wuss. I'm gonna plead de fifth and take my leave on dat note. 'Sides, I t'ink you'll be wantin' some time by yo'self, n'est pas?" No ah didn't.
"Yeah, ah could probably use a little time ta relax."
"All right den. You let me know if you need any'ting?"
Ah went to say somethin' back, but it was that exact moment that the alarm went off. "X-men to the jet deck…..X-men to the jet deck…" the robotic voice said over and over. Ah groaned.
"So much foah rest and relaxation. C'mon Cajun."
"After you, ma belle."