A/N: Holy sh… I haven't updated this fic in (almost) a year. Sorry about that. Thanks for the reviews and pushing/reminding me to update!

What the Hell?

Ch. 10

Hollow

John ended up at a small bar called Red Horizon. The bar was fairly dark and empty besides a few people drinking, two waitresses, and a bartender. He went to the back of Red Horizon and sat on the last stool, ordering beer after beer. John had just finished his fifth. Before he ordered another, he stared into the empty bottle, which reflected his current state of mind. He put the empty bottle down and started on his sixth when a familiar figure sat next to him. He didn't have to look directly at the person, noticing the white streak in the corner of his eye.

"Go away, Rogue. I don't want you here," he said bitterly.

"That's too bad because I'm not leaving without you."

He sighed. "Just... leave me alone."

"John, I'm worried about you. Talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Bullshit!" she spat.

John slammed the bottle on the counter. He turned to her and snapped, "Just go home!"

"Is he bothering you, hun?" The bartender asked. His eyes were on Rogue and only her.

John rolled his eyes. "Actually, she's bothering me."

"How many beers has he had so far?" Rogue asked ignoring her boyfriend.

"He's on his sixth," replied the bartender, still eyeing her while drying glasses.

"Don't give him any more," she instructed.

John's temper started to rise. Once again he was invisible. "Are you going to listen to a mutant?" he retorted, unable to control the words coming out of his mouth.

In an instant, the bartender's expression changed to disgust. He was about to grab Rogue's arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" John set the half-empty bottle on the counter and stood up. He cautiously eyed the bartender considering the fact that he might ignore his warning and lay a finger on her. He didn't care about the bartender getting hurt; he only cared about Rogue. John didn't want her to ever get hurt, but to get hurt because of him… that was unacceptable.

"Both of you," the bartender barked, pointing to the door, "Get out of my bar."

John didn't protest. He walked behind Rogue out of the establishment and into the pouring rain.

Without saying a word, John and Rogue stood in front of Red Horizon. The rain came down hard and steady. He lowered his head and turned to Rogue, "I'm sorry." His tone was sincere. He looked up and moved closer and gently kissed her wet forehead.

She wrapped her arms around him and held on as tight as she could, "If you bottle your anger, it will kill you."

"I know." John ran a hand through his wet hair. "There is something I need to do… alone." He softly smiled and said, "It's late, go back to the mansion. We can talk tomorrow."

Rogue looked at John unsure if she should leave him alone. He definitely wasn't sober.

He gently rubbed her shoulders. "I'll be fine. Don't worry so much. How did you find me?"

She was about to reply, but he waved her off. "Never mind. It doesn't matter." Quickly changing the subject, he said, "Do you have a ride or are you going to walk in the rain?"

"I borrowed Scott's motorcycle." She pointed to the right, glanced at it, and looked back at John.

Surprised, he asked, "You know how to drive one of those?"

"Logan taught me." Rogue smiled. She enjoyed the little things Logan taught her. "I would offer you a ride but you're not sober. Maybe next time, bub."

John grinned for two reasons. The obvious Logan-ism and the last time someone said 'maybe next time' was Logan when John stated he wanted to drive when the mansion was raided. "I'm starting to wonder if Wolverine is secretly brainwashing you."

Rogue had a big smile on her face. She really missed John's sense of humor. She automatically gave him a hug and whispered in his ear, "I love you".

Not allowing him to reply, Rogue released her firm hold and hopped onto the bike.

She revved the motorcycle and flipped the kickstand. With the black helmet on, she glanced at John. He stood in awe as his jaw dropped. It was a drool-worthy sight. In a blink, she disappeared into the darkness.

John almost decided to just go home and push his anger and hatred aside, but what he was about to do next was something that had to be done tonight.

The rain had ceased, and John stood outside of the building which made his nightmare come to life. He was holding a container of lighter fluid. Earlier he paid someone to buy it for him. The last thing he needed was his face on surveillance tape in the convenience store purchasing the highly flammable liquid. John entered the abandoned building and squirted fluid throughout. Nothing was left, but unwanted memories, thanks to Magneto. The building had to go. He tossed the empty yellow and red bottle over his shoulder, took a deep breath before striking the match, and dropped it into a puddle of fluid.

Watching the fire consume the building made him feel better, however, it wouldn't solve the lingering emptiness in his soul. John would have watched it burn completely to the ground but soon New York City's Bravest would be at the scene putting out the flames and coming to the conclusion that it was arson. Getting caught wasn't an option. "This isn't over," John declared out loud before he left.

It was three-thirty in the morning when John got back to the mansion. Before he went inside, Mother Nature was calling. He unzipped his pants and took a quick leak in the bushes that started on either side of the front door and went around the entire mansion. John always thought they looked hideous. He burned a couple of them five years ago when he was sixteen. Still to this day, he hadn't verbally confessed. Xavier made him plant new ones, trim, and water all of the bushes for six weeks.

Maybe it was the alcohol but as he was walking through the mansion, he thought 'What if by some chance the bushes turn yellow because of my urine...' Yeah, it was definitely the alcohol.

Without disturbing anyone or anything, he eventually made it to his room. Bobby was sound asleep, snoring. Normally he would throw his sneaker to make his roommate turn over, thus, effectively stopping the snoring, but all he wanted to do was crash. As soon as John's damp body hit the mattress, he was out like a light.

A/N: I'm a review whore, so please hit the blue button and review, thanks : )

A note for the new readers: I started this fic in '04; therefore, this story wasn't inspired by X3 in any way.

Side note: X2 is still my inspiration. I got absolutely nothing from X3.