Chapter Six: The Morning
After
* ~ *
Light filtered through Rogue's heavy lids. The pounding in
Rogue's head was almost enough to make her sick. She groaned and turned over,
wishing she could just die so she didn't have to live with the pain coursing
through her body.
"Wake up," a voice said.
She jumped in surprise, making the speaker topple over her body
and the blankets twist around them in a peculiar way. Rogue looked up in
surprise to see Remy LeBeau on top of her with a smirk.
"Always, wanted t' be on top, chere."
She looked at him with a mixture of confusion and anger. "Ah-
how the hell did ya'all get in mah room?"
He shook his head. "Chere, did ain't your room. Dis is
mine." He ran a finger across her clothed collar bone. "Don' you
'member our date?"
Rogue shivered at the
touch. Her face flushed involuntarily, and the hammering in her head almost
matched the hammering of her heart. "Ah... don't remember anythin',"
she replied honestly. "Mah head's a big painful blank."
If anythin' happened between us... she thought with wide eyes. An
what does he think he's doin' touchin' me like that? Her stomach did a
somersault. Ah wish he'd do it again...
Gambit smiled and ran his hand through her hair. The way his
cat eyes crinkled at the familiar action caused Rogue's heart to race even
more. "Bon ben <Well then>, Remy'll be happy t' fill you in,
beb," he said huskily.
She placed a hand on his muscular chest in protestation, but
did not pull away from the closeness. "So..?."
The door swung open suddenly. "Gambit, Magneto's been
lookin' for you... Jesus Christ!" Pyro exclaimed. "Sorry, didn't mean
to interrupt! Hope you used a franga <condom> when you all rooted <had
sex>, mate!"
He glared. "Bec mon chu <kiss my ass (so not
French)>! Can't you see dere's a door dere? It's called knockin'!" he
shouted, throwing a shoe at his roommate, who just laughed and shut the door
before it could make contact. The shoe hit the door and bounced off with a thud
over the roar of Pyro's maniacal laughter.
Rogue pulled away as
John left. "Ah think ah'm gonna be sick..." she muttered, leaning
over the bed as bile rose to her throat. She leaned over the bed and vomited in
the wastebasket strategically placed right by her head.
* ~ *
Rogue swallowed the Advil and washed the pills down with a
glass of water Gambit had given her. "So what the hell happened last
night?" she asked.
"We went out t' eat an den t' a party. Not'ing else,"
he supplied.
She remember the dinner vaguely, but not much else. "Why
did ah sleep over here?" she asked, still doubting Remy hadn't done
"anything." Although, it wasn't like her powers allowed him to do
much.
"You didn't want t' get in trouble, chere."
It sounded credible, but Rogue didn't want to believe the
Cajun. "Ah- ah didn't do anythin'... stupid, did ah?" she asked. Please
say ah didn't act like a dork... She didn't even want to think about why she
would even care. Her head hurt too much already.
"Non, chere. Jus' a lil' silliness, but dat's t' be
expected. Ya were drinkin' after all."
"Good," she replied, then sighed. "Ah still don'
know how ah'm gonna explain this t' everyone in the institute..."
"Who says you'll have to?" Gambit asked. "Jus
sneak back in y'r room. It is six in the mornin'. Why do ya t'ink Remy woke ya
up so early?"
Rogue rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the pain the action
caused. "Ah can sneak right int' mah two story window. That'll work."
"It's called climbin', chere," he retorted. "It
ain't dat hard. Or do you jus' want t' stay here wit Gambit?"
The thought wasn't so bad. Jus sittin' here with him makes me
feel... she racked her brain for the word but she couldn't place it. Ah don't
even know how he makes me feel! Just that ah feel like ah've got mah heart in
mah throat and mah stomach in a garden full of butterflies. Ah know ah said ah
wouldn't fall for him, but it's so hard not to!
"Guess dat's a oui den," he teased. Gambit smiled
then added, "Dough you won't hear me complain, 'm sure dat Professor X o'
yours might have somet'ing t' say 'bout it."
"Then ah better go, huh?" Rogue said, and though her
legs felt as if they would never move, she rose from her spot on the bed. "Ah
had a wonderful time... ah think."
He chuckled. "Hopefully, you'll remember last night soon
enough. But ah'll drive ya home. Jus lemme get dressed."
She nodded and walked out of his room, ignoring Pyro's
suggestive leers, Colossus's quizzical glance, and Magneto's raised eyebrow. Admit
it, girl, Rogue told herself as she reached the front porch. You like Remy
LeBeau way too much. She had to get out of there.
* ~ *
"That girl was nice to gander <look> at, eh,
Gambit?" Pyro said, elbowing his teammate with a grin of humungous
proportions. "Have fun last night?"
He rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Don' t'ink it be any of
your business."
"So you don't kiss and tell? Good-on-ya, mate! Though with
those knockers <breasts> I wouldn't keep my mouth shut!"
Remy's eyes flashed red with rage. "Den is Gambit gonna
have t' help you?"
Piotr Rasputin stepped between the Aussie and the Cajun. When
he was in his organic metal form, the boy was a lot more intimidating, but not
any less compassionate. "I believe Remy is right. What went on is none of
our concern. So let's drop it, okay?"
Magneto gave Gambit a "look." "Well, it is my
concern. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, Gambit, especially
with that girl. Rogue is not some little fling. She's our foe, and what's more,
a very dangerous one."
"Heard it before, homme. My love life is my life,
non?"
Blue eyes narrowed into slits. "Yes, but you are my
business. I am not paying that wretched, filthy father of yours for you to run
off and get involved with a girl who is nothing but trouble to this team. I
told you to keep track of Rogue, not sleep with her!"
"Wit her powers, wouldn't it be kinda hard?" Remy
asked with a smirk. "'Sides, Gambit is checkin' up on de fille, ain't I? What's
wrong wit havin' a lil' fun while 'm at it?"
Magneto made fists with his hands. "Fine! But if your
relationship is purely business, than you won't have any problem with paying a
friendly visit to her in the institute? I would like some information on some
of the new mutants, and it seems to be a logical excuse for you to be
there."
He turned on his heel to leave, but Pyro had something to say. "Hey,
mate, while you're at it, can ya hook me up with a pretty girl to keep tabs on?
I don't wanna be cut outta the loop."
The master of magnetism growled and stormed off to the library.
"Why do you always have to anger him?" Colossus asked
exasperatedly. "Now he'll probably take
it out on us later."
John shrugged. "Hey, it ain't my fault a couple of
kangaroos are loose up in the paddock, if ya know what I mean." <He's
calling Magneto mentally deficient>
"Gambit, what do you think?" Piotr asked.
"Gambit?" he repeated.
"Sapristi <I have no clue what this is. I've just heard
it been used in surprise by Gambit in the comics>!" the Cajun cried,
running out to the driveway. "She stole my bike!"
* ~ *
Rogue looked at the gate enclosing the institute with disgust. It
was slammed shut, mocking her. It was times like these where she wished she
could trade powers with a particular mutant (instead of just anyone). She
wished she could be like Nightcrawler and just teleport into her room, instead
of having to deal with the bullshit of sneaking in the hard way.
Any usual entry would be out of the question. If no one noticed
her absence last night, a retina scan, voice recoginition, or any of that other
crap would just alert the adults of her late homecoming. Rogue still hoped that
no one had realized she was gone last night. If they didn't suspect anything,
just waltzing in would obviously give her away.
Skipping class is much easier than this... the goth thought
with amusement. Ah mean what's gonna stop me? A hall monitor? That was cake. Bayville
High doesn't have high-tech security or telepaths. The institute does.
Rogue looked back in the garage where she had stealthily parked
Remy's bike. Maybe if ah never came back thangs would be much more simple. Like
many times before, the young mutant wished she could return to the Bayville
Boarding School, a place that she and fellow mutant thugs called home, or at
least had. Her fellow predicament would have miniscule punishments. After all,
everyone else did worse things.
That's not true. Because ah'm Mystique's daughter, an that
changes everythin'. She doesn't give a hoot about anyone else but me, an would
practically skin me f'r breaking her "special rules." Rogue almost
smiled at her foster mother's strict set of rules that basically ensured her no
life without Mystique knowing about it. The creepy thang is that she still
watched over me like a hound dog, even after ah left.
She obviously couldn't just stand there and gather wool. Some
one might see her. Rogue crept around back so that her balcony was in view. It
would make for a faster break-in.
Climbing up and fence and swinging her legs around the top,
Rogue quietly dropped from the iron gate and landed with a soft
"plop" on the grass. She snuck towards the balcony and realized she
had no way a crawling up, save for a large garbage can a few feet away. She
shrugged and drug it towards her window and climbed atop it. Even on her tiptoes
Rogue couldn't reach the ledge. She jumped as high as she could, but her
fingers only grazed the cold stone.
The landing didn't go so well. Rogue lost her footing and
tumbled backwards despite her efforts to balance herself. Expecting to feel the
hard ground beneath her, she squeezed her eyes shut. To her surprise, she
landed in warm arms.
"Having a little trouble, sister?"
Rogue jumped from her adoptive brother's arms with a shriek. "Oh,
you scared the hell outta me, Kurt!"
He shrugged with a small smile. "Vell, I heard some noise
outside my vindow. Vhen I saw you about to fall off that trash bin, I decided
to come and do some investigating." His smile grew into a grin and her
gave her a thumbs-up sign. "Fuzzy Dude to the rescue!"
She couldn't help but
smile at her goofy brother. "Well then ah guess ah should thank mah
valiant rescuer. Although... he could be even more helpful an teleport me up t'
mah room."
"Right away!" Kurt grabbed her hand and was about to
do as she asked, but something stopped him. He plugged his nose and circled
around Rogue. "God, you reek like beer. Vere you at a bar or something
last night?"
"No," she snapped defensively. "Ah was with a
friend. An it's none of your business."
Nightcrawler laughed. "You vere vith Gambit, veren't
you?" he teased. "Rogue's got a boyfriend! Rogue's got a
boyfriend!"
She lunged at him, but he ported before she could get close. "He
is not mah boyfriend!"
"I'm gonna tell mutter <mother> you vere out all
night with your boyfriend!" he antagonized.
Rogue narrowed her green eyes. "Why the heck would you
tell her anythin'?"
Kurt shrugged. "I already told her that you an one of ze
Acolytes vere getting all lovey-dovey. She vasn't too impressed."
She growled. "Kurt! Ah can't belive ya told that bitch
anythin'! Especially somethin' like that. An since when do you talk t' Mystique
anyway?"
"Since yesterday to be exact," he replied cheerfully.
"She asked how you were doing since you got out of ze hospital. So I told
her you were doing great... vith Gambit..."
"You rat!"
Again, Nightcrawler teleported out of his sister's reach before
she could deck him. "Correction," he called down to her while
lounging on the edge of her balcony. "I am no rat. I am ze Fuzzy
Dude."
"You're a fuzzy rat!" Rogue exclaimed. "But ah
might let ya slide if ya 'port me up t' mah room."
"Is zat a promise?"
She sighed. "Fine. Ah promise."
He climbed down and held Rogue's hand. Within a second they
were standing in Rogue's room.
"Kurt!" Kitty screamed, practically phasing through
her bed. "How many time have I told you to, like, knock before you 'port? I
could've been, like, getting dressed or something!"
"Sorry, Kitty," he said with a blush. He quickly
teleported somewhere else.
"Hey!" Rogue yelled. "Ah wasn't done with
ya!"
Kitty raised an eyebrow. "I haven't even, like, started
with you, girl. Where were you last night? I had to, like, totally lie for you
to Mr. Logan."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him you were over at the Brotherhood for the
night," she said.
"What?!" Rogue retorted. "Kitty that's so lame! He
couldn't have bought it!"
"Well, you, like, have no right to be mad. If you would've
come home last night like you were suppose to I wouldn't have had to, like, lie
for you. And you try lying to, like, Edward Scissorhands! It's not easy to come
up with the best excuse of the century when you're scared for your life!"
"Sorry," she sighed. "What did Logan say?"
"Well, he wanted to go and make sure Mystique hadn't, like,
kidnapped you. So I to, like, tell him you wanted to bound with your mom and
you didn't want any, like, fuss. I said you were, like, all thinking about your
family and stuff."
"That's ridiculous! That's not me at all! Ah don't want
anythin' t' do with Mystique!"
Kitty bit her lip. "Well,
he didn't think so either. So I, like, told him that you were going to visit
Mystique tonight to."
"You what?!" Rogue exclaimed. "No way! Ah'm so
not going over there!"
"Well, you, like, have to. Mr. Logan's even driving you
there. So I suggest you call Mysti and, like, make up with her fast. I mean,
have, like, some big mother-daughter heart to heart."
"Ah'd rather clean the Blackbird."
She laughed nervously. "That's kind of, like, funny. Because
Mr. Logan said if I was lying we'd, like, both have to clean the Blackbird and
do Logan sessions for a month."
Rogue could deal with the punishment, but she didn't want to
drag her roommate into her mess. She collapsed on her bed and groaned. "Fine.
Ah'll do it. Hand me the phone."
Kitty complied. "By the way, where were you last night for
real?"
"Ah was apparently at a very nice restaurant in New York
City, then to a little private party, and then to Gambit's house where ah
crashed," Rogue said nonchalantly.
"Omigosh!" she squealed. "You like slept at
Gambit's house! You didn't do...or did you?!"
"That would be kind of impossible with mah powers,
don'tcha think?"
Kitty lowered her head, obviously hurt by the annoyance in her
friend's voice. "Okay, well, then what did you do?"
"Ah don't remember," Rogue snapped. She dialed the
Boarding House's number. "Look, Kitty, ah really don't want t' talk about
this right now. Sorry if ah'm bein' a bitch, but ah was really drunk an ah
don't really remember anythin' that happened. Besides, ah've gotta phone call
t' make."
She nodded, then muttered, "A simple thank you would,
like, be nice."
Rogue obviously didn't hear. "Ummm... hi Lance. Can ah
talk t' Mystique?"
"Rogue has a boyfriend!" a particular German mutant
yelled in the halls.
The goth narrowed her eyes and paused. "Hold that thought,
Lance. Ah'll call back later. Ah have a certain adoptive brother t' kill."
* ~ *