* ~ *
Normal Friday mornings at Bayville High would've been slow and
boring- if it was just any other day. Only after sixth hour would the chaos
reign. After noon the school day would be coming to an end and would soon open
its arms to the weekend. However, that Friday was no normal day. It was
Valentine's day, and the pandemonium had already started at 7:45 AM.
The whole hall swirled around Rogue in a blur of reds and
pinks. The plain, beige walls of the school had been heavily decorated with
cut-out hearts, cupids, and arrows. Couples exchanged kisses and gifts by the
lockers, while the solo students exchanged kiddy Valentines with their friends.
It was enough to make her sick.
Being the usual rebel, Rogue had ignored the Valentine hype.
Instead of wearing the Old Navy red and rhinestoned, Valentine's day-themed,
six dollar tee shirt everyone in their wrong mind was wearing, she decided to
stick with her usual grunge style. Even Kitty couldn't get her to change her
mind about her dress.
"Don't you want to, like, impress Remy?" Kitty had
asked.
"He's never complained about mah clothin' b'fore. An if he
don't like it, tough. Ah ain't changin' anythin' f'r him."
Rogue shook the memory
away with a smile. She was right. She shouldn't have to change to make Remy
happy. He should like her just the way she was.
As she walked into the bathroom, the age-old insecurities
struck the girl again. She caught her reflection in the mirror as she reapplied
her make-up. Maybe ah shoulda done somethin' different t'day... she thought
with a frown.
She stared at the green shirt she wore. It brought out the
emerald in her eyes. Gambit would like that. Her eyes caught the patches and
pins that cluttered the top. You suck and that's sad, a teary eyed bunny
proclaimed. It was fastened to her right shoulder. Another brilliant mind
ruined by education, another pin said. Rogue smirked. Charmin'...
And the jeans weren't any better. Kitty bought them last
Christmas. The fifty dollar Silvers were another foiled attempt to bring Rogue
back into the trendy world. She wore them because they looked good on her, and
her roommate was surprised and please- only to flip out when Rogue tore the
knees and punctured the denim with various safety pins.
Her face? She looked like she had been resurrected- too pale.
And her make-up just looked like dark rings around her eyes. She wore it
because it was her fashion, her protection.
"Ya look too pretty
t' be coverin' yo' self up wit dat crap."
Maybe he's right...
Rogue experimentally wiped off the purple eye shadow on her
right eye with the back of her hand. She looked beautiful, but exposed. As if
in a trance, she wiped off the make-up on her other eyelid. Then she wiped off
the purple lipstick. She smiled at the finished product: a softer, prettier
Rogue and a completely purple hand.
She laughed softly and washed her hands. He bettah be happy...
Rogue paused. It's pretty obvious t' everyone that ah like the Swamp Rat... she
thought. An ah guess ah am pretty fond o' him, despite mah tryin' t' hide it.
There's somethin' about Remy that just makes me feel... happy.
Happiness wasn't something she'd felt for a long time. Between
fighting evil mutants that wanted to take over the world, fighting nasty humans
who wanted to kill her, going to school, and dealing with wacko powers, Rogue
didn't have much time to feel good. And Gambit filled that void whether she
liked it or not.
But ah still can't trust th' Cajun.
Sure, she had been inside his head, but she still questioned
his relationship with her. Was it all for business or all for kicks? She didn't
even want to consider that Gambit might actually like her. She still couldn't let her guard down. She
had hurt so many people- and been hurt herself- in the past that she didn't
know how to handle the new feelings Gambit raised inside her.
Well, ah guess you'll see t'night, Rogue thought. She cast a
weak smile at her reflection. She slung her book bag around her shoulder and
blew a kiss into the air. "Eat y'r heart out, Remy LeBeau."
* ~ *
"Yo' sure she gon' like her present?" Remy whispered
to Kitty during their first hour Geometry class. "I don' wan' screw dis
up."
"I'm, like, positive," she replied with a smile.
"I know Rogue like the back of my hand. Anyway, we've planned this for,
like, weeks. You can't change anything now."
"Ya got a point dere, chere," he said. "Remy
jus' wan' impress her, non?"
Kitty grinned. "I've seen the way she looks at you. She
even stands up for you. Like what happened with the garage. You've, like,
already impressed her."
"Ya think?"
She giggled. "I, like, know."
Gambit smiled. "Dat makes Remy happy. I really like her,
ya know?"
The girl nodded, and Remy was lost in his own thoughts. Haven't
felt dis way 'bout a fille since Belladonna. Non, he thought. Never even had
dese feelin's fo' Belle. An dat's somet'in' t' say. After all, me an her, we
s'posed t' be married. W gon' bring peace t' de guilds. Least dat's what Papa
an Henri say. Gambit, dough, he know bettah den dat.
Home sickness tugged at his heart with each memory of the home
he used to have. I miss mon famille <my family>... he thought somberly.
Rogue almost made me forget de life I left b'hind. But even if I wanted t' come
back, I couldn't. Now dat de world know 'm a mutant, I could never go an' but
everyone in danger.
Seeing Nicole and Malick nights before had risen some hope. He
though he might see his family, but he knew why Malick and his sister had come
to New York; they were escaping the guild wars that ensnared the LeBeau family.
If they left, the Assassins would kill the remaining thieves and destroy their
home.
"Hey, like, are you listening?" Kitty demanded.
Remy blinked. "Huh? Oh, desole <sorry>, chere, but I
was jus' t'inkin. What did ya say?"
"Oh, like, never mind!" she replied huffily.
Roguey is really startin' t' rub off on de fille, ain't she? he
asked himself, turning his attention over to the assignment Mr. Mohling had
given. Great, now I have two attitudes t' deal wit. At least one o' dem, she
worth de effort!
* ~ *
"I feel so depressed," Tabitha whined as she, Amara,
Jubilee, and Rahne ambled down the halls before their second hour class. She
stopped by her locker to grab her Biology text book. "I mean, no one's given
me a Valentine yet! And what's worse? I don't have a date either!"
Rahne sighed. "Well, me either," she replied shyly.
Amara looked sharply at the girl. "That's not true. Didn't
Jamie give you a Valentine?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't count," she replied, trying
not to blush.
"Well I didn't get one either," Jubilee admitted.
"But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean us mutants aren't that
popular around here, right?"
"Unfortunately," Amara groaned.
The pretty Asian bent down and dug into her locker and Boom
Boom shut hers. "Hey, 'Mara, didn't you say that you got a Valentine from
Roberto?"
She blushed. "Yeah. It was... cute."
"Awwww.... so sweet!" Tabitha teased while making
kissy faces.
"Hey, Jubes, what's that?" Magma asked suddenly.
"Don't change the subject-!" Tabitha stopped and
snatched a card from Jubilee's hand. "Oooh, looks juicy! This from your
secret lover?"
"Hardly," Jubilee retorted. "It's from- well, I
haven't gotten that far!" The teen put her hands on her hips and glared at
Tabitha. "Give that back, Tabby."
"One of those stupid Hallmark cards. What a dork! Oooh,
look there's a note though!" She coughed and continued in a funny voice.
"'Dear Jubilee, I know you probably don't even know who I am but I sit a
row or two across from you in Criminal Justice. Well, you're cute and so I was
wondering if you'd want to be my Valentine? I know this is stupid, but I've
never written something like this before. I'm going bananas so just please say
yes.' It's signed by John Allderyce," she said while scratching her head
at the last part. "Who the hell is John Allderdyce?"
"Obviously he's in my Criminal Justice class. Though I
don't see why he's in there. After all, he's Pyro. You know, the one who almost
set an entire bridge on fire? One of Magneto's yes men?"
Rahne looked at her
friend suspiciously. "It doesn't sound like you're too fond of him."
Jubilee shrugged, shutting her locker and tossing her long,
raven locks behind her shoulder. "I don't want to sound like a bitch, but
he's an Acolyte. I'm an X now, and we both need to stay where we belong, which
is on our teams."
Amara let out a low whistle and tagged after her friend, who
was already ten steps ahead of her and the others. "That was harsh."
"Real harsh," Tabitha agreed. She dropped the card.
"Are you PMSing again?"
Jubilee rolled her eyes and put on her headphones. The Strokes
drowned out Tabitha's voice. "Whatever."
Pyro had seen the whole thing and now watched the card float
slowly to the tile floor. He felt the pain of rejection twist at his heart.
"Guess we all can't charm the X girls into liking us, can
we?"
* ~ *
"Get me my Valentine's present yet, chere?"
Rogue nearly jumped out of her skin. Well, in reality she
jumped about two feet and bumped her head on the top locker's edge. "Oww!
Cajun, you retard! Ya always have t' scare me. Cain't ya like cough or
somethin' t' save me the heartache?"
"An ruin de chance o' surprisin' you? Not a chance! An ya
never answered my question."
Rogue dumped a load of notebooks into the messy contents of her
locker. "Maybe ah do an maybe ah don't," she replied demurely.
"But you won't find out until after school."
"An neither will you," he replied evenly. "Not
even de date."
"Not even where we're goin'?" she asked, surprised.
"Non."
"But-!" she protested. "How am ah gonna find out
what t' wear?"
Remy raised an eyebrow. Maybe Kitty rubbed off on her too.
Jeesh, one day dey're gonna be jus' like twins or somet'in'. "Since when
did 'Miss 'm A Rebel' care 'bout what people t'ought 'bout what she wore?"
"Ah don't," she snapped. "Just thought it might
be helpful. Ah gotta look good 'cause some real gentlemen might be there."
He laughed. "Check yo' backpack, chere."
Rogue gave him a quizzical glance, and did as he told her to.
She peered into the black JanSport anxiously. A red box had been placed inside-
presumably by Gambit. She took it out and untied to silver ribbon fasten on the
outside. Inside the box was black, lacy lingerie and a note that read: Thanks
for the suggestion.
"Ah cain't b'lieve you actually did that-!" she began
while turned beet red, but when she turned to give Remy her famous "death
glare," he was gone.
Stupid Cajun, she thought, shoving the skimpy clothing back
into the box. Even so, she couldn't help but smile. Soon, that smile turned
into laughter that echoed down the hallways. Lingerie... ah mean, really!
* ~ *
"Piotr, why don't you sit next to Katherine today? Chris
was ill, and he'll need a seat up front so I can explain things to him,"
Mrs. Schultz, Bayville's middle-aged art teacher, said.
He rose from his seat and moved to the back row, taking a seat
beside Kitty.
"Uh, hi," she said nervously.
"Hey," he said quietly, pulling out his sketch book.
"What's that?" Kitty inquired.
He showed her some sketches he had drawn of anything from a
vase to the trees outside the classroom. "Just some doodles I make."
"Wow, they're, like, so great! No wonder why you have an A
in this class," Kitty said with a smile. Her smile faded. "Man, I
have a B-. I've never gotten a B- in my life! I haven't even gotten an A-.
Well, except for PE. I just, like, don't get art at all!"
"There isn't much to get," Piotr said honestly.
"But you're such a smart girl. Maybe you're just focusing on getting
things perfect and not expressing how you feel."
Kitty pointed to the painting she was working on. It was a
portrait of a forest wilderness. "Well, I don't feel anything. It's, like,
just trees."
"The object is to have a mood or a theme in your
painting," he said.
Piotr was pretty impressed about how easily he could
communicate with Kitty. Even when he was talking about his one true love,
painting, he could never express himself verbally. That's probably why he was
so good at communicating things in his paintings. Kitty was a natural born
talker; he could tell. Some how, though, the two of them just seemed to click.