Categories > Cartoons > X-Men: Evolution > A Rogue's Journey
Chapter 4
Monday morning was bright and cheery. Rouge hated it. The alarm in the girl's room buzzed at 7am so that there was enough time to get ready. Wanda beat Rouge to the shower, further souring Rouge's mood. So instead of waiting around for a half an hour, Rouge walked down to the dining room to grab some breakfast.
Rouge too tired to realize that she was wearing only a pair of very small shorts and a sports bra, walked into the noisy room and approached the table. She took a seat and grabbed the coffee pot just as Scott's hand reached out for it. She ignored his protestations and poured herself a cup. She added milk and sugar and sipped the beverage gratefully. She sighed as the comforting warm and the awakening caffeine ran through her veins. She picked up a bagel from the tray in front of her and spread it lovingly with cream cheese. She drained the last few drops of her coffee from the cup and stood up intending to go claim the shower when Remy walked in and raised an eyebrow when he saw her.
"Ya tryin ta giv Remy a heart attack dis early in da mornin chere?" Remy grinned and winked at her.
"Put yer eahe's (eyes) back in there sockets Swamp Rat." Rouge snapped before brushing past him and proceeding to her room.
By the time the students were all ready to leave, they had approximately ten minutes to get to a school that was fifteen minutes away. Rouge, Wanda, Remy and Scott took Scott's car, while Jean, Evan, Kitty, Kurt all climb into Jean's SUV.
The bell must have been late because all the mutants made it to their homeroom classes in time. Rouge and Wanda sat in the back corner of the room while a tall blonde woman with a too tight shirt and a too short skirt explained to the juniors before her about the school rules, schedules and their lockers. All the while Wanda and Rouge completely ignored her, each engrossed in there own activity, Rouge reading and Wanda doodling on a scarp of paper she had found on her desk.
The day went by slow and tediously. Rouge, Remy, Wanda, Kitty and Kurt were all in the same lunch, there being two of them. They all sat at the same table and all conversed about the evilness of the students, teachers and lunchroom food. After lunch, Remy followed Rouge and Wanda into gym and they were all sorted into the same class, much to the dismay of Rouge and the pleasure of Remy. Wanda didn't really care.
The last bell rang allowing the students to rush the hallways and exit into the warm fall air. Wanda and Rouge stopped by their lockers to stash away their many books before heading to the parking lot and catching a ride with the rest.
The students got home and the quiet mansion was once again full of noise. But as the mob entered the rec room they were stunned to see a two new mutants sitting and watching tv. One had fiery orange hair and the other was tall and built.
"John, Piotr wha' ya doin' 'ere?" he asked, slapping hands with his old buddies.
"We have come to stay for a few weeks, my old friend. Our house must be rebuilt." Piotr shot a frustrated look at John.
"De firean' finally burn I' down did 'e?" Remy joked.
John simply grinned; Remy rolled his eyes and sighed.
In the doorway a cough was heard and Remy looked at the group of kids behind him. He beckoned them into the room.
"Dese are me ol' buddies. John controls de fire and Piotr 'ere can turn t' steel."
The crowd still looked apprehensive, well all but Rouge and Wanda. The many students of stone standing in front of them blocked their way into the room. It was only until the statues turned to wood after Remy's introduction, were the two girls able to push past and claim a couch for themselves. Remy watched as Johns head snapped around to watch the progress of the two girls, his eyes never leaving the backside of Wanda. As the two girls turned to sit Wanda zapped a nearby potted plant that flew at John who narrowly ducked it.
"Keep your eyes to yourself, ya perv," Wanda directed towards him as Rouge smirked at the inconvenience of the boy, now on the floor.
Remy introduced the girls as "Wanda, de scarlet witch and Rouge, m' girlfriend" that brought a "In yer dreams Swamp Rat" from Rouge.
"Oi. Yer so much more den dat ma Chere," Remy said with a wink, his voice husky.
Rouge glared at him then continued her conversation with Wanda about the indecency of teenage boys. The two soon tired of the noise of the teenage filled Rec Room and decided to retire to their room to work on homework and stew in the despair that is the world, living up to the stereotype that was given to them by society. But just as they exited the doorway, a book that Kitty had been reading seconds before came in painful contact with the back of Johns head.
"Oy I wasn't doing nothing," he shouted at Wanda's retreating form.
"Just making sure," She yelled over her shoulder as the two girls mounted the stairs.
Months went by and school progressed as the two girls thought it would. They were regarded as the girls to be scared of. They were nightmares for their teachers but surprisingly good students. They always did their homework and did well on their tests. They were just nightmares in the class themselves. They never paid attention and were always talking to each other. When the teachers tried separating them by putting them on opposite sides of the room, paper ball notes or airplanes were thrown when the teacher's backs were turned. They teamed up when confronting a problem. The teachers were less then mediocre and the girls knew it. They exploited it, making the teachers look like incompetent asses.
A shout of "Why do teachers give so much damn homework!" was heard through the door that lead into Rouge and Wanda's bedroom one Friday afternoon. For answer "Your teachers apparently," was heard as the door opened to the room.
Wanda shut it forcibly with a hex bolt as the two figures in the door were pushed back out into the hallway.
"No knock, No entrance."
A knock was heard on the door before it opened again. Wanda hexed it shut again, increasing the scorch mark on the wooden door.
"We didn' say ya could come in." Rouge said from behind her Algebra II book.
A second knock was heard but neither girl made any move to allow the intruders access into the secret world that was the room of resident Goths. Minutes past and the knock came again. Then another, and another. Finally the two girls were fed up with the noise and grinned at each other as they said in sugary sweet voices.
"Come in,"
The door opened to reveal the forms of John and Remy both smiling and examining the room.
"Welcome to our room, now get out we have work to do," Wanda said.
"Ya been workin' f' an hour. We're 'ere ta give ya some res',"
The two girls rolled their eyes and closed their books. Wanda's was history, her worst subject so she was happy to close it. The two boys dropped onto a bed each. John on Wanda's and Remy on Rouge's.
Rouge who was on her bed too, tried to push the trespasser off her bed but gave up after a few seconds. She was too tired from waking up so early and was sitting in the wrong position to accomplish the feat. Wanda didn't even try to move John; she was sitting at the desk anyway.
"So how do you plan on entertaining us exactly?" Wanda asked, eyeing the boys suspiciously.
They shrugged their shoulders. They hadn't come with a plan, just to hang out. They were bored. John eyed the tv/dvd combo the two girls had in the room.
"What dvd's ya got?" John asked.
Wanda pointed to two small racks on the top of her and Rouge's dressers. John squinted at them; they were too far away to see from where he was. He groaned.
"Oy can't see, Rem you look,"
"Nah, Remy too comfy," Remy replied muffled by a pillow he had managed to snatch and snuggled deeper into it. Rouge rolled her eyes and got off the bed, taking her pillow with her. As she passed Remy she hit him on the head with it. He grunted and looked blurry eyed at her. She simply grinned and threw the pillow back to where she was sitting just before. She pulled a movie from her rack and popped it in the dvd player and climbed back into her bed.
Then next two hours were spent laughing and hanging out. Eventually the dinner bell was rung and the four piled out of the room and headed down to the dining room. Tonight was burgers and salad with the exception of Kitty who had a veggie burger.
As the meal ended Logan walked in.
"You guys got a training session so suit up and be down to the danger room in ten," he grunted to the students. There was a collective groan from them as they all stood up and put their dishes in the economy-sized dishwasher. The group headed to the elevator and all proceeded into their respective locker rooms and lockers. Remy and John, who decided to join their practice session saying he needed exercise, tried to join the girls in their locker room. But needless to say they didn't succeed. Rouge and Wanda made sure of that. Rouge grabbed Remy by the front of the shirt and throwing him out of the room physically. John ran out of the room of his own freewill but was clutching his bottom having just had a hexbolt strike it.
The team was assembled in the large room minutes later all in their uniforms prepared for the torture Logan was about to dish out. When the last member entered the room, the surroundings immediately began to morph into a large dense forest. Logan's voice echoed through the forest.
"This is very simple. I'm not sure why Chuck wants you to do this but you're going to play a simple game of hide and seek. Shade's you're it. You're to count to 100 and the rest of you are to hide. This is an exercise in concealment so make it count. If anyone is found within ten minutes then you start over, got it? Begin," and the intercom buzzed off.
Everyone looked skeptically at each other but Scott sighed resignedly and leaned up against a tree, closed his eyes and began counting. The rest of the Xmen blinked then scattered each seeking a suitable to hide and not be spotted.
Rouge looked around and spotted a large oak tree with plenty of foliage to hide in. She quietly ran over and scrambled none too gracefully onto its lower branches. A whispered chuckled from above caused her to start and loose her balance but a glove hand shot down and steadied her.
"Thanks Swamp Rat," Rouge mumbled.
"Remy's pleasure, ma Chere." Rouge glared at the Cajun above her.
Rouge simply rolled her eyes and continued to climb upward trying to conceal herself. She sat quietly glaring at the ground, silently praying that Scott didn't walk under her and look up. Logan would never forgive her if she was the first caught.
Wanda and John had sprinted off together in the same direction and soon came to a small cave whose entrance was concealed par tally by rather pointy bush. After fighting the bush the two clambered into the opening, which was smaller then the two had surmised. They were practically on top of each other...not that either of them minded.
Jean, being the red headed blonde, ducked down behind a bush a few yards away from where Scott was counting and hoped silently that she was invisible.
Kitty found a bramble bush that was partly empty in the middle so she phased herself into through the bush then phased partially into the ground so that she was able to successfully hide herself.
Piotr being the large boy that he was too found a cave larger then the one that Wanda and John had found and covered it's mouth with a large rock that he had spotted. He sat in the darkness and let his mind wander, but for some reason a certain brunette kept popping up in his thoughts.
Kurt had it easy, he simply teleported to the top of pine tree and hung upside-down by his tail.
Evan found a large lilac bush and hid inside it, seeing as it was massive.
Scott finished counting and opened his eyes, he instantly spotted Jean and Evan but not really wanting to redo the session decided to look around and ignore their presence. He walked close to a large oak tree and heard a whispered argument going on. He recognized the accents and decided to avoid the spot for the time being. He then walked by a cave that was partially covered by a bush and was positive he heard muffled laughter reverberating out of it. He walked past, not looking in or acknowledging that he even suspected people concealed in it.
Several minutes later, having walked through the forest extensively, he walked up to the lilac bush and shot a short low voltage blast at it. A cry was heard from within it and out stumbled Evan nursing a burnt forearm.
"Dude! Did you have to shot me?" Evan cried indignantly. The rest of the forest remained quiet and once again Logan's voice echoed through the forest.
"If you've been caught you can go to the locker rooms and change." Before logging off the intercom fully the students heard him grumbling about the session being wimpy and not violent in the least.
Evan stalked off into the clearing and disappeared as he left the program and entered the locker room to take a shower and nurse his poor arm.
Scott next walked behind Jean quietly and grabbed her around the waist. Jean shrieked and whipped around. She came face to face with her beau and smiled.
"Im out aren't I?" she asked perkily. Scott nodded and Jean pouted. Scott kissed her quickly and let go of her waist. Jean smiled and skipped off to the locker room to change.
Scott didn't even have to look to find Remy. As soon Jean had disappeared and Scott had torn his eyes away from where she had been, he heard a loud thump and looked over to see Remy sprawled on the ground under the tree and heard him shout, "Now dat wasn' very nice chere" and a return shout of "Ah ain't yer chere!" was heard in a distinct Mississippi accent.
Scott rolled his eyes and walked over to where Remy was now sitting up. He tapped Remy with his foot and said cheekily, "Your out Gambit." Remy picked himself up and brushed the nonexistent dust off his backside and sauntered off. Scott looked up and was met by a scowl and a glare from Rouge.
"Ah'm the only one allowed ta be mean ta him," she spat as she jumped from the tree and landed gracefully and stalked off to the changing room.
John and Wanda are found next only because obvious peels of laughter rang through the forest, leading Scott to their location. He again sent an optic blast into the cave, driving its occupants out of hiding. John laughed maniacally and Wanda scowled, she punched him hard in the arm as she passed.
Scott spent the next half an hour looking for Piotr, Kurt and Kitty but had no luck in finding them. Eventually Logan boomed through the wood, "Session over. Good job Half-pint, Elf and Colossus." Logan had come up with a name for Piotr yet.
So everyone that was left exited the Danger Room as the program shut down and all changed out of their uniforms.
Rouge, Remy, Wanda and John all once again congregated in the girls room, and hung out before they all seemed to doze off. Wanda and John lying normally on Wanda's bed while Remy lay on his back at the foot of Rouge's bed with Rouge's stocking feet on his chest. It had taken several hard kicks from Rouge to convince him that tickling them was not a smart idea.
The group was awoken next morning by the alarm on Rouge's alarm clock. She was a very heavy sleeper and could sleep through almost anything...keyword almost. Rouge, Wanda, Remy and John's eyes shot open as the sound of Hilary Duff's voice blared through the air. Rouge's arm shot towards the bedside table and forcibly knocked the offending appliance onto the floor thus turning it off. All present sighed in relief. Rouge blinked and her stomach growled, but not only hers, three others growled too causing a comical noise. The group laughed.
"Ah'm hungry,"
"Remy too chere,"
"Lets go eat,"
"But Ah don't wanna move. Ah'm comfy."
Remy attached himself to Rouge's lap and said before she could respond.
"So is Remy,"
Rouge glared at him and shoved him off her. She stood up and glanced at herself in the mirror.
"Ugh! Ah look lahke crap."
"Non chere, you look belle."
"Oh shut up Cajun!" said Rouge, turning away from him to hide the blush that quickly darkened her cheeks.
'What am ah doin? Stop...Ah shouldn' be blushin. He's just a dumb swamp rat!' she internally chastised herself.
The voices in her head began to stir again.
"What is he blind? You're not beautiful you're an ugly mutated hag!" Cory shouted.
The others agreed with him.
"Shut up!" she yelled at them, but it didn't work, not only did they only shout louder but now her friends were looking worriedly at her.
"Shut up...it's not true." She yelled again. They continued to berate her, flinging names and insults at her. Tears began to form in her eyes and her voice was starting to grow hoarse as she yelled loudly at the voices. Her friends simply looked at each other not really sure what was going on. Finally Wanda stood up and cautiously approached the troubled teen.
"Rouge?" she asked placing her hand carefully on Rouge's shoulder. Rouge no longer being able to hold back her tears turned into her best friends chest and sobbed. She felt so helpless, the hostile voices still yelling at her and her hopelessness getting the better of her. Wanda wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her, whispering words of encouragement and comfort to her friend.
After a few minutes the voices began to laugh at her, thrilled that they had been able to get past her guard and hurt her. Rouge grew angry; she didn't like being laughed at. Especially by random voices. She gathered up her rage and screamed. The screamed seem to deafen the voices, shock them enough so Rouge had time to once again rebuild her wall.
Rouge's breathing evened out and she picked her head up and looked around. She glared at the boys who looked at her pityingly.
"Out," she directed towards them.
The boys looked at her and each other. Wanda nodded her head; Remy and John sighed and stood up. As Remy passed Rouge he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Rouge had to use all her will not to burst into tears again. As the door closed quietly Rouge took a step back and walked into the bathroom, leaving Wanda looking worried.
"Hey Rouge...you okay?"
Rouge stuck her head out of room and opened her mouth, intending on telling her something but thought better of it and closed her mouth. She simply nodded instead before pulling her head back.
The day passed by while Rouge had herself hold up in the library listening to Killswitch Engage and reading the latest Anne Rice novel. She had locked the door started a fire in the fireplace. She was doing all she could to ignore the jealousy and depression that was growing in her heart. While in the bathroom earlier she had finally admitted to herself that she had feelings for Remy. It had only taken her three months.
It was around seven when Rouge's stronghold was finally penetrated, thanks to everyone's favorite master thief. Rouge's heart leapt when he sauntered in but her scowl stayed in place.
"There was a reason the door was locked Swamp Rat."
"Remy knows," Remy answered smugly. He shoved Rogue's feet off the couch and stole their spot.
"What do you want Cajun?" Rogue sighed.
"Well Remy has manage' t' convince Bald' t' let us go t' da club t'night seein' as 'ow it's Saturday an' all. An' Remy wan'ed t' know if ya was intreste'."
"No thanks," was the answer.
"Aw but Remy wan's ya t' come. Get ya mind off w'atever's wrong."
"Theres nothin wrong Swamp Rat,"
"Course dere is chere. Wh' else would ya be sad?"
"Will ya leave meh alone if Ah say yes?"
"But o' course m' belle chere,"
Rouge rolled her eyes, "Fahne Ah'll go...now leave."
Remy winked at her and said, "If dat's what ya really wan'..."
Rogue glared at him. He stood up and walked to the door.
"Ya know m' ears are always open righ'?"
"Yea Ah know,"
Rogue finished the chapter she was reading, turned off her cd player and turned off the gas to the fireplace. She walked out of the room and down the hall to her and Wanda's room. Wanda was already there changing and Rogue changes also.
About a half an hour later the pair descended the stairs and accompanied the waiting boys into the garage. Inside were two motorcycles, one bright red with orange flames and the other black with cherry red spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
"When did we get these?"
"I've had mine since before I came and Remy just got his like last week or something. Payment for a job he did, right?"
Remy nodded.
Rogue and Remy climbed onto Remy's bike while Wanda and John mounted John's, and they were off. It took the group around twenty minutes to reach the club they were searching for. A bright black light sign spelled out the words Nightstar, and a large line had formed at the door. Rogue groaned. She had not dressed to be waiting in November weather. Remy threw his arm around her shoulders and said,
"Fear not m' chere."
Rogue glowered at the arm and aggressively shook it off.
Remy walked up to the bouncer, a larger man pretty much busting at the seams because he was so ripped. Remy handed the man several one hundred bills and miraculously the man opened rope allowing them access.
"What no carding?" Rogue asked.
"No' when yer wid me. Jus try no' ta get too trashed alright?" Remy joked looking at the lot of them.
The four spotted a table in the back and claimed it as their own by sitting around it. Rogue looked at the dance floor and immediately knew coming here had been a bad idea. Everywhere she looked there were people dancing closely, touching, happy couples getting wasted and making out in booths. Rogue was so jealous she wanted to hit something but she restrained herself.
"Ah need a drink," Rogue stated sighing slightly.
"Remy'll come wit ya,"
"Fahne, Whatevah"
Rouge and Remy approached the bar and found a spot to squeeze in and place their orders. The bar tender made them quickly and took the money that the two presented. Rogue downed half her rum and coke in one shot after having noticed Remy beginning to flirt with a scantily clad little blonde girl next to him. Rogue went back to the table to find it deserted. She whiled away the next several hours rejecting dance offerings and getting more and more buzzed until she was finally full-blown drunk.
Rogue spotted Remy dancing amongst a ring of pretty girls and she grew jealous, but the alcohol she had consumed stopped her normal inhibitions. She walked onto the floor, pushing the girls out of her way. She flung her arms around Remy who turned around startled and came face to face with a slack-faced, slightly queasy, very dangerous Rogue. Her words were so slurred and the music so loud that he couldn't understand her. Worried, he took her off the dance floor and led her back to the table.
Rogue's eyes became unfocused and she grabbed her head as the room began to spin. Remy squatted in front of her and tried to get her attention but she didn't notice. Just then Wanda and John appeared, having seen Remy leading Rogue off the floor.
"What's wrong?" Wanda asked.
"I tink she be wasted," Remy shouted so she could hear. "I tink I better brin' 'er back to da mansion."
Wanda nodded, as did John.
"Me and Wanda'll bring the bikes home, you grab a cab. I don't think she can ride."
"Why yall talkin abou me lahke ah aint here?" Rogue said drunkenly.
"Remy's gonna take you home Rogue. Your drunk."
"Ah ain't drunk, just...just..." Rogue grabbed her head again as the room began to spin once more.
"Dat's it, up y' get" Remy said as he lifted the drunk girl to her feet. He let go and she swayed and would have fallen if Remy hadn't steadied her. The four walked to the door and when on the concrete sidewalk hailed a cab. One stopped for them, Remy helped Rogue in before getting in himself.
Rouge sat with her back up against the seat until Remy joined her then she let her head fall onto his shoulder, he didn't seem to mind. She mumbled and dozed off before jerking her head and waking herself back up.
It was a little after two in the morning when the taxi pulled up to the gate of the mansion. Remy removed Rouge's head from his shoulder, waking her, to climb out of the car and punch in the code, praying that no one was awake, and climbed back in. The gates opened and the taxi pulled up in front of the building and sat idle as its occupants disembarked and was paid, before driving off to go service another drunken couple back in the city.
It wasn't until they were outside the front door that Rouge finally passed out; Remy barely caught her seeing as he was currently unlocking the door. But he scooped her up bridal in his arms and gently pushed the door open with his foot.
'Nex' time dis 'appens Remy hope da fille be awake.' Remy thought as her crossed over the threshold.
They were lucky; no one appeared to be up. The foyer was empty and no one walked out of any of the rooms as he passed through the entrance hall and up the stairs. Remy made it to Rouges room and shifted his parcel slightly and opened the door. He walked into the pigsty that is the girl's room and walked over to the bed that he knew to be designated to the unconscious girl in his arms. He gently placed her on the bed and pulled her sheets over her before tucking them in around her. He fluffed and rearranged her pillows lovingly. It was then that a black book fell off the bed and landed open at his feet. He bent down to pick it up and put it back but his name on the page screamed to him. He examined the page and found it to be a diary entry, Rouge's diary, and from the time stamp she had left, it was from earlier that morning just after the incident in her room. From outside the room he could here someone approaching, and knowing that being caught in the situation was not a smart idea, he dashed to the french doors and out onto the balcony. He grabbed a hold of the edge of the roof and swung himself up onto it before dashing a few yards, jumping and landing lightly on his own balcony and into his room. He didn't realize until he was back in his room that he had unconsciously taken the diary with him.
'Must be the thief inside me,' he mused, he scrutinized the battered black book, 'To look or not to look,' he asked himself. He tossed the book onto his black and red coved bed before jumping onto it also. It must have been by sheer chance that the book landed open.
AN: Ah the beautiful end to another glorious chapter...what will our conflicted friend do...as it says...To read or not to read?...Well you'll just have to tune in for the next installment to our story. TTYPL...
-Fatalbluesweetie
Monday morning was bright and cheery. Rouge hated it. The alarm in the girl's room buzzed at 7am so that there was enough time to get ready. Wanda beat Rouge to the shower, further souring Rouge's mood. So instead of waiting around for a half an hour, Rouge walked down to the dining room to grab some breakfast.
Rouge too tired to realize that she was wearing only a pair of very small shorts and a sports bra, walked into the noisy room and approached the table. She took a seat and grabbed the coffee pot just as Scott's hand reached out for it. She ignored his protestations and poured herself a cup. She added milk and sugar and sipped the beverage gratefully. She sighed as the comforting warm and the awakening caffeine ran through her veins. She picked up a bagel from the tray in front of her and spread it lovingly with cream cheese. She drained the last few drops of her coffee from the cup and stood up intending to go claim the shower when Remy walked in and raised an eyebrow when he saw her.
"Ya tryin ta giv Remy a heart attack dis early in da mornin chere?" Remy grinned and winked at her.
"Put yer eahe's (eyes) back in there sockets Swamp Rat." Rouge snapped before brushing past him and proceeding to her room.
By the time the students were all ready to leave, they had approximately ten minutes to get to a school that was fifteen minutes away. Rouge, Wanda, Remy and Scott took Scott's car, while Jean, Evan, Kitty, Kurt all climb into Jean's SUV.
The bell must have been late because all the mutants made it to their homeroom classes in time. Rouge and Wanda sat in the back corner of the room while a tall blonde woman with a too tight shirt and a too short skirt explained to the juniors before her about the school rules, schedules and their lockers. All the while Wanda and Rouge completely ignored her, each engrossed in there own activity, Rouge reading and Wanda doodling on a scarp of paper she had found on her desk.
The day went by slow and tediously. Rouge, Remy, Wanda, Kitty and Kurt were all in the same lunch, there being two of them. They all sat at the same table and all conversed about the evilness of the students, teachers and lunchroom food. After lunch, Remy followed Rouge and Wanda into gym and they were all sorted into the same class, much to the dismay of Rouge and the pleasure of Remy. Wanda didn't really care.
The last bell rang allowing the students to rush the hallways and exit into the warm fall air. Wanda and Rouge stopped by their lockers to stash away their many books before heading to the parking lot and catching a ride with the rest.
The students got home and the quiet mansion was once again full of noise. But as the mob entered the rec room they were stunned to see a two new mutants sitting and watching tv. One had fiery orange hair and the other was tall and built.
"John, Piotr wha' ya doin' 'ere?" he asked, slapping hands with his old buddies.
"We have come to stay for a few weeks, my old friend. Our house must be rebuilt." Piotr shot a frustrated look at John.
"De firean' finally burn I' down did 'e?" Remy joked.
John simply grinned; Remy rolled his eyes and sighed.
In the doorway a cough was heard and Remy looked at the group of kids behind him. He beckoned them into the room.
"Dese are me ol' buddies. John controls de fire and Piotr 'ere can turn t' steel."
The crowd still looked apprehensive, well all but Rouge and Wanda. The many students of stone standing in front of them blocked their way into the room. It was only until the statues turned to wood after Remy's introduction, were the two girls able to push past and claim a couch for themselves. Remy watched as Johns head snapped around to watch the progress of the two girls, his eyes never leaving the backside of Wanda. As the two girls turned to sit Wanda zapped a nearby potted plant that flew at John who narrowly ducked it.
"Keep your eyes to yourself, ya perv," Wanda directed towards him as Rouge smirked at the inconvenience of the boy, now on the floor.
Remy introduced the girls as "Wanda, de scarlet witch and Rouge, m' girlfriend" that brought a "In yer dreams Swamp Rat" from Rouge.
"Oi. Yer so much more den dat ma Chere," Remy said with a wink, his voice husky.
Rouge glared at him then continued her conversation with Wanda about the indecency of teenage boys. The two soon tired of the noise of the teenage filled Rec Room and decided to retire to their room to work on homework and stew in the despair that is the world, living up to the stereotype that was given to them by society. But just as they exited the doorway, a book that Kitty had been reading seconds before came in painful contact with the back of Johns head.
"Oy I wasn't doing nothing," he shouted at Wanda's retreating form.
"Just making sure," She yelled over her shoulder as the two girls mounted the stairs.
Months went by and school progressed as the two girls thought it would. They were regarded as the girls to be scared of. They were nightmares for their teachers but surprisingly good students. They always did their homework and did well on their tests. They were just nightmares in the class themselves. They never paid attention and were always talking to each other. When the teachers tried separating them by putting them on opposite sides of the room, paper ball notes or airplanes were thrown when the teacher's backs were turned. They teamed up when confronting a problem. The teachers were less then mediocre and the girls knew it. They exploited it, making the teachers look like incompetent asses.
A shout of "Why do teachers give so much damn homework!" was heard through the door that lead into Rouge and Wanda's bedroom one Friday afternoon. For answer "Your teachers apparently," was heard as the door opened to the room.
Wanda shut it forcibly with a hex bolt as the two figures in the door were pushed back out into the hallway.
"No knock, No entrance."
A knock was heard on the door before it opened again. Wanda hexed it shut again, increasing the scorch mark on the wooden door.
"We didn' say ya could come in." Rouge said from behind her Algebra II book.
A second knock was heard but neither girl made any move to allow the intruders access into the secret world that was the room of resident Goths. Minutes past and the knock came again. Then another, and another. Finally the two girls were fed up with the noise and grinned at each other as they said in sugary sweet voices.
"Come in,"
The door opened to reveal the forms of John and Remy both smiling and examining the room.
"Welcome to our room, now get out we have work to do," Wanda said.
"Ya been workin' f' an hour. We're 'ere ta give ya some res',"
The two girls rolled their eyes and closed their books. Wanda's was history, her worst subject so she was happy to close it. The two boys dropped onto a bed each. John on Wanda's and Remy on Rouge's.
Rouge who was on her bed too, tried to push the trespasser off her bed but gave up after a few seconds. She was too tired from waking up so early and was sitting in the wrong position to accomplish the feat. Wanda didn't even try to move John; she was sitting at the desk anyway.
"So how do you plan on entertaining us exactly?" Wanda asked, eyeing the boys suspiciously.
They shrugged their shoulders. They hadn't come with a plan, just to hang out. They were bored. John eyed the tv/dvd combo the two girls had in the room.
"What dvd's ya got?" John asked.
Wanda pointed to two small racks on the top of her and Rouge's dressers. John squinted at them; they were too far away to see from where he was. He groaned.
"Oy can't see, Rem you look,"
"Nah, Remy too comfy," Remy replied muffled by a pillow he had managed to snatch and snuggled deeper into it. Rouge rolled her eyes and got off the bed, taking her pillow with her. As she passed Remy she hit him on the head with it. He grunted and looked blurry eyed at her. She simply grinned and threw the pillow back to where she was sitting just before. She pulled a movie from her rack and popped it in the dvd player and climbed back into her bed.
Then next two hours were spent laughing and hanging out. Eventually the dinner bell was rung and the four piled out of the room and headed down to the dining room. Tonight was burgers and salad with the exception of Kitty who had a veggie burger.
As the meal ended Logan walked in.
"You guys got a training session so suit up and be down to the danger room in ten," he grunted to the students. There was a collective groan from them as they all stood up and put their dishes in the economy-sized dishwasher. The group headed to the elevator and all proceeded into their respective locker rooms and lockers. Remy and John, who decided to join their practice session saying he needed exercise, tried to join the girls in their locker room. But needless to say they didn't succeed. Rouge and Wanda made sure of that. Rouge grabbed Remy by the front of the shirt and throwing him out of the room physically. John ran out of the room of his own freewill but was clutching his bottom having just had a hexbolt strike it.
The team was assembled in the large room minutes later all in their uniforms prepared for the torture Logan was about to dish out. When the last member entered the room, the surroundings immediately began to morph into a large dense forest. Logan's voice echoed through the forest.
"This is very simple. I'm not sure why Chuck wants you to do this but you're going to play a simple game of hide and seek. Shade's you're it. You're to count to 100 and the rest of you are to hide. This is an exercise in concealment so make it count. If anyone is found within ten minutes then you start over, got it? Begin," and the intercom buzzed off.
Everyone looked skeptically at each other but Scott sighed resignedly and leaned up against a tree, closed his eyes and began counting. The rest of the Xmen blinked then scattered each seeking a suitable to hide and not be spotted.
Rouge looked around and spotted a large oak tree with plenty of foliage to hide in. She quietly ran over and scrambled none too gracefully onto its lower branches. A whispered chuckled from above caused her to start and loose her balance but a glove hand shot down and steadied her.
"Thanks Swamp Rat," Rouge mumbled.
"Remy's pleasure, ma Chere." Rouge glared at the Cajun above her.
Rouge simply rolled her eyes and continued to climb upward trying to conceal herself. She sat quietly glaring at the ground, silently praying that Scott didn't walk under her and look up. Logan would never forgive her if she was the first caught.
Wanda and John had sprinted off together in the same direction and soon came to a small cave whose entrance was concealed par tally by rather pointy bush. After fighting the bush the two clambered into the opening, which was smaller then the two had surmised. They were practically on top of each other...not that either of them minded.
Jean, being the red headed blonde, ducked down behind a bush a few yards away from where Scott was counting and hoped silently that she was invisible.
Kitty found a bramble bush that was partly empty in the middle so she phased herself into through the bush then phased partially into the ground so that she was able to successfully hide herself.
Piotr being the large boy that he was too found a cave larger then the one that Wanda and John had found and covered it's mouth with a large rock that he had spotted. He sat in the darkness and let his mind wander, but for some reason a certain brunette kept popping up in his thoughts.
Kurt had it easy, he simply teleported to the top of pine tree and hung upside-down by his tail.
Evan found a large lilac bush and hid inside it, seeing as it was massive.
Scott finished counting and opened his eyes, he instantly spotted Jean and Evan but not really wanting to redo the session decided to look around and ignore their presence. He walked close to a large oak tree and heard a whispered argument going on. He recognized the accents and decided to avoid the spot for the time being. He then walked by a cave that was partially covered by a bush and was positive he heard muffled laughter reverberating out of it. He walked past, not looking in or acknowledging that he even suspected people concealed in it.
Several minutes later, having walked through the forest extensively, he walked up to the lilac bush and shot a short low voltage blast at it. A cry was heard from within it and out stumbled Evan nursing a burnt forearm.
"Dude! Did you have to shot me?" Evan cried indignantly. The rest of the forest remained quiet and once again Logan's voice echoed through the forest.
"If you've been caught you can go to the locker rooms and change." Before logging off the intercom fully the students heard him grumbling about the session being wimpy and not violent in the least.
Evan stalked off into the clearing and disappeared as he left the program and entered the locker room to take a shower and nurse his poor arm.
Scott next walked behind Jean quietly and grabbed her around the waist. Jean shrieked and whipped around. She came face to face with her beau and smiled.
"Im out aren't I?" she asked perkily. Scott nodded and Jean pouted. Scott kissed her quickly and let go of her waist. Jean smiled and skipped off to the locker room to change.
Scott didn't even have to look to find Remy. As soon Jean had disappeared and Scott had torn his eyes away from where she had been, he heard a loud thump and looked over to see Remy sprawled on the ground under the tree and heard him shout, "Now dat wasn' very nice chere" and a return shout of "Ah ain't yer chere!" was heard in a distinct Mississippi accent.
Scott rolled his eyes and walked over to where Remy was now sitting up. He tapped Remy with his foot and said cheekily, "Your out Gambit." Remy picked himself up and brushed the nonexistent dust off his backside and sauntered off. Scott looked up and was met by a scowl and a glare from Rouge.
"Ah'm the only one allowed ta be mean ta him," she spat as she jumped from the tree and landed gracefully and stalked off to the changing room.
John and Wanda are found next only because obvious peels of laughter rang through the forest, leading Scott to their location. He again sent an optic blast into the cave, driving its occupants out of hiding. John laughed maniacally and Wanda scowled, she punched him hard in the arm as she passed.
Scott spent the next half an hour looking for Piotr, Kurt and Kitty but had no luck in finding them. Eventually Logan boomed through the wood, "Session over. Good job Half-pint, Elf and Colossus." Logan had come up with a name for Piotr yet.
So everyone that was left exited the Danger Room as the program shut down and all changed out of their uniforms.
Rouge, Remy, Wanda and John all once again congregated in the girls room, and hung out before they all seemed to doze off. Wanda and John lying normally on Wanda's bed while Remy lay on his back at the foot of Rouge's bed with Rouge's stocking feet on his chest. It had taken several hard kicks from Rouge to convince him that tickling them was not a smart idea.
The group was awoken next morning by the alarm on Rouge's alarm clock. She was a very heavy sleeper and could sleep through almost anything...keyword almost. Rouge, Wanda, Remy and John's eyes shot open as the sound of Hilary Duff's voice blared through the air. Rouge's arm shot towards the bedside table and forcibly knocked the offending appliance onto the floor thus turning it off. All present sighed in relief. Rouge blinked and her stomach growled, but not only hers, three others growled too causing a comical noise. The group laughed.
"Ah'm hungry,"
"Remy too chere,"
"Lets go eat,"
"But Ah don't wanna move. Ah'm comfy."
Remy attached himself to Rouge's lap and said before she could respond.
"So is Remy,"
Rouge glared at him and shoved him off her. She stood up and glanced at herself in the mirror.
"Ugh! Ah look lahke crap."
"Non chere, you look belle."
"Oh shut up Cajun!" said Rouge, turning away from him to hide the blush that quickly darkened her cheeks.
'What am ah doin? Stop...Ah shouldn' be blushin. He's just a dumb swamp rat!' she internally chastised herself.
The voices in her head began to stir again.
"What is he blind? You're not beautiful you're an ugly mutated hag!" Cory shouted.
The others agreed with him.
"Shut up!" she yelled at them, but it didn't work, not only did they only shout louder but now her friends were looking worriedly at her.
"Shut up...it's not true." She yelled again. They continued to berate her, flinging names and insults at her. Tears began to form in her eyes and her voice was starting to grow hoarse as she yelled loudly at the voices. Her friends simply looked at each other not really sure what was going on. Finally Wanda stood up and cautiously approached the troubled teen.
"Rouge?" she asked placing her hand carefully on Rouge's shoulder. Rouge no longer being able to hold back her tears turned into her best friends chest and sobbed. She felt so helpless, the hostile voices still yelling at her and her hopelessness getting the better of her. Wanda wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her, whispering words of encouragement and comfort to her friend.
After a few minutes the voices began to laugh at her, thrilled that they had been able to get past her guard and hurt her. Rouge grew angry; she didn't like being laughed at. Especially by random voices. She gathered up her rage and screamed. The screamed seem to deafen the voices, shock them enough so Rouge had time to once again rebuild her wall.
Rouge's breathing evened out and she picked her head up and looked around. She glared at the boys who looked at her pityingly.
"Out," she directed towards them.
The boys looked at her and each other. Wanda nodded her head; Remy and John sighed and stood up. As Remy passed Rouge he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Rouge had to use all her will not to burst into tears again. As the door closed quietly Rouge took a step back and walked into the bathroom, leaving Wanda looking worried.
"Hey Rouge...you okay?"
Rouge stuck her head out of room and opened her mouth, intending on telling her something but thought better of it and closed her mouth. She simply nodded instead before pulling her head back.
The day passed by while Rouge had herself hold up in the library listening to Killswitch Engage and reading the latest Anne Rice novel. She had locked the door started a fire in the fireplace. She was doing all she could to ignore the jealousy and depression that was growing in her heart. While in the bathroom earlier she had finally admitted to herself that she had feelings for Remy. It had only taken her three months.
It was around seven when Rouge's stronghold was finally penetrated, thanks to everyone's favorite master thief. Rouge's heart leapt when he sauntered in but her scowl stayed in place.
"There was a reason the door was locked Swamp Rat."
"Remy knows," Remy answered smugly. He shoved Rogue's feet off the couch and stole their spot.
"What do you want Cajun?" Rogue sighed.
"Well Remy has manage' t' convince Bald' t' let us go t' da club t'night seein' as 'ow it's Saturday an' all. An' Remy wan'ed t' know if ya was intreste'."
"No thanks," was the answer.
"Aw but Remy wan's ya t' come. Get ya mind off w'atever's wrong."
"Theres nothin wrong Swamp Rat,"
"Course dere is chere. Wh' else would ya be sad?"
"Will ya leave meh alone if Ah say yes?"
"But o' course m' belle chere,"
Rouge rolled her eyes, "Fahne Ah'll go...now leave."
Remy winked at her and said, "If dat's what ya really wan'..."
Rogue glared at him. He stood up and walked to the door.
"Ya know m' ears are always open righ'?"
"Yea Ah know,"
Rogue finished the chapter she was reading, turned off her cd player and turned off the gas to the fireplace. She walked out of the room and down the hall to her and Wanda's room. Wanda was already there changing and Rogue changes also.
About a half an hour later the pair descended the stairs and accompanied the waiting boys into the garage. Inside were two motorcycles, one bright red with orange flames and the other black with cherry red spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
"When did we get these?"
"I've had mine since before I came and Remy just got his like last week or something. Payment for a job he did, right?"
Remy nodded.
Rogue and Remy climbed onto Remy's bike while Wanda and John mounted John's, and they were off. It took the group around twenty minutes to reach the club they were searching for. A bright black light sign spelled out the words Nightstar, and a large line had formed at the door. Rogue groaned. She had not dressed to be waiting in November weather. Remy threw his arm around her shoulders and said,
"Fear not m' chere."
Rogue glowered at the arm and aggressively shook it off.
Remy walked up to the bouncer, a larger man pretty much busting at the seams because he was so ripped. Remy handed the man several one hundred bills and miraculously the man opened rope allowing them access.
"What no carding?" Rogue asked.
"No' when yer wid me. Jus try no' ta get too trashed alright?" Remy joked looking at the lot of them.
The four spotted a table in the back and claimed it as their own by sitting around it. Rogue looked at the dance floor and immediately knew coming here had been a bad idea. Everywhere she looked there were people dancing closely, touching, happy couples getting wasted and making out in booths. Rogue was so jealous she wanted to hit something but she restrained herself.
"Ah need a drink," Rogue stated sighing slightly.
"Remy'll come wit ya,"
"Fahne, Whatevah"
Rouge and Remy approached the bar and found a spot to squeeze in and place their orders. The bar tender made them quickly and took the money that the two presented. Rogue downed half her rum and coke in one shot after having noticed Remy beginning to flirt with a scantily clad little blonde girl next to him. Rogue went back to the table to find it deserted. She whiled away the next several hours rejecting dance offerings and getting more and more buzzed until she was finally full-blown drunk.
Rogue spotted Remy dancing amongst a ring of pretty girls and she grew jealous, but the alcohol she had consumed stopped her normal inhibitions. She walked onto the floor, pushing the girls out of her way. She flung her arms around Remy who turned around startled and came face to face with a slack-faced, slightly queasy, very dangerous Rogue. Her words were so slurred and the music so loud that he couldn't understand her. Worried, he took her off the dance floor and led her back to the table.
Rogue's eyes became unfocused and she grabbed her head as the room began to spin. Remy squatted in front of her and tried to get her attention but she didn't notice. Just then Wanda and John appeared, having seen Remy leading Rogue off the floor.
"What's wrong?" Wanda asked.
"I tink she be wasted," Remy shouted so she could hear. "I tink I better brin' 'er back to da mansion."
Wanda nodded, as did John.
"Me and Wanda'll bring the bikes home, you grab a cab. I don't think she can ride."
"Why yall talkin abou me lahke ah aint here?" Rogue said drunkenly.
"Remy's gonna take you home Rogue. Your drunk."
"Ah ain't drunk, just...just..." Rogue grabbed her head again as the room began to spin once more.
"Dat's it, up y' get" Remy said as he lifted the drunk girl to her feet. He let go and she swayed and would have fallen if Remy hadn't steadied her. The four walked to the door and when on the concrete sidewalk hailed a cab. One stopped for them, Remy helped Rogue in before getting in himself.
Rouge sat with her back up against the seat until Remy joined her then she let her head fall onto his shoulder, he didn't seem to mind. She mumbled and dozed off before jerking her head and waking herself back up.
It was a little after two in the morning when the taxi pulled up to the gate of the mansion. Remy removed Rouge's head from his shoulder, waking her, to climb out of the car and punch in the code, praying that no one was awake, and climbed back in. The gates opened and the taxi pulled up in front of the building and sat idle as its occupants disembarked and was paid, before driving off to go service another drunken couple back in the city.
It wasn't until they were outside the front door that Rouge finally passed out; Remy barely caught her seeing as he was currently unlocking the door. But he scooped her up bridal in his arms and gently pushed the door open with his foot.
'Nex' time dis 'appens Remy hope da fille be awake.' Remy thought as her crossed over the threshold.
They were lucky; no one appeared to be up. The foyer was empty and no one walked out of any of the rooms as he passed through the entrance hall and up the stairs. Remy made it to Rouges room and shifted his parcel slightly and opened the door. He walked into the pigsty that is the girl's room and walked over to the bed that he knew to be designated to the unconscious girl in his arms. He gently placed her on the bed and pulled her sheets over her before tucking them in around her. He fluffed and rearranged her pillows lovingly. It was then that a black book fell off the bed and landed open at his feet. He bent down to pick it up and put it back but his name on the page screamed to him. He examined the page and found it to be a diary entry, Rouge's diary, and from the time stamp she had left, it was from earlier that morning just after the incident in her room. From outside the room he could here someone approaching, and knowing that being caught in the situation was not a smart idea, he dashed to the french doors and out onto the balcony. He grabbed a hold of the edge of the roof and swung himself up onto it before dashing a few yards, jumping and landing lightly on his own balcony and into his room. He didn't realize until he was back in his room that he had unconsciously taken the diary with him.
'Must be the thief inside me,' he mused, he scrutinized the battered black book, 'To look or not to look,' he asked himself. He tossed the book onto his black and red coved bed before jumping onto it also. It must have been by sheer chance that the book landed open.
AN: Ah the beautiful end to another glorious chapter...what will our conflicted friend do...as it says...To read or not to read?...Well you'll just have to tune in for the next installment to our story. TTYPL...
-Fatalbluesweetie
Sign up to rate and review this story