FicWad

Marie Alder stood nervously in front of the imposing wrought iron gate. The thing had to be twelve feet tall.

A chill breeze whistled past her legs and tugged at her carefully done hair. She had made one trip to the girl’s room after school to put extra make-up on, do something with her hair, and put on some jewelry.

Why had she done that? It was just the X-Kids, after all. Now she could have passed for one of those snotty rich little bastards any day. What did she care if they saw her the way she normally was? But there was something different about being her grungy Goth self at school and being it here, in front of these gates. Here she would be the dark brooding sculpture of ice, rather than the scruffy vagabond of the school.

She would show them that just because she hung out with Lance and everyone didn’t mean that she would steal the silver. She was just as well educated and intelligent as these people. She hadn’t signed up for their stupid school program because she didn’t want in, not because she wasn’t smart enough.

John was typing in the security code and pointedly not noticing her. The Goth had given him the details of what had sent Jean Grey off with her tail in between her legs. The insults had seemed a little harsh in his opinion, but he couldn’t make any judgment about it until he learned why Rogue hated Jean with such a vengeance.

Unfortunately no such information was forth coming. Rogue had given him the bare facts of the case, but none of the back story. When he had asked her what had set her off she told him that it was none of his business.

“What are we goin’ tah be doin’ here anyway?” she said suddenly, making him jump and type in the wrong number.

“Uh, working on the project.. You didn’t think that we would be.. you know,” he trailed off, there was no way that the sentence could end well.

Rogue just snorted, “Yah obviously don’t know me very well, Sin Jin,” she had taken to calling him that on the walk from school. He didn’t mind, it was a lot better than Johnny, a nickname that he was trying to stamp out, “Ah am th’ Untouchable Rogue. Yah didn’t think that a nahce warm Southern gal like me got the name of Ice Queen for the way Ah like mah tea, do yah?”

“Oh, my face is red. So, you like iced tea, do you? Well isn’t that something. Darn you stupid security system open these gates before I make a bigger fool of myself,” he yelled at the keypad.

“Yah mean like talkin’ tah the security system,” Rogue was beginning to smile.

“Well, yeah. Uh, what was the original question?”

“What th’ heck are we gonna do here all afternoon?” she asked him as the gates began to swing open.

“Oh, I thought that we could do a little background surfing on our key characters. You know, find out their quirks and stuff. The more we know about a person the better we can fit some powers to them. Like I think that the Headmaster, Professor Xavier, should be a psychic. It fits him; he always knows what’s on your mind before even you do.”

They walked across the sloping lawn, talking about who would fill what position within the team.
“Summers is th’ obvious leadah of all these do goodahs,” Rogue said vehemently.

“Yeah, but he’s got no personality. We could never make it fly. You’ve got to keep the reader’s interested, otherwise you’ve lost sheila,” John shot back.

“Yeah, Ah see that. But yah don’t want th’ main good guy tah be interestin’. Yeah need tah have th’ minor characters hog th’ spotlight. Anyway, we should keep this as real as possible,” Rogue countered swiftly.

“Real! How can you possibly talk about real? We’ve given the main adult character telepathic powers!”

“Whoa, is there trouble in paradise?” Kurt walked around the corner so suddenly that both Rogue and John jumped in fright.

“Uh, hi Kurt. This is Marie, Marie Alder, she’s working on the English project with me,” John introduced them. Rogue seemed reluctant to shake hands.

“It’s great to meet you, Fraulein,” Kurt made a mock bow over her hand. Instead of rolling her eyes and sighing with exasperation the way she did when Pietro pulled the same stunt with her Rogue looked like she was going to be sick.

“Yeah, well, it’s not so great tah meet yah,” she bristled.

“Prickly, isn’t she? Just part of her inconceivable charm and-- uuff,” John doubled over where Rogue’s elbow had made contact with his stomach.

“OK, that was just part of her inconceivable charm and very sharp elbow, huh?” Kurt grinned at Marie, inviting her to share the joke.

She almost brushed him off again, but she remembered that one of the names on the list of people that they had to interview was his. And, she told herself, it was an OK joke. I can drop my hatred for one afternoon, give him a chance. It’s not like he’s the one I’m pissed at. Just his stupid fucking, she stopped that train of thought cold. She would not let that woman over shadow her life.

“Do yah always pop up so suddenly?” she asked while John got his breath back.

“Oh, yeah. Scott’s threatening to put a bell around my neck, it’s happening so often,” he smiled at her.

Marie grinned back despite herself. Kurt was very good humored it seemed, “Why did yah call me Fraulein just then?”

“Oh, I spent one year in Germany. I use the German when I want people to swoon all over me. It doesn’t always work, but I figure with your reputation the chances were that it wasn’t likely to.”

“Mah reputation?” she said in a dangerous tone of voice.

“Yeah, or rather the reputation of those you hang out with. I think you must be the only girl who has been in Pietro Maximoff’s presence for more than five seconds and not tried to kiss him,” Kurt said jovially, oblivious to the danger.

“Oh, that is a relief. Pietro and Ah want tah keep our engagement a secret.”

John, who had just gotten his breath back, let it out in a whoosh. Kurt looked shocked for a few seconds. Rogue began to laugh at the stunned expressions on the faces of the two boys. Then Kurt began to laugh, too, once he realized that Marie had been joking with him.

“Ah should really try that joke when Pietro is around tah hear it. Ah’d just love tah see the look on his face. If it was anything lahk yahs then it’ll be worth it.”

“You really have to make sure that everyone knows that you are joking. You look so serious, that and you aren’t the type to joke around like that,” Kurt said as he accompanied his friends to the front entrance.

“C’mon Rogue sheila,” John was feeling happier again, Rogue’s initial iciness had toned down, though she was still holding herself stiffly, “We’ll give you the grand tour. D’you want to start with the grounds or the Academy itself?”

“The grounds, Ah think that Ah’ll get tah see more that way,” Rogue told the two boys.
Kurt offered her an arm, but she pretended not to notice that it was there. John shook his head slightly at Kurt and gave him a look that has been universally translated to mean ‘tell you later’. Kurt shrugged, but he started off, explaining the secrets of the wide sloping lawn and the lovely gardens.

Marie watched everything with a hint of envy. She got particularly attached to the small gazebo overlooking the sheer cliff that dropped into the Sound. John and Kurt had to drag her away from the woody enclosure that the gazebo rested in.

Kurt did tell them a lot about the history of the grounds, particularly the tress that grew along the edges. He went on for quite a while about the differences between the elm and the maple when Marie told him about John’s slip up. Kurt only ended that when John began to beat his head against a ‘bloody ash tree’ in his own words (it was a pine, but both Rogue and Kurt agreed that it was probably not a good idea to mention that fact).

He showed them all of the best places to climb, which trees had the best views from the tops, and which ones were challenges from the climbing point of view. Marie always climbed up Kurt’s trees with him, but John preferred to stay on the ground, claiming that he liked his skull in the same piece.

Marie and Kurt were just racing up a spruce tree when John shouted up to them that they had company. Both of the laughing teens slid down again to be confronted by Scott Summers.

Rogue became suddenly aware that her hair had mostly come undone, her clothes were severely disheveled, and to top it off her make up was smudged from the tears of laughter that she had a moment earlier. Scott Summers, the hottest guy in school according to the girl’s bathroom poll, had just seen her look like a total idiot. She was going to be haunted by this every time she stepped into chemistry and drama class.

She could feel the heat rushing to her face. Wonderful girl, not only do you look like you were trying to relive your days as a three year old, you’re blushing, she scolded herself. Scott Summers has just seen you fall out of a tree giggling like a maniac. This situation can’t get any worse.

Scott’s gaze, however, brushed past her to land on Kurt.

Oh, come on! What does he think I am? Just this Rogue shaped patch of air? I bet he wouldn’t act this way if Jean was standing in my place.

“Hey, Kurt, Dr. MacTaggart wanted to see you about that report that you handed in on the evolution of mankind. She has a bone to pick with you about your extra gene theory,” Scott scratched his head; science was a closed book to him.

“Oh boy, I am in trouble. Jean was the one who had helped me write that report. She sortta lent me that theory. I am so dead,” Kurt was off so fast he might as well have teleported away from the other three.

“Does he always pop off lahk that?” Rogue asked Scott. Yes, thought her subconscious, yes, pay attention to me. Look at me, please look at me. Wow, you have hot eyes without those glasses.

“Yeah,” Scott looked uncomfortable, “he does do that a lot. Look I’d better be--.”

He was cut off by a grinning Aussie, “you’d better be helping my on the grand tour, mate. Kurt was just showing us the beauty of the forest before you made him run off,” John flashed a smug smile at the gaping Marie, who was trying to figure out what the heck her partner was up to.

“But can’t you do it?” Scott protested as John took him by the arm and propelled him forcefully towards the next stop on the tour.

“No, mate, I haven’t the knowledge of the Academy that you permanent students do. Look, here’s the garage. Now explain to Marie what it is that we do here.”

John needn’t have bothered to be there in the time that they spent in the garage. Marie had immediately run over to a motorcycle and begun to ask questions about things like vintage, which as far as John was concerned, was something that happened to wine. Scott began warming to the questions. He didn’t let down his guard enough to say that he had enjoyed Marie’s company, but he did become very respectful.

It was five o’clock when Marie’s watch beeped fitfully. She started and stopped running her fingers down the Harley that had caught her attention in the beginning. She groped guiltily for her bag and began to mutter excuses.

“Hey, Marie, y’can’t leave!” John cried, “We still have to compile all of our notes!”

He looked distraught at the idea of letting this part of the project slip through his fingers.

“Yah can come over an’ have dinner with me,” Marie clapped her hand to her mouth. What on Earth had possessed her to say that? And why did she have to say that tonight? She couldn’t have Sin Jin over for dinner tonight!

“Sure sheila, that would be great,” John babbled out before Rogue got a chance to change her mind, which it looked like she was already in the process of doing, “Tell Xavier that I’ll be out with Rogue,” John waved to the flabbergasted Scott and walked over to Rogue.

She turned and walked out of the garage as fast as possible, trying to think of a way to gracefully get rid of him. She couldn’t retract the invitation, now that it had been made. That would be the worst case of bad manners ever; Irene would never forgive her for it.

She couldn’t tell him why she didn’t want him to come, either. What would be the point of keeping him away if she had to describe the knowledge that she didn’t want him to have?

So, she would have to have him come over. Not good, he would find out what a mess her life was.