AUTHOR: Wic
DISCLAIMER: The X-Men and all other Marvel characters belong to Marvel Entertainment.
RATING: PG-13 for possible future chapters.
SUMMARY: Bobby and John make their moves on Rogue as Storm expresses concern about one of the trio. Logan returns as Jean and Scott are ready to set a date and the X-Men learn someone new may be taking up Magneto's cause.
FEEDBACK: Any constructive feedback or suggestions anyone may have would be greatly appreciated. .
CHARACTERS: Pyro/Iceman/Rogue main focus of story with Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Kitty, Jubilee and Colossus also featured as plot devices.
Bobby breathed in deeply
as he waited for her to emerge from behind large wooden door. He
had just finished knocking and now wondered if he had made the correct
decision in coming here. There was still the option of running away
as fast as he could in the hope she wouldn't see him, but then again if
she opened the door mid get away he'd be at a loss for an excuse.
No, he said to himself, time to bite the bullet as they say. If only
his heart would stop pounding so fast in his chest he'd be able to concentrate
on how he was going to ask her. She'd be alone, that much he was
certain. Her too roommates were currently in the common area with
his roommate, Peter, who had strict instructions to keep both ladies occupied.
Peter was the only one who knew Bobby harbored feelings for Rogue that
extended beyond the boundary of friendship and that he had intended on
asking her out on a date. He was startled when the door finally opened.
There she was, the beautiful young woman with a thin white streak of hair,
he was so nervous about coming to see today. "Bobby!" She said
surprised but with a wide smile.
"Hey Rogue."
He managed.
She motioned for him to enter, and with little hesitation he did. They stood in awkward silence for a moment, Bobby scrambling to find a point of conversation while Rogue looked at the young man with an expression of mixed amusement and confusion.
"You studying?" He asked realizing the originality was somewhat lacking.
"Yeah." She replied kicking at the chemistry book laying open on the floor.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt."
"You're not. Ah've been procrastinating."
He nodded. "Well since you're already procrastinating I was wondering if you wanted… to maybe go see a movie tonight or something."
The question had came out in a mad rush sounding more like a bit by a professional auctioneer than a request of the heart from a smitten young man. Unfortunately for Bobby, however his answer was interrupted as Kitty and Jubilee burst through the door, neither one noticing his shocked and angered expression at the intrusion. "Hey guys, what's going on?"
Kitty moved into the room throwing some empty boxes on to her desk, as Jubilee took a seat on Rogue's bed and Peter, who had trailing behind desperate to stop them, stood in the doorframe. "Nothing," Rogue offered. "Bobby just wanted to know if I wanted to go see a movie tonight."
"Oh I would love to go see a movie and that new action flick just opened up last weekend. It's suppose to be awesome." Jubilee said not getting she actually hadn't been invited.
"Hold on a sec," Kitty interjected grinning ear to ear. "This isn't a date or anything? Is it?"
Kitty long suspected Bobby had feelings for her roommate but neither he nor Peter would admit anything of the sort. Prehaps Bobby had at last worked up the nerve to ask Rogue out and the last thing she wanted to do was have Jubilee and herself spoil the moment. Bobby, caught off guard by the pointed question struggled to get his thoughts together. He had two choices, lay his heart on the line and confess it was indeed a date and hope Rogue wouldn't reject him in front of his friends, or cut his losses and hope another opportunity would present it self down the road. "What?… I just… We… No, of course not."
He didn't see Rogue's expression sadden at his words.
****************************
Class was just about over, thankfully Ororo Munroe thought to herself. It had been one of those days, the kind where you mind is in a thousand different places at once except the place it needs to be. She hated days like this, feeling that she was depriving the students of her undivided attention and a proper education. "Remember your individual papers are due on Thursday so please do not wait until Wednesday night to start them! If you want to discuss your papers or the test I returned earlier come and see me after class, if not I'll see all later.
Not needing any further encouragement the students hastily packed up their belongings and hurried for door eager to leave most of their school commitments behind for the rest of the day. "John may I speak with you." She called out as the young man known as St. John Allerdyce was just getting out of his seat.
He glanced her way a moment, a look of displeasure on his face, snatched up his books and made his way slowly to the front of the class.
"I wanted to speak to you about your test."
Shifting uncomfortably he avoided looking at her. "I was surprised you did not do better. Did you have problems with the material?."
"No." He said simply. "I guess I thought I knew it a lot better than I did that's all."
The women nodded in understanding but added, "I have also noticed some of your other work has been less than what you are capable of. Is there anything wrong?"
"No everything's fine."
He offered no more and Ororo felt a great sense of frustration. "How is your paper coming along?"
"Fine. Is there anything else? I'm suppose to be somewhere." He said quickly.
She looked at the young man briefly with concern "No that's all."
He was out the door before she had a chance to change her mind. Sighing she moved to the portable chalkboard and began erasing her notes from today's lecture. "Rough day?" Jean asked from the doorway
"I have had better. Have you noticed anything different with John?"
The red head walked toward her friend, giving some thought to the question. "Nothing out of the ordinary really. He's always liked to disturb class on occasion but other than that..."
"What about his academic performance?"
"He hasn't been doing
too well, but he's always had a bit of a problem with science. Why?
Are you worried about him?"
Picking up her books
Ororo followed her friend into the hallway, "He has always done quite
well in my class but lately his marks have been slipping and his work has
been poorly produced. He wrote a test for me the other day and he
barely answered half the questions."
"Maybe his history teacher is too demanding!" She offered with a grin.
"Funny. I do not know, I just feel there is something going on we are not aware of."
*******************
Rogue was sprawled out on her bedspread reading the tenth chapter in her chemistry book and bored out of her mind. The idea of balancing chemical equations and memorizing the periodic table was not her idea of fun, especially on a Thursday night. She had reluctantly turned down Bobby's invitation because when he first asked her to the movie she thought it was a date. She had been surprised by the swell of emotions that flowed through her at the prospect of being alone with him. She hadn't thought she felt more for Bobby other than simple friendship but today's reaction proved otherwise. Her two roommates jumped at the chance to get away from the school for a few hours although Rogue supposed Kitty was more excited about being able to spend some quality time with Peter than actually going to the movie. Slamming the book shut, unable to concentrate she reached over and clicked on the CD player, something unfamiliar and horrible exploded out of it.. A knock on the door temporarily prevented her from finding something more suitable.
"Hey." John said
standing before her in the hallway.
"Hey," She smiled
back. "What's up?"
"What are you listening
to?" He asked following her into the room and shutting the
door behind him.
His expression told
her he wasn't a fan either. "Ah'm not sure. It's Jubilee's,
ah think."
She quickly reached
over and shut it off as she flopped down onto the bed again. "Chemistry?"
He asked disgusted.
"Yeah ah though I'd
get some readin' done while everyone was out, but ah kind of lost interest
on the second page."
Responding with only
a nod be pulled a chair away from one of the desks and sat down across
from her silently. She was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable but
wouldn't allow it to show. "What's goin' on?"
"Nothing I was just
bored and you were the first person who answered their door when I knocked!"
He said flatly.
"Wow something else I have to regret."
He smiled at her and quickly, "Let's get out of here."
"Where we gonna go?"
His smile broadened. "Trust me."
**********************
They had arrived a
little before 9:30 and had parked the can in what appeared to be an underground
parking lot. John got out of the vehicle so quickly Rogue hadn't
had the time to ask him why they were here and where here was. The
place was dark and dingy, not a place she's frequent if given the option,
but she hadn't had the option and was basically at John's whim right now.
Several feet in front of her he stopped opening a black steel door.
Music poured out into the empty parking lot echoing off the concrete walls.
"Come on." He said.
Inside resembled nothing like the parking lot they had just entered through. Instead dim chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the floor was a clean white marble, and the walls were painted a deep shade of black. To her right was a dance floor and a DJ booth, to the left several tables and on the other side of the room what appeared to be a bar. "What is this place?" She yelled in order to be heard over the music.
"What's it look like? He said grabbing her gloved hand and pulling her further into the room.
"Hey how's it going buddy?" A voice in the crowd called out.
Rogue couldn't see who it was, but John obviously knew them. He stepped aside and she finally had her first chance to see whom he was speaking with. Ahead of her, sitting at a small table off by itself sat two men and one woman, all of which appeared to be older than both her and John.. "Who's your friend Johnny." One of the guys inquired.
"This is Rogue. Rogue this is Cortez, Wanda and Lance.
"Hi." Rogue said shyly.
The red head, Cortez got up from his seat and whispered something in John's ear. She couldn't hear what is was but John apparently thought it was amusing. The man then turned and faced her. "Nice to meet you Rogue welcome to The Edge."
Cortez was at least a foot taller than Rogue and had a very imposing figure with dark eyes and stocky build. He motioned her to take his seat and she reluctantly accepted.
"Excuse us." The other man, Lance said as he escorted John away from the table.
"Don't mind them." Wanda said. "Lance has a new toy he needs to show off."
Rogue smiled looking in the direction her friend had disappeared. "Don't worry they'll be back shortly. Lance won't be able to stay out of sight for too long." The women offered. "So how do you two know each other?"
The woman was well dressed in a black skirt and white retro styled shirt, dark hair worn long, and her body well toned. Strangely Rogue felt very at ease with this women. "We go to school together."
"Oh right the Xaiver School for the gifted." She said staring off into the crowd. "So what is your gift?"
Rogue didn't realize her mouth a gape until it was too late. Wanda had asked the question so innocently that it took her by surprise. No one, besides those at the school, had ever asked about the gift she possessed, so she had no reason to dwell much on the subject.
Rogue labored come up with something but was at a loss when, after several awkward moments, Wanda alleviated the pressure.
"Sorry I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. You'll have to forgive me sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me."
"No it's fine ah…"
"What's the difference between a school for the gifted and a school for normal humans?"
The choice of words caused Rogue pause, something wasn't right here and she was beginning to feel every unsettled.
"Nothing really ah suppose. It's like any other school with exams and all that."
The women shrugged nonchalantly and took a sip from the glass in front of her. "Do you want something to drink?" She asked just before a waitress appeared at their table.
********************************
Twenty minuets later
John, Lance and Cortez returned with beverages for the ladies and enough
chairs so everyone could have a seat. Wanda did not ask anything
more about the school instead change the conversation to more mundane issues
like cloths, music and the weather. Rogue was grateful for that,
she already felt feeble-witted enough not being able to deal with Wanda's
initial inquiry let alone trying to invent answers to more questions she
could have asked about Rogue or the school. It had ended up being an enjoyable
conversation but she was glad when John finally returned.
The rest of the evening
was spent just chatting and occasionally making it on to the dance floor
if the mood and music was right. Returning from one of
her excursions to the dance floor with John, Rogue asked about the time.
"A little after one." Wanda replied.
Rogue eyes went wide. "What?"
"Opps." John
laughed slightly but stopped when Rogue shot him a heated glare.
"You're not going
to leave now are you? We're just getting ready to close up the place."
Wanda asked.
"Yeah" Added Lance. "That's when the real party gets started."
Rogue wasn't sure what Lance meant but she wasn't interested in finding out either. She wanted to leave. Needed to leave. Classes started in six hours and she still was a forty-five-minuet drive away from the school. "No." John at last said after what seemed like an eternity. "We got an early day tomorrow. Maybe next time."
"Suit yourself Johnny." Lance said. "Bring your friend back anytime."
He winked at her and Rogue could felt her skin crawl.
******************************
The next morning Bobby
was seated at one of the many tables in the schools cafeteria with his
roommate Peter, who wouldn't stop apologizing for failing his friend,
when John slumped down beside him. "Hey you look like crap John."
Bobby remarked good natured.
"Late night."
Peter winked at his
roommate. "Where were you?"
"No where. Me and Rogue were just hanging out."
"You and Rogue?" Bobby asked unable to hide his surprised.
"Yup."
Peter glanced at Bobby,
a half an English muffin sticking out of his partly opened mouth.
Bobby ignored him and said, "I thought she had to study."
"I don't know I guess
she changed her mind or maybe she just found me too damn irresistible."
"Yeah." Bobby said
suddenly. "I gotta go."
John looked up as he
hastily grabbed his stuff and headed for the exit. "What's his problem?"
Peter just shook his
head.
****************************
He had been looking
for Rogue all lunch and had finally tracked her to the front lawn, underneath
a large oak tree. She didn't notice his approach and that was fine
with him. It meant he still had time to put on a brave face, not
that he figured things would go badly but one can ever be too sure.
"Rogue," he called out.
Turing toward him
he noticed she looked preoccupied. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Bobby's
just actin' weird is all."
"Yeah I noticed."
Rogue looked up at
him, squinting her against the bright sun. "Do you know what's wrong
with him?"
"Nope. Look
I was wondering something." He started sitting down next to her.
"I had really great time with you last night and I was hoping we
could do it again."
"Sure." She
said. "Sounds like fun."
"Good but I mean not
like friends but like a date."
"Oh." Was her
first reaction.
This was a bit of
a surprise, after all she and John had been friends for quite a while and
she had had no indication that he felt anything more than friendship toward
her. It wasn't that she was against the idea, why would she be, any
girl at the school would jump at the chance to go out with him but something
was causing her to hesitate. Bobby. After yesterday and the
awareness of the feeling she felt for him, she didn’t' want to do something
she'd regret. But Bobby had made it perfectly clear that they were
just friends so why would she turn down John.
***************************
Jean met Scott for
a quick lunch before a regular scheduled weekly meeting with Charles and
Ororo to discuss school and X-Men issues. She was surprised when
he suggested finally committing to a wedding date and had been adamant
about not letting the subject drop until one was decided. "Why are
you pushing so hard to set a date?" Jean asked stepping into the
elevator.
"I'm not pushing but
we having been putting this off because we've been dealing with one crisis
after another. It isn't going to stop no matter how many times we
delay setting a date. I just think we might as well do it, make plans
and then worry about what comes up when the time arrives."
The door slid open
and they moved down the hall. "I'm just as eager to get married as
you are, but what if we set a date? We're going to have to invite
all our friends and family."
"And that's a problem
how?" Scott asked stopping in the vacant hallway.
"I just don't want
to have to tell everyone the wedding is off if something happens.
How would we explain it? My parents don't realize the…"
Scott interrupted,
"I understand Jean but if, god forbid, something does come up then we'll
deal with it then. We shouldn't be worrying about it now. Besides
if I have to deal with your father taking me aside one more time, asking
me why I haven't made an honest women out of you yet, I'm gonna…"
"You're going to do what?" She asked with a grin.
"You don't want to find out." He joked.
Sighing in defeat she said "Ok lets do it."
"Alright." He said wrapping his arms around her slim waist and kissing her gently on the lips.
"We better get going, we're already late." Jean managed as she broke from his kiss. "An honest women. Really?"
Scott only smiled as he took her hand and continued down the hallway. As soon as the door opened, she sensed him standing in the far corner just out of her line of sight. "Logan." She said unintentionally.
She felt Scott's gaze
instantaneously as her eyes moved to where Logan stood, his lips curled
up in a knowing smirk. "When did you get back?" She asked unable
to stop herself.
"Just a few minuets
ago." Charles answered. "Although I am sure you would all like
to catch up there is something we need to discuss first."
A picture of a young woman flashed onto a large flat screen over Charles' left shoulder. She was attractive with long dark hair and pale skin. "Who's she?" Logan asked.
"Wanda Maximoff."
The Professor said. "Erik's daughter."
...
