Wake Me Up When September Ends

Chapter 1)

There were always rumors in a school. This girl was flirting was flirting with her best friend's crush. That boy was secretly into someone besides his girlfriend. This teacher looked a little too long at the girls when they were in phys ed. That teacher was having a relationship with another teacher.

Rumors were like blood in the veins. They never stopped. The chatter, the whispers, and the sideways looks. It had gotten so he could sniff out the gossip. The way girls would gather in corners, the way the boys would clump into groups, the sly looks over shoulders, the lascivious stares and the object of attention uncomfortably obvious to everyone.

He'd known since he brought her here five years ago that the girls didn't like Rogue. He'd known that the boys liked her too much. He'd been around long enough to know that was why the girls didn't like his girl.

Rogue didn't seem to care what the other students thought. She studied, trained and went about her personal business without bothering anyone else. Now and then she came down to the kitchen or the rec room at night and joined him, popping open a beer. They'd talk about inconsequential things, music and books, and sometimes about experiences they'd shared.

His memories came to him in dreams and flashbacks, bloody steel, bubbling tanks, scalding metal and screams. Hers were always in her mind, ready to sneak out, cold white rooms, lab coats, metal instruments and rough hands. The two of them could always count on the other to know when the memories were getting tough to deal with. Of all the mutants in the school, very few of them had spent time in the labs.

Rogue had left home and gotten scooped up in a police raid on a squat in Chicago. Cops being what they were they'd gotten a couple of jolts before they realized she was a mutant and shouldn't be touched. She'd gotten passed to a government agency and then to a lab. And after an indeterminate amount of time she'd escaped.

He'd picked her up in Canada, too thin for her age, with a racking cough he'd quickly figured out was pneumonia to judge by the fluid he heard in her lungs. When she'd flinched from his touch he'd figured it was his claws. She'd been quick to disabuse him of that notion.

"Don't wanna hurt you," She'd told him. Her voice had the sweetness of magnolia even through the illness roughening the sound. "My skin's dangerous."

He'd nodded his understanding. In the long drive back to Xavier's they'd exchanged stories. It was the first time he'd talked with anyone besides the Professor about his past, his abilities and the few memories he had. And the fact that she wanted to protect him from her skin... anyone wanting to protect him was a rarity. And the sympathy in her voice when she'd asked about his claws had the Wolverine ready to howl his claim to the world.

The school had been an adjustment. He was a teacher, of sorts, and too much 'fraternization' was frowned upon. But he'd flat out told Xavier that Rogue was his responsibility. If there were any problems he wanted to know. Xavier had nodded in that inscrutable manner of his and suggested he give the girl a tour of the school.

That had been more than five years ago now. But he could remember watching Rogue from the doorway of the room she shared and wondering how she'd do with the other students in the school. She was older than most of them and she'd been through a lot more.

Rogue could only recall being so vividly uncomfortable in a situation a few times before. The labs didn't count, not to her mind, since they weren't supposed to be homey. But she didn't like being the center of attention and the minute Logan had brought her to the school she'd been under one form of scrutiny or another.

Case in point, her new roommate.

She'd barely had time to take in the room. It was a barrage to the senses, messy and bright. Clothing was tossed everywhere, posters hung on the walls and everything was festooned with jewelry or shoes. She hadn't even been able to find the second bed until her eyes had adjusted to the mess.

"Oh yeah." The voice had the pronunciation of someone chewing gun. "I'll clear off the second bed for you." A black haired girl in a bright yellow oversized shirt pushed past Rogue into the room. Rogue stayed in the doorway as the girl unceremoniously pushed her things to the floor.

"That all you got?" The mutant who had yet to introduce herself nodded at Rogue's duffle. When Rogue nodded silently the girl grinned. "Probably just as well, I got a lotta clothes. But I'll figure a way to make some space."

"Anythin' under the bed?" Rogue asked. Her accent surprised the other girl, had her head jerking around.

"Whoa, you're like, a long way from home." The girl snapped her gum noisily. "Oh, no, nothin' under the bed that I know of."

"Just need one drawer in the bureau then, and a foot of closet space." Rogue stated quietly. "But you'll have to keep the floor near my bed cleared."

"Why's that?" The girl didn't appear too interested in the answer. She was busily going through the things she'd pulled off Rogue's bed.

"Because I'll get some slidin' drawers for under my bed. They won't work if I don't have anywhere to pull 'em out." Rogue entered the room finally and set her duffle on her bed. She pulled the coverlet and sheets back and wrinkled her nose. It smelled like old clothes, and obviously hadn't been aired out in a while. "Where's the linen closet?"

"Down the hall on the right. Five panel door with a copper knob." Yellow girl was now pushing everything on the floor away from Rogue's bed.

Rogue nodded and moved purposefully down the hall. She found the laundry room before the linen closet but finally she returned armed with an extra blanket, clean sheets and some old boxes that would do in lieu of the sliding drawers.

Her roommate still hadn't introduced herself. Rogue shrugged and began to strip the bed. She'd completely remade it, nodding in satisfaction when she found she could bounce a penny off the sheets.

"What were you a military brat or somethin'?" The other girl asked incredulously. "They're the only ones I know who can do that."

"No," Rogue shook her head and sat down on the bed one hand on her duffle. She looked at the girl who was so involved in her clothing. "You?"

"No," The girl laughed. "I'm Jubilation Lee. But around here people call me Jubilee." She finally introduced herself.

"Rogue." She nodded politely. "Never had a roommate before."

"Guess you never went to boarding school then," Jubilee chuckled at some inner joke. "So what'd you do to get sent here?" When Rogue simply looked at her quizzically the yellow clad girl elaborated. "I mean what's your power? It's all mutants all the time here so we've all got something we can do."

Rogue looked down at her hands, still covered in the battered old leather gloves. Her chest still ached from what Doctor Grey said was pneumonia and she felt exhausted all the time. Logan had been hovering over her for the week she'd spent in the infirmary. He'd wanted to keep her there another week but Doctor Grey had said Rogue could rest in a dorm as well as the infirmary and Doctor McCoy had backed her up.

"Look," Jubilee drew her gaze. The girl held up her hand and sent splatters of light out of her fingers. "See? This is what I can do. Get's outa control when I get upset you know? Fried my parents stereo system and the TV once. Blew every fuse in the house another time." She sounded more amused than upset. "So what happened with you?"

"I put a boy in a coma," Rogue said quietly. She really didn't want to talk about this. No one was ever the same with her after they learned about her skin. Logan had been but she was quickly coming to understand that Logan was one in a million.

"Shit," Jubilee blinked. "How'd you do that?"

Rogue took a deep breath and pushed off her coat finally. The moments she took to hang it up and place her gloves in the pockets gave her time to determine how she would answer. She reached into her bag and fished out another pair of gloves, soft suede that let her grip things. Before she could answer her roommate or put the gloves on a girl walked through the wall behind her.

The stranger continued through the bed and nearly through Rogue before detouring around her. She blinked in surprise at the new girl and grabbed Rogue's unfortunately bare hand in greeting. She stiffened in shock and then gasped in pain as the draw of the girl's mutation started.

"Shit," Rogue jumped back pulling her hand free. She fought the mutation for a moment as she nearly fell through her bed and found her balance again. "Shit," she breathed out as she got the new girl's memories and talent under control. Her name was Katherine Pryde but everyone called her Kitty or Shadowcat.

"What the hell happened?" Jubilee wanted to know.

Rogue pushed herself into a standing position and pulled on the gloves. Every other part of her was covered except her face and neck. Logan had bought her a couple of teeshirts and a few pairs of pants to augment what she owned. Now she paired the short sleeve shirts with longer ones under them. She'd caught the gleam in his eye that said he appreciated how the shirts accentuated her figure but that was all right with her. At least he was honest about it.

"That was how I put a normal boy into a coma," Rogue explained quietly. "With humans, I draw in their energy. With mutants, I get their powers. For a while." She added the not entirely truthful addendum. "It's my skin."

"Poison skin?" Jubilee helped Kitty up off the floor.

"I suppose," Rogue shrugged and pushed her hair back.

"None of the team went on a pickup run," Kitty remarked. "How'd you get here?"

"Hitchhiking in Canada," Rogue slipped her hand into her duffle and palmed her knives. "Logan picked me up. Brought me here. Been here a while. Down in the infirmary." She tucked the knives into her pockets. Logan had argued about her carrying them until she proved she knew how to use them. The labs had been an education in more ways than one. She couldn't carry them openly but the five inch folding knives fit in her pockets and would do in a pinch.

"I'll bet the Wolverine picked you up," Jubilee looked her up and down.

Rogue sighed. It was always the same. That tone of voice meant to put Rogue in her place. Doctor Grey had hints of it when she'd spoken to her. Jubilee was doing more than hint. Kitty looked as if she'd swallowed a bug.

"Hey kid," Logan stood in the doorway. "Got everything you need?"

"I'm fine." Rogue began to put her things into the flat boxes to go under the bed.

"That ain't an answer." He growled at her.

Rogue shook her head and didn't look at her roommate and the other girl. "Need to get a coupla slidin' drawers for under the bed. Keep my clothes there."

"C'mon, we'll head to the store. I need some parts of an engine anyway. And Chuck tells me you'll need books for your classes." The Wolverine was posturing a little now and it made her smile a bit. Logan was making himself responsible for her. He'd flat out told her he wanted to know if there were problems.

"Get her some more gloves," Kitty suggested in a chilly voice.

"Couldn't hurt," Rogue agreed softly. She didn't miss Logan's sharp eyes taking in Kitty's posture and Jubilee's sneer.

"Grab your coat then," Wolverine nodded. "You're gonna need a few things 'sides gloves." He looked her up and down and his approval was evident in his warm eyes. She couldn't help smiling in return and saw a flare of jealousy on Jubilee's face. If Logan saw it he didn't acknowledge it. But she knew.

This school was going to be the same as any other school. Teenage girls were the worst about people who were different. Mutants were still people. And people didn't like what they didn't understand. Mutant or not. She was what other mutants feared.

Author's Note: So this isn't the first thing I've written for X-Men but it is the first I've posted. This is obviously AU in case you hadn't guessed. It's not so much plot driven as it is character driven so don't expect a ton of action. We'll have both Rogue and Wolverine's viewpoints, though they might not always be perfectly equal as far as length goes. The M rating is for lemons later on. And for some language. I hope you'll enjoy this. It's getting me back into writing mode which is good.

To anyone who is waiting (patiently or impatiently) for Animals I apologize and thank you simultaneously. I'm really struggling with it for some reason but I do know where I want it to go. For some reason with the health issues I'm having my drive to get things done fades and I pick things up and put them down quickly. So I work on Animals and then I work on something else and I go back and forth trying to pick up momentum.

To new readers, wow, thanks for coming by and I hope you enjoy this.