"Do we have any sort of plan, or are we winging it?!" Yelled Spyke as he and the others ran through the service corridor on their way towards the origin of the quakes.

"Sure, we do," Logan said with a grin. "Kurt gets any civilians out of here while we deal with the Brotherhood"

With a groan Rogue shook her head, "I guess any plan is better than nothing. Even something as barebones as this."

Moments later, the group saw the door separating them from their objective at the end of the hall. So without breaking stride, Scott lets loose a quick optic blast, sending the the door flying off its hinges.

Running through the smoke, the group was met by the sight of complete destruction, and at the center of it all, were The Brotherhood. To their left was Blob, who was doing his best to break off the Hawk statue near the entrance. Straight ahead of them stood Avalanche, laughing as he caused portions of the second floor to collapse. And finally, there was Toad, leaping around, causing very little damage, though not for a lack of trying.

With a quick glance around, Rogue and Spyke ran to apprehend the latter. Stopping a few feet away from him, they watch as he tries to pull down a sign with very little success. With a snicker, Rogue rests her hand on her hip and whistled, getting Toad's attention.

"You know how this ends Toad, so why don't you just come down now while you still have teeth," she said with a grin.

Gritting his mustard yellow teeth, Toad shot out out his tongue, wrapping it around Rogue's wrist. With a quick yank, Rogue forced him off his perch and toward her. However, she didn't expect him to land on her head and push her to the ground by using her head as a stepping stone. Grunting, Rogue props herself up on her forearms and turns to face their foe, only to see him sticking his elongated tongue mockingly. His taunt was then cut short as Spyke shot half a dozen spikes at him, forcing him to jump away.

While getting up, Rogue glanced over to the others only to see Kitty, Scott, and Bobby trying in vain to talk Avalanche down. Negotiations seemed to break down as Lance let out yet another quake and Scott shot an optical blast at him, narrowly missing. Just past them, she saw Jean and Logan trying to subdue Blob who was throwing rubble at the two. For a moment, she watched as Blob lifted a massive piece of reinforced concrete over his head to throw at Jean, only for him to get tackled through a pillar. Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, she looked to the second floor in time to catch Kurt teleport away with a child and their mother. With a faint smile, Rogue sprung to her feet, and faced Toad.

"Hey porcupine, cut it out! I'm getting really sick of having to sow this suit!" Toad yelled as he leapt from a light post, dodging yet another spike.

"Then give up! You're suit can stay intact all day in an evidence locker!" replied Spyke as he fired off another set of spikes at him.

With a huff, Rogue then broke into a sprint toward Toad. Clenching her fist, she lunged at him, connecting it with his jaw with a sickening pop. Rolling her wrist with a smile, she began turned her back to him. She was then jerked back around when an all too familiar wet object wrapped itself around her wrist again. Clearly frustrated, she grabbed Toad's tongue with both hands and directed him into a nearby bench causing it to splinter into half a dozen pieces.

As Toad's tongue went loose and fell from her arm, Rogue stared at her arms, Good thing I have gloves and sleeves on, she thought. Taking a few steps to Toad who was already beginning to stir, her attention was immediately stolen as the ground shook uncontrollably, sending her stumbling into a nearby railing. Turning her focus towards her friends, she watched as a massive dust cloud began to settle, showing Blob half buried in rubble and Avalanche on a single knee.

"Rogue lookout!"

Turning just in time to have the end of a bench slammed against her skull, Rogue dropped before she even knew what happened. Laying on the ground, her head spinning, she reached up to the side of her head. Shock took to her face as she felt something slick running down it. Glancing at her gloved fingers, she knew exactly what it was. Blood. Her blood.

In a fit of rage, her eyes shot to where the bench came from, only to see Quicksilver helping up Toad.

"Come on froggy, get up! It's time to go, we're done here!" he said as he practically dragged Toad to his feet.

Slowly, Rogue made her way to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Spyke knocked out against the front of a store. She took a few steps towards the two, gaining Quicksilver's attention. Eyebrow raised, he watched as the infuriated teen made her way to him. His eyes widened in shock as she took her gloves off and lunged at him.

"Yep! TIME TO GO GUYS!" He yelled as he basically dragged Toad with him over to Avalanche, "Lance! Give them something else to worry about so we can get outta here!"

Avalanche simply nodded as he raised his hands, causing the entire building to shake at a magnitude never seen before. Meanwhile, Quicksilver and Toad helped Blob out of the rubble he had been buried under, freeing him in no time. Soon after, chunks of ceiling fell to the ground followed by pillars collapsing in on themselves and bringing the very floors they supported with them.

In a panic the X-men all regrouped near the center where Jean put up a forcefield to keep the rubble from crushing them from above. Bobby on the other hand began freezing much of the rubble, forming a fairly sturdy wall to give them time to escape.

While blasting a falling slab of concrete into dust Scott yelled to Jean, "Tell Kurt to get his fuzzy blue ass in here asap!"

With a grunt, Jean shot a glare at the brunette, "Already did, he's currently trying to dodge this crap too!"

"Ofcourse he is, nothing can be easy no can it?" Scott muttered as yet another bit of debris was turned into mere pebbles.

After a few more moments of holding back the building from crushing them, it all stopped. The hunks of roof had finally finished falling, and the walls had settled somewhere between the floor and where they had started. Feeling nothing else landing against her shield, Jean looked up only to see a bright blue sky where a roof once was. Slowly, she let released her forcefield and unceremoniously flopped onto the ground in an exhausted mess.

Then with his signature puff of smoke and hint of sulfur, Kurt appeared, covered in dust. Sneezing momentarily, he shook himself heavily as if he were a dog, sending even more dust into the air and sending several people into a coughing fit. With an apologetic look he slumped his shoulders.

"About time you got here, we really could have used you ten minutes ago!" yelled Rogue while she marched towards him.

"Hey, it wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows for me either!" Kurt yelled back with his fur seemingly standing on end. Not backing down, Kurt and Rogue both stood inches away from each other with anger filling their eyes and their fists clenched tight.

Not wanting things to escalate further, Scott forced himself between them and pushed them away. With his hands outstretched towards the two he looked between them with a clear look of disappointment. When Rogue eventually relented and stepped away, he turned to face Kurt fully and gestured to the hemispherical shape of their sanctuary, "Think you can get us out of here? God knows when the police show up and I don't want to be here when they do."

Kurt's face took on a look of extreme determination as he spoke, "I can do it, but the police are already here and I'm not sure if they've found the van yet."

Scott glanced to Jean and Logan, who both gave a small nod. With a heavy sigh, he shrugs, "We're just gonna have to risk it. How many you think you can take at once?"

"I don't think I can take more than one at a time."

"Okay. Let's get this over with," Scott said.

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, an exhausted Ryan stood in the danger room with Storm. Breathing heavily, he had his hands resting on his knees while trying to catch his breath. Using the bottom of his modified shirt, he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Impressive Ryan, even with such a rudimentary device, your capabilities have increased immensely," Storm said with a pleased look.

Ryan merely shook his head in agreement, still having difficulty breathing. As if on cue, Forge entered the room with a bottle of water as well as an oxygen tank on a dolly. Immediately as he was offered the water, Ryan snatched it from his friend and almost ripped the cap off it. Guzzling down the clear liquid in a matter of no time, he absentmindedly dropped the empty bottle, only to have the mask attached to the oxygen tank handed off to him. Getting the idea fairly quickly, he pressed it to his mouth and kneeled down into a relaxed position.

After a few moments Forge rested his hand on the sweaty brunette, "You good buddy?"

Ryan still only nodded before eventually hanging up the mask on the tank, "Yeah, I'm fine now. I was feeling a bit light headed there for a minute."

With a pat on the back, Ryan slowly stood and rolled his shoulders. No longer on the verge of unconsciousness, his lips twitched up into a smile. Turning his gaze to Storm, he raised an eyebrow, "We done?"

"Yes, yes are. I doubt pushing you any further today will do any good," she said as she gestured towards the door.

"Nice," he then turned to Forge, "There wouldn't happen to be a shower down here would there?"

"Yeah, in the locker room, opposite the entrance there'll be a wall extending in front of the door."

"Thanks," Ryan said. Wasting no more time, he made his way out of the danger room and towards the locker room. Once there, he grabbed a towel off a rack near the door and took off the modified shirt being as cautious as he could when it came down to the electrodes that clung to his chest. Setting it to the side, he turned his gaze towards a mirror opposite the lockers. Turning to face it fully, he smirked, "Damn, I don't look half bad." He said to no one in particular.

After checking himself out for a few more seconds, he entered the showers. Leaving his gym shorts on, he turned the water on. Almost immediately, blisteringly hot water shot out from the shower head landing on his upper body in a mix of stinging pain and warm relief. As his body adjusted to the heat, his muscles relaxed, making him groan in satisfaction. Ryan just stood there for a few more minutes, letting the water wash over him before finally started going through his usual routine, except with only water.

Finishing quicker than he thought he would, he turned the water off and stepped out into the locker room where his towel and clothes from earlier laid on a bench. Drying off with the towel, he speedily changed into his jeans from before as well as the shirt he had left earlier.

Whilst putting everything away, he began to hear people approaching. Soon enough, in came several of the male X-men, all displaying various degrees of exhaustion. Not paying him much attention, they all went to their own lockers in relative silence. However he then overheard something that peaked his interest.

"Speedy bastard," Spyke muttered as he slid out of his shirt.

"Hey Evan, what was that?" He asked, turning to him.

Spinning around at an alarming speed, Evan held his hands up apologetically, "Oh, not you dude, I'm talking about someone else. A guy we ran into when we were out."

With a small chuckle, Ryan slapped Evan's shoulder lightly, "I had a hunch, anyways, I was wondering what he did that has you so riled up."

Exhaling heavily, Evan's shoulders slumped a little, "It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention, and a guy that calls himself Quicksilver jumped me and hit Rogue with a bench. To think I use to call that douchebag a friend."

"Really? You mean he use to go here?"

Evan shook his head, "No, before then. We went to the same school back in NYC, even played on the same basketball team."

Silence fell across the locker room as everyone went on with their business. Some went for showers, others went to get looked over in case of any lasting injuries. Ryan on the other hand went off to find Logan, who had neglected going to the locker room.

From the little he knew of Logan, Ryan decided the first place to check should be the garage. When he entered, the first thing to reach his ears was the sound of what seemed like annoyed grunting coming from the X-van. Walking around it, he found Logan laying underneath it on a creeper, mumbling curses. Clearing his throat caused Logan to slide out to see who thought it was a bright idea to bother him. Ryan took note of the mix of sweat and what he thought may be oil that emanated from the gruff man.

A bit confused as to what Ryan would want, Logan raised a brow, "What do you want kid?"

"I want to know what happened out there," Ryan said matter of factly as he folded his arms.

Logan chuckled for a moment before meeting the younger man's eyes, "And why is that?"

Ryan tilted his head slightly, "Because I do," he said slowly, applying emphasis to each word.

Logan simply shook his head, "Sorry kid, I can't tell you the specifics. Go watch the news if you want to know what went down," he said as he laid back, about to go back to work on the van.

Putting his foot on the creeper to keep the older man from disappearing underneath the vehicle Ryan's eyes narrowed, "Then tell me this," he said waiting for Logan to meet his eyes again, "Tell me who Quicksilver is."

With a push, Logan rolled out from under the van and stood up, "Quicksilver? Why would you want to know about him?" he asked in slight confusion.

Dragging his hand across the lower half of his face, Ryan paused momentarily before answering, "Evan said his name and called him a speedy bastard. What does he mean by that?"

"It's not obvious? He's basically like you, except without the drawbacks."

Ryan immediately averted his eyes at this, and balled up his fists. As near complete silence enveloped the two, Ryan didn't realize how worked up he was getting until Logan put a hand on his shoulder. Only then did he loosen his fists to see imprints of his fingernails in his palms. Opening his mouth to speak also let to another realization as his jaw popped from having his teeth clenched so tightly.

Releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding in, Ryan locked eyes with Logan, "I have an idea."
"I'm all ears."

"To prepare for fighting him, why don't you guys train with me?"

Logan eyed the teen hesitantly before replying, "One major problem kid, you aren't trained, so how can you help us train when you can't even fight?"

"How about you train me, and to see what I've learned, I have to do something with the others in the danger room or something?"

Pondering the proposition, Logan leaned back on the X-van. With a scratch of the chin he grinned, "I don't see what it could hurt. I'll run your idea by the Professor and if he agrees with your idea, we'll start tomorrow."

Smiling widely, Ryan nodded and began to turn to leave. Logan however wasn't done, evident by him stopping him from leaving.

"Now tell me. Why did you really want to know what happened and specifically, about Quicksilver?" Logan asked, squeezing Ryan's shoulder tightly.

A bit bewildered, Ryan merely tilted his head, "What are you talking about? I already told you."

"Are you sure it's not because Stripes got hurt? And by Quicksilver himself?"

Still completely lost, Ryan reels back slightly, "Who are you talking about? Stripes? The hell is that?"

Logan's lips curled ups lightly at his ignorance, "Hmph, I'm talking about Rogue. I call her Stripes cause, you know, the hair."

"Oh," Ryan says, seconds prior to his eyes widening immensely, "Wait! Is she okay? What happened to her?" He asked, turning back to fully facing the shorter male.

Putting his hands up Logan blurted out, "She's fine, she's fine. Just got hit with a bench, got a bit of a cut on the side of her head. I don't think it did much more than piss her off really."

With a heavy sigh, Ryan calms down quickly. Raising his hand in a small wave, he once more turned to leave, "I'm gonna go check on her."

Yet again he's stopped by Logan, this time by him grabbing his wrist and yanking him back. Being forcefully spun around, Ryan glared at the older man, "What now?!"

His outburst however is met by a glare from Logan himself, "I'm only going to tell you this once, so you better listen closely. I've seen how she looks at you, and while you may not see it, the rest of us do. So heed my words when I say, don't do anything that I might make you regret. Stripes is like a daughter to me, and if you hurt her," he paused as a claw shot out from his hand, making a small cut on Ryan's cheek, "They. Won't. Find. You. Do I make myself clear?"

Pulling back to where the claw wasn't burying itself into his cheek, Ryan nodded vigorously with his hands up in surrender, "Yes sir! I-i mean crystal! Shit, I m-mean yes sir, crystal clear!"

Logan chuckled as Ryan sped off down the hall. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the van, "Now to figure out what the hell is making the transmission hang up."

Elsewhere, Rogue exited the infirmary with an ice pack. Pressing it to the side of her head, she instantly recoiled at the sheer cold. Repeating this, she eventually managed to hold up the ice for a few moments as she headed towards her room to recover.

"Rogue!" came a voice from over by the girl's locker room.

Glancing over towards the voice, she saw Jean walking towards her with a somewhat worried expression. When the redhead was a few feet away, Rogue took notice that her hair was still wet, leading her to think she had gone for a shower before heading upstairs.

"So? What's the diagnosis?" She asked, gesturing to the ice pack.

Rogue just shrugged, "Told me to ice it and it should close itself. If it doesn't fully stop bleeding by lunch tomorrow, we'll see about getting it stitched up."

Jean's eyes widened as a wide smile made itself present on her face, "That's great! Mind if I see it?"

Hesitantly, Rogue removed the ice pack, revealing a gash about three inches long barely in front of her ear. Turning to the side so Jean could get a better look at it, she recalled how it looked prior to having it cleaned up. When she had gone to get it treated, there were still bits of wood poking out around the wound as well as dried blood caked up around the lower portion as well as bits going down her face.

Returning to the present, she realized Jean had finished looking at her, so she replaced the ice where it was meant to be.

"How are you supposed to do stuff like shower with that?" Jean asked with her hand on roughly where the wound would be if it were her.

"Carefully I guess. Might have to wash my hair in the sink or something like that. Either way, I'll figure something out, I always do," Rogue replied as she headed towards the elevator.

Reaching the elevator, she realized it was already heading to her floor. Is someone coming down here, she thought. She stepped to the side and leaned against the wall next to the door, patiently awaiting the doors of so familiar opening ding. Seconds later, the ding sounded and the doors opened, revealing Ryan of all people.

Before she could ask what he was doing, he exited the elevator in a hurry, looking seemingly every direction but hers. Then he spotted Jean, and called out to her.

"Hey Jean! You seen Rogue?" he asked, taking a few steps down the hall. This caused Jean to giggle loudly and subsequently point behind him. With a tilt of his head, Ryan glanced over his shoulder to see the very person he was looking for.

Spinning around, he stepped towards the goth. A worried look present on his face, his eyes darted to the ice pack she was holding, "You okay? I heard you got hurt."

Feeling her cheeks heat up, Rogue looks off to the side while waving her free hand, "Yeah I'm fine. Dude just got a cheap shot on me, I'll be fine."

"Oh that's good to hear. Last thing I want to hear is that one of my friends got seriously injured," he said rubbing the back of his head.

Then Jean chimed in with a small smirk, "Oh yeah, you should have seen it. She took that bench like a champ, even scared the crap out of the guy that hit her with it. Heck, show him what came of it."

With a small glare aimed at Jean, Rogue let him get a look at the side of her head.

To her surprise, the first thing out of his mouth upon seeing the gash was, "You sure you're okay? That looks pretty bad."

Rogue let a small, warm smile show as she slowly tilted her head forward, "Yeah, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine."

Still skeptical, Ryan watched her closely as they both turned to get into the elevator, "If you say so," he says trailing off. Stepping into the elevator, the two both reach to press the first floor button. Locking eyes, they shared a small laugh, while subsequently trying to hide their blushes, "First floor right?" asked Ryan, trying to cut the tension.

Smile still present, Rogue looked off to the side while replying, "Yep."

With a curt nod, Ryan designated their floor and stepped back from the buttons. Returning his attention to the shorter brunette, his brow raised in surprise when he saw her rocking back and forth, hands clasped behind her, all the while smiling widely. That's...different, he thought. Deciding to keep his mouth shut, he kept those thoughts to himself and continued to watch her out of the corner of his eye. She seems to be in a really good mood now. Like unusually good. What changed?

A bit lost in thought, Ryan was shocked when the elevator dinged, signalling them they had arrived at their floor. By the time he was aware of this, Rogue had already stepped out. Doing so himself, he stood next to her once more, "Hey, you hungry? I'm bout to make myself lunch, want anything?"

A tad surprised by the offer, Rogue glanced at him, "Sure. What are you making?"

"Probably some Chunky soup, it's easy enough that I don't have to worry about burning the mansion down," Ryan said scratching his neck.

Clearly holding back a laugh, Rogue remained fairly quiet other than the small shortles that escaped between her fingers. Still on the verge of being a giggling mess, she tried to reply, "I don't think that'll be a problem, considering this place is build to, ya know, house mutants. Some of them being able to literally control fire to a certain extent."

Ryan blinked several times, trying to mentally digest what she had just reminded him of. Lowering his head, he pinched his nose, and muttered, "I am an idiot."

Taking a deep breathe, he looked up, a neutral expression on his face with an underlying hint of self loathing, "ANYWAY. What kind do you want?" he borderline yelled as they reached the kitchen.

Bursting into a fit of breathless giggling mixed with the eventual snort, Rogue propped herself up on the wall to stay upright. With her laughter dying down, Rogue straightened up, wiping a fake tear away, "What do we have?"

Rolling his eyes, Ryan opened up a cupboard and started turning cans to see the labels, "Let's see, we have classic chicken noodles, beef burrito, jambalaya," he began before being cut off.

"Jambalaya, final answer," blurted out Rogue from the kitchen table.

Setting the can aside, Ryan shook his head at Rogue's little joke, "Okay little miss millionaire, which should I get? Mushroom swiss burger, or baked potato with cheddar and bacon bits," he said holding both cans up.

"Hmmmmm," she said as she did an exaggerated chin rub, "Mushroom swiss. Baked potato actually sounds good."

"You're right, which is why I'm ignoring your pick," Ryan said, putting the mushroom swiss can away with a smirk.

"Then why even ask for my input?" Rogue asked with a growing smile.

While grabbing two pans, he glanced over his shoulder, "I would have considered your answer had you not said baked potato sounds good."

Propping her head up on her hand, Rogue just watched as Ryan got to work making their lunch. With a grin still plastered across her face, she drifted off into her own thoughts as Ryan focused on what he was doing. This is nice. Having someone worrying so much over me is new, and I like it.

"Oh how sweet Ryan! You're making me lunch! You're just so thoughtful!" exclaimed the blonde haired delinquent known as Tabitha.

Her smile turning into more of a glare towards the newcomer, Rogue peered at Ryan from the corner of her eye. Though she couldn't see his exact expression, she could indeed tell he had gone rigid, as if every muscle in his body had just received a shock of electricity. Shifting her attention back to the situation at hand, she watched Tabitha as she draped an arm over Ryan's shoulder, whispering something in his ear.

Leaning back in her chair, Rogue folded her arms across her chest, silently fuming. While it may have been clear that Ryan wasn't particularly happy about Tabitha showing up, he still wasn't voicing any objections towards her statement. I'll have to ask him what this is about later, she thought as Tabitha finally turned around and saw her.

"Oh hey Rogue, what are you doing here?" she asked, leaning on the back of the chair opposite her.

With a huff, Rogue locks eyes with the troublesome blonde, "Oh nothing," she said, shifting her gaze to Ryan who was sending an apologetic look back, "Nothing. At. All."

Clasping her hands together, Tabitha cheered, "Really? Then do you mind if Ryan and I have the kitchen to ourselves? There's something I need to talk to him about."

Thinking for a moment, a grin appeared across Rogue's pale features as she leaned her chair back and balanced it on the back legs, "You sure? I mean I'm really comfortable here. Besides, you can trust me, I can keep a secret."

Tabitha's playful demeanor began to drop as her eyes began to narrow, "Sure. You don't mind do you Don-"

"We can have lunch another time Rogue, this is really important," Ryan blurted out, almost pleading with her to go.

Surprised by his statement, Rogue focused on his expression, as if it held the answer to any question she had. And to her satisfaction, it gave her all the reason she needed to do as she was told. On the surface, it looked as if he had been pleading with her to leave, however when she looked further, she noticed something more. Panic. Setting the legs of her chair on the floor, Rogue got up and left without another word.

As she left, Ryan let out a heavy sigh, unhappy with what he had just done. Taking his hat off, he ran his hand through his hair before replacing it. Glancing down at a timer he had set, he spoke, "What do you want?"

Tabitha gasped in mock surprise, "I was just trying to help keep your secret. God knows what could happen if you let it slip that you're Donnie! You know what they say, loose lips sink ships. And we wouldn't want her sinking your ship now would we? Besides, I'm hungry and you're making… something."

Slowly, Ryan turned to face the source of most of his recent distress with a look of disbelief, "Even if I did tell her, I doubt she'd be the one to let it slip. Hell you almost told her yourself!"

Tabitha's lips curled upwards into a sly grin, "I had to coax you into getting her out of here somehow, didn't I?"

Exhaling heavily, Ryan shook his head as the timer went off. Emptying the pots into individual bowls, Ryan took the bowls to the kitchen table, leaving the pots to clean for later, "Which do you want?" he asked dryly and disinterested.

"Which is which?"

"This one is jambalaya, and the other is baked potato with cheddar and bacon bits," he said pointing to each bowl.

"I'll take the baked potato one," she replied, pulling it towards her.

With a roll of his eyes, Ryan took the other bowl and set it in the microwave, not fully closing it. Filling one sink with water, he began cleaning the pots, much to Tabitha's confusion.

"You not gonna eat?"

Still facing away, Ryan replied, "Not hungry anymore."

"Oh well, suit yourself," she said with a shrug, "Since your over there, grab me a spoon will ya."

Ryan paused, contemplating his options before grabbing a spoon and approaching his blackmailer, holding it out for her. Just as she was about to grab it, he shoved it handle first into the soup and went back to the sink. To his surprise, she didn't respond to his action and ate in silence.

Minutes later, he finished cleaning the pots and set them aside to dry. Seeing Tabitha was paying more attention to her phone than him, he grabbed a spoon and the jambalaya from the microwave and left the kitchen. While it wasn't particularly against the rules to eat anywhere but the dining room and kitchen, he knew it depended more on the person and their history of leaving dishes elsewhere.

Walking upstairs, and heading to the dorms he had spent the least time at, he eventually made it to Rogue and Kitty's shared room. Knocking on the door, he was met by silence. Sighing, he concluded that no one was inside and started to turn to leave. Just as he did, the door opened to reveal an annoyed Rogue.

"What do you want?" she asked blindly before seeing who exactly was on the other side of the door. Though as soon as she realized who was standing there, her ticked off expression gave way to a softer, more surprised one.

"Hey, figured I'd bring you your lunch. Tabitha took mine so I decided to bring you yours," he said holding out the warm bowl.

Shocked, she slowly took the bowl in her hands, before asking, "What are you gonna eat then?"

Ryan shrugged, "I'm not really hungry anyway."

Just as he finished his sentence, the sound of what Rogue could only assume was betrayal came from his gut. Smirking, Rogue looked up at the now slightly red faced brunette as if to say, "Really?"

"Okay, maybe a little, I'll just make a sandwich."

Unsatisfied, Rogue held the bowl in one hand, and grabbed Ryan's shirt in the other, dragging him into the room. As she turned to keep pushing him into the room, she used her foot to swing the door closed. Afterwards, she walked around Ryan and sat on her bed gently as to not have any of the bowl contents come sloshing out. Looking up, she noticed Ryan had yet to move from the spot she had let go of his shirt.

"What? Never been in a girl's room before?" she asked in a mocking tone.

She soon realized this was indeed the case as he let out a nervous chuckle with his eyes darting around the room. Sighing, she couldn't help but smile at his surprising amount of innocence considering his background.

"Relax, and sit down. Ain't nothing to be nervous about, we are friends right?" she asked, gesturing him over to her.

Pausing momentarily, he nodded, "Yeah, you're right, just two friends, hanging out." Her smile grew bigger as he walked over and sat on the floor next to her with his back against her bed.

"See? Not weird at all, just two friends, hanging out in one of their rooms, eating," she said, laying on her bed sideways facing him. Propping herself up on her elbow, she raised the spoon blowing on it gently.

To his surprise, she then lowered it down next to his face, "Nah, you eat it, I'm fine," he said, trying to get her to take the spoon back.

"But isn't it kind of a chef's job to taste the food to make sure it tastes right?"

Sighing, he shook his head a little, "You got me there." Reaching for the spoon, he opened his mouth slightly, thinking he was about to have it in hand. Much to his disbelief, Rogue slipping said spoon between his lips. Understanding what had been done, Ryan did his best to hold back a laugh while he swallowed the food and she retrieved the spoon. This didn't work for long as he soon erupted into a boisterous laugh, which then caused Rogue to giggle uncontrollably, almost dropping the utensil onto the carpet.

"Totally not weird, I swear!" she exclaimed between her giggling fits.

Rolling his eyes, Ryan turned to look at her over his shoulder, "Oh yeah, it's totally not weird to just randomly spoon feed your guy friend in your room."

Rogue's laughter immediately came to a halt and her lips pursed. With realization settling in, her usual pale complexion turned deep red quickly. In an effort to avoid eye contact, she gazed at the wall in the opposite direction of her visitor. Obviously enjoying her reaction, Ryan started laughing again, now falling over onto his side.

Eventually, both teens' laughter died, engulfing the room in a brief silence. Both smiling, their eyes met, and neither dared to look away like they were having a staring contest.

Finally, Rogue broke the silence, "So? How is it?"

Scrunching his face, Ryan moved his mouth around a bit, clearly making fun of the tasters that always show up in movies and on tv. Holding up a finger, he smacked his lips a few more times before locking eyes once again with the other brunette, "It's pretty good, a bit spicy, but good."

"Good. I like spicy jambalaya," she said, plopping a spoonful into her mouth, never breaking eye contact.

Jaw slightly agape, Ryan grinned, "If that wasn't awkward, I don't know what is."

Sighing, Rogue shoved yet another spoonful into Ryan's face, "Oh shut up."

This went on for a while until the bowl was empty. Setting it to the side, Rogue rested her eyes on the ceiling, pondering whether to bring up something that had been on her mind since she left the kitchen.

"Why were you acting so weird back in the kitchen when Tabitha came in?"

Rogue knew she had really shocked him as his body went visibly rigid. Relative silence enveloped the room, only being interrupted by birds outside the window, or an overly loud student down the hall. As the seconds turned to minutes, her patience was clearly being tested as she tapped her finger on the bed, making no audible sound to alert Ryan to her growing annoyance. With her agitation growing with the second, she narrowed her eyes, staring at the back of Ryan's head, as if doing so would accelerate his answer.

Eventually, Ryan let out a heavy sigh, drooping his head. Turning his head slightly, Rogue could partially see his eye, and the frustration it held, though it didn't seem directed towards her. Then, he spoke, "Tabitha knows a secret of mine. A big secret, one I try to not reveal to anyone, unless I feel it would make sense."

"Then how does she know?" Rogue spat.

Ryan paused, "Because she overheard me telling Forge."

"Wait, you told Forge and not me?" Rogue asked, eyes widening.

"Well," he began before trailing off. It seemed as if the silence would make its return until he continued, "It made sense to tell him. Besides, he's been putting so much of his own time into making something to help me with my powers, that it felt wrong not to tell him."

Rogue couldn't help but feel insulted that he hadn't told her his secret, though she assumed it to be the one she had discovered on her own, it would have been nice to know he wanted her to know who he was. Her displeased expression now long gone, she took on a much more somber look as her head hung slightly at his distrust. I can't really blame him I guess. I did avoid him for a while just because of what I know about him… Still it hurts to not be trusted, it's like back when I first came here all over again, she mused inwardly.

Dragged back to the real world, she jolted up, locking eyes with Ryan like they had done earlier, only this time, he had a look of dead seriousness in his eyes, "You want to know, don't you?"

Subconsciously, Rogue nodded slowly, hanging on Ryan's every word. She wanted him to trust her, to trust him with such a major secret of his that she was already keeping without his knowledge. But on the other hand, she didn't want him to force himself into telling her. She wanted him to tell her under his own free will, without him feeling guilty for not including her.

"I want to know, but not now. Tell me when you think I should know, if that time ever comes," she said as a small, warm smile made its way across her light features.

Taken off guard by her response, Ryan tilted his head forward, "I'm sure it will come, sooner than either of us probably think honestly. Besides, it'll eventually come out anyways, I'd rather one of my best friends hear it from me first."

A/N - Okay, I get it. Its been about a year since I updated this. And what makes it worse is that this chapter has been ready for the entire time... BUT I have a somewhat good reason for not publishing it. I had actually sent the chapter to my beta reader at the time to have them look at it for me... Well... They never replied so I was never comfortable posting it as I would likely not be able to find anywhere near all the mistakes in it. I finally decided to try and do it myself and this is what resulted. If anyone would like to Beta for this, feel free to PM me.