A/N: I totally apologize for taking four months off from this story. I've had a ton of things to do, and because of it, I put this story on the back burner...and sort of forgot about it. However, because of my faithful readers (you know who you are), the reviews I've been getting jogged my memory, and I started writing once more. Hopefully, I'll be able to write the next chapter in less than four months. (I will, I'm just joking.) Thanks so much to all of my readers - you guys ROCK!
Gynx8: I know how you feel. Logan is one of my favorite characters, and yet I'm making him out to be the bad guy in the story. Hopefully, I'll be able to transfer most of the blame to Jean. However, nobody knows how the story's gonna turn out (including me). We'll just have to see.
Lunafan: Yeah, I'm a die-hard romantic at heart. I can't help but make everything all mushy and happy...despite the fact that real life doesn't always work that way. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one too.
FredWeasleyLover1126: I'm honored that you think that this is the best fanfiction you've ever read. You just made my day. Seriously. I love to hear from my readers, and that's extremely high praise. Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you have the others.
Harpiebird: Trust me, I plan to finish this fanfic, no matter how long it takes. (I don't know how long it's going to be, that all depends on what ideas come to me, but still.) Thank you so much for the nice review.
bluemoon-175: Here's the update. Next time, I'll try to get the chapters out every two weeks or so. However, it all depends on school. I'll do my best, though. Thanks for the review!
UltimateRider: I'm glad you love the story - it's always nice to find that people enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it. Thanks so much!
SouthernLoner: Yeah, me too. There are way too few Scouge stories out there. I'm glad you like mine, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
And now, the long overdue Chapter Eight.
The Life of an Untouchable – Chapter Eight
October 2nd, 2006 – 3:45 PM, My Bedroom
It's official – I'm going to die of a heart attack at the age of nineteen. Okay, well, that's not true, but it's how I feel right now. Scott's taking me out for a night of dinner and dancing, and I'm busy panicking my head off (which isn't really helping me get ready, may I add). We're leaving in a little less than two hours, and I don't think I'm going to be finished by then. (Jubilee says I'll be done way before then, but I don't exactly believe her.) I've already taken a shower, but I still have to get dressed and have Jubes and Kitty help me with my hair. Help!
Kitty just told me to think about something else to distract me, but what should I think about? I rant about classes too much, and if I think about Logan and Jean (both of whom still aren't treating me normally), I'll just get myself upset. Hmm…Jubes suggests talking about my outfit (typical Jubilee), so here goes. My dress is a beautiful shade of aquamarine that matches the color of the ocean. The sleeves come down to slightly above my elbows, and they're made of this see-through flowy material that's light as air; the torso part of the dress forms a "v" from the tops of the sleeves to just above my chest, and the skirt hangs just below my knees. (It's made of the kind of material that flows out in a swirl when you turn around, much like the girls always wear in the movies.) I went out to the mall this morning to buy a pair of elbow-length gloves to match, and they're perfect. With Kitty's earrings and Beth's high heels in addition to the gloves, I feel like a princess.
I can tell that tonight is going to be wonderful. I trust Scott's judgment completely, so I'm sure that wherever he takes me, I'm bound to have a great time. (He's also known to have very good taste, so that's just another reason to trust him.) Kitty just finished my hair – wait, Jubes went to get a flower barrette, so I'm almost done, but even so – WOW. My hair's pulled up in a simple ponytail in the back with sections curled in ringlets that bounce when I move. In the front, there's a ringlet on each side of my face. I'm not trying to be snobby or anything, but I look gorgeous. Jubilee and Kitty did a wonderful job, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. All I can say is this: Scott's gonna be speechless.
I can't believe an hour and fifteen minutes has passed already while I've been getting dressed. Well, it's time to go. Let's hope that in my advanced state of nervousness, I don't trip and go careening down the main staircase. That would be horrible. The last thing I need right now is another trip to the med lab. I'll make sure to write another entry once I get back home, explaining how much fun I had. Well, I really have to go now – if I don't, I'll be late. Later, diary!
Rogue put her pen inside her diary, which she in turn sat down on her bed. She looked at her two best friends, the emotion in her eyes saying what words alone could not. Smiling at Jubilee and Kitty, she spoke.
"Thank you guys so much. You don't know how much this means to me."
"I think we do, chica," Jubilee said, getting up from the chair she had been sitting on across the room to plop herself down on the bed.
"Yeah," Kitty piped up, smiling at Rogue. "You and Mister Summers need this time alone, and we're more than happy to help."
"As long as you tell us everything that happened once you get back," Jubilee added, smirking. "I'll need details, girl – everything you can give me."
Marie smiled and hugged her two best friends. Looking at them, she realized just how lucky she was. She was a mutant who had found sanctuary, friends, and a family. It was something that was irreplaceable in her heart, and she knew that she would treasure that fact forever. Wiping a small tear from her eye, she smiled again.
"Thank ya so much," Marie said, her accent becoming more evident in her emotional state.
"You're welcome, chica. Now go!"
Rogue grinned and put her hand up in a mock-salute as she stood. Buckling the belt on her high heels (Beth had let her borrow them for the night), she crossed the room and was almost out the door when she turned around.
"Thank ya again."
"GO!" both girls yelled simultaneously.
Marie grinned again and left the room. Earlier in the day, she and Scott had agreed to meet in the foyer when the time came for them to leave, so she started down the hallway in that direction. As she walked down the hallway, she noticed quite a few of the mansion's boys stick their heads out of their bedroom doorways to look at her as she passed. Grinning, she made it to the staircase unscathed. (It was obvious that all of the boys had been too dumbfounded to do anything more than stare.) As Marie headed down the stairs into the foyer, she noticed that Scott wasn't there yet. Nodding to herself and at the same time hoping that the butterflies in her stomach would disappear, she noticed that there were voices coming from the kitchen. Though Marie could only catch snatches of what was being said, it was enough to figure out who the voices belonged to: Logan and Jean. Suddenly, there was the sound of a chair being dragged backwards, and two seconds later, Logan came strolling out of the kitchen into the foyer, stopping dead as his gaze fell on Marie. Eyes widening, he moved a step closer, touching a gloved hand with one of his own, almost as if to see whether or not she was real.
"Ma-Marie?" he croaked, seemingly having trouble finding his voice.
"Yes, Logan?"
A minute or two passed in which Logan opened and closed his mouth several times, not being able to find the right words. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Marie (who had been grinning the entire time), Logan broadened his vocabulary to one word.
"Wow."
Marie laughed, her eyes glinting in amusement.
"I'll take that as a compliment, sugar."
"Hell yeah, it's a compliment," Logan said, finally finding his voice. "You look beautiful, darlin'."
"Thanks, Logan," Marie replied, blushing slightly.
"You deserve it. So, where're you goin'? 'Cause unless I'm very mistaken, girls don't go out lookin' like that all the time."
Logan half-smiled at Marie, at the same time quirking a brow in question. Marie half-smiled back, although inside, she was panicking. 'What should I tell him? If I tell him I'm going out with Scott, he'll flip out, but if I lie to him, he'll see right through it! Ugh, what do I do?'
Marie opened her mouth to reply (though what she was going to say, she didn't have a clue) just as Scott walked down the stairs into the foyer, decked out in a tux and black tie. Logan's expression hardened instantly, and Marie whirled around, skirt swishing, in time to see Scott's smile be replaced with a scowl. Looking back and forth between the two men, Marie felt as if she was trapped in No Man's Land in the middle of World War III. Sighing audibly with her shoulders slumping, Marie turned to Logan.
"I'm going out," she said simply.
Logan growled and grabbed Marie's arm roughly as she turned back to face Scott, causing her to cry out in pain. Scott's eyes widened behind his shades and his scowl deepened as Logan pulled Marie to him.
"Let her go, Logan," Scott said calmly, the tone of his voice a huge contrast to the fire blazing in his eyes, visible even through the shades.
"Yeah, let me go!" Marie chirped, her voice slightly higher than normal due to the dull pain in her left arm.
"No," Logan replied, his eyes never leaving Scott's shades.
"Logan, let me go!"
Logan ignored the order, his hand still gripping Marie's left arm. Rogue knew better than to try and fight him off – if it had been anyone else, she might have considered it, but the fact that Logan was still grasping her hurt arm and that he was one of the strongest guys in the mansion made it stupid to try. A few of the mansion's kids had settled on the staircase and were watching the fight with interest (all of them were too young to help anyway). Scott had noticed this, and was looking back and forth between Logan and Marie, trying to figure out some way to end the fight. Despite his efforts, however, he couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't potentially backfire on him. If he risked taking a shot at Logan, it was possible that he might hit Marie accidentally, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen right now, especially because she was already hurt. However, if he didn't shoot, what was he to do? What other options were left? Making up his mind, Scott spoke.
"Logan, let her go. This is between you and me. If you want to pick a fight, go ahead, but leave Marie out of it."
Scott took a step closer to Logan, and in response, Logan took a step back, dragging Marie with him and releasing the claws on his right hand with a SNIK'T. Marie jumped in Logan's arms and her heart rate practically doubled, something that Wolverine picked up on almost immediately. Looking down at the girl in his arms for the first time in minutes, Logan spoke.
"I'm doing this for you, y'know," he said quietly.
"For me?!" Marie exploded at him, wrenching her arm out of his grasp – his grip had slackened due to lack of attention. "How is this for me, may I ask?"
As Logan tried to put his thoughts into words, Marie backed up out of his reach and into Scott's arms, her heels clicking on the tile floor as she walked. The number of students watching from the stairs had doubled by this point, and in that number included students old enough to help quell the argument, such as Kitty, Jubilee, and Bobby. However, they were all smart enough to know not to get involved in a fight between Cyclops and Wolverine.
"I swore to protect you," Logan said, eyes gleaming with anger at Scott as he released the claws on his other hand, "and I plan to keep my word."
Marie had known from the moment that Scott had come down that a fight between the two was inevitable. 'However,' she thought to herself, 'I'm gonna do my best to stop it.' Slowly, purposefully, Marie moved to stand in between Scott and Logan with her back to Cyclops. She knew that Scott would never hurt her intentionally (or at all, if he could help it), and as of this moment, it was Logan that was the problem.
"Marie, move," Scott said, giving her a gentle shove, his eyes never leaving Logan's.
"No."
"Marie, move."
"No."
"Marie, move, damnit!"
Marie raised her eyebrows at Scott's comment – he only ever cursed when he was really angry – at the same time taking two steps to the right as she turned to face her boyfriend. Opening her mouth to retort, Logan saw that moment as the perfect opportunity to take a swipe at Scott, who had his eyes on Marie and was temporarily distracted. As three lines of blood appeared as scratches on Scott's face (Marie screamed), Scott let loose an optic blast that sent Logan crashing into the foyer wall at the far end of the room, creating quite a few cracks in the drywall. Moving closer to Scott with concern in her eyes, Marie put a gloved hand to his face, her back to Logan. She was so worried over the fact that Scott was hurt that she didn't see Logan get up from where he had been thrown, fire blazing in his eyes. Scott also didn't see it; he was looking down at Marie, trying to assure her that he was okay.
"Chica, look out!"
Marie whirled around at Jubilee's yell, just in time to have Logan's claws pierce her left arm, the same one that had been hurt by him earlier. At that moment, as Professor Xavier, Hank, and Storm walked into the foyer, their views of Marie blocked by Logan's body, it was almost as if time had stopped. Everyone with the exception of the three of them ceased to move. Xavier and Storm had looks of extreme displeasure on their faces, and Hank was wearing a puzzled expression, trying to figure out why Scott looked so helpless at the current moment. One second later, time had been set back in motion again: Jubilee and Kitty screamed, Logan retracted his claws with a panicked look, and Marie collapsed into Scott's arms, her left arm bleeding at a very quick rate. As Scott grabbed Marie's arm and began putting pressure on it (causing her to wince badly and curse), Hank rushed over to Scott's side.
"What happened here?" Xavier asked.
While all this had been going on, Logan hadn't moved an inch; he was standing still as a statue with the panicked look still on his face. As Jean rushed into the foyer with Hank's medical bag (it was obvious that Xavier had sent her the message to bring it telepathically), Ororo began shepherding the students who had been watching from the staircase up to their rooms. Jean levitated Rogue using her telekinesis, and together, she, Rogue, and Hank left the foyer, heading for the med lab. Scott went to follow, but Xavier sent him a mental nudge before he could leave the room.
'Wait a moment, Scott. I'd like to speak with you.'
Scott nodded numbly in reply and stopped in mid-step; as of the current moment, he was barely aware of what was going on around him. Marie was hurt, and that was all that really mattered to him right now. He was so out of it that he didn't even have the heart to yell at Logan for what he had done.
"Logan," Xavier began, but the sound of Charles' voice seemed to break the trance-like state Wolverine had been in, and despite the Professor's further urgings, Logan left out the front door; his bike could be heard leaving the driveway two minutes later.
Sighing audibly, Xavier turned to Cyclops, who hadn't moved since he had received the mental message; he was standing in the middle of the foyer, looking lost and helpless.
"Scott, what happened?"
A few seconds passed, during which Scott tried to gather his thoughts before speaking. Xavier waited patiently, at the same time giving Scott the once-over. It was obvious from the three diagonal scratches on the fearless leader's left cheek that the fight between one of his oldest students and the Wolverine had contained more than just words. Sighing, Charles met the younger man's gaze as he began telling the story.
"Marie and I were going out – I had asked her last night if she had wanted to have dinner with me tonight and go dancing afterwards. She had said yes."
Scott smiled briefly at the memory, then continued with his anecdote.
"We had agreed earlier this morning to meet in the foyer when we were ready to go. She finished first, because when I got down here, she was already here – and she wasn't alone. Logan was with her."
Xavier nodded, encouraging Scott to continue. Scott walked over to the staircase and sat down on the landing, then resumed his story, scowling slightly.
"I don't know what they had been talking about before I got down, but she told him she was going out, and he didn't seem happy with that answer – or to approve, for that matter. He grabbed her left arm as she was turning around, and she screamed – obviously, he had pulled something the wrong way, because she was in pain. I tried to persuade Logan to let Marie go, but he wouldn't listen to reason. He told her something about his promise to protect her, and that he wasn't going to break his word."
Scott shook his head angrily, the fury he felt flashing through his eyes behind the ruby-red shades.
"Protect her, my ass!" he burst out, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "That was just an excuse to get to me!"
"Scott, please," Xavier said, trying his best to calm the younger man. "Continue."
Taking a deep breath, the leader of the X-Men sighed, then continued with his story, at the same time running a hand through his hair again.
"She managed to break free of his grasp and make her way back over to me, but we were both too distracted to see him coming before it was too late. He scratched me, and I sent him flying into the far wall. I can pay for that if you need me to," Scott added after a few seconds' pause.
"No, that won't be necessary. Just continue, please."
"Well, Marie was looking at the scratches with her back to Logan, and I was looking down at her – oh! Be sure to thank Jubilee. If it wasn't for her yell, one of us would be in a lot worse shape than we are now."
Scott nodded, almost as if trying to confirm with himself that what he was saying was indeed the truth. After another few seconds' pause, he continued.
"So, Jubilee yelled, Marie whirled around, and Logan stabbed her in the left arm – the same arm he had hurt before, mind you. Two seconds later, you, Storm, and Hank walked in. You know the rest."
Scott sighed, then closed his eyes as he let his head drop into his hands. Xavier could hear Cyclops trying (and failing) to hold himself together as he wheeled himself over and put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. Abruptly, Scott looked up, staring helplessly at his mentor.
"If I had been paying more attention to Logan – "
"Don't think that way, Scott," Xavier said as he cut the younger man off. "This isn't your fault. You did what you could, and that's all I could ever ask of you."
"But that's not true!" Scott exclaimed as he got up from his spot on the stairs and began pacing up and down the foyer floor. "Charles, I could have prevented this!"
"No, you couldn't!" Xavier shot back, raising his voice so that it echoed in the almost empty room.
Scott stopped his pacing and looked directly at Xavier. In all the years that he had known Charles, his mentor had only raised his voice twice – both were in times of dire need when the team had been falling apart at the seams, and in both cases, it had solved the problem. It took the shock of hearing Xavier yell to get Cyclops to pull himself back together again.
"I'm sorry, sir," Scott said quietly, looking at the floor.
"It's all right, Scott," Xavier replied, resuming his normal tone as if nothing had happened. "Everyone needs to let their emotions loose from time to time. Even you. It's part of what helps us cope."
Scott nodded, sitting back down on the staircase landing. Undoing his bow tie, he looked up at Xavier.
"I'm just so worried – what if the wound leave a scar? What if Hank can't fix her? What if she can't ever use that arm again? What if – "
"Scott, enough. Sitting there wondering 'what if?' will only make this harder on you. I'm sure that Hank will be able to patch Rogue up. Now, why don't you head down to the med lab to see for yourself?"
Scott nodded once more and got up off the stairs, at the same time brushing dirt off his tux jacket. Smiling slightly, he sent a mental 'thank you' to Xavier as he left the room. He was heading for the staircase right around the corner that would lead him to the lower level of the mansion where the med lab was located, and Charles could hear his thoughts even as he put more distance between them. (Xavier was used to this – for Scott especially, the more stressed he became, the more he unknowingly projected his thoughts.) As Scott left, Xavier smiled to himself.
'She's the best thing that's ever happened to him, and he to her. They make each other truly happy.'
With a smile at that final thought, Xavier left the foyer and headed for his office.
Scott took the stairs two at a time as he headed for the mansion's underground level. His hair was a mess, his bow tie was untied and in danger of falling off completely, and yet, as he entered the med lab, he still looked like the perfect example of authority. It was amazing (and frankly, it puzzled many of the students) how he could look like a complete mess by his own normal standards, but by anyone else's, he still looked fine. Despite that fact, Scott Summers felt like a complete wreck. Walking past the table with Hank's and Jean's microscopes on it, his gaze found Hank leaning over Marie on a table in the far corner of the room. As he approached where Hank stood, he had to will his heart to slow down – his heart rate had practically doubled since he had entered the room.
"How is she?" Scott asked, his gaze traveling back and forth between Hank, who was looking at him, to Marie, who was lying down on the table with her eyes closed.
"She'll live, don't you worry. Surprisingly, none of the bones in her arm were broken. I put a bandage around the wound that'll need to stay on for at least three weeks while it heals, so make sure she keeps it on," Hank replied, his eyes still trained on Cyclops.
At that moment, Marie mumbled something unintelligible, slightly startling Scott, who hadn't been aware that she was awake.
"What was that?" Scott asked, smiling slightly. "I didn't quite catch it."
Marie opened her eyes and smiled at Scott, quite glad to see his face. The light from the fluorescent bulbs of the med lab reflected off his shades, masking his eyes in the glare.
"I said, 'so much for dinner and dancing,'" Marie replied, her smile wilting slightly. "And here I was thinking that I was gonna have a good night."
Scott laughed as he pulled up a chair and sat down, his eyes twinkling behind the ruby-red shades. It never ceased to amaze him how much he cared about Marie. After all, it had only been three weeks ago that Jean had left him for Logan. In the meantime, he had fallen in love with Rogue, and fallen hard. Looking at her sitting there in front of him, Scott realized that he was looking at his world. He loved Marie with all of his heart, and nothing was going to change that. To quote The Princess Bride, "this is true love – do you think this happens every day?"
"Well, if you count getting stabbed for the second time in your life fun, then I'd say you had a good night," Scott said, earning him a playful shove from his girlfriend.
Hank watched the two with a knowing smile and a twinkle in his eyes. Being the quiet person that he normally was, his characteristics allowed him to observe the interaction between members of the X-Men without having his motives questioned. Before Logan and Jean had left the mansion for their two week jaunt, Hank had told Xavier that Jean would leave Scott.
"She's going to leave him, you know," Hank commented lightly to Xavier over lunch.
The two were sitting in Charles' study, enjoying a cup of tea together as they watched Scott and Jean sitting together on the hammock outside. Scott had his arms around Jean as they lay there in the summer breeze, rocking the hammock slowly with his foot. The two looked like they were having a genuinely good time, neither exhibiting signs of discontent. Xavier looked away from the window to cock an eyebrow at Dr. McCoy.
"You really think so, Henry?" Xavier asked, and when Hank nodded, he continued. "And what would give you that idea?"
Hank shifted his gaze to looking out the window; Scott and Jean were now sitting up, one on each side of the hammock, balancing the weight so that it didn't tip over and knock one or both of them off. He could see them talking, but what about would remain a mystery.
"Jean's getting restless. She's tired of doing the same things with the same people – including Scott – every day, and pretty soon, she's going to change that."
"You say that like she's told you in person," Xavier said, meeting McCoy's gaze again.
"Charles, she practically has."
Xavier took another look out the window, then faced his friend again.
"Henry, you may be right about her going to change – I've sensed it from her as well – but I highly doubt she's going to leave Scott. The two are practically inseparable."
Two weeks after that conversation, Jean did indeed leave Scott as she took off with Logan on the back of his bike. Focusing his attention back on Scott and Marie, he found that the two had lapsed into pleasant conversation. Marie was now sitting up with her back against the wall, and Scott was still standing, leaning his weight against the examination table that Marie was sitting on. Clearing his throat, the two younger mutants stopped talking and looked up at him expectantly.
"Rogue, you're free to go. However, you know the rules. No strenuous activity for at least three weeks, and be careful not to get the bandage wet."
Marie nodded and went to get down off the table when Hank took a step forward and interrupted her movements, speaking once again.
"Oh, and you might need someone to help you dress and undress," Hank said, throwing a wink in Scott's direction. "You most likely won't be able to get shirts on and off by yourself for at least three weeks."
Scott raised his eyebrows as Marie flushed as brightly as the setting sun, dropping her gaze to the floor. Hank gave the two a final nod before turning and heading in the direction of the chemical supply closet, leaving Scott and Marie alone. A minute or two passed before either one moved or said anything. Finally, Scott spoke.
"Do you need any help getting down?"
Marie lifted her gaze from the floor for the first time in minutes to look at Scott. Flashing him a small smile, she wiggled her body to the edge of the table and jumped down. Grabbing his hands in her own (Hank had left her gloves on as he bandaged her arm), Marie leaned up and kissed him. Stepping back a pace, she smiled at him again.
"I think I'm okay for now."
Scott smiled in return, not moving from where he stood. After a few minutes of standing immobile, Marie raised one eyebrow at him.
"What?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and wearing an expression that reminded Scott very much of Logan.
Chuckling, Scott took the few steps necessary to place him directly in front of Marie, grabbed her hands, brought them up to his mouth, and kissed them. The confused expression on Marie's face faded to be replaced with a smile.
"I was just admiring your dress…and you in it," Scott said, grinning at her as the two of them headed for the door to the med lab.
"Well, thanks. You don't look so bad yourself, handsome."
Marie grinned back at Scott as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. Stopping where they were (halfway to the door), Scott leaned down and kissed Marie, making sure to break the contact between them before her mutation kicked in and started sucking him dry. Smiling at her again as they broke apart, Scott playfully yanked on one of the ringlets in Marie's ponytail. Marie opened her mouth to say something about it, but Scott put a hand over her mouth in an effort to be able to speak first.
"You really do look beautiful, you know."
Marie's expression softened as she ceased struggling against him. Blushing slightly, she spoke.
"Thank you."
Marie flushed again as Scott kissed the top of her head.
"I just wish this hadn't happened. I really wanted to go out for dinner and go dancing."
"We can always do that another night," Scott replied as they left the med lab and headed for the staircase to go upstairs. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"I don't know if you can call getting stabbed with foot-long adamantium claws 'okay,' but – "
"What I meant was that there's no lasting damage," Scott interrupted, putting an arm around Marie's shoulders as they walked.
"Yeah, true."
They walked along in silence for a while, having run out of things to say. When they reached the foyer where the whole thing had started, Marie stopped dead in her tracks, looking at the empty room almost as if she could see the incident play out before her eyes. Scott, who had reached the stairs before realizing that Marie had stopped, walked back over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Marie glanced up, looking almost as if she had just come out of a trance.
"Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at his girlfriend with concern.
"Yeah," Marie replied, shaking her head slightly almost as if to clear her head. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for asking, Scott."
Scott smiled and nodded, then kissed the top of her head. Glancing quickly at the stairs, then back at Marie, he spoke.
"If you wanted to go upstairs and change, that's fine by me. We can have dinner afterward, too, if you'd like.."
"Uh, that would be nice. I'm sorry we didn't get to go out and eat, though."
"Marie, you don't have to be sorry at all; it's not your fault," Scott replied as the two climbed the stairs together.
"It is, though," Marie said, pushing the door open to her room and walking inside – Scott shut the door behind himself. "If I hadn't gotten in the middle – "
"Look, what's done is done," Scott said as he sat down on the bed. "It's over. Don't worry about it. Now, do you need help getting changed?"
Marie flushed a deep crimson, but shook her head no, her gaze dropping to the floor once again.
"If I do, I'll let you know, okay?" she asked.
"That's fine," Scott replied, smiling as he got up off the bed and headed toward the door. "I'll meet you in the kitchen, all right?"
"Sounds good, sugar."
Scott turned away from the door, walked over to Marie, gave her a swift kiss, and left the room, heading for his own bedroom so that he could change out of his tux.
October 2nd, 2006 – 10:15 PM, Scott's Bedroom
I know I promised to give you all the wonderful details about my night of dinner and dancing, but I have one little problem with that. We never went. Yes, I can hear your shocked tone, diary – WHAT? You didn't go? Why not? You were so excited about this! What happened? Well, I'll tell you what happened. I got dressed, was all excited about having a marvelous night out with Scott, but I forgot about one teeny detail – Logan. I hadn't told him that I was going out because, naturally, he'd flip out if he knew. Well, I made it down to the foyer just as he was leaving the kitchen and coming my way. Me and my horrible timing. If I had come downstairs two minutes later, this whole thing could have been avoided. Well, he caught onto the fact that I was going out really quickly – I don't go to the mall dressed in an evening gown every day, y'know. So, there I was, trying to explain to him that I was going out, and Scott comes downstairs, dressed in a tux and black tie (Boy, did he look nice!). Within thirty seconds, all hell had broken loose. Let's just say that after a fight between the two of them, I ended up worse for the wear. Logan just has a bump to the back of his head (which is healing really quickly, that BASTARD!), Scott has three scratches on his face, and I, who did nothing to start this argument, ended up being stabbed in the arm. This WASN'T MY FAULT. Why then, may I ask, is it always me? So, long story short, that's why we never made it out to dinner tonight.
I'm not angry at Scott one bit. This wasn't his fault – Logan picked the fight, and Scott was just trying to keep me out of trouble. Logan's still not happy with the knowledge that Scott and I are dating. Even though he has what he's always wanted (Jean), and managed to snag her out from under Scott's nose, he's still not satisfied. And to think that the entire fight earlier started because he wanted to uphold the promise he made to protect me. I'm starting to think that his definition of "protection" and mine are two totally different things. As of right now, he's being more of a thorn in my side than a friend. It's true; he's one of my best friends in this place. However, if it takes breaking off my friendship with him to continue dating Scott, then I'll do it. I won't be happy about it, but if necessary, I will. I love Scott, and nothing's going to change that. As they say, true love knows no boundaries.
Scott's not here right now, although I wish he were. He's currently downstairs in Xavier's office talking to Charles about the fight. Jubilee came and delivered the message – she said something about Xavier wanting to be able to ratify Logan's side of the story. I don't think Scott was very happy about that. Personally, neither am I. After the fight ended and I was carried off to the med lab (I see way too much of that place!), he left on his bike and headed for God-Knows-Where. Based on what Jubilee said, however, I think Charles was able to coax him back. Even if he did come back, though, I'm not ready to talk to him. Well, speak of the devil. Guess who I hear knocking on the other side of the door? Yeah, you guessed it. Mister "I-Stabbed-You-But-Now-I-Want-To-Apologize-And-Start-Another-Argument" himself. Well, I suppose I have to handle this. Hopefully Scott shows up soon. I'm gonna need him to rescue me from this, I can feel it. Sigh. He's not gonna leave me alone until I talk to him, so I'll do it sooner rather than later. In a bit, diary.
Sighing to herself audibly, Marie shut her diary and set it down on the bed next to her. Flopping back on Scott's bed, she looked up at the ceiling as she called, "Come in." The door opened and Logan poked his head in. Spotting Rogue on the bed, he pushed the door open all the way and walked inside, stopping in the middle of the room, looking unsure of himself. After all, he was in Scott's room, a place he had vowed never to enter. After standing immobile for a minute or two, he spoke.
"Marie?"
"Yes, Logan?" Marie asked, not moving from her spot on Scott's bed.
Logan didn't answer immediately. Marie noticed that he was still looking around the room as if to make sure that there weren't any monsters that were going to jump out at him. Finally, when he seemed satisfied, he grabbed the chair from Scott's desk, turned it around, and sat down so that he was leaning on the back. Granted, he still looked uncomfortable; talking had never been Logan's strongpoint. After scowling for another moment or two, he spoke up.
"I, uh, wanted to apologize for hurtin' you," he said, looking at Marie and trying to make eye-contact with her.
Marie, who was still staring at the ceiling and refusing to make eye-contact with Logan, didn't reply. It was blatantly obvious that she was angry at him – even Logan, who wasn't very good with this kind of thing, understood that she was pissed off. Shutting his eyes for a moment and sighing to himself, he tried again.
"Marie, talk to me, baby."
Sitting up, Marie stared at Logan with fury flashing in her eyes.
"Don't you dare call me 'baby', Logan. First of all, I'm not yours to call pet names. Second, you stabbed me earlier. Does that not mean anything to you? Third, piss off."
Moving her gaze to stare at the ceiling again, Marie lay back down and went back to ignoring Logan. Running a hand through his hair, Logan sighed. This was not going to be easy, he could tell. Readying himself for the long haul, he spoke.
"Marie, I can't fix this if you won't talk to me," he growled.
"What part of 'piss off' don't you understand, Logan?" Marie asked, getting up and staring him in the face angrily.
"I'm not leavin' til I fix this, darlin'."
"Get out!" Marie yelled, pointing with her uninjured arm toward the door.
"No," Logan replied swiftly, his voice dangerously low.
If someone had opened Scott's bedroom door at that moment, it would have looked as if the two were having a standoff like those often seen in the old Western movies. Both were glaring at each other with fire in their eyes, and it was obvious that neither was going to back down unless his or her life depended on it. Marie was still pointing at the door, and Logan had knocked Scott's desk chair aside in his haste to stand up. Logan, being a good foot taller than Marie, had to look down at her, but Rogue showed no sign of being intimidated.
"Get. Out. NOW." Marie enunciated each word clearly, her tone radiating fury with every syllable.
"No."
Logan had never been one to back down from a challenge, and this case wasn't any different. He was determined to talk to Marie and work things out, and that was exactly what he was going to do. However, Marie seemed to have a different opinion on the subject. At Logan's refusal to leave, she had begun stripping off her gloves.
"You played chicken with me once, sugar," Marie said, her eyes gleaming with some indeterminable emotion. "And let me remind you – you lost."
Fury flashed briefly through Logan's eyes as he took a step closer to where Marie stood. Marie instinctively took a step back, causing Logan to chuckle darkly. The backs of her knees were touching the bed, meaning that she couldn't retreat any farther – he had her effectively pinned.
"Don't taunt the Wolverine unless you're willing to pay the price, baby."
That was it; Logan's last comment had done it. Something snapped inside Marie, and she knew there was no backing out now. Taking a step closer so that their bodies were touching, Marie ran her right hand along Logan's jaw (her left arm was in a sling, rendering it temporarily useless), finally letting it rest on the back of his neck. Logan's expression softened for a moment – until Marie's power kicked in. Her mutation was taking a toll on both of them, but Rogue was trying her best to appear unaffected.
"You promise me you'll … leave now and … I'll let go," Marie said, her gaze locked with Logan's as both of their breathing became increasingly more shallow as time passed.
"I want…to talk," Logan puffed out. "When…you agree, I'll…leave."
Only ten seconds had passed since Marie had originally touched Logan, but even with his healing factor, it was obvious that he was really starting to have trouble. The two were playing a dangerous game of chicken, and neither had any intention of letting go. Suddenly, the door to the bedroom opened and Scott stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway, shocked at the scene before him. The pile of books he had been carrying spilled out of his arms, but he made no motion to pick them up. Both Marie and Logan had heard the door open, but neither had moved their gaze away from the other.
"Let…go," Logan puffed, looking very close to passing out.
"Okay," Marie said simply before letting go and collapsing straight to the floor.
Scott rushed over to Marie's side as Logan hit the floor next to her. Taking one quick look at Logan to make sure he was okay, Scott rushed out of the room to find Hank. Fourteen hours later, Marie opened her eyes to the fluorescent lighting of the med lab.
"Ah, you're awake," Hank said, walking over to Marie's bedside.
"What – what day is it?" Marie asked as she continued to look at the ceiling; she knew that Hank wouldn't let her sit up until he was finished checking her over.
"Friday the third of October in the late evening. Charles says you are excused from classes today, seeing as he wasn't sure when you were going to wake up."
Hank smiled at Rogue as a call of "Marie!" sounded from across the room. Scott walked into the lab and over to where Marie lay with a weird expression on his face: half happiness, half concern. Taking one of her gloved hands in his (Hank had picked them up off the floor of Scott's bedroom when he had brought Marie down), Scott gave Marie a quick kiss on the top of the head. He then pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed as Hank finished looking Marie over, earning himself a smile in reply.
"I'm confining you to quarters and bed rest for the next three days," Hank said as he put Rogue's file away in one of the huge cabinets by the door, completely ignoring her noise of outrage. "And don't give me that look – if you had held on much longer, you could have killed both Logan and yourself. Luckily, with his healing factor, minimal damage was done."
By the way Marie's expression had transformed from one of outrage into one of abject horror in a matter of seconds, Hank could tell that she had completely forgotten about Logan and the game of chicken that had landed her in the med lab in the first place. Rogue sat up quickly on the exam table, then put a hand to her head, causing Scott to move closer, looking concerned. She hadn't counted on feeling dizzy when she sat up. After sitting in silence for thirty seconds or so trying to make the dizziness go away, she spoke.
"H-How is he?" she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer despite the fact that Hank had said 'minimal damage' had been done.
"He's okay…or about as okay as he usually is. Very woozy, though. He's upstairs in his room trying to sleep it off," the blue furry mutant replied. "Speaking of which, you should be as well."
"I don't have to stay here, though, do I?"
Hank took his glasses off his nose and sighed, looking at Marie, who had her eyes shut and had taken to using Scott as a pillow. He knew that Marie, like Logan, wouldn't like to be kept cooped up in the med lab. And if he did force her to stay, she would just serve as an annoyance and a distraction from his work. Making up his mind, Hank put his glasses back on his nose, speaking at the same time.
"No, you don't. However, I would like you to stay with someone who can help you if you need it. A responsible adult," he said, sending Scott a meaningful look.
Marie had opened her eyes during Hank's little speech, and nodded once he had finished. She instantly regretted the motion, however, because it made her head hurt even more than before; the dizziness had intensified by at least three times. Putting a hand to her head again, she shut her eyes and leaned back against Scott, immobile.
"Sure, Hank. Whatever. Now, d'you have somethin' to make my head feel better?" Marie asked, her southern accent becoming slightly more pronounced in her exhaustion.
"No, I don't," Dr. McCoy replied honestly. "Because this is a side effect of your mutation and not a real illness, I don't have anything to give you. I'm sorry."
Marie groaned, but still didn't move. To her, it almost felt like she was on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean – one that was caught in the middle of the storm of the century. Everything felt like it was moving, including the floor beneath her feet, and it wasn't helping the dizziness go away at all. Scott, who had been looking back and forth between Marie and Hank, turned so that he could grab Rogue and sit her up straight. Once he had done so, he picked up Marie carefully in his arms and took one last glance at Hank.
"I'll take her up to my room. Do you want me to bring her back down here once she's feeling better?" Scott asked, his eyes looking Hank up and down behind the ruby-red shades.
"Yes, that would be good."
Nodding at Hank, Scott began walking up to his room, making sure as to not go so quickly so that he would jostle Marie. The last thing he wished was to cause her more pain. After all, he loved her. He would die before hurting her, that was a promise he was sure to keep. It hurt him to see her in pain, and Scott knew that he would do everything it took to get Marie well again. Everything and anything.
October 5th, 2006 – 5:27 AM, Scott's Bedroom
Wow, I can't believe I slept for almost a day and a half. It was the afternoon of the third when Scott brought me up to his room from the med lab, and now it's early morning on the fifth. Geez. Scott's still asleep, but from the night or two I've spent before in his room, I know that his alarm rings at quarter to six, so he'll be awake soon. It was very nice of him to fetch my journal from my room and bring it here. I usually keep it on me at all times, but when I don't, I leave it on my bookshelf. We've only been dating for about a month now, and he already has my mannerisms and reactions down to a science. It's unbelievable. I mean, I've always known that the man was organized and observant, but I guess it just never hit this close to home before. It's nice, though, because it means he really cares. Sigh. I love him.
So, I'm confined to quarters (technically, Scott's quarters) for another day or so. Blech. Plus, I have to wear the sling on my left arm for another two weeks. I guess this effectively rules out all forms of activity and fun. Great. In other words, I'm confined to pure boredom for fourteen more days. Isn't that wonderful? Trust me, it's not. Please ignore the great big line going down the rest of the page – Scott just spoke and scared the hell outta me. I wasn't even aware he was awake. Geez. You could warn a person before doing that! (He just laughed. Sigh. The story of my life. Although he did just offer to make me breakfast, so I suppose I can forgive him. I love it when he cooks for me. YAY, Breakfast in BED!)
I wonder how Logan's doing. Most likely, with his healing factor, he's already out of bed and good as new. I, on the other hand, am far from that. Even with having absorbed him twice three times (I keep forgetting that the incident counts), I still don't have half the healing factor he does. Lucky. Oh well, I suppose each person has their own gifts (and in the case of mutants, that's definitely true and totally obvious). Sigh. I'm really curious as to if he's okay, but if I go and look for him, I have a feeling that this whole thing is just going to repeat itself, which I'd really rather avoid. Being stabbed twice is enough, thank you very much. Oh well. I'll debate whether or not to go check on him later. Breakfast has arrived. HOORAY!
Everyone needs a good boyfriend who can cook,
Marie