There was a good audience tonight. The interior of the small café was comfortably crowded, and each large, plump easy chair was filled. Subtle, spicy aromas of brewing tea swirled through the air. She had the best seat in the house, though, a single stool with a microphone, in front of a stage that dominated the back half of the room. She could see the crowds swirling below her, mostly teens, sipping tea and coffee or browsing the used bookshelves off to one side. This was the Ruby in the Smoke, one of the few remaining stores in New York that indiscriminately hired and served mutants, and the place that most of the teens at the institute hung out on Friday night. She had gotten a job here, as live entertainment last Saturday, and this would be the first time she played in front of crowds before. Light fizzles of adrenaline ran through her veins, buzzing over her skin, and she smiled nervously. She knew it would be all right – she loved to play guitar, and despite what some may think she was actually good at it, but that didn't stop her from being nervous.

Still–he was in the audience, smiling at her, and she knew on a bone –deep elemental level that nothing bad could happen with him watching over her.

Chatting happily, Kitty, Rayne, Jubilee, Tabitha and Bobby pushed open the door of the small café.

"Like, I heard that they got some new entertainment tonight "the chocolate-haired girl smiled brightly.

"Bout time" her perky Asian friend snorted "that smooth jazz band they had last week seriously sucked eggs". Laughing in agreement, the five friends chose seats around the café and turned towards the stage. It's red velvet curtains were pulled back, yet the lack of light revealed only a shadowy figure perched on top of the traditional performer's stool, guitar in hand. As the mysterious person began warming up, a hush fell over the crowd.

She reached out and grabbed the microphone in front of her, taking a deep breath. They had come, just like she had known they would, they would finally hear the truth. This was it .She cleared her throat and began to speak "this one's somethin' ah wrote fer mah ex-boyfriend, Bobby." with only a slight hesitation, she positioned her glove-clad hands over the familiar strings of her guitar and began to play. The lights above her clicked on, throwing her figure into sharp relief.

"Is that-Rogue?" Tabitha asked, squinting. "Aye, lass, I think it is!" Rayne was plainly startled "I, like, never knew rogue could play guitar" kitty beamed, excited for her friend. Bobby growled angrily.

"What does she mean, Ex?"

After a brief opening riff, Rogue pulled the microphone to her lips and began to sing softly.

"According to you
I'm stupid,
I'm useless,
I can't do anything right."

Her piercing, silver-flecked green eyes seemed to single Bobby out of the crowd, and he squirmed slightly

under her accusing glare.

Flashback: /well, no wonder Rogue's not going on the mission" Bobby chuckled to Roberto. "Pretty much useless, isn't she? And Logan can't spare any of us to hold her hand" Neither of the smirking boys notice a fuming Rogue, her eyes filled with tears, hiding behind a nearby pillar/

According to you
I'm difficult, hard to please,

Forever changing my mind.

I'm a mess in a dress,
Can't show up on time,
Even if it would save my life.
According to you. According to you.

Flashback:/

"God, Rogue, your so difficult – do you ever have it together?" the blonde surfer furiously banged on a closed wooden door.

"This is the third time in a row you've run out on me!" Inside, a miserable Rogue was bent over her private toilet, spewing her guts into its porcelain depths. She could taste the sharp copper of blood in her mouth. Her clothes and skin were plastered to her body with sweat, and wave after wave of endless nausea surged through her stomach. He wouldn't understand-she had done it for him; gotten the cure for him, so that they could touch-so that she could finally feel the touch of another human being. Now she was being punished for it. But of course, why would he care about anything but that this was the third time she had run off during the middle of a make- out session?

"This must be what hell feels lahke"

"But according to him
I'm beautiful,
Incredible,
He can't get me out of his head."

She still remembered the day she had met him-so much better than Bobby ever was, or ever could be. How he had brushed the mixed ivory and auburn bangs out of her eyes with gentle fingers, and told her she was beautiful. She chuckled slightly. Well, actually, what he had said was ;/ " Mon dieu"it was whispered in a sharp, inhaled breath, with a deep Louisiana accent caressing each word. He-for the voice was undoubtedly male- sounded like melted chocolate, spice and sin. "Are you for real?" her gazed focused sharply on her sketchpad, while curious ears strained for another sound of that voice. Man-did she envy whomever he was talking to-"get a hold of yarself, Rogue. Probably one of those Cajun snake-charmers momma al'ays used ta warn ya about" yet, surely there could be no harm in luxuriating in that voice…. the next time she heard it, it was accentuated with a slight chuckle. "Pretty lady don' talk, heh?" she had looked up, one of her death glares already forming, only to be discarded without thought when she found herself face- to- face with the most beautiful man she had ever seen~/

"According to him
I'm funny,
Irresistible,
Everything he ever wanted."

They had met up a lot after that, and had gradually gotten to know each other. She had been amazed the first time she had made him laugh-bobby never laughed at anything she said. It had taken little to no time at all for the Cajun thief to become one of her closest friends, although since he flirted with everything female that walked upright she never took his flirtations as anything but jokes.

"Everything is opposite,
I don't feel like stopping it,
so baby tell me what I got to lose.
He's into me for everything I'm not,
According to you."

Rogue owed him a deep debt she doubted she would ever be able to repay. He was one of the only two people in the world who weren't afraid, who hadn't even seemed to be phased when they heard about her mutation.

/ "Ahh"he nodded slowly at her from across the café's small table, strands of auburn hair fluttering in front of clouded sunglasses. "Dat explains de gloves, den". Seemingly unaffected, he took a slow sip from the coffee in front of him.

"Ah hate these things," Rogue snarled, staring down at her gloved hands with pure revulsion. Even in the hot July sun, her pale, slender fingers were encased in a thick layer of leather, protection not for herself but the world around her. Thousands of people passed her every day, unconscious of the possible death that awaited them if she took one wrong step or even, for one second, relaxed her guard "even the goddamn cure didn't help. Ah cant wear a tee-shirt in the summer, cant go swimming, cant shake someone's hand or hug mah father, cant kiss mah boyfriend, and ya can be sure he's had words with meh about' that-sorreh" she broke off sheepishly, favoring him with a small grin. "Didn't' mean ta go off on a tangent, their". The two sat quietly for a minute, before he slowly reached out 3 fingers and ran them down the back of one of her leather – clad hands. "Seems ta me, chere" he replied after a minute, curling his lips into a smoldering grin "dat if he cant see all de belle in y' becausa' dat one little t'ing, he don' deserve ya, neh? Completely his fault he don' care enough t' help ya wit' it, or try ta tink'a some way aroun' it –de blame's wit him, not you". The sensation of his fingers slowly working the leather of her gloves sent shivers down her spine. He was always doing little things like that, playing with the fabric of her gloves, slinging an arm around her shoulders, raising a hand to her face to cup the curve of one smooth cheek -he was one of the rare few who had never flinched, and she doubted he ever would. /
According to you
I'm boring,
I'm moody,
you can't take me any place.

It was a little after Bobby started regularly canceling on her that He offered to try to help her get control of her powers.

/ "Haven' always had control over Mon powers eit'er" he hissed as Rogues slow, curious fingers traced over the barely-there silver lines etched into the skin of his arms and hands .she drew back in fright, worried she might have hurt him, and he shot her a reassuring smile. "Fer a long time, everyting I touched, everyting I looked at –dey all blew up. Ain' used t' people not flinchin' I suppose-m'ex fiancé thought dey were ugly" Rogue nodded. She, of all people could understand this. He leaned back into the arm of his plush, black leather couch. They were in his apartment, watching the Jurassic park series on a large plasma screen TV . An enormous, blue-scaled beast thundered across dusty Jurassic ground on the screen as he regarded her with a contemplating look.

Bobby had ditched her on a movie date. It was odd –3 months ago she would have been heartbroken over her boyfriend's betrayal, but that was before she knew Him. She sighed a little, snuggling into his outstretched arm. He smelled warm-that was really the only way to describe it, like cigarettes and spices, bourbon and apples.

Honestly, she didn't know why she hadn't broken up with Bobby already.

His voice, breaking the heavy silence was quiet and hesitant "could try t' help y, if y'like"

According to you
I suck at telling jokes cause I always give it away.
I'm the girl with the worst attention span;
you're the boy who puts up with it.
According to you. According to you.

Rogue still remembered when she had finally gotten the courage to dump bobby, and the seven different kinds of poison that had streamed out of his mouth.

/ "Dammit rogue, you think anyone else would put up with you? I'm the only one dumb enough to keep trying" the look on his face was icy and cold, a frigid sneer full of hatred and darkness-his name suited every inch of him then.

Iceman .How had she not seen it before? "Ah'd rather be alone than wit' sumbody lahke ya" rogue hissed, slamming his door behind her as she stalked out of his room /

But according to him
I'm beautiful,
Incredible,
He can't get me out of his head.

The first time she had touched him brought tears to her eyes. It had only been a minute and 15 seconds, but that was more in just three weeks than nine years of sessions with various high-ranking telepaths had accomplished.

According to him
I'm funny,
Irresistible,
Everything he ever wanted.

As the cure started disintegrating further from her bloodstream, her control advanced by leaps and bounds. Soon, it had progressed enough so that she could go swimming -such a simple thing so many people took for granted, one of the many things she had been denied over the years .his eyes shined as he watched her reluctantly clamber out after her time limit had elapsed (they had it up to half an hour so far) grinning widely and shaking water out of her hair. She was clad in a simple black one piece, and was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Everything is opposite,
I don't feel like stopping it,
so baby tell me what I got to lose.

He had shown her so many things-control over her psyches, so that they didn't bother her as much and telepaths couldn't get into her head. Training moves, Savate and Ninjitsu, how to control the powers of people she had already absorbed-the days she spent with him were easily the best of her life. She had decided to keep her new, improved powers under wraps; purely for the sake of being left alone .why not? She didn't have any real friends except him and Logan, and Logan was gone (although kitty and jubes were nice enough)- she had nothing to lose.

"He's into me for everything I'm not,
According to you.

I need to feel appreciated,
like I'm not hated. Oh no
Why can't you see me through his eyes?
It's too bad you're making me de-cide
According to me
You're stupid,
You're useless,
You can't do anything right."

Rogue smirked with satisfaction, fingers flying over the strings of her guitar, as she noticed the crowd cheering and dancing to her song. Kitty, Rayne and jubilee were giggling at a scandalized- looking Bobby. Okay, maybe she'd give them a chance.

But according to him
I'm beautiful,
Incredible,
He can't get me out of his head.

She smiled as her mind drifted back to the first date they had been on .she had been reluctant, despite how much she liked him. They had gone to a movie (avatar 3d) and later out to dinner at a nice, quiet Italian restaurant with flickering candlelight. Later, reluctantly dropping her off a few blocks away from the institute, he'd kissed her until she saw stars and smirked at her shocked expression.

"According to him
I'm funny,
Irresistible,
Everything he ever wanted."

The first time they had ever made love, the first time she realized she had to consciously "will" her powers on, going out dancing till the wee hours of the morning, falling asleep curled into his warm chest, with the sound of plinking rain surrounding them – so many memories that brought a smile or mischievous smirk to her face.

They had had their arguments-they were both stubborn, hot-blooded southerners after all. They had both said things to each other they regretted, but however mad they were at the time they were never able to stay away from each other for long.

Everything is opposite,
I don't feel like stopping it,
Baby tell me what I got to lose.
He's into me for everything I'm not,
According to you. [You, you]
According to you. [You, you]

According to you
I'm stupid,
I'm useless…

The song trailed off as Rogue came out of a slight trance. That always happened when she played guitar, the tangles of sound her fingers produced on the instrument blocked out everything else. Everyone turned, slightly disappointed, settling down onto his or her feet as the last dregs of her song faded from the air. Kitty,

, Rayne, Jubilee and Tabitha where beaming, cheering and whooping. Bobby looked positively murderous, but she simply didn't care. She had no sympathy for the boy who had almost had her convinced to make the biggest mistake of her life. Best of all, He was applauding her from his place in the corner, His beautiful red – on – black eyes sparking with love.

The rest of her set seemed to fly by, music spiraling from her fingers in harmonious waves. Once in awhile she'd look up to see her friends whooping and cheering, and His impressed look.

Finally, it was time for her to make way for the next act. Smiling gratefully, she slung her guitar strap over her back and descended the stage. The applause that greeted her footsteps on solid ground was almost deafening. The girls jumped over to her, squealing excitedly, and Rogue accepted their congratulations, slaps on the back and excited screaming with good grace. She even smiled slightly, surprising herself.

Bobby lurked on the fringes of the group, glaring poison daggers. She smirked and wiggled her fingers at him teasingly, enjoying the way it made his eyes narrow and the little huffs of frustration that escaped from under his breath.

"What was that, rogue?" he hissed in fury, wasting no time as the noise died down. "Ex? I don't remember breaking up with you" "oh, go screw a rhino" Jubilee snorted derisively. "Like you have any right to the girl after the way you treated her"."Ah broke up with ya, remember?"Rogue coolly replied, swatting away his hands like knats as they reached for her shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Him frowning in concern, and beginning to make his way through the crowd to their dense little knot. A minute later he waded through the protective layer of her friends and looped a possessive arm around her waist.

"Der a problem here, Cheri?" "Don' think so –'cept for ya might've given the girls a heart attack" Rogue replied coyly, gesturing at her awestruck friends. He chuckled, a low husky sound that made bobby growl from between gritted teeth. "Do ten' ta have dat effect on de femme's don' I" it was more of a statement than a question.

"Arnt you, like, going to introduce us rogue?" kitty asked in a breathy whisper, barely able to peel her eyes away from the southern woman's smug, grinning (extremely handsome) "oh, rahgt-Kitty, Tabby, Rayne, Jubes and Bobby" she pointed out each member of the group in turn

"Dis is Bobby?" He asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow and barely sparing the boy-band reject a derisive glance. "And who are you?" Bobby snapped, snarling like a cornered wolf.

He shook his head, seemingly amused, and slowly removed his sunglasses. The current of dim, swirling lights emphasized his unusual glowing scarlet eyes and mysterious features, making the man appear to be nothing so much as a demon straight from hell. He turned and steered Rogue towards the door .as they stepped out into the night, he tossed a casual "de name be Remy Lebeau –mais y an de rest of m' enemies can call me Gambit" over his shoulder .the pair cast tender looks at each other as the darkness of the midnight street swallowed them up