| Part 3 ******************* Go to Part 4 ******************* He pushed me 'round, now I'm drawin' the line He lived his life, now I'm gonna go live mine I'm sick of wastin' my time Well now, I've been good for way too long Found my red dress, and I'm gonna throw it on 'Bout to get too far gone Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition Need a little bit more of my twelve-ounce nutrition One more helpin' of what I've been havin' I'm takin' my turn on the sin wagon On a mission to make somethin' happen Feel like Delilah lookin' for Sampson Do a little mattress dancin' That's right, I said mattress dancin' Jubilee covered her ears and whimpered. "Why didn't anyone warn me it was country and western night?" she cried. Kitty giggled. "I figured you knew. It is the third Saturday of the month." "So that's why this is usually our stay at home and eat pizza while torturing Johnny and Bobby night?" Jubilee asked, looking as pitiful as possible. "Yup," Kitty replied. "Let's go home," Jubilee whined. "This music- for lack of a better word- is torture!" "It's the Dixie Chicks," Rogue told her. "Like I said: Torture." Rogue took hold of Jubilee's arm and started dragging her towards the dance floor. "You said you wanted me to come out and have a good time, and now here we are. Besides, we already paid the cover charge." "Which was entirely too much. I mean, why should we have to shell out the big bucks just because we fall in the category of 'over eighteen, under twenty-one?'" Jubilee asked, resuming the rant she had begun before she realized she was being assaulted with country music. "I guess they figure they have to do something to have us make up for the fact that we'll be forced to drink Cokes all night," Kitty said, following the other two. Jubilee planted her feet firmly on the ground right before they reached the dance floor. "Uh-uh, Roguie. I am not dancin' to this." "Oh, c'mon Jubes. I'll teach ya how to two-step!" Jubilee glared at her. "I shoulda known you'd like this, Miss Mississippi." "Well Ah guess Ah jus' can't hide mah roots," Rogue said, exaggerating her accent. Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Oh, Brother." "Hey, it's the fastest way to get me to stop thinkin' about Logan . . ." Jubilee shook her head. "The things I do for you . . ." Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition Need a little bit more of what I've been missin' I don't know where I'll be crashin' But I'm arrivin' on a sin wagon When it's my turn to march up to glory I'm gonna have one hell of a story That's if he forgives me Oh Lord, please forgive me Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition Need a little bit more of that sweet salvation They may take me with my feet draggin' But I'll fly away on a sin wagon * * * All the eyes in the club were on Rogue that night, and she had to admit she was loving it. She'd dance with one guy until she wore him out, then she'd move on to someone else. And when it was time for the club to close, she didn't want to go. Rogue was giggling as she, Kitty, and Jubilee walked out to their car. "Wow, I can't believe I had such a good time!" she exclaimed. "And I didn't even think about Logan once!" Jubilee and Kitty broke out into a round of applause. "And how many guys hit on you exactly tonight?" Jubilee asked. "I lost count." "I still can't believe you actually gave some of them your phone number." Rogue laughed. "Nah, I gave them Jenny's number." Kitty was confused. "Huh? Who's Jenny?" "867-5309." Kitty's expression was blank. "I still don't get it." Jubilee and Rogue looked at each other and broke into song: "Jenny I got your number I need to make you mine Jenny, don't change your number. Eight six seven five three oh nine!" Kitty shook her head. "Oh God." "I got it!" "I got it!" "I got your number on the wall!" "I got it!" "I got it!" "For a good time" "For a good time call!" "Please! No more!" Kitty yelled. Rogue and Jubilee stopped singing and began to laugh hysterically. "And you thought my love for eighties music would never come in handy," Jubilee said, slinging her arm around Rogue's shoulder. Rogue smiled at her. "Well Gal, you won't hear me sayin' this often, but I was wrong." * * * As the months rolled by, Rogue found that she was actually able to push thoughts of Logan out of her mind for long periods of time- days even. She still wore his tags, but she didn't constantly dwell on their heavy feeling around her neck, and she often forgot they were there completely. When she did think of Logan now, she found that she could smile, knowing that he had promised he'd come back and eventually, he would. "Chips?" "Check." "Pretzels?" "Check." "Popcorn?" "Check." "Artificially flavored cheese snack?" "Check." "Coke?" "Check." "Twinkies?" "Oh gawd, Jubes, do we have to have Twinkies?" "It's movie night, Rogue. Of course we have to have Twinkies!" Rogue sighed. "But I never want to see another Twinkie as long as I live! Bobby keeps putting them in my room, in my purse, and anywhere else he thinks I might be surprised to find a Twinkie!" Jubilee snickered. "Aw, you know you don't mind, Twinkie Mama!" "Would you stop callin' me that!" "So do we have Twinkies or not?" Rogue groaned. "Yeah, we've got Twinkies." "Good," Jubilee said with her normal, mischievous grin. "Then we should be set." Rogue slumped back onto the couch, content just to be able to spend time with the people who she cared about the most. All was right with the world. * * * "Hey, Marie- Kid, wake up." Marie slowly opened her eyes, then bolted up. "Logan! What are you doing here?" she hissed. "Shh," Logan scolded her in a harsh whisper. "You'll wake up your roommates." Marie brought her voice down, then asked again. "What are you doing here?" "I'm back." "I noticed that. I mean, what are you doing here- in my room." "I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to see you. I missed ya." Marie rolled her eyes. "Really? Coulda fooled me." Logan looked almost guilty. "Look Marie, I'm sorry I didn't write you, it's just that I'm not very good at that sorta thing." Marie sighed. "That's all right, really. It's not like I sat around waiting to hear from you or anything." "I didn't think ya would." "Logan, I'm glad you're home, but I'm really tired. Can I go back to sleep and talk to ya in the mornin'?" "Sure Kid." Marie laid back down. "Night, Logan." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Night, Marie." "Night, Logan." He crept out of her room without ever waking Jubilee or Kitty. * * * Marie woke up in a good mood that, at first, she couldn't quite explain. Then she remembered- Logan. He was back. Her lips curled up in a smile for a moment, and then down into a frown. What if it had been a dream? She'd had plenty of dreams where Logan came home, but none of them had seemed quite as vivid as what had happened the night before. Still, she had to go out and make sure as quickly as possible. Marie climbed out of bed and began rummaging through her closet, trying to find something to wear. Suddenly, with the prospect of being able to see Logan looming over her, nothing seemed to be good enough. She finally gave up and settled for jeans and a form-fitting T-shirt. She was putting on her make-up when Jubilee woke up. "Where you goin'?" she asked groggily. "Downstairs." "You're puttin' on make-up to go downstairs?" Rogue blushed. "Logan's back." Jubilee flopped down on her bed. "And how do we spell pitiful? R-O-G-U-E." She got quiet for a second then rolled over to face Rogue. "How do you know he's back?" "He came in here last night," Rogue explained. "I didn't hear him." "He was real quiet." "Sure you didn't dream it?" Rogue sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure. Look, I gotta go try to find him. See ya later." Jubilee closed her eyes again. "Have fun. Hope he's really back." "No you don't." Jubilee smiled. "Okay, maybe I don't. But he makes you happy sometimes." "Yeah, he does. Sometimes." * * * After searching the mansion, Marie was beginning to worry. What if he hadn't come back, if it had been just a dream? What if he had come back, but then turned around and left again? Could she handle that? She'd thought she'd been learning how to get along without him, but now, thinking how she might have had him again but then lost him so quickly, she wasn't sure. "Hey, Kid." Marie stopped short and felt her breath still. That was him- his voice. He was back. She forced herself to calm down before she turned around to face him. "Hey, Logan," she said, trying to pass the greeting off as nonchalant. "Sorry that I woke ya up last night. I didn't realize how late I was gettin' back, and I didn't want to have to wait until this mornin' to let you know I'm here." Rogue shrugged. "That's all right. It didn't bother me that ya woke me up." "Still wearin' my tags, I see." "Yeah. Ya told me to wear 'em, didn't ya?" Logan was put slightly aback by her aloof attitude. "Told ya to take care of 'em. You don't have to wear 'em if ya don't wanna." Rogue shrugged again. "Don't I even get a hug?" Logan asked, her cold greeting unnerving him. Had he missed something since he'd left last? Marie tentatively approached him and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her closer, and she melted. "I missed you, Kid," he murmured into her hair. Marie rested her head on his shoulder. "I missed you, too," she said, her voice almost a sigh. Logan pulled away. "What have you been up to?' "Oh, the usual. School mainly. You?" "The usual. Cage fightin' mainly." Marie giggled. "You haven't stopped doin' that yet?" "Nah, it's good money. And it's not like I'm gonna get hurt or anything." Marie rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Nothin' can touch 'The King of the Cage- The Wolverine.'" "Watch it, Kid," Logan said, his smile playful. "Or what?" "I'll have to punish you." "I'm scared." Wolverine growled, then grabbed her and started to tickle her mercilessly. Marie struggled for a few moments, laughing, until she finally shouted. "All right, All right! You win! Cage fightin' is a perfectly respectable profession and you're great at it!" Logan chuckled and let her go. "Now I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'respectable.'" "I was only placatin' ya anyway." "I figured." Marie smiled at Logan, hoping more than anything that maybe this time he'd be back for good. * * * Marie was on her way to the dining hall when Logan stopped her. "Hey, Kid, why don't you skip dinner here and come out with me instead." Marie stopped and looked at him. "I don't know . . .I mean, I can't exactly just wander off from . . ." "I already cleared it with Chuck." Marie frowned. "I'm hungry." "I'll feed you." Marie sighed. "Let me get my jacket." "Meet me in the garage in five minutes." Marie glanced back towards the dining hall one last time before running upstairs. * * * Rogue almost ran into Jubilee and Kitty on her way to her room. "Woah, Girl, slow down there!" Jubilee said as Rogue came to a halt. "Where ya goin' in such a hurry?" "Out." "Out? Out's that way," Jubilee said, pointing to the direction of the front entrance to the mansion. "Besides, it's dinner time." "I'm skippin' dinner. I just need to get something from the room." "What do you mean you're skipping dinner?" Kitty asked. "You're not developing some type of eating disorder are you? Those are practically and epidemic among girls our age, you know." Rogue snorted. "Me? Eating disorder? Not hardly. I'm going to eat somewhere else." "Alone?" Jubilee asked skeptically. "Um, probably not." "You goin' with Logan?" "Dammit, Jubes, leave me alone about him, okay!" Jubilee held her hands up in front of her. "Hey, don't get bitchy on me. I just asked if you're goin' with the guy or not." "Yeah, I'm goin' with him. Now if you don't mind, I'm in a hurry." Rogue was just about to run off when Bobby and St. John came down the hall. "Evening, Ladies," Bobby said. He looked over at Jubilee. "And you." She stuck her tongue out. Bobby laughed and said, "Well, maybe I was wrong. That was quite lady-like of you." "Go to Hell, Drake." Bobby shook his head. "No thanks, I'd melt." Rogue was about to use their banter as cover to sneak past them, when St. John noticed her. "Where are you going, Rogue?" he asked. "Uh, my room." "Skipping dinner?" "She's going out with Wolverine," Jubilee said. Bobby whipped his head around to look at Rogue. "Is she serious?" he asked. "Yeah. Got a problem with it?" "Actually, yes, I do," Bobby said. "The last time he left he left you in tears and then he didn't even bother to write you the whole time he was gone. You were devastated, and now that you've just started getting over it you're gonna let him do it to you all over again." Rogue planted her fists on her hips. "Logan's my friend. I can go out with him if I want." "Friend? Yeah, right. You're just dying to give him a chance to get back in your life and break your heart all over again so you can go back to being poor, pitiful, untouchable Rogue." Rogue's jaw dropped. "How dare you! You're just jealous because I care about Logan more than I ever will about you." She pushed past Kitty and Jubilee and went into her room, slamming the door. "Real smooth there, Bobby," St. John said once Rogue was gone. "Yeah, like she needed something to upset her more," Kitty added. Bobby ran his hand through his hair. "I . . .I didn't mean it, really. It just came out. Should I go talk to her and try to patch things up?" Jubilee shook her head. "I wouldn't. She's not going to be in the mood to listen to you right now. I'd give her a little time to cool down." Bobby looked back at the closed door. "Yeah, you're probably right." He started walking towards the dining hall and the others silently followed. * * * Logan was leaning up against Scott's motorcycle, smoking a cigar when Marie got down to the garage. "You're late." "Sorry. I got ambushed." Logan tossed her a helmet. "Get on." Marie nodded and put on the helmet. She'd never ridden a motorcycle before, but she had enough of Logan's memories that she figured she could even drive the thing if she needed to. "Where we goin'?" "A place in town." "Do I get any more of a description than that?" "Nope." "You said there's food, right?" "You really are hungry, ain't ya, Kid?" "I missed lunch lookin' for you." Logan looked surprised for a second, but soon fell back into his apathetic stance. "I'll feed ya. Just get on the bike." Marie climbed on the motorcycle behind Wolverine. "I'm glad you're back, Logan," she said before he started the engine. "Yeah, Kid, so am I." * * * He took her to a bar. It was dark and smoky, but the food was surprisingly good and it reminded her of the first time they'd met. "Can I at least have somethin' else to drink?" Rogue after they'd eaten. "You're stickin' with water." Marie sighed. "I want a beer." "You're too young." "It's your personality that wants one, Logan." "Don't pull that on me. You're nineteen. You don't need to be drinkin'." "I'm not a kid." "Yes you are." Marie rested her chin in her hands and sulked. "So why did you bring me here anyway? I could sit around and not drink at the mansion." Logan frowned. "I wanted to spend a little time with ya. Talk to ya some, see how you've been." "We could've done that at the mansion, too." "That place makes me feel trapped, Marie." "Why?" "I don't know, just the whole atmosphere. Makes me feel like I'm in a cage." Marie gave him a wry smile. "And all this time I thought you liked cages." "Not that kind." "There are people there that care about you, Logan. People that honestly want you around and who don't like it when you're gone. People who you mean something to. You won't find that in any of those other cages." Defiance shone in his eyes. "Maybe I don't need that." Rogue met his gaze. "Maybe you do." Marie was the first one to break the silence that followed. "If it makes you feel so trapped, Logan, then why do you come back?" He let the question roll off him. "Make sure you guys don't get to use to not havin' me around. Keep Scooter on his toes some, too." Marie bristled at his answer, wishing more than anything that he'd said he came back for her. "Gotta make sure you're takin' care of those tags, too," Logan added after a moment. Marie relaxed and smiled at him. "So why did you go up to Canada this time?" Marie asked. "Had some stuff I had to do." "The Professor uncovered more leads?" "Yeah." "Any luck." "Not really." "Tell me about it?" Logan took a drink from his beer. "It's nothin' you need to know, Kid." "But I want to know, Logan," Marie said. "Well you don't need to!" His tone was sharper than he meant for it to be, and he could see the tears forming in Marie's eyes. He reached out across the table, but didn't actually touch her. "Look, I'm sorry Marie, I didn't mean for that to sound the way it did." Marie stood up from the booth. "It doesn't matter!" she yelled. "You don't want to let me know anything about you! You don't even care about me!" She ran out of the bar, leaving Logan alone at the booth, stunned. * * * Marie was waking outside the bar towards she didn't even know where. All she knew was she wanted away from Logan. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and the cool night air was chilling them on her face. "Kid . . ." Logan's hand clamped down on her shoulder and Marie wrenched herself free. "I didn't want you to follow me." "Well I couldn't exactly just let ya come out here by yourself. It's cold and dark and we ain't exactly in the best part of town." Marie sank down on the curb at the edge of the parking lot and began to sob. Logan sat beside her. "What's wrong, Marie?" "You don't know?" "No, I don't." Marie looked up at him and the sight of her tear-streaked face made him wince. "You don't care about me," she said softly. "That's what you said back in the bar, but I don't know why you think that," Logan said. "It isn't true." Marie started crying harder. "You're always leavin' me and when ya do, ya can't even write or call or anythin' to let me know you still exist- that you know I exist. And you don't even come back for me. You come back for your damn dogtags!" To emphasize her point she took them off and threw them on the ground. Logan stared at the tags, dumbfounded. "Marie . . .I had no idea. I'm . . .I'm sorry." Marie looked up at him. She knew an apology from the Wolverine didn't come easily. He looked into her eyes. They were timid, expecting. He picked up the dogtags and put them back in her hand. "I do care about you," he said. "And I don't just come back for these. I come back for you, too. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Marie. Whenever things seem too dark, like I'm not gonna make it, I think of you, your smile, and I know I'm gonna be all right." Soft tears fell from her eyes, and Logan wiped them away. "You said you'd protect me, Logan," she said. "How can you protect me when you're always gone?" Logan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. "I'm never gonna stop protectin' you, Marie. Even when I'm gone, I'd always come back if you needed me. But you're safe at Xavier's. There are plenty of people there t'make sure you're safe." Marie relished the warmth and strength of him so close to her. "But none of them are you, Logan." Logan kissed the top of her head. "I know, Darlin', but sometimes less than what you want has to be enough." * * * Marie lay on her bed, trying her best to concentrate so she could study for the final exam in calculus she had coming up. Jubilee came bursting into the room, holding five large shopping bags in one hand and dragging Kitty behind her with the other. "Rogue! Emergency! Kit's finally got a date with Peter! Ya gotta help me dress her!" "It's really not that big of a deal . . ." Kitty protested. "I mean we're only going to the movies, and it's not like what I'm wearing is going to make that much of a difference . . ." "Ah! No wonder you're single!" Jubilee exclaimed. "The clothes make all the difference!" "I'm sure anything I pick from what we bought together today will be fine . . ." Kitty said. "Of course anything will be 'fine!' You need more than simply 'fine.' You need perfect." Rogue closed her calculus book with a sigh. "Be quick about it, y'all. I have finals the day after tomorrow, and there's no way I'm even gonna pull a 'D' on my calc exam unless I do some serious studying." "This won't take long. Kitty, show Rogue all the outfits." Kitty sighed. "But Jubilee . . ." "I don't want to hear any whining! Only I get to whine in this room! Now start trying on clothes!" Rogue flopped back on her bed and waited for Kitty to change, knowing it would be a while before she got a chance to study more. * * * Two hours and countless outfits later, Jubilee decided that Kitty should definitely wear the first one she'd tried on. "Are y'all done now?" Rogue asked once the dress had been decided upon. "Sure! I just have to get her all ready now," Jubilee said. "Don't mind us . . .just go back to your studying." "I was planning on it." "Good. Now come on Kitty. Time to find you a pair of shoes." "You didn't buy her shoes, too?" Rogue asked, half-sarcastically. "Nah, I have plenty of shoes to go around." "You have plenty of dresses to go around, too." Jubilee looked at Rogue as if she'd just swallowed a bug. "You can't wear a borrowed dress on your first date with the man of your dreams. It's bad luck!" "Oh please. You made that up." "I did not! Jeez, didn't they teach you anything in Mississippi?" "Obviously they didn't teach me calculus," Rogue grumbled. "Well, the dress thing is more important to remember than calculus," Jubilee said. "Somehow I doubt it'll help me graduate from college." "Well it should. Come on, Kit. Time to dress your feet." Rogue turned her concentration back on her studying. About five minutes later, she heard Jubilee ask, "Hey Rogue, what about these?" Rogue looked up and saw Jubilee's hand sticking out from the closet, dangling a pair of shoes. "They look fine to me," Rogue said. "I don't like open-toed shoes," Kitty said. "Why not?" Jubilee asked. "I have ugly toes." "Please, you do not." "Do, too. I'm not wearing them." Jubilee gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. Nothing open-toed." She resumed her digging. "How about these?" "They could work," Kitty said. "Rogue? What do you think?" Jubilee asked. "They're fine," Rogue said without looking up. "So you don't think the red will clash with the blue?" Jubilee said. "Uh-uh." "Rogue, the shoes are white." Rogue groaned. "Any shoes you pick will be fine, Jubilee. You are the mansion's resident fashion expert after all." "But I need a second opinion!" "And I need to pass calculus!" "Fine. But if Kitty's date is a bomb, it's your fault!" "Huh? My date's gonna be a bomb?" "Of course not, Hun. Just trying to put Rogue on a guilt trip." Rogue shut her book and started shoving her stuff into a bookbag. "Well, it isn't working. As a matter of fact, I'm going downstairs so you guys can figure this out without driving me insane. Good luck tonight, Kit. Be sure to tell me all the juicy details." She grabbed the bookbag and left the room. Jubilee put her hands on her hips. "Well aren't some people just no fun." * * * Rogue went down to the library, figuring that might be at least one place where no one would bother her. Twenty minutes later, she found out she was wrong. "Hey, Rogue," Bobby Drake said as he walked in and sat down across from her at the table. "Whatcha doin'?" "Tryin' to up my chances of passing my calculus finals from 'none whatsoever' to 'slight,'" Rogue said without looking up. "I'm majoring in accounting," Bobby said. "Maybe I could help you." "Alright, what's the answer to this question?" Rogue asked, pointing to one of the problems in her textbook. Bobby grimaced. "Okay, they don't teach you stuff quite like that in accounting. Why in the world are you taking this class anyway? I thought you were going for a degree in education, not engineering." "I am. But my adviser is evil and told me this would be a good class to have under my belt." "Do you need it to graduate?" "No, but I'd like to stay on the Dean's List if I could, and the only way that's gonna happen is if I ace this exam." "All right. I won't bother you then," Bobby said, tapping his fingers on the table. Rogue tried to ignore him, but it became increasingly more difficult. "Bobby, could you maybe . . ." she started. "Sure, no problem," Bobby said, getting up and moving to the other side of the room. He absentmindedly took a book off the shelf and pretended to be reading it, but Rogue could tell he was paying a lot more attention to her than to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. With Bobby watching her, and it made it next to impossible for Rogue to concentrate. Finally, she got up and left, mumbling some excuse about leaving something important in her room. * * * Once out in the hallway, Marie ran into Logan. "Hey, Kid where you headed?" Logan asked. "Some place where I can get some friggin' peace and quiet," Marie said. "What's wrong?" "Oh, I just have to study for my calculus final- which is the day after tomorrow- and Jubilee's in our room playing fashion consultant for Kitty, and Bobby's in the library checking me out," Marie explained. "Do you want me to take ya somewhere where you can be away from all of them?" "Promise you won't start annoying me, too?" "I can't promise it," Logan said. "But I'll do my best." "That'll have to do," Marie replied. Logan smiled. "Then let's go." |