Chapter 17:
In Rouge's Head:
Guess what? Ah know hah the world is gonna end. The world will officially end when Logan and Scott snap and settle their arguement over Jean physically. That will be the end of the world. And Ah know this because it's already happenin' in mah head. It's lahke World War 3 in there raht nah. Above all the other voices that are chattering awah, there's Logan and Scott arguing ovah whose better for Jean. It's kinda sad really. Ah mean, c'mon, what's so great abaht Jean Grey? Yeah, she's kinda pretty and she's nice but seriously, what's with the obsessive attractions? They really both need to get a lahfe. Being so obssessed with someone can't be healthy.
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With Rouge:
Rogue returned to the school just after mid-night after having a wonderful evening with Remy. They mostly spent the evening on the bench, catching up with each other in more ways than one. It was mostly Rogue doing the talking as she had the most to tell and managed to fully catch Remy up with what was happening to her in her life. Eventually, Rogue reluctantly insisted on going back to the school so Remy gave her a ride, dropping her off a safe distance from the school.
After checking in with Scott so he knew she was back, she teleported herself to her room and got straight into the shower to wash Remy's scent off of her. She went to bed feeling warm and fuzzy inside, the pressure of Remy's lips on hers still almost felt. She slept through the night for the first time in ages.
When Rogue woke up the next morning, she was still on her high and she basically skipped down to the late Saturday breakfast.
Breakfast at the school was usually from seven a.m. to eight a.m. Saturday breakfast was from ten a.m. to eleven a.m. It was a building full of teenagers after all. A change for Saturday was necessary. Rogue grabbed a plate from the stack by the door as she passed it and went over to Kitty and Jubilee, hugging them each in turn as she called the Kitty-Kat and Jubi-Jubes. They both stared at Rogue in surprise as she began to fill her plate.
"Erm, morning Rogue." Kitty greeted her unsurely.
"Ain't it just?" Rogue beamed happily in reply.
"I think someone had a good time last night." Jubilee grinned triumphantly.
"Yes Ah did." Rogue smiled before taking a bite of one of the pancakes on her plate.
"So you and Adam really hit it off then?" Jubille inquired excitedly.
"Adam?...Oh, ya mean what's-his-name. As it is, no, Ah didn't. Didn't even bother to meet him actually." Rogue corrected in a matter-of-fact voice.
"You never met him?" Jubilee cried indignantly as though it was a personal insult to her.
"Why are you so happy then?" Kitty asked.
"'Cause Ah met someone else." Rogue revealed, holding back a joyous giggle.
"Really? Ooo, who is it?" Jubilee questioned enthustiastically.
"Weren't you just mourning her love for Adam that never was?" Kitty pointed out.
"Mind ya business. Who did you meet?" Jubilee asked Rogue after dismissing Kitty's remark.
"Well, his name's Remy LeBeau..." Rogue began.
"French. Nice." Jubilee nodded.
"...He's twen'y four..." Rogue continued.
"An older guy? Very nice." Jubilee said, now smiling widely.
"And he's got a motorbike." Rogue finished, now grinning like a cheshire cat.
"A motorbike? I so definately approve!" Jubilee giggled, her eyes lighting up.
"Wait a minute before you start setting the wedding date for her Jubes." Kitty advised seriously. "Rogue...Did you tell him you're a mutant?" She asked her friend gently. Jubilee seemed to fall to Earth with a crash and was suddenly as serious as Kitty. They both looked at her expectantly and Rogue just continued to smile.
"Yeah, Ah did." She told them easily.
"And he was okay with it?" Kitty checked in a motherly way.
"Well, it'd be pretty hypocritical if he wasn't since he's a mutant as well." Rogue enlightened them.
"He is? This just keeps getting better and better!" Jubilee gushed happily. "What are his powers?"
"He can channel kinetic energy into objects to make them blow up. He's also got some empathic abilities as well." Rogue explained, her smile still not fading.
"An empath! Rogue, you've found the perfect guy! He'll be so caring, so sensitive, so considerate of your feelings and you can talk to him about anything! Fashion, literature..." Jubilee began to list.
"He's an empath Jube, not gay." Kitty smirked to her friend, promptly shutting her up mid-sentence. She then turned to Rogue and gave her a sly grin.
"So I'm gonna take a wild guess here and gather that you're gonna see this Remy guy again sometime, right?" She asked, her tone mildly amused for some reason.
"Whah yes, yes Ah am. In fact," Rogue said, pausing to look at her wrist watch. "Ah have to go and get ready to meet him at twelve." That said, she got up from her seat and headed out of the dining room.
"Yes! That's my girl! You go show him how lucky he is!" Jubilee called after her, catching the attention of basically everyone in the room by doing so. "What?" She asked when she saw everyone was looking at her. "I was just being encouraging." She justified.
After that declaration, most people went back to thier breakfasts. The teachers, Logan and Bobby however,had all suddenly lost their appetites.
Rogue was still on her high when she left the school at half eleven. She walked so fast she was almost jogging so it was no real surprise that she reached their meeting place, the park from the night before, twenty minutes before she was due. What was surprising though, was the fact Remy was already waiting for her. He stood by the roadside in front of the park, leaning against his motorbike, idly shuffling a deck of cards. No longer bothered to walk and too excited about seeing Remy, Rogue teleported.
"Hey there sugah." She greeted Remy coyly when she reappeared right in front of him. He was obviously expecting her to do something like that because he didn't even flinch at her sudden appearance from no where.
"Morning mon amour." Remy replied, leaning down and kissing the top of Rogue's head.
"Whah are ya here so early?" She asked as she slipped her arms around his waist.
"Couple reasons; not'in' else to do, got bored, couldn' wai' to see your beautiful face again." He murmured huskily, tilting Rogue's face up and running his gloved thumb over her bottom lip.
"Well ain't ya just a little ol' charming Swamp Rat." Rogue grinned playfully.
"You wan' Remy to stop?" He asked with mock severity.
"Ah never said anything abaht ya stoppin'" Rogue declined, still grinning. "Bah all means, continue telling me hah beautiful Ah am."
"No, Remy don' t'ink he will. He jus' don' much feel like talkin' righ' now." He told her, pulling the scarf from the pocket of his trench coat and drapping it over her lips seconds before he captured them with his own. Their kiss lasted only a few moments before Remy pulled away, taking the scarf between his teeth and pulling it away with him as he did. He took the material out of his mouth and then spoke. "C'mon. Remy takin' yo' ou' to lunch."
"Where at?" Rogue inquired as Remy straddled his motorbike.
"It's a surprise." He told her simply as she got behind him. He waited for her to settle and after checking she was ready, he drove them off towards their destination.
"No Remy. Ah ain't going in!" Rogue told Remy stubbornly, trying to pull her gloved hand away from his.
"But Remy already made dhe reservation chere. It'd be a waste not to go." He pointed out, not releasing her hand.
Remy had driven them both to a very nice little French restraurant. It looked very posh and elegant and that was the problem. Rogue felt, no, Rogue knew she was totally under-dressed for such a classy place and would stick out like a sore thumb inside.
Also, it was obviously an expensive place and she wasn't sure if she felt right about Remy spending so much on her when she would be just as happy just going somewhere simple.
"Ya should'a told me before, then! Ah can't go into a fancy place lahke that dressed lahke this." She continued to protest, still wriggling her hand out of his grip. She knew she was getting close to freedom, just one more yank should do it.
"Uh, uh chere. Yo' not allowed to ge' away." Remy chided playfully with a shake of his head. He quickly pulled Rogue towards him sharply before she could get her hand away and she was forced towards him. She gave a small cry of surprise when she lurched forward and a quiet grunt when she collided with Remy's firm chest.
"Remy t'ink yo' look perfect." He whispered, leaning down so his lips were as close to hers as they could be without actual contact. Rogue's breath hitched in her throat and a blush burned her cheeks but she happily noted that she felt no desire to move away. Their eyes met and Rogue knew this was a battle she was going to lose.
"Okay, fahne." She said with a heavy sigh though it was clear she wasn't too disappointed with the loss. Remy only smiled a bit more and draped his arm around her shoulders. They headed into the small, but extravagant, restaurant.
Remy held the door open for her and followed in and the came to a stop by the front desk. Rogue glanced into the rest of the restraurant and felt immediately out of place. Not only were she and Remy obviously the youngest people in the place by miles, but they were also the most casualy dressed. Even just from the entrance, she could see that everyone else in the place were either in designer suits or at least dressed like they had expected to go to a nice place for lunch. Rogue gave a small sigh of dread just as a snooty looking waiter came over.
"May I help you sir?" The waiter asked Remy in an equaly snooty French accent. His tone was blatantly condescending but Remy seemed unfazed and merely smiled and replied.
"Reservations under LeBeau."
The waiter checked a book on the desk. He flipped over a few pages before looking up and giving them a totally fake smile.
"This way please Monsieur LeBeau." He said, taking a couple of menus from the table. Remy gave Rogue a sly, amused glance before leading her after the waiter. They were shown to a small table over near a corner. Remy helped Rogue into her seat before sitting himself. "Marina will be your waitress." The waiter told them, handing them their menus. He then left them.
"Woah, condecendin' much?" Rogue laughed quietly. Remy smiled in amusement but said nothing as he opened his menu and began looking through it. Rogue did the same but frowned lightly. "Remy, give me a hand will ya sugah?" She asked Head Remy silently.
"Why no' jus' ask him?" Head Remy asked, referring to Real Remy.
"'Cause you're easy access." She told him. "Nah will ya help me or not?"
"Fine. Avoid the escagot." He advised.
"Ah know that much, Ah ain't an idiot." Rogue said defending her self. Her eyes skimmed down the list of meals and she picked one at random.
"Hah 'baht number three?" She suggested.
"Perfect if yo' appreciate dhe delicacy of cow brains and eggs." Head Remy said.
"Cah brains and eggs?" Rogue repeated in grossed out amazement. "Uck, French people have weird taste in food...What abaht number seven?" She queried.
"Dhat'd be all right, jus' fancy steak."
"Hmm, Ah ain't really hungry for meat...They got any seafood?"
"Try dhe next page...Next one...Ahh, dhere yo' go...Dhey've got lobster."
"Ah won't eat lobster, ya know that."
"Oh yeah, dhe "incident". That still makes Remy laugh."
"Only 'cause you weren't there! They got anything with crab?"
"Marie?"
"Oui. Number five is crab. Number seven is crab and shrimp."
"Marie?"
"Shrimp as well hmm? Oh, but look at the prahce! Ah can't ask him to pay that much."
"Marie?"
"Remy's callin' yo' cherie."
"Huh?" Rogue gasped out loud, raising her head to see Real Remy looking at her intently.
"Yo' 'kay chere?" Real Remy asked.
"Yeah, Ah'm fahne" She assured.
"Yo' sure? Remy jus' called you three times." He checked.
"Oh, Ah'm sahrry. Ah was talkin' to ya. Ah mean Head Ya." She explained quickly. Remy gave her an odd look and she surpressed a groan.
"Ah just heard mahself say that..."
"Doesn' matter." Remy chuckled lightly. "So wha' were yo' talkin' abou'?"
"He was just helpn' me read the menu." She answered.
"Ahh, Remy wondered why yo' didn' ask for his help." He told her with another smile. Rogue gave a weak smile back but inwardly cringed. Note to self, stop acting like a nutter, in front of the guy she most definitely like or maybe even...loves with her whole heart.
The rest of their lunch was actually quite nice. They talked and held hands across the table, the food was good and Rogue the the satisfaction of making their waitress slip on a patch of ice in revenge for blatantly flirting with Remy. Now, as Rogue finished off her dessert, Remy looked over the bill. After a while, he set it down and Rogue took a look herself.
"Fifty-two dollars!" Rogue gasped in horror. "Fifty-two dollars for two meals and a paper thin slice of cheesecake? What a rip! Do you even have enough money with ya"
"Nope." Remy shrugged casually. Rogue's jaw dropped and stared aghast at him.
"Are ya kiddin'? What are we not gonna do to pay?" She demanded urgently.
"We're not." He told her simply. Rogue could only stare at him silently for several seconds.
"...Pardon?" She finally managed to get out.
"We're not payin'. In fact," Remy said as he rose from his seat. "We're leavin' right now." He took Rogue hand, pulled her up and began to lead her out.
Rogue couldn't believe they were doing this. No, scratch that. She could believe Remy was doing it, she couldn't believe she was going along with it. She was so nervous she totally missed walking through the restraurant, totally missed the smile their waitress shot at Remy and totally missed leaving the restraurant. In fact, the next thing she knew, they were approaching Remy's bike. As always, he got on first and as Rogue started to get on, she saw three waiters heading towards them. Rogue's eyes widened anxiously, but before she could utter any warning to Remy, he'd already started the bike.
Rogue quickly got on properly and held on tightly. They took off at such a speed that it caused them to jolt a little making Rogue yelp a cry of surprise, as she was almost flung backwards off of Remy's bike.
When they were a safe distance away, the reality of what they had just done sunk into Rogue. The fact they had got away with it gave her a huge buzz and she felt a sudden bolt of energy ran through her. Having no other out-let for her energy on the back of a motorbike, she just burst out into thrilled laughter which continued on for the rest of the journey. Even when they reached their next destination, Joe's, she was still giggling.
"Afternoon Remy, Rogue." Joe greeted them cheerfully and loudly from behind the counter as the couple entered.
"Hey Joe." Remy returned as they got a little closer. Rogue could only give a small finger wave, her giggling preventing her from speaking.
"What's tickled her?" Joe questioned as they took their seats on two stools next to each other at that counter.
"Still comin' down from her first bill dodgin' adreniline rush." Remy explained with good humour.
"Ahh, I see." Joe nodded with an amused smile.
"It was so cool!" Rogue finally managed to get out.
"Just as long as you don't do it here. Speakin'a which; Remy, time to pay your tab." Joe grinned.
"Already?" Remy moaned.
"Yes, already. Now stop groaning and cough up." Joe ordered with good nature.
"How much?" Remy inquired reaching for his wallet in on of the inside pockets of his coat.
"Thirty-six forty-three." Joe revealed.
Rogue watched in amusement as Remy began to grumble under his breathe about over-pricing and wanting more warning next time, while he sorted out the money. After a while, she looked away and spotted a newspaper on the counter an arm's length away. She reached over and pulled it towards her to look at. She un-folded it and raised her eyebrows in surprise at the headline: CANADA INTRODUCES MUTANT PROTECTION LAWS.
"About time isn't it?" Joe said to her suddenly. Rogue looked up at the older man. "Now someone's been the first, others are bound to follow."
Rogue watched Joe leave to put his newly aquired money from Remy in the till before looking back down at the paper again. She couldn't help but wonder if any state in America would ever pass such laws.