Marie looked bored in class, she couldn’t believe that Scott actually talked her into taking anatomy. Granted, she needed the extra science credit if she was going to try and get into college next fall with her friends Jubilation Lee and Kitty Pryde. She glanced over her shoulder, Kitty was equally bored, and Jubes looked down right comatose. She turned back, trying to concentrate on the lecture, but it was a lost cause. Jubilee woke with a snort when the bell rang, they gathered up there things, and all three left in a half-daze.

“Thank gawd its Friday, I don’t think I could handle another minute of class,” Jubilee collapsed on her bed of their shared dorm room upon arrival. Kitty unceremoniously dumped her book bag on the carpet, make-up skidding across the floor, and grabbed for the sleazy romance novel from the night stand. “What's on the agenda for the weekend? I need some excitement!” Jubilee practically dove headfirst into the walk in closet, looking for the smallest of her tight fitting clothes. She tossed a bright red low cut top with translucent matching sleeves in Marie’s direction. Marie moved her basket of folded laundry off her bed to sit down.

“Try this on Roguey, I think it would look way better on you then me, I don’t have enough chest,” Marie looked self-conscience all of a sudden, Jubilee jutted out her chest in exaggeration.

“I dunno. . .”

“Come on,” she snapped her gum, “guaranteed to drive Wolfie insane.”

“Oh yea, my life’s ambition,” Marie sighed, “I’m like his kid sister, he never looks at me like that. Besides, he’s got that blonde girl now, the one he picked up from that bar.”

Kitty and Jubilee looked at each other. Jubilee was first to dismiss the idea.

“Mere technicality!”

Marie looked at herself in the mirror, holding up the shirt. She thought of herself as awkwardly long and lanky, her smooth skin usually covered by some sort of fabric to prevent accidental “imprinting” from others. The last two instances where with Bobby, her now-ex-boyfriend. The first time he blacked out for about five minutes, the second time she had fallen asleep in her arms, and put him in a coma for three days. She was grateful that Logan happened to come into the rec room just then, or her skin would have sucked the life out of him. Marie felt it would be safer to just call the relationship quits, she was afraid the next time would prove to be fatal. Bobby seemed to be ok with it, he was probably fed up with dating someone who he can’t even touch anyway. She ran her fingers over her flawless skin. She yanked off her old shirt and tried on the new one. It fit perfectly, she grabbed her new black leather pants she got for her birthday out of the closest from behind Jubilee’s growing pile of clothes and put them on.

“What's the point,” Marie flopped down on her bed, and began to braid her hair.

“Told you Roguey, you look great! You should wear that. We definitely have to go out now.”

“Kid, you decent?” Logan’s baritone filtered from out in the hallway though the door, “I need my jacket, you still have it.”

“Speak of the devil.” Jubilee gathered up three outfits and rested them on the bed, to make her final decision. “You’re wearing his jacket?” Kitty mocked.

“Its not like that, I-I was cold when we got back after the movie. . .”

“You went to the movies with Wolf-boy?!” The both screeched. Marie flinched.

“That two weeks ago, after I broke up with Bobby, but before I found out about Jody. And yea, and he was on perfect PG behavior too.”

“Hello!?” he voice was more agitated, “Ok, I’m coming in, I can hear you chickens cackling in there.”

Without any more warning, he pushed his way in. Kitty was sprawled out on her stomach, book in hand, Jubilee having settled on a bright leather miniskirt and matching leather jacket, flung the other two outfits on the floor of the closet, kicking the door shut with a resounding thud. Marie was pulling on her black boots she had just fetched from under the bed. All three had frozen into place, stunned at the Wolverine’s appearance.

“Are those new clothes?” Kitty looked shocked at the Wolverine, “where’s the flannel?!”

“Forget that, he looks like he actually bathed recently!” That earned Jubilee a perfectly pitched throaty growl.

Marie wordlessly gathered his jacket from under her bed. She had put it there out of anger when she finally caught wind that Logan was actually dating -- he hadn’t even told her. Duh, she should have guessed, he had been quieter around her lately and zipping out of the mansion for weekends at a time. She had to hear it from Ororo who saw him one weekend when in town with the girl. It explains why he rarely spent time with her anymore. She knew it sounded like jealous tissy fit, but she couldn’t help herself. He had been back to the mansion for close to six months, and she never had to share him until now. She roughly tossed it in his direction and his dogtags fell out of a pocket when he caught it.

“Uh thanks,” Both of them eyed the tags on the floor, but neither made a move to pick them up. He knocked loose a couple of dust bunnies off the sleeves. An uncomfortable silence was deafening for at least a whole minute. Jubilee broke the silence finally, with a pop of her gum bubble.

“Well I gotta go,” He stepped to the door, and looked back, eyeing her head to toe. “Your not really going to go out wearing that are you?”

“What if I am?” she stood defiantly.

“A bit revealing, isn’t it? Men might get the wrong impression about you.”

“Well maybe that’s what I’m going for, men -- lots of them, with big --”

“Jackets,” Kitty supplied, in a fit of giggles from behind her book. Logan glared. Jubilee snapped her gum with a big smile, and then burst into laugher along with Kitty. Marie’s twisted her face trying her best to be mad at Kitty, though she wanted to laugh to. Logan scowled and closed the door with such force Marie thought the picture on the wall was going to fall off.

“I have an idea.” Jubilee looked inspired -- and impish.

“What is it?” Kitty looked up, as she dog-eared her page in the book, looking eager.

“I know what we’re gonna do tonight. Kitty, get dressed up, the three of us are going out. I’m gonna head to the med lab, oh -- and get some lingerie panties.”

“Oh no.” Kitty and Marie looked skeptical.

“Oh yea.” A devilish grin came across Jubilee’s small Asian features.

---

Forty minutes later, the three girls barreled across the twisted hillside in Logan’s old Jeep Cherokee. He had given it to Marie on her 18th birthday a two weeks ago, three days after he bought his brand new pickup truck. They circled around town for close to twenty minutes, before they could find the restaurant Logan and that blonde where at. Marie parked out of site, and killed the ignition. Marie and Jubilee where on lookout, as Kitty phased into his parked truck. Kitty ripped open a couple of condom packets, stuffing the wrappers into the door map pocket with a pair lacy black panties. She phased out, and tossed the unused condoms in the dumpster near by.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Marie moaned, just as Remy, a new resident of the mansion, pulled up in his car, “I must be insane.”

“Not insane, Chere.” Remy appeared near her driver’s side window.

“Your late,” Jubilee tapped her watch, leaning over Rogue in the front seat.

“Lets get this over with,” Marie looked about nervously.

“Remember, to distract him,” Jubilee looked elated, “now your sure you can do this?”

“Absolutely. Just remember, you owe Remy lots for this,” he winked at Jubilee, and gave her a huge debonair smile. “Yea, yea, whatever, get in there lover boy.” Jubilee handed him a small vial of substance and pointed towards the door. He wiggled his eyebrows, and disappeared into the restaurant.

---

They had already ordered their meals, and Logan sat as comfortable as he could cramped up into a small booth towards one corner. Jody absentmindedly chattered about anything that came to mind, not even noticing the mild boredom on his face. Every once in a while he would supply the appropriate “uh-huh” or “I bet”, to show mock-interest. The blonde never noticed. He was bored. He was beyond bored. He only settled for her because she was easy and a nice ass. Not that he knew first hand that she was easy, it was just painfully obvious when he first met her. She would have been easy, just to use Jody to get her out of his head. But he couldn’t, his self-conscience was sickening him.

What the hell am I doing here?

What he wanted he really couldn’t have. What he wanted was young, and pure, wore her dark hair with white streaks. His pants where getting awfully tight all of a sudden, so he shifted in his chair.

“Logan, are you even listening to me?” He jumped with a start.

“Huh? Oh yea, sorry, just hungry.” He shifted upwards into his chair. Jody seemed happy with his response and launched back into her one-sided conversation. He flagged down the waitress and waved his empty bottle of beer at her, and held up two fingers. The waitress brought fresh bottles within moments. He downed the first bottle in nothing flat, peering across the table. It was gonna be one of those nights where she wouldn’t shut up, he should just take her back to her house after, then hit a bar till they kicked him out. He hated it, sneaking around, avoiding her like the plague. When the hell did he turn into a pansy? Logan rolled his eyes, he wasn’t in the mood to listen to this for the rest of the night. His mind wandered back to those black leather pants he had gotten her for her birthday. Oh lord, the world is coming to an end, he’s been whipped, by a tiny wisp of a girl with big brown eyes and a Mona Lisa smile. He was her protector, her big bother, her best friend, and he can do nothing but think of nasty thoughts of her. He looked across the table at the blonde, and suddenly felt like he was going to be ill. He tapped his cigar in the supplied ashtray.

Remy stuck close to the bar for nearly forty minutes just out of eye shot of Logan. He wasn’t really certain what Marie saw in the cretin, he was crude, unsociable, and down right mean-tempered. They had met briefly in the recreational room, Marie had introduced him, but the Wolverine just ignored him completely. He had been deep in concentration at the pool table with Marie, she was winning two games to one, guess he’s not able to multitask -- say hello and shoot a cue at the same time. The girl Logan was with finally disappeared into the direction of the bathroom, that was Remy’s cue to move in, he made a beeline to the table. The waitress brought the food at the same moment, Logan looked distracted, peering over the wood half wall in the direction the blonde had disappeared in. They exchanged pleasantries --or rather Remy did, and Logan responded in grunts. Eight empty bottles littered the table, which the waitress cleared and set a new bottle down. Logan grew tired of the inquisition, his nostrils flared. He swore he just caught the sent of Marie’s two roommates, and he looked around. He spied his jacket laying across the back of the high seat back behind his shoulder. Could be the jacket, he guessed, then shrugged it off . . . . no one noticed Remy dump the contents of the vial into the Long Island Iced Tea the blonde had ordered, least of all Logan.

“Well I gotta go, the night is young, and the women await. G’eve.” Logan didn’t respond, he was already carving into his bleeding steak, and Remy disappeared into the crowd out the door. Jillie was headed back to the table just then.

He meet up with the girls outside in the parking lot and handed the empty vial to Jubilee. “What took you so long?”

“Perfection takes patience,” he smiled at Jubilee, she rolled her eyes.

Kitty looked concerned. “Its not gonna make her sick, is it Jubes?”

“Naw, but she better be near a bathroom when it finally kicks in,” Jubilee stuffed the bottle of SuperValue Laxative into the center console of Marie’s SUV. “Remind me never to upset youz.” Remy quirked an eyebrow, “Well I outta here, I dunt wanna see the aftermath, could get messy. Wanna come with meez?” “I’m gonna head back to the house I think, I got a headache anyway.” Marie supplied.

“I’ll go, but keep your hands to yourself!” Jubilee and Kitty jumped into his car.

“Well that’s no fun.” He smiled back at his new passengers. He reached out the window, grasping Marie’s gloved hand, “G’night Chere.” He kissed it softly, smiled, and drove off.

Marie opened the door to her Jeep, jumped in and shuffled through the glove box looking for her bottle of Tylenol. She had only had the SUV for about a week, and was still finding bits and pieces of Logan’s things in it, burned out cigars, petrified fast food fries, oily tools, an old tan tee-shirt. She found the bottle, swallowed two tablets dry, and tossed it back, and slammed the door shut. An envelope dropped out from under the dashboard, she reached for it and held it up against the ambient light of the headlights from passing cars. It was one of the last letters she had written to him while he was out on the road. She opened it, noting the wear on the edges of the sheets of stationary -- he must have read it a few times. Wedged in the envelope also was a faded picture, with similar wear, the corners where worn round, and it had a big crease across the bottom. She remembered the day, it was after he came back the second time, but right before he had left again before coming back this last time. He had his arm draped over her shoulder protectively, and she had leaned tight into him. She had been genuinely happy, his rugged features soft and sated for the split second the picture had been taken. Suddenly she felt horrible about what she had just done, she looked up at the restaurant in her rear view monitor. She began shuffling though her keys to see if she still had his new truck key on her ring, maybe its not too late and she can get the planted evidence out --crap, she had stuffed it in the pocket of his jacket with everything else when she had gotten mad at him. Shit, better get out of here then.

She jammed her key in the ignition and turned it over. No response. Holy hell, this isn’t good. She kept turning the key, it made no effort to come to life. She looked back up at the rear view mirror, a soft snow was beginning to fall in a sheet across the terrain. She stepped out of the Cherokee and locked the door, having spotted the telephone booth across the street at the gas station. She chunked a couple of coins into the machine, dialing a memorized number.

“Jubes, code red girl, my truck wont start. Come get me please! I’m across the street.” Remy turned back around a few blocks up, and they picked her up, and drove the three of them back to the school. Remy promised to come back the next day with her and retrieve the offending SUV. She just hoped Logan wouldn’t spot it at the far end of the parking lot.

Seven more bottles later, and four shots, Logan was ready to go. He peered back towards the rest rooms. His healing factor was kicking in, any normal man would be three sheets to the wind, but he was hardly buzzed. Jody had been in the bathroom for close to forty-five minutes before she came out, and stated she wasn’t feeling well. No shit, he thought. He thought of the irony, and nearly laughed. He tried to looked genuinely concerned, but he really couldn’t help it. Logan led her to the car, opened the door and helped her inside. He rounded the other side, and jumped in. The look she gave him was murderous.

What the hell is her problem?

She promptly smacked him across the face, having reached down into the door side pocket, emptying the contents onto the bench seat. Logan gave the panties a blank stare. Then the argument was on.

---

Marie awoke to a nightmare, the same one as usual, one of Logan’s lasting gifts to her. She shook it off as best as possible, and headed downstairs to get a snack. The kitchen was deserted at 2:30am, she snagged a peach out of a teak bowl and poured a glass of milk. She peered out the large window, the snow was coming down harder now. The gardens looked surreal, powder covered hedges winding across the landscape in symmetrical patterns. It was too warm to stick past tonight she thought to herself. As her focus came into view, a face was staring at her in the reflection of the glass from inside the room. She spun and nearly shrieked before she recognized the form to be Logan.

“What the hell are you doing scaring me like that?! Doesn’t anyone actually sleep anymore?”

He shook his head mildly, remained silent, as he ran his eyes over her. Suddenly she felt naked, in her baggy sweat pants, long sleeved shirt, and wool socks.

“I hate when you sneak up on me,” she stated lamely.

He closed the gap to her slowly, backing her into the cabinet. He rested a bottle of whiskey in his left hand on the counter trapping her from going to her right, while reaching for a glass in the cabinet to the left of her head. She was virtually pinned, her body maybe an inch from his. His chest rose and fell with his steady breathing, he smelled of cigars, whiskey, and something that was only Logan. She found it increasingly hard to breathe. He never took his eyes off her, as he rested the glass to her left on the counter behind her. Logan methodically reached into the freezer to her immediate right and grabbed a handful of ice and plopped them singularly into the glass. He poured in the whiskey, and drank it in a couple of long exaggerated swallows. Her eyes never came off his Adam's apple as he swallowed. He was enjoying listening to her heart race, and openly smirked at how her body was betraying her so easily. A line of whiskey trickled down from the side of his jaw, down his neck, and before she knew what she was doing, she leaned over, her tongue darted out and licked it clean. The touch was so brief the pull never had time to react. She wished she could have taken it back as soon she had done it. The only reaction was a slow rise out of one of his eyebrows, his amber eyes where dark and foreboding.

“You better go,” he said huskily.

He moved his arm, allowing her to slide out between him and the cabinet. She darted out the kitchen, and was halfway up the stairs before she realized she was holding her breath.

---

She awoke the next morning, shocked that she was able to sleep at all. Her heart had been racing to the point she thought she would hyperventilate when she had gotten back to her room. She got up, took a shower and dressed quickly, and called Remy on his cell phone to wake him. Heading into the boy’s dorm section would be sort of conspicuous at 7:30am on a Saturday morning, and she really didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. He mumbled something incoherently, but promised to meet her in the garage to head out and get her SUV. Twenty minutes later Remy opened the door to the garage for her with southern courtesy. They where both greeted by her Jeep Cherokee in the first available parking spot by the door. He stared blankly, still half asleep. It was freshly parked, a thin layer of half melted snow remained on the roof, and there was a trail of wet tire prints leading from the outside to where it came to rest in the garage.

“Well, that was easy enough.”

She wandered over to it, unlocking the door in vain hope it was her Jeep’s twin. No luck, the key fit. She sat inside, the interior felt cool. The contents of the car looked undisturbed. She jabbed her key in the ignition and it turned over with little protest. She peered at Remy through the windshield, he shrugged. He looked under the hood and decided that someone had put a new battery in it. She mentally smacked herself in the forehead when she realized in her haste last night at the restaurant she must have left the running lights on, inadvertently killing the battery.

They wandered to the dining hall and sat wordlessly for over an hour before anyone else came down. Bobby and a couple of his friends wandered in -- she got an odd look from him, probably because she was sitting alone with Remy. It didn’t occur to her what it must look like from other’s view. Remy was a real lady’s man, most of the teens swooned over him, it was his amazing smile, but she really didn’t see him as much more then a great guy friend. They had hit it off right away when he arrived. Every once in a while she would catch him staring at her chest though, and she would roll her eyes. Kitty finally came to her rescue to sit next to Remy, and Jubilee followed soon after. She questioned Kitty and Jubilee, they where also unaware of how the Jeep got back. She now feared for the worst, and he just walked into the hall.

Logan walked purposefully to the counter to refill his mug full of coffee, and looked to be headed to the next table over where Ororo, Scott, and the other X-Men where seated. Marie gathered up her tray and stood to leave. He veered suddenly, tucking his newspaper under his cup of coffee, and pulled out an item from his pocket as he approached her.

“G’morning Logan,” she greeted.

“I thought you would want your panties back, you left them in my truck,” Logan said smugly, much louder then necessary. He smiled broadly, and winked at her. He draped the small scrap of black lace over her outstretched arm, as she held her tray in her hand. She turned pale. Anyone in earshot froze, to look. Bobby choked, nearly snorting scrambled eggs out of his nose, Scott stopped mid-sentence, and dropped his coffee onto his lap. He promptly yelped and jumped out of his seat.

“How did. . . .” He raised an eyebrow at her and her mouth snapped shut.

“See you around, Marie” he mocked triumphantly. He turned, walking away whistling a cheerful tune, unrolling the sports section from his paper.

“Wow, Remy bets those look nice on you too,” Remy grinned. Rogue glared at Remy, then Kitty.

“Ohmygod Kit-Kat, I can’t believe you used my panties to put in his truck!” Marie moaned.

“Next time don’t leave your folded laundry in a basket near by.”

“I’m so mortified,” Marie was quickly stuffing her panties into her coat pocket.

Jubilee couldn’t contain her laugher any longer. Marie dumped her tray though the kitchen window and exited out the closest doorway.

---

Rogue was on the second floor of the library pretending to read up on Shakespeare for her English literature paper. In actuality, she was hiding out, it was rare for anyone to come here on the weekends, and if they did, its not usually on the 2nd floor.

“Hey kid,” Logan said evenly, from the top of the stairway. She tensed up, ducking down below her book.

“Hey Logan,” it was an automatic answer, she growled inwardly, forgetting to give him the cold shoulder like she had planned.

“I had to replace your battery, it was dead when I tried to jump start it,” she ducked below her book in response. “The laxative was a nice touch, how much did Remy charge you for that?” She ducked down farther.

“I think Jubes promised to show him her chest.” He burst out laughing. He walked up to her desk, reversed a chair, and sat down to her side.

“You gonna talk to me?”

“What else is there to say?”

He looked away, scratching his sideburn with his index finger, staring out the enormous bay window that stretched from the ground floor to the ceiling of the send floor. The second floor flanked by bookshelves jutting out from the walls. It had an open view of the rows of book cases below, the rich waxed woods glistened under the soft lights. The room was a work of art in itself.

“I guess I should thank you,” he said after a long while.

It sunk in after a few seconds, and she peered up. He looked frustrated, and he pushed the book downwards from her hands to the table.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a problem with her?”

“I dunno, figured you where happy. I just didn’t have it in me to be happy for you though,” she curled a lock of hair around her finger, now that she couldn’t hide behind her book she looked everywhere but at him. “I guess, I got used to having you for myself. You know goin’ out ta movies, watching hockey, playin’ pool. . . . I didn’t wanna share.” She finally looked up at him, holding her breath.

“No worries about that any more,” he laughed. He hooked his finger around her scarf, tugging loose enough to cover her lips, and lowered his mouth to hers. His breath was that of mint toothpaste and creme-flavored coffee, “Oh and the next time I find your panties in my truck, I wanna be there when they come off, m’kay?”