I haven’t seen Logan all day, and I’m secretly grateful. I mean, I most certainly have not been avoiding the whole 3rd story or the garage or the gym. That’s a lie, but I’m avoiding everything else too. I have no one to talk to, not even some adult mentor. I feel like Storm’s disowned me for my decision to get the cure. Scott’s torn to pieces over Jean. I don’t know Dr. Hank that well. And Professor Xavier’s gone.
I don’t have any friends, either. Bobby was the glue that held me to the other kids my age, but now I can’t possibly see myself being friendly with them. For God’s sake, one of them stole him away from me. So, I’ve resigned myself to wandering aimlessly around the mansion, until classes start up again. What's the point in me staying here to learn anything, though?
I’m going to leave. There’s no question about it. I think it’s best that I go before I get kicked out. I’m not a mutant anymore, so it’s kind of weird for me to be living at Mutant high. I don’t really have anywhere to go, though. I wonder if my parents will want to see me. Theoretically, they should love me just the way they did before my skin started acting up. Everything’s back to normal now.
So why do I miss myself? I just have to get used to this, the same way I got used to being different. I wonder what Logan thinks of what I did. He told me it was my choice, but I wonder if he thinks I’m a coward, just like the others. I feel like I have to justify my actions, when that’s really not fair. They can’t judge me. They don’t know how important touch is because they don’t have to worry about sucking the living daylights out of people.
I should be enjoying this freedom, but instead, I keep making excuses for it. I feel like my chest is going to cave in. I have so many thoughts and emotions inside of me right now. The deadly skin is gone, but all those people I absorbed are still there.
The younger students are back from summer break. Well, most of them. I can hear some playful screeching coming from the direction of the pool. Storm warns one of them about creating whirlpools, and I’m reminded of how surreal this whole situation is. If I was still a mutant, I wouldn’t be bothered. But, now, I’m human, so I’m not supposed to hear these kinds of interaction.
I go through the back doors near the kitchen and head up a small staircase. My problem with Logan doesn’t seem that important anymore. I have to find a place to go once I’ve packed my bags. I’m really scared. Why did I think I could come back here after I was cured?
Once in my dorm, I instinctively reach for my duffel bag. It’s pretty much packed and ready to go. I pay no attention to Jubilee or Kitty who eye me warily from their beds. Whatever they were talking about, they’ve stopped. I walk straight past them to the small bathroom and remove a couple of things from the medicine cabinet. I wipe my toothbrush on a dry towel and stuff it into my make-up bag.
I hear the girls whispering as I walk back into the room and Kitty clears her throat. “Um…Rogue?”
I ignore her.
“Rogue, I just… I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for me and Bobby to… He just… It just happened.”
Jubilee chimes in, “And, c’mon, everyone knows you two have been having problems for a while.”
“Oh, really? Is that so?” I laugh. “Because, I mean, I thought we were doing pretty good.”
Kitty flinches. “Rogue, you guys…you couldn’t touch.”
“So your idea of relationship counseling was to steal my boyfriend?”
“I didn’t steal anything!” She protests. “He came to me.”
“Right. Well, now that you put it that way, it’s okay. I forgive you.” My tone is viciously sarcastic.
“He just wanted a normal girlfriend, Rogue.” The minute she speaks she knows that she’s hit a nerve. “I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. None of us are normal here.”
“No…” I nearly whisper. “But of course, everyone’s more normal than me. Whatever. It doesn’t matter because I’m leaving to go live a normal life. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m cured.” I nearly spit out the last word. I grab my bag and slam the door behind me.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: The X-Men and their likenesses belong to Marvel and Fox, not me.