Rogue's heeled boots struck the pavement hard as she stormed out of the building. She wheeled around and threw her bottle hard against the closed door, sending water splashing all over the doorway. Her face was twisted into an angry grimace and she turned again to storm away. She crossed her arms as the cool night wind nipped at her skin. Her long black skirt blew wildly and the belts around her midriff clanked with a metallic report at her every step. She hung her head low and began to whimper softly, her sniffles soon becoming sobs. Tears rolled down her cheeks freely as she thought about the events that had just transpired.
"Hey, Rogue, look what I found!" Kitty ran to where Rogue was putting books in her locker. She carried a small flyer in her hand as she reached Rogue. Rogue crammed her remaining books in the locker next to her Goth Topic magazines and notebooks full of her angst-ridden poems and stories. She closed the door with a sigh and turned to see what Kitty had.
"What is it this time, Kitty? Yah know I have tah git back to the Institute and practice mah guitar lessons." Rogue was more than slightly annoyed, but Kitty didn't seem to notice. She just beamed her innocent, perfect little smile.
"Look at this! It's a flyer for the Varsity cheerleader dance this Friday night! Jean gave it to me and she asked me to see if you wanted to come with." Kitty's big prep eyes pleaded with Rogue. The Gothic beauty leaned against her locker and rolled her eyes.
"Kitty, yah know ah don't like goin' tah dances. Especially ones hosted by cheerleaders." Rogue started walking away with Kitty hot on her tail.
"Aw, come on Roguey, you know you want to go! It's a good experience! And besides, there's bound to be some cute guys there! Oh, yeah, what do you say?" Rogue stopped walking and stared right in Kitty's face.
"Ah told you tah never, never call me Roguey! Tha name is Rogue, okay? Look, jest let me git to mah practice. Ah'll think about it and git back to yah tomorrow." Rogue turned away from Kitty and headed for the outside.
"Ok, but make up your mind quick! Tomorrow is Friday, after all!" Kitty's voice trailed after Rogue as she left the building. The soft leaves crunched underneath her combat boots as she walked through the school's courtyard. A soft breeze made her green blouse flap in the wind. She crossed her arms and shivered as the wind picked up. Her hair blew across her face and she ducked and ran through the woods on her way to the Institute.
Maybe Kitty's right, she thought to herself. Ah would like tah meet some cute guys, after all.
Rogue's slender fingers plucked the guitar strings gracefully. She closed her eyes as she strummed the strings, moving her head and body along with the music. She opened her eyes briefly to look at her notebook where she had written down her lyrics.
I'm only happy when it's dark
I'm only happy when it rains
I'm only happy when I'm alone
With the hard rock turned up loud
Raindrops patter on my window
My pen glides smoothly over paper
I can't think and I can't see
I'm all alone in the dark
Am I lost?
Or just waiting to be found?
Can no one see my sorrow?
Can no one feel my pain?
Am I lost?
Or I am hiding?
Can no one see my tears?
Can-
She stopped suddenly when her finger struck a sour note. She sighed and repositioned herself to begin the song again.
"Oh man, ah always mess it up right there." Her fingers were ready to begin playing when she heard a rapping at her chamber door. She let out another sigh and put down her guitar. She opened the door to find Jean and Kitty standing before her. "Hey, Rogue! Are you ready to go?" Jean asked. She wore a green dress with her hair tied in a ponytail. Kitty had on a short blue dress and her hair was in its usual style. Rogue turned to her dresser and grabbed her purse.
"Yeah, yeah, ah'm ready. Jest give me a sec." Rogue wore her long black skirt and heeled boots, elbow-length gloves and a metal plated belt. She fished around in the purse for her blue lipstick and applied a generous amount. Rubbing her lips together, she followed the other two girls to where Jean had parked her car. The trio sped off in the night, heading for the party.
The local YMCA had been rented out for the night by the Varsity cheerleaders. Pop music blared over the speaker system and the dance floor was full of teenagers, twisting and turning to the music. Lights flashed on and off with vibrant colors and the music seemed to breathe life into the veins of everyone in the room. Everyone except for Rogue. She sat by herself at a table near the rear of the building. She clutched a bottle of water and every few seconds brought it to her lips and sipped. Her face was set in a perpetual scowl as she scanned the crowd. Kitty and Jean were dancing together somewhere inside that mass of bodies, having fun while Rogue was forced to sit here and be jealous. She had never really wanted to come here anyway. Her song wasn't finished, for one, and all these preps just made her even angrier. She took a sip of water as the current song stopped. While the DJ switched music Kitty and Jean walked over to Rogue's table.
"Come on, Rogue," said Kitty, "get out on the floor and have some fun! I already got one guy's number!" She pointed to a phone number, written in pen, on her left palm. Rogue just sipped her water and sighed.
"Ah don't know, Kitty, ah jest don't feel good about being here," she said. Rogue eyed a group of girls who were looking over in her direction. They intermittently pointed fingers at her, hoping she wouldn't see. Rogue looked back up at Kitty and spoke again. "Look, ah'd better jest go, anyway. Ah've got a big biology test coming up on Monday and ah need tah study for it." She took a sip of water and grabbed her purse. Jean placed a hand on Rogue"s arm.
"Come on, Rogue, you haven't even done anything here! You need to just get out and dance." She dragged Rogue to the dance floor just as a new song started up. Rogue didn't like the music at all, but she still let herself be led by Jean. She caught a beat and her body started undulating to the music. Her hair flew by in white and auburn streaks as her head swung up and down, back and forth. Her body was a machine, oscillating like a snake amidst the strobe lights and artificial fog. Just as she was getting into the music it stopped, the last beat ringing in her ears like a church's bell. She brushed a hand through her hair and sighed. Jean and Kitty smiled at her. "You see?" said Kitty. "You can get into it!" Rogue smiled at her and they waited for the next song to start. Rogue lifted her water to take a sip and dropped the cap. It rolled along the floor and came to rest at the foot of a tall and gorgeous cheerleader. Rogue chased the cap and bent to pick it up. As she rose with the cap in her hand she saw the disapproving look on the cheerleader's face.
A"Why don't you look what you're doing, Goth girl?" the girl asked. Rogue's happiness quickly died away and was replaced with a scowl. She screwed the cap on her bottle and stared back at her rude assailant. "Well?" said the other girl. "Get out of my face, you don't belong here." Rogue couldn't stand it any longer and she brushed the hair out of her face before she spoke.
"Forget you, ah can dance wherever ah feel like it." Rogue's statement was answered with a hateful remark.
"Uh, no, I don't think so, you freak. Go back to your cave and get out of here." It took all of Rogue's willpower and strength not to ram her fist into the girl's face. Rogue just turned around and began walking away. She didn't see the foot stick out to trip her until she had already ran into it. She gasped as she plummeted to the floor. She landed with a loud thud, sprawled out spread eagled. She straightened herself up with one hand and glared back at the crowd. She saw nothing but faces laughing at her. As she stood up the cap slipped off her water and it spilled all over the front of her outfit. All those present laughed even louder at this. Rogue fought back tears and her desire to kill that cheerleader, who by now was pointing her finger straight at the wet spot all across Rogue's chest. Rogue turned and stormed out of the building, rushing past Kitty and Jean because she didn't want them to see her cry.
Rogue couldn't hear Kitty and Jean call after her as she walked through the alley away from the building. She turned a corner and sat down on a pallet, holding her head in her hands as tears flowed from her eyes. She sobbed all by herself and let all her emotion drop from her eyes onto the dirty ground. She clenched her teeth and breathed heavily, her mind wandering between thoughts of rage and loneliness. Her sobbing was interrupted by the soft meow of a cat. She lifted her head up and sniffed, rubbing her eyes and nose with a gloved hand.
"W-who's there?" she said, her voice weak and full of sadness. A lonely black cat walked from around a corner and strolled up to Rogue. It rubbed its smooth fur against her leg, and even through the leather Rogue could feel its softness. She smiled through her tear-soaked face and reached out to stroke the cat. It purred a soft call to her ears and she picked it up to hold it against her chest. She stroked the cat in her arms and held the cat's face up to her own.
"Hello there, sugah. Mah name's Rogue, what's yours?" The cat licked her nose with its raspy tongue, leaving a small wet spot. Rogue giggled and held the cat up. Her tears were gone by now, the sound of her sobbing replaced by the cat's soft purr. The cat meowed at her and she placed it in her lap. She couldn't find a name tag or any ID on the animal, and wherever she went, it seemed to follow her. She walked all the way back to her room at the Institute. The cat followed her inside and jumped up on her bed. Rogue sat next to it and began to stroke its soft fur again, listening to its velvety purr. Its voice was a requiem to her ears. She brushed her bangs aside and picked up the cat with her new found inspiration.
"That's a perfect name for you! Requiem!" she said excitedly, rubbing the cat's nose against her own. Requiem purred its consent and lay down in Rogue's lap. The two fell asleep shortly.
Note on the Story: Requiem is NOT Mystique! Come on, do you think I'd be that cliched? No way, that would be too obvious. Requiem is just a cat whose gender is to be revealed in upcoming stories.
Aster Anucarr