Chapter 4

"Ya'll, really shouldn't have done that, sugah."

The sweet southern accent seemed to carry a fair ways in the Westchester Forrest. Marie and Mason had walked for about ten minutes in solid silence and now they were both a good distance away from the school. Even though at the moment Mason was making her the tiniest bit nervous, Marie knew it was a good thing they were in the woods.

A very good thing, Marie thought as she leaned against a large oak and watched Mason pace like an animal that doesn't know if he wants to attack or run. No, this here ain't Mason. Mason was at the mall with me. Mason ate with me. This ain't Mason. This here is Cougar.

I should have beaten the little fuck's head in. Mason's thoughts were running a mile a minute. If he were to tell the truth, he really didn't understand how some teenage kid could set him off like that. He. Made. Her. Cry! That's a fine and fucking dandy reason. She should have let me nail the fucker.

Marie just watched as he constantly clenched and unclenched his fists as he paced. That's not what made her nervous, though. No, what made her nervous were the ten-inch adamantium claws that popped from between his knuckles each time he did it. It was safe to say that Cougar felt very confused, angry and a little frightened.

Confusion he could hate, but accept.

Anger was a pain in the ass, but could be manageable if he tried hard.

Frightened. It was a simple word, yet it was part of the reason he was confused and angry. He was frightened of a little Southern girl by the name of Rogue. He was afraid of her touch... But not for the same reason that little punk teenager was. No, he was scared of the calming effect it had on him. Oh, he wasn't afraid of being calm. Calm was good. It meant people didn't die.

However, the Animal Within rebelled against the control the touch had with fright and a touch of anger. Combined with the anger he felt toward the dumbass at lunch, Cougar was walking a fine line between saneness and a maddening rage. He knew that he should get away from Rogue, he really did. However, a part of him rebelled against that as well. He knew that he had to make a decision; A decision about Rogue.

As it happens, the decision was made for him.

Rogue never would know where she got the courage to do what she did next, but she got it nevertheless. Besides, she had a gut feeling that Mason would never really hurt her. She was just glad she had the courage to do what she did for the simple fact that Logan acted sort of like this right before he disappeared for weeks at a time. "Mason," she stated with a clear and sharp voice.

Mason's head snapped around to Rogue. She was slowly walking towards him with her hands held up in a manner that told him he needed to relax. Mason had the wildest urge to run at that moment and he couldn't help but scold himself for the almost ridiculous urge. Before he knew what happened, Rogue had her arms wrapped around him in a loose hug. If he thought a hand on the shoulder had a calming effect on him, this was monumental.

Even Rogue was surprised at the reaction her soft hug gave Mason. He was strung tighter than a guitar string before she hugged him. He tensed just a little more at the beginning, then all of his muscles seems to relax-almost like a balloon deflating. I'll be damned. "Sugah, I know Todd is an asshole," she said softly, speaking of the boy at lunch. "But ya'll can't be doin' what ya did. The Prafessa will throw you out. Ya don't want that. Ah don't want that." All the time she spoke, she kept hugging him and rubbing small circles on his back with her gloved hand.

That was when she noticed that he was growling at her. She was startled for a moment, then almost laughed despite herself. It wasn't a growl, it was a purr. "I still should have hit him." His voice was tired, yet it oddly had a contented sound to it. It was like that he was accepting the way things were, for the moment.

"I know, sugah. I know." She would never tell him how warm it made her feel when he took up for her like he did. She released her hug on him and led the way to a big rock that she usually sat on, but it was big enough for two people. The whole way, though, she never took her hand off his lower back. She waited until they were seated before she spoke again. "Don't get me wrong, sugah, ah liked it when ya took up for me... Ya'll just used a bit too much force."

Mason looked at the southern girl appraisingly, and reached out and brushed some bangs away from her beautiful eyes, never once fearing her skin. He did notice the inward flinch, though, and knew then and there that she was scared of herself too, just as much as he was scared of himself. "You are somthin' else, Marie," he said softly.

"What happened to callin' me 'Rogue'?" she asked with a coy smile.

"A rogue is someone that you don't want to be around. And I want you around," he replied as he took her left hand into his and brought it up to his lips, kissing it gently. "Fer a long time." He said this so gently that she almost didn't hear it.

Charles Xavier eased out of Rogue's mind with a small smile on his lips. The incident in the cafeteria had... Well, it had worried him on more than one level. It worried him for Rogue, because of the way she had been treated. Rogue was very fragile when it came to the subject of her skin.

It worried him about Mason for the obvious reasons. The young man-if he was young-was very violent in nature. That had more to do with his mutation than him, but some of it was him. It surprised Charles deeply that Rogue had such a calming effect on the boy... and the Animal Within.

That surprise led him to a course of action.

That particular course of action had Scott Summers standing in front of him.

"I thought we had rules against that sort of thing." Scott was frustrated-he could admit that. However, he had been told that this boy was just as feral as Logan and that had set off Cyclops' protective streak against Charles' idea. Just the idea of it made him stand with a stiff back and a scowl on his face.

"Coed roommates is against the rules, I know this. I also know that Rogue has such a calming influence on our young Mr. Creed it is almost unbelievable, considering his feral disposition. He hasn't responded to anyone else in this school as calmly as he has to Rogue. It is not like they can get into much mischief in their room, Scott." Xavier responded with a sad smile. If Rogue did not learn to control her mutation, then it was doubtful she would ever get up to any mischief.

Scott let out a little sigh. It wasn't that he had anything against Mason; hell, he didn't even know him. He was just worried about Rogue. The little southern bell had been through so much since she had been at the mansion-he just didn't want her feelings hurt more than they already were. Since he knew Logan, Scott knew for a fact that feral dispositions had that habit.

"I guess you're right, Professor. I just worry about her, is all."

"That's noble of you, Scott. However, she is almost eighteen years old now. Look on the bright side. I haven't asked Rogue yet. She might just say no." He spoke to his protégée with a small smile. "If I were you, I'd get to know the young man. He will be in one of your classes after all."

The Professor paused for moment as he thought of something. Then he took on a wicked smile Scott had never seen him wear before as he spoke. "Just think, Scott. A little Logan of your very own."

Scott just placed his face in his hands and groaned. The Professor just laughed.

2: 47AM

Mason jerked straight up in his bed with an inaudible gasp, his claws shooting out by reflex alone. The remnants of his nightmare were still very fresh in his mind as he looked around his darkened room. It took him a few moments to figure out where he was as he wiped the sweat from his brow, after he sheathed his claws.

Even though it was only a nightmare, it was still hauntingly real to the feral mutant. He could almost still feel the hot/cold feeling of adamantium as it was being grafted to his bones. It was a feeling that a person wouldn't soon forget. I wish Chuck would hurry up and find the fuckers, he thought as a low growl resonated from his chest.

Mason slipped out of the bed and started walking through the darkened room, finding the light switch on the wall. When the room was illuminated with light he stared at it with amazement. Actually, it wasn't the room that amazed him. It was Marie, plain and simple. Then again, that girl had amazed him greatly since he had known her.