Disclaimer: I do not own the x-men. Not matter how much I wish I did. Especially Remy *drools*

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It had been over a year since Professor Xavior had managed to communicate his message that it was possible for humans and mutants to live together in peace, after all, there hadn't been much of a problem until Magneto had outed them all. With the peace in place, mutants could walk free, although there was still the 'polite' request to try and look as normal as possible, to blend in so to speak. The peace was still in its early days, until it had been there for a great many years, no one would relax too much, but Xavior had managed to persuade Sinister and Magneto and other such mutant terrorists that they should give this peace a chance as it would equal a better world for everybody. They agreed, grudgingly, and so the terrorist teams disbanded, most of them getting normal jobs, although the Brotherhood joined forces with the X-men, still loving the adrenaline rush of a fight, although they weren't too thrilled about the school part. Neither was the new principal, a Mr Gordon. He seemed nice enough to Rogue and the others.

About Rogue. . .well, she wasn't so much of a Rogue anymore. She'd gained control over her powers a few months ago and now she could hardly stop smiling, it was almost as though she were a different person. She had a lot more friends than before, but Kurt, Kitty, Wanda and Tabby were still her best friends and the people she went to when she needed advice. Of course this meant that Logan had knocked his protectiveness up a gear as well, sniffing around her as soon as she walked through the door to find out if any guys had been bothering her. She just laughed at him mostly, and whilst she found it annoying, she knew his heart was in the right place.

But her personality wasn't the only thing that had changed. Now that she was able to touch, she didn't need to keep people away with the goth look, so she wore clothes that she wanted to wear, and her makeup was next to nothing now. Needless to say, she was stunning, the biggest heartbreaker in their year to be exact.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Rogue turned over, and smacked her alarm clock, hoping that would shut it up. It did. slowly, she dragged herself out of bed and towards the ensuite bathroom in her and Kitty's room, there'd been complaints about the length of time the pair spent in the bathroom, so they had been moved so that they had one of there own. They thought it was great, they both made sure they showered early, that way they could be sure that they would get all of the hot water whilst the other lazy bums were asleep.

Rogue had just finished washing her hair and was stepping out the shower when she heard the Professor in her heard, and from the startled cry outside the door, so did Kitty.

"X-men, please report to my office as soon as possible."

Rogue sighed, 'just another day in crazy town.' She thought to herself.

She quickly dried her hair and walked out of the bathroom, only for Kitty to rush in. Raising an eyebrow Rogue turned and shouted through the door, "you know you betta hurry up, because 'ahm leaving when ah'm ready, and if you're going to get all spruced up we could miss the Prof's speech altogether,"

"You are, like, so not funny Rogue. Besides did you want me to, like, wet my pants?"

"EW." Rogue recoiled at the very thought. Moving away towards her wardrobe to find something to wear. You would have thought they'd be rushing, what with the Prof's announcement and all, but nobody really rushed anymore unless the Professor told them to hurry or hasten themselves. Digging through her new wardrobe of clothes, Rogue picked out a pair of dark blue jeans, an emerald green halter neck tank top, and her favourite green ballet pumps. After dressing (she had put her underwear on in the bathroom) she moved to her dressing table and picked out a matching set of jewellary for the day, the main colours being blue and green. The set consisted of a pair of dangly earrings, a pendant necklace and a large cuff bracelet. She gave herself the once over in the mirror before turning to Kitty, who was just putting in her earrings, the pair having gotten their ears pierced together for Rogue's birthday last month.

After attaching the back of the earring Kitty gave herself the once over, eyeing her ensemble, to make sure it looked ok. She was wearing a dark denim skirt and pale pink tank top, and she had a set of flurescent pink studs in her ears, and a bright pink bangle on her wrist that Kurt had brought her for Christmas a couple years back. Deciding that she was ready she turned to Rogue, smiling, and recieved a small smile in return.

The pair were the last ot enter the Professor's office, most of the others sitting there in the pajamas. Rogue found it hard to keep from laughing at Scotts sky blue flannel pajamas with little duckies all over them. As she looked around the room she saw she wasn't the only one trying not to laugh, almost everyone else had goofy smiles on their faces, as though they were trying to hold in their laughter. Well, being Rogue she couldn't resist, she walked towards an empty seat, "nice jamies Scott," she told him as she sat down. That did it, everyone cracked up, even the teachers were guffawing behind their hands.

It took a few minutes until everyone had calmed down, the Professor included. So he waited until he had caught his breath to make his announcement, clearing his throat first, to make sure that everyone was listening. "Right, now that you're all here, I have a little announcement to make. An old friend of mine Jean-Luc has finally turned up again, I've been searching for him for years, ever since my accident in the army, we shared the same bunker room. We've been in touch and he has invited us down to see him, he's throwing a ball in honour of our reunion. So tuxedos and ballgowns all around, and I want you all to be on your best behaviour." He said sternly, eyeing Rogue and Logan, causing them both to smirk.

Within a hour of his announcement, the girls were at the mall, having dumped the guys off at the tuxedo store before they went to find dresses. They found the dress store that had been recommended to them, and it was HUGE. In order to ensure that they all managed to find a dress, they decided to split into groups. Ororo and Jean going one way and Kitty and Rogue going the other. Kitty was in heaven, they had somehow found the pink section. She tried on nearly every dress there, until Rogue assured her that that dress was the one. It was beautiful, sparkly pink, strappy and it seemed to float around her, showing off her figure.

Rogue was a lot harder to shop for, it took the over half an hour to find her perfect dress. But both agreed that it was worth it. They went to pay for the dresses, meeting up with Storm and Jean who were each clutching a bag, and both of them marvelled at the 2 girls' dresses.

"Well, ah bet you found some pretty exceptional dresses yourselves. Can we see?" Rogue asked. The pair nodded and showed them their dresses. Jeans was a deep red and had a faux fur shrug to keep her warm, as it had no straps. It was pretty puffy, a nice cinderella dress, definately not Rogue's cup of tea. Storms on the other hand, was a beautiful silk dress, it would fall to the floor, and cling to all of the right places. Rogue smiled at her, she couldn't wait to see Logan's face when he saw her in that dress.

Once the dresses were bought and paid for, they went back to collect the guys, before moving on to the shoe shops. The guys kept trying to get a look at the girls dresses but none of them came close, although they almost saw Kitty's when she had let go of her bag to try on some shoes. It didn't take long for them to give up on the bags and start trying to guess the colour of the dress from the colour shoes the girls were looking at. Before they knew what had happened, the girls had found matching shoes for their ourfits, jean and Rogue's black, Kitty's red and Storms white, leaving them standing around waiting whilst the guys found there shoes, them having been too busy trying to guess the colour of the dresses to find any.

The guys seemed pretty sheepish after that, well wouldn't you be if you were in a large shopping mall with 4 ticked off women, who, by the way, have the car keys? I thought as much.

After stopping for something to eat, they sent the guys in search of decent cufflinks and a tie, whilst the girls picked out a purse and jewellery, arranging to meet back at the entrance in an hour. The guys spent the first half of that in the arcade, trying to best each other at the games, until they saw the time and started running around the mall trying to find something the girls would approve of.

The girls had used their time more wisely and each of them had found a bag and some jewellery to go with their outfits, and each was happy. When they reached the entrance they were calm and relaxed, having enjoyed their time. The same could not be said for the guys. They ran up to them, all of them out of breath, holding up their purchases for inspection, something which made Rogue and Kitty chuckle.

Once Jean and Ororo had approved all of their purchases they all piled back into the cars to return to the institute, not wanting to be late for Logan's danger session, all of them knowing the penalty if they were, and none of them wanted to be battered or bruised for the big dinner party tomorrow night.

They arrived back at the institute and had just enough time to hang up their outfits and suit up before going to their danger room session.

An hour later both Rogue and Kitty collapsed onto their beds after the danger room session. "I'm, like, so tired. I swear those sessions get worse." Kitty moaned.

Rogue nodded. "Yeah, I know, but at least we don't have one for almost a week now. It'll give us time to relax and recover." She pointed out.

Kitty sighed dreamily. "six whole days without a danger room session. Do you think Logan will explode?" She asked, chuckled.

Rogue laughed."Probably, but Storm and the Prof will calm him down. They've already had a long chat with him about 'appropriate' behaviour for this dinner thing tomorrow night." Rogue told her.

"Wow, wish I could have seen that." Kitty mused.

Rogue pulled herself up off the bed and headed into the bathroom. "Well, might as well start getting ready. We have to leave in a couple of hours you know." She told her.

Taking her time in the shower, Rogue savoured the relaxing feeling the warm water gave her as it clensed her body of the sweat and pain of the torturous session. When she finally stepped out, wrapping a towel around her before she left the bathroom, she found Kitty sat on the bed, an open suitcase in front of her as she contemplated several of the items sat on her bed. "No matter how hard you stare at them, they won't pack themselves Kit." She told her, smirking at her look of concentration.

Kitty turned to Rogue. "I know, although that would be, like, pretty neat, don't you think? I'm not sure which one to wear now, and which one to take with me." She explained, turning her attention back to the offending outfits in front of her.

Rogue glanced over at her. "Wear whichever one is most comfortable and cooler. It's pretty hot down south. You'll want your warmer one for when you come back here, you'll feel the cold more." Rogue told her at the questioning glance she received.

Kitty nodded, folding one outfit and slotting it into the suitcase before picking up the other one and heading into the bathroom to get ready.

Rogue sat at her dresser and brushed out her hair, drying it, then runing the straightners through it, although she allowed the ends to curl slightly. Once she was happy with her hair, Rogue began to dress, pulling on her facourite set of undergarments before moving over to her wardrobe where she pulled out a dark blue mini skirt and a deep violet tank top. She lay her leather jacket on the bed, and folded a pair of black jeans and several t-shirts and vest tops into her suitcase, along with her new outfit and accessories ready for the ball tomorrow night. Once she was satisfied with the outfits she had chosen, she pulled out a pair of low heeled sandels to wear for the journey down, and placed her green pumps in the suitcase for on the journey back.

Kitty emerged from the bathroom looking pleased and refreshed after her calming shower. "So, you all packed?" She asked.

Rogue grinned. "Of course. We have to be the first ones done right?" She asked. The pair chuckling, knowing that none of the others would even start packing for another hour yet. They always left it til last minute, thinking that it would keep their clothes from creasing, but Rogue and Kitty both knew that it made no difference. Their clothes came out looking just the same if not better than the others when the time came for the cases to be unpacked.

Once they were all done and had packed a seperate bag with the things that they wanted to take with them in the car, the pair zipped up their suitcases an headed downstairs to the foyer, where they had all arranged to meet up.

It was another 20 minutes before the others arrived downstairs in the foyer, all of them looking a little rushed and flustered, whereas Rogue and Kitty were relaxed and laid back and looked dazzling. "I don't know how you two do it." Jean stated, amazed that they were so chilled out, when the rest of them had been running around like headless chickens for the past 35 minutes. "You always take ages to get ready in the morning, but with something like this, you're always done before everyone else. I just don't get it." She stated.

Rogue and Kitty exchanged an amused look. "We know we take ages to get ready, so we give ourselves plenty of extra time to get ready in when we have a deadline like this. We started getting ready two hours ago, picking out our outfits, and showering and whatnot, it means that we are done early and have time to relax without having to run around getting everything done at the last minute." Rogue explained.

Jean and Storm just stared at them for a moment before gaping, amazed that their solution was so simple. "I was kind of expecting something a bit more spectacular." Storm commented, causing them all to giggle.

Just then the guys came down, hurrying them all out to the van, where the cases were loaded into the boot and everyone climbed in, Logan and the Professor up front, with Scott, Jean and Storm behind them, and Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue in the back.

Rogue spent most of the journey down to New Orleans reading and listening to music, whilst Kitty was on her laptop, e-mailing her parents and instant messaging her friends from school. They made one pitstop where they all grabbed some food and used any neccessary facilities that they needed before they piled back in the van and continued driving. They had already decided that Logan would drive down and Scott would drive back, none of them thinking that it was fair for just one person to do all of the driving as it was such a long way. They had thought about dividing it all up equally, but as Kitty was with them, no one wanted to be subjected to her driving, so they kept it to just two people.

2 hours after the pitstop and they finally pulled up at the hotel they had booked for the night, the hotel having been recommended by Jean-Luc. They were all welcomed warmly and shown to their rooms, Scott, Kurt and Logan sharing, Storm and Jean sharing, Rogue and Kitty sharing and the Professor go a room all to himself, after all, he was the oldest one there, with the possible exception of Logan, after all, no one knew exactly how old he was.

Once they had all gotten settled and unpacked they arranged to meet down in the reception area at 8pm so that they could enjoy dinner and sort out where everyone would be going that evening. Rogue and Kitty had already decided to go to the little jazz club they had spotted not far from the hotel. They had liked the music they heard pumping from it and the overall vibe that it seemed to exude.

At 8pm sharp they were all being seating in the hotel restaurant, each couple dressed differently. The Professor, Storm and Logan, were in formal wear, having decided to go and see a show for the evening. Scott and Jean were in jeans and t-shirts, wanting to go for an evening stroll and explore the place, whilst Rogue and Kitty were dressed in their party gear of mini skirts and sparkly tops ready for the clubs, and dancing. Kurt was going to hang out at the hotel as he wanted to talk to Amanda and was going to check in a couple of times with the institute to make sure that the newbies hadn't destroyed it or anything.

They each discussed their evening plans, Logan scowling at Rogue and Kitty when he heard that they were going to the local clubs, but he calmed somewhat when a local waiter assured him that they were all staffed by the very best security, each boasting a large number of bouncers and guards, who had each received special training to ensure that they were able to protect their customers no matter what situation arose.

Sure enough, half an hour later, Rogue and Kitty arrived at the club and were waved through the velvet rope, not having to wait in line, whic they enjoyed immensely, although several of the people in the queue didn't seem that impressed. As soon as they entered they knew that they had made the right decision on where to go for the night. The atmosphere was contagious. The music was pumping and everyone was on the large dancefloor. It was crowded but there was plenty of room for people to spread out and dance in their own little group or on their own of however they liked. There were about 5 bar staff on, as well as another 5 who were working the room, taking any orders from the dancers who were reluctant to leave the floor but didn't want to get dehydrated.

They pair exchanged an excited look before heading straight out onto the dancefloor, weaving their way through to the centre where they soon joined in with a group of dancers, finding that they were better at dancing than they realised. The girls found several guys offering to buy them drinks and asking for dances with them very quickly, and whilst they agreed to the dances they never let anyone buy them a drink, and they always fetched their drinks from the bar themselves so that they could see them being made. That way they knew that nothing had been put in it by anyone else in the club, so they wouldn't get taken advantage of. It was one of the things you ended up doing when you had Logan drilling 'constant vigilance' into your brain.

At 2:30am, the 2 girls left the club and walked the short distance to the hotel, a club security guard watching them the whole way to make sure that they got there ok, which they thought was a nice touch. THey walked quietly along the hallway, not wanting to risk waking up the others, knowing that they would get in trouble for getting in so late, and praying that Logan's sensitive ears wouldn't hear them as they staggered slightly and tried to muffle their giggling about some of the dancing they'd seen in the club.

The next morning the pair were met with a few raised eyebrows when they reached the breakfast table, the rest of the group suprised at how good the pair were looking for saying that they had been out til 2 in the morning.

"You girls enjoy your evening?" The Professor asked, pretending that he hadn't heard them come in at 2:30.

Rogue and Kitty smiled. "Yes thank you Professor. You?" They asked politely.

"Yes, Storm, Logan and I found that the show we saw was most enjoyable. Although I fear we may have gotten a little too caught up in the plot line." He admitted, glancing at Storm and Logan.

THe group looked between them, silently demanding more of an explanation, but when Logan turned his glare on them they soon realised that they weren't going to get one. He, instead turned the topic back to the two party girls. "So, you two got headaches?" He asked, readying himself to grill them on everything that had happened the night before.

Rogue and Kitty smiled at him. "Nope. We didn't get drunk, just a little hyper as we were so excited about everything." Rogue explained.

"Yeah, the club was amazing. It had, like, such a great vibe, and there were people around to take your drink orders, like, no matter where abouts in the club you were. Then when we were leaving the bouncer asked us if we'd be ok getting back, and when we told him that we were just down the road he, like, watched us the entire way to make sure that we got here safely. He was, like, so nice." Kitty gushed, obviously excited about it.

Jean, Storm and the Professor smiled at the over enthusiatic girls. Scott, Kurt and Logan frowning at then. "Well I hope you didn't tell them what room or floor you're staying in as that would mean that any creeps who overheard you could easily break in and attack you. You see how stupid that is?" Logan grilled them.

Kitty looked down, a little upset, causing Rogue to glare at the man. "Logan will you back off! Kitty and I only pointed out which hotel we were staying in, by that time, anyone who wanted in to the club was already inside, there was only the one guard out there to make sure that everyone who came out got home safely as it's no secret that New Orleans can be a dangerous place at night, what with all the murders and robberies that go on down here. Just because you're obviosly a little embarassed about your own night out, doesn't mean that you need to pick on me and Kitty!" She told him firmly, matching his gaze before taking Kitty's hand and leaving, not caring that she hadn't eaten a single bite of her breakfast.

When the pair had left the Professor and Storm sighed. "Logan, you really need to relax a little. They're grown girls now and they know what they're doing. You taught them well, you know they would never do anything that silly. They're very safety conscious, we all are, living with you and the way you drill it into all of us it's a habit that becomes second nature." Storm explained to him calmly, trying to alleviate some of the mans tension.

The Professor sighed a little and turned to Scott and Jean when he saw that Logan was as calm as he would be for an hour or so before he sought out Rogue and Kitty to try and make it up to them. "So, how was your evening?" He asked the couple.

"Oh, it was lovely actually. We just went for a walk around, see what's what so to speak. I mean, we may as well do a bit of sightseeing or whatever if we're going to be here for a week." Jean reasoned, Scott nodding in agreement.

Meanwhile Kitty and Rogue had reached the park, where they slumped down on the benches. "Rogue, thanks for what you said back there." Kitty muttered.

Rogue turned to look at the girl slightly suprised. "Hey Kit, you know ah'll always look out for you. Just like you do for meh right? We got each others backs, that's what friends are for right?" She assure the girl.

Kitty smiled at her and nodded."Right. Now, what should we, lik, do now. Guess we skipped breakfast, and it'll be at least an hour before, like, Mr Logan comes looking for us, so what should we do?" Kitty asked.

Rogue looked around her thoughtfully before grinning. She turned to Kitty. "Hey Kit, how'd ya like to go dancing?" She asked.

Kitty looked at her a little gone out, after all, hadn't they just gone dancing the night before. Kitty turned in the direction Rogue had looked in until she saw what Rogue had seen and grinned nodding. "Like, totally. That looks like so much fun." She exclaimed.

The two girls ran in the direction of the sign and spoke briefly with the man holding it who directed them to the studio where the lesson was taking place. When they arrived they were suprised to see how many people were there. As soon as they walked in a woman approached them a large smile on her face. "Hello, there, can I help you?" She asked them.

"Ah think so. We're here about the dance class?" Rogue asked her.

The woman beamed. "Wonderful, then you're in the right place. My name is Marianne and I'm the instructer here." She told them.

Rogue and Kitty nodded and smiled, shaking the hand she offered to them. "Hi, ah'm Rogue, and this is mah friend Kitty." Rogue explained.

"Lovely, come on, we're just about to start. I have some spare workout clothes if you want them. They should fit the pair of you, and they're new, so they haven't been worn yet," She told them.

"Great." Rogue and Kitty replied, thankful that they didn't have to get all sweaty and what not in the clothes they were wearing. Marianne directed them to the changing rooms and handed them the clothes which still had the tags on and everything, so they knew she wasn't lying when she said that they were new. Once they were dressed they walked out to join the other woman in the class, a couple of them having come over and introduced themselves to the pair.

"Okay then ladies, lets get started. I want each of you to grab a pole and keep your eyes on me ok?" She instructed them.

Rogue and Kitty made sure that they were next to each other, the women they had been speaking to taking positions around them. Although they all made sure that they were nearer the front so that it was easier to see and they could make sure they heard what they were being told to do.

An hour later and Logan decided that he had had enough time to cool off and so had Rogue. He left the hotel and began wondering the streets, sniffing the air every now and then to find out where the pair were. He reached the park and then headed towards a dance studio, for a moment wondering if he had gotten the wrong place, this certainly didn't seem like the type of place where the two girls would hang out, Rogue especially. He walked inside and stopped at the reception desk. "Scuse me, I'm looking for Kitty and Rogue, one petite with brown hair, the other quite tall with auben hair with two white streaks in it at the front?" He asked.

The woman smiled at him. "Oh yes, they should be out in a minte, the class is almost finished now. If you'd like to take a seat I'll let them know you're here. You must be Logan, is that right?" She asked.

Logan looked a litle taken aback that she knew who he was, but he tried to cover it, apparently not well enough as the woman chuckled at him. "Don't worry, I'm not psychic or something. They told me that you might turn up here looking for them. They asked me to let them know when you arrived." SHe explained, Logan just nodding as he sat down, fidgeting nervously, not liking being in such a girly place. A guy like him definitely didn't belong in there, and he didn't think that Rogue did either but even he had to admit that she had changed a little since she had gained control over her powers, not too much though, he admitted to himself.

Rogue and Kitty were just finishing up in the class, suprised about how fast they were able to pick it up, already they were able to dance and spin and twirl and even do a couple of the more complicated moves on the pole. The teacher came over to them at the end. "Wow, you two were great. I don't think I've ever had students pick up what I was teaching so quickly. I could probably put you in the show in a couple of days time if you're interested?" She asked them.

Rogue and Kitty exchanged glances, suprised at her comment. "What show?" Rogue asked.

"Well, about three or four times a year we put on a sort of show for our sponsers. They all come and watch and we show off what we're able to do. We have a couple of competitions, one for the best in show and another for a couple of members of the audience to come up and have a go. They're always completely hopeless but it's all good fun and we all have a good laugh. So what do you think?" She asked them.

Kitty looked over at Rogue. "Rogue, what do you think? Should we, like, do it?" She asked a little apprehensively.

Rogue thought about it for a minute, but then figured that as you only lived once you had to grab at opportunities like this when you could. She looked over at Kitty and grinned mischievously. "Ah'm game if you are Kit." She replied.

Kitty saw the look and knew exactly what Rogue was thinking before she said it. Kitty matched her grin and turned back to the teacher. "We'd love to, but we're both busy tomorrow afternoon and all evening, we've agreed to go out with our family sort of thing. Is that going to be a problem?" She asked.

Marianne smiled at them. "Not at all. We won't be able to rehurse tomorrow anyway, I have a family event to go to. If you could do all day the next day, then the show is the night after that. I'll provide you with the costumes, just let me know your dress size. I'll have your outfits ready for you for the rehursal." She told them. Rogue and Kitty both beamed, excited about what they were going to do, but both knowing that they would never tell the x-men or anyone about what they were doing. If someone found out they had been to a dance class they'd say they had learnt street dancing or something as they could both do that pretty well already.

Just then another woman walked through the door and headed over to where the three of them were talking. "Rogue? Kitty? Logan is waiting for you downstairs." She told them.

Rogue and Kitty exchanged a glance and smirked at each other, both of them knowing how uncomfortable the man would feel in such a girly place. THey turned back to Marianne and smiled at her. "Ok, we have to go now, but what time should we come here on Friday?" Rogue asked her.

"If you could get here for about 9? Would that be ok?" She asked.

The pair nodded. "That sounds fine to us." They assured her, before running off to get changed so that they could meet Logan before he got all wound up again at having to sit there for so long. Barely 5 minutes later the pair walked downstairs and met the disagreeable man sat fidgeting in one of the chairs. Rogue and Kitty shared a look before they both rolled their eyes at his behaviour. Kitty went over to placate the man and get him out of there whilst Rogue sorted out any fees they had to pay.

A short time later the pair were escorting Logan back to the hotel so that they could meet up with the others and grab a bite to eat before they began getting ready for the ball that evening. It didn't start til 7, but both Rogue and Kitty knew that they would need to start getting ready at about 5. But before that, they wanted to run into town to do a little shopping, both Kitty and Rogue had found that they needed something to read for on the journey back and their evenings in the hotel when they had nothing better to do.

During lunch there had been pleasent chatter about what they had all been up to during the morning and both Kitty and Rogue were amused to see the shocked and suprised faces when they announced that they had attended a dance class. The Professor was the first to come back to himself. "Well, I guess that will come in handy tonight, with this being a ball and all." He stated.

Both Kitty and Rogue were unable to keep themselves from laughing, just picturing themselves dancing like they had today in their party frocks in a room full of elegant people. At the questioning looks Rogue forced herself to calm enough to explain. "It wasn't that kind of dance." She explained to them.

"Then what kind of dancing did you learn?" Storm asked them.

"Street dancing." The pair stated, causing the others to chuckle a little at the thought of the pair street dancing in ball gowns, suddenly realising how ridiculous it was.

Once the lunch was over they all went their seperate ways, agreeing to meet in the lobby at 6:45pm. Rogue and Kitty instantly took off into town, quickly finding several good book shops to look in and finding several titles that took their interest. By 4:30pm both girls arrived back at the hotel with a bag full of books and 2 bags of clothes that they had simply found too adorable not to buy.

THe pair went straight to their rooms and began getting ready, not caring that they had hours, they wanted to make sure that they looked amazing in front oof the Prof's long lost friend and were relaxed so that they did him proud, after all he had done a lot for them over the years, and he was the reason they were now able to walk the streets and not feel persecuted like they had before.

Kitty and Rogue chatted and laughed easily as they took their time getting ready, making sure that they didn't leave any base uncovered. Before they left their room, they each wrapped up in their cloak like coats, pulling the hoods up over their immaculately styled hair, so that their appearance would come as a suprise to the others as well as the Professors friends.

At 6:45pm precisely the two girls exited the elevator to find the rest of the team stood waiting for them, all looking a little suprised at the pairs ensemble. Deciding that it would be better not to comment at the present time, the group all exited the hotel to find a limo waiting for them, apparently it had been sent compliments of Jean-luc, something which Rogue and Kitty found increased their opinion of the man greatly, after all, it didn't look all that great to get out of a cab or a van, no matter how amazing you looked.

They didn't reach the venue until 7:10pm, something which annoyed both Scott and Logan greatly, but the others were amused, knowing all to well that it was the best thing to do to be fashionably late. They all felt that it only looked somewhat needy and desperate if you arrived either early or on time. When they walked in, all eyes in the room turned to them as they descended the grand staircase. The cloakmen taking their coats from them at the top. Kitty and Rogue purposefully hung back until the end so that their attire made a bigger impact, although Kitty knew that Rogue's would cause the biggest stir, the girl was simply gorgous, and the fact that she was so ignorant of the fact only made her even more astounding.

The Professor, Storm and Logan descended the stairs first, a few murmers circulating the room. Apparently most of the people here knew who they were. Behind them came Scott and Jean, who just began to decend the stairs as the other three reached the bottom, all of them turning to look at the others coming down to make sure they didn't stumble or anything.

When Scott and Jean reached the bottom they turned around in time to see Kitty having her cloak removed from her, all of them smiling and sighing at how beautiful the girl looked. Kurt's mouth dropped open when he saw how amazing she looked, and couldn't help but grin at the girl. Kitty saw their expressions and smiled, half wanting to run down the stairs so that she would be able to see their expresions when they saw Rogue. "Kitty, you look beautiful." Kurt told her as she took his arm so that he could accompany her down the stairs. She forced herself to walk calmly, having made Rogue promise not to take her cloak off until she reached the bottom so that she could watch their reactions.

Rogue watched Kitty walk down the stairs, almost missing her footing once, but Rogue had sent her a quick message and the girl had deftly avoided falling flat of her face. Seeing as Kitty had made her promise not to take her cloak off until she reached the bottom, Rogue turned to the cloakman waiting to take her claok and asked him a few general questions about the evening, which he was only too happy to supply the answers to. She found him quite charming in his own way. But before she had the chance to say anymore she noticed that Kurt and Kitty had just reached the bottom and wee now turning to face her.

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from the man who gave her a nod of goodluck and pulled the ribbon holding the cloak shut apart, pulling down the hood to reveal her face, seeing the eyes of her friends widen slightly at her, causing her to smile a little, she then allowed the cloakman to take the cloak from her shoulders revealing her dress, which was made of an emerald coloured silk, the cut having a square neckline, which suited her perfectly and molding itself to her body, showing off her amazing figure, although it seemed to float out slightly around her legs making it a perfect dress to wear to something like this when she would be dancing as it would give her the appearance of floating accross the floor.

Slowly Rogue began to walk down the staircase, well aware that every eye in the room was upon her, but not bothering with that, she was more focused on trying not to burst out laughing at the expressions of those people in front of her, even Kitty seemed somewhat taken aback by the effect the light and everything had on the look, nevermind the fact that she had seen the look as it was assembled, so to speak. It was the others' reactions that were more amusing however, she thought that their jaws were in danger of hitting the ground they had dropped so far. Their eyes so wide that they might pop out of their sockets altogether and the gasp so loud that she was pretty sure the entire ballroom could hear it.

THe amusement in her eyes however and the smile on her face simply served to make the girl even more dazzling and all the occupants of the room found their breath being taken away from them by the girl.

Rogue reached he bottom of the staircase and snapped the others out of their trance as she had no idea where they were supposed to go from there. She had asked the cloakman, but he had said that someone would approach them and lead them to where they were supposed to go. She looked around discreetly, trying to see if anyone was coming towards them, however, the entire room still appeared to be in shock over her appearance and therefore hadn't moved since she had first started her decent although she could still feel every eye in the place upon her, something which unnerved her slightly, as she still wasn't quite used to all the attention.

The x-men shook themselves out of their reverie and began to look around the room themselves, finding themselves also amused at the reactions of the occupants, who just then seemed to realise that the girl was now in the ballroom alongside her companions, none of whom had any idea of where they should go now. Suddenly a man stepped forward and bowed to them. "Hello, allow me t' introduce m'self. I'm Francoi, an' I 'ave been ordered t' assist ya in any way necessary until le roi and 'is family arrive. Please, follow me." He requested and led the group towards the bar, Rogue and Kitty at the back of the group, already talking about some of the eyecandy they had spotted in the crowd.

10 minutes later the group had their dirnks and they were all escorted to a table which was a bit further away from the rest, so as to give the occupants more privacy in which to talk and whatnot. THey had not long sat down when the music started up again and a gentleman approached the table, bowing to Rogue. "May I 'ave de honour of a dance Belle?" He requested.

Rogue smiled and turned to look at the Professor who smiled and nodded his head slightly at her. "Ah'd love to." She replied, taking his hand as he led her to the dancefloor, everyone who wasn't dancing watching her as she went. The man proved to be a very capable dancer, although he was by no means what you'd call a professional, and it didn't take long for it to become obvious that Rogue was somewhat out of his league, however, that did not deter other men from asking for her hand shortly afterwards.

A couple of songs in and Scott and Jean took to the floor, Kurt had asked a pretty girl to dance with him, as she appeared to be rather alone, alongside Kitty and one of the guys she had eyed up earlier, which amused Rogue greatly. By now Rogue was on her third partner, and they appeared to get more and more skilled as they went on, but she was still waiting to find someone who could really match her pace in dance. She found herself having to half lead, forcing them to go in the right direction, whilst still appearing to let them lead the dance.

About half an hour in and the three occupants left at the table heard some doors nearby open and 4 figures emerge into the room. The entire room seemed to freeze, everyone falling into a deep bow or an elegant curtsey. Rogue quickly fell into a curtsey herself, the gracefullness of it, shocking those around her, the other x-men, however, weren't quite so quick off the mark, only Kitty being able to drop into a curtsey, a little messily, but she managed. The others however, didn't bother. Something which the occupants of the room seemed to find somewhat disagreeable, although they allowed the man in the wheelchair to be let off, after all, he could hardly bow like that. But they took a bit of a dilike to Storm, Logan, Kurt, Scott and Jean.

The elder gentlemen, who Rogue quickly sussed must be the Jean-Luc that the Professor had spoken briefly about, turned to the group and nodded his head regally, making a gesture with his hand, which seemed to be the signal for the music to start again, as the band started playing again and they all continued to dance, Rogue quickly adapting to the sudden change as she had been taught to over the years. The strangers around her seemed somewhat impressed by the young girls abilities, especially with the way she had realised that she should bow to the person walking in the room, even though they all knew that she had no idea who he was. She had dropped gracefully into that curtsey as though she were one of them. The other more petite girl not too far behind them.

Jean-Luc and his party approached the table, smiles on their faces as they saw three figures alreay there and another four returning from the dancefloor. Jean-Luc looked slightly puzzled for a moment, 'I'm sure Charles said there would be 8 of them in total.' He thought to himself but quickly shrugged it off. "Charles, my old ami, it is tres bon ta see ya again!" Jean-Luc exclaimed and he hugged the Professor.

The Professor smiled at his old friend. "It is good to see you too Jean-Luc, it has been too long since we last spoke. Allow me to introduce Logan and Ororo, two of the teachers at my school . . " He paused and the pair nodded and greeted the others. By which time Kitty, Kurt, Jean and Scott had rejoined them. "and this is Kitty, Kurt, Scott and Jean, four of the senior students at my school, Rogue is here also, but I'm afraid she has been swept off her feet and onto the dancefloor. She should join us again soon though." He explained.

Jean-Luc nodded before turning to his own brood. "Well, dis 'ere is mon fils, Henri. His wife Mercy, and Tante Mattie. My other fils, Remy, should be joinin' us shortly, but 'e 'ad to tie up a couple o' t'ings before 'and." He explained as the group took seats at the table, the two empty seats being left between Kitty and Henri.

Conversation between the group at the table mainly seemed to revolve around the professor and Jean-Luc for a while until they all noticed a dazzalingly beautiful woman approaching the table, a gentleman by her side, speaking to her, a soft smile on her face. At the sudden silence the Professor and Jean- Luc turned to see what was going on, the Professor smiling at his student. "Ah, Rogue. There you are. Could I borrow you for a moment. I would like to introduce you to an old friend of mine." He called softly to her.

Rogue looked up and saw that there were several newcomers at their table, so politely (and very gracefully they noticed) curtseyed and excused herself form the man's presence, he making a returning bow before turning back to the dancefloor in search of another partner. Rogue approached the table, and easily recognised which one was Jean-Luc, the one they had all bowed to when he entered the room. She realised that this man held a lot of authority and had to be treated as such, so curtseyed before him and the rest of the table, soemthing which shocked the x-men but impressed the thieves.

"You called for meh Profesor?" Rogue asked, all of the newcomers instantly recognising her southern drawl, causing a small smile to grace their features, Tante Mattie in particular, already sensing that this girl was something special.

The x-men quickly gathered themselves so as not to look stupid in front of their hosts. "Yes, Rogue, I'd like you to meet Jean-Luc." He paused as the man in question rose, along with the other occupants of the table, and nodded to her, which she politely returned. "This is his son Henri, and his wife Mercy." He introduced, turning Rogue's attention to the handsome pair sat close to her. Again the pair nodded and she returned it. "And this is Tante Mattie." He finished, a little unsure about how to introduce her. Rogue smiled at the woman, already feeling a warm and comforting vibe coming from her. She bowed again before smiling at them all. "Ah'm pleased ta meet ya all. As the Professor said, ah'm Rogue. Sorry, ah'm a little late." She told them, as she took her seat next to Kitty.

Jean-Luc smiled at the girl, alreay having taken a liking to her from the way she curtseyed and bowed to them, as though she knew who he was. Tante Mattie put the girl at ease however before the regal man even had the chance to open his mouth. "Don' worry 'bout it my chil'. Le roi's other fil, Remy be runnin' a li'l late 'imself." She assured her.

Rogue smiled at the woman, and whilst the Professor continued to talk with Jean-Luc and the x-men spoke between themselves, Rogue engaged the thieves in a lively conversation, often causing theem to burst out laughing.