Disclaimer: I don’t own the X-Men or anything affiliated with them. This is under movies, but I’ll throw in some things from the comics if I feel like it. This is slightly AU, meaning it doesn’t definitely follow the plot of the movies, comics or shows. I’ll portray Remy physically as Taylor, but I’m writing in the Cajun accent. I always thought it would be difficult to do, but as I started writing things down, I realized the Cajun just came a lot more naturally when picturing Gambit.

A/N: Alas, chapter two brings you all a little Remy. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Keep doing it!

Chapter II

Willow had been left virtually alone after professor X had… diagnosed her, so to speak. Jean was still poking around the lab, but she’d drawn a curtain around Willow’s bed in order to give her some privacy as she used the phone.

She had just finished talking to he parents. Her father was fully supportive, telling her that he would bring her clothes and some personal items for her, since Willow would be living at the school. Her mother, however, was sobbing, worried about what effect this was going to have on Willow’s young life. She was supposed to be going to college next semester, but now it was looking as though that wouldn’t be happening. Hell, Willow wouldn’t want it to happen if there was a chance she could hurt someone again the way she hurt Donovan. She was a menace! Which is why she’d decided to stay without giving it all that much consideration.

Donovan….

She stared at the phone number that had been scribbled down for the wing of the hospital he was in. She wanted to call him, to make sure he was all right. But she was nervous.

With a deep sigh, Willow picked the phone up off the hook and carefully dialed the number, hesitant to do so, but putting it up to her ear none-the-less and listening to the ring. “Massachusetts General Hospital. How may I help you?” the operator answered.

“Hi, can I be connected to Donovan Martin? He’s a patient there.” Willow felt like there was a ten-pound weight sitting in the pit of her stomach.

“Hold for one minute please.” Willow waited patiently on the other line as it sounded like the phone was disconnected. But then the operator returned. “I’m sorry, Mr. Martin isn’t taking any calls at this time.”

Willow didn’t really know how to react to that news. “Oh… um okay. Thank you.” She hung up her phone and leaned back into her pillows. Did he not want to talk to her? No, that was silly. Why wouldn’t he want to talk to her? To know if she was okay or not?

They were in love, remember?

She’d just try later. Maybe he was asleep or with the doctor or something.

Jean peeked around the curtain as Willow sat there, staring off into space with a bundle of questions still on her mind. “Would you like to clean up? I had your clothes washed. Scott just brought them up. There’s a shower right over there. And then if you’d like to go down to dinner with the rest of the students… maybe make some friends.”

She wasn’t sure about the last one, but showering and changing into actual clothes sounded just lovely. Jean disconnected her form all the monitoring machines and led Willow over to the bathroom, where there was indeed a shower and a toothbrush there for her to use.

The first thing Willow did when she was left alone in the bathroom was gulp down some water from the sink. Her throat was totally parched. But she didn’t waste much time hydrating herself before turning on the hot water and stripping out of her hospital gown.

The water felt amazing on her sore muscles and eased her tension for the time being. But she couldn’t help but listen to the lingering thoughts in the back of her mind, assuring her she’d stepped into some alternate universe or something. It’s not as if she didn’t know about mutants. But as far as Willow was aware, she’d never come in contact with one prior to this, so it had seemed as though they might as well have been a fairytale.

What could she really do now though? She had to live with it. And if this place and these people were going to help her control her powers, and live as normal a life as possible, then she was willing to cooperate.

After cleaning off, Willow got out of the shower and got dressed into her soft, clean clothes that smelled fresh from the wash. She combed her fingers through her conditioned hair, used the packaged toothbrush resting on the countertop, and slowly emerged from the bathroom back into the lab.

Jean was standing there, quietly talking to Scott and an unfamiliar, noticeably attractive man. The three turned to look at her as they heard the bathroom door close and Jean walked a few steps towards her, meeting Willow halfway across the room.

“Willow, I’m going to let you go eat and mingle for a little while, but afterwards we have a few more tests to conduct. Nothing drastic, but we should finish before it’s too late and then you can spend the night in a bedroom instead of here,” Jean explained, a warm smile on her face.

Willow rubbed the back of her neck, wet tendrils of her tangling in her fingers. She wasn’t sure how she felt about going to talk to all these new people on her own. She’d never been particularly shy, but this was all so overwhelming already.

“Dis de fille we found in de woods?” A sudden memory of Logan mentioning a Cajun earlier struck Willow, and she realized this must be whom he meant. This man was tall, not old, but not as young as Willow. His brown hair fell to his shoulders and he had an air about him; one Willow could sense right off the back. It was in the way he leaned in a casual manner on the wall; the way the corner of his lips twitched upwards ever so slightly; the way his shockingly red-tinged eyes scanned her up and down.

“Yes. Willow, this is Remy LeBeau, also known as Gambit. He only showed up here recently as well. He’s going to show you around,” Jean explained.

Remy distracted himself from the fresh meat presented before him and raised his brow to Jean. This was news to him. “Is Remy now, Médecin?”

Willow was slightly startled as Remy’s eyes began to glow as he looked at the doctor, but she turned her head away. “Give it a rest Gambit. It’s about time you do something around here,” Scott piped up, and the Cajun’s eyes went back to their normal color, if you could call them a normal color at all.

Gambit snorted and rolled his eyes. Willow sensed that leading the new girl around like a puppy wasn’t high on his list of priorities, and frankly, just from the quick judgment she’d made, she knew he wasn’t the type of guy she’d really want to spend more than a few minutes with, if that. She could sense his overconfidence and arrogance, and men like that annoyed her to no end.

“Really, it’s okay. I can just stay here…” she attempted to protest, but by the looks on their faces, both Scott and Jean weren’t going to let her be anti-social.

“You can’t stay shut up here forever Willow. You might as well get it over with,” Jean coaxed, giving her a stern look that reminded Willow of her mother.

“C’mon cherie. Remy won’ bite ya.” Helplessly, Willow mustered up her energy and followed Remy as he pushed off the wall and walked out the door. She tried once more to send a pathetic, pleading look Jean and Scott’s way, but they both gave her more stern, parental looks, so she just sighed and followed.

“So belle, tell Remy, what de doctor say?” Willow couldn’t lie and say she didn’t have a little trouble understanding the thick Cajun accent, but she managed to decode.

“Um… ecological empathy. Plant and earth manipulation. They still want to do more tests though….” Gambit let out a low whistle, slowing down in order to fall into step with the younger girl.

“Don’ think anyone else here’s got power over plants. You special petite.” The way he glanced over at her, a piece of hair falling into his eyes and a seductive smirk on his lips was irresistible.

To most women anyway.

Willow just scoffed and shook her head in annoyance. “How many girls have you said that to today?” Immediately after the words left her mouth, she almost wished she hadn’t chosen this current time to make it known he wasn’t her preferred type of company. But it was too late for that.

“Ouch cherie. You sure you ain’t got some ice powers in dat little body o’ yours?” Willow sneered at the man, as he only seemed to be thoroughly amused at her reactions to his blatant come ons. This guy sure thought he was something, and Willow had about zero tolerance for men that acted the way he did. But she had her suspicions that he would be like this just by looking at him back there in the lab.

Willow stopped and faced him sharply. “Look, I’m having a really hard time taking all of this in and the last thing I need is some pervy guy who thinks he’s God’s gift to women making stupid little comments and eyeing me up and down like a piece of meat every five seconds.” Remy’s eyes narrowed slightly as she stared defiantly at him, but for once in his life, he said nothing.

A gruff chuckle was heard behind them, trying to be stifled obviously, and the two turned their attention over to Logan, who looked thoroughly entertained watching Willow tell the Cajun off.

And suddenly, the blonde girl felt embarrassed. She hardly ever lost her cool, even around people whose behavior she wasn’t fond of. It’s just that all her stress had piled up so high that Remy’s little quips just made her snap.

And there was something about Logan that made Willow feel as though she should be trying to impress him.

Which she felt she hadn’t, instead making herself look foolish for barking at Remy’s virtually harmless passes at her. In reality however, Logan marveled at the scene of the annoyance known as Remy LeBeau being put in his place by the eighteen year old.

Willow tried to hide her flushed cheeks from Logan by hanging her head while crossing her arms over her stomach. “I’ll take it from here Gambit. Why don’t you go cool down somewhere else.” It wasn’t a question directed at the thief, but a direct order and Willow thought that if Remy put up a fight, he’d have to be crazy, because Logan didn’t look like someone you wanted to mess with.

“Good call boss. Let de dog lead de pup ‘round.” Willow bit her lower lip hard, eyes widening, half expecting a fight to break out between the two men right then and there. She certainly knew she’d never say something like that to a man who looked as intimidating as Logan. Then again, she wasn’t an overconfident gambler like the man before her. “Au revoir beau.” Gambit spoke in French and threw a wink towards Willow before he wandered off, a certain swagger in his step she was sure she’d be seeing a lot of, unfortunately.

“Don’t let him fluster ya too much kid.” Logan stressed once Gambit was out of sight. Not that he cared if the Louisiana native heard or not.

“He’ll get the hint eventually,” Willow shrugged, knowing men usually grew bored with the chase if the prize becomes too far out of their reach. All she’d have to do is tell him off a few more times and he’d lay off, right?

“I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one.” Logan tilted his head towards a door and pushed it open, letting Willow pass through before him.

There was a collection of kids, varying in age from young children at elementary age to people who looked to be out of high school, or almost there anyway. Kids moved out of the way for Logan as he strode through the room, Willow following closely behind while still trying to get a glimpse at everyone in the room, sitting at scattered tables; eating; laughing; just like any normal school.

“Hey Wolverine. Who’s your friend?” Willow turned to see a guy with dirty blonde hair, slicked back, smirking with a soda in his left hand and a zippo in his right.

Logan turned and rolled his eyes and the kid. This was not the one he was going to leave this new girl with. “If you liked the Cajun, you’re gonna love Pyro here,” Logan grunted to Willow, and inwardly, she groaned.

“It’s John actually,” the guy corrected, putting his drink down and offering Willow his hand. Hesitantly, she accepted the gesture, Logan’s words not necessarily being true.

“Oh brother,” Logan snorted before going over to an extremely tall, athletic looking guy. The guy followed him back to where Willow still stood with John, looking a little shy, which didn’t seem to fit such an enormously powerful looking person. “This is Piotr. Piotr, why don’t you bring Willow here ta sit with you, Bobby and Rogue or something? Just don’t leave her alone with this one.”

Pyro sneered at the older man, but said nothing, instead opting to flip the top of his zippo open and closed, without actually creating a flame.

There was something about this Pyro guy, Willow noticed. He looked like he was plotting something. And she was going to keep an eye on him.