Don't tell anyone, but I'm a hopeless romantic. I know, I know, not very "manly" or leaderlike. Jean tells me she finds it "endearing".

Endearing.

How virile.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not insecure about my masculinity; it's just that I have an image to project. Endearing isn't part of it. So, you see the need for secrecy. I already have to endure enough with Logan prowling around the place, doing "manly" things.

Logan's description of manly things-padding around softly, appearing suddenly behind you or somewhere else unexpected, destroying everything in the Danger Room and brooding.

All without a shirt on.

Jesus, would it kill him to put a shirt on once in a while? I mean, I know that's why he does it sometimes-because it bugs me. He likes ticking me off. But he could show a little concern for the teaching environment. Despite his quiet steps, every female in the room somehow knows when he's coming by.

Quite frankly, it's a little creepy.

All work or study stops. Every girl suddenly looks up and watches the doorway to wait for him to pass by. They all hold their breath as he walks by, then let it out a little sigh when he leaves.

Every single girl.

Like I said, creepy.

Well, let me amend the "every girl" statement. Every girl looks up, except one. Which brings me back to my first statement.

Rogue never looks up. Oh, she's just as aware of his presence as the next girl is; I can see her tense and just the slightest quiver enter her body. Jean says she can clearly read that Rogue knows Logan is there. But she doesn't look up. Why? My guess is that they are intent on acting out the fantasies of every romantic soul in the school.

Let me explain. You know those little dances that every couple does in the movies or on TV? 1.) The I'm-not-going-to-acknowledge-the-other-person-well-okay-just-a-little-but-they-can't-know-that-I'm-waaaaaaaay-into-them dance. 2.) The teasing dance. 3.) The flirtation dance. 4.) And for the rest of us, the Good-Lord-we-can't-stand-all-this-UST-for-much-longer dance. Rogue and Logan do 'em all.

I have to say though, Rogue is much better at the first dance than Logan is. Rogue manages to control herself when Logan walks by. Whenever Rogue goes by, Logan's head snaps around so fast, I swear the only thing keeping it attached is all that metal in his body. He fixes her with this intense look that could burn holes in walls (which I know a thing or two about. Har har. Thankyouverymuch, I'll be here all night, tip your waiters). Anyway, like I said, Rogue handles it much better. She continues on by while the girls swoon around her.

The second and third dance both perform extremely well. Logan likes sneaking up on her, either scaring her or whispering something (inappropriate, no doubt) into her ear. Rogue responds by gently slamming him into the wall with her newly gained strength.

She flirts with the guys, almost unconsciously, it seems, when he's around. Despite Logan's threatening attitude, the guys flirt back, and I can't say that I blame them. Now I say this with complete confidence in my relationship with Jean, but Rogue is totally hot.

What a mature thing to say. 'She's hot'. Jesus.

Be that as it may, Rogue is hot. With her slim, elegant body, delicate features, rich auburn hair with that intriguing bolt of white and her natural charm, the guys flock to her. Like lambs to the slaughter.

Logan watches the show, getting more and more annoyed, until he finally snaps and either leaves the room with a growl or marches up to Rogue, demands to speak with her and watches the guys scatter with a smirk on his face. Rogue gets a pissed off and glares at him and he pulls her hair. They act like 11 year olds and the girls swoon.

Lately, it's been even better. Although I'm pretty sure, from what Ororo told me, that Rogue ended whatever was going on between her and Remy, he still goes after her. Pursues her endlessly, although he has toned it down a bit lately. I think he flirts with Rogue for the same reason I get so much enjoyment out of watching it.

It drives Logan batty. Absolutely up the wall.

So whenever Remy escorts Rogue into a room, or compliments her on her beauty, charm, fashion sense and who knows what else, or (and this is my favorite) murmurs something to her in French, in full view of Logan, I can't help but smile. Logan gets a homicidal look on his face and I grin even more. Not so funny when someone moves in on your girl, is it?

Of course, he can't say anything, since he refuses to do anything (besides glowering) about his feelings. So, this goes on and on and I know that I'm guaranteed at least one smile a day. Childish, I know, but the rest of the guys love it too. And of course, the girls think it's terribly romantic. They twitter and giggle and demand that Rogue "give them details, girl!" Ah, the wonders of youth.

The last dance I was talking about we all play a part in. Yes, the air crackles whenever they're in the same room, and yes, there is a buzz that seems to follow them around, but honestly, the buzz is all the talk the psuedocouple's most recent actions generate. I have to be above it all as our fearless leader, of course, but I'm able to get most of the gossip from Jean.

It's "endearing", remember?

Every move, every look is discussed, dissected and pondered. Logan glanced at Rogue in the dining room! Rogue punched Logan in the arm! What does it all mean? And don't even get me started when they actually do something that could be termed "coupley".

Every once in a while, someone catches them "in the act". Rogue will brush a piece of Logan's hair back into place, lingering a little too long. Logan will gently touch or brush her hand or arm if he sees that she's upset over something. Or they may just stare at each other until Logan quirks an eyebrow and Rogue looks away with a slight smile. And who could forget the night when we had to go to that ball that one of the Professor's more affluent supporters threw for us? It was a classic UST setup from the moment we first heard about it. And the night of the ball...sheesh. Every damn romantic cliché youcould think of happened. The school didn't stop talking about that little affair for weeks afterward. I have to admit, though, that the hopeless romantic in me was delighted at that turn of events.

Oh man. I'm such a girl.

And so it goes on. The only sad thing about this whole affair is Rogue's inability to touch anyone. To quote Jubilee, "It royally sucks." However, even in that area, there seems to be some hope. Professor Xavier is working closely with Rogue in an attempt to control her powers, especially in the wake of her new abilities and how she acquired them. There does seem to be some success with their work. So who knows? Maybe one day, Rogue and Logan can finally end their dance.

I just hope it doesn't end up like "Moonlighting".

"That's very sweet, Scott." Ororo said, closing the journal.

"Shut up. I knew picking 'dare' was going to be a bad idea," grumbled Scott.

Ororo grinned. "Why Scott, I find it endea-"

"Don't even say it!" growled Scott, pointing his finger at her.

She laughed. "Come now, you have fulfilled the penalty for losing the dare. I promise that I shall not tell anyone."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Scott waved her words aside.

She chuckled again as she stood up. "Come on, it's time for dinner. We can get our entertainment from the Logan and Rogue show. Then you can swoon with the romanticism of it all."

"I knew it! I knew it!" Scott exploded. "I'll never hear the end of this, will I?" he fumed as he stormed out of the room.

Ororo shook her head as she followed him out.

"Fearless leader, indeed."