Page 17 of The Publicity Stunt

“Uh-huh.”

“All of it?”

I walk around her and kneel next to my bed, pulling my laptop to open the folder containing episodes one through seventy-six.

“Oh my God! Let’s start with ‘Till Death Do Us Part.’ That’s Season Two,” April kneels too, so excited that she ends up bumping into my waist, tucked close to me now. “It’s the one where Gambit recovers from kissing Rogue. Ooh! And Scott Summers gets married to Jean Grey!”

I groan. “Jesus fuck, Moore. What happened to spoiler warnings?”

“Oh …” April’s face grows small. “Sorry. I thought you’d already watched it.”

“I’ll get back at you, don’t worry.” I give her a smile. “And for your information, Rogue kissed Gambit, not the other way around.”

April gasps. “She did not!”

“I’ve read the comics, missy. She kissed him.”

“I’ve read the comics too, missy,” April retorts. “And you’re wrong. Gambit’s an idiot in love. That’s not her fault. Rogue would never intentionally harm him.”

I stop the scrolling and point to her mouth. “I think you’re getting a bit of drool right … there …”

She swats my hand away. “You like Rogue. You’re just saying you don’t to piss me off.”

I swing my head in her direction. “Possibly. But I don’t think anyone likes her as much as you do.”

“Well, they should. She’s freaking badass.”

I scoff. “No, she’s not. Her touch kills people.”

“Uh, details.” April rolls her eyes and turns the other way. “I don’t know, I think it’s pretty cool.” She shrugs. “You don’t wish you could do that too?”

“Kill people?”

“No, turn into someone else.”

I frown. Is that even possible? If I wanted to be someone else, then I’d just do so, and that person would become the new me. In one way or another, I’m always going to be myself. No matter what.

“I dunno. I think I like who I am.” The sudden admission tastes bitter on my tongue.

“That’s fair.” She smiles, almost blushing. “I like you too.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“For now.” She nods, playing with the strings of her hat, balancing her weight on one leg, posing in some weird-awkward “April” manner.

It’s cute, I’ll give her that. “Well, then you have no business trying to be anyone else either,” I say. “Because I like you too, Chere. For now.”

“Chere” is what Gambit calls Rogue.

“Chere” is also what makes April smile.

I like making April smile.

By the time our pizza arrives, Scott Summers and Jean Grey are married, and Wolverine’s busy fighting some robots in the danger room.

April rests her cheek on my shoulder, and just this once, I don’t hate her stupid hat poking into my neck. Maybe because it isn’t that uncomfortable, and I was just being a dramatic prick earlier.

Or maybe because April likes me too.