Wow. I really like this one. Dark but not too dark. Understandable. Teenage angst but teenage angst dealing with real trauma and fear. Depression, loss, abandonment, the impotence of not fitting in and being too young to really change your life.

"A little more eyeliner, a little more mascara, a little more shit to cover her face and hide from everyone; how cliché.

Rogue threw the makeup into her schoolbag where it landed next to a pack of cigarettes and some pills.

Her father was once again sprawled out on the living room couch; the half bottle of Vodka in his hand dangerously close to spilling."

Great opening lines. It's very visual. Sets the stage. Little flashes. Love the language, too. Powerful, particular, and terse.

And this tells us about Logan immediately, too.
"The truck was cold as Logan drove away from the motel where he had just spent a good two hours with whoever she was - not that it mattered - doing whatever on almost every solid surface in the room. "
I love the coldness of the engine, the solid surfaces. I imagine everything gleaming and faceless and cold - even the woman.

"Rogue had always thought that when death came she would welcome it; no matter how gruesome, but as she stood stuck to the concrete with imaginary super glue the thoughts that ran through her head were in direct contrast to her previous idealist misconceptions.

Rogue found it ironic in more ways than one; at first because she realized she didn’t really want to die - as much as she had prayed for it - and second being that her mother had died in a car accident Rogue thought it sickeningly fitting that her death be just as tragic. "

I love how detached the wording is, how unhysterical. It's the moment of realization, but the moment that should have been too late. Little wonder that this was the turning point for them both.

"Logan grudgingly pulled into the most well kept gas station he had ever seen and hated it; pristine pumps with enough electronics attached to put Bill Gates to shame and a 7-11 the size of Wal-Mart."

I loved this slice of detail, and it says everything important about Logan that we need to know. It tells such a lot with such a little. I need to remember that, thanks for the reminder. :)

I feel I know less of Logan's transformation in this fic than Rogue's. I'm not as sure about why his saving a girl, his waking up to her excitement and fear, his supporting her during her high school and graduation would change him. But I think the fic is much more about Rogue. And the two of them together. I think he may just have needed *someone* - a tether, a way to be a part of the world he woke up in. I'm glad it's a happy ending for them both.