Players:
Summary: Lucas is mad he didn't find out first. James offers insight as to why.
Date: April 21, 2010
Log Title Getting Off Topic
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - James and Lucas's Room
James and Lucas' room is at first glance, a typical boys' dorm room. There are small piles of clothes throughout the room in various stages of "clean." The left side of the room is Lucas', and the unmade bed sheets are in disarray, mingled around two science textbooks and a J.D. Salinger novel. The bookcase at the foot of the bed is mostly empty, except for a family portrait of Lucas' family taken when he was only ten years old and a complete collection of Salinger's work, including nine different printings of "The Catcher in the Rye." Leaning against the wall in the corner near the door is a kayak oar with a well-used life jacket hanging on it. James' side is somewhat more bare, but just as disorganized. On his desk are various books on engines, electronics, and other subjects of personal interest. The hyena's belongings seems somewhat more used than Lucas' items and a show signs of much harder use. Even his furniture looks beaten, as if it might have been tossed out the window a few times.
It’s evening and James is sitting at his desk, working on homework. History from the look of the books spread out before him. With a thoughtful sound, the creature carefully crafts text and places it on paper, hoping that this will be the end to all that make up work he's been chipping away at.
Lucas opens the door, stepping in carrying his textbooks from class. He's wearing a pair of patterned shorts and a white button up shirt, left unbuttoned, over his wife beater. He closes the door, dropping the books on his bed.
The creature lets out a 'Yoooo…" and swivels his chair around to face his roommate. Somewhat lifted feet thump to the ground as James’ elbows and arms come to rest on his legs. Looking at Lucas in the hyena's slightly hunched over state the creature asks, "So…you got a moment?" A head tilt, an ear twitch, and a solid gaze follow next.
Lucas furrows his brow and continues to put his books away, not looking at his roommate. "Ah dunnow. Ah'm kinda angry with you," he says flatly.
"Sure," James says as he swivels back around in the other direction to face his desk, "I'm over here when you're not." Pencil tapping starts, then humming, LOUD humming…then the singing, "Lucas is maaad…makes me feel baaad. If I wasn't such a caaad…I'd probably also feel saaad. LaaaaAAAA~!…Drum SOLO!!* *BANG-BANG-BANG-TING-BANG!* "Double Bass Pedal!" Suddenly the room vibrates as the hyena goes spastic, feet and hands flailing as he makes enough ruckus to alert the Head Master. *BATTABATTABATABATTABATTA!!* And on and on and on!
Lucas sighs, standing up straight, and folding his arms over his chest. He just watches James, glaring at him, waiting for him to stop.
James looks back over his shoulder, head twisting up towards the ceiling as his tongue lolls out of his mouth, "I'z in a band! You want an autograph? I'll…sign your forehead for $5!" He swivels back around in his chair to face you, "Could use a singer…my lyrical ability ends at anything above grunts, growls, complaints…oh…and screaming. I can scream great. Wanna hear my Linkin Park impersonation?" He holds up a finger and takes in a deep breath, looking as if he's about to belt something out, and very loud too boot!
Lucas taps his foot, impatiently, and answers, "What are you doing?" His patience is wearing thin, not that that takes much.
The hyena exhales, "Waiting for you to fill the air with something other than my yelling. So…here's the chance. Start talking or I start singing." And, from the expression on his face, he's gonna do it too.
Lucas furrows his brow, "Ah was gonna tell you, but you started actin' like an ass just now." He leans against the wall. A long pause passes, and then he says, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's comes natural. I have a great teacher and roommate," James says as he crosses his arms, the expression of 'humor somewhat at your expense' never leaving his face. But he shrugs and retakes his earlier hunched over position, "Which thing? The thing I was about to tell you about? But got interrupted by your pissed-offedness? Or was it the thing I was going to tell you last night, but got interrupted by your pissed-offedness? Or was it the thing I was going to tell you shortly after it happened, but got interrupted by your pissed-offedness?"
Lucas scoffs, "Oh, so it's my fault?" He rolls his eyes, "Christ, James, Ah wasn't pissed off last night. Ah don't know what the hell was up with you two. Looked personal. Excuse me for givin' you two the room an' what all."
James raises a finger, signifying #1, "Nope, but when you come prancing through the room like a frekin' peacock at the Indianapolis Zoo, you're gonna miss some things." He shrugs, "Dunno what was up with Connor, but…I don't need someone a third my weight class doing my talking for me. And if I do, it's because I shoved my hand so far up someone's ass I'm using them as a puppet." The hyena crosses his arms, looking gruff, "And, hello…the room? Let me tell ya, it was a lot easier to move around in here without your ego taking up all the free space."
"My ego!?!" Lucas shouts. "Look, Ah'm sorry Ah ain't your precious little Jono, okay!?!? But I've gone out on a limb for you more than once. You're supposed to be my best friend, and Ah find out you done learned you ain't never gonna look human again from ROBYN!?!?" He shakes his head, "This ain't about my ego. It's about my feelings. And their hurt, damnit!"
James arches an eye ridge, "No, it 'is' about your ego. You had to put your thing down in the hallway and got all pissy when Connor took offense. If you had just maybe, maybe.." A raised voice starts, "Treated your friends like friends for 5 seconds and just said 'hello' you and I would have had that talk last night. You would have found out all about it, about all the mental surgery Addison did, what he fixed…and more." The hyena gives Lucas a pointed look, "Or maybe you just don't realize I just went through the worst point in my life and maybe I didn't need you hinting at my sexuality because you were too busy being an insensitive asshole?"
Lucas scowls and opens his mouth to yell back, but then pauses, and tilts his head. "Wait… hinting at your… You mean…" He scratches the back of your head. "You really are?"
James sighs and puts his hands into the air, "Dude…seriously…what do you want to talk about? That or things that matter?" He narrow his eyes a little and reaches behind him to grab a pad of paper, "Fine…lets start with the stuff you threw around in the hall last night." He starts to quickly scratch his pencil into the paper and raises it up, "Okay…Robyn? Gay. Robyn? Mutant. Robyn? Friend. James? Uninterested. James? Mutant. James? Friend. Now…it's your turn! Lucas…?" He motions his hand as if couching a much more challenged child.
Lucas sighs, "Wow." He slumps just slightly, and seems to actually be serious as he says, "Ah'm totally sleepin' in the rec room again, ain't Ah?" He shakes his head, defeated. "You win. It's all me. Ah'm an ass." He grabs his pillow and his blanket up, rolling it up into his arms.
"That's up to you," James says with a shrug, "You're a retard, but you're my best friend. " He tosses the notebook at his bed. It skips like a stone and goes right out the window, taking a history report with it. For the moment, the hyena is clueless about that latter part, a smile forming as someone yells from the grounds—obviously struck by the notebook, "Wow…twice in one month. What are the odds?" He shrugs it all off, "Dude…if you just…I dunno…stopped for 5 seconds last night I would have told you 'EVERYTHING.' And yes! You are! And so am I."
Lucas tosses the beddings onto the floor, "YOU walked away from ME last night!" He makes an exasperated sound, "arrrghhh" He rubs his temples, "You make my head hurt, you know that?"
James smiles and nods, "The day that stops, you truly will know something is wrong." But the smile fades, "No, I walked away from the shit you were starting with Connor. Not you, there is a diff." His gaze falls on Lucas.
Lucas huffs, and he sits on his bed. He slowly exhales, scratching the back of his head. "You should go home. Tell your folks," he finally says.
James shrugs, "I'd prefer to start in this room and work my way outward." He scratches himself behind the ear, and watches Lucas take a seat, "So, you ready to listen? Because we can, you know…yell some more. Maybe another drum solo would help?" The hyena shrugs.
Lucas sighs, "…sure…"
James does a quick summery of the events, hoping that's enough for now, "Addison defragged my mind. Found NO outside influences, FuckYouVeryMuch. Said it was all just crap from being possessed, stressed, and attacked." The creature shrugs, "Then, yeah, I had a health scan done because Dr. McCoy said so. He compared it to my original scan and, well…found out what was gong on." And, yet, another shrug, "I'm told it's because shifting was 'killing' me. So, this healing factor thingee they like to talk about 'healed' me into the form I had that could handle the damage." A sigh, "One way trip."
Lucas holds his finger up, "Okay, one thing? Ah never thought you was under the control of someone else. That was Jono what told me that. He said, 'there's someone else, who isn't James, in there making James do things.' Hell, he even at one point said it was some asshole what was usin' you like a puppet." He shakes his head, "That wasn't me misunderstandin' nothin'. That was what he told me.
James snorts, "No, it was apparently all me, baby. Just, you know, it ‘wasn't.’" At least, so it seems for now. He leans back in his chair and pulls his foot onto the other knee, "You know the kicker? Yeah…okay…I figure if I had 'maybe' just 'maybe' listened to my parents and stopped shifting back and forth the school could have fixed me when I got here." He phhhtts, "Too busy caught up bein' a frekin movie monster to consider what a 7-foot 250-pound beast ripping out of a 5-foot 130-pound me was doing."
"Suck," Lucas offers. He picks up the blanket off the floor and slips onto his bed, pulling the blanket up. "Well, Ah'm glad you got answers and are better." He rolls onto his side. "The couch in the rec room is lumpy." He grunts a little as he settles into the bed. "Ah just got to sleep an' was woke up."
James nods, and reaches over to shut of his light, "Yeah, well, glad your back." There's a click and then darkness. In a moment, the noise of the hyena on his bed. "I'd have told you first," he starts, "But, you know, nothing works out how I want it to. But at least you're back in your own bed. Room was empty with out you." There's a pause, "And your ego."
Lucas sighs in the darkness. "My offer still stands. What Ah told you a few months ago? If'n you want to go home, Ah'll go with you so you don't have to do it alone."
James makes a noise, "Ehhh, this is my home now. Gotta learn to accept that. I look too different to live anywhere else." There's a pause, "I can't tell them. Not yet. Hope's all they got. And it was all I had. I can't put them through what I just experienced. Not yet."
Lucas considers that a moment, and then offers, "If it was all you had, you'd not be here. And it ain't all they have neither. They still have a son." The covers rustle as he moves around. "Ah'm just sayin'. You have a maw and paw. Don't let it go." He moves a little more. "Night, Jimmy."
James 'ehhhs' ad says little more, at least until he mumbles a "Night Lucas. See ya in the morning."
