2011-12-10: Interventions

Players:

Jill_icon.jpg Nicholas_icon.jpg Quenton_icon.jpg SophieD_icon.jpg Warlock_icon.jpg

Summary: Nick's attempt to play Portal goes south with the eruption of an argument with Quenton, the revelations of secrets and traumas, a broken Xbox controller, and other fun stuff. Jill has a hard decision to make and does so with Sophie's counsel.

Date: December 10, 2011

Log Title: Interventions

Rating: R (Adult language)


Xavier Mansion - Recreation Room

What was once the Parlor has been turned into a Recreation Room for the students. A nice plush carpet meets the light blue walls giving it a homey feel. A pool table at one end, a foos ball table at the other, and entertainment center with video game systems, movies, and of course, cable TV. Big comfy chairs and couches surround a coffee table for comfortable loafing. Long glass windows with a pair of French doors line one side of the room bringing in plenty of light during the day. The main rule in here is to clean up after yourself.


It's the weekend so lucky for Nicholas he doesn't have much to do but play video games which is why he's sitting on the couch currently absorbed in a game of Portal. A bag of potato chips and a half empty two liter bottle of Coke sits next to him on the couch as he listens to Glados berate him as he tries to get through the level. He's dressed in a pair of jeans and a zipped up gray hoodie as he stares intently on the television screen. The only light in the room is from the glow of the TV as he hasn't turned the lights on yet.

Perhaps unknown to Nick, but he's got an audience. Lurking in the back of the darkened room, Jill leans against the wall with a large paperback book tucked under one arm. How long she's been there is anyone's guess, unable or unwilling to interrupt. Her black Hello Kitty shirt provides adequate ninja-like camouflage to go unnoticed, if she doesn't speak up or anything. Which she doesn't.

Having spent the last hour or so properly checking out the grounds around the school Warlock figured it was about time to head back indoors, the first door he comes to is the entrance to the rec room by the basketball court. Dressed in faded dark blue jeans, a maroon hoodie and similar coloured converse he steps into the dark rec room, seeing it's Nick playing the game he moves closer, "Hey Nick", he too doesn't spot the camouflaged Jill.

The day would be ruined by Quenton, were he in a day ruining mood. But having lunch, watching an action movie on a big screen, and watching Shane in her element has made Quenton unusually happy. Happy enough that he almost rips the door off its hinges when he throws it open, but he clears his throat, drawing away from it and dropping beside Nicholas. "Yo," he greets everyone in general. And that's it. Not commenting on how crappy Portal might be in his eyes. Just… Yo.

Nicholas jumps as Warlock walks in, as it catches him off guard since he was in full concentration. "Damn it, don't sneak up like that." He says sounding a bit annoyed but he keeps on playing, that is until Quenton comes in and his 'yo' causes him to jump again and the character on screen to fall off of a platform and hit the death floor. "Fuck." He says in annoyance before sighing. "Hey." He says in a reluctant greeting to Warlock and Quenton, he has yet to see Jill standing there.

Well, since things have already been appropriately interrupted, Jill shifts her weight to her other foot and decides. Getting a little closer on stealthy socked feet, the television's glow makes shiny highlights on her skin so she's suddenly more visible in the dim atmosphere. Slime ninja. "You keep dying at the same part. That's the seventh time. But I'm pretty sure you only need one of those boxes anyway, not both."

Warlock tries not to smile after he makes Nick jump, "Oh, sorry", he nods to Quenton as he comes in, "Hey Quenton", he points at the game, "Did you know that Microsoft never actually patented the name 'Aperture Science'? so some English vlogger did and named his company that", he nearly jumps himself as Jill speaks, "Oh hey Jill, didn't see you there".

"Nice, Cortana. New girl humiliating the new boy in front of other boys. I like your strategy, it's a good way to be considered 'cool' in most schools," comments Quenton dryly. "And no, Lock. Why would I possibly know that? Or want to know that? Who… like honestly, who would ever want to know that?" And of course, he's back. That brief bout of happiness didn't last long. "What is this crap, anyway?"

"I like my companion cube, it's cubey and companiony." Nick says to Jill sounding almost grumpy about it. "Well it's not Microsoft who made the game, it's Valve, genius." He scowls quite a bit at Quenton's words and tosses his controller aside. "It's Portal tough guy. It's a puzzle game, you know, something that requires you to think?"

Jill's cheeks puff out in petulant annoyance. "I'm not humiliating anybody. I've just watched him play this level a bunch of times already." Her expression changes when she realizes how stalker-y that sounds. "And I'm not new, I just had to leave the school for a while. But now I'm back, so…" She leans over the back of the couch to retrieve the controller and offer it back to Nick with a 'just ignore him' look.

Warlock shrugs, "Sorry I thought it was Microsoft, but the fact still stands just with Valve", he sighs and steps away from Quenton when he goes all angry again, "Well I’ve got some work to catch up on, so I’ll see you guys later maybe", and with that he's out the door.

"A thinking game," Quenton echoes. "So that's why you died seven times, champ. I'm sure if your not-so-secret admirer holds your hand throughout the game, you'll not die as often." He lazily trails his eyes to Jill. "No? Pointing out how much of a loser he is isn't your idea of humiliating someone? Man, I'd hate to see you bring the big guns out." He glances after Warlock, guilt briefly flickering across his face.

Nicholas does tense a bit as it's just weird to think about someone watching you play a game when you think you're alone. He takes the controller and uses it to turn of the console. "G'night." He mutters to Warlock as he grabs a near by pillow to grip tightly. "Well it's not easy to pass the level when your mind keeps wandering." He says quietly before turning to Quenton. "Let me see you try it then if you're so high and mighty about it Mr. Big Guns." He says as his eyes glow and the controller floats over to Quenton, Nick's hand guiding it as it moves.

The blue girl's lips press tightly together and if she had jaw muscles they would surely be clenching. But it works and she quashes a hasty reply before it can slip out. A dainty if somewhat offended "Hmmph" is all the response Quenton gets, though he clearly got to her.

Quenton's red eyes slide to the controller, and his nose twitches. He has the sudden urge to grab the controller and destroy it anyway, but he doesn't. He just shrugs, grunting, "I don't play stupid video games." His eyes trail over to Jill and his mood lightens a bit. Hmmph. A very good response. "And what are you thinking about, Nick? Horses? Keith Urban?"

A look of pure anger is shot in Quenton's direction as Nick's hand moves in a gesture to fling the controller against the wall where it hits with the same force as if he were to have thrown it physically. "God I can't believe I fucking told you all that shit the other night." He says sounding more pissed at himself than Quenton. He turns and crosses his arms over his chest and takes a few deep breaths, closing his eyes. He eventually looks at Jill and exhales. "Sorry." He says quietly to her.

Jill doesn't make a sound, an expression of shock on her face. There doesn't seem to be much she can or wants to say. The book slips from underneath her arm and hits the floor with a flap when her hands rise to cover her mouth. The black and yellow cover is easily recognizable, though the title 'Horses for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us!' is either amusing or sad depending on one's viewpoint.

"I didn't say the other stuff," Quenton murmurs, snapping defensively. "Why don't you just ruin the controller for everyone else, though?" He shrugs, now, seeming to be propelled to his feet by an invisible force, moving towards the controller and just picking it up, closing his fist around it idly, while he turns to face the other two, dropping the remains again and then nudging it with his toe, which slides it across the floor more feet than it should. Dropping his gaze to Jill's book, he lifts both brows. "Aww. Isn't that sweet?"

Nicholas looks down at the book and guilt seems to course through him as he gets really quiet. He stands up slowly and just turns to look at Quenton, it's like he wants to say something but he doesn't. After a bit of awkwardness, mainly on his end, he uses his powers to pick up the pieces of the controller. He looks down at the pieces as they settle into his hands. "I should just go."

Jill bends down quickly to snatch up the book with a violent motion. "Don't." It might seem that Jill's trying to stop Nick from leaving, but the tone is too sharp. A warning. Angry, even. And she's looking at Quenton. The fire in her burns too quickly and is already guttering out as she continues, "Please. I'm just… trying to…" It's already gone.

Quenton crosses his arms over his chest, his perpetual scowl returning as he glances between Nicholas and Jill, before scoffing and lifting his hand, an odd rumble being heard from his throat as he waves it dismissively. "I'm the asshole here," he mutters. "I'll be the one leaving. You two have fun." And with that, he turns, muttering something about stupid controllers and beginning to head out.

"Q." Nick begins. "We're both being assholes, we've both been dealt a shitty fucking hand." He says all to bitterly. He looks over at Jill and runs his hand through his hair nervously. "Just trying to what?" He's really not sure what she was indicating. "And Q, I want to ask you something, why. That thing you said the other night before you left, why?"

"I thought…" Jill swallows uncomfortably. "If I knew more, you could have someone to share your interests with. Make you happy. You seemed to like talking about it." The confession is making her fidgety and she's suddenly very interested in straightening the bent pages. "It'd be something nice to do…" A glance flicks Quenton's way, looking ashamed now but prepared for a second bout of teasing.

"Which thing?" wonders Quenton, turning to glance over his shoulder at Jill. He then slides his gaze towards Jill, and opens his mouth to say something, but then closes it, probably so that he hears what Nick has to say before he verbally abuses the poor little dainty blue girl.

Nicholas looks at Jill and seems a little surprised by it. "Jill…I…thanks and I do like talking about horses and stuff but right now it's really hard to be happy." He starts to play with the broken pieces of the controller knowing that it's pretty much garbage now, at least the batteries are salvageable. "Q, you said you'd fly over to Sheridan, why."

Feeling doubly put on the spot and like a voyeur for listening to this conversation, Jill enters full-on shrinking violet mode and clasps the book to her chest with both hands, tucking her chin down to hold it in place and avoid looking at either boy. A soft half-step backwards and she's that much closer to the exit. "Sorry…" she whispers to nobody in particular but can't work up the nerve to leave yet.

"Are you blushing?" Quenton wonders abruptly to Jill, instead of answering Nicholas initially. Then he just glances to the other boy, and wets his lips, before shrugging his shoulders. "Those people need to pay for what they done. Bad things happen to bad people." He watches Nicholas quietly, now, trying to gauge the other boy's reaction, turning and leaning against the wall, more or less in Jill's way.

Nicholas looks over at Jill and frowns. "You don't need to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. Listen, I'm….fuck." He says not really wanting to go into it. "I miss my parents alright." He says sounding frustrated before looking over at Quenton. "Well you don't have to do anything, it's not your issue. Fuck, I don't even know if those Purifier assholes are still there or not. The faster I forget about Sheridan and everyone there, the better." He says bitterly.

"No, I'm not," snaps Jill to Quenton's question, though she totally is. She eyes him, expression a mix of poutiness and resentment but she doesn't try to force her way through. Though the deathgrip on the book clutched to her chest doesn't loosen any, her head raises slightly and she gives Nicholas a few slow, apologetic nods. "I… I know. I know you do. I miss mine too. Maybe… that's why I'm trying to help."

"Right. Well. I'm not letting them get away with it. If it helps, I'm not doing it for you. I've been in the mood to hurt people for a long time now," Quenton informs, while his fist smashes into his hand for emphasis, the air around it rippling with the force. "And you totally were just fucking blushing," he mutters to Jill.

Nicholas looks over at the blue girl and his eyebrows are knit tight with concern and confusion. "You….lost your parents too?" He asks quietly as he sinks back down on the couch. "Fuck, maybe that one girl was right, everyone here has shit for life." He says sounding miserable. "Leave her alone." He says to Quenton. "And if you're not doing it for me and just to do it, then go somewhere else. Don't bother with shit that's my issue." He says sounding annoyed and a bit pissed.

Jill favors Quenton with a look that's not exactly a reproach, but pretty close. She lifts a hand slowly and puts it on his clenched fist, trying to gently guide it down and away not with force but with sheer intent. Her hand is cool, colder than the room and feels slick yet not quite wet. Not trusting herself to big, heartfelt speeches at the moment, Jill just nods her head at Nick. Her gooey hair bounces like bad CGI before settling down again. "Yeah," she finally says, trying to be glib but her voice is a little thick. "When I was six years old."

"You're the one who fucking asked me what I meant. I didn't bring it up, you did," Quenton reminds, no amount of hostility spared. "And let's get something straight, Nick. Just because I do feel fucking bad what happened to you happened, doesn't mean I'm going to just fucking do what you say. I'm my own fucking freak, not anyone else's." Comparatively, Quenton's skin is warm, not hot, but warm, as if he has a fever. He recoils his hand, but at least seems to calm.

Nicholas nods to Jill but he's finding it difficult to really say much else at the moment. "Well don't feel fucking bad for what happened! I didn't ask you to feel bad about it! And you know what, maybe I feel bad because the two of us are being complete assholes in front of the only decent person in this room!" He says out of anger. "My baggage is my fucking baggage, not yours. So I'm going to tell you, don't fucking go there."

The door to the rec room opens, and the soft tapping of a cane announces the arrival of Sophie; although the sound is probably lost under the general noise of swearing and arguing. The blind girl perks an eyebrow as she shuts the door behind her, and stands where she is for a long moment. Finally when there is enough of a lull, she clears her throat. "Excuse me," she murmurs. "Who is there?"

Not taking offense at Quenton shaking her hand off, Jill returns it to holding the paperback shield against her chest. A shield, or a closed floodgate. Her eyes fix on him, not Nick, expression glassy as the last vestiges of the dark navy blush creep away like a drop of ink in water. No words, just a look.

Turning at Sophie's arrival, Quenton just steps out of her way, giving her a wide berth, before glancing back over to Nick. "If I wanna go, I'm going. There isn't anything stopping me. Hell, I'll probably go tomorrow, since it's Sunday." He clears his throat. "I'm fucking off," he informs everyone. "You people have fun."

"What the fuck are you going to do once you get out there?!" Nick yells at the leaving Quenton before responding to Sophie. "It's the fucking tooth fairy." He says rudely to her. "If there's no Purifiers there are you going to find my best friend or girl friend and take your anger out on them just because you're angry? Well fuck you. You just run the fuck off then." He says felling like he wants to just run away himself. Nicholas buries his head in his hands and takes a deep breath. "It's my business not his." He grumbles to Jill.

Sophie perks an eyebrow upwards at the comments leveled both in her direction, and between the various individuals in the room. "Language," she observes. "To whomever is speaking rudely about faeries; I ask who is there because I do not have the luxury of sight that you enjoy, and it is not always easy for me to tell who is who." She clasps her hands around her cane and continues to stand where she is without moving, blocking the doorway. "Do not take such a tone with me, I have done nothing to deserve it," she adds.

The situation has become more complicated, and that's really saying something. Jill frets, looking back and forth between Nicholas and Quenton like she wants to intervene further, biting her lower lip hard enough to make it bleed if she were flesh and blood. A thin rivulet of blue fluid trickles from the corner of her mouth and under the curve of her jawline, which is much the same. "Sophie, it's Jill. Nicholas and Quenton are here, and, umm…" she starts haltingly and puts a hand gently on the girl's shoulder to steer her out of Quenton's angry barging way before something more than an Xbox controller gets broken. She sighs raggedly. "Bad timing. Right now, maybe, isn't the best…"

"I'm not going to hurt anyone you fucking care about," Quenton mutters over his shoulder at Nicholas, before turning his gaze onto Sophie, who's, well, still in the way of the door. He still gives her a wide berth to move, but her being still makes him clear his throat. "I'm leaving," he reminds her, not exactly polite.

Nicholas narrows his eyes and pulls a pillow against his chest, squeezing it hard. "What the fuck is his problem." He mutters. "I never asked him to go back to my home." He says sounding angry. He rolls his eyes at Sophie's words. "Oh come off it you good-two shoes." He mutters to her before looking at Jill and that's when his eyes go wide. "Holy shit Jill you're…uh…bleeding or something. It's blue, stuff on your face, are you okay?" He does seem worried as he looks around for a napkin, a tissue or something to hand to her.

"Are you leaving? Perhaps you ought to learn how to speak to a lady first, si?" Sophie plants her free hand on her hip, and for the moment, flat refuses to be budged. Her jaw sets, and she adopts the manner of a woman planted firmly in place, albeit a blind one who cannot see the man attempting to leave. "I will— oh, someone is hurt?" She abruptly allows herself to be tugged away from the door as her expression melts. "Jill? Did I hear it said that you are bleeding? Here," she murmurs, holding out her free hand. "Let me help, si?"

Jill mops her chin with the back of the hand holding the large paperback book, briefly surprised at seeing the blue on blue shine of the fluid before it wicks into her skin and disappears back from whence it came. "It's fine," she says to the concerned pair, a tad brusquely. "Bit my lip. It's not blood. I don't have any." She doesn't appear bothered or in pain, just relieved that Sophie is finally out of Quenton's way.

Quenton's red eyes flick to Jill as Nicholas notices… whatever is wrong with her. "Can you even blee- right." Eyeing her for a moment longer, he just flips off the blind Sophie, because that's real big of him, and then moves off, muttering something about 'Nicholas,' and 'Purifiers.'

Nicholas can barely believe that Sophie is for real. He finds a tissues and hands it to Jill. "I'm sorry that you're bleeding but not bleeding." It's awkward how he says it but he has a feeling it's because of Quenton and him. He stays in his position on the couch with the pillow clutched against his chest.

The blind girl's cane bumps against Jill's legs as Sophie probes the ground about her, and turns around to face the other woman. "Here," she murmurs, holding her left hand up, palm outstretched. "Guide my hand to where you are hurt, si? My power is to heal; I will help. But you have to let me." She adopts a pleasant smile; all the while ignorant of the rude gesture that Quenton has made in her direction.

With a soft thank you, Jill takes the tissue though she has no use for it at the moment. Whatever was 'bleeding' has stopped. She takes the blind girl's outstretched hand and slowly pushes it down. "Sophie, it's okay, honestly. I don't even know what that would do to me. I'm not normal." A moment is given to gather herself. "In the future, just… stay away from Quenton, okay? He could hurt you and… and I'm not sure if he'd care. But he can't hurt me. I don't think." Not physically, anyway.

"No….I think he'd care." Nicholas says quietly but doesn't expand on it. "Jill, I'm really sorry to hear about your parents. It sucks. I'm also sorry I've been such an ass around you, you've been really nice to me and been trying and I've just been a dick. I'm sorry." He says standing up. "I should go and check on Orion before it gets too late."

Sophie shakes her head slowly. "It is your choice," she murmurs. "But if I do not intend to hurt someone, I do not think that I can." She lowers her hand, and maintains her pleasant smile. "I do not think we have properly met before, though, have we?" The blind girl backs off a step, and tilts her head to gaze over her shoulder, towards Nicholas. "Take care, Nicholas. I will pray for you, that all will be better in the morning."

Jill paws at her eyes with her knuckles and makes a soft cathartic sound halfway between a broken sigh and a sob. She sniffs deeply, a wet sound like a runny nose followed by a short exhale. "Thank you," she offers Nicholas in summation. Before he can leave, however, she adds, "But… if he's really gonna do what he said, I… I have to tell Miss Frost. One of the teachers, at least. He can't- *I* can't let him do it. You understand, right? I can't. I won't."

Nicholas reaches out a hand and touches Jill's upper arm lightly and nods. "I understand. I don't want anyone else to get hurt out there or him to hurt anyone even if it is them, besides, I'd rather be the one to kill them." He says blinking a bit. "I'm really sorry Jill, you've been nice…really nice." He says before looking over at Sophie. "Don't bother praying for me things won't be better in the morning." He says coolly. "Have a good night Jill and I'm really sorry." He says before heading out to find the stables.

Sophie looks over her shoulder once more, "Violence only brings more violence," she murmurs, while Nicholas is on his way out. "But I will pray for you nonetheless." The blind girl's cane sweeps across the floor, as she wanders away in search of a seat. "Jill," she murmurs, as she sinks into a chair after making sure it is unoccupied, "What did I walk into the middle of?"

The blue girl looks a little woozy on her feet, giving one last glance to make sure Nick is really gone before she too shuffles to one of the large comfortable armchairs and sinks, fairly falls, into it heavily. "An argument, sort of. I don't know." She leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees and gripping the copy of 'Horses for Dummies' a little too tightly. "They're always at each others' throats and I seem to keep getting in the middle of it." Jill laughs, but it's short, dry, and devoid of humor.

"I see," Sophie observes. "It sounded like quite the argument. …Quenton does not seem to like anyone, and I get the impression that Nicholas is angry with me now, too. But, such is life." She leans forwards, concern creasing her brow. "Jill, are you alright? You sound as if you are ill; are you sure you do not wish me to try to heal you?"

"Quenton likes to antagonize people. I think that's it, anyway. He just wants to get a rise out of them and Nick is a prime target right now. He's… in a delicate position and it doesn't take much to set him off." The gooey teenager sets the book down gently at her feet because throwing it might startle Sophie. "I know, because I've been there too. And I wouldn't worry. He's not really angry with you. He's angry at the world." Jill's shoulders hunch. "I sound that bad, huh?

Sophie shakes her head slowly. "You don't sound bad," she murmurs, "Just… as if you have been beaten about the head, if that makes sense?" She leans back, and finally gets around to collapsing her cane into itself. "I can understand Nicholas being upset… and for whatever has happened to him, I am sorry. But we must talk sense into Quenton somehow, si? I am not sure how."

"I kinda feel like I've been beaten up, now you mention it." Jill rubs the back of her head and combs her fingers through her gel-like sheet of 'hair'. "His… it's his story to tell you, if he wants to, but the short is that his parents were killed. Murdered." She blows out a breath and straightens up only so she can lean back and slouch until her head is almost level with her knees. "I don't know what to do about Quenton either. He's got some wild hair up his ass about taking revenge for Nicholas. I can't let him do that, or even try, but… just tattling on him? I don't know."

Sophie shakes her head slowly. "So much pain, that so many students bring to this school," she murmurs. "And yet this is the best place for us all, si? I met my boyfriend here, after all." The blind girl beams for a moment, before letting her expression fade back to neutrality. "Doing the right thing is usually not the same as doing the easy thing, Jill. But I would suggest that you carry through with your assertion to tell Miss Frost. What it sounds like Quenton is planning is… is not healthy for him, and you would be doing him a favor, in the end."

"I know. Maybe I would be," Jill concedes, putting a hand to her face and exhaling slowly. She pauses, raising that hand with index finger extended, about to make a point. The gesture is lost on Sophie, however. "If we *could* talk some sense into him, then he wouldn't even get in trouble. But… I don't know how likely that is to work. Augh, damn it. I don't know." She flaps her hand helplessly before letting it fall back onto her thigh. "What do you think I should do?"

Sophie tilts her head to one side. "He said he would go tomorrow, si?" The blind girl clasps her hands in her lap, and shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Talking sense into him does not seem to have worked before, does it? And I think it unlikely that he will calm down in the next few hours. Were I you? I would tell Miss Frost as soon as possible. If he wants to call you a snitch, then… let him, I suppose."

"I want to give him the benefit of the doubt…" Jill holds out both hands, palms up, moving them up and down slightly as if balancing an invisible weight. She lets them down and squeezes her knees tensely. "But I think you're right. I don't have much choice, do I? Better safe than sorry." It takes a concerted effort to lever herself forward, let alone stand and pick up her book. "I guess… I'd better go do it right now. Thanks for helping me make up my mind, and I'm sorry the boys were rude to you, Sophie."

"Si," Sophie replies. "And… truly, he cannot forgive you if he is dead, right?" She smiles pleasantly, and leans back in her seat. "It does not matter that they were rude. I hope they do learn how to speak to a girl, though; there should not be so much poor language. But perhaps I am merely old fashioned." The blind girl bobs her head. "Have a pleasant evening, si?"

Jill smiles, but it's a sad sort of smile. "Their language is a little salty, isn't it?" She fidgets, like she doesn't really want to go and do what she's about to go and do. "I'll see you later, okay? Once I get this over with, I.. think I'm going up to my room and I'm not coming out for a while. I just want to get in my bed… fish tank… whatever. You know what I mean." whether Sophie does indeed know what she means, Jill is already steeling herself as she heads out the door on a direct course to Emma Frost's office.

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