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Summary: Mason and Nick butt heads and Shane is there for both of them.
Date: July 12, 2012
Log Title: Is Fame Everything?
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - Kitchen
This kitchen was designed to feed large numbers of people, and looks it with its bright white walls and stainless steel appliances. The stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher are all larger than normal. There is an island with stools around it for people to sit and eat around along with a table for twelve by the windows in back. Along the wall is a hole in the wall looking into the dining room so food can be passed back and fourth. Anything you want to cook or eat in the kitchen you will find the food and supplies to do so.
It's early in the morning and the colours of dawn are shining across the sky with the sunrise. It's not that Nicholas is up early, it's more that he hasn't slept yet today which is why he's in the kitchen feeding his hunger with a few bacon egg and cheese Toaster Scrambles. Dressed in a pair of jammy pants and a plain white t-shirt, which is obviously from one of those Hanes 3 packs of white undershirts, and barefoot, Nick's pulled a chair over to the window so he can watch the sunrise, letting the beauty of nature occupy is mind for a bit.
Some people can appreciate the poetry of a sunrise. Some, however, see being awake as a thing inflicted upon the sleepy, the first hours after rolling out of bed to be endured. Which of these Shane is, becomes quite clear the moment she clomps into the kitchen, dark circles under her eyed, un-dyed mousey hair afrizz, muttering something unintelligible but likely uncomplimentary. Headphones clamped solidly over her head, she storms to the fridge, rattling around in search of something to wake her up.
Mason joins the early risers. He has just returned from vacation, and his mom made him take a summer class. So here he is back at the school. However, he spent last night in town drinking, so morning doesn't agree with him currently. The blond haired teen comes in dressed well, but his skin seems to be hanging off his face. "I need coffee," he grunts. "I shouldn't have had all those shots last night. He stumbles to the island in the center of the kitchen, and slumps onto the counter. "I think my head is going to explode."
With the silence being broken, Nicholas turns and sees Shane, giving her a wave. Since the headphones are glued to her like like usual, he points to his plate of savory pastry toastery goodness then points to her to see if she wants one. Then as Mason walks in, Nick watches him for a bit with an unamused expression. "Water, not coffee. Coffee'll make it worse, trust me. Bodie taught me that one."
Shane turns from the firdge, popping the tab on a can of Pepsi. Tipping her head back, she lets out a deep breath… and slams down what has to be at least half the can in one breath. Gasping for air as she lowers her drink, she wipes the back of her eye, nods her thanks at Nick's gesture, and peers at Mason. If Nick looks unamused, the girl seems positively disgusted. And as she approaches the island, popping a pastry in her mouth, she expressed her displeasure in the single most painful way she can; she pulls down her headphones, loosing a blast of loud, skater-punk rock. CLEAR YOUR MIND! HIDE YOUR FEAR! DON'T LOOK ROUND DON'T TURN AROUND, PENNYWISE IS HERE!!
Mason shoots upright as Shane assails him with the headphones. "Jeez Shane!" he growls. "I don't think I deserved that." The pop star stumbles toward the sink, and turns on the water. He glances around, realizing he needs a cup to go with it, and wanders to the cabinet to get a glass. "I usually have chaser pills, but I didn't realize I was all out."
Nicholas winces from the loudness of Shane's music, it's just to early in the morning for that sort of yelling music. "Chaser Pills?" Nicholas echos in disbelief. "Dude, you're going to OD before you're 20. And deserved what? Her headphones are /always/ that loud when she takes them off." A large yawn escapes the teen as he looks over to Shane. "So, how are you holding up?"
"…Wha'?" Shane says around the pastry, eyebrows rising. No tofu in the world could be as bland as her expression, as she taps her iPod to pause her music. "….Din't do nuff'n." The corner wedged in her mouth is bitten off and chewed, as she circles the island and leans onto the countertop, peering at Mason. "Been better," she says to Nick, "ain't half as bad as Dumbshit McGreenRoom over here, anyway. Y'know you can *retire,* you don't gotta burn y'self out 'fore you even hit college full-time. 'Less you *wanna* end up like what'sisname…"
Mason furrows his brow and turns around to face Shane. "I'm fine, was just having fun. It's no big deal," he answers her and Nick together. "What does he mean, 'how're you holdin up'? Something happen?" He dips the glass into the stream of water from the faucet. Once it's full, he chugs the entire glass at once, leaving the water running. He starts to fill it again.
"Having a keager in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of friends is fun, once you start doing hard alchol taking drugs with it, that's when you start getting to be like Lindsey Lohan. Unless that's what you want to be, Mr. Lindsey Lohan." Nicholas doesn't have a problem with mild drinking but it's when you go into drugs it's different. "Besides, whose buying you these 'fun' shots since the world knows you're not 21." He looks over at Shane and gives her a small grin. "Well I guess that's good but then you have common sense." He doesn't answer Mason's question, leaving that to Shane if she wants to say anything.
Shane waves a negligent hand Nick's way. "'S what happens when y'start actin' 'fore y'hit high school. Fucks with y'head." Turning a jaundiced look on the pop star in question, Shane shakes her head. "…Yeah. Somethin' happened. …But I ain't sure y'really wanna know. Mostly cos it ain't my story t'say."
"Wow, I must've missed the calendar, didn't know it was 'Bag on Mason' day," he responds dryly. Mason chugs part of the second glass of water, closing his eyes and then opening them wincingly as he answers Nick first. "No drugs, just booze. You're just jealous because I have friends." His comment rooted in the fact that Nick has been remarkably counter social every time he's interacted with him. "If you have to deal with it, then it's your story now, too," the blond youth tells Shane.
"You just said you had pill chasers, those aren't drugs?" Nicholas asks Mason curiously though it's obvious the 'no friends' comment has hit him a bit as his voice becomes more of a flat tone. "Just remember Mason, fan isn't the same thing as friend." He points out going back to stare out of the window as he eats his breakfast. "I'm afraid I'm not going to be that good in advance combat today Shane."
Shane lifts a shoulder. "So take th'day off. Ain't like Ms. Pryde could get any harder on us. 'N he was talkin' about hangover pills. But Iunno, Mason," she says, turning from one blond to the other, voice going quiet and serious. "*I* useta be y'friend. Don't remember havin' t'do all that much drinkin' just t'keep you from fuckin' off, yeah?"
"Chaser pills are just carbon, like charcoal. It soaks up the bad stuff." Mason seems suddenly taken aback by Shane's comment. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asks in a sober moment. "You don't wanna be my friend, that it?" He tosses the glass into the sink a littlee too forcefully, and it shatters. He glances down at it for a moment before returning his attention to Shane. "I'm gone for a couple of weeks on vacation and now I'm suddenly not your friend?"
Nicholas stiffles another yawn and nods to Shane. "Just afraid that I'll pass out during it, I haven't slept yet, just kept tossing and turning till I got bored and was up playing video games most of the night." He admits before looking between Shane and Mason. This isn't a conversation for him to be getting involved in, he'd probably just make it worse.
"Vacation. Gigs. Tour," Shane says quietly, though she does flinch as the glass shatters in the sink. "Missed a lot, Mason. Figured you heard, maybe didn't matter. Iunno. Was waitin' f'you t'say somethin'. 'F I'm wrong? Cool. I'm wrong. But I ain't gonna know anything till I'm told. Ain't a mind-reader, y'know." Her piece said, she looks to Nick, stuffing the last of the pastry into her mouth, waiting until the food is swallowed before talking again. "S'cool. Sack out 'f y'need to."
Mason seems to be getting increasingly frustrated. "Will somebody just tell me what's going on?" he exclaims, though not specifically to Nick or Shane. "I don't know anything if I'm not told either. Sorry I didn't update you while in Florida, I didn't know anything about stuff happening here, though." He moves to the trash can and drags it to the sink, where he starts picking out the pieces of the glass.
Nicholas remains quiet as he looks at Shane. He's really not sure if he should say anything. Eventually he puts his empty plate on the table and looks over at Mason. "When's the last time you talked to Shane, besides today. Did you even know she was in the medbay after helping rescue Cale's sister?" He asks quietly just trying to figure out how much he doen't know. He's not asking to accuse him of anything. "At lot's been going on around here, Shane's….got a lot on her shoulders."
"That, yeah… 'N m'boyfriend… Can't even remember, 'f I told you I had one. …'N then there's what happened to his family." Sighing, she rakes a hand through her hair, scrubbing her face. "Godfucking dammit, 's *way* too early f'this shit… Look, Mason. Shit's happened. Lotta shit. Shit I coulda used a friend t'talk to 'bout. 'N I *got* friends," she says, nodding Nick's way, "but don't mean wouldn't'a been nice t'talk to th'friend I saw get stitched up, not s'long ago." She lifts a shoulder, looking away. "Ain't blaming you. Jus'… didn't know, y'know?"
Mason's face sinks. "Sorry." He looks as if he could crumble away. "I have had stuff going on, and I have been a jerk," he says, with an unspoken 'again' in his tone. He stares at the sink, losing interest quickly in picking the glass out of it. "I'm sorry."
Nicholas puts a hand on Shane's shoulder and gives a gentle squeeze. He's not really sure what to say so he goes over to the sink. "Here, I'll get it all out, that way noone cuts themselves." He starts using telekinesis to pick up the broken shards, guiding them with his hand as he moves them from the sink to the garbage, his eyes glowing. "You don't seem half as obnoxious when you aren't trying impress people." He says to Mason.
"He really ain't so bad, when he forgets he's gotta be Studly McAwesome alla time," Shane notes, with a faint note of humor creeping in around the edges of her voice. "Look, Mason. Ain't gonna shit all over you again, aight? Still get some credit offa givin' me back my sewin', 'n besides, you're a rockstar. Just… Iunno. Don't gotta always be a rockstar. Ain't gonna, you keep gettin' hammered like this alla time. Chill a little, y'know?"
Mason's head hangs. "Yeah, easy for y'all to say," he answers. "I just wanna enjoy it while it lasts. Probably will all be over soon anyway." He's always been popular. The idea of not being popular terrifies him. "I drink so I can chill and not worry about stuff. Lotsa people do it. It's not like I'm doing something out of the ordinary, y'know?"
"So…if lots of people decide to do something, you'll do it no matter what?" Nicholas says. "And it's not just that you're drinking, hell I used to drink back home with my friends, but it's that you have to come into the room and announce that you have a hangover like you're being some cool kid for getting drunk. Especially in a place that has teachers who can read your minds." He looks over at Shane for a moment and frowns, thinking that in some ways she's selling herself short.
"I ever tell you 'bout th' Kick, Mason?" Shane says softly, closing her eyes for a moment. "Prolly not… *really* didn't want anyone knowin' my business back then." Glancing at Nick briefly, the girl shrugs. "Prolly you heard about it, Mason. Nick didn't, he wasn't here when it went down. Drugs goin' round f'r mutants, give 'em a high, 'n make'm stronger, yeah? …Well… Thing 'bout that shit is… makes you not worry about stuff. …'N that's why I went out 'n blew a month's allowance on more of it. …Cos I was tired of *worryin'* about everything."
"I wasn't trying to be cool," Mason says with a frown. "You haven't ever had a hangover, have you? Cool is the last thing you feel like," he says to Nick. "I don't want the Kick," Mason tells Shane. "I remember it. You were crazy. I just want to lose…" he motions around. "I just want to lose the mutant thing. I don't want it. I didn't ask for it. Everybody runs around thinking that it's cool to have all these powers. And they are cool, don't get me wrong. I just… being a mutant doesn't fit in with what I want for my life. I know it's stupid, but some part of me keeps hoping that I'll get smashed, and somehow my mutant power will stop working, and I'll just be normal again."
Nicholas gives Mason a look like he'd want nothing more to punch him in his face at the moment, but he doesn't even go beyond a look. "Yeah, it is stupid." He says bitterly. "And yeah, I have had a hangover before, Bodie covered for me and told my parents I was sick all day so we wouldn't get in trouble." He snaps before taking a deep breath and rubbing his temples. "I can understand that feeling Shane, sometimes…you know how it is, your feelings are just too much."
"Well it ain't gonna happen," Shane says, voice flat. "Might as well try'n drink black away, f'r all the good it'll do. Seriously, Mason, if that's why you're doin' it? Knock it off. Seriously. Only thing you're gonna get's th'amazin' superpower of *fucking everything up.*" Blowing out a long breath, she looks to Nick, shaking her head. "Wouldn't'a even started it, 'cept I didn't have a choice. Y'know usually they say, 'first taste's free?' Well those Kick fuckers were like the bitch at the perfume counters, sprayin' somethin' into your face jus' cos y'hapened by."
"Do I gotta spell it out?" Mason asks. "I'm going to lose everything," he tells them. He reaches out and grabs a paper towel from the rack, and rubs his face on it. He flings it outward. The white paper shoots forward until caught by the drag of the air, and floats down onto the counter. "I'm changing." The paper towel lays their on the counter, and appears as if someone had used it to wipe the ground outside, covered in dirt.
Nicholas looks at Mason and just shakes his head. "Fuck you." He spits out at him and goes to walk out of the room. Right now he's not in any sort of mood to deal with this sort of drama.
"Later," Shane calls after Nick. "Try'n get some sleep, yeah?" Turning back to look at Mason, the mouse-haired girl raises an eyebrow. "So, fun fact. Bein' a mutant f'r Nick meant things were okay for awhile… then some religious mutant-hating fucktards burned down his house, killed his family in front of him, 'n made th'whole town blame it on him. Only reason he's alive's cos his family hadda horse ranch, 'n he took off."
Mason is rather confused by Nick's sudden exit. As Shane explains the matter of Nick's past, Mason dips his head. "Wow. That…that's awful. I guess he thinks I'm petty now, great." Now Mason feels even worse. He hates what is happening, and now feels as if he shouldn't think it's a significant deal. But it still is a big deal for him. He lets out a long sigh, leaning forward over the island.
Shane shrugs. "Happens. 'S like that with everyone, cos… I mean seriously, 'f there was a Fuckedupness leaderboard, boy'd be sittin' right on top… Q'd be next t'him now, too… …Anyway. No I get it, Mason. But y'know what? Gonna hafta find a way, cos mebbe I can't just bag up your singin' an' hide it in my closet till y'miss it, but still."
"Shane, this isn't funny!" Mason answers, not finding the humor in her statement. "I worked my whole life for this, and any moment I could look like the Thing, and it'll all be gone! He paces. "What am I going to do? When I sweat, it comes off of me like muddy water. Do you know how hot those lights are on stage?" He runs his fingers through his hair. "I just want to keep singing, that's all I want. But if people find out, all the work I did will be gone in a heartbeat."
"…Mason? When I 'splode, anythin' I'm wearin' that don't have alien tech shit in it's *shredded.* 'N mebbe it ain't th'same t'you, but I ain't jokin. Remember? Thought th'one thing I loved more'n anythin', wasn't no point in doin'?" Clenching her teeth for a moment, she clomps back around the island. "Cool it, 'kay? Figure somethin' out. Just gotta chill a little, 'n keep all y'brain cells out the picklin' jar."
Nicholas knew if he stayed in the kitchen he would have started destroying things, so instead he's gone to the bathroom, splashed some cold water in his face, taken a few moments to compose himself and returns to the kitchen. Not one word, or look, is given in Mason's direction as he goes to the fridge and pulls out two apples and starts to cut them up. "For Orion." He explains to Shane quietly. "Gonna spend the day riding about the area, need to do something." After a while he mutters out. "You could still sing, just become and eccentric that never goes on tour and just releases CDs. Probably make you become even more famous, since, you know, fame is everything." Apparently he heard Mason's rant.
Mason frowns. "Yeah, I dunno," he says. "I'm just scared." He watches Nick, retrieve the apples. "Yeah, right," he answers. "You ever think maybe I make music because I want to make something people can enjoy? I want to make people happy." He likes fame too, but at the moment he doesn't want to talk about it.
"Mmn. Welcome to the club, Mason," Shane says after a moment. "We got a plaque 'n everything. Not s'much a secret handshake, usually we just flip the hell out at each other every time someone drops a hat. Hey Nick, think there's sugar cubes inna pantry. Horses like that, right?"
"Yeah they do, but I don't like to give Orion too much, he likes apples and carrots as well as sugar well enough. I shouldn't give him too much of this stuff cause he's got his feed but I spoil him too much." Nicholas says to Shane, but his voice is still fairly flat sounding. "Who says you can't? Just don't tour or don't show your face. If fame doesn't matter, then don't let your powers stop you. Doesn't being weird like that give you bonus points in that world?"
Mason shoots a glare at Nick. "I gotta run into town," he says. "I can't just hang out here all day. Nick, sorry about your family, I know, my troubles are stupid compared to yours, I'll just head out." He grabs the trash can and takes it back to its place. "I'll see you guys later."
