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Summary: Merry Un-Christmas to all. Late gift giving exchanges, the Force is strong with Nick, and Jill makes a very bad plan to get her phone back.
Date: January 10, 2012
Log Title: Jedi Slime Tricks
Rating: PG
Xavier Mansion - Jill's Room
The room's pale beige walls are broken by two closet doors and a large paned window on the far end. The bed is clean and neatly made and seems hardly slept in. At the foot of the bed, facing the window, is a short chest of drawers with a broad glass fish tank on top, a small wooden step stool leading to it like a staircase. The single desk is a typical walnut computer desk with stacked paperback books, a lamp on a jointed arm, and a white netbook hooked to external speakers under four neatly framed Alphonse Mucha art nouveau prints.
It's early evening on a Tuesday night. Most kids have already eaten diner and either doing homework or relaxing for the night. Nick, finally braving the girls dorm, has come to give Jill her long delayed Christmas gift. He's knocked on two of the wrong doors before he finally knocks on Jill's. He figured since calling to try to meet up hasn't worked he'll just visit her in her dorm.
"Come in!" comes the response almost immediately. Jill shifts her dog-eared copy of The Invisible Man to rest on a different corner of her bed; that is, her second bed. The large glass fish tank is a little over half full of translucent blue slime out of which has emerged the upper half of a torso. It's not entirely human, suggestions of facial features and the curve of her chest from monochromatic blue. Two black circles mark where her eyes should be, yet somehow she can speak without a mouth.
Opening the door, Nick steps in. "Hey Jill I just wan…oh…I'm sorry." He says quickly and looks around nervously. "I didn't know you weren't…uh…um…" He's trying to fumble for the right word to say, sure the gooey state is unnerving but he's more frazzled that he walked in on Jill naked. He turns around quite red face and starts to talk. "Uh, I just..um.wanted to give you ah..a, your Christmas gift."
"Oh, hey!" The slime-formed figure perks up, the smile evident in her tone if not on her lack-of-face. "No, no, c'mon in. I was just chillin'." The blue liquid roils up, climbing the side of the tank and spilling over gently, first onto the top of the small dresser then down each rung of the little stepladder next to it like a fluid Slinky. Even as it gathers in a large pool without so much as a half-formed head anymore, Jill continues talking, somehow. "It's comfortable in there, y'know? Nothing to be ashamed of."
"It's not that you're in there it's that you're…you're not wearing any clothes." Nicholas mutters trying not to glance but spots the puddle out of the corner of his eye. "I mean you're a puddle, that's weird and all but, you're still you just….I feel like I've invaded your privacy."
Like someone being lifted out of a pool, Jill's head appears first, forming the rest of her as it rises into a tower and grows less obviously fluid. Then the soft sound of her tapping a foot, almost impatiently. She's human again, or what passes for it, with broad patches of black coloration in the shape of a sports bra and bike shorts. "If you were, I'd have shrieked and told you to get out. I mean, c'mon, I'm about as anatomically correct as a Barbie doll over here." Still, she makes for the closet and emerges in pajama pants and a t-shirt. "You can turn around now."
Nicholas eventually turns around and he's holding a lumpy looking wrapped package against his chest. "It doesn't matter, it's also respect." He says quietly in defense of his embarrassment. "So uh…how have you been, sorry I've been kind of hiding in my room avoiding people and I..meant to give this to you earlier." He says holding out the present to her.
"Well, I guess it's gentlemanly of you, in any case." Jill's eyes flick from the present to Nick's face, uncertain. "Really? I thought you weren't…" The question goes unfinished before she gets on the track of Christmas as a whole. She catches herself and accepts it, a smile blossoming. "I mean, thank you."
Nicholas shrugs. "I mean you were alone this Christmas and didn't have anyone I figured and…you've tolerated me so..you're welcome." He says looking at the floor and running a hand nervously through his hair. "You can consider it a Happy Un-Christmas Gift if you like."
Jill's smile changes to one slightly more pleased with herself. She holds up a finger, backing toward her already open closet door. "Hold that thought." The sound of a drawer opening and closing again. She calls out from inside, "Okay, umm, close your eyes and stick out your hands 'cause it's not wrapped." When he's ready, a small weight drops into Nick's hands. Some kind of lightweight plastic tube about a foot long. It is, in fact, a toy lightsaber. Luke Skywalker's first, the one with the blue blade. Jill pulls at the wrapping paper around her own gift before wishing Nick, "Happy Un-Christmas to you too."
Nicholas closes his eyes and puts out his hand and doesn't open his eyes until instructed. He let's out a chuckle. "This is awesome. I'll try not to hit my roommate with it too much." He says, a genuine smile on his face. As Jill opens her gift there's a sweater inside, dark grey knitted with a hood on it and definitely looks warm. "Thank you Jill."
"You're welcome. Try not to cut off his hands, either." Jill unfolds the sweater, holding it up against herself to test the fit. The brightness of her smile could power a small town… for a little while. "Oh wow. Is this wool?" She turns the collar inside out to find the tag. "Awesome, it is! Thank you!"
"I'm glad you like it." Nick says starting to settle down a bit from his earlier embarrassment. "Maybe this will be my first lightsaber on my path to becoming a Jedi Knight." He jokes before his face fades into a smaller smile. "How was your time off from classes? Sorry I was scare it was just best to hide in my room."
"Already a Jedi Knight, you are. Nothing more can I teach you." Jill folds her new sweater carefully and lays it on her bed, the one with the actual mattress and sheets on it. She gestures at her computer chair if Nick wants to sit, herself half-leaning and half-sitting against the edge of the mattress. "It was quiet. A lot of the time I didn't know what to do with myself, so-" She shrugs. "I ended up not doing much of anything. I'll probably get beat up for saying so, but I'm glad classes are on again."
Nicholas takes the offered computer chair and nods. "I am too. Homework and having something to do keeps my mind off of things and prevents me from going around in Mr. Grump mode and snapping at everyone. I did a bit of horse back riding but there really isn't a great area to just ride here."
"If we could skip the Danger Room stuff though, that'd be great." Jill rubs her upper arm, looking down at her toes and wiggling them. "I guess, even as big as this place is, I guess it's not enough to really ride a horse around. Unless you could get him to Central Park somehow…" Her lips purse in thought but ultimately she shakes her head. Nah.
"The Danger Room is okay, I like using my powers." Nick admits shrugging a shoulder before letting out a chuckle. "Me, trying to get to Central Park with Orion, I'd end up who knows where. Actually, that's why I tried to call you yesterday, I was lost…again."
"It's just usually a little high-stress for me. I don't really have one of those awesome kick-ass, shoot lasers, breathe fire kinda mutations." The mention of her phone makes Jill grimace and she opens her mouth to make a prolonged 'uhh' noise. "Yeah, actually, I kinda lost my phone. Well, lost… it kinda… got stolen actually, and, umm…" she mumbles, trailing off.
"Your phone was stolen? Oh man that sucks Jill." Nick says as the conversation in regards to the Danger room is forgotten. "Did you let Ms Frost or anyone know so you can get another one of those fancy phones?" He doesn't seem to be worried about school security or anything. "Sorry that you lost it."
"Well, no, I didn't. For one I'm kinda worried they'll make me pay to replace it and, umm…" She trails off again, looking down and seeming to be very interested in lacing her fingers together. "The guy who stole it kinda told me where and when I could get it back. So, y'know, maybe I'll just do that and then nobody has to know."
"Just be careful." Nick says nervously, the discomfort at the situation obvious on his face. "Just, make sure it's not a trap or anything I mean, why would he steal it and then tell you where to get it back, it's just fishy is all. Just don't got alone, since you don't have your phone and if it is a trap you wouldn't be able to try to contact anyone."
"It was a high school. Forest Hills or Forest Grove or something." Jill is trying very hard to make it all seem like no big deal, hoping her blasé attitude might rub off. "I'm supposed to get it back tomorrow and if I go during the day, well, who's gonna notice one more high school kid, right? I don't know why he'd want it, but if I get it back then I won't get in trouble. But I'd have to, y'know…" This part, however, visibly makes her nervous. "Skip class to get there."
Nicholas doesn't seem certain and takes a deep breath. "Just be careful and if you go, well, at least take my phone." He says pulling it out of his pocket and offering it to her. "Maybe I am being paranoid but, I don't like the sound of this at all. It sounds really fishy. Like..creepy dude in a van fishy."
At first, Jill doesn't take the offered phone. "It's a high school, in the middle of the day. Nobody's gonna do anything to me. And even if they try, I know I said I don't have a kick-ass mutation, but I dare anybody to keep a hold of me if I don't want 'em to." Her hand reaches out, stops, then finally takes Nick's phone. "But I'll be careful," she promises at last.
"Well the person who stole your phone told you it was a school.." Nick says quietly. "Thanks." He says after she takes the phone. "You just don't know Jill and…well, the world isn't always roses and it's New York City." Apparently to the boy from the middle of nowhere that matters. "I'd rather you told someone like a teacher but just, be careful."
"No, it really is one. I looked it up on Google Maps and everything," Jill assures with a dismissive swipe of her hand. "It's not gonna be a big deal, I promise. I just need to get it back and maybe I can even figure out who the guy is. I won't do anything stupid, I swear." Hands raised, palms together in supplication, she asks further, "Don't tell anyone, okay? I screwed up and I'm trying to fix it. I could've stopped him but there were people watching and I didn't wanna go all… mutant-y in public."
Nicholas nods. "I understand, I wouldn't want to go all mutanty in public either, not anymore at least." He says running a hand through his hair. "And I won't tell anyone, well I won't unless you don't return my phone tomorrow. If you're not back by tomorrow night then I'll tell someone." He says before giving her a bit of a smile. "Sorry just still jumpy and paranoid I guess."
Jill leans forward, elbows on her knees. "No, I understand. And it's cool you're trying to look out for me. But okay, we'll do it all Mission Impossible and stuff." She shakes her head, her nervous tension bleeding away with a little laugh. "I was paranoid about it, too. But then I thought, what could some random guy want with my address book or my call log? That I call California about once a week?"
"I don't know it's just weird." Nicholas says with a disturbed look on his face. "I mean, you know who stole it, the guy knows who he stole it from, and he lets you know where to pick it up when he's done with whatever? I don't know just something doesn't add up. It's like some…it's just fishy I guess."
"I don't get it either," Jill admits with a shrug and a much less troubled attitude. "I don't know him, and he even told me his name before he ran off with it. Just some guy, 'bout the same age as you and me. Maybe he wanted to rack up a huge long distance bill on somebody else's phone. Maybe he wanted to call his drug dealer. I don't really care. I just want my phone back and not to get on Ms. Frost's bad side."
Nicholas stands up and walks over putting a hand on Jill's shoulder. "Just well, if you want someone to go with you I'll skip class with you." He offers. "It's just weird is all. Unfortunately I have to get going, I have some homework to finish before going to bed. Thanks a lot for the lightsaber and Merry UnChristmas."
Jill curls her arm back to pat the hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "I feel so rebellious. Cutting class," she jokes. "Then again, I'm only doing it so I can go to another school." She picks up her gift sweater, rubbing the wool knit against her cheek. "Thanks for this, too. Merry Un-Christmas. And I *will* see you tomorrow, I promise."
