Players:
Summary: Nicholas makes Cale cry.
Date: April 21, 2012
Log Title: Nice Night For Emotions
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - Left Path
A brick path off the courtyard cuts through the grass to lead to the other areas on the outside grounds of Xavier's. There are a few benches that line the path so students can sit and enjoy outside. Either side of the path the grass is well manicured and has enough room for students to have a picnic, play Frisbee, or relax and study. At night there are small lamps that raise three feet off the ground to provide light.
It's later at night on the ground of Xavier's and the stars and moon are bright in the sky. Having put down a blanket in the grass, Nicholas is lying on it looking up at the sky. He points a finger in the air and starts tracing one of the constellations. "Mom…Dad…Bodie…" He mutters to the air in a sort of prayer since he believes he's alone. "I really hope you're up there looking down on me, and if you can, look down on Jill too. I know she never got to meet you but…she means a lot to me."
From off in the shadows, there comes a high-ish voice, probably an alto or a high tenor, half singing and half humming 'All Along the watchtower;' the version of it seems to be more folk-rockish than some of the harder versions that have been around. Eventually, the source of the singing appears from around the corner, coming out of the Japanese Gardens. Cale hadn't really expected there to be anybody else out here tonight, so when he finally notices Nick (well, when he's practically right on top of him) the singing stops, the boy who was doing it pausing awkwardly.
Nicholas immediately stops speaking and just watches the singer approach with a bit of an irritated look on his face. "Is choir practice out side tonight?" He asks the other teen as he approaches the area. He then shakes his head. "Sorry, just…I say stuff without thinking lately." At least he's trying to be a bit nicer sometims. "I don't think we've met, I'm Nick." But he doesn't offer a hand in greating or anything.
"I… s-sorry, I didn't know there was anybody out here… I don't think this place has one of those, anyway," Cale rubs the back of his neck nervously, eyeing the other mutant cautiously. "I'm Cale. I just got here, you know, a couple days ago. So I'm still sorta getting used to things…" he glances at his hands idly to see if his skin is changing - usually he can feel it but… Oh good, it's not. "I can… go… if you were busy. Or waiting for someone," he eyes the blanket, the idea of a romantic after dark meeting popping into his head.
Nicholas lies down on the blanket and shrugs. "It's up to you Cale." He doesn't look at Cale anymore as his eyes focus on the stars again. "Nope, not waiting for anyone. Not like there's anyone really to wait for." He mutters. "And I'm still getting used to things here too, I still get lost since this place is huge so…new kid advice for you, never ask me for directions."
"Well…" Cale trails off, still eyeing Nicholas. "That seems fairly depressing." Unbidden, he sits down next to the larger teen, crossing his legs indian style. "Yeah? It doesn't seem THAT bad… I mean… I guess it's big enough to be a small neighborhood, but," he shrugs, following Nick's gaze up to the stars.
"Well I'm just a depressing guy." Nicholas snaps a Cale a bit harsher than intended. "And I am from a small neighborhood so this place is huge to me. I swear it's bigger than my home city." He doesn't really look at Cale as he speaks though. "So how'd you end up stuck here?"
Down the path comes Taylor, once again dressed in a suit with some embroidery on the cuffs, that long hair tied back in a ponytail. Taylor moves at a fairly slow pace, staring off and walking rather aimlessly, likely just killing time as the night sets in. There is a pause and the student's ears twitch before Taylor looks towards the two students who are talking, approaching to get a better look.
"I didn't mean it like that…" Cale says in a small voice, propping up his chin in his hands. His own long hair, trailing down to the middle of his back, is left free to hang where it will tonight, though he's continually brushing it out of his face. "Um… I dunno. I mean, I do know but…" he trails off, "It's really depressing… The gist of it is, I have literally nowhere else to go, because Mom and Dad are dead… Sis survived, but she's in the hospital. They don't know when she'll be let out. Taylor said that that's actually… well, that I'm not the only one around here like that. So I try not to dwell on it too much."
Nicholas looks at Cale for a few moments and seems to deflate with a sigh. "At least your sister survived." He says solemnly. "I'm sorry about your parents but I know what you're going through. They killed Mom, Dad and Bodie back in November so I don't have anywhere to go either. Dwell on it cause it's gonna be on your mind and it sucks." He says sounding a bit sympathetic. "Taylor, she's cool and all but she doesn't understand cause she still has her parents." He doesn't know that the Ocelot tean is practically behind him.
Taylor blinks a few times at the statement from Nicholas, ears perking up, and the teen says, "Oh, hey, um. I'm just going to alert you to my presence so you don't talk about me while you think I'm not listening and all that. I'm good at overhearing…" The teen grimaces and looks aside, seeming a bit embarrassed to stumble across such a conversation.
Cale looks back at Taylor in surprise, skin instinctively darkening against the grass which is (in this light) a very dark green. "Taylor!" he says in surprise, although he seems a bit more cheerful to see the ocelot than perhaps Nick will. "Anyway, I don't know… It… It tears me up, but I don't think they would want me to spend the rest of my life feeling awful about it. I… did what I could. They would be happy that Amy lived." He doesn't really sound all that well convinced of this, especially what with his eyes being fairly damp looking.
Nicholas looks up as Taylor talks and gives a wave. "Not like I was saying anything that isn't true though, I'm not saying anything against you." He says leaning back and looking at Cale. "Well I have no clue what they would want me to spend the rest of my life doing cause…." He breaks off and looks away. "So, how's it going Taylor?"
"Nah, you're right, it's true… But I don't want to feel like a creeper listening in once I've been mentioned, even though it's hard not to listen in with these huge ears…" says Taylor, pulling on one of them, "But yeah, I don't understand really… but I'm doing okay. I hope you guys are doing okay."
"I'm doin' alright, actually… I mean," Cale shrugs, flopping back on the grass spread eagle and sighing. "Stuff happens and you gotta make the best of it. No use wallowing in misery," the boy nods, looking over at Taylor. Eeeeaaars…
Nicholas shrugs. "I'm doing as well as I can be. Just, trying to get by day to day." He says looking up at the stars. He has to take a few deep breaths so he doesn't snap at Cale but he does tighten and untighten his fists a few times. "Sorry but it's hard not to wallow in my own misery when I just miss them so much."
Taylor nods slowly and then says, "Day by day, yeah, that's fair… that's the way to get through things. I dunno. If I lost my parents, I think I'd be doing the same thing so I can't judge or anything…" The teen shrugs a shoulder, rubbing their neck lightly, "I dunno…"
Cale rips a tuft of grass out of the ground suddenly, tossing it away. Though he puts up his usual cheerful front, or is at least trying to (there are obvious cracks in it), he doesn't seem to like the way the conversation is going. "Isn't it better to concentrate on what you've still got rather than what you've lost? You're still alive. And you've got friends here. I mean, things could always be a lot worse…"
Nicholas sits up and looks at Cale. "A lot worse? How the hell could they be a lot worse?! Both my parents were murdered! And then on top of that all my friends and everyone I knew back home turned against me and I'm wanted for their murder when I didn't know anything wrong except being a mutant." He sits up again and screws up his face to fight back any urge to totally lose it. "You might be all okay with never being able to talk to, or see, or do anything with your parents again, but I'm not. I miss them every minute of every day."
Taylor's brows raise slightly and the felinoid student says to Nicholas, "I don't think that's what he means, I imagine Cale misses his parents a lot too, but probably just, I dunno, just doesn't want to focus on it so much…" The feline's ears flick lightly and Taylor shrugs slightly. "But I dunno…"
"I miss them a lot! I miss them every day. Even though it's only been a few weeks since it happened. But I have to keep putting one foot in front of the other! If I break down and cry about it, what does that accomplish? I already cried about it for a week straight! It's a disaster. As if my life weren't already bad enough," Cale digs his fingers into the ground, clenching his teeth to keep his lower lip from trembling too much. "But they're in the ground. They're dead." Finally, the dam breaks and tears begin streaming down his face. "They're in the ground, and dead, and dwelling on it won't do anything. Dead is dead. They're not coming back, they're not watching from the sky, they're just dead," he pounds a fist at the ground.
Nicholas closes his eyes and looks down. "Damnit, I didn't mean to make you cry." He says not really sure what to say. "Though, I want to believe they are watching from the sky, some where up there in Heaven with God and maybe someday I'll be able to see them again, though it sucks. I want to break down and cry at least three times a day." He admits quietly to Cale. "I can't not focus on it, every night they're in my dreams, my nightmares, I see them and I want nothing more to go home and go back to the stables and just….damnit." He says again trying to keep his cool.
Taylor frowns for a few moments when Cale starts to cry, and the felinoid crouches down to put a hand on Cale's shoulder tentatively, not seeming really sure if that's the appropriate social protocol, ears flicking a few more times.
Cale sniffles for a moment and then stops, "Yeah, I don't know. It's the same. I liked Colorado. It was home. I never asked to come here," he dries his face with the back of his sleeve, a hand going up to his shoulder to clasp against Taylor's. "But I just try not to think about it. 'cause if I do think about it, I can't control what happens."
Nicholas puts a hand on Cale's shoulder and takes a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm just…horrible in regards to this. My temper gets the best of me and…I'm not handling this well, at all. Maybe you're just better at managing and handling things than I am. I'm…gonna get going before I make things worse. I'm really sorry you're going through this Cale and Taylor, catch ya later." He says waving a hand before getting up and walking towards the woods.
Taylor nods at Nicholas and says, "I'll seeya later." The teen watches for a few moments as Nicholas heads towards the woods, noting the direction, to perhaps help locate him a little bit later. The feline student then nods at Cale and says, "It's okay, I know, I can relate to missing home pretty okay if nothing else… I hope the pain goes away, at least… you still have their memory and stuff…"
"No, it's not, I mean," Cale blinks at Nicholas as he heads off into the woods. "Maybe… I hope he's okay," the chameleon boy murmurs. "I don't know. Everyone has to see their parents die at some point, right? Unless they die before them, which is even worse. My time just happened to be now," he reflects, still dabbing at his eyes with the cuff of his hoody.
"I know, but it's still okay that you're sad," says Taylor, nodding slowly, then looking in Nicholas's direction, "And yeah, I hope he's okay too… I hope he can be okay eventually, but he hurts a lot…" The feline sighs and then shrugs, "Sorry. I don't want to keep you dwelling on it or anything…"
"Nah, it's okay… I'm just emotional like that sometimes," Cale shrugs, "I'll be okay, anyway. It's not as if I'm completely alone. You guys're here and, at some point, my sister is gonna be here." And to be honest, he relies on her way more than his parents anyway!
"Well, being emotional is fine sometimes, you know. I get emotional about plenty of crap," says Taylor, waving a hand at that, "But yeah, you're not alone, that's for sure… there are plenty of people here who are good to talk to and stuff…"
Cale nods, picking himself up off the grass. "Like you! You're pretty good to talk to. You're definitely good at listening," the boy grins faintly, in slight reference to Taylor's big ears.
"Oh, yeah, I'm good at hearing at least," says Taylor, smiling faintly at that. The ocelot student shrugs and then continues, "I'm glad that you like talking to me, I suppose."
Cale sticks his hands in his pocket, "I do. I didn't have a lot of friends back home. Maybe one good one," he nods, "So it's pretty awesome having a lot of people to talk to! Plus, everyone here is way more interesting."
"Are we now?" says Taylor, seeming a bit amused, and the felinoid student shrugs lightly. "Well, I'm glad we're interesting. I guess I am kind of interesting in some ways…"
"Hey, you're very interesting!" Cale murmurs, "I mean. You're a cat person. That's pretty interesting, isn't it? That's different from pretty much everyone else. And, well, you didn't tell me to shut up when we first met! So that's another point."
"I guess it's interesting being a cat… person, or I guess ocelot person, 'cause that's what I am," says Taylor, looking down at their hands and wiggling those little furry fingers, claws extending and retracting. "Of course I won't tell you to shut up, though. I've been bullied enough in my life to be a huge asshole to everyone…"
"Oh, yeah, I suppose," Cale smiles, "You said that before, didn't you…" he says, voice fading off. Shortly thereafter, he stretches and yawns, standing on his tiptoes for a moment before looking back at the dorms, "Aaaanyway… I guess I should probably hit the sack for the night. Have a good night, Taylor," he waves, waggling his fingers a little.
Taylor waves in return at Cale, and then says, "Yeah, have a good night, I'm going to go catch up with Nick. He's lost." There doesn't seem to be any doubt in Taylor's voice at that statement, and the feline starts heading out to the woods.
