Players:
Summary: Friday Night pizza night turns into some conversation between Christopher and Heather
Date: September 23, 2011
Log Title: Pizza Night
Rating: PG
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.
Friday night is pizza night at Xavier's and Christopher has been setting up for it. He doesn't order a ton of pizza but he has individual balls of dough set in a bowl, personal sized pizza pans and a variety of cheeses, sauces and toppings so the students can make their own. Christopher stands at the stove cooking up some ground sausage to place on the table along with everything else he's cooked and/or cut up. Everything from meats to veggies and even pineapple and a tin of sardines sits on the island. Has he cooks he hums a bit to himself.
Heather zips into the kitchen, though as she crosses through the door way and onto the floor, she stops moving her feet and just lets herself slide until she can crash against the counter and use it to stop, her stockinged feet providing very little traction. She removes the tape recorder from around her neck and plays, "Oh, little fish." She looks up to Christopher, "What are you doing here now?"
Pizza! Ash still might be working on those 'socialize with the general student population' skills, but he wouldn't miss pizza night. Arriving back a trip into town just in time for dinner, he doesn't quite barrel through the Mansion on a beeline for the kitchen, but his intent is clear as he dodges around other classmates. Peeking his head around, halfway envisioning a repeat visit from Wildcard. Once he spies a distinct lack of cartoon-inspired craziness, the teen slips around the doorjam and into the kitchen proper, "Pizza, sweet…" he mutters to himself, hands going up to flip his hoodie down.
"Hello Heather, how have you been?" Christopher says smiling at her. "Yes I have sardines, I knew at least one student would like them. I'm getting things ready for pizza night so students can make their own pizzas. Kind of a fun dinner. Feel free to make your own, the oven is already preheated for baking." He says as he looks over at Ashley as he comes in. Smiling at his enthusiasm. "Hello, how are you doing this evening?"
"I have been doing okay, I think," plays Heather, tilting her head slightly as she examines the ingredients. "I like the salty fish," she comments, putting them onto one of the pieces of dough. "They taste like the ocean." She looks over her shoulder towards Ashley and raises her eyebrows slightly, playing to him, "Hello, I have not spoken to you since you set me on fire. I am Heather Brown, codename: Timeslip, if you did not know."
Having gone through enough pizza nights, Ash's first stop is the sink, giving his hands a quick wash under steaming hot water. Drying them off with a quick application of heat, shimmering along his skin, Ash none-the-less tosses a towel up over his shoulder as he turns towards the spread. "I'm doing pretty good, sir…" he gives in answer to Christopher, congenial enough. Although the enthusiasm fades slightly as Heather speaks through the recording. "Yeah…." he says, rubbing the back of his neck in a slight nervous motion. "I'm really sorry about that…" he says, not exactly sure how to apologize for lighting someone on fire when they are trying to blow up the school.
"They can be delicious Heather. I love sardines in ceaser salad, it gives it good flavour." Christopher says as there really isn't many foods he doesn't appreciate. He's not sure what to say but figures the fire thing is for the two of them to sort out….for now. "Heather, I have something to give you, both you and Shane. I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to visit either of you earlier, I was on vacation and when I came back I had classes so I haven't had time to check on either of you to see how you're holding up, which I feel dreadfully sorry for." He says before looking at Ashley. "Should I ask why you lit her on fire?" He wasn't around for the attack so he doesn't know.
"I like to put them in things sometimes, but I have not put them in a ceasar salad. I do not think I have made a ceasar salad exactly," replies Heather, putting assortments of toppings onto her piece of dough. "You have something to give me? Well, I tend not to turn down gifts." She seems rather curious, leaning over for a moment as if trying to spot something before she looks back towards Ashley, "It's fine. I have clear indicators of where the plates in my costume are supposed to go now." She says to Christopher to explain, "When my parents were showing up the illusory worlds, I was in the group that attacked the mansion. While I was on the side of Xavier's, it was not readily apparent, and so I got caught on fire. I cut my own hair because some of it burned and I have some burn scars on my arms from where my plates fused with my skin."
Ash cringes at Heather's description of her wounds. "All I knew was that the bunch of you were out to get the school, and the defenses weren't coming up." he says, but with a touch of conviction to his tone. He doesn't like that he hurt a fellow classmate, but he apparently believes in protecting what he's got to call home. "..and it was a riot out there with that one guy turning into Uber-Mutant an beatin' the sh-..oh…" he says, remembering how THAT confrontation ended for Heather's mom.
Christopher washes his hands and dries them off before walking over to Heather and touching her hair. "I can cut your hair for you, make it all nice and neat so, I really don't mind. And I'm sorry to hear about the burns honey, it sounds painful." And it would save him from cringing from the uneven cut even if Heather doesn't care. "I heard about you and Shane and your parents. What I have is for the both of you, a day at the spa to go and relax since after that ordeal I imagine that you would enjoy it." He says before going to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. "It's a hard situation Ash, trying to figure out how to act when it's your friends possessed and attacking."
Heather's eyes shift towards Ashley as he describes the scene, "Oh, yes. My mother bit off somewhat more than she could chew in that confrontation… Which suited me fine, I just do not want to see that… thing that was fighting her again." She shakes her head quickly and then says, "I would simply recommend you reconsider any instance where you judge it may be a good idea to set me on fire. Normally I am a bit resistant to it, but the heated plates caused prolonged exposure to the heat." She looks towards Christopher and tilts her head slightly, "A day at the spa? What do you do at the spa? I have not been to a spa." She pauses for a moment and says, "Yes, I would be okay with it if my hair were even again."
Ash blinks at Heather for a moment, a rolled ball of dough between his hands. One can almost see him working out her last statement in his head; probably trying to figure out of it's a threat, or advice on how to defeat her in the future. He does, however, respond with a "Uhh.. yeah… sure…." and then his attention returns to stretching out the dough and laying down a layer of sauce.
Christopher walks over and puts a hand on Ashley's shoulder, leaning in to speak quietly to him again. "Might I suggest, even if things are settled, sometimes another apology, even if it's not necessary, is sometimes better to say than yeah, sure." He says smiling as he gives his shoulder a friendly pat and looks over at Heather. "Oh, it's a day of pampering, a nice massage, a facial, and such. It's just a day that's about you and your relaxation. I can show you the services they offer and you can choose which ones you want."
"Oh, okay," says Heather, tilting her head slightly, "I have never gone in for a day of pampering, it is simply something that I would not normally think to do. I do not think I would mind such things, and they might be revitalizing." Heather, finished withher toppings, offers her pizza piece to Christopher. "Thank you, Mr. Parker-Mayfair, your gesture is quite thoughtful."
"It's a lot of fun." Christopher says as he takes a pizza pan and starts to make his own. "I'm going to arrange for you and Shane to go together, it's a lot of fun with a friend. I love going for spa retreats myself, it just helps with stress. I figured after that ordeal you deserve it. So how are you dealing after everything with your parents?" He asks with concern in his voice.
"Who do you usually go with? Do you usually go to spas with your husband, or with someone else?" asks Heather to Christopher, "What is it like being married to him? He always asks uncomfortable questions." This is likely due to the fact that Heather is here for treatment, and those questions must be asked. "As for my parents… they are now detained for whatever limited amount of time they manage to remain detained for. It is hard to deal with when they remind me how easily they can reach in and wreck things in my life."
"Sometimes I go with my husband, sometimes by myself and sometimes with an old friend of mine." Christopher says waving his hand. "I don't think Jeri always enjoyed getting pampered as much as I do." He says chuckling. "I'm sorry if he asks uncomfortable questions but sometimes he feels the questions are necessary for him to be able to help." He explains but he knows very little about what goes on in his husband's office. "I'm sorry that your parents do that to you honey, but are you handling it okay? Do you need someone to talk to about it?"
"I don't like the questions that he asks me," says Heather, shaking her head slightly and she says, "I think he thinks I am crazy." She tilts her head in thought to the question and says, "There is little I can say about my parents. They failed me as their daughter. Am I supposed to love them? Because I do not. I think I would be happier if they were dead."
Christopher walks over to Heather and gives her a hug. "I'm sorry honey but I don't think that you're crazy. And with parents like yours, you're not required to love them. After the way they treated you I don't think you should love them." He says feeling bad for the girl. "Listen, if you want you can talk to Emma, or I can, and we can see if we can stop your sessions with him. If you don't think he's helping and are uncomfortable, maybe it isn't the right thing for you." He says giving her a warm smile. "I'm not asking if you love your parents are not, I guess what I'm trying to ask, and if this is one of those uncomfortable questions I'm sorry. Just tell me it is and I'll drop it and we can have little fish pizza. Anyway, I was wonder how you, emotionally, were handling it. If you were feeling scared or upset or anything. Or if you feel fine now that the whole ordeal is over."
Heather tilts her head slightly and says, "I'm not good at feelings…" She glances aside for a few moments before looking back towards Christopher, "I am scared because I think that they are just going to do it again. They're better at me things than I am and it's hard to try and keep track of them. Should I even keep track of them? I do not find many things scary, but I find them scary. Everything's louder when I think they're coming. I wish that they would receive retribution that they deserve." She looks down at the floor and kicks her socked foot against it in a slippery seeming motion. "They're why I'm not good at feelings. I am not good at being a person."
Ash remains quiet for a time, mulling over Christopher's words, and the situation in general, as he spreads the sauce out. He's still quiet as he loads the pizza-in-progress with a heaping helping of cheese and whatever meats are available, layering it on thickly. The monitoring telepaths on staff would probably be sending Xorn a note to check in on Ash, from all the dark thoughts and memories welling up from the teen's subconscious. "I am sorry that you got hurt, Heather…" Ash says, quietly, after giving it thought. "…but for all we knew, you and Shane and that other girl and your parents were going to blow up the school or something…" he continues, tossing on another layer of meat. There's got to be like five layers on that thing by now. "…it sucks that we had to fight you, yeah… but I'd do it again if I had to.." he finishes, looking up from the pizza. "…to protect the school… you can't hold that against a guy, for wanting to protect something, right?" he adds, a bit chagrinned at
Christopher walks over to Ashley and puts a hand on his shoulder. "No you cannot. My husband fought me and so did others when I was possessed by a demon. I don't blame anyone of them for doing what had to be done." He says before looking at Heather and nodding at her with a bit of a sad expression. "It's perfectly okay to be scared Heather but I hope they get retribution as well. Now that we know what kind of people your parents are I hope that we can protect you better in the future. As for not being good at a person, what defines what being good at being a person is? You're alive right? Your different is all Heather. Your situation made you different, it doesn't make you less or worse of a person, it just makes you different, in a wonderful way."
"Well, I had my father in a chokehold. I thought it was adequately clear that I was not a priority target, but I understand the primacy of the mission, and it's fine that you did what you did, I suppose. I just have an aversion to burn wounds," says Heather, tilting her head back and forth as the tape recorder speaks to Ashley. She looks towards Christopher and says, "I am not sure what defines it, but people interact with one another naturally, whether it is aversive or positive interaction, and I am not fully engaged. I make statistical inferences to decide what's appropriate in different situations… but most people just know. But I am okay with it, I guess."
Ash opens his mouth, no doubt to try to argue further in his defense. But instead he just shakes his head, and moves to put his pizza into the oven. A trail of dropped cheese and meat toppings expanding behind him as he moves over to the stove and pulls open the door. Then the teen reaches in, sans any sort of oven mitt, to pull one of the racks out and deposit his pan atop of it, putting his powers to some good use to get his dinner cooking. "I'll be back in a bit to get the pizza, could you get it out of the oven when it's done, sir?" he asks, looking at Christopher. But either way he's heading out of the kitchen.
"You guess?" Christopher asks Heather. "Well you know some people think I'm a terrible person just because I like men. Imagine that." He says putting his hands on his hips and gives a little huff in faux annoyance before chuckling. "So you're a little different, it works for you Heather. As long as you're okay with and as long as it's who you are don't let people think you should be a certain way. Be whatever way you are." He says before looking to Ashley. "Of course, take care Ashley and I'll see you soon."
"I am unsure why anyone would think you are terrible for liking men. Men are reasonably attractive," says Heather, raising her eyebrow lightly and then shrugging a few times, "I think it is okay that I am a certain way, and perhaps even necessary given the situations we have entered into. Given a retrospective, I have a unique skill set that can be applied to solve problems and I believe looking forward it is a necessary event for my life to eventually play out how it must, whether I have any idea what that entails or not." She considers that for a moment, pursing her lips slightly, "In social situations, however, I am trying to be better at it, but connections are hard."
"Because some people don't think it's natural and against god but I'm happy with who I am." Christopher says casually with a wave of his hand. "Well having a unique talent and perspective like that could be quite useful in a number of situations. And what do you mean by connections are hard in a social situation. You find it hard to connect with people verbally or emotionally or how so?"
"It's like I said, sometimes I have to use statistical inference to determine what's appropriate. People will say things and I'm not sure how I should react, I don't connect to how they are feeling," explains Heather, gesturing as she speaks, but not while the recorder is playing, which essentially just looks like she is flailing every few moments. "I say and do the wrong things, and it's like other people just know when someone is sad. People have to either tell me or cry or give me some physical evidence."
"Well not everyone is the most empathic in nature." Christopher says to Heather as he cleans up a bit of Ashley's mess before returning to make his own pizza. "Just maybe try asking someone 'how are you doing today?' to see if you can general idea of how they're feeling. YOu haven't had it easy Heather and it takes time to adjust to things. Who knows if you will ever be what people consider 'normal' but if you aren't, just embrace who you are. Don't fret on it and it's always good to ask questions. Anyway so how about we make you a pizza?"
"As I said, in some ways I am okay with it, but I feel as though I am missing something that I should not be. But I suppose that is my role to play?" says Heather, tilting her head slightly before shrugging and leaning in to check on the pizza she built, "Yes, I would like that, to make the pizza."
"The only role you have to play is yourself." Christopher says as he leans in to give her a friendly kiss on the top of her head. He looks over to see the pizza Heather made, smiling at the odd assortment of toppings. "Well I never thought to combine that on a pizza but if you like it, you like it." He says as he finally puts his own pizza in the oven. "Shall we dine together my dear?"
"Flavors should be, if nothing else, interesting," replies Heather, nodding at that when Christopher comments on the status of the pizza. She puts her pizza in as well and then nods with a smile, "Yes, that sounds like it would be quite nice."
