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Summary: Jill is still adjusting and Nick wants to do his best to help her. Teenage relationships are complicated enough without one half of the prospective couple being dead.
Date: June 12, 2012
Log Title: Sorting It Out
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.
After getting done with some practice in the Danger Room, Nicholas has been wandering about trying to find Jill. After ducking into various rooms, doubling back, looking in those rooms again due to being lost, he finally spots Jill in the kitchen. Stepping in, his hair is a bit wet, he's dressed in jeans an a t-shirt with a duffel bag over his shoulder, Nicholas grins. "Hey Jill, was looking for you. Have you had dinner or anything yet?"
There are precious few girls with short, wavy blonde hair, so it's no surprise Nick recognizes Jill straight away even from behind. Pulling her head from the fridge, it collides with the lip of the freezer door with a muted thump. "Mrvrfrr!" she curses, yet somehow without losing the Oreo cookie half-protruding from her mouth. Rubbing at the tender spot, she inhales the chocolate and cream cookie to chew hurriedly before answering. There are still crumbs around her mouth. "Mmm, nuh-uh. Was just lookin' for something, actually. The all liquid diet gets kinda boring."
"You okay?" Nicholas says as he walks over to Jill and reaches out to rub where she is on the tender spot. "I was..uh, wondering if you could eat others foods but I was kind of worried to ask. It makes taking you out for a dinner date easier." He says with a bit of a grin. "I haven't yet either, just glad today's better than yesterday." He says giving Jill a hug.
"I'm fine," the vampire girl says with a self-deprecating smile, pride wounded more than body. "I wasn't told that I *can't* eat regular food, and I don't, like, think anything bad'll happen if I do." Briefly Jill rests her cheek against Nick's chest for the hug. Then she asks, "What happened yesterday?", concern evident but understated.
"Eh just Ahmed being Ahmed, thinking that because he's in cat form he doesn't have to take responsibility for anything, all while I was trying to comfort Shane for something Quenton did then Cale….I still don't understand that." Nicholas says rubbing his forehead a bit. "He wants me to call him Kaylee and treat him like a girl." He just sounds confused by that one.
Jill makes a soft sympathetic noise, like "Nnng", as she pulls gently away from the hug. Lips working, she manages a summary of her feelings after a moment. "That sucks. Sorry to hear it. But yeah, I saw that too. I'm not sure what to think. I don't know Cale very well, and I kinda think, maybe…" She trails off, not sure what she thinks. Hair falls in her face as she shakes her head. "Just go with it, I guess."
"I guess, it's just….I don't get it." Nicholas says as he grabs a can of coke from the fridge and sits down at the island. "I know Cale well enough, we hung out a bit when you were..gone. He's like a male Shane, but more upbeat. Into all that kind of stuff. He's a nice guy just…don't understand him. He's…I don't know."
"He's confused, I think. Or, uhh, she is." Jill scratches at the bump on her head only to find it already gone. Her red eyes flick to the windows to see the sun creeping down toward the horizon, night well on its way. "I'm not, like, the best at reading people sometimes, but I just think he isn't happy being, y'know, who he is. So he wants to be somethin' else." A pause. "That makes it sound kinda trivial, and I bet it isn't, but you see what I mean, right? I don't even think he wants to be here. Not really. Prolly wants to be… y'know… normal." She blows out a breath, unsatisfied with her rampant speculation. "I dunno. It's not really my business to get tangled up in, I 'spose."
"That's not all I mean just…him and his sister, lost their parents before coming here and he's just…happy. Cheerful, I can barely stand my parents being gone but he's just strong about it. It's something I couldn't do." Nicholas says as he can't help but admire Cale a bit. "Anyway, enough with that, how've you been?"
What subtle levity there was in Jill's face melts away. "Ah, umm," she stammers at the question, ruby eyes flicking to somewhere other than Nick. Sometimes, it's just so laughably easy to tell when she's lying, or thinking about it. "Y'know, fine." Perched cross-legged on one of the kitchen stools, she picks at the thinning denim of her jeans' knee. "Met with the guy who tried to stop the gargoyles from takin' me and brought my hand back to the school. He had, like, a secret service agent watchin' him. All black suit and glasses and stuff. It was kinda creepy. And, uh, Quenton… stuff… Danger Room…" she finishes in an indistinct mumble.
"Sounds creepy, just be careful, okay?" Nicholas says as he looks at Jill with a bit of concern and worry. "So…I guess it was nice to see the guy who tried to save you though, I keep forgetting to see Sophie since she's gotten back." Since he was there when she got taken, then an eyebrow is risen in question. "Quenton, stuff, Danger Room?"
More vague sounds that are almost, but not quite, words. Not even lip reading would help because Jill's face is downcast. She gives a sudden start back into vocal clarity like she'd just been poked with a stick. "It wasn't my idea, but he's supposed to be, like, teachin' me how to control myself." This causes her to blow out a quiet breath. "All… all he did was keep pushin' me till I got mad and…" The blonde girl's head lift, lower lip protruding and eyes sad. "I tried t' hurt him, Nick. I *bit* him 'cause he just kept gettin' in my face and…" A hand mops up her face from chin to hairline, straggling through her hair. "I didn't mean to. I didn't even know what I was doin'. I'm scared, Nick."
A look of anger crosses Nick's face before he shakes it off and gets up so he can wrap Jill into a hug. He leans his cheek into her hair almost to try to wrap her in the hug. "Do you have problems with control?" He asks quietly before letting out a breath. "He doesn't have, he shouldn't have done that. You told me killing is bad, what…what the hell goes on in that thick skull of his?!" He doesn't sound happy.
"I didn't *think* I did. I kept drinkin' all the time so I'd never feel hungry, but it… it just…" She doesn't draw away from the hug, but neither does she make any move to return the gesture, seeming distant. "Don't be mad at him. I think he's stupid, and a jerk, and s-sometimes like he's the worst person in the world… but he was *right*, Nick. He was *right*. It didn't even, like, take all that much to push me and I just… I just tried to hurt him. I *didn't* feel in control, and now I know how that feels. How he's gotta feel all the time." Her head lifts, bright red eyes fixing sadly on Nicholas' face. "I'm just like him. And that scares the *hell* out of me."
"He had no right to even do that to you!" Nicholas says the concern on his face obvious. "Jill, he doesn't know what it's like, he doesn't and you're not just like him. First of all you've got the biggest heart out of anyone in this school, it's your kindness that makes you stronger. He /pushed/ you to do it. You know how it feels, do you want to feel that again or does it just scare you?"
"N-no! I don't!" Jill blurts, horrified. She leans back as if to put a few more inches between herself and the thought. "It was awful! I coulda really hurt him!"
"That's a good thing Jill." Nicholas says to her horrified No. "That you don't want to, that you're scared to. Yes you could have hurt him, that's why he shouldn't have pushed you." He's not saying one thought that's prominent in his mind - 'I'm gonna kill him'. "Jill, do you want to talk to some of the teachers here, find if they have good ways to help you keep that in check. Quenton, I don't think he's exactly a good teacher. If there's anything I can do to help, I will. I just don't know what to do, I wish I did."
The blonde girl is hesitant. "I know… you don't really like, Quenton. I mean, I don't much like him either. But honestly?" She turns her eyes up to Nick. "Honestly I think… maybe he really is tryin' t' help. It's like, I dunno, tryin' to tune a piano with a sledgehammer. Besides it's… kinda… the professors who set it up. I dunno why." She swallows, forcing the pouty frown away by setting her jaw. "An' he had a good point. What happens after I leave the school? Where'm I gonna get blood then? What if I get stuck somewhere and it just gets worse and worse until I do something I'll regret forever?"
"Actually I don't hate Quenton. I consider him a friend in some weird sort of way." Nicholas admits. "I just get pissed off at him easy, he knows how to push my buttons right and I want him to treat Shane right." He then looks down at Jill and runs a hand through her hair. "I don't know Jill, do you have to drink human blood or can you drink animal blood?" He's actually getting a bit scared for Jill. "I'm sorry Jill, I wish…I wish I could help more."
"I don't know. Maybe? I've never tried. I don't think it comes in the nice little anonymous bags." Shaking her head, Jill fingers blonde hair from her face and tucks it behind one ear. Her hand briefly touches Nick's already there and she jerks it back, then looks ashamed of herself for doing it. With more restraint, she carefully gives his wrist a squeeze. A sigh escapes her, breathing out tension with it. "I know you wanna help, and I'm sorry if I'm just goin' on and on about it. S'just taking a while to adjust. I didn't think it'd be all that different, but it kind of is." Her legs uncurl from beneath her and she slides off the kitchen stool. "Don't be sorry, okay?"
Nicholas moves his wrist that's in Jill's hand so that he's holding it. "I just suck when it comes to being able to protect those I care about." It's something that's been resting on his shoulders for a while. "It's okay to go on and on about it, it's kind of a big deal and it's can't be easy. It's not like you're dealing with a broken leg, or something that's going to heal, it's…I'm just hear for you okay Jill. I'll do anything I can to help."
Jill is quiet, the vampire girl flicking a look toward the windows of the kitchen and the rapidly darkening evening. The sun is already gone and only a dim directionless light is keeping the night sky at bay. After a moment longer, she smiles. It's a breath of fresh air to see her do it, pain and self-doubt washing away. But there's something suspiciously mischievous about it… "You wanna go get something to eat? Off-campus?" The smile widens. "I can fly us there. Anywhere you wanna go."
"That sounds great." Nicholas says after a few moments of silence. "Anywhere but New York City, I don't really know anywhere around here but, we can go to Salem Center and see what's there. There's that Harry's place if you don't mind something not that fancy." He hugs her tight for a few moments before giving her a light kiss. "Fly us…I guess that works and I don't have to borrow a car from the school."
"C'mon, then!" Jill beams, all but dragging Nick with her and walking backwards toward the doors, not letting go of his hand. Evidently, there is no time like the present. "It'll dry your hair off too, if you don't mind the wind-blown look." Not that Nick's hair is ever particularly carefully styled. "I gotta start learning what places are open 24 hours anyway."
Nicholas practically grips her hand as he doesn't want to let go. "Just don't drop me okay?" He says teasing. "If I ever learn to fly with my powers, this will be so much easier." He checks to make sure he has his wallet and is happy when he feels it in his back pocket. "I don't mind about my hair and as long as we can get dinner and we're together I'm happy with that."
Once out on the lawn and Nick's duffel bag set aside by the door, Jill chews at her bottom lip. She tries putting one hand on the small of the boy's back as if they're about to dance, changes her mind and moves behind him to wrap both arms around his torso. "I, uh, I'm not exactly sure how to do this," she says, adjusting her grip. The sentiment is perhaps not comforting. "Promise I won't drop you, though!" She'll certainly try not to, anyway. There's no sound, no rush of air or fancy special effects. Her arms tighten slightly and the feeling of her taking his weight is not unlike being held in a rock climber's safety harness, feet dangling only a few feet off the ground. "Up, up, and away!" She giggles, face close to the nape of his neck and her breath tickling at the tiny hairs there. It's not warm, though. "Sorry, always wanted to say that."
Nicholas isn't sure how to do it either. "Whatever what you can fly and hold onto me the best." It feels awkward, especially being held form behind so it doesn't give him much to hold onto. He holds onto Jill's arms with his hands, almost a bit to tightly. "It's okay." He yells and after a while he opens his closed eyes to look around. "Wow." He says. "This is….the view is amazing."
She isn't even straining to hold him, no uncertain bobs or dips in the air. Just a smooth, thankfully slow ascent above the tops of the trees and over the fence. Pinpricks of light dot the landscape amidst the broader yellowish pools of street lamps fighting the darkness, occasional red taillights of cars standing out by their color. Unused to navigating this way, Jill just follows the road, a hundred yards in the air, as if she were walking the distance. "It's beautiful," agrees the vampire, awed. Maybe, just maybe, this whole situation has its ups as well as its downs.