Players:
Summary: A friendly lunch conversation takes a turn when Jordan and Dallas clash.
Date: January 07, 2010
Log Title: Table for Three
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - Cafeteria
There is a large cafeteria for the students. Blue and white tiled floor lines the floor and there are large windows that let in a lot of light. Six sturdy blue plastic chairs sit around each white table. There are a few snack and soda machines along with a few microwaves and refrigerators sit along one wall.
It's lunch time so of course, Robyn is in the cafe. He's eating at a table by himself but there doesn't seem to be much left on his tray but a few cookies. Who knows if he's eaten anything else before hand. He's sketching something in a notebook, not that it's that good of a drawing but he's trying to get ideas on where to go with his latest project. There's tones of different macabre looking faces on the pace he's doodling on. "No that would just look too…stupid." He mutters.
Dallas wanders the cafeteria with a tray of food. The ancient and somber ritual of lunchtime seating is being observed. He scans various tables, seeing nobody he wants to sit with and a few people who obvious don't want him sitting with them, giving him the teenaged versions of a wolf's glare over a fresh kill. High school socialization is the same even at Mutant High. He sees Robyn and grins faintly, crossing over to the table and asking, "Hey. You mind?" He nods at the seat across from the artistic boy.
He's been having some trouble with things lately, so Jordan hasn't been that apparent on a regular basis. But now, he's coming through carrying his own tray of food. Lots of food. Of course, he sits next to Robyn. Jordan… looks like what he is. A somewhat stereotypical jock. Broad shoulders. Beefy build. But his clothing is more along the lines of prep-type. Collared shirts. Slacks. He pats Robyn's head as he sits down, not saying anything at the moment.
Robyn is quite the contrast of Jordan as he's in his usual emoish fashion style as if he just walked out of a Hot Topic. "I don't mind at all, Dallas." And he breaks into a huge grin as Jordan sits down. "Hey Jordan!" He says completely forgetting what he was doodling. "Dallas, this is Jordan, Jordan…Dallas."
Dallas is dressed in an Xavier's t-shirt, jeans and sneakers and is still a little damp from a shower after the morning workout. He notices Jordan and his eyebrows quirk up at that pat on the head for Robyn as he stifles a bit of a grin at that. He grabs a seat when offered and says, "Thanks. And Hi." That last is offered to Jordan along with a polite smile. "Dallas." He frowns as he remembers, a second too late, that Robyn already said that.
Chuckling, Jordan nods. At the offered hand, he shakes it. Nice, firm grip. "Jordan. Like Robyn said." He says with a nod before giving a wink to Robyn. "Whatcha workin' on today?" He asks, beginning to dig into his plate. He pauses for a second to pop his neck to the side before shrugging. "New?"
"Oh yesterday I started working on a new project, I want to make a sort of pot with a face on it but I'm having a hard time really trying to figure out exactly what I want. Oh! And I have the rest of your Christmas present in my room." Robyn says as he pushes some of his hair out of his face. "So what are you two up too today? Besides classes."
Dallas nods to Jordan, also craning his head to see what Jordan's doing while he says, "Yea. I've been here about a month. Which I guess means I'm only semi-new." He gives Jordan a sideways glance and then looks back at the sketch. "Detention. Still. And then the weight room. Or maybe some hoops if I can round anybody up. Or a run. Mikhail's apparently the wild man of the woods and I'm thinking of trying to see if he'll teach me some broken field running techniques you don't pick up in football."
Jordan's ears perk up. "Oooh, field running? I'm game. Since I can't really play football anymore." He says with a chuckle before leaning in to Robyn. "No need to do anything else for me for holidays, babe." He grins, bumping his arm against the smaller guy.
"Yeah, Dallas kind of reminds me of you at times Jordan, with the hole sports thing." Robyn says nudging against Jordan back. He blushes a bit at the nickname but starts to munch on one of his cookies. "Well I already did it so there." He says sticking his tongue out in a childish way. "And you still have detention? How much trouble do you get into Dallas?" He says with a chuckle before leaning into whisper something to Jordan.
Dallas blinks as Jordan turns out to have an interest in sports and he looks up from the sketch in time to catch that nudge and register the word 'babe'. His expression is briefly perplexed and then the metaphorical light bulb goes off over his head. His eyebrows go up and he makes a silent 'Oh!' expression before turning to his lunch and sitting back to take a bite of an apple, using the chewing time to give him time to digest the assumption he's making. He wipes juice off his chin with his free hand, "Me either. I might shadow-up and toss somebody off the field. But, hey, I'd only just made first string anyway, so I don't miss it much." Which is bragging and a flat-out lie, respectively, on that last sentence. He looks back do Robyn and shrugs, "Enough to know better, I guess. Or not get caught next time." There is a hint of a mischievous grin at that.
"Dude. I was a freshman and already on the varsity team. I was gonna be starting QB for my sophomore year but…" Jordan says with a chuckle. "I got too big to fit in my costume." He snickers slightly, shaking his head. Robyn will understand that, completely. "So, finally, someone else that likes normal stuff." He laughs. Considering most of the guys here… he pauses, listening to Robyn. He gets a very big, broad grin. "Oh, so that's what it is. You like that type." He says with a wink.
"Maybe you two can start up some kind of super powered football thing here. Doesn't Owen also play?" Robyn asks as he knows he wouldn't participate, he'd get broken. Unless he was possessing someone like the Incredible Hulk or something equally strong. "Hey, I like normal stuff." Not really but he knows he likes weird things. Before he can say anything else though, Robyn turns quite red at Jordan's comment and shrugs, finding his notebook very fascinating again.
Dallas grins at Jordan a hint of braggadocio enters his voice and bearing, "Yea, so was I. And I'm smaller. But quick." He shrugs with false-modesty and adds, "Just worked harder than most. It is awesome to find another sports fan!" He blinks at that last comment to Robyn and then his expression goes a bit blank. His shadow flickers there and gone in an instant, perhaps responding to some emotional spike or other, wrapping him in darkness and flowing back away before he's even consciously aware it happened. He clears his throat, taking another bite and listening to Robyn. The idea of a super-football team gets a rallying grin as he tries to steer the conversation back onto safer ground. "I'd settle for just flag. Or even touch. /ANYTHING/ other than another solo workout." Sadly, he seems completely innuendo-free on that statement.
"Well, I'm sure Robyn would enjoy watching us work out together." Jordan says. He grins brightly. "Wouldn't you, babe?" He says, leaning in to whisper something to Robyn with a chuckle. "And I'm sorry. You may be smaller right now, but not always. And you have no chance of being quicker than me." That's what happens when you try to out-brag Jordan. Because the worst part is… his bragging is true. "But I'd be more than happy to work out with you. Or to play football."
Robyn turns even redder as Jordan whispers to him before playfully punching him in the arm, knowing he wouldn't be able to do anything to hurt him. "I think I'm gonna lock myself in the art room tonight." He mutters, looking down and letting his hair fall in his face as if he's trying to hide. "At least you're not the only sports person in the school anymore Jordan." He's trying to keep the subject off he whispered earlier. "Why would I enjoy watching a work out? I'm not really a work out kind of person." But the boy could use some muscle on his skinny frame.
Dallas's neck goes red with a blush and his shadow flickers again as Jordan's initial comments sink in. He is rescued from /too/ much awkwardness by the rest of that, though and seizes on the last part. "I hope. I don't want to be the 21st century version of Puck for the rest of my life. And, we'll see about who's faster. You've got a lot of muscle mass to drag around…." Wow. Conversational quicksand again. "Yea! Football! Good!" He looks back to Robyn and says, "Everybody's a workout kind of person. Some people just haven't found the right workout yet."
Jordan chuckles. Suddenly, he's about a foot shorter. "Oh, do I now?" He asks, winking at Dallas. "Sorry, I'm teasing Robyn. He thinks you're hot. I think, between me and you, he likes guys in uniform. Or at least, guys in jocks." He teases with a chuckle. He's open about things, but it's all meant to be teasing and playing with Robyn. He doesn't know either way with Dallas, and figures the guy can joke like anyone else.
Robyn chokes on the cookie he's eating and freezes as Jordan says what he does. A part of him just wants to hide under the table at this moment as he's worried that he's about to lose someone he thinks of as a friend. He's not really mad, just embarrassed. "I…I…" He really doesn't know what to say so he just buries his face in his arms on the table, to scared to look up at the moment.
Dallas blinks at that height change. "Wow. Cool." His expression goes neutral again as the conversation turns back to guys and to the idea of Robyn specifically thinking of Dallas that way. It's obvious that he's trying to work out how to respond, caught between being intensely uncomfortable (in his own skin and with the conversation) and not wanting to alienate Robyn or the new guy. After a long moment with a fantasy of powering-up, breaking down a wall and fleeing into the mountains with hulk-style leaps, he takes a deep breath and tries to smile. You work with the team you have. You /make/ it work. And Xavier's is his team now. He clears his throat. "So, ok. Football. Flag, maybe? We wouldn't need whole teams that way."
"Yeah, but we'd have to all be careful with powers. I mean, at my minimum height, my flags would be impossible to grab without grabbing all of me. And at my maximum, they'd be pretty high." Jordan says, going back to his normal height and going back onto subject. "Robyn, it's really ok. We're all friends here." He laughs, shaking his head.
Robyn looks up and Jordan and frowns at him for a second before nudging him slightly. "Embarrass the hell outta me why don'tcah?" He says before finally giving a half smile. He's also surprised that Jordan makes mention of the fact that he can get smaller. "Yeah, if you guys did football, I'd just have to watch. I really don't know anything about the sport." Say the word 'down' in regards and Robyn would think it's a direction.
Dallas gamely grins and says, "Well, shadow-melded, I can jump a couple of stories. But yea, no powers might be best. For one thing, if I straight arm somebody with mine, they might wake up in the city. And yea, we're all, um…friends." More or less. Some more than less. He blinks at another mental image and then shakes his head and finishes off his apple. "Flag is easy to learn. And it's harder to get hurt." Not impossible, but harder.
"What's embarrassing about it? Most of the guys and girls here are hot. I ain't upset." Jordan says with a shrug. "So, why should you be?" He ponders for a minute. "I mean, if you like something, what's the harm in saying so?" He asks, looking up at Dallas. "Yeah, but some with powers can't always control some aspects of it. If I were smaller, I'd crush someone if I stepped on them." Yep. he said, if he were SMALLER, he'd crush someone. "So…"
"I know, but…" Robyn takes a breath shrugs before saying quietly. "I just don't want to lose a friend over something like that." He never had many friends before coming to Xavier's and was picked on a lot. "I thnk you'd get a lot of interest in doing something fun like that here. Who knows, you can either do it outside or talk to one of the teachers to set up the Danger Room and see if they can design some sort of field for you guys."
Dallas sighs faintly as the topic turns back to attraction yet again and his expression has a trace of frustration that he tries to hide. He tilts his head at the paradox of getting tougher as you get smaller and he says, "What exactly do you do, anyway?" Out of options for the tangential conversation, he just ignores Robyn's worry and focuses on the sports related suggestion. "That sounds good. Though if we get the teachers involved, it will mean more rules. Safety guidelines and useless crap like that."
"You wouldn't be mad just because someone thought you're hot, wouldja? It's complimentary." Jordan says with a chuckle to Dallas. "Mass and Density inverted increases. Increase Mass, Decrease Density. Increase Density, Decrease Mass." He explains. "And with density, size is part of it. The higher my density, the smaller I become."
Robyn pages, "Roybn is going to be apologizing so much to Dallas later." to you.
"And the lower my density, the larger I become."
You page-pose, "Dallas laughs. Dallas is about to flip a little. :p" to Robyn.
"He feels like a pillow when he gets really large." Robyn says with a chuckle. "Jordan can also fly a bit when he gets less dense. It's kind of a neat power. And really helpful in the Danger Room." Since they are both on Alpha Squadron after all. "So…who else do you think would be good for something like a sports day or reoccurring sports thing?"
Dallas processes that part about Jordan's power first, as it's safer and says, "Useful. And neat." He frowns and says, "And, look, I'm not like some hater or something … but … that whole flirting thing? The guy on guy thing? And all that? It doesn't have to be what defines you as a person, right?" His voice gets a little more intense as he leans forward, giving Jordan a serious look, "It doesn't have to be /all/ you think about or talk about. And really, it's something you can /totally/ ignore if you want to. And get on with really important stuff. Because there are /lots/ more important things, alright? You can totally focus on those." His voice raises a little as he speaks and there is the distinct sense that while he's talking at Jordan he's not necessarily talking /to/ Jordan. Robyn's words drag him back from the edge of a rant and he blinks, blushing again in embarrassment. Dallas takes a deep breath and says, "Ah…." His brain locks up for a moment and then heads down the new track. Or the old track as the case may be, "The best games are ones where you get to know the other player's moves and style. Gives it more depth." He's looking at Robyn as he speaks, trying to ignore his little outburst of a second before.
Jordan laughs a little. "No, it doesn't define who you are, but you can't ignore it. Once you know, inside, deep down, you can't hide the truth from yourself, otherwise, you're lying. And lies… Lies are horrible. You tell one, and more will have to compound it. Over and over. Me, I like guys and I like girls. So, I accept that." He says with a nod. "Whether you let it define you or not is one thing. You don't have to. But, you still have to acknowledge yourself deep down." The rest, Jordan just nods to. "Oh yeah, and I can literally be a human bullet when I'm smaller."
"It's just all about just being who you are and not letting other people define you, right Jordan?" Robyn says with a shrug as he reaches a hand to take one of Jordan's in his. "He's some of the brawn of our team, well now that we have Mikhail, they can be the brawn together." Even though he doesn't want to be a superhero, he does actually enjoy Danger Room sessions and learning how to better use his power. "Jordan's the physical and I'm the brains of the two of us." He says chuckling as he means it more in a powers aspect.
Dallas's voice is dangerously quiet as he replies to Jordan, rather starkly, "We weren't talking about me." He looks back to Robyn and nods, "It's a good roster. You guys are going to be hard to beat." He sighs and rubs the back of his neck, tense and out of sorts, all the of the sudden. "And hey, the psychic stuff is useful. For psyching out the other guys on top of the other stuff."
"You seemed to be. Because you're telling us things we already know." Jordan admits. He's a little more observant than most people give him credit for. "And we don't really have inter-squad activities yet, other than things we do outside on our own just to goof around." He says with a shrug. He's obviously not too worried. "Why are you getting so upset?" He asks, tilting his head.
"I know, actually a lot of people seem to have weak psyche's, not that it's a bad thing, most people don't seem to build up their mind. Like, it's not that hard to posses most people, except Addison is like hitting a brick wall." Robyn says as it's come in useful a few times. He then looks between Jordan and Dallas trying to figure out what exactly is going on. "What do you mean? How about we just drop it okay?"
Dallas takes another deep breath and this time he's aware of his shadow coming as it flows up his legs and to about mid-chest level before he consciously fights it down, resisting the urge to pick up the table and swat somebody, probably Jordan, with it. He looks down at his tray, not answering Jordan and doesn't say anything while Robyn speaks. He blows out a long, low exhalation of air, not unlike a person about to lift a weight they don't know if they can handle and then he nods. "Yea. In fact, I think I need to go hit the weight room. Blow off some energy." Dallas gives them both a tight smile and stands, ready to head out, even though his tray is still laden with mostly untouched food. "See you guys later."
"Dude. If you wanna work out sometime. Or you just need someone… ya know… REAL to talk to." Jordan offers a quick nod towards Dallas. He looks to Robyn and shrugs lightly. "Drop what? If someone doesn't want to talk about something, they'll say so. Otherwise, they're inviting people to talk about it." At least, that's how he looks at it.
Robyn looks at Dallas and nods. "I'll catch ya later, hopefully we're still on for hanging out in the city this weekend." Robyn says watches Dallas go before he looks to Jordan and smiles. "Babe, sometimes people get uncomfortable and even if they don't say not to talk about it, they don't want to. Yeah I think Dallas is cute but I think it's cause he kinda reminds me of you." He's not mad at Jordan, it's actually very hard to piss of Robyn though Dallas has seen that accomplished. "And are you saying I'm not real?" He teases with a smile.
