Players:
Summary: The shade of a tree in the quad attracts all types. Too much sun can be bad for your skin.
Date: May 6, 2013
Log Title: The Pale Kids
Rating: R
Xavier Mansion - Quad
There is a square side walk of pavement with a nice grassy area in the middle with a few stone benches and trees along the corners. The pavement leads to the paths to the grounds of the school, the Dining Hall in Xavier's and the Ramsey Dormitories. It's not particularly large but it's a nice place for students and teachers to relax and enjoy the outdoors.
It's a sunny and warm spring day with a few clouds in the sky and the occasional breeze, it's the type of weather that wearing a t-shirt is sometimes too cold and wearing a jacket is too hot. Nicholas has opted with just a t-shirt and jeans and now that classes are over for the day he's decided to spent time outside in the quad. There's a few other students goofing around and relaxing in grass but Nick isn't really conversing with any of them. He's off on his own, laptop in his lap, using time that could be spent doing homework to do pretty much nothing on the internet.
Head down, hands in his pockets, and a navy blue hoody over his head. Mason hasn't spoken five words to anybody in the school for months. He sits in the back of class, he keeps his sunglasses on whether he's inside or outside, day or night. He's been in hiding, even if he has been present. He doesn't seem interested in warm spring days, he doesn't seem to be interested in much of anything these days. When people have seen glimpses of him, he looks dirty and dissheveled. The smell of soil hangs heavy around him. He certainly doesn't seem like the pop star lately. He appears more like a hermit that hasn't spoken to another human in years. He makes his way across the quad, heading for the dorms after his final class has ended, his steps carry him deliberately, and with an extended stride, while trying not to appear rushed.
Something like a blonde blur exits the main house heading toward the dormitory, the daywalker vampire (sort of) is out of class as well. "Hey Mason!" she chirps as she passes him with a touch on his shoulder, heading for the shade of a tree and coincidentally a beeline toward Nick. "Phew." Only a few seconds in sunlight, not even enough to make her smell like a barbeque. Dropping her bag next to him, she squats to give him a touch on the back. "What's up, Nick?"
Feeling that with the sun out that he should leave his room for a while and get some vit D Lock climbs onto his windowsill and drops out backwards, a few feet above the ground he flips and flies across the quad. Spotting Nick and Jill heheads their way, "Hey", he flips back onto his feet.
The dorm's doors swing open, disgorging an orange-haired Shane who seems to be going jogging, if the water bottle at her side says anything. As a balance between too hot for jackets and too cold for shirtsleeves, she wears a black, sleeveless hooded shirt over a blank red t-shirt, the winding vine tattoo and its dead-bomb fruits on her right arm almost completely exposed. At the sight of a disheveled, hobo-esque Mason adopting a stride she knows far too well, she blinks, then simply leans against the door she'd just come out of, arms crossed, armored boot tapping heavily against the concrete.
Nicholas jumps at the touch on his back and looks over to see Jill then breaks out in a grin. He pulls her into a hug, making sure to stay in the shade. "Hey Jill, not to much, just looking up horse equipment. Wondering if I should splurge on a new saddle." He says pointing at an image on the screen of a rather expensive but beautiful crafted and detailed English saddle. "I don't need it to be honest I just need to keep my mind focused on something." He admits before looking up at the flipping and flying Warlock. "Hey there 'Lock, how's it going." Shane gets a wave from Nick as he notices her bright orange hair but as for Mason, Nick just doesn't recognize the pop star turned hobo at the moment.
At Jill's touch and greeting, Mason shrinks back as if her fingers were made of poison. Beyond that, he doesn't offer any greeting in return, nor any objection to hers. He pauses for a moment, head still down, looking over his shoulder as the once blue teenager goes to meet Nick. For a moment he stares awkwardly at the two, as if considering something in his head, and then continues on toward the door of the dorms. Shane's presence, and more specifically the fact that she is leaning against the door causes him to pause again, though he doesn't speak. He stands at the base of the stairs considering how he wants to proceed. He turns and starts walking in another direction, not directly toward Nick and Jill, passing behind Warlock as he goes. Not even a word is spoken to Shane as he continues to walk.
Leaning back from the hug, Jill grins and slips her hands into her back pockets for lack of something better to do with them. "Hey, I understand window shopping." She leans in a bit to peer at the laptop's screen. "Wow. You really *can* buy anything on the internet." Her head lifts at Lock's approach, bringing the smile back. Mason, it seems, has already passed from sight and mind. The hobo disguise must be working.
Warlock hasn't spotted Shane or met Mason before so hence the lack of 'hello', "Good, family are finally out of panic mode, how're you two doing?, been a while since we've spoken really", not wanting to look awkward he drops down to his knees so he's at the same level as the other two.
Shane's eyes narrow as Mason turns away from the stairs without a word, and the heavy *thump* of her boots rings out across the quad as she hops down the stairs in one go, clumping after the older mutant with an unamused look on her face. As she draws closer, she pulls her armored headphones from her head, loosing a just-audible blast of slightly melodic, doleful German singing — Morgenstern, ach sheine, auf dans Antliz mein! Wirf ein warmes Licht, auf mein Ungesicht! — before the music is paused. "…Yeah an' hi t'you too," she grumbles upon finally catching up.
Nicholas's eyes glance up as Shane is marching upto someone. "I'm just glad I'm not the one to piss her off right now." He knows what it's like to be on the receiving side of Shane's anger - not pleasant. "Yeah, you can get almost everything over the internet. Makes it easy since I don't really like going out much. But..yah know maybe I could spoil Orion a bit and get him some toys and treats." Then Warlock asks how he's doing and it takes him a while to respond, like he's actively trying to find stuff on the website he's looking at to talk about. "Having some powers trouble." Nicholas eventually says.
"Hi," he says, still not turning to look at Shane as she follows him. He tries to pick up his pace a little as he passes by Nick, Warlock, and Jill, trying not to make a scene out of the situation. His hands stay stuffed in his pockets and he continues to keep his head down. "I don't need a guilt trip, if that's what's coming."
Jill's bright red eyes squint as Shane's hair stands out like a beacon, and the dissheveled Mason who must be her target. She winces a little in sympathy. Then it seems that Nick is still talking, and her attention moves back to him. "Umm," she begins awkwardly at the mention of 'powers trouble'. "Anything you wanna talk about?" It could be a sensitive subject, after all.
Warlock frowns, "What kind of powers trouble? last I saw you seemed solid enough", he sighs, his friend alwaysseeming to have a never ending trend of bad news, be nice if something nice happened to the guy, "Speaking of… didn't me and Jill agree to ger you flying a while back?"
"…Cos yeah," Shane grouses, "first thing I'm'a say when I ain't seen you f'r fuckin' months, 'n you show up actin' like me 'n my freshman year's gonna be 'Hey you're just kinda a terrible person,' huh? Seriously, Mason, jus' fuckin' stop a sec, aight?"
Nicholas smiles at Jill and Warlock and shakes his head. "Nothing to worry about, just… don't worry about it." He doesn't want his friends worrying about him so he glances up at Shane and Mason, watching them for a bit. "Wait..Mason? I haven't seen him in ages." He narrows his eyes in concern noticing he doesn't look a think like the pop-star he remembers. "Is he okay?" He asks Jill and Warlock, not expecting either of them to really answer.
"I'm not feeling good, okay?" Mason snaps, spinning around. His sunglasses all from his face, revealing him to look like he's beend dragged around in the dirt. Smears of mud are on his face, clumps of dirt seem to protrude from his hair roots. "I'll be fine, I just don't want to talk to anybody, okay? That's all, I don't need a lecture, I don't need a feel good song, I don't need anything! Okay?" He grabs the hood of his hoodie, pulling it down and turning away again, this time very quickly jogging off, thudding heavily enough that it might be felt through the ground for a few paces.
All this attention shifting is wearing on Jill. She looks back up toward Mason. He really seems to be getting, or giving, the business. She frowns sympathetically and looks away. "Didn't you recognize him? I mean, he looks like he's been playing in the mud, but I'd know that face anywhere. Bein' all over the TV, y'know." Still, she gives Nick a little nudge in the butt with her foot, frowning at him too. Apparently she won't 'don't worry about it', but won't push it in front of Lock.
Warlock doesn't push the issue figuring that Nick will talk about his problems when he's ready, "Who's Mason?", he looks in the direction the other two are looking and frowns when he leaves, "Looks like he's been living in the woods or something", then again for all he knows could be a power thing.
Shane takes a step back as Mason turns to lace into her, face blank and impassive throughout the tirade. After the boy turns to stomp away, her shoulders seem to sag a bit. "…Huh," she mutters. "S'that's how it sounds…" Shaking her head, she turns, clumping toward the tree shading Nick and Jill, and flopping onto the earth hard enough to teach it a lesson. "…Welp."
"That's what I sound like when I get in one of my moods, isn't it?" Nicholas says before looking to Jill and shaking his head. "Honestly, I didn't. I kinda feel bad for him…" Just looking at him and seeing the distress it's hard not to. "Mason's a popstar mutant, I know he's always going on about how having powers makes it so he's lost everything." Nick frowns remembering the fight they had over that and the fact that he's sitting here with friends and Mason isn't. "Oh so Sophie and I talked, no hard feelings about that night in the medbay." He looks up at Shane and gives her a smile. "Hey there Shane."
Chewing on her bottom lip with a prominent fang, Jill just nods along with everything Nick says. "I didn't think Soph'd hold a grudge." Since everyone else seems to be getting comfortable, she snags her bookbag and executes a rather graceful kick off the tree trunk and floating gently to a low hanging branch only about eight feet off the ground. She smirks, pleased with herself.
"My dad's taken the being 'outed' thing pretty well, f***loads of hate mail now but he feels better when he gets a message from a fan sticking with him, maybe that Mason guy's fame meant more to him", Lock shakes his head at Jill and chuckles, "Show off".
"Uh," Shane says, peering up at Warlock, "dunno who y'dad is, but pretty sure he ain't made his career onnis face. Yeah Mason's kinda shallow sometimes, but y'know what? Dude tried t'pull me up outta m'funk back when I fuckin' *hated* him f'r how he screwed me over, before. So jus'… back off'm a little, aight?" Shaking her head, she drops her forehead into the dirt for a moment. "…Holy cripes I sound like an idiot."
"Maybe your Dad can talk to Mason at somepoint? Might be good for him." Nicholas says. "Ya know, I actually started listening to some of his stuff, not usually what I listen to but it's pretty cool." He watches Jill fly and grins. "When I get my powers under control again, then you guys can team me to fly." He looks at Shane and shrugs. "We all sound like idiots probably."
Jill leans down as far as she can on the tree branch, trying to reach Shane's ears even though they might be full of dirt now. "Liam Corvus is Lock's dad," she informs helpfully. "An' I'm sure you'll figure out how to fly, Nick. You just throw yourself at the ground and miss." She grins broadly at that, for some reason.
Warlock shrugs, "I could ask but that Mason didn't really look in the mood to talk but if he agrees I'll ask, can't hurt", he nods, "Jill's right and then after that it's a lot like riding a bike, you dont forget", he flies up to about the same hight as Jill, "Or try happy thoughts?"
"Jill you are a total *nerd,*" Shanesays, muffled by the direction her face is pointing. FInally, she raises her head, scrubbing the dirt away. "…Just pisses me off, after everything he did t'try'n get me *out,* turns 'round an' dives right in." Resting her chin on her hands, she casts a jaundiced look toward the airborne pair, then to Nick. "…THey gotta point, though… 'F y'c'n get around th'whole 'bein' way too damn high' part… flyin's pretty cool.
"You're all acting like I don't want to do it or that I'm afraid to, I never said either." Nicholas says defensively. "I just have some powers stuff I gotta figure out first before I take that leap, get the basics back. Remember all the stuff Mrs. Zimmer taught me years ago." He frowns and starts looking through horse toys on the internet to distract himself. "As for Mason, don't really know him well enough to judge."
The blonde vampire sticks her tongue out at Shane but doesn't deny the accusation. "C'mon. Join usssss," Jill hisses at Nick seductively. Or what she thinks passes for seductively. Again, the mention of 'powers stuff'. Jill makes a mental checkmark. Nick won't get away dismissing it, but he gets a pass because of company. "I guess he's probably going through a lot of the same stuff as your dad, Lock. I mean, I've never been famous or nothin', so I can't really say." She worries at her lower lip with a fang. "Not to, like, talk about him behind his back or anything," she adds.
"Hey if you wanna be sure before you fly we're not going to push you to it, but we'll be here when you've dealt with thatever power issues you have", Lock shrugs again, "I've never met the guy before so no guesses from me what he's going though but dude doesn't look happy".
Shane simply grunts, the only real coherent response to the talk of Mason she seems willing to give. "Makes sense, Nick," she says, turning to stretch out on her back. "Man… Heard stories 'a how brutal that Logan guy was… dude's a bigger hardass'n my PT nurse ever was."
"I keep hearing stories but I haven't had the…misfortune of running into him yet." Nicholas says as a lot of the students seem to be complaining about him. "Though cause I said that he'll probably be running my next Danger Room session on Wednesday." He finally closes his laptop and leans back. "Can you believe it's almost summer?"
Jill, who has never met a teacher she didn't like, or rather, a teacher who didn't like *her*, purses her lips at this mysterious hardass Phys Ed teacher. She glances down at Nick. "Wait, Wednesday *afternoon*?" Crud, sounds like she'll be running into him much sooner than expected. Somewhat deflated, she settles down on the tree branch and lets an arm dangle down. "No," she breathes out. "I can't. I don't know if I wanna go home or not."
"I ain't," Shane says, peering up through the tree's branches at the sky beyond. "Gonna see 'bout workin' up t'bein' an X-man. Cos seriously, shit's just way outta control, 'n ain't gonna feel right 'less I'm tryin' t'stomp it back down."
"Well we have Danger Room together on Wednesdays, don't we Jill? I dunno if he will be our teacher, just saying I probably cursed myself saying I hadn't met him yet." Nicholas says folding his arms behind his head to look at the sky. "Well this is my home so I guess it's good that I don't have to worry about going home or not." He looks over at Shane. "That's awesome that you wanna be an X-Men. I've thought about it but I'm really not good enough to be a superhero."
Jill pulls at a stray wavy blonde hair, letting it flutter away from her fingers. The breeze catches it, where a few dozen yards and a few minutes later, it smokes and crumbles to ash. "Y'could always come visit my house," the vampire girl offers lightly, as if she didn't just invite her boyfriend clear across the country to essentially meet her mother. "M'not sure if I'm cut out to be an X-Man either. I don't like fighting very much…"
Shane snorts, rolling her eyes. "Ain't bein' a *superhero,* jesus," she scoffs. "'S like, Mutant National Guard really. Jus' trainin' an' trainin' an' trainin' an' whatever, bein' ready jus' in case shit goes down big time. An' since it's practically a fuckin' *guarantee* shit's gonna go down, means sooner 'r later y'gonna be ready f'r it." The orange-haired girl glances from Nick to Jill, and seems to decide not to comment on Nick's summer plans.
Nicholas laughs and shakes his head. "Shane you just said you want to be an X-Men, X-Men are not national guard, they're freaking superheroes. They're not the Avengers but they're still out there saving the world and stuff. Granted they're not as well known but they're still superheroes, so stop selling yourself short." Nicholas says shaking his head in amusement. "Maybe Jill, it might be good to just go somewhere and feel normal for a bit. It might be nice."
Jill makes a soft 'hmm' noise then nods her head. "Yeah, I'm going with superhero on this one too. Even the National Guard gets paid, and superheroes do a lot of pro bono work, y'know? Y'don't get into it for the money." Not to mention the tights.
Shane snorts again, but doesn't seem to care enough to press the point further. "…Well anyway, 's more f'r me than anything else… Tired 'o bein' scared, so I start learnin' how t'kick ass… only now I ain't scared so much, but 'm pretty pissed, 'n 'f I don't do somethin' 'bout it, prolly I'll end up doin' somethin' *way* stupid."
Nicholas continues staring at the sky, letting Shane's words sink in. "I don't know what to do to not be scared…it's getting worse. I keep losing control of my powers, things around me just started to shake and move then next thing I know I'm having a panic attack. I don't even know what's triggering them anymore…it's getting worse. I just have to learn to get my telekinesis under control again, keep my mind busy. I'm just not cut out to be a Superhero….I'd be a danger to everyone since I can't seem to control it right."
Noiselessly, like a falling leaf, Jill slides off the tree branch and settles down next to Nick. "Hey," she breathes softly, just loud enough not to carry. It's equal parts greeting, reassurance, and admonishment. Then she squeezes him in a one-armed hug. "Y'know, I was serious about teaching you to do yoga. The offer's still open." She cranes her neck. "Ditto for you, Shane."
"Yoga," Shane murmurs, then chuckles hollowly. "Dunno. Prolly wouldn't work allat great f'r me. Hip gets pissed 'f I stretch m'legs too far, 'n th' worst thing 'bout dislocation is, gets easier t'do after every time it happens." Closing her eyes for a moment, she looks to Nick, searching his upturned face, but remaining silent for the moment.
Nicholas is pulled into the one armed hug and smiles. "Yoga…that's not really a bad idea. Mrs. Zimmer taught me meditation when we first realized it was me making everything move around." Nicholas says thinking it might not be such a bad idea. When Shane looks at Nick's face she'd realize he has that same tired, pained look in his eyes he usually has but is trying to cover it up by smiling. "But in return Jill, I'll have to take you horse back riding."
"See? C'moooon. It'd be good for you," Jill sing-songs at Shane, now that she's apparently got Nicholas on board. She gives his shoulder a little squeeze, but frowns slightly. "Y'mean on Orion or…?" For as long as they've known each other, Jill's never ridden Nick's horse. It almost feels taboo.
"Meditation can help you connect with an energy bigger than you, could help you focus your powers back under control and could help you fly too if inner focus is what it takes", Lock drops down onto his feet, "People claim to have achieved amazing things though meditiation".
"Mebbe," Shane says, eyebrows drawing together for a moment, "but I ain't got stretchy bones, so thinkin' 'bout me ending up all Dhalsim-y ain't allat cheerin', like." A pleasant mental image indeed, the idea of Shane's leg stretching out father than it ever should. "F'me, just mostly needin' t'figure shit out. Bein' able t'do somethin' helped with bein' scared, cos now I know 'f I need to, I c'n go 'bitch siddown' an' mean it."
Nicholas shakes his head. "No, not because I don't trust you but because I don't trust Orion. He's not good with other people riding him. He's fine with attention or food and such but when riding…he wouldn't even let my parents ride him. Just Bodie or myself. Bodie had this gift with horses…" Nicholas closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He listens to what Shane says and just nods at her words. "Warlock…just drop it with the flying already…I'm not ready to try that yet."
Jill lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She could have held it for a long time, too. She's actually a little relieved, because Orion still scares her and she's accepted that. It's irrational, but she's accepted *that* too. "Oh," she says, trying to sound disappointed. "That's okay, Nick. I understand."
"Thats not what I meant, I was just trying to say it's a good idea", Lock shrugs, "And you could do simple stuff Shane, not everything is like super stretchy and all but then again if you think it's not for you then you shouldn't, find something that you know will help".
"….Kinda what I was plannin'," Shane says, a note of amusement creeping into her voice. "Mostly jus' blastin' fuck-you music an' workin' inna gym, but gets me good'n tired at least. Anyway, ain't me'm worried 'bout."
"I think my problem is the stuff I like to do leaves me along to my thoughts and when I start thinking that's when things get bad." Nicholas says. "And maybe doing something to help relax my mind with my girlfriend might help keep my mind off of things and stop me from having these panic attacks." He looks over at Shane and grins. "Maybe that's my problem, I listen to country music not F' you music.
"Sorry, I can't think of anything less relaxing than country music OR… umm, angry music." Jill shrugs lightly, shaking her head from side to side. "I don't think you can do yoga to Cannibal Corpse. Though I never tried…"
"Ain't after relaxin'," Shane says with a snort. "'S 'bout pumpin' y'self up, gettin' pissed off enough t'give y'muscles th'finger 'n keep workin' 'till y'fall over." She falls silent, lifting her shoulders. "'S 'bout th'only thing that worked, in PT. Jus' gettin' too mad t'think 'bout how much it hurt." Her eyes roll toward Nick, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Ain't no way y'gonna get that offa 'Th' Ballad O' How My Truck Hit a Deer an' Died.'"
"Cannibal Corpse? There's actually a band named Cannibal Corpse…that's kind of morbid." Nicholas and his music tastes are a pretty small box. "Problem is if I start getting mad I start getting upset remembering about the stuff that makes me mad that it tends to lead into the problems I'm having. And in defense of country music, Keith Urban's Days Go By isn't that depressing. I'm not going to sing it cause I value your frienships to much." Nick's not a horrible singer he just can't really sing on key.
Jill fidgets, twisting her fingers into knots. "Yeah. I… I dunno if getting my mad on is really the right thing for me either. But, y'know, whatever worked for you, I guess. I don't even really work out anymore, anyway. It's too… easy."
Shane says, "Cannibal Corpse, GWAR, Disturbd, Killswitch Engage, 'n that's jus' th' screamy hate metal shit," Shane notes. "Punk's got Bad Religion, th' Misfits, Pennywise, Offspring, Aquabats, Me First an' the Gimme Gimmes f'r jus' fun punk covers… Then there's th' epic powermetal stuff; Dragonforce, Rhapsody of Fire, Twilight Guardians did a fuckin' hilarious Madonna cover… Unless'm lookin' f'r funny shit for AMVs, most'a what I listen to's high-energy stuff. Kinda gotta, 'r like y'said Nick; start thinkin' too much, an' then it all jus' goes away.""
"Distrubed, I think I've heard of them, that Sickness song, right?" Nicholas says completely lost with all the bands Shane's naming. "And Madonna, I've heard of her." But that's probably obvious and he was trying to make a joke. "What's an AMV, is that another band?" He takes a breath and looks up at the clouds. "I haven't worked out in a while either, I just don't have the energy to work out. That cloud looks like a seahorse." He says randomly and points at the sky.
Jill nods almost imperceptibly to each band she recognizes from Shane's list. She draws a knee up under her chin and rests her head there. "I just don't see the point anymore. I usedta be proud I could bench press a hundred and fifteen pounds. Now I gotta use the 'special equipment'," she says with both airquotes and undisguised distaste. "An' the numbers just don't seem to matter as much." Blinking, she follows Nick's skyward-pointing finger.
"NUmbers ain't s'posed t'matter," Shane grunts. "Limits is all. Find'm, shove'm out th'way 'f y'can. Still can't bench more'n sixty, ain't stoppin' me." Her eyes, likewise, follow the conversation up to the clouds. "…Hafta throw AMV Hell 5 onna TV sometime, Nick. 'S easier t'show you, 'n explain it. But that cloud over there? Looks like a Goomba."
Nicholas can't help but laugh. "Jill knows what she used to be able to bench press, I'm the guy and I don't have a clue what I can press. I was always more concerned with times in Barrel racing and in the horse competitions. And yes I'm a guy and yes I used to barrel race." Nicholas says almost defensively and looks back up at the sky to search for the goomba. "Yeah, you're right about the Goomba, but of course you'd see video game characters Shane."
"Hey, it was important to me," Jill says, equally defensively. "Remember I didn't actually *have* muscles, so every time I showed some improvement, it meant a lot. Now it's just, like, 'Wow, 2 tons and I'm not breakin' a sweat'." The vampire girl stretches out her other leg straight and stares up at the sky, squinting her eyes. It's not quite direct sunlight but enough to trigger the 'eyes about to water' feeling. "Doesn't look like a seahorse anymore. Now it's a treble clef."
"…What's barrel racin'?" Shane says after a moment, brows drawing in.
"It's a rodeo event I used to compete in. I hated all the roping stuff and it just never interested me but I liked barrel racing cause it was just that, racing. You have to race around four barrels in an alternating clover pattern." Nicholas pauses trying to think of how best to explain it. "Ride on the outside of the barrel…like a Celtic knot? Maybe when you show me an AMV thingie I'll find a youtube video of barrel racing." He reaches over and grabs Jill's hand, squeezing it. "I'm not putting down that you liked to know Jill. I think it's kind of adorable." He looks back at the sky and squints his eyes. "Treble Clef?"
"Like skiers haveta go around the flags, instead there's these barrels that you have to ride the horse around. You're not supposed to hit 'em or knock 'em over and then get back to where you started as fast as you can." Jill's book 'Horses for Dummies' pays off yet again! Glancing at the cloud again briefly the index finger of her free hand traces a loopy symbol in midair. "Y'know, the curly musical symbol that tells you what pitch you're supposed to play in?"
"Hhhhhuh," Shane says after a moment, tilting her head. "Sounds kinda cool, actually." Blowing out a breath, she levers herself up. "…Slackin' on m'joggin'," she grumbles, crawling to her feet. "Gotta be in form, 'f I wanna be able t'yank Mason's head out his ass. Fuckin' endurance trial, right there…" Raking a hand through her hair, she tips her head to the couple. "Later."
"Take care Shane and good luck with Mason." Nicholas can't help but be a bit worried about him. He looks back over at Jill once Shane leaves and smiles. "I'm sorry, I hate feeling like I worry you all the time. I wish I could be a better and less messed up for you. I know you have your own problems and I want to be here for you."
"Good luck," Jill wishes shane in her endeaver for Mason's rectal-craniotomy, waving a hand encouragingly. She settles back and exhales slowly. The quad has cleared significantly since classes let out, leaving the pair more or less alone. "I worry because I care, doofus," she chides Nick with a gentle fist-tap to the shoulder. "I just want you to do okay. I'm sure you'll return the favor when I'm feelin' down." Jill draws both knees up to her chest and loops her arms around them. Inhaling and opening her mouth to speak, nothing happens. Slowly she closes her mouth and lapses into silence.
Nicholas turns from lying on his back to lying on his side so he can look at Jill. "You do make me happy, just to let you know. I don't think my whole life is crap and I don't think I don't have nothing. I've got you and I've got some great friends here and all of you put up with my crap and I'm really grateful for that. I don't think I'd be able to get on day to day without you guys. And I want you to be comfortable around me Jill. If you want to say something, I want you to say it and not second guess yourself."
Jill's cheeks flush faintly pink at Nick's positive words. Not just about her, naturally, but the whole of it just makes her feel good. "Th-thanks, Nick. That means a lot. I mean, not just to me, but like… everybody." She pauses again, burying the lower half of her face into the denim of her bluejeans' knees. "It's kind of embarrassing," she says finally, eyes flicking around the quad for anyone within earshot. Or frankly anyone at all. "And maybe inappropriate, but…" She licks her lips. "It's just, like… I dunno how many times I've seen you all bloody, or just smelled it on you and… I've never…" Still struggling a little, she's leading in a clear direction even if she can't come out and say it. "Y'know…" she strains for Nick to finish the thought for her.
Nicholas smiles at her and knows exactly what she's saying. "I'm glad, that you haven't..well…you know." He doesn't know how to say 'eaten me' or 'drank my blood' in a subtle way. "I'm glad you haven't, so thank you." He says taking her hand in his and giving it a kiss. "Yeah, I tend to get hurt a lot, don't I?" He tries to make a joke of it knowing it's not a good one. "I know what I have Jill, and I'm grateful for it. It's just hard getting over what I've lost."
Jill squeezes Nick's hand in hers. "Well, I mean, like, I still wouldn't mind just a taste." She holds her thumb and forefinger a hair's breadth apart. "Just a little one." Her own little joke. Or is it? Without letting go of her boyfriend's hand, the vampire girl rises slowly to her feet and starts to drag him along with her. "I'd be worried if you *could* just get over it, y'know? Or like pretend it didn't happen, or it doesn't hurt. If that were the case, I don't think I'd trust you nearly as much."
"You know if you ever needed it, I would. I'd trust you not to go to far." Nicholas says and he doesn't say it but he hopes she'd trust him not to let him get to far. "Do you….like being a Vampire or do you miss being your old self? I'm fine with you either way cause it's you that I like and if you're blue or if you're a vampire or if you weren't even a mutant, that doesn't matter to me. I just…I'm curious is all."
"That's just it. I've never *needed* to- err, bite anybody. Not a person, anyway." Jill lets that one hang in the air unintentionally as she gives up trying to haul Nick up and instead joins him back on the ground. True, she's strong enough to just pick him up, but that's not exactly playing nice. "That's kind of a tough question, y'know? I actually do like being a vampire. It's… awesome. It's hard to explain, but it's like everything's a shade brighter, everything tastes a little better. It's a thrill, actually." Her enthusiasm is briefly tempered. "But, sometimes I still dream about bein' blue. And I miss it. Y'can never get more relaxed than a puddle."
Nicholas does his best to try to squeeze his arm underneath Jill in an attempt to cuddle with her. "I don't know, I'm actually pretty relaxed right now. I love being outside and just lying here with you, it's nice." Nicholas says and smiles a relaxed smile that seems more natural than most of his forced ones. "I think I can understand, in some way. I guess there's a certain fantasy in it? I mean…like…I don't know how to explain it."
Settled down to get comfortable, the blonde girl carefully lifts Nick's hand to her lips, separating his index finger and giving the pad of his finger a little kiss. "Shhh." Gently and slowly, letting him pull his hand back at any moment, Jill puts Nick's fingertip in her mouth. There's only a slight pressure from something sharp as a nail in the soft part of his fingertip, supernaturally sharp. The only indication the skin has been broken is Jill's eyelids fluttering closed and a look of total contentment crossing her face.
There's a momentary hiss as the skin is broken but quickly the pain is gone, much like getting your finger pricked at the doctor. It sends a sort of shiver down his back in a mix of awkward fear and anticipation. He suddenly takes a deep breath not realizing he had been holding it. He's not sure what to say but eventually he smiles, something about the display of trust between the two. "You're wonderful."
"Mmmm," Jill agrees, unwilling to open her mouth even the slightest bit. There's a brief increase in the pressure, and hence the pain, but eventually the vampire relents. Her eyes open slowly, luminous like faceted rubies, as she slips Nick's finger from her mouth. "Thorry," she whispers softly around much more pronounced fangs than she had just a minute ago, wiping at her mouth with the back of a hand.
Nicholas looks at his finger and smiles. "It's..uh…it was…should it have felt nice?" It could have been the fact that his finger was in her mouth and teenage boy hormones were a little excited and embarrassed by that. "Don't be sorry, I hope I didn't taste horrible or anything…that sounds so wrong." He seems flustered.
Jill shakes her head about it feeling nice. "Not for you, anyway." She draws in a long breath and exhales, sinking against Nick and getting comfortable. Her eyes are closed. "I jutht didn't think I could thuck you dry through your finger. I thtill didn't mean to bite tho hard." The blonde girl makes another contented noise before adding in a completely sweet voice, "An' if you tell anyone my fangth make me lithp, I *will* thuck you dry."
"I think your lisp is adorable." Nicholas says laughing. It's the first time in a while he's just felt relaxed and, dare he think it? happy. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone, not even Shane." He looks at his finger and figures he'll need a band-aid for it later. "It hurt a little but over all, it wasn't really that bad. I mean it was just my finger."
"You tathte good," she says, a little sleepily. Hope Nick hadn't planned on moving for a little while. Jill's lying on one of his arms with her back against his chest. Pretty much pinned. But the shade of the tree is only safe from the slanting rays of the sun for another hour or so. Gently the rise and fall of her chest slows, and perhaps a little disturbingly, stops, but Jill's sound asleep in the safest place she could have imagined. For a little while.
Nicholas watches Jill fall asleep and kisses her on her shoulder gently before turning to look back at the sky. Not to long after Jill dozes off, Nicholas follows suit. Maybe it's from the slight blood loss, or that he rarely sleeps more than four hours a night, or it's just that he's so comfortable and relaxed right now but it's probably a mix of all three.
