om_main | Jean-Paul and Victor: Tuesday Afternoon 05/03/2012

Jean-Paul comes across Victor in the kitchen and does his best to cheer up the boy.

Taking a break from failing to do his homework, Victor was heading down to the kitchen to make himself a drink. To say he was distracted was an understatement. He'd pretty much stumbled through his lessons for the last week, remembering nothing of the content at all, with absolutely no drive or interest. He knew wallowing wasn't the answer but, really, what was the point in learning stuff? It wasn't like he wasn't ever going to be able to go out in the world and use it. He was a lizard not a person and lizards don't have jobs. Or friends. Or relationships.

Letting himself into the kitchen, he made a beeline for the fridge.

Somewhere back toward the front of the house, a door banged open, followed by the sound of running footfalls. Jean-Paul Beaubier, decked out for skiing, bolted into the kitchen a few moments later...the hockey-stopped abruptly enough that his boots literally squealed on the tile. He straightened up a moment later, pushed his goggles up onto his forehead, and greeted Victor with a single question:

"What happened?"

Victor stared for a long moment, partially because of Jean-Paul's sudden appearance (he really should be used to that, he lived with a speedster!) and with the abrupt nature of the question.

"What happened with what?" He finally asked, voice flat as it had been all week.

"What happened to give you a face like someone just ran over your cat. In front of you." Incredible as it might seem, Jean-Paul had somehow managed to find the time to step up his already-insane training routine. The new ski armor that Simon had given him was fantastic -- flexible and lighter-weight than it looked -- but still heavier than his usual gear and he needed time to get used to it. "Really, Victor, if you're going to pretend everything is fine, you need to work on being a better liar. I can give you pointers if you like."

"I haven't lied, you asked a non-specific question." Victor pointed out as he pulled a cartoon of juice out of the fridge. "I've just had a seriously bad week. The worst actually and I...I'm just struggling right now." He couldn't recall ever hearing Jean-Paul's opinion on his attempt at dating a human so was nervous to say anything too specific in case he got a response similar to Pietro's.

Jean-Paul waved off the protest. "Either it was an attempt at evasion, or a simple 'everything' would have sufficed." He pulled off his goggled and considered the younger boy. He hadn't spent much time with Victor lately -- or anyone besides Simon and Jeanne-Marie, to be honest -- but he had heard about his likely pre-doomed attempts at romance. "Do you want to talk about it?

"You look pretty busy and I don't want to cut into your training. I know how important it is." And as much as it was tempting to talk to someone, wasn't it a bit self indulgent to go on and on about it? He had barely any friends left it seemed, he didn't want to chase the remaining ones away with self centred whining.

Jean-Paul shrugged. "If you do not want to talk about it, I'm not going to reach down your throat and try to pull the story out of you. But I am a speedster. I can make time. Consider it interest on the birthday outing I still owe you."

For a moment Victor weighed up the pro and cons, eventually deciding the only way to know would be to tell him. If he reacted as horribly as Pietro had he could always walk away after all.

"I broke up with the guy I've been seeing." He told the carton of juice before bracing himself for the potential backlash.
Jean-Paul grimaced. "That sucks. Was it a mutual thing?"

"No it was a 'I have to do it now before this really really goes bad and/or I get dumped for being a monster' thing. And now the guy I was falling for hates my guts and I miss him so bad even if it was for the best." His voice was wavering though not too badly at least as he blurted it all out. Slowly he looked up at Jean-Paul "Does every break up hurt this bad?" Though he didn't know why he was asking that, it wasn't like anyone would knowingly date a lizard anyway. This would probably be his only break up, and only relationship attempt.

"Might have been for the best." But the correction was gentle...surprisingly gentle for Jean-Paul, really. "I can understand why you did it, though, and I'm sorry you felt you had to." Poor kid just couldn't get a break, it seemed. "I wish I could be more help, but you officially have more experience than I do with boyfriends now."

That final statement was enough to throw Victor completely and distract him from losing it any further, for the moment at least. "What? Seriously?" He asked incredulously. "But how come? You're...you!"

"And I am generally very busy, even in my off-season. " Jean-Paul smirked. "Would it be less shocking if I said I was very picky about my taste in men?"

"It makes it a little more believable, yeah." Victor nodded before returning the juice carton to the fridge. "Turns out I didn't have as many friends as I thought either. I guess you need everything to fall apart to know who really has your back." He added whilst still turned away from the older boy.

The dejected set of Victor's shoulders was more than enough to chase the smile off of Jean-Paul's face. "What do you mean? Is someone being a jackass about this?" It wouldn't surprise him; he knew there were more than a couple of genetic elitists around just from the journals.

Keeping himself busy with searching the cupboard for food, Victor explained as calmly as he could. "According to Pietro I'm some kind of traitor who's put everyone in danger, Felix was being jackass even before the break up and Damon's just plain evil. Even when we were happy he was threatening to get rid of Tommy."

Jean-Paul frowned, headed over to Victor's side of the kitchen and gave the smaller boy a quick, one-armed hug around the shoulders.

"Lessons for the day: one, Damon is a jackass and no one should care what he thinks ever. Two, I'm told that you're roommate has positive qualities, but one of his negatives is that he is an oblivious, short-sighted twit who has a hard time getting outside of his skull. And Felix is probably as scared as everyone else here and worse at hiding it. You're not a traitor for wanting what everyone else seems to have."

The hug had been a surprise, mostly because as kind as Jean-Paul had been to him, he'd never seemed to Victor like an overly affectionate person or anything. With a sigh, he turned to look up to the older boy. He'd had growth spurts since coming to the school but he still had to look up to nearly everyone.

"It just feels like I'm losing everything. Like I'm being punished for trying to be a normal kid when I'm not one anymore." And he was so sick of feeling like he was the universe's favourite toy to mess with.

"It's..." Jean-Paul hesitated, trying to figure out the best explanation that didn't just involve trashing certain of Victor's usual friends (as tempting as that was, it wouldn't do Victor any good). "I'm not going to say that the lack of support when you've had to cut your own heart out isn't a shit-selfish move, because it is. But...most people here saw Tommy as a threat to their own safety. Just one way to get us all found out quicker. And you just wanted, more than anything, to at least hear the possibility that it wasn't so. But you gave it up anyway, and now all you're getting is 'good riddance' on all sides. Is that about right?"

"That's what it feels like. Yeah." Victor nodded and, ok, some people hadn't but that wasn't enough to erased the obvious relief on Pietro's face when he heard the news. He'd covered it at the time but it had hurt so much. And he knew it wasn't just Pietro which made it even worse.

"So you're having to deal with your first broken heart all by yourself." That...absolutely sucked. No wonder the kid looked like a week of rainclouds and felt like he was being punished or cursed or something. "Look, I'm not going to lie...unless you plan to try and please everyone else by dating only within the mutant population...pardon in the out mutant population, it probably isn't going to get easier. But there are good guys out there. Ones that won't freak over a few shed scales. You'll just have to decide how you're going to refine your approach for next time."

"Next time." Victor echoed almost incredulously "I don't think there's gonna be a next time. In case you hadn't noticed there's not a lot of kids my age here let alone queer and datable. And I'm not going out there with that thing on again. Because that's the face people like, not this one. I'm just a cold blooded reptile. Simon said so. So who would wanna date that? Knowingly?"

"If I had not fallen hard for Simon, I would have staked an early claim." Said in the usual Jean-Paul way of stating the obvious.

Victor snorted and rolled his eyes at the obvious and ridiculous attempt try to cheer him up. He didn't want or need lies like that, thank you very much. "Yeah, right." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm before adding more thoughtfully "Simon, huh? That makes sense."

Jean-Paul biffed him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't make me start singing your praises, Borkowski. I'll do it."

"I don't want your pity Jean-Paul." The younger boy insisted.

"I'm not offering any." Jean-Paul leaned against the counter. "Just putting forth a relevant fact."

Seeing that arguing was pointless and completely unable to accept that Jean-Paul was being straight with him (so to speak), Victor decided to focus on the other piece of information he'd received. "Are you and Simon dating then? You don't have to tell me." But he couldn't help being a little curious.

"We're not...dating, exactly. We are together. Just not public. His parents would freak." Jean-Paul shrugged. "We're figuring it out. Don't tell him that I said anything, though."

"I promise." Vic told him solemnly, it wasn't like he was going to screw over one of the few friends he did have after all. "I'm glad you have someone."

"Some days, I'm sure I do. Others..." Jean-Paul snorted a laugh. "At least I can tell myself it would be this way no matter what."

"How do you mean?" Remembering his juice, he picked it up and sipped it as he looked up at the other boy. Why couldn't he look more like Jean-Paul? He couldn't help wondering it, Jean-Paul's mutation had changed his appearance too but only his ears and they were really cool. He'd been lucky.

"Simon's skittish about having a boyfriend, but he would be with or without the mutant issue. I'm not exactly happy about it, but at least it kind of halves the potential reasons he might bail on me."

Victor nodded in understanding, that was something he could totally appreciate. He hadn't gotten the courage to tell his parents yet either. "Well, I hope he doesn't. You both need someone who'll stop you working too hard."

"Well..." Jean-Paul had to laugh at that. "I do not know how good we are for that. We tend to take each other's worries on. But I do enjoy having him around."

"Good." And he was happy for Jean-Paul, he'd just find it easier to feel happy for him if he hasn't had the week from hell. "At least one, well two I guess, of the queer kids are getting it right..."

A moment later, Victor was across Jean-Paul's shoulders, the seeming effortlessness of the kidnapping belied by a grunt of effort from the other boy. In the end, though, they were hovering over the floor and Victor was being smirked at by an entirely too-smug speedster. "I see this is going to require drastic measures. How good do you think my control is?"

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?" Demanded a very startled Victor.

"I think you need some air between your ears for a bit. You, my friend, are a little too focused." Jean-Paul shifted his grip, rolling Victor off his shoulders and into his arms. "Hang on!" And they were off, heading for daylight.

Victor let out another squawk of surprise and general bewilderment at the situation he'd found himself in, holding onto the Canadian tightly and wondering when exactly Jean-Paul had gone completely mad.

If Jean-Paul hadn't been in such a hurry to get back into the house, they might have been screwed, but the front door was still standing open. They shot out into the cold winter air, Victor tight against Jean-Paul, who was bleeding heat even through his ski-armor. They skimmed over the snowy ground, then into the air, never rising above the treeline, but with more than enough room for Jean-Paul to hit a barrel-roll.

"You are out of your mind!" Victor informed him though he was laughing, a little out of shock and disbelief at what was happening, but undeniably laughing. He gripped Jean-Paul tightly, mostly out of instinct since he did trust the older boy. Sort of.

"You had better hope not!" Jean-Paul straightened up and shot north, sending them zipping through the hedge-maze. "Now would be a very bad time to have a madman piloting!"

"Wh-where are you taking me?" It was hard to talk with the winter air full in the face, he shifted just a little to press his face into Jean-Paul's neck to shield it to the biting wind. He really didn't understand the reason behind all this except maybe this was the only way Jean-Paul could think of how to distract him. He wasn't as scared as he had been last time, though they weren't as high up as last time he supposed that was because it was still daylight. Wouldn't do to be spotted by a neighbour after all. A flying celebrity and godzilla boy duo would definitely raise a few eyebrows.

They shot out of the maze at breathtaking speeds, but almost imperceptibly slowed as Jean-Paul careened them back toward the school. Within seconds, they were back where they'd started: in the kitchen with Victor's glass of juice within arm's reach.

"Like I said, just helping you get some wind between your ears." Jean-Paul was grinning, but his breath came slightly fast. Apparently, flying wasn't as effortless as it looked when there was a passenger involved.

"Ok, ok you've made your point!" Victor laughed, still too startled to do much else but laugh. Taken aback as he was, though he appreciate the gesture and the intent behind it. Appreciated it all the more as it had come from a source he hadn't expected.

"Very kind of you to say." The speedster quickly stepped around Victor and stole his orange juice, taking a thirsty swallow. "But seriously, Victor, things suck all around right now. Dealing with that alone, especially when they suck more for you personally than usual...well, that is fine if you want to, but if you need someone to talk to come grab me, all right? I will make time.”

Very glad to be on solid ground it took, Victor didn't even protest the theft. Instead he nodded "Thank you. Really, thanks." Because as much as Blaine and Kurt had wanted to help, they were a new couple and he didn't like to ruin their happiness and Vance, Vance was sweet and tried his best but he really didn't understand at all. "I still say you're out of your mind though."
But at least he was able to smile for now.