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om_mainAfter his return to the school, Jeanne-Marie catches sight of Warren and the two catch up.
Jeanne-Marie had just left her brother and a little bit of flight training when she caught sight of Warren touching down. She smiled; it was so good to see him around again! She'd not realized how much a part of her routine it was to see him in the sky until he'd been gone so long.
She waved and started towards him. "Warren! Did you have a nice little vacation?"
It was good that she and Jean-Paul hadn't needed to do anything of the kind; their powers let them have the perfect getaway, after all. She wouldn't have liked to leave the school for so long. He must have missed it--and Betsy especially.
If he was honest, Warren hadn't been too thrilled about the vacation at all. With the exception of starting his university courses, everything had been turbulence. His parents were still beyond pissed at him, he was in therapy three times a week, and he'd been overwhelmed by paparazzi for weeks at first. Everywhere he went there was someone snapping pictures at him or asking him awkward questions or generally just being obnoxious. It had taken a lot of getting used to.
However, things had somewhat slowed now, and Warren was glad to be back amongst his friends. Training was also another plus, as was the encouragement to actually go outside and fly. Warren hadn't realised how much the school had grown on him until he'd left it.
"Time away is good, but it's great to be back," he called over to Jeanne-Marie with a brilliant grin. "And how is the school's newest superstar this fine day?"
"Oh, very well, very famous, all of those things." Jeanne-Marie laughed and executed a dramatic hair flip for effect. Then, only slightly more seriously, "It really is odd though, to see my face on the internet. I understood in theory--I saw you and Brian get the worst of it, and I know how things have been for Jean-Paul since he came out as gay, even. But it is different, experiencing it."
"It is. I'm still not sure I'll ever get used to it, he admitted before tugging a wing over his shoulder to inspect. After awhile of flying it felt like the feathers could sit out of sorts. Warren had taken to picking a preening at times.
"But you are doing well and that's good. No one's spooked you too bad?" Because it was easy to feel spooked by people you didn't know, after all.
"No, not too bad. I haven't gone out very much since, though," she admitted. "The oddest things are on the internet--Oh!" She suddenly laughed and reached for her phone. "Have you seen these websites where people talk about us and make up stories?"
Warren wasn't sure whether or not to laugh or feel terrified by that thought. "No, I haven't seen anything like that. What is it?"
"Well, it is less terrible than the sites that have horrible gossip and say mean things about us." Especially her and Alison--why people were so awful to girls (and the way they used those words!), Jeanne-Marie couldn't say. But she was resolved, as usual in these matters, to take her cues from her far more experienced brother and ignore them. "At least these aren't pretending to be real. They're just--odd."
She pulled up one of the forums that had the stories and handed it over. "I started to read this one. You took me on a date." She scrunched up her face for a moment, then laughed.
Eyebrows raised, Warren took the phone from her and scrolled through a few paragraphs. It really was odd to read--apparently he was a charming person who got awkward and a little clumsy in Jeanne-Marie's presence. The date that went endearingly wrong but finished with the sweetest of kisses. What. The. Hell. Who spent their time writing things like these!?
Flipping back a page, Warren looked at a few more summaries and titles. Apparently he also tried to woo Jean-Paul and Alison in these stories. Nothing even compared to the amount of Worthingdock he found, however. "Oh god what!? Worthingdock? That's the wrong Braddock!"
The groan that came out of him them was purely comical.
She laughed, but her look was not without sympathy. There was one 'ship' that was even worse, but she couldn't even bring it up, it was so wrong. Some people. Jeanne-Marie just... didn't want to know where their minds were. "That was my thought, yes. At least Betsy has an excellent sense of humor. So does Roberto--he will laugh at that silly date one with you, I think. But maybe not at the ones with me and Brian."
Seeing as they had actually dated, and it had actually caused Drama... But it still made her laugh. She couldn't help it!
As Warren kept scrolling, he came across the word 'twincest'. That was all he needed to see before he had decided that he was 10,000% done with this forum thing and handed the phone back to Jeanne-Marie with a sympathetic look. "You win on the terrible front. I promise I will never speak or think about anything I just saw, ever again."
He visibly shuddered. "Where's the brain bleach when you need it?"
Jeanne-Marie snorted--delicately--as she took back her phone and closed out the browser. "It is a new phrase to me, but since I have seen these things, I have come to understand it. I appreciate your silence on certain subjects."
She still smiled, though, and took his arm to walk back towards the house. "I expected many things--I have seen what has happened with my brother's fame, with the lies and rumors. But never actual fiction. It is so odd."
"People come out of the woodworks sometimes and never cease to blow your mind," Warren pointed out with a laugh, slightly nervous but still humoured. "That's when it's good to get out into the sky to clear your mind and pretend like you never saw anything."
"I have always loved to do it, but I never knew how useful it could be in that way," she said with an easy laugh. "I can see now how my brother loves to lose himself in his sport. Which--sadly--I think will never be the same again either.
"You've both given up a lot, for this."
"Him more so than me," Warren pointed out easily. He was very impressed with the way Jean-Paul handled the big things with grace, and Warren knew from speaking with him that losing something he loved so much was a very big deal. "How is he doing since the big night?"
"There is some back and forth." Her smile turned wry. "But once he has made up his mind to do a thing, he will do it thoroughly. What about you--apart from the photographers and the hiding, just--" She finished her sentence by tapping her own temple. How are you thinking, feeling about the whole thing?
"Some things are less than desired, I'll admit, but I'm actually not regretting a single thing," he admitted honestly, wings ruffling up with a sort of pride behind him as they walked. "I kept my body and my appearance a secret for so long that I think the relief of not having to do that sort of overpowers everything else. It's like finally getting to be free and it's insanely empowering."
Sure it had made his first few weeks of university eventful, but the number of curious people far outweighed the number of cruel ones. Warren had gotten food thrown at him, feathers tugged at him, and names hurled his way the odd time, but it hadn't been enough to hinder him from walking with his wings free. He had every right to be there just as the other students did.
She squeezed his arm. "That is just what I hoped we would accomplish. I'm so glad you feel that way, now it's done.
"I know what it's like to hide in the dark. For someone like that--even just seeing you in class or on the street must feel a little better, even if they're not ready to come out into the light themselves." That was why Jeanne-Marie couldn't mind the pictures or the stares when they happened, even when it meant Bobby had to pull his hat down over his face.
Warren put a hand on her arm and smiled down at her. "It really does make it worth it, doesn't it? Just the representation alone..."
She nodded and grinned back. "The things we wish we'd had, yes?"
"It certainly would have made things easier, that's for sure." If his fourteen year old self could have had even just his eighteen year old self to see--let alone any of the others who had appeared on television--it probably would have saved him a hell of a lot of isolation and depression. As well as the urge to cut the damn things off, like he'd had at first. Not to mention how horrible binding them had been on his ribs.
"I keep worrying that I'll lead someone back here, though. If I had to think of one downside to the whole thing, it's that." His face and the wings, especially, were so recognizable now that it was getting harder and harder to leave and arrive at this place. "It's a blessing that the days are getting shorter now. I hate to say it, but..."
"Yes, it does make flying in and out feel safer." She sighed in understanding and sympathy. "It is relatively simple for me and my brother, with our speed--his speed, I should say, since I always feel like I'm just borrowing it.
"But I think we can trust in Arthur and Tessa's protection. If someone was tracking us, I think they could take care of it."
"Do you go to New York ever? The city, I mean, like Brooklyn or Manhattan?" Warren asked suddenly.
"Sometimes," Jeanne-Marie said, cocking her head up at him curiously. "Last time, Wanda and I came home with a new student, Eileen. Why do you ask?"
"I like it there. Not because I'm from Long Island, either, but just because people are more accepting there. It's kind of ironic since it's one of the most dangerous cities in the country. People could just not care or just not be paying attention to what it is that's going on around them. Either way, I feel like I can stroll around there and not have to watch my back nearly as much. Nice change of pace from here, anyway."
"I have never thought about it like that, exactly, but now you mention it, yes." Jeanne-Marie chewed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "Everyone has their own business and doesn't bother too much about yours. Whatever you do or whoever you are, no one is shocked. It is comforting, in a way."
"It is. Almost makes me want to go permanently. Not now or soon, of course, but eventually," he confessed. "If not New York, a city like it."
"I always felt drawn to the crowd in Montreal," Jeanne-Marie admitted. "I think I can understand. Though I am glad to hear you don't think you'll want to go there soon, for selfish reasons." She smiled up at him.
The grin was returned down to Jeanne-Marie and accompanied with a laugh. "No, sweetheart, I'll have to say that you all are stuck with me and these feathers for the time being. You may be as selfish as you please."
"Ooh, I will try to make sure you never regret saying that, mon cher, but I cannot promise anything." She laughed.
"Nope, I'm still going to hold you to that."
Jeanne-Marie had just left her brother and a little bit of flight training when she caught sight of Warren touching down. She smiled; it was so good to see him around again! She'd not realized how much a part of her routine it was to see him in the sky until he'd been gone so long.
She waved and started towards him. "Warren! Did you have a nice little vacation?"
It was good that she and Jean-Paul hadn't needed to do anything of the kind; their powers let them have the perfect getaway, after all. She wouldn't have liked to leave the school for so long. He must have missed it--and Betsy especially.
If he was honest, Warren hadn't been too thrilled about the vacation at all. With the exception of starting his university courses, everything had been turbulence. His parents were still beyond pissed at him, he was in therapy three times a week, and he'd been overwhelmed by paparazzi for weeks at first. Everywhere he went there was someone snapping pictures at him or asking him awkward questions or generally just being obnoxious. It had taken a lot of getting used to.
However, things had somewhat slowed now, and Warren was glad to be back amongst his friends. Training was also another plus, as was the encouragement to actually go outside and fly. Warren hadn't realised how much the school had grown on him until he'd left it.
"Time away is good, but it's great to be back," he called over to Jeanne-Marie with a brilliant grin. "And how is the school's newest superstar this fine day?"
"Oh, very well, very famous, all of those things." Jeanne-Marie laughed and executed a dramatic hair flip for effect. Then, only slightly more seriously, "It really is odd though, to see my face on the internet. I understood in theory--I saw you and Brian get the worst of it, and I know how things have been for Jean-Paul since he came out as gay, even. But it is different, experiencing it."
"It is. I'm still not sure I'll ever get used to it, he admitted before tugging a wing over his shoulder to inspect. After awhile of flying it felt like the feathers could sit out of sorts. Warren had taken to picking a preening at times.
"But you are doing well and that's good. No one's spooked you too bad?" Because it was easy to feel spooked by people you didn't know, after all.
"No, not too bad. I haven't gone out very much since, though," she admitted. "The oddest things are on the internet--Oh!" She suddenly laughed and reached for her phone. "Have you seen these websites where people talk about us and make up stories?"
Warren wasn't sure whether or not to laugh or feel terrified by that thought. "No, I haven't seen anything like that. What is it?"
"Well, it is less terrible than the sites that have horrible gossip and say mean things about us." Especially her and Alison--why people were so awful to girls (and the way they used those words!), Jeanne-Marie couldn't say. But she was resolved, as usual in these matters, to take her cues from her far more experienced brother and ignore them. "At least these aren't pretending to be real. They're just--odd."
She pulled up one of the forums that had the stories and handed it over. "I started to read this one. You took me on a date." She scrunched up her face for a moment, then laughed.
Eyebrows raised, Warren took the phone from her and scrolled through a few paragraphs. It really was odd to read--apparently he was a charming person who got awkward and a little clumsy in Jeanne-Marie's presence. The date that went endearingly wrong but finished with the sweetest of kisses. What. The. Hell. Who spent their time writing things like these!?
Flipping back a page, Warren looked at a few more summaries and titles. Apparently he also tried to woo Jean-Paul and Alison in these stories. Nothing even compared to the amount of Worthingdock he found, however. "Oh god what!? Worthingdock? That's the wrong Braddock!"
The groan that came out of him them was purely comical.
She laughed, but her look was not without sympathy. There was one 'ship' that was even worse, but she couldn't even bring it up, it was so wrong. Some people. Jeanne-Marie just... didn't want to know where their minds were. "That was my thought, yes. At least Betsy has an excellent sense of humor. So does Roberto--he will laugh at that silly date one with you, I think. But maybe not at the ones with me and Brian."
Seeing as they had actually dated, and it had actually caused Drama... But it still made her laugh. She couldn't help it!
As Warren kept scrolling, he came across the word 'twincest'. That was all he needed to see before he had decided that he was 10,000% done with this forum thing and handed the phone back to Jeanne-Marie with a sympathetic look. "You win on the terrible front. I promise I will never speak or think about anything I just saw, ever again."
He visibly shuddered. "Where's the brain bleach when you need it?"
Jeanne-Marie snorted--delicately--as she took back her phone and closed out the browser. "It is a new phrase to me, but since I have seen these things, I have come to understand it. I appreciate your silence on certain subjects."
She still smiled, though, and took his arm to walk back towards the house. "I expected many things--I have seen what has happened with my brother's fame, with the lies and rumors. But never actual fiction. It is so odd."
"People come out of the woodworks sometimes and never cease to blow your mind," Warren pointed out with a laugh, slightly nervous but still humoured. "That's when it's good to get out into the sky to clear your mind and pretend like you never saw anything."
"I have always loved to do it, but I never knew how useful it could be in that way," she said with an easy laugh. "I can see now how my brother loves to lose himself in his sport. Which--sadly--I think will never be the same again either.
"You've both given up a lot, for this."
"Him more so than me," Warren pointed out easily. He was very impressed with the way Jean-Paul handled the big things with grace, and Warren knew from speaking with him that losing something he loved so much was a very big deal. "How is he doing since the big night?"
"There is some back and forth." Her smile turned wry. "But once he has made up his mind to do a thing, he will do it thoroughly. What about you--apart from the photographers and the hiding, just--" She finished her sentence by tapping her own temple. How are you thinking, feeling about the whole thing?
"Some things are less than desired, I'll admit, but I'm actually not regretting a single thing," he admitted honestly, wings ruffling up with a sort of pride behind him as they walked. "I kept my body and my appearance a secret for so long that I think the relief of not having to do that sort of overpowers everything else. It's like finally getting to be free and it's insanely empowering."
Sure it had made his first few weeks of university eventful, but the number of curious people far outweighed the number of cruel ones. Warren had gotten food thrown at him, feathers tugged at him, and names hurled his way the odd time, but it hadn't been enough to hinder him from walking with his wings free. He had every right to be there just as the other students did.
She squeezed his arm. "That is just what I hoped we would accomplish. I'm so glad you feel that way, now it's done.
"I know what it's like to hide in the dark. For someone like that--even just seeing you in class or on the street must feel a little better, even if they're not ready to come out into the light themselves." That was why Jeanne-Marie couldn't mind the pictures or the stares when they happened, even when it meant Bobby had to pull his hat down over his face.
Warren put a hand on her arm and smiled down at her. "It really does make it worth it, doesn't it? Just the representation alone..."
She nodded and grinned back. "The things we wish we'd had, yes?"
"It certainly would have made things easier, that's for sure." If his fourteen year old self could have had even just his eighteen year old self to see--let alone any of the others who had appeared on television--it probably would have saved him a hell of a lot of isolation and depression. As well as the urge to cut the damn things off, like he'd had at first. Not to mention how horrible binding them had been on his ribs.
"I keep worrying that I'll lead someone back here, though. If I had to think of one downside to the whole thing, it's that." His face and the wings, especially, were so recognizable now that it was getting harder and harder to leave and arrive at this place. "It's a blessing that the days are getting shorter now. I hate to say it, but..."
"Yes, it does make flying in and out feel safer." She sighed in understanding and sympathy. "It is relatively simple for me and my brother, with our speed--his speed, I should say, since I always feel like I'm just borrowing it.
"But I think we can trust in Arthur and Tessa's protection. If someone was tracking us, I think they could take care of it."
"Do you go to New York ever? The city, I mean, like Brooklyn or Manhattan?" Warren asked suddenly.
"Sometimes," Jeanne-Marie said, cocking her head up at him curiously. "Last time, Wanda and I came home with a new student, Eileen. Why do you ask?"
"I like it there. Not because I'm from Long Island, either, but just because people are more accepting there. It's kind of ironic since it's one of the most dangerous cities in the country. People could just not care or just not be paying attention to what it is that's going on around them. Either way, I feel like I can stroll around there and not have to watch my back nearly as much. Nice change of pace from here, anyway."
"I have never thought about it like that, exactly, but now you mention it, yes." Jeanne-Marie chewed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "Everyone has their own business and doesn't bother too much about yours. Whatever you do or whoever you are, no one is shocked. It is comforting, in a way."
"It is. Almost makes me want to go permanently. Not now or soon, of course, but eventually," he confessed. "If not New York, a city like it."
"I always felt drawn to the crowd in Montreal," Jeanne-Marie admitted. "I think I can understand. Though I am glad to hear you don't think you'll want to go there soon, for selfish reasons." She smiled up at him.
The grin was returned down to Jeanne-Marie and accompanied with a laugh. "No, sweetheart, I'll have to say that you all are stuck with me and these feathers for the time being. You may be as selfish as you please."
"Ooh, I will try to make sure you never regret saying that, mon cher, but I cannot promise anything." She laughed.
"Nope, I'm still going to hold you to that."
