xp_logs | LOG: Forge and Jubilee, Sunday afternoon

Sunday afternoon, before heading out to New York for the Christmas choir, Forge and Jubilee get a few moments to talk, reminiscing on the past year and hopes for the future.

Jubilee was sitting on the front steps of the school, her rollerblades in front of her and ready to put on. It was getting colder but they hadn't yet had any bad snow today, so there was still time for this. She'd only just made the announcement to her journal that she was leaving.

Soon she'd be in New York, and she'd have to save these memories for thetime inbetween visits. She'd not have thought she'd so quickly start missing Xavier's, especially when she hadn't even left yet.

Forge paused at the door, looking at Jubilee through the small window. Had to be about forty degrees out there. Pulling on his coat, he opened the door quietly, walking down to sit next to Jubilee on the steps. Thinking back to the post she'd made, he gave a small laugh.

"Almost a year ago, plus a month or so? We were sitting right here, weren't we? I still had to take notes to remember who everyone was. And now you're moving to New York."

"You know I totally told you all the best stuff just to see the look on your face, right? Tellin' the new kids about the demon invasion is still top comedy, I swear. An I seriously expect house warming gifts. You're like, genius tech lad, so you can make me a toaster that won't burn one side while leaving the other side perfect, right?" Jubilee responded, turning her head to look at him.

"Made Lorna one for Christmas," Forge responded wistfully. "Don't tell her. You... here." He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small stack of photographs. He flipped through them absently. The four of them; Jubilee, Forge, Carlie, and Catseye all by Hank's red sports car, overlooking a scenic California beach outcropping. Squaring them up, he handed them over to Jubilee. "Been a hell of a year, Jubes."

She held the stack in her hands, biting her lip slightly as she remembered the trip. It'd been what she needed. Friends, a car and the open road. Could she ever have imagined that she'd find a place like this when she'd first set out in LA. "So much has happened. But, it's still home, ya know? Even if New York is gonna be the place I'm livin'. I'm not gonna stop talkin' to you guys, or not visit. Heck, I totally expect you to come crash on my couch from time to time."

Smiling and nodding, Forge wiped a hand over his chin to hide a laugh. "You've been here what, six, seven years? You get control over your powers, get an education, and move on into the real world? You know what that means?" He laughed, leaning back against the steps. "You graduated. Like, not just high school. You did it."

Jubilee laughed, a bright and cheerful sound. She'd spent so much time as the resident fuck up for so long. To think that she had made it. It was almost impossible to believe. But she had, she really had. "Dude...I'm an adult. That is just so, so weird to think about. I'm even gonna have a job, the paying kind that you've gotta turn up to or else. Mike, he's the cop I met in Seattle. He gave me some names to call, and I talked real fast at them when I did call and that's got me a place at the Police academy in New York. It's not a free pass, or anythin'. Gonna have to prove that I belong there but it's a real start. An I'm gonna do it as a mutant. No hiding what or who I am."

Forge smiled, leaning into Jubilee and throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Rock on. And I reserve the right to grab you one of these days for a roadtrip... wherever. Venus or something."

Jubilee snickered and looped an arm around his waist, giving a quick squeeze. "Well, I've been to Asgard, only fair you get to go to Outer Space. Dude, that would be totally wicked."

This was a good day. She'd been worried that it would be a series of tearful goodbyes, the kind she hated. But as much as the sadness of leaving was there, it was also tempered by the realisation that they'd still all be there, if not here then only a phone call away. She wasn't about to lose anyone.