xp_logs | Monday morning, before breakfast

Jamie slid down the bannister--something he could only get away with this early in the morning--and made his way to the rec room. Nothing like a few early morning videogames to start the week off right, and the trick was to get there before Artie or 'Yana or any of the other little kids woke up and claimed the TV.

He hopped over the back of the couch, planning to flop into a comfortable position--but instead glanced off an unexpected lump and ended up sprawled unceremoniously on the floor. Picking himself up, he turned around, and blinked. "Angelo? What're you doing here?"

Angelo looked bemused, rubbing his side where Jamie's foot had glanced off. "I *was* sleeping..." he said, apparently not completely awake yet.

"Oh, man, sorry about that, I didn't see you. You OK?" He blinked. "And, what, late-night movie marathon? I mean, it's a nice couch, but the beds are a lot more comfortable."

"No problem", Angelo replied with a yawn. "And agreed, but Alex and Shiro seemed to think I should spend more time out of the dorm."

"They kicked you out?" Jamie scowled. "They _kicked_ you _out?_ I'm gonna kill them. Or, well, I'm gonna at least go up there intending to kill them until Shiro wipes the floor with me. What do they think they're doing?"

"Helping, I think", Angelo shrugged. It was too early in the morning to get worked up, even if he'd wanted to particularly.

"Yeah, helping themselves. Jeez. How you doing, otherwise?"

Another shrug. "Okay. Bit better, maybe. I've talked to a few people..." He paused, then added, "You can tell people what happened. If you want."

Jamie nodded. ". . . Thanks. That'll make explaining things to Alex and Shiro easier, I can probably get you your bed back. I just couldn't say anything until you'd said to. Wouldn't be right." He frowned worriedly. "You, uh, don't look that okay, if you don't mind me saying."

Angelo shifted uncomfortably on the couch, not meeting Jamie's eyes. "I'm... getting there. I think..."

"Well, have you talked to the Professor yet? Or Ms. Blaire? It really is a lot easier to deal with with help."

Avoiding the question, Angelo said, "I know. Marie's been great..."

"'Spect she would be. But, y'know, the Professor's been doing this kind of stuff a lot longer than she has."

Angelo glanced down a little guiltily, still avoiding Jamie's eyes. "Yeah..."

"So I'm just saying, he helped me a lot. 'S up to you, though, really."

Angelo nodded, knowing Jamie only meant well. "I'll go to see him. I just..." He trailed off, not sure how to explain.

"When it was me, I thought it was something I should be able to handle by myself. That part of it?"

"Yeah..." Angelo admitted softly. "That, and I haven't felt much like seeing people..."

Jamie nodded. "I spent a lot of time trying to avoid people. Just made things worse. It got . . . real bad there, for a while. Kinda hoping you'll get some help before that happens to you."

"Well, people haven't exactly letting me be by myself for long at a time. 'Specially since I moved in here, obviously."

"Well, that's good, though. You've got a lot of people pulling for you, y'know."

Angelo smiled slightly. "I know. Thanks."

"Anytime. Just don't push us away any more than you can help, OK? That hurts a lot more than just hitting them. S' easy to do by accident, too, if you don't watch out."

Angelo frowned, ducking his head again. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Jamie blinked. "Oh--well, hey, don't worry about that, I don't bruise easy and it's not like you could help it. Was just saying, if you don't talk to people because you don't want to hurt them, that ends up hurting them worse. Especially if it's somebody who cares about you."

Angelo nodded silently. "I've been talking with... people. Not everybody's been around much, though, even since I came in here..."

"Just people?" Jamie hesitated, then added "I think I probably would've lost Kitty, if I'd let it go on much longer than I did."

Angelo withdrew further into his curled-up posture. When he spoke next, almost too quietly to hear, it was clear who he meant. "*She's* not mine to lose..."

"As a friend, she is. And like I keep telling Doug, that's not something to sneeze at, even if it's not . . . what you really want. And anyway . . . what if she thinks it's her fault?"

Angelo looked up at him sharply. "You... you think she might?"

"I dunno. But if you don't talk to her about it, neither do you, _and_ she has to try and figure out _why_ you aren't talking to her, without knowing the actual reason. Which can go pretty wrong pretty quickly."

Angelo nodded, thinking. "You're right. I will..."

"Excellent." Jamie grinned. "Now, unless you wanna go do that right now, how about a couple quick games of Tekken before breakfast?"

Angelo sat up. "You're on."