Log: Movin' Out (to Marie's suite!)

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Dani moves out from the room she shared with Laurie to live with Marie as a second RA. They decide to go shopping instead of unpack.



Marie whistled softly as she headed to Dani's current residence. It was going to be so nice to finally have a suite mate. Silence was still hard for her to handle and she had taken to leaving a radio on at night when she slept. When Dani had emailed her, she hadn't even hesitated in her response. "Hey, Dani? Ah came to help ya move your stuff," she called out as she entered the suite via the open door.

Dani, for the most part didn't have a lot to move. A few trash bags of clothing, the blankets she'd bought at the last pow wow, and some odds and ends that she could fit in an old box were really all she had. She wasn't much into material things. It caused her grief when she had to dress up, but most of the time it suited her quite well. "Thanks," Dani trailed off, looking at her meager belongings. "Appreciate it."

Marie blinked as she took in the small pile of stuff collected on the floor. With a shrug, she picked up the filled trash bags with one hand and waited for Dani to grab the box before heading towards her - no, their - suite. "You collect things the same way as Logan, huh?"

Shruggning behind the box, Dani explained, "Growing up, we never had any money, so shopping was never fun. Don't see much point in shopping to have stuff now, but Lorna and Manuel sometimes make me."

"Hmm…guess Ah kinda took the opposite response. When Ah was on the road, Ah couldn't keep stuff. Ah only had what fit in my duffel…so now that Ah got a place to settle in to, Ah tend to fill it with whatever suits my fancy." Brushing a strand of hair out of her face with her free hand, she quickly added, "Not that there's anything wrong with not having stuff, Ah just think shopping is kinda fun."

"There are too many people in the malls though," Dani disagreed, setting the box down on her new bed and pulling her long hair off her neck and into a braid.

"Not if you go at the right times. Stores tend to be empty first thing in the mornin', when most people are at work or kids are sleepin' in. Ah'm not the biggest fan of crowds myself." Setting down the bags she had been carrying, she leaned against a wall in the room.

Opening a bag, Dani began transfering her clothes to the new dresser, she could have simply moved the drawers like she did last time, but this way allowed her to reorganize everything. "I don't even fit this anymore," she remarked, holding up a halter maternity blouse, "must be from last summer," idly she threw it on the bed to donate later.

Marie idly reached down to pick up the top and held it up. "Yeah, you musta lost some weight," she said before noticing the tag and turning beet red.

"Some," Dani agreed, oblivious to Marie's discomfort.

Well, if the other girl wasn't going to volunteer more information, it wasn't Marie's right to ask questions. Setting the top back on the bed, she continued watching Dani unpack her belongings. Wow…Ah can barely fit my stuff in two dressers and a closet…and she barely fills up a couple drawers. "Sure Ah can't talk you into a visit to town for a bit of shopping? Ah need some new yoga outfits, so Ah was gonna go sometime soon myself."

Going out might be nice. It would be a change of scenery if nothing else and after the madness of Xaviers getting out did not sound like as bad an idea as it could be. "Alright," she agreed, checking her jeans for her wallet and keys, "But I drive. You ain't heard the gossip on me then, I take it?" she casually mentioned as they headed to Marie's room to get her things.

Quickly grabbing her purse, Marie shook her head. "No, Ah've been really terrible about finding out everythin' that happened while Ah was gone." She began walking towards the garage and waited patiently for Dani to catch her up.

That explained a lot, "Short version is that I'm divorced with a kid. Well, I had a kid, I don't have him now," please don't ask, please don't ask, please don't ask, she prayed, although it was the logical next question. "Dr. McCoy has him. I ain't known for being stable and in control of my powers," she said preempptively cutting Marie off.

Marie's mouth opened and shut for a few moments while she tried to figure out what to say after she processed what Dani had said. It was obvious that this was a sore topic and one she did not want to talk about. Well, maybe a bit of dry humor would help the situation. "What a pair we make then," she said while wiggling her gloved fingers at the other woman. "Did the gossip mill tell you why I was in Canada?"

"Something about following Logan?" Dani tried to remember, while she loved gossip, she hadn't paid much attention to the stories surrounding why Marie had left and instead had focused on the disruption her arrival had caused.

Marie snorted. It was good to know that the rumor mill hadn't circulated the true story. "Um…more like him followin' me. Because Ah…" went crazy "…lost the ability to control all the people inside my head, so Ah'm not one to be judging someone else's control and stability." Opening the door to the garage, she held it open for Dani. "But if that isn't common knowledge, Ah'd appreciate it staying kinda unknown. Wouldn't do for a bunch of students to find out that their RA used to be bonkers."

"So one used to be bonkers and the other still is," Dani smiled wryly, unlocking the truck she normally drove, " We ain't exactly stunning role models. 'Course, in this place, there ain't nothing special about getting hurt, it's getting over it that we're working on."

Settling into the passenger seat, Marie fastened her seatbelt. “Sadly, bein' crazy isn’t all that unusual in the staff here,” she said, slipping into a heavier drawl. “Ah think it’s a requirement on the application.” She glanced out the window as the truck pulled out of the complex and sighed. “Sometimes it just feels good to get off the grounds for a bit, y’ know?”

"You like Conway Twitty?" Dani asked her accent unconsciously thickening as well in response to Marie. She fiddled with the radio. It was an older truck and she refused to update or fix the outer shell, but she'd replaced the dashboard radio with a CD player with Forge's help. Forge was slowly helping her restore the truck, although he felt that she should repair the dents and scratches as well as the motor. "I got him and Loretta Lynn in the CD player."

Marie grinned over at Dani. "Ah hope y' got somma his older stuff. Not that the new stuff isn't just fine, but Ah got a soft spot for the older songs." Leaning over, she turned up the volume a little bit. "This is one of my favorites of his," she explained before softly singing along.

Cranking down the window to let the summer breeze in, automatic windows and locks were another thing Dani refused to update, she turned into the mall parking log, "Just two country bumkins come to town. Growing up, the closest Walmart was 45 minutes away. Now we go to the mall like it ain't anything special."

“Ah’m still very appreciative that the good shopping is so close. Ah remember all of us, me, my momma, auntie and cousins, piling into the back of daddy’s truck just to go to the fair.” Her smile grew wistful as she reminisced. “There was this carousal at the park.” Closing her eyes, the memory grew stronger. “In Highland Park…one of those hand carved ones they don’t make anymore. And we’d all get a caramel apple or some other treat.” She opened her eyes as the truck shuddered to a stop. “Ah don’t even know if its still there…they probably put a Walmart there. Ah haven’t been home since…”my family told me not to come back”…well, in a while.”

"No more of that," Dani declared, as they headed towards the mall, "We are single, beautiful, well, one of us anyways, and our handle on reality broke, ain't it? We should take advantage of the situation."

Marie carefully linked arms with her new roommate and stepped up her pace. "We are both single and beautiful," she corrected, tossing her hair for emphasis. Feeling the cool air as the entered the mall, she gestured from one side to the other. "Pick "your poison."

Dani looked down to make sure she hadn't changed clothing without realizing it. She was still wearing the jeans with the hole in the knee from where she ripped them working outside, a white tank top with a man's plaid shirt unbuttoned over it with the sleeves rolled up. Even for her this was not one of her better outfits, although she at least was not wearing overalls. "I don't care, this is your shopping trip," she said, "but if they have an herb or tea store here, I could use some more."

Turning, Marie gave Dani an appraising look. “We’ll get to those later.” Mumbling to herself for a moment, she would name a store, shake her head and then continue mumbling. “Got it!” she exclaimed before setting off at a truly frightening pace for the other side of the mall. If there was one thing Marie liked more than shopping for herself, it was shopping for other people. Entering a small store filled with an eclectic collection of tops, jeans and accessories, Marie began pulling things off the rack and showing them to Dani.

"For you or me?" she asked, unsure if she liked the clothing. It was more hip than she normally was and definately more form fitting. She only wore tight clothing when she was trying to be sexy, which wasn't often right now. "Ain't it a little...showy?"

“Everyone needs fun stuff in their closet…Ah think this stuff is everyday with a little but of somethin’ extra, but it may be more my style than yours. Why don’t you show me the types of things you like? They tend to have some simpler stuff in the back,” Marie said while pointing to a rack in the back that was crowded with solid colored halter tops with few embellishments and plain jeans with a slightly trendy cut.

It wasn't the style entirely, Dani didn't really have a personal style. It was the price. Dani had relaxed somewhat about spending money, especially since she did not have to worry about food or rent/utilities, but she still put the vast majority of her money into a shoebox under her head. She didn't trust banks much. But how to explain that without making her roll her eyes and get exasperated like Manuel always did? "I thought you needed clothes?" she said, hoping to divert attention elsewhere.

"Yes…but its more fun if someone else is shopping too. You sure you don't see anything you like? You can always just try some thing on for fun…" urged Marie. "But don't worry, Ah'll be trying stuff on too…though Ah doubt Ah need more clothes."

"Yeah, but...I don't need anything. I got clothes," she protested even as she started flipping through the sale rack. Just in case, she told herself. They had shorts on sale. Shorts were good.

Marie quietly picked out a few tops, content now that Dani also seemed to be choosing some things. Snagging a few ballet neck tops, she looked wistfully at a halter for a moment before pursing her lips and taking it off the rack. "Ready to try things on?"

"Sure," Dani was surprised at how much she had chosen, mostly long skirts or shorts, but a few tops had managed to sneak into the pile in her amrs as well. "I like that halter. You got the figure for it."

Blushing, Marie nodded her thanks for the compliments and headed for the back of the store. "Ah really like those skirts…they look pretty and comfy." As the salesgirl let them into the changing rooms, Marie grinned at the pile of clothes in Dani's arms.

"You can try them on if you want, but they're probably too big, I ain't exactly dainty," Dani was having an attack of self-consciousness, which was not usual for her at all. "And skirts are good when you're really tall. They usually fit."

Marie popped her head out from her stall. "Nah, Ah bet we're around the same size. Though Ah may be a bit more hippy than you. An' you're a bit taller than me." Looking from side to side, she finally stepped out and walked to the full-length mirror, admiring the way the lavender halter looked against her skin.

"That looks good," Dani said, coming out of her own dressing room in a yellow tank top and a red and yellow skirt. "But you ain't got any babyfat."

And Ah probably never will. "Well, that's because Ah never had a baby," she chided gently. "And you can't tell that you had one either." Looking Dani up and down, Marie nodded once. "Yeah, that looks real nice. It fits right without being skin tight."

"Okay," nodding at the mirror Dani ducked inside the changing room to try another outfit. She hadn't been sure if she should bring up the baby thing, especially given Marie's powers, but she couldn't deny it had happened just because it made someone uncomfortable.

Brushing a gloved hand against her bare arm, Marie re-entered her changing room and tried on another outfit. This time exiting in a powder blue ballet neck shirt with flared jeans, she hesitated for a moment. "So…do you still see your son?" Please be ok that Ah asked, please be ok that Ah asked, please…

Dani was already turning around in the mirror, checking out a pair of khaki shorts, "Ah...no. Dr. McCoy adopted him and took him with him when he left the school. I got a couple pictures from his birthday party." She'd not been too happy that day, but she didn't have a breakdown, which Dr. Samson considered to be a positive thing.

"That must be hard," she said softly. "Ah…Ah can't even imagine." Marie felt helplessly at a loss for words, not knowing what to say and almost wishing she hadn't brought it back up. Attempting to escape the awkward silence, she returned to her changing room and quickly put on another outfit.

Shrugging philosophically, there wasn't an easy answer to any of this, Dani headed back to her dressing room to see what clothing was left to try. At least Marie hadn't tried to understand or act like it was all for the best, the fake cheerfulness or worse, the pity, was something Dani wanted nothing of.