xp_logs | log: [Jennie and Crystal] Sunday Night

The roomies catch up after Crystal gets back from vacation. Somehow Crystal's extended absences from their room and Jennie reluctance to Share get brought up. Unfortunately, things go downhill from there.

"...so then, Mr. Garrison-- I mean, Mr. Kane, picked Angel up and ran her across the goal line." Jennie laughed and shook her head. She and Crystal were in their room, Jennie on the floor with various bits of homework spread out in an orderly fashion, and Crystal perched on her bed. "I mean, Kyle's supposed to be Mr. Football-know-it-all, and he runs off and messes up the damn play."

"That sounds like a very interesting way to play," Crystal told Jennie with a smile. "I did not think that you were supposed to run while carrying people; I thought that you could only carry the ball."

"I think it's Mr. Kane's thing, super-strength or whatever," Jennie waved a hand airily while inspecting the worksheet in front of her. "He picked her up one-handed, and Angel's pretty tiny, but she's not that light."

"Oh." Crystal nodded. "It sounds like you had fun. I suppose this is one of the cultural experiences Terry said I was going to miss. Perhaps next year I will visit the United States for Thanksgiving to take in the...cultural atmosphere. As it was, when Medusa and I landed in Attilan, our parent surprised us by immediately taking us on a vacation."

"Vacation?" Jennie made an approving noise. "Where did the royal parentals spirit you off to, then? Someplace nice and exotic with fruity drinks and the like? Or a cozy mountain chalet for some skiing? My father and his family were in Barbados themselves." Jennie had begged off, seeing as how disastrous the last time she left the country went.

"They went for the warm 'nice and exotic' idea," Crystal said with a smile. "It is cold enough here, and although it is warmer at home, countries such as Jamaica are even warmer."

"Yeah, but you get used to the cold. Where I'm from? Nevada? Hotter than the hubs of hell in the summer, and kinda cold during the winter. But, no snow. I saw snow for the first time up-close last year. That was cool. Gets old around February though," she scratched a couple of lines on the worksheet and then checked her dictionary. "Your hamsters are fine, by the way. In spite of the urge I had to clean a shotgun in front of the boy and give him threatening looks."

"Oh, the cold is not a problem for me, but it made sense to visit a place with a warm climate. That is what we usually do in the winter, anyway," Crystal explained. "Do you even have a shotgun?"

"Nope, but with this lot I'm pretty sure I could find one easily." Jennie said cheerily. "And, right, duh, the air-thing. You don't get cold. I mean, you have a power that has literally no drawbacks, I am slightly jealous," Jennie tapped her pen on her chin.

Can I help the fact that I have a perfect, wonderful power? "Oh, well, it is a complicated one, though, and one that has required a lot of practice to be able to control and use properly. As for drawbacks," Crystal smiled wryly, "I would not say that I have never come across any, but that is where the practice and the control comes into play. I control my abilities; they do not control me."

"Whereas the fundamental basis of mine being, y'know, chaos, things are just a mite slippery." Jennie held her forefinger and thumb slightly apart to emphasize. "You also got a jumpstart, I've only had really five years of practice. You've had almost a decade, and ample space in which to practice. Back home for me? Not so much. There was a reason why they called me Jinx." The girl smiled wryly.

Crystal shook her head and frowned. "That was not a very nice thing for people to call you. Who called you that?"

Jennie shrugged. "Friends. It wasn't such a big deal, bad things did happen around me all the time. I didn't figure out the luck bit for a couple of years. Power didn't exactly come with an instruction manual."

Crystal smiled slightly. "Powers never come with an instruction manual. Even powers that appear to be the same can differ from mutant to mutant." Crystal wasn't sure that it really hadn't been such a big deal, but she knew that this was how Jennie acted when she didn't want to talk about something.

The dark-haired girl wrote another couple of lines on her worksheet. "So, you going to be spending actual time in the room now? The hamsters wouldn't say as much, but I know they missed you. I believe there was actual pining."

"I am sure that they know that I would not allow you to shoot either of them," Crystal replied with a small smile, "and they feel safer when I am around." Crystal looked at Jennie curiously. "I thought that you would be glad to have the room to yourself most of the time."

"While it does have the unexpected side benefit of being able to dance in my underwear without repercussions, your absence is noted." Jennie leaned back on her hands and looked up at Crystal, who was sitting on her bed but by no means relaxed-looking. "This is your room too, you know? I understand if your sister's company is preferable to mine, but wasn't the whole purpose of your being here to mingle?"

What was it with the people here and the desire to prance around in their underwear? "Is it?" Crystal asked, presenting a calm outward appearance. "It was your room first, and you have made it obvious that you did not want a roommate. I am not sure what remaining in my room for large periods of time has to do with mingling."

"Uh, it does if you're supposed to be meeting with people other than your family. And unless I am mistaken and there was intermarriage between the Amaquelins and the Niarchoses or Stavroses at some point, we are not family." Jennie peered at Crystal from underneath her bangs. "And when have I made it apparent that I don't want a roommate? Barring the summer's unpleasantness, of course. But I do believe I have been back for a good two months now? And I certainly don't remember telling you I don't want a roommate."

Crystal sighed softly. "You said that you made compromises for me," she replied. "You told me that I could not keep Lockjaw here. I wanted to be able to help you, but I did not want to make you say anything you were not ready to say. A month went by before you elected to tell me any sort of information, but even at that point in time, the information was prefaced by informing me how nosy I am."

"Because it was none of your business, Crystal." Here we go again. "If you had not wanted to tell me about what happened between you and Logan I would have respected that. Just because I don't tell you things doesn't mean I don't like you." Jennie twisted her pen in her hands irritably. "And I have made compromises. I made the compromises because I am living with you, and want you to be comfortable here. If I didn't want make those compromises I would have requested different rooming arrangements. You made a compromise for me by keeping the dog in your sister's room, which I appreciate. It's a part of living and dealing with new people."

Crystal nodded briefly, keeping her annoyance hidden away inside. "I see. I apologize for putting you into a position where you needed to make compromises for me. I am sorry if you told me something that you did not really wish to tell me."

Jennie rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, that's not what I meant at all. Don't apologize, you have every right to demand compromises from me. We live together. How in the hell am I supposed to know what makes you comfortable and what doesn't unless you tell me? I'm not a mind reader, and I'm not going to check on your well-being every single day, but I do want you to be happy Crystal." Jennie began to gather her papers together, clearly annoyed. "Over and over and over again I'm hearing how much I upset people by not discussing my traumatic summer. Don't people get that it upsets me when they ask about it? How can they expect me to be mindful of their feelings when they're not mindful of mine?"

"As you yourself have just stated," Crystal said, eyeing Jennie. "We live together. I am not just a random person who passed you in a hallway or stopped you outside of a room in order to assault you with questions. I knew that you were missing. I was worried about you. Then you came back, and it was obvious that you were troubled by what had happened to you over the summer but you did not wish to speak about it. Even though I thought that perhaps I could help you if only I knew what had happened, I did not pry. So, again, I apologize for making you discuss something you did not wish to speak about."

"Yeah, you live with me, so you should know why talking about it would upset me. I told you as much. I don't regret telling you at all. I just don't function like normal people, okay?" Jennie made a frustrated gesture. "You know what? Forget it. I have no idea what I'm talking about anymore."

She tucked her papers under her arm and stood, making her way to the door, but then she put one hand on the doorframe and paused, "You are wanted here, Crystal, okay? Don't think otherwise. Just because I'm a freak about some things doesn't mean that I don't want you here." And with that, she slipped out the door.