xp_logs | (no subject)

Set after these e-mails

Alex sat up in bed, his back leaning against the wall. His skateboard was in his lap and he was fiddling with the wheels yet again. He'd changed them all a couple times in the past few days, having gotten bored of books and sleeping in general.

A quiet knock, and the door opened a crack slowly, Alison peeking in carefully and offering him a small smile; much lower, Miles stuck his head in as well briefly, giving Alex a shy hand wave before ducking out again, calling out someone's name as Alison slipped inside and closed the door behind her. "Hey there," was all she said, walking closer.

Looking up when he heard the door open, Alex smiled slightly at the small child before looking up at the approaching Alison. "Angelo was right, he is cute." Then he ran a hand through his blonde hair and sat back a bit to looked up at her. "Anything new from downstairs?"

"No change, so far - which is not a bad thing either. Means she's stable and hanging in there, and no infections are settling in," Alison sighed, walking in the room to sit on the floor by the bed, stretching out her legs and leaning on her hands to look up at him. "How you hanging in there?" she asked, softly.

Sighing, Alex picked the skateboard up out of lap and leaned it against the bed on the floor, placing the screwdriver beside it. Then he turned his full attention on Alison, shrugging slightly in response to her question. "As well as I can be, considering the situation...plus, I think Shiro would beat the crap out of me if I should any outward sighs of self loathing." He smiled slightly, but in a sarcastic fashion.

"Yeah, friends tend to be pushy that way," Alison chuckled, a bit sadly - because Lorna would be the one doing that to her, normally. "How about I promise I won't beat you up if you do?" she finally said after a long pause, looking out the window for a moment. "Lord knows, I don't have much to stand on to be casting stones in this kind of situation... Not saying I won't try and reason you out of it, but no beatings."

"I know you'll try to reason me out of it, so what's the point of even showing it?" Alex asked more to the air then to Alison and he looked away slightly. "Even Lorna's mother attempted, though I know she didn't want too..." He closed his eyes, remembering the conversation from the night before. Then Alex sighed. "There's no point in trying really..."

Letting her hands slide back on the floor, Alison leaned back until she was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "Yeah. I remember the feeling only too well." She stared bleakly upwards, then shook her head slightly. "If I'm making things worse, tell me right away, huh?"

Alex nodded, a curious expression on his face. "I will...what do you mean you remember the feeling all too well?"

Taking a deep breath, Alison let it out slowly, closing her eyes for a moment, gathering herself before opening them once more. "I've had the 'power get out of control' thing too... there's some - you know about light hypnotherapy or induced mood alterations?"

"Yes..." Alex nodded as he spoke, still confused and not sure where this was going, but he stayed quiet, realizing this was as hard for Alison as it had been for him last night with Mrs. Dane. Or with Lorna when I told her about Hawaii... he thought sadly.

Light sparked into life, swirling in lazy patterns in the room. "Found out when I first manifested my powers, that sometimes, when I was feeling very intense emotions, I could make others feel them too, if I got out of control and let the light just... go." Still slowly, under a careful control that lets no emotions slip through at all, Alison lets the light glimmer through the room. "Had that pretty much... tucked away for a long time, until I came here."

Alex swallowed softly, as he listened, but stayed silent. He cast a glance at the lights now fluttering around the room and for a split second, allowed himself a tinge of jealousy of her control. Shaking his head, he turned his full attention back to Alison and her story.

The words caught his interest. "Up until this summer, I had no control on that effect. None at all. I just - buried it away and pretended it didn't matter, wouldn't happen again." She banished the lights, pushing up on her elbows to look at him. "Then I slipped up. Big time."

Alex snorted softly and he muttered quietly, "How can you slip up bigger then almost killing someone..." He said this more to himself then to Alison as he waited for her to continue.

"Using your powers to egg someone into killing you?" she whispered softly, eyes wide as the memory flitted though her mind, Sam's fist raised as he powered up to strike at her.

"What...?" Alex's eyes went wide, his surprise plain in his face. He noticed Alison's distress. "You don't have to go on...if it hurts to much I understand..." Alison had come in here to help him, not relieve memories she probably never wanted to think of again.

"Mmm," she smiled tightly - not having revisited this memory in a while, and finding the hurts still far fresher than she'd anticipated. "Things... happen. Out of our control, or ability to do anything about it. I guess that was my point... just that - well, I know. Been there, huh?"

"Yeah," Alex replied softly, looking away to the window. He smiled slightly, bowing his head, "Everyone who as talked to me since has tried to tell me that..." He turned back to look at her. "Your the first one I've slightly believed..."

"It's hard to believe anything can be right again, when you're in that kind spot," she answered simply, studying the tip of her toes for a moment. And skipped the 'it does get better' part, because she knew only too well how she'd react to that line herself, where she in his shoes. "Just take care of yourself, k?"

Alex nodded slowly. "I'm trying to. Working on getting up the courage to go down and see her at the moment...I have parental permission, from Mrs anyway, but I don't know if I can..." He sighed, realizing he was rambling, a trait he had picked up recently. "Thank you Alison."

"I'll go down with you if you like," she answered, simply, before picking herself up. "And hey... you're welcome." A not quite awkward shrug, a small, tired by genuine smile.

Alex smiled brightened a bit at the offer. "Thanks but I think this is something I have to do myself." He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed softly, before looking back up at her. "Tell the little squib I said hey."

A smile lit her face, banishing the shadows in her eyes. "I'll do that. He's been pretty shy around a lot of people, but we'll do a proper introduction soon, 'kay?"

Again Alex nodded. "Will be my pleasure." He yawned and as much as he didn't want to, figured it was time for more sleep. He began to move under the covers of his bed as he spoke. "He's a lucky kid...to have a mom like you. Very lucky indeed..." He gave her a kind smile before dropping his head to the pillow.

A blink greeted that sentence, before she smiled - people were getting her used to being called that, though thankfully so far no one had done that around Miles, which she was grateful for. First, just to let him get used to the notion that he was safe... "Sleep kiddo," she smiled at him, before heading for the door quietly. "Talk to you soon..."

Closing his eyes, Alex waved at her in farewell, hoping sleep would come soon, for while Alison's words were reassuring, unconscious thought was usually worse then conscious on the guilt. And if he had anymore conversations like that, leaving would be even harder then Alex had first thought.