Marie, Amanda: Friday Night Beer and Pizza
Dec. 8th, 2006 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsThe girls get together for their usual downtime. Amanda's a bit cagey about some topics, and Marie doesn't push. Nefarious plans are hatched.
"Ah never thought Ah'd appreciate winter break more than Ah did in high school," Marie said as she stretched out on Amanda's couch. "But man am Ah ever ready for it now, not in two weeks." She smiled as she inhaled the tempting scent of melted cheese and various other toppings, the steam still rising off the top of the pizza box.
The witch grinned, bringing over two bottles of beer and passing one to Marie before flopping bonelessly into the armchair. Hair of the dog, it worked. Really. "I'd say you ought to try leaving the school and joining the real world, but yeah, 's not been that good a month for us, either. Kids driving you balmy?"
"Honestly, the teachers are almost worse than the students," Marie said as she accepted the bottle gratefully. "Ah at least expect it from the kids." Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she glanced over at the blond. "Been rough for y'all lately?"
"Just... busy." Amanda shrugged, trying to explain. "'S not just the work, doing the job. The last few times... it hasn't been simple. Nice and easy to deal with. And I know it's what I signed up for, that to make a difference sometimes you have to go after the bastards hardcore, but... it wears you down." She picked at the label on her beer bottle, a fretful expression on her face. "Start of November, I pretty much guilted a kid into sacrificing himself to save us and a town of people from demons he raised. Because he got picked on at school." Amanda shook her head, still frustrated and angry at Josh's choice. "And I know it was the only thing to do, that we couldn't fight them off, or contain them. Hell, even if we'd been able to call you lot in, I doubt there would have been much to stop them - best we could do was hold them back until we got worn down. But yeah, doesn't mean I like it any more, just because it had to be done." She gave Marie a wan smile. "'M just tired. Last job used the magic, took a lot out of me."
The look on Marie's face was a mixture of sympathy and understanding. "Ah used to think it would get easier, with time. But it doesn't matter how many times it happens, each is just as hard as the last." The girls might face different kinds of demons in their extracurricular work activities, but the experience of having a success that didn't feel like one was common to both of them. "But you're able to use the magic on the job? That's big, since Ah'm assuming George wouldn'ta come in handy."
Amanda did grin at that. "Shielding spell. Which gives me... three I can do now. I didn't have a handy power source, but luckily China's a natural for shielding." She lay her fingers on her lips. "But you didn't hear me mention China. We were never there, blah blah blah," she continued, pulling a face. "'S a pain sometimes, keeping schtum about what we do, but yeah, safer for all involved if people keep thinking we're just a mutant research think tank."
"Are you counting the cockroaches as a spell?" Marie said, making a face as her hand paused in midair above the pizza box. "Because you really shouldn't. Though grossing your enemies out just may work as a defensive tactic." Raising an eyebrow at the second half of Amanda's statement, she laid her hand back in her lap, affecting a wide eyed, ingenuous face for a second. "Never heard you mention where? But yeah...you realize hardly anyone at the school buys the whole think tank thing? Maybe the kids, but the rest of us know you lot too well."
"George, shielding and the location spell." Amanda counted them off on her fingers. "Location spell works best when I'm in a city, tho'. And I'm not going near the cockroach thing ever again - gave me the willies, that did. I never did like bugs, and that was way too close after being in the jungle with the giant creepy crawlies any way." She shuddered, and reached for a slice of pizza for herself. "And yeah, I know. It's the kids I worry about - you lot are big enough and ugly enough to take care of yourselves, to quote one of the fosters. The kids aren't. They're not dumb - with the tentacle jokes and whatnot, it's obvious something's up - but they're smart enough to know not to ask."
Nodding, Marie reached for a piece of pizza again, this time actually grabbing one. "Yeah, they really are good about knowing when to ask and what they need...or don't need to know." She paused with the slice in front of her mouth. "Well, most of them," she amended.
Amanda raised her eyebrow. "Some of them giving you trouble?" she asked.
"Not too much recently, Ah was just thinking back to a certain resident who felt she was entitled to know everything." Marie took a bite of her pizza and chewed thoughtfully. "Though you know? Ah haven't heard much of a peep from her recently. And now that makes me worried...Ah should probably check on her." Grinning wryly, she shook her head. "Ah worry when they talk, Ah worry when they don't, Ah'm just turning into a great big mother hen."
"Part of the whole RA thing, isn't it?" Amanda teased a little. "You're a professional mother hen now. But yeah, I'd keep an eye on the quiet ones - they're the ones that explode messily later. Or make deals with evil psychic vampires," she added wryly. "I keep an eye out on the bus, but you actually live with 'em."
"An' there will be no more messy explosions on my watch, if Ah can help it." It didn't matter to Marie that Marius had left the school of his own volition and that Jennie had been quite skillfully devious in keeping the school from knowing where she was - she still felt like she should have noticed something or listened more to Crystal's concerns when she voiced them. "You know, Ah don't know if you've been thanked enough for those bus runs. Gives them a chance to get out of the mansion and just be kids - it's too easy to grow up fast there, y' know?"
The Brit blushed, looking pleased. She hadn't expected thanks, but it was nice, getting it. "I just remembered when Pete started doing it for us," she said with a small smile. "And how much difference it made, getting away from the school now and then. 'S a good place to be, don't get me wrong, but it does get to be a bit of a pressure cooker after a while. And the kids tend to cop a lot of the shite. 'Sides, I get a kick out of it - gives me a chance to corrupt... um, meet the next generation, yeah?" She winked at the older girl as she said the last.
"Trust me, Ah remember those runs too. I was one of the one's getting dragged out on them...and as much as Ah mighta whined, it was good for me. Got me being social again," Marie said before taking a sip of her beer. "An' so long as your corruptin' doesn't include instructions on actual hell raising, it's good for them."
Amanda poked her tongue out at her friend, and bit into her pizza. "You're thinking of Illyana," she replied, mouth full. Chewing and swallowing, she continued. "But yeah, most I do to 'em is encourage them to ask questions and let people know when they're shirty. Which means more work for you, but hey, 's better than those explosions."
"That's what they pay me the big bucks for," Marie said with a laugh. "You know, between you going places you never were and me going places Ah might have been, Ah'm feeling really out of the loop. What else has been going on with you or 'round here lately? Any good gossip?"
There was some coughing as Amanda choked on her beer. "Um, not really," she managed, grabbing a napkin to wipe up the mess. "Marie-Ange and Garrison're dating. Sophia's growing flowers and actually making jokes sometimes. People getting drugged up on painkillers. You know, the usual."
"Knew that, not sure if Ah care about that and drugs are always fun, just don't tell the kids Ah said that," Marie said as she grabbed another slice. "Though from what you've said of her, if Sophia is cracking jokes, Ah'm wondering if she's on the painkillers."
"Well, after the stunt we didn't pull in China, she'd be entitled." Amanda's voice held a new note of respect that hadn't been there before. She finished her slice and gave Marie a curious look as she reached for another. "This Garrison's a mate of yours, isn't he? What sort of bloke is he?" she asked, far too innocently. Might as well make sure Marie-Ange wasn't being set up for a fall.
"Ah haven't had enough beer for that to work," she teasingly admonished the witch. "But yeah, Garrison's a friend from my time in Canada. He's a fun guy, great to go to the pub with and Ah'd be lying if Ah denied thinking he was damn gorgeous." She tipped her bottle towards Amanda. "'Course, Ah'd never tell him that."
"Bah. He's dating my mate, I'm supposed to ask about him, aren't I?" Amanda teased back. Then she sobered, nibbling thoughtfully at the corner of her pizza. "I s'pose I want to make sure she's going to all right with him, y'know?" she said at last. "I know Garrison knows Pete somehow, but that's about it. And you know me, never been too comfy with cops," she added wryly.
"Would hope you'd do the same for me," she said, smiling fondly at the younger girl. "Though Ah'd be more worried about him being the one gettin' hurt if Ah didn't know him better." Taking a small bite, she glanced at Amanda to judge her reaction. "Marie-Ange just never struck me as really being over Doug. But Garrison could be good for her."
"Of course," Amanda declared instantly, grinning. "You get a boyfriend, I'll be checking him our behind your back before you know it." But she took in what Marie had said with a nod, the smile slipping a little. "Yeah, I'm getting the impression that even if I wanted to hate him... well, there's no good reason. Apart from the fact that Doug's..." She stopped, bit her lip. "Um. Probably not supposed to say about that."
"What? Still in love with Angie?" Marie said quite calmly, a smile that was neither sad nor happy playing on her lips.
"Something like that," Amanda said, with a mixture of relief that she hadn't let the cat out of the bag, and mild annoyance that she apparently was still the Amazing Dim Girl who hadn't picked it up earlier. "He met Garrison yesterday when he came to get Angie. Doug... didn't handle it well, tho' he's doing a bit better now." She grinned briefly. "Apart from the hangover."
"Can't be easy for him," Marie said, though she wondered if Doug now realized what it may have been like for Marie-Ange when the two of them had tried dating. Of course, that had never amounted to much of anything and, knowing Garrison, the same wouldn't be true of the relationship between the redhead and the Canadian. "We should invite Doug to the next one of these. Subject him to a chick flick and paint his nails, same as with Skin."
"He dragged me out drinking. At one in the afternoon." Amanda shook her head. "I think he'll be all right, tho'. He knows he's missed the boat and he's trying to deal, it's just hard, loving someone who doesn't feel that way about you." A slight blush edged her ears as she hurriedly added. "Or so people tell me. Wouldn't know about that myself. And I'm surprised Ange hasn't gone for the revenge angle yet - maybe we should have done with the lipstick too." Yay for misdirection and rapid changes in conversation.
People tell you. Right. "Mm hmm," Marie said with a raised eyebrow, though she chose not to push the other girl. "It's hard to love someone if you don't think they care for you the same way." Amanda didn't strike her as all that ready to talk about it, not yet anyhow. "Ah think Ange's trying to strike fear in us - y' know, it could happen any day. We know it's coming, the question is just when and what." She grinned mischievously. "Unless we counterstrike before he even gets the chance for revenge."
Amanda gave her a grateful smile for not pushing things, and finished her pizza. "Be just like him to have learned sneak tactics from Nate. He used to be an open book, back when we were in school, but these days? He's gotten a lot better at that poker face." Then she tilted her head at Marie curiously. "And what sort of counterstrike were you thinking of?"
"He really has, huh?" Setting down her now empty bottle, Marie pursed her lips in thought for a minute. "Ah hadn't anything in particular in mind, but for some reason Ah'm seeing it involving lots of lace. Ah'm just not sure how."
"Lace on him, or his room? Since that'd be easier than trying to sit on him and put him in a lacy bonnet," Amanda said, giggling a little at the mental image any way. "Well, you could sit on him, but yeah, I have a feeling the revenge could be a lot worse if we did things that way. He might recruit help." A thought struck her. "He's off this weekend on Elpis stuff, tho'. Think we could leave him a surprise? Replace all his underwear with lacy knickers, something like that?"
Marie clapped her hands together, laughing at the series of mental images running through her mind. "You are a genius. An evil genius, but a genius nonetheless."
Raising her beer in acknowledgement, Amanda grinned. "I have my moments," she said.
"Ah never thought Ah'd appreciate winter break more than Ah did in high school," Marie said as she stretched out on Amanda's couch. "But man am Ah ever ready for it now, not in two weeks." She smiled as she inhaled the tempting scent of melted cheese and various other toppings, the steam still rising off the top of the pizza box.
The witch grinned, bringing over two bottles of beer and passing one to Marie before flopping bonelessly into the armchair. Hair of the dog, it worked. Really. "I'd say you ought to try leaving the school and joining the real world, but yeah, 's not been that good a month for us, either. Kids driving you balmy?"
"Honestly, the teachers are almost worse than the students," Marie said as she accepted the bottle gratefully. "Ah at least expect it from the kids." Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she glanced over at the blond. "Been rough for y'all lately?"
"Just... busy." Amanda shrugged, trying to explain. "'S not just the work, doing the job. The last few times... it hasn't been simple. Nice and easy to deal with. And I know it's what I signed up for, that to make a difference sometimes you have to go after the bastards hardcore, but... it wears you down." She picked at the label on her beer bottle, a fretful expression on her face. "Start of November, I pretty much guilted a kid into sacrificing himself to save us and a town of people from demons he raised. Because he got picked on at school." Amanda shook her head, still frustrated and angry at Josh's choice. "And I know it was the only thing to do, that we couldn't fight them off, or contain them. Hell, even if we'd been able to call you lot in, I doubt there would have been much to stop them - best we could do was hold them back until we got worn down. But yeah, doesn't mean I like it any more, just because it had to be done." She gave Marie a wan smile. "'M just tired. Last job used the magic, took a lot out of me."
The look on Marie's face was a mixture of sympathy and understanding. "Ah used to think it would get easier, with time. But it doesn't matter how many times it happens, each is just as hard as the last." The girls might face different kinds of demons in their extracurricular work activities, but the experience of having a success that didn't feel like one was common to both of them. "But you're able to use the magic on the job? That's big, since Ah'm assuming George wouldn'ta come in handy."
Amanda did grin at that. "Shielding spell. Which gives me... three I can do now. I didn't have a handy power source, but luckily China's a natural for shielding." She lay her fingers on her lips. "But you didn't hear me mention China. We were never there, blah blah blah," she continued, pulling a face. "'S a pain sometimes, keeping schtum about what we do, but yeah, safer for all involved if people keep thinking we're just a mutant research think tank."
"Are you counting the cockroaches as a spell?" Marie said, making a face as her hand paused in midair above the pizza box. "Because you really shouldn't. Though grossing your enemies out just may work as a defensive tactic." Raising an eyebrow at the second half of Amanda's statement, she laid her hand back in her lap, affecting a wide eyed, ingenuous face for a second. "Never heard you mention where? But yeah...you realize hardly anyone at the school buys the whole think tank thing? Maybe the kids, but the rest of us know you lot too well."
"George, shielding and the location spell." Amanda counted them off on her fingers. "Location spell works best when I'm in a city, tho'. And I'm not going near the cockroach thing ever again - gave me the willies, that did. I never did like bugs, and that was way too close after being in the jungle with the giant creepy crawlies any way." She shuddered, and reached for a slice of pizza for herself. "And yeah, I know. It's the kids I worry about - you lot are big enough and ugly enough to take care of yourselves, to quote one of the fosters. The kids aren't. They're not dumb - with the tentacle jokes and whatnot, it's obvious something's up - but they're smart enough to know not to ask."
Nodding, Marie reached for a piece of pizza again, this time actually grabbing one. "Yeah, they really are good about knowing when to ask and what they need...or don't need to know." She paused with the slice in front of her mouth. "Well, most of them," she amended.
Amanda raised her eyebrow. "Some of them giving you trouble?" she asked.
"Not too much recently, Ah was just thinking back to a certain resident who felt she was entitled to know everything." Marie took a bite of her pizza and chewed thoughtfully. "Though you know? Ah haven't heard much of a peep from her recently. And now that makes me worried...Ah should probably check on her." Grinning wryly, she shook her head. "Ah worry when they talk, Ah worry when they don't, Ah'm just turning into a great big mother hen."
"Part of the whole RA thing, isn't it?" Amanda teased a little. "You're a professional mother hen now. But yeah, I'd keep an eye on the quiet ones - they're the ones that explode messily later. Or make deals with evil psychic vampires," she added wryly. "I keep an eye out on the bus, but you actually live with 'em."
"An' there will be no more messy explosions on my watch, if Ah can help it." It didn't matter to Marie that Marius had left the school of his own volition and that Jennie had been quite skillfully devious in keeping the school from knowing where she was - she still felt like she should have noticed something or listened more to Crystal's concerns when she voiced them. "You know, Ah don't know if you've been thanked enough for those bus runs. Gives them a chance to get out of the mansion and just be kids - it's too easy to grow up fast there, y' know?"
The Brit blushed, looking pleased. She hadn't expected thanks, but it was nice, getting it. "I just remembered when Pete started doing it for us," she said with a small smile. "And how much difference it made, getting away from the school now and then. 'S a good place to be, don't get me wrong, but it does get to be a bit of a pressure cooker after a while. And the kids tend to cop a lot of the shite. 'Sides, I get a kick out of it - gives me a chance to corrupt... um, meet the next generation, yeah?" She winked at the older girl as she said the last.
"Trust me, Ah remember those runs too. I was one of the one's getting dragged out on them...and as much as Ah mighta whined, it was good for me. Got me being social again," Marie said before taking a sip of her beer. "An' so long as your corruptin' doesn't include instructions on actual hell raising, it's good for them."
Amanda poked her tongue out at her friend, and bit into her pizza. "You're thinking of Illyana," she replied, mouth full. Chewing and swallowing, she continued. "But yeah, most I do to 'em is encourage them to ask questions and let people know when they're shirty. Which means more work for you, but hey, 's better than those explosions."
"That's what they pay me the big bucks for," Marie said with a laugh. "You know, between you going places you never were and me going places Ah might have been, Ah'm feeling really out of the loop. What else has been going on with you or 'round here lately? Any good gossip?"
There was some coughing as Amanda choked on her beer. "Um, not really," she managed, grabbing a napkin to wipe up the mess. "Marie-Ange and Garrison're dating. Sophia's growing flowers and actually making jokes sometimes. People getting drugged up on painkillers. You know, the usual."
"Knew that, not sure if Ah care about that and drugs are always fun, just don't tell the kids Ah said that," Marie said as she grabbed another slice. "Though from what you've said of her, if Sophia is cracking jokes, Ah'm wondering if she's on the painkillers."
"Well, after the stunt we didn't pull in China, she'd be entitled." Amanda's voice held a new note of respect that hadn't been there before. She finished her slice and gave Marie a curious look as she reached for another. "This Garrison's a mate of yours, isn't he? What sort of bloke is he?" she asked, far too innocently. Might as well make sure Marie-Ange wasn't being set up for a fall.
"Ah haven't had enough beer for that to work," she teasingly admonished the witch. "But yeah, Garrison's a friend from my time in Canada. He's a fun guy, great to go to the pub with and Ah'd be lying if Ah denied thinking he was damn gorgeous." She tipped her bottle towards Amanda. "'Course, Ah'd never tell him that."
"Bah. He's dating my mate, I'm supposed to ask about him, aren't I?" Amanda teased back. Then she sobered, nibbling thoughtfully at the corner of her pizza. "I s'pose I want to make sure she's going to all right with him, y'know?" she said at last. "I know Garrison knows Pete somehow, but that's about it. And you know me, never been too comfy with cops," she added wryly.
"Would hope you'd do the same for me," she said, smiling fondly at the younger girl. "Though Ah'd be more worried about him being the one gettin' hurt if Ah didn't know him better." Taking a small bite, she glanced at Amanda to judge her reaction. "Marie-Ange just never struck me as really being over Doug. But Garrison could be good for her."
"Of course," Amanda declared instantly, grinning. "You get a boyfriend, I'll be checking him our behind your back before you know it." But she took in what Marie had said with a nod, the smile slipping a little. "Yeah, I'm getting the impression that even if I wanted to hate him... well, there's no good reason. Apart from the fact that Doug's..." She stopped, bit her lip. "Um. Probably not supposed to say about that."
"What? Still in love with Angie?" Marie said quite calmly, a smile that was neither sad nor happy playing on her lips.
"Something like that," Amanda said, with a mixture of relief that she hadn't let the cat out of the bag, and mild annoyance that she apparently was still the Amazing Dim Girl who hadn't picked it up earlier. "He met Garrison yesterday when he came to get Angie. Doug... didn't handle it well, tho' he's doing a bit better now." She grinned briefly. "Apart from the hangover."
"Can't be easy for him," Marie said, though she wondered if Doug now realized what it may have been like for Marie-Ange when the two of them had tried dating. Of course, that had never amounted to much of anything and, knowing Garrison, the same wouldn't be true of the relationship between the redhead and the Canadian. "We should invite Doug to the next one of these. Subject him to a chick flick and paint his nails, same as with Skin."
"He dragged me out drinking. At one in the afternoon." Amanda shook her head. "I think he'll be all right, tho'. He knows he's missed the boat and he's trying to deal, it's just hard, loving someone who doesn't feel that way about you." A slight blush edged her ears as she hurriedly added. "Or so people tell me. Wouldn't know about that myself. And I'm surprised Ange hasn't gone for the revenge angle yet - maybe we should have done with the lipstick too." Yay for misdirection and rapid changes in conversation.
People tell you. Right. "Mm hmm," Marie said with a raised eyebrow, though she chose not to push the other girl. "It's hard to love someone if you don't think they care for you the same way." Amanda didn't strike her as all that ready to talk about it, not yet anyhow. "Ah think Ange's trying to strike fear in us - y' know, it could happen any day. We know it's coming, the question is just when and what." She grinned mischievously. "Unless we counterstrike before he even gets the chance for revenge."
Amanda gave her a grateful smile for not pushing things, and finished her pizza. "Be just like him to have learned sneak tactics from Nate. He used to be an open book, back when we were in school, but these days? He's gotten a lot better at that poker face." Then she tilted her head at Marie curiously. "And what sort of counterstrike were you thinking of?"
"He really has, huh?" Setting down her now empty bottle, Marie pursed her lips in thought for a minute. "Ah hadn't anything in particular in mind, but for some reason Ah'm seeing it involving lots of lace. Ah'm just not sure how."
"Lace on him, or his room? Since that'd be easier than trying to sit on him and put him in a lacy bonnet," Amanda said, giggling a little at the mental image any way. "Well, you could sit on him, but yeah, I have a feeling the revenge could be a lot worse if we did things that way. He might recruit help." A thought struck her. "He's off this weekend on Elpis stuff, tho'. Think we could leave him a surprise? Replace all his underwear with lacy knickers, something like that?"
Marie clapped her hands together, laughing at the series of mental images running through her mind. "You are a genius. An evil genius, but a genius nonetheless."
Raising her beer in acknowledgement, Amanda grinned. "I have my moments," she said.
