xp_logs | Laurie and Forge: Winter Ball

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Who: Laurie, Forge.

When: Friday 22nd December 2006 Time: 19:52

What Happens: Laurie & Forge talk for the first time after 'The Incident'.

Laurie stared somewhat distractedly at the dancing couples as she waited for Kyle to come back with their drinks. She'd been making a valient effort to get into the whole spirit of the ball but she had to admit to herself that her heart wasn't really in it. She was still worried about 'the incident' with Forge, as she had begun to call it in her mind.

How could she have been so irresponsible? He must hate her, he certainly hadn't made any attempt to talk to her since it had happened. God, it was just so embarrassing, and awkward, how she couldn't have thought about what her mutant power would do...

"You know, it's called a dance, not a sit."

Laurie turned her head to see Forge standing behind her chair, arms folded. He'd actually pulled out a... very nicely tailored suit for the occasion. It wasn't as if he didn't usually wear a coat and tie for his college classes, which he did, but this was a step beyond.

Awkwardly, Forge smiled, but it was one of those that didn't quite meet the eyes. "Hi," he offered quietly.

Oh God, oh God, what should she say? What did you say after you'd gleefully kissed someone without their permission? She was going to the special hell, the one reserved for people who left the milk out on the counter, and tax accountants.

"H-hi." Laurie squeaked. "Kyle, um, well. He's just gone to get drinks!"

"I noticed. I think Angel and Julio have collared him for the moment. Can we talk?" Forge's tone was conversational, if a bit more tense and clipped than usual. He motioned toward a small hallway with a nod of his head and extended a hand down to help Laurie up from her chair.

"Oh. Um, sure." Laurie replied, placing her hand in Forge's. It was dry, and somewhat calloused and her smaller hand fit into it rather well.

Laurie smiled, and allowed herself to be drawn to her feet. He hadn't denounced her in front of the whole ballroom, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad, she hoped.

Walking out into the otherwise-abandoned hallway, Forge shut the door quietly, hoping that Kyle wouldn't miss his date for a few minutes. "Look," he began, "about Tuesday..."

"I'm so, so sorry." Laurie blurted out, actively shaking now. "I promise I'll never even talk to you again if that's what you want. It was just, I was just. I'm sorry. Please don't hate me."

Forge took a step back, eyebrows arched in surprise. "Whoa, hate you? Laurie, I don't hate you. I'm just... confused, is all. I mean, tensions were high, and I know the mistletoe was there and I'm probably overthinking this, but that was kind of a bit more than just Christmas cheer and I was just wondering..." He caught himself, realizing he was babbling, then looked Laurie in the eyes. "Why?"

Wait, just wait, did he just ask her why? Laurie blinked at him in confusion, her mind having derailed slightly. "I...um, that is to say, you felt nice?"

Well, that's the lamest explanation in the history of explanations. But it was the truth, she had kissed him at first because of the mistletoe, and a sense of fun and then, well, it had felt so nice she hadn't wanted to stop.

"Nice," Forge echoed. "That's, uh, good. I suppose. Nice is good, right?" He chuckled awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I was just hoping it wasn't something like 'it was a dare' or 'I'm madly in love with you', because really - I so do not need that kind of drama right now. But yes, it was nice. You were... nice." He managed to blurt out before blushing and looking away.

"No, not in love. We don't know each other well enough for that yet." Laurie replied with a soft smile, and then blushed herself as she realised what she'd said. She reached up, drawing his gaze back to her own. "But I wouldn't need a bet to want to kiss you."

"Oh," Forge said quietly, feeling the back of his neck flush. "I was... um... you know, thinking about that. Your powers, how they work, and well... that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about, to figure whether what I was feeling was me and not just what you were feeling, and... well, you know?"

"How would we know?" Laurie asked, her hands dropped back to her side now that he was looking at her again.

She still wasn't terribly experienced with her own powers. She knew she could make someone experience a physical reaction but thoughts and feelings weren't something she controlled.

Forge looked down to his belt, and the small square device clipped there, identical to the one Laurie habitually wore around her neck to control her powers. She caught him looking at it, and glanced up in realization.

"Because I know pheromones aren't a factor right now," Forge said quietly. "So I know I can trust whatever I'm feeling, that it's me and not some outside influence."

"Oh." Laurie whispered, blush staining her cheeks again. "So you...Oh."

She thought maybe her heart was going to give out on her then, it was beating so fast. She really hoped he'd meant what she thought he meant, otherwise this was going to be embarrassing all over again.

Standing on her tiptoes, she gently pressed her mouth to his.

Nowhere in Forge's idea of how this conversation would go did "Kissing Laurie again" come into the plan. The plan instead included contingencies for nearly every other conceivable outcome, but like most plans, it fell apart immediately the moment it hit an unexpected variable.

Nevertheless, Forge thought as he closed his eyes and put an arm around Laurie, it was not an unwelcome outcome.

The logic of it could be figured out later.

***

Thankfully for Logic, Forge had been standing in front of the door, so that as it opened unexpectedly, it hit him in the back instead of swinging open in a moment of "A-HA!" revelation. In an eyeblink, he and Laurie were at arms' distance from each other, looking as innocent as possible. One of the younger students walked through, muttered a quick apology, then shuffled off at a rapid pace, likely for the nearest bathroom.

Chuckling behind a hand, Forge glanced up and down the hall rapidly. "So," he ventured, "Kyle's probably wondering where you are, and I think I owe Lady Medusa a dance. But... is this something we should pick up later?"

"I'd like that." Laurie replied, smiling softly.

It wasn't at all what she'd expected waking up this morning, but she couldn't say she was disappointed with how the day had turned out.

Smiling, Forge held the door open for her. "I'm just going to, uh, check on something in my office. But I'll see you out there later?"

"Count on it." Laurie replied, walking past him and into the ballroom.