[log] Marie & Paige : Getting back to social.

[x-rogue.livejournal.com]

Marie collected her notes and books from her desk, still feeling odd about being a teacher when she'd been a student such a short time before. When she had everything sorted, she stepped into the hall, planning to go back to her room and consult her lesson plans for the next day. However, when she looked up, she saw Paige coming toward her, carrying a stack of books that looked big enough to start a personal library.

"Paige!"

Paige nearly spun at the yell of her name, so deep in her own personal thought. She managed to right herself just in time, smiling at the sight of Marie. "Em! Hi!"

Marie laughed at the startle reaction. "Sorry," she said in more of a normal tone. "I just didn't want you to get away. What on earth are you carrying? Let me help you there."

"Oh, probably the entire Chemistry section of the library plus a couple of other things." Paige grinned and set her books back into an even pile, shifting her shoulder bag which only held more a little higher up. "I'm okay, though, really. Tough. Rawr. What's up?"

"Not much," Marie said casually, but her smile was bright. "I somehow turned into a teacher." She started walking beside Paige. "That was unexpected. How're you doing?"

Paige snorted, more than a little amused. "I heard. Although, really, I'm wondering about their sanity on the choice of Bobby. Poor kids are going to have themselves frozen to their chairs within the week I bet." She continued with a grin as they made their way down the hall. "I'm not so bad. How about yourself?"

"I'm good." Marie didn't say more than that but her smile and the sideways look she gave Paige spoke volumes. 'Good' was apparently something of an understatement at present.

"I'm glad," Paige answered. "You deserve some good I'd say."

"I don't know about deserve," Marie said. "But I'll take it." Something occurred to her and she laughed. "Well, maybe I deserve a /little/. But we all do."

Paige couldn't help but laugh herself; Marie's laugh was infectious like that. "Oh, we're such a soap opera but with more explosions and a little less aliens."

"Oh, lord, yes," Marie agreed. "Want to come have some tea? I could use your advice on something."

Quickly checking her watch as best as she could, Paige nodded. "Sure! That'd be nice. Lead the way."

Marie led the way to her suite and let them in. "Put your burden down, sister," she said with a smile. "I'll put the kettle on."

Paige did as she was told, giggling a little at the sister comment. Her books made a solid thump, showing off exactly how heavy they'd been. "Lovely. May I ask what's up again or must we wait until we have a mug in our hands?"

"You may ask." Marie filled the kettle and put it on the stove. "Did I fail to answer well enough last time?" She came back and flopped down in one of the chairs by the television. "Have a seat."

Paige gave her an amused little look as she set her bag down on the floor, settling herself into the other chair. "Pushy much me? Sorry, Em. You've just got me all curious as to what in the world you would need advice from me about."

"Well, you're a friend of Doug's, yes?" Marie took the barrettes out of her hair and ran her fingers through it with a sigh.

"Mhm..." Paige answered, tucking a leg up under her.

Marie looked pensive and bit her lip, judging her words. "Has he ever talked to you about me?"

Paige opened her mouth once and closed it again, before pausing a moment longer to think about what exactly to say. She decided on something simple. "Yes."

"He talked to me Saturday evening," Marie said, watching her feet as she kicked off her shoes. "...Saturday wasn't a great day for him, overall, I don't think." She left it at that for the moment, waiting for Paige's response.

"My fault, I figure." Paige had stilled, hands folded neatly in her lap.

"Meh. You can't have been as bad as me." Marie pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "I just... I didn't have the response to what he told me that I know he was looking for. And see, this is where I need your advice. You know him far better than I do. He's the nicest guy, he really is. But, I just don't think of him /that way/. I don't want to cause him any hurt, if I can avoid it, that's all."

Paige nodded slowly. "I understand." And she did. Oh, she did. "Doug is going to hurt either way, chickpea. Best way to do it is tell him straight. That boy has a rather annoying mutation on him, he's going to know if something's wrong. Besides, you owe him the truth. We always owe those we care about the truth."

Marie nodded. "I did. I told him that... it just wasn't going to happen. Only, I guess... well, there's new information since then." She got up as the kettle started to whistle. "I needed to hear what he had to say. That's the sad thing. I really needed to hear that someone could feel that way about me."

"Em..." Paige drew out, giving her a look that wasn't quite pity, nothing quite that insulting, but certainly a form of sympathy. "Darlin', don't you doubt yourself like that. It's very kettle black of me but... trust me on this one."

"Well. It's... some things made me believe that it /shouldn't/ happen for someone like me." Marie put teabags in a pot, her hair falling to hide her face. "And that was my argument to him. Only, when I was making it and when he was answering me, it felt so /wrong/. Something just snapped." She poured the boiling water into the pot and stood staring down at it. "And it gave me what I needed to say things I desperately needed to say to someone else. ...and now I have another reason why I really can't return his feelings."

Paige raised an eyebrow slightly, following Marie around the mini-kitchen with her eyes. "Don't lead him on, Em. Please don't. If it's someone else, fine, tell him, he'll get over it, but... don't do this to him. It's not fair."

"Fair?" Marie took down two cups and put the tea and milk and sugar on a tray. "I told him that I liked him but I couldn't like him like that. And we were just friends. I wouldn't lead him on." She came over and put the tray down. "And it wasn't someone else on Saturday. But after I went and said what I had to say... it is now. I'll make sure he knows. I really care about him. I just want to make sure... he's so persistent and hopeful. I want to get it right." She poured Paige a cup of tea and offered it to her. "Help yourself to what you'd like in it."

"I'm sorry," Paige said quietly, taking the mug if only to hold it in her hands. "That was thoughtless of me and I apologize. Of course you wouldn't. I'm just... a little overprotective."

"It's okay." Marie added milk to her tea and sat back in her chair. "He kind of inspires that. He really is such a good guy. He's just not going to be my guy. And he made it really clear on Saturday that he wasn't going to give it up easily." She sighed. "So... yeah."

Paige replied to Marie's sigh with one of her own. "That sounds like Doug. I think the only way to get things through to him is hitting him over the head."

"Better me than someone else on this count." Marie winced at something. "That would be bad."

"You know I won't say a word, but yes. Yes it would be." Paige sipped at her tea, giving her companion a sympathetic look. Ickiness made Paige sad, to say the least.

Marie looked perturbed. "I suppose I'd better make myself very clear, then. I'd hate for there to be any misunderstandings." Her expression softened and she smiled. "Men can be such idiots."

"Understatement of the year. Century. Millennia past even," Paige replied, grinning in dark amusement.

Marie burst out laughing. "It helps if you make yourself very, /very/ clear. Sometimes." Her laughter subsided. "I'll talk to Doug again when he's feeling better. The poor guy was sick this morning."

Paige giggled a little, adding, "And talk slowly." She nodded as Em continued. "So I heard. News travels fast around here. He's all right isn't he?"

Marie nodded. "He is. I think it's either a touch of the flu or nerves after whatever got into him last night. I took care of him this morning and went back at lunch for a while and sat with him. He was managing to keep some things down, so I think he'll be okay. He's pretty vulnerable right now, though, and I don't know what to put that down to. That's why I wanted to talk to you, I suppose. He's not in the state to hear that there's someone else in my life now."

Paige sipped at her tea again, taking in her words. "I agree with you. That was a very wise choice." She smiled over her cup. "See? What do you need me for?"

Marie looked thoughtful, taking the question seriously. "Confirmation, I suppose. Doug's a good person and I like that he's my friend. I'd hate to hurt him over this, that's all. He really did do me a big favour when he told me how he felt. And some girl is going to be /incredibly/ lucky when he feels that way about her. I don't want to crush that."

"Mm..." Paige replied positively. "He bounces back very well, don't you worry and is the best friend you could ever ask for. Really. Well, so long as you don't mind him worrying about you endlessly."

"That's a huge relief." Marie sagged back into her chair. "I'd hate to hurt a friend. Selfishly, I'd hate to ruin me being happy by hurting a friend." She made a face at that. "I wish I were more of an altruist, but I'm just not."

"I have yet to meet a true one myself. I wouldn't worry all that much. Certainly don't lose any sleep over it." Marie makes Paige feel like she's just playing grown-up make-believe sometimes. She took a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts, but nothing else would come. Instead, she offered Marie a strong sort of smile, knowing and confident. Paige had practice at those.

Marie returned the smile. "Thanks, Paige. By the way," she said, looking speculatively down into her cup. "This is me knowing you might be having a hard time and not prying, okay?" She looked up at Paige with a mock frown. "So, don't expect me to, young lady. You tell me if you want to talk."

Paige stood up, walking over and bending down beside Marie to give her a careful hug. "Thank you. A lot. It means a lot to me."

Marie hugged her back. "Hey. I'm the master hermit here. I'm not hypocritical enough to pry. Besides, I have faith in you. When you need to talk, you'll find the right person."

"Eh. Let's just hope Doug forgives me. He really didn't deserve my wrath there. Heck, no one deserves my wrath even those who do." Paige smiled, letting go. "But I will, I promise. Find someone I mean. No breakdowns for Paige."

Marie laughed. "Oh, honey. I hit wrath too on Saturday and I think I probably outdid you by a few points on the Richter scale. Everyone gets grouchy sometimes. But, yes. No breakdowns for our Paige, please. You're too wonderful for that."

"Maybe." Paige looked a little sheepish, even managing to blush. " And... thanks. I'm rather fond of you too, you know that right? Really, I think everyone is."

"That's nice to know." Marie smiled at Paige's blush. "I know I'm not social, hell, I've been anti-social in a big way. I've just been dealing with... things. And I think that the worst of them are over. I've missed people, including you."

Paige smiled, pleased. "We've missed you too. We're all very grateful to have you back." She paused, standing up and collecting her books. "I sound like the Queen. This is surefire sign that I've had enough tea."

Marie laughed. "I should say so." She got up to walk Paige to the door. "I'll see you later. You take care, okay?"

"You too. Although, if you hear screaming from the basement, whatever Sarah had to tell me I decided to accidentally laugh at and she's now stabbing me with one of her bones. I'd appreciate if you came to save me." Paige opened the door quickly, holding her books for a split second with only one hand, before toeing the door open the rest of the way.

"I'll come running," Marie promised as she shut the door behind Paige.