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xp_logsThe wayward wanderers return! Amanda gets a surprise visit after work.
Another work day done. Amanda stepped out of the Snow Valley building, hoisting her bag a little higher on her shoulder. She had some reading to do tonight, nothing onerous, but considering her boyfriend was still AWOL somewhere in the scary parts of the States (Amanda was of the view any place with that many guns was scary), it seemed like a good idea to keep herself busy. Some work, a couple of beers, maybe pizza tonight since she needed to do a grocery run soon... That trial of thought was abruptly derailed when she saw the red convertible parked on the street as close as it could get to her office building.
Angelo and John were still sitting in it, waiting for her - Angelo knew he could get into the office building unchallenged, but he wasn't so sure about John, and he didn't want to risk anything.
"The wanderers return, huh?" she said, grinning as she stopped at Angelo's door. Dropping her bag to the pavement, she leaned over the side of the car, winding her arms around Angelo's neck and planting a kiss on him designed to leave him breathless. "Hey you."
John rolled his eyes at the public display of affection and busied himself with lighting a cigarette to keep from making any verbal complaints.
The man in the passenger seat was entirely forgotten as Angelo kissed her back. Finally, "Yeah, no thanks to this one."
"Sounds like there's a story to be had." Amanda snuck another quick kiss, before cocking her head to look around Angelo at his passenger. "Hey, John-Boy. You gunna buy me a drink to make up for stealing my boyfriend away?"
"I don't know, Mandy. I'm beginning to think that I was doing you a favor." John snapped the lid of his lighter shut with a loud click and faked a smile Amanda's way before he crawled to the back seat of the car.
"Hey. Who got who arrested here?" Angelo shot over his shoulder, reaching over to flick the passenger door open in case Amanda wanted to get in.
"Arrested?" Amanda paused in the process of scooping up her bag and shook her head at the two of them before moving around the car to get in the passenger side. "You know, the whole 'I'm not gunna pay your bail' thing was just a joke. Not a holiday suggestion." She sounded more wry than angry, however. "And I want to hear the whole gory story." She grinned at Angelo. "If you want to park the car at my place, first round's on me."
"Will do", he said with a grin. "John, you comin' with, or you want me to drop you off somewhere?"
"Oh no, John's not getting out of this. Besides, he can tell me all the stuff you leave out." Amanda twisted in her seat to bat her eyelashes at John. "I'll buy you beer?"
"Sure," John nodded, inwardly cringing at the thought of heading to a bar. He waited for Amanda to turn back around before he met Angelo's eyes through the rear-view mirror and slashed a finger across his throat, giving the guy an evil look. There was no way he was going to talk about the arrest. Like he was going to dig his own grave by telling Amanda he'd almost incinerated her boyfriend while they were out drinking two nights ago.
Angelo pulled a fleeting face at him, then smiled at Amanda. "Just a bar fight. Nothin' major, but the local cops didn't like it much."
"What, the two of you got into a bar fight? In Texas?" Amanda teased, settling back into her (rightful) seat. A flash of light hit her eyes, a reflection off something bright, and she squinted, before reaching for a pair of someone's sunglasses on the dash. "Say it isn't so."
"I told him to quit goadin' the locals", Angelo said, laughing. "Not that he ever listens."
At the pub, there's tales of holiday fun, gossip and a bit of bitching.
The pub wasn't Finnegan's, but it was reasonable - and close to the brownstone. Amanda reached for her beer and had a long mouthful, savouring it. "Ah, that's better. Unlike you two slackers, some of us have been working," she said, setting the glass down. "So why Texas, of all places?"
"We felt like it." Angelo shrugged. "Far enough from any kind of home t'be a proper break."
John clasped his fingers around the cowboy hat he'd purchased and placed it on Amanda's head. He'd bought a few of those to give out. "We went to San Antonio, stayed at the cheapest motel money could buy and went fly fishing." He placed his arm around Angelo's shoulder. "But hell, most of the time we spent drinking and checking out the ladies," John smirked. "Well, I did. Angelo was just... thinking about you the entire while."
Amanda snickered and adjusted the hat, tilting it back at a jaunty angle. "Sounds like a proper boy's own adventure," she said. "But... fly fishing? Do either of you two city boys even know what a fish looks like out of batter? What on earth possessed you?"
"It was somethin' to do?" was all Angelo could offer. "New things, an' all. He's all talk, anyway. I should've set you up with someone after all, Firebug."
"Glad you didn't or I might have considered moving to Texas," John grinned. "I mean, minus the somewhat annoying accent, the chicks are hot, and so is the friggin' weather which, I honestly think, would have been a plus." He raised his beer in mock salute and took a large swallow of the frothy liquid. "So, uh what exactly have you been up to?" he asked, directing the question to Amanda in the hopes they would get off the subject of their little road trip. "I haven't seen you in fuck knows how long."
"Yeah, but the people are all balmy. And armed," Amanda pointed out with a grin as she took another sip of her own drink. At his question, she shrugged a little. "Oh, been busy with the usual. Having Queen Emma moving in means we've been doing a lot of budget shite, accounting for things and the rest, which is why I need my own bloody car - can't use the company one except for 'work-related purposes', but I s'pose it's time I acquired some kind of material possession that doesn't come bound in leather." She made a face. "And I've been keeping clear of the school for a bit - I think people're a bit pissed off about me calling Jennie a bitch. Or a cow. Whatever it was." Not to mention she didn't want to run into any of the X-Men who had been part of the recovery team in the tunnels. Suspicions were probably already raised and it wasn't something she wanted people pondering too hard.
"Oh, yeah, the car", Angelo said with a grin. "You still want me an' Forge to help you out there? An' I say you get to call Jennie whatever you want."
"Please. I've got Forge lined up already, but I'd like to make sure I get something someone's not gunna be able to rip off in five minutes." Amanda wrinkled her nose. "Jennie's a bully - she only goes after the kids and the ones who can't stand up to her. But I shouldn't have said that, not on the journals. 'M s'posed to be the grownup, after all."
"Wait, wait, wait. You called Jennie a what?" John couldn't help but let out a laugh at hearing that. It was a well known fact that John paid zero to no attention to what went on in the journals. "And I hate to ask, but what's wrong with being a bully?" he chuckled.
"A cow. It was after she got turned into a dog and everyone's all 'oh noes!' I was focussing on those Church of Humanity fuckers, wasn't really paying attention to what I was saying and wound up saying something about how she'd be back to her old cow self in a couple of days." Amanda shrugged - it was obvious she'd been spending time around Doug, to use an internet meme. "In case you hadn't noticed, I don't like her that much. She's pulled the whole 'tougher than you so suck it up' thing on me before in the journals, and sorry, been there and done that with Jubes back when I was sixteen." Another pull at her beer, and she continued. "She goes after the easy targets, like Laurie. Sure Laurie's just a dumb kid sometimes, but she thinks Jennie's her mate, and I hate seeing Jennie rub that in the dirt. Either tell Laurie flat out you don't like her, or stop pretending to be about doing her some good and trying to help her grow up."
"I guess I can understand why bein' turned into a dog sucked so much for her", Angelo said with a shrug. "But it still wasn't much of a big deal what you said."
John fooled around with the lighter in his hand. He didn't have much of an opinion about it. As far as he was concerned, it was a silly girl thing and the only time he'd be interested in saying anything about it was if they were going to say, mud wrestle one another.
"You should get one of those little mini coopers," John suggested, trying for a change of subject. "I think it'll suit you."
Amanda leapt on the change of topic gratefully. "You and Jay both. What's with trying to put me in the Mr. Bean car?" she asked with a laugh.
"You're short", Angelo said, straight-faced and ignoring his own hypocrisy.
"Hey!" That earned him a poke.
John lit himself a cigarette and slid the pack over to Amanda with a shake of his head. "Nuh-uh. If we're on the subject of Rowan Atkinson, dude stands at about 6'1"," he remarked. "But seriously, I think the newer models are pretty cool."
Ooh, nicotine. Amanda pounced on the pack, took one and raised her eyebrow at Angelo before nudging it his way. Lighting up, she blew out of plume of smoke before responding. "Maybe. They're pricey, tho'. I just want something basic, that won't break down and can get me out of trouble if I get into it." She grinned. "And something with a lot of space in the boot, considering how many bloody books I have to haul around sometimes."
Angelo swiped one or possibly two before tossing the pack back to John. "Well, no second-hand car that's fit to be sold should break down on you right away. But that's what we're takin' the machine whisperer along for. I'm just the GTA expert, right?"
"Pretty much, yeah. Since it'd suck seeing my hard-earned disappear into some car thief's pockets. I'll make it..." She paused then, feeling a cold prickle down her spine. Something was... A quick glance around the pub revealed nothing untoward, no-one giving them any undue attention. The moment passed. "Huh."
"Something wrong?"
"Hmm?" Amanda looked back at John. "Nah, just thought there was something... Must be hanging around Remy too much - I'm getting paranoid." She brushed it off with a gesture. "So, who's up for another round?"
Another work day done. Amanda stepped out of the Snow Valley building, hoisting her bag a little higher on her shoulder. She had some reading to do tonight, nothing onerous, but considering her boyfriend was still AWOL somewhere in the scary parts of the States (Amanda was of the view any place with that many guns was scary), it seemed like a good idea to keep herself busy. Some work, a couple of beers, maybe pizza tonight since she needed to do a grocery run soon... That trial of thought was abruptly derailed when she saw the red convertible parked on the street as close as it could get to her office building.
Angelo and John were still sitting in it, waiting for her - Angelo knew he could get into the office building unchallenged, but he wasn't so sure about John, and he didn't want to risk anything.
"The wanderers return, huh?" she said, grinning as she stopped at Angelo's door. Dropping her bag to the pavement, she leaned over the side of the car, winding her arms around Angelo's neck and planting a kiss on him designed to leave him breathless. "Hey you."
John rolled his eyes at the public display of affection and busied himself with lighting a cigarette to keep from making any verbal complaints.
The man in the passenger seat was entirely forgotten as Angelo kissed her back. Finally, "Yeah, no thanks to this one."
"Sounds like there's a story to be had." Amanda snuck another quick kiss, before cocking her head to look around Angelo at his passenger. "Hey, John-Boy. You gunna buy me a drink to make up for stealing my boyfriend away?"
"I don't know, Mandy. I'm beginning to think that I was doing you a favor." John snapped the lid of his lighter shut with a loud click and faked a smile Amanda's way before he crawled to the back seat of the car.
"Hey. Who got who arrested here?" Angelo shot over his shoulder, reaching over to flick the passenger door open in case Amanda wanted to get in.
"Arrested?" Amanda paused in the process of scooping up her bag and shook her head at the two of them before moving around the car to get in the passenger side. "You know, the whole 'I'm not gunna pay your bail' thing was just a joke. Not a holiday suggestion." She sounded more wry than angry, however. "And I want to hear the whole gory story." She grinned at Angelo. "If you want to park the car at my place, first round's on me."
"Will do", he said with a grin. "John, you comin' with, or you want me to drop you off somewhere?"
"Oh no, John's not getting out of this. Besides, he can tell me all the stuff you leave out." Amanda twisted in her seat to bat her eyelashes at John. "I'll buy you beer?"
"Sure," John nodded, inwardly cringing at the thought of heading to a bar. He waited for Amanda to turn back around before he met Angelo's eyes through the rear-view mirror and slashed a finger across his throat, giving the guy an evil look. There was no way he was going to talk about the arrest. Like he was going to dig his own grave by telling Amanda he'd almost incinerated her boyfriend while they were out drinking two nights ago.
Angelo pulled a fleeting face at him, then smiled at Amanda. "Just a bar fight. Nothin' major, but the local cops didn't like it much."
"What, the two of you got into a bar fight? In Texas?" Amanda teased, settling back into her (rightful) seat. A flash of light hit her eyes, a reflection off something bright, and she squinted, before reaching for a pair of someone's sunglasses on the dash. "Say it isn't so."
"I told him to quit goadin' the locals", Angelo said, laughing. "Not that he ever listens."
At the pub, there's tales of holiday fun, gossip and a bit of bitching.
The pub wasn't Finnegan's, but it was reasonable - and close to the brownstone. Amanda reached for her beer and had a long mouthful, savouring it. "Ah, that's better. Unlike you two slackers, some of us have been working," she said, setting the glass down. "So why Texas, of all places?"
"We felt like it." Angelo shrugged. "Far enough from any kind of home t'be a proper break."
John clasped his fingers around the cowboy hat he'd purchased and placed it on Amanda's head. He'd bought a few of those to give out. "We went to San Antonio, stayed at the cheapest motel money could buy and went fly fishing." He placed his arm around Angelo's shoulder. "But hell, most of the time we spent drinking and checking out the ladies," John smirked. "Well, I did. Angelo was just... thinking about you the entire while."
Amanda snickered and adjusted the hat, tilting it back at a jaunty angle. "Sounds like a proper boy's own adventure," she said. "But... fly fishing? Do either of you two city boys even know what a fish looks like out of batter? What on earth possessed you?"
"It was somethin' to do?" was all Angelo could offer. "New things, an' all. He's all talk, anyway. I should've set you up with someone after all, Firebug."
"Glad you didn't or I might have considered moving to Texas," John grinned. "I mean, minus the somewhat annoying accent, the chicks are hot, and so is the friggin' weather which, I honestly think, would have been a plus." He raised his beer in mock salute and took a large swallow of the frothy liquid. "So, uh what exactly have you been up to?" he asked, directing the question to Amanda in the hopes they would get off the subject of their little road trip. "I haven't seen you in fuck knows how long."
"Yeah, but the people are all balmy. And armed," Amanda pointed out with a grin as she took another sip of her own drink. At his question, she shrugged a little. "Oh, been busy with the usual. Having Queen Emma moving in means we've been doing a lot of budget shite, accounting for things and the rest, which is why I need my own bloody car - can't use the company one except for 'work-related purposes', but I s'pose it's time I acquired some kind of material possession that doesn't come bound in leather." She made a face. "And I've been keeping clear of the school for a bit - I think people're a bit pissed off about me calling Jennie a bitch. Or a cow. Whatever it was." Not to mention she didn't want to run into any of the X-Men who had been part of the recovery team in the tunnels. Suspicions were probably already raised and it wasn't something she wanted people pondering too hard.
"Oh, yeah, the car", Angelo said with a grin. "You still want me an' Forge to help you out there? An' I say you get to call Jennie whatever you want."
"Please. I've got Forge lined up already, but I'd like to make sure I get something someone's not gunna be able to rip off in five minutes." Amanda wrinkled her nose. "Jennie's a bully - she only goes after the kids and the ones who can't stand up to her. But I shouldn't have said that, not on the journals. 'M s'posed to be the grownup, after all."
"Wait, wait, wait. You called Jennie a what?" John couldn't help but let out a laugh at hearing that. It was a well known fact that John paid zero to no attention to what went on in the journals. "And I hate to ask, but what's wrong with being a bully?" he chuckled.
"A cow. It was after she got turned into a dog and everyone's all 'oh noes!' I was focussing on those Church of Humanity fuckers, wasn't really paying attention to what I was saying and wound up saying something about how she'd be back to her old cow self in a couple of days." Amanda shrugged - it was obvious she'd been spending time around Doug, to use an internet meme. "In case you hadn't noticed, I don't like her that much. She's pulled the whole 'tougher than you so suck it up' thing on me before in the journals, and sorry, been there and done that with Jubes back when I was sixteen." Another pull at her beer, and she continued. "She goes after the easy targets, like Laurie. Sure Laurie's just a dumb kid sometimes, but she thinks Jennie's her mate, and I hate seeing Jennie rub that in the dirt. Either tell Laurie flat out you don't like her, or stop pretending to be about doing her some good and trying to help her grow up."
"I guess I can understand why bein' turned into a dog sucked so much for her", Angelo said with a shrug. "But it still wasn't much of a big deal what you said."
John fooled around with the lighter in his hand. He didn't have much of an opinion about it. As far as he was concerned, it was a silly girl thing and the only time he'd be interested in saying anything about it was if they were going to say, mud wrestle one another.
"You should get one of those little mini coopers," John suggested, trying for a change of subject. "I think it'll suit you."
Amanda leapt on the change of topic gratefully. "You and Jay both. What's with trying to put me in the Mr. Bean car?" she asked with a laugh.
"You're short", Angelo said, straight-faced and ignoring his own hypocrisy.
"Hey!" That earned him a poke.
John lit himself a cigarette and slid the pack over to Amanda with a shake of his head. "Nuh-uh. If we're on the subject of Rowan Atkinson, dude stands at about 6'1"," he remarked. "But seriously, I think the newer models are pretty cool."
Ooh, nicotine. Amanda pounced on the pack, took one and raised her eyebrow at Angelo before nudging it his way. Lighting up, she blew out of plume of smoke before responding. "Maybe. They're pricey, tho'. I just want something basic, that won't break down and can get me out of trouble if I get into it." She grinned. "And something with a lot of space in the boot, considering how many bloody books I have to haul around sometimes."
Angelo swiped one or possibly two before tossing the pack back to John. "Well, no second-hand car that's fit to be sold should break down on you right away. But that's what we're takin' the machine whisperer along for. I'm just the GTA expert, right?"
"Pretty much, yeah. Since it'd suck seeing my hard-earned disappear into some car thief's pockets. I'll make it..." She paused then, feeling a cold prickle down her spine. Something was... A quick glance around the pub revealed nothing untoward, no-one giving them any undue attention. The moment passed. "Huh."
"Something wrong?"
"Hmm?" Amanda looked back at John. "Nah, just thought there was something... Must be hanging around Remy too much - I'm getting paranoid." She brushed it off with a gesture. "So, who's up for another round?"
