Backdated, Tat and Julio

[x-tatiana.livejournal.com]

Tat and Julio talk about the aftermath of the Shakespeare Syndrome, and Tat's still working on getting used to the way things work around the mansion.

~"I shouldn't have said anything."

"Of course I said something. It's not like I could keep my mouth shut."

"This is ridiculous. I just-"~ Tatiana tugged a pen from her bag, chewing on the end of it as she looked out over the grass. Her book was balanced on her knees, her bare feet sinking into the perfectly cut, perfectly green grass. It helped her do her homework; having the serenity of the Mansion's grounds, even though she wasn't feeling particularly serene at the moment. Honestly, she just felt like an idiot - which is why she was muttering to herself in Spanish, even though her homework was anything but.


"~What did you say?~" a voice speaking in Spanish came from behind her. It belonged to a young man with unruly dark hair tied back with a bandanna. Sweaty and disheveled, it looked like he had just come in from a run. He sat nearby in the grass and pulled a water bottle out of the pocket of his shorts. "~I mean, if you don't mind me asking,~ he added quickly.


Tatiana's eyes widened, and she twisted to look up at him, her mouth opening and closing a few times. "~I... I just-~" She trailed off. "~That energy drink thing. I was pretty much spouting off to just about everyone, and it kind of.... I said some things I wish I hadn't.~"

Julio made a noise that was half snort, half laugh and uncapped his water bottle. "~You and the rest of us. I got lucky and got stuck in Spanish, so I didn't have to worry about anyone understanding me. But then again, I have very little shame.~" He grinned.

Tat raised her brows, and her own cheeks colored just a little. "~Oh, that was you? Then... I read.~" She didn't really need to elaborate, but.... well. She kind of knew where Nori and her boyfriend had ended up. "~Mine was English, and a set syllable group.~" She made a face.

Julio didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrows and grinned again as he took another drink. Even without telling anyone where he and Nori ended up that night, mansion gossip was a wonder to behold. There was even a rumor about the two of them in one of the classrooms. That one wasn't true. Yet.

He cleared his throat. "~I wouldn't worry about it,~" he said amicably. "~I wasn't too happy to be here myself, back in the day. A lot of peeple wind up here because it's where they have to be, and not necessarily where they want to be.~"

"~I'm not... unhappy to be here.~" Just confused. Really, really confused, and wondering how the hell she got here. "~You know?~" She cleared her throat. "~It's.... Not like anything else.~"

"~No,~" Julio agreed. "~It's really not. Like, unfortunately, you get used to this stuff. Once our student counselor's brain hiccuped and we got stuck in a dream where there was no mutants at all, and we were in a coma for 32 hours," he stretched his legs out in front of him. "~Last year? When I went to take my driver's test? That got called on account of being attacked by dinosaurs. When I was living in Mexico, sometimes I wished my life was less boring. Now? If I ever find a mutant who can time travel, I'd like to go back and smack me."

Tatiana stared at him. "~You're serious, aren't you. Actually serious.~" She shook her head. "~And here I thought that telling the truth was bad. How do you deal with it? I mean, don't you kind of expect to wake up every day and have the sky be green, or something?~" It didn't really make sense. At all. Worse then at all.

And she was right in it, slogging through with everyone else.

"~Ah, it's not so bad,~" Julio said dismissively. "~Once upon a time, a flunked test would have upset me. Or my Dad not letting me drive the car. But now? Now I've got much better perspective on things. I know there are worse things that can happen. And besides, the cracked out insanity of this place can be fun. I wouldn't be suprised if I woke up and the sky was green. That's like, Tuesday.~"

Tat shook her head. "~I wish I had those kinds of things to be upset about. Usually... the weird stuff is just... annoying.~" She shrugged. "~I mean... I'm just starting to figure out where I should be here, but this place is tons better then anywhere else. I mean, hey, no one's trying to kill me here, you know?~" She shrugged. "~Although, if the sky was green, I'd totally take pictures.~" She actually smiled, even though it was small. "~You know, if the sky does turn green, and it's on Tuesday, then I'm totally blaming you.~"

"~That's right,~" Julio said calmly. "~This place has taught me a lot about myself, and my powers. I used to think that I wasn't good for anything, that my powers were just good for destroying things. But I know better now. You will too. There's a use for every power, whether we see it right away or not,~" the boy scratched his chin thoughtfully. Just because he maintained a veneer of cheerful goofball didn't mean he wasn't hiding some hard won maturity underneath it all. He held up his hands and smiled. "~I accept ull and total responsibility if the sky is green on a Tuesday. But I refuse to accept blame if it's on any other day.~"

"~Well, that's fair. I'll take orange on Wednesday, if you want.~" Tat smiled, and then sobered, somewhat. "~Can't really think of a use for mine. Not one I'd want, anyway.~"

"~Just give it time.~" said Julio, pulling off his bandanna and unfolding it to dry out the sweat. "~It took me a while to figure out I was good for things other than destroying cities. Now I'd say to just relax and try to get to normal. And normal for here, I mean. I once got bored and hit the student counselor with ice cream.~"

"~... You hit a counselor with ice cream? Why?~" Tat laughed as she looked over at Julio. "~And I'm trying. I mean.... Normal's relative. But I'm trying.~"

~I was bored,~" said Julio with a laugh and a shrug. Then he smiled evily. "~You want to try? There's a bucket of water with Angelo's name on it.~"

Tatiana choked back a laugh, shaking her head. "~You're horrible.~" It was obvious she didn't mean it, and she looked up at the sky as she shook her head. "~Not really how I need to fit in, but... definite possibilities, there. Maybe in a few months when I actually know all these people?~"

"~Ah, we're not so bad,~" said Julio with a wink. "~You'll love us soon enough.~"