Kevin & Laurie | Wednesday night

[x-wither.livejournal.com]

On his way back from the medlab to get his hand fixed Kevin finally runs into Laurie. It doesn't exactly go well.

Kevin eyed the splint on his right hand. This was going to be hard to cover up. He'd been trying to keep the whole powers neutered thing to himself but he couldn't made them put the splint on over a glove because that just really didn't work. His middle finger and index finger both had splints on them so he wasn't exactly getting a glove over them either. He guessed he could just be really careful and not touch anything with his right hand for the sake of appearances and mostly hide out, which wasn't a huge change of pace for him lately anyway. Nathan and Jean knew, and Yvette knew, and now Jay knew. That was more or less everyone he generally saw that frequently who it'd be hard to try to hide it from anyway with the exception of Doctor Sampson but he was bound to find out eventually. "Stupid wall," he grumbled to himself as he headed up the stairs, back toward Jay's suite. Of course, it wasn't the wall's fault. The wall was just an innocent bystander. The addiction had really done something to his temper; Kevin hadn't remembered it ever being quite so short before. Then again, that could have just been the special power of Jay right there. Kevin was so busy examining his splints that he didn't even see the person he was walking toward, which was too bad since he'd resolved to have words with her more than an hour ago when Jay had mentioned she'd said something to him about the powers problems.

Laurie noticed the injury to Kevin's hand right away, and the frown that had been apparent on her face deepened as she looked from his hand to his face. "Kevin?"

"Huh?" It took him a moment to pull himself out of his thoughts and realize it was an actual person talking to him. When he looked up and he noticed Laurie his eyes darkened. He didn't know what he wanted to say to her at the moment so he said nothing.

Laurie moved forward, her hand stretching out before she realised what she was doing and how dangerous that was. "What happened?" she asked, hand dropping back to her side.

Kevin pulled back from her on instinct, tensing until her hand dropped. At least he was already pre-programmed to the danger that no longer existed. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard keeping it up with the split on after all. "Punch a wall, dislocated two fingers er knuckles er somethin' like that."

"Kevin Ford, what are you doing punching walls?" Laurie exclaimed, expression moving from concerned to disapproving in an instant as she moved closer to examine the splint. "I thought you knew better then to take out your frustrations on defenseless inanimate objects."

"Laurie Collins, what're ya doin' tellin' people stuff 'bout me that ain't none of their business and that Ah only told you 'cause Ah felt bad you were all worried?" Kevin pulled his hand behind his back to keep her away from it physically and keep her attention on the other matter. "Ya prefer if Ah punch my ex instead of the wall?"

"Well, it probably would've had the same effect, considering how hard that boy's head is." Laurie murmured, looking up at him again. "And I wanted to know if he'd done what he had knowing that about you. It would have made a difference, if he had. But it seems he didn't, and that makes a difference to. Why didn't you tell him, Kevin? Do you have some liking for bad situations that you'd deliberately not tell the person who's meant to be closest to you the truth?"

"First of all, if ya wanted to know if he'd known you could've asked me, but that probably didn't actually occur to ya, did it?" His good hand went behind his back to hold onto his wrist. His grip was hard enough that his blood flow would slow and his hand would go numb if he didn't let go but it was the best way he had to keep the sudden temper flare in check. "Since when does bein' someone's ex-boyfriend qualify someone as the closest person to 'em? Ah had reasons for not tellin' him. None of which matter now because you decided to take thing into your own hands. You didn't stop to think though, did ya? Maybe Ah had reasons for not tellin' him and maybe Ah didn't want the consequences of him knowin' being forced on either of us."

"What consequences, Kevin? Why didn't you want him to know?" Laurie asked, noticing the way he held himself and resisting the urge to simply calm him down. She'd never particularly liked confrontations, and there was always a part of her that had to resist making things easier for herself.

He shook his head. "What is with you people? Ya can't just not do something because someone don't want you to and it doesn't hurt for you to just do what they want. No, ya gotta know why and decide it's a good enough reason, don't ya?" Kevin squeezed his eyes shut tightly, taking deep breaths to calm himself. "Jay and Ah've always been complicated. That hasn't changed just 'cause we broke up. And this complicates things. And it don't complicate them in a good way. And it all could've been avoided if you just kept your mouth shut."

"Then maybe you should have told me it was such an all fire big super secret." Laurie snapped, finally fed up with the both of them. Jay for being such a blockhead and going off all hair-brained after Kevin, and Kevin for being so bloody obtuse. "Sorry that I figured it was a good idea to confirm something with the person themselves rather then immediately assume Jay was the devil incarnate. You do realise that you going off about how he'd tripped you and pushed you to breaking point when you're currently addicted to your powers, makes him sound like an abussive bastard, right? So either you tell me why that was such a bad idea or you can bite me, Mr Doom cloud."

"Ah told you Ah didn't want people knowin', Laurie. Ah didn't think Ah had to go and tell you not to go talkin' to anyone 'bout it after Ah said Ah didn't want people knowin'. Seems kinda obvious to me." Though apparently with some people you had to paint it backwards across their forehead in big, block letters so they read it every time they looked in a mirror. "Like Ah said, ya coulda asked me. Now everything's," he didn't finish. He didn't know what it was and he couldn't really explain it without explaining his powers had been shut off and he didn't want to tell her that, especially given Laurie clearly didn't know how to keep her mouth shut. "Ah thought Ah could trust you to just not tell other people things 'bout me Ah didn't want 'em knowing. Ah don't exactly share with people, do Ah?" Kevin shrugged. "Guess Ah was wrong and you can't be trusted after all."

If she'd been two years old, she'd have hit him over the head with a rubber yak and called it a day. Unfortunately, she was meant to be more mature then that, and 'use her words'. The fact that said words would honestly contain things not meant for polite company still gave her pause in expressing them however.

Instead, she simply stood for a moment, eyes locked with Kevin's as she thought of and then discarded several replies.

"You'd do a lot better if you stopped being so bloody sure that telling us the truth would make things harder for you. We're all here for the same thing, you know. To learn to control ourselves, to get a good education, and heck, maybe one day to actually be some sort of help to society. You keep going around expecting the worst and that's all you're going to get." she finally said, hands clenched into fists at her side.

Kevin groaned. "Ya don't get it. Ya don't understand us. Not surprising, no one seemed to get it when we were together, why should this be different? Ah don't care 'bout most people 'round here. Not what they know and not what they think. It's about Jay, it's always 'bout Jay. And once anything is known 'round here it spreads uncontrolled until it finally gets to him. He made a choice, Laurie. And that choice was what he needed. Ah don't gotta be happy 'bout but Ah let 'im have it. Now you opened your mouth and he's gonna question everything he'd gone and decided 'cause he feels bad. 'Cause this changes things in a way when it shouldn't. You've completely messed with everything."

"Then you're an idiot." Laurie replied with a shake of her head. "If he does change his mind only because he feels bad, and you let him back in then you're an idiot. If nothing has changed, if it's still just the same as before, then whether he feels bad or not shouldn't change a damn thing. Man up, Kevin, if he can't be strong, then you've got to be."

Kevin mentally reminded himself that she was a girl and you didn't hit girls. He really wanted to right about now though. "S'not that simple and that's not what it's 'bout. Got nothing to do with me. It's what you just did to him by tellin' him. Ah'm thrilled ya think Ah'm so self-centered that everything Ah want revolves 'round me, but this doesn't."

"Because him finding out later that the reason everyone's been really mad at him is we thought he was an abusive bastard was really going to make it all chocolates and roses, I assume." Laurie said, getting fairly sick of being told what she was thinking. If anyone was going to have a say about what she was thinking, it would be her, not Kevin. "He'll get over it. Human beings do that."

Kevin actually growled, his hand on his wrist squeezing hard enough to bruise. "How many times do Ah gotta point out ya could've just asked me?! You're the only one who didn't realize he didn't know and the only one who went and told him somethin' ya knew Ah didn't want people knowin'."

"Jay isn't 'people', Kevin. It's not like I've gone out and shouted it from the flying platform. And I wouldn't assume that other people knew he didn't know. Have you actually asked them that?" Laurie noted, hand raising again slightly, as if to touch him but she clenched her fist instead and lowered it again.

Kevin kept tensing more as if his anger was feeding the physical reaction even though he was getting more frustrated and annoyed with her than anything else. "Yes, he is. Once he broke up with me he became 'people,' just like the rest of y'all. Everyone else knows he didn't know. Has something to do with the fact Ah told exactly five people. Five Laurie. Haller was the first person Ah told. He knows he was the only person Ah told at that point. Jean knows Jay doesn't know. Nathan only knows 'cause Ah had needed his help with somethin' so Ah had to explain everythin' and he was smart enough to ask me if Jay knew. Yvette knew Ah was havin' problems and that Ah hadn't told anyone else, and since Jay's a person he qualifies for 'anyone else.'"

"Would you stop insulting my intelligence, it's not very nice, you know." Laurie said, annoyed at how much he seemed to assume she was either stupid, or untrustworthy just because she hadn't reacted as other people had. It wasn't her fault, afterall, it was a mistake anyone could have made.

"Ah'm not insulting your intelligence," he pointed out, fuse burning more. "Ah'm pointin' out that you're excuses are just that. Excuses for doin' something that ya should've known Ah wasn't gonna be happy about. Really, what'd you expect was gonna happen for you betrayin' my trust in you?"

"I didn't betray your trust, damn it. I just asked him a question. That hardly counts as laying everything out and drawing the man a map." Laurie retorted, needled and wanting done with this conversation already. "Is it my fault you're so repressed you think someone knowing what you eat for breakfast in the morning is personal?"

"Ya didn't just ask him a question, ya told him something Ah didn't want him knowing and that Ah trusted you to not go 'round tellin' people. Ain't got nothin' to do with being repressed. And for the record, there's a difference between bein' a private person and bein' repressed." God, was she always this hard to get a point across to? It was worse than arguing with Jay!

There was a number of things Laurie could have said but as each came to mind, she discarded them as unworkable at best, or down right childish at worst. Instead, she decided to simply walk away, it was the best option right now for both of them.

Kevin just sort of growled to himself and watched her leave. Great. He was in a fine mood before he'd run into her. He really, really didn't like people.