xp_logs | Jay & John

After Jay gets permission from Jean to stretch his wings and he comes across John at the end of his flight. Oddly enough, John makes him feel normal again.

Flying had always done something for him, bringing out relief through the frustrated beating of his wings or let a whoop out at the rush of the wind pushing him up in a surge of excitement. It had always comforted him, bringing him as high as the birds or allowing him to go higher where Angels might have hid. Often he had felt like an angel, weaving through clouds and playing mindless games with his friends. He wasn't invincible, but he felt like it when he was in the air. He'd felt free, flying with wild abandonment and pushing his limits.

His wings, oh his old wings, he loved them. It took a long time to love them like this and only seconds to ripe them from his spine, break his entire being and dismember his spirit. He hated them now. His converse touched down on the roof top, sound and steady instead of the usual stumble. He straightened out, pulled the hoodie over his head, casting a shadow over the colour of his skin and hiding his eyes. His back remained tight, rigid like a solider as though he had lived for nothing else.

SCHHT! SCHHT! SCHHT! The wings folded up quietly but for the faint sound of the feathers sliding into one another until they were nothing but two metal pieces that shone in the dark, sticking out of his back. He lingered on the spot, stilled by the silence of the evening until he heard an exhale, or rather, caught it in the corner of his vision. He turned his head, yellow eyes regarding the other presence on the roof.

Surprised to see Jay, John realized that his mouth was hanging open and he probably had a pretty idiotic expression on his face. He'd heard bits and pieces of what had happened but as per usual he never really took any interest in the going-ons at Xavier's or for that matter, the lives of the people living at the mansion. Day to day, he just went about doing his own stuff. Work, play, work, play. The only constant he had was his lighter. Sad piece of metallic instrument. He brought it to his mouth and lit his cigarette.

"... You know, I was just starting to get used to having this spot to myself again."

"Ah can give you a first class flying lesson and see if you still wanna bitch 'n moan about it," Jay quipped. He was headed downstairs, but at John's sudden appearance, Jay found for once, he didn't have a desire to be alone. Instead, he turned and walked a few paces until he was lined a few feet away from John, looking out over the mansion's yard to the garbage piled up outside of the gate.

"Thought you was dead," Jay said in bitter sarcasm.

"Oh, I could say the same to you, but obviously there's no cause for celebration just yet." He smirked, flicked the ash off and blew the smoke off to the side. John let his eyes travel down the length of Jay's new body. Blue skin. Metallic wings. "Huh. With all that blue on you, calling you red just doesn't seem so fitting anymore." Oh, he was asking for it. Judging by the look on Jay's face, he was not in the mood for their usual playful banter. But since when did John ever give a shit? Or stopped pretending not to? Whatever.

His eyes met John's and watched as he was blatantly studied. "Maybe Ah'll just peel the skin off your face and pave the road with it, then we can call you red," he said without missing a beat. Without realizing it, he had crossed his arms and uncrossed them, placing them on either side of the ledge.

"Sorry," he said, leaning down and letting his head hang. "That was uncalled for."

"Actually... that was." John snorted out a chuckle. "But trust you to feel bad. You're the nice little boy from hick town." He took a step forward and hoisted himself up onto the ledge. He turned around and let his legs hang. One tiny push from Jay, and he'd end up dead on the front steps of the mansion. "What happened? Rumour has it that you were... reborn?"

"That's mah problem. Ah don't feel bad." Jay's knuckles whitened and he stood upright, leaning his hips against the ledge. "Reborn enough to make me wish Ah was never born. No one knows what happened. Everyone cares, no one understands, no one has answers - does it matter?" Jay snorted, his eyes shifting to John and taking in his posture. "Everyone's fucked and you're still the same. Someone's makin' bad choices up north." It was the first real joke he'd made, one that didn't have a thirst in it and he bit his lip, if only to distract himself from that thought. It didn't matter though, he could taste his own.

He laughed, good-naturedly even. "So what did you do? Pull the famous Allerdyce move? Escape from the med lab?" John had heard Jay was in there. Thought to visit but decided against it. Pride always overtook his good sense.

"They didn't lock me in and throw away the key. Maybe they should have. It's late. Ah asked Jean for two hours outside. She said okay, but just two hours. Just in case Ah run into someone who'd say somethin' stupid. Ah'm at the one and a half hour marker and look who Ah run into."

"Well, I didn't cage you up and throw away the key either. You could always go." John raised his brow at Jay.

"This is the most normal Ah've felt," he confessed. "Unless you want me to go."

John looked at Jay for a moment then turned his gaze away. "I don't exactly own the rooftop so." He pulled out another cigarette and proceeded to light it. "If you had told me you were going to go hangout with Garrison, I would have warned you. ... Trouble seems to find him." Or was it the other way around?

"Trouble finds this place regardless," he found he was at ease with John's subtle submission and backed up a pace, turning around and away from the ledge. "Ah reckon it's why you stick around."

"Well, other than being a sucker for death defying circumstances, I've got a good job. It pays well," he shrugged. "Figure I'll pack up and leave when I'm bored and can afford to do it." John offered Jay his pack of cigarettes. "Life's all about changes, right?"

Jay looked down and nodded. "Yeah. One change at a time." He took the cigarettes.