Johnny and Jean-Paul

[x-cynosure.livejournal.com]

Johnny belatedly meets with Jean-Paul about his final project and confesses his part in getting the rumors started.




With the truth about Jean-Paul's absence now out in the open and the young man's unease over the matter put mostly to bed, Johnny had finally rescheduled his appointment with his teacher. For all the hectic activity of this place, it was a school and he had finals to contend with come the end of the semester. Which wasn't far off at all. Still, he had far more on his mind than academia as he made his way down the hall to the faculty offices. He still hadn't told the older mutant how he was all but certain the rumors got started or apologized for his role in it, and given the outcome...he owed him that much, didn't he?

Finally finding his way to the man's office, the white-haired teen reached out to knock.

"Come in, Johnathan." Jean-Paul was sitting behind his desk, trying to pretend that the stack of work in front of him was anything but for show. "You got my email, I trust?"

Johnny pushed the door open and stepped inside, making his way over to the chair placed nearest to the entry. He had been in the man's room before, but never his office. This step toward formality was strange and difficult for him to justify and so he opted not to think about it at all, smiling a little instead, "Yeah. Scary stuff." He flopped back in his seat, his frame feigning a casualness he didn't feel, "Sorry I missed the original time."

Jean-Paul shook his head. "I just want to be sure that the latest school drama does not wind up adversely affecting your grade. I do have your grades from your previous school and I have come up with some options for your final project that I would like to discuss with you."

Johnny tried not to frown at the mention of the recent events, but the expression refused to be held in complete restraint. "All right," he replied, hoping that if he passed the matter for now Jean-Paul might do the same. He wanted to address it, but not yet. "...What kind of options?"

"Your English classes look to have been fairly similar in structure to Doreen's -- more of a composition course with a smattering of literature than a full literature course -- so I am offering you much the same options. My first thought is to coordinate with your old professor and have you do something similar to the final in her composition course, only using the course material as your starting point. The second is to have this be something closer to a creative writing project, where you attempt to use the structure of the stories in class as a framework for one of your own."

The bullet dodged, or at least temporarily evaded, Johnny relaxed a little and listened to the older man as he continued. The first option, as promised, sounded fairly standard and manageable. Though it was the second which couldn't help but pique his interest. "You mean...write a fairytale?"

Jean-Paul nodded. "More or less. You will also be required to to write an accompanying paper to explain the choices you made and how they relate back to the coursework."

Johnny nodded. It was definitely an interesting option, one he never would have received at his old school. Even ignoring his own adoration of fiction, that was enough to make it somewhat appealing. His feet swung idly in thought as he considered this foreign concept of choice. Finally, he cracked a thin smile, "Trust me enough to say I'll get back to you or have I lost the privilege?"

"Well..." Jean-Paul drummed his fingers on the desk, pretending to think the matter over. "I will trust you this once more, but if I have to go looking for you come the weekend, you will wish you had been given the option of another math course."

The white-haired teen laughed briefly, bobbing his head in silent contract.

"We have an understanding, then." Jean-Paul smiled, and not just to see Johnny relaxing; the wooden-backed office chair was a classic look, but damnably uncomfortable. The sooner he could get away from it, the better. He'd sacrifice form for function next term and get something nice and ergonomic. "Is there anything else?"

The question was more sobering than Jean-Paul intended. "Actually..." Johnny paused for a moment, pursing his lips tightly and considering. They had achieved some element of their former interaction in the short meeting and it was nice to see the older man smiling, but this needed to be said, didn't it? He had been on the receiving end of a lie for his own benefit only a few days before and it hadn't helped anything in the long run. Finally, he nodded, "There is something else."

Jean-Paul was not so dense as to be unable to guess what the matter was from Johnny's newly hesitant tone, and also was not feeling nearly churlish enough to make him be the one to say what the matter was.

"About my trip to Quebec, I take it?"

"Kind of." The topic was predictable, but what Johnny said next, voice softening in volume, was far from it. "...I need to apologize."

One dark brow rose. This...was not expected.

"Excuse me?"

The explanation was more difficult to start than Johnny had expected and the boy lowered his eyes from his teacher's sharply perplexed gaze before continuing. "The rumors getting started was my fault." Though this initial statement came slowly, what followed tumbled out of his lips quickly, laced with the anxiety of obvious guilt. "I didn't mean to, but I overheard you and Mr. Summers talking and after you left I just...didn't want to be out there anymore. I ran into those girls on the way back inside and they were saying all this stuff about things I wished I could 'un-know' and 'social experiments', but I didn't know what the heck they were talking about and..." He swallowed a knot in his throat, finally slowing. "...Sorry."

It was amazing just how easy it was to get back into the mindset of wanting to strangle four particular students.

"I will accept your apology for the eavesdropping," Jean-Paul said calmly, "and I believe you when you say that it was an accident. I cannot blame you for more than that. Even if you unintentionally gave the Stepford girls access to what was in your head, they are the ones who chose to take it and act on it. That was the harm done and it was not your fault."

Johnny smiled weakly, "Between nearly falling on my head and accidental eavesdropping, trees don't seem to be the best place for me. Maybe I should've stuck with climbing fire escapes after all." He exhaled softly and shrugged off the attempted humor, leaning back in his seat and allowing his digits to fidget their way into near knots. "Still...I should've said something. There wasn't anything right about that, but I was...I just wasn't thinking." The why, of course, is perfectly obvious.

"I can imagine that you were upset yourself with what you overheard. I doubt you could have anticipated what those girls were up to." Talking about the whole mess just made him feel very tired all over again. "It is all right, Jonathan. Truly. I am not upset with you."

The boy was quiet for a long moment, the nodded slowly in confirmation to both notions together. He had been upset, he hadn't known what to make of those strange, eerie girls. And he was grateful that Jean-Paul understood. "So...we're okay?"

"For my part, yes." Another moment of quiet. If Johnny had overhead Jean-Paul talking to Scott, he had been aware for some time that his teacher hadn't been exactly honest with him that day. "I apologize for the lie on my return. I hope you can understand why I did not want to discuss what went on prior to Muir."

"I think I do," Johnny agreed with quiet reluctance. He wished he could've helped the older man that had done so much for him, but even he realized that their relationship would never be a fully equal one in that sense. The dynamic between students and teachers simply didn't function any other way. He shook his head, "It's all right. But...now that I know anyway, if there's anything I can do, you'll tell me, right?"

"Anything within reason," Jean-Paul countered. There were many problems you simply did not confide to fifteen-year-olds.

The agreement seemed enough to lift Johnny's spirits a considerable degree, even as he feigned consideration of it. "Maybe I won't wait to be told, then," the boy replied with a matter-of-fact quality that was clearly in jest.

"Oh, yes? So now I have to worry about being tackled in the hallways and treated to random acts of kindness just in case I might be feeling less than one-hundred percent happy with life?"

The smile this summoned to the teen's face was genuine. "You brought it on yourself."