Doreen & one little brother; Doreen & Johnny

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After her English Class, Doreen calls home again. This time goes a little bit better. ((Thanks again to Suzene for socking))

It was after English that Doreen managed to sneak away again. Once more she dialed home. Ryan never could stay mad forever, even if he could be a twit for weeks on end. She was sitting in a tree this time, it was better than locking herself in the bathroom. She was high enough off the ground too that most people wouldn’t see her unless they were looking.
Come on Ryan… answer the phone…

The phone rang for a long time before Ryan finally picked up.

"Hey." The shrieking of some FX beastie in the background let her know that he was watching old Godzilla movies again.

“Hi,” Doreen said, watching Monkey Joe run through the branches, “Which one you watching?” she asked, one leg dangling off the branch. “Gamera or Mothra or any of those?”

"You know you're a geek when you can pick out Mothra's lines." Ryan was quiet for a little bit. "How'd your birthday go?"

“It’s still going. It’s afternoon now. I got a couple of presents from a friend of mine. Did I say that earlier? And of course I can recognize Monthra’s lines. Anyone can. And you’re watching it dubbed,” she said. The DVDs came with them both, not that the subtitled track really improved on the dialog.

"Did dad call?"

“No. Not yet, but you said yourself he’s really busy,” Doreen said, with a tail droop. “And I’m pretty sure Mom is still working, but she emailed me yesterday to tell me that, so I’m not too worried.”

"She'll call when she gets in. Or tomorrow if it's too late. Don't sweat it." The TV volume went down. "Gonna do anything cool?"

“No, not really. I don’t need a party,” Doreen said, “I have friends around, so that’s okay. Has Dad called you today?” she asked, sitting back against the bark of the tree.

Ryan sighed. "Yeah. I asked him if he was going to call, Dori. He said he would if it wasn't too late there by the time he got free."

“Oh,” Doreen said, “Okay. Is he in the office today? I know that number.”

"He was earlier. I don't think he's left yet or anything. Hey, Dori? Are you going to be coming back?"

“I dunno. This place isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she said. She hadn’t wanted to leave at all. She had thought that everyone she knew was at home and that’s where she wanted to be. “I mean, I think Mom and the Social Worker were pretty big on me staying here until the… you know… stopped happening.” When she freaked out, if that was the right thing to call it.

"'Cuz...you know...if it's going all right there, it'd probably be best thing if you stayed. I mean, there are a lot of other kids like you there."

“…Oh. Um… yeah. I mean, I can stay. Everyone’s really nice here so it wouldn’t be a bad thing if I stayed. Did Mom say she wanted me to stay? Or did Dad? I mean, I told him I was coming here, he didn’t answer me, but I told him or did you tell him first?” Doreen said, starting to ramble.

"Dad thinks...uh, he thinks that it's good for you to be out there. And, you know, getting help with people who are good with...that kind of thing. It means that he and mom don't have to worry."

“I guess that means Dad won’t want me going skiing with you guys this year too… is he moving back home then?” Doreen asked, trying to keep her voice chipper, “Did he really say it like that? I mean yeah, he won’t have to worry now.”

"I um...don't know. We haven't talked about it. I mean, they haven't talked about it with me. I...don't think so, though. I don't think we're doing that this year. Not all of us or anything."

“Okay,” she said. It might have been petty but as long as it wasn’t just him and Dad she could deal with it. It was her favorite thing, after all, it always had been their family thing except for the last two years. “I mean, yeah. I miss doing that. It was fun.” And it would’ve been a great birthday present…

"Yeah." Awkward silence over the line. "Was there anything else you wanted?"

“I dunno. Just to see if Dad called I guess,” she said, her tail drooping, “Sorry I got weird at you earlier for ditching class. And…uh… I’ll call you later?”

"S'okay. Talk to you later, all right?" Ryan hung up.

After the call with her brother, Johnny cheers Doreen up a bit.

Doreen sat out back, not in the trees right now. Late afternoon was starting to come on and the cool bite to the air was sucking the last rays of hope out of her. ‘Four hours ahead’ was becoming a mantra. She fed Monkey Joe some granola she had with her, before eating some herself.

Gifts and friends aside, there was only one person she wanted to hear from and she hadn’t yet.

With his homework finally conquered, a bit of fresh air was sounding like an appealing thing. Promising Lil and Jean-Paul that he would stay on top of it was one thing, but actually doing it was quite another and the required focus and extended periods of stillness really didn't suit him. Johnny slipped out of the backdoor and onto the porch, exhaling contently as he considered the possibilities for the remainder of the evening. These thoughts were cut short, however, at the sight of a certain fluffy-tailed teammate. Running into Doreen anywhere but in a mandatory class or perched in the boughs of one of the many surrounding trees was something of a rarity. The teen smiled, moving to plop down beside her and teasing, "Hey Dori. Treehouse under repair or something?"


Oblivious as he was, and caught up in his own satisfaction besides, even Johnny couldn't help but notice something just wasn't right and the realization was quick to wipe his expression clean. "...Everything okay?"

Doreen smiled the best she could, “Yeah. Things are great. Today’s my birthday, actually,” she said. It wasn’t a total lie, things being great. Julian had gotten her a present and they had English class outside today. So things were going well, except for the family stuff.

“It’s nice out so I thought I’d come outside for a bit with Monkey Joe,” she explained, giving him more granola.

While the smile carried some faint hints of truth, it didn't fully convince Johnny and certainly wouldn't have fooled anybody else. It was, however, enough of a hint to avert any direct questioning. The teen leaned to rest his elbows against his knees, doing his best to return the expression, "You should've told me earlier. We could've had a party for you like they did for Mr. Dayspring...only with less hangovers." He leaned to scratch Monkey Joe's furry head with light affection before looking to his teammate again, "But a near-belated 'happy birthday' anyway."

“No, I don’t need a party,” Doreen said with complete honesty, “It’s enough when people are just there for you, you know?”

"Yeah," the white-haired boy conceded after a moment, giving a small nod of his head, "I get that." And he did. The last year or so and the solitary companion he had been left with before coming to Xavier's had taught him the simple, but incomparable value of it.

“I’m just waiting for a call. I thought maybe the reception on my phone would be better out here,” Doreen said honestly. She was never quite sure how this phone worked. Or didn’t sometimes.

Johnny nodded along as she spoke. It was a rational enough notion, if a bit on the desperate side, but it seemed to be an important call so he certainly couldn't fault her for it. "Couldn't hurt, I guess," he agreed, leaning back to rest his down turned palms against the porch. "How's the signal?"

Doreen looked down at the phone, “Five bars,” she said, “Perfect.” She gave the phone to Monkey Joe who took it and started chewing on it.

The white-haired teen offered her a small smile, bobbing his head again, "Just a matter of time, then. Assuming Monkey Joe's teeth aren't as powerful as he thinks they are."

“They’re not. I learned from the last phone that I have to get one that’s pretty hard to break,” Doreen said, playing with her claws. “I break things pretty easily.”

Johnny glanced down as the movement caught his peripheral vision; he'd never given the function of those claws much thought when they weren't helping her beat him in a race. He smiled again and gave a small shrug, "Trial by error comes with the territory, I guess." Not that his malfunctioning sixth sense had ever been quite so destructive. "...So who's supposed to call?"

“My Dad,” Doreen said, “My mom might not be able to, she’s working and all and I’ve talked to my brother but Dad hasn’t called yet.”

The white-haired mutant did his best not to let his own sour association with the term creep in. Not all dads were like Darren, after all, and he didn't doubt that Doreen would hear from hers soon. At least he tried not to. He nodded.

“I mean, I hope he does. He hasn’t called since I came here, but he’s just really busy. He works in finance, but he’s really good at it so he’s not going to lose his job or anything,” Doreen said happily.

The justification was unpleasantly familiar, though a few years out of date in his case. Johnny tried not to frown, nodding again, "...I'm sure he'll call when he gets a chance. There's a four hour time difference, right? He's probably still at work too."

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m waiting,” Doreen said. She’d stay up until midnight if she had to.

"Still, no reason to just sit here doing nothing, right?" He couldn't keep the charade of reassurance up and he knew it, but hopefully a change of topic and scenery would get both of their minds off of the unmade call. Johnny offered her the most certain smile he could, "Up for a race before we lose daylight?" Not that he had a chance...but it had put a smile on her face last time.

“Sure! Do you want to just run or is jumping okay too?” Jumping was like an instant win for Doreen.

Johnny gave the girl a light and playful nudge, grinning honestly for the first time in a long while, "Running. I learned my lesson last time and I need some more practice with Mr. Sefton before trying that uphill battle again." He pulled himself up and moved to offer Doreen a hand.

Doreen took his hand, minding her claws, “I bet I can still beat you,” she said brightly. For her it was just fun.

"Bring it on," the teen quipped lightheartedly back once Doreen was on her feet. For Johnny, this time at least, it was just about her.