Dori & Julian: Bittersweet Sixteen Epilogue...with Marshmellows!

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Julian seeks out Doreen, who seems down after her birthday.

A couple of days after her birthday, Doreen was still feeling down. Right now, she was in the lower branches of one of the trees in the yard, just laying down, tail even drooping. She shouldn’t have flipped out. At least Kyle understood and Callie seemed okay with it.

Monkey Joe made some clicking noises at her and Doreen looked at her friend, “Yeah, I know you care,” she said with a simple smile. “You’re my best friend.”

But she needed more than that.

Walking down the forest path, enjoying the warm breeze on his face Julian was trying to puzzle out what to do about his prom date dilemma. Nearby, a squirrel scampered up into a tree, but a quick look revealed it wasn't MJ. That was another thing he needed to deal with, the fact that Doreen had been essentially avoiding him since her birthday. The rumor mill had started churning out nasty bits about an incident that had happened later in the day, but considering the source was the Stepford Sisters, Julian wanted to get the story right from his friend. But if she wasn't around, how was he supposed to find out?

So he continued his walk in silence, slowly heading toward the quarry where he'd practice his powers like Nathan had taught him.

“Hey,” Doreen said when she saw him walk by from her perch in the tree. Monkey Joe looked down at Julian too. “Where are you going?”

The sudden 'Hey' from on high startled Julian, causing him to stumble a few few before catching himself and tossing up a shield. Then he realized that had it been an attack, the person probably wouldn't have said 'Hey.' Also, he could see Doreen through the green tint.

Dropping the shield, Keller smiled up at her and squinted as the sun broke through the branches above her. "Where am I going? I'm going right up there with you, don't move." Without waiting for an objection, he hurried over to the tree and started to climb...very slowly.

Doreen watched him over her shoulder and then sat up, making more room for him on the branch. People could be so slow in trees, “Do you need help getting up here?” she asked.

After slipping down the rough bark a few feet, he caught himself and righted his mistake, "No, I'm fine." Fact of the matter was he hadn't climbed a tree since he'd been a little kid. After a few more minutes of struggling, Julian found himself perched next to Monkey Joe and Doreen about thirty feet up in the air- the only thing keeping him from freaking out was the fact that if he did fall, his TK shields would catch him. "Okay, so why are you avoiding me?"

“I’m not avoiding you,” Doreen said, looking down at the ground. “I’m just… the last couple days…” she started, not quite sure where to go from there.

"The last couple days...?" he let the comment hang with a questioning tone. "All I know is I haven't seen you around since your birthday. Then I hear that you went feral, from the Cuckoos." Julian waited for her to respond.

“They’ve been saying that?!” Doreen squeaked, looking up at him.

"They gossip, I don't think anyone is taking them too seriously," the branch shook as she shifted, making Julian move to regain his balance. "So what's going on?"

Monkey Joe made his way to her shoulder and Doreen bit her lip, “I… got a hold of Dad on my birthday. Kind of,” she said softly, “He answered and then I said hi and he hung up on me…”

It was fortunate that Julian couldn't fly or he'd be on his way back to L.A. to toss Doreen's father out the window of his high rise office. Instead, he let the pang of anger that rose inside him out as a TeeKay Blast into a nearby tree- making it sway dramatically and causing a murder of crows to take flight. "Doreen, I mean this with the up-most respect...but someone needs to kick your father's ass."

Doreen watched the crows take off with wide eyes and then turned her attention back to the here and now, “No. No they don’t! It’s Dad. He can’t stay like this forever. He might have… been drunk,” Doreen conceded. She didn’t think even her brother knew just how bad it was some nights before Dad had left home. And given the way he smelled when he would show up to pick up Ryan, or the way Ryan would smell when Dad dropped him off she knew it hadn’t really stopped.

“But I don’t remember much of what happened after he did… hang up on me, that is.”

He shook his head and shifted gingerly upon the branch, turning toward her. "Doreen, he wasn't drunk and even if he was, that's no fucking excuse." Anger was starting to rise up again, but he didn't want it getting out that he was using his powers in fury, so Julian faught back the urge to uproot the forest. "I can't believe...I mean, I really thought he'd man up for your birthday." The rumors about her feral behavior were all but forgotten. "You can't keep making excuses for him."

“I’m not making excuses!” Doreen returned, sulking. She was more sad than angry, that allowed her to keep a lid on her emotions right now. “It’s my dad! Things can’t really be that different now! He’ll come back around, he just needs time…”

She was aware of just how lame that sounded.

Conflicting emotions started to boil up. "Look, maybe he will...and I hope I'm wrong about this, but he's not being a very good father anymore." He cut her off before she could object, the tears starting to form up in her hugely expressive eyes. "I'm not saying he never has been. I'm saying he's being an asshole now." An arm shot out and wrapped itself around her shoulder, "You deserve better. You are better."

Doreen sniffled and wiped her eyes, “Everything used to be so great and now he doesn’t even talk to me! I didn’t do anything different. I just wanted to talk to him. I mean, at least I got to hear his voice…”

"You're right, you haven't done anything wrong. The problem isn't you, it's him." He paused, not sure how she'd react to that.

A shift of balance and Doreen curled up into a ball, her head resting on her knees, “I could take my friends. The school teachers and even the kids who stop and look because most of them are just curious. I don’t mind being mistaken for one of the street performers whenever I went to the Mann. But I just wanted Dad to say ‘happy birthday.’”

The hand on her shoulder shifted down to her back, giving gentle, reassuring strokes. "If there's anyone in this world that deserves that Doreen, it's you. But it's his loss, if he doesn't want to see how amazing you are."

“I’m not amazing,” Doreen said, but she didn’t shrug him off, “The only really fun then I can even do is jump really far.” And the climbing was pretty fun, but that was another thing. “You know how lucky you really are? I mean, no one is going to know by looking at you. Until you said anything at school everyone thought you were just like everyone else. I mean, just by looking at you.”

After a pause Julian spoke, "Green, if you ever, ever tell anyone that I said what I'm about to say, I'll deny it." He paused again, waiting for eye contact. His desire to ensure she would be paying attention was based around the fact he was only going to say this once. "Our powers are not what make us amazing. You are amazing because in the face of incredible adversity, you always manage to make it through with a smile. It really impresses me, Dori...and it makes you special. What we look like, it has nothing to do with what's inside."

“Why wouldn’t you want me tell anyone you said that?” she asked, confused. It didn’t seem like something you’d hide from people that you said, “And sometimes, I don’t feel special.” Sometimes, she was all too acutely aware of just how different she was. Not special, different. “And it’s not incredible adversity.”

"Really? Because those guys back home weren't exactly being nice. Dori, your dad...you know what? When I got my powers, I was excited- just like you. But then my dad stopped taking me on trips and to work with him. He started focusing everything on my little brother. I know how it feels. Believe me, the fact that you're still chipper at the end of the day is incredible." Julian offered her a weak smile- he hadn't thought of his family in weeks and whenever he saw Doreen it was a reminder of what was on the other end of the country.

“No it’s not. I mean, I’m healthy. My brother is healthy. Mom may work all the time, but I know she loves me. I may not have the money to go drop at the mall all the time like I used to before high school and Dad may not be like he was anymore, but at least he’s okay. I mean, not everyone has all that, right?” Doreen pointed out and Monkey Joe nudged her cheek, “Oh yeah, I also have the best friends a girl could ask for,” she said, nuzzling Monkey Joe back and looking at Julian.

“It really isn’t that hard to remember that.”

"It's not, but a lot of people, myself included, lose sight of that really easily, Dori." He smiled at her then looked to Monkey Joe, "Friends and health. I'm in good shape, oh, hell, I look fantastic, and I have amazing friends. You, Callie, Angel...seriously, life is good." A quick glance down, "Some people don't see those positives all the time like you do."

"I still don’t get everything. I don’t get why Dad won’t talk to me,” Doreen admitted.

"Well, why do you think it might be?" Julian countered.

Doreen shrugged, “I don’t know. Because he was drunk, maybe. I didn’t tell my brother that he’s still drinking. You could smell it whenever he came over.”

"I don't know your father, Doreen.... I know mine though and it sounds like he's pretty damn similar. The only difference is my mom convinced my dad not to leave, or...like you said, I can pass as human. I think your dad is having a hard time adjusting, yes, still."

“Maybe it’s just Beverly Hills,” Doreen mused.

"I've been starting to think that place is kind of messed up," Julian quipped. "How many more mutants from our hood were out? None?"

“I don’t think there were any around. I was the only one that everyone could tell what I was,” Doreen said with a shrug. “I think there was just you and me.”

"Just two? In all of Beverly Hills?" Julian shook his head, "You were the only one who had a physical mutation, and I'm the only one that got sick of lying. People saw how we were treated... there had to be more who just got scared."

“I mean, just two at school. I don’t know about all of Beverly Hills,” Doreen said with a shrug. “But there was just us at school, I’m pretty sure.”

Julian shook his head, "I'm just not so sure, Dori." He looked down at the ground again, "Look, how about we go inside and I'll make you and Monkey Joe some hot chocolate. It's not too warm out here for that, right?" In truth, he really didn't want to fall, as it would likely mean Dr. Grey-Summers would want to see him again.

“Okay!” Doreen said brightly, “But think about it… knowing they were like us, how could anyone just stand by?”

He paused, not moving toward the trunk again. With a sigh and a nod of understanding, Julian looked back at Doreen, "I did, if you remember."

“Not always,” Doreen said, “There were times before everyone knew that you helped out,” she said, and she moved and put her claws in the tree and started down slowly. “You didn’t always stand by.”

As she swiftly descended the tree, Julian sighed and said to himself, "I did enough of the time though." Shaking off the depression, he started down the tree, "And I'm always with you from now on Squirrel Girl."

Doreen giggled, “That’s a funny name.”

"It suits you though, you have more energy than I do after drinking a couple of Fred's red bulls, you're agile and strong and loyal...you're totally a Squirrel Girl. No. You're the Squirrel Girl." He looked down to see her standing on the ground, "And you're definitely better than I am at climbing."

“I have claws, you don’t,” Doreen said stating fact, “And it’s still a silly name.”

"Screw it," he let go of the tree and dropped the rest of the distance into the underbrush, throwing up a TeeKay shield before impact and completely sure in his ability to walk away from the impact. Rolling out of the bush he pulled some leaves and twigs from his hair, "Okay, Dori, I won't call you that anymore. Now, how about that hot chocolate. Maybe some marshmallows for Monkey Joe?

She looked at Monkey Joe and then nodded, “He says Yes Please,” she said after a series of clicks, “Marshmallows are good.”