xp_logs | Julian and Callie: Prom Drama

At Prom Julian and Callie run into each other at the punch bowl, some not so nice words are exchanged.

She had left her date momentarily to use the restroom and now she couldn't find him. Perhaps Fred had slipped out for a cigarette, or was using the bathroom himself, or dancing, Callie didn't know. But it was okay. She was certain that eventually she would find him, and for the moment she would relax from dancing and grab some punch. She was having more fun that she could have imagined, and even seeing a certain someone at the punch bowl couldn't deter her happiness.

"Excuse me Julian," Callie said civilly as she reached for a cup.

Not taking the time to glance at her, Keller side stepped so she could get at the bowl. Once his own cup was filled, he turned to see who it was who'd interrupted him. "Oh, hey." Callie hadn't spoken to him in nearly a week and he hadn't realized how much her friendship had meant to him until it was being withheld. "Um...enjoying prom?"

There were two options Callie had at this point: ignore him and continue with the cold shoulder, or be nice and not let him get to her. "I am," she said evenly as she filled her cup. "Thank you. I see you brought Esme."

A quick glance over at the table where she was again taking a break and Julian turned back to Callie, "Yeah...it's totally on the level though."

"Did she enjoy whatever opulent display you showered upon her," Callie asked. She wasn't normally this catty, but she was still upset at Julian. "Private jet to Niagara Falls? Jewelry? I see a lack of tiara on your date."

Julian smiled and paused, "Okay...I deserved that." Taking a sip of punch, he looked around the room, "I take it you're still mad at me?"

She paused for a minute to think, and took a sip of her own punch. "Yes," came the pointed reply. "But I don't want to talk about it. I'm having fun with my date."

"I'm okay with that- and I'm glad you and Fred are having a good time." In all honesty, he felt like he deserved it. "We're having a good time too- I don't see Fred around, and since my date is otherwise occupied, care to dance?"

"Not particularly, no." Callie took another sip of her drink. "Do you understand why I'm mad at you Julian?"

"Oh yes," Julian took a sip from his drink. "You're mad because I'm a damn jackass and completely superficial."

"Well yes, but you're always like that. But this is different." She shook her head sadly. "Never mind, even if I tell you, you won't get it."

"Now who's being condescending?" Julian shook his head and took another sip of his punch. "Maybe you should try before you give up on me entirely. I'm more than just a pretty face you know."

"The fact that you just said that shows how little you understand," came the calm reply. Callie turned to look Julian straight in the eye. "You can't understand because you are a pretty face, you know it, I know it, and everyone else can see it just looking at you. But those of us who do not conform to the standardized definition of beauty within our society can face a challenge. It's not something you will ever have to worry about, so forgive me when I say that no matter what I say you won't be able to understand what it's like. I thought you would, what with everything you told me about what happened to Dori, but I was wrong."

"Wow, yeah, you're right- how could I ever know what it's like to be the outcast?" A roll of the eyes and shake of the head later, Julian turned to face her, "I may not have had to live with it like you have, Callie, but I do know what its like."

"That's not what I'm saying." Ugh boys didn't get it. "We're all outcasts here. It's... you step out of here and no one assumes anything about you. People don't look at you weird. You're just another pretty guy in the crowd."

"Maybe they don't assume I'm a mutant, but they do assume certain things, Callie," he casually refilled his cup, doing his best not to act hurt or angry. "They see me and think, 'Oh, look, captain of the football team, pretty boy dumb ass jock.' Hell, I'll bet you even Fred made that assumption the first time he met me."

"So why would you go and do that to someone who you know and have lived with for awhile? Still judge them based on looks, I mean. If you yourself know what it's like to be judged?"

"We've already covered that. I'm a jackass." The fact that he winked after saying that, was immediately regretted. "Seriously though, it's a knee-jerk reaction. You do it too."

"I don't judge based on looks, but on character and how they act," Callie explained as she reached for a cookie. "And like you said, you're a jerk."

"You're going to tell me you've never made a judgment about someone based about how they look?" He scoffed.

She shrugged. "I try not to. And if I do, I try not to let it interfere with anything. And I certainly don't continue to do it after I've known the person for awhile."

"But you made the assumption that I've never been ostracized because I'm not visibly a mutant," tensions were starting to get a little high between the two of them. Still, Jules was trying to keep his composure and offered her a smile. "Look, Callie, I'm sorry. I've apologized to Fred and he thought it was all very funny."

"I'm sorry. But you weren't showing any empathy to what I was saying, so how could I tell? Because Julian, it hurts. And I don't want to believe that you would intentionally want to hurt someone." Callie finished the last of her punch and threw the cup away. "And speaking of Fred, I'm going to go see if I can find him."

"Callie, come on," Julian took a step forward toward her as she walked off. "I'm sorry." It did no good, he'd spotted Fred on the other side of the room too and she was already disappearing into the crowd. "God damnit," he sighed, turning back to pick up his cup and then heading off to find his date. However he was going to fix this problem, it would wait.