http://x_nothungry.livejournal.com/ (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
x-nothungry.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
xp_logs2009-06-08 04:40 pm
x-nothungry.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2009-06-08 04:40 pm
Fred, Callie, Julian, and Yvette: Television Woes
When Fred tries to gather his friends together to smooth out feathers ruffled during Prom, everthing does not go according to plan...
((Thanks to Mo for the Sock Awesomeness!!))
Fred had tried hard, over the past few days, to get all of his friends to calm the hell down. So far, it was going pretty well, considering it was a social plan conceived by Fred Dukes.
Though honestly, what could go wrong with a plan consisting of Pizza, Popcorn, and Extended Cable?
Fred had ordered a few pizzas (and one for himself; who else would eat pepperoni and pineapple?) and grabbed as many sodas and popcorn bags as he could from the kitchen. He'd managed to assemble Callie, Yvette, and Julian with minimal complaining on the part of any of the parties, though he felt a little bad for leaving Jules by himself; he wasn't sure how chaffed all the nerves still were from the Prom fiasco, and hoped his little stunt here would go a ways in patching things up.
He entered the media area where the others were, and poked his head from around the mountain of food he carried to talk to the other three, "Okay, soup's on!" and began organizing the food and sodas on the coffee table in front of the group.
Yvette had tried to help Fred in the kitchen - she still a little like she was betraying Angel, being here with Julian - but he had been adamant. So she had sat quietly, slightly apart from the other two, looking up with a smile as Fred came in and moving to help him unloading.
"Oooh pineapple pizza," exclaimed Callie as she saw the yellow chunks of fruit on one of the pizzas. It was her dirty secret that she and her mother had shared, but only when they were certain that her father wouldn't find out. They always joked that the Italian side of the family would disown them all if they knew how the two women were ruining the dish, but that never stopped them. She jumped up and helped Fred arrange the vittles, blushing a little when her hand accidentally brushed up against his. "Thanks Fred, for all the food."
"Did you say pineapple?" Julian wandered over to the table, noticing Yvette keeping her distance from him. She'd be acting different ever since prom, which probably made sense given who her roommate was. Sure enough there was pineapple pizza, which he hadn't seen made well out in this part of the country yet- unfortunately, this didn't look like it would be an exception to that. "Well, might as well give it a try."
"Yes, thank you, Fred." Yvette decided to avoid the pineapple pizza - it sounded gross to her - and instead helped herself to a slice of the regular cheese. She even mustered a smile for Fred and Callie. "Is there the particular television show we are to be watching tonight?" she asked, for the sake of making conversation that wasn't particular to Julian's current situation or Fred and Callie's blushes and glances.
Fred shrugged and stood in front of the couch and piles of food as he skimmed the channels with the remote, "I just figured we could surf until we found something we liked. Let's see what's on..."
Fred scanned through the channels, pausing shortly on each one to see what was on it, "Hannity...cartoons...shopping...more cartoons...news..."
Fred's eyes widened as he passed by the cable news channel, and then tuned back to it, "Hey guys, check this out..." He moved out of the way of the television so the others could see the words "The Mutant Question" in bright, angry red letters printed over the screen.
"In other news," the newscaster was saying, "a disturbing trend has been developing in high schools in the midwest - to publicly denounce students as mutants, regardless of whether or not they show any signs of mutation. In many cases the students aren't mutants at all, but are publicly ridiculed and denounced as such by their classmates. In many places, the local areas have stood against these students as well. Two such students have issued suits against their schools the districts regarding this issue," as the man spoke, images and video appeared from the areas, showing students and teachers protesting mutants.
The camera flashed back to the newscaster who was obviously receiving information as the broadcast was being aired, "We take you now to our affiliate in Lubbock, Texas where a local group is protesting mutants at the local City Hall..."
Fred's jaw went slack for a moment, and her turned back to the group, a look of disbelief splattered across his face as the name of his home town came on the television, and familiar landmarks appeared, coated in protesters...
The camera switched to a local man speaking. He looked older than he probably was and wore a blue shirt with his name embroidered on one side. He was an 'everyman' type of guy and apparently the spokesman. He spoke well though, his words tinged though with a Texas twang, "It's not that we hate mutants," he was saying, "these poor creatures can't help what they are, but that doesn't mean that they aren't dangerous and need to be separated from good people. They're a danger and they need to not be in schools with kids unable to defend themselves in case of an accident," he was saying. The name below the speaker was 'Earl Dukes.'
Fred's face wasn't visible to his friends as he watched the screen, but his hands tightened audibly, the sounds of his knuckles cracking like far off gunshots.
Without having read the name, Julian snorted, "Fucking hicks." He took a swig from his Red Bull before he noticed Fred's posture. "Dude, you okay?"
Yvette's eyes were wide, staring at the screen. "That... that is your hometown, yes, Fred?" she asked quietly, shooting a glance at Julian - obviously he wasn't paying attention to anything outside of himself, just as he had been with Esme. "You know this man, yes?"
As Callie sat on the floor, watching the scene on the television before them, she felt the tension in the room grow heavy. Fred was cracking his knuckles, and both Julian and Yvette were commenting on the boy's behavior. For her part, Callie had nothing to say. The man on the screen bore a resemblance to Fred, but she knew what not to say so instead she leaned against him. If he wanted to say something he would.
"My late wife, may she rest in peace, would not want to see mutants in her town," Earl Dukes continued, "She wouldn't want to worry about her mind being read or being manipulated or someone losing control. It's an issue of safety and privacy," he spoke for a few more moments then the TV switched back to the anchor, "That was Earl Dukes, the spokesman for the Friends of Humanity in Lubbock, Texas, reiterating the opinions of quite a few Americans across the country. The group is growing in towns everywhere as mutant related incidents both large and small increase in number across America and the world," then without missing a beat he began to seamlessly discuss news abroad in the Middle East.
Before the newscaster could finish his next few words, the television, specifically the screen, became a wash of sparks and debris as the massive fist of Fred Dukes slammed through it and into the wall the TV was flush against. He moved with more speed than a person his size rightly should as the television, after a few more swings of his fist, was reduced to little more than plastic fragments and minute glass pieces.
It took a moment for Julian to react, not believing that his usually zen like, giant, roommate would react like this to anything. It wasn't until the television was destroyed that he tossed up a green shield of energy around Fred, encasing him in a bell jar shaped dome. "Dude, calm down, it's the just same old shit they're always reporting."
"Fred, please." Yvette had jumped back when Fred had destroyed the TV, but moved forward now, the spikiness of her hair and stiffness of her face the only indications of the fright she had gotten - her voice was as soft and as calm as she could make it. "I know you are angry, but this is not the way to be doing things."
Unlike the other two, Callie lacked any sort of mechanism to protect herself or Fred. She didn't dare approach him, for fear of what would happen. This wasn't the Fred she was used to, but really she couldn't blame him for snapping. She just wished there was something she could do apart from standing up and saying in her most soothing voice, "Fred, take a deep breath. Yvette's right. Calm down, please."
Fred stood for several moments, unmoving save for the rise and fall of his deep breaths. When the energy dropped from around him, he turned to his friends, his face an unreadable hodgepodge of feelings, "It was my dad, Jules." Fred looked from Jules to Yvette and then Callie, their looks of slight fear mixed with concern made him angry, ashamed, sad...
"I...I'm sorry. I, uh...I gotta..." Fred couldn't even finish his thought. He made haste to the nearest door and threw it open so hard he took it off its hinges. After the sounds of another door being broken, this one more than likely leading outside, there was no earthly trace of Fred Dukes left in the room, save the half-eaten pizzas and the debris from the television.
((Thanks to Mo for the Sock Awesomeness!!))
Fred had tried hard, over the past few days, to get all of his friends to calm the hell down. So far, it was going pretty well, considering it was a social plan conceived by Fred Dukes.
Though honestly, what could go wrong with a plan consisting of Pizza, Popcorn, and Extended Cable?
Fred had ordered a few pizzas (and one for himself; who else would eat pepperoni and pineapple?) and grabbed as many sodas and popcorn bags as he could from the kitchen. He'd managed to assemble Callie, Yvette, and Julian with minimal complaining on the part of any of the parties, though he felt a little bad for leaving Jules by himself; he wasn't sure how chaffed all the nerves still were from the Prom fiasco, and hoped his little stunt here would go a ways in patching things up.
He entered the media area where the others were, and poked his head from around the mountain of food he carried to talk to the other three, "Okay, soup's on!" and began organizing the food and sodas on the coffee table in front of the group.
Yvette had tried to help Fred in the kitchen - she still a little like she was betraying Angel, being here with Julian - but he had been adamant. So she had sat quietly, slightly apart from the other two, looking up with a smile as Fred came in and moving to help him unloading.
"Oooh pineapple pizza," exclaimed Callie as she saw the yellow chunks of fruit on one of the pizzas. It was her dirty secret that she and her mother had shared, but only when they were certain that her father wouldn't find out. They always joked that the Italian side of the family would disown them all if they knew how the two women were ruining the dish, but that never stopped them. She jumped up and helped Fred arrange the vittles, blushing a little when her hand accidentally brushed up against his. "Thanks Fred, for all the food."
"Did you say pineapple?" Julian wandered over to the table, noticing Yvette keeping her distance from him. She'd be acting different ever since prom, which probably made sense given who her roommate was. Sure enough there was pineapple pizza, which he hadn't seen made well out in this part of the country yet- unfortunately, this didn't look like it would be an exception to that. "Well, might as well give it a try."
"Yes, thank you, Fred." Yvette decided to avoid the pineapple pizza - it sounded gross to her - and instead helped herself to a slice of the regular cheese. She even mustered a smile for Fred and Callie. "Is there the particular television show we are to be watching tonight?" she asked, for the sake of making conversation that wasn't particular to Julian's current situation or Fred and Callie's blushes and glances.
Fred shrugged and stood in front of the couch and piles of food as he skimmed the channels with the remote, "I just figured we could surf until we found something we liked. Let's see what's on..."
Fred scanned through the channels, pausing shortly on each one to see what was on it, "Hannity...cartoons...shopping...more cartoons...news..."
Fred's eyes widened as he passed by the cable news channel, and then tuned back to it, "Hey guys, check this out..." He moved out of the way of the television so the others could see the words "The Mutant Question" in bright, angry red letters printed over the screen.
"In other news," the newscaster was saying, "a disturbing trend has been developing in high schools in the midwest - to publicly denounce students as mutants, regardless of whether or not they show any signs of mutation. In many cases the students aren't mutants at all, but are publicly ridiculed and denounced as such by their classmates. In many places, the local areas have stood against these students as well. Two such students have issued suits against their schools the districts regarding this issue," as the man spoke, images and video appeared from the areas, showing students and teachers protesting mutants.
The camera flashed back to the newscaster who was obviously receiving information as the broadcast was being aired, "We take you now to our affiliate in Lubbock, Texas where a local group is protesting mutants at the local City Hall..."
Fred's jaw went slack for a moment, and her turned back to the group, a look of disbelief splattered across his face as the name of his home town came on the television, and familiar landmarks appeared, coated in protesters...
The camera switched to a local man speaking. He looked older than he probably was and wore a blue shirt with his name embroidered on one side. He was an 'everyman' type of guy and apparently the spokesman. He spoke well though, his words tinged though with a Texas twang, "It's not that we hate mutants," he was saying, "these poor creatures can't help what they are, but that doesn't mean that they aren't dangerous and need to be separated from good people. They're a danger and they need to not be in schools with kids unable to defend themselves in case of an accident," he was saying. The name below the speaker was 'Earl Dukes.'
Fred's face wasn't visible to his friends as he watched the screen, but his hands tightened audibly, the sounds of his knuckles cracking like far off gunshots.
Without having read the name, Julian snorted, "Fucking hicks." He took a swig from his Red Bull before he noticed Fred's posture. "Dude, you okay?"
Yvette's eyes were wide, staring at the screen. "That... that is your hometown, yes, Fred?" she asked quietly, shooting a glance at Julian - obviously he wasn't paying attention to anything outside of himself, just as he had been with Esme. "You know this man, yes?"
As Callie sat on the floor, watching the scene on the television before them, she felt the tension in the room grow heavy. Fred was cracking his knuckles, and both Julian and Yvette were commenting on the boy's behavior. For her part, Callie had nothing to say. The man on the screen bore a resemblance to Fred, but she knew what not to say so instead she leaned against him. If he wanted to say something he would.
"My late wife, may she rest in peace, would not want to see mutants in her town," Earl Dukes continued, "She wouldn't want to worry about her mind being read or being manipulated or someone losing control. It's an issue of safety and privacy," he spoke for a few more moments then the TV switched back to the anchor, "That was Earl Dukes, the spokesman for the Friends of Humanity in Lubbock, Texas, reiterating the opinions of quite a few Americans across the country. The group is growing in towns everywhere as mutant related incidents both large and small increase in number across America and the world," then without missing a beat he began to seamlessly discuss news abroad in the Middle East.
Before the newscaster could finish his next few words, the television, specifically the screen, became a wash of sparks and debris as the massive fist of Fred Dukes slammed through it and into the wall the TV was flush against. He moved with more speed than a person his size rightly should as the television, after a few more swings of his fist, was reduced to little more than plastic fragments and minute glass pieces.
It took a moment for Julian to react, not believing that his usually zen like, giant, roommate would react like this to anything. It wasn't until the television was destroyed that he tossed up a green shield of energy around Fred, encasing him in a bell jar shaped dome. "Dude, calm down, it's the just same old shit they're always reporting."
"Fred, please." Yvette had jumped back when Fred had destroyed the TV, but moved forward now, the spikiness of her hair and stiffness of her face the only indications of the fright she had gotten - her voice was as soft and as calm as she could make it. "I know you are angry, but this is not the way to be doing things."
Unlike the other two, Callie lacked any sort of mechanism to protect herself or Fred. She didn't dare approach him, for fear of what would happen. This wasn't the Fred she was used to, but really she couldn't blame him for snapping. She just wished there was something she could do apart from standing up and saying in her most soothing voice, "Fred, take a deep breath. Yvette's right. Calm down, please."
Fred stood for several moments, unmoving save for the rise and fall of his deep breaths. When the energy dropped from around him, he turned to his friends, his face an unreadable hodgepodge of feelings, "It was my dad, Jules." Fred looked from Jules to Yvette and then Callie, their looks of slight fear mixed with concern made him angry, ashamed, sad...
"I...I'm sorry. I, uh...I gotta..." Fred couldn't even finish his thought. He made haste to the nearest door and threw it open so hard he took it off its hinges. After the sounds of another door being broken, this one more than likely leading outside, there was no earthly trace of Fred Dukes left in the room, save the half-eaten pizzas and the debris from the television.