xp_logs | Victor & Johnny

Victor meets his roomie, and Johnny has his weirdest experience yet -- a student at Xavier's with loving parents

"I think this is the right room." Victor's voice came out slightly strained as he hauled an oversized suitcase through the door to the suite, followed closely by his parents, who were similarly weighed down. "It looks empty--" He stopped as he caught sight of the short, white-haired boy already in the room.

Johnny hadn't had any particular aversion to changing rooms when the matter had first been brought to his attention. He and Nick weren't particularly close and his classmates would still be just a door or two down the hall. Of course, this had been before he'd taken the boxes into account. His necessary belongings numbered few, but all of the things Darren had sent up to him months before and which had been taking up residency in his closet were heavier than he remembered. But this was, at least, the last of them.

The box, still taped up tight and propped against the back of the sofa while the teenager allowed himself a brief breather, supported his weight more easily than he could support its and he leaned into it heavily until the unfamiliar voices from the entry drew him into a quick turn. His reflexes were the only thing that prevented him from dropping the box and the cargo inside clattered and the tired boy offered the emerging family a sheepish grin, "Not quite, actually."

"Oh, hey. Um. You must be..." He wracked his brain as he set the suitcase down, trying to remember what Mr. Beaubier had said earlier about his roommate. "Jonathan?" he tried. "I'm Victor. Or just Vic."

Jonathan? It still didn't sound right coming from almost anybody, let alone somebody his own age. The white-haired teen feigned a look of histrionic disgust at his full name, though the grin beneath it was easy to make out, and corrected his new roommate lightly, "Johnny, if you don't mind." He managed to get the box balanced on the back of the couch and turned to offer his hand to Victor, "Johnny Gallo. Nice to meet you, Vic. You just getting in?"

"Oh, sorry," Vic apologized at the correction, hesitating for the briefest of moments before taking the other boy's hand. "And sorry for the sticky," he said sheepishly as his fingers adhered slightly to Johnny's hand. "Yeah, we got the tour from Mr. Beaubier and Dori. Well. She sort of tagged along, really. And then we met Mr. Xavier."

The sticky felt like pressing his hand against a warm, soft stretch of Scotch tape and it took only a slight pull on both their parts to separate their temporarily conjoined palms. It seemed to amuse the teenager more than anything. "No worries in either case," Johnny quipped quickly, smiling anew, "Especially if you got it from Mr. Beaubier. He's the best, but nicknames are almost taboo for him, so...no surprise there." He paused as the obvious hit him and he ventured a question just as Victor's parents caught up with their son, becoming visible in the doorway, "...We?" Parents. Somehow, he'd just never expected parents.

"Oh yeah," Vic turned towards the doorway. "Um. This is my mom and my dad. Richard and Linda--well, the other way around," he said, pointing to indicate which was which. "Mom and Dad, this is my roommate Johnny."

"Very nice to meet you, Johnny", Linda said warmly. "Have you been at the school for long?"

"...Your parents?" A picture perfect notion of family was rarer to Xavier's than...just about anything and Johnny did his best not to stare or, worse, think about his own family. He hadn't heard a word from Darren in months. He made an effort to keep his smile in place, the endeavor aided by Victor's verbal fumbling, but not much. "You too. And since...March, I guess," He gave a small shrug, "Time flies, you know? But...what do you guys think so far?"

Vic wasn't quite sure what to make of Johnny's reaction--didn't everybody's parents bring them to school? He let it slide, though, a sheepish half-smile on his face. "It's...really big," he said. "And really nice. I'm kind of afraid I might break something." He turned to his dad. "I know, you don't have to say it. No Frisbee in the house."

"You've always been a quick learner, Vic," Richard said, a twinkle in his eye. "Nice to meet you, Johnny."

"Frisbee is the least of this house's problems, I think," Johnny pointed out lightly after an uncertain pause. With the initial shock gone, Linda and Richard (or Richard and Linda) didn't seem so startling and it wasn't too difficult to swallow the thoughtless envy such a pleasant family dynamic stirred for the sake of giving him roommate a proper welcome. He seemed nice enough. They all did. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. ...?"

"Borkowski," Vic supplied, nerves causing him to jump the gun. "It's okay if you don't get it right the first few times. It's kind of a weird one." He glanced towards the bedroom. "So. Did you pick out a bed yet?"

Johnny's gaze followed the reptilian teen's to the door he'd left open during his many brief trips from down the hall. He hadn't made much progress yet. Apart from the sealed boxes, anyway. He smiled and hefted his cargo back into his arms, gesturing with his head for Victor to follow him as he lead the way into the room and teased, "Not yet....Newbie's choice?"

The green boy grinned, lugging his suitcase behind him. "Dibs on the one by the window!"