Jean-Phillipe and Laurie (BACKDATED)

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Backdated to July 26th. Jean-Phillipe and Laurie have a conversation that demonstrates an eerie synchronicity with his previous conversation with Yvette.


Laurie dumped the bag with her Gi in it on the couch and fell forward onto the floor, catching herself at the last moment with her palms before lowering her cheek to the plush carpet. Sure, it was dramatic, but she was tired and slightly punch-drunk from her day and she didn’t care.

“You need to join the X-men so that I can hide behind you when they decide it’s target practice day,” Laurie informed her roommate from her prone position on their living room floor.

Jean-Phillipe stood stock still in the kitchen area, a cup in his hand. Laurie couldn't see from her spot on the floor, but he had a rather shocked expression on his face. "Have you been talking to Yvette?" he asked, extremely confused as to where that particular suggestion had come from.

Laurie pondered answering him from her position on the floor, but decided that speaking into carpet would probably make it hopelessly garbled. She rolled herself over and placed her hands under her head instead.

"Do you mean in general, or about things in particular?" she asked, eyes closing as she relaxed back against her arms. She needed to remember to thank the Professor for choosing plush carpet to go in their rooms rather then hardwood floors. You just couldn't lie about on hardwood like you could carpet. "Because in general, yes. Yes I have. Being friends tends to go hand in hand with talking to them, otherwise they get a bit suspicious and think you're no longer their friend, or you're angry or something."

Being coy wasn't really going to work. He set the glass down. "I meant about the suggestion about me joining the X-Men. Where did that come from?"

"Well, you've been wanting to do more lately, yes?" Laurie asked, rolling her eyes. "I'm told that the X-men have a long and proud history of 'doing more', it's in the brochure even."

She rolled again so that she could finally see him beyond the couch, resting her chin on her folded arms.

"Yvette might have, in somewhat of an offhand and completely natural manner, mentioned that you were having thoughts of such a nature."

"It was more her idea!" Jean-Phillipe protested. "As if I were to be some sort of replacement for her, if you can believe that." He pouted. "This is a conspiracy."

Laurie frowned; Yvette had not told her that she was thinking of quitting the X-men, although she supposed she could understand why.

"So you don't want to be an X-man then?" she asked, unmoved by his pout. She had been his suitemate for some time now, and had grown immune.

Jean-Phillipe had enough experience with Laurie to know what that frown meant. "Yes, Laurie, because everything is about you and people telling you everything!" He stopped. Perhaps that had been a bit strident. "And I did not say that. I just..." He threw up his hands and groaned theatrically.

Laurie snorted and rolled her eyes at him before she stuck her tongue out in a completely adult reaction to his words, "I'm not upset that Yvette didn't tell me, dork. I'm just worried that she believes she needs to quit. We've had non-physically powered mutants on the team before, and even a base line human at one stage. As to you, what is it you really want?"

"A million Euros in cash, Johnny Weir in my bed, you know, the usual." Laurie should have known better than to ask open-ended questions of Jean-Phillipe by now, because he inevitably liked to default to answers that were both sarcastic and had nothing to do with the topic at hand.

"Who is Johnny Weir?" Laurie asked, rolling over again and clawing her way upward onto the couch. There were days when she wished she'd been given telekinesis as a power rather then her current one. "Also, you didn't actually answer my question, and don't think I'll let you off the hook of answering for a second, Mr thinks he's funny."

"American figure skater? Utterly fabulous? Skated to 'Poker Face'?" Jean-Phillipe fanned himself. "There are days that I do not understand you at all." Merde, she hadn't actually fallen for the distraction. "I want the world to stop being full of bigoted fils de putains who think that it is acceptable to espouse violence against The Other."

"I suppose that you'd also like a unicorn and world peace while you're at it?" Laurie asked, a rather bitter smile gracing her features for a moment before disappearing entirely. "It's not going to happen, especially not as long as humanity is in charge of anything. We hate, it's what we do. We all do it very well and we're all trained in it from birth. The only thing possible, the only thing we can do at all is try to limit the amount of damage that happens when people's hatred collides. Maybe one day that'll be different, I really, really hope it is, but right now it's not, and we've got to live in the now. "

Jean-Phillipe put the back of his hand to Laurie's forehead and shook his head. "Have we switched bodies?" he asked jokingly. "I am feeling somewhat idealistic, and you are the one telling me that the world is and always will be a fucked-up place?"

Laurie leaned up and licked his hand in retaliation, grinning at him cheekily, "I didn't say that it was completely hopeless. That's what the X-men are for, to keep things going till the day we won't be needed anymore."

Jean-Phillipe shook his hand and made a noise of mock disgust. "Eh, girl cooties. Next thing you know, I will be..." He gasped. "Hetero." He dashed the back of his hand against his forehead overdramatically.

"And give up your rainbow sparkly pants on Pride day? Never!" Laurie said, snickering.