xp_logs | Log: Jared & Yvette

As usual, Yvette is the one to step up and cheer Jared up after he messes up with everyone in the house.

Since the "event" with Jean-Phillipe and the "talk" with Warren, Jared had the feeling he became the Mansion's Most Wanted and had decided not to leave the room when he was not at work. There wasn't much to do in the suite, though. After cleaning the living room, kitchen, bathroom and his own room, there wasn't left to do but lie on the floor, waiting for his next shift to start. Still, the front door was open, so he could hear people share the last nice comments about his behavior.

Light fell across him as his door opened. "Thank you, Kyle," came Yvette's soft voice, directed to Jared's roommate, before she came into his room and closed the door behind her. In the darkness, her glowing eyes were almost like small headlights and she had little difficulty in seeing Jared lying on the floor. "I am sorry not to knock," she apologized. "I was not sure you would let me in if I did, and I wanted to talk to you."

"Wanna talk? Suit yourself..." He was less friendly than usual to Yvette. Nothing personal, though. The girl probably meant well, but Jared was not in the mood. He had been lying on the ground for a while now, and his back was hurting too much to move. "Are you here to finish me off?"

Considering she dealt with Logan in his bad moods, Yvette wasn't phased by Jared's sulky tone. She sat on the floor next to his head, the glow of her eyes intermittently broken when she blinked. "Do you think you should be finished off?" she asked mildly, in response to his question.

"It's not like anybody actually cared... I don't really care either." The presence of the blue eyes was being heavy, almost oppressive and Jared decided to sit in the dark, turning his back to the girl. "I shouldn't be here in the first place anyway. I'm not a student, not a teacher, not a staff member and not a hero. I should have looked for some godforsaken place in Iowa." He sighed. "Oh, and just for the record, I'm not gay..."

"So why are you here?" she asked, again in that soft, calm voice, although the urge to slip off a glove and poke him was strong. In this particular instance, Jared was being a twelve year old girl. "It is not the prison, Professor Xavier does not insist that you stay. Not that I am saying you should leave, but perhaps there is a reason you are staying?"

"I came here to have a change of life. But in the end, I'm the same old me, bartender and useless. I should have stuck to the plan. Go north, find my brother, start over. For now, I just have the start over." He was not really sad, just disappointed he was never able to go to the finish line. "Look at you, you do so many things, you're happy here. What's your secret?"

Yvette considered his question. "I suppose," she said at last. "That I needed to be busy at first, so I did not think so much about my powers and what I cannot do because of them. Then I realized that I liked the things I was doing, that coming here had given me the chances I would not have back home. If I was there, I would not be going to university, or training with the Red X. I would be the freak, locked away so that I did not hurt anyone. I can do something with my life here and that makes me happy."

"Well college would be the easy thing. I mean, studying the days, working the nights, that would keep me busy." Jared stood up and went to the wall, unhanging the framed picture of his fraternity brothers. I heard there's an active chapter of TKE at Empire State University. Maybe it's worth a shot." Then he faced his guest. "Do you still feel like a freak?"

"It would be the start, yes. Perhaps you would not feel so stupid if you were studying again?" Yvette smiled, her eyes glowing brighter in accompaniment before dimming again. "And sometimes, yes. Usually when I hear people using the words 'mutie freak' to be describing people, even if they are not mutants. It is something that happens a lot out there."

"I don't feel stupid, you know. I say uneducated, that's different. I'm not well-mannered, I don't care what people think about how I eat, greet or scream. If I dropped out, it's only because I didn't want to be the freak. And if I go back now, I guess I'll probably be the freak of the house." His eyes hadn't left the photograph. "I miss my family..."

"We are all the freaks somewhere," she said gently. "Which is why it is so important to people that we have the safe place here. Somewhere we can be ourselves without worrying about what people will say about us."

"Sounds very much like high school..." He was almost smiling again. She had that really soothing effect on him. He would have carried her around, just for that reason. " I'm not saying I'm moving out of the house, though. Some folks would like it way too much and I'm not ready to be so nice to them!" Jared had only been playful until now. He was ready to bring it to the next level.

Yvette chewed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to go on from here. Jared obviously was taking the martyred victim role, so it was going to be difficult to address his rudeness without him getting defensive and not listening again. "Jared," she said at last. "May I ask you the personal question?"

"Wasn't this conversation personal all along?" Jared was curious about the question. Yvette had this very peculiar way of speaking that made it difficult to assess what was on her mind. "What could be so personal about me that one would need to ask permission to ask?"

Her eyes flared brighter, Yvette's method of blushing given her skin never showed any kind of color change. "Well, it is more personal than the others," she elaborated, a bit embarrassed. "I do not like to pry, but I do not understand something." Taking a breath, she took the
plunge. "Why did you try to kiss Jean-Phillipe, if you are not gay? Or do you like the girls and the boys?"

"Ah... that question..." Jared rubbed his hands, looking aside. "Well... we were drinking, and I was bored, I hadn't had a kiss in a while. Plus, Jean-Phillipe seems like a cool guy, I didn't think he would mind." He shrugged. "You know, it sounded like a good idea at the moment. But no, I don't do dudes... nor girls, actually... am I making any sense?"

"A little?" Yvette shrugged a bit helplessly. "We are the same, neither of us can 'do' anyone," and here the eyeglow intensified as her
embarrassment grew. "But even so, I know that I only like boys, because they are the ones I wish I could touch. What is it for you? Who do you wish to be touching, boys or girls or both? Because it seems strange to me that you would try to kiss a boy when you are bored if you are not attracted to boys at all. Or is it like Kyle, that you are only attracted to very particular boys? Kyle only likes them if they have wings."

"I don't have thing for any dude. Cross my heart" he said, actually drawing a cross with his finger. "Besides, it was just a kiss. It's not like I never kissed a dude before." That reminded him of the fraternity's good old days. Back then, acting stupid was normal behavior. "What about you? Any particular boy in the house?"

"Well, I think I can see where people are being confused. I am not sure how it is where you are from, but for most people here, kissing means you like someone. In the romantic way." Yvette herself was more than a little confused, mostly because for her kissing was even more important. "They do not understand how you can say so strongly that you are not gay but then do things which say to them you are. Like kissing." She shook her head to the last question. "And no, no particular boy in the house. It is even more difficult for me - I cannot kiss anyone without hurting them if I have my powers."

"It's not just about kissing, you know?" He was not the best person to talk about love, but the girl was obviously not into hook-ups, so there was no point in pushing this way. "You can have feelings for someone, and be close to them. The physical part can be secondary... I guess." Was he even believing in anything he was saying? "You've been here a while, I can't believe no one ever caught your attention."

"And the opposite is true for you?" she asked, tilting her head. "Kissing is just another thing to be doing, like watching television?" It was a very strange concept. "And you did not hear me, perhaps. I cannot touch anyone without hurting them, so no, there are no boys. It is too hard, liking someone and not being able to show them." Her eyes dimmed a bit and she lowered her head. "Besides, when I like someone, they never like me back."

"So there was one! He didn't want to make her feel awkward. He never fell in love nor believed in it. Nothing more worthy than a handshake. "I do have crushes. But mostly urges. I'm just a guy. A kiss is nothing relevant. It's like a hug or anything else. I may need to adapt my behavior to the place. You'll be my love coach!"

That earned him a giggle, as the thought of Yvette teaching anyone about love was laughable to her. "I think perhaps that you ought to explain how it is for you to people," she said with a hint of wryness. "Then perhaps people will not be so confused when they think you are flirting when you are only being you, yes? Besides," and her tone grew more serious. "To be a mutant is to adapt to new things. Your old ways are not working so well, so perhaps some new ones might help?"

He laughed we her. "I have nothing against new... as long as I can keep the old ones too!" He was back on his feet, feeling way better than early that day. He put the framed picture where he took it from and turned back to Yvette. "Thanks for doing that, every time something goes wrong with me-which is quite often, I admit."

"You are my friend," she said simply. "I like to try and help my friends." She paused, and then added, only half-joking: "It would help, though, if you would do me the small favor and not call things 'gay'? People get angry about that no matter what the reason is."

"Okay... No more gay or no homo every other sentence. At least I'll try... Except with that Kevin kid, he really hates me anyway!" He would also apologize to Jean-Phillipe and Kyle later, but he didn't want to share that much. He had a bad ass image to maintain, even to her.

Probably to his chagrin, she giggled at him again. "Trying is enough, yes," she said. As for Jared and Kevin, that wasn't something she would get into. Much like Kevin in relation to herself and Cammie. It wasn't like everyone would like each other, after all. "Now, have you had enough of the sitting in the dark? Because I know there are the very good cookies in the kitchen. Amara was baking again today." She found boys - no matter how old they were - could never resist baked goods.

"Cookies? Why am I always the last to know?!" As usual after some pills, he had the munchies. And the thought of food was enough excitement to make him more social. Pointing the door, he asked: "What are we waiting for?"