Jubilee and Marie-Ange, Saturday evening.

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Jubilee and Marie-Ange, set -before- the log with Angelo, Saturday evening. They talk, and Angie finallly explains why she's so irritable.



Jubilee looked down at the violently green coloured cocktail she held. She'd been pondering for the last few seconds as to why anyone in their right mind would want to drink something that tasted vaguely like mouth wash.

Still, the alcohol in it gave her a sense of warmth in the cold English night, and since it had cost quite a bit, she wasn't about to throw it on the stones of the beach in front of her. She'd come outside for a bit of air and a chance to think. She'd been wanting to get ahold of Marie-Ange to talk to her about the airport but hadn't managed to mention it when she did see her. Something just seemed to hold her back, maybe it was just fear of losing a friend. She heard footfalls behind her and turned.

Marie-Ange was standing, bundled in a pair of heavy jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, hands buried deep in the front pocket. "You know, picking your drinks to match your clothes is a good way to end up with something that tastes foul..."

Jubilee laughed, she'd reluctantly left her yellow jacket back at the hostel, forgoing it for a green sweater and a pair of artfully faded jeans. The ever present black rubber collar looked somewhat out of place but Jubilee had never cared about what other people thought of what she wore. "It looked like a good idea at the time. It like, tastes like mouth wash. Why the hell would anyone invent something that tastes like mouth wash?"

"I .. honestly cannot explain it. I suspect part of the reason is to catch people unaware so that the bartender can make extra money." Angie grinned and shook her head. "I would suggest pouring it out, but I am afraid it would ruin England's natural balance, such as it is."

Jubilee nodded and placed the drink on the wooden fence separating the beach from the club. "Did you notice all the mutants here? It's like, so strange. Back home, there's no way anyone would be so open about it."

"Not all of them are mutants, some are just pretending." Marie-Ange shrugged. "It is a very plesant change of pace. Almost relaxing."

Jubilee nodded, fidgeting with the collar as she often did these days. She always did it when she was nervous. She wanted to ask Marie-Ange about the airport but how? "Like, why would anyone want to pretend to be a mutant? This is like, such a weird place."

Angie smiled, remembering her conversations with her cousin. "To stand out, I suppose. To have something that makes you unique, or unusual. I .. think even if I had the option, I would not give up my powers. Espically not now." She patted the bag in her pocket.
Jubilee stared at the water crashing against the stones of the beach. "I used to think I'd never give up my powers voluntarily, pity that they didn't give me a choice."

Marie-Ange closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "You had a choice. You could have stayed home, and not gone on this trip." She wasn't entirely sure why Jubilee's frustration was vexing her so. For anyone else, she might've checked - but Jubilee was just picking away at Angie's ability to remain patient and calm.

Jubilee raised an eyebrow, hooking a chair nearby and sitting. "Right, a choice between this collar or the shielded room back home. Least here I get to see more then four walls. I'm not complaining here, Angie. I'm just sick of the collar. I'm sick of not remembering. Goddamn it, I just want everything fixed now."

She kicked the glass holding her drink off the fence, watching it smash on the rocks. It wasn't the fireworks display she really felt like making but it helped, a little.

"And I suppose that is a valid reason to be blame other people for you wearing that collar?" Marie-Ange rolled her eyes. "You had a choice, and complaining about it does you no good, nor does it endear you to anyone's sympathies." She sighed, and kicked at some of the pebbles along the beach. "I had intended to try to explain my earlier foul mood to you, but as you seem to still wallowing in your own misery, I will take my leave. Bonne nuit."

Jubilee looked startled but she quickly grabbed Marie-Ange's arm before she could leave. "Wait, since when am I blaming other people for this? Although, I guess if I was going to blame someone it'd be those soldiers. But like, did I miss something here? Cause, as far as I know, I haven't actually said this was anyone's fault. Do you know what it's like knowing that you could kill someone, just because you smelt something that reminded you of an event you can't even remember?"

She dropped Marie-Ange's arm, wiping at her face viciously to stop the tears sliding down it. "So yeah, I had a choice. I could wear this collar, or stay in a room that was shielded, or I could end up burning down the mansion, or killing someone I cared about. So I chose the collar, because it was the right thing to do. That doesn't mean that I have to be happy twenty-four seven or that I can't get frustrated that it's taking me so damn long to get better. That's my frustration at myself, not at anyone else."

Jubilee slumped back in her seat, her eyes on the ocean. "I'm not lookin' for anyone's sympathy. I don't need people to feel sorry for me. I just, I'm just having a bad day, okay? Just, forget I said anything. Pretend I've been happily babbling about clothing for the last few minutes. What was it you wanted to talk about?"

Angie sighed and let her shoulders drop. "I .. have not been entirely fair to you. There is no reason you are not allowed to have bad days, and I should've likely been more empa.. ah.. sympathetic." She shook her head and kicked at a few more pebbles. "I wanted to apoligize for Friday, at the airport. I was a bit out of line."

Jubilee looked back at her friend. "Wanted to talk to you about that, just wasn't sure how to do it. Wasn't like you, Ange. Was worried about you, ya know? Not that you can't get angry, just like the rest of us. Just, don't know. I know I can be like, irritating."

"It is an entirely long story to explain what happened. I .. should have just told you, I think." Marie-Ange rubbed the bridge of her nose, and frowned. "I suspect we were both stuck in our own misery and frustration."

Jubilee nodded, gesturing for her to have a seat. "What, and behave like responsible adults? We're teenagers, dude, we're not meant to be logical." She winked, smiling, as she hooked another chair with her feet, getting comfortable.

"Anyway, as to the long story. Not like I'm goin' anywhere and I found talkin' about stuff tends to make it quicker fixed, or at least quicker to gettin' fixed. So, you know, I can listen, if you wanna talk. Or, we could just talk about stuff like friends do. I missed talkin' to you like that."

What Marie-Ange -wanted- to say was "It will likely not be fixed until I can remove the Castellian cockroach's testes with a putty knife." or perhaps even "I am not sure it can be fixed, unless I personally remove Manuel's hide.", but her anger had mostly left her after a week of peace. Instead, she sat in the plastic beach chair, curling up against the chill. "I know you meant well, telling Manuel that if he ever came near me, that you would hurt him. I .. am not sure that I could explain why that offended me, except that the matter between him and I is personal, and when I choose to resolve it, it will remain personal. That... sort of thing is not something I want to be made public."

Jubilee nodded and smiled wryly. "I kinda jumped the gun a bit there, didn't I? I guess, maybe it's part of what happened to me but maybe also just how I grew up. When I saw that he'd helped Kwannon, I just didn't want him anywhere near you or Kitty. It wasn't that I didn't think you couldn't take care of yourself. Just that you and some of the others at the school, you're the closest I'll probably ever have to what others think of as family. You don't let family face trouble alone, ya know?"

Marie-Ange shook her head slowly. "He did nothing to Kitty, Jubilee, and what Manuel did to me... I do not know if I can even explain it. It is not something I can ask for with. Not from you, or Kitty, or Rahne, or even Doug. Espically not Doug, I think." She scowled. Talking about Manuel was doing nothing to make her less nervous about her feelings for Doug, and everything to remind her that she was going to manage to scare him off by moving to fast. She wasn't even sure how fast too fast -was- in the first place. "Can.. we just.. I do not know, pretend Friday did not happen? I only wanted to make sure that you and Amanda wouldn't scream at each other on the plane.."

Jubilee nodded. "It wasn't that he did anything to Kitty directly, just that he'd helped the person who put that potion out there. I guess that wasn't all that fair of me. But yeah, we can pretend Friday didn't happen. And I can understand you not wanting to hear Amanda and I yell at each. She...well, her and me is a whole nother' story, don't think I even understand myself sometimes why we act like we do round' each other. She reminds me of things I don't like thinkin' about. Anyway, what's this about you and Doug?"

Angie smiled, and buried her hands in the pocket of her shirt. "You mean you managed to miss -all- the gossip? You are slipping, Jubilee." Change of topic. That was good. She would work with a topic shift if it meant not thinking about what happened. Manuel could be dealt with later.

Jubilee laughed. "Hardly, but the thing about gossip, is that it is gossip. Like, how can you trust it, right? So, now I have one of the subjects in front of me, I can get the story directly. So, anyway, dish!"

"You need to read the journal system more often, I think. I have been rather public about the whole thing. It makes Doug blush, and that is simply too cute to let pass. As for myself, I simply had a rather important lesson in Math given to me after ignoring it." At Jubilee's confused expression, Angie continued. "I overlooked Doug's appeal, because all I could see was how shy and nervous he was. He did something to make me see how wrong I was, without even knowing he did it."

Jubilee grinned. "Yeah, I guess I do. So like, what did he do to make you see how wrong you were? Enquiring minds want to know."

Marie-Ange shook her head, smiling wistfully. "He sung me to sleep the night we found out about what Kwannon had done, after finding out.. after being hurt so badly by her... "

Jubilee watched her friend for a moment, wondering what Kwannon had done that had hurt her so badly that she couldn't even talk about it. Reacting on an instinct, Jubilee reached over and gave her friend a hug before sitting back.

"It's good that he was there for you. Doug's a nice guy, like, once you get by the shyness and all...Angie, what did she do to you? I won't mind if you really don't want to talk about it to me but seems like you're wantin' to, at least to someone. If you keep stuff inside, even if it doesn't make it better to talk about it, well, it can come back to bite you. God, don't I know stuff can come back to bite you. If you can't tell me, maybe Doug? Or someone you can trust. But, talk about it, don't leave it there inside, kay?"

"Doug.. is something else. Even with the shyness. I like the shyness, I think. It is .. a nice change of pace." Marie-Ange let out a long sigh, and leaned back in her chair. The plastic seat was slightly clammy in the cool air, but not so much that the chill threatened to seep through her clothes. "He knows most of what happened. Doug is more perceptive than he likes to admit, I think."

For a few minutes, she sat quietly, trying to figure out just how to explain what had happened between her, and Kwannon, and why she wasn't going to talk about it, and why she wasn't willing to explain it fully. After some time, she scowled, and shoved her hands into her pockets, drawing out a suede bag. Without thinking, Marie-Ange pulled her cards out, and rapidly shuffled, the cards flickering between her hands.

Jubilee watched the cards sliding between Marie-Ange's hands, silent for once as she waited for whatever it was her friend was doing. She wasn't sure if Marie-Ange was going to tell her what had happened, or show her something completely different but Jubilee trusted her. She'd never seen Marie-Ange use her power before, not really wanting a reading for herself. There'd always seemed something dangerous to knowing the future, as if knowing it might make it unable to be changed.

Without looking up, Marie-Ange cut the deck, and drew a card, seemingly at random. She frowned down at the card. "L'Étoile. Foi. Bien sur." She rubbed her temple for a moment, easing away the slight ache there. "Kwannon felt that she needed to repay me, repay my helping Dr. Essex, by pushing me into Remy's bed. She... I believe she took away my fear, my restraint for a time, perhaps a few days.. "

Jubilee's eyes widened, while she wasn't exactly naive about sex, she'd yet to get to that particular point with anyone. To be pushed into it, without even knowing it, because that seemed to be what Marie-Ange was saying by her mention of Kwannon taking away her restraint. No wonder Marie-Ange had been acting the way she had. Jubilee winced, she hadn't exactly been observant or understanding, too wrapped up in her own pain to notice others.

"Dude..." she breathed quietly before being silent again. Marie-Ange needed to get this out, and she wasn't about to stop her by interrupting.

"I did not know it at the time. It was.. even .. pleasant. The love potion being stolen from Doug came a day, perhaps two later." She said,
sadly. "When .. it was all over, I was so worried for Doug, that ... " Angie shook her head. "I .. do not even know what I was thinking. I can only assume it was his influence, or Kwannon's, because I would have never offered such a thing normally." She tucked her cards back into the bag, which went into her shirt pocket. "This.. is why my quarrel with Manuel must remain personal. I cannot let that become school gossip. It is bad enough I suspect some of our classmates know."

'And so now I know' Jubilee thought.

No wonder Marie-Ange had been so agitated at the airport, and no wonder she'd been so angry with her when Jubilee had taken it upon herself to be judge, jury and executioner of Manuel. "It was like I was taking your choice away, wasn't it?" Jubilee said softly.

She stood, moving the chair away and walking over to where Marie-Ange sat huddled against the cold. Kneeling, she looked her in the eye, wanting to do something, anything to make this better but knowing there was nothing she could do. Instead, she looked her in the eye and laid her hand on Marie-Ange's. "Dude, I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you feel..."

Jubilee shook her head, not really knowing what to say, or how to say it even if she did know. Instead, she simply said what she felt, as she'd always done before. "When you decide what you're gonna do. If you need someone at your back, you know I'm there. You just say, okay? Till then, I promise this stays with me. Whether you talk to other people or not, that's your choice. But I won't tell, like, my word on it."

Marie-Ange couldn't help but smile. Jubilee was many things - a bit uncultured, sometimes crass and brash, and never, ever subtle, but she was honest. That went a long way towards making up for the wardrobe, the gum, the hyperactivity. The offer would have to be turned down though, which was almost a pity. "I have not yet decided if I am going to do anything, and if I do.. Manuel is not someone I would inflict on anyone, Jubilee. I will talk to someone, though. On that, I can give you my word."

Jubilee smiled, standing and holding out a hand to Marie-Ange to pull her to her feet. She'd known her offer probably wouldn't be accepted but she'd needed to make it anyway. 'Time for both of us to put our mind to happier things' she thought.

"Good, now come on. There's like, lots more drinks with strange colours I can try inside and mutant groupies to make fun of."