Jean and Angel (Backdated)

[x-firestar.livejournal.com]

Angel and Jean run into each other at an outdoor concert. Fun chatter happens. (Backdated to July 10)



The lights throughout the park pulsated in radiant gold as the band started up another song, delighting the crowd as they recognized the tune as a cover of the Kills' "Sour Cherry." A cheer erupted across the room, and the spotlight turned onto a blonde-haired woman dressed in a bustier made entirely out of golden feathers, a gold necklace, and opera-style gold gloves as she took the stage.

To make it in the business you had to have a gimmick, and the singer known as Linda "Lark" Lewis had found hers.

"Shout when you wanna get off the ride....Shout when you wanna get off the ride...Cause you crossed my mind....You crossed my mind..."

As Lark sang, a flash of red hair swayed her hips in unison with the beat like a flickering flame. Raising her arms over her head, Jean lost herself with the rhythm, a broad grin crossing her lips as her hair fell in front of her eyes.

"We could be movers....we could be shakers...if we could just shake something out of the blue..."

Angel had been in the city to pick up a new lens for one of her cameras when she'd seen a flyer about the concert in the park. She hadn't recognized the singer but hey, she was already in the area and she was always down for good music.

The crowd wasn't huge, but it was still big enough that Angel had to watch herself as she wound through the crowd, trying to find a good place to settle down. She was definitely already enjoying the music, humming along to herself, quite content.

She paused when she saw a familiar redhead dancing along to the song.

"Dr. Grey?"

Truth be told, Jean didn't hear Angel at first. She had chosen to come alone because with a city like New York, it was easy to go where no one knew you and you could just..be.

"Go go go go go go home it's over....go go go go go home It's o--" Jean sang along, twisting and turning with the beat. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she finally noticed the other woman next to her and she paused, quickly lowering her arms, then absently straightened her posture as well as her shirt. She wore a black tank top outlined with gold feathers that showed off her stomach and a pair of black leather pants.

"Hey!" she shouted breathily over the music with a surprised smile. It seemed she had a habit of running into fellow mansion-goers while dancing.

"I didn't expect anyone from the mansion here."

Angel was good and wholly amused, she would admit, as she watched Jean shift from "wild party girl" to "Dr. Grey." "Yeah, we're a bit like ants," the younger redhead said with a grin. "We're everywhere and we pop up where you least expect us. But please, don't let me interrupt." Angel waved a hand between the concert going on in front of them and Jean. "I promise I won't tell anyone your deep dark dancing secret."

Jean laughed. "It's not really a secret. I do it there too, just a little less...out in the open," she said, then nodded to the stage.

"I've been wanting to see her for a few weeks now so when I heard she was in town I had to check it out."

"I've never even heard of her, to be honest," Angel admitted with a smile, shrugging a bit. "I saw a flyer in the city though and I don't get out enough so I figured why not."

"Some of the nurses at Claremont really like her so I decided to give her a listen and I really liked her," Jean said. Shrugging, she laughed.

"I don't really get out much myself other than work. I'm trying to break out of that routine."

Angel danced along a bit to the music, bobbing around a little. She wasn't exactly the most graceful dancer, but she was mostly just dancing for herself so what did it matter?

"It's kinda weird. Never really thought I'd be the workaholic type, ya know?"

Feeling somewhat relaxed by Angel's sudden sashay, Jean began to dance as well. "I guess we all start off wanting to astronauts or ballerinas...then the real world comes in with other plans. I wanted to be a doctor for a long time but I never thought about what it took to get there when I was a little girl."

"I wanted to be some kind of photographer," Angel said, looking down at the bag in her hand. "I wanted to be a news photographer for the longest time like my dad." She sighed a bit. Ah well. "You're definitely more ambitious than me though. I don't think I could've done doctor."'

Jean turned thoughtful. "It's....definitely a lifestyle choice. You either choose sleep and a social life...or scrubs," she said with a laugh, then glanced over, tilting her head.

"So what stopped you from being a news photographer?"

Missed my interview trying to save the world.

Angel shook off the thought with a shrug and a smile. "The kids are a full-time job on their own. Even with help, there's a lot going on. I don't think I could put a second job on top of that."

Feeling a little too sweaty, Jean pulled her hair into a ponytail. She nodded. "Maybe you could combine your priorities? Have you thought about perhaps teaching photography and/or news writing as an extra-curricular activity? It'd give the students the opportunity to take a closer look at the world around them, being more proactive and allow you to keep an eye on them while you get to do what you love. You could even see about perhaps getting yourself and the students access to newspapers for field trips to see how the newspaper works."

The other redhead shrugged again, smiling. "I thought about maybe starting a photography class or something but...I like being a catch-all for stuff too. I don't want to bury myself in a little niche. I'm not complaining about it, I like what I'm doing. It's making a difference. It's just not what fifteen-year-old Angel thought she'd be doing with her life, ya know?"

Jean laughed. "Definitely," she said. She smiled, turning back to the crowd.

"I like what I'm doing too."

"Well yeah I mean now you're rocking out at a concert," Angel pointed out with a smile. "What's not to like about that?"

Snickering, Jean shook her head. "Not...quite what I meant but rocking out is important to maintain sanity," she said.

"My mom was in a band when she was younger. I still occasionally catch her head banging to Joan Jett."

"Oh god that's frightening," Angel groaned. "I used to catch my mom rocking out in her car when she thought no one was looking. That's not a thing kids should see their parents doing. Ever."

Jean's deadpan face confirmed her sentiment. "Yep. Especially when she's this power-suit-wearing editor. It looks...odd," she said, then glanced down at her outfit and laughed.

"But I can't say much about inconsistencies. Sometimes you just want to let go, y'know?."

"I have nothing against letting go," Angel said with a nod. "Just maybe don't let go in the driveway where your impressionable nine-year-old daughter can see you."

Jean grinned broadly. "Were you suddenly afflicted with the desire to turn your speakers up to 11 and don a headband?" she said.

"Definitely had the urge for it," Angel said with a laugh. "Thankfully I wasn't allowed to touch the only radio in the house, Mom didn't trust me. Probably rightfully so."

"Conflicting musical tastes?" Jean said, smirking.

"Interestingly enough Charles and I both like the Rolling Stones. He took me to a concert awhile back when I was a teenager."

"Well that and she was worried I'd break it," Angel said with a smirk. "She didn't trust me with expensive electronic things." And probably rightfully so.

She had to laugh at the image of the professor at a concert, however. "What, really? Please tell me he was headbanging."

"When you moved out did you buy like fourteen radios?" Jean said, laughing, then turned away, innocently glancing toward the stage.

"And I cannot say. I have been sworn to secrecy about the events of that day."

"I would have but I don't think my roommate at Xavier's would have appreciated it." Angel's smile was tinged with sadness at the thought of her very first roommate - a tiny, red-skinned spiky girl.

"Oh god, he didn't do that tongue thing did he? Wait, that's KISS, not Rolling Stones...right?" The redhead frowned.

Jean burst out laughing. "There IS a tongue in their logo, but I can safely say he didn't do that. Or if he did I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy oohing and ahhing at being able to go to my first concert."

"Probably for the best you didn't see anything." Angel shuddered. "There are some images you really don't want ingrained in your brain forever."

"I dunno. I wouldn't mind it much. It's all front, you know. He's much cooler than he lets on," Jean said, glancing over with a grin before turning back to the crowd innocently.

"But you didn't hear that from me."

"Oh, don't worry," Angel said with a smirk. "Secret's safe with me. We can't let his calm British demeanor be compromised after all."

"Good heavens no," Jean said, laughing. After a moment she smiled.

"I'm glad I ran into you here. This was fun."

"It was!" Angel agreed with a grin. "Always good to find a friendly face, right?"

Jean grinned back. "Always," she said.