xp_logs | Angelo and Amanda

They chill out by the pool and talk about their summer plans. Mostly fluff.

Sun. Sun was good. And warm. Amanda lay half-asleep on a towel by the pool, her 'swimming lesson' with Manuel finished (one part actual lesson, one part gropage), but not ready to leave the nice warm sun just yet.

Angelo, wanting to take advantage of the sunshine while it was still there, since he didn't trust New York weather not to change without warning, had also headed out to the pool area. Sitting down on one of the sun loungers, he called out to her, not loud enough to wake her if she'd been asleep. "Hey."

Amanda lifted her head, looked around and smiled when she saw him. "Hey." She sat up, instinctively pulling the towel up to cover her bare back (the swimsuit was modest, as suits go, but there was a good several inches of skin exposed at the back. Realising what she was doing, she pulled a face and let the towel drop. "Still gettin' used to this sun thing," she said with a grin.

Angelo grinned back. "Yeah, I've heard you don't get much of it in England. Sure didn't when I was there", he answered lightly.

"Well, that was March. Of course there weren't much sun. But I have t' admit, it ain't as warm as it is here." Amanda stretched, cat-like. "Manuel's been teachin' me t' swim. Never learnt earlier, what with... well, you know. It's fun, but harder 'n I thought."

Angelo nodded. "Yeah, I'm not much of a swimmer. Can keep my head above water, though, an' I figure that's what counts. When certain people push me in."

She giggled. "Still, you took her with you, an' revenge was had." Getting up, she padded over to the sun lounge where she'd left her cigarettes and sat, offering one to Angelo. "So, two weeks of freedom comin' up - what've you got planned?"

Angelo took the cigarette with a nod of thanks, swinging his feet up lazily onto his sun lounger. "Goin' to California with Lorna an' some of the others. Get some proper sun worship in. Not sure when we're goin' yet - Lorna's hashin' all that out with Alison."

"Well, things should run smoother without me there," she said with a chuckle. "Less in the way of evil magicians an' all."

Angelo chuckled quietly in response. "Well, I'd hope so, yeah. 'Less there's somethin' one of the others hasn't told anybody."

"Well, unless yer takin' 'Yana with you, you should be right." A shadow crossed Amanda's face as she mentioned the Russian girl. "Or someone's ODed on that Harry Potter movie an' thinks they're a Dementor or somethin'."

Angelo laughed, noticing the problem, whatever it was, about Illyana, but filing it away for future reference since he didn't know what it was. "Yeah, I think I could handle that. Unless there's an actual Dementor."

"Luckily there's no such thing, same as the rest of that bollocks," Amanda said, screwing up her face. "An' please don't tell me yer a fan, otherwise I really am the only person in the house who wouldn't wipe their arse on those bloody books."

Angelo shrugged easily. "Not a fan, as such. I've picked stuff up from the others. John is - went as far as gettin' Alison to ship him a copy of the last book when he was... away."

"Away's an interestin' way of puttin' it - he's the one that went an' joined the other side, right?" Amanda remembered her cigarette and took a drag, blowing smoke thoughtfully into the air.

"Briefly, yeah", Angelo answered. "But it was right after another raid on the mansion, one where half the kids got taken, an'... other stuff happened. He's back now."

"Hard t' miss him," she said, with a chuckle. "Right snarky bastard he is." She looked over at Angelo, where he was sprawled on the sun lounge. "You know him well, then?"

Angelo shrugged. "Pretty well. Or I did. Not so much, lately."

Amanda raised her eyebrow, intrigued. "Didn't know you swung that way, Ange," she said, picking up the undertones from his aura without even realising it. "We've got more in common than I thought."

Angelo blinked. "Thought you said you weren't a mind-reader?" he asked pointedly, before continuing, "An'... yeah. Sometimes."

"Fuck, 'm doin' it again." Amanda gave him an apologetic look. "The aura thin's happenin' without me tryin' sometimes - I didn't even realise I was doin' it. Sorry if I stuck me nose in."

Angelo chuckled. "No, 's okay. No big secret, 'specially. Didn't realize you could pick things up from that long ago, though."

"Neither did I. I'll talk t' Rom 'bout it, when I see her next week." Amanda frowned a little. "Guess it's 'cause I ain't been using the magic for anythin' else much, it's findin' its own way out."

Angelo nodded. "Must be difficult keepin' the balance", he noted quietly. "Not hurtin' yourself with usin' too much, but not havin' it all bottled up in there."

"Tell me about it," she said wryly. "Still, it ain't so bad this time. An' I have t' say, I'm sort of glad t' stop the healin' for a while - I didn't realise how bad it was gettin', after a while." Rubbing her forehead with remembered pain, she shrugged. "I'll have t' watch it, is all. So, you takin' any of these courses Nate's offerin'?" she asked, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

Angelo nodded, letting her do it. "Many as I've got time for. You?"

"I picked up the Mandarin an' Arabic books t' take with me on the plane back home." With a small smile, she added: "I've been readin' ahead already. The Arabic looks really nifty."

Angelo grinned. "Yeah, Nate gave me a quick lesson a few weeks ago. They're both pretty cool languages."

She nodded. "An' the best part is I ain't gunna be bottom of the class this time. Languages are me thing - Rack's trainin' means I'm good at memorisin' things like that. Not like maths." She pulled a face. "Just heard from Hank - I failed that one. Only just, but still."

Angelo glanced at her sympathetically. "Well, only just is pretty good, given where you were at the beginnin'. You givin' it another try next year?"

"I have to - they won't let me graduate without it," Amanda said with a sigh. "Hank said somethin' 'bout doin' the exam again when I ain't stressed so much, t' see if I improve, but we'll see."

Angelo nodded. "Not a bad idea. Gives you some time for concentratin' on that, with no other classes to worry about, at least. An' there's those here that'll help you."

"I know. Tho' I ain't takin' that bloody book with me travellin' - the last thing Manny needs in an enclosed space like a plane is me gettin' shirty at me maths homework." Seeing Angelo's confusion, she clarified. "'S the link - I'm gettin' better at what he gets through it, but I can't block it all the time."

Angelo nodded. "'Specially when you're that physically close, right? Or does distance have nothin' to do with it?"

"Bein' close makes a difference," she admitted, then grinned evilly. "Makes for some interesting sessions, I can tell you."

Angelo laughed. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not," she said cheerfully.