xp_logs | Amanda, Warren - Last Wednesday afternoon (Reply)

Warren goes to pick up Amanda from Stonewall as a favour to Paige, and the two succeed rather well in not talking about anything serious. Since we all know what happened last time. Denial is handy, sometimes.

It hadn't been his idea to pick up Amanda, but Paige had asked him to, and it wasn't as if he could just leave the girl stranded. The car pulled into the dirt, and Warren honked, waiting. He wasn't quite sure what direction Amanda was supposed to be coming from, but she didn't seem to be around yet. He fiddled with the stereo buttons, a little anxious. She still didn't seem too happy with him, and anyway she would be looking for Paige, not him. A glance around showed that the girl was nowhere in sight. He honked again.

"Hold yer horses," Amanda muttered to herself as she hurried out of one of the stables where she'd been making arrangements with Red for the two weeks off she was going to need for her summer vacation. She paused, momentarily confused as she didn't see the car Paige normally drove, but then there was the honk again and she trotted over to the car, opening the door and dropping into the front passenger seat without looking at the driver. "New car today, roomie?" she asked as she did up the belt, and then looked up. "What're you doin' here?" she demanded, surprised, as it registered the driver might be blonde, but he was also male and definitely Not Paige.

"Something came up, and Paige asked me to pick you up." Warren didn't look at her, just glanced at the mirrors and backed out onto the road. He drove in silence until they hit the main road. "How was the farm?" he finally said.

"Good. Real good. They like havin' me there, horses an' people both. Red was a bit cut up I was goin' t' be away for a couple of weeks, but I wanna go home." Amanda cut herself off when she remembered she was supposed to be mad at Warren. The problem was, she was always in such a good mood after the farm she couldn't stay mad.

Amanda didn't sound mad, Warren noted with relief. He felt himself relax a bit, and shot her a tentative smile. "Yeah, I hear you're really good with them. You have a lot of experiences with horses growing up?"

"Not really. Dunno why, I just have a knack with 'em." She shrugged, crossing her arms across her chest and acutely aware that she was covered with dirt and hay and smelt like Horse. "They're easier t' deal with than people, sometimes."

The smell of horse hit Warren's nose as Amanda started to move around. Gross. He tried not to cringe and opted instead to roll down the windows. "I suppose they are," he replied, not sure what else to say. "You don't have to be as... self-conscious around a horse as you do around a person."

She smiled briefly at that. "Somethin' like that," she said, her tone losing its defensive edge just a little. "Um, I s'pose I should say thanks, for the ride. You didn't have to come out all this way."

"Oh-- you're welcome. I wouldn't leave you stranded out here. I wasn't doing anything anyway." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, gauging her mood. So far, so good. "Well, that is, other than trying to get Piotr to sleep with me, but that's nothing new, is it?" he added.

"Nope," she replied, glancing over at him with a grin. "You an' Rasputin are worse 'n Manny an' me. 'M surprised you ain't busted the bed yet." As long as they kept away from the difficult topics, they could do this, easy.

"Who says we always use the bed?" he asked mischievously, letting out a laugh. "I would have got some today, too, if he hadn't kept whining that I was distracting him from finishing his stupid book." The tension between them had apparently melted away, just like that. No awkward apologies needed. This was good. Warren wasn't sure he was up for one of those.

"You sound like Manny when I'm studyin'," Amanda said with a chuckle. "Whine an' all."

Warren shook his head. "You too, huh? My heart goes out to poor Manuel." He stopped at a red light and shot her a mock-seductive gaze. "But really, who can blame him for not being able to resist a wanton sex goddess like yourself?"

She barked out a laugh at that, tipping her head back. It was an honest, happy sound. "I dunno how he copes with it," she said at last, when she could. "All this is hard for one man t' handle, even if he is an empath."

"I'll say." The light turned green, and Warren stepped on the gas. "Not just any man could handle a girl-- no, a woman-- like you." He grinned, glad to hear her laugh. "Speaking of which, what's your boy toy up to for the summer? You're sticking around the mansion, right?"

"An' don't you forget it," she told him, still smiling impishly. "We're both goin' back home for a couple of weeks - he's visitin' Rom an' the rest with me, an' I'm goin' t' Spain t' meet his dad with him. Just like a real couple." She wrinkled her nose at that. "But we'll be back for the summer session - Nate'd have somethin' t' say t' me otherwise if I didn't." She looked back at him. "What about you? Got any plans?"

"No, not really. I'm sticking around the mansion, spending most of my time studying for LSATs and training with the X-Men. I'll probably be making plans to visit friends or something here and there, but no real plans." It sounded boring even to him. "Eh. Maybe I should pick up a hobby over the summer. Teach myself to play guitar or something. That's what summer's for, right?"

"You could try one of Nate's language classes, maybe the Askani when he starts it," Amanda suggested, avoiding mentioning anything about the X-Men after their last discussion. "Besides, all this sun, it's too nice t' be cooped up inside. Perfect flyin' weather," she added, with a meaningful glance at his back, where his wings were harnessed.

"That's a thought," Warren mused. "And yeah, there will be lots of flying. Like you said. Great weather, especially in the mornings-- if I can get myself up in time. I know you thought the sunset was beautiful last time, but the sunrises... They blow my mind. It's quiet everywhere and sometimes there are birds out and..." He sighed dreamily, apparently lost in pleasant memories. "They're just amazing. I'll show you sometime." He said this last sentence without thinking, and it surprised him. He hadn't really been planning on taking her up again. But what the hell, why not? He remembered how much she'd enjoyed flying with him last time, and he wasn't about to take his offer back.

Amanda blinked in surprise - she hadn't thought Warren would be interested in taking her flying again. "Um, that'd be... nice," she replied, a bit hesitant. "Maybe after I get back? I tend t' start at Stonewall at five, maybe I could grab you for a flight beforehand?" There was something almost conciliatory in her voice - she'd missed the flying and her greatest regret had been that they might have screwed that up. Although she was sticking by her point - he didn't have a clue about the world, not really. But it wasn't up to her to teach him that.

"Uh-- sure. Sounds great." Warren was still surprised he'd asked, and now he was more surprised that she'd accepted. Somehow this seemed to make the conversation awkward all of a sudden. "Just pick a day and poke me until I wake up." He drove in silence for a bit. His conscience nagged at him, telling him to bring it up. He probably owed her an apology. But he didn't want to remind her; she seemed to have forgotten. "Hey," he said casually, "Change the station, will you? I hate Avril Lavigne."

"Thank fuck for that - I was bein' all polite an' not sayin' anythin'. An' cursing yer taste in music." She poked at the radio's buttons until she found something vaguely acceptable - an electronica/dance station Manuel was fond of. "An' I'll leave the pokin' for Rasputin, seein' how he's equipped for it."

"'Equipped' doesn't begin to describe it," Warren said slyly. "But sometimes a man likes a little variety. I can't remember the last time I was woken up by a beautiful woman. Aside from my mother, that is, but that's decidedly unsexy."

"Unless yer into that sort of thing," Amanda agreed, chuckling again. "An' there are limits, even for me." She fell silent for a while, obviously thinking. "You know, there is somethin' else you could do t' occupy yer time this summer, if yer up for it."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Jamie's HeliX thing. 'S about gettin' mutants an' humans talkin' t' each other." She said it carefully, choosing her words. "If you were serious 'bout that helpin' people thing."

"Oh yeah, Jamie's HeliX thing," Warren repeated. He hadn't expected Amanda to bring it up, given what they'd argued about last time. "I went to the first meeting, but missed the other ones. I've definitely been planning on getting more involved with that." He nodded slowly to himself. "I... Well, I think it's really a great idea," he said neutrally. "And you can tell Jamie's really passionate about it."

Amanda nodded. "He is - he really wants t' change how things are." She didn't add that she wasn't sure how successful he would be; the important part was the trying. "He's lookin' at gettin' more active, doin' more stuff. He could probably use the help, an' the distraction, what with Kitty bein' gone all summer an' this thing with the Skippies an' all."

"Right, right. That is a great idea, thanks for bringing it up." Amanda's bringing this up had to be her way of offering peace, he thought. He smiled to himself. "Have you ever been to any of the HeliX meetings?"

A slightly silly smile crossed her face. "More lately - 's the best chance I get t' see Bethany, what with school an' me training with Strange an' all. I don't get a lot of free time." Seeing his expression, she added. "But that ain't the only reason why I go. Jamers might be a bit on the idealistic side for me, but he's got the right idea. One of the things I miss most 'bout Brighton is bein' accepted, no matter what I am. All this hatin' an' fearin' mutants I see here... it's a right pain in the arse."

Warren was surprised by what he perceived to be Amanda's change of heart, but he took care not to show it. If he dug too deep with this, she might get mad again, and they'd only just made up. "Tell me about it," he agreed. "All right, you've convinced me. I'll be at the next meeting, even if Jamie looks less than thrilled to see me."

"Why would he? Ain't like yer Manny - he's the only one Jamers has told 'thanks but no thanks'." Her expression darkened, as it usually did when the subject of Manuel's difficulties at the school came up. "Any way, 's a lot more useful than runnin' 'round in the bondage gear, an' even if things don't change, at least we're havin' fun tryin'." She grinned briefly at him to show she wasn't bringing up that whole mess again, just having a dig at him.

The comment about bondage gear annoyed Warren a little, but he just glanced over and returned the smile. "I'll be there," he promised.