xp_logs | Angelo and Jubilee

They meet in the gym, not long after the Sarah kerfuffle, talk things out, and come to a resolution.

Angelo headed down to the gym, looking to work out the remainder of his tension and stress on an innocent punchbag. Somewhat to his dismay, as he approached the door to push it open, he saw a familiar figure through the glass pane: Jubilee. Hesitating for a moment, since he wasn't sure yet he was ready to face her, he decided that he'd have to sooner or later, and since there they both were... He pushed the door open and walked into the room.

Jubilee looked up from the stance she'd been working on. She'd been doing a little extra study for when self-defence training started back up again. It was one of the few classes she took absolutely seriously. "Hey Angelo." she said, her tone even. She wasn't entirely sure what to say, she knew he'd been avoiding her for the past few days and it had made her somewhat annoyed. She wasn't someone who brooded on things and when she had a problem with someone, she told them. Still, maybe he just hadn't wanted to start a fight.

Angelo nodded an acknowledgment, moving automatically into a basic set of stretches, before his work-out. "Hey, Jubilee. How's it goin'?" he asked, trying for a casual tone.

Jubilee pondered how she could answer this, her conversation with Shinobi a few days ago had left her feeling better about what she'd said to everyone. She decided to go for honesty. "I've been good. Kinda annoyed that you've been avoiding me though. Would have thought you'd come talk to me when you're pissed at somethin' I've said. That's how it's supposed to work, right?"

Angelo sighed. "...I wasn't pissed at you. Well, you probably least of anyone that said much about it all. An' if you hadn't noticed, you're not the only one I've been avoidin' the last few days. Just haven't been feelin' social."

Jubilee flopped down on one of the benches, and sighed. "I was trying to stop you from gettin' hurt, you know. All of you. I couldn't help Sarah cause she was too far away, but I could at least stop you and the others from gettin' hurt. I'm sorry if I said it badly."

Angelo continued his warmup, slowing down only slightly. "It wasn't really what you said or how you said it - sure, you could maybe've phrased it better, but nobody was really thinkin' straight right about then. But once would've been enough, Jubes, yeah? An' if it wasn't... then more than once probably wouldn't be either, you understand? That goes for you an' Illyana both, her more than you but some for you. An' I'm not blamin' you for it, I know you were scared, just sayin'."

Jubilee smiled wryly and nodded. "When I looked back at what I said, after I'd talked to Obi and calmed down, I kinda saw that myself. At the time, I was like, just replying to the replies and gettin' more and more stressed. Probably should have logged off and gone and made hot chocolate then. It comes with the caring, Dude. I guess you don't always think first. Something else I realised later on after I was through being angry with you all for wanting to go into that kinda danger."

"You get why me an' Jono said what we did, then, right at the start?" Angelo asked pointedly. "Why we ever wanted to go at all?"

Jubilee nodded, thinking for a moment before she answered, wanting Angelo to understand. "I get why you wanted to go and help her. What I don't get is the "doing everything alone" thing. Angelo, dude. It may have been that way on the street but it's not here. The teachers here, they actually care about us."

Angelo shrugged a little and answered slowly, thinking the words out carefully as he spoke. "You say that like the way I used to live... didn't last long, wasn't much, whatever. But what you gotta get is, I've been "on the street", in a manner of speakin', most of my life. Had a home for all but a couple of months of it, 'course I did, but I'd been doin' stuff for myself for a very long time before that. Twelve years or so, ever since my dad died. Bringin' money in to help Mom out, everythin' I could. So I know it's not like that here. But just knowin' with my head ain't always enough."

Jubilee nodded, her expression thoughtful. "When they first brought me here, every meal they gave me I used to eat like it was gonna be my last and they caught me hording food a couple of times. I just couldn't figure why they'd keep me around long. I mean, wasn't gonna be any good as domestic help and I was so totally not gonna be someone's rent girl, so why the hell else would you take someone off the streets, right? But after a couple of weeks, I realised Xavier did it cause he could, not for any other reason."

Jubilee finished her stretching and stood up, hoisting her gym bag over her shoulder. "I get the head and the heart thing, Dude. And s'not like people didn't give me a huge amount of time to deal with my issues. So, I'm like, hopin' we're okay now. "

Angelo flinched almost imperceptibly at the "rent" line, but the reaction was gone the next instant as if it hadn't happened. "Yeah, we're good. Like I said, I was never really mad at you."

Jubilee paused, having noted the flinch. She wasn't sure what to say next, whether she should ask a question that was going to be hugely personal, or just leave it go.

'Well, you've never exactly been the subtle type' she thought wryly. "Angelo, why'd you flinch just then?"

Angelo snapped his head up to look at her, trying to figure out what to say, his posture suddenly somehow withdrawn, arms wrapping automatically around himself. "You know I've been on the streets. You saw that. I think you can figure it out."

Jubilee thought back to what she'd been saying, and when exactly Angelo had flinched and her expression changed, her eyes sad. Anyone who'd been on the streets for any amount of time knew that sometimes the only way to get by was to sell the only thing you had of any value. "How often and was it voluntary?" she asked.

She didn't want to ask that, didn't want to think about that particular aspect of life out there. She'd never had to but she'd had friends who had, both willing and not. Sometimes, you had absolutely no choice, everyone needed to eat.

"When there was nothin' else I could do. An' I don't know as I'd call it voluntary, but no one forced me, y'know what I mean? Not like a... pimp, or whatever."

Jubilee sighed, not entirely sure what to say. She finally noticed just how defensive and withdrawn his posture had become. "Dude, you don't have ta talk about this with me, if'n ya don't want to. I know what it's like to not want to relive bad memories." she said.

Angelo nodded gratefully at the chance to drop the subject. "Yeah. 's not easy at the best of times, an' no offense, but you an' me aren't that close, y'know? Was hard enough talkin' about it with Samson, an' the people I am really close to."

She grinned, nodding. "I know what that's like, and yer right, we don't much know each other yet. But, I think I could deal with havin' another friend if you were up to hangin' out with someone else from Cali."

Angelo smiled slightly. "That'd be good. One step at a time, yeah? 's what Samson says, anyway."

Jubilee nodded, picking up her towel from where she'd dropped it. "One step at a time. And I gotta go. Arabic homework to do if I don't wanna seriously lag behind. I'll catch ya later though, kay?"

Angelo nodded, managing a slight grin. "Later." He watched her go before turning to the punchbag to begin his routine.