xp_logs | Jamie isn't doomed . . .

x-crowdofone.livejournal.com posting in

. . . but that doesn't mean everything's okay, as Kitty's parents arrive on Saturday morning.

Kitty: Kitty was sitting on the porch steps watching the drive, waiting. Her chin was proped on a hand resting against her knee as she kept her eyes open for the limo.

Jamie: Jamie perched next to her, visibly trying not to be visibly nervous, which involved a lot of not knowing what to do with his hands.

Kitty: She glanced up, grinning. "You know, if all else fails there's always pockets..." The traces of laughter in voice were at least a little stiffled, although still aparent

Jamie: "Yeah, but then they get sweaty from being in my pockets, and I don't want to shake hands with sweaty palms." Jamie settled for leaning back on his elbows, fingers unconsciously tapping the beat to one of the songs he'd been practicing for the concert.

Kitty: "Mm, I can see that I guess." She smiled again, leaning over. "Relax," she whispered into his ear, brushing a kiss on his cheek.

Jamie: Jamie grinned and his fingers fell still. "Keep that up and I won't even notice when they get here."

Kitty: Kitty giggled, her shoulders shaking. "No, probably not, but it'd be a bit of a shock to my dad, I think."

Jamie: "Okay, yeah, not the first impression I realy want to give. Too bad, though."

Kitty: "Mmm, indeed." Smiling, Kitty leaned back, then glanced down towards the gate as the sound of a car's engine came floating down the way. "Wonder if that's them."

Jamie: "Doesn't sound like a regular car." Jamie pushed off his elbows to sit straight up on the stairs, not quite as tense as he had been but not by any means relaxed.

Kitty: "Then it probably is them." She lifted her head, peering down. "Yeah, I think I see the limo."

Jamie: "Now remember, the thing to do is convince them they can leave the thumbscrews in the car."

Kitty: The giggle came back. "Told you, they don't have such things. Really, very nice people. Will like you. Promise."
Kitty: Standing up, Kitty brushed some dust off her jeans, leaning against the railing of the stairs.

Jamie: "They'd better. I'd hate to have to sneak around instead of sneaking around for fun."
Jamie: Jamie stood up and made sure his shirt was tucked in.

Kitty: She looked over, confused, then got it. "Heh. Indeed. Although it's not so much having to sneak around when they live almost a thousand miles away."

Jamie: "Hey, good point."

Kitty: She laughed as the car pulled up and the driver got out. He made it around just in time to watch Mr. Pryde open the door himself. Isaac Pryde was a tall man, solidly built with curly hair that had been clipped short. He looked like he would be more comfortable in professional clothing than the casual clothes he was wearing.

Sarah Pryde, on the other hand, was clearly where Kitty got her looks. Shorter than her husband by a full head, her long hair fell down longer than her daughters, and she looked perfectly at home in her outfit. Actually, she rather looked as though she'd be perfectly comfortable in any outfit, in any situation.

"Daddy! Mom!" Kitty called out, hurrying down the stairs to toss herself into her father's arms.

Jamie: Jamie followed behind more slowly, so as not to intrude on the family reunion. Besides, the more time goes by before they notice him, the longer he gets to live.

Kitty: "Hello kitten." Her father's tone was affectionate as he squeezed her before setting her down.

"Hello love." Kitty's mother gave her a small hug.

"How was the flight?"

"Well enough," her mother said, at the exact same time as her father replied, "Dreadful."

"Er... well, I'm glad, and sorry to hear that?" She sounded a little confused, but quickly shrugged, turning to face Jamie. Giving him a smile she said, "Jamie, these are my parents. Mom, dad, this is Jamie Madrox. Er... my boyfriend," she added with a grin at her mom.

Jamie: "Nice to meet you, sir. Ma'am." Jamie offered his hand to both Kitty's parents in turn, and did slightly better at covering his nervousness than he thought he had.

Kitty: Kitty's mother smiled kindly at the young man, saying, "It's lovely to meet you."

Her father, on the other hand, looked rather surprised. He shook Jamie's hand by instinct, then turned a look at Kitty. "You never mentioned him..."

Kitty laughed. "Of course I did. Practically every second sentance in my emails was about something or other Jamie said or did."

Mr. Pryde's eyes narrowed, and he turned a look on her mother. "Oh is that so?" He voice was a little strained.

Kitty: "Er... yes, it is." Kitty looked a little confused.

"Ah, well then you never mentioned him," he said to his wife.

Kitty: And then, just before she could answer he turned away from her. "It's nice to meet you," he said to Jamie.

Jamie: Jamie shifted uncomfortably at the awkward moment, but managed a nod and a smile for Kitty's father. "Nice to meet you too. Hope you enjoy the concert--a bunch of us in the music class put a band together for the opening act, I don't know if Kitty mentioned." He kicked himself mentally, not having wanted to bring up the dread "musician boyfriend" angle.

Kitty: "Ah really? Well, I don't know if she brought it up either." Mr. Pryde's tone was offhand, but Kitty's mother clearly looked upset. "Are you lot any good?"

"You're a drummer, yes?" Mrs. Pryde asked.

Jamie: "Uh, yeah. I just started a few months ago, but I've been practicing a few hours almost every day. And Terry, our lead singer, has a really great voice, and Jono plays guitar better than anybody I've ever seen. We haven't practiced together much yet, though, so I don't know how good we really are, and Ms. Blaire says live performance is a lot different than practice."

Kitty: "You're bound to be excellent," Kitty said, fondly.

"I used to date a guitar player, a long time ago. My mother always said not to get involved with musicians, but I've never believed that."

Mr. Pryde tensed up. "Odd then that you ended up with me, isn't it? I mean, I can't carry a tune if you hand me a bucket." He was smiling, but his voice was strained.

Jamie: Jamie laughed a little nervously. "Neither can I, that's why I play the drums."

Kitty: Kitty's brow furrowed as she glanced between her parents. "Um, why don't I show you up to one of the guest rooms? We can drop off your stuff before the show."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Mrs. Pryde said.

"So, besides the drums, what do you study Jamie?" Kitty's father asked. The tension in the air was draining away as they gathered their two small bags and headed into the building.

Jamie: "This quarter I'm in communications, creative writing, English Lit, stuff like that. Kinda taking a break from science and math for a little bit. Even with all Kitty's help I just pulled a C in physics last quarter, and I figured if I did that twice in a row there'd be dire consequences."

Kitty: "Oh yes, I can understand that," Kitty's mother chattered as they were led up the stairs. "I know I frequently feel overwhelmed when these two start talking. Half the time I don't even know what subject they're blathering on about. The number of times I've been conivinced Isaac was quiet mad, given how strange the things he was talking about."

"Just because you don't understand Sarah..."

"Here, this is your room," Kitty interrupted. "I hope it's ok."

Jamie: "I like listening to her talk," Jamie said with a fond, but slightly worried look at Kitty. "That's half the problem right there."

Kitty: Kitty bit her lip, half shrugging at Jamie over her mother's shoulder.

"Well, I'm glad she's got someone to talk to," Mr. Pryde said. "I know it was hard for her to relate to her peers in her last school. No one really understood her. It's pretty awful when there's no one around you can talk to about things that are important, believe me."
Kitty: "Not sure I understand how it's a problem though," he added.

Jamie: "Well, I, uh, end up not really thinking about physics. Thus the C." Jamie shrugged, and grinned a little awkwardly. "Not her fault the tutor's more interesting than the subject."

Kitty: "Ah of course." Her father smiled down at Kitty, smoothing a hand over her hair. "Certainly can't fault you for that," he said, and Kitty blushed.

"Dad..."

Jamie: "I'm better at stuff like biology anyway--my mom's a vet, and she taught me a lot. Uh--can I get either of you something to drink?"

Kitty: "Any chance you're a liscensed bartender?" Mr. Pryde joked, but his wife didn't seem to get it.

"Isaac!" she hissed, sounding outraged.

"I was kidding!" Turning back to Jamie he said, "Can I just get some water, I've got a bit of a headache. Too much recycled air in the plane."

Kitty: "I'm fine," Sarah said, nodding to Jamie. "Thank you though."

Jamie: "No problem. I'll be back in a second with the water." And that's almost a literal statement, as he just had to duck out of sight down the hall and wait for the dupe bringing the glass of water.

Kitty: "What's up?" Kitty asked when Jamie disappeared. She knew he hadn't gone far, but it was more of a reassuring thought than a worry.

"Nothing dear," her mother answered, and her father's echoing reply followed on it's heels.

"Somehow I don't... Oh nevermind. Do you want to rest before the concert, or take the grand tour?"

"I think the tour would be nice," Isaac said.

Jamie: "Did I hear something about a tour?" Jamie asked, coming back around the corner with a glass of ice water. He'd started to relax a little once he realized they weren't after his skin for a rug, but there was still something off. "I've done a couple tours for some of the guys who showed up after I did, I could tag along unless you want to make it a family thing." He smiled reassuringly at Kitty. "And my favorite route to the kitchen isn't through the dining room wall."

Kitty: Kitty smiled back. "I don't usually go through the walls. Only sometimes."

"I think it would be lovely to have you along," Sarah said, and Isaac nodded. "Sure, why not."

Jamie: "I think almost everybody's either out for a walk or at the club helping set up," Jamie said thoughtfully as he handed Mr. Pryde the water. "Well, except the doctors are probably down in the labs like usual."

Kitty: "Doctors plural?" Kitty's father asked.

"Yeah. There's Doctor Essex, who I've been working for as a lab assistant, like I wrote..." She paused, glancing at her mother before hurrying on. "And Doctor Mactaggart just came to the school a few weeks ago. They're both geneticists. And Dr. McCoy you know, dad, and he's spending a lot of his time in the medical lab these days. And I think Doctor Bartlett's around somewhere, but I don't know her very well."

"What ever happened to Doctor Grey?" Isaac asked, and Kitty froze. The look she shot her mother was one of almost pure anguish.

"Um... I wrote you... she died earlier this year..."

Jamie: "That was right before I got here," Jamie said, trying again to break the obvious tension. "I remember seeing her on TV during those hearings."

Kitty: Isaac blinked, his lips thinning. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "I'm even more sorry that I didn't find out about it."

Sarah ignored him.

"Um, that's ok," Kitty said. "Would you like to go on the tour now?"

"I think that would be good."