Hank, Jubilee - Monday noonish

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Backdated to Monday, Hank goes to see how Jubilee's doing after the response to this post. He catches her taking her turn at moping in the room she shares with Paige, and tells her how proud he is of her for trying, at least.




Hank tapped gently on Jubilee's door. He hadn't seen her at lunch, and... well. He suspected she might be a bit upset about some of the responses to her journal-post. And he'd been proud of her for it, too... she'd come out and admitted that she didn't understand, and asked for it to be explained to her. That was a big step.

"Jubilee?" he called quietly. "Are you in?"

"Depends, really. If you're here to tell me what an insensitive clod I am, an how it's not all about me. Well, there's a line at the door, I'm sure." she replied, somewhat more sharply then she wanted.

"I wouldn't do that." Hank shook his head. "I'm the one who did the explaining, remember? I was proud of you for coming out and admitting that you didn't understand, too. I know it couldn't have been easy."

"Doesn't really matter, does it? Still got it wrong. Always going to get it wrong." Jubilee replied, huddled on her bed, her rabbit Georgina pressing against her feet as though to comfort her.

"You didn't get it wrong. Some of your phrasing was awkward, I admit, but you weren't wrong." He sighed. "May I come in? I'd like to talk to you, if you'll permit it, and through the door is so awkward."

Jubilee shrugged, clutching her pillow more tightly. "Sure, come in."

She knew she was being childish, and that she was making something about her once again when it really wasn't. It was still hard though, and the desire to either bury herself back in schoolwork or just leave was strong. She couldn't though, it would be giving up and some things were worth dealing with. Even if right now it felt like she'd never get it right, ever.

Hank slipped into the room, and saw her curled up on the bed, bunny snuggled against her legs. The poor child... he couldn't blame her for being upset. She'd done exactly what he'd told her to do, and she'd gotten yelled at.

He perched on the edge of the bed, and reached out to pet the bunny with a gentle fingertip. "Jubilee, you didn't 'get it wrong'," he said firmly. "You were confused, and you asked for an explanation. That was exactly the right thing to do, for you."

Jubilee finally met his gaze, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "But I hurt people."

"Scott was already upset, and it had nothing to do with you. You just struck an already raw nerve." Hank was fairly sure that was it... and now that Jubilee had worked up the nerve to admit that she didn't understand things, he didn't want her to give up on it on the first attempt. "And, Illyana's lack of confidence in human nature aside, I don't think anyone else was hurt by it. And several agreed with you... Amanda stepped in to defend you, even, and you two don't usually get along." He patted her knee lightly. "And, as I said, I was proud of you for having the courage to admit that you didn't understand, instead of trying to bluff your way through without showing weakness."

Jubilee leaned back against the wall beside her bed, waiting for Georgina to settle herself again before answering Hank. "I ain't givin' up on it, just might do the private e-mail thing from now on. Least you'll be able to tell me if it's okay to ask someone else if I need to. Thought Scott was happy, you know? Then I get that reply an I'm all confused again. Surprising as it may seem, I'm trying to think of other people more. Only, just seems like I'm convincing people that I'm even more selfish then they thought I was. Although, I did see the people agreeing with me, so guess that's somethin'."

"It's going to take a while for people to get used to the new approach. And for some, it's going to be difficult to realize that there are things you really don't understand." He petted the bunny a little more. "You'e not the only student here, by any means, whose difficult background has left them a little behind in some areas. But you've hidden it as best you can, until now, which means that many of your peers don't know that there's a problem." And went around calling her stupid, which he was a bit annoyed about. "In the long term, I think, you're better off letting them know that you do have problems with these things, even if it's uncomfortable and embarrassing. But certainly if you'd rather talk to someone else about a problem or misunderstanding privately first, I'll be happy to listen and try to explain."

"Just feels like an excuse sometimes, ya know? I mean, it wasn't like I had no contact with people in LA. I should know this stuff." Jubilee muttered, unwilling at the moment to let herself off the hook.

Hank reached out to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I don't know the details... I haven't pried into your history... but I imagine there were very good reasons why you didn't learn these things. But you can learn them now, and it might be easier for everyone - including you - if it was generally known that there are things that you genuinely don't understand." He smiled a little. "And if a hug would help, I'm told I'm good at them. It's the fuzzy arms, I think."

Jubilee smiled and leaned forward for a hug. She was getting used to this whole physical affection with no strings attached stuff. "It wasn't the type of place you did the touchy feely talks in, you know? An most of the time I was by myself after I ran away from the last place social services put me in. Started gettin' out of practice an now it's hard to remember what's what, or what won't get me hit, ya know?"

He hugged her gently, rubbing her back a little. "There, now... well, if there's anything you're uncertain about, I'm always willing to listen. And I believe you and Maddie are very close too... I'm sure she'd be happy to help you through any confusing spots." He smiled. "And I can promise you that neither of us would dream of striking you."

"Just feel like such a whimp. It's not like people here are treating me bad, an I've not exactly given them reason to think I had a problem before, ya know? Just don't want to be different." she replied, still feeling slightly stupid for being this upset.

"It's likely to be easier both for them and for you if they do know," Hank said gently. "Aspects of your behaviour that puzzle or frustrate them now will be much easier to cope with when they're explained. Mind you, you've concealed the problem for long enough that it may be a while before you're able to convince some folks that it really is there." And that wasn't going to be fun... especially not for Jubilee.

"What if it isn't my manners? What if I'm just stupid, or it's cause I don't listen. I jump to conclusions an awful lot, Hank. Can't blame other people if it's my fault in the first place."

She pulled away, pulling the pillow back up as she leant back against the wall again, her eyes firmly on Georgina as she avoided Hank's gaze.

Hank thought for a moment. "I'm prone to putting my foot in my mouth at the moment, so... well, please don't take this the wrong way, because I don't mean to cause offense," he said slowly, considering his words carefully. "You are, in some ways, very young for your age. Significant trauma in childhood, followed by a lack of proper care, is almost certainly the cause. I'm no expert, but it seems to me that you react, in some ways, the way someone much younger would - especially in regards to complex emotional issues or confusing grey areas. That doesn't mean that you're stupid, or that you just don't listen, it just means you have some catching up to do. As many students here have had... academically, emotionally, and so on."

"Well, I did ask, ya know? So, an honest answer is better then tryin' to spare my feelin's and I'm pretty prone to foot in mouth disease myself. But I'm trying and maybe I just need to stop with the dramatic journal posts and stick with the nice mundane 'Isn't the weather nice today' stuff till I can catch up a little on what's appropriate, hey?"

"Jubilee..." He shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Hiding the problem won't fix it. It hasn't yet, has it?" He petted Georgina gently. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a little behind, under the circumstances. And you will catch up... but it will happen more quickly if you keep going the way you've started, and ask for explanations when you need them." He smiled ruefully. "And the dramatic journal posts aren't one of the areas you're behind in. You're certainly not the only one prone to them. If you weren't a little prone to melodrama, you wouldn't be a teenager. And, speaking for myself, I think a few dramatics now and then are much healthier than bottling everything up until you explode. I've tried both ways, myself, and drama is better." He paused. "You may have noticed my tendency to talk like a mad talking thing during this conversation, for example, as opposed to containing my reactions in any way."

Jubilee grinned suddenly. "Well, you and Mads, and my roomies do seem to have an awful lot of patience with my weird babbling ways, I must admit. I'll try not to give up after only one try."

He grinned back. "Well, one of us is almost always hanging around the labs and the medlab, if you have questions." He reached over to rumple her long, silky hair gently. "And I was proud of you," he said again, because he didn't think she heard it often, especially from people who weren't Maddie. "I really was."