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xp_logsThe day after Amanda gets back, Jubilee bails her up, wanting some answers. Surprisingly, she gets them.
Jubilee paused as she walked past the open doorway to the kitchen, noticing Amanda leaning into the fridge and rummaging in a determined fashion. She hadn't had a chance to catch up to Amanda since she'd left, and now would be a good a time as any to get the story, especially considering the other girl had arrived with a child in tow.
"So, do I get to know why you left now?" Jubilee asked, leaning against the doorframe in a determined 'I'm not going anywhere till you tell me' stance.
Her tone was probably slightly disapproving but she didn't particularly like it when people left with no explanation or firm declaration of when they'd be returning. She wanted to hear Amanda's reasoning first though before she yelled at her about it.
Well, someone had to ask the question first, and Amanda wasn't really surprised it was Jubilee. Grabbing the apple juice and a bowl of leftover stirfry someone had left unlabelled, she straightened with a sigh and closed the fridge door. "'S complicated," she began. Seeing the other girl's face darken, she hastened to add. "Not sayin' that I won't tell you, just it's gunna take a while. An' I don't want t' leave Meggan long - she's still afraid I'll vanish or somethin'. Come back t' me room an' I'll tell you there."
Jubilee nodded, standing aside and gesturing for Amanda to go first. "Sure. So that's the kid's name? Meggan?"
"It's the name I gave her, yeah - she didn't have one when we found her. She called herself the Monster, since that was what the people who had her called her." Amanda's face clouded at the thought of the Grgics. Collecting her food and the juice, and led the way out of the kitchen and up the hallway to the main stairs. "'S been an interestin' couple of weeks, that's for sure. Went away t' get me head on straight, come back with a kid." She grinned briefly. "Not that I regret it, mind."
"You might want ta have her have some contact with Miles once she'd feelin' a little less nervous. He had a pretty hard time of things himself, so he could probably help out. Besides, it's good for kids to have people their own age ta play with." Jubilee replied, wrinkling her nose as she realised what she sounded like. "Look at me, soundin' like some kinda magazine on childhood development. Dangers of gettin' bored in Doc Samson's office."
"It's on the cards once she's not so skittish, yeah," Amanda replied, being good and not pointing out she had already thought of that and a dozen other things besides. "I'm hopin' Alison'll help with questions, seein' how she's been in the same place with the instant kid." They reached the stairs and began climbing. "I meant t' say - thanks for what you did the night I left. Helped knowin' there was someone there, even if I wasn't ready t' talk t' anyone about it."
"S'okay." Jubilee replied, with a slight shrug of her shoulders as she climbed the stairs. "When I didn't see any response from you on the journals when Manny made his big grand statement, I went lookin'. Thought there might be a reason for it, an if there was, that you might need someone to be around. Glad I helped."
"There wasn't anythin' I could say t' that post," Amanda replied. "I hated that bastard father of his, an' I was glad he was dead. He fucked with both of us - it was him that had the shite beaten out of me last November, as well as gettin' Selene t' wipe Manuel's memory. An' Manuel's fuckin' well mournin' the bastard. If that's what bein' blood related t' someone means, that it don't matter what a person does, then count me out." The bitterness was palpable.
Jubilee nodded, but didn't say anything as they reached the door to the room Amanda shared with Marie-Ange. She had a feeling that right now it was better to listen to what Amanda had to say about the situation, rather then offering her own opinion on it. She could always say something later on, when she had all the facts.
The first thing Amanda did when they reached her room was check on the small furry girl curled up asleep on her bed, running her hand soothingly over her shoulder to let her know she was back. Meggan murmured a little in her sleep and reached out one leathery paw to grab hold of Amanda's sleeve. "Looks like I'm stayin' put," Amanda said wryly, sitting down on the bed. "Pass us that food, would you? Don't want t' risk upsettin' her, an' she needs all the sleep she can get."
Jubilee passed over the food, and then hooked Amanda's desk chair with a leg. One of the things she'd always liked about the mansion was that the Professor seemed to know the beauty that was a good desk chair. One with a high back and arm rests, and just enough room to be able to sit cross legged. Jubilee was quiet for awhile, letting Amanda settle in with her food, and getting a good look at Meggan.
"Still doesn't explain why you left, ya know." Jubilee replied, leaning back in the chair.
Amanda finished the mouthful she was chewing on and put the bowl aside with a small grimace. Talking about this always tied her stomach in knots. "I know who killed Manuel's father," she said at last. "And if I tell you who, it'll explain a lot, but you gotta swear you won't tell anyone."
Jubilee looked somewhat skeptical, she wasn't in the habit of promising things before she knew enough to know what kind of promise she was making. But still, Amanda seemed to want to tell her the truth and that was a big improvement on where they had been, so could she do any less then to trust Amanda knew what she was asking?
"Okay, I promise I won't tell." Jubilee replied, shifting on the chair slightly as she got comfortable.
Amanda took a breath, shifting herself slightly on the bed so Meggan was cuddled up against her, stroking the soft fur of the girl's cheek with her fingertips in an effort to keep herself calm. "It'll probably come out in the end any way, but I don't wanna be the one that does that - 's up to the team, or maybe the X geezer," she began, steeling herself for what she had to say. She'd already told a few people, but email was different than in person, and Jubilee wasn't one of her people, not fully. "Alphonso had Pete's dad killed, t' show me he wasn't done with me yet. He didn't like me bein' with Manuel, an' he didn't appreciate me gettin' us both out of that place in November, so he had a poor old man killed. Pete found out, an' he... he took care of it."
"Fucker." Jubilee swore, waving her hand as she saw Amanda start from the, she must admit, overly loud statement. "Alphonso, I meant. So, Pete took care of it. Nothin' I wouldn't have done myself, had the assholes that killed my parents still been alive. An well, he had double reason considerin' the stuff with you. But I'm thinkin' there's more, right?"
"Manuel found out," Amanda said matter-of-factly. "I'd known for about a month what had happened, an' what Pete was gunna do, an' I didn't tell Manuel. When he found out his dad was dead, he knew from the link I wasn't surprised an' he... I told him what I knew." She ducked her head, focussing on Meggan. She didn't want to think about that scene.
"You never once thought to, you know, tell someone what Pete was gonna do? I mean, hey, you won't see me disagreeing that Alphy boy deserved the big dirt nap. But this is the Hellfire club's bad boy, right? Pete's the fuckin' guidance counsellor for cripes' sake. What's to stop Bad Lingerie Incorporated from comin' after our asses for this? Tell me they can't link this ta Pete." Jubilee said, her hands suddenly gripping the chair tightly.
One of the things she'd come to realise after she found out her parents killers were dead, was that had she had the chance to kill them herself, it might have gone badly afterward. Chinese Mafia types didn't tend to like you killing off their henchmen, or getting involved in their business at all. Jubilee had had a few sleepless nights imagining hits being taken out on Madelyn or any of the other people she was close to.
"Don't worry, the school's safe - you've got the X-Men on it, as well as Remy an' Jake." Amanda pinched the bridge of her nose wearily. "The X-Men knew. You wanna know what they did? Put a bloody bodyguard detail on him. Pete... he's not a fuckin' counsellor, Jubilee, never has been, really. He's a spy an' assassin, 's what he's trained for. So even with the X-Men on guard, he still managed t' do the job."
"Good." Jubilee replied, shrugging at Amanda's look. "What? Dude, like I said, Alphy boy deserved it, an frankly cutting the guy's throat and bathin' in his blood would probably have been my first choice if it'd been me. But I've been told lately I've gotta do that whole 'thinkin' in the long term' thing. Which means, revenge second, school and people who break easily when hit with sharp objects first. Although, totally think I'm gonna be stuck readin' paperwork my entire fraggin' life right now. I swear Cyke is doin' this because he thinks it's funny. So exactly why did Manny freak out? I didn't think he was the 'I love you Daddy, you're my best and only friend' type."
She didn't touch on the X-men bodyguard detail Amanda had mentioned. She wanted to know other things first, and there were only so many questions people could answer at once. Well, Jubilee could usually string answers together but it got a little confusing for the people at the other end of the conversation, especially since she didn't bother with any sort of order.
"Because I knew an' didn't tell him. 'Cause he loved his dad, even if he was a fuckin' cunt. 'Cause family honour's more important to him than what was done t' both of us. Pete an' Rom ain't my blood family, so they don't count, I s'pose." Amanda shrugged, not letting Jubilee see how much that thought hurt. "I don't really understand it, seein' how the only father I had before I came here was a psychotic bastard who I was glad t' see dead."
"I ain't exactly the one ta be talkin' to about family honour an blood. Granddad might explain it but he'd probably be more likely to get all 'art of war' on you and make you figure it out while trying to balance bags of rice standin' on a pole or somethin'. Still think Alphy would've been put out of his misery pretty quick in my family though. Granddad don't take well to complete psychos, not even when they're blood... especially when they're blood. Psychotic tendencies ain't exactly a breeding trait you want to encourage." Jubilee replied, taking in all that Amanda had so far said. "Can't speak for what's up with Manny. I'd have thought he loved you enough to realise you were doin' what you thought was right. He's Spanish though, maybe it's one of those weird Latino things. "
Jubilee was aware that she wasn't being particularly sensitive to Manny right now. It wasn't easy to lose your father, she knew that more then anyone. But Manny had had people looking after him, Amanda had had to go it alone for what must have been a long time, keeping her secret. She needed Jubilee right now, so that was all there was to it.
"Yeah, well, that makes two of us that thought he loved me enough." Amanda clamped her lips tightly together to stop the tremble. Meggan stirred and whimpered under her hand, and she made an effort to box up those emotions again - Meg didn't need her shit as well. "He told me t' go, so I went. Couldn't handle stayin' here, not with that on top of everythin' else - Nate gettin' hurt, worryin' meself sick 'bout Pete, fightin' with Paige..." The last slipped out before she could stop it.
Jubilee honed in on the last, she'd wondered why Paige had suddenly gone so quiet and had thought the excuse of study might be a front. But she'd never quite been able to discover what was going on. "What did you guys fight about?"
She could tell Amanda that leaving just because Manny said so was dumb, especially when Nate and Moira and Angelo and quite a few others needed her here. But guilt trips rarely worked and she wanted to know about the fight first. She could see a picture forming here, and she wanted to get it all before she really gave an opinion.
'Dude, actual thought before commenting, never knew you had it in you.' Jubilee thought, amusedly.
"Back when I was... I dunno if you noticed, but I sort of went back t' the hidin' an' not talkin' thing for a while there. It was after I got told what had happened with Pete, an' what he was gunna do. Why he left. I couldn't handle it, the whole secret thing, so I was spendin' a lot of time in the stables. Paige took exception t' me grooming her horse - which is fair enough, I see that now. But she didn't just come out an' say it, like you would've, she had to do that whole passive-aggressive pretend nice shite which never sits right with me." Amanda sighed. "I didn't want t' fight, but things got out of hand, 'specially when she said I was bein' childish for missin' Pete the way I was. Of course, she didn't know why he left or why I was so upset, so she said exactly the wrong thing an' then I said a few things an' then she threatened t' break me jaw an' well, after the past year 'm a bit touchy 'bout those sorts of threats. Been a punchin' bag enough."
Amanda chewed on her thumbnail and considered her next words. "I don't want her t' hate me," she said at last. "We were roomies a good while, an' I thought we was mates. Wrote t' her, even, just before everythin' went pear-shaped, but I guess me leavin' botched any chance of us talkin' it out."
"Dude, you just gotta keep tryin'. If one e-mail didn't work, keep sendin' them till she gets so sick of ya not gettin' the hint that she replies in self defence. An then, e-mail even more, cause then she'll have responded, so you know there's an openin'." Jubilee replied, a twinkle of mischief in her gaze. "As to your leavin' botching things. It doesn't have to have but you gotta make a choice to keep at it till she comes round. You have to make a choice on whether it's worth it to you ta keep tryin', ya know? Gotta say though, Dude. You hurt people by leavin' like that. An for someone that's so all about the 'people are always leavin' me' stuff, it was a little surprising that you went the way you did. Not that I'm not totally understandin' the need to leave sometimes. But, there was probably a better way to do it."
"I don't like the writin' thing, always comes out wrong..." Amanda began, but then the last comment sank in. "You think if there was a better way I wouldn't've taken it?" she asked. "He told me t' go, an' he hated me when he said it - I could feel it down the fuckin' link. An' after he'd already threatened t'..." She stopped herself again, biting her lip. She hadn't told anyone else about the threat to use his powers on her, and she had to spill it to Jubilee?
"He threatened you? Dude..." Jubilee replied, rubbing a hand across her face wearily as she thought of what to say next. "Look, okay. So, he threatened you, you were all screwed up from everythin' else, an you could only think that runnin' was the best bet. I can pay that. Why didn't you tell anyone that he threatened you though?"
She was angry at Manny, furiously angry. You didn't threaten to use your powers against another student. And wasn't that just the irony of the century, getting angry that someone else had threatened Amanda when she'd done just a little more then threatening herself. Still, he was supposed to be in love with her.
This wasn't about her anger though, it was about letting Amanda talk this out. Jubilee would control her temper and her powers, which always seemed to relay her mood even when she was desperately trying to hide it.
"He threatened me with his powers t' make me tell him - he could tell I wasn't surprised t' hear his dad was dead an' he made me tell him why," Amanda said quietly, raising a warning finger to her lips and nodding at Meggan to get Jubilee to keep her voice down. "I didn't tell anyone for the same reason I left - if I'd stayed, an' he'd used his powers on me, that'd be it for him here. An' for us - I couldn't be with him if he did that. An' that'd mean his dad had fuckin' won, that he'd gotten what he wanted all along - Manuel thrown out of the school an' away from me. So I left, t' take away the cause of what was makin' him so angry, t' give him some space as well as give me a chance t' think things through. I know it hurt people, but I couldn't think of any other way. An' if anyone knew what he'd threatened me... they all think he's a bastard already. Wouldn't take much more 'n my word t' turn the entire school against him, an' I won't do that - this is the only place he has left."
Jubilee nodded, thinking back to a time when she and Manny had still been talking to each other. He'd always seemed so isolated from everyone else, it was one of the reasons Jubilee had originally talked to him. She could understand Amanda not wanting to make it impossible for him to stay in the one place he still felt a tie to, even if she thought Manny needed a good whacking over the head with something blunt for threatening someone.
"Okay, I can understand that. An I can understand why you left." Jubilee said as she leant back against the desk chair. "Although, I meant what I said about comin' after ya if you stayed away too long. Glad you came back on your own, though." no
Not exactly on her own - Amanda looked down at Meggan with a slight stab of indescribable feeling. No, it wasn't Meggan's fault - she'd made the choice to take her in. "I couldn't stay away forever," she said instead. "Got too many ties here - like Remy said, 's where I belong, at least for now. Just hope the break was long enough."
"I hope so too, Mandy?" Jubilee asked, tone gentle. "I gotta go. I've got classes. But, if you wanted we could hang out after. I've still got to show you the joys of Tekkan."
"It's fine, Tinkerbell. Think this one'll be wakin' up soon any way, an' I need t' go over some stuff for Strange before then." Amanda nodded at the other girl as she rose from the desk chair. "I keep tellin' you I'm rubbish at those computer games, but yeah, if you want t' do somethin', I'm game. You could always meet Meggan proper, when she's awake t' charm the socks off you," she added with a grin.
Jubilee looked down at the small child, she'd curled closer to Amanda as they'd talked. She didn't think Meggan needed to be awake to charm anyone but then she'd always noted little kids had that power. "We can do that. I'll see ya later, Dude."
With that, she slipped quietly out of Amanda's room, softly shutting the door behind her.
Jubilee paused as she walked past the open doorway to the kitchen, noticing Amanda leaning into the fridge and rummaging in a determined fashion. She hadn't had a chance to catch up to Amanda since she'd left, and now would be a good a time as any to get the story, especially considering the other girl had arrived with a child in tow.
"So, do I get to know why you left now?" Jubilee asked, leaning against the doorframe in a determined 'I'm not going anywhere till you tell me' stance.
Her tone was probably slightly disapproving but she didn't particularly like it when people left with no explanation or firm declaration of when they'd be returning. She wanted to hear Amanda's reasoning first though before she yelled at her about it.
Well, someone had to ask the question first, and Amanda wasn't really surprised it was Jubilee. Grabbing the apple juice and a bowl of leftover stirfry someone had left unlabelled, she straightened with a sigh and closed the fridge door. "'S complicated," she began. Seeing the other girl's face darken, she hastened to add. "Not sayin' that I won't tell you, just it's gunna take a while. An' I don't want t' leave Meggan long - she's still afraid I'll vanish or somethin'. Come back t' me room an' I'll tell you there."
Jubilee nodded, standing aside and gesturing for Amanda to go first. "Sure. So that's the kid's name? Meggan?"
"It's the name I gave her, yeah - she didn't have one when we found her. She called herself the Monster, since that was what the people who had her called her." Amanda's face clouded at the thought of the Grgics. Collecting her food and the juice, and led the way out of the kitchen and up the hallway to the main stairs. "'S been an interestin' couple of weeks, that's for sure. Went away t' get me head on straight, come back with a kid." She grinned briefly. "Not that I regret it, mind."
"You might want ta have her have some contact with Miles once she'd feelin' a little less nervous. He had a pretty hard time of things himself, so he could probably help out. Besides, it's good for kids to have people their own age ta play with." Jubilee replied, wrinkling her nose as she realised what she sounded like. "Look at me, soundin' like some kinda magazine on childhood development. Dangers of gettin' bored in Doc Samson's office."
"It's on the cards once she's not so skittish, yeah," Amanda replied, being good and not pointing out she had already thought of that and a dozen other things besides. "I'm hopin' Alison'll help with questions, seein' how she's been in the same place with the instant kid." They reached the stairs and began climbing. "I meant t' say - thanks for what you did the night I left. Helped knowin' there was someone there, even if I wasn't ready t' talk t' anyone about it."
"S'okay." Jubilee replied, with a slight shrug of her shoulders as she climbed the stairs. "When I didn't see any response from you on the journals when Manny made his big grand statement, I went lookin'. Thought there might be a reason for it, an if there was, that you might need someone to be around. Glad I helped."
"There wasn't anythin' I could say t' that post," Amanda replied. "I hated that bastard father of his, an' I was glad he was dead. He fucked with both of us - it was him that had the shite beaten out of me last November, as well as gettin' Selene t' wipe Manuel's memory. An' Manuel's fuckin' well mournin' the bastard. If that's what bein' blood related t' someone means, that it don't matter what a person does, then count me out." The bitterness was palpable.
Jubilee nodded, but didn't say anything as they reached the door to the room Amanda shared with Marie-Ange. She had a feeling that right now it was better to listen to what Amanda had to say about the situation, rather then offering her own opinion on it. She could always say something later on, when she had all the facts.
The first thing Amanda did when they reached her room was check on the small furry girl curled up asleep on her bed, running her hand soothingly over her shoulder to let her know she was back. Meggan murmured a little in her sleep and reached out one leathery paw to grab hold of Amanda's sleeve. "Looks like I'm stayin' put," Amanda said wryly, sitting down on the bed. "Pass us that food, would you? Don't want t' risk upsettin' her, an' she needs all the sleep she can get."
Jubilee passed over the food, and then hooked Amanda's desk chair with a leg. One of the things she'd always liked about the mansion was that the Professor seemed to know the beauty that was a good desk chair. One with a high back and arm rests, and just enough room to be able to sit cross legged. Jubilee was quiet for awhile, letting Amanda settle in with her food, and getting a good look at Meggan.
"Still doesn't explain why you left, ya know." Jubilee replied, leaning back in the chair.
Amanda finished the mouthful she was chewing on and put the bowl aside with a small grimace. Talking about this always tied her stomach in knots. "I know who killed Manuel's father," she said at last. "And if I tell you who, it'll explain a lot, but you gotta swear you won't tell anyone."
Jubilee looked somewhat skeptical, she wasn't in the habit of promising things before she knew enough to know what kind of promise she was making. But still, Amanda seemed to want to tell her the truth and that was a big improvement on where they had been, so could she do any less then to trust Amanda knew what she was asking?
"Okay, I promise I won't tell." Jubilee replied, shifting on the chair slightly as she got comfortable.
Amanda took a breath, shifting herself slightly on the bed so Meggan was cuddled up against her, stroking the soft fur of the girl's cheek with her fingertips in an effort to keep herself calm. "It'll probably come out in the end any way, but I don't wanna be the one that does that - 's up to the team, or maybe the X geezer," she began, steeling herself for what she had to say. She'd already told a few people, but email was different than in person, and Jubilee wasn't one of her people, not fully. "Alphonso had Pete's dad killed, t' show me he wasn't done with me yet. He didn't like me bein' with Manuel, an' he didn't appreciate me gettin' us both out of that place in November, so he had a poor old man killed. Pete found out, an' he... he took care of it."
"Fucker." Jubilee swore, waving her hand as she saw Amanda start from the, she must admit, overly loud statement. "Alphonso, I meant. So, Pete took care of it. Nothin' I wouldn't have done myself, had the assholes that killed my parents still been alive. An well, he had double reason considerin' the stuff with you. But I'm thinkin' there's more, right?"
"Manuel found out," Amanda said matter-of-factly. "I'd known for about a month what had happened, an' what Pete was gunna do, an' I didn't tell Manuel. When he found out his dad was dead, he knew from the link I wasn't surprised an' he... I told him what I knew." She ducked her head, focussing on Meggan. She didn't want to think about that scene.
"You never once thought to, you know, tell someone what Pete was gonna do? I mean, hey, you won't see me disagreeing that Alphy boy deserved the big dirt nap. But this is the Hellfire club's bad boy, right? Pete's the fuckin' guidance counsellor for cripes' sake. What's to stop Bad Lingerie Incorporated from comin' after our asses for this? Tell me they can't link this ta Pete." Jubilee said, her hands suddenly gripping the chair tightly.
One of the things she'd come to realise after she found out her parents killers were dead, was that had she had the chance to kill them herself, it might have gone badly afterward. Chinese Mafia types didn't tend to like you killing off their henchmen, or getting involved in their business at all. Jubilee had had a few sleepless nights imagining hits being taken out on Madelyn or any of the other people she was close to.
"Don't worry, the school's safe - you've got the X-Men on it, as well as Remy an' Jake." Amanda pinched the bridge of her nose wearily. "The X-Men knew. You wanna know what they did? Put a bloody bodyguard detail on him. Pete... he's not a fuckin' counsellor, Jubilee, never has been, really. He's a spy an' assassin, 's what he's trained for. So even with the X-Men on guard, he still managed t' do the job."
"Good." Jubilee replied, shrugging at Amanda's look. "What? Dude, like I said, Alphy boy deserved it, an frankly cutting the guy's throat and bathin' in his blood would probably have been my first choice if it'd been me. But I've been told lately I've gotta do that whole 'thinkin' in the long term' thing. Which means, revenge second, school and people who break easily when hit with sharp objects first. Although, totally think I'm gonna be stuck readin' paperwork my entire fraggin' life right now. I swear Cyke is doin' this because he thinks it's funny. So exactly why did Manny freak out? I didn't think he was the 'I love you Daddy, you're my best and only friend' type."
She didn't touch on the X-men bodyguard detail Amanda had mentioned. She wanted to know other things first, and there were only so many questions people could answer at once. Well, Jubilee could usually string answers together but it got a little confusing for the people at the other end of the conversation, especially since she didn't bother with any sort of order.
"Because I knew an' didn't tell him. 'Cause he loved his dad, even if he was a fuckin' cunt. 'Cause family honour's more important to him than what was done t' both of us. Pete an' Rom ain't my blood family, so they don't count, I s'pose." Amanda shrugged, not letting Jubilee see how much that thought hurt. "I don't really understand it, seein' how the only father I had before I came here was a psychotic bastard who I was glad t' see dead."
"I ain't exactly the one ta be talkin' to about family honour an blood. Granddad might explain it but he'd probably be more likely to get all 'art of war' on you and make you figure it out while trying to balance bags of rice standin' on a pole or somethin'. Still think Alphy would've been put out of his misery pretty quick in my family though. Granddad don't take well to complete psychos, not even when they're blood... especially when they're blood. Psychotic tendencies ain't exactly a breeding trait you want to encourage." Jubilee replied, taking in all that Amanda had so far said. "Can't speak for what's up with Manny. I'd have thought he loved you enough to realise you were doin' what you thought was right. He's Spanish though, maybe it's one of those weird Latino things. "
Jubilee was aware that she wasn't being particularly sensitive to Manny right now. It wasn't easy to lose your father, she knew that more then anyone. But Manny had had people looking after him, Amanda had had to go it alone for what must have been a long time, keeping her secret. She needed Jubilee right now, so that was all there was to it.
"Yeah, well, that makes two of us that thought he loved me enough." Amanda clamped her lips tightly together to stop the tremble. Meggan stirred and whimpered under her hand, and she made an effort to box up those emotions again - Meg didn't need her shit as well. "He told me t' go, so I went. Couldn't handle stayin' here, not with that on top of everythin' else - Nate gettin' hurt, worryin' meself sick 'bout Pete, fightin' with Paige..." The last slipped out before she could stop it.
Jubilee honed in on the last, she'd wondered why Paige had suddenly gone so quiet and had thought the excuse of study might be a front. But she'd never quite been able to discover what was going on. "What did you guys fight about?"
She could tell Amanda that leaving just because Manny said so was dumb, especially when Nate and Moira and Angelo and quite a few others needed her here. But guilt trips rarely worked and she wanted to know about the fight first. She could see a picture forming here, and she wanted to get it all before she really gave an opinion.
'Dude, actual thought before commenting, never knew you had it in you.' Jubilee thought, amusedly.
"Back when I was... I dunno if you noticed, but I sort of went back t' the hidin' an' not talkin' thing for a while there. It was after I got told what had happened with Pete, an' what he was gunna do. Why he left. I couldn't handle it, the whole secret thing, so I was spendin' a lot of time in the stables. Paige took exception t' me grooming her horse - which is fair enough, I see that now. But she didn't just come out an' say it, like you would've, she had to do that whole passive-aggressive pretend nice shite which never sits right with me." Amanda sighed. "I didn't want t' fight, but things got out of hand, 'specially when she said I was bein' childish for missin' Pete the way I was. Of course, she didn't know why he left or why I was so upset, so she said exactly the wrong thing an' then I said a few things an' then she threatened t' break me jaw an' well, after the past year 'm a bit touchy 'bout those sorts of threats. Been a punchin' bag enough."
Amanda chewed on her thumbnail and considered her next words. "I don't want her t' hate me," she said at last. "We were roomies a good while, an' I thought we was mates. Wrote t' her, even, just before everythin' went pear-shaped, but I guess me leavin' botched any chance of us talkin' it out."
"Dude, you just gotta keep tryin'. If one e-mail didn't work, keep sendin' them till she gets so sick of ya not gettin' the hint that she replies in self defence. An then, e-mail even more, cause then she'll have responded, so you know there's an openin'." Jubilee replied, a twinkle of mischief in her gaze. "As to your leavin' botching things. It doesn't have to have but you gotta make a choice to keep at it till she comes round. You have to make a choice on whether it's worth it to you ta keep tryin', ya know? Gotta say though, Dude. You hurt people by leavin' like that. An for someone that's so all about the 'people are always leavin' me' stuff, it was a little surprising that you went the way you did. Not that I'm not totally understandin' the need to leave sometimes. But, there was probably a better way to do it."
"I don't like the writin' thing, always comes out wrong..." Amanda began, but then the last comment sank in. "You think if there was a better way I wouldn't've taken it?" she asked. "He told me t' go, an' he hated me when he said it - I could feel it down the fuckin' link. An' after he'd already threatened t'..." She stopped herself again, biting her lip. She hadn't told anyone else about the threat to use his powers on her, and she had to spill it to Jubilee?
"He threatened you? Dude..." Jubilee replied, rubbing a hand across her face wearily as she thought of what to say next. "Look, okay. So, he threatened you, you were all screwed up from everythin' else, an you could only think that runnin' was the best bet. I can pay that. Why didn't you tell anyone that he threatened you though?"
She was angry at Manny, furiously angry. You didn't threaten to use your powers against another student. And wasn't that just the irony of the century, getting angry that someone else had threatened Amanda when she'd done just a little more then threatening herself. Still, he was supposed to be in love with her.
This wasn't about her anger though, it was about letting Amanda talk this out. Jubilee would control her temper and her powers, which always seemed to relay her mood even when she was desperately trying to hide it.
"He threatened me with his powers t' make me tell him - he could tell I wasn't surprised t' hear his dad was dead an' he made me tell him why," Amanda said quietly, raising a warning finger to her lips and nodding at Meggan to get Jubilee to keep her voice down. "I didn't tell anyone for the same reason I left - if I'd stayed, an' he'd used his powers on me, that'd be it for him here. An' for us - I couldn't be with him if he did that. An' that'd mean his dad had fuckin' won, that he'd gotten what he wanted all along - Manuel thrown out of the school an' away from me. So I left, t' take away the cause of what was makin' him so angry, t' give him some space as well as give me a chance t' think things through. I know it hurt people, but I couldn't think of any other way. An' if anyone knew what he'd threatened me... they all think he's a bastard already. Wouldn't take much more 'n my word t' turn the entire school against him, an' I won't do that - this is the only place he has left."
Jubilee nodded, thinking back to a time when she and Manny had still been talking to each other. He'd always seemed so isolated from everyone else, it was one of the reasons Jubilee had originally talked to him. She could understand Amanda not wanting to make it impossible for him to stay in the one place he still felt a tie to, even if she thought Manny needed a good whacking over the head with something blunt for threatening someone.
"Okay, I can understand that. An I can understand why you left." Jubilee said as she leant back against the desk chair. "Although, I meant what I said about comin' after ya if you stayed away too long. Glad you came back on your own, though." no
Not exactly on her own - Amanda looked down at Meggan with a slight stab of indescribable feeling. No, it wasn't Meggan's fault - she'd made the choice to take her in. "I couldn't stay away forever," she said instead. "Got too many ties here - like Remy said, 's where I belong, at least for now. Just hope the break was long enough."
"I hope so too, Mandy?" Jubilee asked, tone gentle. "I gotta go. I've got classes. But, if you wanted we could hang out after. I've still got to show you the joys of Tekkan."
"It's fine, Tinkerbell. Think this one'll be wakin' up soon any way, an' I need t' go over some stuff for Strange before then." Amanda nodded at the other girl as she rose from the desk chair. "I keep tellin' you I'm rubbish at those computer games, but yeah, if you want t' do somethin', I'm game. You could always meet Meggan proper, when she's awake t' charm the socks off you," she added with a grin.
Jubilee looked down at the small child, she'd curled closer to Amanda as they'd talked. She didn't think Meggan needed to be awake to charm anyone but then she'd always noted little kids had that power. "We can do that. I'll see ya later, Dude."
With that, she slipped quietly out of Amanda's room, softly shutting the door behind her.
