7/14 Instance: Burning Guilt

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Timeline a day after Vacuums are bad, MON.

Sam: Sam stood at the sink, scrubbing a pan which he'd solidly scortched. Well...he was getting better at cooking, but his mind hadn't really been on the pot of noodles and sauce he'd been making. He frowned at the hard black crust on the bottom of the pot. Evidetnly just a dishcloth wasn't gonna take that off.

Cessily: Cessily strolled down the hallway and turned the corner leading towards the kitchen. She enjoyed those lazy days before classes would start again. It might have been quite cold outside, but she still toyed with the thought of going out somewhere that day. Entering the kitchen, she found Sam standing at the sink. "Hey, Sam!" Cessily gave him a smile to greet him. "How are you doing?"

Sam: He started, surprised, and dropped the pot into the water, a small wave of suds splashing up over the countertop to ooze off and drip onto the floor. "Oh damn." He gave Cessily a brief smile, strained at the edges and got the cloth, mopping up the mess. "Ah'm fine Ah guess. How about you?"

Cessily: "I'm doing fine, as well," Cessily replied, still smiling. She stepped over to Sam and leaned against the counter. "I'm happy to see everyone coming back from their holidays." Her smile dropped a little and she ran a hand through her hair. She still missed Laura. "That reminds me, how was your break? Oh, and can I help you with anything?" Cessily nodded, looking at the pan.

Sam: Lifting it he sighed. "Ah don't think anythin' is gonna help this pot. Ah've been workin' at it for longer than it took t' burn it this bad." He held it up to show her. "Ah tried to make myself a bit of dinner and kinda forgot about it." Looking at her again he nodded. "Ah had a right nice time. Ah'm glad to be back though."

Cessily: Cessily shrugged, slightly grinning. "Well, if everything fails, just throw it away. It's not like Xavier couldn't afford some new pans. Besides, if it's burnt too badly, you probably can't use it anymore." She looked at the fridge, then decided to go get a bottle of soda out of it. "Do you want some, too," she asked, grabbing a glass.

Sam: Frowning at it he picked up a knife and started chipping at it. "Ah just wouldn't feel right about that, even if he can afford it." Shaking his head he chipped a bit harder. "No. Thank you anyways. Ah gotta eat somethin' before Ah drink a bunch of sugar." He set to his task, mollified to at least see a thin silver gleam through the black. "So what did you do then? Your break went alright?"

Cessily: Cessily closed the fridge door and had a sip of soda, heading back to Sam. "Yeah, I think it went pretty good." She put on a thoughtful face and glanced sideways. "Well, I guess that it did. Japh and I travelled up to Maine to spent some time with my family."

Cessily: She leaned over to have a closer look at the pan. "Hm, if you wouldn't mind, I could try to get some of the burnt stuff off."

Sam: "Yeah, Japh said somethin' about you two goin' there at the party yesterday." He went quiet at the mention of that, pausing, and set the knife carefully aside and held it out to her. "Sure. Uh, thanks."

Cessily: "You're welcome." She took the pan from him and gave it a contemplating look. "Let's see... maybe if I manage to get some of my metal between the pan and the burnt stuff... or if I can somehow dissolve it." She pressed her finger against the stains rubbed for a bit. "Oh, yeah, we did. My grandparents wanted to meet him, and I was happy to have him come along."

Cessily: "How was the party, by the way," she asked, smiling up at Sam. "I definitely want to do some partying myself to ring in the new semester."

Sam: He plunked himself onto the stool and watched as she scrubbed, not really being able to help her...flatten her finger or whatever she was doing. The party question brought a blush to his ears and he looked down at the cloth he'd still retained in his hands for some reason. "Um. It was nice."

Cessily: "That's sweet," Cessily commented, still rubbing at the stained pan. She turned her finger to liquid and tried to force it into the tiny cracks of the material, thereby chipping off the burnt stains. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it, but I was helping out to prepare dinner at the downtown shelter. Who was there? Is everyone back from their vacation yet?"

Sam: The cloth had dripped a bit, a new puddle made for him to wipe up. "Ah think mostly everyone is back, but not a lotta people. Just Japh, Andreas, Rae...and Rogue. Was nice. Jamacian themed. Did you see Japh's costume he did up?"

Cessily: "Ooh, he had a costume?" Cessily looked back at Sam with a lopsided grin. "No, I didn't see it yet. I think I have to go and check that out later." Eventually, she managed to pull off some of the black stuff and felt encouraged. "Sounds like you all had a fun time there."

Sam: "Yeah, dreadlocks and the maggots had little cosumes and everythin'. It was good. He's a real funny guy." His blush came back full force. "Um. Yeah. Ah did."

Cessily: "Yeah, he's always so creative when it comes to costumes." Cessily sat down at the table while she cleaned the pan. "You should see what he does for Halloween. It's fantastic." She paused, her smile fading as she realized that Japh wouldn't be around for this year's Halloween anymore. "So, how are you and Rogue doing now? Did you spent the break together?"

Sam: "Ah was at home, she was here. We're doin' good." God, it just...he could feel it weighing on him. "Ah just don't know..." He rested his forehead in the palm of his hand and just gushed it all out. "MeandRoguegotdrunkandAhdidsomethingsthatwerebad." He took a bigger breath. "Ah feel real bad about it all."

Cessily: Cessily glanced up from the pan and blinked a few times, giving Sam a confused look. Then, she put on a smirk. "You know, If I had recorded that on a tape, I could simply play it back at half speed. But I'm afraid we'll just have to make do with you telling me again." She gave him a comforting smile, seeing that it obviously bothered him. "So, Rogue and you did what? You didn't have an argument, did you?"

Sam: "No." He squirmed. "Ah drank a bit, and she drank...well more than a bit. And we got..." He cleared his throat. "Well...caught up in things Ah guess."

Cessily: Cessily blinked again. Then she put the pan down. "Oh." She glanced to the left, to the right, then back at Sam. "I see." She attempted to give him a small and at least somewhat convincing smile. "And now you feel bad about it, don't you?"

Sam: "Well yeah." He frowned and glanced up to her. "Ah mean, Ah was raised better than this. Gettin' a girl drunk and then takin' advantage. Ah mean, Ah know she's been sayin' it's alright and all that, but still."

Cessily: Cessily nodded slowly, pausing before giving him a
reply. "Yes, I can understand what you mean. Well, you might think that I don't, seeing that I'm a bit more open about these things, but believe me, I do." She folded her arms on the table and leaned over to Sam. "I guess that's not how you imagined it to be, am I right?"

Sam: "Welllll...no. But not in a bad way." Huffing out a bigger breath he twisted the life out of the poor dishcloth. "Ah liked it. A lot. Ah just - Ah shouldn't have."

Cessily: "Oh, alright, that's good to hear." Cessily's smile returned and she nodded. "Because, these alcohol-induced adventures usually turn out less than incredible." She took a breath and gave Sam a long look, coupled with an understanding smile. "So what? You both were drunk and uninhibited and did what felt good."

Cessily: "I know that's this is not how you wanted it to go, but sometimes things like that just happen. You really can't plan such things. And if you do, you're just asking for everything to go wrong."

Sam: "But that's it. Ah shoulda known better." Punching the counter lightly he got up and walked a few steps away and then turned back. "Ah just wanted to be better for her. Ah wanted to prove...Ah dunno. Somethin'. That Ah didn't want her just for...well those things. Maybe that Ah may be young, but Ah wasn't really foolish. Guess Ah was the bigger fool there."

Cessily: Cessily closed her eyes and shook her head. "Hey, don't say that. Everyone knows what a considerate guy you are. Especially Rogue knows. I mean, do you really believe that she thinks differently of you now? And you're right. We're young. We make mistakes. All the time. It's just a part of growing up. Instead be happy that you both liked it."

Cessily: She paused. "And I really think you shouldn't dwell on it too much now. You two did something that should be incredible and beautiful. Maybe it didn't go as planned, but try to imagine how Rogue would feel if you continued to regret what has happened."

Sam: "Ah know. She's already feelin' bad. That's why Ah didn't want to talk to her about it." He looked at her suddenly, feeling the need to set something straight. "We didn't have sex." The word was a bit strangled, but he managed to squeeze it out. "Ah know Ah'm makin' more of a fuss than most would, but she's really special to me. Ah don't like the idea of her havin' t' get drunk just for us to touch and all."

Cessily: Cessily blinked once again. "You didn't?" Alright, this came as a slight surprise now. "But, I thought, seeing how worried you were and all... I mean, why are you even worrying so much then?" She smiled at him.

Sam: "Well..." Damn it how did he explain this. He studiously examined the wall. "Ah'm younger than y'all right? Ah'm not real...'worldly'. Let's just say Ah've nudged my experience in life up some."

Cessily: "Oh... okay." Cessily bit her lower lip and nodded slightly. She decided to leave it at that, noticing Sam's obvious discomfort. "Well, I'm absolutely certain that Rogue knows how special she is to you. And of course she understands your concerns. But, regarding the alcohol and all, perhaps it's simply something that you have to get used to. I mean, what if there's no other way for her to touch other people?"

Sam: Ah, and there was the point that stung. "But there was. And there is. She does touch other people. Just not me."

Cessily: Cessily sat up and frowned. "What do you mean? I know that she touched some people accidentally in the past. I guess you can't entirely prevent this all the time. And, well, she can touch me, but that's simply because my body is so different."

Sam: He looked at her, startled into remembering that. "Oh. Yeah, but Ah'm not so bothered about that. You're a girl." Jerking one hand up and through his hair he shook his head. "Ah'm not explainin' this real well am Ah? It's that she's touched other guys. Ah mean, now she can and she can't. She can still kinda touch Bobby, right?" His drawl was coming out more he realized as the conversation wandered along.

Cessily: Cessily ran a hand through her hair and reached for the glass of soda with the other one. "Yes, I'm afraid you lost me there a little." She gave Sam a helpless look. "So, are you saying that Rogue is reluctant to try touching you? You know, I would say that she definitely want to be careful to not hurt you."

Sam: "Well, yeah, but in the meantime she's touchin' all these other guys." He frowned. "It sounds less like a whiny kid in mah head, honest."

Cessily: Cessily chuckled. "No, it's okay. You don't sounds whiny. You simply care about her and worry if you're doing everything right. I know what that feels like." She paused and thought about Sam's words, while she toyed with the pan some more. "Well, I guess Rogue knows how you feel about the whole intimacy thing. Perhaps she doesn't want to push you to anything."

Cessily: Cessily realized how lame that sounded as an explanation, but it was all she could think of at the moment.

Sam: "No. Ah know. And she isn't. We're takin' things slow. Which is good - Ah mean, Ah want to know her better before Ah 'know her better', you know what Ah mean? And Ah'd really like us to figure out how to really touch. Ah hope that we can."

Cessily: She smiled at him. "That sounds absolutely sweet to me. And I'm absolutely certain that if there's a way for you two to touch, you'll find it. But in the meantime, I'd suggest that you don't dwell too much on it." Cessily sighed and went back to work on the pan. "Try to understand Rogue. It's hard to imagine how hard it has to be to be unable to touch. I mean, it's something so natural for us."

Sam: "Ah know. Of all the powers...Ah think that's one of the hardest Ah could ever think of. Ah know she's found some ways around it - but it's not the same is it?" Giving Cessily a small smile he nodded. "Thank you very much for your help Cessily. You're such a kind girl."

Cessily: "You're welcome." Her smile widened. "Hey, I love to be of help. I only can feel really happy when the people I care about are happy, as well." She finally managed to get the rest of the black stains off the pan and handed it back to Sam. "There you go."

Sam: "Oh. Wow. This looks like new." Smiling at his reflection in the pot he lifted an eyebrow to her. "So Ah guess the message is if you try hard enough you can set anythin' to right? Expecially with a friends help? Either that or Ah'm doomed in the kitchen unless there's a woman in here with me."

Cessily: Cessily laughed. "Oh, I suggest that you forget about this stereotype right away. Not all the girl's here can cook, and some of the guys are really good at it. You should ask Alex for help. He's a great cook." She shrugged, still smiling. "And yes, I guess that's the message. Perhaps you can't always set everyting right. But that's no reason not to try."

Sam: He chuckled. "Ah'll remember that. Maybe Ah can try over again to make some packaged macaroni. And not burn the jeebers out of it this time. You want some?"

Cessily: "Sure, I'd love to." Cessily sat back and grinned at Sam. "If you worry about burning things, you should start with some easier things. Like soup."

Sam: He lifted up the couple of packages of mac n' cheese that he'd hauled out. "Oh Ah'll conquer this yet. Ah hear that between this and these noodly things, most college students manage to live. Far cry from momma's cookin', but hey."

Cessily: Cessily laughed again. "Don't forget that college students are a unique, hardy species that can live off almost anything. Looking at some of the rooms, you could even think that they grow their own crops in there." She emptied her glass and got up. "But I can help you with that."

[Ferguson]

That made me d'aww

...and also cackle at the end. So it hit all the important bits for me.

[Esynthia]

He rested his forehead in the palm of his hand and just gushed it all out. "MeandRoguegotdrunkandAhdidsomethingsthatwerebad." He took a bigger breath.

LMFAO! Sweet Sam, bless his heart

This was such a great instance yall had me giggling and snickering and d'awwing the entire time

[wingyding]

Sam's turning into Sam the hobbit for me now, you know. cute, sweet, guileless and a tiny bit clumsy.

Awesome jobs, y'all.

[Slarti]

LOL nice.

[Love das flockige]

I officially love Sam now. Good job, you two

[steyn]

d'awww