6/6 Instance: It's Always the Quiet Ones

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: current


Jessica: Jess stepped out of her class and checked the time on her phone. Frowning a little, she tucked her phone in her pocket and adjusted the weight of her books in her arms as she debated what to do with her free time. She supposed she should make a start on her homework and turned towards the library.

Julian: Julian was attempting to balance the books tucked under his arm as he pushed the door to the classroom open, stepping out into the hall without really paying attention for fear of dropping something. It must've been bound to happen though, as he found himself running into something... Well, someone. As he rebounded off them, his books fell to the floor with various thuds as he cringed, face bright red, "I-I'm so, s-so sorry..."

Jessica: Jess let out a shout of surprise, dropping her own books in the confusion as well. "Look where you're going!" She reprimanded before bending to gather up her things.

Julian: He found himself cringing again and, as he mumbled another apology, leaned down to begin picking up his own books, except he found himself frowning down at the cover of one that wasn't his. Looking down to the floor, he held it out in offering, "I, um... Well, uh, this one i-is yours... I hope..."

Jessica: "Yeah... it is..." she took it and added it to her pile with a sigh, passing him one that was his in return. "It's fine..."

Julian: "It's... I mean, I should've, um, should've paid more attention," Julian shook his head as he accepted his book, readjusting his hold on the small stack once again tucked under his arm.

Jessica: "You should have but you didn't and you'll know for next time. Here to learn, right?" She offered him a small smile.

Julian: He supposed it wasn't exactly why he was there, but he nodded anyway. "Um, yeah..." As an afterthought, he made sure he had a good hold on his books and offered his free hand, deciding it'd be a good idea to introduce himself, "Julian Keller."

Jessica: Jess adjusted the books into her other hand and shook his hand awkwardly, "Jessica Drew." She cocked her head on one side, "You're new."

Julian: At her name, he gave a nod and realized he'd spaced out for a moment, which caused him to suddenly release her hand with another slight blush, "Oh. Yeah, I am... Started at the beginning of the semester," he blinked, slowly nodding a bit more as what he said processed, "...Obviously because that's generally when people start school - at the beginning of semesters..."

Jessica: Oh joy of joys. Another nervous one. She nodded, offering another smile. "Have you got another class now?"

Julian: "Um..." Julian paused to think, his mind blank exactly what time it was. He about lost his books as he reached into his pocket to check the time on his phone, "Not, like, right now."

Jessica: Jess put a hand out to steady the books before they ended up on the floor again. "I was going to go and start on homework but now I feel like I have a duty to make sure you don't collide with someone else before you get to wherever you're going."

Julian: Despite another blush, Julian managed a nervous smile, "Somehow I think I'd survive, but I suppose I'm not, um, too opposed to... hanging out?" If that's what this could be considered. Plus, it wasn't often girls wanted to spend time with him...

Jessica: "Okay then," she gave another smile, "How about some lunch?" She nodded down the hall in the direction of the kitchen.

Julian: "Of course," he eagerly answered before carefully stepping around her to avoid running into her once more. Food was always good, and it gave him an opportunity to stuff his face to prevent himself from saying anything too stupid.

Jessica: "So whereabouts are you from?" She decided to attempt smalltalk as they headed for the kitchen.

Julian: "California, but I've lived in New York for the past year," Julian answered before returning the question, "What about you? Because, I mean... You don't... Well, the accent, um... Gives it away?" he finished weakly.

Jessica: "Little bit yeah," she laughed a little. "But I haven't lived in England much. We moved away when I was little and since then I've sort of lived all over Europe."

Julian: "Oh... That's kinda pretty cool," he replied, brow furrowed, "Well, Traveling is fun... I guess that moving might not necessarily be as fun. I didn't find moving cross-country fun anyway."

Jessica: "I probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd have gotten to see more of the places we lived in... I've been back since over the summer and I liked it then."

Julian: "Where all did you go?" he asked curiously, risking a quick glance over at her.

Jessica: "When? Over summer?" She steered them towards the kitchen, "I went to England for a while... then France, Italy and Greece... and Japan," she smiled a little. "I like Japan a lot."

Julian: Julian nodded once more as he followed her into the kitchen, gladly setting his books on the counter before heading for the fridge for a bottle of water. He stepped aside and leaned back against the counter, misjudging the distance at first and flailing a bit before settling. He recovered with a slight smile before commenting, "I've never been to Japan."

Jessica: Jess couldn't help the small giggle at the flail. "If you ever get the chance, take it. It's really nice there." She moved to fill the kettle for some tea. "I did the whole tourist thing over the summer because I'd never done that before... Had a lot of fun."

Julian: "Hm..." he twisted the cap off as he considered a possible trip to Japan, eventually offering, "Maybe for the next break or something."

Jessica: She gave him another smile, "Anything you feel like having for lunch?" She headed over to the fridge, "I may as well make you something - don't feel bad, I like cooking."

Julian: "That's... really nice because I don't really know how to," he shook his head. He'd mostly had someone to do that for him. "But I'm good with whatever you want to make."

Jessica: "You don't know how to cook?" She raised an eyebrow at him, "Wow... that's some serious gap in your education."

Julian: "Well, I-I could follow instructions on a package..." he gave an awkward shrug before taking a sip from the bottle of water in his hand, "If I had to."

Jessica: "Well if you're lucky you won't as long as you're here but.... you should still learn how to fend for yourself.... I can teach you if you want?"

Julian: Julian blinked, "Really?"

Jessica: Jess nodded, "Mmhmm. I don't think it's right that people don't know how to make themselves a hot meal from scratch..."

Julian: "Some people don't need to," he replied with a shrug as he capped his water, setting the bottle aside before pushing his sleeves up, "Any idea what you're going to make? Because I can help... Unless you meant teach me later..."

Jessica: "Well I was thinking something with chicken..." She gave a small shrug, "And there's an argument that everyone needs to learn. People that don't are just lazy."

Julian: "...Point," Julian agreed after a moment, nodding. "And, um... I like chicken... Though, I guess most people do. I haven't really met anyone that doesn't. ...But I suppose I hadn't considered vegetarians..."

Jessica: "Chicken it is... spicy or not spicy?" She went to get some out of the fridge. "I used to be sort of a vegetarian... not fully but I wouldn't eat anything that had more than two legs..."

Julian: "Uh..." he hesitated, deciding not to voice his opinion on vegetarians, "...How spicy is spicy?"

Jessica: "Suppose that depends how spicy you wanted it?" She peeked over the door of the fridge at him, "But hurry up and decide because it's cold in the fridge."

Julian: "Um," Julian started once more, racking his brain for levels of spiciness before he realized he could use the typical ratings for chicken wings, "...Mild?"

Jessica: "Mild it is," she gave him a smile, picking out the things she needed from the fridge before straightening up and closing the door with her foot. "So... what did you do before you came here? And how did they get you?"

Julian: "I, um... went to high school?" he offered as he rubbed the back of his neck, fairly sure that was about the only thing he'd done in his life so far. "Then... Well, I had to go to college, and I have powers... Sooo, I ended up here, and I'm not really sounding all that exciting, am I?"

Jessica: Jess laughed a little, "In this place? Boring makes a nice change."

Julian: Julian blinked. He supposed he had seen stories about the X-men all over the news before ending up here, but he still went, "Oh?"

Jessica: "A lot of people didn't have a great start before they came here... I guess including me..." She laid out the vegetables for chopping and set a knife down on the chopping board.

Julian: "Oh... Right," he slowly nodded as he watched her prepare everything before the actual cooking began.

Jessica: "Want to help? Cut up the vegetables." She gave him another smile, taking out a second knife and the meat chopping board to slice up the chicken. "Got any hobbies?"

Julian: Julian moved over to the cutting board with the vegetables and picked up the knife, awkwardly weighing it in his hand as he tried to decide where to start with an onion. ...How did people even take the skin off onions? As he pondered that, he answered, "I guess I read a lot, mainly for school though. Um, occasionally, I show my face at family social functions, but I guess that doesn't count as a hobby, does it?"

Jessica: "Not really... but family is nice..." she threw him another smile, going to wash her hands before picking up the kettle. Mmmm tea. "Have any siblings?"

Julian: "They... can be," he carefully replied, finally deciding to simply hack one side of the onion off while nodding, "An older brother, James. He's, ah... I guess it'd be best to think opposite of me."

Jessica: "And what's the opposite of you?" She took out a mug, "Do you want tea?"

Julian: "Sure," Julian answered, despite the fact that he wasn't really a fan of tea. Well, not hot tea, anyway. As he was about to answer the first question, the knife slipped from his hand and clattered against the countertop before heading for the floor, causing him to scramble out of the way. He tripped over his own feet and ended up on his ass, however he had avoiding the knife.

Julian: Face bright red once more, he tried answering again, "N-not clumsy."

Jessica: She laughed a little, setting the kettle down and offering him a hand up. "Well that's a relief, one per family is probably enough. He a mutant too?"

Julian: "Thanks," he mumbled as he accepted the help up, reaching to carefully pick up the knife. He shook his head as he moved to the sink to rinse it, "Nope, just me."

Jessica: "You're welcome," she went to make the tea. "You're already luckier than he is then."

Julian: Julian opened his mouth to reply to that a few times and closed it each time, as he didn't know exactly what to say. Finally, he let out a sigh and managed, "Maybe."

Jessica: "Only maybe?" She glanced over her shoulder at him, "People already tell you stories about what kinds of crazy shit happens here?"

Julian: "Heh, no? Well, sorta. I mean, it's hard not to hear things, I guess," he said, "About the stuff that's happened lately anyway..."

Jessica: "Yeah... getting exploded on by giant insects is not an experience I ever want to repeat." She wrinkled her nose.

Julian: "Doesn't sound like something I want to experience," Julian commented, glad to be mostly off the subject of him being lucky to be a mutant as he moved back to the vegetables for attempt number two.

Jessica: "Do you want milk or sugar in your tea?" She moved to the fridge to get the milk for herself.

Julian: "Both," he answered, though he hadn't even known people put milk in tea.

Jessica: She went to finish making the teas then set his down near him but not close enough (hopefully) to become a casualty of the clumsiness then when to carry on with the chicken. "So I guess there's only one thing left to ask about now..."

Julian: His brow furrowed, and he looked up from where he'd managed to successfully chop up part of the onion, his confused gaze landing on her as he questioned, "There is?"

Jessica: She nodded, "Yep. Powers. What can you do?"

Julian: "Oh..." That wasn't exactly what he'd been expected, and his face fell as he turned back to the vegetables on the cutting board. Carefully taking up the knife once more, he continued his slow chopping, sniffling a bit as the smell of the onion wafted through the air, making his eyes water. Shrugging a shoulder, he insisted, "It's just telekinesis." Then, he moved on, "What about you?"

Jessica: "I do... a lot of things..." finished with chopping the chicken she went to wash her hands again. "Enhanced strength, enhanced senses, stick to things, fly, zap things with electricity and produce pheromones... and I'm immune to every drug known to man."

Julian: Blinking, he tried to rid his eyes of the feeling they were going to burn from his sockets and filed that information away for later. It, along with everyone else's powers he'd learned thus far, would come in handy at some point in the near future, so he nodded and replied, trying out a joke he believed to be weak, "That... is a lot, and I thought it was hard to get a grasp on telekinesis..."

Jessica: "It's a lot to keep track of..." Jess nodded, "The strength was a pain in the ass when it first manifested... broke a lot of things... pissed my dad off a bit... but not as much as when I climbed up on the ceiling if I knew I was in trouble."

Julian: As he set the knife down, his face scrunched, and he took a step away from the cutting board to get his not-so-enhanced senses a break, floundering for a response. While he couldn't imagine chopping onions with an enhanced sense of smell, his main reason for failing to reply was that he wanted to avoid the mention of his own childhood, as he'd like to avoid the fact he came from money - money that was partially tied up in the Hellfire Club as well as various other organizations.

Julian: For once in his life, he had a small stroke of luck, and he reached into his pocket for the ringing phone, looking at the screen to check the caller even though he didn't need to in order to know who was calling him. Helplessly holding the device up, back of it facing her, he nodded to the doorway, "I, uh... Not that I want to be rude, but I-I really need to take this..."

Jessica: Jess nodded, "Sure, go ahead... I can finish the onions - the fumes don't bother me."

Julian: "Right, I'll just... be right back," he called back to her as he swiped his finger across the screen to answer before the call went to voicemail, slipping out of the kitchen for the time being, fully intending on going back to eat lunch. He just needed to find a secluded spot to talk now...