Chapter 12 - Bad Life Decisions

Kari and Alyssa had been texting and chatting back and forth for weeks, and it seemed that the two girls were only becoming closer as time went on. Kari was fascinated by Alyssa's website and all that went into running it, and Alyssa had given Kari a few pointers on how to deal with overly enthusiastic fan types — those that were even more enthusiastic than Alyssa herself.

Alyssa had been thrilled when Kari started dating Bradley, the guy she'd met at the art gallery when she first debuted her paintings. He was a nice guy, a couple years older than her. He wasn't really from the world Kari had grown up in, either. Sure, her mom was rich, but she had grown up in the institute and hadn't really noticed it aside from things like, well, owning an island. But Bradley had grown up an only child, which was why he'd been at the art gallery in the first place, looking for something to invest in with his mom.

And Alyssa loved the idea of Kari getting to get out into a world that wasn't one she'd grown up in, so she was thrilled when they found a spare weekend that they could schedule a double date.

Kari and Bradley beat the other two to the restaurant, which was one of the trendy, newest ones in the city. Bradley didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that the others were running late, either, instead wrapping Kari up in a hello kiss that had her smiling at him while her tail swayed behind her.

"You look nice," he said, smiling at her long white dress.

"So do you," she said, getting up on her toes to kiss him.

He was nice, and Kari really was interested in seeing how this turned out. After all, it was nice to get to do things like going out to private diners, skiing, just… having adventures with this boy without the pressure of anything related to the X-Men.

He was the most 'normal' guy she'd ever met, even if he wasn't normal by most standards. And Kari wondered if maybe that would be fun to try. It certainly had been so far.

Of course, when James and Alyssa showed up, it was apparent they'd simply taken their time getting there, and they were talking quietly as they made their way over, hand in hand. When they'd heard where they were meeting up with Kari, Alyssa had to get a new dress — or, as she'd chosen to do instead, borrow one from Elin. It absolutely wasn't the kind of place she was used to, though James promised it wasn't any kind of a big deal.

"Stark would take us out to places like this whenever they opened up even remotely near the city," he had told her. "They're always more hype than anything."

When they arrived, Kari teleported over to wrap them both up in a hug. "You look amazing, Alyssa," she said with a smile.

"You think so? It was last minute … I didn't really get much of a chance to fuss …"

"I really think so," Kari assured her, making sure to hug James too before she showed them where Bradley was already waiting for them.

James took Alyssa's hand, and the two of them followed in Kari's wake. In a small show of manners that had Bradley on his feet to catch up, James got Alyssa's chair for her before he very nearly did the same for Kari, too. Bradley got there first, though, to pull out her chair, and Kari couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Bradley," she said, though she was smirking James' way.

Bradley shook his head as he sat back down and then squeezed her hand tightly. "You're welcome."

"So, what's the big plan tonight?" James asked, looking perfectly at home in the fancy digs.

"After dinner, this place has a rooftop overhang where you can watch the city skyline at night," Bradley explained. He smirked over at Kari. "It's a good view."

James tipped his head slightly and turned toward Alyssa, clearly holding back something snarky and terrible. "I suppose that's a start."

"Oh, don't start," Kari said with a warning lilt to her tone and one eyebrow raised.

"I didn't," James said. "But now I kinda want to."

"Yes, because when I tell you not to do things, you should ignore me," Kari said, rolling her eyes. "Such good manners when you started out, and now…"

"It has to come out sometimes," he said back to her with a smirk.

She couldn't help the little snerk sound that she made as she tried not to laugh before the waiter came to take their drink orders between them.

Things were actually going pretty well on the date, even with James' snarky commentary. The girls were clearly enjoying themselves chatting together while Bradley would occasionally catch Kari's attention to talk with her — or ask James a bit about how things were at the institute, since, after all, it wasn't like he was unrecognizable.

But it wasn't until Kari had to leave to go to the bathroom that things shifted slightly as Bradley looked between the other two at the table and then turned toward James, seemingly ignoring Alyssa altogether. "So are you, what, on some kind of outreach? Bring the reporter from the fan club?"

To his credit, James kept his expression and reaction in check as he turned toward Bradley. "Excuse me? I'm not sure I catch what you're insinuating." He tipped his head to the side quickly. "At least, I hope I'm wrong here, Bradley."

"I'm just curious on how you two ended up an item," Bradley said, still not looking toward Alyssa. "Part of the X-Men's outreach, right?"

"No," James said, though he had already decided he didn't like this guy before he'd repeated his idiotic question. "That's not how it works." He leaned forward just a bit. "I'm not sure which is more insulting — the fact that you think we're so desperate for good press that we'd set something up when the team has never solicited the press for anything, or the idea that you think that they'd whore me out to someone in hopes of using me somehow." The second part came out in a growl that was pretty clear.

"Hey, I thought it was outlandish too, but honestly, why else would you show up with homo inferior?"

"Apparently not that outlandish. You honestly brought it up," James shot back, but at the little slur, Alyssa had reached over to take a hold of his arm, knowing that was absolutely the fast track to someone getting a beat down. James turned her way, but when he saw how taken off guard Alyssa was by Bradley's question, he only got angrier, and he whipped back toward Bradley. "Why wouldn't I date a non-mutant?"

Bradley shook his head lightly as he looked between the two of them, but whatever he had to say next didn't come out as Kari came back to the table, and he was right back to smiling her way warmly as she sat down.

James schooled his features, but he couldn't hide the glint in his eyes that screamed how much he'd like to toss this idiot off the roof.

"I didn't miss the dessert orders, did I?" Kari asked as she sat down, and Bradley shook his head, still with that same false smile her way.

"No, but even if you had, I'd have made sure you got that chocolate sundae," he said, which earned a little laugh and a smile as she leaned over to kiss him.

"What do you do with yourself, Bradley?" James asked in a much harder tone than he'd used all night. "Out of curiosity."

"Do?" Bradley raised an eyebrow his way. "I don't have to work, if that's what you mean. I'm studying at Yale."

"Yale," James said, nodding once. "I suppose that's not entirely worthless."

"It's Ivy League," Bradley sniffed.

"Admissions must be digging," James said under his breath before he put on a false smile of his own, though the malice was clear. "What are you studying — so you can do nothing?"

"Business," Bradley replied.

"Fitting," James said. "How long is that supposed to take? Business school. That's a bachelors, right?"

"It's a master's program," Bradley said, frowning James' way.

"That shouldn't take too long then," James said with a wave as he sat back. "Can't for business."

"I'll be taking over the family business when I'm finished with my schooling," Bradley said. "We sell real estate."

"Yeah, I've got a couple degrees I'm just sitting on right now," James said. "At least you'll have something to hang on the wall."

"James went to MIT," Kari said, because she couldn't quite hide how proud she was of him for that, and she couldn't stop the smile that went along with bragging on her best friend. She knew that James was giving Bradley a hard time, and in her mind, he was being a good friend to watch out for her.

"I didn't do much with business, though," James said.

Bradley narrowed his eyes a bit James' way before he flagged down a waiter to get their dessert ordered. "No, I'm sure you didn't need something like that to get a uniform or codename."

James smiled a little wider at that. "Yeah, lotta lowlifes wearing uniforms and wasting a couple years on masters in engineering and physics. But … good luck. With … whatever." He held up one finger Bradley's way. "And for the record, I don't have a code name."

"Anymore?" Bradley asked. "This is round two on the team for you, isn't it? You had to have had one before."

It was a measure of how much James disliked this guy when he let out a little breath, met his gaze, and nodded. "That's right. Not anymore. Didn't realize you were a fan."

Bradley chuckled under his breath and made a show of grinning, though he tried to blow over the fan comment. "Oh, come on now. What's wrong with the name you had before? Too juvenile to use now?" Bradley asked, which already had Kari sitting a bit back from him as she watched the back and forth with a much more cautious expression, though she wasn't expecting James to handle it like he did.

James smiled tightly, his gaze hard as he held Bradley's gaze unblinkingly. "I'm not sure that 'Death' would qualify as juvenile," James said in a perfectly conversational tone though his body language had slipped seamlessly into hyper focused and ready to kill.

Bradley froze, watching James with wider eyes than before. Kari took one look at Bradley and then at James before she got to her feet. "I don't really need a chocolate sundae. I think it's time to call it a night."

"No, let's go up to the roof," James said, not dropping his focus off of Bradley. "Someone said the view was fantastic."

"James," Kari said quietly. "Let's just leave. Please."

He turned her way and let out part of a breath before he nodded. "Fine. Just this once, I'll let it go." He turned to Alyssa, and his entire body language shifted to one that was much more relaxed. "Are you ready, beautiful?"

Alyssa simply nodded with a tight sort of smile as she rested her hand on his arm. "I don't feel much like dessert either," she said.

He offered her his hand and nodded. "Not here anyhow. I didn't realize this place had such low standards. Coffee — or did you just want to go home?"

"I… I think coffee would be nice," she said, just loud enough that Kari heard her too and simply teleported all three of them to the best coffee shop in Westchester.

"What happened?" Kari asked James, her eyes wide. "What's going on?"

"He's got a superiority complex on too many fronts to ignore," James said. "The egotistical spoiled rich brat thing I can handle. The treat non-mutants like scum? Not so much." He drew in a deep breath and let it out quickly. "I wasn't really gonna throw him off the roof. Just wanted to make him think I would."

"What?" Kari's eyes widened as she looked toward Alyssa. "Alyssa, I'm sorry. I didn't — he's never said anything like that. I've never seen — I'd never date a purple-shirted menace!"

"Oh, I know … I mean, your mother isn't a mutant either. I know. I know." Alyssa tried to force a little smile. "He waited until you were gone and … I don't really want to think about it."

Kari let her shoulders drop before she rushed over to hug Alyssa. "I'm so sorry. I wanted this to be a fun date and — and at least let me buy the coffee. I'm so sorry!"

"Just get my Jeep to the tower," James said as he handed her the keys in his pocket. "Didn't … no. That's not true. I absolutely meant to scare the living crap out of that guy."

Kari shook her head before she wrapped him up in a hug. "Thanks," she whispered quietly.

"Happened quick or I'd have been more subtle," James swore. "Go. Do whatever it is you need to do. We'll find something else to do."

Alyssa smiled her way and gave Kari's arm a squeeze. "Coffee?"

"Coffee," Kari agreed with a nod.

Once the three of them got settled with their drinks, and Kari was sure that Alyssa was properly tucked into James' side and he was appropriately doing all he could to salvage their date, she teleported back to deal with Bradley.

Bradley was headed out for the night, looking incredibly angry with the way things had gone down. But when he saw her, he stopped — just long enough for Kari to pour the contents of her drink over his expensive shirt.

"If you ever pull something like that again, I hope you get what you're asking for," she said furiously. "My mom and my sister are human — and even if they weren't, I think it's ugly to act like mutants are better."

"Kari—"

"If I never see you again, it'll be too soon," she said, her eyes flashing and her tail twitching with irritation. "And if I hear a word against my family, or Alyssa, or James, I'll talk to my mother — the publishing mogul — about exactly what happened here tonight and count the seconds before the story of your hate speech is in print."

Bradley stared at her, still dripping coffee, before she teleported off, leaving him standing there as she went to grab the Jeep for James and then to clear her head.

That had not turned out the way she had hoped, but she did end up glad to have a few minutes alone. She was utterly embarrassed at having dated a loser like that, even for a short time. Alyssa was so nice, and so good for James … she did not deserve to be treated like that.

Kari had planned to go straight to her room to change out of her dress and go to bed after she'd teleported home from the tower, but Chelsea must have picked up on her horrible mood, because she came rushing over to her big sister with her red pigtails bouncing with every step.

"What's wrong?" Chelsea asked, looking so concerned that Kari knew she couldn't ignore it.

She let out her breath and tried to look more relaxed as she crouched down beside her sister. "Nothing. I just had a bad day, that's all."

"It's okay," Chelsea said, wrapping her little arms around Kari as best she could. "No being sad!"

Kari simply couldn't be mad when there was a tiny toddler trying to hug her better, so she simply picked up her sister and headed to her room. "Want to color with me, Chelsea?"

"Yes please!" Chelsea giggled delightedly, giving Kari a sloppy kiss on the cheek as the two sisters headed off to play.

The next morning, it was almost a full reversal of things from a few months previous when James found his way to Kari's room with a couple cups of coffee. "Hey, Frida Kahlo. I growled down three demons to bring you coffee and make sure you're alright," he told her, setting the mug down on her bedside stand and then taking a seat at her desk. "You okay?"

Kari couldn't help but smile at him with her knees drawn up underneath her as she took the coffee. "Mortified more than anything," she admitted.

"Why?" he asked, frowning deeply. "You couldn't have known how stupid he was … I mean.. The aspirations to get a business degree were kind of a tip-off, but still. There are legitimate businessmen that aren't entirely full of themselves."

She laughed quietly and nodded. "I just… I'm mortified that my date was so horrible to Alyssa. I feel like I should have known, but I was clueless."

"You know, it's not the first time she's had to listen to that crap while going out with me," James told her. "Just caught her off-guard."

"Yes, but she should be safe on a double date with friends."

He sighed heavily and gestured with one hand. "You can't control someone like that. Especially if you don't know that's what's in their head." James paused and frowned a little deeper. "Charlie was much better at this kind of thing."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I'm such a lackluster double date," Kari said with a small smirk.

"Oh, you weren't lackluster at all," James assured her.

Kari smiled into her coffee mug and then let out a breath. "I just really hoped I could put myself out there with this guy," she said quietly.

"Why this one?" he asked with a little frown.

"Because everyone I've liked in Westchester either isn't interested or… didn't work out," she said. "The dating pool is only so big here."

"I'm well aware," he agreed. "Maybe you should go with me to the lab. Tony'll set you up with someone that's not nearly that stupid as leisure business moron."

"Maybe," Kari said with a small smile. She paused and then had to ask, "Did you really fight off three bamfs to get in here?"

"They hate me, Kari," he said flatly.

"They'll get over it," she said. "Eventually."

He waved it off. "I don't even care if they do or not. Doesn't matter to anyone that I feel like trash about it. And I don't blame them for hating me. I earned it."

"They'll have to get over it, since I don't plan to stop having you in my life," Kari pointed out. "They think I'm making horrible decisions, by the way."

"Since when are demons the best consciences?"

"Fair point," Kari laughed. She sat up a little better so she could reach him to give his arm a squeeze. "You are the best. You know that, right?"

"I'm not. But I'm also not going to let you be clueless over the kind of person chasing after you," he replied. "Besides, the tables are about to be turned anyhow. I'll be giving you a post-mortem pretty soon." He leaned forward and curled up his lip slightly. "Alyssa's parents have been pushing to meet me. I'm sure it'll be the beginning of the end."

Kari's ears perked up. "Really? That's great, isn't it?"

He gestured with both arms. "You tell me. Last girlfriend I had was an orphan, and every girl I've kissed or danced with for too long here ... well, their parents gave me the death glare. So."

"I've only ever dated people whose parents I already knew. So unless you're asking me to tell you about how Billy and Teddy showered me with affection while I was a thing with Harry…"

"I don't think that's ever going to be the case," James said in a monotone.

"Well, her sister's a mutant, and she's a huge X-Men fan. I'm sure they won't hate you," Kari reasoned.

"You're wildly optimistic," James said as he got to his feet, then sighed heavily and looked over his shoulder for an excuse to end the conversation. "Anyhow. I just had to make sure that idiot didn't screw you up. I'd hate for something awful to happen to him."

Kari couldn't help but laugh at him and the tone he'd taken. "Oh, yes, I'm sure you'd be broken up about it," she said before she pulled her legs over the side of the bed to get to her feet as well, set aside the coffee, and threw her arms around him in a hug. "You're amazing. Thanks for taking such good care of me."

"Two-way street, remember?" James said before he picked her up off the ground in a bear hug. "Got your back."