"That is positively disgusting."
Jubilee looked up from her cereal bowl, glad to see she had already sufficiently grossed Monet out for the day. This time, it was even barely after they had came into the kitchen for breakfast. She was getting better.
"There's nothin' wrong with this!" She protested for the sake of an argument, looking down at her Fruit Loops with chocolate milk and marshmallows mixed into a multi-colored mush. "It's nutricious and just the kick-start ya need to start the day." She scooped a large spoonful and held it out. "Here, try some!"
Monet's nose wrinkled in disgust as she grabbed her bagel and walked back to the table. Jubilee smirked and swallowed the gunk on her spoon.
Paige grinned to herself, head bowed over a bowl of corn flakes. She was trying everything to ignore Angelo, who had seated himself directly across from her for the sole purpose of irritating her, and going to great pains not to speak to Tristan.
Angelo risked a glance over the various cereal boxes piled on the table to catch Paige staring at him; both of them looked down immediately after, and he chastised himself for acting like a shy schoolboy. Despite a throbbing headache, he was still able to notice Tristan coming to stand beside him.
"Good morning."
Angelo's eyebrow raised. "Mornin'." He swallowed one of the Tylenols before him with a mouthful of orange juice, then directed his attention to the boy at his side, not being given a chance to speak.
"Sleep well?"
"No, actually, I didn't. But I'll live, so don't worry yourself."
Tristan, never one for subtlety, looked directly at Paige, then back at Angelo, causing the Latino to gulp nervously. The guy knew. He had to.
"I was more concerned for Paige losing sleep, actually."
Angelo pushed his chair away from the table and rose to his feet, staring levelly at Tristan. Emma Frost, standing at the counter by the sink, watched them closely to make sure nothing happened. Tristan was by that point ignoring everyone in the room but the boy in front of him.
"I heard someone coming in late last night, so I went and looked. What do I see but you and Jonothon coming in, with you barely able to stand. And then you decide to go take advantage of Paige?" He asked incredulously, completely unaware of Angelo's hand balling into a fist.
"I never took advantage of no one, vato. And maybe she wouldn't have even wanted the company if you treated her like more than a lap dog once in a while." Angelo inched forward, refusing to listen to Emma's protests at him to stop. Tristan seemed undaunted.
"Maybe she would rather be my lap dog than be with you of her own say."
No one saw him move until Tristan had been taken to the ground with one punch that had connected with his jaw and mouth, splitting his lip and causing blood to trickle down it. Angelo leaned over him, eyes wild.
"You're using her!" He cried angrily, ready to hit him again when he found himself frozen in place.
"Both of you, in my office now!" Emma had heard enough of the argument, stopping it short before any more bloodshed had a chance to occur. Angelo glared at her as she released the hold she had over his mind, then stormed out of the kitchen, tailed by Tristan and the White Queen.
Jubilee glanced down at her cereal, then looked at Paige. "Wow, Hayseed. I wish I knew yer secret. I mean, you've got three different guys in the school fighting over ya, an' I can't even get one to notice me." She gave a heavy sigh, spearing a marshmallow with the end of her spoon. Monet opened her mouth to say something, then thought of a better remark as she breezed past Jubilee.
"Some of us have the ability to attract others." She gave a pointed glance to Jubilee's slouching form over her breakfast. "I believe it's called charm."
Paige could only continue staring at her cereal and wonder when life had gotten so utterly complicated.
******
Jono let out a steady stream of telepathic mumbles as he slowly made his way from the basement to Emma's office. While no longer having any particular need for sleep, it was still nice when he managed to rest now and again. He had just managed to fall asleep when Emma had contacted him, telepathically ordering him to come to her office, and as he didn't have a death wish and was too tired to argue anyway, he agreed.
Now he was regretting it.
He risked a quick glance down at himself, expecting Emma to say something about his lack of a fashion statement with faded blue jeans that had long since lost the knees and a black sweatshirt with orange stripes racing up the sleeves.
A little reassuring that it wasn't the end of the world and Emma wouldn't kill them, if for no other reason than to avoid those pesky homicide cops, and he was ready to walk inside. He wasn't expecting to see both Angelo and Tristan already seated there, spaced on either side of the desk with an empty chair between them.
"Nice of you to join us, Jonothon."
Jono shrugged, dropping down into the white chair across from Emma's desk. *Didn't think you wanted me comin' in 'ere with just me shorts.*
Emma gestured for her student to seat himself, then leaned back in her chair, eying the three teens warrily. "In light of recent events, I've felt the need to have a talk with the three of you. All of you."
Jono looked at Tristan, surprised to find his bottom lip was swollen and his left jaw wasn't doing much better. When he looked to Angelo for an explanation. The Latino simply shook his head and refused to answer.
"I've watched all of you closely for quite some time, and I've kept out of your affairs. However, if you can't resolve whatever it is that's going on with Paige, then let me make something clear for all of you." Her chair gave a protesting squeak as she leaned forward, her hands folded and resting atop her desk. "Deal with it, or I will."
*Deal with wot?* Jono was positively miffed at the entire spectacle. He had expected to be yelled at for coming back to school late, not to be yelled at for something dealing with Paige. *I think I slept longer than I thought.*
Emma ignored the question, looking directly at Angelo. "From what I gather, Mr. Espinosa, you came home rather late last night, didn't you?" Angelo gave a quick, curt nod. "Care to give me a reason why?"
Angelo, by that point knowing that he was going to get into trouble if he had claimed to be volunteering for a convent full of crippled nuns, was intent on telling the truth. "Drinking."
Emma's delicately trimmed eyebrows quirked slightly. "Really. How interesting, considering you had Jono with you." She turned that same commanding glare to her oldest student. For his credit, he met her eyes levelly, hoping she wouldn't notice his nails digging into the arms of his chair. It was much too early to deal with being threatened by an angry teacher.
And that was before she noticed Jono's latest mutilation.
"What is this?" She demanded an answer, pointing to the foreign object now pierced into the Brit's eyebrow.
*An eyebrow ring.*
Emma sighed impatiently. "I'm very much aware of that, Jonothon. But why did you get it?"
*Because I'm an adult an' I can do wot I want?*
"Because you're trying to make things difficult on me," Emma replied for him, her fingers wrapping against her arm. "And I also apparently have mistaken your age for wisdom. You let him get drunk last night."
*I was tryin' to let 'im get 'is problems worked out.*
"By letting him drink himself out of them?" She asked angrily, blue eyes turning colder than usual. "I've never known you to be this irresponsible, Jonothon. I'm disappointed that you didn't have enough sense to keep him away from the liquor."
*I ain't his mum. I'm not about to act like some dotin' hen mother.*
"You could at least act like a sensible adult," Emma snapped at him, huffing and blowing a strand of platinum blond hair from her eyes. "Until you can learn to do one simple thing, that being actually acting your age, I'm putting your driving privileges on probation. That means-"
*I'll 'ave to tell you where I'm goin' an' when I'm goin'. Yeah, I've 'eard it before. Ma'am,* Jono amended at seeing the glare the woman shot him. The Nazi salute he threw at her was not lost on her; she just chose to ignore it, turning to better see Tristan.
"This entire meeting has started off so smoothly," the heavy sarcasm in her voice was almost tangible, "why don't you give me your side of the story?"
Tristan gave a smug look to both males beside him before launching into his own tale. "I heard someone coming in late last night, so I decided to see what was happening. Those two were coming inside, and not long after that, I noticed Angelo and Paige outside talking. Then they were kissing." He had the satisfied look of a small child knowing he had just gotten an older sibling into trouble, yet there was no denying the quiet anger simmering in his voice.
Jono's eyebrows arched to a peak so high, Angelo mused that the Brit no longer possessed a forehead. *That so?* Angelo nodded wordlessly, staring down at the carpet. The slight static Jono emitted over the psychic link was enough of a snort to get the point across, and he shifted in his seat, hands gripping the chair's arms a bit tighter. *Should 'it yer meself then.*
"No one is going to be hitting anyone, Jonothon," Emma interrupted sternly, her voice revealing just how very adamant she was in her decision.
*Not while we're in 'ere, anyway.*
Emma's eyes widened at the way Jono's words had more or less challenged her authority. "If you're suggesting something, Mr. Starsmore, you would be well advised to rethink your course of action."
"He's mad 'cause of this whole triangle we got goin' on between us," Angelo pointed out suddenly, not daring to look at his friend. At least, he assumed they were still friends. "Mad 'cause the country mouse is goin' out with Tristan...mad 'cause I still like 'er." Angelo let his next statement slip out, only moments later biting down on the inside of his cheek. "Mad 'cause he let her go in the first place."
Emma grew genuinely worried for the arm rests of Jono's chair, as he was by then gripping them so that his knuckles were a sickly shade of white. She was still surprised by the simple fact Jono remained silent for as long as he did.
*I'm mad 'cause you 'ad to 'ave been standin' by, waiting for us t'split up,* he muttered accusingly at Angelo, eyes narrowing. *An' I thought Tristan was the one I 'ad t'watch.*
Angelo's fingers twitched, the tell-tale sign that he would spring from his seat at any moment. His nerves had already been tried to the breaking point, and besides that he had a raging headache. He was in no mood to be pushed around by anyone, best friend or not. Then again, Emma noted anxiously, Jono fully suspected the attack, judging from the barely visible glowing she could see behind his bandages, gradually lightening from a deep indigo to a fiery orange.
*Easy, Jonothon,* she ordered telepathically, trying anything to get his attention. *Tristan is still in here.*
Jono started to shoot back that he really couldn't care less, then shook his head, shaggy brown hair falling into his face. He was too preoccupied trying to rip the arms from the chair to brush it away.
Though mourning for her abused chair, Emma was glad that at least one minor crisis had been avoided for the time being. She had no doubt that Angelo and Jono both would end up throwing punches before it was over and done with, but then, boys would be boys and no amount of preaching on Earth would stop them.
"I hope, for your sakes and for those around you, that you boys can get this mess straightened out. It's not good for you, your peers, and especially not Paige." She paused as if trying to think of something else to say. "You're dismissed. Angelo, please stay a moment." The Latino hesitated, eyes downcast. He didn't need to look up to know Tristan was smirking at him for his obvious defeat. Didn't want to see Jono staring at him with the look only a betrayed friend could manage, though where the betrayal part came in, exactly, he wasn't sure.
And that headache was getting worse.
"As you are all young adults and capable of taking care of yourselves," Emma started, getting from her seat and walking around to sit at the edge of her desk, "I make it a point to stay as far from your personal matters as possible. But this whole thing with Paige has gone on far too long."
Angelo was at a loss for words. He kept quiet.
"However, time changes people, and I'm going to bend my non-involvement rule long enough to tell you that, solely as a personal belief, I feel that while it would undoubtedly be a ... unique combination, I think you and Paige could be happy together. Tristan is with her to flex the power he believes he holds over her. I truly believe Jono cared for her, but was too wrapped up in himself to see that she only wanted someone to treat her the way I think you would." She hesitated, scratching her eyebrow. "Tell anyone this and I will most certainly deny I ever said it, but I honestly hope you can make things work out with her, and with Jonothon."
Angelo, too stunned to say much else, blurted, "gracias, senorita."
Emma waved her hand and moved behind her desk, opening a drawer and taking from it a bottle of extra-strength Tylenol. "Here. They're strong. They help with telepaths when they let their guards down...and they help teenage boys who think they can go out drinking all night and not get hangovers." She handed the bottle to Angelo, causing him to smile appreciatively.