Title: What It's Like
Notes: Hmm...Okay, so it's a tried and true little plot device. I tweaked the characters a little and still tried to keep them pretty true to comic form. Hopefully I haven't over-tweaked...And many thank you's and cups of coffee for the musi go to my beta reader (you know who you are) for both the advice and the title. :-)
Second Note: I'm trying my hand at different topics, and this one happened to come up. There's a bit of slashy stuff in here so if that makes you squicked (it's a word if I say it is!), you might wanna turn back now.
Continuance Note: Not sure about this one, so I'll make up my own. Paige and Jono are indeed dating (if you can believe that one), Ev's gone, and there aren't any human students at the school. Other than that, I think everything's going by the normal timeline.
Disclaimer: Marvel owns everything that Bill Gates doesn't. Well, except for the Bar Chick (tm) that makes a brief appearance, but that doesn't count. Oh, and before I forget, the song (and what a lovely one it is, huh?) belongs to Everlast.
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'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose. - Everlast, "What It's Like"
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was notorious in Massachusetts for being a very exclusive school for those with exceptional talents. Those who did not know the students were under the automatic assumption that those who attended the school were of above average intelligence and, as such, spent every waking hour locked away in their rooms, studying until their eyes ached.
Those who did not know the students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters personally would undoubtedly be surprised to find half the school's population in a trendy night club.
Granted, that night club was one for all ages, since Jubilee and Paige were both still minors and, badly as he wanted to, Jono couldn't drink, which effectively eliminated any need for one of the older clubs. The particular club they had stumbled into made no secret of the fact it targeted young people, most obviously with its bright colors and pop music that marked it as a trap for teenagers.
Jono hated it.
For an almost nineteen-year-old would-be grunge rocker, the worst sort of torture was having to listen to the latest hits from whatever boy band happened to be popular at the moment. He had practically grown up in some of the seediest clubs in east London, either by sneaking in or being granted entrance because of a generous soul. His personal favorite had been a somewhat creepy place called Complications that was wildly popular amongst the metalheads and Goths alike. The dim lighting, black walls, and blood red carpeting and furniture had given it an incredibly eerie feeling. Consequently, it became something of a second home to Jono while he was still in England.
Needless to say, he felt as though he would start convulsing when he entered the club of Jubilee's choosing. Supposedly she picked it because of a hot local band playing that night, but Jono secretly suspected her ulterior motive was to make him lose his already shaky grasp on sanity.
"At least pretend you don't mind being here," Paige urged as they walked through the door, giving his hand a squeeze for emphasis. Jono rolled his eyes and gestured to the bar where, presumably, the strongest beverage served was Mountain Dew.
*I'll be over by the Lake o' Fire if you want me.*
Paige chuckled and reached up to give him a quick peck on the cheek before she and Jubilee waded into the crowd. Half an hour later, Jono was ready to start mercilessly beating his head against the tabletop at the band playing on stage. They were an odd blend of rap, punk, and ska that didn't mesh in any of the right ways. Then again, Jono had at one point been a hopeful musician and as such was something of a perfectionist by nature, so he could determine what was actual talent and what was a sorry attempt to make themselves sound original in an increasingly varied music world.
That lack of talent the band consistently displayed was not enough to prevent the over-caffeinated group of teenagers from jumping in place at the front of the stage. By the time Jono had just started to get his headache to subside, the band had been long gone and the crowd had swelled to allow a large number of dancing people onto the floor.
"Hey."
He barely glanced up at the curvy redhead that settled herself onto the stool beside him. She was pretty, but he didn't need Paige husking into something metallic and painful and teaching him the error of his lecherous ways. Still, he gave an acknowledging nod and began studying a napkin in front of him, willing the girl to leave. Damn Jubilee and her insistence he borrow one of the school's image inducers for the night. It had been programmed to present a reasonable imitation of what he would have looked like if his powers hadn't ravaged his body, and Jubilee had laughingly commented that he had the whole scruffy musician act down. The device had also been recalibrated so that it would appear that he was actually speaking, and with some effort he could make a rather believable presentation of a normal teenager.
He just didn't want Paige to see him trying that presentation out with Miss Clairol.
She flipped her dyed red hair, complete with black roots, and leaned forward, eyes flashing mischievously. Green eyes, Jono saw, a detail he immediately regretted noticing. That meant he made eye contact, and eye contact would give the impression he was interested.
"Wanna dance?"
Jono's fake mouth moved up and down in an unconscious gesture of uncertainty. He was ready to run in fear until his personal deux ex machina showed up in the form of a blond country girl.
"Sorry," Paige interrupted, grabbing Jono's hand and yanking him to his feet, "but he's taken."
The redhead seemed to consider that, then offered a hint of a grin. "Sorry, didn't know. You snagged a good one, though."
Paige looked back at Jono, who was in turn looking at the floor. "I know."
When he thought it was safe to do so, Jono risked a glance at whom he supposed was his girlfriend. *Can we go now?*
The request wasn't granted until an hour later, and the ride back to the school was unusually quiet, given that Jubilee was riding in the back seat. Jono looked to Paige, then leaned into the passenger seat, keeping his conversation limited.
*You okay, gel?*
Jubilee's eyes widened at the unexpected telepathic intrusion, then she relaxed and shook her head. *No, not really.*
*Wanna talk?*
*No.*
*Yer choice.* Jono withdrew from Jubilee's mind and remained silent the rest of the way home. Very much to his surprise, however, was when Jubilee bolted from the car before the key was even out of the ignition.
*Wot's wrong with 'er?*
Paige shrugged. "I don't have a clue. She's been acting weird all night, like she's not really there."
She managed to catch up to Jubilee just in time to see her find the note attached to the door of the room they shared. Being tall had its advantages, and she could easily peer over her friend's shoulder to see Angelo's chicken-scratch writing on the paper.
"Oooh, Jubilee's got a boyfriend," she sing-songed, startled when Jubilee pushed rudely past her into the room. Paige trailed along behind. "Aw, c'mon, Jubes. I was only kidding. He probably just wants his movie back anyway." Jubilee looked up quizzically at her roommate. "You still have his copy of Braveheart, remember?"
"Oh...Yeah." Jubilee flopped onto her bed, kicking her shoes off as she unfolded the letter. She groaned loudly when she reached the end of it. "I don't believe this."
Paige, by that point having practically buried herself inside her closet, was interested. "What happened?"
"Nothin', just this letter." Jubilee sighed and rolled over onto her back, wondering when life had gotten so utterly complicated. Her night had been going pretty well until she saw Paige dancing in the club, buttons loose on her shirt, hair wild, and being so unlike Paige that it had rekindled a painful crush that Jubilee had hoped would stay hidden. And then she came home, wanting nothing more than to sleep her feelings away, only to find a letter that Angelo had obviously poured his heart into writing.
"Hey, Paige?"
Paige stepped out of the closet with the bottom half of her pajamas and a bra on, trying to hold onto her pajama top and tie her hair back at the same time. "Yeah?"
Jubilee wanted to tell her everything, how she watched her most of the night, how she had harbored feelings beyond simple friendship for so long it hurt, how she would have to hurt one of her best friends because the object of his affection was interested in someone else.
The words stuck in her throat.
"Can you toss me the remote?"
"Lazy," Paige grinned, but she handed the remote over. Jubilee fell silent and began looking for something to take her mind off Paige, Angelo, and anybody else that happened to be making life a living Hell.