A/N: This is just a short interlude in the saga of Monet and Jubilee
while I work on other
fics...one of them being the Graduation finale. Text in italics
are thoughts of Monet.
In a Lifetime: Chapter 3
The next day rose unnoticed behind a bank of heavy clouds that covered
the sky in gray.
Each student moved around the mansion doing their own thing, the events
of just a few
weeks ago still too fresh. Sean had disappeared into his suite, and
as Monet paused
outside his door she could hear soft weeping. His grief over Moira
was intense, acting
like a battering ram against her shields.
Frowning, Monet moved away unable to take the constant flood of emotion,
uneasy since
she had lashed out at him the day before. Unsettled because she felt
nothing for the
man's hurt. What if not another's grief, could she relate to? It disturbed
her more than
she cared to admit, for despite what the other's thought of her, she
felt things deeply.
Reaching out, she mentally tagged each of the members in the house.
Jonothon was
listening to music in the basement, Angelo was smoking out on the porch,
Paige was
buried in a book and Jubilee was in the kitchen. Adjusting her angle
slightly, Monet
veered towards the kitchen to find a very irritated girl angrily drinking
coffee.
The image struck her as odd, and for a brief second Monet got a picture
of what an older
Jubilee must look like that dissolved the instant Jubilee saw her and
smiled. "Hey M."
Retrieving a mug from the shelf, Monet poured herself a cup of the hot
black liquid,
noticing that the girl's cup didn't have the usual cream and sugar
doused in it. "Good
morning Jubilee. What's wrong?"
"Headache, a big one. Whopper in fact. And not the nice grilled, no
onion with cheese
kind. I think it may be vying for migraine status." Her hand rubbed
wearily at her head,
her blue eyes rimmed with red.
"Do you know why?" Monet refrained from touching her brow, trying to
think back to
the night before. Despite her anger that night, she had gone to Jubilee's
bedside and
swept her dreams clean. Her mind picked over every detail trying to
think of some thing
she had overlooked, some reason that Jubilee might have had a nightmare
after all.
Jubilee's piercing blue eyes met hers momentarily. "I slept fine, like
always. Everything
seems so heavy today for some reason." She struggled for a moment to
describe the odd
sensation she was feeling. "It's like my brain is under an anvil."
Monet chewed her lip, considering her next few words carefully. "Do
you think it might
be possible that you're experiencing an emotional overload? Sean's...
grief is making it
hard to maintain my shields. Perhaps it's the same for you?"
"My walls have always been natural, I never considered building them
from scratch. How
would I do that?" Jubilee looked up from her coffee with interest.
Mentally wincing Monet forced herself to meet Jubilee's eyes. "You'd
have to tear them
down and start from the beginning."
Panic flashed for a brief moment before being buried under a cheerful,
"Well, migraine it
is then."
Exposing the mind meant exposing memories and neither were ready to
share that much
pain. Jubilee stared into her cup, trying to think of anyone she was
willing to share that
much of herself with. Both Emma and Jonothan were far from up to the
task, neither
lacking the empathy require. The Professor would be devastated that
she had endured so
much and Jean would feel immeasurably guilty. Only Monet could handle
it and Jubilee
was unwilling to subject the girl to any more pain. It would not be
worth it.
Jubilee forced a smile. "Want to go shopping later?"
"Whatever." Stiff and angry, Monet stalked out of the room although
she was unsure as
to why she was really angry.
-in-
As Rogue would tell anyone there are perks to being invulnerable.
As Rogue would also
say, it is the bane of those who carry it. Hank never tested my
powers fully, between
everything that happened it never seemed like the right time. Perhaps
if he had, I would
have not wasted so much time those months after Ev died.
I had so many powers that it seemed like a gift than those that hate
their mutation. After
all I can fly, read minds, have super strength and am nearly invulnerable.
Of the last I
can attest to the lengths I went to find out how true that was.
Skin like outs does not scar
so that the eye can see it. If it did, I would be riddled with them.
There was no bad guy
out there that was bad enough, none that had the power to do what
I so desperately
sought. I didn't want to die, but I didn't shirk death either. To
be honest, I would have
welcomed it with open arms.
I never knew how much I needed to share with someone until Jubilee
told me that she
didn't want me to help her. The meeting of two minds is such an
intimate thing, perhaps
after nights of watching her sleep I've created an intimacy that
doesn't exist. The sad
thing is that if it is a lie, I don't want it to end.
-in-
Monet sat, perched among the rubble staring out at the sun making it's
way across the
sky.
"Hey you." Jubilee leaned her head on Monet's shoulder giving the girl
a squeeze, taking
a kind of casual liberty that none of the others even dared. Not even
the twins ever
touched her with the freedom that Jubilee automatically assumed. "I
didn't mean to hurt
your feelings. I don't think either of us is ready for that kind of
pain just yet."
"I can handle it." Monet muttered.
"Maybe, but I can't." Jubilee said softly, her voice somber. She scooted
M over, and sat
down. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Jubilee nudged
her good
naturedly. "Was it like this when your powers manifested?"
"The migraine?"
Jubilee nodded, her hand going unconsciously to her brow to massage it.
"Yes, especially when there are strong emotions around. It gets better with time."
"That's what they said about vegetables, Elvis and muzak. Excuse me
if I don't believe
you." she snorted.
"It does." Monet assured her, and her breath hitched. Before she could
control herself,
she felt her eyes burn with tears. Her face flushed with embarrassment
and she turned
away.
"And maybe it doesn't." Jubilee gathered up the larger girl in her arms,
ignoring her
stiffen at the intrusion. When it became apparent Jubilee wasn't going
to let go, M laid
her head on the girl's lap and let herself cry.
-in-