5149/Helping Those You Hate

Helping Those You Hate
Date of Scene:	12 February 2021
Location:	Jubilee and Noriko's Room
Synopsis:	Jubilee returns from her time spent at the lake to deliver Nori some birthday cake from Sam's party. Jubilee tells Nori about her idea to donate proceeds from the Sadies Hawkins dance to pay for Howard Scubb's hospital bills. Things get dicey.
Cast of Characters:	Noriko Ashida, Jubilation Lee

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Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko was in classes today, but she frequently darted back and forth to check on Jubilee and getting rather adept at the now silent check.  She slept much, but she's gotten more naps in between classes to try and compensate when her body finally said /no/.  She lies on her back after a shower, already in fresh clothes.  The bathroom mirror is still steamy from the shower she took.

The speedster just stares at the ceiling with a pair of earphones hooked up to a cassette player.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The door flings open and Jubilee comes barging on in! Where the heck was she? She insisted that Noriko let her go off on her own, but it only had been an hour or so. She holds a plate of plastic-wrapped cake. "Nori!" she exclaims, trying to get the speedster's attention as she moves quickly into their room. The door is given an absent-minded kick to get it closed.

    Jubilee comes right up to Noriko and kneels next to the edge of the bed. She's excited about something -- a huuuuuuge change in her demeanor this past week. "Brought you some cake," she mentions casually, tossing the plastic-wrapped plate onto the mattress.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko should have reacted when the door hit whatever it is going to hit when it is flung open.  "Huh?"  The earphones are pulled out and her eyebrows arch slightly, not expecting the energetic mood from Jubilee.  She grins softly.

"Caaaaake?  Where did you find cake?"  Noriko looks down to see the plate after it plops onto the mattress.  She moves to her stomach, feet crossed at the angle and idly moving back and forth through the air.  The plate wrapping is inspected and instantly in the state of unwrapped.  She shoots the little wadded up plastic at Jubes.  "You going to have some with me?" she looks to Jubes.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Cake found me," Jubes explains with a smile. She leans in and gives Noriko a quick kiss once she flips over on her stomach. "And now it finds you." She really is in brighter spirits. Her clothes have the faint chill of having just spent some time outside.

    "Nori..." she says, her eyes widening a little. "I have the /greatest/ idea!"

    She pauses and then gives Noriko a knowing smile. "No, you go ahead," she answers with a smirk. That's the answer she was hoping for, right?

Noriko Ashida has posed:
The speedster slows down for the kiss, a contented grin forming.  Then she eyes Jubilee suddenly

"What's wrong with the cake?" Noriko asks as if someone on the street was giving over their delicacy.  She can't help herself though as evidenced by the bite that goes missing.  

"What's your idea?" Another bite and Nori's on her back.  She reaches to Jubes, making SHINKy grabby hands to summon the girl closer.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Nothing!" Jubilee insists. "Paige gave it to me. It's from Sam's birthday party..." Her voice trails off there, an obvious tell that she's not happy she missed it. She actually leans back a little to avoid the hands grabbing at her. She wants some distance. Even though she thinks it's a great idea, Jubes isn't sure how Nori's going to react to it.

    "He's alive," she says softly after taking a steadying breath. "In intensive care. It's on the internet." Jubilee swallows and just goes for it.

    "I want to donate the money from the dance to his hospital bills..."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko looks down when Jubilee retracts and goes to town on the eating, letting it occupy time instead of rushing it.  Seems like a good time to eat her feelings.  If only she had a mountain of cake, maybe it'd make a dent.

The speedster lets out a loaded sigh of relief at the news of the man being alive.  Jubilee's announcement gets a pained smile from the speedster.  "That's a good idea."  Can she stop thinking about the feeling of that barrel?  It's the only reason she didn't chance it by running off in the first place, and it haunts her.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The pained smile can be detected immediately. "Nori..." she whispers, now moving in close enough to catch a whiff of cake breath. She tries to explain her reasoning. "...I..." She takes another breath. "...The internet says he has kids....And I don't think he can afford the hospital."

    "I...I put him there," she adds reluctantly, lowering her eyes. She can barely even believe it. "He's there because of me..."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I know why you're doing it Jubilation.  You don't have to justify it to me."  Noriko shrinks back and grabs the cake plate to put between them.  Cake is easier to focus on.  Maybe then Jubes won't see the pain.  "I'm just not as good of a person as you are."

Noriko finishes the cake at her velocity of solitude, giving herself more than a few moments to deal with the swell of emotions she doesn't want to infect Jubes more with.

"You didn't know."  Noriko's been there (sans not knowing.  She knew how lethal her power could be), but she doesn't talk about it.  "He's there because he was going to kill me.  Jubes I don't think even I can run from a bullet that close."  She doesn't know and she's not keen on finding out.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The slinking back and the cake plate bring Jubilee's mouth to hang open and even a hitch of air. She closes her eyes and stands from her kneeled position so she can walk over to her own bed and sit on the edge. Hint taken.

    "Don't you think I know that?" Jubilee replies, frowning a little. "I...I can't stop thinking about it. I don't..." What was annoyance, even anger, just seconds ago...Has turned into something else. Sadness. "...I don't want to think about it anymore. Him with that gun against your head....Oh god, Nori..." She shudders and looks down at her knees. "I don't know what came over me."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko gets a sinking feeling when Jubilee retreats.  It's not what she intended at all, which only adds fuel to her fire of misery, that Jubes thinks she doesn't want her close.  She sets the plate aside and lets her feet swing down off the side of the bed using the aid of gravity.

"I know you know that..." Noriko mumbles, her heart breaking for Jubilee.  She ends up drifting to right in front of Jubilee.  Her gauntlets can be heard hitting the floor.  "I'm here.  We're both here, and he's alive," she says tenderly as she reaches to touch Jubilee's cheek.

"I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to spoil things."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "You didn't..." Jubilee answers softly.

    Jubilation fills her cheeks, chipmunk style, with air and lets it out noisily through pursed lips. "I just...I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you," she adds, swallowing past a lump in her throat. Her eyes close tight. "...Everyone I love always goes away..." Tears slide from her eyes as she hears herself say it. She takes a deep, steadying breath -- as if it would help. "Nori..." she whines softly. Her eyes open and stare at the other girl when she feels the touch to her cheek.

    "....I hate him."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko is really glad Jubilee seems to have great aim.  She knows it could have just as easily been her.  Her chances might not have been as good as that guy's.

The speedster doesn't flinch at Jubilee's words.  There's no judgement.  She knows what it is like to hate...and to hate a mutant hater at that.  "But you're doing the right thing anyways."  A virtue at work.  "You know I'm not going anywhere right?"  Says the girl who was kidnapped twice last year and almost left school.  She's almost 'gone way' in all ways possible except one...oh wait, that just happened.  They're /talking about it/.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I know..." she replies reluctantly to Nori's point about her not going anywhere. It's one of those things that time will tell. She fills her lungs again and then slides off the end of the bed. She shrugs her shoulders with some discomfort. "I'm going to take a shower," she says before pulling her hoodie over her head.

    The hoodie is tossed unceremoniously onto one of the room's many piles before Jubilee starts walking towards the door to the bathroom. The water is turned on and then the door is quietly closed.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko feels a stab of hollowness that never really leaves her.  She gives Jubilee enough space to get up, her hand naturally falling away with the lack of reach.

"Okay."  Noriko feels helpless and suddenly so heavy inside.  The speedster's feet stay planted as her head turns to the side to watch Jubilee go.  She inhales unsteadily and ends up on Jubilee's bed, sobbing into her girlfriend's pillow.  These are the tears she cannot let Jubilee see.  The ones she'll hide by flipping the pillow.  How much it rips at her to see Jubilee this way.

Very quickly, in the middle of things, Noriko pops one of those 'pez' and slips into a blissful blanket numbness.