8432/Getting Ready

Getting Ready
Date of Scene:	25 October 2021
Location:	Jubilee's Apt - College House
Synopsis:	Jubilee and Noriko get ready for Jonathan Sims' birthday party with the Night Brigade. Like all things, it's not as simple as that and the two begin to inspect the growing distance between them.
Cast of Characters:	Jubilation Lee, Noriko Ashida

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Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Fuck you!" Jubilee nearly screams. She's staring at a mirror in the living room, trying hopelessly to make sure her makeup is JUST RIGHT for Jonathan Sims' birthday party. She's wearing something new -- a black charmeuse mini-dress with a lacy hem and a low, plunged neckline and a pair of black flats. Her hair is worn down, completely straight, falling halfway down her back. The task is a difficult one, as her reflection is not playing nice. Instead of offering an accurate image, Jubilation's reflection keeps shifting, moving a little, and grinning while she is not. It's getting a kick out of fucking with her.

    "I'll be back," Jubilee warns the mirror before turning and finding the tape recorder that Constantine had sent to her. She lowers herself onto the arm of the couch and frowns.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko hops out of the shower buzzing with little bolts that shoot across her skin.  She watches Jubilation leave and calls out as she's squeezing her hair out,  "Your reflection is kind of an asshole," smirking.

Then the speedster stands wrapped in a towel, and her expression sinks into something more thoughtful, and slightly concerned.  She sees Jubilation looking oh so nice.  "Is your reflection like...what is it?" she asks curiously, trying to distract herself from pressing wardrobe decisions.  It's not as if she hasn't been wondering that for awhile.  It's just not something she's brought up before.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I don't know..." Jubilee replies, small hints of frustration in her tone. She looks up from the recorder to Noriko and her towel and smiles. After a moment of silence, Jubilee's porcelain cheeks fill with color. She has no blush response anymore, but this is something she does on purpose just for Nori to notice.

    "Some of us don't have reflections at all, so I should feel lucky, I guess," she admits with a smirk. "But, seriously, fuck her." The her, in this case, is Jubilee's reflection. Her fingers drag lazily across the buttons on the tape recorder. "Did you record something for Jon?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
And Noriko gets to think she can make a vampire blush as she catches Jubilee looking, sneaking the girl frozen in time a smile over her shoulder.  "At least she's not cruel.  She's probably just bored and wants to play," Noriko posits simply as if her mind isn't full of anxiety already...because in that moment it isn't.

"Huh?"  Noriko pivots partially, blinking at Jubilation like a deer in headlights.  "I was supposed to record something?  I thought that was for people who like, knew him, not the plus one...or like, we'd give a story together or something."  Sounds like a big fat no.  Her words come hurried and worried.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation lids her eyes and smiles at the speedster. She stands from the couch's arm and walks towards Nori. She reaches out and slips her fingertips into the top of Nori's towel and gives it a gentle tug, not enough to unravel it. Just a little playful gesture. "Nori..." she sing-songs. "You are /not/ a plus one." She smiles and shrugs one shoulder. "After all, you did get him a present."

    Jubes turns and pads towards the kitchen. She comes back with an ornately wrapped gift -- green paper with silver ribbon -- balanced nicely in the palm of her hand. "You got him a fountain pen," she stage-whispers before setting it down. "And I got him a journal."

    Jubilee sits back down on the couch and puts both elbows on her knees. "I don't know what to record. I mean, what do you think he would want to hear? It can't be some dumb story. It can't be some bullshit thing. He saved my life."

    She just says that little detail like it's nothing.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko waits indulgently as Jubilation arrival unravels over the stretched out perception of velocity.  Suddenly all anxieties and senses are hijacked as quickly as when Jubilation still had a pulse.  "I did?" she asks with a tilted head.

"I /did/," Noriko says with a warm smile for Jubilation, briefly ruminating at how thoughtful the gift seems, as far as she can tell.  "I'm so thoughtful.  Oh wow.  I have such good taste.  Is this Japanese?"  They do have a thing for journals and stationary and things.  After giving the gifts an appreciative once over, Noriko moves over to the couch to sit down next to Jubilation and lean on her, hooking her chin over the girl's shoulder for a split second as if pondering the same problem in commiseration before just needing to kiss her cheek due to proximity.  Afterwards she stretches and slouches back into the couch.  With her elbow propped in the cushion, she idly grazes her fingers across Jubilation's back.  It takes Nori a moment after Jubilation casually drops how important Jon is, and why.  Her fingers stop moving.

"Why would he need to save your life?"  Noriko tries to ignore the sting she doesn't quite understand yet.  She grits her teeth, trying to bite down her emotions.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee giggles softly, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as she does. "Oh yes, very, very thoughtful," she confirms with a nod. "Japanese pen. Vamp..../Chinese/ journal." Is it? Who knows!

    When Noriko's fingers go across her back, Jubilee closes her eyes and leans towards the speedster, drinking this in, relishing it, wanting more of it until... it ends. Fuck.

    If Jubilee could age, she would have aged a whole lot in the last few weeks. Slaying monsters. Saving po-dunk towns from demons. Participating in some weird blood magic ritual. It's been a heck of a Fall semester. But, how can she explain all that?

    "Well," Jubilee begins, sitting straight up. "We were in Maine the other night and there was this town that was taken hostage by a demon. And there was this huge blast of sunlight and Jon cradled me from it. I still got burned to a crisp but, hey, I'm here. Plus, I saved /his/ life earlier in the night, so, you know, we're even."

    Jubilee curls her lips and leans back into the couch, preparing for the reaction. The die has been cast.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Of course all of those compliments were for the mastermind of the birthday gift.  Her look and touch do the thanking, for having picked up the slack?  For not giving the speedster who has all the time in the world any flack?  These words are all too harsh.  No.  For taking care of Noriko.  Noriko knows the gift is all for Jon, but she still feels like she got one.  "Thank you."

Noriko has felt the strain of being apart from Jubilation.  It was difficult for the prideful girl to admit to herself even how much it has affected her.  But night after night (well it felt that way to the lovesick teen), Noriko has come to Jubilation's door unannounced, only to find her already gone.

The speedster's heartbeat betrays her in synced time, jacking up high and loud, as she listens.  There's just silence.  Dead silence and that THUMP THUMP THUMP.  Eyes dart to the curled lips and back.  THUMP THUMP.  Jubilation's words hit her like the /news/.  Secondhand.  A life already happened.  Dramatic, but the nineteen year old only feels more soupy emotions threatening to boil over.

Quick.  Say something!  How long has she been waiting?!

"I can't believe this is the first time I'm hearing this."  Well it's the truth at least.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah..." is all Jubilee can really say. "I know." She looks down at her knees and strums her fingers against them nervously. She can hear the speedster's heartbeat, so Jubilee falls silent as she prepares for the worst, listening closely to each thump. "I know," she repeats quietly. "But it's not like there's a good time to say something about it. 'Oh, by the way, I almost died-died the other night.' Oh, what do we call it..." Jubilee reaches for her phone and taptaptaps. "...Final death," she reads from her notes before setting the device down.

    "Nori, I'm /sorry/..." Jubilee tries, emphasizing the last word over the rest. "But, I just didn't know how to tell you. It's not like it makes anything different..."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
The understanding hits Noriko like lightning, the instant each word strikes out of her mouth, "I thought if you got hurt, I would be the first person you'd run to, but I'm the last person to find out."  The speedster grits her teeth against her welling emotion.

"No.  You don't know.  You aren't here.  You're off making new friends.  That's fine.  You forgot you-"  Noriko can't bring herself to say the truth; that while Jubes is off making friends, she's forgotten that Jubes is her only friend?  Well that's the thought that sears through Nori's brain.

Noriko looks crestfallen, not cocky or armored...and the tones of her words are delicately strained between the love and hope for Jubilation and therefore her ventures, and her own misery, something she obviously wishes to conceal by sounding...reasonable.

The speedster seems to cycle through a range of emotions before there's a chance for any real interaction, but this kind of emotional slippage isn't new (not that Noriko realizes it).

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation closes her eyes, trying to imagine she's somewhere else, someone else, something else. Without the ability to draw in a calming breath, she has no choice but to ride this out. Finally, she opens her eyes and purses her lips. "I said I was sorry!" she protests, a gentle frown forming as she finishes. Jubilee stands up from the couch and moves away, finding a spot to lean against the kitchen counter and fall silent again.

    So many sarcastic responses come to mind and Jubilee is ready to pounce on each as soon as they become clear. 'Oh, I'm so sorry I almost died but you don't like how you're finding out!' is one that lingers a little more than others. The thought itself deepens her frown, drawing out the anger that wells inside her. Her Dark Passenger lies in wait, ready to take advantage as soon as it can. But, that's not what happens.

    "Nori..." Jubilation gently whines. "/You/ don't know." She pushes back a little but isn't nasty about it. She just sounds defeated. "You still have /this/ place. You're still a mutant. I'm like a prisoner here. I'm just trying to find /my/ place again." This would be the point where Jubilee would sigh if she could.

    "What? What did I forget?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Yeah, an apology that ended with it's not like it makes anything different, like my feelings don't fucking matter.  Like me knowing whether you are dying or not doesn't matter.  How do you think that makes me feel?  After everything?"

"Jubes....Don't you get it?  You /are/ my place.  This place isn't the same without you."

And then comes Jubilation confronting her about her self-stunted words.  Noriko averts her eyes, a touch of shame washing over her.  "I don't have any other friends."  She feels wretched as soon as she says it and the shame washes over her.  She knows that's not Jubilation's fault.  "I'm not good at that.  Like you."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "That's...That's not what I meant," Jubilee mutters, her gaze lowering. "Of course your feelings matter to me. I'm just saying... It's not like you'd be able to do anything about it. It's not like finding out tonight is any different from yesternight. That's all..."

    Noriko's admission pulls Jubilee back into silence. What can she say to that? "Nori..." she tries, moving back towards the couch. "You do so! What about Rogue? And Gabby? And that really bitchy one?" Jubilee's mouth curls into a slight smile at that. She lowers herself back onto the couch and slips her arm around the speedster.

    "I'm sorry I've been out a lot... It's... complicated. And I just don't want you to worry," Jubilee admits.

    "But... Maybe you'll like the people you meet at the party?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Well it matters to me."  Don't ask Noriko to explain it.  She doesn't have an answer, but she sounds confident.  She knows it matters to her.  "I want to know what's going on in your life while it's happening.  Not after the fact like some acquaintance...That's why it matters to me," Noriko tacks on less confidently after breaking the flow of what she was saying.

"Gabby's never here and she's like...a little sister.  It's not like that.  I just help Rogue with the groceries because I make her life harder.  Ellie?  I don't think she likes me."  Noriko shrugs.  "It is what it is...No.  I'm sorry.  It isn't your fault I don't have friends."  She blows air through her cheeks as she plays with the edge of the cushion with her toes.

And when Jubilation mentions the party, Noriko sighs and flops back against the pillow shams, somehow not popping out of her towel.  "I wish I could get drunk.  People are going to be drinking right?"  Never mind that she isn't of legal age.  Clearly not something that ever even enters Nori's mind as an obstacle.  That obstacle is a luxury other people get to overcome and profit!

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Fine," is all Jubilee says to that, agreeing to keep Noriko informed on all her comings and goings. She slumps forward, elbows on her knees again. She stares forward, her expression entirely neutral. A new prison presents itself. After just a few moments like that, she gets up and walks back towards the mirror and her waiting makeup case.

    "I guarantee that if you just asked Rogue to hang out she'd be super into it," Jubilee points out, changing the subject. "And, well, I don't know about Ellie, but no big loss there. I /know/ Rogue would like to hang out with you. Plus there's a couple of new kids. One of them is real weird." Pause. "...They're both pretty weird. But, they're new... We all remember being new here..." She raises her lip gloss to her mouth and gets ready to apply it. It's dark.

    Jubilation pauses again and turns to watch Nori sigh back down onto the couch. "...Do you even /want/ to go to this party?" she asks.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko looks a little puzzled at Jubilation's short reply, and maybe a little disappointed, but she doesn't say anything until she sees Jubilation's entire disposition shift.  "Well if you don't want to talk to me about stuff forget it.  That's not what I want."

Though even as Jubilation changes the subject, the new-old subject only makes Noriko roll to bury her face in the pillow for a split second and yell something so quick it sounds like a little blip...as if it never happened.  "One of them talks to a sock puppet Jubes...I'm trying to be nice."  The truth is, most conversations bore Noriko.  Jubilation just has the advantage of being Jubilation, and therefore infinitely interesting to Nori.  "Rogue is like-half teacher.  A bastard hybrid.  Can't trust her," she suddenly busts out in a flourish of wry humor.

"No.  I'm nervous and freaking out about it.  I've never been to a party like this, not where I'm not just some kid but an actual guest.  I don't know what to do, what to say, what if people ask about my past or my gauntlets?  I can't just tell them I have no hands like I do the kids," it all comes rattling out in a quick stream of anxiety like steam escaping.  Breath.  "And what if your friends don't like me and what if I embarrass you or say something stupid?  I don't want to embarrass you.  Jubes I don't even know what to wear!  And I was too embarrassed to ask you and then like who else do I ask?  Have you seen what Ororo wears?"  Not exactly Nori's style.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The point about Rogue and the sockpuppets go by the wayside, as there are way more important things here for Jubilee to address. "Nori..." Jubilation says softly. "I /do/ want to talk to you about stuff, but... I don't understand things just yet." She turns her head to face the speedster properly, her brown eyes becoming naturally doe-like. No glamouring. Just... vulnerability. "And I don't want to worry you. I just... There are just some things I have to do and they're hard to understand. But, I /promise/ I'll talk to you about it /all/ as soon as I can. Okay?" She stares with a hopeful look in her eyes. "I don't feel at home here anymore... And I'm trying to figure things out. I feel like I don't belong."

    As soon as Noriko expresses her true feelings on the party, Jubilation reaches out and places her hand on Nori's. Whatever resentment or anger or annoyance she felt a moment ago melts away. "Nori... Nori..." she says softly, trying to interrupt but failing. "Listen to me. Listen."

    "If someone asks you about your past, which they won't, but if they /do/ you don't have to tell them anything. The gauntlets? Tell the truth if you want. It's /fine/, really." She moves her hand and rests it on the speedster's cheek, staring into her eyes. "...And if they don't like you? Well, they can go fuck themselves. You. Are. My. Everything. I know things seem weird right now but we'll get through it. Just... come to the party with me. Be my /date/. Make me feel /normal/. /Fuck/ me when we get home. Just... borrow anything you want. Anything. You don't need to be embarrassed. Wear those awful shorts if you want to, I don't care." A slight smile forms. She's teasing.

    But, Jubilee firms up her point by draping one of her legs over the speedster's lap and straddles her. "Nori... C'mon. It'll be fun. And, and, if it's not fun? We'll bounce. As soon as you say you want to? We'll bounce." She stares into the other girl's eyes and smiles. She means it.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I feel like you don't trust me.  Did I do something?  Something to make you not want to tell me things?  Or take me with you?" Nori clearly has a lot to process, a lot that is swirling around, and suddenly she realizes what time it is and sniffs.  She swipes at her eyes, a bundle of nerves and emotions and electricity as the lights gutter, betraying the depths of her emotions.

"I want you to feel like you belong.  I just want to be a part of it."

Noriko takes a deep deep breath as soon as she feels Jubilation's hand.  She sniffs again.  "Okay.  Okay."  Noriko can't help but flood her cheeks with tears and bolts as Jubilation speaks, but the repetition isn't to silence to Jubilation, it is to buoy herself.  "I won't wear the shorts.  I at least have jeans."  Look at her, caring.  Her nose is red and eyes are a little puffy.  It happens so quickly.

Noriko's hands slip to Jubilation's thighs and rest at her sides.  She sits up and just holds her tight in response.  "Okay but you have to help me pick something out to wear."  She then slumps back to look up at Jubilee.  "We better hurry though.  We're going to be late."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I /do/ trust you, Nori. I just feel like everything right now is so hard to understand, even for me and it's happening to me. But, I /promise/ I'll figure out some way to explain..."

    "So, come to the party with me. Be a part of it," Jubilee adds, trying to find her smile again. "Come on, let's find something for you to wear." And time to do makeup because, well, that hasn't happened!