ArchivedLogs:Bonding

Bonding
Dramatis Personae Jack, Sergio
In Absentia	2015-08-01 "You're one of the few people who actually knows what I look like."
Location <XS> Rec Room - FL2
School this may be, but life for Xavier's students certainly isn't all studying. Outside classes, this is a popular spot to find students in their downtime. An enormous tribute to slacking off, this room is a wealth of fun and relaxation. Comfortable armchairs, couches, and beanbags offer plentiful seating scattered throughout the room, and the cushioned windowseats by the high windows offer a cozy nook to curl up and look out on the grounds. The room is often filled with the noises of gaming -- whether it comes from the big-screen television (tall racks of DVDs beside it, if nothing can be found on the multitude of cable channels), tricked out with consoles from retro to the latest releases, or the less electronic clatter and thump of the pool table, air hockey, or foosball. For those a little more subdued in their gaming, the cabinets hold stacks and stacks of board and card games, ranging as classic as chess and go to as esoteric as Dixit, Catan, and Gloom. More days than not, there's some variety of snacks to be found on a table beside the gaming cabinet -- quite often in the form of fresh-baked desserts. It's another scorcher of a day, the high heat and humidity chasing some people indoors to the safety of the AC systems. Among them right now is a floating pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt with the Nightwing logo on it. That'd be Jack. The invisible teen had been watching a rather energetic game of air hockey going on between two of his classmates but right now he's snagging a rather brightly colored cupcake from the quickly shrinking plate of them on the table. "Going to have to work out twice as hard but these things are definitely worth it," he remarks to no one in particular as he peels the wrapper off the cupcake. Appearing silhouetted in the doorway in his chair, Sergio pauses to timidly glance around the new room. Ordinarily, he isn't really one to be very shy, but the chair definitely cramps his style. Wearing cargo shorts and a white tee, the teen tenses his arms as he rolls himself forward into the uncharted territory. Jack glances up mid bite, a bit of cupcake just vanishing. When he spots his roommate, the invisible teen flashes a quick smile. It's semi-noticeable since the frosting on his lip moves with the expression. Until he licks it off anyway. "Hey, Sergio," Jack greets. "Want a cupcake before they're all gone?" "Oh yeah," Sergio frowns comically, propelling himself forward and sliding into a sudden stop in front of Jack. Pretty soon he'll be doing tricks in this thing. "What's up?" He asks, eyeing the room as he lifts himself half-way up out of his seat to reach for a cupcake. "Are these always here?" He asks, doing nothing to hide his astonishment. The sudden stop has Jack jumping slightly but he ends up grinning invisibly. "Nothing up. I was just watching an air hockey showdown," he replies, gesturing at the table with the cupcake. "There's usually some kind of treats in here. One of our Professors is an awesome baker on top of being one of the most awesome guys there is period." Sergio raises both of his eyebrows, nodding as he takes in the new knowledge. "Sounds pretty awesome," he agrees, observationally. Running a finger along the icing of his cupcake, he takes a small taste-test as he eases himself back down in his wheelchair. "That's-" He pauses, eyes staring off for a moment as he shifts through the things he's overheard in his invisible wanderings, "Holland, right? From tv? I haven't met him, yet." "That's him," Jack replies. "I met him before I ended up here," he explains. "Ran into him down on the lower east side," he shrugs a little. "What's up with you today?" Sergio removes his finger from between his lips with a smack before going about carefully removing the cupcake's paper liner, "Nothing. I have physical therapy in the mornings. ...and I've just been looking around. I've never been in a place like this." He presses his mouth into a smirk, lowering his voice, "I tried to get into the lower levels last night, but one of the teachers with telepathy saw me and yelled at me." Jack laughs a little. "One of the many reasons why I don't go sneaking around," Jack remarks. "Telepaths can still detect me even if I am invisible," he says sagely. "Looking for anything specific down there or just exploring?" the invisible one asks, leaning against the table. "This place isn't like anywhere I was either," he adds. Sergio laughs, eyeing Jack suspiciously, "I wonder if I could. Can you see yourself?" He takes a generous bite of his cupcake and wipes the frosting away from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Just exploring," he answers as he chews, "It's hard to resist!" "Yeah," Jack replies, taking another bite of cupcake. "I can see myself but other people can't. Cameras and stuff can't see me either though," he adds. "It is tempting," he agrees. Sergio rolls his chair backward, craning his neck around the search the room for a reflective surface. Carefully, he rises from his seat position and walks, because the path is clearer on foot, over to the television cabinet where dvd's and game consoles are kept. Popping open one, he moves closer and holds out a disc to the other boy with the silver, reflective side facing up. "Do you mind?" He grins, "If I know what you look like? If you want it to be a secret, that's cool. I'll just find out and won't tell you." His grin grows more wicked. Jack is curious when Sergio looks around and a bit surprised when he gets up and walks. It takes a moment but once it clicks what Sergio means but once he gets it, Jack reaches out to take the disc. "Oh, thinking of getting a sneak peek at me?" he jokes. Jack finishes off his cupcake and then holds the disc up to where it'll reflect his face. "Good thing I shaved this morning," he adds, disc floating in mid air. "Anything you need me to do?" Sergio’s own cupcake is abandoned at the table’s edge, half-bitten into. He pauses, lashes fluttering, as he visibly fights a bout of lightheadedness. Once he recovers, he eases back into his chair. “Nope. Just look at your reflection,” he says quietly. His smile fades as he slouches down in the chair, leaning his head against the backrest and placing both hands on either arm rest. Not at all mindful of the other people in the room, the psychic wets his lips, and closes his eyes. "Alright," Jack replies, watching Sergio for a moment. He's a little concerned by the way he goes all eyelash fluttery but since the wheelchair-bound guy recovers, Jack lets out a breath of relief. Focusing on his reflection, he smiles a bit awkwardly. Peeking through Jack's eyes will let Sergio see Jack how he sees himself, the normally invisible teen quickly trying to make his short blond hair look a little less messy. "You're one of the few people who actually knows what I look like," he remarks after a moment. Leaving his physical body behind, Sergio rises from it. Though a disembodied mind, he clings to traditional understandings of movement and moves, as if walking, to stand behind Jack. He looks in the reflection of the disc, as if looking over his shoulder. <<Oh.>> As Sergio speaks telepathically, he doesn't stage his voice, nor does he pronounce his words with more than usual care. He can't hide the tremor of surprise in his tone, at what Jack actually looks like. <<Hey.>> The voice chuckles behind an unseen smile. Across the room, another student jumps as a chill creeps up their spine. They look up and around at the ceiling. Jack isn't sure what to expect really, just waiting. When Sergio speaks, Jack jumps and looks a bit startled but it passes quickly. Smiling again, Jack waves his free hand to wave a little. "Hey," he replies. "Hope you weren't expecting a model or anything," he jokes, glancing up at the ceiling as well when he notices others doing the same. As Jack is looking around, Sergio is returning to his body. As someone waking from a long rest, he slowly opens his eyes. Fingers stretching, he mistakenly lets the dvd case slide from his grasp and tumble to the floor. "Oh, man," he mumbles, still in somewhat of a daze as he bends to retrieve it, making himself dizzy in the process. The teen brings up a hand to support his forehead, still hellbent on reaching for the case. Jack jumps again when the DVD case slides to the floor, attention turning to Sergio. He smiles invisibly and focusing his TK on lifting the case to meet his roommate's hand so he doesn't have to bend as far. "You okay?" Jack asks, concerned for his new friend. Sergio plucks the dvd case from the air, looking up. He smiles, immediately delighted by the use of telekinesis. Eyes gleaming, he keeps a thought to himself as he only holds the empty case out and open towards Jack, who has the disc. "I don't know about that, you're closer to being a model than I am. /And you're invisible/," he says in a delayed response, "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay. I'm gonna make it." Jack laughs a little, reaching out to carefully replace the disc in the case. "Hey, don't sell yourself short. You're a good looking guy," Jack replies honestly. He nods to the confirmation though. "That's good to hear. If ya ever need a hand, just say the word though." Sergio laughs with him, shaking his head at the compliment as he rediscovers his cupcake. "I hate being helpless," he admits in a wry tone, "But I'll try." He gestures with the treat, "So, you have telekinesis - I'm just asking being I'm obsessed with all this stuff - is your invisibility... is it just people? Do cameras miss you?" "I know the feeling," Jack murmurs. He shakes it off though, focusing on the rest of the questions. "Yeah...I can do the whole telekinesis thing. I'm not that good with it though," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "Like if I use it too much...I'll pass out," he admits. "And yeah...cameras miss me. Apparently infrared stuff misses me too." Sergio continues to regard Jack, narrowing his eyes through his smile as if trying to see what infrared and everyone else can't. "Gotta hit the gym more, man," he shrugs, pressing his lips together and nodding along to his mock-advice. "How much can you lift? Have you met the girl with the green hair? She can pick people up and stuff, with vines. And there's a girl around here who can teleport stuff. /I think I overheard that she came from jail./ But I haven't met her, yet." "I try to hit it every morning," Jack remarks. "Be happy to see you down there sometime," he adds. "With my TK? Not really sure. I flipped a car over once but then I passed out," he replies. "And I think I met her. Liv, right?" "Yeah, her. She helped me back into my wheelchair the other day." "You flipped over a car?!" Sergio jolts, grabbing both armrests with excitement. He closes his eyes, both to process the information and to steady his mind after the quick movement. "That is awesome," he growls, behind clenched-shut eyes. Jack shifts a little sheepishly. "Yeah...I was trying to scare some trouble off and it turns out it worked pretty well," he says, watching the other. "It wasn't so awesome when I passed out though. Woke up in a pile of garbage." Sergio snorts, trying to subdue a laugh. His smile softens, though, "That's alright. I was asleep for so long once, my parents put me in a long term care facility." He shifts his eyes impishly, "I mean, it was really clean, though. It wasn't a pile garbage." He rolls forward, tossing the cupcake wrapping into the nearby garbage pail, "Feel like grabbing some dinner? I'm getting kind of hungry for real stuff." Jack chuckles. "Probably more comfortable than the garbage too," he remarks. "Sure, let's get something to eat. Wanna eat downstairs or head into town?" he asks. Sergio widens his eyes mischievously, "I mean, I meant downstairs. ...but I've never been to town before." His playfulness sinks after a moment's thought, "I probably shouldn't try. I'm not used to being in this stupid thing. I wouldn't even know where to start. It's the bulkiest thing on earth, y'know?" His eyebrows furrow as he runs his hands along the wheelchair's finer details. Jack offers an unseen nod. "It is probably an adjustment to get used to," he replies. "Well, when you're more used to it, we can hit the town. Maybe even head into New York," Jack offers. "But let's hit the cafeteria for now. Food here's always good." Sergio braces both hands against the wheels of his chair and glides forward, "Yeah, totally. That'd be awesome." He arches an eyebrow, peeking over his shoulder, "My next resort was going to be going there without my body at all." He hesitates, awkwardly not knowing if Jack would want to clear the doorway first, or if the bulky chair should go first. Eventually, he rolls through the threshold. "Not sure if that'd be as fun but if it gets you there," Jack replies. He waits for Sergio to go first, following soon after.