8211/All the Java

All the Java
Date of Scene:	07 July 2019
Location:	Fred's Diner, Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Rachel and Josh meet for coffee. Nothing weird happens.
Cast of Characters:	Elixir, Marvel Girl

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Elixir has posed:
Josh had managed to Rachel's number out of her after their talk in the backyard. Both without hitting on her or having his mind melted. Friends at Xavier's were hard to come by for him.

He texted her to ask if she wanted to join him at Fred's for coffee. Josh had already been there half the afternoon studying. He was a couple of cups of coffee in, but there was always room for more.

Right now he is leaning back in the booth with his eyes closed.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel could also use some friends. So she's heard. Plus any excuse to leave campus is a good one, and the whole diner and coffee thing is still new enough that it's a little bit of a field trip for her.

She slides into the booth across from Josh, leaning over to pull the laminated menu from behind the napkin dispenser and look it over. "More pre-med stuff?" she asks as she looks over the menu, looking away long enough to peer over at the books.

Elixir has posed:
"Ugh," Josh grunts without opening his eyes. "Studying anatomy is way less interesting than it sounds."

"How're doing? Survive the party?" Josh asks, opening his eyes and sitting up.

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Yeah, it doesn't actually sound interesting," Rachel points out with dry amusement, pausing as the waitress comes over to put in an order for coffee and banana french toast.

"Party was...nice," she admits. "Less awkward than the last one. Seems to be a pattern. Each one's a little less weird." She folds her arms on the table, leaning on them a bit. "You were in and out pretty quick though."

Elixir has posed:
"I'm still not used to them. They're way weirder than the parties on campus. It's just booze at those parties, no ice slides."

Josh orders more coffee and a BLT.

"Hmm? Yeah, Xavier parties aren't really my thing. I mean, I'm on the team and all, but I'm not exactly popular. I just do my thing and go. 'sides, I had someone to catch up with. How late were you there?"

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Pretty late. There were fireworks." Rachel slips the menu back into its space behind the napkin holder, propping her chin up on one hand. "But it was nice. Hadn't seen actual fireworks in a long time. Everyone was happy. I don't have a lot of memories like that."

She peers over at the textbook, then back up at him. "I mean, maybe a little exhausting, too," she admits, wrinkling her nose. "Other students. I really...have a limited patience for other students."

Elixir has posed:
Josh folds up his textbook and stacks his tablet on top of it. He pushes them aside.

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't," he says and tilts his head. "Let me guess, the other students are a little too sheltered?"

Marvel Girl has posed:
"A little too self-confident for the level of sheltered," Rachel admits, wiggling her hand from side to side. "And really focused on thing that are not the biggest deals in the big picture." She scrubs her hand over her face, then lets it fall back to the table. "Mostly I'm just saying there's a lot of self-control involved in not being a total jerk."

Elixir has posed:
Josh barks a laugh at that, and the usual 1000-watt grin is more wry than sparkling.

"You mean, Gwen dating Lisa but not Dean, what's in the mall this week and finding a grad date aren't the most important things in the world?"

"You're harsh, Rachel. It's not like people are suffering and dying out there while we eat cake."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"And wow, hey, you're cute, wanna be..." Rachel makes a face, then turns her hands into sock puppets and making kissy faces with them. "I can't do the schmoopy face thing, Josh. I really can't. But you know what sucks about being an empath?"

She pauses as the waitress comes back with coffees, waiting until she's gone to take a sip. "You feel it. Their sweet, little, innocent hopes getting crushed. So it's like either you crush their hopes now, or else you avoid it because you don't want to hurt them and you make yourself miserable and then you //still// crush them."

Elixir has posed:
Josh Foley says, "Yeah, I can't picture you going all giggly either... Well that's why you need to hang out with the /not/ innocent ones," he jokes, but half-heartedly. "I dunno how you manage. I'd gag. A lot. But it's not your fault. Life's going to get them eventually. It's just a matter of time.""

Marvel Girl has posed:
"I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd like life not to have to get them?" Rachel grimaces, taking another sip before she shrugs. "But I don't think that's likely to happen, so."

She ruffles a hand over her head, then goes to poke around in the sugar and creamer, more out of curiosity than anything else. "Anyhow. Party was still nice. I think you're on the right track with the not innocent ones," she smirks. "Just have to pin a few down."

Elixir has posed:
Josh makes a show of looking worried.

"As a not completely innocent one, hearing that from a tk is frightening," he jokes. "But hey, they're not all bad. I used to know a lot people who never had to leave that bubble. Scott would probably say we're making the world safe so they don't have. Or some other catchphrase crap.

Josh grins in thanks to the server when their food is brought.

"There's a serious guy. Hang out with. He's /all/ business."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Yeah, that's..." Rachel smiles faintly, rueful. "Yeah, that's all true. And don't get me wrong, for field work? Yeah, I'll work with Scott any time. He's all business, all right. I'm just trying not to be that person."

She drinks again, thoughtful, then shrugs before leaning back to make room for the food. "So. How do you balance it?" she asks, starting to cut into the french toast. "What's your trick?"

Elixir has posed:
"I dunno," Josh says with a shrug. "I'm in class, at work, studying or hanging out with some people I met in my classes. Missions. Dunno if I balance anything."

Josh leans back and grins a bit. "So if you're not trying to be like Scott, who're you trying to be?"

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Preferably someone whose entire life isn't...you know. The mission." Rachel promptly drowns her french toast in syrup, then starts to cut it up. "Besides, I've been told I should focus on being me. Whoever the hell that is," she adds, shrugging.

She takes a bite, chewing pensively. "I guess that's another think to figure out. But I feel like that one's going to take a little bit more time."

Elixir has posed:
"I guess, you're not exactly where you made as much sense. But it's sort of a blessing. Things aren't as bad here. You can relax, try things. Okay, so here's a question. You win $500 million. You can do anything with your life. What do you do?" he asks curiously.

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Pretty much exactly where I am," Rachel answers around a mouthful of french toast. "Clueless as to what the hell I'm doing. Punching giant killer robots with my brain. I mean, the only thing I know how to do is hunt down mutants. And fight. So. X-Man is kind of all I've got going on."

She washes down her french toast with some coffee. "See, the thing about money is that having all of it is pretty much the same as having none of it when you're not really used to getting any."

Elixir has posed:
Josh considers Rachel for a moment.

"I got it. I've got hours I have to log on the jet. We're going on a trip. You really haven't seen much of the world beyond missions, right? We can be in Paris in two hours in that thing. Spain. China. You need to see things. Get a feel for this world, you know?" Josh says. He really is trying to do something for Rachel, without trying to get anywhere with her. Despite the jokes, that kind of attention for him seems to have focused on someone specific. "You need some good memories. /And/, you could just be you," he says with a vague gesture to her face. It wouldn't mean anything to anyone, and you wouldn't see any of those people again."

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel quirks a brow, taking another bite. "I don't...hide these for other people," she says, gesturing toward her face with the back of her fork. "I mean, not because- It's complicated?" More syrup. Clearly that's the problem. "I mean, no one here knows what it means either," she waves around the diner. "But screw them if I'm going to walk around looking like their slave, even if no one knows what it means."

She chews on her food for a few moments as she mulls the rest of it over. "I dunno. Maybe. I'll put it on the maybe list. Thanks, though. For offering."

Elixir has posed:
"Yeah, no worries," he says with a thoughtful nod. "You're a way harder read than I figured when I saw you at Evolution. Really sorry about that. I wouldn't have been talking about your pants if I kind of knew, or knew about you and Sam."

"But if you ever wanna just bounce something off someone, I can actually keep my mouth shut and listen," he says. "Since you passed up sleeping on my couch.... Laura and Hisako... I give that a week before I get called."

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel whistles low at the reminder of the other students. "Yeah. That was, uh. Well. You know, I tried, so if someone ends up dead, not it." She smirks faintly, shaking her head. "No, it's cool. I get it. I'm not exactly the most open person there is. And the fun part of not having a damn clue who you are is that it's hard for someone to cut to what you don't even know yourself," she points out.

Another bite, another sip, then she pauses mid-chew, looking up with a quirk of her brow. "What about me and Sam?"

Elixir has posed:
"You got a point there," Josh agrees with a grin. The grin freezes in place. "Ah... Sam said he asked you out, I just figured..."

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel's lips twitch ever so slightly as he freezes. "Easy there, Foley," she teases. "No one's burning your brains out just yet. No, it's cool." She shakes her head. "There was a little bit, things were...Remember what I said earlier about crushing people?"

She uses some of the last of the toast to soak up more of the puddle of syrup left on her plate. "Sam's good people. I'm definitely not. That...wasn't going anywhere good for him, you know?"

Elixir has posed:
Josh grins, a touch relieved as well. He frowns though.

"But like, how do you know? If you don't let it run it's course. Don't get me wrong, keeping you free from Sam is just good news for the rest of us, and I'm /obviously/ first in line. But..."

Josh pauses. "How do you know it wasn't gonna work out. Or be good for a bit? I'm straight up a piece of shit to half the school, and I dunno that they're wrong. But I don't have to be alone."

Josh shrugs. "Just seems like it kinda cuts you off from everyone, except like, not good people."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Maybe I like not good people." Rachel pushes her plate aside, then starts to pour some cream and sugar into her coffee, enough to top off the cup. The habit of someone who's not used to having enough of things.

"I wasn't feeling it. I don't know that I know what feeling it is //like//," she adds with a tip of her head, "But that wasn't really it. And if I'm being completely honest, it kind of felt like I was using him. Using him as an emotional crutch, using him to help me feel normal. And that's not right."

Elixir has posed:
"Careful, that's something a good person would say," Josh quips with a wink. "Ah well, if it ever hits you, you'll know it."

Josh glances around the diner, notices some of the others there. "You ever wonder what it's like for them?" he asks Rachel.

"Just like, normal people? I love NYU cause like everyone there is mostly normal, and has normal problems. Way I used to be. So if I really don't think about it, I kinda feel normal again. Except I don't quite, so I feel kinda like a poser and half the time when I come home one of my neighbours' kids has got like, a fever, or someone just found out they got cancer, or whatever. Then it's not so normal."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Yeah, but you can do something about it," Rachel points out. "You can fix that. And no," she sighs, looking around. "No, I don't wonder what it's like." She taps a finger at her temple. "It's pushing on my brain all the time, honestly. Normal. The good news is, no one's 'normal," she says, making air quotes with her fingers. "Even these people."

"Everyone's got something going on that makes them different. Most people are just easier to hide it with than, you know. Having gills and green scales."