Owner	Pose
Jay Guthrie	The last year had gone by like a whirlwind. It was their senior year and it seemed the world went into fast forward. Every moment, ever dance, every celebration, was the last they would be having in this place. Tomorrow was the big day and then their futures beckoned. Each had a different calling. Some would remain for college classes here. Others would move on to other schools. Then there was Jay. He had opted not to apply for colleges, a move his guidance counselor had been quite frustrated by. The idea he was going to not partake of higher education and instead pursue a career in music was insanity. It was the choice he had made. He was sticking by it. He headed down the hall, giving a knock on his best friend's door. Well, more than a best friend. But she filled thar role as well.
Andrea	There are so many boxes stacked around the room, all tagged with something that says: Books. Clothes. Undies :). Blankets. Stuff. Andrea has a large number of shopping bags strewn out on the bed. There is several high end names such as Oscar De La Renta and Bottega Veneta. There is also a couple AE bags as well. Beautiful clothes of Italian quality is seen as well. Perhaps she picked out a graduation outfit or three. She's dressed casually in a pair of form fitting jeans and a baggy NYU sweater. Now that she is accepted into college, she may as well start looking the part. Her yearbook is on the desk, filled with signatures from nearly every student, and her phone is filled with their phone numbers, pictures and memories. The knocking on the door causes her to look over, then calls over. "Come on in!" She sounds upbeat and cheerful. Most likely due to a belly full of lasagne from The Dove that she went to earlier with Jean and Alexis.
Jay Guthrie	At her approving call, Jay opens the door and steps into the room. He leaves the door open as he moves a few feet in before stopping and looking around at all the bags. They draw his eye even before the boxes. The name brands? Designers? He has no idea so that doesn't really matter. It is the sheer number of bags. "I would think you would want less to pack, not more. What prompted the shopping spree?" he asks with a chuckle.
Andrea	"I am going to donate most of my current clothes to the charity here for incoming students that may not have had the same luxuries of a good home as most of us. That way the school doesn't have to pay for more clothes, at least for girls. I wanted to start my tour of college with a fresh start. New me! So, with that, new clothes. I can't walk on campus dressed like a highschooler." Taking a seat on the bed, she lifts her chin up to the red winged Guthrie, giving him a grin. "So, are you excited about tomorrow? Going to graduate. Walk down the aisle with our robes on. Hear our parents embarrass us with loud screaming and hollering. Especially yours. Not mine."
Jay Guthrie	"Oh yeah, wouldn't want to look like a high schooler. On your first day. As a freshman," Jay teases as he walks the rest of the way in the room, plopping down on the bed next to her. He picked up a bag and started to poke through it until he saw something he didn't need to be seeing and he quickly put it aside. "You meant everything had to be new, huh?" He considers. "Ma and all the littles are here. It's going to be insane. Not sure others will be heard over the din." He grins again. "Obviously I'm looking forward to it. We worked hard to get here. We deserve some hootin' and hollerin'."
Andrea	"You can look, Jay. Maybe give me your opinion on it." Andrea says with an amused smile along her face. "You know .. let me know if it's /too/ see through." She teases as she winks at him. "I mean, I'm not going to wear highschooler undies when I'm dating college boys." She has quite a look on her face. Smug. She knows just what buttons to press when it comes to him. "I guess I'm looking forward to it also, but I'm going to miss this crazy place. All my new friends. The memories. Getting beat up in the DR. Jean told me I'm welcome back anytime I want to visit and pretty much said a faculty position is waiting for me when I'm ready." "So, it's good to feel the love. Oh! I got my magna cum laude tassles for my robe the other day. What a struggle bus trying to get my GPA above that three-eight at the last minute." As she leans in to bump his shoulder, she says, "So, are you sure you aren't going to college? It's going to be weird .. you know .. not seeing you around. You could come with me."
Jay Guthrie	When she hints about the see through, there is a little bit of a blush in his cheeks. She does know how to push his buttons. She adds to it by mentioning dating college boys. He looks away, eyes going to one of her guitars not far away. Not because he wants to see it but because he needs to be diverting his gaze for now. At her question, he shakes his head. "Too late now even if I wanted to. My plan is to just pursue my music. Sam will let me continue to work at his club and my band can do gigs there from time to time. Try some other places. Maybe even head to the big city and see what we can do there. But...I'll miss seeing you. You have to promise to keep in touch."
Andrea	"It's not too late to go to college, Jay." Andrea says with a furrow of her brow. "You can do both. You can go to college, you can play your music, you can work at the club part-time on the weekends. Jay, you're so smart and you have a chance of helping your family out more if you do go to college and graduate. What about pursuing music 'at' school?" "Would that make things easier for you if that happened?" Giving a long stretch of her body, she shifts herself around and reaches to her backpack on the ground, pulling it upwards into her lap as she fishes through it. "I want to see you be set up to succeed for the rest of your life, not just for right now, Jay. You're my best friend and it's really important for me." Out of her backpack she pulls out a sleek, glossy black envelope that says: Starlight, written across it in silver caligraphy.
Jay Guthrie	"I mean I suppose that's an idea. It likely would give me more money to send home to help Ma. But I haven't applied anywhere. Haven't checked into financial aid and scholarships. I can probably try in a year. Or six months. See what works out there." Jay shrugs at all her compliments then looks confused as she pulls out the envelope. "Starlight? That's your group, right?"
Andrea	Brushing her fingers over the glossy envelope, Andrea nods her head. "Yeah. This is my charity. Every year I sponsor a number of mutants who apply through Starlight for a chance at a scholarship. Full rides too for the most part. I put a portion of my tour and ticket sales into it, because I really believe how important it is to give back to those who support me and you know nothing is more important to me than our people being set up to succeed." Slowly, she passes the envelope to him and turns it over, revealing his name upon it. "Jay Guthrie. You have been selected as an honoree of the Starlight House scholastic scholarship rewards. Inside is a list of colleges that are ready to interview you, along with counselor's contact information. The total value of this scholarship is seventy-five thousand, which should cover at least three years of most major universities as long as you don't live on campus." Her foot taps lightly on the ground nervously with her sneaker. Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap. "I wanted to give this to you after graduation, but .. I figure .. now is as good a time as any."
Jay Guthrie	Jay stares at the envelope as she offers it. It takes a few seconds before he takes it but he doesn't open it, just let's her explain. Then that frown appears. "Andrea. I...I can't accept this. There are so many mutants who probably applied for these. To give one to me. It isn't right. I mean, I appreciate it...just..." He sits for a moment, staring at the envelope then running his fingers over his name on it. "I didn't really think it was possible. My grades aren't that good to get things like this." He swallows hard, continuing to stare at it.
Andrea	"I /personally/ select one mutant in need after all the other scholarships are handed out for me to give to whoever I want." Andrea says. "My team handed out fifty of these this year. It's fine. Really." She says in an assuring voice. "You have passing grades and because you want to go on a career of music, you don't need to have the highest scores. It's your skill that will get you through life, not how you did in history or chemistry." She folds her hands into her lap, watching him out the corner of her eye. "Are you really going to be stubborn about this and force me to be dramatic Alpha Andrea, or can you just for once take the W and be happy?"
Jay Guthrie	Jay opens the envelope, glancing in and finding that list of colleges. He pulls it out and glances over it then chuckles at her threat. "I dunno. Alpha Andrea is pretty hot. All growly and grumpy and bossy." He nudges her with his elbow, finally turning to focus on her. "I guess...the answer is thank you. I appreciate this more than you will know. I just need to get the interviews scheduled, see what I can do. I even know who I'm calling first." He glanced to her shirt then to the name on the list she had supplied.
Andrea	Rolling her eyes upwards, Andrea says, "Yes, Alpha Andrea is pretty hot." She says as she shifts about to put her backpack down on the ground, nudging it to the side with her foot. "I also put Hawaii on that list." She says as she spies him glancing at her sweater, then back to the list again. "Berkley too. A real hippy dippy college. They love mutants over there. Handsome guy with rooster wings and a guitar would fit in really well over there by the way. You can sit in a circle, smoke some week, chant about love and peace." "I don't know why you'd want to go to NYU. Cold. Snow."
Jay Guthrie	"Hawaii huh? I may have to look over this list more," Jay says as he looks carefully at the paper. "I mean sun and surf. Not that I know how to surf. Girls in bikinis on the beach all the time. Can't be bad. Although, tsunamis wouldn't be fun. So maybe not." He makes a face at Berkley. "Not a fan of weed. Being there I would just be one in the crowd. I like standing out. I mean there are probably dozens of winged musicians. I might have the only red ones but still. Not a good choice either." He makes a hmmm noise and continues. "At least at NYU there is someone I'd know to talk to. Not all strangers. And if I'm lucky, she might help keep me warm. Or I can do that for her." One of is wings unfolds a bit then slides around her.
Andrea	"Keep you warm?" Andrea says as she feels the wing wrap around her. "That sounds dangerously close to flirting, Jay." Despite that, she curls an arm around behind him, hooking it around his waist. She leans in, placing her head against his shoulder. "And if I'm going out with college boys, I don't know if they'd want my /best friend/ to be even playfully flirting with me." Her lips give a small tug upwards into a grin. "Who knows, maybe one day you'll be ready to move on and you'll find this really cute musician in one of your classes and you two can write doofy love songs."
Jay Guthrie	"Y'think?" Jay asks curiously, glancing down at her. "I mean that would be nice. To write doofy love songs with someone. Sing them. Make puppy dog eyes at each other." Then he smirks, reaching down a hand to touch her chin, to tilt her head up so she will look at him. "I know someone who is a master at puppy dog eyes. And writes doofy love songs already. Only, she's not really cute." He smiles softly. "She's breathtakingly beautiful."
Andrea	Feeling her heart leap into her chest, Andrea's smile falters as her eyes stare into his. She bites her bottom lip for a moment, then says in a raspy voice. ".. Jay, don't mess with me. I pined for you my entire senior year. I turned down a lot of suitors and three prom dates waiting on you." She looks nervous now, anxious as her playful antics drops away. She just isn't sure if he's just teasing or not. "I feel like a worm on a hook with you. Just dangling, waiting, but not knowing if I'm going to be casted into the ocean or swallowed up by you."
Jay Guthrie	To answer that, Jay leans in closer. Slowly. Taking his time as he makes it quite clear he intends to kiss her. If she allows, it is soft, tender. Then slowly deepens into something with more emotion behind it, letting her feel the things he has never stated outloud. Finally he draws back, giving soft kisses along her cheek and jawline then back enough to look her in the eyes. "I can't imagine not seeing you every day. You've managed to find a heart I thought was no longer there and claimed it as your own. I don't think I can lose it again and survive. So, if the school will have me, I want to go to school with you, to stay close with you and explore where this might go." He kisses the tip of her nose and smiles. "Andrea, I love you."
Andrea	When he leans in, Andrea finds her courage once more. When their lips meet, she leans in, brushing a hand around his neck as the other settles against his chest. She kisses him back, letting out a low, hungry noise in her throat once it deepens between them. He'll find that she's an excellent kisser, confident and sure of herself. When their mouths part, she tilts her chin upwards, exposing the curve of her neck and jaw to him as she lets out a soft sigh, fingers curling into his shirt. "I love you too, Jay. I've been in love with you since the moment my eyes laid on you." She brushes her other hand now around his neck, holding him, cradling him. "I want you to go to school with me. I'll help you get in. We'll be successful together." Her lips twitch, then she leans forward with a growl, pinning him down as she gives him another kiss. "You took way too long with this!" She says, staring down at him, nose to nose.