Owner	Pose
Dazzler	Somewhere around 4:30 PM, Scott received a text. It was cheerful enough, containing a short video clip of Alison, playing her guitar and singing with a small group of people gathered around her, singing along. They appear to be of every color and size, and their voices are as diverse as their appearance. The text reads, "Impromptu concert at the Woolworth Lunch Counter Protest. Wanna come? I'll be here all evening! XOXO"
Scott Summers	Scott smiles when he gets the message and checks reflexively to be sure nobody in the hallway noticed. <Give me an hour or so. Bring you a bite?> He detours for his room instead of the X-Men Base.
Dazzler	"Sure thing!" reads the next text. "Bring us something and I'll knock off for dinner with you. I don't care what you bring as long as there's a strawberry milkshake in there somewhere. <3 See ya soon, Baby!"
Scott Summers	Scott shakes his head with a bit of a smirk when he reads the text message. "Strawberry milkshake?" he says to himself. "What am I into?" Soon enough he is on the road in a black 1970 Dodge Charger. He stops at Mooyah, close to the protest, only because he knows they have good milkshakes. Milkshake, burgers and fries in hand, he is back on the road. He taps a finger on the steering wheel in time with the oldies rock playing on the radio. Before long, he has parked and goes in search of Alison.
Dazzler	Alison can be found easily enough. Outside the store, there are mutants gathered here and there, of all types. Alison, for her part, is positively glowing, as she stands at a microphone, singing. No. She is /actually/ glowing, with a brilliant light all around her that wavers from white to blue to pink, like a star twinkling at night. "War, huh, yeah! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin'!" She is strumming her acoustic guitar as she sings, and several are up on their feet singing with her. One teenaged boy, blue, with scales, gives Scott a little hassle about crossing their picket line. "He's with me!" Alison calls out, as the song is winding down, and she announces a twenty minute break, running to Scott to plant a big kiss on his cheek. She's barefoot, dressed in a too-short green dress with lace and pink paisleys.
Scott Summers	Scott gives the teenager a shrug, and slides past him inside. Black jeans, a white NYCFC jersey and dark cross-trainers, Scott looks like just another guy. With expensive rose coloured lenses. Though it does not show, Scott rolls his eyes good naturedly at Alison's display and colours a little. "You look great, and sound better," Scott says with a small half-grin. Then his nose wrinkles just a little. "Strawberry? Really? What's wrong with chocolate?"
Dazzler	Alison throws her arms around Scott and hugs him tightly, but relents nce she has her shake. "I had chocolate a few days ago," she says, with a judge. "Thaaank you for bringing somethin'. I was afraid I might starve! How's your day, Sexy?"
Scott Summers	Scott does his best to hug Alison back with his hands full. He is a bit awkward about it with all the people around. "You're trying to make me turn red, aren't you," Scott says dryly. "No problem," he says when she lets him go. "Didn't know what you like. Hawaiian burger or barbecue cheeseburger?" he asks, raising each bag in turn. "Things are looking up," he adds. "How's it going here?" Scott looks around finally.
Dazzler	"Mmm....I'll try Hawaiian? But maybe we'll halve em both and split em!" Dazzler looks around, her glow and shine fading away as the two find a quiet place to eat and talk. "It's been fantastic, here. No sign of sentinels. No riots. Just a great crowd and a fantastic cause," she replies to Scott, beaming. "How's your day?" she asks, sipping her shake as they sit down at a fairly private booth.
Scott Summers	"Decisive," Scott jokes and settles in with Alison. "They do look like they're having a good time. Nice to know we can still do this despite everything." "My day was fine, really," Scott assures, but with a bit of a frown. "Nothing we need to go into here. "Where do these people come from? They just hear about the protest and show up?"
Dazzler	"Really, I don't know!" Alison looks around at the others. That family over there, they are from Upstate," Alison explains. "And the two families at the back are from Virginia, up on vacation. The largest group seems to be one group of friends and acquaintances from Manhattan. They sort of plan out these protests and set 'em up. I got tagged in a social media post announcing this one, so...I decided why not? And here I am!" She smiles at Scott, but there's a hint of concern at his expression. Whatever it is, she is sure she'll find out later.
Scott Summers	"Huh," Scott says and tries the fries. "These are good at least." "Bet you blew their minds showing up out of nowhere. And in that dress," Scott says with a slight grin. "Were you in the base today? Betsy saw a picture of us in the paper from Luna Park. You see that one? She left a note. They haven't cornered me yet but it's coming." Scott shakes his head and chuckles. He has a few more fries. "Such a pain in my ass," he grins.
Dazzler	"Oh...Oh." It's sinking in on Alison. "Yeah...Oh God, well...That wasn't how things were supposed to go," she says with a deep sigh. "God, this was supposed to go more smoothly," she observes. "Well it doesn't matter...we can only do what we can do." Which seems SO helpful right now.
Scott Summers	"Yep," he agrees and continues with his dry sense of humour. "I didn't know you had media stalkers. No crazy fan or ex-boyfriend stalkers I should know about are there?" "Is that burger alright?" Scott asks of her untouched food.
Dazzler	Alison considers, as she takes a big bite of her burger and chews it slowly. Then she shakes her head. "I..I don't think I have any stalkers out there," she says, finally. "I mean I can't even remember the last time I dated someone. So mean..." But that doesn't fix the matter at hand. Scott has been called on the carpet for her own indiscretion. "I'll take the rap for this, Scott. You just have to tell them I ambushed you with it. You were right, this was utterly insane for us to even consider. I won't let you get kicked off the team over this. I'll...I'll go to them right now and tell them. Confess for what I did and tell them you tried to stop it, but I wouldn't listen. I'll take care of it all, Scott." She is already rising and starting to gather her things - her guitar strap, her keys. Her milkshake. She has no time to lose.
Scott Summers	Scott is caught mid-mouthful as Alison gets up. He catches her hand. "Whoa, hey, slow down... Ali. It'll be okay," he says. "Nobody's getting kicked off the team. Come on, sit down, eat, talk it through with me. Please?"
Dazzler	Alison blinks, watching Scott for a moment. Her eyes, however, betray her still-racing thoughts. Alison isn't here, and she won't be until the rest of her catches up to her brain. Tentatively, Scott manages to coax her back down into her seat. "Okay...Talk about what?"
Scott Summers	"What we're going to do," he says with a bit of a smile. "This is what was going to happen. The fact they saw something in the paper isn't a big deal." "If it's a one time thing, I tell them about the cover thing and take the flack. They don't need to know the rest. I have big shoulders and it will blow over," Scott says with a shrug. "If that's what you want. Or we tell them what we talked about and you step back a bit. Either way, you don't have to do anything right now. Except what you were doing here." Scott eats another of his fries. "You just need to be sure what you want. I can't make promises. It might go a week, or a month, or a year. We don't know," he says. "I'll understand either way."
Dazzler	Alison watches Scott, beginning to calm down as he talks her down. His level-headed demeanor brings her down a necessary level or two. Or four. "Well, there's no question what I want, or how long I want it for." She smiles warmly. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."
Scott Summers	Scott actually smiles. "Then don't worry about it. Have your burger. Enjoy your disgusting milkshake," he jokes. "Put in your resignation, I'll explain. And we'll take things where they go. Alright? It'll be fine," Scott reaches across the table and offers Alison his hand.
Dazzler	It's a strange and beautiful change of pace, when Alison is the one going off half-cocked, and Scott is the one reining her in. She squeezes Scott's hand and looks up into his face, then nods. "All right. You're right." She takes a deep breath and exhales it slowly. "We're going to be just fine," she concurs, bolstered by Scott's courage.