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Maximus has been waiting for a phone call to tell him when the green-haired girl would be in the town, and he received it from the gas station in Westchester, heading there in a hired car, so that after an hour, he's also in Westchester and following the trail of the green-haired girl.
*
Lorna had taken the day to get away from her father and the students at the Xavier Institute. She loved her father, truly, but the green haired mutant was a teenager with more interest in going to local hangouts than staying in. A huff of a breath followed as she pushed her hair back from her features, exploring Westchester proper with a curious glance at the cafe across the street. The main street was smaller than the city, and was quite frankly, adorable to Lorna's minds eye.
She didn't notice the car slowing down behind her, merely, enjoying the warm spring weather and the sun high above.
*
Maximus simply gets out of the car, and makes a gesture for it to go park somewhere, while he comes up along the sidewalk to catch up to her. Once he's close enough, he purrs out her name, "Loooorna…what a surprise to find you here." He totally lies.
*
The magnokinetic jumped as Maximus came up behind her, disturbing her thoughts and making her shriek briefly. Her hands clapped over her lips as she whirled around and a flush of embarrassment crossed her her cheeks. "Oh!" She bit her lower lip, her eyebrows lifting upwards in surprise.
"Uhm, ah, Maximus.. Uh, how are you?" She mumbled, biting her lower lip as she pushed her hair back from her feautres.
*
Maximus reaches out to try to curl his arm around hers. "We should talk. There is something I must know." And he tries to just…bulldoze her into the nearest cafe, with his confident manner.
*
A blink, and Lorna tensed as he guided her toward the cafe on their right. Her brows rising as she glanced side long in his direction. "W-what?" She bit her lower lip, but went along with him inside. The bell above the door chimed and she glanced around the otherwise slow and mostly empty cafe. A waitress smiled at them, patiently waiting to see if they'd approach and order anything.
"Talk about er.. what?"
*
Maximus points to a table. "Sit down, I will get us something." And so he does, just some dessert items, a bit of pie, a couple scones, things to pick at. Then he returns to the table and settles down. "I want to talk to you about this…act…you have going, my dear. It seems to work rather well at entrancing the gentlemen and…I am just curious how you are doing it."
*
Lorna waited, tapping her fingers against the table top as she waited for him to come over. A shift on the vinyl seat followed, and she glanced around, smoothing the front of her shirt down and fixing her skirts. By the time he came back, her brow was furrowed and her confusion deepened. "Wait, what? Act? Huh? I-I don't get it. I'm sorry? I uh, kinda lost what you mean Maximus?"
A green eyed glance followed and she reached over to pick at a scone.
*
Maximus leans an elbow on the table. "This /shy/ thing, you do. The lip biting. The hiding behind people. I have heard that more than /one/ man has been entranced by it, and simply…I want to know your secret. You can be honest with me…" He pops a bite of pie into his mouth and looks at her with lidded, steel eyes.
*
A long silence followed as she openly gaped at Maximus. "Uhm… it's not an act." She mumbled, turning her gaze away abruptly and poking at the scone. Her cheeks turning hot as she turned over his words.
"I honestly am pretty uncomfortable most of the time interacting with people about certain things.." She bit her lower lip, and then caught herself, glancing sharply at him from beneath her fridge of green hair.
"Honest."
*
Maximus knits his brows. "Then how come you have them falling over your feet…and I have no one? It is obviously working…perhaps I simply need to observe you enchant people and…imitate it myself." Sounds like a good plan, right? Faking social awkwardness.
*
Another stunned look followed and Lorna flattened her hands against the table, "Uhm, I don't think it's my being shy.." She mumbled, her eyebrows lurching upwards. "And no one is falling at my feet? Julian asked me to go out, err.. I mean sorta took me out." She scratched the bridge of her nose as she dropped her gaze back to the table between them.
"And Seth is a friend. That's all. I don't.. 'enchant' anyone.. I-I mean Julian is the first guy to take me on a date at all.. like ever.. So uhm.." She glanced toward Maximus, cheeks still hot.
"I'm really not the person you should ask about this.."
*
Maximus looks at the ceiling. "Very well. Keep your secret of your charm to yourself, while I waste away alone." Its like he's just not hearing her. Or maybe he is, and he's just trying to make her crazy. "Soooo…how /is/ that father of yours, anyway? Has he dumped my cousin for someone more…mutant-y?"
*
A wrinkle of her brow follows as he seemingly ignores her explanations and she huffs a breath of irritation but doesn't seem to have the energy to fight him on it beyond a soft denial. "Ugh, no. I don't have any charm.." She mumbled softly, threading her hands through her hair.
As the subject swiftly shifts to that of her father and his love life however she makes a face. "Uh, no? He's still going steady with Miss Crystal as far as I'm aware. Uhm.. Not that my father talks to me about his uhm, about that kinda of thing."
*
Maximus jams the rest of the pie in his mouth and then sighs, dramatic, looking at the green-haired woman that he cannot seem to stop bothering. "Why not? I mean…shouldn't he be involving you, if you are going to end up with a new step-mother? That seems…impolite to cut you out of things."
*
Lorna made a face, "Uhm, because I don't want to know? Like ew. He's my father. If he wants to go steady with Miss Crystal that's his business? Beyond that I mean.. I like her. So it's not an issue?" She squinted in Maximus' direction, frowning faintly.
"He's my father but it's not like he needs my permission or something. I mean, it's not like I need permission to date someone either." Though her father hadn't exactly been pleased to hear about Julian..
*
Maximus squints his steel eyes again, speaking with her rather comfortably, despite their past, "And just what do you see in that Julian? He seems very /aggressive/ to me. Though, maybe you are into that. I mean…not that I mind /some/ aggression, but I'd hate to have to worry about my paramour beating up all my friends. Do you want some lemonade?"
*
Lorna blushed furiously as she glanced up at him sharply, "Julian is not aggressive." She makes the word sound almost like a curse. "And why does everyone keep saying that? Gosh!" She pressed her hands against her features, shooting Maximus a glower.
"He's got a few issues with his powers and emotions, but geeze, so do a lot of other mutants. And he's kind, and funny and sweet and a perfect gentleman otherwise." That wasn't exactly true, but for the most part it could be considered to be..
A pause, as she glanced at Maximus as he switched gears just as quickly once more, leaving her stunned. "Uhm, ah.. s-sure?"
*
"Daaaarling, when a man's first reaction is to be threatening, then that's an aggression issue." Maximus waves his hand in the air a little. "But as long as he isn't aggressive towards you…then, if you like him, fine. But, you know…never put up with being smacked around." He purses his lips.
*
Lorna clapped her hands over her red features, "Oh. My. Gosh. I can't believe you're lecturing me like my father, or Wanda did over Julian having anger issues. You only met him like for five minutes. He's not that bad." He had blown up a club when her clone had melted, had destroyed his car in a fit of anger.. but Maximus couldn't know about those events, right?
"And it's not like I can't take care of myself. Gosh. Is being able to knock out buildings if I get upset not enough oomph to stop these sorts of warnings? Julian is a gentleman with me. Okay? And thank you for the concern. And I mean, he was just being over protective because I'd gone through a few things and there was trouble and everything. That's all."
*
"Yes…lets throw our powers around. How about this power…I am so much smarter than you, that I could calculate just how many innocent people you would kill with your building collapse. Destruction of a building is not an appropriate response to date violence." He pauses a moment to let that sink in, and then follows it up with, "Shoving a thimble up his ass and having it churn up his insides is much /much/ simpler." He waves his hand and gets them both some lemonade.
*
Lorna made a face, "I didn't mean that I'd take out a building on him! Geeze louise." She muttered, folding her arms. As Maximus continued however, she looked aghast. Her eyebrows shot upwards and her eyes widened, her hands leaping up to cover her mouth.
Even as he got them both lemonade, she remained rather shocked for a long moment as she eyed him. "That's gross." She offered lamely.
*
"Yes…it is gross, but also highly efficient. It is not exactly as if the spleen has a lot of heavy defenses." Maximus winks. "Something to /consider/.Probably…don't tell your father about that one though. He is far more likely to /use it/." Maximus picks up his lemonade and sips it elegantly. "You know, you really should date /me/. If you did that, then anyone you dated after would be approved."
*
Lorna picked up the lemonade, wrinkling her nose slightly as Maximus continues to speak. She sipped at it, just in time for him to suggest dating him. She inhaled wrong, and promptly started coughing, bending double as she coughed and hacked against the drink that went down her windpipe. She turned red from something other than a blush and clapped her hand against her chest.
Breathing hard, she straightened glancing at him. "I'm sorry, what? I-I-" She coughed again, eyes watering. "I heard you wrong?"
*
Maximus makes a face at her. "I'm not saying seriously. As a play. A move. Like a child asking for a pet snake when the /endgame/ is a hamster."
*
Lorna made a face, rubbing at her eyes and taking another, cautious sip of her lemonade. "Uhm, no offense.. but you're like my father's age. And like that's really weird." She offered, her brows pinched as she attempted to keep the grimace from her lips.
"And uhm, no one would believe it. At all. Like seriously."
*
"I'll just start telling people and see how fast that spreads." Now Maximus smiles with a snarky mischievousness. He wiggles his fingers, eyes twinkling as he prepares to watch the horror play out on her face.
*
The horro most assuredly spread over her features and she sat up, her features paling as her mouth fell open and her eyes went wide. "What?! No! No, no, don't. Seriously. Julian and I are kinda.. I mean sorta. We go on dates. And my father— Oh my gosh. No. And Miss Crystal. No. Please don't."
She leaned forward, her lips pursed, her eyebrows pinched. "Seriously, that's just. No."
*
Maximus lets out a long chuckle of enjoyment. "Ahhh, you are so wonderful a plaything. Fear not." Maximus stands up. "I have no romantic interests in you. I should head back…I have an appointment with a banker."
*
Lorna huffed, crossing her arms, "Don't even fake it or pretend it or spread rumors." She pursed her lips together, and just as quickly her stand-offish, defensive attitude deflated.
"Please promise you won't?" Her voice was soft and had a pleading edge as she looked at him over the lemonade. "I really don't want to deal with that."
*
"I'm sure you will not have to." Maximus assures, straightening his white suit jacket. He does pay for the snacks and the drinks, and seems ready to leave her with them.