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The Burger Stop is any run of the mill burger place found all over the country, especially out in the more rural areas. The seating is all outside and you order through one of those little holes, where you slide your money and they slide out the food. It's pretty late, after sunset now, as the group arrives to get something to eat.
Remy has a raised eyebrow as he scans the menu. "Y'all like onion rings?" He shrugs his shoulders, "Ole Remy love d'onion rings."
*
Lorna shifted, tugging the sleeves of her jean jacket up. It was warm, but as the sun was dipping lower it was clearly not going to stay all that warm. At least, not to her. She glanced over the menu and shrugged lightly, "I'm good with just about everything on here. I'd be down for fries or onion rings really." She mused, rocking her weight back onto her heels.
"I'm honestly just dying for a good burger though. So anything else is just extra at this point." She grinned, and combed her fingers through her hair.
*
For once, Jean decided to mingle with the plebs of the Institute.. kidding! She was bored, they were going out and so was she. Food was the idea, and since she hadn't eaten since the day previous, it was a good timing on their part that she'd go ahead and join with them. Speaking with her teeth clenched and gritted, she keeps the good side of her face shown, even though her hand covers up the bruise she spots and the nice shiner she gained from her solo heroics.
"Milkshake, onion rings.." She leans over, lifting upon the tips of her toes to look at the menu. "..something extra greasy. Like a burger. Dipped in grease with a grease spread on the bun. With a side of grease au jus."
*
"Aiight," Remy says, "Less go with a burger for de girl along wit de fries and a milkshake. For red, here, we will got with yo' greasiest burger wit rings and a shake. For ole Remy we gun go with de bacon cheese, rings, and a chocolate-strawberry malt. He pulls out a wad of cash and slides some money across the counter.
He gives an upwards nod to the picnic tables out on the concrete slab.
*
Lorna arched a brow as she glanced side long at Jean. "With an extra drizzle of grease on the side?" She offered, and moved toward the picnic table that Remy nodded to. Curiousity for what was up with Jean was fairly prominent with the green haired mutant. Clearly, she hadn't gotten much better about projecting every thought that came to mind. (There might've been a slight improvement but it was only considered slight.)
She slid onto a bench, smoothing down her skirt as she settled and propped her chin up with a hand as she waited for the food.
"This is nice though, to get off campus and just relax."
*
There was half a moment where Jean was going to reach into her dress pockets to pay for the entire meal, but she stops cold and gives a faint shrug of her shoulders. With the same assumption that Remy could carry the food, she follows Lorna off towards the bench as she too, slides in and fixes herself appropriately. "Yeah. It's starting to be all business now that Emma is there." Jean admits. "That's not a complaint or anything on my part, but .. I don't know. It's weird. But in a good kind of weird way."
*
Remy takes a seat next to Lorna and chuckles at Jean's comment. "Y'mean Emma puttin' down de law on y'all? Sh'ain't even talk to ole Rem at all. Mostly on account dat I tink I irritated her 'pon our firs' meetin." He shrugs his shoulders. He then, remembering something from an earlier conversation, winks at Jean. "Got mah key."
*
A blink and furrow of her eyebrow followed as she shifted in thought, "Well, Miss Frost did.. does? Run a business. It's what she's most comfortable with. I'm sure it'll take some getting used to.. but won't it be better in the long run to have more people to help out? I mean, the school isn't getting any smaller.." She murmured, and then glanced toward Remy.
"Key?"
*
Jean shakes her head completely. "No, she's actually not! But she's a type that.. kind of makes you want to do better even though you -really- don't have to. She used to be my therapist." Jean wrinkles her face a bit, then reaches out to lightly push Remy's shoulder. "Probably your accent. Sometimes, I'm tempted to read your mind just to figure out what you're saying. But it's growing on me." Though, the fact that Remy already has his key in such a short time is a good thing, the redhead gives him an approving nod and a hand in the air for a slap.
"Yeah, running a school is a business. And it will be great in the long run. Pretty soon, we'll have enough money to do a few expansions to the wings so that we can have a more lucrative room and board for the students." Key? What key? "Probably a key to the girls locker room, am I right?" E'huh-her.. Jean has a weird laugh.
*
"She dun know?" Remy asks with a raised eyebrow looking at Lorna. It seems that he disapproves. Especially given how much potential the young woman has. "Talk like ah talk. Remy alway say, if ya dun like talkin' t'Remy. Dun talk to Remy. Pretty fuckin' simple."
*
"A new wing would be great, hey, I bet I could help out with putting down the steel beams or nails and stuff!" A pause and Lorna considered, "If someone told me where to put them." A sheepish grin followed. "And yeah, I totally get it Jean. Miss Frost.. gosh. I just, I want her approval. I mean, even on little things. She's just so well put together.. I wish I had her confidence.." She mumbled, trailing off.
And then as Remy spoke, her expression dropped, her eyebrows furrowing as she glanced between the two. "Huh? I don't know what?"
*
"She might?" Jean answers Remy, and that's only because of who her father was, and who Charles was as default. Though, she winces at Remy's further remark, then gives a shake of her head. "I like the way you talk, it's interesting. Forces a person to really listen and pay attention. Bit suave too, if you ask me." Though, she considers Lorna for a moment, her own hand reaching up to rub at her sore chin for a moment, agreeing heartily with her words. "Careful what you wish for.." Quiet warning. Jean just may play a trick.
With a slight inhale, and a lift of her shoulders, she looks to the left and right, her nose wrinkling just a touch. "I'm not going to tell you. From where I'm sitting, that's Remy's secret now." That is, if he chooses to lead.
*
Remy looks defeated as Lorna expresses desire for Emma's approval. "Dahlin, you dun need no one's approval but y'own." He gives Jean a long look, chuckles and shakes his head. "Passin' de buck? Dun tell me Jean Grey is no coward. We'd ahl be disappointed."
*
A pout followed as Lorna swung her legs underneath the picnic table. "What? So mean Jean." She whined faintly, her brows pinched as she leaned forward. "Now I want to know even more. What is this, keep away?" She glanced toward Remy as he spoke and let her hands fall to drum against the table top.
"I know I don't need anyone's approval. But I would still like to have it. Miss Frost discovered me when I was busy hiding who I was. Without her?" She shook her head. "I wouldn't know anything about who I was, or that I had family.." Never mind that she would never have known she'd been adopted..
"And seriously, tell me? I'm really curious now!"
*
"Jean Grey isn't a coward. Jean Grey isn't a leader either. So there." Jean sticks out her tongue, then glances towards Lorna again, her head shaking. "Remy's right. It's good to want it, but at the end of the day, you don't need it. I think you're just grateful to her, is all."
Though, with a little bit of a huff and fuss, she gestures towards the food stand. "Whenever the food gets here, I'll spill. Since Remy's too shy to."
*
Ask and you shall receive. A plump waiter with a paper hat brings out a couple of trays with the food. "Merci, monsieur," Remy says with a nod and a wink. It seems that the kid, probably a high school student, feels slightly awkward about serving to mutants. LeBeau pays it no mind, though, just like he doesn't pay any mind to Jean's barbs. "Remeh always right," he adds absently.
*
A shrug followed, "I like Miss Frost, and yeah, I am grateful to her. I mean, she's the first person to train me. To try to make sure I got an education or anything? It matters to me. That she gave me a chance and helped me out. I don't need her approval, but I do want it. And I think I'm allowed to want someone that I respect's approval in general. I mean, I want the Professor to think I'm doing well. I want to make my father proud.. But it doesn't mean that I always do whatever they want. Trust me. I've gotten into more trouble than my father knows.."
And then there was food! Lorna grinned and offered a cheery thanks to the waiter, and quickly reached out to dig into her burger, milshake and fries.
"Remy is so very humble too. He's always right, better than an average lover and a great cook. Or so he claims." She teased.
*
Food! Jean offers a cheerily thank you as she turns even more in her seat to begin to dig in. A plastic knife was used to cut the burger into fours, separating them easily as she begins to chow down on her onion rings. "Mmhmm." She offers up towards Remy, but Lorna? She gets silence. Silence and a quiet smacking of her lips, as well as undivided attention. Up until the last part, which nearly made her spit out her food!
"What Remy is so afraid to tell you is that he's got the keys to the basement. The hidden basement which houses a training centre for what the Professor so lovingly calls the X-Men."
*
"Correction!" Remy says as he puts a finger in the air toward Lorna. "Remy is /not/ humble, is a great cook, and a wonderful lover. You was right about the always bein' right part, tho." As Jean goes into what he meant to say, Remy is calm and munches on his onion rings as if it's no big deal.
*
A laugh followed Remy's words as Lorna shot him a dry 'uh-huh' look over the top of her milkshake. And then her attention shifted back to Jean, "Oh. Is that all? My father mentioned that to me. He said that the Professor finally agreed to that, what a few months ago?" She tilted her head to the side.
"He mentioned something about the world needing the X-men." She shrugged and popped a fry into her mouth. He father hadn't involved her, though he had told her of them. And she'd been unable to ignore the mansion odd structure when she'd reached out with her senses. She'd known something was in the basement, but had never known for sure what.
Then she glanced back toward Remy, "I dunno, sounds pretty humble to me.." She drawled, teasing lightly in her tone.
*
"Den you must know some pretty arrogan' guys, chere," Remy says as he chews on an onion ring and turns a little bit to face her. "Mebbe you should start trainin' with your powers. Puttin' em t'good use. Savin' de world and all dat."
*
A blink and a shrug followed, "I'm teasing you, gosh." She offered and then, popping a fry into her mouth nodded after a moment's thought. "Well, yeah. I do. But it's hardly an issue. And thanks for paying for the food. I really needed to get off the campus for a while without getting into trouble."
A faint smile pulled at her lips as she dipped a fry into ketchup and then sipped at her milkshake. "That and the weather is just awesome."
*
"Ah know," Remy says with a chuckle. "No problem for de food, lil lady. Ah promised ahd take y'out and so I thought I better make good." He looks hurt, "Who says we ain't gettin' into no trouble?"
*
An arch of her brows followedd as Lorna eyed him from over her milkshake. "What, you call getting burgers, fries, and a milkshake trouble? I thought you were more of a tough guy type, Remy. This isn't even vaguely matching the definition of the word." She offered and nibbled on another french fry.
"Seriously, Westchester county is hardly what people list on a top one hundred for sketchy places in New York."
*
"Well, ah din know what you'd suggest, chere. Bein' a nice gal and all, I didn't want ta disappoint ya none," Remy replies with a grin. "Tell me yo' definition of de world." He pauses and looks out around the congregated, "Dunno chere. Out in de country people a lil mo' free wit admittin' dey dun like our kind."
*
A shrug, "I dunno, anything that my sister or father tells me not to do counts as trouble. Dealing with drunkards, that's trouble. Sneaking out of the house at night typically leads to trouble. Hanging out in the sketchy parts of the city does too. Hmm, I guess? But milkshakes and burgers are most definitely not trouble." She waved a fry as she spoke.
"And yeah, that's because people in the country are used to small towns that know everyone and everything about them. Strange things are even stranger to them. But at least in this area, there's a lot of rich folks that are used tp ignoring things that don't fit into their world view at least."
*
"Sa fair point," Remy says with a chuckle. He turns his attention from her back to his food. Because of his time in the city, the country has always felt sort of offputting to him. Not the Mansion, the mansion was great. It's the surrounding area that troubles him. Probably just less people to steal from. "So you din really answer my comment 'bout you continuing yo' trainin."
*
A glance was spared in his direction after a moment and she shrugged. "What else is there for me to do? I'm at my limits. My father keeps pushing me and I just can't seem to get further. Everyone just says I need to wait 'till I'm older. Apparently my powers are supposed to grow with age, or use or something. I don't know. That's just what the Professor and my father said." She huffed a breath.
"I practice every day, or really close to it. I really don't know what else I could do at this point. Only so many ways that I can lift a car, or practice trying to manipulate the ions on a nuclear level without being able to sense them.."
*
Remy nods, "Well, suit y'self." He doesn't seem the one to really push on things and isn't going to press. He goes back to his burger, thinking about something, and getting that far away look in his eye. "Tell me 'bout yo brotha."
*
A blink, and Lorna leaned forward. "What, were you offering to help me train some more? Cause if you've got ideas, I'm all for hearing them. I'm pretty out of ideas myself." She murmured, draining the rest of her milkshake in one go.
"And my brother? Pietro? Well.. hmm, he and Wanda are twins. One time he and Tommy, my nephew, played a prank on the local theater by switching out the movie titles to be really inappropriate things. Poor kid working on the letters got yelled at.. So they pant'sed the manager." A shrug. "But that's pretty typical."
*
"Well, ah ain't eva seen you work. So ah can't tell if ah could help or non. Just soundin' like anotha way ah could spend some time with ya," Remy says with a shrug. Remy laughs at the story she tells about Pietro and Tommy. "Dey sound pretty alright."
*
Another shrug followed, "Come on out with me next time I go to train. Who knows, mabye you'll see something I don't." She smiled, and reached for her fries.
"Tommy came from a pretty rough start. He was apparently in and out of juvee pretty frequently. His adoptive parents apparently weren't.. the best. Or his parents for this era. I dunno. It doesn't exactly make sense to me. But it's magic. So who knows. I'm honestly closer to Tommy than Pietro." She trailed off and turned her gaze to the rapidly darkening sky above in thought.
*
Harry Osborn arrives from Harlem <S>.
*
Harry Osborn has arrived.
*
Harry Osborn heads to Harlem <S>.
*
Harry Osborn has left.
*
"Soundin' like a fair deal, chere. Mebbe ah will do just dat," Remy replies with a smile as he finishes his burger. "Sound like yo bruddah have it tuff. Sure he woulda fit in mighty well with my crew down in Nawlins. Lot of us have stories like dat. What's he do now?"
*
A shrug, "Mmm, Tommy is my nephew. He had it pretty rough.. Pretty sure Pietro did too, but a different. He and Wanda are.. well they grew up together. So they're close." She paused, a furrow of her brow following.
"Actually, now that I think about it, twins run in my family. Tommy and Billy.. Pietro and Wanda.. Two generations." She mused lightly, tapping her fingers against the table top as she too finished her food.
"But as far as what Pietro is up to? I have no idea. He's got an apartment in the city, and that's all I know. We're not particularly close. The first time I met him was … well, he was under a curse. But he got better. He only checks in on me from time to time to see how I'm doing."
*
"Oh, sorry. Havin' a tough time keepin' de family straight, t'be honest." Remy nods, "Two generations, but you got out lucky and dere only be one of you." He chuckles a bit and shrugs his shoulders at the information about Pietro. "Prolly weird for both of ya t'be honest." Remy starts in on his shake.
*
A shrug followed, "Hey, they both are speedsters, both have white hair and both are pranksters that really don't care about the law. So yeah, they're pretty similar to be honest." She grinned and finished her burger after a few moments of silence. She spared a glance to the sky that had darkened enough for stars to start to peek out.
"Honestly, I sometimes wish I had a twin too. It must be nice to have someone always there for you. Annoying, sure.. but I envy how they always have each other's backs."
*
"Yeah, I spose dat'd be pretty nice t'have. F'me I dun wanna be confused fo' nobody else. Been in enough trouble dat I reckon dat ah'd be gettin' de twin in trouble too." He pauses, following her gaze up into the darkened sky. "Nice night."
*
Lorna leaned back from the picnic table, her chin propped up by a hand after rolling down the sleeves to her jacket. "Well, there are other kinds of twins besides identical.. less confusion that way." She offered up, her voice soft as she eyed the stars above.
"And yeah, it's really pretty. It's certainly something that the area has that the city doesn't. The stars are lovely."
*
"Y'got dat right," Remy says as he begins to gather the wrappers onto the tray so he can throw out the trash. "Y'wanna go walk or you prefer to head back?" Anything that's finished is put into the trash can before Remy wipes his hands off on his jeans.
*
Lorna shrugged, getting up from the table and brushing off her skirts. "I wouldn't mind going for a walk. It's really nice out. Besides, what am I gonna do at the house? Sit around and read, or watch TV with a bunch of kids that won't stop talking?" She shook her head.
"No thanks. I'd much rather stretch out the time that I'm off campus. Anything is better than being bored after all."
*
"Yeah alright," Remy replies as he reaches into his pocket for his trusty pack of cigarettes, and his pants pocket for his zippo. With a clink, the cigarette is lit and he exhales as he begins to walk. "Y'get bored at de school a lot, chere?"
*
Xavier arrives from Harlem <S>.
*
Xavier has arrived.
*
Xavier heads to Xavier's Institute <XI>.
*
Xavier has left.
*
A sigh as Lorna started to meander alongside him, her gaze turned upwards and her hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket. "Well, not when I'm learning something new, or when I'm training.. but yeah. I dunno. It's silly. I grew up a country girl in Upstate. I shouldn't get bored. But I do. Especially after living in the city for the past fall. I just got so used to doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. There was so much going on all the time."
anorther sigh fell from her and she shrugged. "But also, I guess, I'm antsy because it's been a while since something big happened. I'm worried that something else might happen. There was a while where it was just constant. Mojo, my father helping to dispose of Maximus.. riots..
*
"You want sometin big t'happen? Peace is what we're fightin' for, right? T'eat a burger without bein' harassed. Or, buy a pair of pants, as it were." Remy chuckles. "Ah hear ya, tho. Tranquility ain't all it's always cracked up t'be. Dat bein' said, I have enjoyed de place thus far. People are nice. Food is good. Danger is minimum."
*
"It's not that I want bad things to happen. I just.. I feel like that it's overdue. Sounds paranoid, I know." She offered, and shook her head, pushing green locks back behind an ear. "I love having a safe place. Having a home to come to and not be scared. A safe place that I can just be me and no one blinks twice at me using my powers.." She shrugged and her flip-flops scuffed against the pavement.
"It's like you get used to having hurricanes and when they're not there, you're just waiting for the next storm.. and when it isn't there.. it's odd.. You know?"
*
"Dat make a lotta sense, chere," Remy replies as he looks down toward her. While her flip-flops plop along, Remy's boots click clack all the way down the sidewalk. "Ah been feelin' dat dread. And a bit of restlessness." It's only been two nights since Josh, Jay, and Remy busted into someone's house to set the record straight on how a gal in Mutant Town is going to be treated, but other than that. Nothin doin.
*
A faint smile tugged at her lips at his words, at his understanding and she offered a nod to match after a moment. "Yeah. Pretty restless too. I haven't been down to volunteer at the community center in Mutant Town as much either. I should do that more, since Summer has started and I've got more time without my classes." She streched her arms up above her head as she walked, enjoyng the breeze.
"Maybe we should plan a group outting. Like we could go to the museum. Or go camping. Or hiking. Or maybe we could go to an amusement park."
*
Remy nods, clearly liking the idea. "I tink dats a pretty good tinkin, chere. Havin de kids g'out and do sometin fun would be a good way t'spend ime. See the city. Bond. All dat jazz." Remy's one hand is shoved in his pocket, while the other is puffing away on his cigarette. "Who all wouldya tink like t'come?"
*
Lorna's smile warmed and she shrugged lightly at his question. "I dunno. Maybe Cassie and a couple of the other girls. I'd say lets go to the beach, but we have a lake so it's not all that novel. Though the boardwalk could be fun." She tapped her chin in consideration.
"Maybe Illyana, or Sophie. We could make it educational and convince Scott to come maybe. And then we could bring Josh too."
*
"Dat a pretty good plan," Remy replies with a grin, before it turns mischievous. "Plus, de more we get to see y'all in bathin' suits, de bettah f'everyone." Almost reflexively flinching away as he he's expecting to be hit, Remy flicks the cigarette out in front of him and steps on it. "When y'wanna go?"
*
"Oh. I see how it is." Lorna didn't so much as raise her hand, rather she just used her powers to nudge him to the side for his side comment. A faint smirk tugged at her lips as she ambled along beside him and pushed lightly on the metal objects attached to his clothes. Finally, she shrugged again in regards to choosing when to go. "I dunno. Whenever I can gather up people and convince them to go? I know we've got access to a van or a bus or something. So getting transportation isn't an issue at least."
*
The only real metal on Remy's clothing is his belt and his zipper. So you can imagine his surprise when his eyebrows dart upward. "Y'see how it is, huh?" he replies. "Well, y'all should set sometin up. Less make a ting out of it."
*
A laugh followed, "Careful, I've pant'sed a lot of smart guys that irked me via my powers. You'd be surprised how often jeans give out when you push magnetically on the zipper." She mused lightly, a teasing tone in her voice and mirth in her gaze.
"But yes, we should set it up. I'll talk to the Professor and see when he thinks it might work out the best for the students stil around for the summer."
*
"Lorna, y'know ahm waitin' on a couple of pairs of pants in de mail. You wouldn't want to go and wreck one of my few pairs, wouldya?" Remy says with a chuckle but nods at the idea. "Aiight. If ya need someone t'drive an' all dat. Ahm yer man. Specially if dere's a beach stop."
*
A laugh escaped her, and Lorna twisted around in her walk to watch him as she stepped backwards. "I dunno, if I wreck them all then you'd have to borrow someone else's pants, right? Might get you in shorts or training sweats then." She snickered and then trailed off, folding her hands behind her back.
Her laughter sobered some as she watched him, a crease of her brow following. "I haven't.. annoyed you, with my constant ramblings, have I? Because I feel like I've spilled so much about my life.. that I dunno. You really haven't shared all that much by comparison.."
*
"Not at all, chere," Remy replies. "T'be honest, ole Remy ain't dat big on talkin' on his own life. And it ain't bad talkin' t'someone who ain't so jaded by life dat dey become a downer. Sometimes it's fun t'talk and tink about simple tings in life like brothers and sisters and field trips for college students."
*
A small quirk tugged at her lips as Lorna continued to walk backwards as she watched him, the crease smoothing out from her green eyebrows at his words. "Okay. Good." She bit her lower lip, her flip flops smacking against the pavement of the sidewalk. "I just.. I didn't want to be like some kid tugging at your sleeve and going on and on about nonsense."
She turned, twisting back around to walk straight onwards, her hands still folded behind her. "Thanks for comin' out and going on a walk with me Remy. It's really nice."
*
Remy smiles faintly at her, "Dun worry your pretty little head nothin, chere. If ah got a problem with ya, ahll let ya know." The comment about the walk strikes Remy as rather sweet. This is such a different position than what he found himself in a few months ago he's a little shocked. "Thanks for agreein' t'come out with me," he replies.
*
Lorna smiled, falling silent as she shrugged and turned her gaze upwards to the glittering starlight above, noting the moon that dipped behind the clouds far away and speaked out as they moved. "I'll hold you to that." She murmured after a long while. Seeming to enjoy just sharing the good weather and the otherwise pristine night walk with him.
*
"Ah hope ya do, chere," Remy stops and realizes that Jean is probably waiting for them to hitch a ride back, wherever they went. "Ah suppose we better head on back. Jean prolly sittin dere all alone and what not." He smiles at her. "Tanks for de walk."
*
A nod followed as Lorna cast a glance along the otherwise darkened side walk. "Yeah, we should. It was a nice walk. But it is getting pretty dark and what not." She murmured, pulling her hair back from her features and twisting back at the nape of her neck.
"Still, gosh, what nice weather.."
*
"Dere'll be more nights like dis fo sho," Remy replies. As he turns to walk back he stops and faces her for a moment. "You gun come out wit me again, I'm tinkin."