InsaneJournal

JENLEE: Though she may be a bit flaky regarding other things, Jennifer Lee was always prompt when schoolwork was concerned, so at two-thirty on the dot, she was seated at a table in the library with her Intermediate Witty Banter books neatly stacked to her right and her note-filled binder placed directly in front of her. Part of her was dreading this study session while the another part was looking forward to it. Dr. Rhodes had told her that she had great potential for this if she was willing to put in the effort, and what better effort than studying with your nemesis? Jennifer didn't think it was a particularly bad idea to be studying with Scott Green -- This would be excellent practice for the future when they were having epic battles on the rooftops of skyscrapers. It did, of course, mean that she would have to be spending an hour or two with him, but it was a small sacrifice for her education.

It was now fifteen (FIFTEEN!) minutes after Scott Green had said he would meet her for their Witty Banter study session and Jen Lee was fuming. After watching through the door for the first five minutes, Jennifer had spent the last ten minutes gripping her pen a bit too tightly. This was all a part of his plan, she just knew it. He knew this was her most difficult class and he wanted her to fail, and that's why he wasn't showing up.

SCOTT: It was true to form that Scott Green would be late to his rendezvous with Jennifer Lee, though perhaps he should have mentioned such to her beforehand. But that wouldn't have been his style either. Thus it was that he arrived fashionably late and with his usual charming smile on full display.

"Couldn't find the library," he said sans apology and with a wide, dimpled grin, though it was obvious from his appearance--unruly bed hair, mussed clothes, an obviously fresh hickey on his neck and the air of the cat who'd just caught the canary--that this statement was patently false. Without another word to her, Scott removed the bag he'd had slung carelessly over his left shoulder and tossed it onto the table before he plopped down into one of the vacant seats across from her. It took him a few minutes to realize from the tense way she held that pen and the strained expression on her face that she was angry. Probably at him. And that was a look he recognized all too well, as it usually meant bad news for him and/or his possessions. Typically both.

And in the face of danger, he laughed. "What on earth are you so worked up about?"

JENLEE: And there he was. With his ridiculous hair and smug grin and stupid face and hickey. Upon seeing the red mark on his neck, a warning flash of crazy crossed Jennifer's eyes as she hissed "Bullshit" in a volume that was a tad inappropriate for a library. Without a backspace key to go back and erase everything she said before hitting submit, Jen Lee was far more candid and uncensored. It also took her longer to realize her mistakes. When she finally realized that nearly every student in their vicinity had either taken notice or were full-on staring, she looked down and started flipping through one of the textbooks furiously with a pink twinge creeping up her neck.

What Jennifer Lee was worked up about, Scott Green, was that she had been waiting attentively for fifteen minutes because she was concerned about her education while you were sucking face with some cum-guzzling dumpster slut. Not that she said any of that out loud, of course. With that little slip-up she just made, Jennifer was far too afraid of saying anything she thought out loud, so instead she just muttered "Nothing. Have you done the reading yet? We could talk about that."

SCOTT: If Scott noticed the countless looks they were receiving, he didn't let on and instead, he shrugged. It hardly mattered to him whether she believed him or not; she was the one who asked him to study and if she really needed the help, she would put up with him as much as she was able. He unzipped his bag and removed his books from the murky depths.

"Uh, I skimmed it," he admitted. Truthfully, Scott was not a very patient person and readings took up far too much personal time than he liked. He figured he would get to them. Eventually. Maybe. He flipped through the book, though the motion was pointless, since he didn't even remember what page numbers had been assigned. "Did you read it?"

JENLEE: Of course she had read it. Jennifer Lee was the sort of girl who went out and bought all the books and wrote down the days the readings were due for the entire quarter the day she received her syllabus. And she was one of those girls who was under the impression that everyone else was just as organized as she was, so it didn't even occur to her by "skimmed it" he didn't mean "only read twice rather than spending a two hours taking extensive notes on it."

She frowned as looked through the text, already highlighted and extensively noted on despite it only being the second week of class, "Yeah, I did. It was... I don't know, it was complex and I'm not totally sure what she wants us to get out of it. Dr Rhodes is difficult." So difficult that she had to be asking Scott Green of all people for help, she noted with annoyance. Despite her slight irritation, all traces of the rage she had shown just moments ago were now completely gone. She turned her book turned to page one thirty-seven, and stared at him expectantly. "What did you think of it?"

SCOTT: ...Had she really highlighted her notes? Scott shouldn't have been surprised, since Jennifer Lee struck him as the overachieving type. He glanced from Jen to her highlighted notes and back to her expectant face, all the while with an incredulous look on his features. He passed a hand over his face and sighed. This was kind of annoying.

"You shouldn't need readings to learn how to be witty," he leaned forward on the table as he said it. "Right now? Your comebacks really suck, Jennifer. That's the truth of it. But," he hurried on before she could claw his eyes out or something equally horrible. "I think that's because you just can't think of anything good in the heat of the moment."

Scott leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin thoughtfully as he wondered what to do from this point. They could talk about readings all she wanted, but he truly felt that it wouldn't help her in the end. "Just--I don't know. Hit me with your best shot, or whatever. And we'll work from that."

JENLEE: There was another flash of crazy when Scott Green insulted her comebacks, but she took his advice earnestly. Though she didn't like hearing it coming from him, Jennifer knew that her banter was not the best. There were often times that she sat at her desk, scrutinizing every little thing Nathaniel Nefarious said on the networks and wishing she could be half as clever as he was.

Sitting up straight in her chair, Jennifer looked Scott Green up and down as she thought of a clever, witty to say. He was giving her an open pass at an insult, and she had to make it good. It was a lot of pressure and far more difficult than she would have liked for it to be.

And after two or three minutes of silence, Jennifer Lee was able to think of something. "I have better hair than you," she declared, absolutely brimming with pride.

SCOTT: Scott laughed, suddenly and obviously surprised. And then he realized that Jennifer Lee was being completely, 100% serious. How awkward. And, not to mention, wrong--he had it on good authority, from two highly trustworthy sources, that his hair was very nice and soft. He attempted to turn his laugh into a cough, but it seemed a little too late for that.

"That was... a nice try," he said with as straight a face as he could manage, which wasn't very straight at all, and he laughed once again. "But it's way less effective when you're complimenting yourself instead of than insulting me."

JENLEE: Upon the sound of his laughter, Jennifer's back stiffened, eyes narrowed, and her left hand gripped the pen a little bit tighter. The crazy fire was burning fully, now. A nice try? A nice try? That was an amazing success and she didn't appreciate Scott Green raining on her parade one bit.

She would show you what she could do, Scott Green. "That was an insult, you shit-eating, cum-drooling dick," doing her absolute best to keep her voice low enough so that others in the library couldn't hear, "your hair looks like a lesbian's bush."

SCOTT: To say Scott was taken aback by her outburst was quite the understatement. He was shocked, rendered completely thoughtless and speechless, which was saying something as Scott nearly always had something to say. After what seemed forever filled with nothing else besides silence and incredulous blinking, he found something to say.

"Wow. I've definitely never heard that one before."

JENLEE: Jennifer sulked as she glared at Scott Green throughout his silence, daring him to say that wasn't good enough. When it appeared that he had been rendered speechless, however, the anger dissipated and the heat in the center of her chest was soon replaced by a far different warmth, and Jennifer Lee broke out into a smile.

"Was that better? I don't know if I can do that all the time, though, it's not very PG. I don't think very many kids' parents would let them come see me have an epic battle with a hero in the park if I used that sort of language. What do you think, Scott Green?" she asked, watching him with painful earnestness.

SCOTT: Jennifer Lee's sudden mood swings could put a menopausal woman to shame, and Scott found it very trying in his efforts to keep up with her shifting tempers. She looked ready to kill him one moment ago and now she beamed at him like an expectant puppy. It was both weird and complimentary, and he was quite certain that there was something very wrong with her. He laughed nervously.

"I wouldn't worry about keeping it good for the kids, they've probably heard it all before and if they haven't--you're just doing them a favor. it's kind of--" He struggled for a way to compliment her without also insulting her, as he was typically prone to doing. "It was good."

JENLEE: She frowned a little at what Scott Green said about the children. A super-villain Jennifer may be, but defiling poor childrens' ears with her language was not a burden she wanted to carry. Besides, the Doctor looked out for kids, so she should do the same.

At Scott Green's compliment, she positively glowed. "Was it really?" She was practically bouncing in her seat. It had been a good idea to study with her nemesis, after all. She was totally going to ace Intermediate Witty Banter this term. "Okay, let's do another, but you this time!"