After her anti-climactic conversation with Jono, the whirlwind of emotions Jubilee thought she’d moved past returned to pick her up off her feet and dump her squarely on her ass. So she paced around a while, trying to recover from the feeling, and eventually decided to go find Victor. Part of her felt so proud: she hadn’t lashed out, even though she’d wanted to do. But the rest of her was a mess, lost in inferiority and abandonment, and after crying on Molly’s shoulder the night before it only seemed fair to bother Victor with it now. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say, or if she wanted to say anything. She just needed someone she loved to put their arms around her and tell her that no power in the universe, not even the magical allure of romance, would come between them. Jono had made a good show of how much she meant to him and the sting of it seemed to spread like wildfire. Jubilee marched down the hall with Jono’s gift to her, a purple glitter-filled magic wand, clutched in her hand. She only noticed it when she raised her hand to knock and seeing it, so childish, so girly, made her want to scream. Or cry. Her throat hurt like she could do either, but she swallowed the feeling and knocked on the door.
Vic was done for the day. He’d showered and changed and collapsed on his bed with a book he’d read probably twenty times before. He looked up at the knock. “Come on in!” he called, closing the book without bothering to mark his page. It didn’t really matter where he picked it up from again.
Jubilee burst through the door and shut it with a snap behind her. With color in her cheeks and a slight shine to her eyes, it was clear she wasn’t having her best day ever.
“Hi,” She felt choked and the word sounded sort of squeaky. Jubilee pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes and growled, “Ugh. Fuck.” When she withdrew her hands, she seemed to have recovered a little and she smiled weakly at him, “I’ve come to bring you the latest update: I hope I never see Jono again for the rest of my life.”
Vic had been sprawled on his bed, but he sat up when Jubilee burst in, then stood up when he noted her obvious distress. By the time she’d stopped speaking he’d crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her, chin resting on her shoulder.
“He’s an asshole,” he informed her solemnly. “Whatever he’s done this time.” Of course, he always thought the guy was an asshole, but Jubes had liked him so he’d mostly kept his opinion to himself. If he didn’t have to anymore he was more than happy to agree with whatever she needed him to.
Jubilee could not have been more comforted by any possible response and she put her arms around him automatically, letting the moment of affection soothe away some of the hurt.
"This has been the longest week of my life," Jubilee sighed, "And it's still not over." She looked up at him, trying to smile again, "I kind of had a crush on Jono, so I kind of told him to go after Paige, if that's what he wants so badly, so he did, and he kind of waited until today to tell me. Or thank me. Whatever. I already knew though, duh, because nobody can keep a damn secret around here."
And then, remembering the little trinket he gave her, she held it up for him to see. "And he gave me this!" She said it as if it was a horrible crime.