WHO: Mark Sheppard, Julian Keller, and Fenyx Cobalt WHAT: The two have trouble sneaking back into the mansion, and are caught WHEN: Aug. 30, about 3:00 AM WHERE: Xavier's School for the Gifted NOTES N/A
Julian landed with a thud and a sandy skid in the dirt across the road from Xavier's. It was easy to catch his balance, but he had been too busy staring at the wall and buildings to pay attention to where his feet were landing. It was harder than you'd expect to sneak out of the school at night. Or at least harder than most kids expected. Once you knew about the X-Men it made more sense. Still, bored kids are a force of nature, and Julian had quickly figured out the soft spots where it was easiest to get out. He hurried there now, using his power to move him at fast speed across the street, just a blur to anyone looking. Crouched there by the wall he inched over to where it was lowest, where he knew a large bush was on the other side, where there was a bit of a blind spot for anything watching. Sneaking out was just what Julian was going to do once in a while. Telling him to stay on campus at night, that was just like an invitation to him. Of course he was going to leave. He just got restless in there. Heck, he got restless anywhere. And while there were some cute chicks at Xavier's, there were a bunch more down the road in town, just waiting to be impressed. What the staff didn't know wouldn't hurt them, Julian figured. And as for town, well a dashing figure of mystery, the girls couldn't wait until he reappeared again. Not flying in front of them, now that was tough. Reaching his hands up Julian leaped up and over the wall in one jump, landing with a quiet crash between the bush and the wall. Good thing someone around here likes landscaping, Julian thought. Now just to get to my window, without setting off any air defenses.
Mark had already managed to sneak back in most of the way. He was resting in the large bush that Julian had just jumped over. Mark had been there for about fifteen minutes, trying to regain composure, he had drank too much, and was certain he would be on Youtube, after the things he had done at the New York Mining Co. He was covered in glitter from head to toe, and managed to somehow lose his shirt on the way into the mansion. He probably had just dropped it on the lawn on the way in, he figured. He rustled the bush a little as he adjusted his short short short glittery red shorts. Something about seeing a somewhat familiar classmate jump over a bush made him start giggling. Some things are just funnier when you are inebriated.
Julian's senses were on overdrive, peering and listening to make sure he wasn't going to be caught at the last moment. Rather than inebriated, he was high on endorphins from the night out, both from the thrill of sneaking out and from the fun he had in town. So, he immediately heard the rustling from inside the bush and what sounded like a giggle. Smiling widely to himself he peered past the dark leaves, parting them with his telekinesis, his hands seeming to push them apart from five feet away. "Hello in there. Lovebirds, delinquents or crazy mutants?"
"Nobody in here, but us chickens!" He said with a giggle as he leaned forward and tried to peer out of the bushes, but failed miserably. Instead of just leaning out, he fell out. Mark wasn't considered too graceful while he was sober and definitely not while he was drunk. He laughed some more as he haphazardly managed to stand up using the brick wall of the building as a support. He smelled of alcohol, cigarettes, and sex. He was a wild one alright. "J..je..Ja..son? What are you doing outside at this time of morning?" He whispered rather loudly as he rested on the wall next to Julian. He wondered why Julian looked a little funny, perhaps it was just the dark, but if they weren't careful the floodlights would come back on.
Julian jumped back at the sudden apparition of the falling Mark. He quickly recovered, but simply stood there and watched as Mark pulled himself up to standing, a gust of stench coming from him and the bushes where he had been sitting. "Whoa, dude," he intoned, his face twisting into a grimace. "Where did you roll out of?" Julian's eyes traveled incredulously down the boy's scandalous outfit. And was that glitter? It took him a minute to figure out that he recognized the kid despite all that. "Wow, does this actually happen around here and I don't know it?" Julian just shook off Mark's mutterings, he obviously didn't know where he was.
Mark looked at him with his head cocked to the left a little. "Um. The bushes." He said with an incredulous sigh, or what was meant to be, it was more comical sounding than incredulous. He was clueless to what Julian was talking about. "Does what happen? I'm sure if something happened you would have known about it..." He fumbled his way through the sentence as he started to sidle clumsily against the wall. He had left a window slightly open on the way out, and hoped that nobody had closed it.
Julian glanced around nervously. This guy, what was his name again?, could get them both caught stumbling around and takling so loud. The wisest thing to do was to take off, but Julian wasn't a big proponent of wisdom. "You've been partying in the bushes, in those things?" He asked, pointing at those shorts. This was proving amusing. "Or is this some kind of prank? You probably passed out and Harry and Ray did this to you." Julian snickered at the thought. He maybe should let Mark wander off and activate theflood lights. That could be hilarious.
He stopped and turned around and looked at Julian. "I was partying...and dancing at the New York Mining Co." Mark had a part time job, granted nobody knew about it from school. His foot flirted dangerously on the line that would set the lights off. "Who would party in a bush?" He paused a moment. "What do you mean, in these things?!" He stopped whispering. "These are delightfully trashy." Which, trashy was definitely right. He was lucky his butt actually didn't come out of the shorts. "C'mon Jarod, you are going to get us caught." He said as he motioned the older boy to follow him.
"Uh, the name is Julian," he corrected Mark, only thinking 'til after that it might be better to remain anonymous. "And you're what, Mike? No, Mark." He was pretty good with names, and he definitely wanted to get this story right for later. "Last I checked, miners don't dress like that," he commented, still hesitating about whether to trip the floodlights and vanish. It would be funny. "Actually you're the one about to turn on the lights," he said finally, grabbing Mark by the shoulder, and pulling him back into the shadow. "How the heck are you planning on getting back in?"
Mark was easily placed on the wall. "Sorry Joooolian." He stretched the name out a little longer than necessary. He looked at Julian and wondered if the boy really was that dumb. "Miners don't go to the Mining Company. People like me, go to the Mining Co." He said as he prissed himself a little. He didn't want to have to explain to Julian exactly what a gay bar was. "I am not, and I left a window open in front of the library, so I could get back in; that is, if it didn't get closed." He said as he pulled an aspirin out of his pocket and popped the pill. "C'mon, we are almost there." He echoed again as he neared the window.
Julian let Mark go. Maybe he wasn't entirely out of his mind. Julian knew the library was a good spot to sneak out. Of course it was always empty at night, but they left it open thinking they might have some bookworms around here. Julian could only imagine Mark was talking about some kind of club, but it seemed like a pretty stupid name. Then again, obviously it wasn't a club Julian was likely to go to. His version of dressing up looked a lot different than this. "If it's closed, I can open it for you," Julian offered. Telekinesis made sneaking out a lot easier
Mark laughed loudly. "It's ok, if it is closed, we can just break it." Clearly logic wasn't winning this battle. To be honest, he never really was logical about his decisions, and was prone to being rather rash. He took a few more steps towards the window, and his foot flirted even more dangerously towards the trigger area. "I do appreciate you being a gentleman, though." He replied with a giggle and a quick bat of his eyelashes. Being flirty with straight boys was a trademark of the Sheppard boy. He was a flirt, and often got in trouble for it. Nobody was safe. "So, you never told me what you were doing out here."
Julian raised an eyebrow at Mark's batting eyes. He was not really surprised the kid would flirt with him. I mean he was standing in the bushes in red glittery shorts. And heck, Julian was a good catch. "Well, we're both out here sneaking back in after sneaking out. I think you had a wilder time than me though." Julian eyed Mark's foot askance, not sure how to handle this kid. "I was just in town," Julian added mildly. He knew it was against the rules, but it didn't occur to him to be all too sneaky or worried, he had just wanted to do it, so certainly nobody would really mind. "You know if you step over there they're goign to come out here and find you, right?" He tried, pointing towards the spot Mark seemed to be heading. Julian thought maybe he could fly back to his window before anyone saw him, but Mark would probably give a close enough description that they'd find him in a cold bed. "Here, walk this way." Julian extended a hand that flickered with green light, creating a shield that kept Mark from stumbling too far into the yard.
"Sounds like you are a real party animal." He said dimly as he rolled his eyes. The truth was that Mark couldn't be handled really. Xavier had known him for three years and seemed barely able to keep him reigned in. Of course, all the money Mark's parents had to offer to the school might have had something to do with that. "I know I know." He responded with an exasperated sigh. "How kind of you." He said with a wink as he finally made his way to the window. "Shetbags." He murmured and prepared to break the window. Truthfully he had never broken a window before and was aching inside to do so.
Julian admired this kid's disdain for the rules, but he seemed to lack any desire to get away with it. Following along behind him, sure now Mark wouldn't wander off into the lawn, Julian was shocked to see him rearing his arm back like he was going to just bust the window. "Whoa, killer, this isn't Xavier's school for delinquents," Julian got out, dropping his shield in a hurry and instead grabbing Mark's elbow with his hand. "Go visit Logan if you want to bust stuff, I think that's what that guy does for fun. If you want to sneak inside, just wait a minute." Julian tried to push Mark to the side so he could get a look at the latch. There was no way he was going to float this kid up to his window. He'd likely set off some alarm and half the school would find him with Glittery Boy in his bed.
Mark was a little dumbfounded, and disappointed. He REALLY wanted to break that window. "Why didn't I think of that?!" He said as he was pushed to the side and toppled to the ground. He guffawed. "How did you know I like it a little rough?" He asked as he brushed off his glittery pants. They had the same look as the ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz. He stood back up and started to nuzzle up behind Julian. It was probably better Julian didn't let glitter boy into his room, especially in his current condition.
Julian just shook his head as he took advantage of the boy's prone state to work on the window. Peering inside he studied the latch and clicked it open with a twist of his hand. Using his power he slid it up enough that he could get his hands inside and push it up. By this point Mark was up and grinding against him. "Mind giving me a little space?" he asked, trying to slide to the side and give Mark access to the window. He hoped this kid wasn't going to be like this when he was sober. "You know you're not at the club anymore, right?"
Mark took a step back away from Julian. “Sorry there bloke.” He said with a giggle. “Not at all.” Mark was a little like this when he was sober, but to a much lesser degree. “I know where I am, and where I would like to be.” He said trying his best to make direct contact, but it seemed that Julian was too busy working the window. “Oh look! It’s open!” He said happily as he moved closer to the window, but wasn’t paying enough attention to the lawn. It happened immediately. The lights on the front lawn lit up. Every single one of them. The cameras would turn on momentarily. “Whoops.” He said as he would soon start to scramble towards the window.
Julian was thrilled that Mark finally realized the window was open. Once he got this kid inside he could skedaddle and hope he did the same. He could feel time slow down, his mouth opening in an O of surprise as he watched Mark stagger too far out into the lawn. Suddenly they were caught in bright light, undoubtedly waking half the school who didn't have thier shades pulled. "Son of a bitch," Julian muttered. He briefly considered fleeing and leaving Mr. Shortpants staggering here, but Julian felt a certain fondness for his fellow rulebreaker. "Get in here," he hissed, his hands glowing green as he yanked Mark telekinetically back toward the school and floated him up through the window. At least he wouldn't get glitter on his hands.
Julian was a quick thinker and a faster act-er, however it wasn't quick enough. There was a faculty member who had just started to make his rounds. It was only a matter of time. Mark was deadweight really. The teacher flew to a security panel and found where the trigger had been displaced, and it wouldn't take long to get there. The teacher tore down the halls towards the boys after he turned off and reset the security system. It was once again dark outside. "Hurry up!" Mark said with a giggle. "The system shut itself off, lucky that!"
Julian relaxed a little as the lights clicked off, though he gave a suspicious stare around. Turning back to the window he carefully maneuvered Mark through, who was floating limply in the air, not taking care at all not to smack his head on the sill. "Will you be quiet?" Julian hissed. Why was he the only one being sneaky here? Lowering Mark close to the floor he let him drop, knowing it wouldn't hurt him but only willing to go so far before getting in himself. "Crazy loon," he muttered as he floated himself quickly and expertly through the window. He set down a safe distance from Mark and turned to take care of the window.(d)
The teacher, Fenyx Cobalt, who was in his first year of teaching at the school flew down the hall in his ghastly form, for the time being anyway, towards the boys. He resembled a thin human with a silky torn black sheet thrown over his body. It was dark again, and Fenyx couldn't tell who the kids were, but knew they were students. "Stop, where you are." He commanded in a echoey raspy voice.
Mark nearly shit a brick when he turned on his stomach to see who was addressing them. "Screw you, George. You aren't funny." He said with a giggle. "You really should have come out with me tonight. You would have had fun." He said with a laugh as he stumbled to the light switch and flipped it on. An "O" seemed to be plastered on his mouth when he saw Fenyx. It wasn't 10 seconds before Mark hit the floor. Scaredy cat, he was.
Julian knew the new teacher sure, but he certainly didn't recognize him in this form. Turning from the window with an "oops" grin on his face, it froze and he went wide eyed at the apparition chasing them. He suddenly wondered exactly what kind of defense system Xavier's had installed. Julian put his hands up in the air, but was ready to blast the thing if he had to. He wasn't going to get his soul sucked out just for sneaking out. Julian ignored Mark's antics entirely. If he got his soul eaten at this point it was his own problem.
Fenyx floated down and touched ground, and in a flash instant the black "sheet" fell off of his body to reveal a very young man. "Hmm." was all he said as he walked over to Mark, who had passed out on the ground, and let out a rather jovial laugh. "Oh...” He said, "You two are in trouble; follow me right this way." He said as he walked to Senor Shortpants and lifted him off the ground. "Someone is rather unhappy about this. God! This one smells." He said as he looked at Julian. "What did you guys get into?" He was supposed to be scolding them, but in truth, he found it rather amusing. It took a quiet moment of staring for Julian's body to return to normal and accept that this was just his English teacher. "Christ," he muttered underneath his breath. In contrast, getting caught by a teacher didn't worry him much. He definitely was going to clear up this misunderstanding though. "No, no, I wasn't out with him. I found him in the bush." He nodded his head backwards toward the window. "I've never been anywhere where people dress like that." He watched Fenyx lift Mark up, shaking his head at the kid. "You want me to do that?" Julian let his hands flash green, happy to float Mark along.
"No, It's Mr. Cobalt." He said with a sigh, almost like he got that a lot. "I believe you. According to the other staff, this one has somewhat of a reputation for being in trouble." He said as he looked at Julian and released Mark into the air. Fenyx could have floated Mark himself, but it was better to let Julian do it, so he was able to get the doors. It meant more practice for Julian anyway. "I really hate it when you students get in trouble." He confided. "The Professor wants to see the both of you in his office too."
"Erp," Julian said with a smile, putting on a 'You got me' face. "Well, let's go pay the piper, or whatever." He floated Mark in mid air, along side Mr. Cobalt as he followed him out. "You might need to let him sober up before lecturing him. He seems a bit ornery when drunk," Julian mentioned, seeming unconcerned about himself as he strolled down the corridor. "So that's what you do? That ghost thing? Man, that is spooky." Julian was starting to plan something for Halloween just thinking about it.
"You just have to learn how to sneak in and out better. Of course you didn't hear that from me." He said with a laugh. "The professor can actually sober him up. Something I learned that he could do." He said as he opened a door as they neared the office of Professor Xavier. "That is what I do. Granted, that was merely a taste, but I don't want to scare you kids too much." He said with another laugh. "Now, c'mon, we're almost there. At least look like you are sorry."
Julian smirked, even laughing a little at his teacher's comments. "Trust me; I can sneak in just fine. I just happened to run into this guy." Julian thought it was pretty cool that the Professor could sober someone up. This guy really was perfect to run a school. "All right, I'll look sorry. But sometime we've got to talk about some Halloween party ideas I have," Julian added as they got to the office. With a wink Julian then put on his best hangdog face, which wasn't all that good.
Fenyx just laughed. "Very well. Do well, and we'll talk then." He said as he looked at the door and turned back to Julian. "He is ready to see you. I'll wait with the drunk out here, and when you are both done, I will escort you back to your rooms. Big man's orders."
Julian shrugged and clapped Fenyx on the shoulder as he passed. "Thanks, see you in a minute." He opened the door and entered the office, trying his best to looking contrite, but mostly just coming off as smug.