Post by angel on Sept 25, 2006 1:19:27 GMT -5
It was weird, feeling like you could do absolutely nothing more to help a friend. Ever since the moment Bobby had sent out that communication about the Sentinel cop, Warren had been left with an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He'd done everything he could to ignore it, had tried to help Bobby ignore it and just go on as normal, but things were far from normal now. And even though Warren had done everything that he possibly could in the situation, gotten the best help that he could and tried to be cheerful, it didn't change the fact that Bobby was still being held for murder by government agents who had his power supressed.
The idea of losing his wings... Well, he didn't know how Bobby had managed to stay so cheerful. But maybe his friend was doing everything possible to help them.
"Hey, Paige!" Spotting Bobby's girlfriend, who was probably feeling even more useless than him, Warren ran over to catch up.
"How're you doing?"
Paige turned as she was called, taking a moment to register the face. A lot of girls would have memorized him within seconds of meeting him, but she'd had... other things on her mind.
Her smile was subdued, even for her. "Hey..." she said, hooking a few fingers into the nack pocket of her jeans. "I'm alright." She couldn't quite kick the Kentucky sway in her voice, no matter how hard she tried. "Could use another phone call, ya know." She smiled a bit more.
"You?"
"Yeah. You know. I'm not great." He tried to give her a cheeky grin that just ended up looking slightly forlorn.
He realised that she'd probably think he was upset because of his supposed crush on Bobby.
"I'm sure if he could he'd be calling you every thirty seconds. Sucks that things got a bit crazy in there. Cameron will take a message for you if you like." Not that it would be the same, but Warren was planning on sending communication through his lawyer.
It was better than nothing, right?
Paige laughed a little, it sounded almost sarcastic. She looked around a bit. "Yeah. Well... I'm not sure I'd know what to say." She looked up at him. "We hadn't been dating that long, you know. This whole thing..." she shrugged, but it was obvious it bothered her. "It's tough to be his 'girlfriend' when he wouldn't even go exclusive a few days before he got arrested."
"And you know, he never told me about what happened?"
Well. That was interesting.
"He really likes you." Well, he really liked sleeping with her, anyway, but Warren wasn't going to ruin things for Bobby by saying that. It wasn't like the pair of them were the type to declare their love for girls, anyway. Not within the early stages of the relationship.
"He was probably just... Well, put it this way, we were all a bit shook up by what happened in Baltimore. I don't think Bobby really wanted to talk about it much." Which probably didn't help any, but he was feeling the need to defend his friend. "He wouldn't even talk about it to the people that were there, so don't think it was personal or anything."
"Nah, I'm sure it was...I mean how do you bring... that.. up to a girl without sounding like a creep." She smirked.
"I really like Bobby too. I guess it's not fair of me to blame him, but... what am I supposed to do, be angry at the cops? You saw how well that worked." She laughed a bit.
"Say, I was on my way downstairs to get a soda. You the following type?" She stepped towards the stairs, looking back at him with a bit more of a smile.
"Yeah, not exactly the kind of pillow talk most people would go for." This time his cheeky grin worked.
"You know, 'that was awesome baby, oh, and I killed a cop. You want a cigarette?'" His voice deepened as he poked fun, following her down the stairs. He hoped she wouldn't take offense, to Warren sex was just another topic - far from taboo.
"Soda sounds good. You know, if there's anything you want, like... comfort food, we can head out." Shrugging, he elaborated, "You know, a hot fudge sundae would really make me feel better than sitting around looking at a relatively empty house." Apparently, Warren took no notice of Candice's prohibition against going outside - mainly because he could do it without actually walking in the grounds.
"Only if you want to, though."
She turned, having laughed at his joke. Her expression was distinctly flirtatious- it often got her into trouble back home, where boys took a great deal of offense to someone chatting up a girl they considered "theirs". To her, it was just being conversational.
"I suppose your right. Come to think of it, I think Bobby's mouth was a bit busy." She half grinned.
"Well..." she said, looking him over. "I'll buy if you fly." She let the pun speak for itself, for good or ill.
Bursting out laughing, Warren nodded.
"Oh, I bet." With a girl like this, he'd want to be treating her right. In fact, that thing about not going exclusive - Warren just might have to have a talk with Bobby about that. Along the lines of 'if you won't, someone else will.'
"Come on then." They reached the bottom of the stairs and he pushed open the door, spreading his wings as soon as he had room.
Turning to look at her, Warren held his arms out as if for a hug.
"So, uh, how do you want it?"
Apparently he couldn't help himself from putting innuendo into just about everything.
"Most people find it easier - at least the first time - for me to just pick them up." He wondered if she'd ever flown before.
Paige chuckled, shaking her finger at him as if to shame him. But she said nothing of it. "Well, do you like, have to worry about balance or anything? I suppose it'll be a little less freaky if I can SEE the ground..." She poked his stomach playfully, standing pretty close for comfort. It was kind of nice to meet someone else who felt the way she did about this sort of thing. No shame, no fear.
A little more seriously, she looked over his wings. "Wow... those are really beautiful."
"Chicks dig them." He shrugged and grinned again, bending down to scoop her up - she was close enough that he didn't have to move to be able to manage it.
He had a brief thought about what someone watching would think. Then, pushing it away, Warren flapped his wings with powerful strokes until they were around six feet off the ground.
"It's all good, I don't really have to worry about balance or anything. As long as you're not getting in the way of my wings, I'm fine. And, you know, if I drop you I promise I'll catch you." He smirked.
"You comfortable?" He didn't actually move any further, just hovering in the one spot, so that he could make sure that she was all good before he took off.
He had caught her off guard, and she let out a yelp, then laughed, slipping an arm around his neck quickly and clinging to him a second before she realized he really did have a hold of her.
"Jesus..." she breathed, blinking a few times, and looking down at the grass beneath them. "You know, one of these days you'll have to give it a shot... dropping me that is." She didn't bother to explain why she seemed to think they'd be making a habit of this.
"Think they'll be ticked we're taking off?"
"Nah, they'll be fine." Even if they were going to say something, Warren didn't care. He'd been househunting as it was - it wasn't like he was one of their students.
With powerful strokes, Warren took them up high enough that they could see the whole school, and headed down towards the little shops in Westchester. Though he could have taken her all the way to New York, there was a really nice little place down there that was used to him just dropping in. '50s decor, too, which meant nice high stools that he could sit on without hassles. The fact that they were sparkly and red was, in Warren's mind, a bonus.
As he brought them down gently, he looked down at Paige and grinned. They both needed cheering up, and flying was one thing that always worked for him. Especially if it was followed by a hot fudge sundae. He hoped that she'd feel the same.
While ice cream wasn't exactly what she had on her mind, flying with him was a new experience- and Paige loved new experiences. Her heart raced, and she tried very hard not to jump or hold him tighter when he'd tilt or drop a few feet, something that to him must have been nothing but to someone who wasn't accustomed to being carried through the sky, it was pretty exhilirating.
As he set her back on her feet, Paige looked at him, still catching her breath a little, and feeling embarrassed that she'd have to do so. She laughed breathlessly, and pushed renegade strands of blonde hair out of her face.
"I guess I shouldn't fawn too much about how amazing that was. Figure a guy like you hears that all the time." She winked as they walked through the door.
"Yeah, but who doesn't like being told they're amazing?" He winked back, leading her over to a couple of high stools that looked out over the street - much sleepier than the streets of New York city, but he was willing to bet a whole lot busier than whereever she was from.
"So what do you feel like? I know you said your treat, but it's no hassle. I think you need cheering up more than I do, you're the one who's been pushed aside the most in this and it's not exactly fair." Warren left the fact that money wasn't at all an issue for him unsaid - to him it was unremarkable, but a lot of people were uncomfortable about financial stuff.
Paige smirked, her blue eyes sparkling with humor. "I don't need to be paid for to have a good time." She kicked his chair teasingly.
Chosing a rootbeer float, she watched the street idly. "I know it's some boy pact or something that you can't really talk shit about Bobby... but everyone loves him around here. Is that.. real? Is he really that nice?"
"When he's not murdering federal agents, you mean?" Warren gave her a sidelong glance that quickly transformed into a smile.
Ordering his sundae, Warren nodded his head. "He actually is a really nice guy. You know, one of those friends with everyone types." Apparently close to everyone, too, but Warren knew that he was one of the only people Bobby talked to about 'guy stuff' - ie. girls and sex. Oh, and video games, but they weren't exactly bound by the code of brotherhood.
"Having trouble telling?" He found himself chuckling at the thought.
She looked down when he made the crack about the federal agents, though she still smiled a bit. Stirring her float idly with her straw, she shrugged.
"A little out of the clear blue sky... it's all sunshine and light with him and then BAM...something like this comes up. Makes a girl wonder where a guy keeps his skeletons, ya know? To hear him tell you you've got the closet covered, so..." she chuckled.
Warren burst out laughing at the closet remark.
"Actually, he just likes to tell pretty girls that so he's got more of a chance." He winked.
"I think he's still sore about what I did in front of his parents. I don't have a boyfriend - in fact, I've never had a boyfriend. Not that I'd never want one." He shrugged. Warren was open-minded about all that - if someone came along that he liked, their genitalia wasn't going to influence him.
"I am happily single, although Bobby's of the opinion that I'm a celebrity homewrecker." Dinner and a DVD did not, in Warren's mind, make a proper date.
Paige watched him. He was an interesting guy alright. And oddly enough, his personality was... just what she'd expect out of an angel. How weird was that?
"Celebrities huh? Well you do kind of have that 'I'd be good to take to the Grammies' look about you. Who was it?"
"Alison Blaire - you know, the singer? She's taking me to the premiere of whatever her new movie is, has invited us all to come along."
He shrugged. "You're invited, obviously." If Bobby was out of jail - or the hotel or whatever it was - in time. Even if he wasn't, Warren would still drag her along.
"Anyway, nothing happened. Just had dinner and a DVD." That didn't change the fact that the next day her split from the other guy in the movie was all over the gossip columns.
"Well have you seen her since? I mean... it's not exactly an affair if you didn't -do- anything. Unless she told him it was something it wasn't."
She took a bite of her ice cream and pushed it back down into the soda. "On that account if that's the criteria for cheating, you and I have a lot of explaining to do." Paige smiled.
He burst out laughing again. "Oh, she said they've been broken up for ages. I think it was just in case anyone saw me in her apartment building, you know?" Publicity was always a concern for anyone in the public eye. He knew it well, thanks to his father's insistence for such a long time that he not show his wings. Apparently being a mutant was one of the worst publicity stunts ever.
"But you know, Bobby can't say much if he won't go exclusive." He gave her one of his maddeningly charming smiles before taking a spoonful of sundae. "God, why he wouldn't..." Warren shrugged, not wanting to say too much. He thought nothing of talking about sex and complimenting people, but he'd gotten in trouble in the past - apparently others didn't appreciate him talking to their girlfriends. Ever, in some cases.
And Paige would normally have understood- if she had anyone at all to talk to about it. She had made friends in the few weeks she was here, but there was a weird protectiveness surrounding Bobby Drake. God help you if you even hinted things might not be perfect.
"No... what were you going to say?" She watched him.
"Well, you know... A girl like you..." Warren shrugged again, taking another spoonful of his icecream. He kept his expression neutral, in the hopes that she wouldn't think that he was hitting on her.
"You'd have to be pretty stupid to give you any chance to get away." Another spoonful of sundae and he grinned.
"Though Bobby isn't always Einstein, if you know what I mean." He chuckled.
Paige laughed, blushing a little. "Well.. thanks. I thought things were going pretty good. I just hope everything works out okay..." she sighed.
"I know this has to sound really awful... but I wonder.. we've been together two weeks right? And now he's in jail. Might be for a really long time. Do I stay his girlfriend-but-not-girlfriend indefinitely? If I decided things weren't going to work, how do you say that to a guy on trial for a murder he didn't commit? By the way, it was hot for a while, but I need my freedom, sorry about yours?"
She winced, and it became obvious Paige had been making herself sick with worry about the whole thing. She took a sip of her float and went quiet.
"I'm sure things'll be fine. Cameron will get him out as soon as he possibly can." Warren decided against a joke about conjugal visits.
"Hey, don't worry about it." He reached over to squeeze her shoulder in reassurance. "I'm sure it won't come to that. And you know, if it does... Well, cross that hurdle when you come to it, don't worry about things until they happen." Though Warren had often, in the past, found himself falling into the depths of despair, he was a pretty happy-go-lucky guy. Especially since he'd come to the Institute and found himself comfortable enough to be open about being a mutant - that he was well known as a mutant all over the place now probably helped that along.
"Seriously, I'm sure he'll be out before we know it."
Paige smiled a little more. "You're probably right."
She fiddled with the remnants of her float at the bottom of her glass. "So are you an actually X-Man, or just hanging around like the rest of us?"
"Oh, I dunno. I help out." Eating the last of his sundae, Warren looked thoughtful around the spoon.
"I guess you could say I'm a junior X-Man? I don't know, I've got the suit and everything... But I'm only helping, I wouldn't go out on my own and preach the cause or anything." Not that the X-Men really preached, or anything. It was all a bit odd in his mind.
"I'm not a student or anything, there's not much more I can really learn about these." He shook his wings just a little - Warren didn't normally open them fully indoors. There just wasn't enough room, and things got broken.
Paige chuckled. "Not sure they have a cause just yet. Me? I can't -wait- to get into the leather. I just wish this chaos hadn't erupted, I was ready to go into training. Bobby was going to sneak me down to the Danger Room and everything." She sighed again.
"Hey, thanks for suggesting we get out, by the way. I think I was wearing tread in the carpet at the mansion."
Laughing, Warren shook his head.
"No worries. You know, I can get you into the Danger Room. Don't use it much, but I've got access to the basic programs." He shrugged. "Actually, I think all we need to do is ask someone and they'll let you in." They didn't seem to have a problem with it, as long as someone could show you how to work it for the first time.
"The leather's as hot as it looks, though." He found himself grinning at that.
"Yeah?" She grinned. "I'd like to see that."
He'd done everything he could to ignore it, had tried to help Bobby ignore it and just go on as normal, but things were far from normal now. And even though Warren had done everything that he possibly could in the situation, gotten the best help that he could and tried to be cheerful, it didn't change the fact that Bobby was still being held for murder by government agents who had his power supressed.
The idea of losing his wings... Well, he didn't know how Bobby had managed to stay so cheerful. But maybe his friend was doing everything possible to help them.
"Hey, Paige!" Spotting Bobby's girlfriend, who was probably feeling even more useless than him, Warren ran over to catch up.
"How're you doing?"
Paige turned as she was called, taking a moment to register the face. A lot of girls would have memorized him within seconds of meeting him, but she'd had... other things on her mind.
Her smile was subdued, even for her. "Hey..." she said, hooking a few fingers into the nack pocket of her jeans. "I'm alright." She couldn't quite kick the Kentucky sway in her voice, no matter how hard she tried. "Could use another phone call, ya know." She smiled a bit more.
"You?"
"Yeah. You know. I'm not great." He tried to give her a cheeky grin that just ended up looking slightly forlorn.
He realised that she'd probably think he was upset because of his supposed crush on Bobby.
"I'm sure if he could he'd be calling you every thirty seconds. Sucks that things got a bit crazy in there. Cameron will take a message for you if you like." Not that it would be the same, but Warren was planning on sending communication through his lawyer.
It was better than nothing, right?
Paige laughed a little, it sounded almost sarcastic. She looked around a bit. "Yeah. Well... I'm not sure I'd know what to say." She looked up at him. "We hadn't been dating that long, you know. This whole thing..." she shrugged, but it was obvious it bothered her. "It's tough to be his 'girlfriend' when he wouldn't even go exclusive a few days before he got arrested."
"And you know, he never told me about what happened?"
Well. That was interesting.
"He really likes you." Well, he really liked sleeping with her, anyway, but Warren wasn't going to ruin things for Bobby by saying that. It wasn't like the pair of them were the type to declare their love for girls, anyway. Not within the early stages of the relationship.
"He was probably just... Well, put it this way, we were all a bit shook up by what happened in Baltimore. I don't think Bobby really wanted to talk about it much." Which probably didn't help any, but he was feeling the need to defend his friend. "He wouldn't even talk about it to the people that were there, so don't think it was personal or anything."
"Nah, I'm sure it was...I mean how do you bring... that.. up to a girl without sounding like a creep." She smirked.
"I really like Bobby too. I guess it's not fair of me to blame him, but... what am I supposed to do, be angry at the cops? You saw how well that worked." She laughed a bit.
"Say, I was on my way downstairs to get a soda. You the following type?" She stepped towards the stairs, looking back at him with a bit more of a smile.
"Yeah, not exactly the kind of pillow talk most people would go for." This time his cheeky grin worked.
"You know, 'that was awesome baby, oh, and I killed a cop. You want a cigarette?'" His voice deepened as he poked fun, following her down the stairs. He hoped she wouldn't take offense, to Warren sex was just another topic - far from taboo.
"Soda sounds good. You know, if there's anything you want, like... comfort food, we can head out." Shrugging, he elaborated, "You know, a hot fudge sundae would really make me feel better than sitting around looking at a relatively empty house." Apparently, Warren took no notice of Candice's prohibition against going outside - mainly because he could do it without actually walking in the grounds.
"Only if you want to, though."
She turned, having laughed at his joke. Her expression was distinctly flirtatious- it often got her into trouble back home, where boys took a great deal of offense to someone chatting up a girl they considered "theirs". To her, it was just being conversational.
"I suppose your right. Come to think of it, I think Bobby's mouth was a bit busy." She half grinned.
"Well..." she said, looking him over. "I'll buy if you fly." She let the pun speak for itself, for good or ill.
Bursting out laughing, Warren nodded.
"Oh, I bet." With a girl like this, he'd want to be treating her right. In fact, that thing about not going exclusive - Warren just might have to have a talk with Bobby about that. Along the lines of 'if you won't, someone else will.'
"Come on then." They reached the bottom of the stairs and he pushed open the door, spreading his wings as soon as he had room.
Turning to look at her, Warren held his arms out as if for a hug.
"So, uh, how do you want it?"
Apparently he couldn't help himself from putting innuendo into just about everything.
"Most people find it easier - at least the first time - for me to just pick them up." He wondered if she'd ever flown before.
Paige chuckled, shaking her finger at him as if to shame him. But she said nothing of it. "Well, do you like, have to worry about balance or anything? I suppose it'll be a little less freaky if I can SEE the ground..." She poked his stomach playfully, standing pretty close for comfort. It was kind of nice to meet someone else who felt the way she did about this sort of thing. No shame, no fear.
A little more seriously, she looked over his wings. "Wow... those are really beautiful."
"Chicks dig them." He shrugged and grinned again, bending down to scoop her up - she was close enough that he didn't have to move to be able to manage it.
He had a brief thought about what someone watching would think. Then, pushing it away, Warren flapped his wings with powerful strokes until they were around six feet off the ground.
"It's all good, I don't really have to worry about balance or anything. As long as you're not getting in the way of my wings, I'm fine. And, you know, if I drop you I promise I'll catch you." He smirked.
"You comfortable?" He didn't actually move any further, just hovering in the one spot, so that he could make sure that she was all good before he took off.
He had caught her off guard, and she let out a yelp, then laughed, slipping an arm around his neck quickly and clinging to him a second before she realized he really did have a hold of her.
"Jesus..." she breathed, blinking a few times, and looking down at the grass beneath them. "You know, one of these days you'll have to give it a shot... dropping me that is." She didn't bother to explain why she seemed to think they'd be making a habit of this.
"Think they'll be ticked we're taking off?"
"Nah, they'll be fine." Even if they were going to say something, Warren didn't care. He'd been househunting as it was - it wasn't like he was one of their students.
With powerful strokes, Warren took them up high enough that they could see the whole school, and headed down towards the little shops in Westchester. Though he could have taken her all the way to New York, there was a really nice little place down there that was used to him just dropping in. '50s decor, too, which meant nice high stools that he could sit on without hassles. The fact that they were sparkly and red was, in Warren's mind, a bonus.
As he brought them down gently, he looked down at Paige and grinned. They both needed cheering up, and flying was one thing that always worked for him. Especially if it was followed by a hot fudge sundae. He hoped that she'd feel the same.
While ice cream wasn't exactly what she had on her mind, flying with him was a new experience- and Paige loved new experiences. Her heart raced, and she tried very hard not to jump or hold him tighter when he'd tilt or drop a few feet, something that to him must have been nothing but to someone who wasn't accustomed to being carried through the sky, it was pretty exhilirating.
As he set her back on her feet, Paige looked at him, still catching her breath a little, and feeling embarrassed that she'd have to do so. She laughed breathlessly, and pushed renegade strands of blonde hair out of her face.
"I guess I shouldn't fawn too much about how amazing that was. Figure a guy like you hears that all the time." She winked as they walked through the door.
"Yeah, but who doesn't like being told they're amazing?" He winked back, leading her over to a couple of high stools that looked out over the street - much sleepier than the streets of New York city, but he was willing to bet a whole lot busier than whereever she was from.
"So what do you feel like? I know you said your treat, but it's no hassle. I think you need cheering up more than I do, you're the one who's been pushed aside the most in this and it's not exactly fair." Warren left the fact that money wasn't at all an issue for him unsaid - to him it was unremarkable, but a lot of people were uncomfortable about financial stuff.
Paige smirked, her blue eyes sparkling with humor. "I don't need to be paid for to have a good time." She kicked his chair teasingly.
Chosing a rootbeer float, she watched the street idly. "I know it's some boy pact or something that you can't really talk shit about Bobby... but everyone loves him around here. Is that.. real? Is he really that nice?"
"When he's not murdering federal agents, you mean?" Warren gave her a sidelong glance that quickly transformed into a smile.
Ordering his sundae, Warren nodded his head. "He actually is a really nice guy. You know, one of those friends with everyone types." Apparently close to everyone, too, but Warren knew that he was one of the only people Bobby talked to about 'guy stuff' - ie. girls and sex. Oh, and video games, but they weren't exactly bound by the code of brotherhood.
"Having trouble telling?" He found himself chuckling at the thought.
She looked down when he made the crack about the federal agents, though she still smiled a bit. Stirring her float idly with her straw, she shrugged.
"A little out of the clear blue sky... it's all sunshine and light with him and then BAM...something like this comes up. Makes a girl wonder where a guy keeps his skeletons, ya know? To hear him tell you you've got the closet covered, so..." she chuckled.
Warren burst out laughing at the closet remark.
"Actually, he just likes to tell pretty girls that so he's got more of a chance." He winked.
"I think he's still sore about what I did in front of his parents. I don't have a boyfriend - in fact, I've never had a boyfriend. Not that I'd never want one." He shrugged. Warren was open-minded about all that - if someone came along that he liked, their genitalia wasn't going to influence him.
"I am happily single, although Bobby's of the opinion that I'm a celebrity homewrecker." Dinner and a DVD did not, in Warren's mind, make a proper date.
Paige watched him. He was an interesting guy alright. And oddly enough, his personality was... just what she'd expect out of an angel. How weird was that?
"Celebrities huh? Well you do kind of have that 'I'd be good to take to the Grammies' look about you. Who was it?"
"Alison Blaire - you know, the singer? She's taking me to the premiere of whatever her new movie is, has invited us all to come along."
He shrugged. "You're invited, obviously." If Bobby was out of jail - or the hotel or whatever it was - in time. Even if he wasn't, Warren would still drag her along.
"Anyway, nothing happened. Just had dinner and a DVD." That didn't change the fact that the next day her split from the other guy in the movie was all over the gossip columns.
"Well have you seen her since? I mean... it's not exactly an affair if you didn't -do- anything. Unless she told him it was something it wasn't."
She took a bite of her ice cream and pushed it back down into the soda. "On that account if that's the criteria for cheating, you and I have a lot of explaining to do." Paige smiled.
He burst out laughing again. "Oh, she said they've been broken up for ages. I think it was just in case anyone saw me in her apartment building, you know?" Publicity was always a concern for anyone in the public eye. He knew it well, thanks to his father's insistence for such a long time that he not show his wings. Apparently being a mutant was one of the worst publicity stunts ever.
"But you know, Bobby can't say much if he won't go exclusive." He gave her one of his maddeningly charming smiles before taking a spoonful of sundae. "God, why he wouldn't..." Warren shrugged, not wanting to say too much. He thought nothing of talking about sex and complimenting people, but he'd gotten in trouble in the past - apparently others didn't appreciate him talking to their girlfriends. Ever, in some cases.
And Paige would normally have understood- if she had anyone at all to talk to about it. She had made friends in the few weeks she was here, but there was a weird protectiveness surrounding Bobby Drake. God help you if you even hinted things might not be perfect.
"No... what were you going to say?" She watched him.
"Well, you know... A girl like you..." Warren shrugged again, taking another spoonful of his icecream. He kept his expression neutral, in the hopes that she wouldn't think that he was hitting on her.
"You'd have to be pretty stupid to give you any chance to get away." Another spoonful of sundae and he grinned.
"Though Bobby isn't always Einstein, if you know what I mean." He chuckled.
Paige laughed, blushing a little. "Well.. thanks. I thought things were going pretty good. I just hope everything works out okay..." she sighed.
"I know this has to sound really awful... but I wonder.. we've been together two weeks right? And now he's in jail. Might be for a really long time. Do I stay his girlfriend-but-not-girlfriend indefinitely? If I decided things weren't going to work, how do you say that to a guy on trial for a murder he didn't commit? By the way, it was hot for a while, but I need my freedom, sorry about yours?"
She winced, and it became obvious Paige had been making herself sick with worry about the whole thing. She took a sip of her float and went quiet.
"I'm sure things'll be fine. Cameron will get him out as soon as he possibly can." Warren decided against a joke about conjugal visits.
"Hey, don't worry about it." He reached over to squeeze her shoulder in reassurance. "I'm sure it won't come to that. And you know, if it does... Well, cross that hurdle when you come to it, don't worry about things until they happen." Though Warren had often, in the past, found himself falling into the depths of despair, he was a pretty happy-go-lucky guy. Especially since he'd come to the Institute and found himself comfortable enough to be open about being a mutant - that he was well known as a mutant all over the place now probably helped that along.
"Seriously, I'm sure he'll be out before we know it."
Paige smiled a little more. "You're probably right."
She fiddled with the remnants of her float at the bottom of her glass. "So are you an actually X-Man, or just hanging around like the rest of us?"
"Oh, I dunno. I help out." Eating the last of his sundae, Warren looked thoughtful around the spoon.
"I guess you could say I'm a junior X-Man? I don't know, I've got the suit and everything... But I'm only helping, I wouldn't go out on my own and preach the cause or anything." Not that the X-Men really preached, or anything. It was all a bit odd in his mind.
"I'm not a student or anything, there's not much more I can really learn about these." He shook his wings just a little - Warren didn't normally open them fully indoors. There just wasn't enough room, and things got broken.
Paige chuckled. "Not sure they have a cause just yet. Me? I can't -wait- to get into the leather. I just wish this chaos hadn't erupted, I was ready to go into training. Bobby was going to sneak me down to the Danger Room and everything." She sighed again.
"Hey, thanks for suggesting we get out, by the way. I think I was wearing tread in the carpet at the mansion."
Laughing, Warren shook his head.
"No worries. You know, I can get you into the Danger Room. Don't use it much, but I've got access to the basic programs." He shrugged. "Actually, I think all we need to do is ask someone and they'll let you in." They didn't seem to have a problem with it, as long as someone could show you how to work it for the first time.
"The leather's as hot as it looks, though." He found himself grinning at that.
"Yeah?" She grinned. "I'd like to see that."