Beach Party in Winter (IC)

[quotemyname]

"Mark may be a bit reckless. But he's a good guy inside." Eddie patted Mike's shoulder. Taking a swig of his beer he added, "I'm sure he'll figure out the right thing to do."

[alderwitch]

Alex gave the boys a vaguely irritated look and huffed out her breath, "Of course he'll do the right thing. That doesn't mean people won't get hurt. Mark has no idea how into him she is. They're in completely different mental spaces and eventually that's going to cause huge problems. Problems I don't think Mark will even see coming."

Alex huffed again and went to pull herself out of the pool, "Hopefully his powers won't protect him from the reprecussions so at least he'll only make that mistake once."

[quotemyname]

"Yea, but-" Eddie began to protest, but dropped it. "Yea, I guess you're right. She is super into him. Come to think of it, I can't even understand why. They just met." Eddie shrugged his shoulders and held his hands out to his sides in helplessness.

Eddie laughed at Alex's last comment. "Knowing Murphy's Law, that's exactly when his powers would give out."

[angrydurf]

Mike frowned at her tone not entirely certain why she was so vehement about the issue. He supposed she just didn't want to see Faith get hurt, "Well maybe someone should try and warn Faith about Marks uhm ... way of doing things?" He glanced to Alex questioningly then to Eddie uncertain if he was way off base. "Or I guess I could try and talk to Mark but..." He paused not sure what more to say Marks world view was not an easy thing to overcome conversationally.

[Ecalsneerg]

"Or I could punch Mark in the face?" said Chris helpfully. "It worked for Mike... well, not really well. Or at all. Ok, different plan." Chris mused for a while.

"The issue is, if they break up, she'll be crushed. And then she'll notice him essentially not caring. It's not quite like that, but it also sorta is, and it'll look like that. And she'll get more crushed."

[quotemyname]

Eddie gasped. "Don't you realize what this means?!" He grabbed Chris by both shoulders and shook him. "We can never let them break up! Hehehehehe!" Eddie released his roommate and took a step back. He was chuckling to himself all the while.

[alderwitch]

Alex gave the boys a dubious look and reconsidered having opened her mouth in the first place, "No, we are not putting together some cracked out plan. It will backfire horribally and there will probably be another quad incident. I don't think anyone should talk to Mark unless its me or MAYBE Chris. Maybe."

[Ecalsneerg]

"I'll talk to him, as the one who is a male, who has sustained a semi-successful relationship," began Chris. Wait, Zoe. "And as someone who knows to put a damn hat on the door," he continued, glaring at Eddie, "I should talk to him. Although plying him with beer would help with manly talk."

[angrydurf]

Mike nodded agreement, "I dunno, Mark doesn't really conceive of things not working out well." He offered with a shrug. "I still think someone needs to explain Mark to faith, I mean I guess she might blow it off as jealous ex stuff," He chuckled lightly at that, "From you Alex, Maybe Erin? She kinda speaks girl." He looked around to the others questioningly.

[Electra]

Erin had been thinking about leaving, having come to the party, eaten food and socialized, which were the three bullet points on her to-do list. But she'd been curious about what all her friends were gossiping about, so she gravitated closer, half a bag of chips still in hand. She arrived just in time for the tail end of the conversation. "Kind of speaks girl?" she asked, giving Mike a poke in the shoulder that was not quite gentle. "I don't think anyone can explain Mark, anyway."

[alderwitch]

"No, no, no. I think it would be better if we did reverse genders. Chris can speak to Faith and I'll speak to Mark and.... did you have sex in the dorms with my daughter?" Alex shifted tracks abruptly to glare at Eddie, "I wasn't kidding, you know. I really can make it so that nothing arouses you again. Or only sheep. Or the statue of liberty."

[Ecalsneerg]

"Woahoahoah, I meant no harm! Well, I got harmed, goddamn sheets, but Zoe didn't. Well, I didn't walk in on anything like that... so, MARK!" said Chris hurriedly. "I'm fine to talk to Faith, unless... well, don't you think I'm TOO MUCH for a newbie? Like, really TOO DAMN MUCH?"

[quotemyname]

"I'll talk to him, as the one who is a male, who has sustained a semi-successful relationship," began Chris. Wait, Zoe. "And as someone who knows to put a damn hat on the door," he continued, glaring at Eddie, "I should talk to him. Although plying him with beer would help with manly talk."

"Hey!" Eddie gave Chris a playful push. "I thought we said we would never talk about that again!" Eddie made a pouty face and looked to the side. "Besides, your desk was a lot cleaner than mine at the time..."

"No, no, no. I think it would be better if we did reverse genders. Chris can speak to Faith and I'll speak to Mark and.... did you have sex in the dorms with my daughter?" Alex shifted tracks abruptly to glare at Eddie, "I wasn't kidding, you know. I really can make it so that nothing arouses you again. Or only sheep. Or the statue of liberty."

"Ahh! No!" Eddie quickly dashed behind Mike. "Don't hurt me!" Peeking out from behind Mike, Eddie had a huge grin on his face. As usual, he wasn't being serious.

[angrydurf]

Mike frowned at both of them not liking threats idle or otherwise and completely confused what had Alex in such a foul mood today. He turned and laid one big hand on eddies shoulder with a grimace, "Just watch it when it comes to Zoe." He wanted to say more but didn't really have the words so instead turned to Erin with a smile, "Well you do. I mean don't you?"

[Electra]

Erin opened her mouth, then closed it again, a little confounded at actually being asked. "Well, yeah, I am a girl. Not like, you know, most of the girls here," she admitted, flushing a little as she glanced around at the generally genetically favored attendees of the party, "but I still count. I just don't think that anybody is fluent enough to make Faith see what she doesn't want to see. I think she's really in love with him."

[alderwitch]

"And that's the problem," Alex said, returning Mike's frown although she had to crane her neck to do so. Her attention at least was back on topic but she gave Eddie one last look of warning before she turned back to the group, "Mark doesn't feel things like most people do. He's not head over heels for her or really capable of being head over heals for anyone. He hasn't had the emotional growth needed to feel that way. He doesn't even understand it. Its like someone who's been too coddled, but its from his powers not, like, sheltered parenting."

[Ecalsneerg]

"Ass. I don't believe in love at first sight. Yeah, she's mad about him. Actual love? No." Chris frowned. "I mean, she's like Hellion sans his parent issue. So rich, that she can get what she likes, no disappointment. Obviously not Marky-level, but still kinda sheltered."

[quotemyname]

"Gee," Eddie replied, having finally coming out from behind Mike. "Sounds more like she's the one you want to punch."

Eddie turned to mike and Alex, "And don't worry. I have things under control with Zoe. Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise." He was suddenly both sincere and serious. Surely hell had frozen over.

[angrydurf]

Mike looked back to the group and nodded agreement with Chris, "Well if any one can break through that its you right?" Mike also like to think Hellion had, well, A clue, but whatever. He smiled once more to Erin, "Well you're my go to girl for girl questions I can't ask Alex." He seemed to think this would be appeasing in some fashion rather than awkward like it sounded when it left his mouth he grimaced slightly and shrugged.

He glanced at Alex and thought to her, "You Ok? If you wanna leave we can just go."

[Cyroa]

James had been having a good time. Moving among the students was natural to himn as breathing. He was a social animal, sometimes anyway, and it was easy. But that didn't mean he gave a damn about any of them, despite how he came off to them. He was enjoying the experience but it wasn't meaningful really. Fun, sure. But transitory. And he wasn't exactly the same person he had been when he first got to the school either. He had started to 'grow up' he supposed.

He finally came back around and wandered over to the group of people who he did give a damn about. "You still count Erin, no worries." He wasn't going to say anything about the Eddie-Zoe thing. So not his problem! He cared about them but getting in the middle of that just screamed danger any way he looked at it. And not in a good way either!

He glared at Chris, half-serious. "Hey! I resent that! I've got the money sure, but I'm not like that at all thanks. I've got a far more solid grounding in reality. Sheesh." He shrugged. "But yeah, good luck explaining anything about this to either of them, for different reasons of course. Result will still be the same either way though."

[Ecalsneerg]

Mike looked back to the group and nodded agreement with Chris, "Well if any one can break through that its you right?"

"Oooh, I love it when you press my buttons," said Chris, pretending to swoon. "Fine, I'll talk to her. But I can't promise anything."

He glared at Chris, half-serious. "Hey! I resent that! I've got the money sure, but I'm not like that at all thanks. I've got a far more solid grounding in reality. Sheesh."

He then turned to James. "Last time a girl said no to you?" he grinned.

[alderwitch]

Alex gave Mike a reluctant smile and reached to tuck her hand into his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. With her fingers still laced with his, she agreed, "Well, yeah, it's probably pointless. People don't generally thank you when you point out their emotional problems but, I mean, don't we have a responsibility to try and soften the explosion if we can? I mean, isn't that what we do is all about? Helping people?"

[Cyroa]

James paused for a moment, thinking at Chris' question. "Hmm...uh. Give me a moment, I'll think of something!" He snapped his fingers suddenly and pointed to Erin and Alex. "There you go. Two perfect examples. One's just politer than the other," he said with a grin. The fact that he never actually tried to seduce either of them, and the minor unconscious flirtations he did didn't count, seemed a bit irrelevant at the moment.

He nodded at Alex though. "I suppose someone should. Though I doubt it will do much honestly." He didn't particularly want to try either. But he'd follow there lead in this and back them up. That's what friends were for after all.

[angrydurf]

Mike nodded agreement, "We have to at least try. If it doesn't work we just try to keep the damage minimal I guess but we can't just cop out because its hard and unlikely to work." He frowned slightly at that, "I mean like their our friends right so we have too." He was suddenly very glad he didn't have to do the actual talking as he seemed to really be flummoxing it up he squeezed Alex's hand and looked to her for reassurance.

[quotemyname]

"That's right." Eddie said, "We're a bunch of teenage super heroes, and we're stationed on relationship disaster control." Eddie had always tended to see these things in black and white.

"I mean, this is either going to work with them, or it isn't." He spoke his mind. "I understand there are things to be said for lessening the damage and all, but is it really our business to be prying? I know it irks me every time you guys bug me about Zoe. But I deal with it because of the circumstances. Mark and Faith might not be so receptive. We might just end up making things worse for them. Then what?" Eddie shrugged. He'd been debating saying it for a while. And finally decided on a course of action.