ic Hard To Be Cool (In a Minivan) [IC]

[alderwitch]

Taylor turned around, giving the five year old a small smile at his clear pleasure for startling laughter from Jack. Her gaze transferred from JJ to Raina and her bland smile. She met it with a rather genuine smile of her own, "Clever. Subtle. I didn't catch the spell under the other noise of magic in the car. You have a real natural gift for it."

The compliment was rare, which Raina might not know but Huang certainly would that Taylor didn't offer false flattery about those practicing arcane gifts. "As to your parents, yes, it is alleged. If you'd like someone to look into the estate and land - the things that were yours - you can see about having an advocate for your rights when you get to Claremont. I'm sure the courts assigned one for you but the school has access to those that are more versed in the more arcane legal matters."

Taylor generally preferred to deal in facts, so that was what she offered rather than touch on the more emotionally charged feelings that a stranger really didn't have a right to go probing at. Turning around in her seat, she tipped her head towards her husband, "And Jack's right, we're more likely than most of the people the headmistress could have called to pick you up to have been seen as the, well, monsters."

She turned back to Jack then, "And yes, I know but one still has to try. It's not just the teenage boy thing I worry about but the... you know..." Taylor gave a little wave of her hands that could have meant any number of things but probably mostly meant 'vampire' given the context.

[Electra]

Raina blinked a couple of times, thrown not only by the sudden talk about Huang's sex life but by the blase attitude his folks had towards her eavesdropping. She'd been ready to walk the rest of the way to the school if she'd had to, or to at least enjoy a nice icy silence on the rest of the drive, both reactions she'd managed to elicit in the months she'd spent with her grandparents. Having Jack ask if she was okay and Taylor suggest somebody might intervene on her behalf with the authorities was a little shocking. She didn't trust it, obviously, but it was something to think about. 

She forced a little laugh. "No way, I'm not going anywhere near that case if I can help it. I got arrested too, even if all I was doing was self defense and trying to save my parents. They let me go, but if I go in there and start messing up their payday, I might just end up in a cell too. And I hear Blackstone is not a place I wanna spend the rest of my high school career." Merlin chirped to remind her that he was all set to get them some money as soon as the heat was off, and she waggled her fingers at him in appreciation. "So why did the heroes drag you?" she asked Jack, curious in spite of herself. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"They thought I had murdered people and drunk their blood," said Jack cheerfully, never one to resist teasing a stranger. He looked at Raina in the rearview mirror, and as he did so the teenage witch came to the unsettling realization that Huang's dad did not reflect in that mirror at all. 

"Blooood! Spooky!" said JJ, waving his fingers at Raina. "I like spooooky things! There are ghosts in my house!" He grinned toothily at Raina again. 

"Welp, here we are," said Jack suddenly, pointing as they saw the first road signs for Claremont. "The west end driveway goes to student offloading, right baby?" he asked Taylor, reluctantly pushing up his sunglasses to study the paper map she'd pulled out. With another turn, they had started pulling onto the lush, fall-dappled Claremont campus; the leaves had just started to turn, but from the line of cars they stopped behind the students had arrived in full force. 

[angrydurf]

"By the void."  Huang muttered under his breath as his parents discussed his potential sex life in the front seat.  No good would come of this, of any kind, of that much he was sure.  "Mother!."  he hissed glaring over the top of his sun glasses as if that stunt had ever led to any teen being less humiliated ever.

Then of course Raina asked the inevitable and wouldn't you know it dear old dad uncharacteristically told her the truth.  After all the lectures about keeping his nature secret lest the spooky hunter spawn or unspeakable blood cults get wind and snatch him away and here's Jack all but announcing his nature to a fellow student with possible cult connections.  He hung his head pinching the bridge of his nose as he willed the world to just stop so he could get off.  "I can't believe I'm related to these people." he muttered in exasperation and eyed the long line of cars and then Raina pondering being trapped in here with a fellow student and his parents until the other students managed their tearful goodbyes.

"Oh look at that line."  he said clapping his hands together and releasing his seatbelt setting off a cacophony of beeps from the vans console, "Ya know don't want to be late we should just hoof it the final stretch."  he said to Raina with a nod, "I'll help you with your bag."  he suggested and leaned forward to pat JJ, "That's right mini me 'spooooooky' you got it down."  he praised with discordant aplomb about the antics of the younger boy for one so clearly full of teen angst in every other realm.

[alderwitch]

"I think so," Taylor said, for the moment either ignorant or ignoring the humiliation of the teenager in the back seat as she answered Jack while reaching for the cheerful map that outlined the whole campus tucked in the glove box. She lifted it up to peer down at it, a frown between her brows as she added in an undertone, "You know, I always just teleport into the actual campus. I don't think I've ever driven onto the property before now but from the line of cars, I imagine we're in the right place."

At the attempt to escape from the back seat, Taylor turned around, to watch, "Of course, you're related to us. Despite all laws of nature and man, I might add. I should know, I was there for it."

"Are you sure you don't want us to take you in...?" Though from the way Huang was desperately trying to escape, Taylor was pretty sure that there was no stopping his attempt to flee the car. Despite the usual flip teasing of her words about when he was born, the worry she'd tried rather valiantly to hide was in her gaze. "Be careful, honey. If you have any problems. If something... happens - just come home. You're not invulnerable or invincible and you can get over your head. You know that one of us will come get you - no matter what - right?"

At least she'd saved all the maternal hand wringing for the last minute and a half. In Taylor's defense, she hadn't exactly had sixteen years to prepare for this moment. Most of her instincts were still in the 'my baby is going to kindergarten' stage. "Do you have everything you need? Are you sure you have everything you need?"

Edited September 3, 2015 by alderwitch

[Electra]

"Yeah, okay," Raina agreed to Huang's suggestion, giving the mirror another uneasy look. Something was seriously warped with this family, and she was pretty sure she had enough troubles of her own already without getting into somebody else's weird drama. "Merlin, say goodbye to JJ, we're going cross-country. Um, thanks for the ride, Mr. and Mrs. Faretti. You guys have a good one now." Merlin suffered himself to receive a rather powerful hug and a moist kiss from JJ before retreating to the relative safety of Raina's shoulder. "And watch out for those ghosts," she advised JJ, then slid open the minivan door and hopped out. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"So long," said Jack, giving a little wave to Raina. Weird kid. Bet she worships Zuul. "Take care of yourself, boy," he said seriously to Jack Jr, nodding at his son past his sunglasses, trying to convey in a few words all the feelings he didn't like to share in front of the teenager who'd walked into his life all by surprise. But then his life had always been full of surprises. He patted Taylor's arm. "He'll be fine, baby, he's our boy. He can handle a bunch of teenage do-gooders with powers." He grinned at her. "We handled the grownup variety pretty well when they gave us trouble." As the door closed, Raina and Huang could distinctly Jack's voice being cut off by a growing whine from JJ. 

"I wanna monkey! Mommy, Daddy, I wanna monkey!"