Scott and Lil - Backdated to Dec. 30
Dec. 30th, 2017 01:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ax_diamondlil posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ax_mainLil decides to ask Scott about something that been bothering her regarding Nick and his rescue. Predictably, it doesn't go well.
Lil sat at the table looking at the pile of food she'd assembled for breakfast and for once, wasn't sure if she could eat it. Not that she wasn't hungry, but it had been a long night with Nick and now she simply wasn't sure if she had the energy needed to eat the damn stuff. Well, that and there was a worry at the back of her mind that she should be taking this back to the room. Nick needed her. Except no, Teddy was there, spelling her off for a bit, and was on the whole probably a whole lot smarter and better equipped to help him then Lil. She sighed, picked up a piece of toast, and took a bite. This was not easy shit to sort through.
Someone opened the door and Lil turned to give to give whoever it was a tired look, hoping it wasn't anyone she was likely to pick a fight with because boy, her nerves were a little thin. Scott. Oh boy. That started a mix of feelings Lil wasn't prepared for: absolute gratitude for saving Nick, but also a wave of anger because he and the rest of his team had dropped Nick off in his room afterward and left.
"Hey," she said. It was all she could manage in that moment.
"Hey," Scott greeted, sparing a glance for the girl sitting at the table. Lil, right. He didn't know her well; most of what he did know was based solely on observation and reading the journals, not conversation. Still, he hadn't been completely raised in a barn. "Good morning."
"Not really." Fuck, she really hadn't meant for that to slip out. She shifted her gaze back to her food because she was pretty sure she was sporting an epic example of resting bitch face and the food was a safe target for that. "Sorry, didn't get a lot of sleep."
If he was upset by her disagreement, he didn't show it. "Same here," he said evenly. He went over to the cabinets and began to dig in them for something to eat. She was friends with Nick, so he could guess where her exhaustion came from. And it was nice of her to check on her friend, to be with him, even if it was clearly draining for her.
Good thing he was turned away from her because the look Lil gave him would have gotten her in trouble for sure. Wasn't her New Year's Resolution going to be all about no drama? "Yeah, it sucks." Okay, this was the guy who saved Nick, so why was what he did, or didn't do after that making her want to toss something at his head?
"Yeah, it does." Giving up on the cabinets, Scott went to the freezer to get his old standby. Microwavable corndogs. Hard to go wrong there.
The toast would be good. The orange would be a lot more satisfying though she'd probably toss it too hard and give the guy a concussion or something. Calm down. He saved Nick.. "Look, um, I owe you a thank you for what you did for Nick. So, you know... "
Scott tossed a plate with four corndogs into the microwave, punched in the time he wanted, and set the machine going before he turned back to her. Scott shook his head 'no.' "Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but...no one owes us any thanks. At least, no one owes me any. Not you. Definitely not Nick. We look after our own. It's what we do."
The orange, definitely the fucking orange. "Well, you brought him back. Looking after our own sorta means other things too. I sure would've liked to know about the whole thing that night so I could've been there for Nick."
Scott crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the counter. "Believe it or not, I figured the psychiatrist that runs the school and the medical professionals that work with him were capable of deciding who did and did not need to immediately be told and suspected they'd know more about how to care for a traumatized kid than a bunch of teenagers. And I was a bit busy, besides."
"Holy fuck, is patronizing asshole just the default for guys at this school, or do they give you lessons when you get here?" It sure seemed to be a pattern whenever Lil decided to push back a bit. She leaned back in her chair, took a breath to check her mood because yeah, her tone probably didn't help things, and spoke again. "Did you ask Nick?"
"Ask Nick what, exactly?" Scott asked, tone even and almost bored, seemingly brushing off her insults. He really could not care less what Lil's, or most people's, opinion of him was. Though he made note of the fact that she apparently had some kind of chip (or boulder) on her shoulder about the school more generally. He could deal with that some other time, if at all.
"If he needed a friend that night? 'Cause me and Teddy found out the morning after and he sure as hell needed someone then."
"Like I said, I was busy. I wasn't here," Scott said. The microwave dinged but, for the moment, he ignored it. "And, like I said, I trusted the Professor to do what was best for Nick."
Lil wasn't following. "You dropped him off, right? There wasn't any time to just check with Nick to see what he needed?"
Scott pulled his food out of the microwave, and sat it on the counter to cool to a temperature that was lower than 'came straight out of a volcano.' That done, he turned back to the inquisitor. "For someone who spends a lot of time bitching about how no one ever asks you anything, you sure seem to leap to fuck-ton of conclusions without asking for a single verified fact," he observed, sounding unimpressed. "No, I didn't come back with Nick. I stayed behind to, you know, deal with the assholes with guns."
Lil picked up the orange and kept her gaze bolted to the bloody thing as she peeled it. She'd been through the same fucking song and dance with Warren and Nolan, them getting their backs up because she asked questions they didn't want to answer. No way she was going to let Scott pull that shit too. "So I'm talking to the wrong person then? Who leads the team? Who'd be responsible for making sure that someone would be there for Nick?"
"I don't have half the power some of you all seem to think I do." Scott mused.
"I was leading the team in the field, which is why I was, you know, still fucking there. The Professor is in charge of the school. Nick was brought back to the infirmary where, as I understand it, actual professionals met with him," Scott said. God, could she seem past her prejudices against every single fucking person at the school for even half a goddamn second so that she might actually know what was going on occasionally? "I don't know what your issue is with the school, I don't know what your issue is with most of the guys here - and frankly, I don't fucking care, hate me all day if you want - but I can tell you that Nick was taken care of."
"Yeah, until he got sent back to his room and was left there all alone." Lil pushed her plate away and stood up. So much for the fucking New Year's resolution. "But hey, it's just that crazy man-hating bitch and her 'issues' so don't feel like I need to know anything about that, 'specially when you're so busy with being the hero and all."
Scott narrowed his eyes on her. She hadn't mentioned Nick hardly at all, other than making baseless accusations about the kid having been just dropped in a shed and left to fend for himself or something. Which told him two things: (1) she automatically assumed the worst about the school, the Professor, all of them; and (2) she hadn't actually been told by Nick what had happened. She wasn't relaying Nick's complaints, or real problems he'd voiced. She was bitching on her own behalf. At the base of this was her complaint: they hadn't told her. She was saying that her feelings were hurt, because she felt left out or guilty, he didn't know and honestly didn't much care. He had had enough of her selfish, childish, temper-tantrum that she claimed was on behalf of her friend.
He didn't raise his voice, didn't yell. His tone barely changed, though his speech did grow more precise. "Did it ever occur to you that he might have asked to be left alone?" He asked pointedly. "Because as someone who has had the unfortunate privilege of having the Professor as his own shrink for awhile, I can tell you, he doesn't back off unless you ask him to. Before you decided to accuse me, and Jean, and Ororo, and Clarice, the Professor, Nurse Friedlander, Dr. MacTaggert...did you ever actually bother to consider the fact that maybe you weren't told about it because in that specific moment, you didn't need to be? Because Nick didn't want to see anyone?
"Are you so selfish that what matters here is that you felt left out or guilty, and not what was best for Nick? Or is your ego so goddamn big that you actually think you know better than literally everyone else who was involved? Nick included." He'd been in shock. Scott knew that for sure. Hell, the poor kid had been in shock when Scott and Clarice had pulled him out of the snow. But Scott knew the Professor, at least as well as any of the students did, and he knew the Professor would have asked. Nick could have asked for Lil, or Teddy, or for anyone he pleased other than those that had been lost, but apparently he hadn't. He'd been in shock, sure, but he'd made a choice. The Professor, presumably, had respected that.
Lil took her plate, avoiding looking at Scott, trying to keep her breathing steady. He hadn't been wrong, not completely, because she had failed Nick in the most complete way possible when she hadn't been with him at the attack, and that had been eating away at her ever since his return. But god, god... Her hands shook as she put the plate on the counter. "You guys never go halfway, do you?"
He watched her impassively. "Do you?" Scott figured they both knew the answer to that.
"You stupid fucking asshole." Lil's breathing was too fast and her hands were threatening to ball into fists. This idiot actually thought they were on a level playing field. "I get angry with one of you and you have an unpleasant 15 minutes. One of you gets angry with me and I'm getting my fucking... I'm getting... " my school records hacked. Jesus, couldn't she let that go? And wasn't this supposed to be about Nick?
"You're getting what, exactly?" Scott asked. He managed to sound serious, rather than flip, because this sounded like something more serious than just the giant chip she had on her shoulder. She sounded like someone had hurt her. Almost like she was afraid. She was shaking like a cornered animal. "Because I haven't actually done anything to you, other than fight words with words. Did someone else do something more?"
"Right, because I trust you now." Except he almost sounded sincere. It might have worked if he hadn't just told her exactly what he thought of her. Besides, she'd told Nolan about the thing with Simon when she was still messed up about it and look where that had ended up.
If the shot she had taken landed, he didn't show it. "You can trust me or not, but I'm equal opportunity when it comes to making sure this place stays a safe one. For all the students, you included. Has someone made it unsafe for you? Because I can be a grade-A fucker to just about anyone." Scott said.
Lil was confused by the switch and couldn't hide it. "Um, it doesn't work that way? You don't care why I've got issues with guys, remember? And all of this was just me being an egomaniac or some such shit so... I mean, I tell you and you talk to him and then things are worse than ever because I'm the fucking problem." God, did she think that would happen with Nolan? Maybe it was the lack of sleep that had her brain working like that, but at least in this moment, it made sense. She grabbed the orange, she'd have that at least plus whatever junk food was still left in Nick's room, then headed for the door.
She didn't want to tell him, she didn't have to. Scott began making his way through his corndogs as she fled. He didn't call after her, he didn't see a point. But he was going to mention this to the Professor. Both to confess his own sins - he'd promised to try to not be a bastard to the other students - and because he had some serious concerns about Lil.
Lil sat at the table looking at the pile of food she'd assembled for breakfast and for once, wasn't sure if she could eat it. Not that she wasn't hungry, but it had been a long night with Nick and now she simply wasn't sure if she had the energy needed to eat the damn stuff. Well, that and there was a worry at the back of her mind that she should be taking this back to the room. Nick needed her. Except no, Teddy was there, spelling her off for a bit, and was on the whole probably a whole lot smarter and better equipped to help him then Lil. She sighed, picked up a piece of toast, and took a bite. This was not easy shit to sort through.
Someone opened the door and Lil turned to give to give whoever it was a tired look, hoping it wasn't anyone she was likely to pick a fight with because boy, her nerves were a little thin. Scott. Oh boy. That started a mix of feelings Lil wasn't prepared for: absolute gratitude for saving Nick, but also a wave of anger because he and the rest of his team had dropped Nick off in his room afterward and left.
"Hey," she said. It was all she could manage in that moment.
"Hey," Scott greeted, sparing a glance for the girl sitting at the table. Lil, right. He didn't know her well; most of what he did know was based solely on observation and reading the journals, not conversation. Still, he hadn't been completely raised in a barn. "Good morning."
"Not really." Fuck, she really hadn't meant for that to slip out. She shifted her gaze back to her food because she was pretty sure she was sporting an epic example of resting bitch face and the food was a safe target for that. "Sorry, didn't get a lot of sleep."
If he was upset by her disagreement, he didn't show it. "Same here," he said evenly. He went over to the cabinets and began to dig in them for something to eat. She was friends with Nick, so he could guess where her exhaustion came from. And it was nice of her to check on her friend, to be with him, even if it was clearly draining for her.
Good thing he was turned away from her because the look Lil gave him would have gotten her in trouble for sure. Wasn't her New Year's Resolution going to be all about no drama? "Yeah, it sucks." Okay, this was the guy who saved Nick, so why was what he did, or didn't do after that making her want to toss something at his head?
"Yeah, it does." Giving up on the cabinets, Scott went to the freezer to get his old standby. Microwavable corndogs. Hard to go wrong there.
The toast would be good. The orange would be a lot more satisfying though she'd probably toss it too hard and give the guy a concussion or something. Calm down. He saved Nick.. "Look, um, I owe you a thank you for what you did for Nick. So, you know... "
Scott tossed a plate with four corndogs into the microwave, punched in the time he wanted, and set the machine going before he turned back to her. Scott shook his head 'no.' "Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but...no one owes us any thanks. At least, no one owes me any. Not you. Definitely not Nick. We look after our own. It's what we do."
The orange, definitely the fucking orange. "Well, you brought him back. Looking after our own sorta means other things too. I sure would've liked to know about the whole thing that night so I could've been there for Nick."
Scott crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the counter. "Believe it or not, I figured the psychiatrist that runs the school and the medical professionals that work with him were capable of deciding who did and did not need to immediately be told and suspected they'd know more about how to care for a traumatized kid than a bunch of teenagers. And I was a bit busy, besides."
"Holy fuck, is patronizing asshole just the default for guys at this school, or do they give you lessons when you get here?" It sure seemed to be a pattern whenever Lil decided to push back a bit. She leaned back in her chair, took a breath to check her mood because yeah, her tone probably didn't help things, and spoke again. "Did you ask Nick?"
"Ask Nick what, exactly?" Scott asked, tone even and almost bored, seemingly brushing off her insults. He really could not care less what Lil's, or most people's, opinion of him was. Though he made note of the fact that she apparently had some kind of chip (or boulder) on her shoulder about the school more generally. He could deal with that some other time, if at all.
"If he needed a friend that night? 'Cause me and Teddy found out the morning after and he sure as hell needed someone then."
"Like I said, I was busy. I wasn't here," Scott said. The microwave dinged but, for the moment, he ignored it. "And, like I said, I trusted the Professor to do what was best for Nick."
Lil wasn't following. "You dropped him off, right? There wasn't any time to just check with Nick to see what he needed?"
Scott pulled his food out of the microwave, and sat it on the counter to cool to a temperature that was lower than 'came straight out of a volcano.' That done, he turned back to the inquisitor. "For someone who spends a lot of time bitching about how no one ever asks you anything, you sure seem to leap to fuck-ton of conclusions without asking for a single verified fact," he observed, sounding unimpressed. "No, I didn't come back with Nick. I stayed behind to, you know, deal with the assholes with guns."
Lil picked up the orange and kept her gaze bolted to the bloody thing as she peeled it. She'd been through the same fucking song and dance with Warren and Nolan, them getting their backs up because she asked questions they didn't want to answer. No way she was going to let Scott pull that shit too. "So I'm talking to the wrong person then? Who leads the team? Who'd be responsible for making sure that someone would be there for Nick?"
"I don't have half the power some of you all seem to think I do." Scott mused.
"I was leading the team in the field, which is why I was, you know, still fucking there. The Professor is in charge of the school. Nick was brought back to the infirmary where, as I understand it, actual professionals met with him," Scott said. God, could she seem past her prejudices against every single fucking person at the school for even half a goddamn second so that she might actually know what was going on occasionally? "I don't know what your issue is with the school, I don't know what your issue is with most of the guys here - and frankly, I don't fucking care, hate me all day if you want - but I can tell you that Nick was taken care of."
"Yeah, until he got sent back to his room and was left there all alone." Lil pushed her plate away and stood up. So much for the fucking New Year's resolution. "But hey, it's just that crazy man-hating bitch and her 'issues' so don't feel like I need to know anything about that, 'specially when you're so busy with being the hero and all."
Scott narrowed his eyes on her. She hadn't mentioned Nick hardly at all, other than making baseless accusations about the kid having been just dropped in a shed and left to fend for himself or something. Which told him two things: (1) she automatically assumed the worst about the school, the Professor, all of them; and (2) she hadn't actually been told by Nick what had happened. She wasn't relaying Nick's complaints, or real problems he'd voiced. She was bitching on her own behalf. At the base of this was her complaint: they hadn't told her. She was saying that her feelings were hurt, because she felt left out or guilty, he didn't know and honestly didn't much care. He had had enough of her selfish, childish, temper-tantrum that she claimed was on behalf of her friend.
He didn't raise his voice, didn't yell. His tone barely changed, though his speech did grow more precise. "Did it ever occur to you that he might have asked to be left alone?" He asked pointedly. "Because as someone who has had the unfortunate privilege of having the Professor as his own shrink for awhile, I can tell you, he doesn't back off unless you ask him to. Before you decided to accuse me, and Jean, and Ororo, and Clarice, the Professor, Nurse Friedlander, Dr. MacTaggert...did you ever actually bother to consider the fact that maybe you weren't told about it because in that specific moment, you didn't need to be? Because Nick didn't want to see anyone?
"Are you so selfish that what matters here is that you felt left out or guilty, and not what was best for Nick? Or is your ego so goddamn big that you actually think you know better than literally everyone else who was involved? Nick included." He'd been in shock. Scott knew that for sure. Hell, the poor kid had been in shock when Scott and Clarice had pulled him out of the snow. But Scott knew the Professor, at least as well as any of the students did, and he knew the Professor would have asked. Nick could have asked for Lil, or Teddy, or for anyone he pleased other than those that had been lost, but apparently he hadn't. He'd been in shock, sure, but he'd made a choice. The Professor, presumably, had respected that.
Lil took her plate, avoiding looking at Scott, trying to keep her breathing steady. He hadn't been wrong, not completely, because she had failed Nick in the most complete way possible when she hadn't been with him at the attack, and that had been eating away at her ever since his return. But god, god... Her hands shook as she put the plate on the counter. "You guys never go halfway, do you?"
He watched her impassively. "Do you?" Scott figured they both knew the answer to that.
"You stupid fucking asshole." Lil's breathing was too fast and her hands were threatening to ball into fists. This idiot actually thought they were on a level playing field. "I get angry with one of you and you have an unpleasant 15 minutes. One of you gets angry with me and I'm getting my fucking... I'm getting... " my school records hacked. Jesus, couldn't she let that go? And wasn't this supposed to be about Nick?
"You're getting what, exactly?" Scott asked. He managed to sound serious, rather than flip, because this sounded like something more serious than just the giant chip she had on her shoulder. She sounded like someone had hurt her. Almost like she was afraid. She was shaking like a cornered animal. "Because I haven't actually done anything to you, other than fight words with words. Did someone else do something more?"
"Right, because I trust you now." Except he almost sounded sincere. It might have worked if he hadn't just told her exactly what he thought of her. Besides, she'd told Nolan about the thing with Simon when she was still messed up about it and look where that had ended up.
If the shot she had taken landed, he didn't show it. "You can trust me or not, but I'm equal opportunity when it comes to making sure this place stays a safe one. For all the students, you included. Has someone made it unsafe for you? Because I can be a grade-A fucker to just about anyone." Scott said.
Lil was confused by the switch and couldn't hide it. "Um, it doesn't work that way? You don't care why I've got issues with guys, remember? And all of this was just me being an egomaniac or some such shit so... I mean, I tell you and you talk to him and then things are worse than ever because I'm the fucking problem." God, did she think that would happen with Nolan? Maybe it was the lack of sleep that had her brain working like that, but at least in this moment, it made sense. She grabbed the orange, she'd have that at least plus whatever junk food was still left in Nick's room, then headed for the door.
She didn't want to tell him, she didn't have to. Scott began making his way through his corndogs as she fled. He didn't call after her, he didn't see a point. But he was going to mention this to the Professor. Both to confess his own sins - he'd promised to try to not be a bastard to the other students - and because he had some serious concerns about Lil.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-29 09:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-29 09:33 pm (UTC)Scott, of course, is a biased source. ;)
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Date: 2018-01-30 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-30 08:35 pm (UTC)