ax_main | Billy and Illyana | Backdated to 9/18

Some time after watching the movie with Teddy, Illyana and Billy talk.

Illyana turned over in her sleeping bag, and pulled at her pillow, trying to get it into a comfortable formation. She couldn't seem to get to sleep, and it was obvious that the pillow was the problem.

Or, well, maybe not. Her mind, which had obligingly shut down in favor of yelling at Billy's laptop screen with him and Teddy, had decided to wake back up again. Sleep wasn't coming.

Sighing, Illyana shifted again, and settled for staring up at the ceiling. Maybe eventually she'd get so bored she'd fall asleep.

Billy hadnt really been able to fully fall asleep yet, he had been starting doze, but when he heard the sleeping bag crinkle and shift against the floor he rolled over and sat up.

"Hey." He whispered, noting Teddy's soft snore. "You still awake?"

Illyana grimaced. "Yeah. Sorry if I woke you."

"Nah. You didn't." He shifted a little. "Are you okay?"

"Define okay? Illyana sighed. "Not really. My brain keeps racing. It's been a seriously crappy day."

"I'm sorry." Billy murmured, wondering if she could even hear him so he patted the spot next to him on his bed and scooted over a little more. "Come up here so I don't have to loudly whisper and wake Teddy."

Illyana gave him a look, trying to decide if this was another ploy to get her to take his bed, then sighed and got up. If it was, it was - she didn't really feel like arguing. She padded over and crawled in beside him, but didn't say anything, just because she really didn't know what to say.

Billy waited for her to start as he busied himself with making sure the covers were over her legs well enough, but when she was still silent he gave a small sigh. "Okay. I'll start. I met Tamara the other day, want to tell me about Pyro now that I'm not drunk and leaning all over you?"

"That depends?" Illyana wrinkled her nose. "Are you going to tell me how irresponsible I was to invite him to the party? Because I think I've heard that from enough people already."

"No. I'm not." Billy said truthfully, shifting so he could see her face a little better in the dark. He knew it hadn't been the wisest choice, but everyone had bad choices all the time. "I just want to know what happened, from your point of view."

"What happened with what, Tamara?" Yana made a face, looking annoyed. "Near as I can figure out, she hit on Pyro. When he didn't go for it, she fried him. But Little Miss YouTube Princess didn't even get in trouble for it, because hey. No one wanted him here to begin with. And then when I called her out on it, she told me he was trash."

"Tamara told me a little bit about how Pyro had come on to her and that you threatened to send her to Limbo for everything that happened?" He raised an eyebrow at her for that one, even though she probably couldn't see it.

Illyana grimaced a little self-consciously. "I was pissed. I wasn't actually going to do it. But Pyro didn't hit on her. He thinks she's a bitch and that she's seriously full of herself."

Billy had figured about the empty promise, but that still didn't mean it was okay since Tamara had thought she was serious. "Okay. So, Pyro came to the party, everyone got pissed about it. Stuff happened with Tamara and things got heated....is that kind of why you and Kitty are at odds?"

"No." Illyana's jaw set. "That would be because Kitty took advantage of my inviting him to plant a tracking device on him."

"Wait what?" Billy blinked, then seemed to recall Kitty's confusing words when she first came up to him to dance. "Ooooh. That's what she meant when she said she had been on a mission. Okay."

Billy grit his teeth at that thought, on one hand he got it, but on the other hand Yana had actually brought this guy cause she liked him so that couldn't have been easy to take. "First, and please don't hit me, I can see where Kitty might have been coming from, just because of what I have heard of their group."

He held up a hand before she could say anything. "But, I can see where her doing that would hurt your feelings, since you liked him and she's your closest friend."

"I'm not hurt," Illyana lied. "I'm pissed. Yeah, she told me that she thought I was making a mistake, but she said she had my back, anyway. And the whole time, she was plotting to go break into his home because they had info she wanted? How is that even remotely okay?"

"It's not." Billy admitted, again a little torn between understand Kitty and Yana. "It wasn't right of her to do that, but I also think her and others were acting out cause they were scared. Which I'm not saying okays everything, but I mean can you at least see why they would be?"

"Kinda?" Illyana sighed. "I get why everyone thinks I shouldn't have invited him. I didn't, but I do, okay? No one knows him except me, and yeah, students' privacy, blah blah blah. I get that. But I don't get why everyone's convinced that his team is out to get us, just because they got there first. If we'd gotten there first, we would've gotten the info, erased the disks, and blown the place up. How is that any different, other than that they burned it down instead?"

"I mean is that what you guys were going to do? After you have the info, just blow it up?" Why were kids being sent on missions to retrieve information and blow up evidence? That seemed really weird.

"Well, that's what Tommy did," Yana pointed out. "I mean, Pyro set the fire, but Tommy blew up the building, and no one was in any hurry to stop him. So I'm guessing yes?"

Of course Tommy blew up the building, Billy resisted the urge to roll his eyes and he did, but it was extremely difficult. "Okay. Well, in that case, isn't everyone just upset cause there's another group out there doing what you were supposed to?"

Tommy had classified them as jerks, so they weren't bad per se.

"Probably. But I don't see what the big deal is. Phantazia even gave us some of the info, before Tommy insisted we had to leave. And Pyro said his boss actually gave it to Kitty, even after she broke in."

"Wait, wait, wait." Billy squinted. "Kitty broke in?"

Illyana stared. Hadn't she said that already - no, maybe not. "Yeah. Last night. Except they knew someone would be coming, because they found the tracker. Except they thought it was me, and that that was why I'd invited him."

"Holy crap. I mean, she's okay right? I'm guessing she is otherwise you probably wouldn't be here right now." Billy sighed, letting the knowledge that Kitty wasn't hurt ease his sudden worry, there. He thought about it. "Why would they just gave us the info we wanted?"

"Why not? Pyro said all we would've had to have done was ask for it. I mean, whether people are freaked out that there are mutants out there who aren't going to school here, they're taking on the Right. Not us." Illyana's expression grew sulky. She didn't want to talk about what the Brotherhood's potential overall plan was. Or Kitty's, for that matter. She wanted to talk to someone about her crappy day.

"Mmmm..." Billy was about to ask more questions, but he knew Yana wouldn't really have any solid answers so he digressed. "So, you and Kitty fought cause of the tracker and now your here in my beautiful two person dorm with my handsome snoring roommate and me. Does leaving make you feel any better?"

Illyana's eyebrows rose. "In the last forty eight hours, I've been grounded. I got into a fight with Tamara. I found out that our moron human lab assistant is actually a moron mutant lab assistant who's apparently 'seen' every injury I've had in my life. I spent a day figuring the guy I'd slept with the night before had used me to get info on the school, and found out my roommate was the reason for that. I think it'd take a lot more than your room and your hot roommate to make me feel better." She forced a grin. "Even if he does have a nice ass. And don't think I didn't see you checking it out."

Billy tried to ignore how hot his face got and thanked everything that it was too dark to see it. "That's not-It's just a stupid crush, don't...ugh. Never mind."

He sighed, but then reached over and wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "I'm sorry you day has been so shitty. Would throwing water balloons off the roof make you feel better?"

Illyana snuggled in against him and hugged him back, and despite everything, let out a very quiet snort of laughter. "Maybe. Could we drop one on Tamara?"

Billy laughed loudly, but quickly tried to smother his laughter into Yana's hair so he wouldn't wake up Teddy. "Can Tommy be included in on that? I wanna make a huge one and fill it with shaving cream and water and just drop it on him."

Maybe he was being unfair, but having to walk in on them making out was life scaring.

"Mmm, you probably shouldn't tempt me with that one," Illyana replied, her lips twitching. Because yeah. That would be fun, wouldn't it?

"I think I should tempt you at least a little, cause we're friends and friends get at least one bad choice tempting." Billy grinned and pulled her down to lay down on the bed with him. "What else would make you feel better? I could show you my awful skills at magic casting? Make you laugh at least a little."

"I'm not entirely sure that'd make me feel better. More like that I'm an awful teacher. Besides, you're already making me feel better. Not that I'm going to waive the balloons now that you offered," she pointed out with a quirk of a smile as she shifted, getting comfortable. "That's happening."

"Oh, its for sure happening. We should try watermelons too, though no throwing those a people, they are just fun to watch explode open." Billy let her lay her head on his shoulder as he looked up at the dark ceiling. "Hey Yana?"

"Hmmm?" she asked, staring up at the ceiling as well.

"Do you ever wish...that you had no powers?" He whispered quietly, the idea of admitting not wanting powers in the school seeming sacrilegious. "It's just...the electrify I can handle I guess, but the magic scares me."

"It scares me too, sometimes. And I actually picked it," Illyana whispered back. She sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "But yeah. Sometimes I really wonder if I made the right choice. Not a lot I can do about it now, though."

"Mmmm..." he hummed in agreement and turned his head so it was buried in his pillow and her hair. "I'm scared I'll mess up badly with it."

"Like how?" Illyana rolled over onto her side and wrapped her arm over him. Being afraid of the magic itself wasn't something she really understood.

"Cause it's just so powerful. I made a wish and a blank piece of paper filled itself out correct or a vase I broke fixed itself completely." He sighed. "What if I make a wish in anger...what if without meaning to I hurt someone or worse?"

"Oh." Illyana considered that. Her own magic wasn't quite so easy to access, but then, she had a much hotter temper than Billy, too. "I guess...you just try and fix it as best you can?" she guessed. "Same as you do when you lose your temper with someone, without magic."

"But...what if even with magic...its unfixable." Billy sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm supposed to be cheering you up not keeping you even more down with my weenie thoughts about magic."

"No, it's okay." Yana quirked a crooked smile, but shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, though. Even magic can't fix everything." Not her soul. Not Cat. Not Ashake. Some things were just permanent, whether you liked them or not.

"Yeeeeeaaahhh." He let out the word like he was a ballon deflating of air and sat there quietly for a moment before rolling over and squeezing her to him tightly.

"Thanks for being my friend, Yana." He muttered into her hair.

Illyana blinked, surprised, then hugged him back. "Right back at you," she said softly, and tightened her arm around his back in turn.