It had been a long couple of months. A long, lonely couple of months if Lorna Dane was to be really honest about it, though she preferred to pretend otherwise. She didn't want anyone to see how breaking up with Alex for the umpteenth time had affected her, how that the scant period of time they'd actually been happy and not being chased by villains or detached consciousnesses had left her feeling more dejected and confused than ever before. It had only been a few weeks this time around, when they'd actually had time enough to spend together after all the drama of their tumultuous lives as superheroes. Everything had been fine, too, up until Alex's powers had gone haywire. She'd been happy, and then he just decided that he wasn't good enough for anyone, least of all her. It had been a lame excuse and Lorna had known it. She'd tried to argue, tried to stick by him and support her man while he wrestled with his powers but he simply hadn't wanted her there. He'd become distant to the point of nonexistence. It was like a kick in the face after everything they'd been through together and Polaris just didn't know what else to do but withdraw herself and immerse her mind in other things as best she could.

Of course it hadn't been a particularly busy period of time for the X-Men either, and so study had been a welcome relief. It had been an age since she'd managed to actually put in some more work towards her Doctorate and so, once she'd finished the wrenching task of moving into her own, single dormitory room Lorna had veritably thrown herself into her textbooks. She lived in casual clothing, only taking time out of her schoolwork to go for the odd cobweb clearing run and to eat. Social situations hadn't been exceedingly tempting, either, though occasionally had been persuaded for a drink or two by other mansion residents - particularly when Alex was guaranteed to be nowhere in sight. They hadn't given Lorna much excitement, however, and had proven to be little more than an adequate distraction for a few hours before she'd gone back upstairs to study, or to bed. It was an altogether boring existence, she knew, but what else could she do? She could have taken a vacation but Lorna knew that without Alex there it would have been more of the same thing, just in a different place.

Today had been no different to any other day of the ninety before it, except for her attitude. Over the months things had gotten easier, as they were wont to do. Time heals all wounds, or something like that. Maybe not the 'all' part, but it was certainly making some headway. Lorna still made a point of avoiding Alex's company where possible. She was still hurting, not having really had the courage or thought to talk through her feelings with anyone but herself. One thing at least, though, was that she had actually started to enjoy her own space. The fact that her room was on the sunny side of the mansion helped a lot, given that she could sit nearby the window, a slow moving patch of sunlight warming her back and illuminating her bright green hair as it usually fell, untied over her shoulders. It was here that she was sat now, too, bent forward over her desk and textbook, her chin on her knee as she did her best to absorb yet another reading. This one was particularly uninteresting, yet still required careful absorption if she was going to be any good at both retaining and regurgitating it for her own observations. It was particularly difficult not to close it and read something else entirely, but she persisted. Her door, today, was left open, though, just in case something more interesting happened. They were X-Men, after all. It wasn't normal for drama to leave them alone for this long.

((C.F: Originality))

Was it good to be back? He couldn’t have stayed at home any longer, and it was good to see Scott and Jean again, but look how quickly that all fell apart. Looks like now all the younger generation and being called up to the first team and the ‘elder statesmen’, like him, were going to be the teachers for the next batch. Elder Statesmen? Screw that; He’d only just graduated College a couple of years ago himself and now he was going to be a teacher? He still longed for the days when he could just sit in the back of the class and pelt snowballs and the back of Hank’s head every time he answered a question (And got A LOT of target practise as a result)

And then there was Emma Frost. Was she haunting him now? It was bad enough that he was stuck
Dreaming of her at nights, but after just a couple of minutes of banter between the two to welcome him back, it was taking a monumental effort as he walked up the stairs of purging the images in his head of how many ways she could cut large x shapes into her clothing to reveal even more flesh.

The trip up the stairs was all effort then, as he neglected to use the benefits of his cryokinetic abilities, in part because travelling uphill upon one of his patented iceslide was made slightly more difficult without a running start but also because he had been warned by the Professor in several occasions that the next time he flooded the carpeting with melted ice, he’d be violently lobotomised back to a third grade again.

At the top then, a turn to the left and then halfway down to the room that had pretty much been his second home since his mid-teens; despite the teams he had joined across the country, with every first class reunion or absorption back into the main fold again he’d insisted that his room was always the one he got to come back to again, because he knew where every loose floorboard lay and had even managed to procure himself a couple of cubby holes ideal for concealing certain contraband items inside. Admittedly, it was kind of pointless when those he was trying to hide it from were telepathically enhanced and could read his mind like an open book, but he carried on anyway for the sheer sake of it.

Passing past several other closed doors then, it was a flash of green from an unusually open one that caught his eye as went past it, causing Bobby to stop suddenly in his tracks. Releasing a hold on his suitcase and letting it drop to the floor, to took a few steps back to stand at the open doorway and confirm his suspicions. Because of all the girls in the world, there was someone guaranteed to purge any lingering images of the White Queen out of his daydreams.

”Well, of all the dorm rooms in all the world…“ And he started to grin broadly ”Lorna Dane.“

Lorna was lucky, in one sense, that her textbook was boring. If it were interesting she may not have looked up from it so quickly when she'd noticed a shape move past her door out of the corner of her eye, a familiar body of heat approaching and passing by the edges of her own aura, tickling it. She might not have noticed the brief view of someone's posterior in jeans followed almost immediately by a thump in the hallway, and she might not have already been looking toward her door when Bobby Drake's face appeared. Lastly, if her book had actually been interesting she might not have smiled quite so broadly when he'd mentioned her name.

"Bobby," She turned her chair toward him slightly, scrunching the toes of her right foot underneath her thigh. She knew that he'd be returning at some point, and though the thought of having to explain to him all that's happened since he'd been away was enough to cringe over, seeing his face was actually a welcome reprieve from study. "Welcome back."

Beckoning for him to enter the room, Lorna stood from her seat as he approached her and hugged him warmly, wrapping her arms around his neck. It felt nice to be held again, even if it was only for a moment, and even if those arms weren't Alex's. She lingered, perhaps a moment too long, but one easily dismissable as selfless, rather than selfish.

"I actually missed you, if you can believe that. It's been unnaturally quiet." She joked as she pulled free before returning to her seat, flopping casually onto the office chair and dog-earing her textbook, shutting it. It could wait until later - this was potentially the best excuse she had to give reading a rest for the afternoon, short of an emergency or sudden mission. She'd take it while she could - and besides, it really was nice to see him again. Friends had been in somewhat short supply as of late. Crossing one leg over the other, Lorna raised an eyebrow at the garishness of Bobby's shirt. At least his fashion sense hadn't changed while he'd been gone... though perhaps it should have. She gestured for him to sit, though there weren't any other actual chairs than the one she was currently parked on. Lorna was confident though, that that wouldn't faze him.

"So, how are you?" The reason Bobby had been gone hadn't exactly been a happy one. Nobody wanted their parents to die. Lorna's own had been taken from her before she knew them and although it wasn't quite the same as if her adoptive father, Mr. Dane passed on her now, it had been something of a shock. In fact, everything at that time had been a shock and it was one that she was quite happy to forget about. One of the things Lorna did know was that Bobby's father hadn't exactly been a model spokesperson for mutantkind. "Did everything go okay? How's your mom?"

"Bobby, welcome back." The girl – no, correct that – THE girl swung around in her chair and greeted him with a smile, as the man of ice felt his heart melt just a little, all over again. Walking inside as he guessed her body language was implying that he should, she met his approach by standing up from her seated position and embracing him.

There was a time, a few years before, that this was all he ever wanted… Lorna had fallen into his life quite literally, as he saved her from being hit by a car in San Francisco after Xavier’s presumed death at the hands of Grotesk and both he and Hank had moved to the West Coast to diversify the X-Men’s operations at the request of Fred Duncan. True, he had been seeing Zelda from the coffee shop at the time, but he’d let that relationship cool off whilst he was on the other side of the country, but from that first moment, he was smitten with Lorna. It was just a shame then, that she had never really felt the same way as what he saw as a burgeoning romance, she’d only seen as a close friendship and it was inevitable that something - or someone – would get in the way…

"I actually missed you, if you can believe that. It's been unnaturally quiet." She released the hug first, prompting Bobby to follow suit almost half a second later – just that little bit shy of uncomfortably long and awkward – and went back to sitting down. Taking a subtle couple of steps back from her so as not to be looking over her shoulders at whatever book she was poring over now in the pursuit of her doctorate
”You know I’m always missing you“ he rallied back a retort laced with innuendo, but his mind quickly turned to the melancholy. ”but, it’s not like I’ve been the life and soul of the party lately“ He replied, as he followed through on her gesture and sat himself on the end of her bed.

"So, how are you?" He met her question with a shrug of his shoulders, but the broad grim that he’d met her with had certainly vanished from his face as the conversation turned back to his so recently deceased father. ”I’m getting there. Really.“ His reply came with an attempt at a smile, but not much of one.

"Did everything go okay? How's your mom?"

”She’s … better than she was.“ ‘Was’ being the solid fortnight she spent bedridden despite his best efforts at lifting her spirits. When she did eventually rally herself, her attitude towards his powers and profession had taken a turn towards William’s outlook; that they were a curse placed upon the family… which meant another 6 weeks talking her out of that so he could return to the mansion with a clean conscience and more importantly, her blessing. ”Moved in with my Aunt for a few weeks now, but she’s sent me back here, so it’s good really.“ The smile on his face broadened, now returned as a permanent fixture again.

The conversation needed to take a turn for the better and wanting to move away from his own problems and onto the affairs of the emerald-haired temptress, took over as interviewer. ”So how are you then? When did you move back in?“ Something occurred to him as he spoke… If this was her room now, what happened to the one her and Alex usually shared when they came back to visit; one of the larger double rooms like the one Scott and Jean now shared? This one was typically a single occupancy much like his own (and his was singly occupied far too much of the time for his liking). Plus with a complete lack of surfing paraphernalia made him start to put his accountancy skills to good use. Now what did two and two equal again? ”So where’s tall, blonde and boredom hiding himself?“

Lorna nodded, her face solemn as Bobby answered her question about his mother. The tone of his voice suggested that she was particularly bad and Lorna understood why, completely, her mind drifting toward the possibility of Alex or even Bobby getting killed in the line of action and quickly deciding that she really, really didn't need to go down that path. It was bad enough when they got hurt, even if you knew that they'd get better, that they would recover. Seeing a loved one injured was never fun and Lorna absolutely hated it. But then again the feeling of betrayal at being hurt by someone you loved was almost as bad... Almost. She sighed to herself, her lips pursing into a tight smile which duly lightened as Bobby's own face cracked back into its more familiar, jovial expression.

”So how are you then? When did you move back in?“

"Oh, um, just after you left, actually... It's been a few months now." Lorna bit her lip, she knew what was coming next, especially after Bobby took a moment to look around her new room. There was absolutely nothing in it that would suggest Alex lived there, except for perhaps a few pieces of rock up on her shelf and the textbooks. Anyone who had known Lorna for a decent amount of time though would know that those rock samples were hers, and that she had them out not for their age or structure but for their beauty. A few she had chipped out herself, a couple of others Alex had given her in what were nerdy, but perfect gifts. Almost all of them had crystals or veins of quartz cutting through them. Her favourite of all was a natural peridot crystal, though. He'd said it reminded him of her hair.

”So where’s tall, blonde and boredom hiding himself?“

"You tell me and we'll both know." She announced with a sigh, pulling her gaze away from her shelves and back to her visitor. Lorna smiled a brave face, inhaling through her nose as she shifted on her chair, bringing her leg back up and hugging it to her chest. As much as Lorna dreaded telling Bobby that she was now single, for it would mean that his flirtation would likely turn up to eleven, she also desperately wanted him to know. If for no other reason than she really just wanted someone to hang out with and talk to that wasn't related to her ex - by marriage or blood. "We... broke up, shortly after we got back."

Shrugging her shoulders somewhat helplessly, Lorna knew what Bobby's next question would be before he even asked it. "Something about not being in the right space for a relationship right now... Being not good enough for me, I really don't know." She paused, a little awkwardly, hoping he might save the wisecracks for another time but not holding her breath. "So, yeah.. This is my room now. Like I said, it's been... quiet."

"You tell me and we'll both know."

That someone had been Alex Summers; Scott’s younger brother and what had started with the trio’s capture by a group of Sentinels had ended up with Alex coming fully into his powers and both he and Lorna having to recuperate back at the mansion , whilst Bobby and the other originals ended up on a prolonged series of missions that kept them away from home for some time. It was too long, as the pair had only grown closer in their time together. Bobby was no idiot though, just extremely jealous and after several spiteful outbursts, turned his powers on Havok… who returned the favour and easily overwhelmed the Iceman before fleeing the mansion. The fact that Lorna didn’t hang around whilst Bobby recuperated though, and ran off to find Havok (and the Hulk, but that’s another story) should have told him everything he needed to know.

"We... broke up, shortly after we got back." In the thousands of days since they first met, it was the words Bobby had longed to hear as without missing a beat, his mouth was ready with a response. ”What did he do?“ Because of course this was going to be Alex’s fault. Nobody held a grudge like Bobby Drake and considering the amount of enemies they had accumulated over the years, Havok’s position at the top of the list said something about the hurt he still felt over the whole thing, but in truth it was unfairly weighted, because there had been two of them. But, no; From Drake ‘s perspective it had always been Alex pulling out all the stops to steal her away from him, but in truth he could have barely have called her ‘his’ to begin with and whilst she had done little to stop the boys fighting over her, Bobby barely even got a goodbye when she ran out of the door to go find him
.
"Something about not being in the right space for a relationship right now... Being not good enough for me, I really don't know."

”That may be the smartest thing he ever said.“ Bobby smiled warmly as he reached out to hold her hand in both of his. It was a tender gesture that came from a side of him that was so rarely seen. But if there was an expert on not being good enough for someone though, Lorna had invited him into her room, because Bobby’s list of loved and lost was mighty to say the least ”because he never was.“

This was the point then when he would usually go into his diatribe listing off of Alex’s so very obvious flaws as he saw them (selected highlight - #37: Surfers taste salty) but be it that his mind was still lingering on the past few weeks, or somewhat less likely, that he’d actually been able to pick up the cues from her body language that she didn’t need the point rammed home in intricate details as a fifteen minute stand-up piece.

"So, yeah.. This is my room now. Like I said, it's been... quiet."

”Well it looks the better for just having you in it.“ He’d released a hold of her hand by now, and after standing up from the edge of the bed, starts to turn on the spot as he took in the full ambience. The stacks of books upon her desk were the most obvious evidence of why it had been quiet then, as since he’d known her, she’d always had a need to keep learning, but given that his own attempt at academia – 3 years of hard study towards an accountancy degree on a diet of coffee and sugary snacks as he ploughed through his own floor to ceiling stacks of textbooks.”But I’m guessing … no, I’m telling you… you need to take a break from the studying.“

It was still quiet enough, that unless Scott suddenly decided to call an emergency Danger Room session, then the rest of his day was his to dispose of as he saw fit and given the circumstances, what better way was there than reuniting properly with an old friend. ”What do you say that I go stash mu stuff in my room and freshen up, then we head out into the city for the evening; go see a film, get a bite to eat and just have a proper catch up? “ It was a platonic offer, but given that he’d always hoped for some sort of rekindling between the two, what harm could laying a little bit of groundwork do?

Lorna gasped quietly at the sudden touch of her hand, her eyes dropping down to where Bobby's now lay over hers. Pursing her lips she wasn't quite sure how to react - she was so used to shying away from almost every act of intimacy that came from his direction. After a moment of held breath she smiled at his words and turned her palm upwards, briefly returning his grip. She could see from his eyes that he wasn't hitting on her at least this time, and it was appreciated. Though she wasn't entirely too sure how long it would take before sympathy and genuine feeling gave way to the opportunist inside, given his track record. As such, Lorna released her grip after only a few moments, content to continue their conversation sans touching, at least for now. His compliments still managed to bring forth a genuine smile, however - the green haired mutant suddenly realising she could accept them without consequence, without her boyfriend getting his back up about it, without having to watch two grown men bicker like children in front of her. That much at least was refreshing.

”But I’m guessing … no, I’m telling you… you need to take a break from the studying.“

"God, you're telling me." Lorna rolled her eyes, briefly turning back to the textbook on her desk. "I feel like I've been reading for years. This one is particularly boring." Reaching out her hand she patted the cover gently, thankful for the distraction even if it proved to be a short one.

”What do you say that I go stash mu stuff in my room and freshen up, then we head out into the city for the evening; go see a film, get a bite to eat and just have a proper catch up?“

And there it was. She knew that Bobby wouldn't have been able to leave her room without propositioning her in some way, and it had come sooner than she had expected. A date, already? She mused, biting her bottom lip as her eyes and head dropped, her gaze coming to rest on the edge of her desk. "Bobby..." Lorna began, her voice cagey, instinctively beginning to think of the best way to let him down gently as she had done many times in the past. He had never learned that being with Alex had meant she wasn't interested in dating anyone else. Slowly she began to shake her head as she turned back toward him, her office chair seeing her movement fluid and smooth. When she finally looked at him, however, for once she didn't see the salivating horn dog she was usually so eager to pigeon hole him as. Instead she saw a friend, something she had been distinctly lacking in of late.

Her face morphed as she considered his offer, slowly moving from disinterest to skepticism and finally to surrender. She lifted her chin, what harm would there be in going out with him anyway? She was a single woman now and despite all of his efforts Lorna knew that Bobby cared for her more than most in the team. She would even hazard a guess that he cared more for her than Alex ever did. It would just be friends going out together after not seeing each other for a few months. They did have a lot to catch up on, and Lorna knew she was quite capable of putting the Iceman in his place if he ventured anything she was uncomfortable with. Thus, she made up her mind.

"Alright, sounds good." She nodded her head in affirmation, if only for herself. Seeing the look on Bobby's face, though, her expression quickly grew stern with warning. It was, however, more for comic effect than anything else. "This is not a date, though, Bobby Drake." She held up a manicured finger in warning. "I expect you to be a gentleman and nothing else."

"Alright, sounds good."

Well that was easier than he thought it would be then, as Lorna gave in to his suggestion without putting up much of a fight – and far different to the old days where he felt he had to throw himself in the line of fire and try and save her life six times a day just to get her to notice him. Turns out all he had to do was ask nicely then… but as her expression grew stern it just proved that she still knew him too well after all these years.

"This is not a date, though, Bobby Drake. I expect you to be a gentleman and nothing else."

”Why, Miss Dane! How could you ever doubt my intentions so?“ Bobby shot back with barely a pause, but the look of shock and wounded pride that were etched across his face were quickly revealed to be a harmless gesture as it dissolved into a laugh after just a few seconds ”When have I ever been anything less?...“

Of course, Bobby had conveniently overlooked the somewhat less than gentlemanly way he had treated Zelda, dumping her with barely an afterthought when he met Lorna, or how his badgering of Darkstar during his days with the Champions drove Laynia to leave the Continent and flee back to Mother Russia again , or Cloud. Well Cloud turned out to be an alien of variable gender, so he tended to just overlook that debacle anyway. Opal… well he fought cyber-ninjas on her behalf, but it was then back to the usual problem of daily minutiae breeding apathy and now he was a singleton all over again.

”…Okay, don’t answer that.“ He added with his cheekiest smile and deciding that letting her dwell on his poorer moments was hardly going to be in his favour wanted to move the conversation on. Tonight was going to be about just catching up and having a good time with one of his oldest friends-who-just-happened-to-be-a-girl, rather than the other way around… but that didn’t mean he needed any less time to primp and preen himself in readiness for the festivities.

”So then, I’ll come back and pick you up about 7 then … “ Bobby asked to clarify, before throwing in what could only be described as his idea of an elaborate 17th century bow, replete with extravagant hand gestures as he bent his head low. This was the Bobby Drake version of being a gentleman, obviously. ”M’lady.“

And as he backed out of her room, his mind was already mentally sorting through his wardrobe for the least tacky shirt he had brought back with him.

((Temporay Exit. TBC: Calling For Reinforcements))

Warming to the idea more and more as Bobby bowed his way out of her room, Lorna couldn't help but smile after him. Even though she knew he would ultimately end up with some sort of ulterior motive it was still a nice gesture and hell, even if he did flirt with her it would be a nice change. Something to take her mind off school, and more importantly off Alex. A movie, dinner, hanging out. It was perfectly explicable as something that friends would do, right? Of course. She'd do it with her girlfriends.. If she felt like she had any to go with. Jean was probably the closest thing and she had that annoying hip-decoration who just happened to be the brother of the man that Lorna was trying her best to forget about. That was one of the main problems in the Xavier mansion, everyone was either in bed with or related to everyone else. If the latter it was 90% likely that their last name would be Summers, regardless of what dimension, clone, or timeline they hailed from.

Lorna smirked as she thought about it, finally pushing herself from her chair. Bobby would be back in a couple of hours and although it was strictly platonic she wanted to look good - that meant changing out of her ripped jeans and study clothes. That also meant taking a shower and washing her hair, it meant make up and it meant a hair dryer. Most things that she had been quite happy to ignore over the past couple of months, given that her desk didn't really demand one be dollied up in order to sit at it. She knew where they all were hiding, at least... That was a good start.

Half an hour later she was back and clean, dressed to go out - nothing too fancy just a pair of nice (not ripped) jeans, boots and a white, loose-ish shirt draped over a tank. Her hair still wet, her blowdryer was whining at high speed as Lorna did her best in front of the mirror, brushing out her emerald locks as she blasted them with hot air - at times scowling into the mirror when a piece flew in the wrong direction and required fixing. It was thicker than it looked and would likely require another dry later - for now she just wanted to get things started before she worked on her makeup. Makeup which saw the light of day less often than her hairdryer did - but still that didn't stop her from applying it, dabs of foundation dotted over her face as she wandered out from the bathroom and into her main room, searching for a hand mirror that wasn't clouding up every three seconds. Once it was found she plonked herself onto her bed, slender legs crossed as she began to blend.


((OOC: Cue Havok, feel free to barge in or knock, the door is still open))

Alex wasn't feeling all that great, he hoped it was just a bad case of indigestion, yet something deep down told him it was something else. As he reached the upper levels of the mansion, Alex realized that he had not seen nor spoken with Lorna in quite some time, and it was more than obvious that she was not happy with him. How could he blame her, honestly? Just when things were starting to really go well for them, just when it seemed like maybe, just maybe, they could be happy, he ended it. It was not something he wanted, but it was also something he felt he had no real decision in.

He had tried to explain it to her as best he could, to articulate why being with him was the worst decision she could possibly make right now, but it wasn't something easily explained, nor accepted. She didn't understand why his power fluxes meant they couldn't be together, but in Havok's mind, it was the equivalent of being in a relationship with The Hulk....except possibly slightly more dangerous. At least the Hulk can pick and choose who he 'rages' against, if Alex's powers go out of control, it's simply a matter of what's within range of the blast.

This didn't just apply to romantic relationships, though; anyone that Alex cared about, friends, family, loved ones, they were all in danger. Alex had tried to explain that to Xavier and the others, and that there was a very good chance that this problem could make him a danger to the school itself, and that they might want to consider shipping him off. But they are rather firm in their beliefs, and they believe that Alex's place is there with all of them. They had dealt with dangerous, uncontrollable powers before, and they were determined to help him just as they had helped him in the past.

Something about this time felt different, however; like the slightest provocation could lead to him turning into a living, breathing atom bomb. It honestly made it hard to sleep, that and the constant hours spent in the labs trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He glanced down at his chest, staring at the strong blue glow emitting from the rings on his chest. He had built up more energy that day than he had wanted, and it only helped to make him even more nervous about this whole thing.

Even with that, his thoughts drifted back to Lorna, wondering what she thought of him. Did she hate him? Did she still care about him? Did she understand why he made the decision he had? He started to move towards his room, but paused, glancing down the hall at Lorna's door. The door was slightly cracked open, the light coming from inside telling him that Lorna was inside. When he had broken the news to Lorna, it had been hasty, a spur of the moment revelation. He could have explained it better, tried to put it in a way that might make sense, rather than just an upset young man trying to make a decision he hadn't wanted to make. It wasn't too late to make up for that, he thought.

Alex moved past his own door, walking over to Lorna's room, stopping sharply as he arrived. He lowered his head, eyes closed as he took in several deep breaths, realizing this was probably going to be just as hard as the last time he talked to her, possibly more so. With one last sight, Alex gently rapped his knuckles against the door, slowly pushing it aside, giving her the chance to stop him if she had left it open on accident.

"Lorna? It's me, Alex. Can we talk?" Alex asked, just hoping she would give him one last chance to explain himself.

"It is so not seven o'clock yet!" Lorna called out as she heard a knock on the door. She was barely ready, her make up wasn't finished and neither was her hair. At least she was dressed, she supposed - Bobby would just have to wait for her to complete the rest. "You can come in but I'm not read-- Oh."

Glancing up as the door opened, her face dropped as she realised it wasn't Bobby come over early at all but instead it was Alex. Feeling more than a little stupid for just blurting out that she had plans without finding out who was on the other side of the door first, Lorna pursed her lips as he spoke. She didn't really want him to come in. Actually that was an understatement - she really didn't want him to come in, she was getting ready to go out with someone else. Not that what she was doing with Bobby was a date, but it still probably wasn't the best look to put on in front of your ex boyfriend. But, as angry as she had been with him and as upset as she was following his breaking off of things Lorna still couldn't help but feel a little hope that he might have come to apologise for acting like a total douchebag.

"Sure, if you want." She re-crossed her legs, her lips pressing into a line as she turned back to the mirror, suddenly extremely taken with her own reflection and checking that her foundation was blended properly along her jawline. Anything to avoid looking at him right now. Picking up her eyeshadow she dusted it to her lids, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as she heard him move into the room. She knew he was looking at her, she knew exactly what kind of expectant, apologetic expression would be written across his face. Lorna had seen it many times before...

Eyeshadow done she reached for her mascara, applying a thick coat. It had been a while since she'd bothered to put on makeup and despite the elephant in the room she couldn't help but notice how much more brightly her eyes sparkled when she made the effort to make herself up.

"So, talk." Her makeup finished, Lorna finally turned toward Alex. Seeing him standing in her room as he was, tall and muscular and as attractive as he had been the first day she'd noticed him Lorna swallowed, finally allowing herself to feel the flip-flop of her stomach. It had been months, she should have been able to deal with this better - but in all of that time this was the first proper contact and neither of them had really been mature enough about the break up to actually sit down and discuss it. Alex had been too busy 'protecting everyone' by hiding out or whatever he was doing while Lorna had simply thrown herself into her study. It was an easy outlet and perhaps not the way she should have gone. But it was too late now, and as her green stare met his blue eyes the mutant was suddenly thankful that the mascara she'd chosen was waterproof.

"I'm going out." She folded her arms across her chest, attempting to instill some kind of strength in herself. It wasn't going so well. "I don't have long. What do you want to say, Alex?"

EDIT - This post temporarily removed, until Bobby comes back from Calling for reinforcements

Alex's heart sank just a little when he saw her, the guilt of his decision baring down on him for just a moment. He calmed himself, remembering that the reasons for his decision were for her own sake, not anything to benefit him. It wasn't a decision he had made lightly, yet it seemed he was constantly doubting himself, deep down fearing that maybe he had made a terrible mistake. It was in the past, however, and wasn't something he could take back now.

He could hear it in her voice; anger, frustration, she was not happy to see him. She had plans, and none of them involved seeing his face. But he had to speak his mind, regardless if she actually wanted to hear it or not. Alex fought back the urge to apologize and leave, to get out of there and retreat to his room. He hated seeing that expression on her face, knowing that he was the reason for it. It made him feel bad, maybe it was deserved, he didn't know, but he did know that he didn't like it. He couldn't ignore the fact that he suddenly felt very interested in knowing if she was going out alone, or with somebody. But it wasn't his place to ask or to know, so he kept that to himself.

"...I won't take up your time, I just felt it was important to speak with you while there was a moment." Alex finally spoke up, closing the door behind himself to keep people from potentially listening in. He kept his distance, leaning his back against the wall on the left side of the door, sliding his hands into his pockets. This was harder than he had anticipated; he had already given a reason why it had to end, yet trying to say it again felt much harder than the first time. Maybe he was afraid the more times he explained it, the less sense it made.

"I just wanted to apologize for how...abrupt all of this has been, and for not taking the time sooner to come see you. This whole situation has pretty much turned my life into a 24/7 lab test. I've barely spoken to anyone that isn't working on figuring out what's wrong with my powers in months, just trying to stay calm and not let my powers get 'worked up'." Alex paused for a moment, trying to think of how exactly to put this. He didn't want it to sound like he was trying to gain sympathy, make her feel bad for him. He simply felt it was the only way he could really explain his reasoning, and hopefully allow her to understand.

"I never wanted to hurt you, and I sure as hell didn't want things to end the way they did. But until I get this resolved, I can't risk spending much time around anyone. The longer I spend around others the greater the chance that I could hurt someone I care about. It wouldn't be fair to you for me to try and hold onto a relationship with you when I can't even trust myself to be around you, be a good partner for you. You deserve someone who can be there for you, and...no matter how much I wish I could be...I just can't right now. Hell if it weren't for Scott and Xavier being so persistent that it was for the best, I wouldn't even still be here. I'd go somewhere more secluded, or at least try and confine myself to some place that could be a good 'containment' if the worst were to happen."

Alex didn't wait for a response as he spoke, feeling he had to get it all off his chest right then, and then wait for a response after he was done. It was hard enough as it was, but if she interjected, he was worried he would lose his train of thought, lose his focus. It had to be said, for both of their sakes.

"I still care about you, Lorna, but I just can't be the man you deserve to have. If you hate me, I understand, but things have to be this way..." Alex finished, lowering his head a bit, not sure what she was going to say, at this point.

"Alex..." Lorna began, standing from her position on the bed as he entered the room. She wasn't sure what he wanted at first but as he spoke to her, her emotions ran their course. From confusion to anger as he just seemed to be spouting out what he'd already said to her, to pity to sadness and back to anger again. It wasn't fair of him to be lumping this all on her, not now. Not after so many months had already gone by without so much as a word. She didn't care who he'd been spending time with - whether he'd been alone under a bridge somewhere or if he'd been working with Hank or Xavier the entire time. This wasn't about him and anyone else it was about him and her. She just didn't understand why having problems with his powers sent him this way. He thought he was sparing her but all he was doing was pushing her further and further away each time he hid inside his little 'me' shell claiming that he didn't want to hurt anybody. The green haired mutant folded her arms as he spoke, knowing that she should wait until he was finished. It was hard, she bit the inside of her lip until he was done, and the moment he was she inhaled sharply through her nose.

"You're right." She began, her lips pursed together as she opened her arms in the air at him, a gesture of hopelessness. "You aren't being the man I need."

"The man I need wouldn't have just cut me off at the first sign of trouble. What makes Scott and Xavier any different, Alex, what makes their opinions about whether you should go.. or stay, any different to mine? Do you not think that I'm intelligent enough to know that I could get hurt by being around you? Do you think that I'm just the innocent girl in all of this, and that you can just... just martyr yourself and everyone will understand and love you all the more for it once something bad has happened, because oh, poor, wonderful Alex, he cared enough to spare us all? That's bullshit,"

Lorna took a few steps towards him, indeed spitting some of her words like they were little more than a bad taste in her mouth. Her green eyebrows knitted together, slender hand still clutching her mascara which she used as some sort of baton, pointing it at him as she spoke, driving each word home a little bit further.

"Your own brother just has to open his eyes at the wrong time and he could kill his wife. Kitty can fall through the floor at any moment, and woe betide anyone who's lying next to Logan when he has a bad dream. But no, no, you're too dangerous to be around..." The sarcasm was positively oozing out of her pores as she began to pace the room, clearly agitated as she wrenched her gaze away from his face. She hadn't had a chance to get any of this off her chest yet, and though Alex may have chosen an inopportune moment to intrude it seemed that Lorna was taking advantage of said moment to say her own piece. He could apologise all he wanted - the fact remained that he had made a stupid decision. One she didn't, and likely would never understand. It exasperated her and pissed her off and though in the back of her mind, Lorna knew it was probably not the best thing for her to be getting so worked up it was just one of those things. She couldn't help it.

"Did you ever stop to think, Alex, that I might have already thought about the risks involved in being with you? Hell, how long had we already been together? How much have we already been through together? This would have only been a blip on the radar but you... you just decided, without even talking about it that this was the only way? Does my opinion mean nothing to you?"

She moved her hands as she spoke, gesturing while not maintaining eye contact. It was easier not to erupt completely this way. "Clearly it doesn't or we might have talked about this like adults, worked something out, you know? I mean, if you needed some time away to sort yourself out that would have been fine, we didn't need to break up over it, I would have been okay with that, I could have helped you..." Lorna's words trailed off, her voice dying in her chest. Looking down at her hands she noticed her knuckles were white where she clung to her mascara, and in an almost knee-jerk, frustrated reaction she threw the closed tube back onto her bed. For the first time since she'd begun pacing Lorna lifted her eyes to Alex, her hands dead at her sides. "It didn't have to be this way at all, but for some reason you wanted it to be. You know we could have made this work Alex, I know you had more faith in our relationship than that. But for whatever reason..." Lorna shrugged, lifting her eyebrows. She exhaled a loud sigh in absolute resignation. Her voice was softer now, but the glistening of her eyes, the storm the brewed behind them betrayed the calmness of her exterior. "You decided that you didn't want me around to see it through. This was entirely your choice and that is what I just can't get my head around."