Not your Typical Friday Afternoon (Open)

[Johnny Storm]

The morning drifted by that day slowly as Johnny found himself right in the middle of college classes, but he was having a hard time staying awake. The last few nights had been filled with crime fighting and somehow he managed to jam in some time to study for some awful test that had been taken that first time of the week. He was sitting on the far end of the classroom as the others were busy taking notes while his eyes started getting tired and a bit heavy.

The last few minutes were starting to wind down but it literally felt forever for him. Finally the bell rang announcing the hour long class was over. “Alright before everyone leaves, I’m handing out your tests from the beginning of the week.” The older teachers said as he brought out a portfolio that was full of the tested papers. He handed them out one by one, before reaching over to where Johnny was, “Mr. Storm, good job compared to your last one.” The teacher said as he handed the paper. Johnny’s eyes were a bit surprised by this as he read the piece of paper half not able to believe it himself.

“Sweet, that's solid B!” He exclaimed rather excited as he took the pieces of paper that had the test on it. Johnny wasn’t that great at taking tests, but he had been trying and trying to find time to put it all in for studying. This one had been tough since it was algebra and that wasn’t exactly his strong point either. He quickly ran out thinking he heard the teacher behind him mentioning the homework that they had for the weekend. He’d worry about that later, right now it was Friday afternoon and he had the week off to focus on different things.

But as he walked down the steps and outside it dawned onto him that he hadn’t seen his sister in awhile. He wondered what Sue had been up to these days, and since going to college he hadn’t seen her a whole lot. Not to mention he half wondered how she was doing since she left the Fantastic Four. “Usually when I got good grades I ran right over to her. But I don’t know about that now.” He said with a sigh knowing he felt empty almost without his sister there.

The afternoon was pretty warm for a spring like day, to think they had less than a month to go before it was officially spring. But for now he figured he should at least get his lunch and maybe even text Sue at most, he figured that should be enough knowing his sister was busy with everything with what was going on. But what he really wanted was to see her face to face again.

[Deleted]

College was such a strange thing to Ororo. She had learned everything on her own and along her journey as an orphan in Africa, having to do so when she had almost no one else for most of her life since she was young. But that had changed when she arrived in her home country of which changed her life forever. Not only had she become the heir and princess of her Kenyan home but she had wound up given a chance to travel beyond the continent of Africa.

Now here she was, in the United Stated enrolled at a college part-time while she was also taking courses at the Xavier’s School. She had felt it required since her powers were still largely a mystery to her in the long run and she felt exceptionally limited in knowledge about it. Sure she had enough to have quite a precise control, but that didn’t mean she knew the whole limits of these abilities she had, which had earned her the “Mistress of the Elements” title. Her class in Earth Science had just ended in fact and had proven to be quite interesting, especially in teaching weather patterns that she hope would help find her limit and what could happen if she did affect the weather. Did one area get affected? Could she tap into the entire stratosphere? There were so many questions but she had so few answers, which was why she was there.

As she came from the university’s Biology building though she considered perhaps eating before she left for the Xavier’s School since that was her only class that day. Holding her backpack to her shoulder she headed towards some of the usual area people chose to eat lunch. It was nice out so she figured a lot of students would be out there and it would give her a chance to interact with her other fellow classmates, especially since she could use some friends there. She was there as a foreign exchange student to the administration while in reality this was the closest university she could get into why working with her powers at the mutant school.

But as she headed that way she did notice someone else making their way there, a young blond haired man who seemed close to her age. Could be worth a shot to try and be social couldn’t it? “Hello there, do you mind if I join you?” Ororo inquired as she approached Johnny, giving a kind, greeting smile hoping she wasn’t intruding on anything.

[Johnny Storm]

It was true Johnny didn’t have that many friends either in college, he mostly kept to himself except for a handful and he did try to keep in touch with his sister. But a voice came to his ears as he turned back seeing who it belonged too. It was a dark skinned younger woman with interesting white hair. From the looks of things she might be a foreign exchange student, he hadn’t seen her before, but then again he didn’t know all of the students there. He studied her for a bit with his own blue eyes before nodding, it didn’t hurt to try and gain a few new friends, not to mention he couldn’t be around his sister 24/7 without looking clingy.

“Yeah you can come with me to lunch I usually sit by myself to try and avoid the drama that happens there.” He admitted knowing there was a lot of people there who were way too loud for him to handle sometimes. But he did go there frequently at least to get breakfast lunch and dinner so it wasn’t unheard of that he went there.

“Also my name’s Johnny Storm. I’m majoring in engineering mechanics here.” He explained. His love for cars went way back maybe to when he was about 10 years old. But he hadn’t forgotten the dangers that came with working on cars since his mother hadn’t been able to walk away from one crash, she later died months afterwards from her injuries, and their father wasn’t the same after that. But Johnny never gave up on his racing and the excitement that came with it. “How about yourself? What are you majoring in?” He asked.

Well the Friday afternoon was probably going to be spent doing some homework and studying before taking a bus back towards the Baxter Building. If Storm wanted to come with him there, he wouldn’t mind bringing her along. The Baxter Building was his second home and the headquarters for the Fantastic Four. But lately it had been rather quiet there since Reed and Sue were hardly there. At least he was able to call it home.

[Deleted]

“It’s nice to meet you Johnny, my name is Ororo Munroe.” Ororo introduced herself, glad to see that the person she had approached was at least kind and gave her a chance. Sometimes it felt weird trying to connect with others not from Cairo or from Kenya, places of where she had had chances of knowing others or learning things. But she was aware there were those out there that cared little for giving strangers a second thought or shrugging them off as if a simple nuisance, if even ignoring them outright.

As she followed him though, she carefully listened to his words and questions of which she considered the questions first. She really hadn’t thought much about declaring a major and her mind was relatively blank at first. “Sounds like a complicated topic there, guessing you’ve had an interest in it for sometime?” She inquired as she mulled over her own thoughts about the Major question. Though after a bit she decided it was pretty obvious, “My major is in Earth Science, you could say I have quite the interest in weather patterns, stratosphere, and environment.” Ororo answered as well, not entirely going into detail why she would pick it. Unlike Johnny, her reasons for picking it was dealing with powers rather than a life concern such as his interest in cars and dealing with mechanics in general.

Giving a glance back to some students that passed, giggling and gawking over the rather handsome Johnny and no doubt Ororo herself she could certainly see what he meant. Drama seemed quite common here in the United States, especially among the girls who seemed to thrive and live on the drama they caused. She never could wrap her mind around what the big deal was with causing it or being there in the first place. “Seems drama is a favorite pass time here. American young adults will sometimes fail to amaze me with such antics. Where I come from we have focus and other concerns over gossip and petty arguments unless there is down time, then perhaps there may be some drama but nothing to this level.” Ororo observed, wondering what there really was to do that these college students couldn’t find something far more recreational and relaxing.

[Johnny Storm]

“Yes I’ve actually liked working with cars from a young age. I would pass my time away while working on cars, some kids would probably kick a ball around or go play baseball.” Johnny said with a shrug. “But to be honest my parents got into a car crash when I was younger, you think that would’ve scared me, but it really hasn’t bothered me that much.” Johnny said knowing that he was a daredevil with speed and loved it. There was no surprise where Johnny went out for a ‘joy ride’ every once in awhile when his new car came out or he made a new modification towards it. He wasn’t at all surprised if it made some news headlines for his speeding, but he always tried to be careful.

“Earth science sounds pretty cool; it sounds like stuff that you’d worry about on the weather or even on the ecosystem? The one thing I hate the most is when it rains…” Johnny said trailing off on that last point. Some people would’ve probably guessed that it would make you sick with a cold, or the other part it was too cold really for anyone to be out. But really Johnny didn’t like that kind of weather because it always put a damper on his powers. He was pretty much useless if a powerful rainstorm came through. “I’m sorry I should catch myself before I start ranting again.” He said shaking his head knowing it wasn’t like him to rant that much but he would at least try to behave.

“You mean you’re not from America? I didn’t know that at first just upon first impressions. My family’s lived in Long Island for most of what I can remember, but I live in New York City in the mean time for college.” He said knowing he had a bit of a commute every day whether it was driving, taking the train or even flying there in his fire form. He’d get there to school of course he had the occasional problem of being late if he got distracted, but he was getting better at it. In fact Johnny was planning on going back into New York first to check on the Baxter Building with the Fantastic Four and then probably with the Avengers. It hadn’t been his best idea to be a part time Avenger, but if he wanted to have a close connection with his sister it seemed like the only idea he could think of.

“By the way, is is alright if I ask where you’re originally from?” He asked trying to find the right words to say. He felt a bit unsure about Ororo like she stood out from most of the other people there. But mostly they seemed like good vibes, so maybe he was over reacting from this first meeting. Not to mention he hadn’t had much sleep from the night before, might as well be a bit embarrassing that he fell asleep in front of her like that.

[Deleted]

Rick Jones sat under a tree and strummed his guitar. It was a nice looking campus, hopefully he had made the right choice. He has stopped touring for a time, it was hard to meet a touring schedule when you are linked to a cosmic creature like Mar-Vell, but that didn't mean he had to put his music on hold while they found a way to start leading separate lives again. This school's music program had an excellent reputation and this seemed a reasonable time to learn all that formal music theory and history that he had never had time to learn when he was learning to play, and then making a living gigging.

The idea of an audition struck him as odd, but those were the rules and who was he to argue. They had give him plenty of guidance on what pieces to select and what skills he needed to demonstrate, and had been very clear as to the start time and the importance of punctuality, but the intro package did not make it clear on how much time, if any, they would give him to warm up. Both sets of his knuckles and wrists tended to be pretty stiff and he liked a long warm up so sitting here outside the music hall to play for a while seemed as good a warm up as any. Besides if he left his hat on the ground maybe he could earn a few bucks while he was at it.

He hummed for a couple of moments to warm up his vocal chords and then stopped strumming to do do some chromatics to get his fingers and wrist on his left hand warmed up as well. After about fifteen minutes of obscure Spanish folk songs he felt like his voice was ready to go. Rick scanned around at the passing students to try and get a sense of what they might respond well to. The audience always mattered. His eyes came across the striking black woman with the white hair, she really stood out in a crowd. It looked like she was chatting with her boyfriend, but it never hurt to try and make a pretty girl smile.

Bob Marley. You could never go wrong with Bob Marley. He settled his voice down into his Johnny Cash baritone range, starting strumming and began to sing.

"Old pirates, yes they rob I, sold I to the merchant ships..."

[Deleted]

Ororo was a bit surprised to hear what got Johnny into working with cars, having to stop herself from grimacing at the mention of a crash. Instead, she quickly showed a smile, “I’m sorry to hear for your loss Johnny, but it’s always good to turn something negative into a positive like that.” She told him as they walked, not really paying much attention to the other students passing them by. Sometimes such traumatic experiences could have a rather lingering effect on those who went through them, something she herself still fought with every day. Her luck hadn’t exactly been the best in her case, that much was clear for Ororo.

But amusement flashed in her blue eyes at the mention of not liking rain. “Now why would someone not like rain? It’s negative connotations seems to have taken root in you too, but suppose it is not uncommon.” Ororo chuckled, turning her gaze to some fluffy, white harmless clouds that wouldn’t form into storm clouds for some time. Although, if she really wanted to, the young woman could have easily made that happen but she had no reason to do so. It would be abusing her power and a reprimand from those at the Gifted school. “[/b]I find rain to be rather vitalizing and calming. I always feel…empowered when its around, as if it’s washing away all my sorrow and stress.[/b]” Ororo said, closing her eyes to imagine the water hitting her form, splashing in a calm, rhythmic manner that seemed to slowly wash away the stresses of life or that day.

That remembered moment of first truly taking control of her powers however quickly vanished when Johnny inquired about her own place of living. Once more her sorrow returned like a sharp slap in the face, visible in her eyes and the clouds above seeming to indeed become darker and more gathering of threatening rain, subconsciously reacting to Ororo’s sadness. “I was born in Manhattan, but my parents moved with me to Cairo, Egypt where I lost them at a young age as well. It was a bomb that blew our house and caused it to collapse, my mother gave her life for mine and I eventually ended up in Kenya. So you could say that was where I came from on a scholarship and foreign exchange student.” She explained to him, clutching her backpack strap a bit tighter as she tried to keep her emotions under control.

The memories still seemed quite fresh in her mind and she hated to partly lie about why she was at the university, but she wasn’t too keen to reveal her powers yet. But if she didn’t get herself under control she may very well do that anyway.

Though, the sound of someone singing quickly snapped Ororo out of her sorrowful stupor, shaking her head and taking a moment to take a few deep breathes, the clouds seeming to return mostly to normal as she did. Her gaze left Johnny for a moment to find the voice and sound of someone strumming a guitar, making her curious now. She was now entirely familiar with American songs but the voice was quite pleasing to hear, making her stop when she spotted Rick, giving him a curious look and a flash of interest in hearing his voice. “It seems there are quite a few talented students here than I expected.” Ororo commented, referring to both Johnny and Rick, both who seemed to be quite talented in their respective fields.

[Johnny Storm]

"I don't know why I didn't like it." He had lied about that part. He really hated the rain because it put a downer on his fire powers, he couldn't go out side if there was a large rain storm brewing on them. In fact it would probably weaken his powers severely. But who knew? Maybe he could trust Ororo with this secret of his. After all he wasn't the only super powered person out there. There were plenty of them and maybe a handful or more went to the college in New York.

Even if he didn't know it, he wasn't the only one who had secrets here. There were others too.

Music filled the air and it was almost therapeutic sounding for the weekend that was to come. Usually their weeks of school had been rough, stressful and time consuming. Johnny had spent a lot of his free time in the mechanics shop where he was working with cars but it had been fun while they made sure they learned everything and also about the parts of the car that were there. Johnny listened to Ororo as she spoke about her parents and how she lost them at a young age. That sounded all too familiar. After that car crash that pretty much left his mother unstable they took care of her until she passed away, and their father was so abusive that they were removed and put into foster care. Not exactly the happy life you would've expected, and Johnny managed to keep a straight face on himself most of the time, he tried not to think about the past. "I'm sorry to hear that Ororo about your past. Mine was not much better either, my mother died young and our father well...let's just say he wasn't exactly the one to win father of the year award either." He admitted knowing that their father probably was still out there in the world, but Johnny knew he was better off not looking for him.

"That sounds like pretty nice music. I don't think I've heard of it before." Johnny said crossing his arms as he listened to the young looking guy strum his guitar. That was one thing that he didn't really have much experience in that area for playing music. Johnny was more of the type who perfered to bang his head towards listening to music and turning it up really loud. Well, it was his form of entertainment at least besides watching racers going around the race track.

Finally he couldn't help but speak up as the guy was working on his performance, many heads turned in his direction to watch and listen. This guy should be in a band, or at least he may have accomplished that already. "Wow, you're pretty good there. I'm afraid I don't have much music talent in me." He admitted. "Also my name's Johnny Storm." He said figuring that he should at least know his name.

[Deleted]

Rick smiled broadly as the two of them approached.  He finished up the song and stood up to great them.  He extended his hand out to Johnny Storm while his smile was definitely aimed at Ororo.

"Nice to meet you Johnny, my name is Rick, Rick Jones."

He shook his hand firmly.

"Well, I am not quite a student here yet miss, I have an audition coming up in about an hour or so, hoping to get a spot in the faculty of music, and I hear the competition is tough this year."

Rick shrugged nonchalantly.   

"No biggie either way."

As he shakes hands his sleeve rides up a bit and both of them can see he is wearing a large gold coloured wrist band that seems to glow just a little.  It appears pretty solid and heavy.

"It's my first time back in a school for quite some time, and I hear the music faculty is pretty good.  But I haven't heard much about the social scene. Are you two enjoying your time here?  Are there any pubs worth hitting?"

[Deleted]

Ororo cast a quick glance back at Johnny, giving him a soft nod to show it was alright. She really knew how much loss could affect someone, and she had been trying to get through all of that on her own without entirely relying on those who had come to teach her what she knew and slowly cope with things much easier. Though, the one thing that continued to linger was her severe claustrophobia that seemed to become rather hindering at times if she wasn't careful.

But she soon smiled back at Rick, offering her own hand to shake in greeting, "Nice to meet you Rick, my name is Ororo Munroe." Ororo introduced herself as well, seeing he obviously showed some interest in her, probably more so than Johnny at the moment. But she made sure he wasn't left out of the conversation, knowing it would be rather rude and seem as if they were ignoring him. "Music isn't quite my forte either, but I don't know much about the music program here either. I'm more for the Earth Sciences and the weather patterns on my end." Storm told them, but that didn't mean she didn't like listening to music as well. Though, her choice was more along the lines of soothing and calm, and often the sound of a soft breeze, the sound of the rain hitting the ground or the building, or even the rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning. Now that was music to her, the music of Mother Nature.

"There are a few places around here I've seen that seem rather good to stop by." She told Rick, thinking for a moment but not being too knowledgeable on the area. "Johnny might have better idea since I haven't been here for very long." Ororo suggested, figuring someone who had been here for some time would understand the area far better than herself. "As for my time here, I've had a decent time I'd say."

[Johnny Storm]

"Wow good luck in getting it, Rick." Johnny said as he heard the two others as they talked. They all seemed to hit off the bat pretty well. In fact if they were going to the same college, he wondered if he'd see Ororo and Rick more and become friends. Well, anything was possible considering that he got fire powers. And that had been something that he hadn't expected. "But from hearing your music here, I'd just say be yourself in the auditions. That's about the only advice I'd be able to give you. I'm no good at music either, like Ororo mentioned too." Johnny said with a shrug knowing everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, the three of them were no different.

"As for pubs?" He had to think about it for a second knowing that he had lived in New York for some time, he was relatively underage only for a few years ago. He had managed to actually get a taste in the form of alcohol. He wasn't much of a partier unless it was something like a birthday or there was something worth celebrating. But for the most part he had a bad past with that area since his father drank, and he didn't want to go down that area again since it stirred up so many dark memories. Especially with his sister.

"I believe there are a few Irish pubs that are in Down Town New York. Maybe later, all three of us can go on a little tour? I can show you guys some of the places that I'm familiar with." Johnny said knowing that he hadn't been able to see all of New York. But back when his family was actually still together, sometimes they went into the city to enjoy themselves. And sure, living in a Long Island Suburb had its perks of being a relatively quiet community, he actually liked all the hustle and bustle of the city. But he knew it was probably something that not everyone liked, but they could tolerate.

"But that's good that you're enjoying your time here in New York, Ororo. This is my home and I hope it stays that way for some time. But I'd like to explore a bit beyond New York too some day." He added knowing that opportunity might come if he went out west with the Avengers.

[Deleted]

Rick laughs and shakes his head when Ororo talks about earth sciences and weather.

"That sounds like far too much math for me." he says with a smile. "My hat is off to you if you can stay on top of that kind of workload. Nice to know that you are enjoying the school though. I have been a bit of a vagabond much of my life but I am not adverse to giving the putting down some roots things a try for a while."

Orono made quite a striking impression. A very pretty girl, plenty of manners, and an almost regal air about her. She sure was not your typical college student. Hopefully if he spent enough time on campus he could find ways to run into her and talk now and again.

"That is good advice." he said to Johnny when he recommended he just be himself for the audition. "Things always flow better when you are relaxed."

The had played a lot of clubs and bars around NYC, but not too many Irish ones. It wouldn't be too hard to learn that folk style, but he never had a reason to and none of the bands he had ever been a part of had played that kind of music.

"An Irish pub crawl sounds like a great idea." Rick pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "What say we pick a date and exchange numbers." He glanced hopefully at Ororo.

[Deleted]

“With all things considered, it probably is quite the work load but you could say I have an invested…interest in the subject.” Ororo explained, having to pause briefly to find the right word or description for why she expressed such interests in the subjects. It was a personal preference really. Her powers were still something she had not fully grasped, and with controlling the weather like she could it was a concern for her to understand the patterns and limitations, especially how the atmosphere was affected. If she used her powers in one area to such a scale it could affect another…she really didn’t want to think about it.

Though she took a moment to let the two men talk, finding it rather interesting how they seemed to express different interests yet hitting it off like they had been friends forever. Such was the world though, strange in drawing people together and somehow, they found a way to get along. Now if only everyone was like that, perhaps the world would be a much simpler, friendly place. Alas, that would be rather wishful thinking. Earth would never completely be devoid of wicked, cruel people.

Ororo smiled though at the mention of making roots, “It is nice to get a strong hold into a place, that I can understand. But it can be extremely difficult and frustrating before you can find a sure way to have your roots spread.” Ororo seemed to be almost speaking in a distant way now, knowing how difficult a task it was to find your place somewhere when you felt it was time you settled down, if even for a short while. “Perhaps this audition will be your first step in doing so.” Ororo spoke encouragingly towards Rick, giving him the best of luck in her own way. Perhaps with his relaxed, friendly demeanor and charm, he would have no problem getting into the college, much less making a rather decent life for himself here.

Though the mention of meeting up sometime made Ororo give a faint smile, “I’ll have to check my schedule for that one.” The white haired woman chuckled, knowing that homework was far from being her only concern. Not that she could necessarily say that just yet. “But I can give you two my number, just in case.” She added as she took her own out, one she managed to be provided with when she came to the X-mansion.

[Johnny Storm]

Ooc: Oops I didn't realize it was my turn to post. >>

Bic:

"Well if needed, we can always do it on one of the weekends. My weekends usually are free." Johnny said on the count that these last few weekends he had been trying to reforge a relationship with his sister. He had lost her over the years, and he wanted to make sure that she was alright. And not to mention they were attempting to spend more time together. Heck if they were lucky they might be able to go on missions together as Avengers or even just as a tag team.

"And here's my phone number, I've always got it on me." He said except for leaving out the other part of where he accidently burned his clothing or even his homework some time. It was certainly something he had to work on. It was very embarressing for him when that happened. He lost more than clothing or homework when he was out of control and still learning. He managed to get Rick's phone number and as well as Ororo's in the same day as he jotted it down on his own cell phone. This phone he usually kept on him at all times in case his friends or family wanted to talk to him.

However as Johnny was talking he couldn't help but notice that police car sirens could be heard off in the distance. The way the siren was blaring it sounded urgent. But he couldn't just leave Ororo or Rick like that. But if it was something serious like a super villain causing a problem he better hurry up to find out what was going on.

"Heay you guys hear that siren going off? I wonder what's going on? I checked the news earlier today and it seemed like typical New York stuff." He said referring to checking the news when he woke up that morning on his phone as he got up to go to classes. Today had been one of those rare days where he had been able not to worry about bad guys or crime fighting, besides other heroes could manage. But there was some worry on his face as even some other students seemed to take note of the siren of the police force. Say it'd be even worse if SHIELD showed up too.