nextgenerationmarvel | Oh hey, it's pool time, eh? (Open)

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Oh hey, it's pool time, eh? (Open)

It was a beautiful August afternoon. Almost disgustingly gorgeous, actually. The humidity had finally fallen to an acceptable level and it was showing up as a very lovely 80 Fahrenheit (27 Celsius to Kayla, it would always be 27 Celsius). It was beautiful and safe ... it'd probably be awhile before Kayla felt like going camping again. Nobody had been hurt too badly, but it'd still been an awful mess, and Rose hadn't really been the same after it.

It was perfect weather for a dip in the lake. Not too hot, not too cold, no real wind. And it was also an absolutely perfect opportunity to take her new swimsuit on a trial run.

Kayla had always loved water, since she was a little kid. She remembered her father always joking that she should have been born a dolphin or something. She'd never have made a swim team in any significant way, but swimming had come naturally to her- but even more so, just the feeling of being in cool water, floating, treading water, even just standing in it.

If other people joined her, that was awesome, but she didn't mind being alone either. Like a complete goon, she started running down the pier and jumped into the water.

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Topher had been sitting near the lake, doing the sad, sullen, and mopey thing when he saw Kayla running down the pier. He sat up and watched her curiously, the tree he was sitting under providing the perfect shade from the heat. His Kindle sat in his lap, open to a collection of fairy tales retold for gay men. It was, perhaps, not the perfect way to heal his broken heart, but some of it did make him feel better.

Though not by much.

Still, a small smile brought his face to life. There was a schoolmate, a fellow mutant who'd been through some terrible stuff herself, running out to enjoy the day. Maybe he could try the same thing. Sure, he wouldn't be able to take in any of her positive energy on a literal level - his powers would never work that way - but he could take those vibes in on a metaphorical sense.

He stood up and jogged down the pier, careful not to use his strength as he did so. He didn't want to break the pier, after all. Tearing off his white v-neck t-shirt - and realizing but not caring how hellish his denim cut-off shorts were going to be in the water - Topher leaped into the lake with a "Whoop!"

Dolemeck wandered down to the lake. He managed to get his cast off early, so he wanted to spend time by the lake. The minute he got there, he could see Topher and Kayla in the water from a distance. With some care, he started to walk down the Pier, looking for a place to sit that would not get in the way of other people.

"Woo!" He let out a cheer, stretching his arms out before landing on his back on the section of the Pier. He looked up at the sky, just watching the clouds go by.

As soon as Kayla hit the water and bobbed back up to the surface, she could hear Topher running down the deck. She knew he'd been having a very hard time, with Jeremiah leaving- she couldn't help but be very angry with him herself, truthfully.

He was supposed to stay and help the people at the shelter. But he'd gone back home, and what's worse, left Topher as well.

But it looked like Chief was hopefully having a better day today. She grinned broadly as he leaped into the water, getting soaked again by the considerable splash that followed.

"CHIEF!" She yelled happily, swimming over to him and giving him a hug. It was then that she noticed Dolemeck as well and gave him a big wave.

"Kayla!" Topher grinned and hugged her back. "Water feels great, doesn't it?" He asked, before playfully splashing her. Next to Rose, Kayla was his favourite non-relative at the Institute. "I saw you coming here and couldn't resist a dip myself," he said.

Dolemeck happily waved back to Kayla, before starting to use his powers to remove his leg braces. Once he was free of them, he laid on his belly on the deck, trying to pull himself closer to the edge of the water. He placed a hand in the water, testing it.

"Hi, Kayla!" he shouted towards her. "Is that a handsome merman you are with? He has me quite entranced!"

Oh God, did he just say that out loud? He said that out loud. His hand jolted from the water to cover his mouth, while his face went a bit red.

"Water feels fantastic! What a beautiful goddamn day!" Kayla grinned brightly and used a minor burst of her powers to send a considerable wave splashing over Topher in response for the splashing. "Perfect day for a swim."

And then she heard Dolemeck and couldn't help but break out in gales of laughter. "The handsomest!" She looked at Topher with a huge grin. "You hear that? Handsome merman. Entrancement."

Oh god, she was going to remember that one for a long time.

Topher laughed and splashed Kayla back, putting a little bit of force into the splash. "Sometimes a lazy float is good," he said, throwing himself onto his back and just floating. He wriggled a bit and sat up, treading water, at Dolemeck's comment. Sparkling blue eyes widened in surprise and he traded a look with Kayla.

"Thanks for the compliment," he said, waving at Dolemeck. "That's, uh, really sweet."

He was so embarrassed now. He waved back to Topher, now a bit meek and nervous, before shouting back to him.

"You are most welcome! I am sorry if that came out sounding rather lame! It sounded far better in my-" Just as he was about to finish his sentence, his hand slipped off the dock, and he started to fall into the water. "-head!"

Once in the water, Dolemeck did not panic. Sure, his legs could not move without his leg braces, but he had this! He was feeling more powerful and confident as a telekinetic, and reached his hand out towards the bottom of the lake. He focused on using his powers to push against the floor of the lake, causing himself to be pushed towards the surface.

He resurfaced, grabbing a rope on the side of the dock and looking back at Kayla and Topher, just feeling mortified.

"Umm... can we start this whole thing over? My name is Dolemeck, it is nice to meet you, Topher!" He coughed up some lake water, trying to smile at the two. He was such a dork.

"What do you mean lame?" Kayla replied to Dolemeck, immediately swimming over to him as he fell overboard, ready to play the resucing hero. As it happened, though, he seemed able to salvage the situation quite admirably.

"Are you okay, Dolemeck?" Kayla asked as he coughed up some water. Embarrased, no doubt, but there were more important considerations, really.

Topher followed Kayla, lean but strong arms helping him keep pace with the pretty brunette. "It's nice to meet you too, Dolemeck," he said. "Well, in an official capacity at least." He looked to Kayla. "You alright there? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"Unless the infirmary can put a band-aid on me pride, I do not need to go." He smiled at Kayla and Topher. He felt like an arse, right now. A big one. "But in all seriousness, I am fine. Just... embarrassed."

Embarrassed was one word for it. His heart was racing just looking at Topher up close and personal. He finally answered Kayla back on why he thought what he said was "lame".

"Despite it being true, that was the biggest line of cheese that ever escaped my lips, Kayla. A guy like Topher, deserves better than a cheesy line from a nervous Brit like me-self." Then he realized that he said that right in-front of Topher. letting his hand loosen on the rope he was clinging to, he sunk down into the water a bit, until only his nose, eyes, and the top of his head showed.

Edited 2014-10-22 17:41 (UTC)

"Oh come on, it's fine." Kayla replied with a smile, looking back at Topher for a second. "We're all cool here, right? Totally cool. Cooler than cool. So cool we might as well be in Canada."

She shook her head at him as he sunk into the water. "Ancient history. No worries. Don't make me pull you out of there!" Kayla playfully threatened at the mostly sunk Dolemeck.

Was she keeping a straight face? Mostly. Mostly. It was hard not to laugh, because really, it was really damn funny. But she tried not to, because the poor guy looked like he was going to die of embarrassment.

"Alaska, even," Topher agreed. He attempted a smile down at Dolemeck, though it may or may not have come out as a half-grimace. Dolemeck's embarrassment was giving out some severely negative vibes, and Topher was already struggling against taking them in so quickly. "Come on out. No sense in trying to drown yourself over something said in the heat of the moment."

He surfaced, looking at Topher, then Kayla, then back to Topher. He smiled at the two, feeling more at ease.

"Sorry. I just... I never had the bollocks to tell anyone such things, before." He gave out a relaxed sigh, letting go of the rope and concentrating so his powers would allow him to float in the water, without drowning. "There we go! Better than being in a silly life-jacket."

He chuckled. "But, aye. I meant every word of what I said... and we're all cool. Arctic cool!"

And then Kayla saw the expression on Topher's face and she immediately remembered- Oh fuck. No wonder he's so awkward about this. She felt awful for forgetting that.

"Cool. And also done." Kayla said to Dolemeck in a gentle but firm tone, before looking back at Topher. "Swim-off? I don't know about you, but I need to get some hardcore swimming in. Think you can take me?"

He offered Kayla something of a smile. "I mean, do you doubt that I can...actually, I don't know." Topher was more of a skydiver than he was a swimmer, but he wasn't necessarily bad at it.

Also, it helped to know how to swim when your family had a history of members being wrapped in psionic cocoons many leagues under water.

He was nowhere near champion levels of swimming, though.

"But it'll be fun finding out!" He splashed Kayla then and dove under, using his strength to propel him forward.

"H-hey!" he was not going to be left behind in this! Dolemeck began to refocused his telekinetic powers. He kept his legs together and used his arms for upper body strength. He manipulated his legs under water for the first time in his life, making them move like a dolphin, or a merman if you will.

"Hey! I'm actually doing it!" Dolemeck thought to himself. While he was still refining his powers, he was able to finally manipulate his legs for the first time since he discovered them. "Wonder why I cannot do this with my braces on... maybe it is just easier to move my legs like a fish, instead of walking. I should talk to headmistress Ramsey about this later!"

Soon, he had caught up to Topher.

Edited 2014-10-23 06:14 (UTC)

Well ... Kayla was still ahead, but both of them were starting to gain on her. She was going to have to get serious about this, if she was going to hope to win. She concentrated on summoning up a low-level shockwave behind her, giving her a push in the water- and a sizeable wave for the others to deal with.

Totally honest.

Kayla would never cheat. She was just being creative with her advantages.

They were mutants. Using your powers just a little bit couldn't possibly be considered cheating.

At least this is what Topher insisted any time they played a basketball game.

Topher held back a laugh as the wave pushed him back - the last thing he needed was water going into his lungs. He was thrown back enough, but Topher surged ahead again, once more putting his strength to use. He wouldn't catch up to Kayla, but that was okay. He didn't need to be the best at everything. It was the one thing that both of his parents had taught him while growing up - he didn't need to be perfect if he wanted to lead the X-Men one day. He just had to recognize his own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of those around him.

Dolemeck was starting to tire out from using his powers this way. It was hard to keep his focus on moving his legs for this long. Instead of trying to catch up to Topher and Kayla, he took a detour towards the more shallow waters.

Gasping for air, Dolemeck sat up in water that went to his waist. He was not upset about losing, he was proud he did as much as he could, today. All that embarrassment was gone, and there was just a look of joy on his face.

"Whoo!" Kayla proclaimed proudly as she reached the other end, grinning and waving at the boys. Surely, she would've been fairly gracious had she lost, but sometimes it just felt good to win. She immediately started swimming back towards them.

"Hey guys. Good race!"

Topher padded up a moment later, a wry smile on his face. He ducked under the water and came out so he was facing the same way that Kayla was, swimming back with her. "Remind me how good of a swimmer you are the next time the Atlanteans decide to launch an attack," he said dryly.

Dolemeck finally felt strong enough to use his abilities to just let his body float in the water towards Topher and Kayla.

"Aye, that was fun! I am a bit exhausted, however... I never used my powers like that before!" He said with pride. "It felt good to swim again."

"I'll keep it in mind." Kayla grinned. "Though I'd probably just end up punching the shit out of them. It's kinda what I do. Though I'd rather do it with my fearless leader calling the shots." Kayla grinned broadly.

She smiled over at Dolemeck. "Awesome pawsome. You should do it on a regular basis while the weather's good. Water's amazing."

He grinned. Fearless leader. Topher could only hope. He really did like to think that he'd be the next generation of Summers to lead the X-Men. Between his Uncle Scott, his Aunt Jean, his parents with X-Factor, and now Rachel, well, he had a lot to live up to. A lot to prove.

Pressure? What? Noooo. Just gotta remember to not be uptight the way that Ms. Frost claims Husk used to be.

"Water aerobics and things are supposed to be good, I think," Topher added. "Maybe one of the instructors can help guide you in something like that."

"I should try and make it out to the lake more often." He agreed with Kayla. "Maybe find a swimming buddy, as I am not allowed to be out here by me-self. For good reason, and I understand it."

He then looked over at Topher, giving him a bit of a sad smile.

"Water aerobics and aquatic therapy are for muscle strengthening. My legs are strong enough, but my brain just does not connect that they are apart of me. I mean, I can feel them and all. I just cannot control them without aide."

There were no sad feelings, no anger. It was just like he was stating a fact.

"Without those leg braces I could not even walk. They would just buckle out from under me or my knees might bend the wrong way."

He went back to floating around the two, looking a bit exhausted, but still jovial.

"I... may need some assistance getting back to the mansion, come to think of it. If I put the braces on while soaked like this, I could damage them or slip as I walk. Would either one of you mind helping a bloke out?"

Uptight and Topher did not really combine in any meaningful way. Kayla was positive that he'd be fine. Anything he needed to work on, well, he had time. Mrs. Ramsey wasn't going away anytime soon.

Kayla nodded at Dolemeck. "Lean on me, bro. We'll get ya home."

Brianna headed down to the lake after a bit. The camping trip had gone well until it hadn't and Brianna still felt bad about it.

She made her way down to the swimming hole.

"Hey, having fun down here?" she asked.

Kayla immediately bobbed up, giving Brianna her best incandescent grin. "You bet your ass I am!" She swam up to the dock, looking up at her. "Better now that you're here, though. You gonna come in here or what?"

She playfully splashed at Brianna, though it was unlikely that more than a drop or two would've actually landed on her.

"I could come in, sure." Brianna said, taking off her shorts and shirt to reveal her purple bathing suit beneath. She dived into the water and swam over to Kayla.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

Maybe it was impolitic to let out a hearty wolf-whistle at the sight of Brianna peeling off the majority of her clothes, but it didn't stop her. Her grin only widened as Brianna swam over to her.

"Good. Best I've been since the camping trip. It's a beautiful day, the water's nice and hey, now you're here too." She swam around Brianna, once, twice, getting closer each time she circled until she was right up beside her.

"Hey you." Kayla said quietly, smiling softly and leaning in for a kiss.

Brianna would have glared daggers at anyone else who'd whistled at her like that. Kayla's whistle made her skin tingle all over. She still didn't know why this Canadian beauty made her feel so amazing but she was glad for it.

She returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around Kayla's shoulders.

"Hey, I missed you today. And good news: I had lunch with my mum and we didn't get into a row about anything. Can you imagine that?" she asked.

It was fortunate Kayla wasn't telepathic, because the thought 'Canadian beauty' would certainly have turned her redder than a Maple Leaf flag. She smiled broadly, happy to be close to her wonderful, gorgeous, awesome girlfriend.

"That's awesome." Kayla thought that, partly because she secretly thought Bri's mother was pretty awesome- she was Psylocke after all. Also because of the word 'row' to mean an argument. It was probably a sad, sad thing, but Kayla could listen to Brianna talk for ages. "Well, we'll just have to make some more time today." It was only light duty in the Mansion kitchen today, so she was free until around four in the afternoon and after about six.

"You should've seen the little swimming competition I had with some of the guys before." Kayla's smile broke into a broad grin. "I whupped their asses."

Brianna didn't hate her mother but Betsy Braddock was surprisingly overprotective of her daughter. The idea of a telepathic hovering ninja-mom sounded great to most. Most people hadn't lived with Betsy their entire lives. Brianna simply wished her mother would let her live her own life the way she got to. She didn't have a twin brother like her mother had Uncle Brian.

Her father was good at giving her space. She wished that her parents would trade parenting views sometimes.

"You're a champion swimmer so I expected that. Who did you compete against? Maybe I'll make a sign or two that says 'Kayla- Xavier School Swim Team Champion' and carry it around." Brianna said.

"And if you're /really/ good, maybe I'll carry that around for you later. In our room. With nothing else." Brianna teased.

Even an imperfect mother was so much better than no mother at all. Or father for that matter, or any of her passel of brothers, sisters, cousins and even some little nephews and nieces. Kayla had made a lot of very good friends since she'd come to the school- some very good friends, but there was undeniably a family-shaped hole in her life.

"You'd think I was an Olympian or something." Kayla laughed. "Topher and Dolemeck. Topher nearly caught up to me, though."

Kayla raised an eyebrow and then grinned. "Naughty. Naughty girls get splashed." Kayla grinned and gave Brianna a bit of a splash.

"Topher? Cool. I don't know Dolemeck but I haven't seen Topher around much. We probably just keep missing each other." Briana said.

Kayla splashed her and Brianna dove beneath the water and swam up behind her.

"Tease. Naughty girls deserve more than splashing. But that'll be later. There's something we need to talk about." she said.

Brianna paused a moment, hoping that Kayla wouldn't freak out.

"My dad wants to meet you."

"Nice guy. More than a little awkward, though." Kayla replied.

"Oooh, that sounds promising." Kayla didn't continue on that line, though, because it looked like Brianna had something serious to bring up. And then she paused.

"Cool." Kayla grinned, frankly relieved. She'd probably feel nervous later, but she'd worried it was something much more serious. She splashed Brianna again. "Don't worry me like that!"

Brianna grinned at the splashing. She didn't really think Kayla would freak out but she was glad her girlfriend didn't lose it at the thought of meeting her father. Things with Mom went well but Brianna sensed it was because Betsy did the English "stiff upper lip" default setting rather than express what she was really thinking.

"Well, I was worried that you'd worry. Trust me, it'll go okay. Bring your best poker face because he wants to play poker with us." Brianna said.

"You can play poker, right?"

Kayla had thought the conversation pretty frank, truth be told, though it had certainly been a little nerve-inducing.

"So ... he wants to fleece his daughter and her girlfriend." Kayla replied with a faint smirk. "Yeah, I can play poker all right. Though if you've got any hot tips, I'm all ears."

"Rule One is simple. If you're not cheating, you're not trying." Brianna said.

"Rule Two follows Rule One pretty closely: If you get caught, you aren't trying hard enough." she grinned.

"Well, damn. I'll have to be on my worst behaviour." Kayla grinned broadly. "I'll have to put on my devil horns, clearly."

"So when's he planning on having this friendly little get-together?" Kayla asked brightly.

"Maybe tomorrow night? How does that sound?"

"Tomorrow night? Well, hot damn, I'll put that on my social calendar then." Kayla grinned broadly. "Maybe I can make some of those beignets everyone loves so much. Their deliciousness might distract him from his A-game."

Because Kayla knew damn well she'd need every advantage she could get. They were talking about Gambit here. Poker was his thing. Or a big part of it at least.

"Do it. We'll need every advantage we can get." Brianna said, suddenly a little nervous at the prospect of this meeting. There was no reason to fear her dad not liking Kayla, but she wanted her whole family to get along with her girlfriend.

"Thank you for being so awesome about this. You don't have to and I appreciate it." she said, kissing her on the cheek.

"It's important to you." Kayla replied sincerely, brushing away a few loose strands of Brianna's hair. "And you're important to me. I mean, it'll probably be fun. I imagine your dad's pretty chill."

She laughed. "So tomorrow night, then." She raised her eyebrow with a bit of a puckish grin. "Tomorrow night is good." A bit of emphasis on the word "tomorrow".

Kayla's words made Brianna feel better about everything. She smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yeah, he's pretty chill...but he's always got an angle. Always." she said.

"Tomorrow night is booked, then. Tonight, however, is totally free. Did you have any plans?" she asked.

"Yeah." Kayla replied with a small grin. "Starts with some room service. I'm gonna make us some special treats. And we're not sharing any of it." She laughed. "And what happens after that, well, that's up for us to decide, yeah?"

"Any special requests?"

"I like the sound of that. I'd like rice krispy treats. I've been craving those all week but Mum's had me in training." Brianna said.

"I'm going to go batty if I don't get any."

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Oh hey, it's pool time, eh? (Open)

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