4/28 Instance: All Greek to Me

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: after Sacrifices Must Be Made


Cecilia: Cecilia sat across from Rachel on the bus, rubbing her the side of her head. She still hadn't completely lost her hangover headache despite the aspirin, though where they were going that might be resolved pretty soon. Nothing cured a bad headache and a shitty mood like some souvlaki. "We're not far now though we'll have to walk a few blocks," she said to Rachel, her Bronx accent very evident now.

Rachel: Rachel had a hood pulled over her head, mostly to avoid being stared at for her obnoxious hair color. Not that she wouldn't be stared at for her skin color. Shifting slightly in the hard bus seat, she pulled a slight face, her back and neck still ached from sleeping against the wall in the hallway. Glancing over to Cecilia as she spoke, she knew her own accent was going to start seeping into her speech as she replied, shaking her head, "Eh, not a big deal."

Cecilia: Cecilia tilted her head to get a better look at the other woman. "Christ, you look like death warmed over and I thought I was hungover."

Cecilia: "What the hell happened?"

Rachel: "I actually don't feel all that bad. Just sore from sleeping in the hall," she sighed, pulling her gaze from the window to Cecilia, "After Paige and I had round one of our argument, I slept most of it off on the couch in her office... until she got out of class, anyway."

Cecilia: "Holy fuck there was more than one round?" Cecilia exclaimed, eyes widening a little. "Is that 'cause of the pot brownies and stuff? Jesus, if I got upset about every stupid thing Fabian did I'd get upset a helluva lot...though I don't think he'd stick with me if it was that much of an issue..." she frowned slightly at this. She wasn't sure how she felt about that - sometimes it felt like she should have more say.

Rachel: "Yeah... I said I didn't see why it was an issue, but, apparently, it is... Told her I wouldn't do drugs anymore, and that was that..." Rachel answered, shaking her head, "So, guess they weren't so much rounds as me rolling over and taking it." Which was generally how their fights went.

Cecilia: Cecilia stood up as their stop came up. "Most of the time when Fabian and I fight it ends with me screaming and leaving pissed off...I never win," she admitted ruefully. "I hope Paige appreciates it. I really doubt Fabian would stop taking acid or pot if I asked him."

Rachel: Getting to her feet, Rachel pulled a hand from her pocket to grab one of the poles, the bus coming to a halt. "...Yeah, that's how fights with Josh and I went, except I usually won," Rachel commented, reaching up to carefully tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear, "I hope so, too, because I've given up a lot."

Cecilia: "Only you can decide what's worth keeping or not," she shrugged, stepping of the bus and peering around the landscape of the south central Bronx. "God, it feels like it's been forever since I've been here but it's really only been seven months." But a lifetime's worth of horror had past since then, so perhaps it was understandable.

Cecilia: "It's just a few blocks that way," she said, pointing. "The guy I used to work for - Stavropaulos - died when I was in my last year of high-school and his grocery was closed down after that but his family still owns a restaurant, they know me so we should get a good deal."

Rachel: As she stepped off the bus and took her own look around, Rachel sighed a bit. While the area was pretty shitty, it was nice and familiar. Shooting Cecilia a slight grin, she said, "I know that feel, bro. But, seriously, I think the last time I was back... Like, besides us having to run around, was when SHIELD released me."

Rachel: Looking in the direction the other girl was pointing, she started down the sidewalk as she listened, "Deals are awesome... Did you only work in the grocery part?"

Cecilia: Cecilia nodded. "Yeah, I had school during the day and night shifts are sorta things I tried to avoid around here," she said, dodging a bag lady and frowning at the pan-handlers on the road. "I was there every day after school though all through high school and every saturday. Stavropaulos was good to me, like an abuelo, really."

Cecilia: "He used to give me lunch on saturdays and sometimes he gave me something for dinner during the week," she continued. "I was sorry when he died."

Rachel: Rachel stuffed her hands into her pockets as she listened while following along, eventually admitting, "I probably could've used a job or something to keep me out of trouble. I didn't really avoid being out at night, which was stupid in hindsight, but it was better than being at home."

Cecilia: "Why's that?" Cecilia asked. "Problems at home? Y'know a lotta people 'round here had troubles at home: parents were drug addicts or abusive or just didn't give a shit. I was one of the few that didn't have that but I nearly got put in foster care, so I guess that didn't make a lotta difference."

Cecilia: "Didn't have a choice when it came to the job," she admitted. "We needed the money, all of it went to the household so I never spent a dime of what I earned...and I sorta learned the hard way why you don't wander around here at night."

Rachel: "My problems weren't as shitty as they could've been," Rachel shook her head, "My parents worked a lot, but when they were home, they fought. Over everything. It could be over something like money to the best way to deal with me to a picture frame being crooked or something ridiculous like that... My mom left pretty much as soon as I'd moved out."

Rachel: "Probably a miracle I didn't end up in foster care," she added, shooting her a look, "Get jumped or something?"

Cecilia: "Sounds like a shit time," Cecilia said. "Why stay together? I mean, if you're unhappy either work things out or divorce - life's too short to be trapped in a shit marriage. You just make yourself and everyone around you miserable."

Cecilia: She arched an eyebrow. "Come on now, everybody knows my father was murdered," she chuckled.

Rachel: "Ah, right... Guess should've seen that coming, and I suppose I should've realized it wouldn't have been in broad daylight." Now, she just wanted to kick herself for looking like an idiot. "And, I imagine staying together was meant for my benefit or something..." Biting down on her lip, she paused for a moment before continuing, "I was into drugs for a while, and it didn't end well. Sorta justifies Paige's freaking out, I guess."

Cecilia: "Well you have to be pretty stupid to try to mug someone in broad daylight," Cecilia laughed, "then again you have to be pretty stupid to mug anyone from around here - if I was gonna rob someone I'd pick a white person. They got more money."

Cecilia: "What sorta drugs? If you don't mind my asking," she said, studying Rachel. She didn't seem the type to be a drug addict. "'Cause pot and acid aren't addictive, at least not in the conventional sense, she does know that right?"

Rachel: "Pfft, I ain't got no money... Well, I didn't used to," she grinned, "I don't think Paige knows anything about drugs past what they teach you in school and being high that one time." With a shrug and a shake of her head, she answered the other question, "I probably experimented with everything imaginable, but prescriptions."

Cecilia: "You sorta run into them a lot here," Cecilia remarked, motioning to a few people who were almost certainly junkies. "I shouldn't be surprised you'd done them since you're from here...I guess I just don't associate white people with drugs unless it's really fancy shit like coke or smack."

Cecilia: "I started drinking in college," she admitted. "Also started experimenting with low grade stuff like pot and acid...it's only this last semester I actually tried something addictive." She shuddered, remembering how alive she'd felt on kick. "I'll never do it again...the problem was it didn't feel bad. Makes you feel on top of the world. I can see why people do it."

Rachel: Rachel cast a brief glance over to the junkies, their thoughts coming off as disjointed, confirming the obvious suspicion, as she snorted over the association. "That is the problem. It's great, but then it's fucking awful when you start to come down," she agreed, "I had a lot of headaches, migraines, because my powers were difficult to deal with... It's partially how I ended up hooked. Easier to deal with things when you're so strung out you don't give a shit."

Rachel: Looking up from the cracked pavement under her feet, she cast a glance around, getting a feel as to where they were while speaking, "I had to quit after I overdosed."

Cecilia: "Generally how that works: either you retire the drugs or the drugs retire you," Cecilia said sagely, coming up to a small but clean looking restaurant. "Here we are."

Cecilia: She opened the door and grinned as she came across a familiar face. "Nico! Um...oh shit, how do you say it? Pó̱s eÃsai - long time no see, yeah?" She laughed, going to embrace a man with dark slicked back hair around Rachel's age.

Cecilia: ((Greek: How are you?))

Rachel: Rachel had definitely wanted the drugs to retire her at that point in her life, but that bit wasn't worth bringing up. While she didn't mind talking about everything else, that point wasn't one she liked to rehash. As she stepped into the place after Cecilia, she was pulled from those thoughts and removed a hand from her pocket to push her hood down, taking in the small place. It looked nice, and, more importantly, the food smelled delicious.

Rachel: Once she was finished taking in the decor, she looked to the guy Cecilia was catching up with and put on a slight grin.

Cecilia: The two made small talk for a few minutes with Cecilia dropping in occasional phrases in Greek. "Aw shit, what the hell is wrong with me? Nico, this is my friend, Rachel." She said, introducing the two. "Rachel, Nico is the grandson of my old employer. We were supposed to marry but don't tell Fabian."

Cecilia: Nico laughed. "It's nice to meet one of Cecilia's friends...and with such interesting hair," he said, offering a hand. "That's a joke by the way. My grandfather liked Cecilia so much he felt obliged to offer her his youngest grandson."

Cecilia: "Against his will," Cecilia laughed.

Rachel: "Aww, I would think that'd make you pretty lucky," Rachel jested in return as she shook his hand, her other one smoothing out her hair, "I wouldn't worry too much though. Secret's safe with me."

Cecilia: The two women were led to a free table soon enough and set up with menus. "I'd recommend the souvlaki," Cecilia said, sitting down and opening the menu. "Though that's my favourite so I might be biased."

Rachel: After taking the seat across from Cecilia, Rachel lifted her own menu and opened it up, peering over all the options. She actually wasn't terribly familiar with Greek food past gyros at carnivals and such, which she doubted really counted. "Well, it's not like you have horrible tastes, so I'm sure it's good," she eventually replied with a small smirk, "Though, I'm so hungry I think I'd find anything delicious at this point."

Cecilia: "It's meat on a stick, you can't go too wrong there," Cecilia snorted, scanning the menu anyways. They still had calamari, that was good. "So what've you got planned for the summer? You and Paige visiting family or something?"

Rachel: Oh, tzatziki. She'd forgotten about that, though she wasn't sure how because it was awesome. She was sure it'd be awesome if she ordered some, too. "Her birthday's in July, so I'm trying to work out some plans for that. Then, I might drag her down here to meet my dad," she answered, pulling her gaze from the text to glance over at the other girl, "What about you and Fabian?"

Cecilia: "He's taking me to Puerto Rico for the summer, my family's coming down for part of it too." She said, snapping the menu shut. "No word on whether we're seeing his though." She genuinely hoped not. While she liked Jacinta she wasn't really keen on the idea of spending any amount of time with Esteban. Though it wasn't likely he cared to see them, either.

Cecilia: "Oh," she said unintelligently to Rachel's comment. "So they don't know that you've 'switched teams' so to speak?"

Rachel: "My mom knows because she showed up for that parents' weekend thing..." Rachel pulled a slight face at the memory of the encounter, closing her own menu once she was sure she'd settled on what she wanted. She couldn't resist the roll of her eyes as she continued, "She's probably called to let him know I'm going through another of my 'phases'."

Rachel: That was how things generally worked within her family anyway. Her mother took offense to something, they fought, and her dad tried to smooth things over, even after the divorce.

Cecilia: "You're what, twenty-six?" Cecilia asked, giving the waiter her order and handing him back the menu. "Isn't that a little old to have 'phases'?" She sighed. "I feel your pain though, sister. Fab's father thinks I'm a fling at best and a way for Fabian to punish him at worst."

Rachel: With a grin, Rachel had a change of heart and decided to order Cecilia's recommendation, giving up her menu before replying with a nod, "Yeah... I would think I'm a bit too old as well, but it's not that big of a deal. I'm pretty used to avoiding her." Despite trying to shrug it off, she gave the table a frown and jumped on the subject that wasn't her mother, "Oh, yeah? I can't imagine that going over well."

Cecilia: Cecilia shrugged. "I can deal," she said simply, not really wanting to get into it. She'd promised not to mention what an ass Esteban was to other people and she intended to keep it. "Well I suppose time'll prove it's not a phase just like it will with me...at that point it's either smooth sailing from there on or a constant battle."

Cecilia: She had no illusions which one her situation would be. No doubt the longer she was around the more desperate Esteban would be to get rid of her. She could just picture the veins in his temple pulsating at the thought of her taking even a dime of his precious money. "How're Paige's family gonna handle it? Aren't they from Texas?" She asked dubiously.

Rachel: "Yep... Middle of nowhere, otherwise known as Post, Texas. I don't know how I'm going to survive." After a moment of consideration, Rachel hastened to jokingly add, "Being out in the country, that is... Though, now that I mention it, I might not survive her family either."

Rachel: As for the answer to how they were going to handle it, she sighed and raked her fingers through her brightly colored hair. Sitting back in her seat, she shook her head, admitting, "I'd almost rather not meet them and have her keep avoiding the subject."

Cecilia: "Post, Texas?" Cecilia said, snorting. "Holy fuck, are you actually going to the place where the expression 'going postal' was born?" She laughed at that. "In the country...in Texas. I'm sorry but that sounds like my idea of hell."

Cecilia: She frowned. "Is her family one of those fundamentalist Christian families that hate blacks, gays, jews, and foreigners? More importantly: do they have a shotgun? 'Cause I think you better go prepared if that's the case."

Rachel: "I know, right? I'm convinced I may go postal if the country is as boring as I think it is," Rachel snickered along with her, though she quickly sobered, nodding, "Catholic, they barely tolerated her ex-husband because he's black, and I'd imagine so because they own a farm."

Cecilia: "Well they must do something for fun out there," Cecilia reasoned, smiling as her food arrived. "Though I don't know how you feel about hoe-downs." She frowned at the talk about Paige's family. "I was...maybe still am Catholic and in case you didn't notice I'm black as well...I've never understood that. Prejudice in itself is against their religion and there's a shitload of Catholics in latin countries. It all seems very hypocritical."

Rachel: She thanked the server as her plate was placed in front of her, grinning, "Nah, I thought you were totally as pasty as I am, but yeah... I mean, Paige is cool and goes to church or whatever every Sunday, however her family... I just... I dunno. I mean, despite the hating on everyone, they're really close from what I've heard, and it sucks because she's probably going to be disowned."

Rachel: After trying a bite of the food, Rachel added, "Also? I can totally see why this is your favorite."

Cecilia: "Yeah, the tzatziki is pretty sweet with it, huh?" Cecilia said, digging in. "Do they know she's a mutant? 'Cause if they do it seems a bit stupid that they'd accept her for one thing and disown her for another."

Rachel: "Totally," she nodded again, "Yep. I mean, it's hard to miss that much skin peeling, I'd imagine. I don't really know the details of how that went over though."

Cecilia: Cecilia shook her head disapprovingly. "Mine were fine with it...but y'know something? Now that I think about it, I actually think if I were gay it'd probably not go over as well. I mean, they wouldn't disown me, but I don't think they'd really get it either. Weird, huh?"

Rachel: "My mom wa- isn't all that into the mutant thing either. It's mostly why she didn't like Josh," Rachel shook her head, "Besides it being a phase, she wasn't so into me having a girlfriend because I had a husband the last time we'd talked," she shrugged, "A bit, yeah... Though, sometimes I think superpowers are totally easier than relationships."

Cecilia: "Depends on what kind of power you have," Cecilia said around a mouthful of lamb. "I mean, look at Kevin and Rogue. That's gotta be rough." Indeed, both also had a shitty time when it came to relationships. Rogue's husband was killed and Kevin's girlfriend cheated on him. "What about all the obvious mutants too? It's gotta be hard finding someone who is willing to overlook that."

Rachel: "Josh was almost as gold and shiny as Cessily is silver, and he was hot..." Rachel decided to cut herself off there, adding, "But I get your point. People suck, and life is rough enough without being dealt shit powers."

Cecilia: "Not saying it's a deal-breaker for me," Cecilia smirked. "I'd be a huge hypocrite if I said I wouldn't date someone based on how they looked now would I?"

Cecilia: She looked a bit surprised at the mention of Josh. "I didn't know that...that must've been something...did he have similar powers?"

Rachel: "Pfft, you're not that bad looking," Rachel rolled her eyes, taking another bite before answering, "He healed people."

Cecilia: "Beauty's a matter of opinion," Cecilia said sagely, lifting a finger. She raised an eyebrow. "Like that new professor then? That's handy...sorry, you probably don't wanna talk about this."

Rachel: "Anna, yeah. Her and Josh worked together with their powers a bit," Rachel nodded. After another bite, she found herself shaking her head, "I really don't mind. Talking about him isn't going to get easier unless I do it."

Cecilia: Cecilia raised an eyebrow. She wasn't much for talking about her father, but that was her preference. "I'll admit, I'm glad to see you moved on. It's unhealthy to spend your whole life mourning. My mother's like that...I don't think it's wrong to move on. I think you can love more than once in a lifetime." She just wished Hope could've seen that.

Rachel: "I needed to move on. If I didn't, I'd've spend the rest of my life at Vito's, waiting for my liver to give out," she admitted, knowing she had a stupidly cheesy grin on her face at the thought of loving again. It made her feel incredibly ridiculous as opposed to being the badass she liked to think she was. "I've definitely managed that part, too."

Cecilia: Cecilia laughed at Rachel's face. "Now I know what I must look like to other people," she said. "I'm not sure I like it, but it's probably not the worst thing."

Rachel: "Like an idiot," Rachel supplied, "At least that's how I imagine I look, and it's definitely how I feel sometimes because... Well, I'm not... I've never really been this disgustingly cute person, but it could be a lot worse. I could still be... Nah, I'm still kinda an idiot regularly, too."

Cecilia: Cecilia snorted. "I figure as long as I'm not writing 'Mrs. Cortez i Reyes' and drawing little hearts on my notebooks things probably haven't reached the ridiculously sappy stage...if I do reach that point though please slap me."

Rachel: "I got her name tattooed on my hip. While sober. I think I'm beyond the point of slapping for things like that," she sighed, "However, it's a deal if you slap me before I make idiotic decisions like getting high and going through every fast food drive-through I can think of... or dropping acid in the costume closet..."

Cecilia: "While I do like burgers you gotta deal there."