Current Timeline
<Walt> Walt flicked his wrist, sending the tennis ball flying towards to one of the school's garage doors. Meeting Alison had been fortuitous - at least now he had a friend, maybe - but it hadn't exactly gained him a good night's sleep. Though Bruce's shenanigans next door took more than 80% of the blame there.
<Walt> He flicked the hockey stick once again, he was out of practice, he thought. It'd been two years since he'd played with any regularity but after he'd gone to the group home hockey just fell to the wayside. It didn't seem important anymore...not much had at the time though.
<Jean-Paul> A blur went past Walt and another second his ball was stopped and Jean-Paul was grinning back to him. "Hello there, practicing up? Haven't had anyone else too interested in playing, did you bring your own supplies there?"
<Walt> Walt yelped, raising his stick to his chest to defend himself as some guy just appeared out of nowhere. "Oh God!" he gasped, exhaling loudly and holding his heart. "You scared the crap out of me!"
<Jean-Paul> "...so you get ready to hit me with your stick?" Jean-Paul chuckled at that. "That's a sure mark of a freshman, I'll have to say. Not quite adjusted to the place yet?"
<Walt> Walt blinked. "Uhm...uh, yes. I'm new here...err...no, I guess I'm not." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh...sorry."
<Jean-Paul> Jean-Paul just shook his head and stepping forward to pushing the stick down. "Well, have to say your reflexes are sharp at least but you don't have to worry about using them with me. I'm Jean-Paul."
<Walt> Walt relaxed his grip and lowered the stick. "Walter. Walter Langkowski. Uhm, just call me Walt, though. Only my great-aunt Lillian calls me Walter."
<Walt> Jean-Paul, eh? Well, with that accent that could only mean one thing. "...you're French?"
<Jean-Paul> "French-Canadian, I'm from Quebec City and I'll be sure to stick with Walt. I'm okay with JP as well."
<Walt> "You're a Frenchie?" Walt said, a little surprised, cringing as soon as he said it though. "Damn it...sorry! Quebec, eh? I'm, uh, from Alberta. Err...I'm sorry but I don't speak French very well. I dropped it after grade nine....do speak Polish though." With an accent, of course...but why would Jean-Paul care about that? Idiot!
<Jean-Paul> Jean-Paul looked like he wanted to laugh at being called a Frenchie as well. "Yes, born and raised and more or less in the same place until I came down here for school...and it looks like I'll be lingering even after graduating which seems strange."
<Jean-Paul> "Well, apparently you can pick it up, Monet's teaching it though I have to wonder what kind of teacher she would be. I'm afraid nobody teaches Polish though."
<Walt> "Oh..." Walt said. He had no idea who this Monet was. "Good to know."
<Walt> He walked over to the ball and picked it up. "You asked me a question though...uh, yeah...I got my own equipment. I used to play in a team but now I just play road hockey mostly...maybe when the lake freezes though I'll try and play on ice again...do you play too?"
<Jean-Paul> "We're Canadian, some stereotypes must hang true and that seems to be the one." Jean-Paul teased. "It's not my sport of choice but I'll join you when everything freezes over, not to worry about that."
<Walt> "You have a sport of choice?" Walt asked, interested. He really liked playing sports. "What's your favourite, then?"
<Jean-Paul> "I ski, of course, when it became apparent what I did that took care of skiing competitively but it's still enjoyable." He gave Walt a shrug, "There are a few places up north of here that are pretty decent for it, so you and I are some of the few people who are looking forward to things getting cold."
<Walt> "Hey, I ski too!" Walt said, happy to find someone who did as well. "Yeah, you won't find much better snow down here that are like Whistler or Tremblant or...Banff." He frowned a little there at the mention of that town. "There's Lake Placid and hills in Vermont, though - at least that's closer than Aspen, eh?"
<Walt> "...you move really fast. That's why you don't compete anymore, right?" he asked. "I guess Department H didn't like that."
<Jean-Paul> "Well, I sort of can cheat when it comes to things being close or far." Jean-Paul reminded him, shrugging. "But not everyone likes hitching rides with me; it can be something of a strain." He nodded as Walt got it right. "Yes, speed, flight, some light shenanigans...can't say as I ever did anything through Department H, however."
<Walt> "You're not registered then?" Walt said, surprised. "Oh...uh, I am." It was sort of hard for him not to be involved with Department H either the way he'd manifested, but he supposed not everyone had such a traumatic one as he did.
<Jean-Paul> "No, I'm not registered...it was a bit of a thing getting past it but I managed." Nothing quite like being a juvenile mutant with a rather interesting record. Jean-Paul was pretty sure he'd never be hired if that record was ever unlocked.
<Walt> Walt was pretty sure with his record and his mutation he'd have a heck of a time being hired. "I guess that's a good thing," he admitted. "I mean, not everyone is scared of you if they know but some are...and some are more hostile." Walt wasn't sure which he preferred - hostile or afraid. A small, terrible part of him felt afraid was better though. At least they didn't hurt you when they were scared.
<Jean-Paul> "Well, we all have some experience with hostility but I dare say I've had it pretty easy, really. Most people I meet on a day to day basis seem to think I'm pretty cool with my mutation...although once in a while you'll run into some...really uncomfortable fans."
<Walt> "Fans?" Walt said, tilting his head. "Where you that prominent a skiier?" 'Cool with his mutation'? Well, that was a bit troubling. He decided not to mention his own though, he'd already grown wary of talking about it after speaking to his roommate. The last thing he wanted was a lecture.
<Jean-Paul> "No, of mutants and the X-Men. I just say that because last year we had a lot of weirdness. One especially weird incident with a bunch of people in one of the malls around here."
<Walt> Walt frowned. "Oh...I don't think I'd like that. Being famous that is. It seems sort of...invasive." Not that it mattered though, he wasn't going to be joining the team. "I don't really understand why people like the team so much...well, why some of them do. It seems a bit odd to me."
<Jean-Paul> "Stopping giant inky tentacle monsters from destroying New York? Stopping and rescuing the Horsemen from Apocalypse? We've done a good many things. Why's it odd?"
<Walt> Walt shrugged and scuffed his boot on the pavement a little. "Good things that other mutants started...I don't know, it just doesn't feel like mutants are something to aspire to or admire...we're not better than anyone else."
<Jean-Paul> "I'd like to think my mutation isn't what people are admiring when talking about those things, either."
<Walt> "I don't think most people are able to distinguish the person from the mutation. At least nobody I met was able to," Walt said, thinking of his parents and the people in the group homes.
<Jean-Paul> "It's a part of the person so that's just that, I'm just saying you can be a fan of something due to the actions, it's not about the mutation."
<Walt> Walt didn't answer that. As far as he was concerned if there had been no mutants there would've been no Apocalypse and no need for mutant heroes and that was that. "Maybe," he said, not wanting to be rude and overtly assert himself to someone he just met.
<Walt> "Err...have you been here a long time?" he asked. Jean-Paul seemed a bit older.
<Jean-Paul> "Yeah, this is my senior year. I'm actually still sort of in shock about that; it doesn't seem like it's been that long." Jean-Paul admitted, looking at Walt a bit odd as he didn't understand why his statement would have earned a 'Maybe'.
<Walt> "Yeah, you'll have to go out into the real world," Walt said, chuckling a little awkwardly. Why was he getting this look so often here? "Any idea what you want to do?"
<Jean-Paul> "Right now I'm working on Senator Pryor's campaign, small time stuff but it's still well worth it. After graduation Reed and I are staying in the area and he'll be at NYU or MIT and I'll be finding a restaurant to cook for."
<Walt> "Oy..." Walt said, feeling his head start to hurt. "I don't get all these American politics. They only have two major parties. There's not much choice it seems."
<Jean-Paul> "It's mostly sensationalism but yeah, I know she has no chance but I'll do it anyway."
<Walt> "Pryor is the mutant one?" Walt said, remembering the conversation at Vito's. "She won't make it. Telling everyone she was a mutant was a bad move...in more than just political ways."
<Jean-Paul> "Well, not everything's about winning, is it?"
<Walt> "Well...no," Walt agreed. "I don't know...I just think she's running an huge risk..." The thought made him nervous. He just hoped Pryor didn't live to regret her decision.
<Jean-Paul> "As do we all." Jean-Paul shrugged. "But so far today nothing has went wrong so we may as well enjoy it, yes? Bet you can't get that ball past me."
<Walt> Walt smiled slightly. "Bet I can...I might be broad but I'm faster than I look."
<Jean-Paul> "Not quite as fast as me, though."
<Walt> "Well...no, not quite," Walt agreed. Happy to have found a person who liked hockey as much as he did. "I'll try though."
<Jean-Paul> "Nah, don't worry, I don't have to use them to make sure you'll be well pinned in. Just let me get a stick and I'll be back." With that Jean-Paul took to the air this time, flying for his window.
<Walt> Walt flinched as he took off. "God..." he muttered. He didn't think he was ever going to get used to that.