7/27 Instance: "Safety Option"

[littlebamf]

To be timelined after 'Pink like a Deco Umbrella'.

Rubbing her eyes, Lizzie yawned a little and scribbled down a note on her page and flipped to the next chapter in her text book. She was tired. Tired and irritated. Glancing up, she saw Warren was lost in his own book and went back to hers.

* TheFallen looked up, sensing the disturbance and that Elizabeth was slightly edgy, though he didn't know why. He sighed, put down his book, and stretched. "That's all that's likely going to go through my head tonight. How's your studying going?"

"The usual. Should've finished it last night but I needed to plan a training session instead," she shifted so her legs were curled under her on the bed and picked up a pencil from the nightstand.

Warren nodded. "It's... somewhat unfortunate that the administration felt there was no other leadership material available and forced you back into the role of leader. You've been overextending yourself again."

"Well it isn't anyone's fault that Eve and Remy aren't here. I could hardly leave them to it," she shrugged, screwing her eyes up and she flung her book on the floor. "It'd fucking help if the admin thought about a lot of things."

She rubbed her stiff neck and sighed, resting her head against the wall.

* TheFallen cocked his head. Cursing was a bad sign with Elizabeth, generally, unless it was clearly in jest. "Like what? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine," she frowned. "I just have issues with one of the teachers. He's hardly...behaving himself. From what I gathered he sat on Bobby and mind raped Rachel. So, I'm not impressed."

"Plus I'm doing Dr Guan's bloody job - or yours, you could even say - and being councellor to some love pentagon we've got going on. And the DR needs some major overhauling as it's getting too full of old unused programs."

* TheFallen furrowed his brow. "Well... I don't really see that you're doing my job... you know I quit when you were abducted. I've been meaning to return, granted, but... I just haven't yet. I didn't mean for it to inconvenience you." He seemingly couldn't help the defensive tone that crept into his voice.

"Well if you intend to then don't complain about me overstretching myself, and do it." she snapped, irritated. Great, another argument...Fantastic. She stood up and went to the window and opened it, leaning out so the air would cool her hot face.

Warren frowned darkly. "OK, I will. But you know it's not just the counselling on which you're extending yourself."

"Whatever. I've been doing it most of the time I've been here, I'll be fine. If people want to talk to me then, actually, I'm not going to stop them."

* TheFallen sighed heavily. "They'll understand if you have enough on your plate already, and they'll find someone else to talk to. You're not obliged to take their problems on yourself!"

Gritting her teeth she ignored him. It was the same old, same old, every time. Couldn't he just find something new to throw at her? For once?

"Just - Yeah, I know that one. I know I have enough to do and I can't deal with anyone else as you never let me forget it! Sometimes I feel like you don't even want me to help you. How is that supposed to make me feel, eh?"

Warren's face went blank. "You're not obliged to help me either," he replied quietly.

She went still. "Oh. Fine then. So, despite everything and how much I love and care about you I'm not 'obliged' to help you? I don't feel 'obliged' to help you I do it because I care about you!"

"Why o you think I'm obliged? Is that how you feel about helping me? For god's sake, Warren!"

* TheFallen shook his head. "No, but... I don't have as much on my plate as you do. I'm just saying... if you feel stressed because you might not have enough left over to 'help' me... don't worry about it. Don't stress. Because I'm helped just by having you."

"Now you're making me feel guilty..." she sighed. "And really, you do. I'm not the one..." trailing off, Lizzie looked down at the floor.

Warren's lips thinned. "Maybe not. But because of that, anyone should be paying more attention to the other, it's me, and you know it."

Crumpling a little inside, she crossed over to him and wrapped her arms around him, slipping on to his lap. "Not like I make it easy..." she murmured, but didnt look up at him, staring at the floor instead.

* TheFallen smiled wryly. "You don't make it any harder than I make it myself."

"Yeah. You make it fucking impossible sometimes."

Warren raised an eyebrow slightly. "How so?"

"You know," she rolled her eyes and got up, pushing off the arm that was barely even around her.

"You just said you don't make it any harder than I make it myself. If you didnt mean you can be impossible what did you mean?"

* TheFallen sighed. "I was just wondering why you said I was 'fucking impossible'. I know I'm... slightly hard on myself at times, but I think I'm hardly 'fucking impossible'."

"Slightly hard? You can be more than slightly hard on yourself! You did spend your teenaged years trying to kill yourself after all!"

Warren's eyes went wide, then his face went stony and he turned away from her. "That was then. This is now."

"Yeah. Like I see a lot of difference from when we were in first year. You can still be a brooding moody bastard who hides behind words. Only difference is that you don't drink." Lizzie snapped, vaguely shocked at the words coming out of her mouth...The anger was so...

"Sometimes I don't know what's going on in your head. You can be so unresponsive, so...Yes, I overdo it, yes I take other peoples problems on. It's called 'caring'."

* TheFallen turned back, eyes narrowed. "You think I don't care?"

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders limply. "I...Don't know. I just...Sometimes I wonder if you only made yourself care about me because...Because of the way you look. As you thought no one else would want you..."

Warren went cold and stood up, towering over her. "You think that? You think that I love you because you're my backup? My safety option?"

"Sometimes," she folded her arms around her, not meeting his eyes.

* TheFallen opened his mouth in outrage then closed it. His face grew stormy, and he shook his head. "I don't know how you can think that of me, Elizabeth; I really don't. After all we've been through."

He paused, struggling for words, then stated, "I just... I can't even talk to you right now." He turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

Looking at the closed door she sat slowly down on the bed. "Sometimes you don't give me any other opinion..." she murmered softly as a tear trickled down her cheek.

[Slarti]

:

[fourpawsonthefloor]

*Puts some chocolate down on the ground in front of Lizzie and backs away carefully.*



Paws

[JSherlock]

OH NO! Oh, man. WTF is in the water at Xavier's?! This is soooo sad. Poor Lizzie and Warren. Especially Lizzie. Warren needs to stop with the broken record, and like, wake up. He needs to be a little more human, damnit. I hope you two patch it up.

[Svartfreja]

Originally posted by JSherlock
OH NO! Oh, man. WTF is in the water at Xavier's?! This is soooo sad. Poor Lizzie and Warren. Especially Lizzie. Warren needs to stop with the broken record, and like, wake up. He needs to be a little more human, damnit. I hope you two patch it up.

Sorry JS but my sympathy lies with Warren here. Lizzie was MEAN to him *huggles Warren*