Greenwich Village - New York City

Known to the rest of New York City simply as "The Village", Greenwich was
once the home of various immigrants, artists, Bohemians, and students.
Today rising rents have driven out some of these people, and more posh
establishments have opened up. Still some residence hang on, thanks to the
rent control laws. The near by university also guarantees a steady student
population. The tangled streets still harbor shabby store fronts,
hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and other remnants of the Bohemian lifestyle
that refuses to die. Washington Square was once a haven for drug dealers,
but community activism has reclaimed the park. Once again it is a center
for outdoor activity, and the site of festivals throughout the year.

Contents:
Seven
Jubilee
Obvious exits:

Arcadia Club <AC> Pirate's Cove <PC> TriBeCa <S> Chelsea <N> Little Italy
<E>

Seven

        You spot a young guy, probably around sixteen, seventeen years of
age. At first glance, he looks average enough. His hair is brown, and cut
short, in one of those 'I just rolled out of bed and left' looks to it,
eternally messy. His eyes are brown, though if you're close enough, you'd
notice that the pupil and iris seem to have swapped places, the 'pupil'
being brown and the 'iris' being black. Inverted is the term. He's about
5'10" tall, with a somewhat thin build to him.. not lanky, but not
extremely athletic, either. His ears look somewhat elven, pointed instead
of rounded, which his short hair fails to hide. When he speaks, it's with
a British accent.
        He's dressed for the season. A white t-shirt, which is just a wee
bit oversized starts us off, a hooded, pale brown sweatshirt on over it. A
pair of pale green jeans are on his legs, while some brown Skechers hiking
boots are on his feet.

Vesper

        Vesper's quite tall (somewhere around six feet), definitely well
built, and would probably be dazzlingly beautiful if she didn't look quite
so odd. Bright green tiger eyes are set in a pale, long face, framed by
midnight hair streaked with emerald and deep, deep blue; her lashes are
long, and her eyebrows expressive. Wide lips are brazenly decorated with
silver lipstick, and a pair of ultrathin wire-rim glasses perch on her
straight nose. A jagged white scar mars her high forehead, running from
her right eyebrow diagonally up into her hair.
        The tall girl's clothing is as eccentric as she is - a black tank
top with the words 'They Might Be Giants' printed in white across her
chest; a pair of extremely faded olive combat fatigues (with way too many
pockets, and more than a few patches); a bright green felt overcoat (four
sizes too big); rubbed out combat boots with checkered laces. A powerbook
is slung over one shoulder, and a black leather belt caresses her hips.

Jubilee

        If you had to sum up in one word what the aire about this teenage
girl is, that one world would most deffinatly be Attitude. Blue-black hair
hangs down to her jawline, straight save for the slight curl in at the
ends, along with her bangs framing her face and light olive complexion.
Her blue eyes (occasionally covered by a pair of reflective sun-glasses)
have a slightly almond shape to them, hinting at the Asian side of her
ethnicity. Below a petit nose rests a pair of full red-painted lips. While
her hair is tucked back, one can easily see the series of piercings in her
right ear, from the lobes and all up the ridge, ending in a ear-cuff, and
two in her left earlobe.
        The dress she wears looks something like a dark blue sports shirt
that's just been lengthened. It's one of those stretchy nylon/spandex
mixes, fitting snug but not /too/ snug, just enough to conferm the general
shape of her figure, not the details. The predominant color of the dress
is dark blue, through up the sides are two stripes - one red, one black,
flowing smoothly with the dress down her hips and legs, untill the dress
stops just above her ankles. Adorning her feet are a pair of black 'combat
boots'. With her bangle bracelets on one wrist and the slave bracelet/ring
on the other, she's /so/ ready for some clubin'.


Seven walks down the sidewalk, one hand in his pocket, the other holding
the strap of his bag, occasionally stopping to peer in various shops'
windows. The hood of his sweatshirt is down on his shoulders, and what
people walk close enough do tend to eye him curiously as the go past.

And a fine (if chilly) night it is, in the City of Cities. Vesper walks
along next to Jubes, ranting as usual, gesticulating as she speaks. Of
course. "And no one believes me when I say Barenaked Ladies is just a
folksy TMBG with a social conscience! It's so frustrating. And no one can
give me a good reason why they disagree, either. Sucks!" She exasperatedly
takes a hair-gumband out've her pocket and pulls her hair back into a
ponytail.

Jubilee strolls along side her buddy, nodding occasionally as she looks
through the windows of the shops, listening but not understanding a /word/
of it. A pair of earphones around her neck play 'Rock-a-by' just loud
enough for her to hear, but soft enough as to not drown out Vesper.
"Totally." she agrees after Vesper stops talking.. And hopes she was
agreeing to something that's okay to agree to..

Seven stops just outside one shop. Particularly, one with some postcards
in the window. Even more particularly, the one he's eyeing somewhat..
expressionless.. is one of Big Ben. He doesn't seem to notice when anyone
walks by while he eyes it, either. Lost in thought?

And poor Sevie, Jubilee was so busy looking in the windows and listening
to Vesper prattle on about things she has no idea about, she didn't even
see the poor guy standing there until it was "ACK!!" too late. Jube's foot
slides on a patch of ice on the sidewalk, and her arms flail out to try
and grab something - Vesper. It doesn't help much, however, since the
sidewalk is so slippy she'll probably take Ves down with her. And there,
at her side, right where Jube falls, is poor, poor Seven, who unwittingly
cushions Jube's fall.

Seven is rudely awakened from his funk by a duo of falling strangers. He
lets out a muffled (and cut short) "Bloody h--!" before he unwittingly
takes on the role of pillow, getting the wind knocked out of him when he
hits the pavement.

Vesper ghahs! as she's thudded into Seven by Jubes - she quickly makes
herself as small as she can without being obvious about it - and rolls off
of the guy as fast as possible. "My god! I'm so sorry!" she flounders,
scrambling to her feet and offering the two younger teens hands up.
"I...wow! Terribly unthinking - Jubes didn't mean it, I'm sure..." Oy. And
then she /sees/ who she flattened, and stops dead; can't talk anymore.
Wow. Still offers a hand up, tho'.

Jubilee groans - apparently Seven isn't a very soft and cushy landing pad
- before she pulls herself off the poor boy. "Oh man, you okay buddy? I'm
/so/ /totally/ sorry! Are you hurt? Do ya need a hospital?" The words come
in a quick stream which teenagers are famous for as Jubes pulls herself to
her feet, then turns to check on the guy she just crushed.. Ooooh. He's
cute. But, not exactly her type, and therefore he does nothing to silence
her. "I didn't mean ta fall on ya like that."

Seven busily winces, and as soon as he's not being flattened, gratefully
takes the offered hand and makes his way back to his feet. He looks down
while he brushes himself off, shrugging. "No, I'm fine.. nothin' major."
Smiling, he looks up, showing off his.. er, interesting eyes. "B'sides, I
shouldn't have been standing out in the middle of the walk like that. My
fault."

Vesper's jaw very nearly drops as soon as she /hears/ him. Eris, indeed -
what a sense of humor, oh yeah. She can't answer, no...wow. Wow! But she
shakes her head, eyes wide, and tries her best. "I...no! You...no,
not...my...Jubes...no! Our fault," she finally gets out. And his eyes! Hot
damn, hot /damn/!

Seven scoops his bag back up, reslinging it over his shoulder. Shaking his
head, he looks towards Vesper's voice (and up a little bit, too), before
rubbing at his neck and blushing just a *teensy* bit.. though it's
probably noticeable. "You're okay, I hope?" A beat. "Both of you, of
course.."

"Yeah, I'm cool. Oh, wow.." Her eyes catch sight of his eyes and she makes
no effort to hide it as she stares. "Oh man, killer! Love yer contacts!"

Yeah, contacts, it's probably just contacts. Damn. But still. Still! She's
still having problems with coherence, and she glances to Jubilee for
support. Then back at Seven. "I'm /way/ fine, yeah. Way." And she blushes,
quite definitely. But it's because she's making such a damn fool of
herself.

Seven blinks, looking over towards Jubilee. "Conta..? Oh, er, right. My
contacts.. right. Uh, thanks. I.. got them back home." While he 'managed'
to cover what his eyes look like, his ears are another story.. unless he
remembers his hood, which he probably won't. "Anyway.. good t'know we
managed to survive that tumble alright." Smiling again, still a little
pink in the cheeks, he holds out a hand. "My name's Seven."

Jubilee seizes the hand and shakes it firmly, a big smile on her face. Not
flirting, just friendly. "Jubilation Lee! Otherwise known as Jubilee. And
my, um.." She glances sideways at Vesper, then jabs the girl's side with
her elbow. Whassap witchu? "My friend here is Vesper." One black brow
arches upward and her head tilts to the side. "I get the vibe from the
accent that ya ain't local."

Vesper just nods mutely. Wow, still. She ows when Jubes pokes her, and
looks startled into actually behaving somewhat intelligently. "Huh...yeah.
Yeah. I'm Vesper Antagonist. Vesper Yossarian Antagonist." She grins
wryly, and decides not to make a total /idiot/ of herself by talking too
much.

Seven can't supress a smirk, and nods. He throws his last name into the
fray, too. "Seven *Moore*. And no, I'm hardly local. Just came over from
England the other day. That obvious?" Pausing, he adds, as an
afterthought, "And I don't have an accent. But *yours*, very prominent." .
o O ( Well. No such thing as a normal name anymore, Is there? Huh.. )

Jubilee blinks several times upon hearing his last name, and unlike his
smirk, her giggle /is/ repressed. "Whoa. Your parents where, like, British
hippies or somethin'?"

Vesper smiles lopsidedly at Seven's comment, then blinks at Jubilee. And
pauses. And grins. "Seven, have you been to any diners yet? I'm a big
believer in diners."

Seven chuckles, shaking his head. "Not hardly.. my father is.. was.. a
lawyer." Clearing his throat, he looks back to Vesper, shaking his head.
"Not yet, can't say I have. You know of a good one that's close by, I'm
guessing..?" He half-smiles, seemingly grateful to be off the subject of
his parents.

Jubilee watches the two of them, nose wrinkling up. Diner? "You're
/hungry/?" she asks Vesper, disbelieving. "You like.. Sick?"

Vesper blinks. "I'm sick? How'm I sick? I'm a growing girl! And I haven't
eaten since that pizza this afternoon." She raises her eyebrows and looks
at Seven, smiling lopsidedly. "Mary's Diner isn't far from here, and
they've got the best diner food this side of the Lincoln Tunnel."

Seven rubs his hands together, looking one Vesper to Jubilee, smiling.
He's not blushing anymore, either. "Well, lead on, then. To Mary's." That
lopsided smile has got to be contagious.. "On one condition.. I'm buying."

Jubilee gahs, looking from one crazy person to the other! "I just, like,
almost crushed you and you wanna buy us food?" Her head shakes back and
forth. "Man, you are /so/ not like most brits I know." See: Jonothon. "So
yer either crazy or /really/ nice." ... Her eyes dart from Ves, to Seven,
to Ves.. Or, there is some magnetism goin' on. A lil' sumpthin'
sumphtin'..

Vesper raises an eyebrow. "Yeah...and I really don't know if you wanna buy
for a couple of girls who can demolish five pizza pies in one afternoon."
And besides...a kid off a plane from England? Who doesn't even have an
apartment yet? But we don't know that. But all the same, he shouldn't be
buying them dinner. But Vesper ain't gonna complain much. "Are you
/sure/?"

Seven shrugs a shoulder at the 'crazy or real nice' remark. "Depends on
who you ask, I'd suppose." He nods, patting his pockets. "Trust me,
m'sure. I haven't eaten for a few hours, anyway, so I may as well get some
food for my first real acquaintances that I've made while I'm at it,
right?" He flashes that smile again. "It's no trouble, really."

Well, never let it be said that Jubilee was one to pass up a free meal!
"Well, if yer sure." A grin works its way over Jubilee's lips and her
hands find her pockets as she continues to ponder what sparks may be
flying from Vesper.. Poor Alex, eh Jubie? Hehe.

"Okay, so off thisways...and trust me, it's a great diner..." And Vesper
leads the way, jamming her hands into the pockets of her big green felt
overcoat. Good thing, too, because she can grin madly all the way there
and not have to get embarrassed. Wow! Wow...

Mary's Diner - New York City

   At first glance, the black and white checkered floor and red and white
vinyl booths give the place a bright 50s diner feel. A closer look reveals
the cracked tile, worn tabletops, patched vinyl, and tarnished metal of a
diner comfortable with its age.
   Dominating the room is a long bar lined with barstools. Along the wall
across from the long side of the bar are a row of booths, stretching to
the restrooms and a payphone in the far back; on another wall are two
large horseshoe booths against the glass windows looking out on the
street. An old pinball machine and an equally old jukebox lean up against
the wall nearby.
   Scattered randomly on the walls is a sparse collection of 50s-era
nostalgia. Behind the bar is an ancient soda fountain, along with a
picture of an even more ancient lady labeled "Mary", and a sign reading
"No Smile, No Service!"

Obvious exits:
Glass Door <O>  Kitchen <K>

The diner's not terribly busy.. but it's not empty, either. A light snow
is starting to fall outside, just as three new customers approach the
door, the one boy of the group, Seven, holding the door open for the other
two, seemingly out of habit.

Jubilee smiles to Seven and nods, politely, as she enters, pulling her
yellow jacket tight. She looks rather pleased to be out of the cold,
though once she looks around, she's wondering if maybe the cold would be
better.. this is /definitely/ not her kinda place..

And again, Vesper's left rather speechless. These guys - they're not
supposed to exist. No siree. Only in the movies. She glances at Seven as
she passes him, smiling lopsidedly again - this time, eyes bright. The
tall girl casts about quickly, looking to see if her table's taken...and
it's not! Joy! She slides easily into the booth, waving to the woman
behind the counter. "Ho, Kate!" The waitress smiles tolerantly, and puts
on a couple pots of coffee. This appears to be Vesper's element.

Seven, naturally, returns the grin, obediently following the duo inside
and letting the door slide closed. He looks around, apparently used to
friendly places like this, and starts over to the booth, starting to slide
his jacket off. "Definitely a diner. I take it you frequent it, Vesper?"
He's always been good with names.

And here comes Jubie, a grin appearing on her lips as she watches Ves sit
down in a booth. Before Seven can so much as slide his jacket from his
shoulders, Jube slides into the booth in the side opposite Ves. She
doesn't even bother to scoot in. Looks like Seven only has one choice in
where to sit - beside Ves. Sometimes, this little So Cal girl can be sooo
devious. "Hope the burgers are good." She seizes a menu off the table and
starts to skim through it. "Oooh, curly fries!"

"Yeah," laughs Vesper, sitting back and propping her feet up on the seat
next to Jubilee. She doesn't even bother picking up a menu. "I'm...a diner
person. Have to be - lived in Jersey. Er. New Jersey, sorry." Taking her
felt-tipped pen out of her pocket, she immediately turns over her menu and
starts doodling on the back, then looks up at Jubilee. "Try the Disco
Fries. Gravy and melted cheese."

Seven doesn't seem all that phased by the little California-born devil. He
shrugs both his jacket and duffel off, sitting next to Vesper and setting
his bag and jacket down next to him on the floor. "No need to apologize,
I'm not that undereducated." He shrugs, reaching for a menu. "I have met
people from this part of America before, y'know." He says it lightly, not
meaning it to be defensive. Which it isn't, by any means.

Jubilee peers over her menu, the paper hiding her grin.. eyes dart from
Ves to Seven, Seven to Ves.. back and forth. Mwahahaha. "Disco Fries?
Ahem, sorry, but I make it a total life policy never to do anything or eat
anything or dance to anything that is in any way, shape, or form related
to," She cringes for effect. "Disco. Well.. except those seventies
fashions. Some of them 'er killer." Again, her head disappears under the
menu.. "Ummmm.. I think.. I'll have.. umm.. One'a the cheese burgers and
some curly fries with cheese on 'em. And a coke."

Vesper smirks. "Just teasin' ya, Jubester." She raises her eyebrows,
"Well, I donno...some people - especially if they lived in Jersey - get
kinda bent outta shape when I refer to NJ as Jersey around them. But,
y'know, cool. I mean, it...yeah. I figured...you can't go anywhere without
meeting someone who either lived in NJ or knows someone who did. It's a
crazy place. Hated it. Too small. Too weird." And Vesper's trying her
damnedest not to be acutely aware of the fact that Seven's sitting right
next to her. But she doesn't go so far as to shoot Jubilee venomous
daggerlike glares.

Seven nods, reading the menu, trying to decide between two old favorites -
chicken fingers or a burger and fries. Ain't that the universal question?
"I can understand that. I barely even left m'house, on account of--" he
nearly says 'my eyes and ears being so bloody odd looking', before
catching himself, and quickly replacing it with another truth.. "--being
home schooled for most of my life." He mentally decides on the chicken
fingers, finally, and closes his menu with a shrug. "It didn't give me the
greatest social skills, bein' cooped up in home for most of my life."

The picture of innocense, Jubilee puts down her menu and interlaces her
fingers, hands resting on the table top, watching the two converse about
'life at home' quietly. This isn't a topic she gets into much (which Ves
has probably already figured out) and she likes it that way. Her past is
her past, and that's where/how it's gunna stay.

Concentrating on her shading, Vesper doesn't even look up when the
waitress comes by. "Just my usual," she says, "two eggs over medium, home
fries, white toast, and red jelly. And coffee, lots!" She keeps drawing as
the other two order, then glances over at Seven. "Yeh. 'Ve had a lot of
friends homeschooled, and the lot of us - even though I'm all over public
school - were, umm. Well. Not teenyboppers, at any rate. No butterfly
girls. No self-important emo boys or jocks or cheerleaders among us." She
smirks, running a hand through her hair and tucking it behind her ears.
"'Course, we had more fun."

Seven smirks, nodding in agreement. "'Course." He looks up at the
waitress, smiling politely. "I'll have the chicken fingers, an' a Coke,
please." He pauses, quickly adding "And some white toast, if it's not too
much trouble?" as an afterthought, digging in his pocket for a pen and a
small notebook.

Jubilee looks up at the waitress and offers a positively /sparkling/
smile. "Cheese burger, with onions please, and curly fries with extra
melted cheese. And a 7up." The waitress nods, writes out all the orders,
and then turns to go about placing them. Jube's attention turns back to
Sev and Ves (Hey.. Sev, Ves. Sev, Ves!) "Weird." she murmurs to herself, a
grin playing over her lips.

Vesper glances at Seven, and tries to stare at his ear without, y'know,
staring at his ear. Surreptitiously. You know the drill. Spiff job, it
seems to be. "So, you, ah, a big sci-fi fan?" she manages to ask casually,
stirring cream and scads of sugar into her poor little cup of coffee.

Seven finds the pen and notebook, quickly beginning to make some random
doodles, himself. He shrugs at the question, too 'him' to even think of
why Vesper would be asking. "Not a big, big one.. though most of it's fun,
I admit." He half-grins, concentrating on his developing scribbles.
"Science fiction was always a factor in my home. 'Specially the old Dr.
Who, an' Star Wars." Speaking of Star Wars.. one sketch looks like a
Wookiee. Shaving, no less.

Jubilee folds her arms infront of her on the table and leans forward,
following Vespers gaze to those ears.. How did she miss /that/? "Cool."
she comments, head tilting to the side to get a better look. "You got them
glued on or somethin'?"

Letting Jubes' question speak for itself, Vesper just notes, "Tom Baker
was my favorite. Nice Wookiee." She sips her coffee, winces, and sips
again. Her sketches seem kind've random, then - as time passes - you
notice it's a big picture. A city scene with giant robots, a girl on a
scooter, a guy with a guitar slung across his back and a sword in one
hand, lots of lightning, and Cthulhoid tentacles reaching up out of the
gutters.

Seven's sketching slows down just a teensy bit. Oh dear, looks like he
finally put two and two together. He glances up, from Jubes, to Ves, and
back, seeming to debate something in his mind.. "...nnno, I'm allergic to
most glues that are used for that kind'a thing.." He looks back down at
his shaving Wookiee, and lightly bites the inside of his cheek, hoping he
said that to the 'right' people, so to speak.

Jubilee lifts a single brow, though his small hint evidently doesn't sink
in with Jubie. She lifts up a bit and leans forward enough to reach out
and - without so much as a by-your-leave - attempts to touch the point of
his ear. "Man, it looks real! Must'a paid mondo cash for 'em. How do ya
keep 'em on if ya don't use glue?"

Vesper facepalms, shrinking in massive embarrassment...and stopping before
she gets ridiculously small. She only loses about a foot and a half, then
glances around quickly, hoping no one saw, and inches back up. "Jubes,"
she breathes, kicking at her friend's feet under the table. "Knock it
off!"

Seven almost instinctively jerks his head back, but instead, simply
straightens his posture enough to have his ears out of reach. He's
blushing a little bit, and simply shrugs, reaching for his soda. "It's
okay, can't blame you for wondering."

Jubilee's hand pulls back sharply as Seven recoils from the touch, her
look filling with curiosity. "Knock off what?" she asks as she slumps back
into the seat. "Just wanted to get a look at 'em. You buy 'em in.. the.."
And now her eyes catch something. Vesper's blushing.. and slowly growing
back to normal height. Seven's defensive about having his ears touched..
his eyes are really freaky. It takes her a minute, but Jube's puts two and
two together. "Ooooh. Dude, sorry. Didn't mean ta, like, embarrass ya or
anythin'. Though ya shouldn't be. Embarrassed, that is." Jube shuts up
when the waitress comes over with their food, places plates infront of
each of them. Her hand retreats into the pocket of her jacket, returning a
moment later with a pair of shades, which find a resting place on Jube's
face, obscuring vision to her eyes.

"Er, yeah, what she said," says Vesper quietly, starting to poke at her
eggs. Mmm. I crave diner food now, swell. She gets out the salt and
lightly dusts her potatoes with it. She's still blushing madly. Well, now
he knows...and her eyes dart over to him, searching. "You...but I can
understand. I mean...being embarrassed. At least, y'know, it's not...you
don't do anything unnatural by reflex."

Seven nods a little, reaching for a chicken finger, and trying to ignore
the developing knot in his stomach. The apologies directed his way don't
fall on deaf ears, though he is, understandably, a little distracted with
his own thoughts. "It's fine. Really." He's speaking a little quieter now,
too, and yes.. still blushing. It doesn't stop his sense of humor, though.
"It's not like I'm going to take back my offer to pay for the food, or
anything." He allows himself a grin, albeit a small one, and takes a bite
of his chicken finger.

Jubilee glances around the diner quietly as the waitress moves away, then
turns attention straight to Vesper. "Don't tell Irish 'bout this, he'll
have my hide fer sure." With that, Jubilee again leans forward a bit, but
this time her hand doesn't make a move to touch Sev - only get in his
direct line of sight, hovering between his head and the table, palm up.
Her fingers wiggle about, and from them, little sparks fly. Its a very
small show, hardly enough for anyone away from the table to notice, but
Sev would have to be blind not to see it. Definitely an unnatural
occurrence. "Don't freak, okay? You're, like, among friends and all that
jazz."

Vesper grins, and pushes her glasses up her nose. . o O (Good call,
Jubes.) She munches her toast, listening. And hoping Seven talks some
more. @Yum.

Seven does notice. How could he not? Sparks are flying off the fingers of
a hand only a few inches from his face. Quirking an eyebrow, he glances up
to Jubes' face, blush slowly fading, and a grin replacing it. "You have
*no* idea how much I needed to see something like that. Thanks." He
relaxes, quite a bit, and drums his fingers on his notebook. "'n I already
knew about the 'among friends' thing. 'Least, I was hoping."

Jubilee returns the grin with one of her own, more wry and higher on one
side, flashing a few of those pearly whites. She brings back her hand and
rests it on the table. "Yeah, well, sometimes I do stuff right." Her
hidden eyes dart to Ves. "It's not unnatural, Ves. Not for you, anyhow. So
no talkin' 'bout freaks ta me, got it?" Head tilting down some, the
glasses fall down her nose just enough for Ves to see her friend wink.
"Now, if that's all'a that, lemme get my hands onta this burger.. mmm.."

And who said that what was natural for Vesper was natural for anyone else?
The girl wrinkles her nose at Jubilee. "Hey, yo, y'know, it's still wonky
when, y'know, I get mad. Like in the park. Talk about drawing attention to
yourself, neh?" She shakes her head. "Just call me Alice. Stuck forever in
Wonderland."

Seven looks sideways at Vesper, and hmms. "You know.. I'd always thought
people shrinking when they were embarrassed was a figure of speech." He
can't resist winking, "Not the first time I've been wrong, though." He
moves on to his second chicken finger, before a thought strikes him. He
directs it, quietly, to Jubilee. "If you don't mind my asking.. why would
this "Irish" person get mad at you for putting someone at ease?"

Jubilee shakes one hand as the other picks up a cheese-covered curly fry.
"He wouldn't. But he might not be too keen on me doing a lil' display in
public, ya know? He's big on that discretion riff." The fry popped into
her mouth silences her while she munches, her two now free hands gathering
up that oh-so-fine looking burger.

Oh, the toast is gone, completely. Red jelly and all, yum! "Sean's
our...teacher. Of sorts. He's almost - but not quite - telling us to keep
secret identities. Well, not even so much telling us. It's more of a
practice thing. I mean, we do it in practice. Tho' not in so many words."
She doesn't usually babble like this, honest! "I don't usually babble like
this..." But Seven is soooooo distracting.

Seven ahs, nodding, and quietly munches on the last of his chicken fingers
while he listens to Vesper. To be honest, he doesn't mind her babbling at
all. "Nothing to apologize over, now. I don't mind." He thinks, idly
adding a few lines to his scribbles. "There's a school for.. er, people
like us? I didn't know that.. 'course, like I said, I don't get out
much.."

Jubilee's foot abruptly kicks Ves's ankle, just hard enough to sting.
"Well, kinda." she says to Seven without missing a beat. "So how long have
ya known? About.. ya know. Being what ya are. Where ya born with the
whole.." She motions with her head roughly in the direction of his ear.

Vesper ows! and scowls. And glares at Jubilee. Ah, the art of
communicating without words, and without telepathy. Rock on! She somewhat
sullenly eats her eggs and potatoes before they get cold, and drinks some
more coffee. And listens to Seven. :)

Seven shakes his head, rubbing at his neck. A habit of his, you'll notice.
"No, no, wasn't born with them like this.. eyes, either. Wasn't until I
was.." He pauses, squinting slightly in thought. "..nine, I think, that I
began to change at all.. I still have to wonder if my parents attributed
it to being.. 'what I am', though. They never mentioned it to me."
Shrugging, he lowers his voice even more, since there are still some
people in the diner. "Odd thing is, though.. this seems to be as far as it
goes. Nothing along the lines of sparks, or shrinking, or anything.. not
yet, anyway.. either that, or it's just so subtle, that I haven't even
noticed yet."

Jubilee takes a bite from her burger and chews as she listens to him,
smiling a bit apologetically at Vesper. "Well, maybe that is all it is.
Could be worse, I guess." A grin flashes over her lips. "Could be blue."
He won't get the joke, but Ves just might. "Nine, huh? Yep. Puberty. Seems
to be like, the goin' age, ya know? Yer voice changes, ya start likin'
girls, yer ears grow points.."

Vesper starts snickering. "Yeh. Or disappear in a puff of smoke." She
grins, finishing off her food. A reg'lar vacuum, she is. The girl glances
at Seven again, and raises her eyebrows. "So where're you staying?"

A 'snrk!' comes from Seven's direction, and he's obviously trying to bite
back laughter at Jubilee's remark. He manages to speak coherently, after a
moment. "Oh, no, no, wasn't that, little too early for it." He's lost on
the 'blue' and 'puff of smoke' references, but in all honesty, he agrees.
Reaching for his soda, he shrugs. "I've been staying in a hotel the last
few days.. though I'm probably going to need a more permanent place to
stay." He starts to take a sip of his soda, and grimaces. It got warm.

Jubilee darts her eyes between Ves and Sev.. She's not gunna.. is she? Um.
Gulp, and all that. Sean will /kill/ them /both/ if she does, and Jube
/knows/ it. Just /bringing/ Jono to the school inspired a big ol' lecture.
If Ves offers it up to him.. Well, at least this time it won't be Jube
din' it. This time, she shuts up, continuing to inhale the burger and
fries, letting Ves do the talking.

No, she's not a dope. And she's gotten enough Sean lectures to last her
several lifetimes. However...that doesn't keep her from telling Sean about
Seven and using her Amazing Convincing Powers of Convincing on Sean
and...y'know, whatever. We'll see, and all. "Hum. I'll see what I can do."
She pauses, seeing the face Sev makes at his drink, then raises an
eyebrow. "Want me to ask Kate to get you some ice?"

Seven sets his soda down on the table, though he keeps his right hand
around the glass, and shakes his head. "Nah, I'm fine.. ice-wise, I mean.
I'm not that thirsty anymore, anyway." Since Ves *is* sitting closest to
him, she'll probably notice that their side of the booth just got a little
bit colder.. increasing the closer to Seven she gets. He doesn't seem to
notice, though. "Thanks. And who knows? Maybe if I do end up with more
then good looks running for me, I can try and get into that school of
yours." He grins a lopsided grin, hand still clasping his glass.. which is
getting colder. But you don't know that.

A chill runs up Jubilee's spine and she brings her hand away from where it
rested on the table, about mid-point between her and Seven. "Man, someone
shut the door." Her eyes turn towards the door, expecting to see someone
just letting it fall closed behind them.. And seeing no such thing. ..
Weird.

Vesper raises her eyebrows. "Yeh. Cold. Objectively." Weird comment. She
tries really hard not to look at Seven, and blushes. Severely.

Seven glances from Vesper to Jubilee, looking slightly confused.. and,
lucky for Vesper, doesn't let on that he sees her blush. "Cold? Seems nice
and warm in here to me." He shrugs, idly taking his hand off his glass,
only to show off the fact that there's little, tiny bits of frost on his
glass where his hand was. All he does.. is blink.

Vesper stares wordlessly at the glass. Then she looks up at Seven,
half-grinning. "Looks like you've got yer answer, boyo. Do it again!"
Yeah, that last bit sounded like a little kid - and the look on her face
matches the tone. She pushes up her glasses, and pulls her coffee over,
taking a sip. And waiting expectantly.

Jubilee blinks as she looks down at the now frosty glass which had only
seconds ago been warm.. "Wow.." she murmurs, a glow grin working it's way
across her lips as well. "So much for the ears and eyes bein' the only
thing, huh?"

Seven picks his glass up, staring at the little bits of frost that
collected, befuddled. He glances at Vesper, shrugging. "Looks like. And I
would, if I knew how I did it in the first place.." He tries to do it
again, though this time, nothing happens. Smirking, he nods. "So much for
that. Suppose I'll have to look into that school of yours now, won't I?"
He continues studying the frost, trying to figure out how it made it
appear there.

Glancing at her teammate, then at Seven again, Vesper raises her eyebrows
and shrugs. "We'll ask Sean. Need a way to get in touch with you again,
though." She smiles wryly - can she smile any other way? - and lightly
lays her fingers on Seven's hand. "This, by the way, is me asking you for
your phone number."

Jubilee darts her gaze between the two sitting across from her at the
booth, the grin just getting wider. "And this is me going to the ladies
room." she says before sliding out of the booth and whistling in the most
innocent way possible (for Jube) as she strolls over to the restrooms.

Seven's blushing the second Vesper's fingers touch his hand. It only gets
worse when Jubes excuses herself. What's running through his mind? . o O (
Funny how this *never* happened back home.. not that I'm complaining.. )
He picks his pen back up in his free hand, quickly scrawling a series of
numbers on his notepad, just above the scribble of the shaving Wookiee.
"Not my phone number.. don't have a cell yet, and I don't trust the
hotel's for a second." He allows himself a grin. "You know, of course,
that since you'd be paging me, I'll need your number. So I know it's you
paging, of course.."

Ooh, Jubes is bad! And she'll probably let her imagination run away with
her /completely/...I mean, considering the fact that it's Vesper out
there, what could possibly happen? She's the quintessential Rebel Grrl
with the heart of a mouse. And considering the rate at which Seven's using
up his Blush Quotient, he ain't gonna do anything, either. At least it's a
step, though. Even if it's somewhat akin to wearing a baseball cap, if
you're using ballgame metaphors. They're fans in the bleachers! Okay,
that's enough of that. Vesper scribbles her number on the front of her
placemat, leaving the city scene on the back untouched. "Here's me." And
she painstakingly writes out her full name.

Ooooh yes, She's a bad, bad girl. Jubilee checks her hair in the bathroom,
and re-touches her lipstick, taking her oh so sweet time as poor Vesper
sweats.

Seven seems to be getting that blushing of his under control, now. He's
only slightly red in the face. Thinking a minute, and feeling lucky for
his short name, seeing Ves have to write all that out, he adds his above
the number, though he's replaced the word Seven with just the number.
Carefully taking the paper from the 'pad (without ripping the Wookiee,
too. He has experience!), he holds it out. "Doubles as a picture trade,
apparently." He eyes the scene on the placemat, smiling somewhat.

Vesper laughs, taking the Wookiee paper and handing Seven her scene.
"Sorry mine's got ads on the front." She folds it carefully and puts it in
one of her giant pockets, then raises her eyebrows. "Wonder where Jubilee
got to. She thinks she's being terribly devious." Suddenly, the girl gets
a truly evil look on her face. "Should we fake her out?"

Jubilee hums to herself, smacking her lips together a few times and
fluffing her bangs up once more before she turns, strolling out of the
restroom and back over to the table. "So sorry about that." she chimes,
the voice of an Angel (well.. sorta), "Just had ta freshen up and all
that." With a big, sugary sweet smile on her newly re-painted red lips,
Jube slides back into her seat.

Seven folds the paper up a few times, so it will fit in one of his
pockets, and looks intrigued by *that* proposition. He quirks an eyebrow,
slowly beginning to grin. "What do you have in m--" is all he gets out
before Jubes makes her way back, though. . o O ( Well. Looks like I'm
about to find out.. )

"Hey, Jubes...you coming to the wedding? You'd better, I already ordered a
bridesmaid's dress in your size." Deadpan. Completely and totally deadpan.
She surreptitiously pokes Seven in the side, hoping to goodness he plays
along. "The only problem is the invitations. They're gonna look really
silly, y'know...my name's always been top-heavy, but this is ridiculous."

Jubilee's brow slowly arches upward at Ves's deadpan delivery.. The grin
falters a moment, but then pulls back in full force. "'Course! And miss a
chance at free food? As if!" Two can play at /this/ game. She reaches
across the table and snatches up one hand from each of them, thrusting the
two hands together. "And may I just say, I think you two make /such/ a
cute couple!"

Make that three. When given proper warning, Seven can act. Nodding sagely,
he plays along, agreeing with Vesper. "I promise I'll get you a real ring
soon. Rubber bands break so easily, to easy to lose.." He doesn't even
blush (Not obviously..) when Jubes cuts in, pushing one of his and
Vesper's hands together. He simply smiles brightly at her, keeping up the
act up rather well. "Why, thanks, Jubilee. We could use insights on a
date.."

And wow! Didn't think Jubes would play around, but of well. Vesper looks
at Seven, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, right, there's also the matter of
how. D'you have a religion? I couldn't give a rat's ass what church or
temple we get married in, if even...could even just be a justice of the
peace." Her other hand flutters butterfly-like over her heart, and she
glances angelically heavenward. "Just so long as I'm with you..."

Jubilee's lips twist into a smirk. They wanna play this game, huh? She'll
massacre 'em. Her elbows rest on the tabletop and her hands cup her own
cheeks, resting her head in said hands. "You are both so adorable!" she
gushes, "Oh, lets have a kiss! C'mon you love birds, don't be shy! Right
on the lips!"

Seven goes so far as to clasp Vesper's hand in both of his. To further to
act, of course. "No, no, whatever you want will be done, luv. Your wish is
my command!" He pauses, shrugging. "I could get us the Pope, given a few
weeks.. time.." He looks sideways at Jubilee, pausing momentarily. This is
going further than he'd expected, and he's not sure if he should be glad
about that or not.. his eyes dart back to Vesper's, since he's not sure if
she'd kick him from here to next July if he tried.

Catching the glance, Vesper's eyes twinkle. "Normally, I'd take umbrage at
being asked to prove myself, but in this case, it doesn't matter." She
hopes Seven doesn't flee in terror with what she's about to try. Vesper
leans over and plants a kiss on the boy's lips, lingering...

Jubilee's grin becomes positively /devious/, eyes twinkling as she watches
the two kissing, not a second of blush showing on her cheeks. Well well
well, she is impressed. Then again, she should have known Vesper would put
up a fight.

Seven doesn't flee, though for a split second, he does look quite
surprised. Figuring he has nothing to lose (and he's actually enjoying
himself for the first time since his parents died), he gets brave, going
so far as to lean into the kiss. He winks at Vesper with the eye that's
not facing Jubilee, since it seems like the right thing to do.. what's he
thinking *now?* . o O ( God bless America. )

Vesper...doesn't stop. Slowly, she disentangles her hand from Seven's, and
tracks it up his arm and behind his head, holding him gently. She doesn't
wink, but somehow her eyes manage to grin without messing anything up. And
then her eyes close. What's /she/ thinking? . o O (God save the Queen..!)

Well well well! Cupid Jubilee strikes again. The grin turns from devious
to something rather sweet as her head turns away in respect of privacy
after Ves's eyes close. Her hand stealthily slides over to collect the
check on the table before she smoothly, quietly, slides out of the booth
to head over to the counter and pay. Looks like these two could use a
moment a/lone/. Ooh la la.

Seven catches the 'grin' just before he closes his eyes. Oh, yeah, is he
ever glad he decided to come to New York instead of catching that transfer
to LA. Hand free, it finds its way up to Vesper's cheek. Needless to say,
Sev doesn't notice Jubes slide out of the booth. Looks like Ves won't be
kicking him to next July after all..