(OOC: Directly following "I Have To Know")

IC:
Jacen slammed the door on his truck and strode toward his apartment building. Under one arm was a paper sack with some carefully selected bottles of hard liqour and in his eyes was the light of emotion. Anger, paint, sadness... any one or possibly even all seemed to light up his eyes as he strode up the stairs. He didn't want to deal with this today! Noone could make him deal with this today! He didn't have to work tomorrow which meant that a possible hangover wouldn't affect his capabilities at work.

"I just need a night to forget." Jacen muttered to himself. For one of the first times in his life he actually wanted to get completely drunk. For years he had prided himself on drinking enough to enjoy the alcohol without actually taking himself to far but with the revelations from earlier in the day as well as the comments given by a certain snippy slip of a female, he just wanted to drink. He wasn't out to get a light buz or slightly tipsy... he wanted to get downright smashed!

Opening the door to his apartment, Jacen stepped inside and slammed it closed behind him. Without even a glance around the rest of his apartment he walked into the kitchen and set his bag on the counter. Quickly fishing out a bottle of whiskey, Jacen twisted the lid viciouly, ripping through the seal and unscrewing the bottle in what might have seemed like record time. Pouring the liquid into the largest and closest glass he could find, Jacen lifted the vessel to his lips and downed everything that was in it in one large swallow.

Slamming the glass back down on the counter rather forcefully Jacen finally vented all of his feelings with one forceful word. "DAMN!"

There were days when Lori wished that things could be different. A light sprinkle of rain meant she was confined inside. And since she had gotten the landlord to let her into Jacen's apartment, that meant she was practically stuck with her hand in the cookie jar. It was leave and get soggy or stay and possibly see the smiling face she'd come to rely on.

Except he was sure taking his dear sweet time. Lori yawned and stretched out on the couch. She watched the little droplets pitter patter against the window and soon was lulled into a light sleep. A light sleep that funneled into a full out cat nap.

SLAM! the door frame rocked against the force of the blow and Lori was scrambling to her feet, her heart in her throat. What was going on? Who did what now?

She heard the glug glug of something being poured out of a bottle and the undeniable sound of a plastic cup being slammed onto the countertop. "DAMN!" She jumped again, wild eyed and all together curious as she peeked around the corner.

"What is wrong with you?" She eyed the alcohol as she rubbed teh sleep from her eyes. It was the strong stuff and it wasn't dignified to drink it from a plastic water glass from some crappy mexican restaurant. She brushed past Jacen and reached into the appropriate cabinet to get a glass tumbler for him. She went for the bottle intending to pour his glass for him, but worried that he wouldn't give it to her.

Jacen was so distracted by his own thoughts and emotions that he didn't actually notice Lori until she was right by his side. Her voice sounded and for a brief moment it seemed to his mind as if she had suddenly just materialized right next to him. For a few brief moments he just stared at her, the shock evident in his eyes. "What the..." His voice trailed off as he tried to reign in his language a little bit since he was now in the presence of a lady. Sure, he knew that Lori could curse with the best of them, but that didn't mean he would skip out on the respect for her gender.

"Where did... how did..." He tried to piece together some sort of complete sentence as she took the bottle from his shocked hand and poured him a generous drink in the glass tumbler she had retrieved from one of the cabinets. Taking the glass from her, Jacen downed the beverage in one long gulp and then set it back down on the counter a little more gently this time. What was he going to say now? He cared about this woman but that was the problem. He cared about how she would react if she knew the truth.

"I thought the next time I saw you would be when I visited you at your trailer." Jacen finally said as he met Lori's eyes and temporarily ignored her question, "It's a nice surprise."

A veeeeeery satisfied smile graced her lips. She loved surprising people. At times, she would do uncharacteristic things just to shock them. And, while it wasn't so uncharacteristic of her to dodge sludgy weather, it was a bit unique for her to stick around in a place she'd broken into. Even more strange for her to be leaving things rather than taking them.

"I had my hands full and your landlord happened to be walking by. He graciously let me in so I could surprise you." She hadn't ever entertained the idea that her showing up unexpected would be an unpleasant surprise so it was good that she was actually welcome. Of course she'd had to call in a leak and then wait a while for him to "happen by," but it that was all very circumstantial and of little importance. What was important was that she was here now and loathe to leave without at least a hello.

"Hello to you too." Since he'd finished the first, she automatically poured another. Her bar tending instinct told her that he was a long ways off from being done. A sigh. She couldn't help but pluck at his shirt and lay his collar flat before emptying the paper bag. "What's all this?" More liquor? Someone didn't want to remember today. Should she stay to moderate? He was a big boy after all, but sometimes you just needed a pal to hold back your hair when you re-visited the liquor on it's way to the porcelain throne. "What's got you in such a state?"

Everything here was supposed to be drunk at room temperature so she arranged them on the kitchen counter just to have something to do and somewhere to keep her eyes. It was best to be busy when someone was working themselves up to tell you something. Watching the pot meant it would never boil.

Jacen lifted the glass once more, though instead of drinking it he just gently swirled the liquid in his glass. She was doing things that she thought would probably make him feel better... signs of affection, but they only made him wonder even more how she would react if and when she found out the news. Should he tell her?

"It's been a crappy day." He said after several moments, his eyes momentarily leaving Lori's face to look down at the amber liquid in his glass. "First I had a run in with the wonders of medical science then I met a young woman that wanted to tell me how I should use my ability to help other mutants. She was with the Xavier School and thought that I would make a wonderful teacher or lecturer."

Lifting the glass, Jacen downed half of the drink before lowering the glass. His original plan had been to get as drunk as a skunk but with Lori here he was quickly editing the plan. He didn't want to get so out of it that he said or did something that might hurt Lori but at the same time he still wanted to begin to forget everything he'd gone through.

"What about you?" Jacen asked with raised eyebrow as he slowly lifted the drink back toward his lips once again, "What brings you to my neck of the woods? I'm glad you're here but its definitely unexpected." As soon as the question was spoken, Jacen threw back the rest of the liquid in his glass. Buzzed... he would at least get a nice buzz tonight. He wouldn't pass out but maybe he could at least take the edge off.

Lori refilled his glass the moment it was empty again. She wasn't trying to get him drunk, but maybe he was trying to get himself there. That didn't bother her too much except that this was Jacen. Since when did Jacen hide behind a bottle? She analyzed every word carefully for answers.

No cursing. It wasn't something exterior then. Men were more likely to get overly pissy about a ding in the car then that fizzled out quick. A flash of anger, but this was different. A dangerous simmer indicated something emotional. Maybe it was some kind of medical thing. He did say he'd gone to the doc, right? A bunion. She decided it was a bunion... because men drank at the thought of foot discomfort. Frick. This had better not be emotional damage.

"You punch her lights out and teach her proper?" She was only half kidding. Jacen wasn't the woman punching type that she could tell, but if he had reservations about the idea and someone needed punching, Lori would certainly volunteer on her behalf. Too bad this was all small talk. A deviation from the problem at hand.

Standing in the kitchen pouring him drinks made her feel just a bit too housewifey so she grabbed the bottle and cradled it close to her chest before making her way to the couch. If he wanted more from this bottle he'd have to follow. If he was feeling stand-off-ish then he would probably open his own bottle. At that point she start to worry. As of yet there wasn't too much to worry about. She still didn't know diddly squat about what was eating him.

He asked about her, still no dissatisfaction in his tone. That was a small comfort. "Oh, just leaving a few just in case things here... for our next dip into polluted waters." It was practically a promise to return and a promise that she'd need a change of clothes... more than once. Again it was an assumption on her part and she waited for him to get angry about it. She certainly would if their places were switched.

Though Lori held onto the alcohol, she never once took a sip of the stuff. For some reason it just didn't appeal to her at the moment. She needed to see what kind of drunk Jacen was. Was he the belligerent type? A sad drunk? A loving one? Lori hoped he wasn't the hitting kind. That'd be just a little too close to home for comfort's sake. Maybe it'd be enough to help her walk away.

Jacen snorted at Lori's comment about punching out a certain young woman's lights. He would have thought that his blond friend/girlfriend would have known him better than that by now, but maybe not.

"You would have thought I had if you'd have seen the way she was cringing every time I spoke." Jacen answered as he lifted his glass and sipped at the fiery liquid held within, "But no, I didn't raise a hand to her."

Apparently Lori was getting tired of being Jacen's own personal barkeep so instead of hanging around for her next empty glass she walked back into the living room... along with his bottle.

"What the hell?" He wondered as he raised an eyebrow in shock. Was Lori trying to keep him from drinking to much or something? Obviously the problem with that was that there was a nice full bottle of vodka still sitting right here on the counter.

Grabbing up the bottle Jacen wandered out of the kitchen and instead took up a standing position next to his table of liquor. As Lori explained her presence he took the time to first drain his glass of whiskey, then open his fresh bottle and poured the extremely potent clear liquid into his glass.

"Nice to hear you're planning on coming back." Jacen replied with the best smile he could manage before lifting the glass up to his lips and sipping at the fiery liquid inside. Making a somewhat wry face he looked at the glass and then set it down on the table. "Should have known not to get the vodka." He muttered to himself, "Two bottles of whiskey... why didn't I just buy two bottles of whiskey?"

Crossing his arms over his chest Jacen leaned up against the wall, just looking at Lori for a moment. How are things going with your trailer?" He finally asked as he picked up his glass once again and sipping at the liquid that really didn't have a particularly good taste to it but provided plenty of the alcohol he needed to temporarily forget, "You get it cleaned up and livable yet?"

A cringer? Interesting. Had he been angry? Forceful in word or thought or deed? There was no way to tell now and with his current mood she wasn't about to ask. She stifled a yawn. She really didn't want him to think she was unconcerned, but she was still waking up mentally. Her body was on edge from the startling wake up, but her brain was taking it's time getting there.

"Didn't expect you to hit her, but if she pissed you off this bad maybe she earned one." Lori grumbled to herself more than anyone else. She set the bottle on the coffee table to perhaps lure him close again. He was fiddling with the vodka which was definitely a not good sign. He was avoiding her if only a little. He wasn't mad at her, but he wasn't happy in general. Why didn't he just spit it out already?

But if she got angry this was going to get ugly. Lori huffed, closed her eyes, leaned back against the couch and tried to think about unicorns and rainbows or some other such nonsense. If he tried to pick a fight, it would be bad to fight back, right?

She tried not to cringe at the mention of the trailer. Staying in one place where people knew her was painful. She actually had to chat with someone who knew her in high school one day last week. She was such a different person now that it was like talking about some fictitious character she remembered reading about.

Lori rolled her head to lay against the back of the couch and watch Jacen hiding all the way over by his liquor. "If it weren't livable, I wouldn't live there. Why are you standing all the way over there? Come here and let me warm you up. There's whiskey in it for you." She offered an arm to him indicating that he would fit nicely cuddled against her side and with her other hand she snatched up the bottle. If she had to bribe him to come close then so be it. It made her nervous to see him hesitating to even touch her. Words could come later if need be, but at least share some skinship first!

"Unfortunately she wasn't the one that pissed me off or I would have been sorely tempted." Jacen grumbled, his eyes locking on the bottle of whiskey that Lori seemed to be tantalizing him with. There was no question that for born and bred Americans like the King family, Whiskey was definitely preferable to Vodka. Although the question still echoed through his mind as to why in the world he'd bought Vodka in the first place. What had he been thinking? Well, that was the problem. He hadn't been thinking. He'd just been looking for the hardest liquor that could get him drunk the fastest way possible.

What was Lori's game? First she walked away from him while carrying the whiskey as though she meant to keep him from it and now she was offering him whiskey, enticing and seducing him to come closer. Finally, the flavor difference between vodka and whiskey won out. Knocking back the last of the vodka that happened to be in his glass, Jacen winced at the taste and then walked over to take his seat snuggled up against Lori.

The combination of alcohol and Lori's body heat suddenly had his mind going a different direction. There were most definitely ways to forget things other than just alcohol... maybe he should begin to execute a different plan.

"Don't you get lonely, all alone in your new digs?" Jacen asked, the alcohol keeping him from being very suave as he held out his glass for a refill from his blond bartender, "If you got a phone hookup, you're welcome to call me or drop by over here anytime. I'd hate to think you were feeling separated and didn't even give me a ring."

It was cheesy but it was the best that he could manage at the moment. The combination of alcohol and pent up emotion was scrambling his brain ever so slightly. There was absolutely no way even in an intoxicated state that Jacen would ever force himself on a woman but with some of his barriers broken down by alcohol, it was quite possible that he would become slightly more forceful than usual. Of course, with Lori, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

A small success. Lori folded him into her arms and rewarded him with alcohol. Now to pry from those unwitting lips what he did not yet know he would confess to her.

He fit nicely with her hip in the divot of his waist, her legs over his and her arm around his shoulders. That put his shoulder under her arm and his face free to lean against her neck and hair. Which he seemed all too happy for the invitation into her personal space.

She sighed at his clumsy musings. "More like confined. I don't like it, but it isn't forever." The real question was for how long? She had already payed the electricity bill through the next month since she payed it twice a year for her dad. It seemed a natural end to trailer park living. But that, of course, begged the question of where next...

"You know I don't get along the best with electronics... I've already tossed the TV. It seems easiest just to drop by since you don't seem to mind one bit." Another sigh. What was she going to do with this man? Lori lay her cheek against Jacen's head. She again refilled his glass. The bottle wasn't going to last much longer at this rate.

How loose would his tongue be after that much? Perhaps it was time to test the waters. "If I kiss you where it's sore, would it feel better?" Or would he feel anything at all? Surely a physical hurt wasn't the issue, but she could work from there provided he gave her something to work with. It all depended. She planted a kiss on his forehead where her cheek had rested previously.

Jacen knocked back the first glassful of Whiskey immediately but then paused to listen to Lori talk. Even though she was refilling his glass and emptying even more of the bottle, he temporarily ignored the alcohol, instead focusing on the smell of Lori's hair. What in the world did she use for shampoo? That had that wonderfully natural smell of a woman but it was also combined with something that was just a touch fruity. Strawberries? Cherry? He really didn't care he just knew that this woman smelled wonderful.

"I like it when you drop by." Jacen admitted as he leaned forward to place his full glass on the coffee table then leaned back to settle his large frame against Lori's much smaller one. He was drunk and he knew it. Sure, he wasn't to the passing out stage and he wasn't even to the complete clutz stage but he was most deffinately innebriated. The downside was that he hadn't gone far enough to forget his problems. If anything, by tearing down some of his emotional and mental barriers with the alcohol, he had only made it harder for himself. At least Lori was hear to distract him. Beautiful Lori. Sexy Lori. Kissable Lori.

For a moment Jacen was silent after Lori's last question. He was comfortable nestled up against the young woman but the feel of her body against his combined with her scent was most deffinately making him think in a completely different direction.

"My mouth's sore from argueing with that cheeky girl from earlier." Jacen murmured as he turned his head and moved to capture Lori's lips. He had wanted to forget and he still wanted to forget which meant that since alcohol had been taken off the list of options there was only one other thing that might work.

Claiming Lori's lips was easy, what was hard was twisting his body around to get a firm grip on her as he kissed her. If she pulled away and said no, or stop, then he would back off, but if she didn't... well... he needed to forget the whole damn situation and if that meant controlling and using this woman for a short time, then so be it!

Lips met and Lori closed her eyes against the wrongness of it all. Whereas she had intended something sweet, he had skipped sentimental and gone straight to carnal. Her mouth fed at his and she pulled him down onto the couch with her. She couldn't kiss this better. This wasn't making things better. It was only making it that much worse. She broke the contact between their lips and kissed a short trail to his ear.

"Wait." She breathed against the side of his face. It was hardly a protest, almost encouragement in tone. Jacen's lips were at her neck and his hands strong against her arms pressing her down. She just... couldn't. Lori pushed at Jacen until there was actual space between them. She potentially had enough space to slip out from under him if she wanted to scramble and squeeze away.

Her first instinct was to get the hell out. Go for the door. Run away. But she wanted to help. She wanted to take part of his burden as her own... if only he would let her.

Lori made herself catch her breath as she watched Jacen like the wild animal he currently was. She didn't actually say no, but her hands gripped his arms and she found that the harder she gripped, the less she shook. Lori used people all the time. She used them and abused them and never ever looked back. So it was only fair that she was getting a taste of her own medicine now.

"Is this what you need?" She fought not to give up an inch of ground either way to the positive or negative. "Tell me this is what you need and I will give it to you, heart in hand."

As soon as Lori murmured the word 'Wait', Jacen fell still. He wanted to forget... he wanted to get a chance to enjoy something with this woman just one more time but maybe that just wasn't in the cards. There was no question that he was acting differently than usual. Maybe that by itself was enough to scare her off.

Propping himself above her on his arms he looked down at her, his breathing rapid as his heart beat continued to race. This was it, this was going to be goodbye. After he had acted like this much of a jerk there was no way she would be able to look past the fact that he wasn't a mutant.

"No." He murmured huskily, his tone all at once aroused and regretful at the same time, "This isn't what I need and it's not what you deserve."

Pushing himself up fully, Jacen moved a little bit away from Lori as he took a seat at the other end of the couch. Inwardly he cursed his stupidity for having turned to alcohol in the first place. Getting drunk never helped anything and yet again that point was being proven completely true.

"When we were just shower buddies, I almost gave in to another blond." The words poured out as Jacen closed his eyes and reached up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. Thanks to the alcohol what might have been a simple and straightforward conversation was instead turning into a doozy of a confession. "She was innocent and vulnerable... basically the opposite of you but she appreciated my ability the same way you do. I left her apartment and then you and I ended up deciding to explore the possibilities. When we had our run in at the hospital, a blood test was performed. The results were shocking and so today I went to the Church of Humanity. They ran my blood work five, frickin' times and each one came back with the same result. No X-Gene... no mutation. No difference."

Opening his eyes Jacen turned his head and fixed Lori with an emotionless stare. He had put on his mask just in case things went badly. "I'm not a mutant Lori... apparently I never have been. I don't know what the hell I am. I just know I'm not who you think I am."

He pulled away and there some finality to the movement. Lori swallowed convulsively and pulled down her shirt. Just because he'd had access before didn't mean he had access now. He sat up and that in turn forced Lori to pant for a moment and then sit up as well. It would just be weird to remain on her back while he was confessing.

And boy did he confess!

They went from hot and heavy to just plain heavy in seconds flat. Lori's forehead wrinkled up as she tried to process everything he's just shared. A long moment ticked by in complete silence. Innocent and vulnerable? So that was what he wanted, the opposite of her? She could feel her insides tightening with the first pangs of defensive anger.

No X gene? That's what this was about? He got sauced because he didn't understand in what category he belonged? Another long second of facial searching... but he was stonewalling all the way up to his eyes.

"...I just know I'm not who you think I am."[/color]

"AUGH!" She was in no position to pounce, but she threw her weight at him as hard as she could. It was hard enough to topple the couch and hard enough that in the daze that followed, Lori mounted Jacen's stomach and pressed the heels of her hands into his shoulders demanding his attention. "You are an assumptive bastard aren't you?" At least she hadn't flat out punched him as was her initial intention. He was so lucky that the angles had been all wrong for that.

"I don't care about almosts. I don't care about xgenes or jobs or humanity or any god damned church thereof." Her face was inching closer, her eyes burning with the conviction of her words. She wasn't shouting. Oh no, she was speaking lowly in a most dangerous tone that promised pain if interrupted. "Don't you think I should have split when I found out you were SWAT? Don't you think I should have left for a hundred other reasons? Augh!" She stopped just short of touching noses and instead lay her forehead against his chin for a moment as she tried to funnel into words everything that shouldn't have to be spelled out. It was just so obvious!

"You are who you are no matter what you do or how you do it."

She paused for a moment to let that really sink in. Jacen was Jacen. A lack of an xgene didn't make him any less of an xgene nullifier and certainly didn't make him any less of a man. Her hands relaxed against his shoulders, she was too tired to keep up the hellfire and brimstone. "As if you could cry human and get away."

The look in Lori's eyes gave Jacen all the information he needed. The anger and pain was obvious as she tried to process what he had told her. It was just like Jacen had expected but there was no way he could blame her. Especially after the fact that he had not only confessed to being something other than a mutant but that he had almost chosen some other woman over Lori because she was the Lori's exact opposite.

The attack came out of nowhere, and even if Jacen's senses and reactions hadn't been dulled by alcohol he wasn't sure he could have avoided the apparently vengeful female. As it was, he suddenly found the couch knocked onto the ground, his own body stretched out on the floor, with Lori sitting on top of his stomach and holding his shoulders down with all the strength she can manage.

The tone of her voice as she spoke was enough to let him know that it was best to keep his mouth shut for the time being. He had seen Lori get into several fights but never had he seen her look more dangerous than she did right at that moment. She was obviously trying to make her opinion clear by Jacen just didn't get it. Wasn't this the woman that had told him how good it was to be a mutant? Wasn't this the woman that had told him to be proud that he was special? Where the hell was this sudden change of heart coming from?

"What did you expect?" Jacen as quietly, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he watched the woman above him. Thanks to the adrenaline that was now pumping through his system the affects of the alcohol was temporarily being overridden but he wasn't fool enough to expect that to last, "You're the one that talk so much about how great it was to be a mutant. How should I have expected you to react?"

Since the pressure was relaxing, Jacen suddenly sprung into movement, rolling over and reversing positions with Lori almost instantly. Now he looked down at the blond as he crouched above her, his hands gripping her wrists and holding her firmly in place. "But that's not the part that has you angry is it. You're ticked that I just admitted to being attracted to another woman. You're angry that someone else had something that you don't have." Jacen's voice was heated as he stared down at the woman, slowly dropping his head down so that his lips were right next to her ear, "But I will point out that I ended up back here which means that, if you can drop your ego for just a few moments, I must like you more than anyone else."

Moving his head over, Jacen gave Lori a forceful kiss before pulling back to stare into her eyes with a rather defiant expression on his face. "Clear?"