Twyla's eyes darted towards her friend's stomach even though she knew that Gawain was joking. She didn't say anything, but she did chuckle a bit. As if Henri could ever get even remotely chubby...Whoa, what's your problem, girl? Twyla knew it was a joke and was confused by her own thoughts momentarily. She pursed her lips. Hmmm...body envy much? Let's not go down that road, shall we? Body envy was not something the girl needed to worry about--there were much more important things going on in her life. Like, for instance her brother being home or that fact that she was closer than she'd ever been to being someone's girlfriend even if they still hadn't gotten around to talking about it. Those were much better things to focus on.

After she caught the apple, Twyla clapped for Gawain's impromptu show. Her brother followed suit and also laughed a bit. The girl realized how much she'd missed the easy-to-catch rumble that was her older brother's laugh. I guess you don't know what you got till it's not there anymore... Homesick thoughts, like body envy thoughts, were not good thoughts so she pushed them aside and dropped into the stool nearest Nate, leaving one left between herself and Henrietta. Apples made it better, decidedly better. So the girl took a crunching bite of her own and tried to ignore the scent pouring out of the open pickle jar.

Nate leaned farther back on the stool, looking totally at ease as if falling onto the kitchen floor wasn't an option for him. "A week is all you'll get of me. It's a crime, I know, but I'm in high demand elsewhere." This received a snort from the girl next to him. "Very, very high demand." He made sure to stare down his sister for a moment before his face broke into a grin. "So before I share my juicy news." Cue more girlish tones. "What's thehawt gossip in this corner of the country? You hooked up with that Ivan guy yet, Henrietta? What about you two--" A glance rested on the other male in the room before resting on the other blond while Nate's eyebrows waggled. "Is it official or are you two still beating around theol' bush?"

Twyla choked on her second bite of apple, her face turning a bright shade of red that she usually reserved for more dire situations. She couldn't believe--well actually, she should have seen such awkward, personal questions coming a mile away from the man so casually leaning back on the stool. And this is when Henri stops talking to me and Gawain walks away. Way to go Nate...I love you too.

Big brothers, Gawain realized, had a free ticket to embarrass you ad your friends and relations whenever they liked, whatever way they managed to do it. For the first time in long years, he was glad he didn't have any. Brothers, that is.

>>"What's thehawt gossip in this corner of the country? You hooked up with that Ivan guy yet, Henrietta? What about you two... Is it official or are you two still beating around theol' bush?"

Gawain choked too, mostly because he was about to gasp and laugh at the same time, and a bite of apple came in between the two. Talk about fairy tales. He was never really fond of Snow White.
Covering his mouth with the back of his hand, he blinked some tears away, and looked at Twyla, then at Nate. He was clearly enjoying the show.

"Yeeeeeah we'll need to talk about that." he agreed, carefully avoiding a straight answer. Because a straight answer would have been something like we are whatever Twyla says we are, because she only has to say the word. Clearly.

He wondered how much Nate knew about the situation. Judging from how he behaved around Twyla - and vice versa - he probably knew everything. Just great. Gawain wondered why he didn't seem to notice the awkwardnes he caused with this question.

On a related note.
"Who the heck is Ivan?"

Nate mentioned what she assumed was suppose to be 'Van'. Henrietta had water in her mouth and it spurted out onto the counter. She blinked a few times, stunned. Wait, what did he just say? Gawain asked who 'Ivan' was and the brunette felt her face turn red. She tried to sink into the stool, but there was no where to go. Sighing, she sat back up. "His name's Van. V-A-N. Like, as in the vehicle that holds many people. No I in front of that...And what do you mean, 'hooked up'?"

The girl glanced around the kitchen in a nonchalant way that was not working out for her. She could still feel that she was blushing and hadn't completely answered the question. Henri looked at Twyla and raised an eyebrow. "How does Nate know about Van?" She laughed so her friend knew she wasn't mad or anything. The brunette glanced at Gawain. Now he knew about Van too. "Well, I would like to introduce you guys to him at some point. I should really call him back soon and I want to, but I'm not sure how long you're supposed to wait after the first date..."

Clearing her throat, she looked at everyone one at a time. Her face still flushed, she smiled. "So...Now what do you want to talk about? Any good topics that don't involve making me change funny colors?"

Twyla quickly recovered from her state of shock and before anyone else could respond she was off her stool and beating on her brother with the hand not holding her apple. "What the hell kinda questions are those!? 'Hi, I'm Nate and I just met you. Are you in a relationship with someone?' That's what you just did. You big, dumb...dummy! I can't believe the crap you pull! Seriously, Nate. Seriously!?" The frenzied attack stopped as soon as Gawain began to talk and Twyla retreated back to her stool, blushing and trying to keep one eye on her...something and the other glaring at her brother who was sitting for all the world like nothing had just taken place.

The not glaring eye approved of this message from our sponsor: "Yeeeeeah we'll need to talk about that." Good choice Gawain, good choice. They really needed to get on that, Twyla didn't know how. 'Hi, what are we doing here with this, ya know, us?' seemed a little awkward.

The glaring stopped when Twyla's free eye turned to Henri. A girlish grin spread across her face and when Gawain asked who 'Ivan' was she resisted the urge to blab it out. Henri managed to explain that his name was really Van (the 'I' was sold separately), ask what a 'hook up' was, admit that she hadn't called him yet, and turn a shade of maroon that rivaled Twyla's color from earlier. And then, when it was so obvious that her gal-pal wanted to change the subject the blond singsonged: "Van and Henri sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Her brother, catching on to the rhyme caught up wither her and added his own voice."First comes loooove, then comes marriage, then come a baby in a baby carriage!" A pause as the siblings started laughing. "I'm so sorry, Henri." She gasped through giggles. "I had to do it."

Nate stopped laughing and instantly his face turned space cadet and his tone got obnoxiously high. "You need to call him, sweetie. I bet he's dying to hear from you." And in his normal voice he added. "He sounds kinda like a weirdo though, I gotta say." As if that concluded the subject that man's face became business again...or as close to 'business' as Nathan Ashby ever got. "Since you guys are lame here, I'll fill you in on what's happening back home." He waved his hands about as if he was excited. "You'll never guess who got dance captain this year, Twyla. I'm not trying to sound catty but you know that Sk**k Kelly Moller?"

"Oh my god, you're kidding me! Why didn't you tell me sooner!" Twyla let out a disgusted scream. "That is soooooo sad. I betcha all of their routines were one of these" She stood up and dropped herself down, slowly coming back up while twisting her hips and rubbing her hands all over herself in exaggerated 'sexy'. "Or like all up on each other." She walked over to Henri and pretended to dry hump her where she sat, giggling the whole time and looking a bit like an idiot. Okay, a lot like an idiot. "What is the world coming to?" Twyla sat down with a frustrated look on her face. Turning to Henri and Gawain she clarified: "Kelly is a piece of work if there ever was one. I swear once she had eight serious boyfriends in one month. She was only even in Dance for the attention." The girl shook her head and tried not to wonder if she'd have made captain if she had been around her senior year.

Gawain watched with a grin as Twyla attacked her brother. She looked pretty flushed, and pretty pissed off, and just pretty, period.
He was also very glad now that he didn't have a younger sister either. They can be vicious, he observed.
Henri blushed and shared her part of the story about the Van guy. Gawain wondered how Nate found out about him. It's not like that relationship concerdned him at all.
Was there anything Twyla didn't share with her brother?...
Scary thoughts. Scary, like babies in baby carriages. Urgh.

"Yeah, ya need ta call him" he agreed "The 'supposed to wait' thing is jus' somethin' girls made up to torture us." he added with a wise nod "Trust me, I know."
Maya never tortured anyone.

And then came the fresh gossip from home, and Gawain settled down on a stool too, leaning against the counter, letting Twyla and Nate talk. And then he almost choked again when Twyla did her little mock dance performance. Even though she was just goofing around, she managed to make Gawain swallow much harder than the actual piece of apple required.

"That's one thing I don' miss 'bout school" he muttered, trying to hide the fact that he felt himself blush. He glanced at Twyla "Maybe you could start a dance team here too. And then it'd be you plannin' the routines..."

Not like he had anything against Kelly Moller's style. Clearly not.

Nate and Twyla began to sing and Henri felt her face turn ever redder than it had earlier, if that was possible. She smacked her head lightly on the counter and let out a 'uhhh' noise. Keeping her head on the surface, she began to mutter so everyone could hear her. "I just don't know how the couple stuff works. I've never had a boyfriend before. I don't want to scare him away or something. I hear you guys can get skiddish sometimes." She glanced up at Nate and Gawain and sighed again.

Both males shared their advice. So, it seemed that they thought she should call Van. Why can't he call me? I'd feel so much less pressure that way. I don't want to babble like an idiot. Henrieta had a tendency to babble when she got nervous or uncomfortable. She could just imagine herself calling him and him saying he didn't want to see her. If that was the case, she didn't want to call and find that out. It's better to think you're liked than to know you aren't.

Luckily, the subject turned to an icky girl from Twyla's school. "This I can get into. There were those kind of girls at my school too. I think there are some everywhere." Henri rolled her eyes, but began to laugh when Twyla was trying to dance on her and the stool. The blonde then spoke about how many boyfriends this Kelly chick had had and how she was in Dance for attention. The brunette shook her head and made a disgusted noise. "What is the world coming to? Dance shouldn't be for popularity, it's about enjoyment. Almost anyone can dance. It's just a lot of fun." Henri crossed her arms and spun on her stool.

When Twyla had been dancing, Henri had noticed Gawain choking. She didn't mention, but it was still kind of funny. His face had turned decently red. It was your turn to feel awkward, buddy. Henrietta made eye contact with the boy and smirked.

Nate cocked his head to the side and half stared down half stared at Gawain, who was blushing and moving the subject along. Twyla didn't really notice the blush, she was too busy twisting the stem off of her apple and staring at her hands. Soon they were covered in sticky apple juices and the girl resisted the urge to wipe them on her jeans--she'd just washed them the night before, it didn't make sense to dirty them up. Examining the apple helped keep her mind focused on other things than the lump that was threatening to crawl up her throat. Nate's eyes slowly made their way back to his long-pausing sister and a look of understanding filled his features. Twyla noticed this, but that was because she heard him clear his throat.

Before he could make a sound the blond was up and looking with a big smile on her face. "I'm sure after my class graduates all will again be well with the world...and the team." A small giggle. "Maybe when I'm older I'll coach or something, dance isn't something I absolutely need right now, you know?" The girl waved her hand as if to push the topic under the proverbial rug. The gesture said she was over it.

"So since I didn't get a good answer earlier, what do you guys do for fun around here in the big, bad city?" The concerned look was gone, replaced by hesitant calm that was still half distracted by the blond sitting next to him, as Nate spoke and looked at Henri and Gawain in turn. "I know how hicks have fun, but I'm curious as to what you yahoos do." Insult to both parties, check. Way to go Nathan Ashby.

Sticky hands were starting to drive Twyla nuts so she hoped off her stool and traipsed over to the sink, turning it on and pumping some soap into her palm. Nate wasn't talking to her at the moment, he was still trying to get a feel of her friends. The girl stopped her slow washing when it hit her that there were quite a few very embarrassing stories that he could share in relation to 'having fun' back home. On the inside she winced, waiting for the inevitable blow to her ego.

>>"I just don't know how the couple stuff works. I've never had a boyfriend before. I don't want to scare him away or something. I hear you guys can get skiddish sometimes."

"Yeah yeah, women are scary." Gawain rolled his eyes. Like a real knight would ever get skiddish about a lady. Nope, not a chance.
A few moments later, right after he choked on the apple and blushed, proving himself wrong, he could see Henri giving him his own attitude.
So much about knights.

>>"So since I didn't get a good answer earlier, what do you guys do for fun around here in the big, bad city? I know how hicks have fun, but I'm curious as to what you yahoos do."

"Well..." Gawain leaned back against the counter and resisted the urge to rest his feet on the table; Twlya was within arm's reach, after all. "... we do all kinds of stuff. Y'know, normal stuff. Go downtown..." with a werewolf on a speeding bike "... dance..." Club Evolution, hmmm "... hang out and chat..." in the middle of the night "... go to the park..." and fight elder gods "... so. Stuff."

Nate thought they were lame? Duh.
"And then there's the mutie stuff. Savin' people, fightin' monsters, bustin' our asses in the Danger Room."
Yeah, like he'd ever been in there.
Gawain grinned.
"It's fun."

Nate asked what they did for fun around here. Henrietta crossed her arms and began to think. "Well, Gawain's correct about the dancing. Twyla and I jam out all the time. We've tried on each others clothes before." She took a pause to think of some more stuff. "I go to the park all the time. Your sister and I have been going to the local YMCA lately." The brunette looked at Nate as she spoke. She almost laughed when Gawain said something about having conversations in the middle of the night, because it was true. The girl had spoken to Twyla and Gawain/Maya at very weird hours before.

Henrietta got up and went to the sink. She turned on the faucet and put her glass under the stream of water. While talking, the girl had drank all of it without realizing it until she tilted the glass to her mouth. Of course, nothing came to her lips. Standing and looking at the other three people, she began to hum 'Milkshakes' by: Kelis. Turning off the sink and setting the cup down, she began to dance around for a few seconds while still humming. It was kind of random, but the girl wasn't sure what she was supposed to say next. When in doubt, dance!

After she had finished, she smiled, grabbed her water and went back to her stool. "Sorry, I was feeling awkward for some reason." It hadn't been a weird scene at all. Henrietta's danced barely lasted 15 seconds and then she was done, but she was afraid she had looked like an idiot. The girl took a swig of water from her glass and then smiled. "So Nate, I hear you're quite the ladies man." She glanced at Twyla and smirked. It's definitely not our turn to feel embarrassed.

Nate looked less than impressed with their ideas of 'fun'. The only thing that obviously caught his interest what the bit about 'mutie' stuff. That was stuff Twyla hadn't really discussed with anyone in her family--especially not her older brother, who's eyes flashed with sudden curiosity and a bit of worry at the mention of saving people and fighting monsters. Now the wince came, as Twyla wiped her hands on a towel near the sink and resisted the urge to roll it up and whip it at Gawain, who had unknowingly opened a can of wiggling, worrying worms.

Luckily, Henri started humming and dancing while she was also near the sink. What a wonderful distraction a random display like that was useful for. After Henri apologized she sat down and fired a question at Nate before looking at the blond girl, who mouthed 'thank you' to her. No one else would understand the 'thank you' but that didn't matter--for the moment Nate couldn't pester her about what her something meant by mutie stuff.

"I suppose you could call it that. I do have what they call suavity of a sort." His tone was cheery and silly but it didn't reach his eyes, which were locked onto his sister. "So what other kinds of...mutie stuff do you guys do? And what's a Danger Room?" The tone was again casual and the eyes scanned the faces clustered around the table in a neutral way. And here we go... Twyla thought to herself, still standing near the sink.

"It's a fancy classroom." Twyla replied faster than fast to her brother's last question. "Like those ones in our high school that got Smart Boards a few years ago. It's just got a lot of fancy technology in it." The look on his face said he wasn't buying what the girl was selling, so she made her way back over to her stool slowly.

It was Gawain's turn to clap at Henri's performance. The conversation kept wandering back to dancing. Gawain kept the ida for later.

"It's more like a gymn" he nodded at Twyla's expanation about the Danger Room "Y'know, learnin' to control mutant powers is a pain, and needs a lot of practice."
He'd know, he spent the night after Christmas fighting against monsters in the woods just to see if adrenaline would keep Maya from turning into Gawain. Or vice versa. And look how well that turned out. Pft.
"... sooo, they make sure kids practice with their powers. And 'cause some could do lotsa damage to the furniture, they made up the Danger Room for us."
Or at least, that was the theory.

Gawain wondered when they'll be allowed to actually go in there to train. He needed to find someone who had clearance. Or a reflecting surface in there. Would work just as well.

"They also use it for weddings." he added with a grin. Because it ofther simulations were as cool as the decoration conjured up for Other Maya's big day, then the DR had a good chance to become the coolst place ever.

Twyla mouthed a ‘thank you’ at the brunette. She smiled and nodded to her in a way that meant, ‘yeah, no problem’. Gawain had clapped for her performance and Henrietta laughed. “Thanks.” Nate explained his popularity with the ladies. Instead of looking at the person who was asking, he stared at his sister. It was obvious that ‘mutie stuff’ had made him begin to worry. She could see the wheels turning as he looked at Twyla.

Both of the other teens were trying to cover their tracks and Henri watched as they did so. The girl had never been in the Danger Room, but she had heard about it and what its purpose was. It was for the mutants to train and hone their skills. She heard that that’s where the X-Men practiced and how you got to become one was passing some tests in the room. Henrietta looked at Twyla and Gawain. She smiled as she thought about them trying to work to become X-Men. They’d be great heroes. They’re great people.

Henri lied her head down on the kitchen counter and let out a quiet sigh. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with her powers. The brunette thought it would be cool to be able to make a difference, but she wasn’t sure if she was cut out to be an X-Men. I guess I have some time to figure it out, right?

Twyla could have kissed Gawain. In the kitchen, right in front of Henri and her overprotective older brother.

Saved by the knight, who knew how to explain the Danger Room in a logical, and safe manner under pressure. This explanation Nate could understand--he did so like gyms when he was in school. The slight tenseness in his shoulders ebbed away under Twyla's gaze and she let out an inner sigh of relief. It really wasn't a good time to let him know about some of her extra curriculars quite yet--no one in her family needed to know that she was learning Jujitsu and hoping to one day become a member of a team of other mutants dedicated to the idea of peace between humans and mutants. Somehow she didn't think that her parents would understand what she was doing and hoping to do with the X-men.

"It's just a fancy pants gym, Nate." Twyla smiled at Gawain as she siad this, trying to convey her gratitude with her eyes while keeping it a secret from her brother.

Nate noticed the tiny sigh from the brunette at the other end of the room. Pulling his feet down from the counter, he leaned forward to look at the girl. "You okay, Henrietta?" The tone was closer to the comforting one he'd used with his sister earlier and a lot less haughty than the tone he'd been using for most of their kitchen conversation. The blond next to him turned her attention away from making eyes at the boy across from her and towards her friend. "Yeah, you okay?" She echoed, taking in the head on the counter and the distracted look on the other girl's face.

His explanation earned a grateful smile from Twyla. Gawain returned it, watching her relax as the crisis was averted. He also made a mental note not to bring up topics that could make the protective brother worried. Even though Twyla seemed to share most details of her life with Nate, that didn't mean he had to find out about everything at once.
He turned to look at Henri when Nate talked to her; she did seem a bit distracted. Gawain wondered if she was thinking about her mother; family visits were a rare occasion in the Mansion. It was natural for the less lucky to get a little bit sad about it.
Or maybe she was just sleepy.

Nate, Twyla, and Gawain were all looking at the brunette. She glanced at them. They looked concerned for some reason, so she smiled slightly at them. "Yeah, sorry guys...and gal." Henri nodded toward Twyla when she said 'gal'. "I was just thinking about what I want to do when I get older. It's not a big deal." The girl stared off for a moment and tried to picture herself in a 'normal' job with a 'normal' life. Was that even possible for mutants? 'Normal'? She wasn't even sure what that word completely meant anyway.

Shaking her head from side to side on the counter, she raised it and then sat up straight on the stool. "I guess, I just had all these ideas on how I wanted my life to be when I grew up and now... It seems like that's not something I should be expecting, unless we become accepted." Her hair began to flow gently in the air. "I don't want to hide part of myself. Whether or not I or anyone else like it, I'm a mutant and that isn't something I can or want to hide anymore. I want people to like me inspite of what I am." Henrietta got very quiet and swung her legs silently back and forth.

The girl plastered a smile on her face in hopes that she didn't get overly intense. Sometimes it's just better to not mention those kind of things, Henri, she thought to herself. It was something she had wanted to talk about though, but it should've waited until Nate left. "Sorry, so what do you guys wanna do now? Twyla, you should show him Central Park at some point. There's some cool stuff in the Big Apple."