The X-Project

After dinner, Forge goes to take the traditional after-dinner nap and runs into Jennie. Arguments are had, and things are thrown.




Forge staggered up the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing as he placed a hand on his stomach. Whatever ninety-million shots and blood samples that Amelia had taken from him the previous day, it certainly hadn't killed his appetite for turkey and stuffing any. Of course, making the mistake of trying to outeat the hyperactive microwave projector with the metabolism of a ferret on crack probably hadn't been his best idea.

He pondered heading down the hall to his suite, but noticing the mostly-darkened rec room, a small quiet nap on a sofa seemed like a better idea. He waved halfheartedly to the only other occupant of the room, stretched out with headphones and a laptop as he fell facefirst onto one of the overstuffed couches.

However, when he glanced over to notice who it was, Forge's stomach went from "full and relaxed" to "gigantic knot of anxiety" and he practically sprung back up to his feet.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled out apologetically. "Should I go elsewhere?"

Jennie sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, no. I'm going." She snapped her laptop shut and pulled out her earphones. Dinner had been awkward, Jennie had pointedly ignored Forge the entire night. So much so that even Marius picked up on it.

"Wait," Forge said quietly, standing up off the couch. "I owe you an apology. Actually, I owed you an apology last night instead of being all confrontational. Hell, for the past five months of me being an ass. I'm sorry. I want things to be better and I don't know what to say to make them better. I'm... I'm just sorry, is all." With that, he flopped down onto the couch, one hand tangled in his hair as he tried to make eye contact with anything except Jennie.

The girl opened her mouth and then shut it. Out of everything she expected him to say, this was definitely not it. She chewed on the inside of her thumb, thinking carefully. It was hard to do righteous indignation when full of pie, but she wasn't going to let him walk away with it.

"If you had such a big problem, you should have said something instead of rubbing it in every time we talked," she said finally.

"And say what?" Forge asked earnestly. "Just go up and say 'gee, Jennie, how're you dealing with being an unwitting hostage to your best friend'? Give me some credit. Like I told you when... well, like I'd said, I know you needed space. I didn't want to be the person constantly pushing you to talk about things if you didn't want to talk about them. Then with all the making jokes and you and Marius being buddies again... I just figured things were okay and you didn't need me trying to make anything better."

Taking a breath after his rambling explanation, Forge stood up, making brief eye contact with Jennie before looking away at some of the pictures on the wall. "It's like there was nothing I could do, you know? I said I'd be there if you needed anything and then... you didn't. So I don't know where that leaves me," he explained with an expressive shrug. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say, but I know that what I've been doing wasn't the right thing, obviously. You're not over it," he said firmly, "And if you want to talk about it, fine. If not, then that's fine too. I won't push."

"Let me get this straight," Jennie said, setting aside her laptop, "You were mad because I didn't tell you what was bothering me?" The girl shook her head emphatically and put her head in her hands, "Forge."

"I love you boys dearly but you all make me nuts," she looked back up at Forge. "I don't tell Marius what's bothering me. I just don't talk about my problems, that's not how I deal with things. I mean, I'm starting to talk to Marius about it, but that's because of the mutual trauma.."

"That's... not exactly it," Forge tried to explain, gesturing aimlessly. "If I don't know anything's wrong, I can't help, and if I can't help, I feel useless, and that makes me frustrated and mad. And I know, I should have learned my lesson about trying to make people open up and talk about things when that's not how they want to deal." He sighed, then shook his head and laughed.

"And the whole 'gee, let me meet this neat girl and almost hit things off, and then I go give Bloke-With-Accent a normal body back and whoosh, he sweeps her off her feet' thing. And trust me, I know you and Marius are joking, and it's the whole platonic thing, but the irony is just..." Forge punctuated his sentence with small stabbing motions, finally looking at Jennie with a smile. "It doesn't help with the useless third wheel feeling, is all."

That warranted being hit with a throw pillow.

"Forge, you idiot." He was starting to give her a headache, really. She began to tick off on her fingers, "A, you broke it off, remember? B, Marius and I were friends again before he got his face back, or did you miss the bit with the lipstick? His looks have absolutely nothing to do with our friendship, and C, I really don't know how to help you with the third wheel thing. I'm not going to go out of my way to coddle you and make you feel like you aren't a third wheel. That's something you're going to have to work out yourself. Just rest assured that you are our friend. My friend, and I don't abandon my friends, okay?"

Forge yelped and fell back onto the couch as he was pelted with the pillow. "I know, I know. I'm not saying that, I'm just saying the parallels are funny, that's all. And I broke it off because... well, not important. You might not have realized this," he said in a tone thick with sarcasm, "but unless there's some crisis going on or someone needs something lifesaving built, I don't exactly have a lot to offer folks. I know you went through a really bad time - no, I don't know what it was like, and I know you don't talk about it, fine. But you weren't the only one. In the span of one summer, I had nearly every single friend I've ever had - and I mean in the two years I've been here, since I didn't exactly have any before - nearly everyone left, almost all at once. Jay, Jubilee, Catseye, and then Marius, and then you. Everyone I managed to get close to left," he spat out bitterly, punching the pillow softly.

"So I guess I've been a bit overly defensive, and I'm sorry for that. It's hard to trust that people are going to stay, you know? Selfish and possessive of me, right?" Forge laughed self-deprecatingly. "I suppose I have to have some flaws to offset my dashing good looks and irresistible humility."

She was going to have to hurt him at some point, wasn't she? "Forge, people leave. They do that...that's life, yeah?" She twisted one of the rings on her fingers. "And it's not like they dropped off the face of the planet. You know where Jubilee and Cats are, right? Drop them a bloody line, email or phone. Hell, visit Catseye. And Jay does have email. And Marius and I came back, didn't we?" She stood up and stretched her arms over her head.

"You adapt, Forge. Nothing in life ever stays the same. You just pick up the pieces and move on. I had a whole other life when I lived in Las Vegas, and that's gone now. And at least....at least nobody died. Because then things are permanent. All those people who left? They're still alive, and you still have the ability to talk to them. You're a genius, please tell me you know how to work email or a cellphone."

"You don't think I realize that?" Forge shot back, standing up to pace over by one of the windows. "Jay was the first person who was ever interested in me - I mean, in that way, you know?" He blushed slightly as he shook his head. "First and only, really. And I couldn't return that, and you don't have any idea how many times I think that's part of why he left. Catseye was the best friend I've ever had, and all I could do for her was find her family, to give that to her - and she's happy with that life now. Every good thing I do for people ends up giving them a reason to leave. If I'd said no when you asked me to find your father..."

Forge stopped suddenly, hanging his head. "I'm sorry, you're right. That isn't fair. Things change, people leave. And yeah, maybe I'm selfish for wanting to hold on to a good thing when I have it, to hold on to something a little more tangible than an email or a phone call or a card for the holidays. I suppose I'm going to have to live with being selfish in this one thing, then."

"What? If you hadn't helped me find my father what?" Jennie said, voice starting to get angry. "I'd have never ended up getting stuck in Europe? Forge, honestly." Jennie scooped up her laptop and earphones, and had to curb the impulse to toss them at the older boy.

"You know what? I don't know what to say to you to make you feel better. I'm here, Marius is here, and neither of us is going anywhere any time soon. Or did you forget the part about where I have no place to go? Can't go back to Vegas, and while my father and his family are great, I sure as hell don't want to live with them." She spread her arms and gestured, "Also? Bunches of new people here, talk to them, get to know them beyond the capacity of security dude. You lose connections with people, so you form new ones. I lost my best friend," here her voice cracked, "All of my friends, my life, so I made a new one. While I can't ever replace Jules, don't ever want to, I'm still glad that I have you guys."

"I know. I need to give people a chance, I guess. I mean, they can't all be like Crystal," Forge said with a small laugh and roll of his eyes. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked at the floor, then up at Jennie. "I miss the way things used to be, back when... well, back when it was easier. But maybe it's time to move forward. And appreciate what I do have. I'm... I'm really glad to have you, too."

"Welcome to growing up, my dear." Jennie said wryly. "And maybe you'll find you'll now have better times." She buffed her nails on the front of her dress. "And of course, you should be glad you have me. I automatically add cool points to any relationship."

"You have your moments," Forge admitted with an appraising look before flopping bonelessly back onto the couch. He sat for a moment, then gave a smile. "Did Marius really say he was most thankful for 'that lovely rose shirt'?"

"As he well should be," Jennie said with a nod. "My husband has excellent taste. I am most thankful that I can fill out said shirt again." While Jennie would always be on the thin side, at least now she looked much healthier.

The appraising look turned into an exaggerated leer as Forge nodded. "We should all give thanks for such a... bountiful harvest."

Forge got another faceful of pillow. "Heavens! I am a married woman, you know," she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Is nothing sacred to you?"

"Very little," Forge admitted, piling the pillows behind his head. He looked up at the ceiling, then over to Jennie with a serious expression. "Are we cool?"

"Cool," Jennie said. "Next time, just say when you've got a problem, okay? Or at least don't be so passive-aggressive about it that I snap and have to beat you senseless." She flipped open her laptop. "I should probably let Marius know he can stop giving us a wide berth, now."

"Indeed," Forge agreed, "He already has to deal with the angst of being the rebound fling, let us not add any more to his Byronic palette of drama." Slipping off the couch to avoid another flung pillow, Forge stood up as a sudden look of realization crossed his features. "Excuse me for a quick moment?" he asked, walking out across the hall.

Leaning against the railing of the stairwell, Forge could hear the noises from downstairs of those folks watching the football game, alternately laughing and cheering while others talked in joyous tones as they cleared away what remained of the Thanksgiving leftovers. Quietly, he drew his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing a number quickly and putting the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Hey, Jay. Happy Thanksgiving to you too. So, how's things...?"