Participants:
| Scene Title | Everyone Can Change |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Colette confronts Magnes about his past with Vincent. |
| Date | May 11, 2010 |
It's not entirely surprising that the Lighthouse is busier than normal come morning. Given that the children are all wondering about the new visitor that's stopped by and Gillian's trying to manage a conversation with Cat about everything that went on the night previous. The living room is crowded with talkative, busily active children, Juniper has been trusted with the task of preparing breaskfast alongside Sable, and Tasha is sleeping in upstairs, at the orders of the young girl on laundry duty.
Coming down the narrow hall from the cramped laundry room, Colette Nichols carries the heavy plastic basket filled with the children's clothes over to the sofa, her socked feet scuffing across the hardwood floor, each mismatched pass of hunter orange and midnight blue a chaotic clash of improper color coordination.
Hefting the basket down onto the arm of the sofa, she looks over to Joe and lifts one brow. "Anybody wanna' help me fold laundry, I'll make sure you get an extra slice of the pies Magnes baked last night." There's a broad smile on Colette's lips, and she watches Joe, Mala and Lance get up from the floor where they were playing Mousetrap before making their way over. "You all know what to do, and Lance— " there's a narrow of Colette's eyes at the blue-eyed troublemaker, "you know what not to do." Green eyes slant down to the underwear, then back up again, a warning look given to the young boy.
Lance's eyes narrow; next time, the look implies, next time.
Walking downstairs with his long-sleeved white vintage Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends shirt and blue jeans with a pair of socks on, Magnes is rubbing his eyes, looking around rather alertly for a moment, then his eyes settle on Colette. He seems very on edge at the moment, not exactly in a bad mood, but more like someone who's expecting to get stabbed at any second. "Is he gone yet?" is the first thing he asks, the most urgent question on his mind. "I barely slept at all."
"Joe, you're on big-man duty," Colette notes as she reaches out, ruffling Joe's hair a little before turning around and offering an askance look at Magnes. It's a quiet one, green eyes settles squarely on the gravitokinetic until he's all the wya downstairs. With the basket emptied and clothing getting folded, Colette hets it back up and carries it against her hip, walking to Magnes with a jerk of her head. "Come help me with laundry?" She asks quietly, sidestepping him as she turns around to walk backwards, socked heels thumping against the floor and one hand lifted, finger curling to beckon Magnes to follow as she makes her way down the hall.
Magnes follows, and in the pit of Colette's stomach she might be able to feel a hint of slightly displaced gravity, not exactly altered, but he's high-strung and has his field extended rather defensively, and she just happens to be in it. He's not in the best mindset for fine control. While they're walking, he's quiet, but when they're out of the childrens' hearing range, he immediately repeats, "Is he gone yet?"
Only once they're in the noise of the dryer running at the end of the hall does Colette answer. "Yes of course he's gone." There's a slightly exasperated tone at being asked twice, and Colette leans to the side, looking down the hall to the living room to watch how Joe is handling taking care of the kids, before she settles back down onto both feet and pushes the laundry room door open with her hip. Stepping inside, she rests the hamper up on top of the dryer, then turns around and leans up against it, crossing her arms over her chest.
"The kids don't need to know anybody else was ever here last night, you're damn lucky they didn't hear you freaking out and come down to see you losing your shit and throwing shit around, okay? They've like, been thorugh more than enough stuff. The last thing they need is to think the adults can't even keep their crap under control, alright?" Both of Colette's brows raise and she huffs out a sigh, blowing a lock of dark hair from over one eye.
"I need you to tell me what the deal with you and Vincent is." Green eyes lift up to meet Magnes' eyes. "You said he ruined your life, but like— you're rich, you have an awesome apartment, you've got a cute redhead girlfriend, and you do something that you love every day." She motions around the Lighthouse. "So I'm like— a little confused. You gotta' tell me what's what."
"My old life, he just ripped me right out of it without even asking. Because of him I had to kill all those people, because of him I had to have a friend die. I don't care what Cat says, someone I cared about died, two of them. All that stuff I had to go through… I don't even know how to put it all in words, I'm not even allowed to tell you half of it. I could have dealt with Claire, I'm sure I could have, but to have had to go through everything else on top of it…" Magnes just randomly swings one of his arms, not wanting to actually hit anything. "He didn't even ask, he never says he's sorry, he just… I want him to die, he deserves to die. That money I have? The job? It's all the prize at the end for having to go through all the shit I did. I'll never forgive him, never, he's an evil person. I don't want him anywhere near the kids, because I swear to god I'll kill him before he can do anything to them. Consequences be damned, one day I will kill him."
"No, you won't, Magnes." Colette shakes her head slowly, lifting her hand up to brace her fingers at her forehead. "Stop being such an immature little brat. I don't know what you went through, I don't— know what crap you had happen, but everyone's had it hard around here and you don't see half of us whining about our problems like you do. All I ever hear is you complaining about how hard your life is or how bad your relationships are. You're Ferry now. Your actions are responsible for a whole lot more than just yourself."
Leaning away from the sofa, Colette points out the laundry room door. "All those kids out there are your responsibility because Gillian trust you with them. Take that, an' make a bunch more, and a bunch more, and more. That's what being in the Ferry's about, being responsible. Whatever your beef with Vincent is, drop it. He's helping us, helping the Ferry, and maybe you should try talking to him sometime to find out what he did and why."
Swallowing tightly, Colette offers a subtle shake of her head. "If this— if this is about that Antarctica thing Cat told me about, than maybe it's a damn good thing he grabbed you. Because none of us would be here if he hadn't right? That's what Cat tells me, and she's usually right about that sort've stuff. Stop— stop obsessing over all the crap that's wrong in your life and stop acting twelve. You're older'n I am and I shouldn't be the one trying to talk sense into you."
Swallowing tensely, Colette breathes in deeply and lifts a hand up to rub at the side of her head. "He's with us. Batman and Superman, Magnes. They didn't wanna' work together, but they did. Or like— fuck— the— the Goku and the green guy with the antennas from that Japanese cartoon? They were enemies but they worked together." It's like trying to talk to Joe, and he's nine— or something.
"Suck it up. Talk to him if you can't just let it go. But don't— don't be a douche, Magnes."
"I have a right to be pissed, don't you think? But fine, I'm agreeing with this only for the children." Magnes leans against a wall, staring at her with clear irritation in his gaze. "I don't care what you think about me, I stopped caring what people thought about me when I realized most of the people I'm surrounded with are hopeless pragmatists, but I'm willing to talk to him for the children. I won't try to kill him if he doesn't try to kill me."
"You can be mad all you want but that doesn't mean you have to act on it." Colette steps away from the dryer entirely, moving to step in front of Magnes where he leans by the wall. "That's what makes us different from the fucking crazy people who blow up buildings and shit because they're upset. You cross that line of just fucking— fucking killing someone because you're mad and you become one've them. I know you're not that kind've person, Magnes, cause I saw you that day…"
She takes a step closer, swallowing tightly, "I saw you spare Danko when you could've killed him, and I know— I know Danko's a worse man than Vincent is. We both couldn't kill him when it came down to it, and you wanna know why?" Both of her brows lift up slowly. "Because we're good people."
Swallowing tensely, Colette shakes her head slowly, breathing out a sigh. "Eileen doesn't think you're mature enough for the Ferry. She doesn't think you can be trusted because you always act before you think. But I've stuck up for you, Magnes, because you saved me. I've stuck up for you more'n once. I think this," she motions to the Lighthouse, "this is just the start. Ther'es a lot of people out there who need a kind, gentle hand, not another gun-happy nut-job who'll kill first'n act questions later."
Running her teeth over her lower lip, Colette shakes her head slowly, looking up to Magnes with wide eyes. "Either let it go, or just talk to him. That's your choice. But don't take his choice away from him by doing something stupid… anybody can make the change."
There's a crack of a smile on her lips. "What if Luke killed Vader before he could turn on the Emperor, right?" God she's running out of nerd analogies.
"What if Batman just snapped the Joker's neck." Magnes offers as a rebuttal, but just shrugs, nodding in agreement. "I don't know how you saw me, I don't know which time you saw me, and frankly I'd rather not ask," He's gotta hope it wasn't the time he was masked, considering that was when the torture happened, and torture doesn't leave a good impression. "But fine, I guess you're right. If I'm giving John Logan another chance, I guess it doesn't hurt to at least talk to a cop."
Tilting her head to the side, Colette offers a squint at Magnes. "John's a sweet little pouf, I'm glad you're giving him another chance," she notes with a slight shift away from the more grim topics. "Stop being so fatalistic, stop being so mean about everything, and… really?" There's a look to the laundry room door, then back up to Magnes. "Be careful what you say, okay? Words— words can really hurt people more'n anything else does, even if you don't mean it."
Taking a step forward, Colette rises up on her toes and presses a kiss to Magnes' cheek before settling down on her heels. "That's for agreeing to try. It means a lot to me, okay?" She takes another step back, to the doorway and just watches Magnes thoughtfully. "Everybody can change," she offers with a furrow of her brows, "you too. So… thanks."
Magnes' cheeks flush a bit, apparently still capable of being quite bashful at times, then he places a hand on his cheek. "A-ah, yeah, you're welcome." he awkwardly says, then quickly heads over to the machine. "It's hard to stop being fatalistic, and I guess the meanness is just stress. But it seems like things are imploding around us. I can't even imagine what the city will be like once the snow is gone. The snow is the calm before the storm…"
"It'll get better…" Colette says without much doubt, tough with something of a heavy heart as she spins the silver ring she wears around one finger, "I know it will, Magnes. You just— you just gotta' have hope, okay? Everything'll work out in the end… it's just gonna be a long road, till all the shadows in the river make it there." Colette's lips find a bittersweet smile, and she grips one side of the door frame as she leans her weight back, hanging on to it.
"Chin up," she adds softly, eyes averting to the floor in odd juxtaposition to her words before stepping out into the hallway, leaving Magnes alone with the rattling clunk of the dryer running.