Late Night

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina walked through the streets of downtown Kalispell, enjoying the cool night breeze. This was her favorite time to be away from campus and just be out around town. Others may have considered her foolish for walking alone at night in a city she wasn’t overly familiar with, but the town was so much quieter and more peaceful at this time… maybe not peaceful, she thought as two rowdy drunks passed by laughing about something that wouldn’t be funny if they were remotely sober. Selina knew she could take care of herself, so she wasn’t too worried about the passerby.


    The only time she tensed up was when a group of three or more drunk white men were anywhere close. She swore there was nothing more terrifying in this country, but for some reason most of her colleagues didn’t seem to agree with her. She shrugged and smiled as she supposed that to some she would seem scarier. Not because she appeared intimidating, but because she represented a demographic change that would upset their coveted status-quo.


    Selina passed by a night club and absently wondered if there were any strip clubs in town. Her mom had found a really well-paying job in Vegas, so she was looking for employment for herself this time. She’d never actually gotten into the business, but she knew it could pay well and that she’d have her mom’s support whatever she decided to do. Selina really wanted to be able to support her mother better than she was, but Maria had found work too and between the two of them they had assured Selina that they were financially secure.


    Despite knowing they were fine and probably even better off than they’d been in Chile, Selina just didn’t feel right not contributing. She stopped outside of a local Platinum Royale and looked at the door for a moment, not particularly paying attention to what was going on around her. She didn’t care what other people thought, but she also wasn’t sure if this was what she really wanted either. She could easily find other work… probably.

    The people in this town were a bit more backwards in terms of racial equality than she’d expected though, even from Americans which was saying something. Besides this was more of spur of the moment visit over anything else. Selina sighed and turned to walk away when she came face-to-face with a boy who looked way too young to be in this type of area… though she supposed there were other places nearby he could have been heading to. The clubs for more youthful patrons were nearby, but Selina was curious. “You lost?” she asked with a wry smile.


Nico Martell

[Nico Martell]

See, about now, Nico was more or less figuring that whoever gave him these directions had probably been screwing with him. He'd gone along with it at the time, then figured that he might as well wander around town and try to get the lay of the land. Sometimes getting lost in a strange area was the best way of getting to know the area, after all.

That idea was great in theory, not so much in practice. Because now Nico was wandering around downtown holding a sheet of paper and looking at it. It didn't help that he still hadn't quite gotten rid of the "oh-shit" reflexes that kicked in any and every time he saw someone who could be a cop or a narc. it took some reminding to not walk suspiciously passed an officer. After all: Nico was behaving himself.

He'd just about rounded another corner, letting out another breath of frustration and looking back at the paper as he did, when he realized that someone was talking to him. he looked up at the pretty girl approaching.

Well, she looked friendly, and pretty, but then again, so did most prostitutes. You're in Montana: she's probably not a prostitute. "Yeah," Nico said, nodding. "Pretty much."

Hey, that was a response to the question, right? No more unless he had to. God, he hoped she wasn't a whore; that would just make this all kinds of awkward.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina laughed lightly at his answer and glanced down at the paper in his hands, noticing the hastily written directions. "Hmm, I might be able to help you out," she offered as she looked him over, he didn't seem like the type to frequent these places, especially considering the way he was looking at her. He seemed nervous and uptight, and with the way he was acting... would it be so wrong to have a little bit of fun at his expense?

    "Although, everything comes with a price mi amor," she added with a sultry wink. Men usually bought into the spicy Latina trope with drool hanging off their lip. Even though, she couldn't tell where he was from, there was something in the way he spoke that led her to believe he might actually understand what she said, so cursing him out in Spanish while pretending she was actually into him was probably out of the question. She'd done it before in other circumstances, but this time she had a feeling it wouldn't fly.

     She also knew she was an insult to every woman who'd ever plied their trade in the street, but she couldn't help it. Part of her just wanted to see what he'd do, while another part of her was looking for a distraction. She really shouldn't be tormenting him... But hey, what else was a girl to do on a Friday night? Wow, that was a sad thought. She had to get a life eventually, but for right now this would suffice.     

[Nico Martell]

Nico kept his face impassive as she spoke of helping him out. He still couldn't quite shake the whole "probably a whore" vibe, though he could practically hear his mother yelling at him to be polite in the back of his mind. So instead he simply nodded, nodded and tried not to read anything into the comment and being called mi amor...

...or the wink that came with it.

Nico blinked a few more times. yeah, usually they weren't quite that open about it, not if they wanted to be very successful prostitutes. Which meant that she was either a cop who hadn't listened during the orientation or someone was very clearly messing with him. The trick would be trying to figure out which was actually the case here. She could just be feeding off him.

"Just a way out will be enough," he said. He'd add more but, well, he didn't want her to get the wrong idea, or to potentially get some feeling like she should be hunting down whoever messed him up, or if she was wearing a wire or something. Though somehow, Nico very much doubted that last bit.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina laughed at his impassive response and shook her head, "Damn, and I've been practicing too," she lied with a pout before getting serious as she looked down at the directions he'd been given once more. She hadn't heard of half of the places written down, and while she was relatively new to Kalispell, her knowledge of the town wasn't that bad.

    Selina wasn't exactly averse to helping out people every once in a while, but a certain mean streak in her was also tempted to get him further lost. She supposed she'd figure out which side was more prominent when it came down to it, but he was young enough that she was leaning more towards the side of genuinely helping him out. Besides, if people were messing with him... it wasn't like she cared, but she knew what it was like to be at the wrong end of a mean joke. It was also getting late and Selina didn't want a young kid to be out on the streets alone much later.

    "Alright, so where is it that you're supposed to be going?" she asked as she looked up at him. She wasn't sure if he was headed back the way he came or still trying to get to wherever it was that he'd been headed to. 
    

[Nico Martell]

Well, she'd clearly been trying to do some kind of joke or something. Nico shrugged, tempted to point out that it would have worked just fine if she'd run into someone else. Heck, he'd even believed it for, like, five seconds and all. Unfortunately for Nico, the shrug put the paper in his hand into the wind, and soon it was caught and fluttering away. Nico gave a halfhearted swipe at it, then ended up shrugging. Not like he was really going there anyway.

Instead he looked back to the girl. Well, she did seem street savvy, and she apparently had a sense of humor, and she happened to be Latina. There was that whole "us versus" them mentality, at least back home, and Nico was willing to be it was like that here too.

"Now? A bus stop would be nice," he said, looking around and running a hand through his hair. He let out a slow breath, then nodded and extended a hand toward the girl. "Nico," he said, figuring that if she was going to help, he should at least give her his name.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina studied him briefly as the paper flew away and made no attempt to retrieve it either. If he didn't care, why would she? When he answered about trying to find a bus she nodded and motioned roughly behind her, "It's this way," she answered. "I'm Selina," she offered in response to his introduction while shaking his proffered hand before letting it go and walking back the way she'd indicated. She had a feeling she probably wouldn't get much further out of him, as he seemed to be a bit more serious than she was. Of course, getting lost in a new town probably wasn't doing much for his mood.

    Selina placed her hands in her pockets and looked over at him, "You know you're way back from the bus stop?" she asked. The inner city bus routes were confusing to her sometimes, and intercity transportation was the only thing she ever used to get around. A small part of her wanted to escort him to make sure nothing happened, although she wouldn't as he'd probably think of her as a busybody. Besides, he could take care of himself. She was just acting way too much like her mother right now.
    

[Nico Martell]

Nico nodded and then dutifully followed Selina. There were a few possible questions and conversation topics that came to mind. After all, she was a pretty girl that had to be around his age, and Nico did have a certain attraction to people that matched that description. So, despite himself, he found his eyes going to the hips for a moment, at least until he saw hands going that way, when he dutifully jerked his head back up.

"Just take the bus to the school," he said, shrugging. "Not that hard." And he'd technically done it already, though that had been with a group and during daylight. He couldn't just leave it there though: "I can handle myself, really. I just don't know this place yet and--"

And there went another patrol car. Nico tensed for a moment, feeling his head turn away from the lights and toward Selina. His eyes shifted as if he could look over his shoulder, wondering if the cop was just passing by or if he'd suddenly decided that two Latins in Kalispell was worth suspicion. Nico was just glad they weren't wearing gang colors...

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina smiled at his response, surprised to hear he was a student as well, “You go to Bellemonte? I was actually going back to my dorm there,” she responded, mostly honestly. It had been her plan to go back soon anyway, as she hated being out too late. Her dislike had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the racist assholes who lived here as she suffered exponentially more harassment and prying questions from authorities and passerby the later it got.


    Selina stiffened as well when she noticed the police car, her hands immediately coming out of her pockets and falling to her side. She’d been stopped and frisked for “suspicious behavior” once before and she was determined not to let that happen again. Hands in pockets meant she could be hiding something or packing heat to their fanciful imaginations and she wasn’t going to give them any leverage if she could help it… besides that cop had taken way too long and been way too eager to search an “exotic and foreign” teenage girl. She shuddered slightly as she remembered how his hands had lingered in all the wrong places, but stared straight ahead and ignored the patrol car to the best of her ability.


    Don’t make eye contact, keep your head down, and stay casual. God, how she hated them. She couldn’t fathom the people who actually felt safe near those things… Of course, they were never meant to protect or serve her, and she was more than aware of it. “Cerdos malditos,” she muttered just loud enough for Nico to hear, as she’d noticed he didn’t exactly seem comfortable with the law either.

[Nico Martell]

Should he be admitting to being a mutant to a random girl? She acted like she went there too, but it wasn't like she had horns on her head or any other visible indication that she was, in fact, a mutant. Still, Nico supposed that she had no reason to act like one if it wasn't true. God knows they got enough crap for skin color without adding the mutant thing atop that. So he simply nodded, confirming yet another connection for them.

For there was quickly one that became clear as Selina acted in much the same way that Nico himself did. His dark eyes flicked to look at her, and he couldn't quite suppress the grunt that came out of him. He also nodded at her comment, his eyes going forward as he took a few more steps. They didn't generally go to you just for walking, and the car did seem to be moving fairly well.

"A year in," he said, keeping his eyes forward. "Sentence was five. School pulled me out." Nico had little doubt that Selina would get it, especially as he looked over his shoulder at her when he finished.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina nodded, her expression grim as he revealed the new information, “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she answered, her voice low. There was no pity in her statement, only empathy. She felt no fear or even true surprise at his admission, nor did she think any worse of him for having been imprisoned. She’d known friends, particularly those who’d been even poorer than she, who were in and out of the pen. The Chilean prison system may have been far different, but it was still rife with injustice for those merely trying to survive. She wouldn’t ask why he’d been incarcerated, as she figured that if he wanted to tell her, he probably would. If not, there was no reason for her to pry. Everyone had their secrets, and she was perfectly content with allowing him to keep his if he wished, as she wasn’t exactly going to open up about her own past to a complete stranger either.

    Selina let out a slight breath of relief as the car passed by without stopping and smiled as they reached their destination. She motioned to the bus stop with her hand, “Most routes in this town will get you back to the school, as it’s sort of a focal point. If you ever get lost though, the buses each carry a map of the routes and stops. The bus drivers are also usually pretty good about helping you out,” she explained quietly. The intercity buses here in Montana were nowhere near as streamlined or as efficient as the ones she’d used in Santiago, so it’d taken her a while to figure out the new system.

    At this point though, she knew most of the bus drivers in the city by name, “The next bus will be here in about ten or fifteen minutes,” she told him before grimacing as a group of loud, drunk traditional Montana redneck boys came to the same stop. “The one after that will get here in about seventy five minutes,” she explained, regret heavy in her voice. She was severely tempted to wait anyway, but she knew there was always the chance of the next bus having the same type of passengers or even worse. She still backed away from the rowdy group and prayed that the boys would take no notice.

[Nico Martell]

Nico shrugged. Yeah, he'd gone through it, but so did a whole bunch of other people. Feeling sorry about it wasn't going to change what happened any. He'd just keep going, and she'd just keep going, and that was that. Nico just figured that she deserved the explanation and a bit more. Though she seemed about as tense as he was, which simply made Nico think that he'd run into a kindred spirit.

Though her explanation at the bus routes had Nico chuckling, turning to her and raising his brows slightly. "I know how to ride a bus," he said dryly. It wasn't as though he hadn't had to use the bus back in his hometown, or that he hadn't had to use it in Acton Vale either. That had just been a bit different.

There were rednecks there too, though they weren't the unique brand that came from Montana. Nico gave them another wary look, wondering if he was going to be plagued by people the entire time.

"Stick behind me. Might not notice or make noise if they think we're together," he offered, though he was already internally wincing for even talking. His look said that he wasn't doing it for attention or anything. Though he could see at least one of the boys looking at the chica, no doubt thinking such delightful thoughts as wanting to get someone South of the border. Nico just raised himself up slightly, taking advantage of his height, while his hand slid into his pocket, where he knew his knife lay.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina was mortified to find herself blushing. She never blushed. Not ever. But when he’d laughed like that and… She was just grateful it was dark out, but damn the street light that lit up the bus stop. “Sorry. I’m just so used to having to introduce these people to the most basic aspects of public transportation,” she admitted as casually as she could. There’d been many occasions where she’d been a part of a group of girls who were too drunk to drive and who had looked to her for all the answers on how to get home. She so wasn’t embarrassed. Definitely not. She was the older one here. The one who had it together… right.


    Selina didn’t have to worry about her physiological reactions rebelling against her for much longer as all feeling drained and survival mode took precedence. She merely nodded silently in acquiescence to Nico and to show that she’d understood, not daring to speak. When one of the guys cast more than a lingering glance her way, she moved closer to Nico and confidently slipped her arm around his waist, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She made sure her hand wasn’t in any way restricting Nico's access to his pocket though, as she had a feeling she knew what it was that he might be reaching for.


    The guy seemed to take her movement as a challenge, regardless of her effort to be as non-threatening and unaware. Selina instantly regretted her actions as she saw him approaching, though she was unsure as to what else it was that she should have done. Her entire body was tauter than a strung wire, but her face remained expressionless and she didn't once meet the man's eyes. Selina’s grip on Nico tightened slightly as the guy stopped in front of them and leered, but her calm and collected façade was still perfectly intact.


    “Hey spic, wanna share?” he asked Nico with a cruel grin.

[Nico Martell]

Nico shrugged again. He could understand: most people didn't seem to realize that public transportation was a thing that they should actually be using, after all. Wasn't Selina's fault: after all, they'd only known each other for a few minutes. Enough to realize that they certainly had a lot in common, starting at the skin tone and working down from there, but not quite enough to know little details like that.

Selina caught on, as Nico anticipated. He tried not to overly react to her arm going around his waist, to make it look like it was a totally natural thing that happened all the time. Too much attention and---

damn, they were looking anyway. Nico felt his body tensing, and he had to remind himself to remain solid. The last thing they needed was for his knife and shoes to drop off his body, or for Selina's hand to pass through him. The guy was looking at Nico with a grin, and Nico waited a moment, trying to determine which way to go. he could go brash, show off the machismo that made up most of his neighborhood. Laugh, say that Selina was a whore, leave it at that. Probably work the best: they wanted you to laugh with them, after all. Selina had pretended too: she'd probably play along.

But Nico didn't want this guy to think that of Selina.

Silent? Silence could piss them off, but it could also make them bored. Nico did still have the knife, but he didn't want to pull it unless he had to.... they did have their powers, and if Nico could control his, he wouldn't have an issue dealing with these guys at all. Good luck punching someone who could go intangible.

Nico knew he'd waited too long: he'd have to say something.

Fuck it.

"Sorry, hombre," he said, layering his accent about twice as thick as it was normally, "this chica picks her own man, and that ain't you."

And Nico could already hear his internal voice screaming at him for being five different kinds of idiota...

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina felt herself tense further at Nico’s silence and she glanced up at him as the other man started to visibly get impatient. When Nico finally spoke, Selina almost laughed out loud. After everything she’d tried to do to avoid getting into a fight, it seemed that fighting would be almost inevitable. Nico’s admission to a year in jail was still fresh in her mind, and her own past was dark enough that she wouldn’t have an easy time convincing any jury that she was innocent. Selina glared at the man openly as he responded with a laugh and called out to his friends, “Lookie here, guys! A wet-back who believes a whore can think for herself!”


    “You come here and steal our jobs, so the least you spics can do is share your bitches, right?” the leader went on as his friends came to stand at his side.


    Selina’s fist clenched and she tugged at Nico’s waist, “Come on,” she murmured low enough to hopefully not be heard by the group that was slowly closing in on them. “Let’s get out of here.” If this ended up in violence, the racist courts here would likely say that she was a slut asking to be raped and that Nico was a scary thug who deserved whatever he got. These white boys would be pitied and supported by the entirety of the community and the law would swat them on the wrist at most. Selina had seen it for herself here in Montana, and had read about it happening in other places in America as well. Some land of the free.


    Add in the whole mutant thing, and they would surely be the ones to hang for whatever happened. There were other bus stops, other routes that they could take back to Bellemonte, and these men were drunk. The group might be able to keep up at first, but chances were they’d end up throwing up before the first two blocks had gone by… Hopefully.
    
    "We can outrun them," she added with more confidence then she truly had.