[right][img]http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t486/isthistaken1/Emily-Grey.png[/img] [h3]with[/h3] [img]http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t486/isthistaken1/Alistair-Hughes.png[/img] [/right] Emily found her own seat, the ticket had been taken and glanced at, but once it was back in her hand the stewardess seemed to forget of her existence. Emily was used to that. She took her seat, the aisle seat, she was okay with that. The prospect of flying had built a knot in her stomach that she couldn’t seem to get rid of. Though there was joy of being in first class, so much leg room. Nervous she pulled the magazine from the seat back in front of her to flip through it. Skymall. How was one supposed to order stuff via a magazine when you were flying anyway? You don’t have Internet access or cell service. A man, probably not much older than Emily herself, squeezed past her into the open seat by the window. He had tattoos, on almost every bit of him that she could see. Emily herself had never had ink done, too young and too invisible. The guy even had the LOVE-HATE tattoos on his knuckles. Politely he said, [color=ce3131]“Sorry about that. I’m not even sure if this is my seat.”[/color] [color=f28500]“Oh you’re fine, I had my legs out too far.”[/color] She paused, [color=f28500]“Here let me see your ticket and I can tell you.”[/color] The guy nodded, pulling a slightly crumpled ticket to Haiti out of his back pocket and handing it over. Emily looked at it glancing at the seat number, it was the one next to her’s all right. [color=f28500]“Yep you’re in the right spot, no worries.”[/color] Emily smiled and handed back the ticket. [color=ce3131]“Cool.”[/color] He rolled his sleeves up revealing even more ink. He tilted his head to the side, lips quirked as if unpicking a puzzle. Quickly, almost nervously, he continued, [color=ce3131]“Never been on a plane before – wasn’t expecting it, either, ‘til I got a letter in. Funny how life works, isn’t it?”[/color] Emily didn’t answer at first, confused that he was actually talking to her. [color=f28500]“Uh yeah. I flew once, a long time ago. Before -”[/color] Before what? Could she tell this random stranger she hadn’t flown since before she had basically become an orphan? No, that wasn’t plane talk. [color=f28500]“Before I moved to San Francisco.”[/color] That was safe, and mostly true. [color=ce3131]“Ah.”[/color] A glum expression crossed his face, brows furrowing, but it vanished as quickly as it came. [color=ce3131]“From Tenderloin myself so it’s more of a case of, ‘too poor for a plane ride’. Could never afford the ticket myself.”[/color] Emily was impressed, the people she remembered from the Tenderloin spoke such broken English, but this guy seemed well educated. Emily blinked, he was still talking to her, she existed. She wasn’t sure what to say to him about being from the Tenderloin. She had lived there for a while, not a place she had really enjoyed living in. The memory was like acid. It took her a moment to respond. [color=f28500]“Me either honestly. This was a gift trip from an uncle.”[/color] She stumbled a bit over the lie. Emily was so unused to having to actually talk to people that it was almost difficult, and this guy, Alistair if she remembered correctly from his ticket, didn’t seem at all phased by her existence. Who in the world was he? Her heart dropped, was he from the government? A smile – crooked, uncertain – crossed his face. In a low voice, Alistair whispered, [color=ce3131]“Do I [i]look[/i] like I’m from the government? Seriously.”[/color] Emily’s jaw dropped. She had most definitely not said that outloud. [color=f28500]“You’re... part of the Smith family then?”[/color] [color=ce3131]“They’re my… mysterious benefactors funding this little trip across the world.”[/color] He peered over the back of his chair at the rest of the First Class cabin, eyes scanning those who’d entered the plane already. Turning back around he rubbed at his forehead. [color=ce3131]“Yeah. Got a letter in about one o’clock in the morning. Thought I was going to get shanked to be honest but no, apparently it’s not safe for me here. Same goes for you?”[/color] [color=f28500]“Well in the Tenderloin no one can be too careful.”[/color] Emily smiled. [color=f28500]“Yeah, people don’t talk to me much, they don’t seem to notice me.”[/color] She was being vague about her power, mostly because she didn’t know what to call it. She had been calling it invisibility since she had first noticed she could do it, but that wasn’t what it really was. “Would you like anything to drink?” The stewardess asked. Emily nearly jumped out of her skin, when the woman had gently put her hand on Emily’s shoulder. She quickly drew it away. “Sorry didn’t mean to startle you.” Alistair supplied, [color=ce3131]“Coffee, please.”[/color] Emily nodded in agreement. [color=ce3131]“That’ll be two I think.”[/color] “Okay, cream and sugar?” She asked as she poured the two cups of coffee, leaving room just in case. [color=f28500]“Uh, black.”[/color] Emily said, not sure how she liked her coffee. [color=ce3131]“Cream and sugar for me, please.”[/color] The stewardess nodded, and filled Emily’s cup up the rest of the way, and handed it to her with a lid. For Alistair’s cup she left room, and handed it over with some cream and sugar so he could flavor it as he pleased. [color=f28500]“Thank you.”[/color] Emily smiled at the stewardess as she left, and took a tentative sip. She frowned. [color=f28500]“Guess I should have said cream and sugar too.”[/color] [color=ce3131]“Swap? I don’t much like sweet things.”[/color] [color=f28500]“Are you sure?”[/color] She asked, but was more than happy to exchange cups with him.[color=f28500] “Oh, I’m Emily by the way, sorry. I’m not used to... well meeting new people.”[/color] [color=ce3131]“Alistair,”[/color] he said during the swap. [color=ce3131]“And yeah, when I say I don’t like sweet things, I mean I [i]hate[/i] them. I got it just in case.”[/color] [color=f28500]“Really? That’s sweet of you.”[/color] Emily sipped at the cup Alistair had given her. [color=f28500]“That’s much better. Foster parents have this weird notion of not allowing kids to have coffee ever.”[/color] She shrugged a bit and took another sip. [color=ce3131]“My parents are the same, but what they don’t know won’t hurt ‘em.”[/color] Alistair’s eyes kept drifting to the side and he cringed, biting his lip piercings as he shook his head. [color=ce3131]“It’s no surprise people don’t usually talk to you. That’s [i]weird[/i]... Like– trying to hold water that keeps slipping out of my hands.”[/color] [color=f28500]“Well thank you for trying, not many people even try. The only time people seem to have an easy time seeing me is when I’m playing guitar, or I’m focusing really hard to keep myself visible. That usually makes me dizzy after a while though.”[/color] Emily spoke with a quiet tone, not sure who would be listening. Alistair closed his eyes drinking a good deal of the burning hot coffee in one sip. [color=ce3131]“I don’t think it’s through lack of trying… You’re there, but you’re not. It’s – baffling, honestly, like listening to a disembodied voice.”[/color] [color=f28500]“That’s just weird. I’ve never had anyone be able to explain it to me before.”[/color] She shook her head. [color=f28500]“Baffling is a good word for it. Not that it hasn’t come in handy, but sometimes I wish I was just normal.”[/color] [color=ce3131]“That stewardess doesn’t even [i]see[/i] you anymore…”[/color] Awe, with an undertone of intense sympathy oozed from his voice. [color=ce3131]“You might be unluckier than I am when it comes to – interesting talents,”[/color] Alistair said, though not unkindly. [color=ce3131]“But I think we’re probably tied.”[/color] Emily laughed, [color=f28500]“Yeah. I can guess why.”[/color] She paused and thought, [color=f28500][i]‘That can’t be fun.’[/i][/color] [color=ce3131][i]’Yeah, it gets a little overwhelming at times – whoa, even the thoughts you [u]direct[/u] at me are trying to hide.’[/i][/color] Emily got a flash of what she looked like, to not just Alistair, but probably everyone. Her own face, slid from her vision, the image that Alastair was projecting to her. It was almost painful to look at, to hold into focus. Emily blinked at the image of herself, letting it fade. The mirror or a photo was one thing, but to literally see herself through another’s eyes was almost disconcerting. She took a deep breath. [color=f28500]“Okay that is weird. I can see why people don’t talk to me now. Thank you.”[/color] She drank from her cup of coffee thinking. Trying to understand not only her power, but the letter and everything that had led up to this conversation. Had W.V. known what this conversation would bring up? Did he know that Alistair with his power would be able to focus on Emily in such a way that no one else really could? [color=ce3131]“There’s a 50% chance you might drop off the radar for me as well if I drift off – especially with just the surface thoughts to hold on to. Hence the coffee.”[/color] He rubbed his hands on the legs of his jeans again. [color=ce3131]“And I wouldn’t put it past them. I reckon W.V’s not trying to save everyone, only the useful ones. Not families.”[/color] Brows furrowed again. He really was rather expressive. Emily remembered the P.S. of the letter, something that hadn’t pertained to her. She sure as hell wasn’t going to be calling her [i]father[/i] and telling him jack shit about where she was going. She let the anger slide through her before speaking again. [color=f28500]“I take it you have some then?”[/color] She posed it as a question. Alistair seemed infuriated by that part of the letter, and Emily had to wonder who he had left behind. Not to mention to what fate the person was left to. [color=ce3131]“Mom and Pops, sister, three brothers, daughter,”[/color] Alistair said, listing them off. With each one, a glimmer of a face was projected onto her mind, along with a quiet, [color=ce3131][i]’Sorry about that. It’s not often I get to… cut loose. Or ever.’[/i][/color] [color=f28500][i]’I like it.[/i][/color] She thought for him, savoring the faces, and the love Alistair had for (most) of them. [color=ce3131]“And I guess my – uh, ex-girlfriend, too. I’m not too worried about ‘em failing that blood test – but what the government might do to them when they find out [i]we’re[/i] missing.”[/color] He ran a hand through his hair. [color=ce3131]“Call me a cynic, but I don’t think W.V. can afford to give everyone related to us a safe house.”[/color] Emily thought of Tessa, and the nice enough foster parents she had deserted. [color=f28500]“I don’t know. They don’t know where I am at least, and because of how I am they hardly ever did to them it wouldn’t be unusual. I have eaten breakfast with them, and not a word said to me.”[/color] The painful memories of discovering her power pressed at her, but she pushed them away, not wanting Alistair to have to see that. [color=f28500]“Shoot, I’ve run away from homes and it was weeks before it was noticed.”[/color] He shook his head about the same time as she forcibly repressed those thoughts. [color=ce3131]“Yeah, that – that really must suck. At the very least you don’t have anyone they can use as leverage.”[/color] Alistair sighed. [color=ce3131]“God, this’s gone pretty fuckin’ morbid, hasn’t it? Sorry about that.”[/color] [color=f28500]“It’s okay. We should be prepared for the worst.”[/color] She gave a half smile, [color=f28500]“How’s that phrase go, prepare for the worst, hope for the best?”[/color] [color=ce3131]“Yeah, something like that.”[/color] Alistair managed a small grin, though it seemed forced. [color=ce3131]“We should be looking forward to heading to Haiti, even if it’s under unfortunate circumstances.”[/color] And then he looked past her, staring off into space for a good twenty seconds. [color=ce3131]“Okay, I need to recharge – sorry about this. Focus is hard.”[/color] [color=f28500]“Don’t be sorry, I’m the one who’s at fault, besides this is the longest conversation I’ve had in... a very long time. Thank you.”[/color] [color=ce3131]“We’ll have another one soon, I promise.”[/color] And he looked down at the phone in his hands.