Light Reading

Though Gerard didn't quite understand the concept of a 'shopping mall', as he heard it was called, he found them to be quite convenient. A collection of stores all put into one area. Gerard remembered back before The Incident when stood in this exact same spot, only it used to just be a plot of trees and grass with lots of tiny animals around. He closed his eyes and imagined it for a moment, imagined he was there, back in his own time. Maybe if he thought hard enough about it, he could go back to where he used to be. Back to 1928 where there wasn't a Gifted Individuals Academy and if there were any mutants around, Gerard was blissfully ignorant to them.

Of course, he knew that he couldn't just activate the most difficult aspect of his Chronokinesis just like that, but it didn't stop him from feeling a swell of disappointment and frustration wash over him. It wasn't until Gerard felt someone push past him in an attempt to get by that he remembered where he was. His wide hazel eyes snapped open and he searched around for nothing in particular. He'd come to the mall first and foremost because he'd heard that lots of kids his age 'hung out' there. He seemed to be having trouble finding many kids as young as him. Gerard made his way over to a big sign in the middle of the floor that said 'DIRECTORY' in large white letters. Peering at the sheet of paper, Gerard looked for bookstores on it. He saw Barnes & Noble listed under it and couldn't help but give an internal sigh of relief at the familiar name.

Gerard needed to find a book on mutations. He was positive that whatever book Barnes and Noble had, the Academy would have, but Gerard wasn't quite ready to approach someone and ask them where the library was. Gerard just wanted to figure out how to control when he time traveled, and hopefully where to. And he wanted to learn fast, so he could soon leave this strange future behind him and return to his own time.

The thirteen year old headed in the direction of the store, his feet dragging him to the history section. His eyes drifted across the book spines, looking for something pertaining to the history of mutants. When he found one, a rather large book, he grabbed it. He also found a book on government conspiracy theories. And lastly, he grabbed a book on general history in the last century because hey, he had to catch up on all the stuff he'd missed in the past 83 years.

Gerard was now a bit thirsty and had noticed a cafe on the way in, which certainly was a new addition to the store since he'd last gone into it many years ago. He stared blankly at the menu, not recognizing all the different ways of making coffee they had. 83 years ago, coffee was coffee. There weren't any lattes, frappes, or mochas. It was just coffee. Gerard turned to the person nearest him, a person most likely his age or older. "Erm, I'm new around here," his voice was soft with misuse, but his French accent made his words believable. "Would you recommend any particular coffee for me to order?"

"Well, if you want quite a buzz, I would go with the mocha cappacino with a double shot of carmel and triple shot of coffee, but the french vanilla coffee is good for those who just want a regular cup of coffee." The girl who spoke was on the other side of her, and a good few years older. Looking down at the stack of books he was carrying, Cheshire flicked her pink ear and smiled. "You aren't one for Mutant history by any chance?" she asked, meaning for it to be more of a question about why he was interested.

If ever Gerard had seen a more obvious mutant, it was this girl. She had ears, like, pink and purple cat ears. Gerard wasn't sure if that was the standard teen fashion these days or not. Maybe this was just some misfit kid trying to look different from everyone else. That would explain why Gerard had never seen her at the Academy. Then again, Gerard tries to avoid all social interactions when he can. This girl could be in all of his classes, though he highly doubted she was in any, and he wouldn't have noticed.

"Thanks," said the thirteen-year-old. He turned to the person behind the counter and said, "I'll have a French vanilla coffee please." He remembered when he could just ask for a coffee and there weren't a whole bunch of flavors to add to it, people just gave you coffee.

The black-haired boy turned his attention back to the girl and smiled slightly. It wasn't a genuine smile, but he didn't want her to peg him for more of a freak than she already had. It had come to Gerard's attention that the attire he was currently dressed in was not common for most people these days, and he briefly wondered what society's become.

"Oh you know," said the boy in response to the strange girl's question. "Just a bit of light reading. I find that you can always learn from things, even if they're fiction." Gerard emphasized the 'fiction' part of it with a small smirk. "Why do you ask?"

Cheshire nearly snorted. This kid was strange, wearing out of date clothing, qestioning about coffee, and now talking about Mutants as if they were fiction. "Well, as you can plainly see, I'm not normal. So, I was just curious to why you'd be reading about Mutant history, I mean, it's practically as well known as the Civil War." The girl at the other cash register placed her frappechino on the counter. Once she had paid, Cheshire turned to the boy again.

Gerard gave another one of his distant, emotionless smiles to the girl as she commented on her own odd appearance. "Well," he began. "I just sort of assumed you were like all of the other 'scene' teens around here trying to be unique and stick out of the crowd. I mean, I've noticed a lot of those here. And as for 'Mutant History' being as well-known as the Civil War, I don't really pay attention to the news all that much."

Gerard paused for a moment and turned away as his coffee was ready. He paid the barista the appropriate amount of money, having exchanged his $500 bill for $1500, though he wasn't quite sure how that worked, getting more money than you gave in the first place. He had a rather large wad of money in his pocket, not quite sure where he could put it elsewhere. Gerard turned back to the girl, his hazel eyes sparkling in an odd sort of way. He took a sip of his coffee, careful not to burn his tongue on the hot liquid. "If you couldn't tell," he added sarcastically, gesturing to his clothing. Or, everything about him, really. "I'm a bit behind on the times."

"Nah, I'm not one to follow trends." Cheshire smiled and flicked her ear again. She watched as he paid, and put the wad of cash in his pocket. This boy really was odd, almost having an antique feeling about him. Random thoughts round their way in her head, including the boy being some Mutant with fantastic healing abilities, or time-control. "Well, if you want, we could talk, and I could help to update you on the happenings of the twenty-first century, and even tell you where to find some new clothes."

A small, genuine smile graced Gerard's pale, timeless features. This girl was odd, but in a good sort of way. He watched as she flicked her ears again, now almost positive that it wasn't some sort of awkward hat. She seemed to embrace her mutations and it was both inspiring and strange to see something like that.

Gerard nodded, accepting the strange girl's offer to catch him up on the news and perhaps show him where to find some new attire. It couldn't hurt to learn about what he'd missed in the past few years. The boy approached an empty table and pulled out a chair, holding it out for the girl to sit in. "I'm Gerard, by the way," he told her, his voice soft and wary. "You are?"

Cocking her head at the boy as he pulled out her chair but not wanting to be rude, Cheshire sat down. He must really be old fashioned. Maybe he's from one of those groups that don't use electricity. She placed her coffee down on the table. "Call me Cheshire." Leaning back on her chair, she lowered her voice. "First thing, I would find watch that pile of cash in your pocket. You never know who might be around that feels they need it more than you do." With that, she held up the wad that was once in the boys pocket, sliding it to the otherside of the table. "Not everyone in today's world sees taking from a boy as young you are that big of a deal."

The thirteen year old pushed in the girl's chair and sat across from her on the table, setting his coffee down. Gerard raised his eyebrows at the girl's unusual name. He doubted it was her birth name, but wasn't one to press on a subject. Especially since he'd noticed that lots of the mutants had taken to giving themselves code names for reasons Gerard didn't yet understand. He didn't have one for himself yet, and he idly wondered if he should make one. It's not like he had anything better to do.

Gerard leaned back in his chair as Cheshire did, though he straightened up right away and nearly choked on his coffee when the older girl showed him the pile of money that had previously been in the pocket of his dress pants. Gerard's pale cheeks burned red with embarrassment and he snatched the wad off the table quickly, holding it under the table in his hands tightly. What? Was this girl's power extreme theft or something? The boy raised his eyebrows.

If someone simply asked him for money, Gerard would give it to them. Within reason of course. He wasn't going to go out and give $300 to a stranger just because they asked. It was usually only when people started stealing things from him that he got mad. “The problem with people in today's world is that they assume everyone is selfish and mean, and so they think the only way to get things is to be selfish and mean back,” Gerard muttered.

"Oh, so you're more away of 'today's world' then you let, do you?" Cheshire got up and walked over to the counter, grabbing a wad of napkins. She made her way through the cluster of people and sat back down on her chair and handing the napkins over to the boy. "No, people today take just to take, and with the increase in Mutants it's not getting any better." Cheshire hoped she didn't offend the boy by her demonstration, but it was the best example she could think of at the time. "So, now that we're a bit more aquainted, and the first issue is addressed, wanna tell me a bit more about yourself?"

Gerard frowned at the girl for a moment, this was a rather odd conversation. Where he was from, you could meet a stranger on the street, have a simple conversation about the weather and then suddenly you're best friends. It didn't seem that way here. But maybe it was just Gerard.

Gerard took one of the napkins that Cheshire had gotten and dabbed a small area on his vest where coffee had spilled. At least his vest was black and the coffee stain wouldn't show up on it.

The thirteen-year-old, so young and naive even to his own world, did not understand why people would take just to take. He didn't know how they could be so selfish. And he didn't understand what mutants had to do with it. With their abilities, couldn't they be the better people and stop others from being so cruel to each other? He didn't get the chance to ask, though, because Cheshire directed a new question at him.

Gerard's stomach did another uneasy flip and his heart started beating fast. He was always good at controlling his emotions, though. Years of hiding his pain and sadness and feelings of neglect from his mother served him well. He could be a world-famous poker player with how well he masked his emotions. Immediately, Gerard's face went blank, emotionless. He leaned forward in his seat so that his chest was touching the table and raised an eyebrow, now smirking. "What do you want to know?"

Cheshire shrugged, wishing the boy wouldn't be so serious. Life was too complicated for simply conversations to be, and all she really want was to chat a little with someone who seemed as out of place as most people thought she looked. Taking a sip of her coffee, she smiled. "I don't know, anything really. Just pick something off the top of your head and tell me about it."

Gerard sat up straight in his chair, crossing his legs under the table as he took a sip of coffee, wondering where to start. He was never one for talking, especially when it was about himself. But he figured that it would be nice to have someone else to talk to, besides the professor who'd admitted him into the academy.

Gerard shrugged, his hazel eyes practically boring holes into the table. "I was born on March 17. . .1915. I'm from France, if you couldn't tell. Sometimes I tend to shoot myself to different time periods. It's only happened three times, this time being the most recent." For the first time, the thirteen-year-old let his fear and sadness show on his face. Though he was still staring down at the table, he was sure Cheshire could see it, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "I don't know how to get back," he whispered. Gerard looked up to meet Cheshire's eyes. "Everyone I love is dead."

1915? That was almost one hundred years ago. The boy had certainly traveled quite a distance. Cheshire smiled sadly at the boy, hating to see him so upset. "Hey, cheer up. If you've traveled before you can do it again, you just have to figure out what causes these tranports. You know, there's an academy that's suppose to help Mutants like us master our powers, maybe you should look at applying to be a student there. What could it hurt? And hey, that would give me a reason to come visit. I hear it's pretty big, a great place to throw parties." She couldn't help but grin the famous widespread, toothy grin. Hopefully it would cheer him up.

Gerard offered a small smile to Cheshire, it was more genuine than most he'd given since he'd come to this time. More genuine than most that he'd given since he was ten, when his mother started slowly taking away his freedom. That was behind him now. Literally.

At the mention of the academy, Gerard's smile widened a fraction. "I think I may have already enrolled," he scratched his head. "I dunno. I mean, I just came from there. I didn't really want to sleep on the dirt anymore." The boy brushed some dark hair out of his eyes. "The school does seem really big. I guess they're anticipating more students. You don't go there?"

Cheshire, her nose scrunching, shook her head. "Nah, I don't like being tied to one place. Although, it seems nice, and knowing people from there means I can always come visit if I want." She smiled, taking another sip of her coffee. Really, she thought it sounded kind of neat. The little while she had attended high school was a lot of fun, and she wouldn't mind finishing them in one made especially made for Mutants. But for now she would just stick with getting to know the students and maybe making a few appearances inside the academy. Maybe in the future she would join though, if she felt comfortable.

Stretching, Cheshire stood up and took a hold of her coffee. "Well, it was nice meeting you! I've got to get some shopping done, but I'm sure we'll have more chances to talk. Have fun at the academy."