Emma was taking a break sitting at the fountains in the park. It had been another beautiful day off from the real estate office and Emma seemed to have a fondness for the park, despite all the things that had happened there when she was around. At least the park was big enough that you felt like you could disappear in it for a while and not see people that you know or people that know you.

Emma had came to the park earlier in the day and had finished up her daily jogging and yoga. Now she was just gonna spend a few hours walking around and really enjoying the park. She loved the fountains and found it really peaceful to sit and hear the water flowing. Along with her yoga mat, Emma also brought a bag with her water bottle, keys, a trashy romance novel, and just a little bit of spending money for one of the many vendors in the park in case she got hungry.

Emma had only been sitting at the fountains for a few minutes, catching her breath and sipping on her water. She took her book out, cracked it open to where it was marked, and started reading. It was getting to the really good part, where the main female character realized she didn't really love her fiance, but instead really loved her maid of honor and only came to realize this while they were getting ready before the wedding was to start. After this realization, the female character and maid of honor started to passionately kiss and then...well, you get the picture.

Emma was excitedly reading the story and yet was hoping Jack wouldn't judge her for her taste in novels, if she ever found out. Emma was very fond of Jack and eagerly awaiting the chance to ask her out. She had to prove to Jack that she did like her for being her and not just for what she looked like as a human. Even though Jack being human for that short while did give her some very fond memories to keep. Emma smiled and bit her lip slightly as she reflected on the activities that occur that day.

After revisiting those memories, Emma went back to reading and was now enthralled in the drama ensuing after the two women's romance. She would be finished with the book in a just a short while and would then have to figure out what to do next in the park.

Erik hadn't really intended on doing the whole tourist thing, but he ended up in Central Park and found the greenery refreshing instead of being surrounded by concrete and steel. It had nothing to do with the fact Central Park was rather famous in it's own right nope, not at all. He had cruised through to see all the various landmarks before ending up the fourth in a game a frisbee with some random strangers. Which in itself would not have been a big deal until the stars aligned and decided Erik was going to make a fool of himself. Man A had a crush Female B so was just the slightest bit distracted when she appeared to flirted with Man C causing just the slightest over rotation of his wrist causing the frisbee to take a wicked hook. That in itself wasn't the most catastrophic thing that could have happened except Erik didn't really look t o see where it was going nor did anyone anticipate a dog slipping free from its owners attention in order to impromptu join the fun.

So in this particular moment when all the forces of the universe conspired against a single person in some act of unknown karmic retribution, pure happenstance turned into a carefully choreographed act of the cosmos to make on person seem foolish. Erik had caught the frisbee just shy of the fountain as he fully expected he would when the unexpected elements of today's outing kicked in full force. Just as his fingers clasped around the errant disc the dog jumped on his back to steel the frisbee in a display of its own acrobatic prowess that was about to be outshined to the nines. Using Erik as a leaping post worked out well for the dog but not so much for Erik. The transfer of energy sending him tripping over the edge of the fountain in an impressive cartwheel and a splash that would have earned him a gratuitous 3 points from the olympic judges. Erik recovered quickly and as if to give a big finger to all the forces that be hard work in attempt to turn a day sour, as soon as he stood up and slicked the wet hair from his face he laughed. Not even one of those nervous laughs when someone gave when they were trying to deflect from a nervous situation. A full on 'that was darn funny' sort of laugh.

It caught a bit short once he noticed Emma "Sorry for that I didn't get you wet or ruin your book did I?" Asking with genuine concern as he sloshed out of the fountain and threw his leg over the side to get out and stood dripping a safe distance away. Raising hand to wave off the others of the trio so they could retrieve their frisbee from the their new far more hairy fourth. He slung his backpack around to peek into his backpack and test that other then his wet hand he hadn't been under long enough to let it seep into the bag.

Emma was just about finished reading the couple pages of her book when she suddenly hear a noise as she glanced up to see a young man cartwheeling into the fountain and a dog nearby with a frisbee in his mouth. Emma couldn't help but laugh as she saw the event that had occurred. She did get splashed a little, but it was no where near as soaked as the young man was.

Emma wiped her book off on her pants and wiped the slashed water from her face and arm. To his inquiry about wetting her and her book. Emma responded with a chuckle, "Not so bad that it can't be wiped dry. But I'd definitely give you a score of 7 out of 10 on that cartwheel."

Emma stood up and moved over a bit as the young man sloshed out of the fountain. She asked him, "Are you okay? I'm sure that water must have been pretty chilly. Did you happen to have a change of clothes with you in the bag? Hopefully they didn't get wet."

Emma looked in her bag and thankfully she had a towel in there for when she worked out and forgotten she had left it in there. She handed the towel to the young man. "You might need this to help dry off a bit. Your friends over there didn't come to check on you?", Emma said.

The young man nodded, appeased his accidental accidents hadn't caused anyone permanent damage before the grin split his face ear to ear. "7 out of 10? Very generous. Too bad I couldn't quite stick the landing." He offered jokingly before laughing again at the whole situation. Once free of the fountain he sat on the edge near to where Emma had originally occupied. After a bit of wriggling he managed to peel off his wet sticky shirt so he could fold it up tight and twist as much of the water out of it as he could. He had more important things to worry about like getting dry to be concerned about how the woman might feel about him losing his shirt and inadvertently showing off some of his body. At least he considered himself easy on the eyes. "Hmm? Oh yes I am alright other then being wet of course. The cold doesn't bother me too much. I have been in colder waters. Everything in the bag is fine, but no spare clothes sadly." Erik smiled to Emma again before shrugging and pulling off his shoes so he could try and get his socks dryer then they currently were. 

Erik eyed the towel a moment before bowing his head a bit, grateful. "Any help is appreciated. Thank you very much." His eyes travelling to the people he had been playing with. "Hardly know them. Just played with them a bit and I already waved them off. If that makes them my friends then something like this certainly makes us friends and I would not mind that a bit." Grinning a bit at her as he toweled off his torso before attempting to pat down his pants some to attempt to soak up some of the unwanted liquid. "Names Erik, nice to meet you." He offered the towel back as he finished sopping up what damage he could. "Ugh going to have squishy shoes all day now. Guess I will go barefoot." He thought aloud to noone in particular. 

Emma smiled and laughed at Erik's joke about the unstuck landing. She went and sat next to the young man on the fountain, but unbeknownst to her, he suddenly stripped his shirt off. Emma smirked and indeed admired the upper half of his body. He was very pretty to look at, but couldn't be older than twenty, maybe.

He started wringing his shirt out. Well, you couldn't exactly get all the water out while wearing it. He dried off a bit more and handed the towel back. Emma took it back and placed it in her bag. Emma didn't like the cold so much, but she could deal with it when need be. But as for colder water than what was in the fountain right now? No thank you. That splash had been quite enough. She didn't wanna even imagine that.

Then Erik said that he wouldn't mind being friends with her, which was pretty puzzling. He was nice, but could she really trust him enough to be friends? She would have to spend more time with him to really know for sure, but she doubted she would see him again after the interaction they were having now. "You sure do seem to be mighty trusting to go ahead and call me friend, Erik. My name's Emma."

She watched as he took his socks off and wrung them out, but then said he'd go barefoot. Emma remembered how uncomfortable it was for Jack to walk the streets barefooted just trying to get to Emma's apartment. Jack had only stepped on a bottle cap and hadn't cut her foot thankfully. But there was the possibility of stepping on glass or sharp pieces of aluminum. Way too many things to consider even walking barefoot in New York. Emma would much rather deal with squishy shoes for a little while. "You're quite brave to walk around here barefooted like that. You could cut your foot on something. It can't be too much of a walk to your house for dry clothes that you couldn't deal with wet shoes until then, right?"

"Doesn't the saying go something like. 'A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet?' or is that not right?" it seemed easy for him to maintain a small smile at all times. He himself didn't even realise he was doing it half the time. Plus he really didn't see why he shouldn't try to make some friends while he was out and about. "Nice to meet you Emma." He replied a bit more formally before listening to what she had to say. A light hmm of thought escaping him. He wasn't particularly in the mood to get cut up, more for the pinprick touches it would cause than anything else.. but the awful squishing feeling.. "You have a point.." Erik slipped the insoles out of the shoes and squeezed them out the best he could before stuffing them in a different zippered area of his bag before slipping his socks and shoes back on insole free.

"Just got into town so no house to go to. Will most likely just find the first shoe store I come across and buy a new pair so I have a spare set. Though if you are so worried about your new friend you could always walk with me?" It was an offer as innocently made as the tone of his voice and he seemed sincere about it too. "So long as you don't mind the wet footprints for a bit." Erik added with a chuckle.

Emma chuckled, having never heard someone actually take that saying and put it into practice before. People didn't become friends like that anymore. There was usually some sort of commonality that drew people together to become friends, like a dance or college class, work, book club, regulars at a night club. That sort of thing. You didn't just bump into someone and, boom, become friends. But, nevertheless, Emma was willing to try. It's not like she had anything to lose. And he seemed relatively normal and harmless.

"Sure, I guess that's how the saying goes. I've just never known anyone to use it in their everyday activities.", Emma said, "Also, people usually aren't very trusting now a days. So you'll have to give it some time, but we can certainly try."

Then Erik explained that he had just gotten into town and had no house yet. That reminded Emma quite a bit of her time hopping from town to town with her Mom when they were trying to get away from her Dad. Maybe he stayed at a local hotel or had friends here. "So where are you staying til you find a house? With a friend? Or at a hotel around the city? I work in real estate so I could probably help you find somewhere when you're ready."

Emma was quite glad that he had decided to take her advice to wear the shoes despite being wet. He did take the insoles out and squeeze the excess water out of those before storing them in his backpack. Emma didn't know how comfortable that was going to be, but at least he wasn't barefoot. He asked her to walk with him. "Sure, I can help you find a store since you're new around town. Do you want just a shoe store or one that sells clothes as well?"

Emma got up from the fountain and started to walk towards an exit from the park and back out into the streets. As she was doing so, Erik said the weirdest thing. Why would she mind wet footprint? She laughed and curiously asked Erik, "Why would I care about wet footprints? Do you think we'll be followed and they'll use the wet footprints to track us?"

"Well now you can mark it off your never list?" Erik offered with a bit of a jest and another chuckle. "That is because people spend too much time reading or watching the news, worrying about stuff they can't control." The young man gave a bit of a wave with his hand to say that was 'neither here nor there.' As they made small talk about where he was staying he just shrugged. "Since I don't sleep I really haven't given it much thought. Figure if I need the luxuries of a home I will find someplace that offers them. I also doubt I will ever be able to afford to buy something in New York. The prices here are something of a legend are they not? Still will keep the offer in mind though just in case I win the lottery." Unable to help another warm grin from crossing his face.

Once they set out he didn't seem to mind the lack of cushion. To him the lack of squishing noises was well worth the sacrifice of comfort. "Fantastic! Hmm. I suppose a fresh set of clothes is in order too, but if a shoe store is on the way then shoes first." Giving a resolute nod that shoes were on the agenda and nothing would stop him from attaining his new short term purpose in life. Dry, shoes. At Emma's question he chuckled and grinned at her "No, but they might follow them back to see where all the fun started." While it might seem to the outside perspective he had lead her into that little morsel Erik was just rolling with the punches as he often times did.

As they left the relative sanctuary of the edenic garden amongst the metropolis and there were more people to contend with he maneuvered himself a little closer to her so they wouldn't get seperated. "If your a realtor you must get to see all different parts of the city. Do you like living here?" 

As Emma walked with her new potential friend, she enjoyed the conversation and learning new things about him. She laughed as he mentioned crossing that off of her never list and agreed with him about the news, "I watch the news sometimes, but not religiously. I think that it does sometimes women more on edge and paranoid. There are some really good guys out there who just wanna talk to them."

Emma walked down the street toward the nearest shopping district. It wouldn't be too much longer before they found a shop that sold both shoes and clothes together. At the inquiry about the price of houses on the market, Emma said, "Actually some houses aren't priced too badly and there are places were the rent isn't terrible either. There are some though that are pretty outrageous. Some places even just have a room that they want to rent out so they can have help paying the bills. You may not sleep, but wouldn't you want somewhere to call your own? Though I'm puzzled as to how you don't sleep. Do you have insomnia?"

Emma laughed at his statement saying, "One pair of footprints maybe, but they surely would think it would have been more fun had it been two pair of footprints. And I do get to see quite a lot of New York, which is why I can help you find something probably in your price range. I haven't been here very long, but I like living here for the most part. I still don't enjoy the cold. It can go to hell."

"Did not really considered it from that point of view. Though you are certainly right about that. Most people i know are just friendly." giving Emma a shrug and a smile. He was thankful he had such a capable companion as he most likely would have gotten lost once or twice before finding anywhere remotely as worthwhile as where they ended up. The prices seemed relatively affordable too. "Hmm, I suppose eventually yeah. Have quite a bit on my plate on the moment so it isn't a priority. Plus having a steady job of some kind would probably be useful in actually getting and keeping a place to 'call my own' as it were." His eyebrows raising up at the insomnia question and looking at her before heading down an aisle with shoes and trying to find some in his size that he liked and were fairly cheap. "Oh no just one of the side effects of my particular brand of mutation. Feel bad for people who actually have that though. Nothing bad comes from my lack of sleeping."

"Well no one was stopping you from hopping in after me. Not that I blame you. It was a tad on the chill side." At least he guessed given her own reaction to what little water had landed on her. "The cold doesn't bother me too much. I am from Russia if you have not place the accent yet." Smirking at her as he plucked a box from the shelf of some serviceable gray shoes that were on clearance and checking the matching pair was inside. "Consider me a customer whenever I can afford it. Want to exchange numbers after we finish our little shopping trip?" He smiled at her as he started off and away so he could wander towards where the men's clothing was so he could pick up a shirt, socks, and pants. All of which would be equally on the cheap and simple side if he got away with it. Cotton tee, blue jeans and normal white socks. A style with a purpose but no imagination.

Emma finally found a great place for them to shop and made her way with him close by through the doorway. She helped him find the shoe section and window shopped through the women's shoes nearby as he picked a pair that he liked. As he responded about not affording a place at the moment, Emma said, "I totally understand. It's alot to try and get everything figured out and up on your feet in a new place. I mean it's gotta be more difficult trying to adjust to a whole new country."

Emma laughed at his invitation to have joined him in the fountain, "Yeah, as crazy fun as that seemed. I was quite happy to stay dry. Well, mostly. And I do rather enjoy being able to sleep. Insomnia does seem like it would be torture. I can't imagine not being able to go to sleep when I would really want to. So what do you do during the night then? And what kind of mutation do you have that makes you like that?"

Then they started wandering to the men's clothing area. Not usually a place where Emma spent much time. She didn't have a guy to buy for, but now that she thought about it, Jack did like to wear baggier guy clothes. Maybe she could find something for her one day. She did see some cute stuff close by. Emma made a mental note to come back and look through the clothes more thouroughly. "Sure, we can certainly swap numbers. I don't really have a lot of people that I actually talk to. But it'll be good cuz then you'll have a way to contact me and let me know how things are going when you get settled and have a job.", Emma said as she walked with him and he finished picking out his clothes.

"You make it sound like it was more crazy and less fun. I would have to agree to disagree even if I had no intention of taking a dip originally." A soft chuckle escaping him at the slight reminscing of it all already. "Oh what most people do during the day I suppose. I read, train, workout, think about stuff, and that is it so far lately." Shrugging a bit as she asked about his mutation. "The equally awesome and insane kind." Was all he felt comfortable saying at the moment. Now that he thought about it he was pretty shy about mentioning his mutations to anyone escept the people at Hadden's and even then it was so they could help him.

Erik did his best to be quick about his selections as they wandered about. "Don't like talking to people or just don't have any people you like to talk to? Like a boyfriend? Family?" His tone and face curious as he glanced over to her momentarily. "Not that I can really say the same. The time difference makes that a tad impractical for what few people I would bother calling back home." Another smile gracing his features as she said they could exchange numbers. "Phone is in my bag so we can swap as soon as i pay for this, but real quick before I change into something that doesn't make me feel like a soggy piece of bread." Chuckling again as they made their way towards the registers so he could pay. Once they got there he was the sort to face all the codes up to make it easier on the cashier. They had a little bit of time to wait so he dug into his bag and pulled out his vintage flip open phone and giving her his number as he clicked the numberpad around to create a contact for her and input a name.

"I just mean that seeing it all in action was pretty crazy and I was trying to be funny. It probably was certainly not fun getting knocked into the fountain and getting soaking wet. Though I do have to say, seeing the dog catching the frisbee as you were cartwheeling was pretty funny.", Emma explained.

As he explained the rather normal explanation of the things he did at night during normal sleeping hours, Emma realized that she had asked a rather dumb question and should have figured that he did what normal people did to pass the time. What other answer was she expecting from that question? Well, at least she had found out some things that they had in common. She also liked to read and workout, but he could probably tell some of that from the rolled yoga mat she was carrying and the book she had been reading earlier. "So what kind of books do you like to read and what kinda work outs do you do? When you caught me earlier, I had finished my daily run and yoga in the park. I just find it so much nicer exercising some there than trying to run on a treadmill at the gym. But I like to hit the punching bags a good bit at the gym and strength train too."

Emma then took note that he didn't seem to want to share about his mutation, so she left it alone and figured he would either tell her or show her later. She didn't wanna press the matter and push her new friend away. Then he was curious about why she didn't have a lot of people to talk to. Emma laughed a little and said, "Well, my Mom lives with me so I talk to her often when I'm at home. My Dad is an asshole and I'd rather not talk to him ever again. I don't have a boyfriend, but I do have a girl that I really like and talk to and think about often. Though I like both sexes, so it's not like asking about a boyfriend would be totally wrong. And maybe you could call them considering that you don't really sleep. That way you could stay connected to some people from home."

Emma then grabbed her phone from her bag when they were in line to pay for his clothes and shoes. She quickly started to input his name into a new contact listing on her smartphone when she looked up and was about to give him her number. When she noticed that Erik didn't have a smart phone like most young people today. He had an old school flip phone. She hadn't seen anyone have one of those since she was just barely a teenager, which had been quite a while considering she was 30 now. "I don't think I've seen someone as young as you carrying around a dinosaur phone like that. Normally, the only people who even carry phones like that anymore are really, really old grandparents. Like in their 80's kind of grandparents. You've never had a smartphone before?", Emma asked, slightly confused.

If Erik thought it was a dumb question he didn't give any indication of it. Figuring it was an innocent enough question about what he liked to do as much as anything. "Whatever happens to catch my curiosity at the time. Sometimes I will get on a kick where I want to learn about something or find a good book series and tear through it. Not too picky really. I tend always try and do some running everyday, but prefer strength training stuff as well." Erik raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Oh yeah? You do any fighting or just training for those just 'in case' moments? Bit of a fighter myself." He left it at that figuring he didn't want to come out of left field by saying he used to fight bloodsport style against people for money. That seemed to throw most people off given his usual easy going demeanor which was just as well as far as Erik was concerned. Being underestimated was a good strategy for life as much as it was for fighting. 

"Back home I lived with my uncle and a few cousins in the same place with my mom before she passed. Never talked to my dad before so I couldn't give you any sort of opinion on him." Smiling all the same as he shrugged as they exchanged information. "Can't say I am not a bit disappointed your semi taken, but I wish you the best on pursuing your crush." He must even have meant it too since his smile didn't falter one bit. "Oh I do call them once a week to catch up with my Uncle and make sure he knows I am doing fine.  More of a father figure to me then anyone else could hope to be at this point. Taught me all the important stuff and did his best to keep me out of trouble." He managed to add with a hint of mischief in his voice before going on to ask "So your just picky about your friends and such then? No work friends or anything?" 

Then came the great flip phone inquisition of 2018. A light "Hmm?" escaping him as he looked at her phone before looking back at his own. After a moment he shrugged. "Never needed anything better. Knew Moscow like the back of my hand. Plus spent most of my money helping to keep everyone fed and supporting them all." Declining to mention for the moment his mother's medical expenses as well. "So no. Never had a smartphone before. Battery lasts forever and there are very few places I do not get reception." 

Emma nodded as Erik talked about the things he did to occupy his time, including reading and exercising. She was glad that he did run and strength train. They could maybe start running together and hang out some like that. As for the whole fighter thing, Emma felt slightly embarrassed and responded with, "I've never really been in a real fight before. I train and workout so I can use them if need be, but it's mostly out of enjoyment. The closest I've been is just some sparring in the ring at the gym. Nothing official or illegal like." Emma knew that there were underground fighting rings and people would gamble. She had never been to one, but she knew they existed.

Erik hadn't known his father, but still had good family to bring him up and had a good father figure around. Emma told him, "My dad habitually cheated on my mom. He never left. They stayed together because of me, but I don't have many memories of my Mom actually being happy while she was with him. I really wished he would have just gotten her pregnant and left cuz that would have been better than putting her through all the crap he did. I finally talked her into leaving him. That's when we came here and she's been pretty happy since we've moved. She says she misses him, but I pray she doesn't go back to him. But I'm glad you had lots of family around to help and raise you. You seem like a really great guy, at least what I know so far of you. And it's great that you can keep in contact with them. I'm sorry to hear that your Mom has passed. I know that was really hard on you. I couldn't imagine being so young and losing a parent you are so close to."

Emma's saddened face then blushed slightly pink at Erik's mention of not being surprised and slightly disappointed that she was semi-taken and he wished her luck with Jack. Erik was a good looking guy. If Emma hadn't met Jack, she probably would have given him a shot, but that was not to be. He was polite and sweet, which is a characteristic that you don't see in many guys anymore. Emma answered his friend question first, "I have work friends, but I don't hang out with them outside of work. It's not that I'm picky. It's just that people don't usually stick around me for long."

Then Emma went on to the topic of dating and why he needed an upgrade, "I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend. Either here or back home in Russia. You're a really good looking guy and you're really sweet. Plus, you it's really great that you look after your family. Women love that. I would surely think there would be at least a few girls trying to get with you. They would probably try to get with you in another kind of way if they found out you don't sleep or get tired. And since you are in a new city, it would probably benefit you to get a smartphone. That way you can use it to help navigate and then pretty girls can text or call you. And an added benefit would be that you can actually see what they look like when they send you a picture cuz you'd have a bigger screen instead of trying to see them on that dinosaur phone screen. If someone sent you a photo, I'm not sure you could tell if it was a grandma lookin lady or a hot chick on the screen. Plus, smart phones give you access to different apps, email, and some dating apps. All of these things without having to carry a laptop around all day."