>>"What is it that you do, exactly?"

Evelyn pulled her knees up close and watched the kid for a second before answering, considering how to word her response, and how he would react to it. Some people freaked out about her powers, others didn't seem to mind, but she was always honest if someone asked. The memories part was sort of her own problem to deal with. The echoes though... well, they could be a little more invasive.

"Well, I do two things, actually. First of all, I'm hyper observant which means I pretty much notice everything. It's sort of like a fusion of profiling and detective work thrown together with extra...well, voices, in my head... I kinda call them echoes, but it's like hearing information from ... everywhere. Whether it's how many flowers are on a bush or when they're usually in season, or how healthy a relationship seems to be between two people... My brain is pretty much just a gossip." She rubbed her neck again, then put her hands back in her pocket. The echoes studied his body language. Would he move away, would he freak out? At least she wasn't a mind reader, but sometimes she felt like she was worse.

"Part two is I never forget. Most people start loosing details of their memories immediately, and short term to long term memory retention can be crappy. Me? I can shut my eyes, something from ten years ago looks the same as it would ten seconds ago. Makes it easy to remember stuff I've read. Makes it harder to forget stuff people've said. I think every mutation ends up being that way though: blessing and curse. Take what you got and learn to work with it though." Sometimes, the curse part could sort of suck, but she knew it wasn't going away anytime soon so she dealt with it. She grew up with her mutation at least. There was no resentment that she had 'turned into' a freak. She always was one.

She wondered if it'd been the same for him or not.

Rare were the occasions where Chad got to speak to other mutants, even rarer were the days where conversations extended over a period longer than a handful of seconds. In fact, the blonde woman sitting next to him was perhaps the first mutant he'd ever really spoken to. He was curious to know more about her, but at the same time he was wary of letting his guard down too much. She seemed like a nice girl and all, but those were usually the kind of people that left behind the deepest wounds.

Hyper observant. Ah. That explained a lot. Chad honestly didn't know how to feel about that – someone that noticed every single twitch of the mouth, every glance, every shift of the weight... Chad was always so guarded, and here she was, able to read him like an open book. Instinctively, he looked away from her, his gaze falling on the skaters once more. He didn't want to feel like he was being picked and prodded.

Never forgetting. He thought about it for a few moments. He imagined what it would feel like to remember every single detail of his past: all of the times he'd been treated like an animal by his foster families, all of the times he'd been pushed to the side, forgotten... all of the whispers and the looks... He'd remember the pain of every blow, every smack... Could he really handle a lifetime of hurt? Neglect? Shame? He'd probably end up going mad. He looked at her then, really looked at her; it wasn't pity in his eyes, just... understanding.

"What about that couple over there?" he asked, nodding in the general direction of the two skaters, still completely unaware that they weren't alone. "Are they as blissfully in love as they seem to be?" He grinned at her.

It was rare when someone understood what it was like to never forget, but when someone did, it always seemed to make Evelyn a little sad. The only people who realized the burden of memories were those that already had painful ones, ones they couldn't forget. Memories were powerful things: they got you through hard times, made you stronger, shaped you. But memories could also be dangerous: taking away your will, breaking you down, making you sad. She never wished bad memories on anyone, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved when someone understood. It meant something to her. More than people realized.

But she couldn't say anything, and he didn't, and she glanced back at the skaters. The echoes chattered slightly as she did and she chuckled slightly at their input. "They're in love, and it is somewhat blissfully, but they're not having such an easy time getting by. Their pants are worn, their jackets still summery for this cold weather. Second hand, thinning out, neither are wearing gloves. They're laughing, but you can see moments where they're sad. They're spending time here verses another date, a more expensive one. I bet this is just what they can afford." It was always hard for Evelyn to watch people during the holidays like this. Even with the problems she faced with her parents, she wasn't that badly off. She still had her apartment, even though she lived at the mansion. Life had given her money and in many ways, she was spoiled. She didn't have to go without like that, and wondered what she would have done.

She wondered what the kid next to her did. He seemed like he might be having his own hard time.

Chad didn't really believe in the kind of love that could make you forget all of your hardships; he didn't believe in the idea of having someone in your life that could make all of the bad things seem like nothing... Maybe because he'd never experienced it himself, and probably never would?

Nonetheless, Chad listened to the woman next to him; as she spoke, he watched the skaters silently. Had it not been for her telling him so, he wouldn't have guessed that they were going through difficult times. They looked happy and so carefree, like two young people, enjoying each other's company and letting everything else be pushed onto the back-burner, if only for a while...

As far as Chad was concerned, money didn't really matter in the end. Loneliness was the worst of all hardships, especially this time of year. Those two lovers were rich as hell when it came down to that department. He opened his mouth to voice his opinion, only to change his mind at the very last second. "You'd think they were the happiest people in the world, just looking at them from my perspective." he commented.

He shrugged, trying to push the emotions he was currently feeling at the very back of his mind. He was good at keeping them off his face and locked away within, but that didn't matter. Not with her. She could read him like an open book; she was probably reading him now...

Loneliness, longing, pain...

Evelyn smiled sadly, and nodded. The couple fell, they laughed. It was cute, and also sad. Watching from a distance, it was like a movie. But it was a movie she felt she was missing part of.

While she had Mirror, they really weren't like that. At least, not at this point in their relationship. Some people were in a relationship, and they were each other's everything. Living, breathing, working, laughing. With Mirror, they were dating, but they were still two people. If they didn't see each other day, it wasn't the end of the world. They went months without having an actual date, spending more time fighting, working, or training. That came with the whole x-men territory though.

She wasn't sure what it was like to have a romance. To be in that sort of love. The echoes analyzed: they looked at relationships as math equations, logical, illogical. It was hard to be frivolous with that sort of thinking sometimes. There were moments though... a bad dream, and Mirror there to comfort. A jealous argument, then kissing and making up. She was still somewhat envious though. She had money, they had this innocent happiness... that was something worth desiring more.

A glance at Chad revealed his own emotions. They flickered across his face like her own cycled through hers. She gave a small smile and brushed the snow from her pants. "You'd be surprised how many business men and women in this city aren't as rich as those two. I've seen the upper class, been there. I had snobby parents that make me queasy looking back. But that type of contentment, and that type of joy, you can't find that in any of these buildings. The echoes see a lot, they pick apart a lot of things for me. Make me feel like there isn't real good in the world, because everyone has something to hide, something wrong with them. Every once and awhile, they find something they can't quite pick apart." She shook her head, and finally pushed herself to her feet. With the winter weather daylight would be fading before long, even though it felt like it was still the middle of the day. She got into enough trouble heading home after day. It was probably best to avoid an adventure like that today.

"It's going to be a cold winter. You don't have to stay there, but seriously, if you ever want a free meal and some time out of the cold, don't be afraid to swing by the mansion. Most of us aren't great cooks, but some of us know how to order great take out." She smiled slightly to take away some of the sad vibes, and brushed the last of the snow from her jacket. "Oh, I'm Evelyn by the way. In case, you know, you're into those formalities and names and things."

"Humans are complicated," he commented somewhat tonelessly, looking up at the overcast sky, the sun already beginning its decent behind the tallest skyscrapers. It was going to snow tonight, he could feel it.

Chad noticed how she spoke of her parents in the past tense, but he didn't comment on it. It wasn't any of his business, just like his past wasn't any of hers. They were complete strangers; a few, short exchanges wasn't going to change that. Hell, he didn't even know her name. She didn't know his. They would part ways a little later and they'd probably never see each other again... She'd go back to her Mansion, and he'd... well, find someplace else to stay the night, only to start the process all over tomorrow.

Perhaps they were connected by their mutant abilities, but that was as far as the similarities went. She didn't know anything about his past and what it was like to grow up the way he did. She grew up with looks, money, snobby parents that, at the end of the day, were still parents. She could analyze him all she wanted, that didn't mean she knew him.

Chad stood up when she did, brushing snow from the backside of his jeans. His ass felt almost numb with cold. Sitting on a snow bank for half an hour? Bad idea. He was looking forward to finding some place out out of the wind, somewhere he could possibly light a fire or something... He still had half a pack of matches on him.

Evelyn. "It's uh, nice to meet you." Was it? The part of him that wanted to push everyone away wanted to say no, but Chad was still human, and as much as he hated to admit it, he longed to be around people. He just... didn't want the heartbreak that was, in his experience, always associated with that. "Don't worry about me... I can take care of myself." He'd done it his whole life, hadn't he?

Nice to meet you... There was something almost forced in his words, still something so resistant. She didn't know him, had no right to judge him, read him, but she could see it there: all the little threads of the past weaving him into who he was. His response when she spoke of her parents, something he probably didn't have, or maybe he did just had a bad relationship with them. His envy of the ice skaters, his mixed emotions about people. He was another of those teens, on the borderline, looking for something better, plagued by doubt, distrust. That wasn't something that could be mended or repaired easily. When you cut a hole in a knitted sweater, it was a race to stop it from unraveling. It couldn't be sewed like a normal sweater, each stitch had to be caught, reconnected, salvaged. He was somewhere between point a and b. Somewhere between unraveling and pulling himself together. Something in the defiance of his attitude made her pretty certain he'd be ok though. He was more prepared for this than she had ever been.

"If I've learned anything this past year, is being able to take care of yourself, and letting people help don't always have to be in opposition." It was the last gesture she'd make, and she started towards the sidewalk. She turned as she left though, and flashed one last smile. "Keep that in mind when Santa attacks Time Square this Christmas!" She moved towards the street to flag a cab for home. She was pretty sure she'd see that kid again sometime. The echoes were betting on it.

"I'll do that..." he chuckled, his mouth forming into that rare grin, the one Evelyn had been able to pull out of him more than once in the span of half an hour. "And, uh... I'm Chad."

He gave a short wave; it was the last sight she saw before he turned on his heels, walking towards the other end of the park and away from her.

His smile vanished. Deep within, he was fighting a battle, one where all parties were doomed to fail. He couldn't join her and all of the other mutants that lived at the school, yet a part of him wanted to. He was so tired of running... he just... wanted to rest, if only for a little while...

He knew, however, that the moment his feet stopped, he'd be pushed down onto his knees... Getting back up again was too damn hard... He was better off...