You know those "what would you do?" scenarios about being trapped in an elevator with someone you hate? Evelyn had heard a number of them, but never really considered how two people who avoided each other would ever end up in an elevator in the first place. Sure, maybe they had to go to the same floor, but one person could probably wait to get there. Or maybe someone was distracted and didn't realize who they were standing next to.

Or, in this case, maybe someone only had one good eye and apparently didn't look at his surroundings to know a white haired girl was already standing in said elevator before punching in his number and the door swung shut.

Evelyn probably could have bolted for the open door when she saw Sam coming, but that bordered on a level of immaturity she was trying to avoid. Ignoring the ice mutant for several months and pretending he was pretty much still dead... that was already pushing it. But that was the downfall of having a perfect memory. It was hard to forgive someone when you woke up reliving just how mad you felt towards them on a regular basis.

Evelyn was pretty sure Sam was avoiding her as well. It wasn't a huge mansion, and her will alone couldn't have kept their paths apart for THAT long. But there was a lot of bad blood between them, betrayal, lies, thrown words and angry yelling and stuff like that...

It all came to a stop right along with the elevator that trapped them somewhere in the lower levels of the mansion. At that point, the cussing under her breath probably would make him realize he wasn't alone in the metal box.

Late nights and the will to not sleep kept him from missing out on his surroundings lately, normally when he wasn’t in the mansion it wasn’t that bad of a thing however instead of taking the stairs like he normally would have done he closed his eye yawned and walked into an elevator and clicked the basement where the Danger Room was located. That wasn’t the big deal the big deal was a certain Evee who he was still trying to avoid happened to be in that elevator. He spotted the white blonde hair first out of the corner of his eye and then he started to make her reflection in the stainless steel. ”Christ this is a small mansion.” muttered Sam as he pressed his floor button once more because that was supposed to make it go faster.

Sadly though as fate (or a certain mutant who failed to retain control of his short-circuiting ability) would have it the elevator lights flickered then stopped moving. Sam smacked his head on the elevator doors and hit the open button a few times then looked up at the ceiling. The lights were still on however the elevator wasn’t moving nor the doors were opening. Meaning the power needed to be reset. Something Sam could do, sadly not in here. Looking at the ceiling once more and trying his best to the girl who knew too much and said even more sadly he awkwardly shifted his glance down before jumping up and smacking the ceiling of the elevator up.

A safety feature as luck would have it one that could provide with a quick escape. One he hadn’t used in this particular elevator but other ones like it. ‘When trapped in a location with a female friend and things are getting weird best exit from the situation.’ Thought Sam as he grabbed the ledge and started to pull his way out without saying anything at all. ‘When in doubt find a way out’ he kept thinking to himself.

At some point, Sam realized his slip up. She could tell by the muttering under his breath. But she couldn't really predict the dramatic response he had to the broken elevator. Ignoring each other was one thing, but trying to scramble out the emergency exit... The bitter reply slipped out her mouth before she could stop it.

"I see you're still abandoning people like normal." She snapped and simmered, glaring at the nearest wall. She didn't regret stabbing him now. Or ignoring him.

‘Just keep going.’ Sam thought to himself as he stopped moving hanging there half in the elevator and half out. ‘Just gonna be an awkward conversation.’ He kept thinking, ‘not worth it.’ His feet lowered back down and he dropped to the floor of the elevator and turned towards Eve, ”Still blonde I see.” Sam said rolling his eye upset he was now engaging in a conversation with her. ”And it wasn’t abandoning, more like a guardian angel situation.” Sam said giving a very vague hand gesture.

Sam walked over and pressed the call button that rang the security office hopefully they’d already know about it but once again sadly, there was no answer. Sam walked back away from Eve and leaned on the opposite side of the elevator as her. ”Still upset I see. Worse than an ex-girlfriend.” Sam said not really thinking about what he was saying.

Evelyn couldn't stop herself from frowning at Sam's response. Not the blonde thing, whatever, that wasn't a big deal. Guardian angel though? She knew a jailbreak when she saw one. The echoes were still pretty good at reading body language, and his said a lot.

Still upset I see. Worse than an ex-girlfriend."[/b][/color]

Evelyn's scowl darkened. "I'm pretty sure your x-girlfriends don't re-live the event once a month or so just to keep it fresh." She tried to bite her tongue, figuratively and literally, but somehow the works kept sneaking their way out. Hoever many months it had been, the hurt hadn't seemed to fade. In some ways, it just seemed like it got worse. "You know, I think the suckiest nights are the ones where I remember why we were friends in the first place. I can have the memory of the friend who saved my life then stabbed me in the back all in one shot." This was going nowhere good. She should have let him just climb out of the elevator. As the memories bubbled to the surface though, another risk presented itself. With her recent power growth, she was still unintentionally sharing her echoes and playbacks by touch. The last thing she wanted at this point was him to see what he put her through. She shut her eyes tightly, forgetting the argument and trying to think of anything else. All it really did was give her a splitting headache though.

Sam gave a so-so gesture with his hand, ”Pretty sure a few of them relive moments with me. I’m good at what I do.” Sam said pretty confidently trying to distract her from her being so upset with him. He’d doubt it work but flustering girls was a good way to change the topic. In this case one that stretched back a few months.

Still he sat across the elevator and shrugged, ”I don’t know really what to say Evee.” Sam shifted his weight to one foot, ”I told you before I did what I did to keep everyone safe. You and Gawain weren’t the only ones left in the dark. It needed to seem like I was dead.” the elevator’s temperature dropped for a second as he sighed, ”If we were really friends you should have known that I had everyone best interests at heart. I’m alive. I know you can’t forget, but the fact that I didn’t die that should be some consolation.”

Evelyn momentarily considered taking the escape route. She didn't want to have this conversation anymore than Sam did, but there they were. Frickin' metal box forcing the topic to come back up. The exchange had loomed the longer she stayed angry though. This time, Sam wasn't yelling back though. It was cold, but she couldn't register if that was guilt, frustration, or something else. She dug her nails into her arms and gave him a withered look.

"You sure told enough people though. It wasn't just members of the team was it? So that argument doesn't work for me." She shook her head at the rest of his argument. "No one was safe thinking you were dead, Sam. How do you feel safe when someone who taught you how to fight was killed? I'm not going to fluff your ego, but you're not exactly a low level mutant. If you're dead, what chance do the rest of us have? How does that prepare us to fight the enemy? If anything, you put us in even more danger than if you'd said something!" She stepped closer, wanting to throw somethign at him, then hugged her arms back across her chest and glared at the elevator buttons. They blurred as her eyes watered unwillingly.

"It doesn't make me feel better you're alive, because our friendship is still dead. I can't trust you anymore. Maybe it's petty, but you don't feel it at night. You don't feel what it's like to know something out there killed your friend, and there is nothing you can do to stop them. Nothing you can do to stand in there way. It's more than just grief. It's fear. And I can't even keep it in my own head anymore." She hissed, rubbing her temples as if she could erase the images moving past.

Sam frowned, ”I can only count a handful of people; two officers, the priest that brought me back, Shin, Streak, Doc. Then there were three people that found out, a student, my ex, and Sara.” Sam held up a finger for each of them. ”It was a pretty small number.” the room grew colder, ”I told you before, if they‘d attack me in public what makes you think they wouldn’t attack a school?” Sam shifted his weight again and sat down.

”I was clearly a target, no one else here right?” Sam asked rhetorically, ”I’m out of the picture the target is gone. Meaning unless they wanted to attack the school they’d have to deal with the x-men and a someone they thought was dead. It’s not like I was gone for good. I was waiting and searching for the two that tried to kill me.”

Sam scoffed, ”Too late, ego fluffed.” he waited for a second, ”I’ve been in situations like that before, your boyfriend/girlfriend could have told you that. Not the first time I had a price on my head. I’m sure it won’t be the last. Next time I’ll be sure to tell you and Gawain though.” Sam said rolling his eye slightly. ”I will die at some point whether it’s due to natural causes or someone kills me. You need to know that. I have no illusions of immortality Eve.” Sam looked to her and sighed again, ”I have trust that you and the rest of the team could have handled something I alone couldn’t that’s why I trained you and Gawain and a few others. Where one fails the team succeeds.” Sam said giving another vague hand gesture.

”Best thing to do is to confront the fear.” Sam said as if there was no other option, ”You’re afraid of something than confront it. You need to know I’m alive now and even though I know you’re pissed with me I still consider you a friend. Sure its awkward now but I’d be there for ya in a heart beat if you needed me. You and your gender bending significant other.” Sam shrugged, ”Only real family I got.” Sam said putting the emphasis on real.

"I can only count a handful of people; two officers, the priest that brought me back, Shin, Streak, Doc. Then there were three people that found out, a student, my ex, and Sara....It was a pretty small number.”

It still sounded far too large for her liking. It was even worse than just Shin and Streak knowing. She managed not to say anything this time though.

”I was clearly a target, no one else here right?”

"You didn't know that. There were other mutants that were attacked too, and that didn't stop them from attacking other people in the city." She had seen some of the results from at least one of those attacks and it hadn't been pretty. But bringing any of that stuff up would detract from the main argument: CS hiding everything from her and Mirror.

"[...]Not the first time I had a price on my head. I’m sure it won’t be the last. Next time I’ll be sure to tell you and Gawain though.”

Next time. She didn't care about next time, she cared about now. The issue wasn't the future or the past or when or where. It was what he did, and how it changed things now. She didn't want to hear what he was saying and she didn't want to hear his apologies.

”Only real family I got.”

Something in her snapped. She stepped forward, and it probably looked like she was going to hit him, but instead she grabbed his wrist and snarled. "Family? Friends? Family doesn't put people through this." Like a dam breaking, the playbacks rushed forward...and her grip ensured Sam would feel it too. The memories of his death played. It was more than just the images: the emotions, the pain, the fear, the rage. Everything. She was feeling her pain. Gawain's pain. Seeing the grief on everyone around her. Tracking the killer, facing him, losing to him. Trying to at least wound him, stop him, keep him from hurting others they cared about. Then there was the sense of betrayal, confusion, dealing with Sam being alive.

She let go, and staggered back to her side of the elevator before sitting and burying her face against her knees with a sob. But Leo was still there, smirking, victorious...She didn't have powers like her friends to fight, to do something. All she had were the echoes and the playbacks. They weren't good enough.

Sam scoffed slightly but thought it was best to keep it to himself. She was already mad at him, no need to make it worse. Maybe it wasn’t typical in her family but his family and the only one he really has was the X-Men and vanishing, dying and being brought back. That was pretty common. There were so many different people on the team with different histories. His might have been a little more abnormal than the others but it wasn’t like he did what he did lightly.

Sam was expecting another hit to the face, over the last few months it seemed that was any woman’s favorite target. However as he brought his hand up to block it she grabbed his wrist instead. After that he experienced something like he had never experienced before. It was like everything Eve was thinking or feeling was downloaded into his brain. An hourglass would have gone off in his eye if he were a computer. Sam blinked and started tearing as he felt a large amount of sadness. It was like he was witnessing his not real children dying all over again. A pain he thought he’d never feel again. One that he hoped to forget and it was a pain and sadness, all because of him.

The air went out of his lungs and he didn’t make a sound, typically Sam wasn’t a crier, tearer yes but never a crier. Tears streamed down the one side of his face and his heart skipped a few beats as he tried to pull the air back into his lungs. Images danced across his vision as he bore witness to havoc that he unleashed when he stayed dead. Gawain, his friends the people he called his family. Sadness and anger. Her feelings. Then hurt. When he came back. Then there was nothing.

Air rushed back into his lungs and the elevator grew insanely cold frost covered his clothing and skin as the steel box coated as well. He pushed himself up his good eye being covered in frost while the tears solidified and stuck to his cheek. ”Never do that again!” Sam yelled having to experience a string of emotions he never wanted to experience again. The feelings now all he could think about he exhaled his breath being visible and controlled. Quickly the frost and cold receded as he continued to control his breathing. He was scared for a second he might lash out and attack Eve but he restrained himself, his mutation everything.

Sam promised himself he’d never be forced to do anything again. Eve forced him to feel emotions he had tried bury when he was in the north training. Emotions that could control his mutation; anger, sadness, grief. Tears still running down his face he turned and punched the steel wall.

Evelyn barely flinched when he punched the wall. She probably wouldn't have stopped him if he'd punched her. All the emotions that built up over the past few months had broken loose, unfortunately at him. She knew it wasn't necessarily fair to blame him for all of it, but she wasn't used to this experience. She wasn't used to loosing people. She still didn't feel ready for the battles and the protocols and all the pain that went with it. She stared at the other wall and hugged her knees. The air nipped at her exposed skin as the temperature dropped more.

"I can't promise that... we haven't exactly found the off switch yet. The echoes, the playbacks...Gawain gets an earful of them pretty much every time we come in contact." She shivered and pressed her back against the wall. "Just...stay over there." While it may not have been the best time to boss him around, the echoes could see the warning signs and how far she'd pushed Sam.

His body was tense all the muscles on her person flexed as his face was becoming less red. ”Breathe.” Sam said allowed controlling himself more and more until he was more relaxed. He looked to the steel lining of the wall and saw a small dent. The skin on his knuckles was red. Probably not the best reaction but he’d deal with it later. ”less contact till you can focus on controlling it.” Sam said placing his head against the wall and giving it a small head-butt till he found himself back in full control.

”No promises.” Sam mocked and repeated as he slumped back down in his corner. ”I’m…. sorry.” Sam said through his teeth. He was still angry but sadder now than he had been in some time. He felt the need to get away from everything and go back towards his hideout in the ice. Where he was alone with his thoughts. No one could anger him other than himself.

”I’m sorry you went through all that.” Sam said again as he brushed his face free of the tears. He didn’t cry. ”Never make me feel like that again. Went through that once before. Tried to forget. You made me feel your s*** and mine.” Sam said alluding to what he meant.

Okay, so the mocking really wasn't called for. Evelyn glared at him, temporarily feeling less bad about breaking his head with her powers. Then he apologized, and the rage went away again. For once, he sounded sorry. He wasn't making excuses, wasn't trying to defend himself. She had wanted him to realize how much he hurt her, and in the process, she just put him through the same thing. She flinched at his words and picked at her shoe lace. She knew what he meant, and she did feel guilty for putting him through that. It just seemed things kept getting worse, not better.

"It can't stay like this, Sam. How on earth are we supposed to fight anyone when we can't even handle being on the same team anymore?" Her head hurt, but it was hard to tell if it was from the crying, the powers, or just the stress of it all. She wished the elevator would move. One or both of them was going to break something in here soon if they didn't get out.

"I'm...I'm sorry too. I don't want to hurt anyone, but I just got so frustrated because no one understands. I can't make it go away. I can't get rid of anything in my head, and now other people are going through those memories. I accidentally showed a blind kid the monster he was turning into... and now I did this... If I can't turn it off..." She didn't want to think about it. Suddenly what he put her through was looking a little pale in comparison.

Sam wanted to say she was just overreacting however he didn’t say anything he felt what he assumed she felt those were her feelings, she felt betrayed and that she couldn’t trust him. ”Fighting? That’s easy. What you are talking about is trust.” Sam said. While he had no hard feelings or distrust towards Eve he knew she couldn’t trust him. ”Trust.” Sam nodded, ”Trust is hard, easy to lose it once you have it. How do you get it back however?” Sam gave her a weak smile and nodded, ”Baby steps, I’ll have to earn it back it seems.” Sam said with a simple shrug.

”Maybe you don’t need to make it go away, maybe you just need to have some sort of control over it. Like the echoes before, you didn’t just accept them. They grew with you as a person. You learned to turn them to your advantage. It’s just one aspect of your mutation that is growing faster than you are.” he scratched his head. ”If you want I can go over a few breathing and control techniques when I first discovered I could see heat signatures after losing this.” he pointed to his eye patch, ”Mind splitting headaches, lack of control over my own temperature control. It was overwhelming but you got to realize you are in control.”

He iced his hands and held it up, ”Until then certain precautions might need to be taken till you have a slight hold over them. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear but if you make everyone go through what I just did I doubt everyone will be as cool with the situation as I was.” he wanted to punch her when she first touched him and made him relive all those memories and feeling and then hers. He wanted to but he never would.

Evelyn fidgeted as Sam honed in on the trust issue. There wasn't really a way to deny that was how she felt. He experienced it himself, after all. It wasn't just her trust towards Sam that was damaged though. She talked to some things with Gawain when she thought Sam was dead that could probably be seen as a break in his trust of her now. She didn't say anything though. They would deal with that as time went on, in "baby steps" as he had said.

His explanation of her powers gave her a bit more to think about, but maybe not the answer she wanted. She really didn't want to just adapt to them. She wanted to be able to choose how much of her emotions someone saw. They were her memories, her thoughts, her feelings. They were annoying, true, but it felt like someone was invading her head every time the information transferred. The echoes were one thing, but when the playbacks started...

"Do you really think a breathing technique would help?" She sounded partway cynical, and partially hopeful. She went through the same back and forth with Mirror awhile back, but she still felt like she was hoping someone had the magic answer. Short of wearing gloves and turtlenecks, keeping her thoughts to herself was taking on new meaning. She flinched slightly at his last statement. The dent in the elevator proved Sam's "cool" had only lasted so far.