"So, I'm here because I need to get someone to sit with me for six months, and then tell my Auntie I am normal, basically." L had just gone through an extended diatribe on her situation to the fancy man sitting in the fancy chair in the very fancy glassed up office. She'd learned about this place, and this man, from the internet, and found getting an appointment surprisingly easy. Being a mutant had its perks sometimes, and one of them was that people who liked you were often more than willing to help you overcome adversity. She could abuse that good will even more so, considering her appearance.

"Obviously, there is nothing wrong with me. I'm not depressed. I just don't want to talk to people who are going to treat me like a child, and I prefer my own company. That's perfectly reasonable in my book. I wonder, could we just say I attend these meeting regularly, or is it a recorded sort of thing?" 

The little 36 year old was sitting in a nice chair of her own, her hands resting on her lap, white gloves smoothing out the soft material of her pink frilly dress as she kicked her legs in otherwise fairly well-covered nervousness. She'd learned how to remain well composed in the more wealthy atmospheres in the south, but a trained eye might know better; she didn't like talking about her feelings. 

In an ideal world, she would get the few boxes checked off on the list of things that kept her from the rest of her inheritance, and then she could disappear back into her home and play video games, chat on message boards, and eat unhealthy food until maybe she died or something. She wasn't sure if that was a thing, considering her power.

One of those check boxes was a recognition of mental wellness, or proof of progress in that regard.

"If it's a money thing, once I get the rest of my inheritance I could aim to appease, though..." She looked around at the lavish atmosphere. "I can't see it being a money thing."

Devon laughed, shaking his head. “No, it’s not,” he grinned. “We’ve a number of generous donors to Haven and my business is thankfully doing well, though it only started last year once my grandparents thought I was ready for my inheritance.” He nodded slowly, knowingly. “It took some time, steady work with my psychiatrist, and graduating, but I got there with help.”

Should she decide to donate to the cause of Haven one day, that was her choice.

“As far as recording, your presence is recorded but not the discussion. I’ll be writing reports of such that summarize our meetings, however, as well as thoughts on the matter, but no one has any right to them outside of legal subpoena,” Devon explained with a warm tone. “Client, patient privacy, HIPAA, et cetera.”

“Frankly though, all that bullshit aside, I understand your feelings on the matter. People hate being talked to or treated like a child – even when we are – let alone as we mature. Facing that sort of thing every day must be infuriating. I guess we should be thankful you’re not pulling a Claudia on the world, hm?” he grinned. “Have you considered expanding your social circles with people who know of your powers and your true age? It doesn’t have to be house parties and what not, but maybe a small group of friends? You can still have video games but maybe some board games isn’t such a bad idea once and a while?”

This wasn’t so much a case for Devon as a situation. He’d been in a similar situation but nothing so physically obvious, yet his powers had caused him a delay in social interaction. He’d chosen to hide himself in nature, but eventually he’d stepped back into the world at large. It took time, though, with the right people and the desire to do so.

So he was  a trust fund baby, too, huh? Maybe he understood, maybe he didn't. Everyone's experiences were different, and no one she'd ever met had ever come close to living in her situation. The gist of what he was politely tiptoeing around, though, was that there was no way she was going to be able to get him to hand waive things. Well, it was a bit too much to ask for, wasn't it? It wasn't the end of the world, either; he seemed like he might be fairly easy to talk to, and he was handsome, as well. That was never a bad thing.

She gritted her teeth a bit to perish childish fantasies that came to mind. He was talking, and he'd taken the time to listen to her. Now she should give the respect of listening to him. He was currently explaining doctor patient privileges. She was aware of such things, having been poked and prodded on the more surgical medicine side of things for much of her life. By this point so many hotshot surgeons had tried to patch her up with some of the most insane medical apparatuses that she'd lost count, but each time she'd gone through the same confidentiality paperwork. It was the same here.

She greeted that with a nod, but was thrown aback a bit when he suddenly spoke frankly about things. “Frankly though, all that bullshit aside,... I guess we should be thankful you’re not pulling a Claudia on the world, hm?”

Her eyes widened as she almost interjected. "Right! I mean, right?" Clearly the reference to the child vampire from the Vampire Chronicles resonated with her on a deep level. She had to contain herself quickly to allow him to continue, he spoke about widening her personal circle, playing board games. It was all greek to her. "Well, that is much easier said than done. I don't... Aside from the people that I know online, who I don't show my face, I prefer not to- I- I find it difficult to... Get there. So. I don't think I can easily do that, is I guess what I'm saying."

She paused for an awkward moment, shifting uncomfortably, which her frilly dress made an audible affair. "I mean, I'm fine without that kind of thing, too. I came this far doing what I do, right? It's just my aunt who thinks I'm- Some sort of shut in, I guess."

>> "Right! I mean, right?"

Devon’s grin broadened and nodded as the humor touches the lines around his eyes and his brow. She seemed pleased by the reference. It was honestly the first thing that came to mind when he’d read over her file. It was a sad and terrifying moment in the movie as Kirsten Duntz berated Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise for being stuck as she was, never like the woman who’d she’d kept dead in her bed with all her dolls. She tried to cut her hair but it grew back. They’d saved her from the plague but condemned her to unchanging life.

Mrs. Gartner was older than him after all. However, that didn’t mean she had the fullness of an adult experience or mindset. One of the primary developmental needs was interacting with others and forming relationships, friendly and romantic. She’d been robbed of much of that as well as the developmental motivator inherent in achieving to provide for and interact with others, let alone even impress them… So it would seem she’d turned inward. Devon certainly had for a different reason and with help he’d stepped out of that, at least partially… This was a whole other level much as he wanted to help, to empathize.

She seemed interested in his suggestion, at least she didn’t disagree with the idea. It was more the difficultly, the lack of formal face to face acknowledgement and friendly recognition. She was uncomfortable and Devon felt for her. Of course she was uncomfortable; it was a difficult situation that likely only led to sadness or anger if dwelt upon. The governmental processes of the world weren’t prepared to handle such a case either.

>> "I mean, I'm fine without that kind of thing, too. I came this far doing what I do, right? It's just my aunt who thinks I'm- Some sort of shut in, I guess."

Devon nodded, “I think – since you didn’t say you wouldn’t like it – finding a way or ways for you to have more meaningful interactions and frankly some good friendships with people outside of an online would be positive. I mean, I’m sure there might be some difficult, but the right people? Certainly mutants know things can vary from individual to individual. Plus, I think you should be proud for all you’ve done and learned and experienced in your time, living with a mutant power that possibly gives you all the time in the world. You could really inform and educate a lot of people, should you wish to.”

He paused, smiling gently, “Again, all that aside… How do you define a shut in?”

She listened to the good doctor silently for a moment, absorbing what he was saying. Her logical side jived with the thought of finding more people like her, while her very present hormonal preteen side told her he was clearly asking the impossible. They would fight over this later, as they often did over everything. Still, out of a well-practiced effort to seem like a perfectly reasonable person, she began to slowly nod, until he shifted suddenly to ask a more direct question.

"How do you define a shut in?"

She froze for a second, flushing a bit. "Ah, well- ah, so, I mean, I know what you are getting at, and shut ins never go outside unless they have to, and I- I went out just last week for groceries, so... So..." She'd spent most of the response seemingly searching the air for things to say, until her eyes landed on him again, and that... damned... smug... gentle, charming little smile...

Son of a bitch.

"Me, basically."

---

It had been two weeks since their last meeting, and today she was standing instead of sitting. Her bright green floofy dress shifting as she paced while she talked about her recent experiences. "-So I just grabbed her... and I jumped from the back of the van. I saved her life, really, but you see, I wasn't scared, and therefore I can't call what I did an act of bravery. Not once did I ever feel like I was in danger. I don't really feel that anymore, since... Well, yeah. We ran off, and I found out she was a street urchin, so I invited her to my house and she helped me find my car and then..." She had worked herself into a bit of a fervor, talking faster and faster until she reached the end, where her excited expression turned a little more somber.

"She disappeared... Guess she didn't want to go with me..." She paused and looked up. "Uhm... But yeah... I was trying to get out more, but you never know when you'll get kidnapped these days, I suppose. I sometimes think that my appearance paints me as an easy victim."

Another pause, where she looked up, deciding if she would tell him something.

"Then... there was the other woman I met... She was... Interesting." She sat down, and talked about her interaction with another mutant, a spider controlling mutant who was clearly insane, but... also.. very liberating. "So the waiter did that thing, where they stare at my ID for a while... and then... well... She noticed, and she... hurt him a little... with her spiders. It was wrong, I know, but... I couldn't help but feel so... Satisfied... Does that make me bad? He was okay, I mean, I'm sure the bites didn't feel good, but he'll be fine, and... Sometimes I get so angry when people don't accept the me that I really am. I... I don't want to hurt them, but seeing them hurt... Jesus, I feel like a monster thinking that." She sighed a bit. She wouldn't even get into what they spent the rest of the night doing... even though it was all hilarious.