Leila was working today. Out of all days, the Aquarium needed her on New Year's Eve? She loved her new job, she really did. Dr. Grey was amazing, though he could get in your head sometimes... Litterally. The man was a Mind Reader, who would of thought? Well, an other good thing about her job was that Raina, one of Leila's Mutant friends, worked there also. She was also thankful, because this job let her experiment with her abilities, and although no one knew about this -- not even Grey, as she never thought of it at work -- she would have more practic to be a little more useful in the Order.

Leila sighed, she had turned back to her Human Form for the last time today. 'Turning into a Dolphin was sometimes very unconvinient', she thought as she finished pulling on her clothes. She had to get completely undressed before transforming, unless she had an extra pair of clothes nearby. After exiting the Staff Room, Leila made her way to her Favorite Animal's habitat.

A few minutes later, Leila was facing Duke. She was one of the few people working today, having to feed all the Animals in a specific part of the place. "Alright, Duke." she said, to the Sea Lion. "Your the last to feed before Lunch, so don't make this take so long, okay buddy? I'm starved." she grinned, knowing Duke could heart her, and sometimes, she could actually hear him speak too.

In the past three weeks she had been working here, Leila had heard some Creatures, but as her Fish-Comunicating ability was usually playing with her, she rarely heard them. It had been two days since Fish had spoken to her, but usually, it could take a week before she'd hear anything. That was one thing she really hated, even in her Dolphin Form, she couldn't comunicate with any other Creature apart from Dolphins.

Ten minutes later, the Dolphin Shapeshifter was in her car, smelling strongly of Fish. "Eurk," she said, as her car rolled on the Freeway. She turned into the Parking lot of a Burger Restaurant, wondering what kind of Salad would be best to keep her working until Seven. Finally, as she walked into the warm, sweet-smelling place, she decided on a Seizer salad. She made her order, then went to sit in one of the last seats for two.

Gabe opened the door to the burger place looking to get his carnivore on some cow. The heat wave that blasted him was followed by noise. The place was packed. At least it was warm and he wasn't wandering on the cold streets. He opened his wallet, checking his funds.

"I should be able to get plenty to eat here."

He walked up to the counter, looking at the pimply teen behind the counter. *Why do they let the kids with the worst acne work the register? How can that help with business?* He looked at the kids name tag. Lars. *Lars? Who in the hell names their kid Lars? Are mommy and daddy Metallica fans?* Gabe shook his head, and put on a smile.

"Can I get a double cheeseburger, some fries, and a large Pepsi?"

The kid punched in the figures. Gabe gave the kid some money, got his change and went to look for a seat. He wandered all over the restaurant. Families with screaming kids, old couples, and some really weird people using the wi-fi here, justifing using it by buying a small soda. He finally came to a table with an empty chair, but the other chair was occupied.

"Um...hi. Do you mind if I sit here? It's a little to cold outside to be sitting at the picnic tables."

Gabe smiled, and waited for a reply.

Leila ate in peace. If you can call the screaming twin two-year-olds, whinny kid and their loud parents behind her peaceful. She had a sketchbook open beside her, and a sketching crayon. She was drawing herself with Sam, Ice Golems and all. Right now, she only had Sam's face and part of his upper body, but soon, she'd have herself wrapped in his arms. She couldn't beleive how quickly the two were falling for each other. She needed to give him a call, she hadn't seen or spoken to him since Christmas.

The 22 year-old felt calmer then usual as she picked at her meal, the Christmas spirit worn out of her after Christmas had passed. Thoughts about the Order seemed to be drained out of her, like they were when she was around the Aquarium. Just in case Dr. Grey was near enough to hear her thoughts. She really hoped the Holidays would end soon though. Why was New Year so important anyway? As she thought, munched, and continued to draw, she didn't notice a man coming her way.

It wasn't until he spoke that her eyes darted towards him. He was handsome, though the Tatoos and Piercings kind of made the man unattractive for her taste. "Nah, go ahead. I was out in the cold all day, I know exactly what you mean." she said, grinning slightly as she gestured for the seat in front of her. She pushed her stuff closer to her, giving him a little more room.

"I'm Leila," she said, wondering if he was as unjoyful about New Year's as she was. Well, he probably didn't have to work today, which put him slightly above her.

Leila huh? He really hoped she worked at a zoo or something, cause he could slightly smell the fish coming off of her as she told him her name.

"I'm Gabriel. Pretty crummy day outside, huh?"

He sat down in his chair, shortly before their food arrived at the table. Gabe looked at the burger and smiled. No matter what changed, he could always count on fast food to lighten his mood. He picked up the burger, and took a big bite out of it, chewing for a moment then swallowing. He picked up a couple of fries, and looked back at Leila. If he'd been in the mood for a relationship, she was definitely pretty. But ever since his mom died while he was in high school, he really had no ambition to start a romantic relationship.

"As bad as the day is...Happy New Year. Hope yours isn't complete crap."

He smiled, and went back to his food.

Leila looked up at Gabriel, "Yeah, well Crummy is an Understatement." she said, almost laughing. "The day has been terrible. Not just Weather-wise. I hope the Year leaves with all my troubles." she said, this time very serious. She took an other bite of her food, and looked at her sketch of Sam. He looked nice, not as good as he usually did, but you couldn't really beat the real Sam's looks. Leila smiled at it, knowing he'd be able to cheer her up even if he was nearly made of ice himself.

"What, I'm not the only one who's having a terrible day?" Leila said. "Happy New Year to you as well, I guess." she added, looking a little more closely at Gabriel's profile as he ate. He wasn't that bad looking, maybe he'd do better without the peircings, but who knows. Maybe a girl in this place could have her eye on him right now. Truthfully though, it wasn't Leila's. "So, what's got your day all messed up?" she asked.

She twirled her pencil between her fingers, looking down at Sam again. She examined his eyes for a moment, trying to find something that she was missing from the real Sam's, but she had them completely right. As far as she was concerned, her mental picture of the man was nearly as good as a picture. She studied him for long hours as the two hung out together around the Mansion.

Nodding in satisfaction, she sketched out her own head, at an angle that would later look like herself, leaning against Sam's shoulder.

Gabe chewed his food slowly. He was trying to eat in peace, but Leila kept looking him over. She was sketching something, which was obscured from his view, but he was pretty sure it wasn't him. She had been sketching since before he sat down.

"I don't mean to be rude, and I know we just met, but what exactly are you drawing? And why do you keep looking me up and down? I know it's kind of a blunt question, but that's the kind of guy I am. Straight to the point."

He leaned back in his chair, slouching a little. He took a few french fries and put them in his mouth, chewing methodically.

Leila was a little zoned out as she continued drawing. Marveling over Sam's good looks and remembering their New Year's Eve last night. Then, Gabriel quickly grabbed her attention again. "Oh, just me and my boyfriend." she said, handing him the sketchbook. "I'm not entirely done." she said, watching his expression to see if he liked it or not. She had never showed her Drawings to many, Raina had been the only one, and it had been a Birthday card. She had to say she liked it, out of politeness, right? Maybe she had thrown it out!

And then she thought over the next part of his question, taking her drawing back and putting it where it used to be. The real reason? Well, because she didn't really think men with Tattoos all over and piercings were this... decent. The reason she said aloud? "Well, I don't know, I guess I do that a lot. Habit, of mine I suppose." she paused, blushing slightly. "Aw, now you got me babbling on and blushing!" she teased, smiling slightly. "Anyway, what's got you here this evening alone?" she asked.

She finished the remains of her salad, looking at her watch for a few seconds. She still had twenty minutes of break, maybe she could spend it getting to know someone new? She had been here for nearly half a year, but surprisingly, she didn't know many people. Especially Humans. "I have to go in twenty minutes. Just a heads up, Fish can't feed themselves, unfortunately." she sat back in her seat, dropping her pencil on the table.

He looked at the sketch she was doing, noting the detail she went into of herself and her beau. He had to admit, he was impressed.

"These are pretty good. I do some sketching myself."

He handed the sketchbook back to her. He finished off his meal, and realized that alot of the lunch rush had cleared out. Talk about fast food. Not only did they make it fast, people ate it fast and bailed. The kid that he'd ordered from was mopping the floor in front of the register while he had some down time. Gabe shifted his weight subconciously, sitting up and putting his elbows on the table after pushing his tray away from him. He thought about her question of him being here alone.

"I'm new in town. I've only met a couple of people, but they've been decent enough to me."

He smiled at the thought of Tarin and Lee. He'd met at least one other person with abilities like himself. The smile quickly faded when he thought of the last few people he'd gotten close to. His dad had basically kicked him out, his former best friend had nothing to do with him, and his mom...well, that wasn't really anything he did, but it still hurt.

"I don't wanna make you late getting back to work."

He took the last drink of his Pepsi, then stood up, and put his coat on.

"I gotta get going. Still working on the funds for a car. Luckily I found a job. It was nice to meet you, Leila."

"That's cool. I love Drawing, ever since my mother passed away, it's been really, refreshing." she said, "I wanted to go and study art, but some stuff happened," she didn't want him to ask what, if she told him she was a Mutant, he may not want to sit here anymore. Not to mention speak to her. "And I guess I changed paths. But art would still be the top of my list." she added. She sat back in her seat like he did, crossing her legs under the table.

"New huh, yeah I know how that feels." she sighed, "I moved in the States only a few months ago myself. Though throughout my life, Iv'e never really lived anywhere more then a year. I plan on sticking around here for a long time though. Big Cities fascinate me and Iv'e met the greatest people." she realized she was speaking a lot now. She blushed just the tiniest bit, smiling at him.

As soon as the great conversation had started, it was ending. Leila smiled at him as she watched him get up. "Yeah, it was great too meet you too Gabriel!" she said joyfully, getting her coat and sketchbook as she too, got up. "You cheered me up a lot, thanks. Hopefully your afternoon won't be too bad." she said, actually hoping she could meet this man again someday.

The city was big, but somehow, she knew they'd find each other. She waved at him, throwing out her remains and then with a flip of her hair, she was out the door. Back to the aquarium, back to feeding the rest of the animals. If only she could just go back to the Mansion and spend the day finishing off her drawing. She wanted to give it too Sam, as an other, though late, Christmas present.