Everybody has to buy new clothes now and then, whether they like it or not. Chris did definitely not like it. But the clothes he'd brought with him to the mansion started to get pretty worn and he only had winter clothes, so it had been time for him to get some shopping done.

Lately he'd kind of isolated himself in the mansion, and it had been a while since he'd been to New York. Actually, Chris preferred it that way. He had some memories from the city, but most of them weren't fond ones. Like when he'd just got of the bus and got assaulted in an alley after just 10 minutes and had to flee for dear life. Or that time when he and Henrietta almost got mugged in Central park and had to flee for dear life again, that had been... fun. Or when Chris, Meld and Anthony got attacked in a sushi restaurant, a fight ensued and Chris... fled for dear life. He started to diminish a pattern here.
Chris shivered. He'd still not processed the sushi brawl, in which three humans had died at the hands (or metal claws) of a fellow mutant and didn't really like to think about it that much.

He was currently carrying a plastic bag with the well-known Gap logo. He had entered a small mall and just picked up some clothes that were his size and had colors he could live with since he didn't want to stay in there for too long. Since it was a Saturday there were much people in the mall, and he'd been discomforted and almost on the verge of panic in there. Maybe it hadn't been such a great idea to go shopping alone... but on the other hand, he hadn't really wanted to ask someone at the mansion to go with him. Like he was some little kid who couldn't even go shopping by himself.

He walked quickly towards the bus stop, aware of every curious look he got on the way. He sped up, wanting to get back to the mansion as quickly as possible, rounded a corner - just to miss his bus. Chris heart sank as he saw the large public vehicle gather speed and glide down the street in an almost mockingly way. Now what would he do? He didn't feel like standing there and wait for the next bus, it felt way to exposed. Maybe he could find some corner where he could hide for a while?

Following someone around because they looked interesting was not stalking. Besides, he wasn't really following him, just generally going in the same direction as the boy with the GAP bag. It. Was. Not. Stalking. Van simply had an interest in people that seemed fascinating. Normally the young mutant did not hang out around...malls--not for shopping, decidedly. There was nothing more evil than a mall and few things came close to even brushing the depths of depravity that were found inside of a shopping mall. In fact, Van could go on for hours about how terrible--

but he was getting off topic. Van hardly ever went to malls, but when he did it was because he wanted to people watch. He had the day off and since all of the shows he wanted to go to were later that night he'd needed to find something to occupy his time. For the first time in a long time the boy did not have his trusty Polaroid with him, instead he carried a cheap disposable model, designed for the sole purpose of documenting the interesting faces and places that he passed. Van tried to convince himself that it was more fun with a cheap plastic camera since he didn't know what he'd get. Still...he did so miss the familiar weight around his neck...

Where did he go?

Back to the boy with GAP bag. He was interesting, very interesting. Gray-blue-green-ish skin, bald, reminiscent of some kind of creature that lived underwater. Despite the GAP bag (Van never shopped in such stores, nor did he associate with many people who did) he was the perfect candidate for a picture or two (or three or four or a whole piece, give or take and the bag could be covered up later). Sure, he'd seen unique people in New York City--but not many of them could boast such supremely fishy facials.

He really wasn't following him, Van just happened to notice the boy a few times as he wandered around the mall. He'd left by the time he saw him again--apparently GAP had missed his bus, what a perfectly organic opportunity to meet the obviously nervous boy, or maybe not, maybe it would be a better idea to leave him alone--he really did look very nervous and twitchy..."Ooops. I'm so sorry." In his musing of the merits of striking up a conversation Van had made his way towards GAP subconsciously and with his distracted mind he ran into him, full on, no bracing or forewarning included.

((OOC: Sorry for the delay, I got busy! ))

Chris adjusted his sleeve so that he could glance down at his watch.He didn't know when the next bus would pass by, but he hoped it would be soon. He felt terribly exposed where he stood, and the idea to find a corner became more and more tempting by the minute. It had been worse inside the mall, of course, but it was almost as bad here.
Chris sighed. He knew that he was way too nervous, most of the people who passed by just seemed curious about him. Maybe he was a bit overly paranoid. Actually, it was probably safer to be out here than trying to hide in an alley - it wasn't like anyone would attack him out here in broad daylight. Right?

He had just finished the thought when someone walked into him. Since he'd been in his own thoughts he was completely unprepared and flinched away with a shocked scream.
"Aaah!!"
His pulse started racing and panic clouded his mind and just made it possible for him to think in fragments - Attacked! Run away! Find somewhere safe!
Chris held up the GAP-bag between himself and the 'enemy', like it was some kind of shield, and backed away a few steps.
Then his brain finally registred the Ooops. I'm so sorry and he started to realize that he maybe wasn't under attack after all. Chris slowly lowered the plastic bag and looked towards Van with a both wary and embarrassed look. People around them had actually stopped, wanting to see what all the commotion was about. Slouchíng his shoulders, Chris wished that he had had the mutant ability to sink through the ground at will.
"S-sorry," he managed to say while he silently cursed himself for being so high-strung.

((No problems!))

When Van finally realized that he'd bumped into the boy he'd been...seeing around. (that's what it was, honest!) He immediately took a step back. This instinctual move turned out to be mutual as Mister Blue-Gray-And-Slimy-All-Over took several steps back, holding his GAP bag ahead of him as if it were a shield and Van was some kind of dragon attacking the kid's medieval village. The boy with the piercings and the plastic camera still held safely in his palm just calmly waited, blinking slowly as he took in all of the wonderfully interesting aspects of Sir GAP and his appearance. He was just so unique. It was refreshing after a day spent in a mall full of Aberzombies who had less entertainment value than an entire bag of lint gathered from between the couch cushions.

Sir Gap lowered his shield and Van the Terrifying Dragon wondered how someone got so jumpy. Maybe he was new to the city or something? That seemed a simple solution...or maybe it was just hard looking so different--even in a city of millions. Something hard dropped into the young mutants stomach as he went through a hundred scenarios in which intolerance could play a part. That. Had to. Suck.

Shoulder slouching? Very twitchy? Curious, very curious. Van tried to give his best reassuring smile at the fishy-boy's apology and nervous glances. "No worries, it was mostly my fault anyway. I had my head a dangerous height above the sidewalk." Smiling: check. Friendly tone: check. Staring kept to a minimum: check. Attempt at a joke: also check. Everything placed and accounted for: YAY! Upon closer inspection the boy looked rather shiny. Is that some kind of slime? That is awwwwwesome. This kid needed to be documented, the world deserved to see how unique its people were and Nature deserved a big ol' pat on the back for her job well done.

Also, he had no ears.

No ears? Van had never seen someone with no ears and his heartbeat actually accelerated a bit. A hand bridged the space between them (via an arm that elongated itself on a whim and through no conscious effort of its owner) and attempted to brush the space on the side of his head that was earless with slightly long finger-tips.

Awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to another, Chris glanced to the side. People had actually stopped to watch them! There was one middle-aged lady with henna hair and a small dog, a teenage couple that stood with their arms around each other and an older gent who seemed to be a businessman. Really, had people nothing better to do? Chris knew that he would feel a million times better if everyone would just stop looking for a moment.
And then there was the guy who'd bumped into him. He was smiling and saying something about his head being a dangerous height above the sidewalk.
"Uhm...okay?" Chris said, not really sure what the other kid meant. Chris had a poor sense of humor and didn't even get regular jokes, so attempts at ones usually passed him right by. But it was true that the other guy was tall - he seemed to be around Chris's age but was at least a head taller. He was skinny, had a messy hairstyle and piercings.
Anyway, something about him felt a bit uncanny. Even though he wasn't exactly staring, Chris didn't really like the way the tall guy was looking at him. It was a bit like how a scientist or entomologist would look at an interesting, unknown new bug specimen.

Suddenly the other guy moved his arm, and Chris, assuming that he wanted to shake hands, reflexively offered his own. He was getting pretty good at shaking hands, if he could say so himself. He'd got a lot of practice since he'd moved in at the mansion.
But Septum Piercing's hand didn't stop to shake Chris's hand. Instead, it went up to the side of his head where his ear would have been... brushing it. Chris jaws dropped and he quickly jerked away his head, backing away until his back connected with the nearest shop window. His eyes bulged with shock and indignation. Chris was a firm believer of personal space and had a tendency to overreact at sudden movements and/or physical contact.
"Whu... what do you think you're doing?!" he croaked. Now a man with sideburns and an old lady with a cane had joined the audience. The entertaining value of this was apparantly great.

Joke status: epic fail. Sad. Van frowned on the inside at the death of his attempt at wit.

Touching status: Did he really just initiate physical contact with the GAP shopping boy that he didn't know at all? It seemed so. Rather upsetting, that. Awkwardly touching someone's cranium was never really a good way to start out a relationship (unless of course you were a head doctor or something). As it so happened Van had no such doctor degree and no excuse for the way he freaked the other boy out.

What am I doing? The young mutant looked at his arm, which was unnaturally long and the long fingers attached to it. Apparently his curiosity had gotten the best of his limbs. Ooops.

The boy didn't notice the onlookers (he was focused on the fact that he'd totally just touched a stranger) when he replied to the question: "I don't really know." Well, that wasn't totally true--might as well take a stab at explaining his mindset or lack there of. "I'm sorry." He really was. "You're just very interesting looking and I noticed you don't have ears." The word 'interesting' was said in a genuine way, with no sneering connotations attached in the inflection. The boy looked down at his still rubbery arm. "Apparently my arm felt the next logical step would be to awkwardly feel up your skull. Honestly, it's like I can't take myself anywhere." The arm swung a bit and Van attempted a light-hearted laugh.

Taking a step back (it seemed best, since Sir GAP was so nervous), Van looked at the bus stop. Turning back to the boy he spoke again. "That was really weird and I really didn't mean to...er...touch you. I've just never seen someone quite like you before..." He trailed off as he watched a pigeon take off from a shop awning in search of coffee or whatever it was that birds in New York City craved.

"Mom, look at his arm," a kid said with apparent interest.
"Sweetie, don't point."
Chris looked down at Septum Piercing's elongated arm and realized that he was now officially freaked out. Actually, the revelation that Septum Piercing was a mutant should have had the reverse effect since Chris normally felt more at ease around fellow mutants than around humans, but somehow it didn't calm him down that the tall guy in front of him was a mutant. It might have to had something to do with the fact that the ever gathering crowd around them made him more high-strung than a harpsichord on Mount Everest, or that the guy had touched the side of his head.

But he seemed to be kind of regretful over it, at least.
>>"I'm sorry. You're just very interesting looking and I noticed you don't have ears."
"You don't say," Chris said in a weak voice, but his eyes went frantically from left to right as he looked for an escape route. His back was still pressed against the display window to a store that sold plastic spike mats and dietary supplements. Left? No, then he'd have to push his way past the old lady with the cane and he wasn't sure her femoral necks would be able to handle the pressure. Right? No, the way was blocked by the henna lady and the mom with the kid.

Even though nobody there meant him any harm (Septum Piercing even backed away a step to seem less intimidating) Chris felt that he was on the verge of panic - his heart was beating like crazy, adrenaline flooded his systems and he was breathing in quick, shallow gasps. Even though no hateful or depreciative comments had been uttered yet, the stare from the crowd was enough to make it feel like he was stuck in some kind of social pressure cooker. Septum Piercing kept apologizing, but Chris was in such a state that he barely understood what the other mutant was talking about.

Suddenly, the little kid moved a bit to the left. There! A gap! Chris made a quick leap for it, finally seeing a way to get away from all the people. But the sudden movement startled the kid, who gave up a shriek as the mutant came running towards her, and that, in turn, startled Chris as he passed her. So he tripped, managed to stay on his feet... but lost the GAP bag which landed on the sideway with a low thud. Chris barely noticed it, it was just clothes, he could by more some other time. The important thing now was escape. Chris jumped into a small alley next to the bus stop.

((Why do I feel like a lady who's playing hard to get by dropping her handkerchief and then running away?))

Did that just happen? Van blinked what seemed like a hundred times as he stared at his reflection in the window. All that photogenic promise, all that slime gone in an instant. The boy had bolted in a wild display of panic. Van felt a bit guilty now about the touching, or at least more than he already did. Had he known the boy was so very jumpy maybe his arm would have stopped its subconscious quest for knowledge.

When he turned around there were people watching him and people helping a woman up and people staring at a bag on the ground. A GAP bag. Sir Gap had left his shield in his haste to hurry away from such a horribly awkward situation. This would not do. Pushing past the crowd the boy made his way to the bag and Van the Terrifying Dragon went in search of Sir GAP. The knight-who-was-not wasn't so hard to find as there was a path cleared in people heading towards an alley.

Alleys were not good places. Scary ladies followed you into them and commented on your artwork while stepping all over your...um...manly parts. They were places to hide after bar fights turned anti-mutant riot. Terrible, terrible places alleys were. It would not do for the boy to go down one. Not that Van could really stop someone who had a head start and who happened to already be in said alley.

Sigh.

This was so awkward but he just had to give him back the bag. The wormy thing in his stomach told him to and threatened to eat a hole straight to his other squishy parts if he didn't at least attempt to give the plastic sack back to its rightful owner. Looking back towards the street it seemed as if the crowd had dispersed, their source of amusement gone into hiding. He didn't take a step into the mouth, just sort of leaned against a wall and called: "Um, I've got your bag kid--it's alright. Everyone's gone. Well...except me. I can leave too, if you want." The bag was slowly lowered to the ground and Van pushed off the wall, ready to walk away if he wasn't answered.

Silence. Then a movement beside a dumpster a little further into the alley. It was Chris who slowly stood up and exited his hiding place. He still seemed to be wary, but apparently he was much calmer than he'd been just moments ago. He walked towards Septum Piercing and picked up his bag, always ready to run like the wind if the other guy would try to touch his ear again or something.

But when that didn't happen, he seemed to relax.
"...Thanks. I... don't handle crowds well."
That was kind of an understatement. Anyway, he was really thankful that Piercing had brought his bag - if it had been up to Chris alone he would just have stayed behind the dumpster for a while, and then the bag would probably be gone by the time he went out of the alley. Chris had some prejudices against New Yorkers and one was that they'd steal everything that wasn't nailed to the ground as soon as you turned your head away from it. Speaking of which, Piercing seemed to be from around here - but Chris wasn't entirely sure, he was no star at figuring out people's accents.
But Piercing seemed to be a decent enough guy, even though he was, in fact, pierced (another of Chris's prejudices.) He was a fellow mutant, had apologized for touching Chris's head and had brought back his plastic bag. So Chris hesitated, and then offered his hand again.
"I'm Chris, by the way. Chris Berg."

The boy was coming closer, but slowly. It kinda reminded Van of the way that animals got sometimes when they were scared--like dogs that are afraid of storms and come creeping out from under the table after the rain has passed. The young mutant at the mouth of the alley reacted in a similar fashion to the way he would with such an animal and he stayed still and quiet, just watching GAP with a polite smile on his face.

He took his bag, and then he spoke. "No problem, I wouldn't want someone jacking my stuff because some creeper made me uncomfortable and I had to jet." That Van was the creeper in this scenario didn't get brought up--maybe this sort-of-not-joke-thing would result in a better reaction from the boy? "I'm not a big fan of people myself." Unless it's through a camera lens. It's not that he personally had issues with crowds--people just sucked sometimes and it seemed like he was pretty good at telling people how much they sucked and that usually didn't end well. (Not everyone believes that honest is the best policy, so it seemed.)

And then there was a hand. Van eyed it nervously, wondering if he was meant to touch it (or shake it) and then he got an introduction. GAP was really named Chris Berg--a much better name than GAP in Van's opinion. That was invitation to shake...probably. The hand was shook lightly with a thin-fingered counterpart. Chris's finger were webbed, soooooo cool. "I'm Van, like the automobile. Van Sanders-Adamson actually, bu Van is easier to remember." He gave the other boy a wry smile and gave the webbed hand one last shake. When it returned to his side his own was covered in the same slime that had covered Chris' cranium. This day was just getting better and better.

>>"No problem, I wouldn't want someone jacking my stuff because some creeper made me uncomfortable and I had to jet."
Chris just nodded solemnly. If Septum Piercing chose to refer to himself as a 'creeper,' Chris wasn't going to object.

They shook hands and Piercing presented himself as Van, or Van Sanders-Adamson. True, it was a bit of a mouthful. After they had shook hands Chris absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck, not really sure what to do. Should he say Nice meeting you, mr Sanders-Adamson, but, you see, there's this bus... or should he stay and chat? Chris was actually curious about the other mutant, but he still felt a bit intimidated. The guy had a nose piercing, after all.
After some hesitation Chris asked:
"So you're a mutant...?"
Not that it really was a question, it was more like a statement with a question mark added. It was pretty clear that Van was a mutant, considering his stretching arm. Chris hadn't seen him at the mansion before - not that it meant anything, it was a big place and Chris mostly stayed at his room or in the library.
Now he noticed the cheap, disposable camera Van was carrying. Chris frowned - he didn't realize what it was at first since he'd never seen one close up.

The little encounter got awkward. Van wanted to flash a picture of the boy and then bolt--but the guilty thing in his stomach warned him against this thoroughly. It was too bad, Chris was so cool looking and the boy with the camera really wanted to know how light from a flash would react to the shiny slime that covered his visible skin. Something in the back of his mind also told Van that being random paparazzi was probably not the best way to get the boy in front of him more comfortable with people--he already didn't like crowds, adding a fear of people with cameras was just salt in the ol' wound.

Was that a question? Not really....Oh well. "Most days, but sometimes I doubt it." A smirk accompanied this. Images of heels and dark hair filled his mind and the little people in Van's head quickly wiped away these visions and replaced them with dancing girls and flowers and bunnies and all things nice and good in the world.

"I think you saw the gist of my mutation. I can stretch most of my body out." The arm that had been elongated before once again expanded and he help it up for the other boy to see and prod (as only fair, he had inappropriately touched his scalp). "So is yours just visible or--is there some where you need to be? Dude, I'm not trying to keep you if you need to get on that bus." Van suddenly realized that the fishy mutant in front of him had obviously missed his bus earlier.

Chris looked curiosly at the elongated arm, but he didn't touch it. It looked really peculiar. He wondered if the hand would be like rubber - it had felt like a normal hand when he'd shook it earlier. Would the other mutant bounce like a rubber ball if someone dropped him from a high spot? Would all punches at him just bounce back? Cool but a bit freaky, thought the young mutant who looked like the love child of Voldemort and a fish.

>>"So is yours just visible or--is there some where you need to be? Dude, I'm not trying to keep you if you need to get on that bus."
"Oh, that's right."
Chris realized that his next bus should be there any minute. A bus very much like the bus outside the alley, a bus whose engine had just started and whose doors where just closing. Chris stood perfectly still for a couple of seconds as the realization dawned to him,and then he suddenly bolted past Van quicker than any regular person (and in that way answering any questions whether or not his mutation was just physical) and out of the alley.
"No, wait!!"

But it was too late. The bus had started to gather speed, and if the driver saw the young mutant who waved for the bus to stop, he didn't show it. Instead the bus rolled away, and it didn't take long until it was gone. Chris stood looking after it with an almost devastated look on his face.

Apparently Van had reminded the boy of his bus issues in just enough time for him to miss a second bus. Chris had bolted out of the alley very, very fast. He'd also gotten the the bus stop very, very fast.Van blinked very, very slow as he watched the interesting motion. The outside must come with some perks. Was decided before the tall boy made his way from the alley to where Chris was standing and looking like someone had eaten all the cake at his birthday party.

Van felt bad. He felt very, very bad. It may not have been his fault that the fishy boy missed the bus the first time, but it was probably his fault that it was happening again. The situation would have to be remedied.

Sidling up to the boy, Van tried to give his best attempt at a non-smirky-polite-smile thing. "Um, if you hurry you might be able to catch that bus down the next block and if that doesn't work, there's always the subway." He just looked so sad. Van didn't like sad people, they took pictures that made him sad. No, he liked happy, interesting people, and sadness (while sometimes interesting) was something that in his mind made people too alike.

The only problem with the subway idea was if Chris had never ridden a subway before, the experience could be daunting (depending on what time of day) even for you average, law abiding New Yorker. Van tapped his foot and drummed his fingers against his slowly retracting arm as he tried to think of another solution for the bus issue.

Chris stood looking after the bus as it sped down the block, doing a pretty good interpretation of Humphrey Bogart as Ingrid Bergman's plan left the airport. Van exited the alley too and seemed to be looking for ways to console Chris - he mentioned that Chris could catch the bus if he ran really fast, or that he could take the subway. Chris looked hesitantly after the bus, that was almost out of view already. Then he looked down at his legs, that bent in places no human legs where meant to bent.
"I... don't think so, actually. I can move quickly if I want to, but I'm not a long distance runner."
And the subway... he didn't even consider that option, not really. Just the thought of being caught in a tunnel under the earth filled with people who were pushing and shoving and milling to get to their train as fast as possible... no way. He wouldn't last three minutes down there.
"And I've never used the subway before. Besides, I don't know if it goes all the way to the mansion."

Chris sighed and then shrugged. He realized that he probably looked like a total whiner, getting all riled up just because he'd missed two busses. Perspective was a good thing to have, he just might have to try to use it more.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know it's just a bus, it's not the end of the world or something. It's just..."
He paused, not really sure if he should continue. It felt a bit weird to stand and talk to a guy he didn't even know about his fears and concerns, but he felt that he wanted to give some kind of explanation. Van had no obligation at all to stand there and listen to Chris's whining - Chris was actually a bit surprised that the other mutant hadn't just shrugged, said something like Yeah, sucks to be you and walked away yet. Maybe he felt a bit guilty for scaring Chris into the alley or something.
"It's just that I don't like this place," he admitted. "It's too much people, too much traffic, too much noise. It makes me... twitchy."