Out in L.A.

[Nicole Morley]

:: Nicole meandered down the street, towards a nearby food stop. There were some local gang types in a lowrider, blaring out hip hop in a tacky lowrider in the lot. She ignored the noise they called music, more concerned with getting some food in her than anything else. One of the hoodies decided to follow her inside ::

[Jacob Foley]

In the first aisle, Jake stood staring at a column of shelves full of colourful boxes. He hugged his arms to himself, determined not to commit to a decision until he was certain. His eyes spied something on the bottom shelf and they lit up. Crouching low, he snatched up the box and nodded, pleased with his choice: Cap'n Crunch's Choco Crunch. Then just as he was about to drop it into the basket at his feet, he froze.

"Aw, crap! They have it in peanut butter, too..."

[Nicole Morley]

:: Nicole walked by Jacob with the hoodie in close pursuit. Stopping to select a beverage, she noticed the greaseball trying to be hip, adjusting his package in his hand as she leaned against the refrigerator case. Maybe she wouldn't have to do anything, she wished. Maybe he would go away if she avoided eye contact ::

[Jacob Foley]

Click. Click. Click. Jake turned, momentarily distracted, to find the source of the sound. Snakeskin boots, which poked out from under a pair of tight blue jeans, torn at the knee. They belonged to a girl inspecting the contents of the refrigerator. The denim hugged her just below the hips, she wore her jacket open revealing a black and white bustier. Her midriff was flat and creamy. He returned his gaze to the cereal boxes in his hands.

"Hey, girl... ain't seen your face 'round here... think I woulda remembered..."

The muttering caught Jake's attention. He glanced up again. She had been approached by a young man in a white Clippers vest top, grey sweat pants which crumpled in thick folds around huge sneakers, and from his position, Jake could see most of his boxer shorts, too. He shook his head, selected the box of Peanut Butter Crunch, and wandered past them while the advances persisted.

"You look like you could use a guide, I mean shit, girl, this is a rough neighbourhood... and I can show you a good time..."

[Nicole Morley]

:: Nicole flashed a hostile smile as she confronted him ::

"Don't hunt what you can't fuck."

:: She nudged past him and walked to the front with her drink ::

[Jacob Foley]

Jake sniggered at the blunt put-down and disenchanted with her obvious lack of enthusiasm, the sleazy youngster skulked off uttering incomprehensible strings of slang. His interest piqued, Jake quickly finished off his shopping and joined her at the checkout line. Leaning forward to drop the basket at his feet, he spoke to her in a low voice.

"Hey, I liked the way you dealt with that slimeball back there."

[Nicole Morley]

:: Glancing over her shoulder, she gave him a once over from head to toe. Brown walking boots, jeans turned-up at the the bottom, a Who t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. He was white and he was proud, not like the clown she just blew off. Thank God ::

"Thanks." she said dryly as the cashier rang up her purchase. She gave him a slight smile before walking out the door.

[Jacob Foley]

When Jake had finished bagging the groceries, he stepped out onto the street to be greeted by a clamor of wolf whistles and honking horns. They were not aimed at him, he noticed, but the girl from the store. She strolled along the sidewalk flanked by a trashy lowrider filled with leering hip-hop bopping cretins. He doubled his pace in pursuit.

The guys in the back of the car were now sat on the chasis with their feet resting on the seats, they waved their arms making all kinds of strange gestures; the amount of tacky golden trinkets which jingled made the stalking vehicle sound more like Santa's sleigh. Jake finally caught up and positioned on the sidewalk between her and the car. The mood changed immediately, and abuse was barked at him instead.

"Hi, I'm Jake," he said to her, ignoring the noise which followed them.

[Nicole Morley]

"I'm ..."

:: Nicole tried to reply, but the horn, the rap, the bouncing hydraulics and the catcalls drowned her out. She was fighting hard not to lose her temper again ::

[Jacob Foley]

Nicole. Her name is Nicole, he thought, smiling inwardly.

"Don't let them get to you. It's not a bad neighbourhood really, once you get past the creeps in the cars, the gun violence, and-"

The car cut them off by swinging into a narrow side street, forcing them to walk around it to get past. Neither of them hesitated, they walked into the side street and around the front of the car and at that moment, its passengers climbed out in unison. They were trapped.

"Okay fellas, what are you playing at?" he asked, feeling a stirring feeling in his gut.

"Me and my boys want a slice of that pie," answered one, pointing at Nicole, "And we want you to get gone."

[Nicole Morley]

:: Nicole looked at Jake seriously ::

"They're not kidding. You'd better go."

[Jacob Foley]

"What?" he asked, then muttered to her as he recovered from his disbelief, "No... no, I'm not gong anywhere. Hey!"

The punk from the store prowled around in a wide arc until he was close to Nicole and made a false lunge for her and barked like a dog. Jake pushed her gently back and stepped between them. The scrawny kid with the bleached blond hair squared up to him, chewing gum noisely through his wide smirking mouth.

"Why don't you just back off, buddy. And take your homeboys with you."

The largest of the four suddenly lurched forward and shoved him with such force he was sent careening into a dustbin. On all fours, he heard the gang laughing in unison, his brow creased with anger.

[Nicole Morley]

"FUCKER!!!" :verymad

:: Nicole's temper finally snapped, and she stalked forward, shoving the gangbanger through the air and into the windshield of the lowrider with impossible strength for a normal girl her age ::

[Jacob Foley]

By the time Jake had scrambled to his feet, he'd missed Nicole's shocking display of strength, but he witnessed the aftermath. Furious, the hulking thug yelled orders to his friends, instructing them to take her out and as one closed in on her, Jake made his move. He charged him and forced him back, they fell onto the hood of the lowrider, it bucked under their weight and they rolled off, exchanging heavy blows.

"Nicole," he called out, the guy's hand clamped against his face then raked at the skin, "Get out of here!"

[Nicole Morley]

"It's too late for that .." she growled, punting the front of the car with a soccer kick. Not only did it cave like in like a rhino hit it, but it sailed up into the air and crashed down again. Then she leapt up on the hood and started pounding it flat by jumping up and down on it ::

[Jacob Foley]

Jake had the upper hand in the fight but the claps of flesh smacking flesh came to a halt when something as loud as a bomb sounded right next to him. He tore his attention away from his bloody rival and gawked at the remarkable spectacle unfolding before him. The girl, Nicole, remoulded the car like it was putty under her thrashing limbs. In his punch-drunk state, he was reminded of the bonus rounds of Street Fighter II in which the objective was to decimate a coupé in forty seconds. Nicole managed it in about twenty. The punks, including the one sandwiched between his legs, retreated in panic and raced off down the road, hurling obscenities over their shoulders. Once she was done and her rage subsided, he got up off his knees, and limped over to her with his nose leaking blood. He stared in disbelief, first at what was left of the lowrider, and then her. He spoke breathlessly, through heavy pants.

"You... you... you?"

[Nicole Morley]

"Are you alright?" she said, panting back in joy as she stepped off the flattened low rider.

[Jacob Foley]

"Me? Erm... yeah... yeah."

He glanced down at himself, still a bit stunned, to find his white shirt was speckled red. The buzz of adrenaline made sore spots numb, he felt good and when he looked up at her, he smiled.

"That was something else! That was incredible!" he said, taking another glance at the car, "Ha! I guess I don't need to ask if you're alright, but..."

His eyes fell upon her again, alight with admiration, "Are you alright?"

[Nicole Morley]

"That was fun." :D

:: She picked up his bag ::

"Let's get out of here."

[Jacob Foley]

"I hear that."

He relieved her of his bags and they turned, opting to take a route through the sidestreet rather than step out into the road next to a wrecked car covered in blood. Jake was enjoying the heady rush from the violence and relief, he couldn't supress his grin and a chuckle surfaced from time to time.

"So, Nicole, are you new in town?"

[Nicole Morley]

"Just passing through." she replied as they walked again. "You can pretend none of this even happened tomorrow."

[Jacob Foley]

"Now why would I want to do that?" he asked, and wiped the blood from his face with his already soiled t-shirt.

[Nicole Morley]

:: She stopped in her tracks and looked at him with a bit of distrust ::

"What are you doing?"

[Jacob Foley]

"My nose exploded all over my face, I'm making myself presentable," he answered frankly, then noticed the look on her face and he gave her a confused, hesitant grin.

"Why?"

[Nicole Morley]

"People don't tend to stick around when ...."

:: she cut herself off, annoyed by the smirk ::

"... what kind of person are you?"

[Jacob Foley]

"I'm a Pisces."

He answered her seriously, watched her for a second then his grin returned, warm this time.

"I'm a mutant like you."

[Nicole Morley]

:: She looked like she wanted to punch him in the mouth, then her face finally gave way to a pixie grin ::

"We need to do something about that nose. It looks terrible."

[Jacob Foley]

"It's okay. It's not broken and it's nothing I need to hide from Anna."

He resumed the walk, and added, "That's my sister. I live with her... and about half a dozen other mutants. We're one big genetically disfunctional family."

[Nicole Morley]

:: She chewed on her thumb, feeling like a stray cat as she followed him home ::

[Jacob Foley]

South Dominguez Street, Los Santos

They had walked for five minutes through the still suburbs and finally arrived at Redención House. It didn't look like much; the paintwork was flaking, the roof had missing tiles, and a row of five tall bulging trashcans lined the wall. Presently, there was even duct tape in place to cover a crack in one of the bedroom windows. They paused before walking up the path.

"I know what you're thinking," Jake said, then turned to Nicole, "And I'm not kidding by the way, I'm a telepath. It's a bit rough around the edges but it's home. We do look after it but the amount of comings and goings here make it difficult to stay on top of maintenance."

They arrived at the front door, Jake dropped the bags to find his keys.

"Its a safehouse, you see, for mutants," he explained, the door opened with a snick, "We're happy to welcome anyone to stay under our roof as long as they know their table manners, if you know what I mean. After you."

[Nicole Morley]

:: Nicole seemed a bit paranoid at his confession ::

"You're inviting me to stay?"

("Stop snooping around in my head or I'm out of here.")

[Jacob Foley]

"I don't snoop," he said, his voice heavy with weariness, he'd lost count of the amount of times he'd had to needlessly explain himself in the past.

"I have enough thoughts of my own to occupy myself but if you're going to think pointedly like that, it's like speaking aloud and expecting me not to listen. Do you punch holes in the people you're trying to befriend?"

They found themselves in the kitchen, the bags were placed on the table, and the refridgerator door was opened. Jake turned from its glow with a bottle of coke in his hand.

"Can I get you something?"

[Nicole Morley]

"Maybe this was a bad idea."

:: She turned to show herself out ::

(Nice going, cole. Meet a decent guy for a change and you're paranoid, as usual)

[Jacob Foley]

The sudden change in her mood left him stunned. She disappeared, leaving him to wonder what he had done wrong, then he scoffed realising that she was the problem; she was a loner who couldn't keep her temper in check, she was a troubled mutant who beat herself up too much, she was an introverted outcast who'd just rather stay away. She was him.

"Nicole, wait," he said, finding her in the entrance hall, she kept walking.

"I understand."

He caught her hand in his and turned her to face him. The front door opened.

[Anna Fernandez]

"Hola?" Anna dropped her keys as she walked in the front door of the House, and bent down to pick them up. "Anyone home - oh, hi Jake." She smiled at her brother and the girl with him.

"I'm Anna," she said, putting her hand out towards the girl.

[Nicole Morley]

"Hi."

:: She sighed inwardly for not leaving sooner, but offered her hand gently in good manners ::

"I'm Nicole."

[Jacob Foley]

"Nicole saved my ass in a scrap," he said, suddenly beaming and pointing to his blood-splattered nose. He'd released her hand the moment Anna appeared.

"So I invited her back for a coffee," he said, casually returning to the kitchen, "Wait 'til you hear this one, Anna."

[Anna Fernandez]

"Tch, Jake!" Anna shook her head at the sight of his bloodied face. "I need to hear this story." She winked at Nicole. "I hope he didn't try to make the coffee himself, he's terrible at it."

[Nicole Morley]

:: Nicole smirked ::

"It's no big deal. Just a few hoodies."

:: She totally downplayed it ::

[Jacob Foley]

"You Spaniards think you're all that when it comes to food and drink," he said, making a beeline for the coffee pot, "Prepare to eat your words, senorita."

"No need to be modest, Nicole," he interjected when she spoke, over a battery of clinking, hissing and sloshing, his coffee-making in full flow, "She kicked... ass! Never seen anything like it. She turned their tacky lowrider inside out, it couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of guys. Sugar?"

[Anna Fernandez]

Anna rolled her eyes at Jake's theatrics, and lightly touched Nicole's arm, leading her back into the kitchen. "Turned it inside out? That sounds impressive."

[Nicole Morley]

:: Nicole chuckled as Anna touched her arm. She was elf thin, no hard muscles beneth the leather jacket ::

"Jacob tells me this is a safehouse, for our kind."

[Anna Fernandez]

"Si, this is my house, and it has room for anyone who might need a place to stay." Anna took a seat at the kitchen table, then almost immediately got back to her feet in search of some cookies. Locating a zip-lock bag of chocolate chip, she returned to the table, offering some of the homebaked goodies to Nicole.

"Runaways, any mutant young person who needs a roof and a safe place." She smiled, biting into a cookie as Jake began to create a coffee-like smell on the other side of the kitchen.

[Nicole Morley]

:: She wanted to resist, keep moving on, but the idea of staying in a place like this was better than anywhere else she'd go tonight. She took the offered cookie and sat down ::

"Thanks."

[Jacob Foley]

"So you're going to stay a while?" Jake asked brightly, wheeling around to face them with two cups of coffee. He planted them delicately before them and turned to retrieve his own.

"Just be prepared to chip in with the chores now and then," he said, taking a seat at the table, "I think Aidan would appreciate a car lift while he's working on the truck."

He grinned at Nicole from over the rim of his coffee cup and drank. It wasn't that bad, he thought.

"Anna's just been awarded a grant for her work here," he added, and glanced at his sister, "You're a bit of a celebrity around here now, right?"

[Nicole Morley]

"I have nowhere else to go." she replied, trying real hard not to grin back. She reached for another cookie to munch.

[Anna Fernandez]

"You are welcome to stay, Nicole," Anna said warmly, and waved off Jake's comment about her being a celebrity. "The only rules are no drugs or smoking at the House and no gang involvement."

She helped herself to a cookie, but only took a few nibbles. Her stomach was starting to get upset at the mere thought of food.

[Nicole Morley]

"I was afraid you were going to say no Vodka." she teased.

[Jacob Foley]

While Anna regurgitated the house rules, Jake remained conspicuously quiet and thankful that he was the only mind-reader in the house. He dipped a cookie in his coffe and chomped at it while the girls spoke, Anna said something about wine which gave Jake an opportunity to interject:

"That reminds me, thanks to the grant win we'll be going out for a meal this weekend, which will be a great opportunity for you to kick back and get to know the rest of the freaks."

He looked to Anna, "Where are we going again?"

[Anna Fernandez]

"Olive Garden," she said. Anna grinned, "We're not exactly flush with cash, but we'll keep the lights on for another year. You're more than welcome to come along, Nicole.

"Aaand," she added, pushing herself up from the table, "I have some laundry to do." She excused herself, disappearing into the laundry room and trusting Jake to take care of the logistics of Nicole staying. If that was what the girl chose.

[Nicole Morley]

:: Nicole looked back at Jake, and gave a genuine smile for the first time ::

"Where do I stay?"

[Jacob Foley]

Jake stood, Nicole's smile reflected in his face, and said, "Come on. I think you're going to like it here."

[Nicole Morley]

"You think so?" :p

:: she scooped up her bag and waited for the tour ::