Outliers

Chapter 2: Gimme Shelter

"So, where's Fisher?" I asked Xavier. We were at the edge of the alley, ready to step onto the sidewalk. "Which way do we go?"

          "Uh." He scratched the back of his head, disheveling some of his short, thick brown hair. "I don't know. It's not like I'm here a lot, and I've never been in this area."

          I sighed, rubbing my hand over my face. "What are we gonna do now?" I asked, shoulders slumping. We couldn't just walk around the city for hours.

          "What about that woman over there?" Ariana pointed down the street to a tall woman with a bounce in her step.

          "What about her?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

          "We could ask to borrow her holo-watch and look up the street," Ariana said.

          "Think she'll let us?" Xavier asked.

          "Well," I sighed. The woman would be gone soon if we didn't approach her. "Only one way to find out."

          We left the alley, walking briskly down the sidewalk. It was only a minute or so before we reached the woman.

          "Sorry," I said as I tapped her on the shoulder.

          She turned around to face the three of us. When I got a closer look at her, I realized she couldn't have been much older than we were. She had platinum blond hair and bold red lipstick. It was easy to believe she lived in Brampton. She wasn't designed well, if at all, with her crooked nose being the most obvious flaw. There were also the baggier, dark clothes that poorest people seemed to wear, due to the fact that they didn't cost as much or fade as quickly. She seemed to belong in Brampton.

          "Could we borrow your holo-watch for a sec? We're totally lost, and ours are dead." I pointed to mine. The portal had done something to them, making them useless.

          "Oh, um..." She looked us up and down. She twisted the ends of her hair around a couple of her fingers. Our ragged appearances probably didn't help."I dunno..."

          "We'll only be a sec," Xavier said. He smiled at her, keeping his tone light. "And what are we gonna do?"

            She smiled, and I could've sworn she batted her mascara-coated lashes at him. How old was she anyway? Eighteen?

          "Alright," she said. "Here." She tapped the watch to life and unlocked it with her thumbprint. She held out her wrist to Xavier.

          "Uh...thanks," he said, awkwardly taking her wrist. She couldn't have just handed him the watch? She stared at him almost the entire time he searched. "Here." Xavier let go of her wrist, and she pulled her arm back, her face falling slightly.

          "Oh, that was quick." She smiled at him again, and not in a way an eighteen-year-old stranger should smile at a fifteen-year-old.

          Even I could admit Xavier was good-looking. He'd gotten lucky enough that it was barely noticeable that he wasn't designed much outside of the mandatory vaccines, the few freckles he had being the main giveaways. He had a strong, sharp jawline and was lightly tanned, with an athletic frame. He had almond-shaped dark chocolate eyes and matching hair, which had been cut just below his ears but frayed out at the sides. His lips were full, with a sharp Cupid's bow and narrow corners. Xavier ranked higher on the attractiveness scale than most guys, probably more than any of the guys the girl had seen in this Service area, but she didn't need to throw herself at him like that.

          "Yep, thanks." I gave her a tight smile. "Bye."

           Her eyebrows rose in surprise, but she turned around and continued on briskly to wherever she was headed.