Time Warp: Some Say (Eliza)

[James Lawrence]

Set in New York, October 2010

Returning to New York City for the weekend was bittersweet for James. One, it was nice returning to the proverbial heart of the crowd, the center of attention, and being amongst the majority of the state's population again. On the other hand, he knew that after this weekend he would be returning to life; the life he had reluctantly chosen for himself. College, obtain a bachelor's degree and then figure things out from there. It wasn't much, but admittedly it was a step up from wandering around local bars and music venues trying to find open slots to perform. There was only so much an unknown and underage musician could do.


The now twenty one year old decided to come back to the city for the weekend, with a group of friends from college. Not to perform or anything; for the time being, James was over that career. Being legal brought more opportunities to go out to bars and explore the night life the city had to offer. And he needed a fun weekend away to escape reality.


The group had travelled to the city together and rented a cheap hotel room. Bar to bar, drink after drink. He was buzzed, but still coherent to know what was going on around him. A perfect night. He raised a glass of beer to his lips, struggling to stop his laughter as a couple of his friends decided it would be a good idea to join the small group dancing nearby. He was definitely not interested in participating.


Instead, James turned to the person next to him at the bar. "Ready to see a few guys make an ass of themselves?" He asked as an opener, nodding his head towards their direction with a grin.

[Eliza Stevens]

Ah, New York City. The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. For many people this was the place to be. It was a place of dreams and life however, for Eliza Stevens, it wasn't really turning out to be shinning city of opportunity she had hoped it would be. She had been in the city for a little over five months now. She had been living with a friend of hers from college, both of them trying to make it big on Broadway. For Eliza's friend, that had seemed to be going pretty well. She had gotten into the ensemble of a touring show. It wasn't going to actually be on Broadway but it was the touring cast and that was still pretty big. Liza on the other hand. Well, she had gotten two callbacks and that was it. No parts. She understood that's how theatre was sometimes but it was still frustrating to watch her friend get parts while she was stuck on the sidelines.

Liza had tomorrow off from her retail job at Forever 21 and was taking the opportunity to go out and drink. Her friend had rehearsal though and the other people she knew were either working or simply not interested in joining her. It was a bummer but she wasn't gonna let that ruin her night. There was a bar just a few blocks from her house she could go to safely by herself.

She was two beers in, the third in her hand, when a voice hit her ears. She turned to look at the boy next to her. The first word that hit her mind was retro. This boy looked like he was from a few solid decades ago from his clothes to his slicked back hair. It wasn't an odd appearance though, Eliza thought he looked pretty nice like that. After all, this was New York. He definitely was not the oddest person she had seen today.

Liza glanced over where he had nodded to, seeing a group heading out to dance. She chuckled and shook her head, "People making an ass of themselves is a pretty common occurrence here."

Eliza still had longer hair at this point in her life. She was still trying to make it big on Broadway, and since she sounded like a girl and was a girl, she also had to look like one. Her hair was a dramatic jaw length bob, which made her look almost like a model. However, that was the only girly thing about her. Other than that, she dressed like an angsty young man, dark jeans, black combat boots, white t-shirt with some unknown logo on it and a dark jacket. The hair and the clothes were a bit of a contrast but it was about the best she could do being an androgynous girl trying to make in a business that had clear lines between men and women.

[James Lawrence]

Everyone who wanted to make it big always ended up in New York City. There was an undeniable pull for musicians, actors, and everything in between. If you wanted your name to be known across the nation, you came to New York. Unfortunately, the city could be cruel and by no means was it easy. For every person that had even minor success, there were at least five others who didn't; him being one of them.

James tried not to dwell on the past year too much. Especially on a night where he was surrounded by good friends and was suppose to be having a good time.

He adjusted the collar of his leather jacket, picking up the beer once again. The clothes and style had been a change; a way to reinvent himself after high school. He still clung to the image, knowing it was a rather distinct one. James took in the sight of the girl next to him, noting her own style. Never had he seen a girl dressed like that, almost similar to his attire. She looked good, though. No denying that.

"Guess they'll fit right in then." He said, trying to hold back his laughter. How James' friends did that without fearing what sort of impression it left on people was something he'd never understand. "You come here a lot then?" He asked, lifting the bottle to his lips to take a swig.

[Eliza Stevens]

Liza chuckled and took another sip from her drink. "New York is a pretty easy place to fit in. Everyone sticks out so in the end, anyone can blend in." There was a bit of melancholy in her voice as she said this. Unfortunately for Liza, she wanted to stick out. She wanted to be notice, to get a role. Instead, she just seemed to blend.

If she hadn't been drinking, she probably wouldn't have continued the conversation much further, but she was a bit tipsy and seeing as her friends had all decided to skip out on drinking for the night, she figured she needed some company.

"Yeah. I live nearby so it's a decent place to come for a few drinks after a long day." She took another sip, realizing that she was almost out. She considered ordering another but wasn't sure. She had already had three and her stomach was pretty empty before she came. Plus, Liza was a lightweight and she really didn't want to be stumbling home alone...or with some creep for that matter.

[James Lawrence]

There was something truthful in the words she spoke. Everyone was always trying so hard to stand out, that they ended up absorbed by the crowd of a million plus. "Fair point." James agreed, noting the subtle change of tone in her voice. But it wasn't exactly the thing to point out to a stranger, especially since most people were not aware of it or the possibility of revealing himself as a meta.

He wasn't in Pilot Ridge anymore; a bittersweet thought to consider.

"Nice." Nodding twice, James set down the bottle on the bar top. "There's an undeniable pull to the city. I love coming out here as much as I can." Which was hard now considering school obligations. "Name's James, by the way." He added, eyes glancing back up to her features.

[Eliza Stevens]

Liza gave a small smile to the man, "I'm Eliza." She said back. She always introduced herself using her full name, even though all of her friends called her by her nickname, Liza. It was because she used her full name for her stage name and you never knew when someone could turn out to be a potential contact.

"New York definitely has its draw. Not that it really gives much back." She said with a huff as she quickly finished the rest of her beer. She looked at the now empty bottle and let out a huff. One more wouldn't hurt.

She turned her head to look down the bar a bit to where the bartender was talking to a few other customers. The music was at a decent volume and Liza knew that it would be hard for him to hear her. Well, that was if she wasn't a meta.

"Hey John!" She called, her volume raising just enough to be heard over the music. She didn't think anything of using her powers in public. To everyone else it just sounded like she had good projection (a skill she was fairly disappointed hadn't helped with landing her a role) but to someone with enhanced hearing it would sound like someone had just turned the volume up on Liza's voice box. "Can you get me another one?" She called as the man's head turned towards her.

[James Lawrence]

Reciprocating her smile, James said "You're good company, Eliza." Especially given the fact that his friends seemed to have forgotten about his existence. Not that he blamed them; James had his own fair share of nights where his friends had to keep track of him, so it was only right to return the favour.

He raised an eyebrow at her next comment, but didn't have time to respond. The urge to ask Eliza just what she meant by that was there. Had he responded, they might have been able to bond over the fact that New York gave very little for their time and effort; theatre for her and music for him. It was the reality of the situation and James felt like he had learned a lot in his year of searching for something more.

What interrupted that stream of thought was Eliza's voice. Not the words, but the voice itself. She was speaking louder; anyone that was near the bar could tell. Although the change was subtle, it was anything but for James. He stared at her, first in confusion, as her voice rang in for a few seconds extra due to his sensitive hearing.

It was all he could focus on. After briefly wincing, James tilted his head to the side and stared at Eliza. "How'd you do that?" He asked on impulse, pointing an index finger towards her throat. He didn't know what had just happened, but all he knew was that not everyone could change their voice like she had just done. James didn't even think about how asking that question potentially revealed his own ability in turn. Or at least would raise a few questions.

[Eliza Stevens]

She was glad that the man found her to be good company. She liked it when people liked her. I mean, who didn't like to be liked right? But for Liza it was always something more. She just felt, better about herself and life when other people enjoyed her. It was just knowing that she was leaving a positive impact that really made her happy.

The bartender was walking over with Liza's beer when James questioned her. She wasn't exactly sure what the question meant and gave him an inquisitive look. It wasn't until the man set the beer down in front of her that it dawned on her what he might be talking about.

Liza's eyes grew big and she pulled herself back from the man a bit. It wasn't really a purposefully move but an involuntary response, a defensive mechanism really. Like most metas she wasn't to keen on the idea of people noticing her powers, being as their existence wasn't exactly the most well known fact and that for some who knew about it, it wasn't really considered a good thing. While the boy seemed very nice she wasn't really sure that dropping a meta bomb was a great idea.

"I... I don't know what you mean. I was just getting another drink." She tried to blow it off as if nothing had happened. Pulling herself forward again and trying to calm her expression. She suddenly became more conscious of her voice and wondered if maybe she had been too loud that time. She could have swore she stayed below what the average ear would have noticed.

[James Lawrence]

The previous conversation forgotten about, James stared, still reeling over what had happened. The question came out before he could filter his thoughts. Although forward by nature, James usually tried to avoid conversations that had the possibility to reveal his ability.

The change had been subtle; but not subtle enough for the college student with enhanced hearing.

Rubbing the side of his temple with his free hand, James let his other hand fall to his side, trying not to draw any more attention to them as they stood in the bar. Thankfully, it appeared that nobody had noticed what had happened, except for maybe the bartender. The last thing either of them needed was a scene in the middle of the bar.

Eyes watched as the distance between them grew farther, creating more space. Eliza had denied that anything had happened, that anything was different. It was his choice; either choose to reveal his own power in the process of calling her out in hopes for an answer or allow the awkward silence to fall between them.

James chose to go with the former over the latter. "Yeah, you were getting another drink but your voice changed. You didn't just... raise your voice." He said, failing to find the words to explain what had happened. Which was the problem; he didn't know. His eyes looked over, trying to meet her expression. "I would know." James vaguely answered, pointing to his ear. A subtle indication he wasn't entirely sure if she would understand.

[Eliza Stevens]

Eliza didn't know what to say to say when the words "you didn't just", left the mans mouth. How on earth had he noticed that her change it volume wasn't just her raising her voice?! There was, or should have been, no concivable way to notice unless Liza was too loud with it or something. But even then..how?

Fortunately this question was answered quickly as the mans eyes searched for Liza's which were having a hard time knowing where to settle in her current state of panic. She was able to catch his words and the motion as the man pointed to his ears.

Her eyes suddenly found it in themselves to rest back on James eyes. Her heart was still beating fast but her mind began to calm for a moment. It took her a moment to fully register what he meant but once she did an expression of relief washed over her face. There was nothing wrong with another meta noticing her ability!

"You- Your a meta too?" The first word was at normal volume but then Liza lowered her volume, so much so that a normal person would not hear her voice at all but only see her lips move. It had been a good year since she had met another meta.

[James Lawrence]

Enhanced hearing was a hard ability to explain; as was Eliza's. It was hard explaining to someone else, let alone another meta, who understood the problem of having a sixth sense. In simplest terms, James could hear everything. The concrete details of the science behind it? He had no idea, and so found it hard to explain with clarity.

He wouldn't be surprised if she chose not to answer, to completely drop the subject and move on with the rest of the night. The chances of seeing her again were slim to none; what did it matter if one person knew her secret?

Her eyes finally met his, still wide in their state of panic. Which was understandable. There had been times when James accidentally gave subtle cues towards his enhanced hearing and had to come up with an excuse on the spot. Nodding in response, James didn't find it necessary to move his gaze towards her lips; he could still hear her voice. "Mhmm. Enhanced hearing. Don't know what you did to your voice but... it was different." He also spoke in a lower tone, careful not to draw attention towards them but still speaking loud enough for Eliza to hear. "Sorry to cause you some anxiety there."