Cold Enemies, Warm Romances

Chapter Three - WB039

Written by WritersBlock039. Enjoy, all! :)

**

"There you go, miss," the taxi driver said happily. "Welcome to Manhattan."

"Thanks," Jessie replied, handing the driver three dollars extra than the due fee. "Don't tell anyone I was here."

"Sure."

Jessie got out of the taxi, looking around at the city that was formerly destroyed a few years ago by an alien attack.

It was also - where she hoped - no one would be able to find her.

She strode through the streets, easily blending in with all of the other civilians. She noted a familiar news icon  and a familiar school. She narrowed her eyes, shoving through pedestrians and occasionally phasing through a few of them to get to the window with the TV in it.

The news had already started. " . . . mutant by the name of Vertigo was found at Ericksburg High when she paralyzed a student by the name of Alex Gaffney and escaped the two security teams sent to stop her."

Jessie narrowed her eyes. She hadn't paralyzed Alex for sure. Maybe he'd been feeling numb, but she hadn't broken his spine. She knew that for a fact.

Her picture flashed across the screen - dark brown hair with chocolate brown, light brown, gold, and blond highlights pulled into a French braid and over one shoulder along with the brown spaghetti-strapped dress with gold sequins along the bodice she had been wearing for the school picture day, her dark eyes - for once - seeming happy.

She didn't look that way now.

She could see her reflection in the screen. Right after she had left school, she had found her house and grabbed a denim jacket over one of the T-shirts Saleen's university offered for spirit wear, and also jeans with  black boots that practically reached her knees.

All in all, with her hair down and wrapped into waves, no one would recognize Jessie unless they really looked closely. In a city like Manhattan, no one really would.

She was thinking that when she heard the next part. " . . . missing student after she ran out of the university after being called to the president's office. If anyone sees her, call the police immediately."

Jessie jerked, surprised when Saleen's photo flashed next to hers: her fiery hair going past her shoulders, her icy eyes glittering. "No," she whispered in disbelief.

They had found her only friend.

"Scuze me," she muttered, pushing through the other civilians that had crowded around to watch the news. She ran down the sidewalks, throwing her phone into a trash can in the process. She then stopped for a second, realizing something. How could she communicate to Saleen?

She looked over at a nearby Apple store, then grimaced. "You give me no choice," she muttered, then walked through the store entrance.

Jessie looked over all of the phone options, then just grabbed one of the iPhone 5s and then looked around. She could easily dart through the doors, but then the police would hear the alarms.

Therefore, she only saw one option.

She looked back and forth, made sure no one saw her, then phased through the floor into the subway area.

She ran through the tunnels until she reached one of the stations, then she ran up the stairwell and up into the city once more.

Jessie sighed in relief and started walking, taking the phone out and programming it with everything she had before. She then entered Saleen's phone number, then frowned. Should I call her?