The day was the 22nd of June, 2002. The 2 pickpocket factions were out and about, pickpocketing as usual. It was an unusually hot day, peculiar you could say. A 16-year-old boy called Alex was out and about, looking for something to pocket but staying away from the factions. The girls' faction didn't like him because he used to be in the boys' faction and the boys' faction banished him with a threat of death. So, life wasn't good, but he was getting on. He had stolen enough money for a week of food and had found an abandoned home.

He had even heard some news that one of the boys' faction members was arrested. He never liked Jake. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a scream. He rushed to towards the sound but hid behind a wall. He carefully peeked around it and saw a girl that he had recognised from the other faction cowering under a drunk man holding a knife. Her power was illusions or something like that.

"Come here, you little bitch!" the man shouted to the girl.

"I'm sorry, please have mercy!" she pleaded.

"You tried to steal from me you bitch, why would I have mercy?!"

"I don't have anything, I'm homeless! Please, I'll do anything!" she cried.

"Anything?" he said as if in thought.

"Anything! But please don't kill me!"

"I think I have something in mind," he said with an evil grin as she gulped. Alex suddenly remembered what happened for the boys to banish him. He had to stop that horrible man from what he was about to do, but how? He froze time, ran towards the girl and quickly wrapped his hand around her mouth to stop her from screaming. "Ok, I'm going to unfreeze time and I want you to create an illusion of you killing yourself," he instructed.

She nodded and on a count of three Alex unfroze time. She then cast an illusion of her stabbing herself and jumping into the river. "Wow, gruesome," I mumbled. "Well, now you legally don't exist anymore."

"And that means?"

"Well, you shouldn't be here. Now you are an outcast." I said.

"Wow, I become an outcast three times on the same day, that must be a new record," she said dully.

"Three times?" I question.

"I was cast out of my friendship group from within the girls faction because one of them didn't like me and spread rumours, I then get exiled from the girls faction for asking why we don't join forces with the boys and then finally, I get banished from London for faking my death," she explained.

"Well, you are welcome to my outcast group!"

"who's in it?"

"Me and, hopefully, you!"

"Are there no other outcasts?"

"Well, there is."

"And why aren't you with them?"

"Well, I'm not on the friendliest terms with them."

"Will I regret joining your group?"

"Well, you will regret joining their group. I was banished for stopping one of them from trying to rape a girl."

"Pardon me?"

"One of the members tried to rape a 10-year-old girl and I tried to stop him; I was banished for trying to attack another member, and him for trying to rape a person under the age of 13,"

"You were allowed to rape?!"

"If the victim is above the age of 13 then yes," Alex said, he then noticed the look on her face and added, "What? They were the closest thing I could call family, surely you know what it was like for your parents to abandon you?"

"Yeah, I guess. You didn't actually...?"

"Of course not!"

"Just making sure, because the first interaction we had was you grabbing me and trying to stop me from screaming."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Alex said as a comfortable silence settled since they were both lost in our thoughts.

"Well, I accept your invitation," she said breaking the silence.

"Would you like to see my 'hideout'?" he asked and she nodded. He then led her to the abandoned house. "Welcome to my humble abode," he said with a posh accent and she giggled.

"Why thank you, Mister, um..."

"The name's Wilson, Alex Wilson, but you may address me as Alex,"

"Ok, Alex."

"And you are?"

"Miss Elizabeth Smith, but I give you permission to call me Lizzy," she said, mimicking the posh accent he had put on earlier.

Alex then showed her around the house. "Where is the bathroom?" she asked as I directed her outside the house.

"Here," I said indicating to a hole in the ground.

"Oh, how lovely. Also if this is where we are both living, where will I sleep?" she said as there had only been a single bed.

"You can take the bed and I'll sleep on the carpet,"

"Are you sure? Because you are sort of the owner of this house."

"it's fine. Unless you want to sleep together?" he said with a flirty smirk as she blushed.

"Oh, you weirdo!" she said as he playfully hit him.

"I was just joking!" he said defensively. "But seriously, you can take the bed. Anyway, I'm gonna buy some food, see you in a bit."

"Doesn't anyone check out this house?"

"Some people think it's haunted so no."

"And is it?"

"Well, I like to think it isn't. I'll be back in a bit, try not to break anything!"

And with that, Lizzy was alone again. However, this time she wasn't lonely, she had a friend and a home. She felt safe with Alex for some reason. With that thought, she rushed out to join him. "Hello again!" she said behind him which caused him to jump.

"What did you do that for?"

"I saw an opportunity and I took it," she said playfully.

"Ok, so are you joining me then?"

"I think so,"

Ten minutes later, they had a bit of food and still had a tiny amount of money left over. "Do you usually have this much money?"

"No, I guess I was very lucky this week!" he replied.

"What you gonna do with the left over money?"

"Save it, I guess."

When they reached 'home', they unpacked everything. They didn't have a fridge or anything but they didn't really buy food that needed it, mostly just dry food like bread.

"You know, for an abandoned house, it is very clean here." Lizzy explained to Alex.

"Thank you, I spent 3 days cleaning it." he chuckled, "Though, I wouldn't have second thoughts if I was offered better."

An hour later, they were both on the moth eaten couch, Alex meditating and Lizzy reading. "You haven't really told me your peculiarity." he stated.

"Well, it's weird, you see, sometimes I can move things with my mind, other times I can control people but the only thing I can do consistently is make visual illusions and I have Eidetic Memory. What about you?"

"I've sort of got 2 peculiarities..."

"Well, I too, sort of have multiple peculiarities."

"But mine have nothing to do with each other..."

"What are they?"