A/N) I have returned with another chapter! Like, less than an hour later. Such consistency, am I right? Anyway . . . different POV this time. Pretty easy to figure out whose it is. We get a little glimpse of her past and hopefully *raises eyebrows* a little hint of her future. hehehe . . . enjoy :)

Chapter 2

I ran away from the strange teenagers as quickly as I could. Barely noticing which way I was going and trying very hard to ignore the extra voices filling my head, I simply wanted to get away. Why couldn't I hear them? No matter how hard I listened, nothing happened. And why the heck were they so darn good looking? No normal human being could look that good. Something was just off about that group. But I couldn't put my finger on it. Where was that teal-eyed boy's accent from? It definitely wasn't British. It was too. . . crisp? And who has teal eyes? They looked way too real to be contacts, and there was another girl there who had the same eye color, so maybe they were siblings? I had no idea. It was too confusing.

After sprinting down several blocks, I stopped to catch my breath near a casino. I looked around, thankful that the group of beauties didn't seem to be following me, and saw that no one else seemed to notice me. They were all too busy to notice a freaky Telepath of an orphan like me. I popped in my earphones again and played my music, trying hard to keep out the voices-the thoughts-that just kept pouring in. I backed up into a narrow pathway lodged between the two casinos as a flood of painful memories fought their way into my mind.

I was barely five years old when it happened.

My mansion of a home had caught on fire, and I was the only one to make it out alive. I remembered my mother was right behind me, both of us coughing in unison at the thickness of the smoke. When it got bad enough for us to end up choking of the smoke, she managed to tell me to crawl down on the floor-because smoke rises, I had learned. My father had gone to get my older brother, and promised he would meet us outside. My mother and I made our way outside, seeing our home go up in flames. None of the maids or butlers were anywhere to be seen. Additional tears that weren't from the smoke came into my eyes and ran down my mother's face. Every minute that my father and older brother weren't with us felt like an eternity. Finally, my mother relented and told me to stay where I was, and before I could even say anything, she kissed my cheek and ran back into the flames. I screamed for her to come back, to not leave me alone, but it was too late. She was already in.

I covered my ears and cried as I heard the blood-curdling screams come from the flames. And soon, what was left of the building collapsed on itself. I knew they were gone. No one was left for me. I had to leave before anyone else came and tried to take me away. It took awhile for the firemen to get to my home because we lived way out in the suburbs, away from most people, so I didn't wait any longer. I was alone. So I ran. I ran as fast and as far away as my little legs would take me. I survived on my own for a little while, because I was apparently smarter than most kids. At least, that's what my parents had told me. But I eventually needed to eat a real meal, rather than just the scraps I found. I was a growing girl, and I needed to stay as healthy as possible. So I found a job. I know it sounds crazy, being as I was only six years old, but I found a struggling single mother with a young toddler. She had a small apartment, and it was obvious that she was struggling with financial issues. She wasn't able to leave her baby boy alone, and she couldn't pay enough for a babysitter, so I volunteered.

I didn't get the job, 'cause I was only six. But she saw my needs. So she found a stay at home job that paid well enough, and when the company needed her to go to the office, she let me stay with Tommy, and in return, she fed me and gave me a place to sleep. I stayed with her for a few years, until i heard her talking on the phone about "any reports on a missing girl from three years ago." That was my cue to leave. I left a note using the little knowledge I had of writing-I still had never gone to an actual school-and thanked her for all she had done for me, wishing her well, and telling her not to come looking for me. Thinking back, I probably spelled half of those words wrong, but it didn't matter as long as she knew what meant. So I ran away again, leaving anything that she might have bought for me except for the clothes on my back, because it would have felt wrong to take anything.

By the time I turned eleven, I had taken refuge in Los Angeles, and had been living here ever since. The crime rates would keep the attention drawn away from me, and I had made a little home farther down the alleyway where I had just encountered the Beauties. Being constantly distracted by the many sights in Los Angeles or stuck on their phones, people didn't really care about an orphan like me. But starting at age twelve, a freaky Telepathic orphan like me.

It was by far the weirdest experience of my life. I woke up one day, and just a blare of thoughts poured into my mind.

Which way is it to Hollywood? Make a left? Or was it a right . . . ?

I should officially ask her to be my girlfriend today. We've been friends all our life, and I think she feels the same way about me as I do her . . .

I'm starving. I wonder if there's a good pizza place around here . . .

Ugh, I'm getting another headache. Now, where did I put that Advil bottle . . . ?

Thought after thought after thought just came rushing in, to many to count, to many to tell one apart from another unless I focused hard enough to give me a migraine. Made me wish I had a bottle of Advil. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't figure out whether I was just hallucinating from lack of food, or if this was real. I realized it was the latter, and new I needed to find a solution. But what? Covering my ears didn't help, so what other way was there? I found out that the closer I am to people, the louder the voices got. But i needed to venture out into the streets and find something to fix this.

After a few weeks, I figured out I was a Telepath. A freakshow. I needed to make sure no one found out about this, or they might use me to their advantage. One day, I found a possible solution to keeping out the never-ending thoughts. Outside one of the many casinos was a stand displaying a game of chance. All you had to do was guess the three numbers a man was thinking of, and you would win any choice of prizes. A cell phone and earbuds were among them. Maybe if I won, i could last music as loud as it could go in my ears and block out the thoughts. It was a slim chance, but a slim chance was all i needed. I knew I would win, because, you know, Telepath. But if i did win, unwanted attention would most likely be drawn to me. But were immense migraines better than staying hidden? All i had to do was win, grab the prize, and slip away. Easy, right?

"All right, little lady," a chipper spokesman said as i came up to the stand. "All you've gotta do is guess three numbers from one to twenty, and you could win one of these here fine prizes. Don't worry, it's free." It's not like anyone would win anyway. He seemed like a fair enough person. So i nodded, and told him i was ready whenever he was. He smiled, nodded, and told me to go right ahead.

"Remember, one through twenty." He winked and i could hear the three numbers flow into my mind. I pretended to think it over, even though i already knew.

"Um, seventeen?" i guessed first.

"Huh. impressive, but let's see if you can get the other two," he said. By then, a small crowd was gathering. Just my luck.

"Three," I said next. His smile was slowly fading as he nodded. Several thoughts of panic came from him, and other thoughts full of surprise and jealousy came from those who had already tried and lost. It took me a while to find the last number, because he kept changing it. But he finally settled on thirteen. And I said it. His jaw dropped, but he nodded speechlessly.

"C-congratulations, little lady," he said, forcing on a smile. Then he stepped aside and waved a hand over the prizes behind him. "Take your pick."

I pointed to the phone and earbuds, which were in one packet. He nodded and handed them to me with a real smile this time. I knew he would be a fair person. I returned the smile, took the items, and walked away as quickly as i possibly could without looking suspicious. When I turned the corner, I glanced back and let out a sigh of relief. Nobody seemed to care about me, rather for themselves to see if they could win just as easily as a twelve year old girl could. I heard the man call out to the crowd, "step right up! Can you guess three numbers correctly and win a prize as good as that little girl?"

By then, i was out of earshot, heading back to my little makeshift home in the alleyway. I figured out enough to get to the music to work. I put the earphones in and cranked up the volume, desperately hoping that this would work. I popped them in, and . . .

The thoughts began to fade. And the more i focused on the music, the more the thoughts went away. Until they were completely gone. So now, I reside in my music. That's why, when the shop manager had taken away my phone and earbuds-claiming i had stolen them-i just had to get them back. Which i did.

My life has been crazy and half of it was on the run. I've learned to be careful of who i trust, and have grown a layer of tough skin. But i manage to get by, and I've gotten used to hearing other people's thoughts, even though i don't want to. I have to live with it, because I'm most likely stuck like this for the rest of my life. So when I met that group of Beauties and couldn't hear their thoughts, i was internally freaking out. Why the heck couldn't i hear them?

My own thoughts were interrupted by a drunk young man walking past the pathway in between the two casinos. He spotted me, and with a malicious smile, said through slurred words, "Hey there, little lady. Are ya lost?" This time, the words "little lady" were anything but nice. He walked towards me in a jagged line, his head cocked as he waited for an answer. I tried to just pretend i didn't hear him and walk away, but he grabbed my wrist and pushed me against the wall.

"Aw, don't go," he slurred. "No need to run away so quickly." I could see his twisted thoughts run through his brain and pour into mine. He grabbed my waist, and he started to lean closer, but i pushed him away. Well, kinda. I'm not sure if you could call using a force field "pushing away." Oh, yeah, did I mention? I can make force fields. Happened when i was thirteen and was being cornered by a ferocious dog with rabies. I just put my hands out in defense, felt some sort of desperate energy shoot out from my brain and through my hands, and then, poof! Force field! I was so scared, wondering why i was getting all these crazy powers. But i just hoped they stopped there.

The drunk man fell backwards and looked up at me with a bewildered expression. I quickly looked around to make sure no one else had seen. It would be okay if a drunk man saw it. Anyone he told would just think he was hallucinating. So i took the opportunity and ran away.

Again.

It felt like I would never be able to stop running.

A/N) Sooooo...? What did y'all think? And, yes, I purposefully did this chapter in first person so you wouldn't find out her name... yet. I have an idea of what I want her name to be, but I'm not sure I like it. I'm open to any suggestions. Also, the next chapter, which should be coming soon, will be very revealing of the love trianglers situation. That's all I'm going to say about that.

And, thank you for reviewing (Wonderland) I hope this chapter satisfied you.

Please review, everyone else, and thank you for reading. Until next time! *Flies away on her pet alicorn*