lost track of time

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe had lost track of time. To be specific, she'd lost track of the days. Things had just been happening so fast lately, between SPECTRE and the upcoming fair and, well, everything, Zoe's life had just been one big whirl of activity. She might not be graduating like most of her class, but that didn't mean her life still wasn't hectic. Which was why she'd completely forgotten the books she had stashed at her bedside table. As soon as she'd gotten the email informing her of the fine, Zoe had grabbed them and all but sprinted toward the library.

So she'd already been breathless when she'd dropped them off. She'd then begun explaining, trying to point things out. Yet Fate was not kind to Zoe that day: she'd gotten one of the staunchest, meanest librarians that ever worked a library. Said man actually determined that none of Zoe's excuses were good enough. She'd either have to pay the money or face never checking books out again.

So Zoe dug into the pockets of her skirt, pulling out a few wrinkled bills. Tears had already started welling in her eyes, as she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she simply didn't have enough money to cover the fine. The thought of never checking out a book again just felt horrible, though Zoe kept telling herself that she should at least not cry. It didn't work: she teared up regardless.

[Trevor Paige]

Another day, another assignment from his father. Trevor sighed lightly as he wandered through the mammoth aisles of books in the non-fiction section. One of the trademarks of Bellefonte was the scope and enormity of the literary works contained within its impressive library. He'd checked on the computer catalog and found the book he was looking for. A slender, paperback manual on multi-level marketing his father had suggested he read. The boy was unfamiliar with the author but it was meant to be another work in the long process of Trevor's development into a future CEO.

At last Trevor found his quarry. Plucking the slim book from the shelf he made his way toward the front desk to check out. He knew immediately something was wrong. There wasn't usually that much emotion coming from anyone in a library. With a furrowed brow Trevor stepped up in line behind the increasingly flustered girl. A few stammered excuses from the girl's lips tipped Trevor off in what the problem was and the crumpled bills produced in vain were obviously not enough to fix it. Trevor was never much for being the 'white knight' in times like these but he recognized Zoe from around campus and had heard nothing but good. Anyway, the librarian was being a major bitch.

"Here, don't worry about it." Trevor interjected himself into the exchange between Zoe and the overly harsh librarian as he stepped up to the counter beside Zoe. He'd hoped a shiny, dark gray, plastic card held between his middle and forefinger would end the conflict here and now. "Come on." He said, shaking the card a little at the librarian who was just sitting there looking at him like he'd grown a third arm. "You've seen a credit card before, right? Just put the charge on this, it's fine." He cast a short reassuring glance at Zoe as the librarian finally took the card.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nearly jumped as someone approached. She turned, only dimly recognizing the young man who approached. She seemed to vaguely recall seeing him before now, though she couldn't immediately place it. He brandished the card like someone used to spending money though, which already had Zoe blanching. She lived off whatever meager funds she scrape together, and most of those came from Academy funding. Just seeing someone brandishing a card like that.

The librarian looked like he'd never seen a card before, at least as first. Then he looked like he'd rather do anything but take the card. His gaze went from Zoe, who instinctively shuffled back a step, to Trevor, and then back at the card. Finally, he took it, sighing heavily as he informed them both that he'd have to go back to where they had the machine for this. Like he could've said no to the young man when he realized just who it was.

Zoe still stood stock still, not certain what had just happened or what she should do. She did have enough presence of mind to reach out and take the wrinkled bills, smoothing them out. Words still came slowly, and she practically stuttered them: "Th-thank you, you didn't have to--to do that," she looked over at him. Why did he look familiar? Had Zoe taken his picture or seen it somewhere before...?

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor's contemptuous gaze that followed the librarian as he headed away with his card was born not of the arrogance commonly found among the affluent, but of the frustration that came with someone so obviously abusing what little power they were afforded by a higher authority. It seemed downright ridiculous that no quarter was given to and obviously distraught student. Like they all didn't have enough to worry about without some asshole riding them over a few books being late.

Once the librarian had slipped from view, Trevor's eyes shifted back to take stock of the girl. She at least didn't look as though she was tearing up anymore, that was an improvement. Silently the boy took note of the way she handled the money, smoothing out each slip of paper while stammering a thanks. He smiled to her. "Hey, don't mention it." He replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's my pleasure."

Thankfully Trevor had a knack for names. He recognized the girl, how could he not? She'd been one of the most notorious students at the Academy even though he'd heard absolutely nothing but sweet, endearing things about her. Rumors were strange in that way. "Zoe, right?" He asked, keeping his tone low to keep in line with the rules of the library. "I'm Trevor." He extended a hand polite toward her and flashed another smile.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe smiled in relief as Trevor continued, insisting that she didn't need to worry. Didn't make her actually worry any less about the situation or about his coming to her rescue or anything like that, but at least she understood that he was trying. Her nerves still felt frayed, though that was as much due to her recent lack of sleep and difficulties dealing with the way her life had been lately. The scary librarian had, after all, retreated to work a credit card machine (something that he apparently did not have much talent in doing, as they could dimly hear his curses).

The shy girl looked away for a moment, wondering if she should continue waiting here or if she should be leaving when she realized that the boy continued. "What? Yes, I'm Zoe," she said, not able to keep the surprise at his knowing her name out of her voice. Then again, he did look familiar. Maybe they'd had a class together and he just had a knack for names? Trevor, he said his name was Trevor and he extended a hand. Zoe reflexively brought hers up before yanking it back.

"I'm sorry!" she nearly hissed, another apologetic look on her face. "I just--my power, it's, um, a touching one and--I'm trying to not-um," she looked away then, chewing her lips, feeling red coming into her cheeks. Her hands, uncertain of what to do now that they'd been brought up began wringing against one another.

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor's eyes shifted just faintly to regard the muffled swearing coming from the back room. There was almost a satisfied gleam inside the brown pools as they turned back to look at Zoe. He instantly saw the surprise in her face and frowned, even though it wasn't unexpected. "Paige." He said, gesturing to himself. "We had economics together this past year." Naturally, Trevor had pushed to get a senior-only class as an elective for his junior year. "I'm the one who got kicked out of class the day we were supposed to learn about investment and retirement plans." An almost sheepish shrug accompanied that. It had been a fun day for him, seeing the teacher red faced and frustrated at this teenager who had countered everything he'd attempted to teach with numbers, facts, and figures that, in hindsight, had actually made sense. Suffice to say, Trevor had lasted about twenty minutes in that class before being unceremoniously sent away. Part of the boy was looking forward to taking the class again, only this time for a real grade.

Trevor's head shook and he offered another calm, dismissive wave. "I appreciate you not wanting to use your power on me." He said as his gaze shifted just briefly to the muffled cursing drifting in from the back. Once he'd turned his attention back to Zoe he flashed a smile. "You shouldn't apologize for that, you know? If anything, I should be thanking you." He studied the girl for a moment. The way she timidly looked about, or nervously wrung her hands was beyond cute in a certain way.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Trevor Paige and they had... economics? Zoe'd taken an Economics class? No wonder she barely remembered. Despite being rather intelligent, she had a tendency to block out classes of that nature. They just, well, they didn't fit in very well with her own personal nature. They'd pretty well filled out her schedule for her, squeezing her into whatever still had openings, which, well, explained how a shy, photographer-poet ended up taking Economics in her senior year.

Though she did vaguely recall a student being kicked out for a while, though she couldn't quite remember what would've resulted in such a response. He hadn't lasted long, if her memory served, which, well, made her feel a little better about not qutie remembering him.

This had to be the first time that anyone had practically thanked her for jerking away from them. Zoe stared, blinking, not quite believing what she'd heard there. He... what? At least the shouldn't apologizing part sounded quite familiar. "Everyone tells me that," she said, laughing softly. "The bit about not apologizing as much. I don't know, it feels like I'm always doing something wrong," she shrugged, looking down at her hands, which had started wringing together, "plus, the world would probably be nicer if we were nicer to each other, wouldn't it? No, that didn't sound at all like her attempting to rationalize her behavior in the slightest.

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor saw the vaguely puzzled look on Zoe's face as he outlined who he was and where she should remember him from. It struck him as odd as he wasn't used to not being recognized pretty much throughout campus. He was fairly well known before SPECTRE, even if mostly by reputation and name, but after his rescue it seemed like everyone knew him. That was met with some contention for the boy and seeing someone who didn't seem to have any preconceived notions about him was actually refreshing. "It's alright." He said, waving off the apparent lack of recognition. "I'm easy to forget."

"You're right. It would be." Trevor readily agreed with a nod. Zoe was fully correct in assuming the world would be a better place with a little more kindness spread throughout. The irony of this fact, however, was not lost on Trevor, who's family had amassed an alarming fortune almost exclusively on the political and social unrest, violence, and bloodshed found in so many foreign countries. Trevor's head tilted to on side and his brow furrowed in curiosity though. "But why do you say that?" He asked, his tone keeping a soft quality so to no disturb anyone else in the library. "That you always feel like you're doing something wrong." Trevor didn't know why, but her comment had stuck with him and he needed to know more. "Do you get yelled at a lot or something?" It was possibly a bit of a dense question, but as demure as Zoe came off as even so soon in their interaction, Trevor found it hard to believe the girl was prone to ruffling feathers wherever she went.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Somehow, Zoe doubted that the suave, handsome boy standing next to her was all that easy to forget. He seemed a good deal more like the kind of person who stuck out in your mind days, weeks, possibly even longer after you met him. Still, she smiled weakly in appreciation, feeling that he'd said that just to make her feel better... like pretty much everyone would.

For a moment, Zoe almost thought her naive little comment would work to just smooth away the rest of the wrinkles of the conversation. Trevor continued though, and Zoe even saw his brow furrowing. Why would someone else care about how she felt? Except for her therapist, of course, who was paid through the school to make certain that Zoe expressed herself. Said therapist had also been quite clear in Zoe attempting to do it with people that didn't have "doctor" in front of their names.

"What? No, people um, don't yell at me a lot," she said, fidgeting again. She looked toward the librarian, nearly laughing at that. He was more of an exception. She squirmed again. "I just---my power, um, isn't very nice with the touching, and Dirty Laundry, um, likes to write about me," though Zoe still couldn't figure out why; she certainly wasn't as popular as most of the frequent targets. "I just... keep messing stuff up, I guess," she shrugged, then, laughing softly, she gestured toward where the librarian had just went, "you just saved me from another mistake, remember? That's what people keep doing: saving me." And she kept feeling like she couldn't possibly repay them...

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor wasn't sure what to make of the older girl quite yet. From what he'd heard of her through certain channels, since it wasn't like Zoe hadn't become one of the more visible students on campus, she was a timid, shy girl but this was on an entirely different level. It was cute, in a way, but he suspected it'd probably get tiring after a while. He would offer a shrug, though, and a bit of a smirk.

"Well, I'm no one to sit here and tell you what you should and shouldn't do." Trevor wasn't one to try and hand out life advice, nor did he have some false sense of white knighthood where he tried to run around and 'fix' all the broken people. Zoe made a point, a very good one. The world would be a much better place if people, as a whole, were nicer to each other. Even the son of a billionaire who made his fortune exploiting violence and bloodshed couldn't deny that.

"But I will say one thing." Trevor rested an elbow against the counter as he spoke, turning his attention fully to the girl standing beside him. "While this." He gestured toward the back room where the librarian had gone. "Was just chance, I'm sure you have friends. And maybe, just maybe, they like being there for you because they know what kind of person you are and that you'll be there for them."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe looked over at Trevor, blinking. This was just chance? What did he mean by that? The librarian? Someone helping her? It felt more like that latter, like he was saying that it just happened that he'd come by at just the right moment, just ready to offer some help or aid because he felt like it.

"People... keep saying that," admitted Zoe, looking away. She felt like she kept saying precisely that: that people kept saying those sort of things. She bit her lip. Now she had a near stranger saying precisely that. Would she be there for someone? Yes, yes she would. Zoe would always be there for someone.

Still she looked down at her hand, opening and closing them, for a moment. "I don't know,' she mumbled, "I can't help but feel like I deserve to be hated. There's just been... a lot of trouble because of me. This isn't the first time," she sighed, closed her hand and looked up. The librarian had finally come back, brandishing the card and a frown, obviously having done what was necessary. At least Zoe could get some relief from that.

[Trevor Paige]

"Well, maybe you should listen to them." Trevor replied lightly while offering a faint shrug. He had the feeling he could go back and forth with the girl on this topic all day if he were so inclined but he really didn't know her that well. His words probably didn't carry any weight compared to those of her closer friends or family. Who was he, after all? Just some younger kid who offered to pay a late book fine. There was no reason to think he'd just be able to swoop in, say something that she's, apparently heard a hundred times before, and completely change her life.

Woah, now that was some heavy stuff. Deserved to be hated? Trevor actually raised a brow at that, a little caught off guard by the severity of Zoe's words. He almost wanted to ask if she was for real and nearly did but the returning librarian prevented that from happening. Trevor took his card back and did offer a polite thank you nod toward the man before pushing off the counter and turning his attention back to Zoe.

"Well..." And here he found himself right back into the point-counter point game he already suspected to be futile. "I've met some people that deserve to be hated." He patted lightly at a spot on his abdomen, just above his right hip. "And I've got the scars they gave me to make me feel that way." He had to stifle the urge to shudder at the thought of the gun that had caused the scar he was referring to being pointed at him again. "I really doubt you've left any lasting scars like that."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Should listen... she really should. Zoe took another breath. So many people supporting her, yet she still felt like everyone hated her, that they wanted to hate her. Zoe had a feeling she knew why, though she didn't want to think about it, didn't want to address it. Would be all rather pointless, given that Ava wasn't about to come around to Kalispell any time soon.

Trevor's next words caught more of Zoe's attention, making her turn to look at him. People that deserve it... a patted spot... a scar. Zoe felt the one scraping along her ribcage almost burn for a moment. "I've taken some," she said, speaking deeply, keeping her attention on Trevor, her eyes drifting low for a moment. She lifted her hand across her body, touching her ribcage. "They're gone now though... but... I think..." she lowered hand, "I think you might have been right. They deserved it..."

She looked away though. Did she? She couldn't help but think that she still might. All the trouble she caused... but had she paid for it? Did getting shot count for it? Did being imprisoned in a cabin and fired upon? Who was to say...

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor gave a glance to the librarian behind the counter before pushing away from it and starting toward the door to the library. He had no plans to go far, but if he and Zoe were going to continue conversating he certainly didn't wish to do it in front of the librarian or anyone else trying to concentrate in the quiet of the room. As he took a step he gestured politely for Zoe to come along and, if she would comply, would walk alongside her as he replied.

"So, tell me, Zoe." Trevor glanced to the girl curiously. "Have you left any scars on anyone? And if you have, does the person you gave them to hate you?" Trevor somehow thought the answer would be 'no'. After all, the girl that stood before him didn't seem capable of purposely hurting a fly, let alone perform an act that would be dubbed worth of hatred. But you never knew. Trevor was thoroughly enjoying this interaction in spite of the serious nature. He, much like most of the kids on campus knew Zoe and he had the chance to not just meet her but actually get to know her a little. Curiosity was a vice of his, this he knew.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe did follow, though she wasn't entirely sure why. It felt rude to just turn and walk away now. Plus, well, she felt a pull toward the young man, and she wondered why that must be. There was just something about him, plus, well, he'd made her start thinking again. Yet another person who claimed not to hate her, who seemed to think that her negative view wasn't built on anything resembling truth, someone who...

brought up exactly what Zoe feared.

"I have," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "I put my step---I put someone in the hospital, and I--I'm responsible for someone dying." She practically squeaked the last few though. Squeaked then swallowed, pulling her arms in front of her as if to shield her body. "It was--- one of those agents, a--you know, one of them, he--attacked and-- I got shot and---"

She looked away then, taking a trembling breath. Therapy, support, it all helped make it so that Zoe could at least say that much, though she still trembled at the words. People believed in her though, and Trevor just dismissed all the rumors and such; he'd even helped her. So she should be safe... right?

All she could think was that he would hate her now. She could practically feel the hate coming already.