[CT] things were awkward

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Things were awkward for poor Zoe. She'd come along to enjoy the space and the great outdoors and hopefully get some time to herself. except it seemed that quite a few of the activities were group oriented, and groups always made Zoe nervous. Making her even more nervous was the fact that Devyn was around too. Zoe thought she saw the other girl looking at other girls and, well, Zoe just wasn't sure what to do about that. wasn't sure what to do about Devyn period, for that matter.

The shy photographer also wasn't sure what to make of her roommates. They seemed nice enough, though that opening spin the truth or dare had been a little weird. They just all seemed a little... loud, like everything else. Still, it was daytime, and Zoe was hoping that they'd be off doing something in the outdoors, leaving her the cabin to herself for a while.

Where she took advantage of the quiet and the still air to look over some of her various photographs. She had them spread on her bunk, forming various scenes. She'd mostly taken along a few that she'd shot of the fair, including various ones involving games and the like. She thought she had a few for a good set, though she sort of wished she had a few more of people she knew. She sorted through them, only to end up jumping as she heard the door opening. Photographs went everywhere.

"I'll clean it up!' said Zoe, ducking down and immediately scrambling for the photos. As she did, she realized that she'd taken off her gloves, and she darted for those, scattering a few more photographs across the floor as she worked to pull them on.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth had spent the whole day drenching herself in her own sweat as she took part in every activity thrown at her.

She had spread herself thin but she thought she was doing it for a good cause. Also it was an excuse to gorge on her Slim Jims and cheese spread. It was disgusting yet at the same time ridiculously good.

The blonde was working her way through her third stick when she walked into her cabin only to find photographs flying everywhere and a frightened Zoe scrambling to grab everything only to have it fly everywhere else.

Sliding the meat stick into her mouth and bending down to grab at the photographs, she couldn't help but spy at some of them. She knew Zoe was in the Photography club with her but they had never talked and Elizabeth had always wondered why.

"Whoa...Zo, these are really good." Elizabeth commented through her full mouth as she compiled the photos into one and handed them over to Zoe. "Did I interrupt?" She asked as she continued to munch on her treat, jumping on to her bed and switching on the portable fan and directed it straight at her so the photos won't fly around anymore.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe didn't quite realize who had entered for quite a while, despite sort of seeing the girl and hearing her. She didn't even quite realize that Elizabeth had spoken to her. The missing "e" sound threw the girl off, and it didn't help that she was already frazzled. She looked up at Elizabeth, blinking her white, brown eyes. She worked her mouth for a bit, before looking at the various photos.

"What? No, I mean, sort of, I was just," said Zoe, shifting in her seat, reaching for the gloves. She shoved them onto her hand as best she could, tugging hard and pulling tight, making sure that they fit, even wiggling her fingers a few times. She reached to move some of the photographs. "I was just... I had brought some to, um, work on, because I figured that, um, I could maybe work on it, since it's, um, quiet and I just didn't---I don't know," she lowered her gaze, fidgeting a little. She still reached for the photos, her gloves sliding over the photos.

The fidgeting finally backfired as Zoe sent a photo skittering over to Elizabeth. "Sorry!" she yelped, moving forward to get it. She pulled short though, not wanting to accidentally touch or paralyze. She jerked back at just the right moment, practically whimpering.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth knew Zoe was a very shy person. From what she had gleaned from Beau talking about Devyn and her girlfriend. She hadn't actually ever seen it in action until this camping trip and it was sort of endearing. The poor girl looked so awkward.

The gloves had always been such a curious thing to Elizabeth. She didn't know what Zoe's abilities were but she did meet that girl with the rubber gloves who had Electrokinesis. Does Zoe have that? She doubted it. The gloves weren't rubber.

"Ah...should I leave?" She was about to ask when a picture came fluttering over to her. The speed at which Zoe came forth and back up in surprised the blonde. What exactly was Zoe's power?

"It's okay." The pyrokinetic crouched down and picked the picture up to give to Zoe. "What's wrong, Zoe?" Elizabeth asked gently, tilting her head to the side with a small, reassuring smile.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"What? No, you shouldn't---" said Zoe, shaking her head. It felt extremely wrong to ask Liz to leave just because Zoe wanted a little comfort or to remove herself from the situation. She took a deep breath. Take the moment say things, so many people kept telling her to just plow forward. Plus, from what she'd said, lots and lots of people said that Liz was quite nice. Devyn had mentioned Beau's girlfriend; Zoe had heard about the prom queen business, and there had been a few other instances where people had vouched for the pretty blonde.

And yes, the fact that Liz looked pretty and sweet mattered to Zoe as well, though she felt a little wrong to say so. She reached a shaky hand out to take the picture. The question had her stop for a moment, looking at Liz and blinking. She... didn't know?

"My power," she tried explained, retreating back and gesturing for a bit. "I...you don't know?" she looked up at Liz, blinking, not quite believing. "But... there was that blog, and then the media and the bodyguards..." Zoe chewed her lip, looking away. "You don't have to pretend, really. I know that people are nervous around me..." she was tempted to lead with the "and they hate me" line, but Zoe already had started realizing that the people who really mattered just... didn't.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Zoe's response to Elizabeth's obliviousness made the blonde feel a bit awkward. She was so out of the loop that as the other girl listed the ways Elizabeth should have already found out from, the pyrokinetic felt very bad that she didn't know.

"Aah...I plead ignorance." She grinned sheepishly as she pressed her palms up against each other and raised it in apology. "I've not kept up with the times. It's a flaw of mine. And I don't see why I should be nervous around you. In fact, I can't believe we've never really talked to each other. I mean we've been in Photography Club for forever." She chuckled as she slid into her bunk.

"So...what was I supposed to not pretend to do?" She asked, scratching at the bed post as she looked at Zoe with a small smile.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

She really didn't...? Wasn't this the prom queen, and therefore one of the most popular girls in school? Zoe recognized her as being the girlfriend of one of Devyn's friends too, which struck her as an even odder connection. But Elizabeth didn't seem to know, she actually didn't know, even sliding into the bunk.

"Sorry, I just," said Zoe, before pausing and looking away, obviously looking for words. "There was a horrible post in the blog and for a while... for a while I thought everyone hated me and--" she took another deep breath. And she'd been shot and all. "But everyone keeps---never mind," she shook her head. Elizabeth didn't need to know. Zoe had already said too much and she felt quite embarrassed for it, flushing slightly.

"I, I paralyze people by touching them. It's quite... I've accidentally sent someone to the hospital and---it's quite... well, I have an antidote now, it's, um, over there," she pointed toward the head of her bed, where she'd hung the antidote on a strap, before shifting yet again. "I really am sorry... I just... I keep thinking everyone knows and that's quite selfish of me. I'm sorry," she mumbled the last one, looking down at her feet, flushing yet again.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Had Zoe been a little forthcoming with her thoughts, Elizabeth would have laughed and shook her head. She was hardly Erika, her popularity had always been something she never embraced. She liked people and sometimes people liked her, and she was sure that was that.

When Zoe kept apologising through her explanation, Elizabeth sympathised. She had, at one point, been in the same position with her own abilities. Wasn't it a whole year that she cooped herself up in her dorm room before she decided not to wallow in self-pity? Not that Zoe was doing that but Elizabeth definitely did.

"Don't be sorry, Zo. I mean it sucks that some of us still don't have control over our powers but sooner or later, we will, right? I mean hell, I've been here for four years and I still destroy anything that produces heat with a sneeze sometimes." She shrugged, wanting to reach over and give the other girl a hug. She felt bad that the girl felt awful about herself.

Nobody should ever apologise for something they have no control over. "Have you been working on a professional portfolio?" Elizabeth decided to change the subject as she gestured to the pictures on the floor.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe looked up as Liz kept going. She repeated a line that Zoe had heard quite often: "don't be sorry," following it with pointing out that several of them didn't have control over their power. Liz's final comment there even drew a giggle out from Zoe.

"I do suppose you're right," she admitted. Zoe then noticed Liz looking over at the photos, her own attention going there just as Liz began to speak. Zoe hesitated for a moment, chewing her lip, before nodding. 'Yes, I have, actually,' she said, turning back to look at the other girl. "I've, well, I've actually done a few of my own shows. None here, though I'm thinking of putting together one. I've taken quite a few pictures of mutants utilizing their powers like..." she turned to the pile, rummaging around till she found one. She held it out for Liz to examine.

It showed a pretty redhead girl holding her hand onto the fountain in the courtyard. Ice spread out from her hand, spider-webbing across the entire surface of the water. A few scrawled lines had been tentatively written on the side, done on the photo proper:

Cold touch from warm heart
icy touch from warm girl
frozen joy

"That's just, um, one of them," said Zoe, fidgeting slightly.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Having Zoe agree with her put a smile on her face. At least the girl seemed calmer, which was a very good thing, all things considered.

She did look up at Zoe when the girl didn't answer. A smile spread on her face and she nodded at her answer. Surprise came when the other girl revealed she had had shows before. "Oh wow! Hey, if you need any help at all, let me know. I'd love to help you set things up." She responded enthusiastically. She was so impressed by the fact that the girl in front of her had already established something.

Especially with this subject. All Elizabeth had done was take nature shots and of her friends doing mundane stuff. Granted, her subjects were all pretty damn gorgeous no matter what they did but still, to have content like that, it definitely took guts.

She took the picture Zoe held out and whistled slowly. "Oh wow, Zo...this is amazing. ...May I?" Elizabeth asked as she gestured to the other photos. "Zoe, this is pretty damn amazing." Elizabeth looked up at Zoe with a big smile.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe smiled as Liz grew more excited. She nodded, lowering her eyes for a moment. "I might... ask a few people," she said, her voice still soft, somewhat disbelieving. Before she'd come here, she hadn't had that many friends interested in her work. There were a few of course, and she'd had Ava for nearly as long as she could remember. It still felt strange to have so many people enthused.

Liz reached for the picture; Zoe nodded and handed it over. "Um, thanks," she said, flushing again, turning red nearly to the roots. "I just--I try to capture moments, impress them on the film and all. It's really been interesting around here, since there's so many different people with all our powers and all. It is a little tricky getting them at just the right moment but it's usually worth it. Um..." she looked about for a moment, before reaching. it was a picture of a nervous looking boy who was starting to disappear. "Here's another... I--well, um, I tried to get lots of people," Zoe flushed again, "I sometimes end up, well, um, following people," the last practically came out as a squeak, with Zoe scrunching down slightly, clearly embarrassed at having to even admit it, let alone actually doing what she'd admitted.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth offered an encouraging smile and nodded. "Great. I could give you my cell and maybe you can just drop me a text any time." She took out her phone and looked for her number before handing it over to Zoe so she could copy it to her phone.

Zoe's reaction to being complimented used to be her own go to response. It was weird that most of the people she encountered now, at least the ones who weren't confident, seemed to remind her of when she first came to BA. Because she had outgrown that stage of her life, she didn't see why everybody else wouldn't. Or couldn't. Either way, Elizabeth didn't voice her opinions. She didn't want to seem callous or rude. Especially not towards Zoe. She was such a nice person.

"You've done an excellent job capturing it, for sure. Heck I feel like I should learn a thing or two from you." Elizabeth admitted with a wide smile before returning her attention to the pieces in her hand. "Oh that's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean...right now that's all we can do. We can't very well pay models, can we?" She chuckled, her fingers going over the photo before pulling back when her hands started to heat up. "Okay...these are not good in the hands of a pyro." She chuckled as she gently placed the photos on the ground before scooting up into her bed.

Lying down in such a way that had her prop her feet up the wall while her head hung on one side, Elizabeth played with her hair and tried to cool down. "How are you liking camp so far? Apart from the heat I mean." She teased as she fanned herself with one hand.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Oh, a cell! Zoe nodded, moving to set aside the photos and dig about for her own phone. Unlike so many people, Zoe didn't keep it on her at all times; made her feel uneasy. Instead she dug it up, looking to Liz's phone to make sure that she copied the number down right. It felt odd actually have a few numbers stored away in the phone, knowing that people actually wanted her to contact them some more.

As Zoe finished, she wound up flushing again, mostly because Liz had started complimenting her on the photographs. "Um, that's okay, I--" she said a bit, shifting. She then flushed at the mention of being paid to model: Zoe had technically done that before, on both sides actually. Since she'd gotten wrapped up in her own embarrassment, she'd nearly missed the comment about pryo, moving to grab the photographs and such, moving to try and collect a few of them. Liz seemed perfectly at ease with herself and the situation, and Zoe couldn't help but be envious. How couldn't she be? A pretty girl who could casually dismiss her power filled with confidence who also happened to be dating the prom king? It all sounded pretty much like whatever would want, though Zoe would've changed the genders of the dating partner in this case.

"Um..." said Zoe, looking away and chewing her lip. "Well, truth or dare was, um, fun?" despite all the awkwardness and such. Or was it spin the bottle? Whatever game they'd played.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Pulling her phone back to her, she opened her contacts and looked to Zoe expectantly before clearing her throat. "Mind giving me yours too?" She asked with a smile.

Obviously unaware of the other girl's thoughts, Elizabeth was only privy to what she saw, which was Zoe getting awkward again. Endearing as it was, Elizabeth wished she could understand what motivated the girl's crippling shyness and somehow remedy it. Oh she had issues.

Elizabeth laughed at Zoe's response. "Oh man, that was hilarious." She shook her head, wiping at her eyes. "Did you get up to anything else or have you been in here with your pictures?" She asked.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Oh, right, of course," said Zoe. That familiar blush crept up on her face, but she still punched away at keys, sending Liz a message which would have her number attached. "There aren't that many people here who ask,' she said, lowering the phone. "Well, my girlfriend and, um, some friends..."

Mostly Mae and Becky. Zoe's contact list was woefully short, and that was if you counted Dr. Campbell and Mr. Konrad, who likely wouldn't count for most people. Definitely not for Liz.

The laughter made Zoe laugh in response, mostly because she felt like she had to. "Um, a few things," she said. "I've been, um, walking the trails and birdwatching and so on," she shifted. "I, uh, don't really... that's what I like to do," she finished the last lamely, looking down at her lap. She took another breath, shuffled slightly, and looked up again.

"You must be doing quite a few exciting things though, right?" again: Zoe couldn't help but think that Liz must have everything. The awe on Zoe's part just kept building, and she couldn't help but think that Liz must've been doing nothing but madcap mishaps since she got here...