Lean on Me

[Maelea Mareaux]

It was fairly late at night the moon's rays filtering in through the clouds dancing across her room. Curling up in bed reading a murder mystery. She had her headphones on rock music blasting in her ear drums. If it hadn't been so late she'd just have the music blasting from her speakers but it was quiet hours, so she couldn't. Periwinkle and Kitty were roaming about somewhere on or under the covers. With a blink of concentration she could feel exactly where they were, but didn't feel the need. 

Mae was absorbed into the gory details of the latest murder in the story when she felt her phone buzzing against her thigh. Digging out her phone she smiled at the picture of Zoe knowing it was a text from her best friend. She tapped the screen to view the text and her smile vanished. In seconds she was scrambling out of bed for once not caring about her precious arachnids. Not caring about appearances she slipped into slipper flip flops and ran out the door barely remembering to slam it shut. 

Running through the dorms in a black tank top with Jack Skellington on it and purple shorts she skidded around a corner. Then rushing onward she made it to Zoe's dorm area banging on the door. A rather tall disheveled blue eyed boy opened the door eyes wide at Mae's appearance. "Move!" He stepped aside waving his arm out to let her in. 

At Zoe's bedroom door she banged a few times, but didn't really bother to wait for her to answer before trying the handle. If it was open she'd barge into the room if not she'd dance in place waiting for her best friend to answer. Depending on what happened tonight that wretched girl Devyn might have just made an enemy.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe did not take breakups well.

Admittedly, she hadn't had all that many, considering that she hadn't been fully aware of her sexuality or her attraction to girls. Things just hadn't quite clicked. So she'd only fallen in love twice in her eighteen years, which was rather on the low end for a female who felt as strongly as Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe. Nonetheless, that was how things had ended up.

Now she felt like someone had torn her heart from her chest. They hadn't destroyed it, hadn't killed it or Zoe. They'd simply shone it to her, shown her how they could handle it, just play with it, and then they'd set it down and let Zoe stare. The pain simply wouldn't go away, a clutching, aching pain deep within that made her tremble. Her gloved fingers had shook when she'd punched things into her phone, certainly not wanting to actually speak to anyone. That wouldn't have gone over well for anyone involved, as far as she could say.

Tears flowed in rivers down Zoe's face, so hot as to nearly burn as they went down the skin. The brown eyes had gone red a while ago, everything puffy. Zoe had at least managed to change into a comfortable set of sleeping clothes: actually adorable pajamas made of a silk fabric that still covered nearly all of her. She even had adorable little socks on her feet. However, the tears and the wretching sobs were decidedly less than adorable.

Zoe heard knocking: didn't care, didn't move. Just groaned and curled tighter. She shook and trembled, not even bothering to pull out, but somehow managing to produce something that sounded roughly like words:

"Go away!"

Though drawn out, torn by sobs and sheer misery, words that, essentially, could only be said by someone who had just lost their heart.

[Maelea Mareaux]

Those were words. She was pretty sure they were words. She didn't hear exactly what they were but they didn't sound friendly. Either way she barged into the room to find a destraught friend. Though the pajamas were cute the face that went with it didn't match. Most times she thought her best friend was incrediably adorable, but no one cried pretty. No matter what anyone else said no one, absolutely no one cried 'pretty'.

Mae heard the door shut behind her as she rushed to Zoe's side. "What did she do? What did she say? Does she need to suffer a horrible fate worse than death?" She sat down on the bed quickly glancing around for tissues. If need be she grab the closet piece of cloth to wipe at that splotchy face.

The spider girl had never had to comfort a living being in her life. Having an older sister she had been the one to be comforted up until she got shipped off to Bellefonte. But whatever Zoe felt like she needed Mae would give without a second thought. Torture, mutilate, and possibly kill Devyn? Sure. Hold her while crying until the pain was tolerable? Most definitely. If only Zoe would tell her what she wanted. Everything except go away.

"I'm not leavin'. Not happenin'. You can beat me up, shove me, and scream at me all ya want. But I'm stayin' righ' here till until I think ya don' need me." Which would mean no more tears and hopefully a smile both seem a ways off.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Maelea, Mae was at the door. She would be. They were best friends, right? Zoe seemed to vaguely recall contacting Mae. What had she said though? What of her pain had she shared with her friend? Her fogged mind couldn't remember. Mae spoke, questions, something about she doing something, and then tissues were on Zoe's face. Zoe didn't have the strength to move, let alone attempt to fight them off. She simply at there, letting her friend blot at the tears, sniffling.

A hand went up to rub against her eyes, her body again shivering with it. Not leaving. Tempted to try and push her away. But could Zoe? No, Zoe couldn't, not even if she wanted. Or could she? hadn't she just... to Devyn? Zoe let out another sob, one that shook her. "She, she, she--" she stammered before shifting, her hands going to clench at the sheet, as even in her inner pain she couldn't, wouldn't reach out for a person. Not now.

She hiccuped and cried again, trying to draw it in while simultaneously trying to push words through the sobs: "I--I---I--she-she" she stammered, swallowing, "we--we broke up and---" she shivered, closing her eyes, trying again to pull in, to pull away from Mae, "she--she--cheated---" she sobbed. Just. Sobbed.

[Maelea Mareaux]

Attacking someone's face with tissues while they wee heartbreakingly sobbing wasn't probably the right thing to do. But she just couldn't stand the sight of those tears, and wanted to go away. When words finally started coming out she froze hands lowering slowly as she tried to understand. Devyn had done something obviously and her mind jumped to the worst possible senarios.

The sobs tore at her heart she scooted closer not knowing whether or not it was okay to hug Zoe. Okay, she got the part that they broke up because she was pretty sure that was in the text from not even ten minutes ago. But she understood that Zoe needed to get it out to say it. She reached out to try and touch Zoe wanting to comfort her in some way.

Cheated. Cheated. Cheated. Devyn was going to pay.

Mae didn't care she moved to hug Zoe hoping it was okay, and not caring about the consequences. "I'm here. I'm here. She's a b**ch. It's gonna be alrigh' darlin'. It might take a while for things to be alright but eventually it would stop hurting so much. Not that she knew from experience but all pain faded with time. Mae knew one thing for certain and that Devyn was most certainly going to pay severely for cheating on Zoe. This beautiful, precious rose deserved to be treated like a goddess and nothing less.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The sobs and sorrow kept their painful hold on Zoe, wracking her body for a few more moments. She heard the words, felt arms wrapping around her. Zoe stiffened as the touch, a shudder going through her, locking down her muscles, drawing her breath short. It lasted only for that shudder though, before Zoe effectively melted into her friend's arms, collapsing like a wet, sobbing mess.

"Prom," she croaked, feeling like she still needed to explain. She swallowed, tasting her tears. She buried her head, taking a few deep breaths. Calm, steady, try and hold onto the self for just a few moments, long enough to spit out the necessary words: "Devyn... we had an open relationship... well, open for her I... but on prom, I, I asked her to---to just be mine and---" and then there was another loud, nearly obnoxious sob while Zoe worked to bury herself.

Oh, how she just wished the pain would be over, would just ebb away. Zoe would take not feeling at all over this agony. But she couldn't. Why couldn't her power numb herself? was that too much to ask? She sobbed again, burrowing further into Mae, just letting that wrap around her, just letting it all wash over her.

[Maelea Mareaux]

As soon as Zoe fell into her arms Mae scooted in close murmuring what she hoped was soothing noises. Listening she petted Zoe's short hair wishing she could make the tears disappear. She wanted to talk but she didn't want to rush the sobbing girl in her arms. If she was ready to talk the words would come until then she was going to hold Zoe.

Eyes closing she pictured Devyn covered in black widows, tarantulas, brown recluses, and at least one Brazilian wandering spider. She opened her arms up a bit as Zoe nuzzled down then tightened her hug. "She is an idiot. Complete and utterly." Rubbing her best friend's back she tried to think of anything helpful to say. Anything to help the pain. Nothing came to mind at all. She was pretty sure offering to kill Devyn wasn't going to fix things.

"Any girl would be lucky to be yours. Well, any girl who likes girls like that. Yer beyond gorgeous. Yer amazingly talented. Smart, way smart. And the sweetest most giving girl I've ever known." Was that good? Did she need to say more? Do more? That's what people were supposed to say right? Oh, why couldn't she help more. "Is there anything you need? Anything at all?"

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe's world collapsed into just herself and the girl who held her. She could feel the caresses and tried to think of them as just comforting, not as reminders of what she'd lost, not as something to remind her of Devyn of... of... Zoe found herself crying again, sobbing. Tears flowed freely from those increasingly red eyes, and Zoe curled even more.

Idiot... strangely, Zoe actually agreed with that. Devyn had been a big idiot, and she didn't even realize it, which just made it all the worse. Though the comments that followed had Zoe laughing the sobbed, ironic laugh of someone who dwelt in the depths of despair. "That sounds so weird," she said, her voice croaky, "coming from another girl." It did. Though Zoe did think that Mae was attractive and all, she wasn't about to suggest anything. Even if Zoe hadn't been a lesbian for long, she still understood that she wasn't some kind of predatory animal preying on people.

"I... i don't know," she sobbed again. "Do you have something that could make me stop feeling?" She let out another wry chuckle that turned into a deep sob, bordering on a wail.

[Maelea Mareaux]

If Zoe curled or scooted any closer Mae was pretty sure the girl was going to be on her lap. Not that she minded or cared she just hadn't ever been this close to the short haired Brit before. Now that she gave it a few seconds of thought she'd never been this close to anyone outside of family. It felt nice. If only her best friend wasn't bawling. Then the moment would be really nice.

"What? Didn' Devyn tell ya all that? How amazin' ya are, and how pretty?" If Devyn didn't bother to compliment Zoe then she was seriously going to do some damage. She needed to learn how to fight so she could personally beat the living crap out of the other girl. "Cuz someone like you deserves'ta be loved by someone who'll tell ya that ev'ry day." Smiling a little she rubbed the meek mouse in her arm's back trying her best to think of things to make things better.

Blinking she didn't know how to answer that question but luckily she didn't have to. Unluckily there was more sobbing and it was tearing at her heart. "I'll make her pay, Zoey. I will. I swear." She whispered more to herself than to her friend. Her mind was blank as what more to say. Never had experienced a broken heart she didn't know what Zoe was going through nor how to help. So instead of talking she started singing softly. Because that's what she did when she didn't know what to say. She sang the first song that popped into her head though it wasn't her normal music she'd started broadening her horizons since she'd met Zoe.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"She did," mumbled Zoe, referring to the compliments. Devyn lavished them on her all the time, actually, and Zoe was tempted to say as much. Except that remembering Devyn just brought back the harsh twisting feeling in Zoe's heart. It felt almost literal, like her heart had begun moving about and turning shapes. "She was good at that part..."

Not so good at honoring her word or being faithful. Zoe sobbed again, feeling like her heart had just swelled at the very mention of that. Mae kept going, kept promising some sort of revenge or something. "I don't really want her to pay," mumbled Zoe, curling a little further. She was well aware that she'd all but crawled into Mae's lap, but frankly she didn't care at the moment. Zoe wanted the contact, and her main source of that... well, she'd become the very reason Zoe wanted it.

"That's a nice song," she mumbled, turning. She laughed a little. "It sounds kinda like something Devyn would've said..." Zoe bit her lip, sobbing again. She turned to look up at Mae. "Why can't people mean what they say? Is it really that hard to be truthful to someone? To be... to be loyal?" That was what hurt the most, the betrayal of it all. Zoe swallowed again, feeling another, softer sob shake her body once more.

[Maelea Mareaux]

At least the girl complimented Zoe that was something. "Good. Cuz ya deserve it." In her mind Zoe deserved the moon, stars, true love, and to be put on a pedestal where no one could ever hurt her. But then again she was just a tad over protective and biased as the best friend. Zoe was just everything that Mae wasn't and it amazed her that Zoe had decided to be friends with her.

Curling slightly over the frail, sobbing girl she wished she could just stop bad things from ever reaching her. "She deserves it, but I'll respect yer wishes." Unless she saw Devyn on the street with another girl, then all bets were off. She shifted a little trying to make it more comfortable hopefully for the both of them. Since comfort was the main thing at the moment.

Oh, great Devyn would have said it. Wanting to scream a little she wanted to destroy the wretched girl who hurt Zoe. "It's not hard at all." Hand going to try and sooth her by stroking her back she ravaged her mind trying to think of something, anything that might help. "Some people jus' can' see how good they got it. They mess up. They're stupid tha's fer sure." Grumbling that last part she hummed a little not wanting to connect another song's lyrics to Devyn.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe felt Mae's protective warmth spreading all throughout her, the other girl pulling her tight in. It made her feel safe, loved, if not entirely in the manner she'd really like to be. "She does," murmured Zoe, referencing the comment about Devyn. Oh, Zoe might be nice, a sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly on purpose and if she did on accident, she'd apologize to it and work to mend its broken wings, but that didn't mean that she hadn't been hurt, wasn't feeling like her entire world was crumbling around her. Just thinking about it send more shards of pure pain lancing into her heart, spreading throughout to seemingly damage even her soul.

Not hard, can't see, "She was stupid," agreed Zoe. Somehow, she managed to crawl even further into Mae's lap, as if she wanted to just become little more then a kitten to be cuddled by her best friend. It probably helped that Zoe wasn't exactly a large person: her underweight body would've had trouble being all that noticeable even soaking wet.

Which admittedly, she might be approaching quickly, considering the flow of tears. She shifted, trying to get her mouth clear enough so that her words could at least be heard, even if the tears wracking her body might make them more then a little difficult to actually comprehend. "Can... can you sing some more, please? Something,' she sniffed, "really sad?" Because Zoe wanted to wallow. Desperately.

[Maelea Mareaux]

Pain, Devyn deserves pain. She deserves to hurt as much or more than Zoe hurt. Since Zoe was the innocent party that meant Devyn should get more. Would get more. Though she'd said she'd respect the girl's wishes she just couldn't let this lie so easily. The person she cared most about was a crumpled mess in her arms, and the one who caused it would suffer.

"Verra stupid. Imensely stupid. She just lost an angel." Speaking softly she tried to sound soothing yet affirmative at the same time. As Zoe crawled even more onto her lap she tightened her grip on her. So delicate and small like a little bird fallen from its nest. But how to get this precious bird back into the nest without causing more pain.

Mae continued to hum rocking slightly as she did her best to comfort her best friend. At the request her eyes went wide a bit then racked her brain for a suitable song. As usual she failed on originality and went with the first song that came to mind.

I have nothing left to give
I have found the perfect end
You were made to make it hurt
Disappear into the dirt
Carry me to heaven's arms
Light the way and let me go
Take the time to take my breath
I will end where I began

And I will find the enemy within
Cause I can feel it crawl beneath my skin

Dear Agony
Just let go of me
Suffer slowly
Is this the way it's gotta be?
Dear Agony

[/i]

She had to sing it softer than she would usually but she put in as passion as she could muster without making Zoe deaf. Mae tilted back her head singing her heart out this time to give Zoe her all.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

So stupid... Zoe was tempted to repeat it again, but words felt so far away. Better to just cry, let the tears continue to leak out of her body, sending all the emotions from her. Mae rocked, and Zoe just pinched her eyes shut, pushing everything away, just clinging to the rocking sensation and the words.

Poetry in lyrics; it happened. Zoe supposed that the song was one of those harder ones, one that likely had passion. She could hear, could feel the words in Mae, the other girl attempting to reach out through lyrics and sound to get through to her. It caused Zoe to drift, and she just let her conscious go for now. Just relax, let herself become awash in the sound and carried away...

Within a few rounds of the chorus, Zoe had fallen asleep in Mae's lap, the tears still leaking from her eyes.