The Second Date Wouldn't Measure Up

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The second date wouldn't measure up to the first. Zoe knew that going in, and she was almost tempted to do something utterly ridiculous and plan the most awful of dates she could possibly have managed. There was something highly appealing in the idea, but she'd drawn just short. It was the same desire she'd had with Devyn and Alice: this strange insistence that whoever dated her know that she Zoe came with a good deal of baggage, and baggage of the kind that most people would never have dreamed.

She'd sent the message to Riley Forrester, letting her know to meet at the edge of school grounds, and to dress for a long walk, even longer than the other. Zoe had come prepared herself. She wore a long skirt this time, a denim thing with a rather impressive slit. a pair of sturdy boots showed underneath, and a light shirt and vest combo worked on top. Her camera bag and a smallish basket set nearby, while she waited on the edge of the field, looking around and trying not to be anxious.

"I should've gone with the silly idea," she said to herself, already feeling like she were somehow setting this date up for spectacular failure. She could already see Riley insisting that she wanted no part of her, just abandoning Zoe. The image nearly made Zoe sprint for the safety of the school, and she actually turned to look. It was as she did that she saw her date.

"Hi," she managed, the word barely audible, and the small waving gesture that accompanied it barely one that would count.

[Riley Forrester]

To be honest, Riley had been overjoyed when she got a text from Zoe to meet up for a second date. Yeah, she figured it would happened since they talk about it after the first one (and after they had kissed. Twice.). And yet, Riley still had felt... Anxious? No, more along the lines of... Worried. Worried that Zoe wouldn't call or text her for the second date. Why? No reason really. Riley just got a little panicked about this one. Because the first date had gone so perfectly. What if she mucked up the second one? Knowing you, that's a definite. Her brain so helpfully added.

But nevertheless, Riley was happy for the text and got dressed accordingly. Because according to Zoe, they were going for a walk this time, and a long one at that. It made Riley curious, but then again she had kept the entire first date a mystery, so this was only fair.

So she headed out at once and made her way towards the area they had set to met with a smile. And as soon as she saw Zoe, her smile evolved into a grin and she took a few quick steps forward. "Numbness be damned!" Was the only fast warning Zoe got before Riley swept the girl into a warm hug and nuzzled her a little, that tingling feeling popping up all over where their skin connected. Riley had opted just for a hug, because even though they had kissed on the first date, she didn't want to be too forward or something. Yeah, let's not scare her off. Riley thought before pulling back and beaming at the girl.

"Heya Zoe!" She greeted, but then noticed something seemed off. Her smile faded. Whoa, hey now. Something's up. After a second of debat, Zoe lightly cupped the girl's cheek. "What's on your mind?"

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Quick steps, and before Zoe could fully realize it, she'd gotten swept up in a hug. She let out a little laugh and hugged Riley back, lowering her head to match. God, this felt far too good. She just wanted to turn her face slightly and give Riley another kiss, remembering all too well how good that had felt at the end of their other date. But she didn't want to freak Riley out, well, besides doing what was obviously going to freak her out with the date. Plus, Zoe definitely didn't want Riley's lips to be numb before they really got started, as fun as hearing her mumble her way through conversation might be.

These thoughts had very nearly driven off Zoe's gloomier ones. Apparently not enough, because her always treacherous face (especially her damn expressive eyes) betrayed her. Zoe's eyes widened and she shook her head. "What? Nothing. I was just. Well, I'm nervous," she insisted, adding a little laugh. She pulled away, somewhat reluctantly (the sitting and cuddling dates were definitely more a fourth or fifth date thing, right?).

"Um, so, we're going to be walking, a lot," Zoe said, "but I already said that, um, do you mind, ah," she gestured at the basket, and the movement made her camera bag shift, which meant she had to stop to adjust that too. She was lucky that her hair had been braided up high into something like a bun or she probably would've been whacked with that too.

[Riley Forrester]

Riley laughed along with Zoe, happy to hear the other girl seemed glad to see the Punky chick. And there was some returned nuzzling that made Riley smile all the harder before setting Zoe down reluctantly. Damn. That is so worth the numbness. She thought as she regarded Zoe affectionately.

But she had caught something in the girl's eyes-- which Riley was definitely not staring into deeply and kinda getting lost in-- and felt a little concerned. Zoe assured her that she was alright, only a little nervous. Riley wasn't sure if that was the true case, but she just smiled warmly and took Zoe's hands in her own, squeezing them reassuringly. "Don't be nervous! I'm fine with whatever you've got, long as you're here." Riley said honestly. Then she blinked and shook her head again, snickering. "Aaaannndd it took me no time at all to get cheesy, did it?" She joked with a lopsided smirk before reluctantly letting to.

My god. She's adorable. How many times do I gotta think it? Riley thought as she watched a very flustered Zoe whip around. Riley chuckled slightly and picked up the basket, nodded to Zoe. "No problem. I'd love the exercise anyways." She answered reassuringly

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe flashed another smile, a nervous one, as Riley gave out her cheesy response. "I prefer romantic, myself," Zoe replied teasingly. She lowered her eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling very shy. It didn't help with the whole flustered business, as she sort of fluttered about the various items she'd gathered for the date.

Riley grabbed the basket and Zoe took a breath to remind herself. "Right, of course, you're the one who set a precedent," she gave her date another smile, a nod, and then moved to take the hand not holding the basket. "Um, just until it goes numb," she said, flushing for a moment. She did another nod before starting them walking, heading deep into the forest.

"It's, uh, well, it's a surprise," she said, nodding ahead, "where we're going and what we're going to see. But, um, it's that way," she pointed with the hand not holding Riley's, then flushed again. That was obvious. At least Zoe didn't have to worry about playing with falling hairs: The wrap was doing its job nicely.

[Riley Forrester]

Riley had to chuckle at that. She still doubted she was romantic honestly: "that's a nice way of putting it." Riley joked back as she got the basket. She couldn't help but notice how shy Zoe was being. It was as if they restarted to the first date, yet Soe reached out for Riley's hand without a problem. It was baffling.

Yet Riley took the hand without hesitation, giving it a reassuring squeeze as Riley nodded her understanding. Then they were off, into the forest. Zoe explained what was happening, or at least sort of. She really, really seemed nervous about something, so Riley had a growing suspicion that whatever was going to happen on this date was going to be important. And whatever Zoe had to show Riley was making the other girl nervous.

So Riley simply nodded her hand at Zoe's last remark, giving Zoe as reassuring a smile as she could, squeezing the girl's hand. "Ok."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Eventually Riley would realize that Zoe existed in a near constant state of nerves. It seemed to reset each and every time she met someone, well, not quite reset. To be wholly accurate, it reset, yet moved forward on the comfort scale ever so slightly. Each meeting would result in the same thing, until eventually the comfort would unsettle the nerves, and everything would be relatively normal, or at least as normal as things could get when you were dealing with a young woman who literally paralyzed people by touching them.

It still felt good to be holding hands, to feel someone else's fingers interlaced with hers. Zoe was fairly certain that Riley didn't understand how intimate touching had become to her in many ways. Each time she did it she had to act with care, with the knowledge that too long would literally kill someone. It extended so much trust for her to simply wrap her fingers around someone, let alone feeling the slight squeeze.

"It'll be good, promise. Well, um, the end will be," Zoe said. At least they were walking. "The food, um, it should be good too? I, ah, got it from, um, a local place and, ah, yeah," she licked her lips for a moment. "Sorry, um, it's just, ah, well, you'll see," she lowered her head, flushing, and perhaps moving just a bit quicker, seeming a little more tempted to head toward where they were going. They'd be entering the more wooded area of the academy grounds at this point, the sections that were left more or less untamed, partially for environmental reasons and partially to allow students a relatively untamed area to train. Zoe seemed to tense as the area around them grew more wild, as if bracing herself for something.

[Riley Forrester]

Riley glanced at Zoe as she spoke and they walked. Riley couldn't help but chuckle and squeeze the girl's hand again even as hers was becoming increasingly numb. "I believe you." Riley said simply with a smile. She really did. And since Zoe could trust Riley, Riley felt like she could trust Zoe. Which is why Riley was fine with the whole mystery part. She simply squeezed Zoe's hand again reassuringly before they went on.

Wow, it's really crazy out here. Riley thought as they went deeper into the forest. It was really cool in a way, being surrounded by the untamed nature. It would be a perfect spot to play her guitar sometimes when she just wanted to be alone. Maybe she'd do it one of these times. yet when she looked at Zoe, the girl looked tense. Riley had no idea what the girl was bracing for, but she was concerned. Say something you dolt. Her brain said helpfully.

"hey, I'm right here with you, alright?" Riley decided one, saying it softly with a kind, warm smile. She really wanted Zoe to relax. Although she had no idea what was running through the girl's head.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Another squeeze, and this time, Zoe could've sworn that Riley was holding out better against her power. Then again, Zoe supposed that maybe you'd just get used to feeling numb, or learn to push past it, or something along those lines. It was just one more thing that Zoe didn't really want to think about. Yet again she felt like she was already overdoing it, like she was attempting to scare the girl away when she should be trying to convince her to like her more.

"I know," Zoe managed as Riley said it, nodding. "Oh, there are, ah, lots of birds around here," Zoe said, pointing up. "I'm not usually someone who takes a lot of pictures of nature, but that had been part of why I'd come out here," Zoe nodded, before letting out another little bashful smile. "There's, well, we're going to, there's this cabin," she pointed ahead. "It's, the school owns it. I've...been there before."

Said cabin was coming into view. They'd been walking for a while, at least long enough to lose sight of the school behind the various trees. The cabin, on the other hand, seemed to be coming out of the woods. It looked rustic, but still homey, and of a decent enough size. Zoe licked her lips and nodded toward it. "That's, uh, that's the cabin."

Wow, did it look unexciting when compared to the sunset that Riley had arranged for her. Maybe Zoe really had set this date up to suck.

[Riley Forrester]

The girl at least acknowledged Riley's statement, which counted as something. But Riley was still worried. Worry wart indeed. Her brain mused as Zoe talked about the birds, causing Riley to look up. And what do you know? There really were a lot of birds. It was actually quiet pretty, and set Riley more at ease as she glanced back at Zoe and smiled. "I can see why. They're beautiful." She said.

But then Zoe was directing Riley's attention to a cabin, which made Riley blink. A cabin all the way out here? "Huh. Wow." Riley mused as she took it in. It was... cute. Like, really cute. Kinda like some celebrity get-away spot for the really reclusive ones. Hell, I'd love one of those. Riley thought as she took it all in before glancing over at Zoe. She still seemed a bit nervous, so Riley smiled and gestured to the cabin with her head.

"I like it." She answered honestly. "But what's it doing so far from campus?"

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Yeah, the birds were beautiful, in that distracting way. Then again, nearly everything distracted Zoe, from the trees to the life, to the clouds themselves. That was the fun side effect of having a poet and photographer's combined mindset. Zoe saw pictures and verse everywhere she went.

Some even came to mind as she walked, and she remembered the poem she'd finally set down for Riley, flushing slightly. She'd attached that to a photo and it was now tucked away in the bag, she'd pull it out later.

For now, she had a cabin to explain: "It's for training," Zoe said, nodding and pointing. "Well, I think it is now, anyway. I think a groundskeeper used to live there? I honestly don't know. I just, well, it's often used as a resting spot for students and faculty heading deeper in. And sometimes they'll use it as a base camp for long-term training sessions.

"Ah, Mr Spencer showed it to me," she said, flushing, fidgeting, trying to figure out how to explain. "We can... go in if you like? What I really want to show you is still further in..."

[Riley Forrester]

Zoe seemed to flush again for some reason, and Riley was curious about what the girl could've been thinking about. Maybe something embarrassing happened here? She wondered before Zoe started to explain. So it turned out to be a sort of training cabin where the old groundskeeper used to live. But now it was a resting spot and a base camp. Wow. That's a lot for just one little cabin. Although it seems pretty nice. Riley thought as she looked it over again. Zoe went on, explaining that someone named Mr. Spencer had shown it to her before offering to take Riley inside.

"Oh! Well, if what you want to show me is still further in, we can keep going." Riley said before smiled. "You're the one in the lead this time. I'm fine with whatever you choose." She promised. ....Still sounds cheesy. You really can't stop can you Riles?

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Keep going. Zoe nearly breathed a sigh of relief at that. She nodded, flashing another smile as Riley said something that she doubtless thought was really cheesy or something. Seemed like nearly every other line that Riley offered the girl thought cheesy for whatever reason. Zoe actually sort of liked it, but she didn't want to say as much, at least not now.

She kept moving, only pausing to make sure to untangle her hand from Riley's. Not that she didn't like it, but she didn't want to use her antidote or her vaccine on something like that, not this early in the date. Zoe did pause for a moment as they passed by the cabin, looking to a tree that seemed to have a divot in it. A bullet, that had to be a bullet from... from back then. Zoe shook it off, then kept going.

"Okay, so, um, this probably isn't nearly as impressive as, like," Zoe said, gesturing, "the view, but there's, well," Zoe pointed upward, "see up there? How there's, like, a bit of green that sort of stands out above the rest of the trees?" Zoe smiled, feeling like she was now offering a teaser to what they were going to view. "That's all from one tree. I think nearly every mutant with plant abilities comes out and talks to it, gets it to grow a little more, and, well, you'll see it pretty soon. I, ah, thought we could maybe take a picnic under it?"

Which did technically make this their second picnic. Zoe just happened to like them. Plus, she knew that it was the third date when you should get dressed up and serious.

[Riley Forrester]

A smile, and Riley could see some relief in it. Obviously the girl didn't want to stay, but Riley was fine with that. Besides, she was more curious as to what Zoe had actually brought them out to see. Although Riley was a little disappointed when Zoe untangled their hands together. But then again, Riley really wasn't able to feel anything in that hand. So she reluctantly let Zoe do as she did as they continued on. Although Zoe seemed to stop for a moment to observe a tree. Riley could only see a small divot in it, which made her frown very slightly, but Zoe was already moving on, so Riley did as well.

Besides, Zoe was talking again. She was almost apologizing for this not being impressive and all, and explained how they were going to have a picnic under a tree. A huge tree by the looks of it. And a tree that mutants with plant abilities visited and talked to. Riley looked at Zoe and raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "How is that not impressive?" She teased slightly. "it looks enormous even from here. It's perfect for a picnic."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Well, it's, I mean, it is just a tree," Zoe said, even as she was already reprimanding herself for thinking precisely that. Yes, it did happen to be a tree. It also happened to be the most impressive physical specimen in nearly the entire forest. Naturally it only helped that Zoe's first memory of it involved taking pictures of a winged young man flitting amongst the branches and things.

"But it is one of the best picnic spots I've ever seen," Zoe continued as they kept approaching. "I've been here with a few different people. Well, not that many, but, um, a few. I actually used to come here a lot during, um, the time when I wasn't allowed off campus. It sort of, um, relieved me?"

They came up to it now, the impressive thing looking almost unnatural amid all its lesser brethren. The tree looked nearly like something out of a cartoon or fantasy novel, as if pulled there and plunked in the middle of Montana. The roots alone nearly reached up to their heads, and the branches extended upward to such an extent that you could just barely see the top if you got the right angle.

"Well, there it is," Zoe said, gesturing up at it. She moved her hands behind her back, lacing her fingers, and trying not to look nervous about presenting the magnificent specimen of flora.