Lighting the Sky With Flames

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded, understanding the situation. She could remember getting an allowance too, though her parents hadn't provided her with anything for a while. Though surely the school would've contacted them, and they had sent the camera or, well, someone in her family certainly had. Zoe didn't want to think about that. She supposed that her being eighteen meant they could cut her off completely if they wanted...

At least she had photography and, at the moment, Quinn to distract her. He talked about selfies, and Zoe actually let out a little laugh. She couldn't help but nod with agreement, remembering some of the conversations she'd had. Some people even seemed to have trouble thinking of photography as an art, no doubt not helped by all those people taking innumerable pictures with their phones and whatnot. Devyn hadn't... hadn't thought of it as art till Zoe had showed her...

"I'm... not sure," she said, answering Quinn's question, her voice wavering as the memory caught up to her. She could suppress things marvelously of course, and she fought against it now, figuring that shivering and crying were not the best way to get to know someone. "I've, well, there's been quite a lot happening... personal stuff," she shifted again, biting her lip. "I... I might still... try..." she trailed off, looking down at the camera. Would people want to see a show like that though? She looked over to Quinn, the question on her lips, but she hesitated, shyly shifting her feet again, not sure she should, again, be asking a near stranger...

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn had no idea how much money Zoe’s parents had. He knew that, had his father been an honest businessman, he would have had the money to get the camera of his dreams. And probably every accessory he might have wanted with it. But the time when he had money was over and his aunt and uncle, as nice as they were, had their three boys to take care of as well. He knew he’d probably never have a professional camera. But it would remain a dream of his. yet another one he’d bottle up and pick up from time to time to remember what his life could have been.

Quinn never understood that trend of taking selfies all the time. Who cared? Then again, it wasn’t as silly as taking pictures of your food. He did once. He took a picture of crudités with his hand in the middle, giving everyone a nice little fuck you. He knew one of his cousins published it on Facebook. Not like Quinn was on there to do so himself. Yeah, in the end, selfies were not as stupid. But not far close.

Zoe could understand, or at least he supposed that she could understand what photography meant to him. She was in the photography club after all and by judging on her general attitude towards people, he doubted it was only to meet with other people. If so, she failed miserably because she might have met with new people but she clearly didn't get any better at talking to them.

Quinn looked at her as she answered him and frowned. She seemed about to fall apart. Since he doubted it had anything to do with something he might have said, he wondered what it might be about and felt slightly awkward. If she ended up crying on him, he wouldn’t know what to do. She tried to explain. Personal stuff. The universal answer for: I don’t want to talk about it. He looked away, trying to find something to say to chase the awkwardness away. “Maybe it’s best. I don’t know if they would have been interested. They wouldn’t get it,” he said. Maybe not the best thing to say to comfort her but Quinn had never been the comforting type. “What you intended to show anyway?”

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

So much personal stuff. It often felt like Zoe took a few steps forward only to be dragged back several more. How could she possibly keep moving forward like this? By focusing on those good bits, on the present, on moving forward, remembering that she mattered to some people. Easy enough of a mantra to tell herself, but following through always proved more difficult. Like now, when she trembled and fought through a sadness that threatened to crush her like a foot crumpling an origami crane.

Quinn gave her something to focus on, and Zoe clung to it. "They might not have been," she admitted, remembering the art display at the recent fair... people had been there, but, well, there were obviously more interesting things there. Zoe had barely been able to get Devyn to...

... no, not thinking about that. "I was going to show some pictures like this, like yours," she said, nodding and continuing in a rush, as if desperate to get the words out before her feeble courage failed: "I have several photographs of people utilizing their powers, all captured in the exact moment that they do something truly wondrous. not just yours, but dozens of others. I wanted to get them together and possibly do something locally, since, well, most of the people here sort of now. But you're right, people probably wouldn't get it," as expected, she ran out of courage, all but mumbling the last few, her eyes going to the ground while she nibbled at her lip again, worrying it as she thought about the failed idea.

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn might have noticed by now that there was something going on inside of her, but he’d be damned if he knew what. He had enough trouble trying to deal with his own feelings, he really shouldn’t start and try to understand others’. He tried not to pay attention and focus on her photographs instead. He was not the one you should go to if you wanted to empty your heart. He never knew how to react when such a thing happen. Not like it did a lot. He was not letting people come close enough of him for that to be possible. And crying over a stranger’s shoulder was just silly.

He didn’t want to ask her if she was alright. Because she might end up telling him much more than he wanted to know and he’d have no idea how to react. Was he supposed to pat her back and say everything would be alright? Or just listen, maybe? Clearly, he didn’t have the right tools to help her get better and so he didn't even want to try. He let her friends deal with that. It was what friends were there for, right? Quinn looked away, forcing his brain not to go there. Not need to feel bitter right now.

He chose to focus on her pictures and to think what the other ones she meant to use to put up a show should look like. If they were about people using their powers, they might not have wanted it to happen. They seemed eager on keeping a low profile. Quinn did wonder how he was supposed to keep one when, every now and then, he needed to throw fire. That seemed to give away the fact you were not entirely normal. Unless he chose to live as a recluse. Quinn was truly clueless as to what his life would be like after school.

As he thought, it was a display of people and their powers. “The school might like but those who should truly see it wouldn’t. I don’t even think the school would let them. They’d need that though, no? A way to show them we do strange things but we’re not that different,” he replied. He didn't think much about the fact he barely heard the end of what she said. He thought that, once again, his bluntness might have hurt someone. Why was he constantly asking others why they bothered? He only ended up hurting them.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

It wasn't the first time that someone had thrown a little doubt into Zoe's plan. If nothing else, she did that to herself on a nearly regular basis. She couldn't help but flush at the words regardless. Though... his doubt sounded a bit like... confidence? Zoe wasn't sure what to make of the words, blinking and looking at him.

"Um, thank you?" she tried, blinking. "I... I do want to... I'm just..." she fidgeted again, feeling like she'd said the wrong thing or done the wrong thing. Her eyes dropped back to the camera, which she turned in her hand. The previous pictures looked back up at her. She flicked through a few, remaining silent, even chewing her lip slightly. They all looked good... at least to her... would someone else want to look at it though?

She looked up to Quinn, opened her mouth, closed it. Fidgeted again. Then Zoe looked at the camera. Then she dropped it. "Sorry," she half-mumbled, even though she wasn't entirely sure what she was apologizing for... existing, maybe?

[Quinn Wiley]

Mutants might not see pictures of other mutants using their powers as amazing. They could see it too often for them to really understand the message behind it. At least, it was what Quinn believed. He could imagine them, asking why they should look at pictures of someone blowing fire when they could see it for real. Basic, boring humans should be the ones seeing t though. But they might just be afraid or not believe it to be real instead of what it meant. Quinn felt like his problems when he believed he was normal were all still here. He was a normal teenager with normal teenager’s troubles and desires. Except that he could blow fire now and then. No big deal.

He stared at her as she was stuttering words without making much sense. What did she want? He blinked two or three times, not saying a word. But he didn’t need any word to make it clear that he didn’t understand what Zoe was trying to come up with here. She was weird, with her nerves taking over, making it very hard for her to speak her mind. Quinn either spoke his mind or shrugged and remained silent, he was not fidgeting, trying to make people understand him.

She opened her mouth, closed it. Like she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite do it. He waited there for her to finally speak. But that didn’t happen. She was now looking at the camera instead as Quinn still waited for her to explain what she had been trying to say. Instead of that, she mumbled an apology and no longer looked at him. “For what?” he asked her. He didn’t see why she had to excuse herself to him, for anything. He shrugged though and chose to walk around. It might help with the shivers. They were almost entirely gone but he would still feel cold if he took the blanket off right now. It was why he chose to walk a little. Physical activity helped with the body heat, right? Even if that was not the case, it was better than to watch this awfully nervous girl trying to explain herself only to give her after three stuttered words.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe continued to squirm as the boy stared at her. He might not actually have been trying to or anything, and he might not have even been doing it, or, well, not doing it in a way that other people would notice, but for Zoe, it felt very much like that was precisely what he did. Though he at least put her out of her misery by finally speaking.

"Um," she said, biting her lip. "I don't---I don't know, for, um, being like this? I guess? I--I--" she licked her lips, again altering the way she stood. Should she explain her situation to him? Try to explain things? She felt like she owed it to him, though another part of her was demanding why she had to go around explaining why she did things to people. "I'm just.... I'm just not great at talking to people and stuff," she said, practically wincing at the other. "Like, I don't---I didn't used to be. Okay, I was a little shy and quiet but then... Now I can't... if I touch someone, I could kill them. Just like that. And then I---well, um, I---came out," she said the last two really quietly, "and things have just gotten... worse. Like I'm being punished or something..." she trailed off. "Now I'm saying too much. Sorry. It's... like I said.... I'm not... good at this..."

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn was used to people calling him a creep. He just kept staring at them, barely saying anything and when he did, he often ended up saying it wrong and hurting them. He didn’t mean to, well, most of the time he didn’t, but his blunt honesty and his constant questioning of people’s motives had that effect. He stared at Zoe and yes, he noticed her squirm, but he didn’t stop nonetheless. At least he spoke to her. Sometimes, he wasn’t. But he wanted to know why she apologized when clearly he saw no reason to. Maybe because she was already feeling uncomfortable and deep inside he didn’t mind making it worse. Or maybe because he, for once, found someone he could have a tiny bit in common with. Oh, he still didn’t want to keep her too close of him. But he could relate to a human being and despite his best efforts, a part of him like that idea.

Alright, he clearly made her more nervous. And she was apologizing for being herself. If there was one thing you shouldn’t apologize for, unless it was ironically, it was for being yourself. Right? Then again, who she was seemed to be a stuttering ball of nerves who couldn’t say one sentence without interrupting herself out of embarrassment. Maybe she should apologize. He didn’t need her to admit not being good at talking to people for him to get it and he did look at her as if saying no shit or something like that.

She tried to explain and Quinn did try to follow through all of her stuttering until she finally gave up, admitting she was talking too much now. “So... because you have a killing touch, you can’t talk to people? Doesn’t make much sense. Unless you can kill them with your voice why should you be nervous?” he told her. He was not trying to analyze her, only point out how irrational her logic was. Yes, there might be some judgement in his words. How could he not?

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Well, um, it's... there's been a lot of... stuff happening because of it and--well, people around me kind of end up getting... I don't know," Zoe was borderline panicking now, and she wasn't even sure why. Nothing that Quinn said sounded all that offensive. He just asked questions and what have you. If anything, he almost sounded like he wanted to help her out, point out that she shouldn't think like this. Yet despite herself, Zoe could feel tears brimming up. The wetness in her eyes just served to make her angry though, because she shouldn't be crying over something like this. That anger just bloomed into frustration which worked right back around to making her want to cry some more.

"I know I shouldn't, but I--knowing is different then feeling or..." Zoe paused, biting her lip again .She brought a hand up, moving to wipe at her eyes. "See, now I'm even crying when I don't want to,' she wanted to add an "I'm pathetic," but she at least had the strength of will to hold that back, even if it meant biting her lip again. Instead she tried a : "I can go if you want..."

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn considered her reaction as exaggerated. Not just the fact that she wasn’t good at talking to people because her touch could kill but also the state of panic he seemed to put her through. He didn’t think what he said could justify it. But she looked like a little mouse cornered by a cat. Quinn might have savored the idea of being the predator for once if she had not been such an easy prey he caught without him even meaning to. He didn’t think he had been worse than he normally was. He pointed out the flaw in her logic, nothing more. She had the right not t like what he said but she didn't seem to try to defend her point or anything. If she tried to explain to him, he wasn’t entirely sure with all the stutter and hesitation there was, it sounded more like an attempt of an answer to his questions.

Quinn didn’t really care about her reasons, to be honest. He didn't really care about her either. He didn’t mean to help her and wouldn’t spend time with Zoe to help her get better if she asked him. All of a sudden, her eyes started to water. Oh dear god, he made her cry! Just his luck. “You’re taking it too close at heart. You can live your life how you want, for all I care,” he told her and, in a way, he seemed to think it was meant to reassure her and stop her from crying. Like Quinn could say something that would ever help someone stop crying. He was more likely to make them cry further. He shrugged when she said she could go. “Or I could,” he said, making a few steps away from her, an unknown figure draped in a blanket with only two legs piercing through it. He stopped there and turned around to show his cloaked face at her. “Seriously though, if you want to say something you shouldn’t hold it back. No one else does. It’s not like you killed me,” he told her. Again, he was not really trying to help her even if it might sound like it. He simply liked pointing out how irrational her entire logic was. He shrugged once again. “But what do I know?”

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The words all sounded quite familiar, which only made things all the worse, really. Still, Zoe tried reminding herself that this was a near stranger saying the same things that everyone kept saying to her. That she could just be herself, that if she wanted to say something, she should just say it, that nothing would happen just because she happened to actually speak. So much easier to say then to put into action.

Zoe swallowed again, fiercely fighting back the tears and mostly succeeding. At the least, she hadn't broken down and started sobbing or bawling or anything along those lines yet. Another deep breath.

"I know, really, and thank you," she managed, though she was practically tripping over the words. "I'm just a mess. It's really not your fault or anything, and I really do appreciate the help..." Zoe trailed off, partly because she realized that she'd just effectively switched over from apologizing overmuch to thanking overmuch. was that an improvement? It felt like an improvement. But would he think it was one?

No, wait, she wasn't supposed to care what he thought. She was just supposed to do. Oooh, why was this so hard?

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn was serious when he told her he didn’t care. He grew up with three cousins whose favourite activities consisted of speaking their minds, especially when they had nothing smart to say, and chasing him to rough him up a little. Alright, he might have pushed them to do it but still, the point remained that most people didn’t really care and just said whatever they wanted to say. It wasn’t like he asked her about her opinion on how to save the world or anything, he basically just asked how she was and she stuttered her way out of the question.

He did have the feeling she was more daring behind the camera but before she could take someone’s picture, she might have to, you know, interact with said person. Quinn shouldn’t talk though as he didn’t like that part much either. But at least he was able to speak up when necessary. Zoe wouldn’t be able to talk of photography all her life.

Then again, it wasn’t like he cared. She could do as she wanted. He wasn’t even doing this to help her, which was why he wasn’t really sure what to make of her thanks. He stared at her as she made him realise he might have been trying to help her. Not his intention. He swayed from one foot to another as he tried not to say it out loud. “Hey, I prefer to show things through my pictures than talk of them too. But at least I’m not afraid when I have to speak up. If you have to fear, be scared of what they might say to you in return, not how you might hurt them,” he told her. More help. Just great. Since when did he turn into a shrink? He was aware that some might consider this comparison debatable but it wasn’t like he cared. He grimaced a bit as he did feel a bit stuck with Zoe. It was the fact she looked so sad as well as nervous. He wasn’t used to put people in that state. “Just don’t cry on me okay?”

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Quinn continued, with Zoe still looking at him, still wondering why he was helping her like this. He seemed to understand, at least on some level, the whole desire to simply share yourself via photographs as opposed to words. So much easier to stick to something artistic, to lose yourself in that. Though his words also made her laugh dryly.

"I get that quite a lot," she said, raising a hand up to rub at her eyes. "The bits about not crying on people too. It seems like I'm always crying," she took a deep breath, shaking her hands. She could do this! He didn't care. Zoe took a deep breath, looking over at Quinn. She should say something else, something besides thanks...

"Um, you don't mind if I use your photo in that show I mentioned, do you? It's just so striking and I think it would do well..." replied Zoe. She bit her lip, shuffling her feet, an arm going up to rub at her arm. She could still feel her eyes watering, and the arm had just moved to spread some of the tears across her arm as well. "that is, if you want, of course. I probably already asked..."

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn easily believed she could cry a lot and that others told her not to. He was not saying she was a cry-baby, at least she seemed to have somewhat of a reason to cry right now, but obviously it was something she could do when she felt cornered. And with her nerves, she probably felt that way a lot. Anyway, once again, it wasn’t as if he wanted to play her shrink here. “Yeah well, I’m not so good with comforting people. You can cry if you want, just don’t expect a hug or anything,” he told her, turning his face away at his words. He preferred not to stare at her for now. Looking at her after saying he wouldn’t hug her kind of made him feel awkward. He didn’t want that.

He looked at her again only when she asked his permission to use the picture. He shrugged but his head also nodded. Her nerves got the best of her as she said he could say no only to ask him once again and realise she did that. Alright, better put an end to her misery before she ended up in a whole other monologue to apologize to him. “I don’t mind. I suppose the whole photography club will be informed if that show if you do it...” he began to say. He couldn’t quite bring himself to ask her to keep him posted on her project.

They had somewhat similar yet different projects. Quinn was more interested in showing how human mutants can be, not what their powers can do. But he still thought both their ideas were kind of similar as they both wanted to show a side of who they were. Not like he intended to share this with her. No, he would not. Never. Not a chance.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe laughed a little, the nerves and tears still leaking into the noise. She rubbed herself a little more, looking down. "I'm not big on touching people either," she admitted, speaking loud enough to be heard by Quinn but most definitely addressing the comment to the ground. She took another deep breath, pinching her eyes shut, telling herself that this was okay, that her tears hadn't upset him or what have you. She took a few more before raising for the question and response.

Zoe nodded, smiling at the mention of the photography club. That had been one of her few sanctuaries here on campus, and one of the few left to her now that she'd broken up with Devyn. "Yes, I'll most certainly tell everyone," she nodded again. "I just, well, there's always this fear of us, what we can do. If I can show that we're just normal people with powers, and that those powers can be truly beautiful and natural..." Zoe trailed off, biting her lip and looking away.

"It sounds really naive, doesn't it?" she asked, looking askance at him. He did seem very blunt, after all, though Zoe was already afraid of his answer. He'd say it was; she just knew he would.