panic seized hold of her

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth nodded with a soft smile, not saying anything more, finding anything she could possibly say sort of unnecessary and redundant. She let her hug speak for her and as Zoe cried, Elizabeth comforted.

Rubbing the other girl's back, she let her cry. Things like these, it was cathartic to cry it out, in Elizabeth's opinion. So that was what she let Zoe do.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The tears kept going for a bit while Zoe once more attempted to burrow her way into a friend. She felt them shaking her body, forcing her to cling to Liz like some kind of strange monkey in oversized clothing. Little noises kept coming from Zoe too, and not just the soft sounds of crying, but bits and pieces that very nearly formed words. She sniffed after a while, seconds, minutes, she couldn't be sure.

"My camera's poking into me," said Zoe after a bit. She sniffed and tried to work her way out of Liz's arms, or at least shift enough so that the device wouldn't leave too much of an imprint in her chest. Zoe sniffled again, raising a hand up to wipe at her mouth, only to pause as she realized what she'd done, looking almost horrified. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry! It's your boyfriend's clothing and I'm sobbing all over it," Zoe reached down to the hem before realizing that wouldn't work, what with her not really having much underneath it all. She sniffed and rubbed at her face again, only to realize that she'd just repeated the motion.

Zoe let out a groan and stomped her foot, looking away for a moment, unable to keep her frustrations to herself. "I just can't get anything right... I mean today," she added, flushing, knowing that all her friend kept insisting that she talk a little more positively about herself. "I can't get anything right today."

[Elizabeth Edison]

"That's good...just let it out." Elizabeth comforted Zoe, letting her use her shoulder as much as possible. She tightened her hold on the English girl, her hand rubbing the girl's back.

Laughing at Zoe's statement about her camera, Elizabeth loosened her hold, letting her adjust her camera before letting her go completely. When Zoe mentioned Beau's clothes, Elizabeth wanted to hold her tongue but she couldn't help asking. "How did you get Beau's sweater anyway? I swear I thought I saw this just the other day in his closet." She chuckled before waving a dismissive hand.

"Don't think that, Zo. You really can't think that." She shook her head before tugging the girl over to the nearest bench, letting her sit before she occupied the ground near her feet. "You were right about one thing. It was too soon. But that doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things." Elizabeth rubbed the top of Zoe's knees in a comforting manner. "You still love Devyn and that's not wrong. You can't just let that kind of thing go.

"So you did nothing wrong today. Nothing."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Sometimes it felt like all Zoe did anymore was let it out. She was beginning to wonder if she had any "it" left to actually keep inside at this point. At least there was some laughter to follow, which worked to alleviate even Zoe's waning spirits slightly. She smiled shyly as Liz continued, lowering her head. The question caught her slightly by surprise, since the clothing thing had been Liz and Mae's idea and all. But she just figured that Liz forgot about it: she probably had quite a bit on her mind, after all.

Soon she was being dragged to a bench and sitting down without thinking about it, feeling Liz's reassuring touch again. She sighed, wanting to draw her legs up and curl into a tight ball again. "That's just it, I don't know if I do," said Zoe, sniffling. She raised a hand up to wipe at her eyes. "She... I can't believe what she did, Liz, and--and she still doesn't," Zoe hiccuped again, turning to look at Liz, "how can she not understand? she--I can't ever trust her again, Liz. I just can't."

Zoe shook her head for a moment and then leaned into Liz, not really caring. She could always pull the antidote out of her pocket if need be. "Maybe i should just stop trying to love people: I keep hurting them..."

[Elizabeth Edison]

She didn't know why Zoe didn't answer her question but she brushed it off, not seeing the point of making a big deal out of possibly nothing.

Looking at Zoe when she responded, Elizabeth was a little surprised but she found that she shouldn't have been. Different people viewed things so differently. Did Devyn do wrong by Zoe by sleeping with someone else? Elizabeth didn't think so. She still didn't quite understand that by sleeping with someone while being with someone else was wrong. But to have found out from that other person in addition to everything else Zoe had told Elizabeth about Devyn, she did understand why Zoe wanted out.

It had been a toxic relationship and seemingly one-sided as far as Elizabeth was concerned. And that, she understood to be very wrong.

"Oh honey no baby." Elizabeth went on the bench and pulled the girl tight to her. "You're the one who's hurting right now. And you have every right to be. Devyn hurt you, not the other way around. And you can't stop loving people because you will be hurt."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

A hug, and Zoe let out another sob. She cried softly, rarely making too heavy of a noise, letting it leak out. and, almost ironically, she cried prettily, her face swelling up just so, her eyes going watery. Pretty, like Zoe so often was, but there was just an air of sheer misery around her that, well, made someone want to drag her in for a tight hug.

"I know," said Zoe, sniffing, "but... I mean... Ava... I... I kissed her and she--- my power,' she sniffed again. "Am I cursed, Liz?" she shifted, looking up. "Is it just that... I'm not allowed to be in love with someone? Is that what it is? There are, um,' she sniffed, "characters like that in books and poetry. Maybe I'm just... like them..."

She sniffed, then laughed nervously. "At least my poetry should be really good then."

[Elizabeth Edison]

Pouting at the way Zoe was talking, Elizabeth shook her head as she continued to hug the English girl. "Zo, that's why you're here. That's why it's so important for you to be here. To learn control. So you can control your abilities." Elizabeth reasoned, not knowing what else to say to alleviate the other girl's pain.

Elizabeth had to wipe her own tears when Zoe continued. "You're not a character in a book, Zoe. Books have endings smack dab in the middle of things. I refuse to believe you would fit yourself into a block of text." She pulled away just enough to look at Zoe and smile sympathetically. "My love, your poetry is already good." She shook her head before taking her hand and squeezing it lightly.

"You are a living breathing person that has plenty of time to grow. Don't limit yourself to something quantifiable." She used her hands to cup Zoe's cheeks and squished it. "You are not quantifiable."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

To learn to control, though it had been months and Zoe couldn't. Her ability was always on, always separating her from other people, always ready for her to hurt someone. Just a touch, and she'd start paralyzing people. Not a character in a book, though at least a compliment followed, one that had Zoe laughing slightly.

"Quantif--" began Zoe, only to stop as Liz touched her. Her eyes went wide for a moment, knowing full well that Liz's fingers would begin tingling in just a few moments. "Liz," she said, her eyes going to the cheeks, "you should be careful I... well, I do have my antidote on me but still..." she frowned, fidgeting again. "I don't... want to hurt anyone else,' she raised a hand up, wiping at the tears. "Did you know... I... Dr. Campbell, he made a preventative. I can give it to someone and my power won't work on them for a while. I... I wanted... with Devyn..."

Zoe sniffed. She'd never told anyone about it. Only Dr. Campbell knew, and he certainly didn't know what Zoe had planned, but he'd probably guessed. Zoe didn't know why she even told Liz now; she just felt like someone should know, should know what happened and what it really meant... now.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth felt more than just a tingle and it disappeared just as fast as it came. She still couldn't quite understand the workings of her biology so whatever had happened didn't happen slow enough for Elizabeth to feel.

But she did pull away when Zoe gave her the warning. When she explained of the antidote and that she was going to share it with Devyn, Elizabeth's glance softened and she sighed softly. The girl had worked on a temporary cure for the girl she had been in love with and the girl had just thrown it all away.

"I'm so sorry, Zoe." Elizabeth pulled the sweater sleeves down to cover Zoe's hands before she squeezed it again.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe could almost feel Liz's empathy stretching toward her, that desire to hug and hold close and everything. It practically made her want to collapse or maybe fall asleep in someone's arms again, which seemed to be a developing habit of hers. Zoe sniffed again, realizing that Liz understood.

"It's okay," said Zoe, looking down at the hands and squeezing, "I just... I really thought... and then," she sniffed again, removing a hand to bring up and wipe at her eyes. She didn't know how else to say it. She took another deep breath. "Can we just... get ice cream or something?" she asked, her voice wavery. "That's what people do when things like this happen, right?" Because Zoe hadn't experienced this. Came from figuring out your sexuality a little later in life...

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth nodded understandingly as the girl responded in truncated sentences. She personally hadn't experienced this kind of heartbreak so she didn't know exactly what Zoe was going through. But she sympathised greatly. Heartbreak was heartbreak.

Laughing at Zoe's request, Elizabeth was quick to agree before she shrugged. "Ice cream is good for every occasion but yes. Especially for this one." She nodded. "Ice cream, snacks, a good horror movie or a chick flick we can throw popcorn at...I have all that in my room. And some clothes for you to change to. Beau's sweater looks like it could just drop off you." She chuckled before standing up, offering her hand.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe's smile widened as Liz picked up on her request. Ice cream was good for this, excellent. Zoe sniffed, raising a hand up to wipe at her face. It was technically still early, as she'd made sure to get Devyn up out of bed far earlier then the girl would be comfortable with, but Zoe didn't care. She took the offered hand and let Liz pull her up (not a hard feat).

Within moments, Zoe was shaking the clothes out and getting situated as best she could. She laughed nervously at the sweater comment too. "Well, some clothes that fit a little better would be nice," she admitted. She sniffed again, before adjusting her camera one last time. Then, she'd fall in with Liz, the two heading off for a much more pleasant afternoon.