please let this go well

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

There was a slight hint of more sadness there, a bit that Zoe, so intimate with the emotion herself, could pick up as easily as if she were an empath. She smiled at the comment about herself, then nodded about the powers. Was... was Alice trying to give her more room? In fact, though Zoe was sure it was just her mind, it almost seemed like Alice was arming to her.

"Ah, that makes sense," said Zoe, nodding. "I can't really see you doing something you didn't enjoy or really want to do. Oh, there I go again, talking about you as if I've known you for more then a few moments," she smiled again and shook her head. For a moment though, Zoe realized that she'd smiled more talking with Alice then she had for the last four or so conversations with Devyn. Strange.

"So, I suppose that you're going to be quite upset with me if I ask what you'd do if you had complete freedom?" asked Zoe, raising her brows. She took another sip of her coffee, her eyes never leaving Alice as she did. "Because you sound like you get people asking questions like that a lot..."

[Alice Hobbs]

"Well, regardless, you're right; I don't do anything I don't really want to or have to." Which was the sole reason she was here at all. Not only on the date, but in Montana. She had to. But a small part of her also wanted to, because if she hadn't, why would she have cared enough to stay? She was selfish after all. She did offer Zoe something of a comforting smile then, she didn't want the girl to feel like she was intruding. Alice was honest and blunt for a reason, after all.

"No, not really," Alice said with pursed lips. "I don't know what I'd do," she added then, furrowing her brows somewhat. "I've never been in a position where I had a choice, so I don't waste my time thinking about it. I think that the people who do that, fail to see the positive things in what they already have." The words tasted funny, and didn't really sound quite like her. What happened to the cynical, judgemental and negative attitude she always carried around? It was odd, seeing how this meek, odd girl seemed to drag out something out of her, something more mellow and human.

It made her uncomfortable. But not in a bad way.

Sighing, Alice tapped the tips of her fingers absentmindedly against the surface of the table. "What are you planning on doing once you graduate?"

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe smiled as Alice agreed, nodding. She kept her eyes on Alice, actually managing to not stare at the pretty girl's lips while she spoke... well, until she pursed them, then of course she looked but that didn't count because there was movement. Alice didn't know, never had a choice.

"Sometimes it's hard to be happy with what you have, but I think I understand," replied Zoe, looking down for a moment. She played along the rim of her cup. How long had it been since she'd just touched something with bared skin? It felt like forever. Felt so strange, not having gloves. A tapping caused Zoe to look, seeing other fingers moving.

"Oh, well, first I'm going to attend college," she said, looking up. "I'll probably stay here for a while, since I'm still working on my ability and all. But I'm going to try and make a career out of my art," Zoe laughed, "that's why I didn't have any clothes. Being a starving artist is about as much fun as it sounds," though from the way Zoe's eyes sparkled when she brought them up to look at Alice again, she clearly didn't think.

"What about you? Do you do anything artful like that? Surely you can't spend all your time studying medicine and flying into people," she said, actually managing to add a bit of light tease to the tone. Zoe took another sip, smiling again.

[Alice Hobbs]

"Yeah," Alice said, again she was nodding. Alice was content with her life, and really, for someone of her 'social status' and background, that was more than enough. After all, things could have been different with everything being the way it was. Just like everyone else, Alice was looking out for herself the best way she could, and she wasn't going to start feeling bad about that.

Alice could actually understand where Zoe was coming from. Unlike some of the richer students at the school who got everything served on silver platters, there was actually people out there who had to work for a living to get the things they needed in order to get by. Alice was one of those as well, though, she also had to work to keep her sister and dad alive, as their father's monthly check didn't even come close to cover the basics. "You don't seem all that displeased about it," Alice noted. "But I suppose that comes with the territory; When you're used to having little, you become more thankful when you receive more."

"I cook; I'm actually rather good at it too. Dinners, desserts, you name it and I'll probably be able to make it," she said, smiling. "Other than that? Not really. I don't have a lot of hobbies besides it. Don't really have the time between having something of a social life--" which wasn't much "--working and studying."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded at Alice's words: no, she didn't seem too displeased with it, just so long as people didn't tease her about her tendency not to eat a lot. Plus, she had clothing now, as her outfit for the day attested quite well.

Soon she was smiling as Alice continued. "Well, cooking, studying medicine, and having a life sounds like a busy enough life to me," replied Zoe, smiling as she took another sip. "We all have training and things of that nature too, so it's not as though there isn't quite enough to keep us busy," was she defending Alice? No, no, she was just agreeing, finding that common ground again.

"Is there a particular food you like to cook? Just in case I want to take you up on the naming it," said Zoe, smiling shyly. She looked Alice in the eyes for a moment, then looked down at her coffee. She took another sip of it, before nervously running her hands along the brim, again marveling at the warmth that kept emanating from it.

[Alice Hobbs]

"Yeah, it is," Alice laughed, nodding in agreement. "But it's not like I haven't chosen it myself, so." She didn't really complain. After all, she could quit whenever she wanted to, though, quitting made her stomach twist. She didn't like to consider herself as a person that gave up that easily. "Life is funny that way; One moment we have far too little to do, and the next we barely have the time to do anything at all." Though, Alice was good at keeping herself busy most of the time, so it wasn't as if that ever became a problem.

Smirking a little at Zoe's question, Alice tapped the tip of her index finger against the cup before nodding. "Yeah, breakfast is my favorite meal, and as such, cooking for it is my favorite. There's a wide array between things to pick from too, so that makes it even more interesting." Especially since breakfast also was the calmest time during the day. People were still in a half-between state of being awake and being asleep. It often seemed like breakfast was the calmest time during the day, before the stresses and troubles had quite settled in.

"So, you still thinking about naming it?" Alice added with another one of her crooked grins. Now, to see how flustered something like that could get the girl. And god, was Alice really flirting? What had the world come to?

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Precisely," said Zoe, nodding. And she most certainly agreed on the whole life thing. Life was just troublesome overall. She was tempted to say as much, but Alice had already picked up on the cooking thing. Zoe forced herself to keep looking at Alice as she spoke, hearing all the bit of things about breakfast.

"I don't see why not. I get up quite early though so--" began Zoe without thinking. Her brain had caught up to her midsentence though, and she stared, those eyes going wide enough that it almost seemed as if they'd eat her head. "I mean, not that I would--I would never presume that--I mean, we could, if you, oh God, I just meant... I could, I could show up for, for breakfast and---and that is if you wanted... me..." and now she'd quite nearly gone purple. "Wanted me to go! To breakfast! Just to breakfast!" She just needed to stop talking or, better yet, switch the subjects.

"So-so-so--this breakfast," that was not switching, "it would involve, uh, eggs or do you... maybe cook... other... dishes." Well, that could've gone worse: Zoe could've exploded halfway through that sentence.

[Alice Hobbs]

And then it was like watching a bomb of flushes and nervousness just explode in front of her. This time though, Alice didn't get annoyed. She just simply watched the girl struggled through the sentences with something of a bemused expression. Poor thing. Although Alice had pretty much set the trap, watching the poor girl walk right into it was just... It was cute, in a very weird kind of way. 

"Calm down," Alice laughed. "You make it worse by getting flustered and trying to explain yourself. Had you continued the way you started out, you wouldn't have dug yourself a hole, and kept digging." She felt a little bad for her, the poor thing, but most of all, Alice was amused by the girl's clear discomfort. "You told me you put your ex in the hospital and lured a group of SPECTRE agents after you; Thinking about having sex - or not - is hardly going to make me run away screaming."

As for what she used to make, well, that depended entirely on her mood. "Eggs, pancakes, croissants... Anything, really. I cook whatever I feel in the mood for." Croissants with chocolate and vanilla sugar was by far what she preferred though, especially when they came right from the oven.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe was tempted to respond with an easy for you to say or potentially apologize again. The latter actually came up to her lips for a moment before Zoe brought up her coffee to drown it, taking another sip. And there it was: Alice bringing up sex already. was that something that people did on dates now? No, it was probably something Alice did on dates.

Rally, Zoe: you actually have learned some about yourself sexually and Alice probably thinks you're a prude. "I certainly wouldn't mind it," she said with far too much casualness, "sex, I mean. It seems nice, and I mean feels good and such," Zoe nodded and shifted. "Ooo, croissants? I don't think I've had anyone make croissant for me before! It sound as if you're quite the talented chef," Zoe beamed, taking another sip. "Maybe," she hesitated, then took a deep breath, "next date you could... cook something? Even if it was... breakfast."

And Zoe paused, biting her lip and looking incredibly anxious. No, not biting: she practically began chewing the maroon right off her lips again.

[Alice Hobbs]

Raising her eyebrow, Alice looked at Zoe before smirking. "Well, look at that. Guess Ms. Snow White isn't so white after all." Not that Alice really minded, though, it did seem like the girl thought Alice was some kind of sexually experienced little minx, when that really couldn't have been further from the truth. But that hardly seemed like the kind of topic they needed to talk about in a public coffee house on their first date nonetheless. Then the amused smirk returned to her lips and Alice leaned forward. "So, there's going to be a second date? My, Zoe; You're thinking ahead of yourself again."

But before she allowed Zoe much chance for a response, Alice nodded. "Cooking on the second date sounds like a plan to me," she added, smiling more genuinely this time. "Home-cooked or school-cooked?" Oh, right, Alice didn't live at the school, though, that wasn't really much of a problem, but it was probably important enough to tell the girl. "I don't live at the school though," she said. "My family has a house here in Kali."

Well, family as in a dad who was rarely around and her younger sister, Molly who too, never really was around. Molly was much more of a socialite than what Alice was, which meant she was always out doing something with someone.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Yes, precisely. Zoe was more Snow... Grey, yes, she should say that. That sounded clever, but of course, Alice was already smirking and talking about second dates but, well, Zoe really didn't care about the teasing about thinking ahead nearly as much as the answer that was sure to come.

Just as she was about to respond anyway, at leas to something, Alice kept going. Home-cooked or---then the mention of a house, and Zoe's eyes widened. "Oh, we don't--you probably don't want me to go to your house just yet that would be... I mean, we could. But maybe we shouldn't? We can use the school kitchens though. I could even help, maybe. I'm not great but I know what I'm doing. I can chop," offered Zoe. She then smiled again. "Is it horrible that I'm getting excited already? We're not even done with our first date, and I'm sitting here planning our second. You must really like crazy people."

Absolutely beaming at this point, Zoe took another sip of her coffee, feeling a warmth spreading through her that had nothing to do with warm drinks.

[Alice Hobbs]

The girl didn't seem comfortable with the idea of going to Alice's house, which honestly, was kind of a relief. She figured the girl could only handle so much crazy at once, and having the possibility of running into her drunkass dad and spastic sister would most likely be a little over the top, so she wasn't going to point that out or even argue about it.

"The school kitchen sounds fine," she nodded, "And if you'd like to help, that'd be fine too. For all you know, you might even learn something new." Though, Alice had never really considered herself a good teacher; She was far too impatient for that, but any help was appreciated, even if it meant all Zoe had to do was shop. "Consider it a deal then," she winked.

As for her comment about being excited, Alice smiled again. "No, you seem to be getting ahead of yourself a lot, as I've pointed out several times already," she laughed. "I don't really mind it, though. One of us have to do that in order for this to move forward at all," she pointed out then. "So, since you're clearly holding the reins. When is this second date happening, and at what time?"

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

School kitchen: Zoe nodded, then smiled as Alice allowed that she could even help. Zoe had a feeling that would probably be "crack these eggs" and "get out of the way," but she was perfectly willing to go along with that. She began to practically vibrate with excitement as Alice winked at her, not to mention smiling and laughing, and not in a viscous way.

"Well, if you want the reins, you just have to ask," said Zoe, flushing a little. She shifted then, chewing her lip for a bit. "Well, we should do it soon, so we don't forget and so we get to spend more time with each other, but obviously not too soon," she nodded, "so maybe in a week or so? And, um," she bit her lip, "did you still want to do... breakfast? Because then we should probably plan on doing it early, but I know I get up rather early, and I wouldn't want you to if you didn't want to."

No, Zoe saved that particular bit of viciousness for exes. Oh, should she mention Devyn to Alice? no, no, that was more "thinking ahead," and clearly Zoe had to do a little less of that.

[Alice Hobbs]

"I don't mind." For once, Alice actually enjoyed not being in charge. It was refreshing and actually rather interesting watching Zoe be in charge. So far, if you didn't look at the awkward bumps, she was doing a good job, and in a way, that actually made Alice a little proud, because she liked to think she'd helped push her into that direction. Nodding as Zoe continued talking, Alice had to admit that the girl just became more adorable by the second.

"Whichever meal you'd like is fine by me, and I wake up fairly early myself, so it doesn't matter much to me," she shrugged. "And a week sounds fine. In the meantime we'll just have to text," she winked. "Really though, it comes down to what you want to eat." Not that it really mattered as Alice could make whatever at whatever time. She could always free up some time, as long as the date wasn't while she was working, though, she often had the weekends off, which was ironic, seeing as how she'd benefit from working then. Not that she was complaining though.

"So, next saturday, school kitchen." She nodded at that, smiling a little as she turned her attention back to the coffee, taking another sip of the now not so scalding hot liquid.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Alice didn't mind, which must mean that Zoe was still doing a good job, a fact that amazed her. Not as amazing was Alice's complete acceptance of the whole dating situation. Just as Zoe was about to say something, there came a suggestion about texts and a wink that had Zoe flushing again.

"I don't--" she began, only to pause as Alice reconfirmed. "Right, next Saturday, school kitchen, and of course it has to be breakfast now, since you talked it up so much. Would, ah, eight work? Eight thirty? I'm usually up quite early, but it is a Saturday," she laughed a little, resisting the urge to bounce. "Oh, and I promise not to bother you with texts or anything really," insisted Zoe shaking her head. "not unless you want me to, and even then, I'll probably try to be slow and casual."

Zoe nodded and smiled, bringing her practically beaming face up to look at Alice. It was all, of course, one big fat lie: Zoe would likely spend quite a bit of time staring at her phone and would inevitably start texting Mae and Liz halfway through the week begging them to tell he why there weren't any texts coming in. But she could pretend, right?