Okay, Take This Needle

[Ezra Cooper]

Her excitement had him grinning as he stepped away to make room for her to move. When she looked at him expectantly, he squinted his eyes a little before they widened and he laughed. "Yeah, go ahead."

He waved her towards the mirror and disposed of the needle, grabbing some wet wipes to clean the toilet seat and wherever he rationalised blood would have been had his ability not worked for some reason.

"How does it look?" He asked Zoe with a grin.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Go ahead: and Zoe popped up, almost like a child who'd been finally granted permission to head out and play. She practically skipped up to the mirror, tilting her head. She did have to be careful to keep her hair away from the ear: it really wanted to get all tangled up in there. But she could see it now. A little red, but definitely pierced.

"Brilliant," she insisted with a nod. She tilted her head, again moving hair, again checking. The other ear looked just as good. Full on now, looking. "Does it look good, you think?" she looked over at Ezra. "Like, does it make me look... prettier, maybe?" Zoe was almost tempted to throw more adjectives out there, but it already felt like she was fishing for compliments with just those two. She was just hoping that maybe someone would agree and this would all be worth it.

[Ezra Cooper]

When Zoe turned the question to him, Ezra chuckled at how seemingly shy she was being. Well, she was always shy but this just seemed to be...added on. She really wanted to make a good impression and it showed.

"If you ask me, you know I think you're beautiful already. No amount of accessory would change it much. But it does look good on you. As far as earrings go anyway." He grinned as he took off his gloves to dispose of them in the waste basket.

"Man, I feel like I could do anything now. Do you need me to move any furniture?" He teased.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Yes, Zoe had expected the comment from Ezra. It didn't make her flush any less when it actually came, and she looked back into the mirror again. She definitely wanted to make an impression, and then some. There was just something about Riley that made Zoe want to be better than she was. She'd felt the same way with Alice too, and yet again, she couldn't help but count her blessings at being around so many uplifting people.

Soon she was giggling as Ezra teased. "If I offered than Maya would probably throw a fit," Zoe said, thinking back to her own roommate and the room. They hadn't really gotten that close, but at least Zoe knew that much. "Plus, I should be offering to do you a favor now, since you went along with this, um, unusual, request of mine. So," Zoe had to smile, "want to get your ears pierced? I hear that it's quite fetching and avant garde to have one pierced in males."

Zoe's lips were already twitching, her poker face as absolutely dreadful as ever.

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra had never met Zoe's roommate but from what she had told him about her, the statement made him chuckle. "That is very like her, yes." He grinned before bursting out in laughter at her offer.

"You get away from my ears. I happen to like my nude ears. I don't want no bling bling." He shook his head and cupped his ears.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"You'd look adorable with earrings," Zoe insisted, letting out a slight laugh. Instead of heading toward Ezra or getting out anything to actually follow through with the thread, Zoe instead went for a chair, taking a seat there and looking up at him. "You look fairly adorable anyway. I'd probably have quite the crush on you if, well, you were a girl."

Zoe shrugged slightly, then leaned back. "oh, and I've talked with Riley, she's most definitely on board. For the road trip, I mean," Zoe tucked some hair back again, nodding, "so I was wondering how things were going with Alex?" Zoe could only hope they were going fairly well. She knew that the two of them were close after all.

[Ezra Cooper]

"I would not." He shook his head before looking at Zoe with a chuckle when she paid him a rather flattering compliment. "Aww, Zo. If I were a girl...actually I'm not going to finish that sentence." He laughed before gesticulating in a rather cutesy manner in her direction.

The reminder of the photo expedition came at a rather inopportune moment. Alex and him weren't exactly in a good place. "Oh...uh I don't know. I don't know if she even wants to talk to me right now." He smiled joylessly. He walked over to where Zoe had decided to sit.

"Could we hold off on that? Just for a while? At least until I sort things through with Alex."

[OOC: This thread started at the same time as Alex and Ezra getting together, by the way. I'm thinking this thread started before the Alezra thread so right now, Ezra is still very much single xD]

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe was almost tempted to stick her tongue out at Ezra at his comment, but instead settled for lowering her head and flushing again, her fairly standard reaction. At least this put her in a good position to sort of pay attention to what was going on with Ezra as he talked about the whole Alex issue. There was something in his tone that made Zoe naturally concerned, and she certainly had no qualms about nodding quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't---" Zoe said, gesturing. "Did you need to talk about it? Or would you rather talk about something else? Oh, I'm finishing my show! The, ah," she clapped her hands together, considering, "the one involving photos of the fire and the reconstruction efforts? That show. I'm putting the finishing touches on it now, and it should be all ready."

There, that should prove a sufficient distraction, right?

{Thread-time is warped, yo. I'm sure Zoe will get to hear all the Ezrex rambling at some point}

[Ezra Cooper]

Smiling when Zoe flushed a little at his comment, or at least he thought she was flushing at his comment, Ezra went to take the seat and waved a dismissive hand when the fairer brunette started to take pity on him. He appreciated the gesture but he didn't need it.

The change of subject had Ezra smiling gratefully before he delved into that. "Yeah? Where will you be holding it?" He asked, happy for the distraction and also quite intrigued about it.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Well, this is the one that involves some pictures of the school?" Zoe said, somehow managing to turn it into a question, as if asking Ezra to remember it. She did think that they'd talked about it at some point, though honestly Zoe had talked to so many people that she couldn't recall for certain who she'd discussed this with in any real depth. "So the school's offered up the Reception Area for a little while, as a sort of outdoor showing toward the beginning of fall, something about the transitioning of seasons adding to it. I think it will also be inside?"

Zoe smiled a little at that, feeling like she should wince or something. She almost wanted to talk about Ezra now, to get the conversation off her. "are you thinking of a show yourself? Oh, you were working on your portfolio, right? How's that coming along?" Zoe couldn't help but smile, both pleased with Ezra's progress and with herself for finding some way to direct the conversation back onto him.

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra nodded, intently listening to the fair-haired girl talking. It was a good thing she managed to get his mind off Alex. Especially with talks of their shared interest.

"Obviously I'll be there to photograph the event. Maybe I could get some good shots to put in my portfolio." He nodded, laughing lightly when she mentioned his portfolio just after he talked about his. She clearly wanted to get off the topic of her. Zoe was not the type of person who liked attention on her.

The thought of a show for him was a little too big. "I couldn't. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. And then I'll have to talk about my work...I hardly know what I'm doing and I don't wanna come off as those douches who say things that aren't true about their art you know?" He shrugged. "And right now, I'm just gathering my best work. I might just give it to a PR firm somewhere or just use it to freelance at events you know?"

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded, smiling a little at the thought of someone taking photographs at a photography show. Then again, it just struck her as something that it in really well what Ezra and what he did. She was seriously considering making that suggestion, maybe even hinting that he could develop something of a project off it, but she didn't want to interrupt his train of thought. That and, well, who was to say that one particular path worked for everyone?

"Oh, well, yes, that's, um, always a problem," Zoe agreed, flushing. She was fairly certain that she ended up sounding quite douchey whenever she talked about her work. "And PR firms would be excellent. Just because I'm doing shows doesn't mean that would work for you. I don't think I could ever actually use my photography to help people like that, whereas you're quite good at it."

There, more flipping, and she even got in what she'd just been thinking about Ezra's skill and unique direction for his project(s) and everything. "I know I'd love to have you as an event photographer. You'd get everyone to pose and look unguarded and it would be just splendid."

[Ezra Cooper]

When Zoe flushed after what he said, Ezra shook his head and started to explain himself. "Not that you ever sound like a douche when you talk about your stuff. If anything you give yourself less credit than you deserve and you always let your art speak for themselves. And that's what's important." He nodded with a grin.

Waving a dismissive hand in Zoe's direction, Ezra shrugged at the idea, even though he was the one who thought of it. "I guess we just have different approaches to taking pictures. You're far more meticulous than I am. And more patient." He nodded.

"Aww, great! I'd totally be there even if you don't invite me anyway." He chuckled before adjusting himself in the seat. "So is there anything else you'd like me to pierce?" He teased.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

It felt strange to almost hear Zoe's worries negated so casually by Ezra. She flushed and lowered her eyes. She did try to do that, really, and there was so much to photography beyond just the skill of the photographer. Luck and models and timing all played as much a role as outright skill, and Zoe didn't want to take credit for all that working to her advantage.

Still, she was glad to hear that from Ezra and glad to hear that he understood what all she'd meant when she'd talked about taking pictures and how they had different styles. Of course, he had to make it sound like her way was better, and before Zoe could even counter, there was more talk about events and showing up and Zoe was laughing.

"I'm just awful at events," she began, only to pause at the question. She tilted her head. "Like... my tongue or my navel or something?" Zoe let out a slightly nervous giggle before shaking. "No, I don't think I'm quite ready for that. But I'll make sure you're the first I call if I do," she gave him another nod, waited a bit, and then continued: "I really do think you'd be a brilliant photographer for events and things. I'm quite dreadful at that: I can never talk to people and I just go where everyone tells me. You're so much better with people than me. That is, um, if you want," Zoe flushed and lowered her eyes again, not wanting to be too presumptuous or demanding. Just... supportive.

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra couldn't help but laugh at Zoe's choices. He would never touch those parts of a girl that didn't belong to his girlfriend. Especially when they belonged to a friend. It would just make things incredibly awkward.

Zoe's reassurance that events would be better for him had him grinning at her with a nod. "Maybe. It definitely works because I can't stop talking to people." He chuckled. "My mom used to tell me I would sit on my porch and wave at and greet everyone who passed by."

The thought made him a little sad for a while before he perked up once more and reached out to pat Zoe on her knee. "I hope you don't mind, I have practice in a few minutes. We'll schedule the expedition for soon, okay? Thanks for trusting me with that." He laughed and stood up.