zoe_torres (zoe_torres) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2011-04-19 00:41:00

Entry tags:

Sticks and Stones
Zoe crouched in a shadow, watching a body climb out of a window onto a fire escape. Fire escapes out to be outlawed, she thought. What good were they to anybody minding their own business? They were practically welcome mats to thugs looking for a place to rob.

"Pay attention," she hissed at GK nearby. If she didn't know better, she'd think his mind was a million miles away and not on the job at hand. Maybe she /didn't/ know better. Last week he was moping over some guy and now he wasn't.

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	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 05:13 pm UTC (link)
	"So if you know what people want, why didn't you know that other guy wasn't into guys?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 05:15 pm UTC (link)
	"Some sort of delay in its kicking in. By the time I finally got 'looking for the right Girl,' I was already in the process of humiliating myself." Pause. "Trey's definitely straight, though." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

zoe_torres
2011-04-20 05:30 pm UTC (link)

"You don't have any reason to feel humiliated," she said sternly, looking at him. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"Trey's slumming." She looked back to the street. "He's mad at the world over his dad's death and punishing it by hanging out with the Wrong Kind of Girl for his social class. He'll get over it soon enough." Even to her own ears that sounded weak, but she didn't know what to think about Trey at this point. Nice guy, hot as anything, but there was something...off about him. Not bad, just not...balanced.

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	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 05:47 pm UTC (link)
	"Okay. I'll concede there's nothing wrong with either of us. Trey obviously misses his Dad, sure, and maybe he's got issues, but no way do you count as slumming. You've probably got higher standards than most finishing schools." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 05:52 am UTC (link)
	"People don't look past the window dressing to see what's inside. You know that." She gave him a half smile. "I don't know what he wants, but he'll let me know one way or another. Then we'll see." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 05:54 am UTC (link)
	GK smiled, and nodded. "If you end up wanting to borrow the stick to hit him with, you can. So. Couple of burglars and a lost acid junkie. Slow night." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 06:03 am UTC (link)
	"It'll pick up when the weather gets hot," Zoe said with some authority. "People get cranky and do even more stupid things." "I don't know about the stick. Looks like fun, but I'm getting very attached to my guns. You know, Trey may just be looking for somebody to believe him about Green Arrow and Merlyn, and wanting some help getting to the bottom of things." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 06:17 am UTC (link)
	"That might be part of it," GK acknowledges. "But if he does... it might be hard to calm him down from doing something unhealthy." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 02:51 pm UTC (link)
	"Bodyguards aren't the answer either. I hate Green Arrow. He failed us down here and look what happened. If he killed Trey's father, he needs to pay." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 04:15 pm UTC (link)
	GK thinks. "Good point. Better to sort it out than have the whole family living in fear indefinitely." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 06:32 pm UTC (link)
	"They don't need it. It's not like they're used to living in fear where they are." She leaned over the side of the building to get a better look at the street below. She thought she saw something move, but didn't see anything now. "Do you see something weird when you look at Trey?" she asked. "Like he's going to do something stupid?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

veryperceptive
2011-04-21 06:39 pm UTC (link)

"Mostly, I just saw him wanting his Dad back, but as time wore on, there were a few flickers of other things. One was Revenge. Unfortunately, I don't get context, so I don't know if it's just understandable feelings or if he has a plan. And let's face it - as a spoiled rich kid who gets into a lot of fights, I don't think it's a good idea for spoiled rich kids to get into fights with two of the best shots in the world."

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	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 06:52 pm UTC (link)
	"Yeah. He needs to be brought back down to reality. I'm gonna have to do some checking." She wanted to talk to Merlyn about it, but finding him would mean going through Angie. That she wasn't crazy about it. It wasn't Angie's business. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 07:06 pm UTC (link)
	He nods. "Hope that goes well. I... that's all out of my league. All the tragedies in my family happened before I was born." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 07:11 pm UTC (link)
	"You've met my mom. If there was a tragedy in my family other than living in the Triangle, she'd keep it from me so I didn't worry about it. She needs to start dating or something." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 07:13 pm UTC (link)
	He chuckles. "That's what Grandma says about Uncle Jed. They're all really honest with me, though. Told me all the stories of all the crap that happened. Just... I never had to actually deal with any of it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 07:15 pm UTC (link)
	"It's just me and Mom. No family so no drama." She paused. "Your Uncle Jed a nice guy?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 07:26 pm UTC (link)
	"He's great. I worry that Mom'll send him down here to check on me and he'll get all worked up, but he's a wonderful person." Pause. A look at Zoe. "And despite being my primary male role model, he's straight, too." He smiles. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	"That /was/ my next question," she admitted. "You got any moral objection to arranging a blind date? Maybe just lunch?." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 07:40 pm UTC (link)
	"I think lunch could really work." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-22 05:37 am UTC (link)
	"The excuse doesn't have to be a good one. I'll tell her your mom wants to make sure you actually got friends down here and I need her to make a good impression." Zoe smiled with a hint of self-mocking. "I don't make a real good first impression, wearing the wrong colors and everything." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

veryperceptive
2011-04-22 05:41 am UTC (link)

He giggles. "I apologize if i have a discerning eye. Some people recommend Wintery wardrobes for any girl who's not a total WASP, but I know an autumn when I see one. Sounds like a perfectly good pretense to me, but of course you should know you're still perfect in your completely inappropriate wardrobe." Pause. Smile. "But if you'd like to make a few alterations for movie night with Trey...."

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	zoe_torres 2011-04-22 05:49 am UTC (link)
	"I'm not a Ghetto Barbie." Pause. "What sort of alterations?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

veryperceptive
2011-04-22 05:59 am UTC (link)

"I know you're not," he says earnestly. "I have way better dolls than Barbie anyway. Just an artist offering to do his craft, that's all. I'd just recommend a nice shirt in a deep shade: earth tones, bittersweet reds, forest-or-camo greens. If you were willing to try makeup, it'd be no powder, no paint, just a few sweeps to define your cheekbones, a little bit of neutral shadow, some mascara."

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zoe_torres
2011-04-22 06:19 am UTC (link)

"Guess cherry lip balm don't count as makeup." Since she'd reached the age when Mom thought dating would be good for her, Zoe had known she was disappointing Michelle in a girly way. She'd inherited her mother's passion to make the Triangle a fit place to live, and no desire for heels, hairstyles and makeup. Until Trey had come along and shown some genuine interest, rather than the usual attention she got on the streets, there hadn't been a need to change.

Maybe a little change would be a good thing. To go along with the change in employment and the chance to make a difference doing what she enjoyed.

"I could do some shopping."

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veryperceptive, 2011-04-22 06:28 am UTC

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zoe_torres, 2011-04-22 06:35 am UTC

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veryperceptive, 2011-04-22 06:40 am UTC

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zoe_torres, 2011-04-22 06:46 am UTC

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veryperceptive, 2011-04-22 06:54 am UTC

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