Men are D's, but they also have D's [Zo]

[Jen Mitchellson]

Jen slurped on her tea as she stared down at her phone. Zo was running late. Again. Why did she do that to her? Ugh. She hadn't seen her friend in a while. Why? Because life and stuff and things, but mostly because Zo never returned that one call Jen made ages ago and she was still feeling miffed about it because it was the perfect excuse to not call her. 

You're late again, whore.

She sent the message to the girl as she waited for her. It had been just sent when she saw the girl walk into the tea shop and approach her. Jen turned to glare at her, half smirking too. 

"You're late, whore." She said and then the other girl's cellphone sounded. The elastic girl snorted, waving a finger at her. Gotta love timing. Jen nodded at the other tea she'd ordered for the girl. "Got you something, since I grew tired of waiting. Now you owe me some tea. With interest." She slurped her tea again and rose an eyebrow as she noticed the girl looked... odd. 

"You look like shit." Said Jen, actually slightly worried. Zo was- well, she didn't know what she was, but there was certainly something going on. "What's up?" And then her eyes lighted up, "Are you pregnant? Oh come on, be pregnant. That would be SO funny!" 

[Zoelle Heroux]

Regret colored every aspect of Zo's life nowadays it seemed.

This is what she got for trying apparently. She got dumped. Cast aside. Replaced. The worst part was that she should have seen it coming from a mile away and yet... it had still caught her by surprise. She had been stupid enough to trust him when he promised her all the things she thought she could never had. He had made her second guess the truth that she already knew.

That love was weakness.

She had been playing sick the last couple days. There was no way she was going to risk bumping into Luke. They had classes together after all. She wasn't going to let him see her at anything but her best and she was far from that. In fact, this was perhaps the most she had ever neglected her appearance. Her hair hung in limp waves rather than her usual curls and she wore no makeup. Her eyes were obviously bloodshot and her nose a touch redder than normal. More than that though was the dullness in her eyes. She had given up. This time she had fallen too far it seemed.

In fact she nearly hadn't gone to meet Jen today. After all, she had already been avoiding her for... she couldn't even remember how long now. She couldn't lie to her, and back then her relationship with Luke - the very conquest that Jen had warned her to stay away from - had been too important to her. Now she realized that she had just been an idiot.

So no more running. She would deal with the mocking and the anger she was sure Jen would greet her story with. Better to just get it over with. After all, how much worse could her life really get?

When she finally convinced herself to go, she found herself utterly numb and unmotivated. She did nothing with her hair nor did she apply makeup. She simply threw a black hoodie over her faded gray shirt and put on the first pair of pants she found - a ripped up pair of jeans - along with her standard boots. Still, she had left her room by using her power to go outside, rather than risk bumping into her new ex in the hall.

It was little surprise then when she arrived late, but even as she heard her phone ding with what she was sure was an irritated text from her friend, she didn't really feel anything. Just a subtle creeping dread that this was going to go badly. She was going to lose everything. She could feel it.

Zo sat down across from her friend, vaguely noticing the tea that had been ordered for her. She nodded dumbly and shrugged as Jen harassed her about being late. She'd pay for the teas. What did it matter anyway? It was just money.

She had expected Jen to point out how terrible she looked. What did surprise her though was the almost worry in her voice. It was only then that she finally spoke. "I fucked up." Her voice was hoarse - both from far too many tears she refused to claim and from simply not speaking for so long.

"I... I dated someone. Like, seriously dated. He said... well, he said a lot of things. Turns out, most of them were lies. Guess I was right all along about how pointless lo-" she couldn't say the word. "...relationships are."

But she couldn't stop there. If she didn't say it now, she'd never be brave enough to. "I'm sorry I never called you back, Jen. I was so stupid... I didn't want you to know because I thought it would be worth it... but it wasn't." Her gaze was fixed firmly on the untouched tea in front of her.

"It was Luke, Jen. I'm sorry." Jen had never told her his name, but she had known who he was. She hadn't sought him out, instead stumbling upon him, but that hardly mattered. Now she just regretted it all. If only she could take everything back... but it was far too late for that.

"I should have listened to you."

[Jen Mitchellson]

There's a moment right when you take a cold shower when time stops. Have you ever felt it? It's that one moment you know the cold, brutal water is going to hit your warm skin and everything will change. That one moment where your entire body reacts and shivers and gets goosebumps all over. Now, imagine you didn't know about it. You don't know about the water, or the cold or the anything. Imagine you're just walking down the street and SPLASH, cold water all over you, all at once, pouring down your limbs, feeling your muscles contract and your back hunch as the cold drops travel down your neck, and you feel like cursing the world over it. That was exactly how Jen felt at that moment.

The elastic girl had been surprised at Zo's attitude. The girl almost never went out looking like- well, like she was now. She was a hunter! A confident hunter looking for the next pray, and her body and face were her bow and arrow. Now she looked... puffy. That was the only word Jen could think of. Zo was puffy. Mind you, puffy was never good, not in Jen's eyes at least, not for her friend.

"Yeah, you did, but you usually do." Jen said, thinking Zo had been talking about being late. Zo was usually late, right? Why was she acting like this was the end of the world? But this had to be about something else, something far more difficult. That's when Zo staring pouring out her heart. That'd shocked Jen. Zo'd dated someone. Like dated dated. Wow. "Lame." Said Jen, but Zo wasn't done. Relationships were pointless. Jen let out a deep breath, smiling and shaking her head. Some guy had lied to Zo. Some pretty douchebag, she assumed, and had promised things to her that he didn't actually meant. Well, that was men for you. Jen thought of Xun then, if he would ever do that to her. Like her father had. Like every other piece of shit man had. Zo seemed to think everyone was like that and Jen shrugged, thinking of her adorable bad boy. "I don't know about that." She said in a low voice. Zo wasn't finished. Hell, how Jen wished she'd been finished then. Zo apologised and Jen shook her head, rolling her eyes. "You're acting as if you raped my brother or something." She said, acting bored, but actually worried about the girl. And then it came.

Cold. Water.

Jen froze on the spot, staring at Zo as she kept rambling, Jen only focused on the first name she'd mentioned. Luke. She'd dated Lucas. The elastic girl snorted, leaning back on her chair.

"You dated that piece of shit douche bag?" Asked Jen and shook her head in disbelief. "I told you to stay away from him, Zo!" She let out a breath, crossing her arms and looking away from the girl. "Maybe you deserve what you're going through. Call it Karma." She spat at the girl, turning back at her and then felt a pang of guilt. She was being petty and Zo seemed actually in pain over that dick. Jen let out a breath, trying to calm down and untangled her arms, leaning over the table. "Look... sorry, I- that was cruel. I didn't mean that."

Jen stared at the girl for a long time, bitting on her lower lip, wondering what she should say. So this was why Zo hadn't answered her calls. She was ashamed of dating her... whatever Lucas had been. Dating dating too. Something Zo never did. And the dick had gone and made a fool out of her. That piece of shit.

"You should've listened to me. Always listen to me. I say smart things." Joked Jen, trying to make the girl feel better. It was useless, wasn't it? "Well," She said and cleared her throat. "You should've answered my calls, because one of them was to tell you just about your new ex." Jen sighed. "That piece of shit called me months after we screwed to call me a mistake." She shrugged and grabbed her tea. "I could've warned you. Guys like him-" She shook her head, "They get bored I guess. One girl is never enough. Hell, exchanging fluids isn't enough. It's like he wants to destroy everything he touches."

Jen took another sip, still feeling annoyed at the whole thing, but knowing her own anger could wait. She'd never seen Zo like that. "You'll be fine." Added the elastic girl with conviction. "You will. This is just-" She shrugged, " It's just like every day shit, you know? 'Oh, a guy broke my heart'. It's like every two episodes of Gilmore Girls. You'll be okay." She nodded at the tea on the table and smirked at the girl.

"Drink your tea, slut. You'll need to stay hydrated if we're gonna go get drunk later and find you a faceless dick to suck."

[Zoelle Heroux]

Jen was talking, but honestly, until Zo admitted who she had been with, the words barely registered. She found herself cringing slightly at Jen's outrage - still not looking at her though. That was nothing compared to when her friend declared that she deserved it. That had Zo outright flinching, as though she had been struck.

When Jen started to apologize, Zo finally looked up, shaking her head. "No. You are right," she admitted, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "I did deserve it. I didn't search him out or anything, it just happened but..." She swallowed hard. "I knew he was the guy you had talked about before I slept with him, and I did it anyway. The rest doesn't matter." Normally she would be arguing the technicality and this and that, but now she didn't even care. None of those games mattered anymore.

Jen's attempt at a joke earned a look of surprise from the younger girl. Was she really not mad? Or was Zo just that pathetic? The second option. It definitely had to be the second option. But if Jen wasn't going to hate her for this... well, she was going to play along. "Wow. That is fucked up. I never knew..." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I was a shitty friend." There was no excuse for that.

Still, she had a hard time stomaching the bad things that she was saying about Luke. Part of her wanted to defend him, and yet... Was the Luke she had known real? All the time she had spent with him, had it all been a trick? Was any of it really him? Because the Luke she had known wouldn't have been so carelessly cruel. "He wants someone pure," she said finally. "He thought... we were enough alike that he thought for a second maybe I was what he wanted. But he wanted the exact opposite. He wants some pure manic pixie girl to come down and save him from everything that made us the same."

It was odd of her to speak so profoundly but for once, there was no pretense. She wasn't trying to get anything or be sassy or to prove herself. She had been completely stripped down. Now she was just trying to make sense of the pieces that were left. That was the truth of it though. She had loved him because he seemed to understand her. They seemed to be the same. But that wasn't good enough for him. She wasn't good enough for him.

And that killed her.

But even now, at her lowest moment, enough pride still remained that she wouldn't dare admit that. Not ever.

So instead she did what she did best. She faked it. Jen was trying to reassure her, and she had to at least try to pretend that she believed her. Zo even managed a laugh as she referenced Gilmore Girls. "Yeah, you're right. Guess I just started late on all that shit, huh?" A deep breath. "You're right though. This is how it works right? Feel like shit for a little bit, bounce back, find your rebound, and voila, good as new. So I'm just in step one. No big deal."

Zo grinned at the suggestion of getting drunk though. Now that sounded like a spectacular idea. "I've never heard such sweet, beautiful words," she answered with a dramatic flourish before taking a drink of her tea. If she got drunk, she could feel for a moment like it never happened. She could pretend she was still the person she was, and for a moment she really would be. Zo had to find a way to get back to that. She had to or she would never survive. And she was still a survivor.

"So tell me more about these excellent plans of yours?"

[Jen Mitchellson]

She was a shitty friend. Jen smirked. "Yeah, you were. You ARE. Which is why I'll spend the next couple of years reminding you of this shit and take all the advantage I can." She smiled at the girl. "But that can wait, because now we hate men and everything they represent. So we're gonna hate on them for as long as you want." She thought of cutie pie Xun, but she figured that could wait. He could wait for her, right? Now Zo needed someone to curse men along her.

Jen lost her smile as Zo explained why they'd dated. "Zo, hey. You're nothing like that asshole, you hear me? You're- like- Nice and stuff. I mean, I know I can always count on you to take pictures of me naked and post them online for profit, but I also know you'll take a bullet for anyone." She smirked at the girl, "That dick is slime. You're not." Jen took another sip of her tea and snorted. "You think he'll still want his virgin Mary after he fucks her?" She wondered, shaking her head. "Really. 'Pure pixie girl'. Such a cliché." She shrugged and took another sip. "Count your loses and your wins, Zo. Sure, he could fuck for hours, but I've never been with someone so desperate for a lay. The dude wouldn't even kiss me in the middle of it." She shrugged, "If you ask me, if it weren't for those powers, he'd be just a bad lay." Maybe talking about their time together wasn't helping?

Jen smirked at her. Maybe Zo wasn't as bad? "That's right, hun. Just fuck as many guys as you want now and, when you're ready..." She shrugged, "Who knows who's around the corner?" That last thing was so NOT a thing the old Jen would've said. She still bit her lip and smiled gently as she thought of her own around the corner guy. Hell, she was acting like some school girl! They hadn't even kissed dammit. She shook her head. Focus on Zo! "No big deal at all."

She smiled gently for a second there as Zo seemed to like the idea. Just like old times. Fuck Lucas. Friends came first. "Well, I was thinking of getting both of us all dressed up sexy, boobs out and guns in place," She winked at the girl, "Get a couple of those fake IDs from our local bad boys, and get our asses drunk. Who knows? Maybe find a couple cute nameless hotties to make out with in the most public place we can find. We can make a bet out of it. Which you'll lose, because I'm hotter." She added that last bit with a wave of a hand, dismissing it as if it was the truest of truths. This was her role, right? Just like with Caelum when he came out to her. She just needed to be there for her people. She just hoped they would return the favour at some point, because there were moments she so needed it. Like after Jayson's talk... She took a sip of her tea, taking a deep breath. Nope, not letting that get to her.

She smiled at the girl in front of her gently for a moment and then added. "Hey, Zo. Remember that time we met and we got so stupid we ended up fucking the same guy?"

[Zoelle Heroux]

Zo could only nod in agreement as Jen said that she would make her pay over the next several years. Especially in the state she was currently in, she could hardly argue. Still, she smiled as Jen spoke of them hating men together. This was going wildly better than she had expected. Besides, distractions were proving helpful. "Well, they're not all bad," she said with a wink. After all, she didn't really believe the problem was men. She believed the problem was her, and obviously, there was no changing that. So why not go back to how it was before. No expectations. No caring. Just fun.

Jen's remark about her being nice earned a skeptical eyebrow raise, though that faded as she clarified what she meant. But then she put the image of Luke with that blonde back in her head and she visibly blanched for a moment, feeling ill at the thought of it. Hell, maybe he already had done just that. It hadn't been long since they ended things, but remembering how cozy they had been before... well, it wasn't that far-fetched an idea. Zo shook her head slightly, pushing those thoughts away. "Yeah, seriously. Such a cliche," she mumbled in agreement.

The remark about his ability in bed had her smirking. Though Jen's comment about his refusal to kiss her was quite odd. After all, that had never been an issue with them. Still, her friend had a point. "You know, that's true. Everything good about him was just part of his ability. Besides, even then, stamina aside, he wasn't really that great." Okay, a lie, but she couldn't help the spiteful urge to pretend it had been terrible. To hit him below the belt in a way. It made her feel at least a little better.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Jen?" she asked, teasing as her friend commented about the possibilities of the future. "So what happened to you then, to make you all positive about men? What happened to treating them like Kleenex?" Her voice only held curiosity though and was oddly devoid of the judgement that was usually between them. Truth be told, she was determined that she would never take the risk of putting her heart on the line again. She had tried and only been proven right in all her beliefs. She wasn't someone who could be loved. But who said she needed anyone's love anyway? Still, that didn't mean she expected the same of everybody else.

Zo laughed. "Oh god yes. I am in serious need of a makeover. Don't even get me started." Her grin only grew wider from there. "Yes. I am all about this. And you know what, I'll just have to prove you wrong. I'm still the sexiest bitch in this town. About time you remembered your place." It was amazing how easy it was to slip back into that character she had always been. To act like everything was fine and she didn't give a damn. Hell, she almost believed it herself.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Talk about a loser, right?" she said, playing along, even if she didn't yet believe the words. The lies were coming more and more easily now. She could do this. She could pull off this act. "At least we can laugh together at how lacking he was in certain departments," she added with a gesture. "I don't think you'd believe me if you hadn't seen for yourself."

[Jen Mitchellson]

They weren't all bad. Jen smiled gently as the memories of a certain speedster returned. "No, not all of them." But she shook her head again. No! Bad Jen. "Some are good at screwing at least." She added to save face and took another sip of her tea.

Now Zo was acting as if she hadn't enjoyed her time with Luke, and Jen smirked. She figured the girl had enjoyed it, just like she had, even in different levels. Lucas fucked Jen, that hadn't even been sex. It'd been... very raw and very impersonal, even if it'd been two naked people fooling around. But she knew that by the way Zo was acting, it hadn't been the same way for her. Maybe Luke had been nice to her, unlike how he'd been to Jen. Fuck. Was really no man in this earth who would just make love to her instead of using her? She sighed. This wasn't about her anyway.

Jen rose an eyebrow as Zo teased her. "What? Can't a girl hope for a little something in the future?" She wondered with a shrug, but she knew she wouldn't be able to fool her. The elastic girl rolled her eyes and nodded. "Okay, fine. I sort of- I kind of met a guy." She waved a hand. "But it's not like- he doesn't like me. I mean, he hasn't tried anything, even if- um... well, we kind of got drunk. Like BAD drunk at this party I threw for my brother, but nothing happened. We haven't even kissed yet. We held hands once and the poor guy seemed he was going to pass out." Maybe Xun was one of those asexual type guys who just weren't into anyone, although, if that was the case, then why had he gotten so bothered and hot when she teased him at- here. She looked around as she remembered. This even was the same table. Had she come here for nostalgic reasons? Ha.

Zo was talking about the night they were going to have and Jen grinned. "Let's call some good girl friend of mine to keep us from doing something too terrible, or someone too terrible and, I don't know, suck face with someone." She snorted at Zo's reply. "Keep dreaming, bitch. I still can beat you." She wasn't going to. Jen was kind of... turned off at the moment by everyone. She had one guy in mind and that sort of made her lose her mojo for anyone else.

She followed through her joke and Jen laughed. "Oh, I believe you. I totally believe you. I've felt more in my mouth when I use a toothpick." She rose her tea to clink it with Zo's in a mocked toast, grinning widely. This was going to be a night to remember.

[Zoelle Heroux]

Zo couldn't help but notice the way that Jen was acting weird, though she seemed to catch herself. It was odd... but for the moment, she didn't comment on it, letting it pass. "That is true. Though half of them aren't as good as they think they are," she said with a laugh.

She couldn't help but wonder about Jen's experience with Luke. After all, when they had first talked, it has just been about how great the sex was. Now, their experiences were entirely different. Apparently it seemed he had been rather cold to her, which was so odd to Zo. He had been nothing but affectionate and passionate with her... Then again, that had all been an act, hadn't it? It was strange to consider and thinking about it was only depressing her more. So she forced herself to think of something else.

Jen tried to brush it off, but the shadow manipulator simply stared at her, waiting for the truth. She wasn't stupid after all. She knew there was more to the story. Sure enough, Jen finally 'fessed up. Yet, when her friend confessed to meeting a guy, she found that she was happy for Jen, rather than jealous. She leaned in, eagerly listening as Jen offered details about this mystery guy. "Wow, trying to corrupt the innocent now are ya?" she teased. Zo shrugged slightly as she sobered for a moment. "Hey, you know how it goes. Sometimes waiting just makes it better. Besides, any guy would be dumb to resist you." She grinned a bit. "Of course, that's assuming I'm not in the room."

"Maybe I want to make some more bad life choices," she said, sticking out her tongue. "Really though, as long as she's cool, the more the merrier," she said with a shrug. She didn't need a babysitter - she wasn't some toddler. That didn't mean she wasn't really to have some fun. That made another thought occur to her. "Who is this friend anyway, and which team does she play for?" Maybe some lady love was an option. Couldn't hurt to ask, right? Zo flat out laughed at her friend's suggestion that Jen had any chance of beating her. "Please, That would only happen in your dreams anyway," she shot back.

For the first time, Zo truly laughed. A carefree sort of laugh. That was a good one she had to admit. She raised her cup to meet Jen's with a clink, toasting to the shared sentiment. It felt good for a laugh and she was starting to hope that perhaps this act of hers could be true in time. Maybe she really could feel free again.

[Jen Mitchellson]

Jen HAD to go ahead and bragged about Xun, right? Nothing was even happening! She hadn't even seen him in like a month, so why was she so into him? And of course Zo had gone ahead and joked about him preferring her. Jen's smile turned bitter then, half glaring at the girl, "Don't take the wrong way," No, by all means, take it the wrong way, "But I'm not letting you close to him. Not even as a joke." She took another slurp from her tea, her eyes still fixed on the glare against Zo. Yes, she'd forgiven her, but some aspects of their relationship had changed. At least, Jen's trust on the girl had shifted. She'd never trust Zo with someone she liked again. Hell, she didn't even want to tell her his name, just in case she went and looked for him like she imagined she'd done with Lucas. "I really care about this guy, Zo." She added in a low voice, "So back off, okay?" Stupid Zo for making her feel inadequate again. What if Xun suddenly saw Zo and preferred her? Then Zo would be the one getting those puppy dog eyes staring at her with a confused and lost expression. Yeah, no. She wasn't about to do that. Jen wouldn't even show her his picture, the one she kept on her phone.

Jen snorted at Zo's response about making bad life choices. "Like you haven't already." She said with a smirk, staring at the girl lazily. Zo'd done it and fallen for what Jen was sure was a sociopath. This was a guy she was sure just liked hurting people for the kick it brought. Make good girls fall for him only to hurt them as much as he could, like those psychos she'd heard about who liked putting out cigarettes on poor little pets. "And she's pretty cool. Nicest girl out there." That was when Zo asked what team she played for. "Oh no, you don't. You stay away from Katya. She's too nice for your games. If you go for it, it's because you care, not because you're getting over some douche bag." She sent a warning glare to Zo. Katya was just the nicest girl Jen knew to have her be involved with bitchy Zo. That was what she thought at least. She now saw Zo like someone who, sure, needed her, but she also needed to watch out for. Trust was something weak enough, and Zo had given Jen more than enough reasons to distrust her. "Just find yourself some random girl at whatever and break her heart."

At least the two could still laugh and smile. Jen clinked her tea with Zo and smiled. "Cheers." She took another sip of her tea and stared at Zo. She felt strange around the girl now. Sure, they were friends, and they still were close, but the sudden pang of jealousy and actual fear that she could steal Xun away had surprised her. Maybe it was more about her feelings for Xun than her distrust towards Zo, but who knew?