A to Z

Chapter 12- Zoe Faye : In Brief

Chapter 12- Zoe Faye: In Brief



Aiden's' POV



"... I promise I'll definitely watch 'Songs of Praise' this time. I promise. I'll even print out the lyrics and sing along. I promise I'll go to the church, the mosque, the synagogue-everything. Just please, please, please don't let me die."

Zoe was standing in the middle of the small clearing, apparently praying to God. I lay on the ground, panting and shaking, partly from all the running and partly from how hilarious this all was. I let out a low snigger and Zoe's head snapped round to look at me on the floor. Her hands were still locked together in prayer.

As soon as she saw me, her eyes flickered in confusion then understanding and she flushed a deep, angry red.

"You!" she shouted as I laughed loudly. Tears were now streaming down my face, actual tears. She stomped over to me and kicked me. Not hard enough to actually hurt but hard enough to show she was angry. "I thought you were the wolf!"

She sounded relieved and upset at the same time. I was still shaking from the last of the laughter. She walked away and turned to lean against a tree. I stayed on the floor, still catching my breath. We stayed like this for a couple of minutes and we were both quiet.

I smirked. "Still, you said you were going to watch 'Songs of Praise'." I couldn't resist the little jibe. As soon as the words left my mouth, Zoe was storming towards me, eyes blazing and fists clenched. I hurriedly scrambled upright and held my hands out defensively. "Whoa, I was only joking."

I realised then, she had tears in her eyes. She had been genuinely scared. She wiped her eyes quickly and I looked to a bush to my right awkwardly.

I couldn't imagine Zoe crying. I'd never seen her anything other than angry. Except for yesterday, of course. Back in the car. The car?

"Where are we?" I asked, knowing too well I wouldn't like the answer.

She didn't reply. Instead, Zoe sighed dejectedly and walked slowly to where I had just staggered in to the clearing from. I followed her.

Now we had no car at all. This time, we didn't blame each other or argue. There was no point. Zoe had clearly given up. She wasn't angry, she wasn't defensive. Normally by now, we would've had another furious go at each other, Zoe staring me down with those eyes of hers. I would be swearing and stressed, restraining myself from grabbing her and shaking some sense into her. But no. She had given up.

I didn't like it.

As crazy as it sounds, I wanted her to shout at me, scream at me. Maybe even throw something at me. Zoe like this wasn't right. So, I decided, I would make it right.

***

"This is all your fault, you know. You better be sorry."

No answer.

"All you had to do was reach out and grab a key, but nooo. You can't reach, of course."

I couldn't even tell if she had heard me.

"Shouldn't really blame you though, you are a blonde."

She didn't smack me like I had thought she would.

I muttered the last comment under my breath. "I don't know how Alexander puts up with you."

Suddenly, she wasn't so quiet anymore. She turned and stopped startlingly close to me, stopping me in my tracks. She was blazing, glowering at me even though she was quite a bit shorter than me. It was remarkable how she could look so scary and small at the same time.

"Well you're a complete arsehole but you don't hear me complaining!"

That's what I was looking for. I smirked at my angry Zoe, but I wasn't going to stop now. After all, this was what I wanted.

"Why are you so angry all the time!?"

"Why are you so mind-numbingly annoying!?

"Why do you act so stupid!?"

"Why do you smell of baby!?"

"Why- wait what?!"

Zoe blushed a peony pink and seemed to shrink from her fury. And she was shy, awkward, shouldn't-have-said-that Zoe. The change in demeanour was instant.

"Nothing. Forget it. I didn't say anything." Her sentences were short and clipped, sounding unnatural.

"I smell like baby?" I didn't understand. Was that meant to be a weird 'Zoe-insult'?

"Yes-no- I said forget it!" And she started to walk away from me, quite fast for someone of her stature.

She was blushing a deeper red now but I wouldn't stop. It was too much fun seeing her looking so uncomfortable.

"Zoe, tell me." I was still confused and I definitely would not let this go. Did she actually say I smell like baby?

She sighed loudly, probably in embarrassment.

"You know how everyone smells of stuff. Usually perfume or body spray?" She started and looked at me. I nodded, understanding so far and remembering she smelt of lemon and soap. "Well you smell like babies." And she blushed again.

I felt a bit embarrassed too. Of all the scents out there, I smelt like baby? That was like smelling of kittens. Couldn't I have smelt a bit more masculine? I thought of Alexander. He smelt of that Lynx stuff. Wasn't that meant to be man in a bottle?

Then I didn't feel so confused anymore. I understood but I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

"Err, I think it's my shampoo. I use baby shampoo. My hair. It's allergic to anything else so I can only use that. Baby shampoo that is. For my hair." It was all so awkward. There I was, in the middle of a forest somewhere, discussing my shampoo with a violent blonde girl.

I couldn't quite read Zoe's expression. 'Oh' was all she had simply said. She turned away from me, deliberated for a moment or two then said- "It smells nice."

"Thanks." I answered clumsily. I didn't exactly know what had just happened.

And then we walked again.

I felt as if I should start a conversation, but I didn't know how to. I could easily start an argument but I didn't want to. Awkward and ungraceful as it was, Zoe and I had taken a step forward and it would be childish to take one back now. But how to start a normal conversation?

'Do you have any brothers or sisters?' That's what I'll say. Yes. That's normal and simple. That's all I have to say. 'Do you-

"So you moved from Stoke?"

"What?" I replied unintelligibly.

Zoe looked at me from under her long lashes. She looked genuine and nice. I knew better. She was a book throwing demon.

"You said you were going to Stoke, to see your friends?" She flushed pink.

"Yeah." I cleared my throat. "Yeah."

She had practically thrown a conversation starter at my face and after all my mental planning, somehow I had dropped it.

"Do you miss it?" She asked again. I was glad she asked another question. Somehow, I had lost all my cocky charm. Now I was a bumbling, stuttering fool. What was wrong with me?

"No." I lied. "Helen's pretty nice. Alexander isn't so bad either."

"Alex." She corrected me again, but this time she smiled gently.

"Sorry." I wasn't sorry at all. What was there to be sorry about anyway? It was only his name.

"You and Alex seem pretty close. Good friends?"

Zoe smiled, as if she was reminiscing about something. It annoyed me.

"The best." She answered simply. I wanted her to expand on her short answer but she didn't seem to think it was necessary. "What's it like living with him? You share the connecting bathroom right?"

I thought about it. I hadn't paid him much attention to be honest. He woke and left before me, and was in his room when I usually got back late. He didn't seem very interesting. The only thing I really knew about him was that he was in the friend zone. I turned to the girl that had put him there.

"He wakes up at around 6 in the morning to do his hair."

She laughed loudly and then snorted, sounding like a pig. Immediately, she clapped her hand to her mouth and blushed furiously.

Seeing Zoe then, I realised she wasn't just a strange blonde or a book throwing extraordinaire. She was more. I didn't know what exactly. In fact, I didn't know anything...except maybe one thing.

Zoe Faye would be the fucking death of me.

***



Pretty short, I know! I broke the original chapter into two because othereise it would be one mega chapter. Still hope you guys like it though! I thought the ending was too sweet to ruin it with another section. :)

Don't forget to leave a comment if you hated it, liked it and downright loved it because I love all of your comments. And, I'll go ahead and make this official. What are you? Team Zaiden or Team Zalex? Team Aioe or team Aloe?

Please vote if you liked the chapter! All of your support makes me very very happy. XD