Stage Lights And Shooting Stars

Surprises

It was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down around her.
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    Evan and Connor left early. Like, before the sun came up, early. Neither said it, but Zoe knew Evan was trying to avoid her.
    Things had been tense, to say the least. But she'd heard them leave and now that they're gone, she's reading the note Connor taped to his bedroom door: keep out. That's no surprise, he does that. The surprise comes when she rattles the doorknob and it doesn't fight her.
    She pushes the door open further, looking at the shadows cast through the window. She hesitates, then steps inside, turning slowly to see every corner of the room.
    The bed is unmade.
    There's a pile of CDs leaning on his nightstand.
    Two comics sit, forgotten in a chair.
    The wall over his desk is plastered with pictures. Mostly of him and Evan. As if she didn't know it before, Zoe realizes she's found the monster's one weakness. The one that made him forget to lock the door. Mind racing, she considers her options. There's something so refreshing in having the power to crush the one who dangles his power over your head. And she plans to revel in every second of tearing him down.
    But something new happens. In her pocket, Zoe's phone rings and she flinches.
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    Hey are we still on? JK
     What should I wear? ZM
    like just a dress JK
    fancy? ZM
    kind of JK
    shit. ZM
    i'll find something ZM
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    Zoe puts her phone away and turns back to the desk, an unfamiliar twang of guilt shooting through her as she stares at one of the pictures. Connor is actually smiling with Evan. And she doesn't know why, but it pisses her off.
    Pulling the door shut slowly, Zoe returns to her room.
    The phone goes off again.
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    If you don't have anything, you can borrow something from one of my sisters? JK
    I'll figure it out, it's fine ZM
    Zoe. They love this shit. JK
    Do you need to borrow something? JK
    I guess ZM
    If it's really no bother ZM
    it isn't JK
____
    Jealousy, Zoe thinks as she brushes her hair. It's stringy when it's wet but she's letting it air dry as she waits for Jared's sister on the porch. That strange feeling in Connor's room wasn't guilt. It was jealousy. Not that she'd ever admit it.
    A car parks in the driveway and a girl Zoe vaguely recognizes as Leah emerges. Zoe stands up and walks to meet her halfway, stopping when she sees her taking a car seat out of the back.
"Hey, thank you so much." Zoe smiles, meeting her halfway.
"No problem, Zoe. Can you just.." Leah hands the carrier over to Zoe and returns to the car to get her old dresses. Zoe's eyes widen but she smiles slightly looking down at the kicking baby boy. He is pretty cute. Leah joins her and looks down at the toddler, then at Zoe, waiting for her to lead the way inside.
    "Shit, sorry..." she walks up to the door. "Shit I shouldn't say that around kids..." she looks back apologetically and Leah waves her off.
___
    Zoe's hair is mostly dry by the time the two of them have chosen a dress for the night. It's a deep reddish color that Leah suggests pairing with black heels.
    "I can do your makeup for you, if you want" Leah offers as she puts the rejected dresses back on their hangers. Zoe sits on her bed playing with the baby boy.
    "If you want? I don't have very much for you to use." Zoe shrugs, moving him back to his carrier as Leah sets to work.
    The small amount of products in Zoe's makeup collection doesn't deter her as she gets Zoe looking more polished than usual. But it's more than that. She looks older.
"Are you and Jared close?" Leah asks suddenly, making Zoe sit up straighter.
"Not at all..." Zoe furrows her brow.
"Huh."
"What?"
"Nothing. It's nothing, I was just curious." Zoe doesn't press for more explanation as Leah adjusts a blanket around her son.
    She helps Zoe get her dress zipped just as Jared appears to pick her up.
____
    The Nutcracker is nice. And so is dinner afterwards. And really, so is all of it, generally speaking. What isn't nice is the strange gray area they've backed themselves into.
    And so it goes, Zoe and Jared go to anything he gets tickets for. Evan and Connor are nauseatingly cute (but they're happy). Their conversations shift from weekly plans and homework, to college choices and how everything is going to be different.
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    hey we're on for tonight, right? JK
    i have tickets for the orchestra JK
    Leah says she'll do your makeup JK
    and she has a dress JK   
    zoe? JK

    sounds cool. ZM
    tell Leah I'm going to start paying her for her help ZM

    haha JK
    see you at 4 JK

    that's early ZM

    um, yeah JK
    that okay? JK

    sure :) ZM
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    Leah dresses her up and Jared parks in the driveway. When they come down the stairs, he's waiting on the porch. Today, he looks neat. It counters her solid black dress well.
    "Hey," Zoe smiles.
    "You look nice." Jared mumbles, taking his glasses off and rotating them in his hands. He looks nervous, which confuses Zoe considering how common this has become.
    "Thanks."
    "Yeah, uh, let's go" He sort of gestures to his truck and walks a few steps ahead of her. It's a short drive, which makes the timing feel more and more strange.
    He parks and hands over a ticket, explaining that he has something to take care of and for her to go ahead without him when the doors open.
    Zoe feels stupider than ever as she makes her way to their usual seats and he isn't there. Then, they're fifteen minutes out, and he isn't there. Then, it's five minutes and she's about to call him when she glances down at the orchestra pit and notices a familiar face.
    Jared is waving with a small smile and Zoe's face flushes. She's caught of guard and honestly furious, but she doesn't know why. She just is. The lights dim and she's stuck, face burning red as her eyes get stuck on him playing.
____
    "Hey! Zo over here!" Jared's voice echoes across the slowly emptying lobby. He's smiling.
    "What the hell, Kleinman?" She hisses, shoving past several people to reach him.
    "I thought you'd be..." he looks down at his feet. "I'm sorry?" Zoe frowns and looks up at Jared. He's taken on a lost puppy look. Now, she feels guilty.
    "No, I loved it. It was great, just...surprises that involve me making small talk and trying to explain who I am to you and how I got your seats aren't the greatest surprises."
    "Yeah...I guess I get that." He runs his fingers through his hair.
    "But it was great. You were great." Her smile appears genuine and it feels nice.
    "Thanks, Zo. Hold on—" he grabs an older woman's arm. "Moira, Zoe. Zoe, Moira" he gestures between them and Zoe holds a hand out.
    "Aren't we proud of our Jared?"
    "Moira's been my best...everything" Jared rubs the back of his neck and laughs softly. "Like a second mom?"
    "yeah, really proud." Zoe whispers "Nice to meet you."
    As people crowd Jared, Zoe moves to stand beside him, leaning her forehead on his shoulder and yawning occasionally. Somewhere along the lines of the small talk with dozens of people, Jared slips his jacket over her bare shoulders. Then his arm drapes over her.
    "Zoe? If you're up to it, we can go eat?"
    "Sounds great." Pulling the jacket closer around herself, she follows him out to the truck.
    By the time he drops her off and home, they're out of the hazy gray of not knowing, to the tentative first steps of a real relationship.

[[ a/n:

Yay! For once I got another chapter uploaded in less than a month!

Whoop!
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