Hey guys! Basically, I've hit a point in Collision where I know where I want to go with it, I just don't know how to get there. Basically, I've got writer's block. I've decided that I'm going to leave it for a bit until after Christmas. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter and please read and review! I love hearing what you guys think! :)
Dan frowned as he watched Zoe, who was now curled up asleep beside him. Somehow, he knew that an important event in her childhood hadn't been told to him.
Dan didn't get a chance to ask Zoe about her reaction to the flamethrower until lunch the next day. He was watching Zoe and Aneisha sitting at the table with Byron, the three laughing and joking around. Dan had told Tom about his suspicions surrounding Zoe's reaction to the flamethrower and now the brunette slapped Dan on the shoulder. "Go get her."
"First off, I'm asking her about fire, not asking her out. And second, you know nothing about 'going and getting' anything." Dan told him, raising one golden eyebrow.
"Then show me how it's done." Tom replied.
"Asshole." Dan said, punching Tom in the stomach. The blow was much softer than Tom expected and yet he doubled over.
"Hey guys." Dan said. Byron stopped playing whatever ridiculously stupid song that he was making up on the spot in order to impress Zoe, looking up at Dan with a raised eyebrow. Dan and Byron had always been anything but close, and Dan didn't usually approach Zoe when she was with Byron, So if Dan was approaching Zoe now, all four teens involved knew it had be pretty important.
"Zoe." Dan said. The redhead smiled up at him and anyone would think that she was genuinely happy or amused. But Dan wasn't anyone. He knew her better than he knew himself and he knew that there was still something genuinely bothering her. "Can I talk to you?"
Zoe nodded, but she didn't move.
"Alone." Dan said. The smile drained from Zoe's face and she stood, trailing after Dan as he led her inside the school building. Glancing around discreetly to make sure that no one was watching, Dan pressed his thumb against the biometric panel underneath the light switch outside the broom cupboard. He slid it back across with one hand, opening the door with the other. As Zoe walked in and he followed, he couldn't help thinking about what the school was going to think about the two of them disappearing into the broom cupboard. They'd probably all think that they'd gone in there to make out, since the 'Romeo and Juliet' thing had rubbed off onto the rest of the school, except for Melissa, of course. Every time the brunette heard the names 'Romeo' and 'Juliet' in a sentence with Dan and Zoe, her face would go red with fury and she'd storm off in a huff. It was actually quite amusing to watch.
When the lift stopped and opened, Zoe stepped out first. Dan let his eyes graze over Zoe's appearance, the way her jeans clung to shape of her legs, the way her jacket settled around her. Suddenly, Dan made himself snap out of it. They were down here for a reason. Not so he could gawk at how much more justice her MI9 did her over her school uniform.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Zoe asked, turning to face him. Dan walked through into one of the adjoining rooms of HQ. Most of the others didn't know about them, because they weren't as paranoid as Dan could be. When he'd first been recruited by MI9, he'd scouted out all of HQ, so if, for whatever reason, enemy agents broke in, he'd have the upper hand. Now, he led Zoe into a room that looked like a dark living room. There was a white couch up against the wall, but the lights lining the walls cast a strange, green glow across everything so it made it look green. Dan gestured towards it and Zoe sat down, crossing her legs. Dan sat beside her, his hands folded in his lap.
"Zo, how scared were you of that flamethrower yesterday?"
Zoe felt her heart sink. Of all the conversations she wanted to have with him, this was not one of them. Honestly, she'd rather discuss makeup than her reaction to fire and flames. She really wanted to curl up in a ball and hide from him, but she didn't. The only reason he didn't know already was because he had been so sensitive towards the subject that was her difficult upbringing. Zoe took a deep breath and shrugged out of her jacket, leaving it sitting on the couch beside her. Dan watched her movements with curious eyes, completely fixated on the beautiful girl beside him. Zoe turned so her back was facing him and before she lost her nerve, she reached for the hem of the black tank top she was wearing, pulling it over her head and placing it on top of her jacket. She shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold air that always seemed to be circulating around HQ. She was shivering because no boy had ever seen her without her shirt on – especially not one as gorgeous as Dan.
"Oh God." Dan whispered, reaching out and gently tracing the scars that marked her skin – harsh and angry and violent. To him, the scars would fit better if they were on his own body – the marks didn't match her personality at all. She was such a trusting, beautiful creature, that it didn't seem right, didn't seem fair for scars like that to be scratched into her skin. Dan gently traced each scar, leaning his head forward so his forehead was pressed against the back of Zoe's neck. Zoe shivered as Dan traced the scar on the back of her left shoulder blade, the long thick one that made her think of angels – as if she'd had wings and they were ripped out her back.
"Please tell me they're not what I think they are." Dan said softly, practically begging her.
Zoe swallowed past her tears, rubbing them away with her hand. She kept her back to him because she was scared to – Dan always seemed so invincible that she often forgot that he wasn't much more indestructible than she was – and she didn't want to see him upset.
"The SKUL base I was living at before you found me isn't the one I grew up at." Zoe started. "When I was eight, the one I was living at burnt down. I never found out what started it and I never did see it start. I woke up in the middle of the night, completely surrounded by flames. I don't even know how I did it, but I managed to climb out my window. I remember it being really hard to do – most of my legs and my back got burned trying to get myself through that damn window and I spent about four months afterwards recovering." Zoe smiled sadly, brushing tears out of her eyes. "I've had a nightmares about it ever since." Zoe said, her back still facing Dan. "I didn't want to tell you because well, Dan you're not scared of anything and I felt stupid. Fire's such a normal, everyday thing and I didn't think it was that important."
Tears still hot in her eyes, Zoe grabbed for her shirt and pulled it back on, concealing her scars from Dan again. Brushing her tears away, Zoe turned so she and Dan were sitting side-by-side once again. She pulled her knees up to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the all-too vivid memories of that horrible night that swirled within her, especially the sound of the two children who couldn't have been much older than she was – both screaming.
Screaming for their mother.
Zoe wanted to cry, but she didn't. Instead, she took deep breaths and focused on calming herself. She wouldn't look weak in front of Dan. She just wouldn't.
Dan reached out and brushed hair out of Zoe's face. She opened her eyes and looked at him and Dan couldn't helped noticing how miserable she looked.
"You're wrong." Dan whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I am scared of something."
For a split-second, Zoe didn't look so unhappy and Dan knew, somehow, that he was going to dedicate his entire life to making her happy. She looked at him curiously and Dan held back a smile. He somehow knew that that wouldn't go down well.
"That day at Sternum?" Dan said. "I was so scared that day. I was terrified that I'd lose you . . . before I even had you."
Dan leaned towards her slowly, giving Zoe a chance to pull away from him if she wanted to. Dan's heart soared when she didn't, her eyes closing as he kissed her gently. Zoe's hand came up to caress Dan's jaw, her mouth moving gently against his. His mouth felt warm and soft and he tasted faintly of cinnamon and it reminded her of home, of safety.
Suddenly Zoe pulled back, grabbing her jacket and pulling it on. "We should probably go. Class should be starting soon and McNab hates it when we're late."
She walked out, without even checking to see if Dan was following. Dan stared after her, completely dumbfounded. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just wrecked everything with her, that he'd done too much, too fast.
You can't've, a voice in the back of his head reasoned. She kissed back, didn't she?
"Then why'd she run off?" Dan asked aloud. "Great, now I'm talking to myself."
At least you're not answering yourself, the voice replied wryly.
"Very funny." Dan hissed through his teeth. Feeling dejected, he got off the couch and followed Zoe out.