Dan shut the door behind him, his sapphire eyes looking quickly around the room that looked as if a bomb had exploded within its confides. Clothes were everywhere, the bedside table was turned on its side and the covers on the bed had pulled off to sit on the floor at the end of the bed. On top of them sat Zoe, her auburn hair a colossal mess and her clothes rumpled, as if she hadn't changed them. Her head was in her hands and Dan could hear her sobbing.
"Zoe?" Dan questioned, taking a venturous step into the crash zone. He knelt down beside her and touched her shoulder. Zoe pushed her messy auburn hair out of her eyes and looked up at him, tears shining in her beautiful green orbs. Without a word, Dan wrapped his arms around her and let her cry as she nestled her head in the crook of his neck.
"I'm just like him." Zoe whimpered. "I'm just like Mastermind. I'm a monster."
"Hey. No, no you're not." Dan said, pulling away and staring into her eyes. "You're nothing like him."
"How? How am I anything but exactly like him?" Zoe asked. "All I've done is cause you guys trouble. Prove to me, Dan, that I'm anything but the monster that he is."
"Because you saved me." Dan said. "Without even knowing it, you saved me, Zo."
"What are you talking about?" Zoe asked.
Dan took a deep breath. He'd never showed anyone his scars before. Before he could talk himself out of it, Dan pushed the sleeves of his jacket up and showed her his forearms. Zoe stared at his arms for a long time, each white line that was forever marked into his skin forever marking her mind, reminding her of the hardships he'd faced in his sixteen years.
"What . . . Please don't tell me they're what I think they are." Zoe whispered finally.
"What do you think they are?" Dan asked quietly.
"Please don't tell me you cut yourself." Zoe whimpered.
"Used to." Dan said.
Zoe reached out and touched the scars gently and Dan shivered, her touch sending the electricity that crackled between them flying across his skin where she touched. "What made you stop?"
Dan assessed her expression carefully before he answered, "You."
Zoe's brow furrowed. "Me? What did I do? I only knew about them about two minutes ago."
"Zo." Dan said gently, taking her hand and turning it over so he could see her own forearm, her skin pale and flawless, unmarked by the scars that marked his own sun-browned skin. Zoe looked up at him curiously as his thumb brushed across her skin and she shivered. It was such a simple movement of his fingers, but there was something sensual about it, something that seemed to burn right through her, right down to her nervous system.
"Zoe, you have been through so much." Dan whispered, his fingers still gliding across her skin. "You grew up in SKUL. You spent your whole life thinking you have no family. You found out that you had a sister, only to have that ripped away and told she's not your sister, Zo, but you're both clones of the Mastermind. And . . ." he looked down at Zoe's unmarked wrists, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "You've never even scratched yourself on purpose. And yet . . . I've gone through all these little things and I have all these scars." He laughed bitterly. "I guess that proves just how strong I am, huh?"
"No, no, no. Dan, listen." Zoe said, taking his face in her hands. "Those scars . . . they don't make you weak, okay? They make you so much stronger than you could ever imagine because Dan, you had all this pain, but you're still here." Tentatively, she placed her hand against his chest, over the spot where his heart was pumping blood through his body. "This is still working, Dan. That makes you the strongest person I know."
Dan shook his head. "No. That means I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you, Zo."
He was suddenly all-too aware of Zoe's hands on his face and chest, the way his fingers were loosely gripping her arms. Zoe's green eyes flickered to look up at him, her fingers wrapping around his shirt as he ducked his head and pressed his mouth against hers gently. Zoe gasped into his mouth, tightening her hold on him as she kissed him back, feeling his arms wrap around her waist as he held her closer.
Dan spent that night curled up beside Zoe as he slept and Zoe, although she was barely getting enough sleep as it was, couldn't bring herself to sleep. She was too preoccupied with the lines that marked Dan's skin, the battle scars of his pain.
"Does Zoe know?" Keri asked. "About . . ."
"She did. I don't know if she remembers." Dan replied.
"That room . . . that room we found her in. There was absolutely nothing in there. What could she have cut herself on?" Keri asked.
Dan shrugged. "Hard to say. But all I can say is that Zoe's resourceful. She was trained to be that way. This is just one instance where I wish she wasn't so resourceful."
Keri sighed, running a hand through her hair. She suddenly felt mentally and physically drained, as if she could sleep for a thousand years. She couldn't imagine how Dan must feel. From the way he looked, he must have about a thousand times worse.
"Go home, Dan." Keri told him. "Go and get some sleep and we'll work out our plan of action in the morning."
Dan nodded reluctantly and got up. He walked over to the door but paused in the doorway, turning around slowly. "Thank you, Keri. For everything you're doing for her."
Keri smiled. "She's my sister, Dan. I kind of have to."
Sorry this chapter's mainly just that flashback, guys, but it's kind of impotant to the storyline and it seemed like the perfect time to put it in now.