Rifiuto: Non Mirena

Thanks to mondler1998 for reviewing 10.

"Hey! Bright eyes! Wait up!" She continued on, twirling the apple she'd bought from the cafeteria in her hands. "Hey! Bright eyes!" She stopped, slowly turned towards where she thought she heard someone calling. "Wait up!" The young man from the cafe- Zane, if she remembered correctly, the one who'd interrupted her in the gym- was rushing to catch up. She reached up, taking an earphone out of her ear. "Hey."

"Hi." She shifted her dance bag, feeling her Pointe shoes whack against her thigh. They stood in awkward silence, until she bit her lip. "Well, bye." She turned to go-

"Um... I... I was wondering..." She turned back. "Um..." He blushed, realizing that he was stammering. She smiled at him, her nose wrinkling.

"Yes?" She asked, stepping closer. His blue eyes flicked to her lips briefly, before he whispered,

"Lunch? Maybe? Or... or... or... or... dinner?" She thought a moment.

"I'm hangin' out wit' Zoe today. We're goin' shoppin' up in Portland. Sorry." She moved away, turning and starting away, but stopped. A pensive thought crossed her face as she stared at him. "But dinner, I can do. Seven? Zoe 'n I should be back by then." He didn't respond, so surprised that she'd said yes.

"Um... ah... seven-thirty? Meet you at the bunker?" Her brow furrowed, curious.

"How'd ya-"

"You're Zoe's friend. Only gives reason that you'd be staying at SARAH. Everyone knows where the Carters live." She nodded. "So seven?"

"I thought we said seven-thirty?" She asked. He blushed, nodding.

"We... we did. Yes. I'll... I'll pick you up at seven-thirty." She grinned.

"Can't wait." She said, taking a bite of her apple. Then, she was gone, disappearing down the steps and out the doors. Zane watched her go. Neither can I. He thought, turning and nonchalantly heading back to his lab, giving Allison an innocent look as he passed. Neither can I.

Once she made it outside, she made a beeline for Zoe's car, climbing in. She tossed her dance bag in the back, and buckled her seatbelt. "So, ready?" She asked, turning to the teen. The blonde nodded, starting the car. It had taken time, but eventually, Carter had agreed to let Zoe and Jo drive up to Portland; the teenager had turned sixteen a few months before, and so she was eager to start driving. The main reason Carter had allowed them to go, was because Jo would be with her, and Jo was- ever though she didn't look it- twenty-four. He knew that the young ballerina would look out for his daughter.

"Ready." They drove off, changing radio channels and talking about the various things going on in their lives; it was only when they climbed out of the car and headed towards one of the stores in Portland, that Jo brought up her upcoming date with Zane.

"Wait, he asked you out? When?" Zoe asked, trying on a floppy hat before returning it to the display.

"In the 'tunda as I was leavin'." Jo replied, slipping a pair of sunglasses on and modeling them.

"What'd you say?" Zoe asked, moving and examining the purses. Jo followed, grabbing a scarf and wrapping it around her neck and head, a perfect imitation of Audrey Hepburn, getting into trouble in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Natalie Wood in Sex and the Single Girl. Zoe quickly snapped a picture on her phone as Jo posed, before moving and grabbing a jacket to try on. "Please tell me you didn't-"

"Said he'd pick me up at seven-thirty." Jo cut in, grabbing a skirt and lacy top and disappearing into the dressing room. She only vaguely heard Zoe's exclamation of, "You didn't!" before the door shut behind her. She came out twenty minutes later, dressed in the white skirt, lacy pink top and yellow scarf she'd forgotten to take off. Zoe had taken a seat, sulking in the corner, stewing about how Zane Donovan was moving in on her week with Jo. It wasn't fair. "How do I look?" She asked, hands on her hips. The teen shook her head. "Com'on, Zoe, it's one date. It's not gonna kill me if I go to dinner wi' him." The teen sat up as Jo removed the scarf from her head.

"You know he's only going after you so he can get in your pants, right? Or... your... tights..." she amended, realizing who she was talking to. Jo rolled her eyes.

"This is me, Zoe. My asshole boyfriend just broke up wi' me because he was screwin' around. It's one date. We'll talk, 'ave dinner, he'll bring me back to your place and leave. That's all. And then you get me the rest o' the week. 'kay?" The teen thought a moment.

"Okay." She stood, grabbing Jo's hand. "Come on. If it's just a casual dinner, you need something casual. No skirts and now button downs. Jeans and maybe something pink..."

The girls spent the next two hours shopping, before finally stopping for lunch at a small eatery in downtown Portland. By six-thirty, they were back in Eureka, rushing down the steps of the bunker, packages in hand, Zoe trying to decide exactly how to do Jo's hair and make up for her dinner with Zane. "How was your trip, Zoe? Jo?"

"Great, SARAH." Zoe said, kicking off her shoes and grabbing Jo's hand. "Come on. Let's go get you ready." They rushed upstairs to Jo's room, where Zoe made her quickly change and then come to her room. "You should curl your hair." Zoe said, grabbing the curling iron as Jo entered her room and took a seat on her bed.

"Don't curl my hair. Usually just wear in a bun, since I'm dancin' all the time." Jo replied as Zoe began working on the glossy black strands.

"A bun is so... ballerina." Zoe said, releasing one curl and grabbing more hair to curl another. Jo stopped flipping through the magazine she'd snatched off Zoe's bed.

"I... am a ballerina." She replied. The girl stopped her work.

"Right. Sorry. Forgot." She continued her work, before, "SARAH, music, please."

"What would you like, Zoe?" The teen shrugged. "Jo?" The young woman glanced towards the ceiling.

"Um... Bob Marley?"

"Bob Marley?" Zoe cried, pulling away and leaning over Jo's shoulder to see her. "Seriously?" Jo shrugged.

"I grew up in Jersey. I 'ave three olda brothers. My oldest brother Ricco gotta go to one of his concerts. I found the album he'd bought when I was about eight and played it- Marley's one of my fav's." Zoe rolled her eyes, snorting. "What? I grew up in the eighties and nineties. I din't just get the boy bands and heavy metal, I got the bubblegum pop too."

"Did you wear the spandex miniskirts and the shoulder pads? Oh, and the massive, frizzed hair?" Jo snorted, roling her eyes.

"Are you kiddin'? I was a kid. I wore the pedal-pushers and sweatshirts wi' the collars cut out and Keds. Occasionally leggings. Briefly got into that whole preppy valley girl 'like oh my God!' style when I hit middle school. Then I developed fashon sense." Jo said, putting on a face valley girl accent and pulling off Alicia Silverstone's Clueless act perfectly. Zoe laughed.

"So you did the whole 'nineties' clothing thing, then?" Jo pulled her gaze from the magazine.

"What 'nineties' thing?" Zoe shrugged.

"You know, the western shirts and catsuits?" Jo snorted.

"Hell no. Converse and crop tops wi' jeans. No catsuits and sure as hell no western shirts." Zoe pulled away, dropping the curling iron.

"You wore crop tops?" Jo nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"You just... don't seem like the type." The dancer raised an eyebrow.

"It was the nineties and I was in high school. Don't look so shocked. I'm only eight years olda than you."

"I'm sorry, Jo, could you repeat that?" The older woman looked towards the ceiling.

"'peat wha'?" She asked.

"Could you repeat that last sentence?" SARAH replied.

"Why? Noth'n import'nt." She returned to flipping through the magazine. Zoe listened, she thought she heard SARAH's circuits whir- the closest thing a house could get to an exasperated sigh. The teen couldn't help laughing as she finished Jo's hair. "Wha'so funny?" Jo asked, turning to look at the younger girl. Zoe climbed off the bed, putting the curling iron away and grabbing the makeup Jo had brought with her.

"SARAH's having a hard time understanding you." The dancer raised an eyebrow, not comprehending. "She can't understand your accent."

"Oh. Why din't she say so?"

"Because it would have been rude. And I didn't know how to ask such a question." SARAH replied. Jo nodded.

"Oh. You coulda jus' asked."

"I will keep that in mind, Jo." SARAH responded. The dancer nodded, giving the house a wary smile, before Zoe tapped her nose with the bristles of a blush brush.

"Eyes closed, now!" Chuckling, she did as told, and at seven-thirty, rushed downstairs at SARAH's announcement that Zane had arrived.