When Dan and Keri left, Zoe went off to have a shower. As she stepped underneath the stream of hot water, Zoe sighed, closing her eyes as she dipped her head back. Steam swirled around her, much like the way her emotions swirled within her, as she recalled her conversation with Dan. She couldn't remember a time when she had felt so conflicted, when what she saw with her own two eyes didn't match what her head was telling her. Her memories told her that Dan was ruthless and heartless. That he was cruel and selfish.
But her eyes told her something different.
What she saw told her that Dan was nothing like that, that he was sweet, and gentle and compassionate. Her eyes told her that the boy who had played guitar for her and talked to her about Wolverine and the X-Men Trilogy was not the boy she remembered taking the one thing from her that she could never get back.
With that realisation, something in Zoe snapped. Sobbing, she knelt down on the tile floor as the water washed over her as tears streamed down her cheeks. Zoe ran her fingers through her damp hair and wrapped her arms around herself, her emotions sending her through a whirlwind.
Finally, Zoe managed to make herself get up and turn the shower off, pulling on some clean clothes. She sighed as she dried her hair, looking at her reflection in the mirror as it dried straight on her shoulders. She noticed that there seemed to be more life in her eyes than she remembered.
"Feeling better?" Keri asked as Zoe walked into her room, pulling her up into a ponytail.
"Yeah." Zoe replied, sitting herself down on her bed. She raised her eyes slowly to meet Keri's as Keri crossed her arms over her chest. Zoe avoided Keri's gaze as she watched her carefully, avoiding that intense blue gaze that reminded her a little of the boy who she had two contradicting opinions of.
Finally, Keri asked, "Are you okay, Zoe?"
Zoe sighed, resting her cheek in her palm. "Yeah, I just . . . I'm confused."
"About?" Keri asked, moving to sit beside Zoe on the bed. Keri pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her arms on her knees as she listened for Zoe's reply. Even after just over a week, Zoe seemed different. There was a fire of determination in her eyes. She was still a long way off from the girl she once was, but they were definitely closer to finding that girl again. Keri just hoped that Dan could see past his heartbreak, see through his pain long enough to see that.
"About everything." Zoe replied. After a moment's pause, she gestured towards the main section of HQ, through the wall to her right. "But especially him."
Keri sighed. "What's confusing about it?"
"I . . . I remember certain things about him. The type of person that he is. But today, when I was talking to him about something as mundane as Wolverine . . . I wonder if maybe I'm remembering wrong. Maybe the person who raped me just looked similar to him."
Keri had to fight to hold back a grin. She could already see Dan's face when she replayed this conversation to him.
Groaning, Zoe ran her hands through her hair. "This is just . . . This was a lot simpler when I thought he was a horrible person."
"But a lot more painful for him." Keri said. Zoe stared at Keri for a moment, until the girl rose to her feet. "Try and get some sleep, Zoe."
Zoe stared after Keri as she walked out, replaying the girl's words in her head.
"But a lot more painful for him."
Meanwhile, Keri was grinning as she practically skipped into the main section of HQ, where Dan, Aneisha, Tom and Frank were gathered.
"How is she?" Frank asked, his blue eyes worried.
Aneisha's eyes widened. "She's starting to remember."
Dan's gaze shifted from the table to Aneisha, to Keri, his blue eyes frantic. "What? Keri, what happened?"
"It seems your chat with her seems to have triggered something, Dan." Keri said, smiling.
"What's she say?"
As fast as she could, Keri relayed her conversation with Zoe. As she spoke, Keri watched as Dan's expression brightened. Up until now, Dan had just had hope and the small flickers that he had seen in the very times he'd been allotted to be in her presence to keep him going, to keep him believing that Zoe was still there. But this? This was hard proof that Zoe was still there. And that made him more desperate than ever to get her back.
"I have an idea." Dan said, getting to his feet.
All attention turned to him. From what Frank and Tom and Aneisha could make out, it was Dan who had triggered this drastic change in the deterioration of the block on Zoe's mind, so naturally, they were willing to listen to any ideas.
"A bonfire." Dan said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world. "Zoe used to love it when we did those. We could have it on the beach, I could bring my guitar. It'd be just like – "
"The ones we used to have before she left." Aneisha said, smiling. "That is a stroke of genius, Dan."
"Whoa. Wait. Back up." Keri said. "Why have we never had any beachside bonfires?"
"Because that was a tradition that started and ended with Zoe." Dan said quietly, almost guiltily. "She'd never had a roasted marshmallow before, so we had a bonfire so she could have one. Then we kind of just kept on having them."
Keri gave him a sad smile. "So, when are we having this bonfire?"
