(for disclaimers, etc. - see 1.)
16. The Great Bluebell Escape
'Verse: AU, in which Zoe & Wade never met before
Date/Timeline: December 1990
"Hey, you okay?"
Zoe quickly dragged her sleeve over her face to remove the tear stains, then put on her best New York City 'don't mess with me' glare as she turned around to face the boy who just talked to her. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it wasn't the blond-haired, green-eyed kid in a flannel shirt, who was a head taller than her and looking at her like he might actually genuinely care what was wrong.
"I'm fine," she said snippily. "Go away."
"Sorry, can't do that," he said, shaking his head, stepping around to try and see her face again, even when she attempted to hide it in the over-sized Christmas tree. "My momma always says when you can offer help to a person in need, you should. 'Sides, I never reckon pretty girls should have reasons for cryin', 'specially not on Christmas."
Zoe peeked out at him then. "You think I'm pretty?"
The boy grinned at her. "You ain't not pretty," he told her, shrugging his shoulders. "What's your name?"
She was about to answer, before thinking better of it. Talking to strangers was never a good idea, giving them your name was a worse one. "What's yours?" she countered.
"Wade Kinsella," he said, as if he were just so proud of the fact.
"I'm Zoe," she replied, figuring it was safe enough to say so now.
Not that she liked the way his smile faded some when she did. "Well, I guess that makes some sense. You should know, half the town is lookin' for you, on account of you runnin' away from your momma like you did."
"I didn't run away." Zoe shook her head. "When Mommy started fighting with this guy she said was my real daddy, it was all just yelling and... I didn't run," she said definitely. "I just walked, a lot, and then I was here, and the tree was pretty, but now I don't know my way back."
The tears started coming again, Zoe didn't want them to, but she couldn't seem to stop them. It was so stupid. All she did lately was cry, on hearing her parents scream at each other, on finding out her daddy wasn't really her daddy at all. Now, they were in this strange town that she didn't understand, where the weather was hot, even at Christmas, and still her mom was fighting, this time with another man who actually was supposed to be Zoe's father. It really wasn't much of a merry Christmas.
"Come on now," said Wade then, his arm suddenly around her shoulders.
Zoe flinched a little, wary of letting a stranger so close, but weirdly enough, Wade didn't feel much like a stranger at all, and when he tried to give her a hug, she actually kind of liked it.
"If it helps, I can prob'ly help you find your way back where you come from," he told her, releasing her from his arms. "You know who's house it was?"
"Harley Wilkes," Zoe told him, swallowing hard. "Mommy says he's my real daddy."
Wade's eyes went a little wide at that news, but only for a second or two. "Well, he's one of the nicest men in this town, and a real good doctor, so I figure if he is your daddy, you're doin' just fine. No reason to cry that I can think of. 'Course, if you wanna talk about great fathers, you should meet my daddy. Get this - he's Santa!"
His arm around Zoe's shoulders again as he led her out of town square and back towards Harley's house was as comforting as his words. All in all, Zoe thought maybe Christmas in Bluebell wasn't going to be so bad after all, not since she found a friend in Wade Kinsella.
