Mean Girls (IC)

[N/A]

For all her blinding speed, and his age and injuries, Old Man Summers still managed to be waiting in his office by the time Zoe opened the door. He stood behind his desk, facing out the window with his hands resting on his cane. [bg=#000000]"Shut the door and sit down, Ms. Harris."[/bg]

Zoe gulped and stared at the ground as she plopped down into one of the chairs facing his desk. "Look, I can explain. If you knew-"

Summers spun around with alarming alacrity. His glare could have melted steel. [bg=#000000]"I allow a certain amount of the student body's indescretions and shenanigans to go without reprisal because Claremont is the cradle of heroism for the entire world, and thus, it behooves us to cultivate independence and self-reliance among those in our charge. It also gives us a responsibility of such scope as you can't even fathom. But make no mistake, I know everything that happens on my campus, Ms. Harris. I don't need it explained to me, least of all by a sixteen-year-old whose speed has allowed her to evade the realization that actions have consequences, no matter how many times Life has aimed it at her and pulled the trigger. This isn't the part where you explain anything. It is the part where I explain and you sit there and listen."[/bg]

Zoe's mouth hung open slightly. Her lip began to quiver almost imperceptibly. Almost.

[bg=#000000]"I have granted you a lot of leeway here. I have, in some cases, bent over backwards to accomodate your unique situation. I expect you to meet me halfway, and for the most part, you have. Your academic performance has been superb. Both the librarians and the dining hall managers have nothing but good things to say about your efforts in keeping the school running. And while I can't condone your 'extracurricular activites,' your efforts to preserve life and maintain order in the city have been both admirable and impressive."

"But a campaign of terrorism against a fellow student is beyond unacceptable. Daisy Gibbons is a spoiled, snotty little brat, and unfortunately for both her and the world around her, unlike most people who coast through Life on charm and good looks, she will likely never be forced or expected to be anything else. But she is not a criminal. There are people in this world who prey upon the fearful and the helpless, people worthy of this sort of attention. A teenage gossip is not one of them. Breaking her spirit doesn't make you a hero. It just makes you a petty bully, like her. And you are better than that. Or, rather, you have it within you to be."

"This. Ends. Now. Have I made myself perfectly clear, Ms. Harris?"[/bg] Summers raised an eyebrow.

"...Yeah. Yes." She nodded weakly.

[bg=#000000]"Good. You are excused."[/bg]

[N/A]

Zoe walked back from the principal's office to her dorm room. Walked, as in, at normal speed. She had a lot to think about. But she never made it to her room. Instead, she stopped at Daisy's and knocked on the door.

Daisy scowled at Zoe as she opened her door. "What do you want?"

"Hey, I misplaced my copy of the Student Honor Code. I was just wondering, could you look up the penalty for fighting for me?"

Daisy raised an eyebrow. "Look, Slut, I need my beauty rest. Go find someone in your own socio-economic tier and waste their time."

Zoe shoved her foot inside to block the door from closing. "Indulge me. Pretty please with sugar on it."

Daisy rolled her eyes and huffed. "Whatever." She turned to her desk, rifled through some papers, then paraphrased what she read. "You get suspended for a week, expelled if it's your third time, or if the administrators feel like it."

Zoe vanished and appeared right in front of Daisy. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Razor. I could use a few days off." She grabbed Daisy's long blonde tresses, pulled her forward and down, and punched her in the face. Daisy fell to the ground, clutching her swelling eye. "YOU PSYCHO BITCH!"

Zoe dusted her knuckles off on her shirt and turned to leave. "That was for Alex. And Mike. One black eye always looks lonely. You ever mess with my friends again, and I'll give it some company. Oh, and by the way..." She smirked back over her shoulder on her way out the door. "...It was me."

[N/A]

A couple of hours after she'd left, Zoe showed back up at James' doorstep. Once again, she gave him the courtesy of knocking and waiting at the door instead of just coming in. "Hey, long time / no see. Miss me yet?" She held up one hand, then the other, both laden with bags. "I got a bottle of vodka, two cartons of OJ, Clerks, and Zombieland. Didn't have any ID, but that's not really an issue when you run too fast for the cameras to pick up. Don't worry, I'm not a criminal, I left cash on the counter. I came back to my room to find a detention slip signed by Old Man Summers himself, and I'm probably getting suspended on Monday. But tonight, I just wanna order some pizza, get hammered, and veg out with the one guy on Earth who might understand and won't spend the whole night telling me how awesome I am when I know I'm not. You in or out?"

[N/A]

Between the music blaring through his headphones and his rapid-fire typing, Shinnosuke Koyama barely heard the knock at his dormroom door. As soon as he'd pulled it open, Daisy Gibbons crashed into him, hugging him tightly as she cried. "Heyyy," he greeted her quizzically, first hugging her back, then pulling away to look her in the eye. "Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to you?!" he exclaimed as he noticed her black eye.

She sniffled and wiped away some of her tears. "She won't leave me alone. It's getting worse. I...I don't know where else to turn. Old Man Summers won't do anything."

Shinnosuke's eyes darkened. "Who? C'mon in, Daisy." He led her to his bed, where they sat down. "Talk to me."

It took every ounce of willpower Daisy Gibbons had not to burst into laughter. I knew this whole damsel-in-distress thing would work like a charm. Guys are so predictable...especially at Claremont.

[Cyroa]

James sighed. "Z, you didn't kill your parents. They had a risky job but they believed in it. Sure wasn't you setting those things off," he said. Before he could get another word out, she was gone. He sighed. The girl was hurting whether she wanted to admit it or not. She needed some help before she spin so far down and out that she couldn't recover. The problem was whether she was willing to hear it or not. And, as much as he loved them, her parents were really not the ones she needed at the moment.

He sighed and took another long sip from it. This day just kept getting better and better. Between what happened at the...yesterday, his normal life and whatnot, this was just one more thing. Despite talking with Alex this morning, James was feeling the weight of it all. It was a wonder he hadn't started drinking earlier. He sighed and got up, to go fill his glass again. If he had a chance of finding Zoe, he'd probably have gone after her. But at the moment he was feeling too crappy to search the city for her.

Hours later as darkness was coming on, he was well on his way to being hammered. Despite his tolerances, he had one hell of a buzz going and he was enjoying it immensely. Of course there was a bunch of bottles already in the trash to show the effort he'd put in to this. And he sure was trying.

He didn't even bother to stand this time. He just raised his glass in greetings. "Come on in, take a load off. Sure, I'm in. Bring e bottle from the fridge while you're over there. Pizza's speed dial #3. Have 'em put it on my tab. And as long as you don't mind whiskey, we're not gonna run outta booze anytime soon." He shook his head, slowly so he didn't get too disoriented. "So...you screwed the pooch huh? Did something impulsive or got caught? Lemme guess...ya beat her into the ground? She in the hospital?" he asked, not particularly caring at the moment. He pointed to the large screen tv. "No worries. Come on in and toss a movie on or order one. I'm game as long as it doesn't involve heavy thinking," he muttered at the end.

[N/A]

"Z, you didn't kill your parents. They had a risky job but they believed in it. Sure wasn't you setting those things off."

Zoe lounged on the couch next to James, scarfing down slices pizza and guzzling screwdrivers between the blinks of his eyes. "Look, about what you said earlier - I appreciate the sentiment and all, really, I do. And yeah, I know I didn't pull the trigger. But that doesn't change the fact that, when it comes to this whole 'Saving Your Parents' thing, it's Bad Guys 1, Z Bagel."

"As long as you don't mind whiskey, we're not gonna run outta booze anytime soon."

"That'll do, Dark Prince. That'll do." Zoe gulped down another drink.

"So...you screwed the pooch huh? Did something impulsive or got caught? Lemme guess...ya beat her into the ground? She in the hospital?"

"Heh. Am I that predictable? Yeah, Old Man Summers caught me agreeing-to-disagree with you. Messing with her locker, specifically. Said he was on to me from the start. Dunno if that's true or not. Didn't say anything about you, though, so I think you're still free to do...well, whatever it is you're gonna do. He told me to stop messing with her, which I did." Zoe chuckled. "Didn't say anything about decking the bitch on my way out the door, though." She fist-bumped James, and took another drink.

"No worries. Come on in and toss a movie on or order one. I'm game as long as it doesn't involve heavy thinking" he muttered.

"Yeah, unless your idea of a deep philosophical conversation involves collateral damage on the Death Star, I can pretty damned well guarantee a lack of thinking, heavy or otherwise." Another drink disappeared. "Looks like you had a head-start on me. I gotta catch-up, or else this'll be awkward! Speaking of...why so glum, Chum?"

[Cyroa]

James wasn't really coherent enough to argue well at this point. He knew she needed to work on her issues but this probably wasn't the time to do it. "Those bad guys don't even exist anymore. Everything different now. All bolluxed up. Doesn't matter. We'll make sure it doesn't happen this time. Can take that to the bank." He nodded emphatically, finishing his glass off as if that proved his point.

"Heh. Am I that predictable? Yeah, Old Man Summers caught me agreeing-to-disagree with you. Messing with her locker, specifically. Said he was on to me from the start. Dunno if that's true or not. Didn't say anything about you, though, so I think you're still free to do...well, whatever it is you're gonna do. He told me to stop messing with her, which I did." Zoe chuckled. "Didn't say anything about decking the bitch on my way out the door, though." She fist-bumped James, and took another drink.

He chuckled. "Nah. Just a matter a time. Summers might be right old codger but he's got a lot goin on upstairs. Only matter a time before he caught on. My stuff will still trickle down the line for a few days. Won't be stuff you can get blamed for at least. And I don't care what he thinks a me." He grinned widely. "'Sides, I probably woulda done the same." He bumped knuckles with a chuckle. "Well, that's a nice way to wrap it up. You gave her one heck of a shiner I bet!" He downed another long gulp.

"Yeah, unless your idea of a deep philosophical conversation involves collateral damage on the Death Star, I can pretty damned well guarantee a lack of thinking, heavy or otherwise." Another drink disappeared. "Looks like you had a head-start on me. I gotta catch-up, or else this'll be awkward! Speaking of...why so glum, Chum?"

"Hey, it takes an awful lot to blow up the Death Star! I got one ya know. They're pretty damn tough and got all sorts a cool stuff," he said, nodding knowingly. He waved his hand vaguely. "I did some of that introspection stuff. Found out I cared about someone more than I thought. Or ever really have." He took a very long pull after that one. "First time for everything, right? Right. Like this. I'm pretty sure I've never drank this much. Ever. Its alotta work ta get hammered. But ya know, I kinda like it at the moment," he said, amused and feeling a good deal better than he did this morning even if it was only chemical.

[N/A]

Zoe and James drunkenly lounged on his couch and laughed at the bad movies and continued drowning their respective sorrows in the finest spirits as the evening crept by. "Wait, don't tell me James Prophet finally met the one girl on Planet Earth who wouldn't sleep with him! Quick, stop the presses! Hellion got shot down, it's the story of the century!"

She wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him closer as her hand tousled his hair. "Fark her! Sshtupid bitch doeshn't know what she's misshing! *hic*" She laughed some more, and drank some more.

"You're one of the coolest guys I've ever met. Way too cool to be moping around, hung up over some girl, even with that whole 'forbidden fruit' appeal going for her. Fark. That. Sprak. If she can't see this totally smooth, confident, hot guy sitting right in front of her..." Zoe stopped laughing and ranting suddenly as both her and James' heads rolled in just the exact directions needed to look each other in the eye. Simultaneously, they grabbed each other and furiously started kissing.

The next morning, Zoe awoke slowly, groggily rubbing her eyes open. This pillow feels funny...what's that smell? She opened her eyes. That's not a pillow. That's boy. Boy I'm using as a pillow... She glanced rapidly to her left, right, and up, seeing arm, chest, and James.

"SPRAK!!!" she screamed as she leapt to a sitting position. "OK, nothing happened. We were laying on the couch...this is the bed, why are we in the bed? OK, maybe we got tired, didn't wanna sleep on the couch..." She checked under the blankets, which she now kept clutched to her chest. "It's not like we're naked under here...yep, we're naked under here." Suddenly the memories of the previous night's "activites," blurry as they were, came rushing back into the forefront of her mind.

She jumped out of the bed, stumbling around the room as she hastily pulled her clothes back on. Most articles took her more than one try. "Oh sprak SPRAK SPRAK, nothing happened, nothing happened...except that we totally rocked each others worlds last night, and, Oh, 'we' doesn't include my boyfriend."

[N/A]

This time, it was Shinnosuke Koyama's turn to knock at the door of Daisy Gibbons' dorm room. She switched her demeanor to "traumatized little puppy-dog," with the scared doe-eyed stare and the slightly slumped shoulders, so quickly it would've fooled even the most savvy and world-weary of observers. Which Shinnosuke was most definitely not.

"Jackpot." Shinnosuke grinned as he held up a DVD. "I followed Zoe last night, to the apartment of none other than Mr. James Prophet. Had to hang upside-down from another building across the street, but the house hasn't been built yet that my surveillance gear can't crack. And trust me, once Z knows you have this video, not only will she never mess with you again, she'll bend over backwards to make sure no one else does, either."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Daisy squealed as she hugged Shinnosuke tightly. "You have no idea how much this means to me! You're a true friend!"

Daisy struggled to contain her giggles, but as they managed to slip out, she buried her face in Shinnosuke's shoulder instead, masking them as sobs. But Z isn't going to find out, is she? No, not until everyone else does. Why go for simple blackmail when you can have total social destruction instead? Oh, I love it when a plan just falls into place like this.

[Cyroa]

"She don't even know! She's happy for once. I ain't makin a move. Sshes great though," he muttered continuing his effort to drown himself.

The next thing James knew, she was leaning on him, arms wrapped around him and kissing him. There was a part of his mind that was screaming and railing against this, trying to tell him it was wrong. But that part was drowned out by the moping and depression he was feeling which was minor compared to the sheer amount of alcohol he'd consumed up to this point. He pretty much lost track of the voice as he responded in kind to Zoe...

The next morning, James was awoken by someone driving a massive spike of white hot light right through his forehead. "Gah, crap!" He clapped his hands to his forehead as if pushing against it could somehow smother the titanic hangover he was suffering from. "Son of a !@#," he muttered. "Why do people drink if this is what happens? Mother@#$$@!..." This was his first hangover and it was an epic one to boot. It was about that time, he realized Zoe was there talking very loudly and moving and talking very loudly some more. Her scent was everywhere combined with... "Oh hell," he muttered as he realized what had happened and the fuzzy memories for a long and rather active night filtered through the stabbing pain in his head. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, unconcerned about being naked. He held his head in his hands, far more concerned about his throbbing skull.

He summoned up a swath of fire, letting it wrap around his arm and upper torso, absorbing it and letting it burn away his pain. He sighed in relief. With absence of the hangover, the knowledge and impact of last nights events sinking in. "They're gonna kill me," he muttered. He'd deal with his own problems later. "Zoe, relax." He stood up, looking around for his pants. He grabbed, sliding them on before turning to her. "Yeah. It was a great but you're dating Eddie. Outside of him, we didn't do anything wrong. It was just sex. Great sex. No one's business but our own. But...Eddie's a friend." He sighed. He wasn't sure Eddie was going to still _be_ his friend after this. Or if any of the others were going to be either. Damn but he screwed this up good. All because... He shook his head, returning to the present. "If it wasn't for Eddie, I wouldn't say anything. But...," he said letting it trail off. He was torn between not wanting to say anything to telling his friend the truth. After all, it wasn't like this was the first time he'd slept with a girl who was in a relationship. First time he actually gave a damn about who the guy was though.

[N/A]

"They're gonna kill me," he muttered.

"They're gonna kill us both," Zoe shot back as she continued to frantically collect and haphazardly apply her clothing from the random surfaces upon which it had been hastily discarded the previous night.

"Zoe, relax. It was a great but you're dating Eddie. Outside of him, we didn't do anything wrong. It was just sex. Great sex. No one's business but our own. But...Eddie's a friend." He sighed.

"Yeah, I know. It was just sex. Heh...yeah, it was pretty great, wasn't it?" She grinned mischieviously to herself for a moment. Then Reality came crashing back down, her heart started pounding against her chest again, and her rapid-fire talking began anew. "Yeah, we did nothing wrong, except for that part where I cheated on my boyfriend, or that other part, where you farked your buddy's girlfriend. Sprak, SPRAK, SPRAK!"

"If it wasn't for Eddie, I wouldn't say anything. But..."

Zoe's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. Still half-dressed, she dropped the clothes she hadn't managed to put back on yet, then vanished, reappearing right in front of James. She reached up and grabbed his shoulders. "James, listen to me very closely: As far as Eddie, or anyone else is concerned, this did not happen. Do you understand? Even if Eddie and all our other friends didn't tell us to fark off, which by all rights they totally should, Eddie'd be heartbroken. I don't want that. You don't want that. Last night was awesome, please don't take it personally, but it never happened, and it can never happen again. Are we clear?"

[Cyroa]

"They're gonna kill us both," Zoe shot back as she continued to frantically collect and haphazardly apply her clothing from the random surfaces upon which it had been hastily discarded the previous night.

James seriously doubted they were going to blame her as much as him. Either way though, this was far from good. He didn't bother looking for more clothes though; he was only wearing pants for her sake and the...mistake that they had made.

"Yeah, I know. It was just sex. Heh...yeah, it was pretty great, wasn't it?" She grinned mischieviously to herself for a moment. Then Reality came crashing back down, her heart started pounding against her chest again, and her rapid-fire talking began anew. "Yeah, we did nothing wrong, except for that part where I cheated on my boyfriend, or that other part, where you farked your buddy's girlfriend. Sprak, SPRAK, SPRAK!"

"Like I said, except for that," he said, cursing himself. What the hell had he been thinking? Oh right, he wasn't. He was miserable (now he was even more so) and though being drunk was a good plan. Well done, ya putz. It was true what they said. Alcohol didn't solve any problems. It just made more.

Zoe's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. Still half-dressed, she dropped the clothes she hadn't managed to put back on yet, then vanished, reappearing right in front of James. She reached up and grabbed his shoulders. "James, listen to me very closely: As far as Eddie, or anyone else is concerned, this did not happen. Do you understand? Even if Eddie and all our other friends didn't tell us to fark off, which by all rights they totally should, Eddie'd be heartbroken. I don't want that. You don't want that. Last night was awesome, please don't take it personally, but it never happened, and it can never happen again. Are we clear?"

James frowned at her, staring down into her face for a long moment. "Are you sure about that Z? I don't want him hurt any more than you. But this did happen and things like this tend to come out." He sighed. He'd done so well about not lying to his friends. This just blew that right out of the water. "And usually at the worst possible time too." If this hadn't been Eddie, James would have happily gone forever without mentioning it ever again. But it wasn't. He gave a mental sigh. Man he screwed everything up.

[N/A]

"Are you sure about that Z? I don't want him hurt any more than you. But this did happen and things like this tend to come out. And usually at the worst possible time too."

"Am I sure?! Are you farking kidding me?! OF COURSE I'M FARKING SURE!" Z pulled her shirt on over her head, then grabbed James' shoulders again. "Do some simple profit/loss analysis here, J. If we don't tell Eddie, then there's a chance that he'll find out someday, and be heartbroken. It's impossible to calculate that chance; maybe it's 1%, maybe it's 50%. But if we tell him now, that chance skyrockets to 100%! Do you really think we'll get points for honesty if he hears it from us? It won't matter who he hears it from! The only chance we have to keep him in our lives and spare him the pain is if we both take this to our farking graves. And unless someone's got this place bugged, I think we're OK"

[Cyroa]

James frowned continued for a very long moment. Finally, he sighed and nodded at her. He didn't particularly like it but he'd agree. "Alright, alright. I don't like it but I can't say I disagree with your logic. Maybe you're right and he'll never need to know." He shook his head. "But so help me, I'm never getting plastered like this again. And not just because of that insane hangover either. Man, I've had gone through torture in hell that didn't suck that bad," he muttered to himself.

He laid one hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. "Ok, this never happened. But you and I need to have a chat at some point, alright? With clothes on," he added, his mouth quirking up into a half smile.

[N/A]

"Right. A chat. OK. Sure, I'll give you a call sometime. But right now, I think the last thing we should do is spend more time alone together." Zoe looked around frantically for a second, then took a deep breath, gave James a big hug, and kissed him on the lips. "Look, for whatever it's worth...I've already got a lot of regrets about last night, but none of them are about you. Thanks for...being there, when I needed you. I, um, uh...yeah. Gotta go."

[Cyroa]

James nodded. "Right back at ya Z. I feel the same way," he said with a half smile. He raised an eyebrow briefly at the kiss but returned it briefly all the same, squeezing her in a short hug. "Anytime. Anytime you want to talk, I'm here. You need something, call. But yeah. I'll see you around." He glanced around his rather disheveled apartment as she stepped back. "Now get outta here before we get in even more trouble. Not sure how that would happen, but I've got faith," he said with a half-grin.