Former Glory • •

[Ember Thistle Grant]

It had been days since Ember had last seen Zoe. In fact, the only person who was visiting her now was Brandon and Ember was quickly realising that there was no one she could rely on since the people she cared about the most seemed more interested in turning away from her. She knew she had snapped at Zoe for no real reason other than she was frustrated and hurting, but Ember didn’t do so great with apologies. In fact, she couldn’t remember apologising to anyone, not sincerely anyway. Still, there hadn’t been any time in recent days to do anything about it, plus, she was still stuck in the hospital after her surgery just two days before.

The doctors said she could go home at the end of the week since Brandon had silenced her and told them that he would make sure she took it easy and got plenty of rest, though the glare she shot him once they were out of the room seemed to suggest otherwise. Still, cabin fever was setting in now that the fiery blonde was feeling much better and after vowing not to run away, the nurses finally came around to letting Ember go outside for half an hour to get some fresh air. The bandage on her chest was itching and she needed to walk or do something to stop her from ripping it off and reopening the still healing wound over her ICD. As odd as it was, she could actually feel the thing helping her since the operation when it had been implanted, but she wasn’t looking forward to the permanent lump and possible scar, even if it did save her life. Scars meant people asked questions and she didn’t do so well with interrogations.

Still, being outside for a short time did her the world of wonders, even if she did just spend it curled up on a bench, ignoring the looks from people who could clearly tell she was a patient from her attire and the wristband with her name on that seemed to be permanently attached to her wrist. She did wonder if there was a logical way to getting them off, but she had yet to pry the information from the nurses or doctors. After a while, Ember thought that she better get back to her room before security or her dad was called. Pushing herself up with more ease than most of the people in the hospital, Ember walked back through the doors, pushing her loose blonde hair from her face as she went. Knowing a hospital like the back of her hand was probably not something a twenty one year old should boast about, but it proved useful since this wasn’t the door closest to the cardiac unit.

She was about to head straight back to her room for more bad TV and interrupting nurses, when a familiar face forced her to do a double take. What on earth was Zoe doing in the Emergency Room? She looked alright, but the two people she was talking to were clearly shook up by something. They might have parted on bad terms, but Ember wasn’t the type of girl to turn her back on her friend, even after a bust up like theirs. She crossed over to her and gently placed her hand on her friend’s arm. “Hey, is everything okay?”

[/color] She asked, the concern in her blue eyes.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe!
WORDS! 606
OUTFIT! walking tragedy
LYRICS! In My Veins- - - Andrew Belle
NOTES! <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe was not ready to deal with Ember yet, especially not today. The girl had been the spark for so many fights that the country mouse was no where near prepared to face her. Her words had stung and hit places that Zoe tried desperately to keep out of sight, yet they'd all been battered under Ember's cruel remarks and suggestions. No; she didn't want to talk to Ember, possibly not for a very long time. She may have been somewhat used to the city girl's attitude and comments, but that day in the hospital had pushed things too far, and Zoe didn't want to smooth that bridge like she knew she'd have to. She was always the one who ended up apologizing and trying to repair breaks that she hadn't even caused. It made things look like Ember didn't even care what happened; she wouldn't mind if Zoe came back or if she didn't. If the gunslinger wanted the mouse back, she could apologize for once; Zoe was done trying to fix everything.

The broken friendship had been in the very back of her mind lately, however, and it was even farther back right now thanks to her battered, quite possibly ex, boyfriend, and the frightened teenager at her side. Ember was the least of Zoe's worries right now compared to the hurting siblings, and she didn't want that to change. She may've been mad at two-thirds of the parties involved, but she wasn't going to deal with it all right now; none of it really mattered. Once everyone was out of the hospital, maybe they could begin repairing and patching up tears. Until then, Zoe was just going to try and get through this without breaking down herself.

Romeo was just being taken away when Zoe heard the voice of the best friend she wouldn't admit to missing. Her spine went straight, her hand tightening on the tall teenager's arm. The last thing Ellie needed today was yet another fight, this time between the two blondes who were supposed to be friends, not enemies. Snapping her head around, Zoe mustered up her iciest glare and said, "It ain't anythin' you'd care 'bout, Ember." She tugged her arm out of Ember's grasp, looping her arm through Ellie's and gently tugging the girl towards a sign that gave directions towards the cafeteria. "C'mon, Ellie, let's go get you a nice chocolate brownie."

• • •

WORDS: 435!
TAG: Ember! <3
LOCATION: Emergency Room, The Hospital
OUTFIT: BAM!
LYRICS: Say You're Sorry by Sara Bareilles
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[Ember Thistle Grant]

Ember might’ve been a bitch, but she was loyal and no one could argue that. So long as someone didn’t betray her badly enough that she would cut all ties and set out to get her revenge on them, she would be there, even for someone who wanted nothing to do with her. It was the way she had grown up. Loyalty was how you got by on the streets of Brooklyn once the sun went down; loyalty, and a strong right hook. Ember had learnt both of them at a young age and they were the most important lessons in her life, helping her to survive when no one else would. Even now, she found them more important than anything else and it was primarily her loyalty that drove her to stay in New York, rather than mount her bike and just vanish into the night.

She knew that in the past Zoe had let go of whatever Ember’s bad mood had driven her to say, but the tall, gun slinging blonde knew that she had probably crossed a line this time. Still, it didn’t change how much she cared and if Zoe was in trouble of any sort she would help her, whether Zoe wanted her to or not. It was what Ember did, what she had always done and what she probably would continue to do. Maybe people wouldn’t understand it, but Ember wasn’t going to explain herself when she thought there was nothing to explain. Her life wasn’t as simple as it seemed and she wasn’t some rich pampered girl like others who walked around New York; she had seen it all and everything about her still lingered in the shadows of dark alleys and bad choices.

Still, regardless of how angry Zoe might’ve been at her, Ember wasn’t the type of girl to let someone just walk away from her. She reached out again and grabbed Zoe’s arm, preventing her friend from walking off before she had some sort of answer from her. “Hey, that’s not fair. You know I care.”

[/color] She said, not flicking her blue eyes away from Zoe’s. A fall out did not stop someone from caring. They could pretend, but no one could switch off emotions like that, not even Ember when she tried. “What’s happened?”[/color] She looked at the brunette she didn’t recognise and quickly formulated a plan in case Zoe was still determined to walk away. “If you’re going to the cafeteria, it won’t be far enough; I’m heading there to get a coffee since the nurses won’t bring me one.”[/color] They were still fussing about her health, but Ember couldn’t see the harm in one cup of coffee.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe!
WORDS! 485
OUTFIT! walking tragedy
LYRICS! In My Veins- - - Andrew Belle
NOTES! <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe did not want Ember's help, no matter how much she supposedly wanted to give it. From words the gunslinger herself had said, all of this was a waste of time anyways; helping Romeo, looking after Ellie, caring in general. If he was going to leave soon, why was Ember so interested in helping? No; she wasn't and Zoe didn't want her to be. Let the blonde go back to her hospital room and parties; the country mouse could handle her own drama without throwing a punch at someone.

Honestly, Zoe couldn't put up with anything else today. She'd already been on the brink of breaking up with her boyfriend, watched him beat some man who she didn't even know, and now she was going to have to deal with the friend she was more than upset with. Pretty soon, it was going to be her in the hospital; her breaking point was getting dangerously close, and she didn't want to put Ellie through any more today. She could ditch Ember somehow, right? Call a nurse or something to take her back to her room? Anything to get away from her right now; anything to keep herself sane.

Zoe let out a loud sigh as a hand wrapped around her arm again. "No, I really don't," she said, her expression stone as she looked at Ember. She was never this cold, not even to people she was upset with, but Ember had pushed buttons Zoe didn't even know she had, and she wasn't going to get off the hook so easily for it. "Ya weren't so concerned the other day. How many new meds do they have ya drugged on now?" she said, tightening her grip on Ellie's arm once again. She couldn't do this in front of the teenager; she'd promised Romeo she'd take care of her, and fighting was definitely the last thing she needed to calm down. "I ain't got time fer yer crap today, Ember, so jest git outta the way. I'm sure ya've got better people to waste time on," Zoe snapped, harshly ripping her arm free and dragging Ellie towards the doors. They could close the elevator on the other blonde if they had to; maybe then she'd at least leave them alone.

• • •

WORDS: 413!
TAG: Ember! <3
LOCATION: Emergency Room, The Hospital
OUTFIT: BAM!
LYRICS: Say You're Sorry by Sara Bareilles
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[Ember Thistle Grant]

Ember’s outlook on life had always been cynical. She hadn’t had the innocent carefree childhood filled with dolls, fairytales and innocence. She had been brought into the world and slapped with a hard dose of reality from the first time she was old enough to start recognising the world around her. She gave off this cold exterior as her defence mechanism and kept people at arms’ length so that she could go about living the only life she knew. Robert’s death hadn’t done her any favours; the only glimpse of a happy ending she had ever had and he had been ripped cruelly from this world, just because he had the bad fortune to get into a car with Ember. Still, she cared about those she tried to push away and it was in times like these, or when the danger of New York was chasing them that she was able to actually show that. Ember did better with actions than she did with words.

If Zoe knew her friend at all, then she should know that Ember wasn’t about to shrug, say ‘okay’ and walk away like she seemed to want her to. Ember was the girl who never backed down and now that she was just a few short days away from being discharged, that was the attitude she was quickly coming back to having. If two cases of cardiac arrest weren’t about to knock her back, then neither was a pissed off country girl who Ember still saw as one of her best friends. She may not have been doing too well with friendships lately, but she was still loyal to them, even those who she never wanted to see again right now, like Andrew.

Rolling her sapphire eyes, Ember looked down at her friend and folded her arms across her chest. “Well, I do. Despite everything, I do.”

[/color] She might’ve deserved this cold shoulder treatment after everything she had said the other day, but Ember didn’t know nice guys. They all seemed to chase skirt or want a bit of a tussle in the sheets rather than a relationship. “None, actually. I’m off the meds for good. Instead I’m part robot. I like to call him ‘Squeak’”.[/color] The last bit was borderline sarcasm, but to show Zoe what she meant, Ember pulled the collar of her shirt slightly and peeled away the bandage there to reveal the freshly stitched surgical wound and the unnatural lump that was now a part of her for the rest of her days. It might go down slightly, but it would always be visible. “Does this look like I’m giving you crap? If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have asked and if I wasn’t sorry for what I said then I wouldn’t have come over. Zoe, walking away won’t work; you know I chase people down until they listen.”[/color] She did it in the office more times than she cared to count. Some of the interns didn’t think she was in charge because she was actually younger than them, but they quickly changed their tune when an angry Amazonian woman stalked after them with meaningful threats about firing their asses if they didn’t keep on top of what orders she had given them. Zoe might not be an intern, but the same approach would be put to the test.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe!
WORDS! 593
OUTFIT! walking tragedy
LYRICS! In My Veins- - - Andrew Belle
NOTES! <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Ember supposedly caring didn't make this any better. Yippee! The blonde cared -- that was as much sarcastic congrats as she was going to get from Zoe. Yes, the country mouse had said a few mean words herself, but it hadn't been her completely insulting the other one. She knew that Ember had trouble trusting and opening up to people; she'd grown used to that over the course of their friendships. She also knew to what lengths the gunslinger would go to protect her friends, but Zoe didn't know if she really wanted to be under that protection right now. If "protecting" meant insulting the boyfriend she hadn't even meant yet, then the mouse wanted none of it. It'd already brought up so many insecurities in her mind, and she didn't know what the next round of defending would bring up. She really didn't want to take the chance of finding out, either.

Zoe was so sick of the guy talk, the sex, the fighting; she wanted all of it over and done with. She also wasn't going to just sit by and be walked on yet again, not after everything that had gone down between them. The fight was beginning to drain out of her, though, thanks to the actual fighting of the morning. All she wanted to do was get Ellie settled down, then go home and curl up with a big cup of tea and her cat. No more yelling, no more punches, no more talking; she just wanted to go home. "Maybe it's me who's done carin', then," she answered, her eyes still ice as Ember revealed the device that was supposed to help keep her safe. How long would it be before the gunslinger started neglecting whatever upkeep that thing required, just like she'd been doing with her meds? Turning to Ellie again instead, she said gently, "Why don't you go sit down for a bit, hun, while I get one of the nice nurses to come deal with this mental patient?" She gave the teenager a sweet smile, patting her arm and letting her go over to the waiting chairs before putting her full wrath back onto Ember. Dropping her voice to a heated whisper, Zoe snapped, "Ember, I don't give a duck's behind what you're givin' me; I ain't takin' it today. There's anough goin' on without ya gettin' involved, and, 'sides, ya've already given yer opinion of the person who's hurt. Now, I've got to take care of someone who won't make fun of me and who won't assume things that ain't true. Go back to wherever the hell ya came from before I really do git a nurse over here." .

• • •

WORDS: 487!
TAG: Ember! <3
LOCATION: Emergency Room, The Hospital
OUTFIT: BAM!
LYRICS: Say You're Sorry by Sara Bareilles
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[Ember Thistle Grant]

Zoe was most definitely freaking out, but Ember couldn’t really help much with that. Her tactics of calming people down usually involved the kind of yelling that would cause a scene until the other person saw sense again. However, the fiery blonde wasn’t about to walk away from her friend, not even at her request. Ember knew better than to do that sort of thing and Zoe was simply going to have to deal with that. She could throw a tantrum, try to get a nurse over, but at the end of the day, Ember still wouldn’t budge. Plus, manhandling her was out of the question thanks to her recent operation that meant all pressure had to be kept off the shoulder and arm of her left side until some form of physiotherapy could help rebuild the strength up once the wound had fully healed; the downside being that Ember’s kickboxing hobby would probably have to be put on hold for the foreseeable future.

“Really? Sweetheart, if that was ever to happen it would’ve been a long time ago.”

[/color] Zoe might have been pissed off at her now, but Ember still knew her friend and if the country mouse was going to walk away from their friendship and stop caring, it would’ve been way back when. Zoe knew what she could be like when the wrong mood struck her and this might have been the first time she’d lashed out at Zoe but she had said and done far worse to other people and her friend ought to have known that by now. The whole point of the ICD was that it didn’t require any upkeep. There were no meds, no programming…nothing. It merely sat there under her skin with a few wires running through her intravenously to her heart and the little machine did all the work without Ember or anyone else even realising if there had been a problem to be fixed in the first place. She asked the doctor repeatedly why they’d never given her it before and he simply shook his head and said he didn’t know, especially since her case was severe enough when she did behave and take her medication. Ember’s eyes followed the brunette as she moved to sit down and the blonde folded her arms across her chest, raising her eyebrows at the mental patient reference.

However, she chuckled softly at Zoe’s next little outburst. “Please, the nurses here won’t remove me. Now, listen before you go jumping the gun again; you’re not alright right now. I’m gonna presume it’s Romeo through those doors and you’re looking as frazzled as they come. If you’re not careful you’ll be in the bed next to him and then who would look after whoever the hell that is? If I’m not proof enough of it, I’ll put it straight; you can’t play mom to everyone. Now, sit down before you fall down and I have to tell your boyfriend that you’re in my bed instead of me…and I’m the one who’s fresh out of heart surgery.”[/color] She raised a challenging eyebrow at her friend and held her ground. No matter what was said or done, Ember was going nowhere right now.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe!
WORDS! 538
OUTFIT! walking tragedy
LYRICS! In My Veins- - - Andrew Belle
NOTES! <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

The laughing was what set her off. Zoe would've broken down and given Ember the chance to apologize, if that was what was actually going to happen here, but the laughing ruined any prospects of that. In her eyes, the gunslinger had no right to be laughing right now, not after everything she'd said and done and the fact that Zoe had put up with it all for so damn long. No, the mouse was done; done with Ember's shit, done with being the mom, done with the world in general. She was just done.

"You don't get to talk about him," Zoe said slowly, the fire in her eyes blazing brighter as she glared at Ember. "You don't get to talk to him, or about his sister. You don't get to talk about me, and ya sure as hell don't get to pretend like ya didn't do anythin' to make me mad at you. You've done anough damage to my life for right now, Ember; the least ya can do is git outta the way when I ask ya to."

Zoe took a step back from her, planning on walking away and taking Ellie out somewhere instead of staying in the hospital to find food. Even if she had to drag to drag the teenager, any place would be better than here. She didn't get very far, however, before she looked back to Ember and voiced the last of her anger. "It's your fault, you know. That we fought, that he and I fought, that he thinks I don't trust him, that I can't make everything better; it's your fault. And, you want to know the best part? You won't even apologize for it. You'll make me say sorry to you, just like you've done every other time something like this has happened, and you'll keep your nose in the air like the snob you are. But I'm not going to say it this time; I'm done saying sorry to you," Zoe said, her voice controlled as she met Ember's eyes. She shook her head in disappointment before turning around and looking towards Ellie, knowing that the dark-haired girl needed her more than than the pushy blonde.

• • •

WORDS: 405!
TAG: Ember! <3
LOCATION: Emergency Room, The Hospital
OUTFIT: BAM!
LYRICS: Say You're Sorry by Sara Bareilles
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[Ember Thistle Grant]

Ember and apologies were not two things commonly place in the same sentence. She could probably count the number of time she had apologised on one hand and even then they probably weren’t the conventional apologies that most people would think of. It wasn’t that she didn’t care or even that she was stubborn, but Ember simply couldn’t apologise. Growing up, it was a sign of weakness to apologise and it was never really something that happened when she was out on the streets, not from her or anyone else; life didn’t work that way out there.

Still, she wasn’t used to seeing Zoe like this and it took all of her self-control not to lash back verbally or physically like she would normally do to anyone who spoke to her like that. She might have made a mistake or two, but no one got away with saying something like that to her and Ember bit her tongue for once and raised her eyebrows challengingly. “I am going nowhere. And I’ll keep saying it until you understand that. You might be here with them, but you look like shit yourself and I’m your friend, regardless of what I said, so I damn well care. Like I said, you need to sit down before you wind up in a bed too.”

[/color] She said, not at all intimidated by the fire in Zoe’s eyes or her anger. Backing down was something Ember never did and she wasn’t going to start now.

Another thing that never worked on Ember was guilt tripping. Andrew had tried it on her countless times before and it did nothing to the gun slinging blonde. “It’s easy to place the blame, but if my words really had that much of an affect then it’s you who had the doubts to begin with. I might have made it worse, or I might have brought this fight out sooner rather than later.”[/color] She said coolly, making a somewhat logical point. It was the same sort of thing that she would hear out on the streets of a night once all the trouble and the danger flooded the streets. “And I’ve never made you or anyone else apologise to me, and I’m definitely not a snob; you’re confusing me with my brother.”[/color] Despite what people presumed, Ember had never allowed the Grant fortune to change who she was; her identity had long been defined by then and very few things would be different if she got cut off tomorrow, or if she had never been welcomed by her father. “And I said that I was sorry about two minutes ago. Look, I am sorry, but I’m not about to gush it out like you might do; you know that’s not me. I could probably also give you a number of reasons as to why I’m such a bitch, but I don’t believe in doing that BS.”[/color] As far as apologies went verbally, that was the best Zoe was going to get from Ember because that was the best she knew.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe!
WORDS! 545
OUTFIT! walking tragedy
LYRICS! In My Veins- - - Andrew Belle
NOTES! <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe was fine. She was pissed off, hurt, and about to break down, but, as far as Ember or anyone else was concerned, she was fine. She would keep saying it every time someone asked, and she'd keeping saying it even if they didn't; she was fine. She didn't need a shoulder to lean on or anyone to hold her hand right now. Situations like these, were a motherly cuddle and soothe could be useful, were where she felt the most useful. She could fix people and make them feel better; she'd been doing that her whole life. But, when it came to fixing herself and her own problems, Zoe strongly believed that she didn't need help. She was a big girl; she could take care of her own scars and wounds. And, no matter how many times Ember said she was about to fall over, the country mouse was stronger than that; she'd just break down her sanity until only a few chips remained.

"I'm fine, Ember; no thanks to you, but I'm fine. I don't need your help, and I sure don't need your lip right now. I've got people to help who won't yell at me for it, and yer blockin' the way. Yer heart's fixed, so lemme go fix someone else's," she said, chewing back the comments she'd really love to shout at the blonde. Everything she'd stored up over the years, all the thoughts she'd had on how careless and idiotic Ember was being; she wanted to scream them all now, even if it landed her in the mental ward. Zoe was starting to care less and less about whatever happened to her; as long as everyone around her was fine, she'd survive. Right?

She wasn't trying to guilt-trip Ember; this was honestly what she was thinking. Before that fight in the hospital, none of the doubts or fears had been troublesome. But, once the words had sparked them to life, Zoe hadn't been able to shut them up and, as it'd been Ember's words to start the fire, she believed the fault to be the blonde's. There had been insecurities, sure, but none of them had been terrible before Ember's suggestions; nothing had been wrong before Ember found her way into Zoe's world. "Why did you say 'em in the first place? Everything was fine before you did -- everything was normal. And then you go and act like a stupid blonde, land yourself here, then chew out everyone who wants to help you. Don't say I'm the one with problems before you take a long look at your own," she snapped over her shoulder. "Bitchin' people out for nothin', makin' assumptions on people ya ain't met, and holdin' yer head higher than Mount Everest. Tell me, Ember, if that doesn't sound snobby, then what the hell does?"

Zoe turned around and looked her square in the face, lips set in a grim line. "What, exactly, are you sorry for? I don't want yer reasons, but I do want to know why you want me back. All you ever do is make fun of me or shove me aside; why do you want me as a friend, Ember? Why am I important to you?" The harsh blue eyes bored into the gunslinger's, cold and calculating. Zoe was not going to forgive her until she had a legitimate reason to; her heart wasn't about to fold when it was so beaten up.

• • •

WORDS: 631!
TAG: Ember! <3
LOCATION: Emergency Room, The Hospital
OUTFIT: BAM!
LYRICS: Say You're Sorry by Sara Bareilles
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[Ember Thistle Grant]

Despite their noticeable differences, Ember and Zoe had quite a big thing in common when it came to dealing with their own problems. Their problems were never anything similar and their routes about handling them solo also didn’t cross, but they both never made it obvious when they needed help. Sure, Ember’s attempt to control her own issues had almost killed her and put her in hospital, but the premise was still the same. Zoe might not have been in the same shoes as the gunslinger, but she was still trying to pretend like there was nothing to be worried about. Ember might not have been in a position to rush in, guns literally blazing, but there was no chance that she was going to buy Zoe’s act or walk away. If that was hypocritical of her, then so be it; Ember had stopped caring about people’s opinion of her a long, long time ago.

Quirking her eyebrow, Ember folded her arms and then sighed. “If you’ve come in with someone then they’re not going to let you ‘help’ unless you can prove you’re a blood relation. Come on, who is going to know hospital rules better than me?”

[/color] She said, shaking her blonde hair back from her face. Even Brandon had originally lied his way around the doctors, using his old status as a detective to gain entry when Ember was first admitted, only later charming the nurses with whatever bull came to mind first. The man could tell a tale; that much Ember knew.

Shrugging, Ember threw her arms out to her sides and let her palms slap hard against her thighs as they came down to rest at her sides. “Why do I do anything? I act on impulse, you know that.”[/color] She sighed and glanced around at the people who walked by them without giving the two girls a second thought. In this place, people always had something more important to be doing or someplace more special to be. “I’m a bitch with no faith in humanity. And I never said I was problem-free. God, I’m the last person I’d say that about. And I hold my head high because I’m not ashamed of who I am. I don’t, however, look down on anyone. I’m from the streets, Zoe; I’m realistic and that rubs people the wrong way when I’m as blunt as I am. I guess you’ve realised why now.”[/color] There was still a lot the country girl didn’t know about the city one, but this was hardly the time or place for either girl to start talking such things over.

Meeting Zoe’s eyes, Ember held her ground. It wasn’t often she would do something like this, but maybe it was the cabin fever effect the hospital had placed upon her that stopped her from biting the smaller blonde’s head off this time around. “I’m sorry for implying that your boyfriend was after a piece of ass.”[/color] She said, phrasing it the same way she had the first time around so that Zoe knew that she did actually know what she was apologising for. She looked at Zoe as though she had sprouted an extra limb suddenly and sighed. “Because you actually are my best friend. And, you’re not someone I need in my life, but rather you’re someone I want in it.”[/color] Shaking her head and feeling uncomfortable with such a sentimental question, Ember folded her arms across her chest again. “But you know, it’s up to you. If you want out then fine. It’s not like anyone else sticks around either.”[/color] She glanced at the clock on the wall, knowing she should get back to her room soon before the hospital security were under the impression that she had tried to escape or something. Plus, Brandon usually popped in before his shift at the Marquee and since he was the only one who wanted to be around Ember, she actually appreciated his visits.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe!
WORDS! 698
OUTFIT! walking tragedy
LYRICS! In My Veins- - - Andrew Belle
NOTES! <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe never admitted to needing help; she couldn't. Even when she did allow other peolpe into her problems, they never got the full-force of how much it hurt her, or how much it was destroying her world. No matter how bad the situation was, she still believed she'd be able to handle it on her own, and she'd probably always stand behind that. She may not've been strong in the ways Ember was, but she could deal with her own issues; she didn't need her to rescue her from everything.

"I wasn't talkin' 'bout Romeo; he can take care of himself," she said, jaw clenched tight. Zoe ran a hand through her curls, shoving them out of her face and turning a bit so she could check on Ellie. Right now, Romeo wasn't Zoe's biggest concern; the teenager with the terrifyed eyes was, and would be until she looked somewhat normal again. Her sharp glare snapping back to Ember, she added, "And maybe if you'd listen to yer doctors fer once ya wouldn't spend yer life here. Then again, when do you ever listen to anyone but yerself?"

Zoe crossed her arms over her chest now, listening to Ember's words. None of it gave her an excuse for what she did; nothing ever would. She could be from wherever the heck she wanted, but she still didn't have a right to say things like she had, even if she was more "street-smart" than the mouse. That didn't give her some claim on Zoe's love, especially when she hadn't even been introduced to the guy yet. Not everyone fell into her perfectly formed holes, and not everyone followed Ember's specifically assigned roles for them. "I agree whole-heartedly with the bitch part," she said simply, her face not pulling out of its cool composure.

She knew she was pushing Ember; she knew, and she was enjoying every second of it. For once, she felt like she was in control of one of their conversations. She wasn't trying to get Ember to behave, and she wasn't listening to her talk on and on about the world; she was the one in charge. It stung all over again to hear Ember say the words that had started this in the first place, but she had said she was sorry. "Apology accepted. Thank you," she replied. Zoe kept her lips pursed, tightening her arms around herself and looking over to Ellie again, praying the girl couldn't hear all of this. "Did you ever wonder why they don't stay, Em? It's because you do things, say things, that hurt them, and you usually don't realize or apologize unless it's life or death, or until it's too late. You can say whatever you want about how it's not 'right' on the streets or how you've never had to do that and you still survived, but, even if it doesn't hurt you now, it will in the long run when all you have left is a dog and your guns," she said, voice a bit gentler. "You just gave me a reason to stay; I'm not going anywhere," she finished, a tiny smile tugging on her lips as she carefully pulled the taller blonde into a hug.

• • •

WORDS: 604!
TAG: Ember! <3
LOCATION: Emergency Room, The Hospital
OUTFIT: BAM!
LYRICS: Say You're Sorry by Sara Bareilles
NOTES: <3 <3 <3