In Gridlock

chapter two

"And that was the results from all 54 subjects!" Zoe said after having talked for an hour straight. Kayn's head was resting on his hands, staring incredulously at Zoe. All she had gained from her survey was a mediocre collection of pick up lines, a lengthy explanation on boob sizes, several porn links, one girl's nonsensical rambling about celebrity crushes, and one rick roll.

"Zoe, none of that even remotely describes being in love," Kayn sighed. Zoe looked up from her notebook, perplexed and tilted her head to one side.

"It doesn't?"

"No, love is a feeling. It's more... abstract," Kayn tried to explain. She scrunched her nose in confusion, and then suddenly lit up.

"Like a brain freeze!"

"No! Well, maybe. I don't know. Being in love is something you can't really put into words. It's just a bunch of stupid stuff lumped together to make a pointless emotion."

"When you put it like that, it doesn't sound very nice." Zoe put her notebook to the side and leaned up against the wall.

"It's just not for me."

"Why not?"

"It's just... not, okay? I'm not good with people," he said. She hummed, considering his words.

"If it's anything like you're saying, then it's not really something you can control."

Zoe's sudden philosophical musings caught Kayn off guard and he watched her with curiosity as she stared at the posters on his wall, deep in thought.

He didn't know how long he had been staring, but when she refocused on the world around her, he was still gazing at her small figure on his bed.

"Can you try and explain it?" Zoe asked, and Kayn opened his mouth to disagree, but something in her eyes stopped him and he nodded slightly.

"Uh... it's like... when you want to be around someone because they make you happy, or a better person, or because you're sad or lonely when they aren't around. It's when they keep randomly popping into your mind or when they're the first thing you think of when you wake up or the last thing you think of when you go to bed. You can trust them with anything and believe that they'll do whatever they can to keep you happy..." Kayn trailed off, realizing Zoe was looking at him with her mouth hanging wide open and a twinkle in her eye.

"What?" He asked gruffly, embarrassment creeping up his spine. He hadn't meant to get that into the subject. Where did half of that even come from? He didn't know anything about love.

"I've never heard you talk like that," she waved her arms to illustrate and Kayn snorted in amusement at her flailing. "You got all sappy."

"And that's the last time I'll ever be helping you," he said, annoyed she picked up on his random spurt of emotional vulnerability.

"Aw, no, come on, you were super helpful! You can be like... my love guru!"

Kayn groaned. This is the thanks he gets?

"I would rather not."

"No, no, just imagine it! Kayn and Zoe! A ragtag team navigating the world of love! It's the greatest quest this world has to offer!"

Kayn couldn't help but smile a little at the enthusiasm Zoe had to offer. She continued babbling on like that for a bit as he watched, amused and entertained by her excitement about something so insignificant to him.