quixotic. ↣ d.h.

xlviii: capricious

it had been a while since they'd been kids.

for the longest of times they'd been swept up in complicated situations none of them should ever have had to encounter at such young ages, with such malleable minds; perhaps the circumstances were to blame for their quick-fire thoughts and chaotic eyes, or maybe it was their parents (or absence thereof), or maybe they'd simply had the misfortune to be born with the dust of dimmer stars in their veins.

but that night, it was no matter.

"you genuinely suck at this," dan commented as zoe's car spun out of control once again, those tricky banana peels her fateful nemesis.

"leave me alone! i've never played before," she lobbed back, keeping her eyes glued to the old pixelated screen they were seated in front of.

"and whose fault is that?" dan retorted with a grin.

zoe frowned. "my parents'."

"right," dan grimaced. he hadn't meant to make her think of them; he never did, but they were so twisted into her life, greedy vines that had ensnared her and choked until not just her will to blossom, but the ability itself, had all but disappeared.

"it's okay." she sensed the regret in his voice and turned to give him the briefest of smiles; the universe righted itself again.

"dan, look out!" adrian elbowed him out of his trance, just in time for dan to watch as zoe's pink car jostled his out of second place.

dan cursed loudly, and phil moved to cover adrian's ears a moment too late.

"i have cancer; i think i can handle a little cursing, philly."

it shouldn't have been funny, not in the least. but they all cracked up at the sheer madness of the situation they were trapped in. adrian's pain medications had left his speech more loose than usual, it was nearing two in the morning, and they were all hyped up on sugar. visiting hours had ended long ago, but the staff turned a blind eye to them.

"cancer kid perks," adrian had told them earlier that night. "i'm rolling in them these days."

he was proven to be even further right when, somewhere in the hazy hour between eleven and midnight, a small dark-haired nurse had knocked softly on the door before stepping into the room, arms full of various sugary concoctions from the gift store downstairs. they'd gorged themselves sick on the snacks, and the effects were finally beginning to show.

zoe's hands were clenched tightly around the controller, bottom lip jutted out in concentration.

"you'll never best me, howell," she threatened, attempting to lower her sweet voice into a more gruff tone and failing miserably.

dan bit back an adoring laugh. "if you say so, love."

zoe's face burned bright, and her car veered off the road and into a brick wall. she steadied her breath and steered it back onto the road, trying to act unaffected.

a couple hours later, both adrian and phil were passed out on the bed and the floor, respectively, leaving dan and zoe awake in the silver stillness of the night. they'd both squeezed into a faded gray recliner, and dan was clutching a copy of her word list, quietly quizzing her on the one she was struggling with.

"capricious," dan read off, stumbling over the syllables as he tried his best to guess the pronunciation of the word.

zoe chewed her pink lips thoughtfully. "definition?"

"given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior," he read.

"c-a-p-r-i-c-i-o-u-s," she spelled perfectly.