Acting on Instinct

Crash Encounter

"I'm going to use the restroom," Dianne whispered to Carl and Alfie, smoothing down her checkered skirt as she rose from her seat in the rapidly filling ballroom Saturday afternoon, full of people ready to hear from the up and coming beauty entrepreneur, Zoe Sugg.

Alfie, another grad assistant in the literature department, smiled kindly at her, "Loo, Di. We call it a loo here. Or toilet."

Dianne giggled. She liked Alfie - he didn't look like he'd be a literature student...in fact, he knew more about technology and the real world than she did. She knew he was only in the program because his parents had told him he needed to explore a career path outside of social media before "putting all his eggs in one basket". Dianne admired his ability to balance his own passions with is parents demands -  up until meeting Alfie, Dianne hadn't known anything about social media...but he'd begun to give her little lessons about Twitter and Instagram and YouTube every time she visited campus. She was grateful for his friendship in an otherwise lonely new city.

"Okay, hurry, it's starting soon," Carl murmured, his eyes fixated on his phone.

Dianne rolled her eyes, walking quickly toward the exit, eyes scanning the hall for the ladies room. Finally spotting the door, she beelined across the lobby, nearly running straight into another woman coming from the opposite direction.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Dianne gasped, as she stepped back, reaching out to steady the small brunette who'd she had knocked off balance. "Are you okay?"

The woman kept her gaze down at her feet, sniffling slightly.

"Oh no, please don't cry, I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?" Dianne spluttered out, her hands still resting on the woman's arms. The brunette shook her head quickly, finally looking up and making eye contact. 

Dianne held back a gasp - it was Zoe Sugg.

She watched as her lip trembled slightly, and Dianne felt a sudden urge to wrap the fragile woman up in a hug. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a small crowd beginning to form, so without thinking, she gently pushed Zoe toward the restroom, locking the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry," Dianne mumbled, turning around and reaching for some bath tissue to hand to Zoe. "I didn't even see you, I can't believe I just injured THE Zoe Sugg..."

Dianne's attention turned back toward Zoe who had just let out a strangled noise that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a cry.

"Thank you," Zoe finally spoke, shooting Dianne a grateful look before wiping her eyes, "And you didn't hurt me."

"I beg to differ!" Dianne retorted, leaning against the wall. "You wouldn't be crying if you were fine."

"No, really," Zoe sucked in a shaky breath, "I'm not injured...but I guess you're right...I'm not really fine."

Dianne studied the woman in front of her. Despite the tears, she was beautiful. Big eyes, dainty features and clothes that looked like they'd been plucked off a runway. Dianne would have felt a bit jealous, if she hadn't felt so concerned with what was making the university's speaker break down in a restroom with a stranger.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly.

Zoe shrugged, turning to check her make-up in the mirror.

"Right," Dianne mumbled, "Why would Zoe Sugg want to talk to a stranger."

Suddenly feeling incredibly out of place, she turned to unlock the door, hoping she'd be able to slip out and forget all about this embarrassing moment.

"Wait," Zoe's small voice echoed in the small space. Dianne's hand froze on the lock, turning to connect their eyes. "I...um, I would like to talk about it, actually."