a question was poised on phil's tongue when he joined them in the booth.
"why do you like words so much, zoe?" he pushed his eyebrows together and tilted his head like a puppy; zoe couldn't bring herself to tell him anything but the truth.
"it's not really the words themselves i like so much," she began unsteadily. she was not comfortable with their gazes on her, and she never had been able to properly articulate how she felt about words. "i like what they represent. i like that if you combine them in the right way you can make people laugh or cry. words, if put together wisely, have the ability to change the world. they are so powerful. and they're just made of shapes, you know? dots and lines, but they make us feel incredible things. it's amazing." she left out the part about how they helped her escape. the whole escape thing felt personal, something that should be kept between her and dan.
phil nodded as he sipped at his coffee, pleased with her answer. "i like english class. there are no wrong answers."
"exactly!" zoe said enthusiastically. "nothing is black and white; it's all gray. it's all about the way you interpret things, and people understand things different ways based on what they've been through in life. it allows for so much individualism." zoe had never found someone else who appreciated language like she did, but phil's eyes were sparkling with excitement as he listened to her.
"i know! it's the best thing."
dan was quiet as he watched them. a sinking weight had formed in his chest, and while he had grown used to heaviness in his heart, this was something different, something foreign and sharp and sickening.
"dan? are you alright?" zoe had stopped talking to phil and was now staring at him warily. she'd be perfect to photograph, dan thought. her emerald eyes demanded attention - though she never seemed to be in want of it - and her golden hair shimmered in every light, even the ghostly pale ones of their school. her bubblegum-pink lips looked impossibly soft.
"yeah," he said in a strained voice. "yeah, i'm fine."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'
a/n: sorry so short :( but this part needed to end here and i hope to start updating this story more often. anyway please vote/comment/share and check out my other projects if you have not done so already! :))