quixotic. ↣ d.h.

vii: escape

"that's all for today! see you guys next thursday!"

    the students began to gather their things and make to escape the confines of the cinderblock walls when the teacher spoke again.

    "and, hey!"

    they paused to look at him.

    "try something new this week, okay? next time we're together, we'll share!"

-

    by some detestable twist of fate, dan had followed zoe out the front doors of the school, blabbering on amicably. phil had excused himself, claiming he had to go retrieve a project from the art room. zoe hadn't offered to wait for him.

    "so instead of finishing the assignment, we took turns riding the rolling chairs across the stage!" dan's eyes were bright in the gray light, as tiny snowflakes settled in his hair.

    zoe forced herself to smile, laugh a bit. she liked dan, she really did. as much as she liked anyone else, anyway. but the long walks home were one of her favorite parts of the day. she always listened to music, thought about things. sometimes she'd stop at the little cafe she passed and get a hot drink. no matter what she did, she was completely alone; and she loved it.

    "that sounds fun," she said.

    "it was! i love drama class."

    "because you get to mess around and have no responsibilities?"

    dan seemed to sense her sharp tone and dropped his head, kicking at the ground. "not completely. we don't always mess around. i actually quite enjoy theatre. acting, you know. it's a good escape."

    he bit his lip, feeling as though he'd said too much. this girl seemed somewhat normal; he'd hate to scare her off with his hidden madness. he spoke again, attempting to smooth out his previous claim.

    "you get to pretend to be someone else, worry about their problems. it's nice. it's liberating."

    zoe nodded. to dan's amazement, she was acting as if she understood.

    could it be, dan wondered, that someone else feels the same as me?

    "that's how i feel about words. i mean, sure, they can't do much on their own. but if you combine them just right, you can create the most beautiful of havens. with the right words, you can change the world. or create a better one."

    dan smiled. he liked zoe; he liked the way she made him think. maybe that's why he found the courage to ask her, or maybe he was just being too forward again.

    "what do you have to escape from?"

    he watched zoe slip away instantly, shrink back into her oversized sweater and buzzing mind.

    "i'm sorry," he said a second too late, slapping his hand over his face. "that's a personal question."

    "it's fine," zoe said calculatedly, but nothing about her said 'fine'. she lifted her eyes and caught sight of a nearby store, a plan taking shape in her mind.

    "i totally forgot, i have to go to the store! my mum wanted me to pick something up," she said unconvincingly. she stopped abruptly on the pavement, shuffling her feet.

    "oh, okay. do you want me to wait for you?"

    dan seemed almost disappointed when she said no before darting off in the direction of the shop, her long knit scarf trailing behind her in the wind.

a/n: clearly you all can see i pay absolutely no mind to the update schedule oops. anyways. please vote/comment/share and check out my other stuff :)) i will update 'perspective' sometime this weekend. also, i have started yet another danfic called 'the city' which i'm heading to work on right now! and you may recall that i mentioned a short story called 'snowflakes', that was going to be holiday-themed. as of right now, i have decided against writing that, but i will upload special, extra-long christmas chapters for all of my stories instead :))

(omg pinof8 next week im noT reaDy)