quixotic. ↣ d.h.

li: unknown

zoe's house was quiet as she slipped through the door. it was always quiet, stiflingly so, but this was something else entirely; this quiet had a distinct sadness of its own.

"mom?" zoe called out. the air was almost crackling with what she didn't know, and for a moment, the world was the most uncertain place.

"zoe?"

she froze. her mother's voice sounded wrong, all wrong, feeble and quiet, echoing softly from the kitchen.

"mom?" zoe stepped carefully through the spotless living room, stopping at the thin line of wood that separated the gleaming hardwood from the marble tile of the kitchen. her mother was leaning against the island, freshly-manicured nails tapping fast and short against a wooden block of steak knives. "mom? what is it?"

she hated not knowing what had stilled the world in this manner; she was certain she did not want to know.

her mother turned to look at her then, eyes damp and makeup disturbed. "it's adrian. you remember, that poor boy from the news, with the tumor?" a sincere sniffle. "he died this afternoon."

no. no. he couldn't have, not when dan hadn't been there, not when zoe and phil hadn't been there for dan. oh, god, dan, where was he now? was he okay?

zoe shook her head fast and hard, cursing herself stupidly. of course he wasn't okay.

their blip fight slipped from her mind instantly; it was nothing, had been nothing, and regret began to flood through her. she needed to find him. now.

she turned and frantically began digging through her backpack for her phone. maybe dan had already tried getting in touch with her, and she'd missed it. what if she'd missed it? what if she was already too late for something she didn't even know?

she slipped back into her shoes and fumbled towards the front door.

"wait, where are you going?" her mother followed after her, blotting at her pink nose with a pristine white tissue.

zoe remembered then, that her mother didn't know who dan was, not really. it struck her then, just how little her parents truly knew; about her, about dan, about the messy months they and the rest of shy club had been fighting through.

bit by bit zoe had become someone else, someone they'd never approve of, right beneath their noses; they had no idea who she was anymore.

"adrian is-" she caught herself. "was dan's little brother." zoe was already zipping her jacket back up, shoving her phone back into her pocket once she realized there was nothing from dan.

"oh goodness, is that so?" for a second, her mother's face was broken, eyes darkening with something close to genuine sorrow. then her eyebrows were twisting into a harsh glare that was directed at zoe. "why didn't you ever tell us that's who daniel was? that's not a good family, you know. no wonder you've been acting differently lately."

zoe pulled up her hood and turned away from her mother. she knew what would come next, and had no desire to stick around for it.

the world as she knew it was crumbling apart, had been for months now; this was just another piece she wouldn't miss.

she yanked the heavy door closed behind her, reveling in the sharp, thunderous boom it created. the rain was pouring, pulsing around her, soaking her instantly, and that's when she heard them: the sirens.

back inside the snow globe house, her mother was shouting, surging after her daughter with hot eyes and hands that choked everything they touched.

it's shattering, zoe thought numbly. she jumped the last two stone steps of the porch and started running towards dan, towards the sirens. towards what she cared about.

she didn't look back. 

a/n: hi. i actually only got one vote on the last update. was it really that awful or is everyone just upset about adrian? lol. anyway. please vote/comment. and if you're interested in reading more characters with social anxiety, check out my new luke hemmings fanfic, "S.A.D."  :)

love, 

juliet.