Joel is sitting on the couch. He usually has a book when he's here, and tonight is no exception -- some boring-looking tome about the history of silverware in Western Europe. Fascinating. He's not reading it yet, though... he's been distracted by the coffeeshop journal that floats around, and is looking through its pages to see what others have written or drawn. An empty coffee cup lurks nearby.
The door opens to the coffee shop and Zoie all but handsprings in. She's hopping around but there is something off to her mania. She moves straight to the counter. "I would like the mint tea please, without caffeine." That is followed by her gorgeous smile. Of course, she's not charged for it and then there comes time to find seats. When her green eyes fall on Joel, they all but light up. The petite blonde heads in his direction and sits right next to him on the couch. "Whatcha reading, Casanova?"
Joel looks up and looks Zoie over, perhaps looking for a barista apron. "You workin tonight?" he asks, regardless of whether she's wearing job-identifiable clothing, or not. "I'm looking at the public journal thing. It's amazing, isn't it? You get a page that's just all hairy balls and cock, with 'PENIS PENIS PENIS' written on it. And then you get a page where someone drew something really nice, drew people around the shop, or spent a lot of time painting and coloring. It's really a spectrum of human consciousness, huh?"
Zoie blushes at the talk of penises. Her eyes even open a bit wider than normal. "Oh." That is all that is said for a good few moments and finally she giggles. "We should draw something on one of the pages. What is it you think we should draw?" Her eyes move back to his as she slides closer to look at the journal.
"See?" Joel holds the page up for her to see... a double-paged spread of PENIS PENIS PENIS poorly done in sharpie. There's hair and spurting. Then he's kind enough to turn the page. "Compared with this," Joel says, and shows her where there's a beautiful drawing of a girl, she looks like she's studying. No one has defaced it, and the coloring is done with skill and subtlety. "It's your idea, you should draw first."
Zoie makes a face to that. "Um..." There is a nervous giggle before she holds up a finger. The girl runs to the counter and leans over it. A few men check out the curve or her asset as she does. Okay a few women too, she's hot. Then she skips back and hands over a sharpie to him. "Um... I will draw.. you!" She pulls the journal over to her and starts to draw. Her tongue is sticking out just a little bit as she concentrates.
Joel obediently stays put in one place, to aid Zoie's artistic endeavors. If he has any qualms about being at the mercy of Zoie's imagination and sharpie, he's facing them bravely. "I want a sword," he makes a request of her picture. "You seem pretty energetic tonight. Doing meth again?"
Zoie shakes her head. "Meth was two nights ago, weed yesterday, coke tonight." She offers without missing a beat as she draws. The mention of a sword causes her to give him an exasperated sigh. However, she looks over to smile at him.
"Busy week," Joel muses regarding Zoie's proclaimed recreational habits. "My vote, stick to weed and E." A pause, then, "Make sure that the sword has lightning bolts coming out. If you could throw a narwhal somewhere in there, that'd be great. And bacon."
Zoie chews her lower lip as she draws and then turns the page to show it to him. "There you go.. is it any good?" So drawing is not her strong suit. "Actually, I don't do any drugs. Could you imagine me like totally high? Phew.. that would be horrible."
Joel takes the book and laughs... it isn't a mean laugh, and he actually seems surprised, amused, pleased. "That's an accurate fucking likeness and I'll kick anybody's ass if they say different," he proclaims. "I like the whale, too. That's a hella good whale. And I see it has a horn." He uncaps his own sharpie, and continues admiring the stick figure, not drawing yet. "So what are you high on, if not hookers and blow? Life? Joie de vivre?"
"Depression. I think I finally got depressed the other day." Zoie offers in that chipper manner of hers. "I even got a little jealous over Gareth and Katie. It was just not right. I don't like not being nice to everyone." Zoie smiles and then leans in a bit and points to the bacon. "Don't forget the bacon, that is really really important."
"It looks fucking delicious," Joel praises Zoie's bacon drawing. "What the hell did you get jealous of with Katie and Gareth? Her working him to an ignoble death in her store room while promising benefits he'll never receive? I'm sure she can manacle you to the cash register for the next fourteen hours, if you want... we were talking about ways to increase productivity around here." He eyes the next blank page. "What do you want me to draw?"
Zoie shakes her head. "No, I mean their relationship, now that he's back. They really like each other." She looks almost sad to the next part. "I got a little sad that Zack doesn't like me enough to come back. So I was pouty for a bit. I also fell trying to use roller blades." She smiles to that and then looks towards the paper. "You should draw a... um.. hmm." She pauses to think "Um... draw a picture of what you would give me if you could."
"What I would give you if I could? Huh," Joel thinks about this, pondering before he sets his pen to paper. He's holding a journal book thing, sitting on the couch with Zoie as he talks to her. "Sorry you fell. Zack... I guess he can't give himself to anybody until he knows what himself really is. He's figuring that out. And anyway, his fucking loss, am I right?"
Zoie blushes at the swearing they are apparently looking at the journal. "I don't know if it is his loss or not." She wrinkles her nose up in a kittenish fashion. "Well I mean really.. maybe.. hmmm." She shrugs. "Maybe I'm just bad at relationships. I'm okay with that. I don't /need/ one."
"Well, I do. I've been his wingman for two years, and it's his loss," Joel seems confident of this. "But he won't do you any good like this, anyway. You don't need some fucking guy that's not going to even call for six months while you stay at home in Ithaca unraveling your goddamn tapestry every night, you can do better than that and probably will have lots of suitors in about a minute. And if someday he comes back like 'o snap I'm so sorry Zoie! Sirens and whirlpools!' then you can decide whether to take him back or show him the door. Or show him your left hand with a big diamond on it and be like 'bitch please'."
Zoie stares at the man and laughs to that. "Oh I'm not really concerned about it, really Joel. I'm not like you. I don't really date and I don't have a huge amount of fans waiting to be with me." She leans in to bump this shoulder playfully. "As well, I don't swear. I don't know. He's a good guy. They are hard to find and if someone comes and asks me out, I'll figure it out then. Until then.. I'm good. What about you? Who's your current woman or man?"
"Watch out, now," Joel chides Zoie as she bumps into him... he's drawing what he'd give her if he could, and this is very srs bsnss. "I'm glad to hear you're not desperate. You're desperate, you only attract the kind of guy who likes desperate women, and thats bad juju. Stay away from Mason, by the way. Not that I need to remind you." Looking up, he seems amused. "Have you ever actually met anyone who dated me, or a specific name who said they even know of me dating anybody?"
Joel finishes his drawing, and holds it out for Zoie to see.
Zoie thinks about it. "Well.. everyone tells me you are a womanizer.. or a manizer.. or something." There is a grumble as she looks put out. "Why am I avoiding Mason now? He want to rape me in an alley?" She pauses and blushes when she says that. Then she leans over to see the drawing. Her eyes dance and she moves to toss her arms around him (unless he evades her) "I love it!!" She grins and eyes the pot. "I'd probably just fall asleep on pot."
"Everyone? Which everyone?" Joel isn't denying it, but he seems amused. "Where exactly are you hearing this? The people I work with? Gareth? Katie? Liane?" Regarding Mason, Joel shakes his head. "Just seems there's bad feelings between you two, is all." HUGGED! Joel caps the sharpie and accepts it stoically, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. "Maybe. It'd be good for you. Mellow you right out. I'll make you some brownies, sometime."
Zoie studies him for a few moments of thought and then she shrugs. "I don't remember. Isn't that horrible? Besides if I told you, they would never tell me stuff again." She sits back and beams at the picture. Her phone comes up so she can snap a picture of it. Then she looks back towards him with that same beautiful smile. "There is bad stuff. He's not allowed here when I'm here. I just tend to avoid him. You'd protect me though, right?" The last part is said as a tease before she looks at him in a curious manner. "Can I ask you something really personal that you'll give me an /honest/ answer?"
"I'd protect anyone who was getting fucked with and didn't want to be," Joel says, like he'd say of course he's going to pay taxes, or maybe that he has to go buy some milk at the store later. Matter of fact. The journal is closed and put away after Zoie takes her picture, and he raises a brow. "I won't promise I'll answer. But if I do, I'll make it honest."
Zoie smiles a bit to that and blushes a bit. "I don't need you to protect me. I'm not really that much work." She then leans in like she's being uber serious. "Um.. I know this is none of my business but I'm curious. You totally don't have to answer. Are you really bi? If so, do you prefer one over the other?"
"You're curious, and you want to know if I am too?" Joel grins broadly at that, then laughs and leans back, shaking his head. "Nope, I'm not telling you that. You'll have to wonder, like everyone else... don't the rumors say I'm an equal opportunity sex fiend? Or am I full-on gay or straight this week?"
Zoie shrugs to that. "I'm not really sure what they say this week. I think you are equal opportunity this week." She grins and then chews her lower lip. "Do you not like me? I mean tonight you are being really awesome, but most the time I um.. I feel like I annoy you. I mean, it's okay if I do. I annoy a lot of people."
"Oh, okay, I'll make sure to hit on only one gender or the other, so the rumors shift for a while," Joel nods sagely. "Then go back to throwing a wrench in the machine. To make everyone wonder... though I still have a hard time believing that anyone cares enough to wonder at all." A brow lifts, when she asks about liking and annoying. "Shit, girl. I thought of something else I'd give you," he replies, and draws... then hands the page to her (http://i.imgur.com/rQNep.jpg). "Do you really think that you're annoying? Do you think it matters? Write 'Haters gonna hate' 50 times on the black board and go on being you. Fuck everyone else. Not literally. Unless that's what you're into."
Zoie laughs. "No, No I'm not into that." She blushes a bright red. "It's another reason I'm not really into the dating scene. I'm .. yeah." She looks at the picture and gives a chuckle. "I know... you are right. I could totally use more. I'm just not comfortable being on my own. It makes me nervous and worried I'm doing all the wrong things." Zoie leans in a bit more and then takes a drink of her tea. "You seem pretty confident."
"Haters gonna hate," Joel lifts a one-shouldered shrug, repeating what is apparently his life motto. "You can never make all the people happy all the time, and if you don't toot your own horn, someone's sure as fuck gonna use it for a spittoon. I spent too long being a spittoon. I'm over it. Life is too short and much, much too long to put up with that shit."
Zoie smiles slowly to that as she looks at him for a few moments and then attempts to hug him again. She's touchy tonight. "You are a good person somewhere in there." It's a teasing comment, but she holds the hug until he breaks it, if he didn't avoid. It isn't a sexy, I want you hug. It's more like a taking comfort from him sort of hug.
Maybe self confidence will move from Joel to Zoie by osmosis! She might not get get around to haters gonna hate, but she may hit Dislikers Sometimes Dislike. He's not much of a hug reciprocator, but he's letting her persist in it. "No there isn't," Joel insists, to her good-person comment. "I am assholery wrapped in apathy, like a burrito of spite."
Zoie pulls back after a moment. She feels that dislikes might sometimes dislike with reason creeping up on her. She tosses her hair a bit and nods her head. "I get that about you. I'll keep the secret that you might sometimes be nice." She curls her legs under her. "So what is going on in your life?"
"Thanks. I do have a reputation to maintain," Joel crooks a smile, pleased that Zoie won't be letting out any secrets. His ice cold exterior of unrelenting dickery hides a core of molten goodwill... that can't get out into the public knowledge, it'd be disastrous. "I live alone in a big house with a pig and a bunch of overgrown plants... I go to work every night and suffer various trauma and abuse at the hands of the general public. Things aren't far off that baseline, at the moment. Bend over to look at something shiny and life will come up right behind to fuck you, so... I like things quiet. I read. I talk to people. I read more. I buy a gold colored rotary phone, or a coffee pot. It works for me."
Zoie blushes a bit deeper at the swearing, but she doesn't correct him yet. There is a lowering of her brows. "You have a pig?" This tips her head to one side and then hmmms softly. "I would like to meet your pig. Can I come over sometime?"
"His name is Pigglesworth Snortimer. I didn't name him. It wasn't even my pig," Joel explains the strange origins of his animal husbandry. "I knew a guy, and he was like, hey, Joel. If anything ever happens to me, will you you look after my pig? And I was like, yeah okay, sure, and I never even really thought about it, because I couldn't imagine anything ever happening to him. Or to anyone. We're all going to live forever, right?" A smile there is more bittersweet than mirth. "Anyway. He died. So adopting his pig seemed like the right thing to do. You can meet it sometime, sure."
Zoie smiles. "Well.. that's a good pig name." She chuckles a bit. "I wanted a puppy, but Kenny said no. I think he said no for a kitten too." She shrugs. "It's his house, so I have to play by his rules." Zoie looks over towards him for a few moments. "Do you know anything about Kendrick?"
"Yeah, he's some skeezy cheesedick who won't let you have a fucking puppy. I can't believe you still live with that guy," Joel frowns. Though like usual with his swearing, it's not particularly heated. "You deserve a dog. It would love you forever. What kind of asshole won't let you have a dog? Why are you still living with that guy?"
Zoie blinks to that. "I don't like to live alone. I really do like having a roomie. It's fun sometimes." She cants her head to one side. "Who else am I going to live with? He's a good guy." She laughs. "You offering me a place?" Zoie moves on with another giggle. "He's not that bad. I mean.. maybe I shouldn't have a puppy anyways. They are a lot of work."
"What, you've never heard of craigslist? Post your picture and you'll have a like a hundred people who want to be your roommate," Joel replies. He doesn't offer her a place to live, but he seems thoughtful at the comment. "Sometimes I think about it, like... I should move out of that big place, back to my apartment, and then rent out the house to people like you until they get their feet under them, so they don't have to live with skeezy cheesedicks who don't allow dogs. I already gave my apartment to someone else though, so I guess I handled that backwards."
Zoie laughs. "I don't think he's skeezy." Not that she would know skeezy if she it. Her eyes slide over to him and then she smiles in that sweet sort of manner. "I know you don't want to live with you, Joel. I was just trying to make a joke." Her eyes then fall to the journal and then back to him. "The big house suits you. I mean your ego fits."
"Someday. Someday I'll make that happen," Joel insists. "Then I'll call you up like Hey Zoie, come over and live at my former house. Also please water the plants." He contentedly folds his hands and stretches his legs out crossed at the ankle. "Yeah, I like it though. I just have trouble sometimes fitting my head through the door."
Zoie laughs. "Except, I like roomies remember? I don't do well living by myself and I would do worse in a large house." She smiles a bit at that thought. There is a shake of her head and then she leans in to attempt a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Thanks for thinking of me though. I would rather talk about you though." She sits back and studies him. "Do you like being mysterious?"
"Please. As if you're the only homeless waif I know," Joel grins. "The one I gave my apartment to, though, I dunno that you'd get along with her. Sometimes I'm not entirely sure I get along with her." He tolerates cheek kissing much the same way he does hugging. "I didn't realize I was particularly mysterious, other than the part where I make people resort to rumors to find out what genitalia I like on the masses of people I'm supposedly banging."
Zoie smiles vibrantly. "Don't you think that is enough though?" She watches his eyes for a few moments. "I get along with most people, but some of them I totally do not get along with. Like Mason. Though if he'd just apologize for being mean, I might get along with him too." She sighs. "I'm just.. like that I guess." Her eyes are a vibrant green before she grins to the rest. "Yes, but I'm your favorite homeless waif, right?"
"I'm not mysterious," Joel insists. "There are a lot of things I talk about and a few I don't. Most everyone is like that, about one thing or another. And most people are like you too, getting along with most people, but not some." He grins as Zoie asks if she's his favorite. "Nope," he replies easily. "You're in the top five. Other people got seniority though, sorry."
Zoie gives a feigned pout to that. It is easy to tell it's feigned by her flashing eyes of humor. "So who is your favorite homeless waif?"
"Pigglesworth," Joel replies, promptly. "He's the only one that gets to live with me, you notice."
Zoie blinks. "Ouch Joel.. just ouch. I am in the top five with a pig?" She puts her hand to her chest like she's wounded. "Who else is before me? Your house? Your car?"
Joel makes a show of mulling it over. "I hadn't considered them, but now that you mention it... hmm, no, no, I can't say my house is homeless. That gets very circular. Where does a house live? In the world. Where do any of us live? In the world. Are, then, any of us really homeless?" Brows lift at this mock philosophy. "Hmm."
Zoie laughs fully and melodically to that. "Or worse, what if a house is homeless, what then are we if we live within it? I mean think of that circular effect, if you live within the homeless are you sub-homeless? Does homelessness have levels? Then you get into garages and apartments and.." She giggles again.
"Wildly complicated," Joel agrees with a quiet laugh. "Speaking of homes, how are you getting back to your skeezy digs tonight? Or are you planning to stay in town for a while? You did just rock up not /too/ long ago, but I never figured out if you meant to be working."
Zoie laughs. "I don't think I'm working tonight or they would have told me when I got my tea." There is a pause and she suddenly bats those high app score lashes at the man. "I was thinking you could give me a ride?"
"Oh, were you?" Joel folds his arms. "Are you pitching in for gas? I accept various forms of currency, including free coffee, the american dollar, and telling me something I've never heard before. Also books."
Zoie rolls her eyes up to the ceiling as she thinks this over. "How about a big thank you and knowing I'm not walking?" There is a laugh. "Oh and we can totally make out in the car too." She teases before offering. "I can grab you a free cup of coffee."
"I'll take the coffee on credit, for later." Offer accepted, Joel seems satisfied. And luckily for Zoie, he doesn't seem inclined to charge her with making out... it's well known he tastes like bourbon and broken dreams. Back to his feet with ease, and Joel fishes his keys out of his pocket. "C'mon, let's go. I'm warning you though, if you touch the radio I'm stopping the car and leaving you out there with the tumbleweeds and coyotes."
He tastes like wasted dreams... like unicorns. Zoie comes to her feet with an ease of a dancer's grace. "Hmmm if I touch the radio..." She nods. "Okay, I can agree to that." The tiny thing comes up to his side and tries to loop her fingers through his. It's a friendly swing of the hands, least he stop her. She wasn't really going to make out with him. There is a pause. "You wouldn't really leave me would you?"
Joel apparently draws the line at hand holding... or maybe he only disengaged to hold the door open for her, which he is doing. Hard to say. "Depends, are you planning to touch the radio?" he asks in reply to her question. Followed by a reassurance, "No, I wouldn't really leave you. Losing an employee like that would cut into Katie's productivity numbers and I'd get in trouble."
Zoie smiles brightly. "I promise my fingers will not come into direct contact with your radio." She offers in an innocent manner before walking out the door. Every good girl needs a good gay friend. Or a bi friend. Or a friend of questionable sexuality.
Joel can give her fashion tips and do her hair! Though judging by his fashion and hair, she is better off finding a different sassy gay friend for that. Or at least someone in his ambiguously partnered life needs to get him a little more metro first. Joel's car smells like pizza and he likes the radio station that plays nothing more recent than 1997, even when it can't get reception anymore, but Zoie will make it back to her home without incident. Assuming she doesn't touch the radio.
NOTE: Pics Joel drew IC in wiki gallery on Zoie's page.