Zoie - Roller Blades of Doom/Log

Andrew is sitting at a table, surrounded by ledgers and books, with a cup of coffee from the shop next door. He looks up at Gareth again and nods his head in response to another indelicate statement, "I try to keep the herbs out. Just quieter than the coffee shop is all. And I wanted to get out of the club." He looks over at Katie struggling a little with the box and starts to stand up, "Do you need help?"

Katie has just exited the back room, with a big old wooden box full of good old fashioned soap! It was a precarious situation trying to shut the door behind her, and the box almost tumbled to it's crashing doom.. but Gareth has swooped in to steady it, and she gives him a grateful grin.

"Ah, you're a soap saver! Thank ya kindly," she drawls, and soon the box is balanced on her hip and under one arm. "I got the perfect thing for ya'll," she tells Gareth, then uses her newly free hand to wave to Andrew. "Howdy!"

"That's my name," Gareth says. "Soap saver. Don't wear it out." Pause. "You did?" he asks Katie. He turns and glances back at Andrew, then at Katie. "Hey, you guys know each other! That's right, I forgot." He rubs the side of his head. Proudly, he informs Katie, "Andrew's a big shot. Brain and brawn and all that shit."

Quiet? Oh that is about to be totally over in 3..2..1... The door to the herbal shop flies open as if SWAT was breaking in the door. One might expect the Spanish Inquisition (okay no one expects that). Instead, it's that little frame of a woman named Zoie. This time she's not running like she's late. She's not here for a paycheck and she's not here for work. "I can't stop..." The words are given in their own beautiful melody. The problem? Zoie is on roller blades. The solution? She'll eventually run into something that doesn't just give.

Andrew is looking at Gareth and Katie when Zoie arrives. He is able to give a smile in Katie's direction and is about to respond to Gareth when Zoie rolls on in. Her plea for help, or at least her expression of incapability is enough to pull his attention to the door. He's athletic enough (Gareth was right on that point) to reach out and snag the woman, pulling her to somewhat of a stop. He's even strong enough if her feet start to give out, to likely hold her up. Of course he might not be. *ominous music*

"SS for short," Katie says to Gareth, "Super Sport.. or Super Saver or.." Then there's Zoie busting in and crashing into Andrew. Though, Katie seems happy it's into Andrew and not Zoie demolishing her shelving and carefully thought out displays. "Ah, we're surrounded by heroes, Zoie!"

Gareth, having dealt with fallen boxes, turns to the door explosion. "SS," he mutters. "Hmm. Might be an awkward nickname." Eyebrows raise as the destinies of Andrew and Zoie intersect. He glances down at Zoie's rollerblades. Surely Andrew will take his quarterback former life and use it to propel Zoie one-handed through the window of the apothecary, sailing to a long-bomb to a wide reciever somewhere across the street. Or maybe he'll just stop her or something.

You ever try to bathe a cat? You know how they scramble up your body with claws, teeth and everything else? Well that's how Zoie is currently trying to grapple onto Andrew when his arm comes out and around her. "Thank..." The rest of her words are taken by the fact that her waist and upper body have stopped, but her wheeled feet are still trying to propel her forwards. So Andrew has an option. Be strong in the force, Luke. Or fall to the ground in a heap. "Yay for heroes.. Katie-Kat.." She's still clawing the hell out of Andrew if he doesn't defend himself. We can see it now, headlines the next morning: Extra large and in charge ex-pro football player mauled half to death by a ninety pound young lady.

Andrew isn't trying to show off. Honestly. Its just that, well, he is a former pro athelete. Admittedly, he only made it through training camp, but still. So when Zoie starts to climb all over him, then her feet keep going, well he just plants himself there and holds on tight. She can claw if she likes, he's not really moving. Although his clothes are likely worse for the effort. "Why don't you stop moving your feet for a moment." Look at that, he even is trying to help her help herself. Afterwards though, he will totally throw her through the window.

Katie moves around the counter to carry the box to the soap section, and then sets it down. She wisely stays away from the flailing Zoie cat.. or maybe she just trusts that Andrew's so awesome he's got it all (and Zoie) in hand. "Never a dull moment, right, G?" Katie asks him, with a grin.

Gareth leans on the counter. "Yeah, look at all the stuff I've been missing, K." He seems impressed at Andrew's attempt to control the raging Zoie. Such athleticism! He even raises his eyebrows. He watches the ensuing chaos, perhaps to see if Zoie does indeed stop moving her feet. Gareth looks at you.

Zoie keeps trying to stop her feet, but they have wheels on them. Wheels that will not be denied! Somewhere they formed a wheel army and they are remaking 500 under her feet right now. Zoie sighs and jumps up to Andrew's arms. This means.. catch or drop her on that perfectly formed rump. There is a blush on her features that creates a new red.

Andrew is a little surprised. It isn't every day that wheeled girls jump into your arms. But he does catch her and holds here there for a while until turning with her still off the ground. He moves her over to a chair and sets her down into it, using the chair as the new support point. "Maybe find a different mode of transportation?" He turns and looks back at Gareth and Katie with that look of 'help?!' in his eyes.

There's no help for Andrew, Katie is finding this all too amusing by the way she's grinning. So much so, she continues to spectate.. she moseys on over to Gareth, and fumbling with a wrapper, she offers him a piece of bacon as she leans up against the counter next to him. "Here, for you," she says.

Gareth is also no help, watching the ensuing catastrophe with a look of mild awe. He shrugs to Andrew. "Sorry, man. When Hurricane Zoie hits, you just gotta ride the wave and hope for the best." Absolutely nothing could get his attention away from what might happen next, Gareth has a grin like he's finally getting a chance to tune into his favorite soap opera, now with new characters! Rapt with attention, he - ooh, bacon! He takes it and grins back to Katie. "Hey, thanks!" He munches.

Zoie allows the green of her eyes to slide from Gareth to Katie and back again. She is deposited in the chair with a soft. "Thank you.." to Andrew. Her eyes almost burning with humiliation towards him. However, her favorite cast is back to her subpar tv drama. "So ... you left without word and you are just all cozy up to each other again? Does this mean you are sleeping together again?"

Andrew nods his head, after turning back to face Zoie, standing up again brushing off his clothes, straightening them as much as possible, "Sure." Zoie's question gets a curious look from Andrew, unsure of what the answer will be or really what is going on with that. And seeing as he's standing on two feet, he doesn't seem to worried about falling himself, unlike the wheeled wonder sitting next to him.

"Without word? I told ya'll he left, I knew all about it," Katie drawls, after looking sideways at Gareth a moment to see if he's enjoying his delicious, delicious bacon. "And everyone knows Gareth and I don't sleep," she drawls, leaving it open ended as to if that means they are sleeping together or not. Maybe there's no time for sleep!

Gareth was munching on his bacon, then he gets a quizzical look. Pulls the slice of bacon out and looks at it...baffled. Then tentatively takes a bite, an unsure look on his face. Then he blinks at Zoie. "Wait, what, er, again? What th'fuck're you-" he starts, then glances at Katie, listening to her. He reasons that out in his head. "Yeah, that's true. Fuck sleep. Caffeine is where it's at. Waste of eight hours a day."

Zoie looks between the two. Her eyes soften on Katie and then she almost glowers at Gareth. "I'm sure Sasha appreciated that." Zoie goes to stomp her feet down to leave, but there are wheels beneath them. That's right. Zoie goes up. Zoie falls down.

Andrew turns and watches Zoie fall down and shakes his head, then moves to gather up his papers. "I'm sorry, but apparently this isn't as quiet as I thought. I need to get this done before payroll is due later today." Putting the papers into a bag he carries, he slings it over his shoulder and looks at Zoie, "Good luck with those skates." A wave to Gareth and Katie both, "Good to see you both again."

"See ya'll later," Katie says, with a wave to Andrew. But Zoie has reminded Katie of something, and she does look at Gareth. "Are you still seeing Sasha?" Oh, that minx! Not even knowing if the man she's not sleeping with is seeing someone or not.

"See ya back at the Aftermath, man," says Gareth to Andrew, then glances at Zoie, furrowing his brow. "Are you taking crazy pills or what?" he asks. "Or did you hit your head skating?" he asks, all diplomacy. He glances back at Katie, then has a bite of his bacon, again, like he's not entirely sure what he's eating. "I don't, ah," he says to Katie, frowning. "It was a little weird when I left. I was... Kind of in a state," he says. "Didn't, ah, see her after that." He frowns, glancing off at the door to the Kiva.

Zoie looks between the two. Her eyes follow Gareth's as if she's expecting to see something. "It's these stupid wheels." She unstraps the skates from her feet to step out of them. Then she offers. "I um... yeah I'll go."

"I ain't never tried roller blades like that," Katie says to Zoie, looking at her fancy footwear. "Are they much different from roller skates? I like those." A look to Gareth as he answers, and she gives him a sympathetic smile.. "Ahh, well, I reckon if she knows you she'd understand.. and if she don't, well..," a shrug of Katie's slender shoulders, "her loss."

Gareth glances back at Zoie and her footgear. He pushes locks of hair out of his face, his tanned features looking thoughtful. "The wheels make you blurt shit out about people? Man, maybe I used to wear rollerblades and didn't know it." He shakes his head and glances back at Katie. He listens, but...frowns a bit. "Maybe," he says, dubiously. "It's just...I dunno," he says. He scowls, like he's trying to find words, but can't. It seems to annoy him further.

"No, I just do that because I don't really have a censor half the time. It's the same reason that I am not good at lying. I just.. it's deceptive or something like that." Zoie looks between them and then at Katie. "I fall a lot, so I'm not so good either. It's not like ice skating at all."

"I learned how to roller skate a few months ago, I like doing it," Katie shares, randomly.. well, topically. And for the moment, she seems willing to let Gareth off the hot seat about his love life. "Do you have some shoes somewhere?" she wonders of Zoie. "Do those make your feet hurt? They look kinda uncomfortable."

Gareth blinks at Zoie, a suddenly fascinated look. "You can't lie? Wow. That's like...you must be some kind of mutant," he reasons, kind of amazed. "Or is it like roller skates, you never practiced so you just run into football accountants instead?" He munches on his bacon, eyes glittering.

Zoie looks towards her feet and suddenly pulls them under her legs as if self-conscious. "No, my feet are fine. I.. um.. I don't have shoes. I'll just you know put them back on." Zoie looks back towards Gareth. "Well.. I mean I can try to lie, but people always know when I do."

"What sort of things do you lie about?" Katie asks, though it seems more mild curiosity than any sort of Inquisition of poor Zoie.. no one expects the Zoie Inquisition! "Do ya'll wanna a pair of my shoes?" she asks, as though concerned for Zoie's feet or maybe her life should she hit the streets on those wheels again.

"I bet that's not true," Gareth says to Zoie encouragingly. "C'mon, tell me a lie. Wait! You just did, didn't you!" He gives Zoie a suddenly admiring look. "Well played," he mutters to Zoie. "...well played."

Zoie looks at Gareth for a few moments as she is suddenly a mastermind of lying. Go her. She gets down with her bad self. Then she turns to look at Katie. "I don't know the last thing I lied about." She goes a little white like she's seen a ghost or remembered.

Katie watches Zoie turn white, and relents, "That's a good thing, Zoie," she says quietly. Then she lets the other girl off the hot seat now. "Hey, G, were you serious about helping out? For cash, of course."

Gareth was studying Zoie and hrming. Is she lying now? Should he be paying attention to her facial characteristics? Has her whole life been a lie? At the mention of cash, Gareth looks up. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I was. I got debts to pay off, now. Like, pronto. It's either that or washing dishes again."

Zoie goes oddly silent. Not that awkward silence, but lost in her own head silent.

"I guess I can't pay you in bacon then, sad how that's not the currency of the land," Katie sighs, dramatic about the woefulness of this. "It's much tastier than cash or gold. If you want to start now, I can put you to work.. just gotta come on in back and sign some stuff." Katie paves the way for inappropriate employer/employer relations! Zoie's given a concerned look.

Speaking of bacon, Gareth finally finishes off his. "I hope not," he says while chewing, the cretin. And in front of ladies, too! "Thif bacon tafes funny. But I kinda like it, too," he admits. He stands up to head to the mysterious back room, but glances at quiet Zoie. "You all right, lady?" he asks, worry at the edges of his voice.

Zoie looks up as Katie and Gareth go to get it on. That's right. We all know. She nods her head a bit. "I should get home." She looks around for a moment before lowering her brows. This is said more for Katie's understanding. "The last time I lied was for my sister."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Zoie," Katie says, and breaks away from Gareth to go over to the other girl and touch her arm comfortingly. Well, as comfortingly as Katie gets, which is somewhat like 'individual experiences may vary'. "We didn't mean none to make you feel bad."

Gareth looks a little lost, here, but perfectly happy to fade into the background a little bit. Oh hey, look, a book needs straightened.

Zoie shakes her head and like that the sad is dispelled. "No.. I'm sorry. You want to spend time with Gareth and I'm being all sad panda." She smiles and comes to her feet easily. "Hey.. at least your guy comes back. However, you shouldn't employ him. You can't date an employee, it's against the law, Katie."

"Yes, yes," Katie tells Zoie, patting her reassuringly.. "That's why I'm just going to have him sign a pre-nup," Katie smiles, and straightens.. "I don't want him to take me for my millions, you see.. and as my husband I can work his fingers to the bone and the law can do nothing to me.. I'm brilliant and evil. It's the secret to all my success."

Gareth, over on the other side of the store, looks like his Spidey Sense goes off. He rises up, and squints over at the two. "Hey! What's goin' on over there?" he asks, suspiciously. He squints at Katie. "And why do you have your 'I'm gonna go bribe a politician because I can' look on your face again?"

Zoie nods her head. "I'm just.. I'm just going to be jealous and bitter if I stick around. So I'm going to go home." Remember that honesty thing? She has it in spades, even when it makes her look bad. "I'll just get a cab or something. Go have fun with Gareth." She moves to hug Katie and then comes to her feet.

Zoie gets a rare Katie hug, and then she says, "You don't have any reason to be bitter and jealous, sweetling," but she does let the other girl go. A grin to Gareth, and she calls back, "Again?" Katie pats her face, "I gotta work on my poker face more."

Gareth squints at Zoie. "Your imagination's a weird and terrible thing. Take care, gloomy." There's a concerned look on his face again, like he wants to ask or offer something, but then...doesn't. Still, he flashes Zoie a worried look, and a glance around the store like he might find something he thinks she should eat. To Katie he said, "So I had some kind of papers to sign? The new DJ Andrew hired at the Aftermath said I could watch him do...uh...whatever it is DJs do. It should be exciting!" he says, and is, of all things, excited.

Zoie hugs Katie. "I'm sorry. I just.. I'm tired of people leaving. My sister, Jake, and now Zack. I want you to be happy and I want that. I .. I just.. it's been months. If he wanted to be with me, he'd come home." She hugs her. "So now I'd be all downer Zoie and no one likes that girl." She then smiles at Gareth. "What imagination? You both just said you slept together and that she's going to want to marry you." See? She thinks no one lies to her either.

"I'm only teasing, Zoie.." Katie admits, since Zoie isn't catching onto the obvious. "And, you shouldn't wait for Zack. You're right. If he was ready to be with someone, he wouldn't stay away so long. If you were the right one for him, then nothing.. nothing in the whole world, would keep him away from you. You should find someone who loves you like that."

"All right you two mushy weirdos," Gareth says. "I got some papers to sign so I can have a new boss and then I gotta go find out how to be a famous DJ so i can stop working retail and fuckin' wearing down my GOD DAMN SOUL WITH THIS JOB OH MY GOD," he says, dramatically. He claps his hands. "Chop-chop, huggies!"

Zoie looks a little wounded to that as it occurs that maybe Zack doesn't want her. "Well.. we'll see." She brushes her lips to Katie's cheek if she allows. "Hey.. Gareth. No swearing and definitely not the good Lord's name in vain." She points to her eyes and then to the man's as she prepares to leave.

"I'll wash his mouth out with soap.. come along, minion of darkness," Katie snaps her fingers at Gareth, teasingly, to hurry him up.. after she endures her sweet Zoie kiss, or secretly squees in joy.. "There's your soul to sign over to me, and then you can get your new career as DJ of the World underway."

"What?" Gareth asks Zoie, wounded. "I can't swear anymore? This job is getting worse every minute!" Dutifully, though, he follows Katie to become a minion of darkness. "I'm gonna learn that bit," he explains to Katie as they walk to the back room, "Where a DJ merges one song into another and everyone keeps dancing. It's gonna be GREAT," he says, enthusiastically. And...scene.