Bench Warmer

Zephyr almost replied with something like 'no, you are right, I don't care'. "Maeve," He played with her name on his tongue and looked at her. That was a pretty name, it suited her. "Well Maeve, it was wonderful getting to know you," Of course he was being sarcastic, but it didn't really sound like it. "I'll be waiting for a thank you when you realise what happened here," It may take her a while to understand what he meant, if she ever got it. Zeph had distracted her from her troubles, and so he expected a thank you. He hardly did anything unless it would get him something in the long run.

"Oh, I almost forgot, my name is Zephyr," He flashed her a rare smile and stood up, putting his hands in his pockets. Zeph highly doubted that she even remotely liked him, but that was okay. He didn't need to be liked. Zeph had survived this long without anyone, he could continue to do the same.

    Her brow furrowed in confusion at his comment and she just sat there, pouting for a second. "W-Wait. What do you mean?" She asked. "Thank you? Thank you for what? You came and sat down and made me mad is what you did, why should I thank you for that?" Maeve asked, slowly beginning to tug at her skirt again.

    She didn't understand what he'd been up to. One moment she was crying, the next she was angry. She didn't like either of those emotions really, so had he really been helping her? Couldn't he have just tried to cheer her up instead?

Zephyr eyed her curiously. "Hmm, no, it seems you don't understand do you," He wasn't about to launch into a full blown explanation, people just didn't comprehend these thing. "Just remember anger is a very strong emotion and it will get you far in life," That was at least one of the mottos Zephyr lived by, and he was still alive wasn't he. "Once you learn to let go of weak emotions like happiness and love it becomes easier to control not only how you feel, but how you react to certain situations," He then gestured to the bench arm-rest. "Maybe with your gift,"



Zephyr didn't know why he was telling her this. She seemed to be the type of person who was supposed to be happy, and happiness was a weakness. He shut off his emotions a while ago. By doing that life was far easier. He didn't need to feel needed, he didn't need to feel pleasure, he didn't need to feel remorse for leaving his sister.

    She just stared at him for a moment before she snorted, covering her mouth. "S-Sorry, it's not funny, I just-" She started to giggle, hiding her face in her hands for a brief moment before she could pull it together a little, grinning at him. "You're a grump, aren't you? You're one of those guys who goes around and who thinks happiness is lame, right?"

    Maeve decided she didn't need an answer, giggling briefly. "Of course you are. You know what you need? You need to be cheered up!" She said, slowly clambering to her feet. She wasn't afraid of him anymore, now that she'd decided what kind of person he was. "What do you like to do? Eat, run around, paint?" She asked, rubbing her eyes a little. She still looked like she'd been crying, and she hadn't forgotten why, or that she was still upset, but she thought that maybe trying to cheer him up would make her feel better. He'd just have to put up with her, well, not really, he could just tell her to leave and she'd end up doing it, however it would be nice of him not to.

Zephyr stared at her with a very unamused expression on his face. "Forget about it," This was why he didn't interact with people. They were foolish ungrateful souls and Zeph was tired of it. "I wish i could say it was a pleasure, but it wasn't" He muttered and then began to stroll away. He couldn't deal with her positivity. That was a weakness that he didn't want to have. It was bad enough that eh had a sister, he didn't need a friend. 

If Thalia was caught Zeph didn't know what he would do. He would probably go and save her, because he wasn't stupid. He knew that if she was going to be killed and he could have done something to stop it, then that would be it. Zephyr would probably give in completely and become a reaper. It was only his despise for those vermin that kept him from actually becoming one. Well that, and his devilishly handsome looks wouldn't suite the role. 

    "Zephyr, wait!" Maeve whined, rushing along after him and walking along side him, being obnoxious for the moment. "How about we do something I think is fun then? Maybe you'll hate it! Then you can keep being miserable, which is apparently your strong suit, and I can have a good time," She suggested, poking his arm with her index finger.

    She was determined to make him suffer apparently. That's what he wanted though, isn't it? To be unhappy? That's what Maeve thought anyways. She'd be sneaky though, and maybe try to get him to lighten up just a little bit. He had smiled earlier, maybe she could get him to do it again?

Zephyr didn't want to be unhappy, he didn't want to be anything at all. "Don't touch me," He growled, using his gift to get her to stop. He hadn't had a conversation like this with someone for ages, it was rather different. Although he didn't want to go out and do whatever this girl was trying to get him to do, he was honestly curious as to what she thought she could do to make him happy. 

"Alright then, what did you have in mind?" He wasn't a fan of her optimism, but for now he could deal with it. As long as she didn't continue yelling and squealing about things. That was just really obnoxious and he was not a fan. 

Well Maeve wasn't certain what they should do, having honestly expected him to turn her down. She paused and glanced around, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe we could go... Um..." She hadn't thought this through very well and now that she was trying to think of something it had proven difficult.

"Do you have any suggestions? I mean, we could get food or go for a run? I take runs a lot... We could... Uh... We could go shopping?" She had no clue to be perfectly honest.

Zephyr found this girl rather peculiar. She acted like a child, yet looked fairly old, maybe three or four years younger than he. "You want to get food? Are you asking me out on a date?" He couldn't help it, it was rather amusing. "You know i am older than you, probably too old for you," Zephyr was 21 after all. "How old are you?" He was genuinely curious about this girl. Of course he could interrogate her using his gift, but where would be the fun in that? 

She had asked what he wanted to do, but he was quite happy playing with her mind. It was something that brought him a slight bit of joy. Confusing people that was. Zephyr was extremely intelligent. He had a very high IQ, and excelled in all of his classes. Before dropping out of university he had been majoring in bio medical engineering with a minor in neurophysiology. Just a basic degree of course. Things just came very easily to him, he was one of those people who everyone was annoyed at because he could ace tests in his sleep. Not anymore though. Well he was still very smart, but he didn't show off his skills. 

    Maeve pouted at him, folding her arms over her chest in slight irritation. "No, I'm not asking you on a date. You're like eighty," She muttered, frowning. Maeve did not think that this was amusing. "And I already told you I'm seventeen." This would be more difficult than she thought. "I just think it would do you some good to spend time with other people. Clearly you don't interact with others very often given your... Behavior..."

    Maeve was also incredibly intelligent. She didn't give off that vibe exactly but she had graduated early and had begun taking online classes just for the sake of learning some more and keeping herself busy. She didn't think Zephyr was very bright, of course she didn't have much to base that off of.

Zephyr chuckled quietly at her outburst. "80? I am hardly 80 years old," He found her shock at his comment rather amusing. Zeph wouldn't go out with a teenager, that would be weird. Someone nineteen would probably be the youngest he would approve of. No, she was still a child. Anyway, he wasn't looking for anyone. "So, if you aren't going to take me out, then what do you want to do? I'm not really in the mood for a jog,"

Zephyr had to prepare before he went running, because he couldn't burn too many calories or he would pass out. It was rather unfortunate, because he used to enjoy going on a nice run. Well, at least he didn't really have to worry about working out anymore. He burned enough fat just talking to people. 

    Maeve frowned, pursing her lips while she thought. "Maybe we could just walk? Since you don't want to run or jog or anything. Exercise would be good for you," She wasn't commenting on his physical fitness, he looked healthy and fit and... Yeah. She just thought it might lighten his mood up a little more. Besides, she'd gotten a chuckle out of him so far.

    Maeve just wanted to move around. If she stayed in one place and got too relaxed she'd think about her mom again and then her father who was probably in a drunken stupor by now. Then she'd cry again and who wanted that? Nobody, that's who. So, Maeve decided she needed to get busy and move around.

Zephyr found her comment almost amusing. She thought he needed to work out? Hmm, she obviously hadn't seen him shirtless, then again, he wasn't really like that anymore. He didn't show off. "A walk you say? And why should I go on a walk with you? How would this benefit me at all," He had nothing to gain from this, and Zeph hardly ever did anything if it wasn't in his favour. 

However maybe he could just humor her and actually go on this walk. What did he have to lose? Zeph could always just leave when he had enough of her pestering. 

    "Well, walking is good for everybody. You keep in shape, you can see cool stuff, and it's your lucky day because you can go for a walk with me and I'm tons of fun to walk with. Plus, if you hate it, you can just walk away from me. I'll have you know that I won't appreciate it, but if that's how you feel then fine," Maeve said with a shrug.

    She couldn't force him to hang around. But hey, she wouldn't cry if they walked for a little while at least. It would keep her busy. "And tell you what, you can consider it a favor. This way, if you do walk with me, I'll owe you one," She decided with a nod. She didn't know that he didn't need her to owe him one in order to get her to do things for him, so this seemed like a reasonable offer.

Zephyr raised an eyebrow at his proposal. "And what makes you think you could give me anything I don't already have?" He could get anything he wanted honestly. She didn't even have to offer because he could just make her do whatever he felt like. Ah well, she didn't know that. "Well, if it means you will be in my debt, then perhaps it will be worth it," Not really, but why not.



Zephyr began to walk a certain direction, further into the park, leaving her the option to follow or not. It had been her idea after all, but if she didn't follow he wouldn't be terrible heart broken, its not like he actually cared for her presence or not.