• Chased Down All My Demons •

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Being back in New York was a strange feeling for Zoe. Seeing the same old buildings, the same quirky shops, the same eclectic people meandering down the streets; it was as if she’d never left a year ago. Things were different in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but it was indescribably comfortable to be surrounded by familiar sights once again.
She hadn’t been proud of the way she’d left. She had taken the coward’s way out instead of facing the fears that had come up as she’d tried to establish herself permanently in the city. It had been eating away at her since the moment she slammed her key down on the apartment kitchen counter, officially abandoning the future she had once been so sure of. Things had happened so quickly; she had felt like a ship without its guiding star as the storm raged around her. Zoe ran before she had time to let the clouds settle, returning to the comforts of a home that she knew, deep down, wasn't meant for her.
In all the craziness, Zoe knew one thing: she had loved Romeo. She loved him with every piece of her soul, with every part of her mind; she was head over heels for him. It was the kind of love that made a person do insane things; the kind that made a person move back to a city that had once been so foreign she thought she’d never call it home. Leaving him had been one of the hardest moments in Zoe’s life. She regretted it daily; every time she saw a teacup or ordered vanilla ice cream at her favorite place, his face flashed into her mind like the most beautiful nightmare she could have dreamt up. She tried to put him in the past, but the memories were too stubborn to shove down for long. He was her Romeo, after all, and their love had been as star-crossed as one could come.
Being home had taught Zoe many things, both in her job and about herself. She faced challenges head-on now; she didn’t run from the things that scared her. Hell, she’d gotten a tattoo; if that didn’t indicate an entirely new country mouse, only a flashing neon sign could. Zoe had become someone she was comfortable being, someone who was strong and independent and not scared of the shadows anymore. She was fearless, and it showed in the fantastic work she’d been doing up and down the southeastern border over the last year. She was a force to be reckoned with in the vet world, specializing in horses, of course, with a special fondness for cats and other farmstock. Her determination had led her to an exciting career path, which somehow drew the attention of her old alma mater.
That was why Zoe found herself strolling up and down the street she’d once lived on, exploring the neighborhood and creeping into old haunts. NYU had invited her back to be a guest lecturer for a few classes and share her unique knowledge with the new batch of vets-to-be. With much hesitation and debate, she’d agreed; she would have to come back sometime, after all.
She didn’t expect anything from anyone that had been a part of her New York life, and she hadn’t reached out to any of them. She was in the city to tie up loose ends and collect a small paycheck from her college while still helping the future of her chosen profession. Truly, she wouldn’t have come back had she not been invited. She would’ve remained travelling through the south and helping animals, an extreme version of her first real-life plan. But New York was calling, and she’d never been able to say no to it before.
Clutching a coffee to herself, Zoe sat in the windowsill of her first favorite coffee shop. She had a book spread before her, one she hadn’t touched since her first year of college, but her eyes weren’t on the page. She was staring out at the passersby, enjoying the myriad of faces she saw. God, had she missed this place.

• • •

TAG: Her Romeo! <3
OUTFIT: PRETTY LADY!
LOCATION: The Streets, New York
LYRICS: Perfect by Pink
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[romeo jackson jervis]

Romeo was city through and through. He couldn’t sleep unless there was a siren in the background somewhere. He needed the noise and the vibrations of the concrete jungle just to get hm through each day. New York might have been nothing like Liverpool, but they were both filled with people who wanted to belong, wild spirits who came from all over just to find a home and make their dreams a reality. Romeo was no different. He longed to find a way to belong, to exist without struggling for every little thing. His whole life had been one endless battle for something or another, and whenever Romeo felt like there was a glimmer of hope, or that he had opened the door on something good, it was snuffed out or slammed shut again. He didn’t think anyone’s luck could be as poor as his, but he wasn’t the type to give up on himself so easily. Instead he refocused his efforts and paid attention to something else. Romeo had dreams he still wanted to chase, and right now he threw himself into them instead.

It wasn’t like he was able to forget Zoe easily, but he tried. He avoided the places they used to go, stopped ordering from places that used to be their favourites, and boxed up anything that he could spare that reminded him of her. Ellie said he had gone a little too far at times, but she supported him entirely in the same breath. He could probably say he wanted to climb the Empire State Building and she’d call him crazy but wish him luck. Romeo couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been honest and supportive of his choices. They were like that with one another, but then they were really all they’d ever had to rely on. It was how it had to be. She encouraged him to get back out there, to start dating again, and Romeo had gone out once or twice with women who had slid him their numbers, but none of them had captured his heart like Zoe had. So he worked harder, forgot about dating and love and just focused on being a good brother, a better man and friend.

He was working ten hours today, spending most of them probably signing off on order forms, and breaking open the boxes of new stock before sorting out new displays in the window. He liked keeping busy, but before all of that he needed to get some more coffee in his system. The two cups at breakfast with his toast and smokes hadn’t exactly done enough to stop him from yawning before he locked up and headed across the city to the bookstore. Romeo tried to avoid this coffee shop if he could, but it was the closest one to Barnes & Noble that wasn’t Starbucks. That place had too long a queue, but this place reminded him of Zoe. Still, Romeo didn’t want to be late or wind up scalding his mouth as he tried to drink his damn drink. He checked the time on his phone as he passed by the window of the shop, and then pulled the door open to step inside and join the three other people in line at the counter.

• • •

TAGGED! Zoe Diana Tylers
WORDS! 548!
OUTFIT! Bookworm Brit!
LYRICS! Blessed Are Those - - - Saywecanfly
NOTES!

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe had grown up tremendously in New York, going through college and heartbreak and all the trials transitioning into adulthood could require. She had found a stronger, more driven version of herself that had been so sure of what she wanted. That young woman had wanted love; she had wanted Romeo, and a stable job, and a charming apartment in the city that she could play housewife in to her heart’s desire. It had all seemed so perfect, at the time, but she had more growing to do; she had more mountains to move.
Zoe had left because it had been the right choice for her; in her haze, it had seemed like the only choice. The whirlwind that had been her graduation, engagement, and complete rewriting of her future had left her stunned. She’d stood in the middle of a kitchen with a view of cityscapes and found herself feeling the emptiest she’d ever been. Even surrounded by pictures reminding her of every step she’d taken to get to that point in her life, she hadn’t felt complete. Being fettered down to one place suddenly seemed like the most frightening idea she’d ever had, even if the chains came in the form of a wedding band and a man she couldn’t picture her life without. That was why she’d left; it hadn’t been Romeo or the city’s darkness, but her own fears of being caught up in a life she didn’t know if she wanted anymore.
When she’d returned to Adams, she hadn’t stayed put for long. She found herself travelling between clinics and horse towns in need of specialty treatment, not putting sturdy roots down anywhere. The Zoe who had once clung to stability with her last fighting breath was living out of suitcases and hotel rooms, seeing just how far she could really push herself. And she had loved every moment of it.
The year taught Zoe many lessons about herself that molded her into a stronger person than the country mouse ever aspired to become. She had flirted with a few guys over her travels, even getting close to sleeping with one purely from the alcohol fogging her senses. She held her own now, whether that was in a case argument with another vet or downing shots at the town’s bar; she was sure of the steps she took, and the confidence showed in her smile. She wasn’t afraid anymore, and she wasn’t scared of running towards her future, whatever that entailed.
Sipping at her coffee, Zoe’s eyes fell on a tall figure hurrying by the window. The sight of him sent a jolt of guilt through her, and it took her a moment to place the reason. One glimpse of his face as he entered the coffee shop had her heart hammering and Zoe understood instantly. "Romeo,” she said, his name leaving her lips in a heartbroken sigh.
She hadn’t planned to see him again, after everything; she had wanted to, with all her heart, but she’d never thought she would find him in one of the biggest cities around. Staring at him, her fingers went to the gold necklace tucked beneath the fabric of her dress. On it hung her classic horseshoe, an image of which now adorned her ankle in a simple tattoo, but that wasn’t what she was feeling for; her fingers pressed the engagement ring she’d never been able to take off, the metal cool even through her dress.
Zoe had so many regrets from leaving him, she didn’t even know where to start. She stayed frozen in her seat, blinking at him with her big doe eyes and her lips, smudged with lipstick from her coffee, impersonating a fish.

• • •

TAG: Her Romeo! <3
OUTFIT: PRETTY LADY!
LOCATION: The Streets, New York
LYRICS: Perfect by Pink
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[romeo jackson jervis]

Things had changed once Zoe left. Romeo had probably thrown himself back into living that city life. It also helped that Ellie wasn’t some little thing who needed him at home to put her to bed and keep her safe now. She had college classes of her own, and a good life ahead of her. Romeo had the freedom to go out and have a drink with his friends if he wanted to, and he had made use of that freedom, along with the one where he became a familiar face at Three Kings where Thursday worked on him to give him ink where he never would have considered it before. It wasn’t something he had done on a heartbroken whim either. All of this came several months after Zoe had been out of his life, when Ellie had asked her brother what he really wanted to do that he never would have done if he had been married and living that life with his country mouse. Together they’d gone to the tattoo shop, and then re-decorated the apartment, before binging on take out and having a weekend of horror movies and rock music.

Romeo had taken the time to think about his own life, narrow down his options, and while he was at college annoying Ellie between classes, too, he knew that the life without Zoe had given him a chance to think about his past and make some slight changes to his own dreams. Nothing drastic, as he was still sat in a room working towards becoming an English teacher, but he was aware of how different his own life could be, let alone Ellie’s. It could have been so easy for either of them to end up on a different path. They could have easily found themselves lost in a world of trouble, familiar faces to the police, and grief to all who knew them. Romeo hadn’t allowed that to happen, and now Ellie was all grown up he wondered if there were others who he could help avoid those dark places.

He didn’t need to look at the menu whenever he went into a coffee shop, be it a simple place or somewhere unnecessarily fancy. He liked his coffee simple and strong. It didn’t need to be garnished, or full of syrup so it tasted like something that wasn’t even coffee. Romeo pulled his wallet from his pocket and extracted a note, which he folded up in his hand as the queue moved forward a step. His eyes happened upon the mirror, and it was in that that he saw Zoe. He shook his head, playing it off as a trick of the light, and his own mind. When she had first left he had seen her everywhere, and a woman only needed to be about her height, and have similar blonde hair for him to be switching out their features. He convinced himself it was just another cruel game of the mind and hastily looked away, picking up a wrapped cookie he didn’t even want, and scrubbing the money holding hand through his shorter, but still messy hair.

• • •

TAGGED! Zoe Diana Tylers
WORDS! 523!
OUTFIT! Bookworm Brit!
LYRICS! Blessed Are Those - - - Saywecanfly
NOTES!

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Romeo had changed Zoe’s life in so many ways. She had been far too innocently stubborn before she’d met him, caught up in her old-fashioned ways and very strict thoughts on life in general. She’d clung to those ideals with every piece of herself and worked tirelessly to try and keep herself held up to an impossible standard. Being with him, loving him, had opened her eyes to an entirely new world, a place where she didn’t have to have complete control of herself at every moment of the day. He had shown her that she could be whoever she wanted and that the earth would continue spinning no matter what she chose.
This side of her had existed for her entire life; it was why she loved horseback riding so much to begin with. She could be free on a horse, flying across the countryside without worries or pressures bogging her down. She could ride and let the wind whip through her hair, giving herself over to the sound of horseshoes beating against the dirt road. It was the freedom she had never known she’d wanted, but that Romeo had helped her realize.
Sitting back in that coffee shop, it was impossible not to remember the moments they’d shared as a couple. For Zoe, it felt like another lifetime. Their heated kisses, their sweet caresses; it was like watching a movie. She was no longer that girl, too scared to face her problems so she ran from them instead. She was strong, in her own right, and not dependent on a Superman to save her.
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t give her soul to have Romeo back.
He looked so different too. Not in a bad way, but she had always loved his longer hair. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he ordered his coffee, her gaze glued to him as her fingers fiddled nervously with the ring still hanging around her neck. She’d never been able to give it up, even though she knew she had no right to keep it. She should’ve left it when she’d broken their engagement, set it on the counter with her apartment keys and truly forfeited her claim to Romeo. But, it remained around her neck, usually tucked beneath her shirt collar and hidden from sight. Zoe regretted not taking advantage of her chance to wear it properly instead of like a millstone, choking her every time her mind drifted to Romeo.
Her breath stopped as Romeo’s eyes flickered to hers through the mirror. He had always had a way of seeing straight through her, from his first time saving her until her walking out; she knew there was no hiding her emotions from him the second he caught her gaze.
In her mind, she was running through what to say to him. She had planned a million apologies over the year, had imagined this situation happening so many different ways. And then he looked away, showing no intention of acknowledging her at all.
Her heart sank for a moment. He had no reason to want to see her, and she knew that; she wouldn’t want to see her either. But she still loved him with her entire heart, even if she continually tried to deny it, and, if the last year had taught her anything, it was to fight for what you wanted.
Hastily shoving her book into her bag, Zoe stood from her table and scurried toward the doors. She wasn’t going to let him get away so easily. "Are ya still drinking that as black as it comes?” she said a little louder than was probably necessary, but she couldn’t let him go without at least trying to catch his attention. She owed him an explanation, and her heart longed to hear his voice again.

• • •

TAG: Her Romeo! <3
WORDS: 639
OUTFIT: PRETTY LADY!
LOCATION: The Streets, New York
LYRICS: Perfect by Pink
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[romeo jackson jervis]

Life was an uncontrollable whirlwind of getting kicked in the ass and picked back up just in time to get knocked back down again. Romeo knew that, and he had known that since he was a young kid. Accepting that made it easier to deal with the little things when they came and smacked a person in the face. It wasn’t so good for the soul wrenching, gut crushing big things, but Romeo didn’t think anything was. Even that old saying that ‘time heals all wounds’ felt like a bunch of crap to him. It didn’t heal anything, it just made it easier to forget because it was lost in the past. Thinking about it still brought up that raw emotion and the burning pain that twisted the heart and squeezed it tight enough you wanted it all to stop. He wasn’t the type to dwell on painful memories though. He had a life scattered with them, none of them the kind of things he wanted to focus his weekends on. Zoe, unfortunately, had been filed away with the rest of them, and Romeo was doing his best to forget about her ever since he had locked all thoughts of her away in that drawer. Not that it was easy; not at all.

Having Ellie around had helped, along with being able to focus on the rest of his life. College and work were both time consuming things that required him to be level headed and committed. Romeo couldn’t afford to spiral like he might have done. There were rotas to prep for the store, displays to arrange, and then assignments and reading to have done for classes. It wasn’t like he could ask for an extension or take some personal time because he’d been left by the woman he loved. Sure, it garnered sympathy, but only so much. It wasn’t an excuse to put life on hold; at least not according to the rest of the world. Chores might have gone ignored for a few weeks unless Ellie did them, or they became necessary, but Romeo knew that the world was carrying on regardless of his broken heart and sooner or later he had to catch up, too.

His plan was to get his coffee and then get going again. Romeo never sat on his own to drink his coffee, but he particularly didn’t want to stick around in a place where he was seeing Zoe. He didn’t think it could be her until she spoke, and then he stiffened and went cold. “Keeps us awake.” He muttered, refusing to look at her before ordering his simple black coffee and handing his money over to pay for the drink. He had his hands shoved into the tight pockets of his jeans, and he wished that they could hurry up and make his drink so he could leave and get along with his day. He didn’t know why Zoe was here, and part of him didn’t want to either. She’d already left once, he didn’t need to see or hear about her doing it again.

• • •

TAGGED! Zoe Diana Tylers
WORDS! 517!
OUTFIT! Bookworm Brit!
LYRICS! Blessed Are Those - - - Saywecanfly
NOTES!

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Once upon a time, leaving for college had been the hardest moment in Zoe’s life. She’d picked herself up and moved into a completely new world full of sirens and bright lights, leaving behind her quiet country town. Years later, after falling in love, she’d deemed leaving New York as the most difficult choice she’d ever made. It had felt impossible to abandon the life she’d established for herself, and she never would have been able to forget everything she’d worked for there. That was why she’d come back to New York in the first place, a ring on her finger and the promise of forever fogging her senses. And then she’d packed her bags again, walking away from the city and the man that’d made it feel like home. It was both the biggest regret and most heart wrenching moment for Zoe, and it had left her the most alone she’d ever been.
She had spent sleepless nights in lonely hotel rooms with her mind full of nothing but Romeo and the horrible thing she’d done. She had wanted to marry him for the better part of a year before they’d been engaged, but she’d always held back because she knew she’d be leaving New York. Their engagement had been nothing short of a miracle, one that Zoe had thanked her lucky stars for. And then she’d walked out of the apartment that was meant to be theirs, shattering the perfect bubble they’d been living in since he’d come to Adams. The guilt hung heavy around her neck, her tiny diamond holding the weight of the world now. She regretted her decision every morning when she woke up in an empty bed, alone when she could’ve been married and wrapped in the warm embrace of a man who held her entire heart.
Zoe had no idea what Romeo had been doing since she’d left. She still wanted the best for him; she’d always wish that, even if she was no longer in that future. But, she didn’t even know if he was in school yet or if Ellie had changed her major like college freshmen were so wont to do. Had he kept their apartment or found somewhere completely new? Was he still smoking those damn cigarettes that were taking years off his life? Zoe had no idea. She didn’t know who he was anymore; she’d surrendered that right when she’d walked out.
Standing next to Romeo had all the guilt bubbling to the surface of her already hammering heart. There was what felt like a mile of space between them, full of the separate years they’d spent on their own. She looked up at him, biting her lip as he avoided her gaze. He looked so different than she remembered and she wasn’t sure how lightly to tread with this new Romeo. She wasn’t sure if he even wanted her to be there at all.
Zoe took a deep breath as she tried to organize her thoughts into a coherent sentence. It was a strange feeling; she had once been able to share everything with him, and now she didn’t know what to say anymore. "Romeo,” she said, pleading for him to look at her. "Can we… do you have time…” she stuttered, dropping her gaze as words failed her. How did she do this, after so long of not communicating with him at all? She had to pull herself together. "I’m sorry,” she finally finished lamely, her eyes back up to him. A coffee shop was not the place she wanted to have this conversation, but she didn’t want him to run off either. She had needed to tell him this since she’d left the city limits. The words came gushing out of her, her tongue flying faster than was probably understandable. "I’m sorry for, well, for everything really. For leaving, for not calling, for keeping the ring when I’m sure you could’ve done a million other things with it, for… for everything,” she said, her voice getting quieter with each word. It wasn’t the apology he deserved by any means, but she hoped it was enough to at least get him to look at her again.

• • •

TAG: romeo jackson jervis
WORDS: 704!
OUTFIT: PRETTY LADY!
LOCATION: The Streets, New York
LYRICS: Perfect by Pink
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[romeo jackson jervis]

When Romeo had been dragged from his home of Liverpool to start again in New York he didn’t think there was a chance of happiness. His home life had been dark and shadowed with tales he never spoke of. He protected Ellie from all that he could, shielded her from the anger and the hostility of their father. He didn’t think for a second that there would be a moment for him for a long, long time when all of that was going on. Then Zoe had come along and he saw a glimpse of happiness that flourished into something more. He had never expected her to crush his heart like she had done when she just upped and left. To him, it felt like they had been planning wedding details one minute and then he was alone in an empty apartment the next. It was the last thing he was expecting.

Romeo simply plodded on with his life, ignoring the aching in his chest as he continued to go to work, carried on buying groceries, watching the football games. He acted like nothing mattered, as though the whole world might just continue as though nothing had happened to him. If he stopped to think about it then he knew there would be a whole thing where he would go off the rails with his temper. Only this time there was no one to protect like in the past. It would just be him with his temper, and nothing good would ever come from that. Romeo could be certain of that if nothing else. It was just easier to pretend like he wasn’t hurting and that there was nothing happening in his life than acknowledge the bad stuff.

Unfortunately, the catalyst for the bad stuff that had been bottled up inside was now right in front of him. It wasn’t as though he could pretend none of it had happened when Zoe was stood right there. He didn’t look at her, but instead kept his eyes on his coffee cup as she spoke. His thumb ran over the warm take out cup, and he craved a cigarette more than ever as he listened to her apologise in what was an extremely public domain. “Yeah, well, good for you. Glad y’ got that off y’ chest. I’ve got a bookstore to run.” He took a sip of the hot, bitter coffee and made for the door. Once outside he fumbled in his pocket for his cigarette packet and lit one up, taking a long drag and ignoring the glare from the eco-warrior who happened to be stood next to him, handing out leaflets about the latest trend to save the already doomed and over-populated planet. Romeo wasn’t in the mood for people today to tell him how to live his life. His ex had shown up and was apparently oh so sorry for all the torment and heartbreak she had caused leaving and forcing Romeo to spend countless nights wondering what it could have been that he had done wrong.

• • •

TAGGED! Zoe Diana Tylers
WORDS! 511!
OUTFIT! Bookworm Brit!
LYRICS! Blessed Are Those - - - Saywecanfly
NOTES!

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe wanted to marry him. She wanted the beautiful wedding in Adams and a life in the new apartment; she wanted to face the world at his side, seeing what the future had in store for the both of them together. If she hadn’t wanted it, she wouldn’t have said yes when he’d asked her to be his wife. She would’ve stayed in Adams and found herself swallowed up in small-town life once again, an old dream that seemed so childish now that she’d realized what the world really had in store. She had said yes though and she’d meant it; she’d thrown herself into planning with a passion, working tirelessly to pull together an entire wedding in a mere few months. If she hadn’t wanted to get married, she never would’ve put so much effort into the event.
She owed him so many explanations, she didn’t even know where to begin. The night she’d left had been a complete whirlwind and her exit left many things to be desired. He had deserved a real goodbye; after everything they’d been through together, Zoe knew she should’ve written some fancy poetic letter or speech that detailed each amazing thing he’d done for her and how none of this was because of him. The city was huge and scary, but he had been her savior through it all and her leaving hadn’t been his fault in the slightest. She just wasn’t as ready as she’d thought to commit herself to him completely and forever.
She stood beside him now wanting to tell him all of the things she should’ve that night. Zoe hadn’t left much room for debate or compromise that day, having her bags packed and loaded into her car when he’d returned from work. She could’ve left while he was gone; she could’ve just vanished, leaving him and everything she loved behind in the dust of her tires as she drove South once more. But, she had sat on the couch and waited because she needed to see him one more time. She needed to say goodbye to him, though she had no idea how. It had all ended with her placing her key on the kitchen counter beside his for the final time as she placed a tear-streaked kiss on his cheek before walking out the door.
Zoe knew perfectly well how to break Romeo’s rough exterior; she’d done it countless times, whether it’d been convincing him to let Ellie stay out a tiny bit later so they could enjoy their night or weaseling him into seeing one of her chick flicks. This time, however, it was completely different. She wasn’t his adored little country mouse anymore; she was the woman who’d run off on him weeks before their wedding and she deserved every insult he could possibly throw at her, and, deep down, she was steeling herself for that explosion.
He was gone before Zoe could try speaking again and, as he vanished out the door, she took a second to decide if she should go after him. She was clearly not welcome back and she hadn’t been expecting it, but she had always had to fight a little to get her way with him. Zoe needed him to hear why she’d left; she needed to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, and that she was sorry for all of it.
With that burning in her mind, she gathered every ounce of bravery she had and headed out the door after him. His cigarette smoke drew her attention first as her blue eyes landed on him. It was a familiar sight and, a long time ago, she would’ve walked over and playfully scolded him. Now, she debated asking for a drag herself. She shook the thoughts away and planted herself in front of him again, demanding as much of his attention as she could with her short height. "Romeo, I want to tell you why I left,” she said, her gaze studying him intensely while she bit her lip. "You deserve some kind of explanation, at least, for my running off. Please, can we talk? Then you can yell at me as much as you’d like.”

• • •

TAG: romeo jackson jervis
WORDS: 701!
OUTFIT: PRETTY LADY!
LOCATION: The Streets, New York
LYRICS: Perfect by Pink
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[romeo jackson jervis]

Romeo didn’t know why Zoe had left him. He didn’t understand what had gone wrong there. He thought everything was fine, fantastic even, and then he came home to find all of her stuff gone and her putting her key on the side and kissing him goodbye. It felt like a bad dream. His heart had been crushed and he had been too numb to do anything else in that moment other than to blink and wonder why. He thought it was great. He thought they were heading towards their happily ever after and a lifetime together. He hadn’t seen a single warning sign that something could be wrong. Romeo thought Zoe was happy, that things were finally looking up in his life. After she had gone he wondered how he could be so foolish. The fates had never been kind to him. He had spent his life fighting for things just to be okay, and even now he shouldn’t expect the powers of the universe to let up and go easy on him. Of course they would rip away that light in his life and leave him heartbroken in the darkness. They wouldn’t give him answers. They wouldn’t let him know why any of this had fallen apart faster than a house of cards. It would be one cruel mystery left to haunt Romeo for the rest of his days.

His heart had hardened as a result. It wasn’t obvious to the onlooker, but Romeo knew. Ellie was the only girl he made time for now, and he was in no rush to start dating seriously again. He didn’t want to give his love to anyone again; not if they were going to toss it in the trash so thoughtlessly like Zoe had done. He could still be helpful and friendly, but he cut off completely the second anyone hinted at romance, or taking things to another level. Romeo knew Ellie wanted him to be happy, to find love again, but Romeo wasn’t of the same mind. He simply didn’t think he could trust anyone with his heart after the way Zoe had left. It had been hard to get over, and Romeo wasn’t willing to give anyone the chance to crush his happiness like that again. It was too much. He wasn’t putting himself through that kind of pain again. He simply couldn’t do it.

Romeo just wanted to get to work. Once he was at Barnes and Noble he could lock himself in his office and power through some work there and force himself to forget all about this unfortunate encounter. He didn’t want Zoe on his mind, not today, not ever again. She was supposed to be gone from his life, and not showing up randomly in coffee shops on his way to work. He didn’t want to know why she was back in New York, Romeo just wanted to get away from her. It hurt too much and made him too damn angry to be near her. “Y’ didn’t think that might ‘ave been good back then?” He asked scornfully, bringing his cigarette back to his lips as he moved to walk around her. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at her. “I’ve nothin’ t’ say t’ y’.”

• • •

TAGGED! Zoe Diana Tylers
WORDS! 548!
OUTFIT! Bookworm Brit!
LYRICS! Blessed Are Those - - - Saywecanfly
NOTES!

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

At the time, Zoe hadn’t fully understood the reason why she’d needed to run so suddenly. She was happy with Romeo and with the future they’d been sketching out in New York; she’d had a job lined up, they’d found a new apartment, and she’d even started looking into maybe getting a little friend for Tessie. But her heart wasn’t in any of it. She laid awake most nights, watching her future husband sleeping soundly, and trying to wrap her head around the idea of sharing that bed forever. It was then, in the earliest hours of the morning, that the doubts ran rampant through her head. He would surely get bored with her in a few years, or she’d pick a fight that would splinter their relationship beyond repair; something would happen and it would break everything. She wanted the happy ending, but she couldn’t marry him without being completely sure of herself. She’d never been able to lie to him, and forcing herself into marriage when she didn’t know if she was ready seemed like an even bigger betrayal than leaving. She wanted Romeo; her heart ached for him in a way it never would for anyone else. It also longed for freedom, for open spaces where she wasn’t chained down by city smoke or suffocated by the box she was forcing herself into and where she could make up her mind without pressure.
Zoe was young and the need to sow her wild oats burned like fire in her veins. She’d been controlled and conservative for so long, she’d never gotten the chance to see who she was without someone blocking her spotlight. It had taken her the entire year away to realize it, but that was the true reason she’d left. Zoe wanted to make sure she knew who she was before she gave herself completely to another person. She wanted to discover her passion for life and figure out what journey she was meant to really be on, whether that was marriage and a family or a career that helped save the world. She wanted to confident that she was lovable and, before she could walk down the aisle, she needed to have the reassurance that there would be no chance of regrets.
By running, she’d lost something even greater than what she’d found. It hadn’t registered with her, at first, how much her disappearance would affect Romeo. He had chased her to Adams to declare his love, while she had run away and left him hanging, once again, with a teacup and a broken heart. He had always been too good for her, the lowly country mouse who had once never believed herself capable of amounting to someone able to be the beautiful Shakespearean heroine at his side, and Zoe knew, without a doubt, that she deserved his love now even less than she had before.
But, dammit, she wanted him to look at her.
She was so much stronger now than the scared girl who’d needed saving; she was stronger because of him, and she wanted him to see that. Zoe felt like his equal now, not just someone he had to protect, and it made her even more sure of herself as she stood before him, trying to command his attention with her tiny frame. She would chase him, just as he’d done with her when she’d gone home after graduation; it was her turn to fight and fix the mistake of letting the other go.
"I didn’t know why then,” she confessed, eyes begging him to hear the sincerity in her words. "I couldn’t have told you because I didn’t know. I just knew I couldn’t stay.”
Zoe’s lips pressed into a hard line as he tried to side-step her, but she wasn’t going to be tossed aside without one hell of a scene. She wasn’t a mouse anymore, and she could roar with the best of them now, a lion’s heart beating bravely inside the chest that longed for the man standing before her more than she would let on. "Then let me talk,” she pleaded as she reached out and grabbed his wrist, trying to force him to stop though her strength was nowhere near his. "Please, Romeo.” Zoe looked up at him with her big blue eyes, begging him to just stay for a few moments. "Please?”

• • •

TAG: romeo jackson jervis
WORDS: 734!
OUTFIT: Pretty Lady!
LOCATION: The Streets, New York
LYRICS: Perfect by Pink
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[romeo jackson jervis]

Romeo didn’t understand why Zoe never spoke to him. He wasn’t psychic, so how was he ever supposed to know that she was so unhappy in the city? He knew he could be terrible at talking about his feelings, but Zoe had a way of breaking through and pulling at him until he finally opened up to her about his bad days, or painful past. He didn’t think she was the type to keep all of her problems bottled up and hidden from him. He couldn’t understand why she would do that either unless he was the cause of her upset. He knew he was far from perfect, and that he spent far too much time leaning out onto the fire escape with a cigarette between his lips, but he felt like he was a better man for meeting Zoe, and her leaving was like sending him to the darkest pit of hell. He genuinely felt like the light had been ripped from his life and moving forward with each day only happened by taking one excruciating step after another. The hurt he felt made him want to indulge in reckless behaviour. There were times when he wanted to make the whole bottle of Jack Daniels vanish in a single night, or moments when the girl who smiled at him in just that way ought to have been waking up in his bed the following morning. The only thing that kept him from spiralling completely was Ellie. She was old enough to make her own life choices, but Romeo still wanted to be a good role model for her.

Ellie picked him up when he had wanted to lay at the bottom of his deep, dark hole. She was young, she had friends and places to be, but she chose to watch movies with her brother, and cook dinner with him. She kept the fire burning in him and made him see that the world outside the apartment window was still out there waiting for him. Ellie wasn’t about to give up on Romeo, even if Zoe had. The siblings had been through hell and back together, and there was nothing they wouldn’t do for each other; that much Romeo could be certain of. When he busted up the place, Ellie cleaned it and made sure he didn’t need to be dragged to the hospital. Romeo’s temper would never change, but he was more likely to hurt himself than those he cared about, and that was one thing he prided himself on – as weird as it seemed. It was why seeing Zoe now boiled his blood, but he didn’t lash out, or rant and rave. He’d save it for later, when he was alone, and when his only victims could be inanimate objects that were cheap and completely replaceable.

He sighed gruffly when Zoe continued to talk. Couldn’t she just leave him alone like she had done once before? “Well, I kind o’ figured y’ were disgusted by the idea of stayin’ ‘ere with us.” He said dryly, really not caring about some long winded excuse she had been given plenty of time to make up. To him, it was simple; Zoe hadn’t wanted to marry him in the end, so she ran. When she grabbed his wrist, Romeo yanked it free as though her fingers burnt him. He didn’t want her touch. He couldn’t bear to feel her so close to him, let alone actually let her hold onto him. “Y’ didn’t want t’ talk then. So why should I even bother t’ let y’ talk now an’ mess with me ‘ead again?” He shook his head and took another long hard drag from his cigarette. “It’s not worth it.”

• • •

TAGGED! Zoe Diana Tylers
WORDS! 627!
OUTFIT! Bookworm Brit!
LYRICS! Blessed Are Those - - - Saywecanfly
NOTES! He’s being so stubborn Dx

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe had always had a hard time opening up to people about herself. She could carry on small-talk just fine and wasn’t scared of interacting with strangers thanks to her years as a waitress, but telling someone about her problems was something she found absolutely terrifying. She liked to be independent, fixing things on her own and keeping her troubles buried deep beneath a happy exterior. Even Ember wasn’t privy to many of the thoughts than ran through her head, leaving Zoe without someone to tell her how ridiculous she was being sometimes or that her doubts were truly nothing but the thoughts of a nervous young woman on the brink of making a life-changing decision.
Fixing other’s people’s problems was a completely different situation, and she would drop whatever she was doing to help a friend in need. She sacrificed herself for them without a second thought, but when they tried to reciprocate the gesture, she quickly closed herself down and boarded up the windows. Zoe had done it with friends, her family, and Romeo; getting her to reveal anything that was bothering her was always a battle, no matter who it was. She bottled everything inside and tried to pretend the waters were calm, channeling her feelings into unhealthy amounts of baking most of the time, though that had been frequently replaced by alcohol in the last year. She just couldn’t find the words to explain herself to other people and, in a cry for some kind of help, she’d chosen to run instead of facing the monsters lingering in New York.
She still wore her engagement ring around her neck as a reminder of that decision, the sparkling diamond a constant link to the life Zoe had given up in New York. She wore it in memory of the love she’d felt with Romeo, of how safe he’d made her feel, and to keep her heading on the right track to where she needed to be, though she had no idea where that final destination was quite yet.
In the months she’d been away, she’d never come up with a practiced excuse to talk away her guilt for leaving him. She’d tried, multiple times, but none of the words had seemed right. She should’ve stayed; she should’ve woken him up at 3 a.m. and told him about the war raging inside her blonde head instead of vanishing with no reason behind it. She shouldn’t have broken his heart.
"You really think that’s all it was?” she asked, incredulous, her blue eyes staring intensely up at him. The words came tumbling out of her mouth in a flash, without her approval or thought. It killed her to think that he believed this was his fault, that her insecurity was his doing when it was merely her trying to find her footing in a bigger city than she’d imagined. "My universe revolved around you, Romeo – the sun rose and set with you. It scared the living hell out of me to think that that might change at the drop of hat and I’d have no idea how to breathe when you weren’t beside me. I needed to figure out who I was without you shielding me from everything; I needed to prove to myself that I could be someone you could love,” Zoe said passionately, out of breath. She’d forgotten how stubborn he could be.
It didn’t surprise her when he pulled away. She released him without a fight, running her hands through her hair in agitation and accidentally pulling her necklace over the neckline of her dress to reveal the diamond ring still glinting there beside her horseshoe pendant. Pinning him with her sharp eyes, she let out an exasperated breath before speaking. "I’m not trying to mess with you; it’s just taken me this long to figure out my own head,” she concluded quietly, his final words piercing her through the heart. She’d always known she wasn’t worth it for him, the silly, naïve country girl who caused him more pain than he deserved. Zoe just wanted him to know it wasn’t his fault she’d left; it’d never been his fault.

• • •

TAG: romeo jackson jervis
WORDS: 697!
OUTFIT: Pretty Lady!
LOCATION: The Streets, New York
LYRICS: Perfect by Pink
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[romeo jackson jervis]

Romeo knew he was rough around the edges. He could never be filed down or smoothed out and polished up. He would never be crisp and clean cut like some of the suits that walked on Wall Street, and he likely wouldn’t make their kind of money either. He was just a guy named after a Shakespearean Tragedy who wanted to make a small difference to a few people. He didn’t need riches and fancy cars. He liked missing a shave for a few days and having that scruff on his face because he was too lazy to keep a smooth jawline. His hair was always a mess, and he probably looked as exhausted as life left him feeling, but he was Romeo. He smoked a lot, had a drink from time to time, and his accent was as thick as the day he had left the city he had been born in. There was no changing the man he was, or the stubborn soul that resided inside him. He was hot-headed, and passionate about all that he cared for. He was a take me or leave me kind of guy and he was coming to terms with the fact that the woman he thought was going to be his wife had decided to leave him. He figured the only fault was his own. He must have been too city for his country mouse.

Still, Romeo didn’t change. He couldn’t. Too many paths had brought him to where he was, shaped him into the man he saw in the mirror each morning. He hadn’t fought for what he had just to let it go. He couldn’t be anyone gentler or softer. He had his gentle side, the romantic heart that beat tender but true. It was just there, right below that rough, city boy exterior. New York was fast paced and boisterous and Romeo loved that; it matched him completely. He hadn’t thought in a million years that it might scare Zoe off though.

He didn’t want to talk about this. He didn’t want to hear about it. All of his feelings had been crushed down into a little box, taped up and locked away in the darkest corner of his soul where he could try to forget about it. Still, her words made him snap, and suddenly the lock was broken and the tape nowhere near enough to contain everything crammed into that measly little box. “If I wasn’t beside you? Where exactly was I goin’?! Was drivin’ all the way t’ Adams, draggin’ our El with us, so I could ask y’ t’ marry me not enough t’ prove that I wasn’t about t’ up an’ bail?!” His chest hurt. His heart was aching so much, and he felt all the pain and anguish roaring through him like it had never gone away. “Was none o’ that enough t’ prove I loved y’?!” He couldn’t understand why she had wanted to change, why she couldn’t see that he thought she was perfect in every single way back then. Romeo clamped his hand over his eyes and pulled it down over his face. His head was starting to pound to match the rest of the pain in his body now. “Yeah? Well right now our’s is fucked.” He murmured on a sigh, gulping down his coffee and throwing it in the nearest trash can. “An’ I’m goin’ t’ be late for work.” He added, trying to continue on his way once more.

• • •

TAGGED! Zoe Diana Tylers
WORDS! 591!
OUTFIT! Bookworm Brit!
LYRICS! Blessed Are Those - - - Saywecanfly
NOTES! Dx

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe was still, through and through, a country girl beneath her shiny city polish. She still preferred horseback riding to waiting in endless traffic, and would always choose her mother’s southern cooking to any delectable dish she could find in Times Square. She still wore her hear on her sleeve, and had more passion for her work than many she knew; she was still Zoe.
What had changed was her mindset. She wasn’t afraid anymore, hiding from the shadows and keeping her face shielded from the dark. She had lit a fire inside herself and it was like opening the door to a place she’d known she’d always been meant to go; she was still her, just with more strength and the ability to believe in herself. Zoe had found her confidence and, while it could be attributed to getting her degree and fulfilling a lifelong dream, she knew it was more. She had found herself and she liked the person she saw in the mirror now. It was what she needed; to find that self-love before she’d be completely able to give herself to another person and allow them to accept her, whole-heartedly. She needed to believe in herself and, finally, she did.
She was still her though; she’d always be just Zoe, the boring country mouse with bright blue eyes who found herself in a city she didn’t think she could belong in. And she was happily okay with that now.
Zoe’s faith in Romeo had never, for even a moment, faltered. She had known he loved her; she had seen it in the simplest of moments they shared together, whether it was laughing over a silly inside joke or dancing beneath the stars in Central Park. He was the kind of love she had never thought she’d have and it had swept her off her feet without her even realizing it until, suddenly, she found herself with a ring and an apartment and a huge, wide open future. He had scared her in the best way he possibly could, and she had reacted in the only way she knew how: by running. It had never been about his loud accent or rough edges; they only made her fall in love with him even more, making the moments when he was gentle with her even more special to her heart. He had scared her by giving her a chance at true love, something she wasn’t ready for when she could barely find love for herself.
Zoe was not scared of him anymore. She couldn’t be, not when she knew the man that lay beneath his brash exterior. She loved him, all of him, and while she had no claim over him anymore, her heart still beat for him. It was impossible to get him out of her head, no matter how much she tried; seeing him now only solidified that. She would always love him, whether he returned that love or not. He was her Shakespearean tragedy, and she would always pine for her Romeo.
"I never doubted that you loved me,” she said with no hesitation. She meant every word; she’d never doubted him. It was herself that she doubted, and her own thoughts that made her panic, but never him. "It was all just so fast and I loved you so much, I didn’t know what to do,” she sighed in frustration with herself. How did she tell him everything she should’ve said a year ago? "I wasn’t ready for you to love me, Romeo, not properly at least. I needed to believe that I was worth that effort – worth the fantastic gestures and crazy proposals. And I didn’t back then.” She stared at him for a moment, willing him with her entire heart to see her for who she was now. She was still the country mouse, and still the girl he’d saved outside a bookstore; she was still his Zoe.
"I’m sorry,” she said again as he spoke. She didn’t want to hurt him anymore; she’d never wanted that.
When he tried to push passed her again, she stepped in front of him and planted her feet firmly in his path with one tiny, warm hand pressed on his chest as she looked up at him. She was bracing herself for his rejection, but she had to try; she had to show him that she was sorry. "Look at me,” she pleaded softly, her blue eyes piercing his face. "Please, Romeo, don’t leave.”

• • •

TAG: romeo jackson jervis
WORDS: 755!
OUTFIT: Pretty Lady!
LOCATION: The Streets, New York
LYRICS: Perfect by Pink
NOTES: <3 <3 <3