Zoe Murphy

Zoey went on another tangent and David took that time to think about their options. Her situation really wasn’t ideal, but David was starting to learn that it almost never was and even he hadn’t dealt with so many unreasonable people. He was lucky for the events hosted by the magazine that he was dealing with Zoe, not the wicked witch of the east, because he was sure if he had to deal with this directly he’d have gotten a stress aneurysm by then. “Does it have to be the Soho?” He asked, pushing through all the vague ideas already bubbling into his head. “I’ve got a connection at the Waldorf Hilton down the street from The Soho who could help book a last minute suite.” They tended to have a few more vacancies too, which meant even last minute there was more of a chance they could get the better suite. “And if not,” he was already trying to think of a back up to the backup, his eyes moving up to the sky. “You could include something else for them that will make the Junior Suite not seem so bad,” not that he thought it was bad in the first place. “Like an exclusive tour of London or something like that.”

Zoe laughed, but there was no humour in the sound, her eyes were still filled with stress almost exclusively. “Don’t ask me that stupid question, of course it has to be The Soho, she wouldn’t have specified The Soho if it could be anywhere else. No that specification was her way of telling me that a fuck up was unacceptable.” Then again with her boss when was it ever? Chewing her bottom lip she shook her head, brows furrowed, trying in her haze of literal panic to work out what could be done. Zoe was good at working under pressure but this was a whole other level. “No…no but what if we find out who is staying at the suite in The Soho and they can move to the Waldorf Hilton instead…can we pay them? How much would you have to pay someone to do that?” She was quite evidently grasping at straws as her breath carried on coming back in sharp gasps, expression pinched and pale. Would the visiting people know that they weren’t in the best suite? Probably, they’d have googled it or something, because otherwise the blonde was considering attempting to pass the junior suite off as the main one. If she could get ahead of it, call the hotel and tell them to just call it a suite instead of a junior…but if she was found out the repercussions would be….vile to say the least. “Or a show? Like a London show? Or both. Just…everything…I don’t know. Shit…shit shit shit.” She muttered as she cracked her knuckles on each hand, a stress tick. “Oh my god she’s going to fire me.” 

He laughed, playfully bumping his shoulder into hers. Really, he should’ve stayed awake, but some times he just couldn’t help it sometimes. Thankfully he knew Zoe didn’t mind too much. “ Yes, it does. ” He grinned and paused in his movement of the bowl long enough for her to grab some, shaking his head a bit. He wanted to argue that he’d be able to hide it but, as someone who worked at a bar, he knew it was practically impossible. “ I would’ve stayed awake if I wasn’t so tired. ” He shrugged in response before pointing at her with a grin, holding back a laugh. “ That, my dearest, is because of all the years of fucking my brain up with drugs. ” He gave her a wink to top it off before shaking his head and laughing a little. “ No, I just haven’t been sleeping well. One part of my song keeps bothering me and I can’t get it to sound right, so I keep waking up with ideas on how to fix it. ”

“Fine, then I’ll pretend, but I’m expecting some kind of award for my flawless performance.” Zoey grinned, bumping her own shoulder into his right back before resting her head onto it with a sigh. These were the evenings the girl enjoyed. The ones where she could just spend time with her friends instead of having to worry about a million different other things all at once, only problem was as soon as Roger left she knew her mind would go straight back into work mode, it was default by now. Reaching out she pinched his chin with her thumb and pointer finger, pouting a little. “Well who’s fault is that then? Hugs not drugs, we’ve been through this a million times. I can’t feel sorry for you if you caused it yourself.” Did she worry he might relapse at some point? Absolutely, the boy meant more to her than most people she knew, he was more like a brother than her own had ever been that was for sure, but she also trusted him. “What part is that? Sing it for me! Maybe we can sort it out.” Not that she was particularly musical, but she was a fixer. 

“You could make a lot of money on something like that. Especially, if it turns out you’re right about all of them,” he pointed out, taking a sip of his own drink. “Good because I wasn’t planning on taking it back. Oh, I’m definitely an addict and I’ll wear it with pride, but he’s shyer than me.” 

“What do you mean if it turns out I’m right about all of them? Are you already doubting my talent? We’ve only just discovered it you can’t try and debunk it already!” Zoe joked, glad the man had sat down at her table, this was the little break she needed that was for sure. “Why don’t you get him a badge that tells people he’s an addict, then he doesn’t have to say it out loud, but it’ll be known. Kind of like…the best of both worlds.”

Jo slumped down into the seat adjacent from their work bench, “Yeah, you’re a total psychic,” Jo shrugged, the sarcasm finally returning to their voice, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to involve you in all this,” Jo gestured around their head, referring to all the chaos that went on when their plate was too full. Really, it had been a good thing for Zoe to finally give them a job that wasn’t on a movie or commercial set. It just wasn’t natural for Jo to open up like that, “I’ll… I’ll find a replacement for it by tomorrow. I promise I’m not trying to slack.” 

“Don’t apologise, it’s okay.” Zoe replied softly, relieved to see that at least Jo was listening enough to have actually sat down. Small wins. Continuing to pick up the bits she shot Jo a kind smile, knowing the struggle of having too much going on, letting something slip. God if it hadn’t happened to her a million times. Bosses expected too much from one person most of the time, she often marvelled at how they believed the workload they handed over was possible. “I didn’t think you were trying to slack, we’ve all been there.” Finally standing up again the girl stretched her back slightly and set the broken bits on the work bench. “You’ve got a lot on, huh? Been there.”

Grover grinned, too oblivious to notice any sort of emotion other than pleasantry coming from Zoe. “Good, because you’re officially one of my favorite people in the whole entire world.” Especially for donuts that smelled like. “Yeah, exactly. We’ll show them and we’ll feel content at the same time.” It was unnecessary rationalizing, something he didn’t really need to do, but it was something he did on instinct. When she held out a piece of the donut he took the bite into his mouth, leaning back so he could chew it. Donut holes probably would have been easier, but it’s possible that Zoe didn’t expect him to be in such a binding this fine afternoon. “It’s not too bad, actually. You kind of forget the chains are there after awhile and if you’ve done it enough, you can find that perfect inbetween of drinking water where you’re not dehydrated but you don’t have to actually use the bathroom. Took me awhile to figure that one out.” He probably shouldn’t have admitted that out loud, but it was fine. “Probably Eliza or Seymour, I’m not sure, though.” It was usually one of those two, if it wasn’t Grover, though sometimes Willow herself would watch the place.

Zoe raised her eyebrows, letting out a humming noise. “Yeah? Well lucky me, I’ve clearly hit the jackpot.” There was a tiny bit of sarcasm resonating in her tone but hopefully not enough for Grover to pick up on it. After all it wasn’t intended, it had just…come out. “Show them but also be full on their competitors doughnuts, it’s almost like I planned this. Shall we pretend I totally did?” Waiting until he’d taken the bite of treat off her finger before breaking off a bit for herself, shoving it into her mouth like that might be able to stop the emotion spilling out. She let him chatter on about the logistics of chaining yourself up to something, it wasn’t something the girl had ever considered doing herself, but well…now she knew who the expert was if she needed pointers. “And what are you going to do when you do need to pee? Because that time will come around however much you try and fend it off.” The blonde laughed, breaking off another big of doughnut for him, holding it near enough his mouth for him to take it off her. “Do you want me to go and check on my way home? I have to walk that way anyway.” A total lie, it was in the opposite direction but he didn’t know that, right? She’d offered before she could stop herself.

Grover’s eyes moved to the back in his hands, his mouth salivating as he thought about the food. “Is it weird to say I love you?” He asked, leaning as far forward as the chains would allow (not very far) in an attempt to smell those greasy delights. “Because I am definitely feeling some love up in here right now.” Not only had she brought him food, but she was offering to get him more??? How had Grover ever gotten so lucky to find friends like Zoe. He grinned up at her, scrunching his eyes close together if only to keep the sun out of them. “Those aren’t Monster Donut donuts, though, so see, it’s fine. Krispy Kreme is totally acceptable, which means this is literally perfect, because we got donuts from the competition and now we can eat them in the spot where, if I get what I want, a Monster Donuts will never stand.”

‘Is it weird to say I love you’, if Grover could only know the way that sentence hit Zoe in the chest like a full grown punch, but instead she just chuckled. Shaking her head as she moved the doughnuts closer for him to smell. “No, it seems like the right reaction for something that tastes this good.” Thank god she hadn’t picked up Monster Doughnuts, because she had been planning on just stopping the first place she came across anyway. “Ah, like protest doughnut eating? I like your style.” Lifting one out she had to place the box on the ground to break of a bit of it, holding it out so the boy could eat it. “So how is this all going for you? It seems…restrictive.” Zoe had nothing but mad respect for what Grover was doing because he clearly had more integrity in his little finger than most people in the whole of London, but worry still crept into her chest that it was of little good in the long run. “Who is watching the shop?”

“I’m fine, okay? Totally fine, this is like, the best I’ve even felt,” Not at all convincing, considering Jo’s usually husky voice was getting higher with every lie they told. But they weren’t lies necessarily - Jo could lie their ass off after living under “God’s roof”, as their mother called it. Not lies, just an incredibly nervous and flinching enby trying and failing to seem totally cool to their friend, when really “cool” hadn’t even been a possibility for Jo since they had just shattered a prop right in front of them both - absolutely scattered everywhere on the floor, “That wasn’t needed until tomorrow. At least, I really hope. In which case, yeah, everything’s tooooootally fine.”

@hbichandler​ - based on “I’m not shutting you out, it’s just the way I’m born”

Zoe had been down to see Jo because her boss was wanting her to source props for an upcoming event she was holding, but the Jo she was faced with on arrival wasn’t exactly what she had been expecting. Nervous, skittish, frazzled, wide eyed. “Yes, everything looks….okay no nothing looks fine at all, you look like you need to sit down or you might fall down.” The woman told Jo with concern, reaching out to put a hopefully comforting hand on her shoulder, frowning softly. “Here, I’ll get this, you just….don’t pick up anything else.” She chuckled. Bending down to start scooping up the shattered prop carefully so as not to hurt herself on any of the shards. “Things are stressful at the moment I guess? Call me a mind reader.”

“So amazing. You should become a judge on one of those singing competitions. They won’t even have to sing for you, you’ll just know at first sight,” he mused. “Someone has to have faith in you. If not you, then me. I take a bunch of pictures on my phone, but it means I could’ve saved that money I used up on the camera. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, but you’re also talking to the guy who has a usual pretty much everywhere. I think his mindset is that he doesn’t want them thinking he’s some kind of addict.”

“They could just walk on and I’d be like ‘Yes! No! Yes! No!’ and no one would be able to argue with me because it was just a talent everyone knew I had.” Zoe laughed, taking another sip of her coffee, enjoying the easy conversation. “You know what, I’ll take that, I’ll take you having faith in me because that’s really bloody sweet. Thank you.” Putting her hand to her chest with a sweet smile. Nodding slowly as realisation came across her face the girl couldn’t help but agree. “Okay but no one wants to be called a coffee addict, even if it’s true, which….well for me I think it kind of is.”

“ Bullshit, I know I wasn’t asleep that quick. I distinctly remember meeting all of the characters. ” That was a lie. He probably couldn’t recall any part of the movie other than the gothic feel to it for an animated movie. But he knew Zoe had been working way too hard the last few weeks, so when she had suggested the movie night, he’d agreed even if just to make sure she relaxed a bit. He sat up, stretching his arms a bit before moving the popcorn bowl to the table in front of them. “ I don’t even snore unless I’m drunk. And I’m definitely not drunk right now, Z. ” He grinned at her. “ But since it’s done, was it good? Worth sitting through my supposed snoring? ”

“No you don’t, but does it make you feel better if I pretend to believe you?” Zoe grinned, wiggling her eyebrows, knowing this type of film wasn’t his thing anyway so she was grateful he’d watched it with her. The week had been a whirlwind and getting to decompress in the company of someone who was basically family to her was a welcome change. As the popcorn bowl was moved towards the coffee table she took another grab for it, making sure she had a handful to consume once it was gone. “I know you’re not drunk, you were breathing all over me, I would have worked it out if you were.” She chuckled, shoving some snack in her face a signal she was truly relaxed. “Yeah it was a good film! You’d have known that if you stayed awake. What’s got you so tired today?” The concerned sisterly side she never got to show with here actual brother was coming out.  

“Hey,” David reached out, hands landing on her shoulders. He knew this type of panic and he knew that moving around only ever made things worse. It would raise the adrenaline and cause a spike in heartbeat, which would only make her feel more stressed. It was a terrible cycle, one he wanted to stop as soon as he could because this was never good. “I know you are. I know you are and even if she won’t admit it, she knows you are to.” He had worked with clients like that before, who put as much pressure on him just because they wanted 100% of his time and effort. They didn’t realize that the more stress they put on him, the more likely something would go wrong with their event. An event planner having a mental breakdown was bad for everyone involved. He squeezed her shoulder before letting go, sighing. “Let me help you. I don’t have anything to do for the rest of the day and two heads will always be better than one.” Whatever it was that needed to be done, he’d do it. He hated seeing her like this.

Taking a couple of deep breaths she looked at him when his hands landed on her shoulders, allowing the boy to tell her what to do, because lord knew her own brain was in no fit state to make those decisions. It was like she’d drunk four espressos in quick succession, hands shaking her she chewed on her bottom lip. “Okay but it doesn’t matter what she thinks because if she’s not happy she’ll sure as hell tell me, have you ever been told upon taking a job that your boss has a long list of things they are allergic to, only to then be yelled at when you don’t bring them one of those things from the list? Yes okay I shouldn’t have told her that, I should have just gotten it for her like my bloody job description says but if she tells me she’s allergic to mango I don’t want her entire face blowing up on my watch. So yes, I knew she was going to be in a bad mood from the beginning of the day, but that is no reason to go absolutely insane about a whole countries ability to produce good designers out of the blue. Apparently if they don’t have the right suite at The Soho Hotel they will … I don’t know, thin k my boss is bad at her job? But there is already someone staying in that suite which is why I had them booked into the junior suites already which she herself signed off on. Well she’s conveniently forgotten that now.” Zoe babbled, raking a hand through her slightly messed up hair, the bun she’d put in it that morning falling down more and more. “What am I going to do? Seriously Davey, what am I going to do.” She whispered, having seemed to have exhausted herself a little.

He should have figured that the question about his family would have came up because he asked about hers and the photos. But even as the question left her mouth, it still took him by surprise a little. It was always a weird thing to him that there were people out there who had a family. Who had a mother and father and siblings and extended family as well. Maybe he had that too out there somewhere but there was no way to tell and at this point, for him, family was who you made it with. Not determined by blood. “No idea where my parents are.” He shrugged lightly, “I grew up in foster care.” Crutchie simply said, keeping a light smile on his face despite it, reaching for the mug she had sat down. “Honestly my best mates are the only family I have and need. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where I would be.” He replied truthfully, smiling when she returned with the cookies, easing into the next topic. “Alright, which ones should we taste first?”

Zoe’s eyebrows lifted at his answer about his family, imagine having no idea who your parents were, it was a gap she didn’t think she’d be able to cope with in her life. Except he seemed pretty well adjusted to it, maybe it was a fight or flight situation, the man had no option but to deal with it and so…he just did. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” Frowning softly as she lifted her own mug into her two hands, warming them on it even before she drank anything because no doubt it was still far too hot. “I don’t think family always have to be the people who you were born to, they can be friends instead, like a found family. You know? Families can be hard sometimes.” Turning her focus to the cookies the blonde tapped her nose a couple of times before making a decision. “Okay we should start with chocolate chip, then move onto double chocolate, because then the level of chocolate goes…” pointing upwards she grinned. “Up. Which is never a bad thing. Wait, did I get any white chocolate ones? I did right?”

@onlyzoemurphy​ sent: [ nap ] for roger and zoe

–> [ nap ] for your muse to fall asleep against mine 

Zoe should’ve been used to this by now. Their movie nights always ended with him falling alseep against her shoulder, even if it gave him a stiff neck. He wasn’t big on movies anyways, but Zoe wanted to watch, so he sucked it up for the most part. But it always ended up with him asleep by the end, bowl of popcorn forgotten in his lap as he snored softly. Really, he should’ve felt bad for it, but he couldn’t help it. But as the credits rolled, he jumped a little, rubbing at his eyes. “ I fell asleep again, didn’t I? ”

Zoe had been wanting to watch The Addams Family cartoon movie ever since it had come out, frivolous as that was because it wasn’t exactly the hight of cinema, but with the one night off she had managed to grab while her boss was on a flight to Los Angeles the girl had figured out a way to convince Roger to join her. Not surprisingly he had ended up snoring softly against her shoulder before the first act had even finished which just made Zoe smile a little. It was more important to her that he’d agreed to indulge her than if he actually stayed awake. Laughing as he jumped she finished chewing the bit of his popcorn she’d stolen from his bowl, nodding her head. “Yep, before they had even finished introducing all the characters, snoring like a freight train.” Okay that part wasn’t true but it was fun to tease him a little. “I almost couldn’t hear the bloody film over the rattling that was coming from you. You need one of those little strips for your nose or something.”

NONVERBAL ASK MEMES: [ yell ] for your muse to calm mine down ( David Jacobs + Zoe Murphy ) (not accepting)

@onlyzoemurphy​

“Hey.” Zoe was off on a ramble and while David hated interrupting, he knew that sometimes it was important. Especially because a lot of Zoe’s insecurities and fears were stemmed from things she had no control over. It was her boss now, at least mostly, though he wondered if a lot of her issues stemmed from a much deeper issue she didn’t like to talk about. He wouldn’t press, but that didn’t stop him from caring about his friend in that moment either. “Hey, Zoe.” He waited until she stopped, which thankfully came quickly. “You’re doing fantastic, don’t let She Who Must Not Be Named tell you otherwise. Just because she doesn’t appreciate what you do, doesn’t mean it isn’t incredible.” Because it was. The girl was managing more in her time than David thought he ever could (though he was sure he came close during some of his events, he wouldn’t dare to think too much on it.) And that wasn’t something most humans could do, that much he knew. “Take a breath. Take your time. She can go without her extra shot of expresso whatever for two minutes.”

Zoe felt like she was in some kind of fever dream, which more often than not was how her boss made her feel if she was being honest with herself, sometimes causing her to go into an absolute spiral. Like now for example. At least this time someone who understood how to handle her in these periods was around, because there were only a few of them in the world. Her breathing hitched in her chest as she tried to snatch it out of the air, hyperventilating instead of breathing normally, hands shaking violently. “No but she is going to utterly chew me out if I don’t fix this. ‘Why do you think I taught you the right way to do things Zoe, so that you don’t mess them up when I trust you to do them alone, and yet here you are getting it the wrong way around yet again.’ She put on the voice of her boss with an extra high pitched edge to it, more shrill, which mirrored her mood after all. Hyper, on edge. “Apparently now China has the most important people in the world in it because she’s losing her god damn mind over the bloody designers coming into town when a week ago she said too much weight was put on their work, I just don’t understand what she wants from me. I’m trying so hard, I’m trying so hard to get it right but how do you get something right when you don’t even understand what it is.” Her voice escalated into a strangled screech.