#beneathoaktrees.

there's a groan that's threatening to bubble in her throat; an attempt to calm them both  —  ryan worried, although she couldn't pinpoint exactly on what and zoya’s confidence taking a minor hit after her lecture about teaching and lack thereof.   “   can you stop shaking your damn leg? its moving the whole bench and ruining my meditative state.   ”   eyes are closed, but the tension could be felt otherwise. they were the last two remaining, and without a head of their department to keep them secure with their jobs, finding or research  —  she understood the fear, although she rarely allowed herself to feel it. slowly, she allows her eyes to flutter open, peeking over at her colleague  (and friend?)  with a relaxed gaze.   “   seriously, what is up with you? is it still the sullivan of it all? i'm the one that got lectured, not you.   ”   another pause.   “   or is it the intern?   ”   brow raises, waiting for some sort of excuse to flow out of his lips. 

there’s a slight skip in her step as she moves towards the elevator, swaying from side to side as she waits before getting into the slightly crammed space and allowing it to take her down to the coffee cart. one could argue that she doesn’t need the caffeine, but she would simply argue back that the company was the main priority  —  it would be nice to see him outside of the lab, where the rats weren’t eavesdropping on her horrific attempts at flirting or inability to understand that he was flirting back. there’s barely a noise to her steps, although that would be from the hustle that’s happening on every floor and crevice of the hospital space, people panicking about the restructuring and fears of losing their jobs. she steps towards the coffee cart, seeing rome immediately  —  body moves behind his, going on her tiptoes to peek over his shoulder, hands clasped behind her back.   “   whatcha get?   ”   she asked quietly, as if it was some sort of secret question between the two of them, a cheeky grin beginning to tug at her lips.

“   god, you look miserable.   ”   she states as she moves to stand next to ryan, manicured nail making a small tapping noise against the side of her glass  —  an old fashioned. the liquor is warm, and stings down her throat exactly as she needs it to, a necessary and logical distraction from the anxiety that's rushing around the room. no one is prepared for the speeches that would come as the night drags on, and truthfully, zoya wished she could get a summary via e-mail i stead of having to stand here in this off-white dress and heels that were already beginning to irritate her structure. ryan’s silence isn’t new, nor would she consider it off-putting but there’s a newfound rawness to it thats beginning to linger in the air between them to make zoya’s gaze follow ryan’s across the way, brow raising but lips remaining shut.   “   drink, like a normal human being.   ”   cup is dangled before him between her fingers, attempting to coax him back to reality. 

hands rub against pant legs  —  thankful for the black suit that donned his body, allowing the clamminess to go unseen as he begins his approach. nerves take hold of every atom within his body, clinging tightly and reminding him of everything that could go wrong with the conversation. cooper seemed nice enough  —  eli had nothing against cole, and deemed him respectable and a good teacher; logical and hard when necessary. it had been cole that got him through the ferry disaster, and that was enough for eli to believe cooper would be on the same playing field.   “   ah, cooper! the coop man.   ”   silence follows, own eyes widening slightly at how uncasual and awkward he managed to make it off the bat.   “   sorry  —  eli. elijah, agosto. intern. interest in cardio.   ”   hand juts out, praying it’s no longer holding onto the nervous sweats. 

truth be told, she had expected more of a fight  —  a groan of annoyance or some steadiness behind her grip on his hand, but he had followed without but protest. she makes sure to maintain some distance from the others on the dancefloor while also taking into consideration that rome didn't come off as the type to enjoy being center of attention  —  the outskirts seems best to gravitate to. for a moment shes stunted, standing in front of him and everything she remembered about dancing was thrown out the window. but the moment is brief, small smile tugging at the corners of her lips before she steps closer and allows her arms to make their way around his neck, forcing herself to be patient and allow him to take the lead rather than bombarding the situation with her own control.   “   see, its not the worst. much better than standing by the wall and observing.   ”   she teases, fingers interlocking behind his neck to keep herself from fidgeting.