pft, he ain't no prince charming. [zackcastelgwen]

[kate3]

Gwen crossed her legs and jiggled her foot idly as she scanned the pages of her history text book. She was sitting at Castel's desk in his dorm, which was currently void of both Castel and his roommate, Zack, curiously enough. By all means, Gwen probably should have left to go do something else, but she said she'd meet him here later tonight, and it was already later that night. So where was Castel?

Ah well, it didn't matter. Gwen wasn't too concerned. She took advantage of the quiet room to whip out the million-pound history text book they issued the seniors this year, and skim the next chapter or two. Her brown eyes flicked from line to line rapidly, one hand tangled in her short white hair in concentration and the other fisted tightly on the desktop. Her lips were pulled tight in concentration, and she had that weird this-is-Gwen-in-study-mode look about her, which was surprisingly intense and differed incredibly from her this-is-Gwen-in-OCD-mode, which was prevalent for the majority of the time.

As it was, Gwen didn't really notice how her fingernails dug into her palm, and how her hair was probably crimped by now from the grip of her hand. She was too engrossed with the fall of the Roman Empire to be bothered with trivialities like a cowlick in her hair. Oh, those Romans. Never knew when enough was enough.

Gwen smiled slightly as she flipped the page, uncurling her fingers and stretching them a little. She reached the end of the paragraph and finally looked up. Her neck popped as she stretched it, and, leaning her back against the chair, spied the clock on Castel's night stand. Whoa, had she really been here so long? Where the hell was Castel? Now she was starting to worry.

She had just walked out of her chair to brush the wrinkles out of her neat and tidy black skirt when the door handle turned. Castel? Gwen thought immediately, stopping her hand mid-brush. The door swung open, and the mess of brown hair on a person shorter than 6'4" had Gwen frowning.

"Oh. Hey Zack," Gwen greeted listlessly, sitting back down atop Castel's desk. "Have you seen Castel? I've been waiting for him for like 20 minutes now." She closed her history book quietly, running her fingers down the spine as she waited for his answer.

[ZACK CHARMING]

"Um...hi." Oh great. So Castel's little girlfriend was here. Exactly what he needed. After the whole Annabelle fiasco, all he really wanted was some peace and quiet. But everywhere he went, some obsequious girl seemed to be waiting for him. Absolutely fantastic. He lobbed his backpack onto his bed and pulled his scientific calculator, which he began punching arc tangents into absentmindedly. He strained his weary brain, trying to remember what it was the girl had asked him.

Oh, right. Castel. "Uh..." His psyche was still trapped in the past. He fished around for one of his signature witty retorts, but came up with nothing. "Um, don't know, don't care. Anything else?" She was probably going to try to flirt with him like they usually did. Ugh. He felt like he'd just thrown up: he was alive but in no state of mind to mess around with some girl he barely knew. Zack flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to block everything out but himself and the soft, cool pillow beneath his head. He rummaged around in the jumble of possessions scattered beneath his comforter, trying to locate his iPod.

A thought occurred to him suddenly. "Might want to check the girls dorms," he mentioned distantly, closing his eyes and visualizing enormous numbers sprinkled with infinity symbols, negative indicators and irrational decimals. "Shouldn't matter which room. You'd probably have a 0.00001 percent chance of not finding one he's been in recently. Oh wait, were you the girlfriend? My bad." He opened his eyes briefly to deliver cheery wink, then shut them irritably again.

[kate3]

Gwen watched as Zack angrily threw his backpack onto his bed, following suit and laying on his comforter and closing his eyes. Wow, something really bad must have happened to set Zack off. From what Gwen had gathered about him so far, he was pretty distant most of the time. So if something managed to actually bother the real Zack, it was in Gwen's best interests to stay out of his way.

She nodded silently as he snapped a quick "Don't know don't care" comment, as per usual Zack response. It didn't bother Gwen, really. If he didn't know, he didn't know. That was fine. She hopped from the top of Castel's desk and sat back in the chair, cracking her history book as quietly as possible as to not disturb the boy on his bed.

A few moments ticked by and Gwen began her studies again, eyes glued to the pages and lips mouthing the Roman names with awe. She loved history--the stone cold facts versus scientific speculation, the law and order of it, the timelines. She was this way with most academics, though she did still have some trouble in English. Apparently her verbal confusions when anxious translated to a nearly dyslexic writing style that left teachers exasperated to the point where Gwen was require to type and grammar check ever homework assignment. Math was easier by far. Numbers were impersonal unlike words, and it was hard to get nervous around numbers.

Gwen started to immerse herself in the reading, playing out the history in her mind, watching the events unfold as if she were an eye witness. Her eyes fluttered in concentration for a moment when Zack suddenly spoke, causing Gwen to jump about a foot off her chair, and bang her knee against the desk.

Dammit, Zack. Not when she's in study-mode!

Rubbing her knee, Gwen turned her neck at the sound of his voice. . "Might want to check the girls dorms, shouldn't matter which room. You'd probably have a 0.00001 percent chance of not finding one he's been in recently." Gwen smirked. Yeah, that sounded like Castel, much as she hated to admit it. Girls dorms, or boys dorms, for that matter. But Gwen didn't mind the quiet of this room, and used it to study, so she wasn't about to get up and go look for Castel now. Zack was being mopey and quiet on his bed, and Gwen had no need to make conversation while she waited for Castel. About to turn around and continue reading, Gwen paused when Zack spoke again.

"Oh wait, were you the girlfriend? My bad."

Alright, now was he just trying to be a dick? Gwen rolled her eyes, one hand still on the line she'd just read in her book, keeping her place. She caught the wink Zack delivered her sarcastically (if winks can be sarcastic), and was tempted to just ignore the hormonal teenager. Still, she couldn't ignore the twinge in her heart at that comment. Castel probably didn't see her like that.

Gwen turned her back on him again, fixing her skirt and finding her place. "Actually, we're not dating. But thanks for your concern," she said as easily as she could. Zack was being himself, sure, but she could tell there was something wrong. He wasn't usually so girlishly and needlessly pissy. So she'd give him a little space. "I'm sure Castel will turn up soon."

[ZACK CHARMING]

Okay. Or you could not retaliate. Well at least she wasn't getting all up in his face. About five girls he apparently knew had approached him as he'd trudged back to his dorm. What's the matter Zacky-poo? Yeah. Nice.

Zack was having trouble concentrating on his numbers. X to the fifth...five to the x...oh to hell with it. He couldn't think with all this crap floating around in his head. He tried to escape into his void, but it was as if there was something at the back of his mind, tugging at him and refusing to let go. A single bond still holding him fast to reality. Behind his lids, Zack rolled his eyes. And opening them to get his calculator was probably the thing he least wanted to do right now.

"Hey blondie," he called. "Mind telling me what 2381 times 123049218 is? I can't concentrate." He hoped she had a calculator on hand, or at least a pencil and paper. There was no way a chick like her could do that in her head.

[kate3]

Gwen was staring blankly at the page in front of her. Every time she thought she could concentrate, Zack would shift, or make noise noise, or talk, and it would break Gwen's focus and she'd have to start the paragraph again. Come on now, she'd given him the courtesy of silence. So what was with the need to be social? Man, something must really be eating Zack if he was crying for attention from someone like Gwen.

She heard him sigh a little and fidget, and Gwen tensed. You know what? Fine. Two can play at this game she concluded, finally closing her text book for good until Castel got here to study with her. "Hey blondie.
Mind telling me what 2381 times 123049218 is? I can't concentrate." Of course you can't. Not when you keep running your mouth every fifteen seconds while I try to figure out the intricacies of Roman government, Gwen thought bitterly, but decided to play along.

"Alright Zack," Gwen breathed, standing up and dragging her chair over next to his bed. She plopped back down, crossed her legs and arms, and raised her eyebrows. "I'm sure there's a terrific reason you keep interrupting my studying in your childish quest for any kind of female attention. And because of your warped hormones, I will let the blondie thing slide for now, even if my hair is white. But if I answer your stupid math question, you're going to help me study the Roman Empire until Castel gets back. You break my concentration one more time, and maybe I'll just let one of your girlish admirers in here so that they can entertain you instead."

Bold was not usually Gwen's forte, but eh. She was bored, and slightly annoyed. And Zack didn't make her nervous.

"So. It's two hundred ninety billion, nine hundred eighty million, one hundred eighty-eight thousand, fifty eight. Or something. I didn't double check. Now, is that all?"

[ZACK CHARMING]

Zack opened his eyes, sat up and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey hey hey, sister, let's keep the PMSing to a minimum, por favor. You hang out with me, the backchat comes free. It's all the premium Hanging Out in Zack Charming's Room Cable package." He stood up and stretched. "By the way," he added, yawning. "It's actually 2.929801991 to the eleventh power. That's rounded down, by the way." Ah, so his brain was finally working again. About time.

Honestly. Girls and their ridiculously irrational hypothalami. If you're going to invade my private time, he thought, at least commit to lip I'm going to give you. Don't think I'm going to be all nice and quiet for you.

Zack sat back down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling for a second, welcoming his intellect back. He had missed his brain's exceptional capabilities which had temporarily vanished with his security. But even the minute or so of escape into calculus-dom had given his mind enough time to re-erect its barriers. He rubbed his hands together eagerly, as if preparing to enact some brilliant new plan. Zackary Morgan Charming was back in business.

What was it she had wanted? Ah yes, history help. Zack rubbed his face wearily, trying to recall the last time he'd paid attention in a history class. What had she said? Something about Rome...oh God Rome. He tried to think back to ninth grade, but all he could recall were those dumb Gods named after planets. Well he was going to be a shitload of help here.

Well, he had confidence in his brain, especially under pressure. He'd remember when he needed to.

He sighed. "Alright honey, make this quick. What do you need to know?"

[kate3]

Ohooo, did Zack had his wires crossed. He stood, stretched and talked down to her which Gwen knew was normal for him. Honestly, she couldn't blame the guy for having a rough day. She really couldn't. Or at least, she shouldn't. But lordie, Zack made it so tempting to just fly off the handle and beat his ass down. Gwen could just ignore him instead, but that would probably be what he wanted. So no way was that gonna happen.

Gwen looked up at him for a moment, seeming to decided on something, then, suddenly, she picked up her chair and dragged it back to Castel's desk again. She sat daintily on the edge of it, folding her slim hands over her crossed legs. "You're right, I guess, about that math problem." Her voice was calm even though he was starting to irk her, and she only faced him for a moment before turning in her seat to face the desk. "Silly me." She dismissed his arbitrary comments and, for what must have been the thousandth time since she got in here, cracked her book open and found her page.

She let him ramble for a few minutes more, scratching the back of her neck idly while she searched for her spot. Ah. Caesar's death. That was fun. Still Zack paced, still Zack went on in that cocky holier-than-thou attitude, and still, Castel hadn't shown up.

There was only so much of Zack a girl could take if she wasn't madly in love with him, apparently.

"Okay okay okay, Zack," Gwen said, cutting him off by waving her hands in front of her face and shaking her head. "I get it. You're super cool and everything, but you forget I came here to visit Castel. Not you. Not intentionally, anyway. And I'm sure you're a... really great person under all that crazy, "Not like I should talk, she scolded herself, "but I've got to study. Now will you help me or not?"

She glanced at him fleetingly, wrinkling her nose in a rabbit-like fashion and sighing a little. Flicking the page loudly she heard him ask in that same degrading tone what she needed help with, honey. Ugh. Seriously?

"If I'm really that much of a bother, I'll let you alone to your calculus," she said, trying to shove her feelings of animosity (and homicide) down so that bits of compassion could pop up. Maybe Zack just needed a break, and who was she to be such a bitch? She was just waiting for Castel, after all. There was no need to rankle his roommate, no matter how tempting it was to retaliate. "I'm just," she flipped another page, "reviewing the fall of the Roman Empire. I mean I know it already, I just thought I should review it to prepare for class tomorrow." Gwen shrugged.

God, where the hell was Castel?

[ZACK CHARMING]

”If I'm really that much of a bother, I'll let you alone to your calculus.”

Well that was an interesting response. Zack felt an instinct to roll his eyes, but somehow decided that wouldn’t be the best idea in this situation, considering that he valued his neck. “So then…did you want me to quiz you? Or what?” Thousands of comebacks were shooting through the lobes and cortexes of Zack’s brain, and he was contemplating which to use, when something came to him, in a floating, roundabout manner, as if a flashback from a far-distant memory.

“I get it. You're super cool and everything, but you forget I came here to visit Castel. Not you. Not intentionally, anyway. And I'm sure you're a... really great person under all that crazy.”

An emotion swept through Zack’s chest like a tidal wave. Zack felt it rampage through his system, smashing his stomach and making it feel like his chest was sinking into cold, salty water. Super cool and everything. A really great person under all that crazy. Zack suddenly felt very, very alone. His sneer vanished and he stared at the wall across from him, his expression blank and distant as if he was watching a movie he’d seen a thousand times. He was taking things in, but not processing a single image.

Shit. He realized, in an instant, everything that Annabelle, Gwen, Summer, and even Mr. Guy had been trying to shove into his head in their polite fashion. He was obviously too much of a knucklehead to even open the door and allow them in. The conversation he’d just had replayed in his head like a video on fast-forward, and Zack realized everything he’d just said. Wasn’t this how he’d almost lost Annabelle? Wasn’t this why the world hated him? He’d always accepted his lack of social capabilities, dismissed it, accepted that it was a price for his intellect. But could he control it? His brain could do amazing things, but was it strong enough to control his own actions?

It was like a cycle, he realized. A never-ending circle of life. The more people alienated him, the more of a dick he was. And the more of a dick he was, the more people alienated him. It was like a ferris wheel spinning around, and around, and around, with no way to stop. He had spent his entire life trapped in this eternal circle, and he was getting dizzy.

It was time to start over. Or try to, anyway.

Zack looked over at Gwen, who was eyeing him expectantly. “Sorry,” he murmured, with a voice like a deflated balloon. “I can help you. If you want.”

[kate3]

Oh shoot! Gwen watched Zack curiously for awhile, seeing his face contort into some internal understanding. What conclusion had he come to? Whatever it was, his tone of voice made Gwen feel all kinds of guilty. She frowned as he sighed "Sorry. I can help you. If you want." Gwen wanted to apologize and get out of his way. It was like suddenly she was the big jerk, and that wasn't a persona Gwen was used to.

Oh goody, and now she was being a jerk in her head, too. What, was she accusing Zack of always having to be the jerk and not her? Was she implying that she was the better person? Reality check, Gwen, dear, you're even starting to think like an asshole. Gwen swallowed.

"Thanks, Zack, I'd love your help." She gathered her books and papers up and thrust them at Zack without making eye contact. "Can you just quiz me on that chapter? Roman downfall. I don't care what questions you ask, it's just a big help to get a different voice in my head to study from. Better than being wrapped up in your own thoughts all the time, know what I mean?" Gwen twitched a smile at him, her nerves making her arms and hands shake.

Zack's outward dynamics seemed to shift, and Gwen was at aloss as to how to deal with them. Whenever she'd come to visit Castel and Zack was there, she was used to his snide remark and snarky comments, and passed it off as just the way it was. Now that in those few words she detected... what was that emotion? Anyway, it threw her off.

She turned and faced forward again, her hands clutching the seat of her desk chair. Her eyes focused on the wall in front of her and she concentrated on not letting her nerves get the best of her. If she got all stupid and dyslexic now, the Genius to her right would probably write her off as unintelligent. And she knew his opinion of her shouldn't effect her, but it did. Damn it Zack, don't you Gwen can't handle change?!

[ZACK CHARMING]

Zack accepted the book and squeezed his eyes shut, channeling his every thought and energy towards his brain. He could feel the blood pumping around his ears, and almost see the streaks of lightning flashing rapidly across the neurons and streaks of nerves. When he opened his eyes, he was back in boy genius mode. Time to rock.

He accepted the book and flipped through the pages, eyes scanning the words. Roman downfall…hmmmm. Once he had reached the study questions at the end of the chapter, he looked up. “I assume you know that this is completely inaccurate,” he stated, speed-reading the double-columned words and flipping the pages faster than the blades of a windmill. “The Roman Empire didn’t fall. Well…not when this says it did, anyway.” He made a feeble attempt to reclamp his vocab filter, but at this point he was too far into lecture mode to turn back. “It makes sense when you think about it. The barbarians simply contributed to a running process in their role of transforming Roman institutions. I mean, Rome kept going, didn’t it? The empire continued, in some form or another, at least until the Muslim conquests in the 7th century. And come one, we still have the Holy Roman Catholic Church.” He shook his head to clear it. “Sorry about that. Anyways. Questions.”

He flipped back to the study questions and scanned them, looking for one that would actually require an understanding of the material in the chapter. None presented itself. Oh well. He selected one at random. “How did an unstable economy contribute to the downfall of Rome?”

[kate3]

Gwen straightened her shoulders at an attempt at the formality she liked to keep herself to. Her neck was long and her chin parallel to the desk as Zack flipped through the book, his mouth running a hundred miles an hour. Gwen fisted her hands in frustration. She was starting to get whiplash from the rate of his personality changes, and frankly Gwen could hardly keep control of her own screwy mind, let alone find time for examining others'. So now he was playing holier-than-thou? Fine. Whatever he wanted. Gwen was just about ready to leave anyway. Coming here had been a waste of time.

"Hey hold on!" She started at one thing he said, her eyes looking down, searching as if for a fact that was written in her notebook as it was in the back of her mind. "I shouldn't think their highest influence would lie in Catholicism. After all, hadn't the Roman Gods and Goddesses affected life in much a more drastic way? I mean, granted, it petered out after a while, but there are just as many believers in the... Oh. Um." Gwen paused as Zack hardly took notice of her argumentation. Right. He's better than you, remember, Gwen? He doesn't care to banter on the various affects of Roman civilization with you, or have an intelligent, studious conversation with you.

So just shut up and his answer his question. Then you can go. Castel's probably not going to show up either, anyway. When will you learn Gwen? He doesn't like you. And Zack is only humoring you. Hurry up so you can just go.

Gwen shook a little at the intensity of the rebuke in her head. It was like her conscience was humiliating her, telling her truths she knew but never wanted to hear. Why was she always so hard on herself? If Gwen wasn't clinically depressed by college, it would be an absolute miracle.

Opening her mouth she took a deep, steadying breath. She looked at Zack, not afraid, but maybe a little ashamed of herself. Shut up brain. Just answer his question.

"The traditional Roman army won wars mainly through attention to supply and excellent training. This was a successful, but expensive strategy. During the 3rd century, a series of conflicts with barbarians and the Persians as well as constant civil war meant the economy was in shambles and the army could no longer be supported. Inflation became terrible and the economy collapsed. Diocletian and Constantine reorganized the system, but they also began the practice of recruiting barbarian tribes for the army. To avoid a repeat of the inflation of the 3rd century, and living in a similar militaristic environment of constant civil wars and border conflicts, the successors to Constantine relied more and more on the cheaper, poorly trained barbarian recruits until almost literally they became the entire army. Once this point was reached in the West, barbarian generals started to replace Emperors at will until finally, in 476, they chose to have no Western Emperor at all and ran things themselves. The process was never an invasion, it was all done legally and orderly. Ironically enough. So. An unstable economy, leading to rampant inflation causing an inability to afford an effective army. The comparatively unskilled and unreliable troops that were then relied on, eventually did away with the Emperors and set up their own kings, thus initiating the so-called 'Dark Ages.'"

Gwen swallowed, looked up from her odd, trance-like state, and frowned.

"...Right?"

---

no way in hell did i know that

[ZACK CHARMING]

Zack listened as the girl spewed what sounded like a Wikipedia article committed to memory. The occasional criticism flitted through his head, but for the most part he found himself actually engaged in what she was saying. In his own, twisted, unobjective type of engagement. He processed the words, almost amused as Gwen shot far and above the parameters of the mediocre (in Zack’s opinion, which was what counted) textbook question. His brain was sprinting to keep up as his ears were bombarded with analogies and allusions to about every aspect of the middle ages that was taught to kids in K-8.

As Zack struggled to build the bridges between inflations and recessions, obscure emperors, arbitrary dates, countries, and other economic influences he hadn’t thought about in a long time, he felt a weird prickling sensation slowly crawling up the back of his head, like a rattlesnake slithering up and down his scalp. It slowly began to spread, towards his stomach, his mind, and every recess of his body. He knew there was a word for it: he could feel it on the tip of his tongue, springing forward, ready to make itself known. It was a term he’d never acknowledged before, a combination of syllables he’d never even allowed himself to think until now. But this moment deserved an exception. Was it…admiration?

Thoughts were flowing through Zack’s head that he’d never even know I was capable of thinking. I’d never have made the connection between barbarian recruits in the army and the triumph of barbarism in the government, he thought, astounding every atom in his brain and body. He hated to admit it. He really did. But this girl was impressive.

When Gwen concluded her speech, Zack stared dumbly for a few seconds. He felt like nothing he could say could even compare to the monologue he’d just been subjected to. Not too shabby, now let’s see those tits, was the sarcastic retort that floated through his brain. What came out was, “Interesting point. I agree.” He paused, thinking carefully on how to word this next sentiment. “Only thing I disagree with is what you said about Diocletian and Constantine recruiting barbarian tribes for their army.” She did say something about that, right? He wasn’t sure. But it was up in the air now: time to roll with it. “When you say they began the practice, did you mean just for their society? Because I mean, think of Scipio and all those other Persian guys. The Visigoths, the huns…the examples and implications are numerous.”

[kate3]

Right? Right? Right? Gwen, you're so stupid! She scolded in her head. Gah. She was stupid, wasn't she? Admittedly, it had felt good to nail that question. There was an intense satisfaction of getting something right, and Gwen adored school. She really did. And she tried hard to know all she could, be it math, science, history... her only hang up was English. It wasn't because she hated reading or anything. She just couldn't verbalize very well, and that made her seem stupid to a lot of people. Her speech impediment and near constant shaking from nerves pegged her as someone to ignore rather than consider. Even the teachers didn't care for her much, due to her strange mannerisms and despite her intellectual capabilities. Gwen was smart. Very smart. But so many things kept holding her back, she had little choice but to accept the pitying looks she received.

Gwen sighed. She'd answered his question. There. She'd studied. And the silence that followed indicated an obvious lack of volunteered participation on Zack's behalf, so Gwen retreated to familiar territory for her.

She gave up.

Nodding a little to herself, the pessimistic voice in her head only tortured her in triumph. Quickly she began to gather her papers and books, pulling notebooks into piles and tucking her assignments in folders. Bending, Gwen reached for her backpack and put some things away while the silence from Zack stretched on. "...Right." Gwen answered her own question in a monotone, a little disappointed with herself. Not for clearly boring the boy genius. Gwen didn't really care about that. She was more disappointed in herself, and that brief, sparkling moment burst of self-esteem had vanished rapidly. You're doing it again, the angry voice quipped, you're not impressing anyone. You never do. Oh, and don't forget to st-st-stutter a goodbye on your way out.

"Interesting point. I agree."

Gwen paused, bent over her back pack with a notebook in hand. Hold on a second... He'd listened? Actually acknowledged her answer, considered it? That was more than most teachers were willing to do. But then, Gwen also hadn't tripped over her tongue like she was wont to do in most situations. A first, to be sure.

Take that, brain.

"Only thing I disagree with is what you said about Diocletian and Constantine recruiting barbarian tribes for their army. When you say they began the practice, did you mean just for their society? Because I mean, think of Scipio and all those other Persian guys. The Visigoths, the Huns…the examples and implications are numerous." Hm. Continued conversation. A chance for intellectual discourse. How very Socratic of you, Zack.

Gwen straightened, surprised by his question, or rather, the fact that he was willing to seek a further truth from her answer. "Oh," she blinked, but smiled a little. Taking the opportunity to give her far too neglected brain a little exercise, she answered, "Well at that point in the Roman Empire, centuries of relative peace had been established and Roman citizens were reluctant to join the army. It was cheaper to enlist the barbarian bands in their entirety than to defeat them, so essentially the Romans bred out their own for the sake of peace. For society, I guess, like you said. And I guess Barbarians is too broad a term... Huns, Germans, Slavs, your Visigoths... They all contributed to the watering-down of the Empire." Squinting her eyes a little, Gwen considered. "But I think the Scipio you're talking about is completely in the wrong time. I suppose I was looking towards earlier causes of Rome's failure, around the 400s. Scipio is 200 something AD, I thought?" The facts were a little fuzzy, actually. She hadn't really concentrated on Rome in a while. Maybe she was wrong.

"But then I admit I could be confused. It happens more not than often."

Ergh.

"More often than not," she corrected with an obvious twinge of exasperation in her voice. Maybe she should start packing her things again...

[ZACK CHARMING]

Well at that point in the Roman Empire, centuries of relative peace had been established and Roman citizens were reluctant to join the army. It was cheaper to enlist the barbarian bands in their entirety than to defeat them, so essentially the Romans bred out their own for the sake of peace. For society, I guess, like you said. And I guess Barbarians is too broad a term... Huns, Germans, Slavs, your Visigoths... They all contributed to the watering-down of the Empire. But I think the Scipio you're talking about is completely in the wrong time. I suppose I was looking towards earlier causes of Rome's failure, around the 400s. Scipio is 200 something AD, I thought?"

Zack rolled his eyes. Isn’t that what you justsaid? But he kept the admonition to himself, though he could feel his vocal chords straining against his resolve, as if his jaw were wired shut. “You and I must be thinking of different time periods,” he substituted quickly , to prevent any more backchat from slipping through his lips. “Although the question really didn’t specify. So I suppose you can’t be blamed for looking further back. Impressive.” He could feel his vocab filter lessening its grip on his speech with every syllable he uttered.

This felt good. He hadn’t had a stimulating conversation of anywhere near this caliber since he’d had that argument with that astrophysicist back in Pawling. And even then, that idiot hadn’t had nearly as wide a basis of knowledge as this girl. Not to mention that his infantile position on the quantum field theory had been completely out of whack. ‘Consequences of inaccurate and unobservable equations arising from relativistic wavefunctions having a probabilistic interpretation in position space, due to probability conservation being a relativistically covariant concept?’ Honestly. What was this world coming to?

Zack’s iPhone vibrated in his pocket, reminding him that his gm class started in half an hour. He stood up from his bed and stretched his arms out to his sides, pulling a sweatshirt over his shoulders. “I gotta go reunify myself with the tyranny soon,” he said passively, rummaging around the mess of paper on his desk for his Student ID. “Anything else you need help with?”

[kate3]

"Um, alright," Gwen said in a small voice. Her posture indicated the confusion she tried desperately to hide on her face, her rounded shoulders folding in on herself and hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her lips, red and raw from worry, were turned in a slight frown and the pale white of her forehead was creased in a furrow. She looked small now, and fragile, every bit the part of the vulnerable youth in every fairy tale you've ever read. And all from one conversation with a boy who let her be as smart as she really was.

Go figure it would be Zack Charming.

Nothing against the boy himself, she supposed, except for the painfully obvious stigma attached to his name and haughty face. A quirk of the brow here and instantly what appeared to be a pleasant-looking boy would morph to a untouchable, insufferable genius type with the height to look down on all the world. No, it was probably within Gwen's best interests to stay away from him, stick to the down-to-earth, rough and tumble Castel with his contagious, curious grin and big round eyes. There was an insanity to her best friend that made Gwen feel more human herself, less like a stuttering, OCD know-it-all. This Zackary character was bringing out the very quality in Gwen that no one believed she possessed, and thus, inexperienced and unacquainted with the words tumbling smoothly from her mouth, she feared it.

Her knuckles were white, bones straining against the skin of her hands while she watched Zack curiously. Was it her, or was there a sudden shift in his demeanor, perhaps a softer quality to his razor sharp tongue? Gwen, busy nursing the wounds of his wit from earlier, was intrigued by this, but of course too timid to say anything. Instead, her eyes spoke volumes, wide and scared but sparked with intelligence and a cleverness all her own. A cleverness teachers and adults had dismissed upon hearing her obvious speech impediment and quickly trained to be ignored even by herself. There was a freeing quality in her limited conversation with her best friend's roommate that left Gwen aflutter with anticipation... and anxiety.

She didn't want to be the smart girl.

Smart girls have all the answers that Gwen doesn't have, they have confidence and a certain air about them... a je ne sais quoi that Gwen couldn't hope to live up to. She caught her lip harsly between her teeth again, screaming curses in her head at the boy that had so suddenly and ruthlessly, perhaps unwittingly, torn away her careful facade and exposed her shameful academic ability. What was she to do now? And here he was, standing and getting ready to leave while Gwen was left crumpled in a corner.

One conversation. One insignificant conversation with a boy willing to recognize her talents was all it took to push Gwen closer to the edge.

She breathed deeply. In, out, in again. Big breaths that were forced in, supplying oxygen to her brain before she hyperventilated over nothing. Over something Zack probably wouldn't understand, much less care about, confident and smooth as he was. "No, I-I'm... I'm..." Gwen started, stopped. She coughed, her breathing getting shallower. "I'm fine. You've big a been help. I... mean... You..." Gwen nodded to Zack, closing her eyes. She couldn't finish her sentence. Just please... Don't...