PHOEBE
Phoebe shrugged a little at his question. ”About when you stop focusing on everything all at once and focus on the moment.” she said. ”And from what I know of you, you are terrible at focusing on the moment.” she added, a bare hint of a tease in her voice. But his confusion at her somewhat rhetorical question confused her. ”It was a bit rhetorical, Loren. The premise was I would have been upset, because I liked you and you did not return those feelings. To rectify those specific hurt feelings, the most straightforward way would be to be with me romantically. The point being made was that any hurt feelings in the matter weren’t anything to feel sorry over because you couldn’t rectify the situation, because you wouldn’t be willing to do what it took to do so. See what I am getting at?” she said, trying to explain what she had thought had been a rather clear point. Maybe he was just taking things too literally.
”You’re right, I didn’t see what you did. Still don’t”
She knew it was true but it still stung to hear. Her lips pressed in a thin line as she focused on the waters of the Oasis. ”You’re empathy skills could use a little work.” she said dryly, confirming in part about his difficulty with thinking of others. And his explanation? A bit pathetic, which only added salt to the wound. ”It’s not you, it’s me. Classic. But when you’ve heard it as often as I have it starts to lose its poignancy. I’ve accepted that I am, in fact, my own worst enemy here.” She wasn’t what men wanted, plain and simple. It had played out enough times for it to become clear to her, and she was simply done banging her head against the wall trying to prove herself wrong. It wasn’t Loren. It wasn’t Sunjata. It wasn’t Emmett. It was her.
”You nobles always think you know better than everyone.” she teased right back at his confirmation. ”But I’m nothing special. If I can do something, anyone can.” she said softly. She wasn’t terribly powerful or strong or influential. She was normal. Average. The bar she set completely attainable.
”You’re right, I didn’t see what you did. Still don’t”
She knew it was true but it still stung to hear. Her lips pressed in a thin line as she focused on the waters of the Oasis. ”You’re empathy skills could use a little work.” she said dryly, confirming in part about his difficulty with thinking of others. And his explanation? A bit pathetic, which only added salt to the wound. ”It’s not you, it’s me. Classic. But when you’ve heard it as often as I have it starts to lose its poignancy. I’ve accepted that I am, in fact, my own worst enemy here.” She wasn’t what men wanted, plain and simple. It had played out enough times for it to become clear to her, and she was simply done banging her head against the wall trying to prove herself wrong. It wasn’t Loren. It wasn’t Sunjata. It wasn’t Emmett. It was her.
”You nobles always think you know better than everyone.” she teased right back at his confirmation. ”But I’m nothing special. If I can do something, anyone can.” she said softly. She wasn’t terribly powerful or strong or influential. She was normal. Average. The bar she set completely attainable.
You thought you'd watch me fade away
When you broke me into pieces
But I gave I gave each piece a name
