She chuckled lightly at that. "No conversation is a lost cause. Any conversation can be saved by going down the right path. Or a different path altogether." Unless they were heated arguments. That was the exception; discussions that turned to violence. Allie had no reason to worry about this option, though. David was all the way on Liberty Island. Couple that with the fact that he didn't look at all dangerous and, well, Allie was confident in what she'd told him about being able to turn a conversation around to something good. "You better watch yourself," she playfully warned, pointing at him, "Keep complimenting me like that and I might start to really like you."
"Oh, it was bravery," Allie argued, nodding matter-of-factly. "Nobody forced you to get in that boat. You made that choice yourself. Me, on the other hand— the only thing keeping me from moving to Liberty is the fact I have terrible seasickness. That, plus the threat of swimming zombies? Probably not a good idea to be traveling in a boat with my head dangling over the edge." Apart from that, Allie would've been all for the plan to move to Liberty Island.
Few men were willing to admit to cowardice. When they did, Allie always found that it humanized them. It was endearing, so long as the guy wasn't afraid of everything. She rationalized this as the reason she always found herself attracted to men like Brandon; men who could protect her, since she did such a poor job of doing that herself. "Me, too." Maybe if she were braver, more capable survivors wouldn't pick on her as much.
When David explained that all of his friends were with him on Liberty Island, Allie lifted her brows, inclining her head in acknowledgement. By the way it was phrased, her mind could only logically come to the conclusion that he had quite the group of friends living safely with him. That was good. Her smile was small, but no less sincere, even if there was a thread of envy winding its way into her heart. To live at a safehouse where friends were plentiful, where there were fewer bullies, must be nice. "Mine, too," she boasted emptily, determined not to sound as pathetic as she felt. "They're just not around at the moment." Ollie was off looting somewhere, possibly with that Laney bitch. Cassie was around Federal Hall somewhere, probably trying to figure out an outfit for the party. "And I'm grateful to be having a conversation with someone who isn't too busy to talk to me. Not that there's anything wrong about keeping busy, but I've got nothing better to do until my brother comes to escort me to Madison Square."
To have someone call you out on your lack of purpose in front of a new acquaintance was shameful at best. Allie bit her lip, regaining her poise, although the effort wasn't quite enough to get her to laugh off the other woman's criticism. What did manage to bring her smile back was David's defensive outburst. The soft whisper and rustle of something moving in a sleeping bag caught her attention, and she looked up in time to see Miss Unibrow get up and march out of the room, book in hand.
"I don't think she liked what you had to say," Allie said, amusement in her voice. An unusual bout of shyness filled her smile when she said, "Thank you. I would've just ignored her, like I usually do." She shook her head when the man added that he was the most useless. "I seriously doubt that. So far, I've only seen you helping people. First, offering to keep me company until Rae gets back, and now getting rid of my unfortunate roommate, at least for a little while. That's certainly not useless."
Allie's grin was brighter, genuinely pleased that she may have given him just enough incentive to convince him to come to the party. "Good. And I'd better be first on your list of dance partners. None of that second or third crap. Or, worse, last. When you're too tired to stand on your own two feet," she teased.
When he said he wasn't going to participate in the talent show, she pouted a bit, but accepted the answer for what it was. "In that case, I hope I don't disappoint you."