"Come down, Lola," were his first words on the phone, "come down for Thanksgiving."
I giggled a little, "Really?"
"Yeah, you're probably lonely all the way across the country. Who would you have Thanksgiving with in New York? You'll get to meet my family, and everything."
I paused, thinking, "Unless you already have something planned," he said.
"I'll get back to you on that one, Chase. I might be spending it with my mom and her boyfriend. They live in Sacramento, though. I'll probably come down to LA and visit everyone the day after," I said, feeling bad.
"Oh," I could feel the disappointment as he said this.
"I'm sorry. Anyone else coming?" I said, stroking the leather picture frame, a picture of all of us at PCA, all in blue graduation gowns.
"From PCA? I don't know. You were the first I called; I'm inviting everyone, though."
I was startled by this, "First? Why me?"
"You're the one I worry about the most, Lola. All of us are still living in California while you're the only one all the way across the country from us."
"You invited me before your girlfriend?"
"Oh…" the line was quiet for a minute.
"Still there?" I asked him awkwardly.
"Yeah. Thanks for telling me by the way. Call if the plan changes," he said quickly.
"Go call her now, ok? It's not like Zoey to get mad over little things like that. Bye, Chase."
"Bye," he said, and I hung up.
My fingers, still stroking the frame, brushed up against everyone's smiling, happy faces. I got to Chase at the end, and lingered.
--
I was walking down the streets of the city, shopping bags in tow, when my phone buzzed.
My mom's face showed up on the screen, so of course, I picked up, "Hey, Mom."
"Hi, honey! How are you?" she said, just the same as ever.
"Good, good." I switched the phone to my other ear, "how about you and Charlie?"
"I'm fine. Charlie's good too."
"Any reason to be calling?"
"Well…"
"Is everything ok?"
"Everything's just fine, Lo-lo," she said cheerily, even using my pet name that I hate, then, "…except for our Thanksgiving plans. I'm unclear about what you're doing. Have anything planned?"
"We talked about this, like, weeks ago, Mom. I'm coming to Sacramento to spend Thanksgiving with you and Charlie, right?"
"Oh…" dead silence. Then finally, "this is a problem. I guess we're stuck in a pickle."
"What's the problem?" what's happening to the plans we made weeks ago?
"Well, you see, Lo, we're going to Washington and spend it with Charlie's family."
"Oh, I see," I could tell she felt guilty, so I didn't lash out or anything.
"Mhmm…if I had remembered the plans we had, we would've said no. But we already got the plane tickets and everything."
"I get it. It's fine, go with them."
"Oh no, honey! We'll buy you one if you need it! We wouldn't want to leave you behind!"
I thought of Chase, "It's fine, Mom. Chase invited me along with all our other high school friends for Thanksgiving in LA."
"Sounds good," she mused.
"I'll need a plane ticket, though…to LA."
"We'll talk about it later. Glad you have plans, honey!"
"Yeah, love you!" and I hung up, biting my lip in anticipation. Bye New York! Hello California!
--
A few days later, I had my plane ticket clutched in my gloved hands, ready to board a plane to LA.
Everyone was planned to go. Logan and Quinn accepted appreciatively, Michael and Lisa were totally jazzed, and Zoey, of course, was excited too....I think (I didn't really get the chance to talk to her myself).
The flight was a boring six hours, full of sleeping (I never get sleep anymore, what with performing all night long) and watching a cheesy romantic comedy I could hardly focus on. And when I wasn't sleeping or watching the movie, an annoying Broadway buff was sitting next to me, obsessing over me, making me feel awkward, while she rambled on and on about how she loved my character in "King Wheezy and the Magic Dragon", the beautiful princess, Azure, even having me sign her soundtrack.
Don't get me wrong, I love fans and all, but it's kind of odd when you have to talk with them an hour straight all about you.
"We are now nearing Los Angeles, California," the pilot announced over the loud speaker, and I sighed contently. I'm home.
"Oh…my…gosh! Are you going to do a play in LA? How come I didn't hear of this?" the fangirl squealed excitedly, clapping her hands, and jumping up and down in her seat.
"No, I'm not here for work. Just spending Thanksgiving with a bunch of my old high school friends, that's all," I said, getting quite tired of this, and turned my head back to the window. It was a sunny, clear day. I almost forgot about the continuous cycle of sun.
Five minutes later, we were filing out of the plane, and I headed toward the baggage claim, seeing the conveyor belt filled up with tons of suitcases, searching around for mine. Soon enough, I found it, and headed out of the airport.
Soon enough, I found Chase waiting outside, smiling, and looking ever the same, "Chase!" I screamed, hugging him tightly, jumping into his arms, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Lola, how was the flight?"
"Okay. I had this unaccompanied minor sitting next to me, obsessing over me. Kind of annoying."
"Ha, interesting. I'm so glad you're here. This is just amazing," and he hugged me again.
"I know. I haven't seen you in person for like, what? It's got to be three years, at least."
He smiled at me before he said, "Let's get your stuff in the car and meet Michael and Lisa back at the house."
"Sound great and we loaded up, and headed off on the way to Chase's house.
We were basically silent the whole way, Chase concentrating on the road, while I fixated on the rose on the dashboard.
"Who gave that to you?" I finally asked, not standing the loud silence a minute longer.
"Zoey did," he said briefly.
"That's nice."
We sat in silence for a few more minutes before Chase finally said, "Look, I feel like a horrible person. I want to break up with Zoey."
"W-w-w-what??" I sputtered. I had finally moved on with my life, and now…
"She's a workaholic. It took a week before she finally responded to my message."
"Oh. Well, I wouldn't know…we barely ever talk anymore."
"See what I mean?" he slammed his hand down on the dashboard, "I put my relationships before my work."
I do too, Chase. Maybe we could be…but no use. Over the years, Zoey and Chase have had their fights. I'm sure this would be resolved soon enough.
"We've only gone on a handful of dates in 6 months, and I proposed to her on our last date a month ago, and guess what she told me? I'll get back to you! And she never did!" he looked like he was about to cry, poor guy.
"It's okay, Chase. I'm sure everything will work out in the long run."
He stayed silent, gripping the steering wheel so tightly, his hands turned purple.
--
"Jeez! I leave them alone at the house for like, a half-hour, and this is what they do?"
"Lola!" Lisa was out on the porch swing with Michael, having a make-out session, and broke away. She hugged me tightly.
"Lola!" Michael ran after her, and he picked me up.
We went in the house and played with Lisa and Michael's baby, Harmony, until Logan and Quinn arrived together.
We ran toward each other and hugged, "You've gotten so pretty. Logan's a lucky guy."
We all sat out on the porch, drinks in hand, laughing and talking like old times. It didn't feel the same without Zoey there though.
The evening dragged by. Harmony's afternoon nap was over, and Lisa carried her out onto the porch where we all cuddled with her and cooed over how she looked just like her parents. She started crying around 5:30, and Lisa went inside to feed her. Around 7:00, Lisa put her to bed; we heard her sweet voice drifting all the way down to the porch. It was 8:30, and still no signs of her. It was our twelfth time calling, yet again, getting her useless voicemail.
We were about to head inside when a shiny black car pulled up into the driveway. Zoey got out, wearing a black business suit and pointy high heals. She click-clacked across the driveway, up the steps, and onto the porch.
We all stood there, not knowing what to say. Finally, she quickly kissed Chase on the cheek and mumbled, "Sorry I'm late."
--
I heard yelling. I heard the sound of glass shattering. I heard the slamming of doors. I heard a car start up and drive away. And most importantly, I thought I could have heard his heart break.
He knocked on the door quietly at 2 am, but I didn't mind. I was wide awake, eager to know what happened.
When I opened the door, I found Chase with puffy, red-rimmed eyes, and his infamous Jewish afro bushier than usual.
He came in wordlessly, and sat down on the chair beside my bed, "How…could she…do this?" he choked out, barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry, Chase," and I rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.
"She's moved on, Lola. She doesn't care."
"What makes you say that?" I wondered.
"First, she puts work before me. That's completely opposite of what I believe in, but I could tolerate it. What I can't tolerate is her cheating on me."
I gasped, "She didn't…"
"She did. Some guy named Lawrence at her office. It was just a kiss, but still…"
Try to cheer him up, "Well, at least she told you."
"Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Sometimes...it's better not to know."
Heaving, shaking, gasping, he sobbed into my shoulder.
I heard someone pad down the hallway, and opened the door a crack, "Hey, are you ok, Chase?" Michael poked his head in.
"I heard what happened," he whispered in my ear as a tear slid down his face.
Quinn and Logan came in together, "What happened?" Quinn replied, about to collapse in Logan's arms, she was so tired.
He whispered something in her ear, and she snapped to life, "Oh Chase," she moaned, he pulled her close to him while she sobbed.
Lisa trailed in at last, "Why are we all in here?" she asked Michael. Michael pulled her out of the room, and told her everything he heard.
"This is terrible," I heard her say worriedly, and I wanted to cry so badly like everyone else. I could cry so easily when acting, and even when I'm not. I tried so hard, but the tears wouldn't come. Inside, maybe I was even a little happy.
--
The next morning was Thanksgiving. Chase's family came down, including his 14-year-old brother, Sean, and his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews were busy in the kitchen. Sean had fun playing football with all the guys in the backyard. Quinn, Lisa, and I were sitting and talking on the table on the patio.
It was mostly Quinn and Lisa talking, me nodding my head occasionally, adding in a "yeah", "mhmm," or "I agree," in when necessary. Mostly, I stared at Chase. I had to admit, it was fun to observe him; his brooding expression, his eyes intensely gazed on the game play happening right before him. When he caught one of his team members looking at him, he tried to put on a smile, but I could see right through it. He tried to reassure everyone around him that he was okay, but inside he was still mad as hell. This made me even more upset and made me want to….but I couldn't do that.
"Lola? Lola?" Quinn snapped me back to Earth.
"We were just talking about Chase. We were just wondering if you had talked to Zoey lately, maybe she kept talking about this Lawrence constantly or something?" Lisa quipped.
"No, me and Zoey rarely talk. She's too into the fashion agency and her new friends over there. How about you guys?"
"I haven't talked to her much either for the past few months. Whenever I did, she did mention him a lot. And I'm the rocket scientist here! How come I couldn't see this coming?"
"None of us saw this coming. Ever since high school, we all viewed Zoey and Chase as a couple that would last forever. Sure, they have their little tiffs here and there, but they always make up. It's always been like that, it's hard to imagine them any other way. We were wrong." Lisa said profoundly with a shrug, and went back to cooing over Harmony, "I'm just so glad I have Michael. We've had our stupid little fights, but in the end, he would never leave me."
"Logan can be a jerk at times, it will always be in him…but he's always been loyal to me. He would never do something like that."
I wished I had a husband or a boyfriend that I could brag about at times like these. Instead I stared across the way at someone I would never obtain.
--
After a few hours of hard work, it was finally time for the Thanksgiving feast. We sat down at the appropriately decorated dining room table, the turkey in the middle, ready to be eaten.
We said grace and went around the table, saying what we were thankful for.
Michael was thankful for Lisa, Harmony, and all the friends surrounding him at this time.
Logan said he was thankful for Quinn, the person who brought out the good in him.
Sean said that he was thankful for his family and friends.
Lisa said that she was thankful for PCA, where she found her soul mate and found amazing friends.
Chase's parents said they were thankful to be here today and all of their other family members who couldn't make it out here to celebrate in LA.
Quinn said she was thankful for Logan, her friends and family back in Seattle, and science.
When it was my turn, I said, "I'm thankful for being here today, and my mom and her boyfriend, who aren't here today."
Finally, it was Chase's turn, "I'm thankful for my friends, I guess," he mumbled, looking down at his empty plate the whole time.
--
After dinner, he asked me to walk outside with him. We walked around the neighborhood in peaceful silence for awhile. Until he finally said, "You know why I came to you last night?"
This surprised me a little, "What?"
"You've always been there for me. You're bubbly and outgoing, and you know how to comfort people when they need it most."
It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, "Oh?" why can't I say something monosyllabic?
"Yeah, really. I've been worrying about you. We're all here in California, but you're all the way across the country. I've been missing you like crazy. At nights, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. You've been constantly on my mind, and I can't figure out why."
I didn't say anything. Instead, I kissed him on the grass in the community park for his neighborhood. The sprinklers came on, making my clothes and hair damp, but I could care less, and he couldn't either.
I've felt this way for a long time about him, and bottled it up, pushing it back down whenever it came anywhere near the surface. I kept it in the recesses of my mind, a thought so far pushed back, it would be fall into oblivion if I tried to push it back an inch further. With guys, I never held much back (except when I wanted to appeal to them as mysterious), but Chase was different. Ever since he turned me down way back in the 9th grade, I seemed to bounce back up the next day like nothing happened. Truth was, I guess I never did get over it. I finally acted my feelings.
When we finally came up for air, I whispered softly into his ear, "Happy Thanksgiving, Chase."
The past didn't matter; neither did what was to come. All that mattered was this moment, sitting here in the twilight, coming to realize what we've been hiding for so long. It felt so free and so true. No one could take that away from me. Not Zoey, Quinn, or Michael. The most important thing I realized was that this was just the beginning.
Finally! This one shot is done. Be sure to look out for it in the Zoey 101 fanfiction contest ;)
A special thanks to Jessica (aka charmed4eva112).
And most importantly HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Please review. And more than just "cool" or the ever popular, "update". It's just not satisfying enough anymore.
~HOTL~