That's the Glory of Love

Chapter 1: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Zoey 101

Things have come to a pretty pass,
Our romance is growing flat,
For you like this and the other
While I go for this and that.
Goodness knows what the end will be;
Oh, I don't know where I'm at...
It looks as if we two will never be one,
Something must be done.

- Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers from the movie Shall We Dance? (1937)

If Chase Matthews thought he could dump Zoey Brookes just like that, without it hitting her hard, boy was he wrong. He was the love of her life for about seven years and he chose today to have her hit the road?!?! Did he not know it was going to be hard on her and she wouldn't take it well at all? Obviously not as shown by her facial expression as she walked, or rather rushed, into O'Donovan's Pub. She had always wondered what it was like to get drunk. Well, today was her lucky day.

"Hey, bartender!" she called out, sitting on a stool at the bar and dropping her coat and purse on the floor next to her. "Vodka martini (vodka and dry vermouth)" she said as she slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the counter, "and keep them coming!"

About half the people at O'Donovan's, mostly the newcomers, looked at her, knowing very well that someone was definitely getting drunk that night. The other half, mostly the regulars, used to this sort of behavior (usually whenever anyone rushed in like that with a determination to get drunk, it was due to something horrible that had just happened) just kept right on doing what they were doing. In a corner at the back of the pub, a group of five guys around Zoey's age were playing pool.

"Hey Aiden, bet you twenty bucks you can't even score with that girl," one guy said as he pointed out Zoey and the other guys snickered.

"C'mon guys, leave her alone. She looks like she's just been through hell and back," Aiden remarked sympathetically.

"Maybe so, but I've lost a good amount of money to you tonight and I intend to get it back," the first guy said. "Besides, I know you're too chicken to do it so I might as well make twenty bucks off of it."

"Mark…" Aiden groaned.

"Look," Mark said. "If I get the purple twelve-ball in the left corner pocket, you go up to her and owe me twenty bucks. If I don't get it in, you earn the twenty bucks, okay?"

Aiden studied the position of the balls on the table. In his mind, there was no way Mark was going to sink the ball.

"I want a piece of this," one guy named Liam said and put a twenty dollar bill down on the side of the table.

"Count me in," said another one named Connor as he put down his twenty.

"Me too," added the last guy, Dillon and he added his bill.

Aiden looked at the four of them and smirked. "So if Mark doesn't make it in, I get eighty bucks right?"

"Or you owe each of us twenty bucks," Liam countered.

Aiden looked once more at the position of the balls on the table. There were so many obstacles that there was no way Mark was going to sink the ball.

"Well, are you in?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, I'm in," Aiden shrugged.

Each guy watched tentatively as Mark chalked the end of the pool stick and carefully aimed the cue ball at the purple twelve-ball. After a few seconds, he released and after bouncing all around the table, the ball slowly, but definitely, sunk into the pocket.

Mark, Liam, Connor, and Dillon cheered and began hi-fiving each other. Aiden groaned because now he was going to have to go talk to that girl at the bar, not that she wasn't pretty. It was actually quite the opposite. She was so beautiful he could hardly keep his eyes off of her. It was the fact that she was getting very drunk and he felt that if he tried to score with her, he'd be taking advantage of her. However, a deal was a deal and he had lost.

Mark turned to Aiden after the little cheer session that had been going on and gave him a smirk. "A deal's a deal. Go talk to her."

"You realize that if I am able to score her, I get twenty bucks from each of you," Aiden pointed out.

"Duh, that's a given," Mark answered. "Now go!"

"Fine," Adrian groaned again and walked slowly to the girl. "Well, here goes nothing," he thought.

In the meantime, Zoey was on her fifth vodka martini and she seemed like she was enjoying it. Just as her sixth one came, some guy Zoey had never seen before sat on the stool next to her and took her glass away. She turned to look at the guy who took her drink away and gave him a dirty look, which was pretty hard to do since he had the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

"Would you mind giving me my drink back?" she said in a half nasty, half agitated tone.

"I think you've had enough drinks for one night," the stranger said.

"It's not your place to judge," Zoey shot back.

"I think it is, considering that you're going to be just as agitated tomorrow morning due to this drinking escapade you're on," the man explained.

At that moment, the bouncer, who had seen what was going on, walked over and said to the man, "Look, buddy, you can't keep the customers from drinking. Give the lady back her drink or I'll throw you out. Oh, and if you're going to sit at the bar, you better order a drink."

The bouncer walked away while Zoey snickered and held out her hand. Reluctantly, the man gave her back her drink and she gulped it down while he ordered a scotch on the rocks.

Sighing, the man turned to her, took a sip of his drink, and said, "Whoever dumped you is a fool."

Zoey turned quickly towards him with her mouth hanging open as she put down her glass. "How did you-?"

"I know these things," the man interrupted.

Zoey gave him a small smile and as the bartender walked over to her with her seventh vodka martini, she politely declined and paid whatever hadn't been covered with her twenty as did the man for his drink.

"So, are you going to be okay?" the man asked her.

"Are you asking about the break-up or the serious hangover I'm going to have tomorrow?" Zoey asked back with a laugh.

The man smiled back. He already was starting to like this girl and he didn't even know her name. "Both."

"The break-up, I'll survive somehow. The hangover, well let's just say it's going to be a rough morning tomorrow."

The man chuckled in return. "Would you like a ride home?"

"I don't even know your name," Zoey said with a coy smile.

"I'm Aiden Maguire," he said.

"Zoey Brookes."

They shook hands and it may have been the six vodka martinis, but Zoey swore that when she shook it, there were sparks.

"Now that we know each other's names, would you like a ride home?" Aiden asked again.

"Nah, it's okay. I have my car," Zoey replied, "but thanks anyway."

As Zoey got up from the stool, she stumbled as she reached for her coat and purse. Aiden reached out and caught her arm before she could fall.

"Whoa! Okay, I'm driving you home. Stay right there while I go get my coat," Aiden stated firmly while he went to go fetch his coat before Zoey could protest.

When Aiden got to the table, the guys all laughed while Mark said, "Hey, come back to give us your twenty bucks per person."

"No. As a matter of fact, I'm giving her a ride home."

Each of the guys' mouths dropped open in shock and their eyes bugged out.

Aiden laughed. "Yup. Besides, I'm starting to like this girl so it's all the better for me."

He picked up his coat and started to walk away, but remembering something, he turned around.

"Oh, and I expect eighty bucks tomorrow," Aiden said with a grin and left to go take Zoey home with the four guys still left behind at the bar with their shocked expressions.

****************

"This is it," Zoey said to Aiden as he pulled up in front of her building.

Normally, on any other night, she would have gone back to the house she and Chase shared, but she couldn't bear to see him. At least not that night. She had always kept her old apartment for times whenever she and Chase had a fight. It was like a haven for her so she could sit down and sort things out so that she went home to Chase, she would realize that whatever their fight had been about was stupid. The only difference was this time, the apartment would be her permanent haven as she was going to move back in. Aiden taking the keys out of the ignition and handing them to her brought her back to reality.

"Thanks for taking me home," Zoey said. "Oh, and for driving my car," she added.

"You're welcome," Aiden replied with a genuine smile that Zoey gave in return.

"How are you going to get home?" she asked.

"By train," he answered. "That's how I got O'Donovan's and that's how I'm getting back."

Zoey looked at her watch even though her vision was a little fuzzy. "But it's nearly eleven o'clock!"

"O'Donovan's is open until two a.m.," Aiden told her.

"Oh. Well, thanks again," Zoey said and when she got out of the car, she stumbled again but was able to hold on the car so that she didn't fall.

"Whoa!" Aiden said for the second time that night and rushed out of the car to Zoey's side. "Okay, how about I take you inside?"

"But I'm fine, Aiden," Zoey insisted.

"No you're not, Zoey," Aiden insisted back and locked her car before walking her to the building and helping her balance in the elevator till they reached her floor and then walking her to her apartment door.

When they got there, Zoey handed him her keys. Aiden fumbled around with them, trying to figure out which key unlocked which lock.

"The red key unlocks the top lock. The yellow key unlocks the middle and the blue key unlocks the bottom lock," she told him, implying the color code stickers she had applied to her keys.

Aiden smiled at her due to her little efficient system and unlocked the door while Zoey ran immediately into the bathroom to throw up, which she said made her feel much better. Then, she walked into the living room to lie on the couch and relax while Aiden locked the door and insisted on making some coffee, even though Zoey put up a big fuss about how she felt like she was a charity case which Aiden truthfully denied. It was while Aiden was making the coffee that the phone rang. Zoey groaned at the loud noise, since her hangover was already starting, so Aiden rushed to pick up the kitchen phone.

"Zoey Brookes' residence," Aiden said into the phone.

"Hello? Zoey?" a female voice prominently replied.

"No, this is Aiden Maguire speaking," he replied.

"Well this is Lola Martinez speaking. Can I speak to Zoey?" the female voice from the other end of the line demanded.

Aiden peeked in from the kitchen to the living room. He saw Zoey lying on the couch and groaning due to her head pounding.

"Zoey's a little preoccupied at the moment. May I take a message?" Aiden said.

"What does she have, a hangover?" Lola asked in a laughing matter since she knew Zoey never drank.

Aiden's eyes bugged. Damn, that girl was good!

"Um, yeah, kind of," Aiden admitted.

"Really?" Lola asked shockingly. "She never drinks."

"You couldn't tell by the way she was drinking tonight," Aiden remarked.

"Anyway, can I speak to her?" Lola asked, surprised she was conversing with a total stranger. "It's very urgent. Besides, if you don't, I'm going to go over there myself."

Aiden, not wanting to rock the boat, agreed and handed Zoey the phone. Zoey looked at him while he shrugged and went back into the kitchen.

"Hello?" Zoey groaned into the phone.

"Zoey, what the hell happened to you?!?!" Lola practically screamed.

Zoey took the phone away from her ear due to the screaming and placed it back once Lola had stopped screaming. "Lola, I have a hangover and I kindly advise you to not scream."

"Oops. Sorry Zo'," Lola apologized. "Anyway, why'd you blow us off?"

"Huh?" Zoey confusingly asked.

"You, Quinn, Nicole, and I were going to have dinner together tonight but you blew us off. Why?"

"Lola, can this wait till morning?" Zoey asked, rubbing her forehead.

"No it can," Lola said in commanding voice. "I've been calling you all night and now I've finally gotten hold of you and you're going to tell me why you never showed up."

"Um…" Zoey didn't really want Lola to know about the break-up over the phone so she was trying to come up with any random reason. " I… forgot?"

"Not good enough."

"I lost track of the time?"

"Try again."

"I had a family emergency?"

"You're trying my patience, Zoey," Lola said through gritted teeth.

"Fine! Chase broke up with me! Ok, Lola?! Are you happy now?!" Zoey screamed into the phone, but had to stop because her own voice wasn't exactly doing wonders for her hangover to say the least.

There was silence on the other end. Zoey didn't know whether to just hang up or continue talking.

"I'm sorry Lola. I didn't mean to blow you three off but, after that happened, everything else just sort of was forgotten."

"Aw, Zo', I'm so sorry," Lola said softly.

"I'll live, somehow," Zoey said, not exactly believing her own words. "But, um, can we talk about this tomorrow. Right now, I have a killer hangover."

"Yeah, sure Zoey. I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?"

"Uh huh. Night Lola."

"Night Zo'."

Zoey pressed the "End" button on the phone and groaned once more just as Aiden brought her a cup of coffee.

"Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing, but I do have to say this. If it makes you feel any better, I think that guy, Chase, was a complete and utter jerk for breaking up with you," Aiden said as he sat down on the armchair across from Zoey and as she sat up to drink her coffee.

"You've never even met him," Zoey said with a small smile.

"I don't need to. I already know. He's a jerk for dumping you."

"Why do you say that?"

"How could he? For one thing, you're very pretty."

Zoey blushed. "Thanks."

"You have a great sense of humor," Aiden continued, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Plus, you seem smart."

"What makes you say that?" Zoey asked.

Aidan pulled a couple of books off her coffee table. One was THE PRINCE by Machiavelli. The second one was a study of human anatomy and the third book was MACBETH by Shakespeare.

Zoey laughed. "Just because I read doesn't mean I'm smart." She really wanted to challenge Aiden for all he had.

"You can tell," Aiden replied. "It's not just something I picked up from the books on you table."

Zoey smiled. She liked that some guy thought of her as something more than a pretty face. Aiden and Zoey talked for a while until Zoey finally fell asleep and Aiden watched her until she did. Eventually, he fell asleep in the armchair too.

****************

The next morning, Saturday morning, Zoey woke up directly with a beam of sunlight hitting her face. She shaded her eyes as she slowly sat up. She looked around and noticed a blanket on her living room floor and also the scent of bacon and scrambled eggs coming from her kitchen.. Groggily, she walked in to find Aiden in her kitchen, standing over her stove. He turned around as she walked in.

"Good morning sleepy head," he laughed.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked.

"No good morning?" Aiden teased.

"Fine," Zoey answered as she rubbed her eyes. "Good morning. What are you still doing here?"

"I figured I'd make you breakfast since you'd still be dazed from this morning," he said.

"That's what I need," Zoey said, pointing to some Alka-Seltzer on the table and took two dissolvable tablets.

"I figured you might need that too," Aiden added.

"Well thank you," Zoey responded as soon as the tablets had dissolved.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Zoey looked at the clock. It said nine a.m.

"Don't tell me that's Lola," Zoey said to herself as she went to answer the door.

When she opened it, she discovered it was far from Lola. Chase was the one standing outside.

Zoey leaned against the doorframe, crossed her arms, and gave Chase a scowl. "What do you want?"

"Uh, Zoey, we need to talk," Chase said, slowly.

"No we don't," Zoey shot back. "Anything you had to say to me, you said last night."

"Zoey…" Chase said.

"No, Chase. That's it. We're done. You said it yourself," Zoey said.

"Can we just talk at least?" he asked.

"No," she barked back at him.

"Look, Zo'…" Chase started.

"Zoey!" a voice called out, interrupting Chase.

Chase and Zoey both looked in the direction from where the voice was coming from. Chase's face showed a look of curiousness while Zoey's face showed a look of horror.

"Zoey!" Aiden called again as he walked towards her. "Do you want your coffee with sugar and mi-."

He stopped as soon as he saw Chase in the doorway.

"Matthews?" Aiden said with hate somewhat detectable in his voice.

"Maguire?" Chase answered with the same tone.

"Zoey, what's Chase Matthews doing on your doorstep?" Aiden asked her.

"What's Aiden Maguire doing at your house?" Chase also asked her.

"Zoey Brookes, what have you gotten yourself into?" Zoey thought to herself.

Author's Note: Hello. Well, here I am with a new story. Sorry I haven't able to update much lately. I just added this story because it's one I've had on my mind for a while. I usually don't start a longer story while I'm in the middle of one. So I will update He and His Girl, first and then this one. The good news is that I have the chapter for He and His Girl almost complete. I hope you like this and I will personally thank you at the end if we review, alert, or whatever you decide to do. There's an excerpt for Chapter 2 on my profile. Thanks for reading! I love you guys!

-Mary