Love to Burn

Chapter 2: Chase's Observations

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Zoey 101, or Chase and Logan… But I do own this story and that makes it okay for me to play around with them all I want! Yay!

For as long as I can remember, I've known exactly where I stand. Nothing's really been too difficult for me to understand. My parents love me, I'm happy in school… my life was okay, I guess. But now...even with everything I have going for me, I feel like there's something missing. There's always been a nagging empty feeling upon me when I see someone else with the person they love. I can't stand to watch a movie where the characters end up together, and I can't figure out why. Am I jealous of their happiness, or am I angry at myself for not being able to let myself fall for the one person I want to belong to. What would happen to me if I fell and couldn't rise again? What would happen if everyone I cared about abandoned me, if everything I knew was destroyed, and in the end, I didn't have the fairy tale ending? What then?

Today was the first day of my third year at PCA. I can't believe how fast the time has flown. It seems like just yesterday that I met all of my friends for the first time. Well, all of them except Michael and Logan. Michael went to my middle school, and Logan's parents bought the three houses in front of mine a year before Logan came to PCA (excessive isn't it?).

Michael was always really cool. I went to my first dance with him (not as a couple, of course), I had my first road trip with him and his family, and his sister was my first crush (I don't wanna talk about it). But this year would be different. Michael's parents were moving to Montana, and they asked him to go with them for a year to see if he preferred Montana school to PCA. I'm sure he'll be back next year. Who could stand to be away from this crazy place?

With Michael gone, that leaves me sharing a room alone with Logan for a year. Now, a normal person might say something like, "Run for your life!" or "AHHHH!" but, I don't really find Logan all that bad of a person. For some odd reason, I still don't know him all that well though. It's weird since it's been three years, but Logan doesn't really talk about himself much. He's a closed book, except for the fact his dad is rich and he thinks of himself as the most beautiful person alive. It's kinda funny, but I guess I'm the only person who finds humor in it.

Anyway, after my dad left, I went to put my stuff in our dorm. When I got there, the place looked empty and lifeless. I managed to unpack all my things before Logan got there. When he did finally show up, he started staring at me for what seemed like an hour.

"Are you going to stare at me forever? Cause I'll start charging you per minute." I said with a smile on, trying to get him to do the same.



"I wasn't staring at you. I was just thinking about how good I'd look in that shirt."

This was typical Logan; always gloating about his looks. He did some unpacking, but then spaced out completely on his bed. I called to him, but he didn't seem to hear me.

"Logan…? Logan!" I tried again; a little annoyed he wasn't paying attention.

"Sorry, I have something on my mind."

"You wanna talk about it?"

He was quiet for a bit. For some reason, he was looking at me in this really, really weird way. It was almost, sad, but happy? It was confusing.

"No, but thanks." It's nice to know I have someone I can talk to."

Wow, gratitude. Then I noticed everyone heading towards the gym and remembered I had to go to the orientation ceremony. I didn't want to be late, and Logan was again lost in his own little world, so I went on without him.

When I got to the gym, there was no sign of Logan. I had forgotten to tell him about Michael, and I wanted to know how his summer went too. The last email I got from him said he was going away until the end of the summer and that he wouldn't be able to talk to me until we got back to school. It was weird, especially sine the week before he'd been bragging to Michael about his new speedboat and the great time he was having in Hawaii watching his dad film a new movie. Something must have changed, and surprisingly enough, it worried me.

"Hey Chase!" I heard someone yell from behind me. It turned out to be Zoey. Now Zoey has always been the object of my affection. I've been crushing on her forever, but lately, something's really off. Zoey had told me she was going to a Christian Youth Camp for the summer to find 'spiritual balance', whatever that meant. That camp really changed her too, by the looks of it. She was wearing what looked like a school girl outfit straight out of an anime, and complimented it with a blatantly obvious purity ring around her finger and a chain with a 'J' on it in place of her key.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute Chase?"
"Sure, Zo. What up? "

Zoey took me to one of the higher parts of the bleachers where we started talking about our respective vacations. She told me about how camp had opened her eyes to all the truths of the world and how she accepted Christ and was reborn, etc. I complimented her on her necklace to break the in suing silence, and she told me it stood for Jesus. Weird… I noticed Logan walk into the gym and went to signal him when Zoey stopped me.

"He's what I want to talk to you about…" she said as the look on my face changed form happy to extremely confused.



"What about Logan?"

"Have you noticed the way he's been looking at everyone since he got here?"
"Not really. I didn't see him at all until just now."
"Well, it's creepy. It's like he's dead, or angry at everyone, or both."
"Did you ask him what's wrong?"
"It doesn't look like he's talking to anyone," she said as she pointed to Logan sitting next to, yet turning away from Quinn and Lola.

"Well, maybe they're not trying hard enough," I said trying to get up to go sit next to him, but again I was halted by Zoey.

"Chase, no offense, but you shouldn't associate yourself with his types."

There wasn't any time to ask what exactly Zoey meant with that, because the orientation was over, and it was already mid afternoon. The five of us proceeded to walk towards the center of campus, and Zoey was right. Logan seemed completely disconnected from everything.

The girls asked us if we wanted to go get some sushi, but Logan refused and just walked away.

"What's wrong with Logan?" Lola asked.

"Maybe he's sick or something. This is far off from his usual behavioral pattern" Quinn said.

"Well, whatever. It's not like we need him to have fun. For all I care, he can go jump off a bridge. Come on Chase."

Zoey's response was a bit unsettling to the girls, but it completely took me by surprise. I knew she didn't like Logan, but what she just said was a little mean.

"No, I think I'm gonna go hang out with Logan."

"Bye Chase." Lola and Quinn said as they kept going, but Zoey gave me this look of discontent and scoffed as she continued on.

Something was quite clearly wrong with both Logan and Zoey this year. And without Michael here to consult, I was going to have to deal with both of them on my own.

When I got into the room, Logan was sitting in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The room had been cleaned up and everything was in its place for the first time in three years, a dead giveaway that something was up.

"Logan, I know something is wrong. It's obvious something's been bothering you all day."

"Chase, I…"

"Please, Logan. I don't like seeing you like this. I won't judge you, just please, let me help."



"Alright… I'll tell you."

I sat down on the computer chair and Logan began his story.

"Well, I told you I was gonna spend this summer with my dad right?"

"Yeah. Did something happen in Hawaii?"

"No… Nothing... My dad didn't even realize I was there until three days after I got to his house. He didn't apologize or anything… just went on making his movie, and completely ignoring me all day."

I started to feel sorry for him. Logan told me that the only reason he wanted to go spend time with his father was because his mother had been ignoring him at home. I can't imagine what it must be like to have both your parents forget you exist.

"So is that why you've been ignoring everyone?" I asked innocently enough. Turns out it wasn't such a good idea.

"I haven't been ignoring anyone. The first time anyone even talked to me today was when you came into the room this morning. And no one's even bothered to say hi since then. If you didn't notice, the girls didn't even invite me to Sushi Rox. I was just a fifth wheel. I bet they didn't even care when I left!"

"That's not true. Lola and Quinn were worried about you, and so was I. I don't like seeing you like this."

Logan looked very confused at first, but then he softened up and lay back down on his bed.

"Thanks for caring, Chase."

I wanted to respond, but I don't think he wanted to keep talking. I wouldn't if it felt like everyone around me didn't want me around. He must feel terrible… and I don't know what to do. My PearPhone rang just then. It was Michael calling from Montana. He couldn't stay on the phone for long, and only managed to tell me that he was having a horrible time and wished he could come back here. He told me to say hi to Zoey, Quinn, and Lola, and then hung up.

"He forgot Logan too…"

I'd never realized that all of us treat Logan like he's not one of us. No wonder he seems so isolated and alone now. I looked down on him and noticed he was covering something up with his wristbands. They were bandages.

A/N: Sorry the last chapter was so long. I changed it so many times I didn't realize it ended up so short. I think this one might be a bit longer. Also, I apologize to anyone who didn't like the Michael thing, but I had to get rid of him somehow, right? And, from now on, each chapter will alternate between Chase's and Logan's POV, so please, feel free to tell me how much you care. R&R



With Love, Your Pimp Kuja