Zoey's eyes fluttered open to the sound of her phone's low buzz. She groanded, picked it up, and looked at the caller ID. Mike. "Hello?" She yawned.

"Zoey! Where are you? We were supposed to meet for lunch an hour ago." She gasped at the sound of the worried boy. Shooting up, she finally took in her unfamiliar surroundings.

"I'm so sorry mike. I had the biggest headache and I guess I slept in. Can I maybe rain check?"

"Yeah, you just get some rest." He hung up first and she was finally ready to examine everything. Last night she was out. With Scott. She looked at the many pictures all over the wall, obvious his and 'Pappy's' hunting trips. The walls were a greyish blue color, while the bed she was currently resting in had white sheets, a green blanket, and two pillows. The floor was wood and she found her shoes laying next to the bed.

Where was Scott? The door opened, while the ginger boy peeked his head inside. "Oh good you're awa-" He was cut off when the redhead threw a pillow at his head. "Hey!"

"What am I doing here Scott?" She exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You were out cold last night and I didn't want to wake you, so I just brought you back here." He explained. "You're a REALLY heavy sleeper." That statement put images in Zoey's head of him bumping her into walls, or dropping her, or even poking at her while she slept.

"And you?! Where did you sleep?" She scrunched up her nose, while he turned away, his face somewhat red. She looked at the bed to see the blankets flipped in a way that showed someone else had been there.

"You were crying in your sleep. The only way I could calm you down was to, uh" He paused, not knowing how to finish. "Hold you? I guess thats how you could describe it."

"Oh." She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "What the hell is wrong with me?" She rhetorically asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" He asked. She rolled her eyes a bit. "I'm sorry I brought you back here."

"It fine. It's the best I've slept in a while." She stretched her limbs, continuing to look around. "So, we're friends now, huh?" She laughed. He nodded followed by a 'guess so'. "It's weird, but since we're not competing, I don't hate you right now."

"Yeah, no point in ruining someones life if I have nothing to gain. You're alright red." He sat on the bed next to her. "But the sleep crying's a bit weird. What's that all about, huh?" She shook her head.

"I don't even know."

"I heard you on the phone with Multiple Mike." He laughed. "Sorry for screwin' up your little date." She shrugged. Her eyes finally settled on the boy in front of her. There was no condescending smirk, no malicious gleam in his blue eyes. He seemed geuin. She couldn't explain what allowed her to sit here and have a conversation with him without getting angry. She didn't really care.

"Scott, I-" she stopped, pursing her lips and trying to think. "I'm sorry I crushed you with a bolder. And laughed at you."

"I uh, thanks. I kinda deserved it though."

"That doesn't matter, hurting people isn't like me. No matter how mad I get at someone, I never stoop so low." Her words sank in his head. Was this 'guilt' welling up inside of him. Normally he only did things for his own benefit. He apologized to her so HE wouldn't feel bad or alone. Now he was feeling like he needed to apologize so she wouldn't feel bad.

"Are you hungry? I mean, it's like 2 in the afternoon and neither of us have eaten." She hadn't noticed how late it was.

"Yeah, but what about your parents?" She asked.

"They're away on some ice fishing trip. Probably won't be back till next weekend." He explained.

"Oh ok." Zoey looked around, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "This sounds weird, but this dress is bothering me. Do you have something I can change into?" He pondered it for a second. All of his pants would probably be too long on her. Pappy's would probably just fall of her and his mom took all of her warm clothes with her.

"I'll be right back." He walked into his parent's room, fishing through the dresser. The only thing his mother had left were her summer shorts, a few sundresses, t-shirts, tank tops, and nightgowns. He frowned at the clothes in front of him. His mom had a case of 'I'm 40 and my body's still kickin, so I'll wear as little clothing as possible' syndrom. He pulled out a pair of her yoga shorts, walked back to his room, and pulled out the largest t-shirt he could find. "Here try these. I'm sorry about the shorts, my mom's weird."

She examined the clothes as they landed next to her. "This is probably the sorta thing I'd wear around my own house. Doesn't bother me. He nodded at her looking around awkwardly. "Uh, Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonna go so I can change?"

"Oh yeah sorry." When he stepped out of the room, she quickly changed. The shorts barely peeked out of the bottom of the shirt. Zoey sighed, not really caring, and threw her hair back in a ponytail. She opened the door, seeing the ginger boy still awkwardly looking around. He was a mastermind at manipulation, but she never expected him to act so nervous alone with a girl.

The car ride back home felt far shorter than Zoey had wanted. She didn't really want to go home, since nobody would be there. She wouldn't tell Scott that though. Once his green truck pulled into her driveway, she prepared to open the door before here a "Wait". She cocked her head to side in confusion.

"Thanks for uh, hanging out with me." Scott said and somewhat sheepish smile crossing his freckled face.

"No problem." She reached into her purse, pulled out a little notepad and pen, and handed them to him. "You can write down your phone number, I mean, if you want to." He complied, scribbling down his cell phone number and handing her items back to her.

"If you're ever bored, you know where to find me."

"I get bored a lot, so don't make those kind of promises." She chuckled. "Well, bye." She said. He waved a goodbye to her and watched as she left, making sure she got into her house ok. Once inside, Zoey looked around at her somewhat empty house. Nobody was home, as usual. She walked into the kitchen to see a note sitting on the counter.

Zoey
You're mom has a chemo session today, probably won't be home for a couple days

Love
Dad

She sighed and sat at one of the stools in front of the counter. This is why she didn't want to come home. There was no escaping reality at home. She pulled out her cell phone and realized that her dad had sent her a text about her mom's chemo last night. She pulled out her notepad and added Scott's number to her contacts. What was happening? Had things really become this weird?

She flipped through her contacts and came to Mike's number, hitting the call button.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mike! I was wondering if you wanted to come over?" She asked.

"Yeah I'll be over in about an hour, is that alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Once she hung up the phone she decided she need to take a shower and clear her head before she started seeing everything the wrong way.