All My Loving is property of The Beatles.
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you
I'll pretend that I'm kissing
The lips I am missing
And hope that my dreams will come true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you
All my loving I will send to you
All my loving, darling I'll be true
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you
All my loving I will send to you
All my loving, darling I'll be true
All my loving, all my loving ooh
All my loving I will send to you
I.
Present day Lola and Dana sit in the living room, sun pouring through the drawn curtains. Lola doesn't mind this brightness because it helps her clearly see Dana's reactions, but Dana feels a bit uncomfortable as the brightness of the room is quite in contrast with their moods.
"He slept with a lot of girls while we were dating. I was just too naive to see it," Lola says more to herself than to Dana.
Dana begins to fidget with the lace on one of the pillows, not knowing how to respond. She just slightly nods and hopes it will be enough for Lola. And apparently this nodding is enough, because Lola continues without any interjections from Dana.
"Logan was always the charming type, but I'm sure you know that," Lola's comment produces a snort from Dana, who is now covering her mouth and motioning for Lola to continue. "Anyways, we fell in love. Well, I fell in love with a man who could never love me…because he loved you. Every night since we've been married I've found a different girl in that bed," at this, Lola begins to cry – but not sob. "Every morning I wake up and go into that bedroom and I find someone else. Someone prettier, someone uglier – it doesn't matter. Anyone to get his mind off of you, Dana. He'll…he'll have any girl."
At this, Dana is shocked. Although she figures she shouldn't be – Logan had never been the type to commit. But Lola is a nice girl and Logan and her have been together for years, why continue the cheating? Logan had to have known Dana and he were likely to never see each other again – or was he really that in love with her?
"Lola, I'm – speechless," Dana manages to get out, looking out the window and into to sun – hoping she'll find the right things to say. "I don't know how you do it every day."
"It's a habit," Lola quickly answers, "When you marry someone and you know from day one that they don't love you...it almost hurts more. But now, now I'm numb to it. He's been with so many girls; he's hurt me so many times. Dana, you…he'll stop now. You're here and you're what he wants. You're what he has always wanted. Not me, not those other girls. But you."
Again, Dana is shocked and unable to reply to Lola's surprising words. She stares at Lola blankly, hoping the silence is calming rather than awkward.
"I want to know," Lola speaks through tears now, "I want to know everything that happened at the wedding."
Dana sighs, knowing this isn't going to be easy and wondering why Lola would want those sorts of details.
"Well – I got the invite from Zoey about four months ago," Dana begins.
II.
Four months earlier, Dana is walking through Times Square when her cell phone starts to ring.
"Great, this is just great," she says to herself, juggling her shopping bags and digging through her purse at the same time. At last, she recovers her phone – but not before almost spilling a passerby's coffee. Looking at the screen, she smiles to herself and answers hiding her frustration completely. "Hello?"
"Hey Dana!" shouts the voice on the other end, it is none other than Zoey Brooks. "Did you get the invite?"
"Of course I did!" Dana says, happiness overcoming her. She hadn't been that delighted since before leaving PCA, truthfully. The moment she received the invitation to Zoey and Chase's wedding – she knew fate had finally stepped in and brought them together. "I'll definitely be there. I think it's about time I see all of you," she answers – Logan being the first person to come to her mind.
"Great, great. Um, Logan is coming, too," Zoey confirms, making Dana a little nervous. However, she can lie even more beautifully over the phone than she can in person.
"Oh, really? Well, I'll just have to show Mr. Ego that ten years hasn't changed anything – I could still kick his ass," Dana says with a little laugh, making Zoey chuckle on the other line. "Well, I hate to cut this short, Zoe – but I look like a clown right now juggling bags in Times Square."
"I totally understand. So, see you in four months! Don't be stranger until then, though," Zoey says before hanging up.
Unfortunately, Dana had been a stranger for the four months following that phone call – until the day her plane arrived in California. Much like that day when she received the phone call, she was juggling her carry-on bags when she heard an ever familiar squeal – Nicole.
"Dana!" the perky brunette shouted, practically knocking the wind out of Dana as she hugged her tightly. "Zoey and Quinn went to get some coffee, but I told them you'd be getting off the plane any minute. I was right wasn't I? I was totally right!"
At this, Dana slaps her hand over Nicole's mouth and shoves a bag into her hands.
"Less talking, more walking," Dana says with a slight laugh, she definitely hadn't missed Nicole's rambling. Nicole obeys her instructions and sets off in the direction of the coffee shop Zoey and Quinn had disappeared to minutes sooner.
Upon seeing Dana walk in, Zoey and Quinn immediately jump up to embrace their old friend. Bracing herself, Dana hugs the both of them and joins them at a table where she is finally able to set down her bags.
"We thought the flight would never land, all those delays," comments Zoey, her voice still as motherly as ever.
"Yeah, same here," Dana agrees, sipping a bit at her latte – the girls never forgot her favorite. "So, where are the guys?" Logan immediately pops into her mind upon mentioning them, but she doesn't show it. "Especially that bushy-haired fiancé of yours," she kids, getting a laugh from the other three girls.
"Well, Michael and Logan took Chase out for lunch and then Logan had some great tickets for some basketball game. That's where they are now. But, they should be back at my place by the time we get there," Zoey answers, watching Dana's facial expressions change at the last sentence.
"Oh, so…they'll be there?" the three girls stare at her nervously, knowing her and Logan didn't have the best track record. "That's great," Dana continues, covering up her mistake. "Can't wait to show them all that I'm still one hundred times stronger than all three of them."
The other girls laugh and all four of them continue to chat it up until Quinn looks at her watch, quickly jumping up.
"Oh dear, the guys are already home. We better get going, Marky hates when I'm late," Quinn says, gathering her stuff off the table and helping Dana with her bags.
All the girls exit the airport, talking and laughing as they reach Zoey's SUV in the parking garage. No more than thirty minutes later, they're back at Zoey and Chase's place. Dana is surprised the two live together before they are even married, Zoey always being the conservative type.
"Wow, your house is beautiful," comments Dana, opening the door to the SUV and stepping out. On the inside she had never been so nervous, but on the outside she looked as if no one could tear down her walls.
As the girls opened the back door to get out the bags, the front door opened and three men poured out. At first, Dana's breath caught in her throat – but upon seeing those three to be Mark, Chase, and Michael she let her lips form into a smile.
"Mike!" she shouts, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. He had been the one to keep in contact with her the most over the past few years, calling her on a bi-weekly basis. The two had always been extremely close so she would often refer to him as her best friend.
"Dana, good to see you in person for once," Michael responds, letting her go and grabbing some of her bags. He still looks the same to her, just a little more mature and a lot taller. She's glad some things haven't changed.
The seven of them enter the house, where Zoey immediately avoids going into the living room and instead shows Dana to the room she'll be staying in. Dana figures the living room is messy, knowing Zoey would never want to show off her house if it wasn't up to par.
After setting down all her bags, Dana flops down on the bed with a sigh.
"We're going to go out to dinner tonight – the whole gang," says Zoey, plopping down next to Dana. "We have reservations for eight."
Dana looks to the clock and sighs when she sees it is already six thirty. She knows it won't take too long for her to get ready, but she wants Logan's first impression of her to be a good one for some reason.
Zoey gets up off the bed and walks to the door, before exiting she looks over to Dana.
"Logan is downstairs – I'll send him up in five," and before Dana can process what she has said, Zoey is back downstairs.
And then it hits her. Logan will be upstairs in five minutes and she's in sweat pants and a raggedy old t-shirt. After about two minutes of processing this, she jumps up off the bed and rips open one of her suitcases. Before she knows it, she is pulling off her pants and slipping into tight fit jeans. Frantically searching through her suitcase for a suitable shirt, she finally finds one and begins to pull her t-shirt over her head. Just as she is able to pull the shirt off, she hears a cocky laugh emerge from the door area. Knowing her fears are in fact reality, she bites her bottom lip and turns to see Logan – her new shirt in her hands.
"Oh, don't feel obligated to put a shirt on due to me being here," he says, a smirk plastered on his lips.
Dana rolls her eyes at him, feeling herself turn beat red. She's embarrassed, although she has no reason to be. She has always known she is pretty, but for some reason having Logan judge her appearance makes her more nervous than ever.
"You're still beautiful," he says in a whisper, approaching her slowly.
"And you're still a pig," Dana manages to get out, barely able to keep her composure. She drops her shirt to the floor, not even bothering to put it on. "I – uh." And now she's turned into a stuttering shirtless bimbo.
Logan is about two inches from her when he lets a laugh escape from his lips; he shakes his head as Dana is practically quivering. Bending down, he picks up her shirt and throws it on the bed behind her.
"Put on your clothes – we're going out soon," he says, turning and leaving before she has time to react. And there she is standing there embarrassed – what a great impression. After ten years, Logan still gave her the jitters, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
III.
The next day, Dana finds herself waking up in a new atmosphere. It takes her a minute before she realizes that she is in Zoey's house in California and at this realization, all the moments from the night before hit her. Logan hadn't talked to her much after their encounter upstairs – she figured it was for the better that way.
Today was the day. Zoey and Chase were finally getting married, something that everyone beside them had always known would happen. Dana pulled herself out of bed, the house already a zoo of girls. She seemed to be the last one up, but wasn't surprised when Zoey came flying out of her bedroom five minutes later than Dana had.
"Oversleep?" Dana joked, seeing Zoey's crazy hair and laughing a bit.
"Definitely not funny, Dana. What if I'm late for my own wedding?" Zoey was now pacing the hallway, trying to smooth down her hair.
"Zoey, Zoey – it'll be fine. You've got another five hours to get ready. You'll be fine, I promise. I bet the guys haven't even woken up yet," Quinn says as she approaches the two girls, attempting to calm Zoey's nerves.
Five hours and numerous mental breakdowns later, the girls arrived at the one place Dana never thought she'd find herself again – PCA.
"This is where you're getting married," says a shocked Dana, looking around her old campus. Not too much had changed there either.
"Yes ma'am. We're using the flagpole that Chase crashed into as the alter area," Zoey answers with a smile, she definitely looked gorgeous on her wedding day. Dana found this all to be rather hilarious – but so like her friends to have their wedding at someplace so sentimental to the both of them. "But, come on, the school let us have our old dorms to get ready in," she continues with a squeal, Dana following her and the other girls.
Minutes later, all of the girls find themselves in their old dorm room. Nostalgia washes over all of them as they embrace in a group hug, Zoey and Nicole letting some tears fall while Quinn and Dana were a little too strong to let their emotions show.
A ringing cell phone breaks the girls apart, Dana recovering hers from her purse and looking down at the '1 New Text Message' display. Upon opening the message, she is shocked to see it is from none other than Logan. It reads:
D,
Meet me in the library basement. I have something to show you.
L.
While the other girls fuss over the exact details of the wedding, Dana takes advantage of the opportunity and slips out of the dorm to meet Logan in the library basement.
As if they were ten years in the past, Logan sits on the musty couch that still sits down there – waiting for her to arrive.
"Hey," he says, his lips forming his infamous smirk. "I thought you weren't going to show."
"Yeah, well – the girls barely gave me a moment to breathe. Zoey's pretty much freaking out over the whole ordeal. It's stupid, really," she comments, her mouth suddenly going dry.
"What is? Getting married? Or being in love?" Logan asks, a certain passion in his eyes – although Dana is unable to place it.
"You," she manages to get out, smirking at him.
Before Logan has time to think about what she means, he leaps up from the couch and closes the distance between them. Before she knows it, she is shoving him against a bookcase and kissing him back just as passionately. Moments later, he is struggling to pull her dress over her head – his shirt already removed and discarded on a lampshade.
"Dana," he moans as she kisses his neck, hungry for his touch. It seems as if no matter how close they are, it will never be close enough. As her dress is thrown across the room, she begins to undo his belt buckle – not able to do so fast enough for either of them. Soon he is standing there completely naked, as is she – the both of them hungry for the touch of the other.
Minutes pass and they're on the floor, getting just what they've been craving for the past ten years. All of their frustrations are being taken out on one another. All the love she never got – received. All the love he ever wanted – received. All the lies becoming truths and all the truths becoming lies. This was how it was supposed to be – the both of them forever wanting, needing, and loving each other.
"This is all I need. I love you, Dana," breathes a tired Logan, before rolling off of her.
"I love you too, Logan," she replies – and it is settled.
Moments later they are both redressing themselves in a hurry, rushing to make it to the wedding. As a completely guilt-ridden Dana wipes unnoticed tears from her face, Logan takes something out of his pocket.
"…I know I've never been good with words, especially when it comes to you. But," Logan finds himself handing her the ring he meant to give her ten years earlier. It looks the same, just as beautiful.
"I – I don't know what to say, it's gorgeous," Dana observes, her heart pounding more and more.
"It always belonged with you…I was going to give it to you on your sixteenth birthday, but…"
"I left," Dana finishes for him, smiling as she puts the ring on. Just then, it hits her that they have two minutes to run across campus in order to make it to the wedding. "Oh god, we have to run!"
Two minutes and thirty seconds later, Dana and Logan come panting over to the wedding setup – where Dana is just able to slip in with the other bride's maids.
"Where have you been?" mutters a confused Quinn, Dana just giving her a grin in response.
It is only a matter of time before both the wedding and the reception have ended, Logan and Dana dancing together the entire night – laughing together and loving together – just not openly. A suspicious Zoey and Chase questioned the two separately, but neither gave any valuable information.
Soon after everyone begins to file out of the reception, Dana and Logan find themselves alone in his car – the two of them looking for more alone time.
"There is always my place," he suggests.
And soon enough they are gone – off to find solitude together. Off to find themselves together. Off to find love together.
Off to find out that "I love you" doesn't always mean "I'm single."