Disclaimer: nope, I still do not own anything PCA or Zoey101 .

Chase poked his head into the dorm room he was currently sharing with the stuffy , uptight Colin, and was pleased to find the room empty for a change . His new roommate was usually holed up inside studying and the dude wasn't the most friendliest ever .

His attitude made Logan seem like a prince which was a hoot if he thought about it .

He had the room to himself which meant now was the perfect time to call Zoey.

A quick glance at his watch told him that she wouldn't be near a computer for a video chat , he wasn't in the mood to text her , so a phone call it was .

International rates , be damned !

Chase settled back on his bed , propping his feet up, and dialed the familiar number , listening intently as it rang . He could just picture Zoey walking across the quad with Quinn and Lola discussing her plans for a new dress design or Lola's latest hot guy .

Dang it, he missed her !

Across the pond and the familiar landscape that was Pacific Coast Academy , Zoey was walking across campus , pondering her dreaded chemistry homework and wondering how Quinn's conversation with Mark had went this morning . Her friend had been noticeably absent during lunch which was unusual but sometimes Quinn did eat lunch with her boyfriend or holed up in a lab somewhere working on her newest Quinnvention .

Zoey's cell went off and smiling at the number , the blonde stopped in her tracks , causing the students behind her to walk around her .

" Chase "

" Hi Zoey " Chase grinned over the phone ," I was, uh, thinking about you and wanted to hear your voice . Boy , am I glad you picked up "

Zoey glanced at her surroundings and sat on the steps , phone in her ear, happiness written plaintively across her face caused by the voice on the other end .

" I miss you so much "

" I miss you even more, Zoey ," confided Chase , envisioning the fall of her honey blonde hair , her tanned skin, and energetic personality and sighed ," Colin must be studying in the common lounge or something because I have this room all to myself so I thought I would take advantage of it and call you ."

She tapped her gold tennis shoes in a rhythm on the steps and beamed into the phone .

" Still no luck convincing your parents to let you come back here ? " pleaded Zoey, whose own parents had been understanding about her short term stay at Covington after overhearing Chase's confession of love for her via the video chat she wasn't suppose to here but had . Dad hadn't been crazy about the idea but Mom understood how important it was to her to find out if Chase was her one and only soul mate .

His parents were proving to be more stubborn it seemed .

Arrgh !

" No ," replied Chase , imagining the hopeful look in those stunning eyes of hers , " I'm hoping the lack of my good judgement in calling my girlfriend and all of my friends will convince my folks its cheaper to just ship me back to PCA "

Zoey laughed because it was true ." Or they will kill you for the huge phone bill '

" There is that " agreed Chase , loosening the button of his chambray shirt to be able to breathe better , not to mention, relax ," Any new developments happening with the gang ? "

Zoey bit the inside of her cheek ." Lola is going thru some weird thing with her Mom and little sister but I think it will pass ," informed Zoey," Nothing new on the Logan has a thing for Quinn front as of yet but I'm not so sure that Quinn is as happy with Mark as I thought . Oh, Michael and Lisa are as normal as always ."

" Don't butt in unless they ask you too "

" I wouldn't do that ..you know how private Quinn is with her love life ," defended Zoey, her protest weak ," Lola and I have to pry her for any details usually . " She scuffed her toe on the concrete, in a sulk ," I wish you could come back here so we could give our friends something to pry into ."

Chase tugged absently on his curls . This long distance was trying and hard as hell !

" Thanks for the guilt, Zoey, but unless I rob a bank or hold up an airport , I'm still going to be stuck at Covington for a little while longer "

Zoey knew they both were feeling the disappointment and the longing of not being able to try being together and on the same continent . It was incredibly frustrating ! Though not being together as a couple had been the worse option -they tried and failed there .

She and Chase were mature and they could survive a few long months separated .

" Sorry , Chase , " said Zoey, as Stacey Dillsen passed her mouthing a silent 'hello' towards the phone ," Stacey says hello . How's England since we last spoke ? "

" Still not a fan of the boiled food ," admitted Chase , ' Not really a hot tea drinker either . I should have you guys ship me over a case of Blix "

" I can do that "

The door swung open and a be speckled young man with dirty blonde hair and wire glasses peered into it , sniffing slightly at the casual posture of his new American roommate before entering the room and placing his school bag on the chair .

" Must you always be on the phone or the computer with your friends, you nit "

Chase made a disgruntled face at him." I must "

" You could be more considerate since we are roommates " told Colin, huffily .

" You could be less rude ' countered Chase ," I am talking to my girlfriend .'

" Weeeellllll…."

Zoey couldn't help but overhear their discussion and knew it was best if she cut their conversation short rather than annoy Chase's roommate even more so.

" Chase , it's been so great talking to you but I'm about to get ran over by the hockey team in a minute if I don't move from here ," explained Zoey, reluctantly ," I miss you. I love you, Chase . We'll talk again soon ."

" Alright . I love you too, Zo "

Zoey closed her phone hugged it to her chest with a heartfelt sigh .

**************************PCA**************************************

Mark scratched his brow, baffled , staring at the door which Quinn had just slammed out of only moments before . She hadn't been the accepting calm he had expected .

" That didn't go like I had wanted " spoke Mark more to himself and deliberated on the best way to handle his girlfriend . He had hoped his new lifestyle changes would counter his plans and that Quinn would simply take it and him as it was .

He put a hand on the doorknob, debating on if he should allow her time to simmer or if it would be best to go find Quinn and do what it takes to appease her . He turned the knob opening it slowly and finding one Michael Barrett , hand raised by the door , and a cheerful smile on his face .

Mark took a step back ." Michael , hey "

Michael lowered his hand ." Hey there Mark , how you doing ? You going somewhere ? "

" Haven't made up my mind yet so new ," Mark gestured inside ," You wanna come in and hang ? I think I might have just made Quinn mad at me again …pretty sure she took things I said wrong ."

Michael stepped into the room , hands on his hips, a weak laugh dying on his lips .

" I didn't think you and Quinn ever fought "

" She fights , I don't like to ," admitted Mark, wondering how much to tell his friend ," Usually its more of a agree to disagree sort of thing . Do you and Lisa ever fight ? "

Michael wished he had his clackers cause there couldn't be anything good coming from Del Figgalo interrogating him about romantic chizz . This was why Lisa had been trying to talk him out of coming here in the first place . He was a moron .

Man , he didn't want Quinn zapping him with her zap watch because he was butting in on her love life !

" Occasionally we fight , " chuckled a nervous Michael, contemplating an escape route . Would running be rude ? " Couples fight and me and my Lil Lisa are a couple . These things happen and you know , its not really any of my business ."

Mark weighed the pros and cons of confiding in Michael Barrett . It might be helpful if the guy was on his side and give him one up on Logan . It would sting the asshole to know that one of his best friends wasn't siding with him and it was just plain ole luck that Chase was out of the country .

Michael did some dating before he settled down to being with Lisa Perkins .

He might actually understand where he was coming from in perspective .

" You might have noticed that I'm , uh, making some major changes this year ," Mark pointed towards the weights on the floor ," Quinn and I haven't exactly been clicking together , like we used to but we've been together a while now ."

Panic rose in Michael's chest as he stepped towards the door , desperate now .

" Quinn might not like you telling me this ..stuff , Mark ," stuttered Michael , putting a hand on the doorframe ," Not to mention , Logan is one of my best friends and I probably cant be trusted to be impartial . "

Mark sucked his cheeks in, making what looked like a fish face, and Michael tried not to laugh . He should have just listened to his girlfriend in the first place .

Now he was stuck in one of the three levels of hell !

" I'm not worried about Logan taking Quinn away from me ," stated Mark, in a matter of fact voice ," The son of a bitch is a player and Quinn isn't the type of girl to fall for his lines and lies . '

Michael bit his tongue ." Okay, Logan does the being an ass thing well but the dude doesn't lie . " He raised his hands ," Look still not wanting to be on any sort of side in this wicked out little triangle thing you guys have with Quinn but Del Figgs maybe you ought to worry a little . Logan is being serious ."

Mark shrugged , picked up a comb, and moved to the mirror , flipping his hair into a part and missing the flicker of movement within it .

' I can trust you though '

" Look I just came by to see if you knew that the Great Dohennay is going to be on TV tomorrow night ," Michael made a mad rush for the door ," You should just let things sit with Quinn until she cools down a bit and gets over it ." He touched the knob , this much closer to getting the hell out of here ," What'd you say to her in the first place to tick her off ? "

" Just that we should have an open relationship as a means to fix our relationship '

Michael could just gape incredulously at the moron ." Are you nuts ? Why would you suggest that to a girl , let alone Quinn ? I'm actually shocked she didn't zap you or nerve pinch you then break up with you ."

He stole a glance at the time ." It's early still . I am sorry for you, man '

" Don't you see how it would shake up mine and Quinn's relationship ? The open dating part or whatever could be strictly casual and help bring back the chemistry between us "

Judging by Michael's outburst , Mark decided now wasn't the time to mention Brooke .

" You dated other girls before Lisa ..'

Michael was slightly offended ." Yeah , I dated girls ," stated Michael , gripping the door ," I wasn't in a relationship with any of them before Lisa and I got together . Did one of those weights slip and fall on your brain ? Cause dude , this is a bad , bad idea .'

Mark was non-plussed ." Yeah , I figured you'd be more open minded here . "

Michael grew serious and leveled his gaze at the geek ." I don't know who your wanting to hook up with and I don't want to know either so don't tell me ," said Michael , feeling a protectiveness towards Quinn ," Man , it'd hurt Quinn a lot less if you just broke up with her instead of wanting to do this sick open relationship crap . "

" Thanks for the advice "

" I gotta get to class " Michael didn't wait for a response but bolted out of the room as fast as his long legs could carry him . It wouldn't be far enough .

**********************************PCA*********************************

Fulton Hall

Lola was on edge .

The freaky dream followed her through her first couple of classes and by the time study hall rolled around , she couldn't take it anymore . Lola 's dreams usually involved a cute guy she was interested in or her acting career ..not screaming and suffocation .

Had she screamed in the dream or had it been someone else ?

Just because Mom's cards sensed something didn't mean it was automatically true .

Portents , my foot , its me getting anxiety over a bunch of ole Gypsy superstition .

Calling herself every sort of a fool, Lola pulled out the hamper of shoes, pushed one of Quinn's strange laser weapon thingy carefully aside ( she didn't want to blow up herself accidentally ) and uncovered the medium sized box filled with all sorts of Gypsy things her mother felt she needed . She got a care package from her once a month and she normally just ate the honey cakes , read the family letter , and took the check to cash , ignoring the rest of the items .

The brunette opened the cardboard box, moved a tumble of colorful stones , a hunk of amethyst , several sizes of quarts crystals, a citrine , more homemade candles , salt - aha, there was a Dream book .

Lola sat down on the nearest bean bag chair , careful not to sit on the latest edition of Buzz magazine as she hadn't read it yet and with a resigned sigh began browsing through the pages of the book wondering if she even needed it .

The dream didn't have to be literal …maybe it meant her roomies were suffocating her .

The girls did spend almost 24/7 together , they were bound to get sick of each other occasionally . That made better sense than actually being suffocated .

Quinn strolled into the room, her eyes red rimmed from crying, and a sad expression on her face which her best friend noticed automatically , putting the book aside .

" Quinn, whets the matter ? "

Quinn sniffled , smoothed her lips together in a thin line, as she simply moved rigidly to the bed , her hands in tight fists and hurting more than she imagined . Her talk with Logan had helped her briefly but she still couldn't shake the insecurities that had taken root and puzzled over how sure Mark had felt about the open relationship .

Quinn dropped her backpack on the floor ." Mark..Mark thinks it's a good idea for us to have an open relationship . He thinks it will help us ."

" Oh my God ! Who does things like that ? Did you tell Mark where he could shove it ? "

Quinn's face fell as she shook her head . " He believes us dating other people will put the spice back into our relationship . He wasn't even mad at me over Logan ! Not even a little mad which would have been nice but God forbid if Mark should show me some feelings ."

Lola stomped her foot, in disgust and loyalty . " Del Figgalo has proven a dozen times or more if we're getting down to it , Quinn, he's an emotionless fortress of nothingness . "

Quinn sighed in resignation ." The thing is that Mark actually has been trying with us, Lola ! Maybe I shouldn't even be mad at him for this idea of his , he is thinking about us . Which is something I have been sort of on him about for a while now ….."

" Doesn't sound like he's thinking with his brain, if he wants to see other women "

The door swung open bringing in an elated Zoey , waving her phone in the air at them .

" Chase says hi ," said Zoey, who had caught the tail end of the conversation ," So who wants to date other women ? "

" Mark "

Quinn pulled out the bag of chocolate that Logan had given her , ripping open the bag with a purpose, and helped herself . Chocolate wouldn't solve the problem but it might make her feel better .

" It's true , " Quinn sucked the chocolate off the nut and looked for something empty to dispose of it ," Does he think after two years that I can be a casual girl ? That isn't who I am and I was up front with Mark right off - I didn't lie . I told him I do care about Logan and I didn't not kiss him back ….Mark wasn't even bothered by it ."

Lola and Zoey shared the same stunned expression at Quinn's slip .

" Hold it - Logan kissed you ? "

" How could you kiss Logan Reese ? Eeew ! Quinn, you don't know where he has been ! "

Quinn blushed but refused to be swayed by their Logan distrust . Both girls made a sport of bashing Logan and his not so subtle ways but she had always seen more to Logan and believed in him .

" Stop it ! Both of you ! I may not know exactly what I am going to do right now in regards to Mark's suggestion . It truly does bother me and..and I don't see the harm in testing the waters with Logan . Stop looking at me like that ! '

' There are about a billion things wrong with that sentence , Quinn " Lola took the candy away from her ," I think you should just break up with your boy Mark . There is no way you can be okay with you both dating other people …..that isn't you .'

Quinn lifted her chin in defiance ." I love Mark . You don't give up on love '

" Who does Mark want to date besides you ? " This came from Zoey , helping herself to the bag of candy ," I agree with Lola on this, Quinn. You shouldn't try to be this casual type of girl that isn't you and you'll just wind up being more hurt .'

Quinn wrenched the candy back from her friends . " I have to at least try ! I cant just throw away a two year relationship because Mark made his first real effort so we can fix the broken pieces ! I cant just let them lie …..and maybe he should be worried about Logan pursuing me . Logan can be quite sweet as well as charming …."

" This whole thing is just nuts "

Quinn threw her hands up in the air , frustrated . " Well, this is my life now "

The framed portrait of Mark shook slightly against the wall it was hanging on then hit the floor falling face down landing right in front of a upset Quinn who frowned .

Lola cursed under her breath and placed a hand on her best friends arm as if warning of something ominous . She prayed that it wasn't a big ole sign .

" I always hated that painting "

Quinn shook off her friends hand , bending to retrieve the picture from floor .

" I'm a scientist , I should try to be open minded to this concept of an open relationship ," stressed Quinn, hoping to make herself believe her words ," I am positive Mark only has our best interests at heart or else he wouldn't have mentioned it to me .'

Zoey was glib ." Like him wanting to date another girl that isn't you '

" I bet its that Maria girl , I can compete with an artist ," declared Quinn, firmly ," I've never dated anyone besides Mark. It might be rather exciting to see what Logan's intentions towards me are so long as I am completely honest with him "

Lola took the picture of Del Figgalo from Quinn and stuffed it in the back of the closet , a pit of what felt like dread settling in .

" This is nuts . Your nuts . "

" I wish that you wouldn't do this, Quinn, please think about it "

Quinn played with her fingers , chewed on her lower lip . " I am which is why I must "