Disclaimer ; I still don't own PCA or Zoey 101 , sadly .
Zoey Brooks was a woman on a mission .
Find her ex-boyfriend and finally come to a firm understanding between them and hopefully remain somewhat friends . She had thought it was a given but Chase believed James was a problem they should nip in the bud right away and Michael agreed with him which is why she made a beeline to the office of the StingRay Gazette .
James was working full time for the paper now and since she couldn't track him down in his new dorm, Zoey figured that her best bet was to find him at the newspaper .
" James " Zoey walked into the office where various students were in all stages of putting the paper to work for them and found the blonde haired young man at a desk in the corner scrolling through old PCA clippings online .
James heard her voice and spun around to face a nervous looking Zoey, who was scuffing her gold tennis shoes and playing with the pink and white key around her neck .
" This is a surprise ," James smile lit up his entire face ," how are you, Zo ? "
" Oh, I'm fine ," dismissed Zoey, stumbling a bit around her words ," so, I wanted to talk to you about everything and make sure we're on the same page , in case , I accidentally gave you the wrong impression after the incident ."
She was afraid to breathe the word 'attack' in a newspaper office where hungry student journalists were bound to leap on that as a possible breaking story for the next issue . She felt bad about not telling Dustin but it was the right thing to do .
" So you wouldn't change your mind if I asked you to go to prom with me ?"
If there was one trait James had it was that he was persistent.
Zoey sent him a sigh as she rolled her eyes asking for strength ." No ! I'm going with Chase and it isn't that I don't appreciate how perfect and great you've been to me because you know , I do ," rambled on Zoey ," I know its been weird and awkward between us but you need to move on , James , and find another girl who will appreciate you ."
" I can wait until you and Chase get tired and bored with one another " James knew it would happen , sooner or later , and he would be waiting in the wings .
" I'm trying to be serious , James," muttered Zoey on a slight sigh ," and for the record , I think it's a really suckish and immature thing for you to drop Michael and Logan as if they weren't your friends at all . That's really all I came to say so I'm done ."
" They were your friends , never mine ," said James , ever collected ," and I understand . You'll be the one coming for me , Zo, its alright , I can wait ."
Frustrated at her efforts being for naught , Zoey glowered at him and stormed out of the office nearly bumping into Rebecca in the hallway . The young women exchanged scathing looks as they went their separate ways and Rebecca resisting the urge to insult her least favorite person on campus .
She had more important things on her mind and James was coming towards her , annoyance between his flashing eyes as he caught her elbow and turned her back around .
" Not in here , Becca " warned James, quietly as he led her to the now empty hall
" Are you ashamed to be seen with me ? Groveling for Zoey scraps really is pathetic but I'll forget about it this one time if you agree to take me to prom, James ."
James glanced around , making sure no one had wandered out here and moved in her space, effectively blocking her body with his so that it appeared they were having a private moment .
" I have a certain reputation to uphold, Rebecca , and dating you would plummet me to the depths of the nerds and Fire wire so the answer would be no," replied James as if shooing away an annoying gnat ," we had a fun time . Its over ,I've moved on and I have no intention of taking you to the prom."
Rebecca considered hurling insults about his manhood , his prowess , but she was afraid it would make her seem like the nutcase . It had taken her months after the Chase incident for her to build a certain reputation herself on campus and she refused to start over .
She loved James but she wouldn't grovel for any scraps of affection that he obviously didn't return for her . It hurt and she rubbed at her heart then dropped her hands back to her sides in an attempt to appear more aloof than heartbroken .
" Your loss " muttered Rebecca , proud of herself and forcing the urge to cry , the dark haired young woman simply turned on a heel and head high, walked briskly back out to the quad and fell onto the stone wall of the fountain, disappointed and hurting .
He was a cold , cruel lover and she had been drawn helpless into his web of lies .
Rebecca wouldn't let him destroy her , break her , and she would persevere .
*******************************PCA*************************************
Logan was a mess .
He didn't think he'd ever felt so crappy in his life except when he had lost his Mom.
Logan couldn't seem to get his head on straight and his emotions were all twisted up, alternating between being furious and devastated that Quinn obviously didn't care for him in the same manner as he cared for her .
Which is why he was currently in his friends dorm room, pacing and venting to Chase and Vince , steam felt like it was practically rising from his whole body and he felt the quick flare of temper catch , snapping like fire .
" Its no secret Quinn is freaked over the whole abuse issue but dammit , we've been together almost five fucking months and I'm crazy about the weirdo ! I'll do whatever the freaking hell she wants me to do because I am wild about her and she wants us to ask other people to prom ! Our Prom ! She should have just zapped me in the stupid heart with her dumb zap watch ! "
He pushed angrily at his copper curls, messing up his perfect hair and not caring .
How could Quinn not see what she had done to him ?
Hell, dammit all to hell and back, he wasn't even the same guy anymore because of Quinn Pensky !
Chase didn't think he had ever seen his friend this worked up before ever .
It was unsettling but then he'd lost his own mind once so maybe now was time for Logan's breakdown . Maybe it was always supposed to be about a girl .
Too bad Michael wasn't here to help them out but he was still leading the blind .
" Why aren't you idiots saying anything ? Your supposed to be helping me out "
He glared at the guys and threw himself down on the nearest chair , tired all of the sudden and at a complete loss at what direction he should do here .
Was this the end of him and Quinn ? He didn't want to break up with her .
He didn't want it to even be an option or was this one of those times when he needed to say it with jewelry ?
" Maybe you should just tell her the truth ,Logan ," suggested Vince for what felt like the millionth time ," it isn't as if the idea is new or anything . Not that you've listened to me or Chase the other times we told you to man up and say the words to Quinn ."
" Or I've been stupid all this time by Quinn ," ranted Logan , wishing his heart would stop aching ," I mean, I love her but she obviously doesn't me or she would not still want to hide us . Chase , how many times did we hear her tell Del Figgs that she loved him ? It sure as hell didn't bother her then or with the privacy thing either ."
Maybe he had been deluding himself all this time , maybe Quinn had always been out of his league but he had been too blinded by love to notice it .
Chase felt the pressure to reassure his pal and noticed Logan was trying to retreat back into the façade of Mr. . Cool Guy Perfect and couldn't let him do it , not when he had came so far and for the better .
" A lot but I think maybe Quinn romantized Mark ," contributed Chase , palms out expressively ," I see how she looks at you, Logan, and it sure looks like love to me . Tell the girl that you are in love with her and are taking her to prom as your date ."
Logan looked up from his musing , a slight smile working around his mouth .
" Don't give Quinn a choice ? I like it "
Vince was stunned as he dropped his yoga mat on the floor ." Wait , your actually going to listen to this advice ? Your going to tell Quinn that you love her …"
" I don't know about that part but not giving her a choice is risky enough "
None of them dared voice out loud the ramifications of this if Quinn chose to take this as Logan trying to control her and tell her what to do , they all clung to the idea that the scientist would yield to the romantic within and say yes to prom .
" It is progress with you and Quinn if anything ," rationalized Chase ," your moving forward in your relationship . I'm all for that ….not to mention way past time ."
" We should let Lisa in on this ," reminded Vince , pulling out his cell phone ," give her the heads up so maybe she can give Quinn a little push in your direction ."
" Whatever ," Logan folded his arms , tersely ," I'm going to go play golf and think about all of this , let Quinn have some space before I don't give her a choice ."
He hoped that this wasn't the worst decision that he had ever made in his life .
***********************************PCA*********************************
Quinn couldn't focus on the tiny button she was installing into the gold braclet, dropping it on the table along with the tool, frustrated at herself for her lack of focus and closed her eyes, reminded herself that it was alright to breathe again .
The fight with Logan was on a constant repeat in her mind and wouldn't stop .
It was just an argument and it wasn't as if she and Logan hadn't ever disagreed or fought before …fighting and bickering had almost been a cornerstone of their relationship before they had became a couple . Even as a couple , they still occasionally argued and they always talked it through and worked it out together .
This time should be no different though why, oh why did it feel like it was ?
God, what if Logan went to prom with Make out Mandee ?
She would kill the jerk and the trollop !
" Quinn, earth to Quinn ," Lisa entered the room , waved a hand in front of her friends face ," is that thing going to explode ? Should we vacate the room ?"
Quinn blinked and met Lisa's worried stare ." No, I don't think so ," muttered a distracted Quinn , " its not even activated yet . Its safe …what's up ? Are you looking for Zoey and Lola ? Zoey is with Dustin video chatting their parents and I think Lola was getting a hair cut .."
" Actually I came to see you ," brought up Lisa , settling on Zoey's bed ," I thought you might want to talk about you and Logan and the whole prom thing ."
Quinn gave her a suspicious look ." Prom ? Why would you say that ? "
" Come on, Quinn, I know your thinking about it ," Lisa called her on it ," we're all thinking about it . Did you and Logan discuss the matter ?"
Quinn threw her hands up in the air as if giving up. " We fought about it is more like it ! Logan thinks we should just go to the prom together and I ..I suggested it made more sense if we went with other dates ."
She felt moisture in her eyes but refused to give in to tears . " It makes perfect sense ! Why are you looking at me like that ? It does ! "
" Did Logan agree with you ?"
Quinn's expression fell as she shook her head , her tone solemn. " He wants us to go as a couple and I think ..I might have hurt his feelings when I said we couldn't ."
" Oh Quinn , this is beyond ridiculous ! Of course the man is hurt ! Can't you see how much that idiot cares about you ? Look we are all friends here , we're all going to the prom together anyway so why cant you and Logan go together ? Its as simple as that ."
Quinn played with her fingers, twisting them together ." Zoey and Lola .."
" Would get over it and if they didn't , who cares ? You and Zo got over it when Lola got with Vince and now the tables are turned, Quinn ."
" I suppose they would maybe think Logan and I were going to prom together as like a practical thing , I hadn't considered that . Hmm "
Lisa decided there were no more two stubborn people than Quinn and Logan , clearly they were made for each other . She just prayed they'd realize it soon .
Those two were worse than Zoey and Chase ever had been and that was a record blindness.
" Or they could just accept that you are with Logan "
" I don't know but I should discuss this with Logan first ," murmured a thoughtful Quinn ,hoping he would hear her out ," it's a sort of compromise ."
" Why are you tiptoeing over your feelings for him ? This isn't the Quinn I know .."
" Its different , its more real than it was with Mark, and I'm afraid " admitted Quinn, under her breath ," I don't want to lose him ."
" You wont "
There was a tentative knock on the door then Stacey popped her head inside the door , always mindful that she wasn't always welcome though she liked to believe things had changed . She had real friends now .
" Hi guys ," called out Stacey ," uh, Quinn, you left your notebook down in the lounge ? I wasn't being nosy but your name is on the cover and I figured you must have forgotten it ."
She handed the girl the green notebook ." Didn't know it if had your notes for your Quinnventions in it that you might need ."
She accepted the notebook, puzzling over why she had left it downstairs ." Thanks, Stacey," says Quinn, pursing her lips ," I cant believe I was so careless with it ."
She placed it on the table then the corner of it caught her eye and she recalled that Logan had snuck her a note while they were hanging out with the gang .
A heart with his scrawl of their names and 'Miss You, babe '
Only Logan could be silly and romantic at the same time .
" I forget things all the time ," mumbled Stacey ," it's a bad habit though people aren't so nice to me . I accidentally forgot my swab sculpture in the lounge and no one ever turned it in to Coco or to the lost and found . So, what are you girls doing ? "
" Talking about prom ," answered Lisa , matter of fact ," and Quinn's date options . Are you going to prom, Stacey ?"
" Nooo , I'm not ," told Stacey, her eyes clouding over ," I don't expect to be asked to the prom though it has always been my dream to go as Logan's Reese's date but I've accepted that wont happen ."
Quinn smoothed her lips in a thin line ." I think that Logan and I might be going to the prom together ..maybe ."
Lisa grinned , pleasantly surprised ." Good ."
Stacey accepted the news with grace as she had suspected something between her dream guy and the scientist for a while now . It hurt a little , a sting to her sore heart , but Quinn was a good person and she would appreciate Logan for who he was .
So many girls in this school only saw the hotness and the money .
" Well, that makes sense "
Quinn could only nod and absorb her reaction ." I suppose it kind of does ."
**************************PCA*****************************************
Logan walked aimlessly across the quad , golfing forgotten as he couldn't concentrate enough on hitting the balls into the holes when his mind was full of one Quinn Pensky.
It was getting more and more difficult hiding his feelings for her and they were constantly on the tip of his tongue but he wanted Quinn to put herself out there for him .
Was he so hard for her to love ?
Did Quinn not want to commit fully to their relationship ?
Closing his eyes , Logan let his mind carry him to that fateful moment on the bench and how seeing Quinn crying had twisted something within him , the need to make her feel better and the moment they had kissed , everything had became real .
I've always seen myself as a reckless gambler
Risking all that I had whenever I could
Eskimo kissing outside the lounge bushes , holding Quinn when she cried over Del Figgalo , and going all out to be romantic for her .
But then one day it happened , you appeared like from a dream
And we moved in synch like dancing with our hearts in harmony
' Hi beautiful " beamed Logan, holding bouquet of lush red tulips in his arms .
Quinn couldn't help the delight that came over her from his sweet gesture and felt herself melting like goo .
" Logan, you brought me flowers ," sighed Quinn, happily as she took the flowers, burying her face in their sweetness and inhaling the soft scent ," I love them."
She wanted to add 'And I love you' but couldn't .
He moved the flowers from her to the rock and took her in his arms as his mouth covered hers, taking it in a possessive kiss that took her in and under , and all coherent thought flew from her mind as Quinn wound her arms around his neck, clinging to him, weak.
His kiss, his touch stated 'Mine' and Quinn conceded easily to him .
Logan's hands moved over to her waist , down her arms then pressing his forehead against hers, gentled the kiss and felt tears against her lashes as he stared at her confused .
" Baby, what's the matter ? " Concern etched his voice as he brushed a tear away," Quinn, did I do something wrong ? Talk to me …please "
" I'm sorry we fought over hiding us ," gulped Quinn, feeling silly and foolish all at once ," I was so freaking out when I thought I lost your ring, Logan, and then when Lisa said she knew we were together . I don't really want to spend less time with you but I never wanted to..you have to know I would never want to ..I didn't want to hurt your feelings . I was trying to protect us ."
" I am so stressed out and you are being too sweet "
Quinn buried her face in the crook of his neck , loving the rugged , spicy scent of his cologne and the warmth and the strength in which he held her against his chest .
Who knew one kiss could set off sparks , fuel the attraction , and tumble into love .
Chemistry was simple but love was so much more complicated .
You are my way
To another world
You're the one who makes me fly so high
You are the rain when my spirits run dry
Logan stared at the wooden bench , their bench, and imagined Quinn's soft brown eyes and the stubborn tilt of her chin and knew that no amount of soul searching or any kind of searching could make him want to go back to who he was before .
You give my life a hope that's real
Loving Quinn was what he was good at and he was sick of the lies and the hiding , it was in her ballpark now . They could either tell their friends they were together or she could break up with him and destroy what was left of his heart .
************************************PCA*************************
Quinn searched the quad eagerly for her boyfriend who wasn't in his dorm room or hanging out with the guys shooting hoops and wasn't answering her back when she had called and texted him .It was best if they got the prom matter taken care of right away rather than let it blow up in their faces .
Stacey hadn't be angry when Quinn had suggested that she might be going with Logan to the prom and Lisa said it was a natural progression .
Prom was the PCA event of the year .
Was Logan willing to put his reputation on the line if he took her to prom ?
She didn't have time to analyze her thoughts as the scientist found the guy of her thoughts looking awfully pensive sitting on their bench .
" Are you still mad at me ? Are you ignoring me now , Logan ? " She played with her fingers then dropped them to her sides ," come on, talk to me ."
His gaze was heavy on hers as their eyes locked and held ." That's how this ..you and me started , right here on this bench , Quinn .'
Quinn sat down beside him ." I know …you showed me this whole other side of Logan Reese that I never even knew existed at all ."
Logan placed a warm hand on her knee , lightly squeezing it ." I want to go to prom with you and I'm sick of us hiding . Either we go to prom together or we just don't ."
He felt sick in his stomach at his own suggestion but they couldn't move forward if someone didn't make the move . If she broke his heart Logan knew that he would need plenty of time to rebuild the walls and try to find a way to live without her in his life .
Quinn lowered her lashes , afraid ." You want to break up with me if I don't go to the prom with you ?"
" No, I mean, you'd be the one ending us ," stated Logan, his voice almost hoarse ," I mean, guess your still more ashamed to admit that your with me , Logan Reese , cool guy, than you ever were with Del Figgalo . Isn't that right , Quinn ?"
" Don't bring Mark into this ," muttered Quinn, grasping at his words ," you cant just give me an ultimatum and expect me to jump like ..whenever you say so ! I thought we were doing good together ! I care about you, Logan "
"Why not ? I've been doing whatever you want us to do about us so I figure , its got to be my turn ," stated Logan, touching the side of her face, reverently ," what's it going to be . Prom with me , Quinn ?"
" Yes, I'll go to prom with you, Logan " whispered Quinn as his mouth whispered over hers in a kiss to soothe , tempt , and slid into warmth and sensations of love .
If anyone noticed the couple , nothing was said .
Logan pressed a kiss against Quinn's ear and felt her shiver ." We can tell our friends about us together , if you want ."
" Should we call a meeting ? " wondered Quinn, nervously as her cell rang shrilly interrupting the tenuous moment between them .
" Quinn "
Zoey's tone was frantic and unlike herself over the mobile . " Zoey, what's the matter ?"
" You have to get back to our room right now ," said Zoey , urgently ," are you by yourself ? Do you have your zap watch on ? "
Quinn exchanged anxious looks with Logan . " Logan is with me ."
Lola snatched the phone " Quinn , someone left you something ! You need to get back here right now ! We're freaking out because someone was in our room …hurry ."
Quinn frowned ," Lola , what do you mean someone was in our room ? "
Lisa spoke into the cell this time ." We think its your secret admirer ."
" I got another present ?"
Logan snatched the cell out of her hands ," Quinn and I are on our way , call the guys ."
He hung up the phone and pulled Quinn into a tight hug ." I am going to get to the bottom of this damn admirer thing and kill the bastard , once and for all ."
Quinn dropped a kiss to his lips ." Lets just see what it is he left me this time ."
Ten minutes later , the couple made their way into Fulton Hall and up to room 101 glancing around curiously as if expecting the cops to have been called judging from the panic coming from the girls but the hallway was empty .
Quinn opened the door and she and Logan stepped in to find all of their friends gathered near Quinn's bed as if it was tainted or something .
" Uh hi guys …"
" Someone was in our room , Quinn " pointed out Lola," look on your comforter ."
Vince held her arm as if to calm ." Lola "
" Not a dead body I hope …." Quinn tried humor to alleviate the tension in the room as she discovered a single white rose on her green frog comforter , " another rose ."
She lifted it up noting the pale blush silk ribbon and the card attached to it with her name in careful calligraphy and felt goose bumps rise on her arms .
" Why white ?" asked Logan , moving closer to Quinn's side .
" I thought white meant like friendship or something …" rambled Michael , looking at Chase for clarification ," so we're all thinking this isn't just some dorky guy leaving Quinn love flowers and surprises ."
" Read the card , Quinn " suggested Chase , who had already read it once when he had accidentally sat down on the flower earlier ," its creepy for sure ."
" Oh, okay …" Quinn turned the card over and a chill coursed through her causing her to take a step back and was thankful when Logan caught her ," Pure and sweet , Quinn, as is my loyalty to you ."
" What the hell does that mean ?" demanded Logan , putting an arm around Quinn's waist to steady her ," first red roses and now one white with a creepy note . This isn't just some practical joker , dumb teenage secret admirer jerk , this is real life stalker scary ."
Quinn tried to steady her nerves and gave her boyfriend a scathing look .
" Thank you, Logan , because I wasn't freaked out the tiniest little bit myself ! "
" Sorry ," Logan was contrite and very worried ," so like did you girls lock the door earlier or did one of the girls let someone in here ?"
" Quinn locked the door earlier when we left " offered up Lisa, grasping Michael's hand for support ," he would have had to got in after we left ."
" Should we maybe tell Coco or that detective about all of this ? That pure line and loyalty is not romantic at all " said Michael, swallowing a giant lump stuck in his throat .
Quinn examined the precision writing of each letter as if it would bring her a clue but knew there would be nothing . This guy was good and she was one step away from overreacting and hyperveniatlating , which wouldn't help the situation .
" Maybe he thinks I'm pure and he is obviously loyal to me as this note expresses ," Quinn tried to go into scientist mode , not freaked out mode but it was difficult ," either I have a psychopath enamored of me or perhaps its linked to the attacks on Stacey and Zoey, though maybe it's a stretch . Seems highly unlikely ..I think I should examine this for possible clues ."
Logan took the rose from her . " I think you should sit down, Quinn ."
Quinn rolled her eyes heavenward at him ." I am fine , Logan ! Honestly , everyone is freaked out enough for me and it might be prudent if we see about taking more precautions and changing the locks but it seems as if my admirer is simply trying to woo me ."
" That is creepier than the SOON , Quinn ! Why aren't you scared ? " asked Lola , fearful for her best friend . Quinn wasn't a flirty girl and this was downright scary as hell .
" I am, Lola , but I have to keep my head here ," says Quinn, sending her a semi smile ," be smarter than my stalker or possible stalker . I am capable of doing that ."
" After I beat the confession out of Henry Poet …' Logan yanked the rose from her ," why don't you girls put on some Girly Cow and talk about anything but this and the guys and I will go get us some pizza and be right back here ."
" Not Henry again …." sighed a long suffering Vince who should have seen this coming .
" I don't think we should leave the girls alone ," broke in Michael, forcefully ," I am now on board with crazy dude wants our Quinn ."
" I would feel better if I did something , it should be something simple , someone I'm just not thinking about ," murmured Quinn, more to herself ," its not as if I am a big catch on campus or anything ."
Logan squeezed her wrist . " Yeah, you are , Quinn ."
Vince took over as the voice of reason before things got out of hand . " Lets just go threaten to beat up a Nerd so we can have a group date night . Sound good ?"
" Agreed , Vince ," Chase kissed Zoey's cheek ," we'll be back in an hour ."
" We'll just hang in here and try to keep Quinn from doing something rash over this " said a non-plussed Zoey, blowing out a breath .
" I need names of those science dorks who even looked at you cross eyed , Pesky "
Declared Logan , pushing her glasses back up on her nose and making her smile at him .
" Now your being absurd " says Quinn , touching his hand, lightly .
" Maybe , but maybe not " said Logan , " come on, guys , lets do this ."
As the four men of PCA strode purposely out of the room, Lola pierced Quinn with a dubious look in regards to her best friends behavior with one Logan Reese .
" What was all of that about , Quinn ? "
Quinn reached for her microscope as she handed the singular rose to Lisa .
" Oh , that was nothing ," Quinn's voice wobbled a bit but she kept a firm smile in place ," Logan and I are going to the prom together . "
.