A/N: Wow. I mean, seriously, wow! I was not expecting that reaction at all. Almost a dozen reviews on the first chapter of a Zoe & Lemon unlikely friendship fic? Y'all are just amazing - thank you so much! :) Now, let's see how this second chapter grabs you...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 2

It was far from a normal situation. Zoe had been sure nothing could be weirder than when she moved from the civilisation of New York City to the craziness of Bluebell, Alabama. Now she knew she had reached new heights of nuttiness. Today, she had moved into an apartment with Lemon Breeland.

At least Lemon had picked out a decent place. Two good size bedrooms, so no fighting over who got the bigger one, and the included decor in the living room, kitchen, and bathroom really wasn't so bad either. Mixing Zoe's style with Lemon's own when it came to furnishings and tchotchkes was going to be interesting, but Zoe was determined they could make it work if they really tried.

"I guess if you let me keep my medical journals on the shelf under the coffee table, I'll try not to complain about asphyxiation from all your pot pourri?" she offered.

Lemon looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded her head. "I guess we can agree on that. I'm going to need the use of the bathroom for a half-hour before I head out to work or a Belle meeting."

"So long as none of that happens first thing in the morning when I want to grab my wake-up shower, we won't have a problem."

Lemon smiled. "Well, I have to admit, living with you seems like it's going to be much easier than I thought."

"It's not so bad, is it?" Zoe agreed, holding up her hand for a high-five.

There was only a slight hesitation from Lemon before she gave in and slapped Zoe's hand with her own.

"So, first day working in the Rammer Jammer tonight, huh?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Lemon sighed heavily. "I know that it's a job and, Lord knows, I need one, but waitin' on the people of this town is just so darn demeaning."

"Don't look at it that way, Lemon," Zoe advised. "Think of it as... as a chance to serve your community. Hey, you could even work on improving the table manners of some of Bluebell's less than graceful eaters. A little reminder to keep those elbows off the table would be no bad thing."

That soon brought the smile back to Lemon's face. "Well, Zoe Hart, aren't you a useful little thing when you wanna be?"

"I try." Zoe smiled, though she wasn't overly enamoured with being referred to as a 'little thing' of any kind - there had been jokes aplenty about her stature in her life already, thank you very much. "Uh, if you want a half-hour in the bathroom before your shift, shouldn't you be in there already, roomy?" she said pointedly, showing Lemon her watch.

"Fudge sticks up a fudge tree!" Lemon exclaimed, rushing away. "Just for today, only twenty minutes!" she called as she went.

The bathroom door slammed shut behind her and Zoe tried and failed to stifle a laugh.

"Living with her is never going to be dull," she muttered, turning around in a full circle to check for any more unopened boxes.

There were two over by the bookcase, the top shelf of which was already filled with Lemon's books. Zoe was pretty sure any visiting guest would know immediately that was the case, given every volume was about flower arranging, dinner party throwing, and gift-wrapping tips. Opening up a box of her own, Zoe started to line up her medical text books and favourite novels on the lower shelf. She was halfway done getting things in order when she realised she had run out of room.

"Rats," she said to herself, looking from her left hand to her right, trying to decide which of those last two books deserved a spot on the shelf since they wouldn't both fit.

It was a real shame since they all fit perfectly on the bookshelves back at the carriage house, and even if they hadn't, she knew Lavon would've been quick to help her out, sending Wade over to erect another shelf for her, just as quickly as possible.

Zoe frowned at that thought. Nice as it was to be helped out so much, she was probably better off having to fend for herself a little more. She was more used to it than Lemon, of course, but it had been a while since she had to be truly self-sufficient. It might just be the making of the both of them, she supposed.

"Besides, do I really want Wade showing up unannounced all the time?" she asked herself, tossing one book aside and shoving the other into the tight spot left on the shelf.

Unfortunately, the answer to the question she posed herself was as much yes as it was no. She knew she shouldn't want Wade's attention. He wasn't worth it. Okay, so, yes, their one night together really had been kind of spectacular, but he was such an arrogant pig about the whole thing the very next day. It was just sex to him, so that was all it was going to be to Zoe too. That's what she told herself anyway.

Her cell phone buzzing with an incoming text pulled Zoe from her thoughts. She smiled on seeing the message was from Wade, at least until she actually read what it said.

'Missing me yet?'

It was a fairly reasonable question, but the accompanying emojis made it a very different question to what it might have been. With a growl of frustration, Zoe pitched her phone towards the sofa. It hit the cushions with a thud just as Lemon emerged from the bathroom.

"Should I even ask what that was about?" she asked, as she fastened her second earring and then pulled an elastic from her wrist to tie up her hair.

"You really shouldn't." Zoe shook her head, looking up at Lemon from the floor. "You look great. Very... waitressy," she said, frowning at her own words in the very next moment. "That was supposed to be a compliment."

"I'm sure." Lemon rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm going to go be a waitress," she said determinedly.

"I'm sure you'll be great," said Zoe as she clambered to her feet. "I mean, come on, you're Lemon freakin' Breeland. You can do anything!"

Suddenly, Lemon's head was held a little higher and the fire was back in her eyes.

"You know, what, Zoe Hart? You are absolutely right. You have yourself a nice evening now," she said, heading for the door.

"You too!" Zoe called behind her, just as the door slammed shut in her wake.

Zoe headed for her own room then, deciding she still had plenty to do in there to keep her busy for tonight. One place she certainly was not going was to the Rammer Jammer where Wade was going to be. Of course, when someone started banging on the door, when she was all of a pace from her bedroom door, Zoe had to wonder if Wade actually was at his place of work right now.

She considered not answering the door, just in case. After all, as much as she wished she didn't find the guy attractive, she absolutely did. It probably wouldn't take much for her to give in if he turned on the charm.

When the frantic knocking came again, it was accompanied by a familiar female voice.

"Zoe? It's me, Rose! I know you're in there, I just saw Lemon headed out and she told me you were home."

Zoe wasted no time in hurrying to the door and letting her young friend in.

"Hey, Rose," she said with a wide grin. "Did you come by to see the new place? No, wait, you came to help me organise my new closet, right?" she guessed.

"Oh, yeah, sure," she said, her smile looking forced.

Zoe frowned at that. "Since when are you underwhelmed by the chance to visit with my New York couture?" she checked, sure there was something not so good going on here - if she had to guess, she would say Frederick Dean drama, and yet...

"Everything is underwhelming since I found out Sara Lynn Willoughby is going to a Black Keys concert this weekend in Austin. I'm about to lose my status as indie rock girl!"

She was a terrible waitress. Lemon really hadn't been too thrilled at the idea of working at all, especially not in such a lowly position as serving food and drinks to her fellow Bluebellians, but she had no clue as to how much she would truly suck at the job.

After all, it ought to be pretty simple. Ask people what they wanted and bring it along to their table. She even hoped to take that good advice Zoe Hart gave her and improve the manners of her neighbours. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be going right. Not one single thing.

"Lemon, if one more customer walks outta here 'cause you told 'em to take off their hat at the table or not to put their knife in their mouth when they eat their steak, Wally is gonna fire your ass," Wade told her plainly.

"I would like to see him try," Lemon said haughtily, though inside her heart was beating a mile a minute as genuine panic took hold. "He knows I need this job and that I am doin' my level best at it, I'm sure. Everybody has to have a chance to learn, don't they?"

"There is learnin' and there is learnin'," said Wade with a look. "I don't think you took the right order to the right table yet," he noted, nodding his head towards Wanda.

The other waitress was once again apologising to some frustrated patrons and switching over their meals. Just one more mistake on Lemon's part and she knew it. Blowing her bangs off her forehead, she turned towards the bar and leaned heavily on it.

"This is ridiculous!" she said crossly. "I should be able to do this job. If you can do it, why can't I?"

Wade looked a little shocked by the outburst but not as offended by the obvious insult as some might be. Lemon was glad, because she didn't actually intend to be mean. Still, what she said held true. As nice a guy as Wade could be, he wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in school, but he had worked at the Rammer Jammer since before they even graduated and made a real good job of it. It could not be as hard as it currently seemed, it just couldn't.

"Look, Lemon, some folks are suited to the service industry, some just aren't," he told her, more kindly than she deserved, she thought. "Maybe... well, maybe you'd be better off just callin' it a night here and finding some other more Lemon-style job to do instead?" he advised.

Lemon only wished it were that simple. Though she had graduated in the top part of her class and even gone to college, she had no real experience of any proper kind of job. Even her qualifications were in subjects that hardly suited most of the jobs in town. She simply had no idea what she would do about paying her half of the rent if she lost this waitressing job. Lemon would be damned if she would have to tell Zoe Hart that and then go crawling on home to her daddy like a child.

Taking a deep breath, she straightened herself up and determined to start over.

"I am Lemon Breeland," she said plainly. "And Breelands do not give up so easy."

Picking up her order pad and pen from the bar, she turned around to face her section, glad to see a new customer had arrived that she could serve. The smile slid off her face when she realised who exactly it was.

"You want me to...?" Wade asked, gesturing towards the table where George Tucker was now sitting, scanning the menu he ought to know well enough already.

"No, thank you," said Lemon, lifting her chin. "Nothin' I can't handle," she insisted, strolling on over to the table and facing her ex head on. "Good evening, sir," she said pointedly. "What can I get for you?"

The way George choked on thin air went ahead and proved that, somehow, he had missed the gossip mill doing its rounds today. Somehow, he had no idea that Lemon was working at the Rammer Jammer as of tonight. Now he did know, she had a feeling he wished he stayed home or went to Fancie's for dinner. It made her just a little happy to see him be so awkward. Well, it was no less than the man who left her at the alter deserved!

"George Tucker, are you gonna sit there stammering like a fool or are you actually going to order something? 'Cause I have other tables full of customers to attend to."

George shook his head. "Lemon, I don't... I had no idea you were working here. Wow. You are just full of surprises lately. First movin' in with Zoe, which I still do not get, and now working here at the Rammer Jammer-"

"Yes, well," she cut in, eyes mostly on her order pad, even though she had nothing to write yet. "I have decided to make my life my own. I don't need a man, be it my daddy or a husband, to make it for me. I am plenty capable of doing it for myself."

When she glanced at George then, she found him smiling, that same old familiar, charming smile that used to make her go weak at the knees once upon a time. It had been a while since he could cause such a reaction in her, which was a shame in so many ways. Still, given what had happened this past week or so, it was probably all for the best.

"You know, Lemon, I never doubted you could do just about anything that you set your mind to," he told her kindly. "And if living in an apartment and having a job like this is what you wanna do, then I wish you the very best of luck with all of it. God knows, you don't need my approval, and after what happened, what I did on our wedding day... You gotta know that I never, ever wanted to hurt you, Lemon. Not once in my whole life."

Lemon swallowed hard and nodded her head. "I understand that," she assured him. "And you have to know I never meant to hurt you either, but talking over it forever and a day won't change anything. I think it's best we just move on now."

"As friends?" George asked hopefully.

"In time, I'd like to this so," Lemon agreed. "But for right now, I'll be happy with just bein' your waitress if you'd place your order. Like I said, I have a lot of other customers to attend to."

Nodding his head, George went back to the menu for a moment and then told Lemon what he wanted. She noted it on her pad and quickly turned away.

So intent was she on making sure she had the details down, she didn't see that she was walking right into somebody else's path until she crashed headlong into a man's chest.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I-"

She stopped abruptly as she looked up into a pair of familiar dark eyes.

"Lemon," said Lavon, nodding once. "Heard you had yourself a job here now," he added with a half-smile.

"I guess the mayor should be kept abreast of such things," she told him, wondering when her own voice got so soft. "Uh, if you'd like to take a seat, I'll be right with you to take your order."

Nodding his agreement, Lavon moved to do just that while Lemon rushed first to the kitchen and then to the bar to get George's order placed for him. It was Wade who took on the drinks portion, grabbing a beer and popping the top off.

"Well, this oughta feel weird for you," he said, following Lemon's own gaze as it moved between the table where George was sitting and another a few feet away where Lavon had sat down.

"You've handled this before," she said, glancing back at Wade. "You've slept with more than half the women in town, you had to have been stuck with waitin' on more than one at a time here."

"Sure." Wade shrugged. "Difference is, I just sleep with 'em. I don't go fallin' in love with them or have them fall in love with me," he said smartly. "Well, sometimes, I guess they fall, but we all got our crosses to bear, right?" he said, smirking wickedly.

Lemon rolled her eyes. "You are impossible, Wade Kinsella. Lord knows how a woman with the intelligence to be a doctor ever climbed into your bed," she said of Zoe, watching Wade's face fall when she continued. "At least she had the good sense not to allow herself to be tempted more than once."

With that, she upped and walked away, not caring how her words might have stung Wade. Sure, her own situation wasn't in any way his fault, but he was part of the tangle that also involved her, Zoe, George, and even Lavon. As far as Lemon was concerned, all men were deserving of a little of her scorn right now anyway, whether that was fair or not. It was too rough a night and she was having to be nice to too many undeserving people already, and Heaven knows, even the great Lemon Breeland had her limits!

To Be Continued...