Chasing Zoey
Chase glanced around his room with a sigh. He had just taken his last final exam and was now excitedly packing all of his stuff up to head home. Well actually he wasn't heading straight home yet, he had somewhere much more important to be, 6,000 miles away to be exact.
Before he packed up his laptop, he checked his email one last time, but still no new messages, well there was one from Michael, telling him everything about the new car his dad had given him and how Mr. Takemoto had taught him to stir the tuna and stomp the grapes. Whatever that meant. And also how he was so excited to take Lisa to Prom tomorrow. That was his only message, nothing else from the rest of his friends, but that wasn't new.
Besides Michael, who sent him an email every week, he hadn't heard anything from PCA, not even Zoey had sent him anything for months. But Chase had just decided it was probably for the best, those first few weeks after their first date were the worst, every time he saw Zoey over the webcam or read her messages, all he could think about was how much of an idiot he was. While it still hurt when he realized she wasn't messaging him back anymore, it was easier for his day-to-day life, which was good because he was beyond busy anyway. The classes at Covington were no joke, but with no Michael, Zoey, or anyone else to distract him from his studies, that was all he did. Focusing on algebra and European history was easier to do than thinking about all he was missing in California. The only good thing about that was for once he actually felt good on every single final he took.
He had made a few friends, but he never connected with any of them as closely as he did with all his friends at PCA, it didn't help that they all thought he was a 'bloody bugger' for following a girl across the world, only to once again be stuck on different continents. Yeah, Colin still never forgave him for his failed date, and was oh so happy to tell every student at Covington his tragic love life. Which everyone here just found absolutely hilarious.
He heard a light knock on his door, so he walked over to open it after placing his laptop in his bag. "Hi, Emily." He smiled.
Emily was Zoey's roommate for the three weeks she had been at Covington before Chase arrived, and by now she was the one person Chase was going to miss the most. They had hung out a few times, mostly on the nights Chase was feeling especially homesick and lonely. Unlike everyone else at Covington, she was willing to give Chase her best advice on the situation and usually tried to lift his spirits.
"So, packing up to head back across the pond?"
"You bet I am. I can't wait to see everyone again."
"Don't you mean see Zoey again?" She teased him, walking through the door to sit at his desk while he continued packing.
"Well yeah, of course, things are working out perfectly for once in my life. PCA's prom is tomorrow night so hopefully, I'll be able to take Zoey." Chase tried to stay focused on the positive but couldn't keep his worries from showing through.
"Hey I know that look, I'm sure Zoey will be ecstatic to see you. Have you told her you're going home yet?"
"No, I haven't, you know how she still hasn't talked to me since the end of January."
"Of course I do, and I'm happy to knock some bloody sense into you some more. I know you hated only seeing her on-screen or talking to her on the phone before you both stopped. I still think trying to stay connected was only making you both miserable, but once you get there, I know Zoey will be the happiest lady on the planet."
"I know what you keep telling me. But now that I'm finally here again, I feel the exact same way that I always do." Chase admitted his nerves with a sigh.
"Chase, from what you've both told me, she left because of you, and she went back because of you, and while I agree you've been an idiot plenty of times in the past, call me an optimist, but I think once you two finally have nothing standing in your way, nothing will be able to stop you from being all of the things that you can be."
"I know. I've been chasing Zoey ever since I ran into that stupid flagpole. I know nothing will stop me now. But even thinking about her, I still feel stuck inside my head."
"Chase seriously just go. If you called her right now, I guarantee I would hear her scream yes from across the Thames."
"I know you're right, just like everyone else has always been right that I've been an idiot for way too long, but also this is the longest we've ever gone without talking, ever, even over the summers we always talked every week."
"Just get going then." Emily smiled at him. "All your nerves mean you truly love her, don't let your brain overthink it, you know in your heart that you love Zoey, and as I'm sure all your friends have told you time and again, she truly loves you too."
"Thanks, Emily. I know we'll probably never see one another again, but if you're ever in California, you know where to find me."
"Oh, I will." Emily laughed, "I have to see how cute you two are together don't I? Even though I'm sure that level of sweetness would probably make me sick. Good luck Chase, not that you need it. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to call her and tell her you're coming?"
"Call me a romantic, or a coward, but I don't want to talk to her until I can see her face to face in front of me again." Chase admitted.
"I'd call you a bugger since your not calling is what brought you here in the first place, but I suppose I can't complain too much. Bye Chase."
"Bye Emily." Chase waved and got back to packing. In just over twenty-four hours, he would see Zoey again, and maybe, just maybe, they could finally be everything Chase had dreamed of since the moment he met her.
About a week earlier back at PCA, It was almost the end of the semester and everyone was getting excited for prom and making plans for the summer, but not quite everyone was excited.
Zoey was sitting outside, enjoying the warm spring evening. She had just finished watching the newest episode of ICarly, which she thought was hilarious, even though Carly and Sam looked very familiar to her for some reason, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
There was something else she couldn't quite put her finger on either. James had been the best boyfriend she had ever had. He was always there to help her when she needed it, and like their redo date after their failed Vaccaro's date, she knew he would do anything to make her happy. And it definitely didn't hurt that he was the hottest guy at PCA, but unlike Logan, he didn't have an ego the size of Jupiter. She knew what all the other girls at PCA were saying, James was perfect, and Zoey was the luckiest girl at PCA to call him her boyfriend.
Even though James was the perfect guy, she felt like something was off. She just didn't know what it was. She had enjoyed getting to know him, and yes, making out with him on several occasions. Despite the perfection, she felt like something was wrong. He had been the first person she told her news about Hawaii to, but when he said he couldn't go with her, she honestly felt the tiniest bit of relief for some reason.
She was so focused on her laptop and the jumble of thoughts in her head that she jumped when she suddenly heard a loud "Hello!" right in front of her.
She smiled back at James once she got over her shock and he pulled himself up to sit on the bench beside her. "You scared me."
"Good. Now I can comfort you." He smiled back at her, closing her laptop and setting it to the side on a nearby table. He pulled her close to him, so her head was resting against his chest and he stroked her hair in an exaggerated, calming manner. "Shh, it's OK, you're safe now."
Zoey laughed and pulled herself back to her original sitting position. "Where have you been all night? I texted you like five times."
"I was on the phone with my uncle."
"Hardware Hank?"
"Not anymore, he sold it."
"He sold his hardware store?"
"Yep. And guess what that means?" James reached out and bopped her nose.
"No more free hammers?" Zoey guessed with a giggle.
"I can go with you to Hawaii this summer!" James smiled brightly at her.
"Really? Wow!" Zoey smiled brightly at him, he had been too busy before, and so had all her other friends she asked, so this was great news.
"And, here's some more good news." James reached into his pocket and handed her a small gold box wrapped in a red ribbon.
"What's this?" She asked after taking it from him, pulling on the bow to loosen it. She lifted the lid off to reveal a necklace with a small gold heart on it. "Oh my god. It's so beautiful. What did you do?" She glanced back up to meet his eyes.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it. What's this for?"
"I don't know, I was thinking maybe your neck?" James tried to act teasingly evasive.
"Come on, seriously. Why'd you buy me this?" Zoey asked again.
"Because…because…I uh…Read what it says on the back." James suggested, he was acting oddly nervous for some reason.
Zoey was struck with a sense of déjà vu at that moment, but she didn't know why. She turned the necklace over and held it close so she could read it.
I love you -James
"It says, it says I love you," Zoey said slowly. Suddenly she felt weird, her stomach was rolling, but it wasn't because of butterflies like she usually had when she was with James. This was something else.
"Yeah, it does. I love you, Zoey." James smiled at her. He then paused for a long, drawn-out moment like he was waiting for something.
Oh no. Zoey knew what he was expecting, but something inside her was feeling wrong. Her stomach was still all tied up in knots and she tried to tell him what he wanted to hear but her vocal cords felt frozen. What was going on with her?
They both sat there in awkward silence for a few moments, Zoey had no idea what to do.
James finally spoke up and broke the tension. "You know what it's getting pretty late, I'm guessing you've been busy studying for finals haven't you?"
"Um, yeah, finals. Um…speaking of I promised Lola I would help her study for her…history test. Yeah, history test. I better get going. Um…see you later James." Zoey was beyond grateful that he gave her a way out.
"Goodnight Zoey." James pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, but once again, the spark of happiness she usually felt when he kissed her or she kissed him just wasn't there.
"Goodnight." She said again. She put the necklace back in its box and in her pocket, grabbed her laptop, and then walked back to her dorm as fast as she could, hopefully, it didn't look like she was running away. Because that was exactly what she was doing, but she didn't want James to know.
Because she didn't know. I love you Zoey. She replayed his words in her head, but they didn't sound like his voice, they sounded like someone else. Which didn't make sense, she was with James, her perfect boyfriend and he just said he loved her but, she couldn't say it back.
When she got back to her dorm, both Quinn and Lola noticed something was wrong after she took about three steps into the room.
"Zoey, what's up? Is something wrong?" Lola asked her.
"I, I don't know." Zoey glanced blankly around the room, not looking at either of her roommates.
"Well, what is it?" Quinn asked.
Zoey sighed and pulled the necklace back out of her pocket. "James just gave me this."
She handed it over to Lola, she and Quinn both studied it closely, their eyes the size of dinner plates until they both screamed and earsplitting screech. "EEEEEEEE!"
"I'm thirsty." Zoey decided, walking past them to grab a Blix from the fridge.
Quinn and Lola shared a confused look. "OK, you are being way too casual about this," Lola demanded. "One of the hottest guys at PCA just gave you a necklace and told you he loves you at the same time!"
"They make Appleberry Blix now? Apples aren't berries." Zoey did her best to ignore her roommates' craziness and act like nothing was wrong.
"What's with you?" Lola asked.
"Don't you love James back?" Quinn asked.
"Well…yeah I think," Zoey said half-heartedly, even saying that much left a bad taste in her mouth for some reason, despite her recent gulp of Blix.
"Oh, I know what's going on here," Lola said confidently.
"Do you?" Zoey asked, if she really did, that would be news to Zoey, cause she had no idea what was going on with herself. All she knew was that she felt wrong and guilty, and suddenly alone, like something or someone was missing, which didn't make any sense.
"You're in I love you shock." Lola decided.
"Oh God." Zoey rolled her eyes, this sounded like some stupid teen magazine romance advice. One thing she was sure of, it definitely wasn't that. Even though she had had that before when…
"Quinn?" Lola checked with her.
"Oh yeah," Quinn nodded her head in agreement. "Absolutely, it's a teen girl thing. I read about it on highschoolcrazydotcom."
"Oh yeah, I saw that. Zoey come look!" Quinn and Lola started typing away at their computer but Zoey just grabbed her Blix again and walked out of the room. She still didn't know what she was feeling, and her roommates weren't helping. She would rather just be alone.
She walked out to the fountain in the middle of campus. She sat down on the edge and squeezed her eyes shut. She always felt closest to Chase here. Which is why she had avoided walking past it ever since she got back from England. She had convinced herself that not thinking about him would make things easier, and it did most of the time. She hadn't brought Chase up in conversation with her friends, and thankfully they seemed to be doing the same with her at least. None of them had mentioned anything about Chase to her either in months.
But she missed him so much, even though everyone, including her, acted like Chase had never been at PCA in the first place. She missed him now. She hadn't called, texted, or emailed him in months. She had kept in touch with him those first few weeks, mostly just doing her best to fill him in on what was happening at PCA, and trying to keep his spirits up. They had both silently agreed to not bring up any feelings of romance, instead just sending messages back and forth like they had usually done over their summers apart, just talking about their days. But this was so much worse than the summers.
But once James came to PCA, and they started dating, Zoey was happy for the distraction. It was easier to focus on her happiness with James, rather than wishing Chase was there instead, so she pushed all thoughts of Chase from her mind, and it was good. She had felt guilty at first, and didn't know how to tell him she was dating someone, even though they agreed they could see other people. She hadn't even opened the last email he had sent her about three days after James moved in. So she just ignored Chase, it was easier for her, and she felt like it was the better option. Not telling him anything was better than telling him something that would make him even more miserable and lonely.
Now though, she wasn't sure what to do about James. She had no reason to feel this way about James, Chase was gone and she probably wouldn't even be able to see him until next fall. So she should still be happy with James, and it sounded like now they could spend the whole summer together. Why wouldn't Zoey be happy? Because honestly, she wasn't.
Zoey dipped her hand in the fountain, thinking about all her memories of Chase, when they danced under the stars, when they sat together in the rain, when they apologized to one another after the handful of fights they had over the years. James was perfect in every sense of the word, but he wasn't. It wasn't any fault of his own. Zoey knew now he wasn't the perfect guy for her, but she still didn't know what to do.
Two days later, and Zoey was still feeling the same, normally she loved spending time with James, but she had been avoiding him as much as possible. Right now she was walking through the middle of campus with Lola, going over all the prom assignments.
"Now you can either be in charge of getting the photographer, or ice." Lola told her, reading off her clipboard.
"Ice?"
"You know, frozen water, keeps drinks cold, often comes in cubed form?"
"Yeah thanks, but I don't want to help with the prom."
"Why not?"
"I'm just…not that into it," Zoey said quietly, nervously playing with her hands.
"But this is your first big dance with James." Lola reminded her.
"So?"
"So you were all excited about it two weeks ago. Mhm," Lola grunted and tossed her head, drawing Zoey's attention to James walking up to them.
"Hey, Zoey."
"Hi." Zoey waved.
"Hey, James." Lola waved back with much more enthusiasm.
"Where have you been the last two days?"
"I've been around," Zoey said evasively, not looking him in the eyes. She felt caught in the act, it probably wasn't difficult to figure out she had been avoiding him.
"Not around me," James said, only half-joking.
An awkward silence popped up, and Lola quickly made her escape.
"Um, nice necklace," James said.
"Oh yeah, I've had it like forever." Zoey lightly grabbed the striped circular pendant, she tried to act oblivious, but she knew exactly what he was saying. After showing it to Quinn and Lola she had just shoved his necklace in her nightstand and tried not to think about it, because whenever she did she just felt confused, but also still weirdly guilty for some reason.
"I know. So…why do I feel like you don't want me around?"
"Come on, you're my boyfriend. Why wouldn't I want you around?" Zoey tried to play his question off as a joke, forcing herself to smile.
"Good question. So do you want to get some dinner at Sushi Rox? I'll play you a cool drum solo with my chopsticks."
"Yeah…I've got a ton of homework…and the whole ice thing…for the Prom."
James nodded, doing his best to look in her eyes, but she still wouldn't meet his, "Right, so maybe tomorrow night?"
"I'll call you later," Zoey promised, once again feeling like she wanted to run away as quickly as possible, but she forced herself to walk off normally. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving but she could feel James' gaze following her as she made her escape.
Saturday was the day of the prom, Quinn and Lola had already left to go get their hair and nails done, but Zoey had fibbed to them that her appointment wasn't until later. She could tell they didn't really buy it, but they went to the salon alone without further protests. So she was sitting on her bed, tossing darts at a poster of balloons hung up on the wall across the room.
James walked in and knocked on the door. He witnessed her latest shot, and joked, "You know they're not gonna pop."
"Hey." Zoey sat up straighter on her bed and James sat down on the opposite end of her bed.
"Finish your homework?"
"Homework?" Zoey asked.
"Yeah, earlier you said-"
"Oh yeah, I uh finished a while ago." Zoey tried to smile like it was nothing, another obvious lie, none of her teachers were horrible enough to give homework over Prom weekend.
"Cool. So, want to break up?" James asked her.
"What?" This finally caught Zoey's attention enough to get her to look into his eyes.
"It wasn't that easy to say the first time, do I have to say it again?" Zoey could see his eyes, they weren't angry or hurt or anything, just sad.
Zoey looked down at her bed, trying to ignore the fact that a tiny part of her felt weirdly happy, but still, she was mostly confused. "Why do you want to break up with me?"
"I didn't say I did, I asked you if you did."
Zoey shook her head. "OK, what's going on?"
"You tell me?" James asked, but once again, Zoey just stared down at the floor. "Saturday night, I gave you a necklace that said I love you. Since then you've barely talked to me. And when you did you didn't exactly say it back."
"I'm sorry." Zoey apologized, James was completely right, about everything.
"It's OK."
"I don't want you to hate me," Zoey said, still feeling guilty.
"I don't hate you. Didn't you read the necklace? I meant it. I do love you. Whether you're my girlfriend or just my friend."
"OK, now you're making me hate you." Zoey joked.
"How am I-?"
"Cause, you're awesome. Look, James, when you gave me that necklace-"
"Come on, things were getting weird between us before I gave you the necklace." James reminded her. "Do you want to tell me why?"
Zoey shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, there's just something…in the way. I can't figure it out." Zoey knew she was still lying to herself, she knew in her heart who that something was, but she had long been forced to accept there was nothing she could do to fix it.
"I get it." James nodded his head, maybe he did a little bit, but there was no way he could possibly know what she had gone through, one thing she absolutely didn't do was tell him anything about Chase. "Look, I'm not mad or anything like that, I want us to be friends."
"I do too." Zoey agreed.
"Good." James smiled at her even if grief still sparkled in his eyes.
Zoey reached into her nightstand, pulled out the necklace, and held it out to him silently.
He took it and held it in his hand for a moment, before handing it back to her, squeezing her own hand around it. "Keep it." He then walked out of the room without a word.
Zoey followed him down the hall with her eyes and then took a deep breath. James had been one hundred percent right, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She wasn't happy they broke up, but she wasn't hurt either. She glanced down at the necklace, even though she felt a little bit better, she still felt weird just looking at it. But she also felt like she couldn't just throw it away. Hopefully, she would figure everything out soon and then she could decide what to do with it. So she just returned it to the drawer of her nightstand, once again trying to forget its existence.
She still felt a pit in her stomach though, like she was still missing something, she knew it wasn't James, whatever it was, was right on the tip of her tongue, but whenever she tried to reach for it, it flew just out of reach. Or she did, still, she just refused to think about him, because thinking about him only made her feel even worse.
Later that afternoon Zoey walked back into the room and flopped down on her bed to stare at the ceiling. Quinn and Lola were both already dolled up and ready for their dates to pick them up. For some reason, Quinn was going with Dustin, but for once Zoey wasn't in the mood to mother her brother, she couldn't wait until tomorrow when the Prom would be over.
A few moments later, some blue fabric flew across the room. "A dress just landed on me. And a strapless bra." She said without any emotion.
"Put that stuff on!" Lola ordered.
"With these shoes!" Quinn held out a pair of blue heels.
Zoey sat up. "OK, for like the ninety-seventh time I'm not going to the prom!"
"Just because you broke up with James doesn't mean you have to be the only person that's not going to be there." Lola begged her.
"Lots of people are going dateless," Quinn added.
"Yeah, Firewire, and…Firewire." Lola tried to list off.
"That weird Swedish kid that smells like meat," Quinn added.
Zoey shook her head, "Will you guys just go have fun?"
"Not without you."
"Why couldn't you have broken up with James after the prom?" Quinn whined.
"Why'd you break up with him at all?" Lola asked.
"He's awesome!" Quinn added.
"I know James is awesome and I know you think I was stupid, and maybe you're right but I did it! And now it's done!" Zoey shouted at them. She didn't want to think about James, or the prom, or him, because none of it would ever be able to make her happy.
"Zoey…" Quinn said quietly. "Something's bothering you."
"Yeah, if you figure out what it is, let me know." Zoey grabbed her backpack and walked out the door, she knew she was missing something, but right now she just wanted to be alone. No, she knew she was missing someone. She couldn't tell her friends though, there was nothing anyone could do to help her. The only one that could, was still 6,000 miles away.
While everyone was having fun at Prom, Zoey just sat in the lounge, she tried to read a book for a while, but the whole time she could barely read more than a page without being distracted by her heavy heart. The lounge was empty around her, but when she glanced over the rest of the couch beside her, she just knew something was missing, like she expected someone to be there, but for once, they weren't.
Chase breathed in with a sigh of relief after hopping out of the taxi from the airport. He hadn't realized how much he missed the smell of the ocean and the warm California breeze. It was just after nightfall, but most of the campus was deserted. He figured everyone was already at Prom, and he was sure Zoey probably was too. He wondered briefly if she had a date or not. But he had to believe after everything they had been through nothing else could possibly get in his way.
No one except for Dean Rivers knew he was coming, but he figured he'd still be able to crash with Michael and Logan for the last few days before summer began. So he started walking towards the boys' dorm pulling his suitcase behind him so he could drop his stuff off and then head to the music and lights shining in the distance to join the party.
He was walking along when he finally saw someone else walking alone through the scattered lamp posts. He paused, and couldn't believe his eyes, surely he was just hallucinating that it was her. He could only really make out the back of her head, but he was certain, he would know her anywhere, and his heart sped up even faster that she was once again in front of him.
But then he noticed that she seemed to have her head tilted down at the ground. And he wondered why she was walking alone in the dark on Prom night. Chase turned this over for a few moments, but he couldn't come up with anything, and she was about to walk away, but he didn't think he had time to run around the theater to make it down to her level below.
So he pulled himself up on the railing so that if she turned around she would surely see him, pulled out his phone, and dialed.
After a few hours, Zoey finally gave up on trying to read and took a walk through the deserted campus. She was walking outside the auditorium when her phone started ringing. She picked it up and answered. "Hello?"
"Hey Zoe."
"Chase." Zoey smiled. She felt her heart jump in her chest, it had been way too long since she had last heard his voice. Honestly, not since before she met James. "How's England?"
"Oh, you know, boiled food, people driving on the wrong side of the street. You've seen movies." Chase listed off.
"I have." Zoey smiled and kept walking down the steps in front of her.
"How are you doing?"
"Um…OK, sorta." Zoey answered.
"Sorta? That doesn't sound very Zoeyish."
"Yeah, well I haven't had the best week," Zoey admitted, of course, Chase would know in an instant she was unhappy, just another reminder of why he was her favorite person in the entire world, but he was still out of her reach.
"Oh, what's wrong?" despite her best efforts, Chase already sounded concerned.
"I don't know." He was still in England, there was nothing he could do to help her now. She wouldn't make him feel bad, she knew he had probably spent the entire semester beating himself up for everything. Now Zoey felt bad for ignoring him the past few months, it had been easier, but now that she heard his voice again, she knew it had been a mistake. Just hearing his voice, she felt both a thousand times better, but also a hundred times worse. It was a pain she could feel stabbing her directly in her heart. She looked at the stars shining up above her, if she could have one wish, it was for Chase to be here with her.
"Wait, I thought PCA was having their prom tonight?"
"We are, I blew it off," Zoey admitted.
"How come?"
"Cause I didn't want to go by myself."
"Oh, then turn around," Chase told her.
Turn around? Why would Chase tell her to turn around? That makes zero sense. But Zoey followed his directions and turned around. She glanced up, and couldn't believe her eyes.
Sitting on the edge of the railing about twenty feet above her, was a familiar bushy head she would know anywhere.
"Chase." She sighed in disbelief. Was she dreaming? Cause she could admit to herself, even though she tried her best not to think about him when she was awake, she had imagined this moment more times than she could count when she was sleeping.
He waved down at her, and she smiled up at him. She dropped her phone to her side and shouted out in pure, absolute happiness she hadn't felt since before she left for England nearly six months ago. "Chase!"
He closed his phone too, but then fell off the side of the railing to the ground twenty feet below. He picked himself up though and did his best to reassure her. "I'm alright! I'm OK! I just lost my balance!" Chase took about two steps towards her before tripping himself and taking a tumble down the stairs.
"Chase!" Zoey ran up to him, gently feeling his arms and face to make sure he was in one piece. "Are you OK?"
"I think so." Chase tried to reassure her, even though his voice sounded a little raspy.
"Your arm's bleeding." Zoey held it up to see it better in the scattered lights from the nearby lampposts.
"Well, you know, that's what happens when I get wounded. But its OK, I think I lost all feeling in this arm anyway." Chase sighed.
"Can you feel this?" Zoey lightly pressed her fingers against his hand and wrist.
"Kind of." In truth, everywhere she touched him, he felt a spark of new energy flowing through his nervous system, it hurt in a few places, but it also felt way too good for Chase to ever tell her to stop.
Zoey stopped her nursing and just looked at him, finally really taking in the fact that he was right here in front of her. This had been the longest five months of her life, no matter what she did to try to forget, or ignore all the feelings she had. He was finally right here, in front of her. Chase, her best friend Chase, but he was so much more than that. He was a part of her, that she had been missing for way too long, and never wanted to be away from ever again.
Chase just took Zoey in. This day had been circled on his calendar ever since he realized how big of a mistake he had made, he was finally here, and she was here, in the same place, with only a few inches between them. No matter what he did, he hated every minute of England, the only thing that had kept him going was imagining this moment. He had waited three years to tell her, and another five months to see her again. He knew what he wanted to happen next, but even now, he didn't know what to do. All he could think about was Zoey was here.
"How about this?" Zoey smiled at him, she leaned in close to him and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. Chase was in shock for a few seconds before he started kissing her back. The connection they felt with each other instantly calmed their racing hearts even though they felt sparks traveling through their entire bodies. Nothing had ever made them feel as good, as right, as perfect, as this moment.
They finally let go for a moment. Chase couldn't help his look of surprise, but to his absolute joy, he finally knew without a doubt, without any fear, Zoey was finally looking back at him with the same emotion shining in her eyes that had filled his ever since he ran into that stupid flagpole. Nothing but love.
They smiled at each other for a moment before Zoey leaned in again, drawn to him like magnetism.
When they separated for air again. Chase said quietly, "Yeah, I felt that."
"Good." Zoey smiled back at him.
"So, Zoey…"
"Yes, Chase?"
"I think we can both agree that I have been an idiot for the past three years, because I know now I never had anything to really be scared of. So while I'm totally cool with blowing off prom with you. Zoey, can I take you to prom?"
"Yes you can, there's no one I want to go with except for you."
"I feel exactly the same way. And also, if you enjoy your time with me, will you consider being my girlfriend?"
"Hmm." Zoey tapped her chin playfully, she was still just giddy with happiness that Chase was back in front of her. "I'll consider it…yes. I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend."
"I love you Zoey. There, I finally said it to your face, and in person." Chase smiled brightly.
"I love you too Chase." Zoey smiled back at him. Her heart felt full since the first time she could remember, it had always been Chase, her heart had just been trying to remind her. She knew she would have to tell Chase everything eventually, but tonight, all she wanted to do was be with him.
"Actually I do have one condition." She warned him.
"What's that Zoe?"
"You aren't leaving my sight tonight until I say so." Zoey hugged him tightly, resting her chin on his shoulder.
Chase hugged her back, while they had only been able to dream what a kiss would feel like, but feeling one another's familiar hugs that they hadn't even known they were missing felt even better. "As I think I've proven, I'll follow you anywhere, but I promise, I'll never tell you to leave me ever again."
"I know. Now let's go!" Zoey took his hand and pulled him up. They walked towards the sound of music playing in the distance, hand in hand.
They finally made their way to the Prom to find Michael checking on Stacey and discovering that after Mark hit her with Michael's car, her S's now sounded normal.
"I know, she talks perfectly now! Chase, she talks perfectly now." Michael informed him, he turned back to Stacey for a moment before he froze in place and turned around again.
"CHASE!"
"MICHAEL!"
"CHASE! YEAH HA HA HA!" Michael shouted, picking Chase up and crushing him in a hug.
"Alright, alright. Don't break my boyfriend." Zoey warned him.
"Wha wha, wha?" Michael started hyperventilating, glancing back and forth between them. "Your boyfriend?"
"Yeah, we just got done-" Chase started to explain before he was interrupted.
"CHASE!" Michael screamed, and once again picked his best friend up in another bone-crushing hug, and then just hit and poked him all over, as if he was checking to make sure he was really here.
"Alright, can we all go dance now before the prom's over?" Zoey reminded them.
"Yeah, let's dance!" Chase cheered.
"Yeah, let's dance, but just a sec I have to move my car quick and then I'll be right there," Michael promised.
Chase and Zoey joined the dance floor. When all their friends noticed Chase was here, they all rushed over to give him crushing hugs, not quite as crushing as Michael's, but Chase almost wondered if he would have some broken ribs in the morning. Of course, he had missed Zoey the most, and Michael was a very close second, but Chase was beyond happy to see all of his friends again too.
After dancing for a while, Zoey pulled him off to the side, he half expected her to make a joke about his terrible dance moves.
But instead, she shouted in his ear. "Hey, do you have any plans for the summer?"
"Nope, why?"
"Want to spend it with me in Hawaii?"
"Hawaii? You and me? All summer?"
"Mhm." Zoey nodded.
"Yes! Of course I do!" Chase hugged her, and Zoey hugged him back just as tightly. He had planned on making the most of the last two weeks of the semester with Zoey, but if he got to spend the whole summer with her, nothing could possibly ruin his night now. Or his summer for that matter.
"Good. I just got you back, and I'm not going anywhere without you with me." Zoey promised him.
"I am all for that plan."
Everyone continued dancing for a while until all of a sudden, Logan pushed Stacey away from him. "I can't kiss you!"
"Why not Logie Bear? I'm your date?"
"I…I can't because…I'm in love with Quinn!" Logan shouted. This brought everyone's attention on him. Everyone was just staring at Logan, and even the band stopped the music.
"You heard that too, right Zoe?" Chase whispered.
"Yeah, I did." Zoey sounded equally shocked, she glanced over at Quinn, who had been sitting forlornly at one of the tables playing cards with Dustin. But she slowly stood up and walked closer to Logan.
Both of them seemed to be staring into one another's eyes across the dance floor. They both froze, feeling all eyes on them, before Quinn nodded at him, and Logan nodded back.
"That's right, I said it! I love QUINN PENSKY!" Logan shouted even louder, this time with a brilliant grin on his face, but for once it wasn't his usual cocky smirk, no, he had a genuine smile on his face.
"And I love LOGAN REESE!" Quinn declared proudly.
After their declarations, there were some murmurings among the crowd, but Logan and Quinn ignored everything else. They ran to each other, locked lips, and threw their arms around each other, blind to everything else around them.
After a few more moments of stunned silence, most of the students went back to dancing, but when the happy couple finally came up for air, they were surrounded by all their friends, looking at them expectantly.
"What?" Logan tried to act like nothing happened.
"When did this happen?" Zoey asked.
"Please like you would notice anything with James here." Logan shot back.
Zoey flinched, and glanced at Chase nervously, she knew she had to tell him, but she wanted to enjoy tonight first. But thankfully, Chase still seemed to be focused on Quinn and Logan.
"OK, I know I've been gone forever, but how did this happen? Logan, you've been saying for years you would never just settle for one girl."
"Yeah, well, fine, like all of us know, there is something special when you find the one, and I just never saw it until a few months ago. It took me a long time to notice, but Quinn is my Zoey or my Lisa. Don't get me wrong, I was always much better than you two were, but I finally understand how you guys feel when you see them." Logan hugged Quinn protectively to his side.
"And Quinn? Logan?" Lola demanded.
"I'll be the first to admit he's been a jerk over the years, but you know, when Mark and I broke up, he reminded me that I'm always beautiful, as myself. And since then as I've got to know him better, I know, as much as he would never admit it, he does have a heart of gold to match his hotness on the outside."
"And from now on, my heart is all yours." Logan tenderly kissed Quinn's cheek.
"Wait a minute! A month ago, when you thought I knew you were dating? You were being serious?" Michael demanded.
"Yeah, we were, we really thought you already knew, but then you didn't believe us, so we just went with it," Quinn said.
"Quinn, you told Michael first? Why didn't you tell us?" Lola asked.
Quinn explained, "We, didn't know how. We know we're polar opposites, but we work well together, just like how Sodium and Chloride are both super toxic alone, but together, they make table salt. We thought you wouldn't understand and tell us we were being stupid, or that we weren't really committed to each other."
"But are you?" Zoey asked Logan in particular.
"Of course I am! I've never felt this way about a girl before, and while Quinn is super hot, and an amazing kisser, I care about her brain, and her heart. I know without a doubt she makes me a better person." Logan held her close to him.
"You make me a better person too," Quinn promised him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Well, then congratulations, Quinn, but you are so filling us in later," Lola warned her.
"And so are you lover boy," Michael added.
"Hey, what about Chase and Zoey? Shouldn't we be interrogating them?" Logan tried to deflect the attention away from himself.
"Oh you know we will. But you two are much more interesting." Michael patted him on the back.
"So, you guys aren't mad?" Quinn asked, still a little bit nervous.
"No of course not. We all know the heart wants what the heart wants." Zoey hugged Chase tighter.
"Yeah, and we know anyone can change for the better." Lola hugged Vince's side.
"Alright then, I say, let's turn up the music, grab some food, and get this party going again yo!" Quinn cheered.
Everyone once again continued to dance for a while, and Chase asked Zoey, "Um… So I get that you know about as much about Quinn and Logan as I do, but is Lola's date Vince?"
"Yes, he is, but don't worry, he really is a great guy. He went to anger management class, oh my gosh there's so much you missed, we actually forced Logan go to anger management too." Zoey laughed, "But don't worry Chase, he isn't going to beat you up again, and if he did, he'd have to go through me first."
"Whatever you say Zoey, I trust you." Despite Chase's kind words, they sent a spike of ice through Zoey's heart.
"Alright PCA!" Dean Rivers walked up to the stage with a microphone in his hand. "Thank you all for coming to Prom 2008! Now we only have a few more songs left so I won't hold you up for too long, other than to announce that tonight only, dorm advisors won't be enforcing curfew, but I don't want any pranks or any other funny business. Got it?"
"Now it is my immense pleasure to reveal this year's PCA Prom King and Queen! Dean Rivers announced to an excited round of applause. After pausing for a moment, he brought out a large golden envelope. "Let's see here…" he opened up the envelope and then smiled.
"I shouldn't be surprised, this beautiful young lady is one of the kindest, brightest, and most caring students I've had the pleasure to see grow into a brilliant young woman who has her entire future ahead of her. PCA's Prom Queen is…Zoey Brooks!"
Everyone gave her a round of applause. She glanced nervously at Chase for a moment. He squeezed her hand and whispered in her ear. "Go on, I know you deserve it."
So she walked up to the stage and Dean Rivers placed a golden tiara in her hair.
"Alright, and now the moment we've all been waiting for, PCA's Prom King is…James Garret!"
Again the applause was deafening, but Zoey's heart fell. She looked at Chase, he was still smiling at her, until he noticed her terrified, guilty expression.
James walked up the stage and accepted his crown. He avoided looking at Zoey, and she avoided looking at him. Unlike her who was still in a t-shirt and shorts, he had a dashing tux, of course looking like perfection.
"Who's that guy? What's wrong with Zoey? Why does she look so scared? Do you guys know what's going on?" Chase asked his friends.
They turned their heads to glance between themselves, none of them wanted to be the one to break this news to Chase, none of them had mentioned anything to him while he was gone, knowing any news of James would just make him even more miserable in England.
"Um…well, that's James, he's our new roommate after you left." Michael started slowly.
"Yeah, so he's been hanging out with all of us a lot the past few months," Lola added.
"OK? So why does Zoey look so scared?" Chase asked them, but everyone was cowed into silence, making him even more confused.
"Alright now it's time for the King and Queen's spotlight dance." Dean Rivers announced, totally unaware of the silent tension between the newly crowned royalty.
James held out his hand and Zoey took it reluctantly, they walked down the steps and out into the middle of the dance floor. But then they just stood there even as the music started playing.
Zoey couldn't look James in the eye, instead, staring over his shoulder into Chase's, she knew she was probably worrying him, and it looked like her friends shared her feelings.
"Hey, Zoey," James said to her. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"I'm sorry James, I…"
"It's ok. I saw you come with that Chase guy, and I know you've been having fun with him, don't let me ruin your night."
"I'm sorry, James, it's just that-"
"You don't need to explain anything. He makes you happy, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, he does, Chase always does." Zoey smiled, but she still felt guilty.
"That's all that matters to me, that you're happy. Even if it isn't with me. Goodnight Zoey, maybe I'll talk to you tomorrow, but tonight belongs to you and Chase."
"Thank you James, you really are the best."
"I know everyone says that but obviously I'm not the best for you, he is."
"Yeah, he is." Zoey nodded in affirmation.
"Then I'll leave you be." James took a step back and waved over to Chase. "Hey Chase, I think you should get to dance with the queen!"
Chase walked over slowly, never looking away from Zoey's eyes. "Are you ok?"
"I am now." She smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he placed his hands gently around her waist.
"Thank you, James."
"It's no problem. See you later, Chase, Zoey." James walked back off into the surprised crowd.
"So…can you tell me what that was all about? I know he's Logan and Michael's roommate, but no one will tell me anything else. You looked scared, is he a jerk or something?" Chase looked down at her with concern while they gently swayed to the music.
"I promise I'll tell you everything, but for now, can you just dance with me?" Zoey asked a bit nervously.
"I would love nothing more Zoey." They finally started swaying back and forth to the music, both couldn't help but remember that first eighth-grade dance, thinking about how everything could have been different if Zoey had chosen him way back then. But at this moment, they wouldn't change a thing.
After a few more songs played, everyone began heading back to the dorms. Michael got the whole gang back to the girls' dorm before anyone else by driving his new car back. Even though everyone was confused about why he kept whispering stir the tuna and stomp the grapes to himself.
After everyone changed into their pajamas, they gathered up all the pillows and blankets from the girls' rooms and spread out around the girls' lounge.
"OK, so Quinn and Logan are dating, and Vince is back and he's a nice guy now, is there anything else life-altering I should know about?" Chase asked, only half joking to all his friends spread around the lounge, everyone shared awkward, nervous glances with each other.
"Um…well I got over my fear of rollercoasters," Michael said a bit awkwardly, relaxing only slightly when Lisa hugged his side in comfort. She just like everyone else knew what they all were dancing around.
"And Zoey and James tricked me into going to anger management class." Logan groaned.
"Oh, and I accidently adopted a horse for a few days. I miss Sparkplug" Michael sighed.
"Oh and we all ate dinner at Vaccarro's one night. That place was delicious. Wait a minute! Oh my god, Quinn, were you and Logan on a date? How did none of us realize that?" Lola demanded.
"Yeah, it was supposed to be the perfect place for us to be together since no one else at PCA should have been able to afford it, and then of course Zoey-"
"OK, I think that about covers it!" Zoey interrupted Logan before he could finish, she knew she had to be the one to tell Chase everything, she couldn't let Logan spill everything before she explained herself.
She glanced up at Chase who was looking down at her looking confused, and she tried to force herself to keep smiling, and not look guilty. "You know what, its pretty late, and I'm feeling pretty tired."
"Yeah, I agree Zoe, plus it's already like 6 am in England I think. This had been one of longest days ever, but entirely worth it." Chase kissed her cheek while everyone settled down and snuggled up with their significant others for the night. "I love you Zoey."
"I love you too Chase." Zoey kissed his cheek in return.
They settled down on their pillows and Zoey turned herself so she was facing away from Chase, and then a moment later, he hugged her close so her back was pressed up against his chest. Even though they only had a few blankets between them and the floor, she had never felt more comfortable, but her heart still felt heavy. She knew without a doubt that she loved him, but would he forgive her when she told him the truth? She promised herself, she would tell him everything tomorrow.
The next morning when Zoey woke up, she turned around and had to stop herself from gasping out loud from delight when she rolled herself over to see Chase laying beside her only a few inches away from her, she almost thought she was still dreaming before she remembered that Chase really was back. The absolute joy she felt only lasted a moment though because she also remembered what she had to do today.
When Chase finally opened his eyes a few minutes later, the biggest, most adorable smile broke out on his face. "Good morning Zoe." He whispered to her, sounding in awe.
"Good morning Chase, did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I did. I would say the best I've slept in nearly five months. What about you?"
"Yeah, I slept great." Zoey lied, she tried to force her smile still, but of course, Chase saw right through it.
"What's wrong Zoe?"
"It's nothing Chase."
"Come on, I know I've been gone for five months but I know my girlfriend better than anyone else I've ever known."
Zoey winced, him saying that with so much certainty and trust when she didn't deserve it made her love him even more, but also feel even worse about herself. "I, um…there's something I need to tell you Chase, but I don't want you to get mad at me."
"Why would I ever get mad at you? Unless Logan's involved and making me act stupid, and of course, don't count me making you leave, because I promise I will never do that ever again."
"No, it's, just..." Zoey raised her head to look around, all their friends were still cuddled up together and snoozing away. "Come with me, I really need to talk to you."
"Whatever you want Zoey." Chase smiled at her again, but when she didn't smile back, he finally started to get worried, whatever this was about must be bad, but Chase had no clue what could be making Zoey act like this.
Zoey led him back to her room and closed the door, and then sat on the couch. Chase sat down right beside her, close enough that their knees were just barely touching.
Chase just waited silently for Zoey to begin whatever she wanted to say.
"So Chase…you know that James guy that won Prom King last night?"
"Yeah, well no, not really, all anyone told me was he's Michael and Logan's roommate."
"Yeah, he is…so he transferred to PCA about four months ago, about a month after you left…So… you see…when he first got here, Michael and Logan hated him, mostly because they didn't want a new roommate, and they didn't want to replace you."
"And well…once James showed up, literally every girl at PCA quickly decided that James was the new hottest guy at PCA. And obviously, Logan couldn't allow that to happen, so he decided to start a rumor that James and I were dating. What his actual logic was for that plan, I have no idea." Zoey paused, she knew she had to do this, but all she could imagine was Chase hating her.
"But you weren't, right?" Chase nervously filled the silence.
"Well, I'm sorry Chase," Zoey said, then she looked away from Chase so she wouldn't see his expression. "Well, we forced Logan to tell the whole school that we weren't dating. And then things settled down, but then, one thing led to another, and we did start dating for real." Zoey felt tears gathering in her eyes and she still couldn't look at Chase, but she couldn't hide this now.
"Zoey," Chase reached out to gently hold her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Did he make you happy?"
"I…I thought he did, he really was the best, every girl says he's perfect, and he is. But just this week, I realized he wasn't perfect for me."
"Why not Zoey?"
Zoey felt her tears breaking through the dam she was trying to hold together. "Because I'm a horrible person. I just used him to replace you! You've heard already how he helps me deal with Logan, and he's just…I realized…" Zoey stood up to go to her nightstand and then she walked back to the couch. "Last Saturday, he gave me this necklace, and told me he loved me, but I couldn't say it back, no matter how much I thought I wanted to. I couldn't. I didn't know why, but now I do know why."
Zoey took a deep breath. "I…you know how we talked nearly every day at first? Which I loved more than anything, but I also hated it, because whenever we talked or emailed or anything if just hurt me more, because I couldn't really see you, I couldn't really hear you laugh. So, when James showed up and we, started dating, it was easier to think about James and not you. I did my best to pretend you didn't exist. And I'm sorry, I just tried to focus on James and how happy he made me, and it was easy, he actually is a lot like you but…"
"I couldn't tell him I loved him back, because even when I tried to forget you, my heart never could. I'm in love with you Chase. I'm so sorry though, and I just wish we could…"
"Zoey," Chase said softly, gently caressing the side of her cheek to force her to look him in the eye again. "I don't blame you, for any of it."
"You don't? But I-?"
"You made the best of the two stupidest mistakes I have ever made. I never should have told you to leave, and I should have told you I was following you. I felt the exact same way as you beyond just our first date failing, which sucked, but talking to you in those scattered moments over email or on the phone or webcam. All they did was remind me of how stupid I was and how much I wished I could be back at PCA. I hate to admit it, but it was a little bit easier for me too when you didn't call me anymore because I didn't have to try to force myself to act happy and not make you feel worse."
"But that was what I was always doing too. I didn't want you to feel worse either. And then I just didn't know how to bring up James, and felt like you would never forgive me."
"I'm in love with you Zoey. I will always forgive you. Just like I hope you can forgive me for being the biggest idiot on the planet?"
"Of course I do. I was mad at you at first, but mostly hurt, and since I came back, I've just wanted you to be back here with me, I know I'm at my best when I'm with you, I just never realized it until you were gone."
"I know I'm my best when I'm with you too Zoey. But back on topic. I forgive you. I don't blame you. If James made you happy for a little while, your happiness is the most important thing to me. And remember, we even agreed we could see other people while I was gone. I don't blame you."
"Yeah, I know we said that, but I also knew telling you while you were 6,000 miles away would probably just eat you up inside."
"You know me better than anyone else, but yeah, you're probably right about that. I think you made the best decision in not telling me, but like I said, I…you know what, there's nothing to forgive, from now on it's just us, starting right now, Chase and Zoey, and nothing will ever be able to keep us apart ever again."
"Yeah, I like that." Zoey finally wiped the last of her tears away and let Chase pull her tight in a hug.
"I love you Chase." She whispered in his ear.
"I love you too Zoey. I promise I will never be afraid to tell you that ever again."
"And I promise I'll never ever ignore what my heart is telling me. I'm just so happy you're back."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Except Hawaii?" Zoey smiled at him.
"Except Hawaii." Chase agreed and kissed her again.
AN: I hope you enjoyed this long one. But, mostly because I don't want to give this series up yet, there are a few more episodes I want to attempt to tackle. So this isn't quite the end yet. To those of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed so far thank you so much, you all mean the world to me.