Trading Places 2

Zoey was settling in at Covington as best as she could, and she definitely wasn't missing PCA or anything. It was so exciting seeing everything in England, her parents had taken her on a tour of London two days ago before she moved in, and she already liked her new roommate Tabitha.

She might be feeling a little homesick for PCA, or a lot. She missed Lola, Quinn, and Michael, and also…no she doesn't miss him. He was the one who told her to go in the first place. And he obviously didn't care at all if he never even said goodbye to her. She tried to distract herself by thinking about something else, she couldn't wait to see what English classes in England were like.

But since she was missing Lola and Quinn, she jumped at the chance when Lola asked her to video chat. So she connected her computer at the time they agreed, but when she looked up at the screen again, it wasn't Quinn and Lola who appeared, instead it was him.

"Zoey? Zoe?"

"Oh, hi Chase. I thought Lola and Quinn wanted to talk to me." Zoey was careful to keep her voice neutral. Chase was about the last person she wanted to talk to right now. A thought that broke her heart even more, even though she tried to tell herself she didn't care about him after everything he did.

"I need to talk to you," Chase said.

"OK, talk to me." Zoey sighed to herself. She really didn't feel like talking to him right now, but she'd see what he wanted.

Chase looked down at the ground for a moment before glancing back up at the screen again. "I'm so sorry!"

"For…?"

"For acting the way I did. For not saying goodbye."

"Thanks, it's nice of you to say." Zoey's heart sped up a bit at his words, but she still didn't care, he was still a jerk and he was the whole reason she was here in the first place. And she didn't regret her decision in the slightest.

"Well…don't you want to know why I acted the way I did?" Chase asked.

I don't care. Zoey thought to herself, but she had to give Chase the benefit of the doubt. "I'm listening."

"Ok…um…see…when you came to talk to me about England, I thought you had already made up your mind to leave. You know…without talking to me about it first."

"I did come to talk to you before I made up my mind."

"I know that now, and I-"

Zoey interrupted him as her anger with him boiled over, "And you couldn't even stop playing darts long enough to listen!"

"You're right, I was mean and awful. You're right." Chase agreed.

"And even if you were mad at me, how could you not tell me goodbye? I mean seriously Chase, how could you do that?" Zoey was still mad at him, and she would not let him see her cry.

Chase looked down for a moment. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was obnoxious, and I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye. I really mean it."

Zoey just sat there in silence. She could understand Chase getting mad at her but still, he was the one that sent her away and he hurt her more than she ever thought possible when he wasn't there to say goodbye. She didn't owe him anything. He was the one she trusted the most in the entire world, so she did what he told her to do. This was all on him.

"Zoey?" Chase asked after a few moments.

"I accept your apology," Zoey said flatly.

"Oh, thank God!" Chase let out a sigh of relief. "I was pretty nervous there."

"Yeah, well I should go."

"Right, uh so, when do you think you'll be back?"

"Back where?" Zoey was confused.

"To PCA," Chase answered.

"Wait, you think now that I'm 5,000 miles away in England I can just hop on a plane and come back?" Zoey asked him. Just because he apologized she would just tell her mom and dad she changed her mind? No way.

"Well, can't you?" Chase asked.

"No. I can't just switch back, I told my parents I wanted to do this. So I'm staying here."

"Oh, well, I uh, I guess I understand. But we're good? Right? You and me?" Chase asked, Zoey could see clear as day when his face fell, but Chase was crazy if he really thought she would just go back.

Zoey just stared at the screen. "Look, I'm really tired, I've got to go to sleep."

"Sure, but I'll talk with you soon, OK?"

"Sure." Zoey could agree to that for now. "Bye." Zoey clicked out of the webcam and then just sat in her desk chair for a while. She didn't know what to do.

She couldn't hate Chase, no matter how much she wanted to, but he still hurt her, and she wasn't ready to forgive him, there was no way she could just go back to PCA for no reason. She wished her parents had never brought up England to her because then she could still be at PCA with all her friends and Chase would still be the number one person that made her happiest, and they never would have fought over this. She wished she could go back to before. But it doesn't matter, she can make new friends and be happy here, this was the best boarding school in the world, she didn't need Chase.

About a week later after Zoey was done with class for the day she was thumbing through a magazine when she heard some familiar voices coming from her computer.

"So you don't think it's weird that right after she leaves PCA, you make friends with some bizarro girl who just happens to look exactly like Zoey?" She could have sworn Michael's voice rang out around her room.

She walked over and sat down at her computer to see the guys' room on the webcam, it looked like Chase was arguing with Michael and Logan about something.

"Gretchen is a lot of fun!" Chase said.

"Yeah, like how she spits and picks her nose?" Logan shot back.

"And don't forget the fun ways she pops her pimples at lunch," Michael added.

"Unlock the door!" Chase demanded.

"We'll unlock the door when you admit you miss Zoey." Logan declared.

Zoey's eyes widened in response. So they were arguing about her? Who was Gretchen? And of course, Chase missed her, he was no longer her favorite person but she knew that was true, no matter how much she told herself she didn't miss him, she knew in her heart that she did. She missed who he was before he told her to go to England.

"Then we better order some pizzas and a toilet 'cause we're going to be in here a while!" Chase shot back.

"Why is it so hard for you to admit it's killing you that Zoey's gone?" Logan asked him.

"It's hard to admit something that's not true!"

"Chase-!" Michael started.

"Enough, alright?" Chase stepped out of the frame for a moment. Probably to try the door again.

Logan turned around for a moment and picked up the stuffed giraffe from Chase's bed. "Ooh, looky here."

"Put that down," Chase ordered nonchalantly, but even over the shaky webcam, Zoey could tell Chase had just gotten even more defensive.

"Zoey gave you this right?" Logan asked him.

"Maybe. Just put it down."

"Why? If you don't care about Zoey, why would you care about a stupid little stuffed animal she gave you?"

"That's right, I don't." Chase declared.

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't bug you if I did this." Logan ripped the head off the giraffe and threw it behind him.

Chase immediately ran at Logan and tackled him against the wall on top of their desk and Michael rushed to pull him off.

Zoey jumped in her seat. She had never seen Chase act like that ever. There was something more going on right? Zoey remembered the night she gave him the giraffe, but she couldn't imagine Chase would be so mad about something like that.

Chase took a few deep breaths and seemed to deflate in on himself after Michael pulled him away. "I'm sorry." He panted, looking pained.

"It's cool," Logan reassured him.

Chase sat down on the ground, looking completely defeated. "You're right. Everything you guys said is true."

Logan and Michael each took a seat across from Chase on the floor, and Zoey's mind was racing, this had to be more than just him missing her for him to act like this. And now it looked like all his anger had left him, now he looked…empty.

"We know you miss Zoey man," Michael said.

Chase shook his head. "I don't just miss her. I'm in love with her. I've been in love with Zoey ever since I met her. She got out of her dad's car, I saw her standing there. I rode my bike into that stupid flagpole. I was in love with Zoey before I even hit the ground. I don't think that feeling is ever going to go away."

That was enough. Zoey closed out the webcam before she heard anything else, and started pacing the room. Chase…in love with her? But he was her best friend, and he told her to go, and it was because he was mad and stupid, but…she told him she was staying, she made her decision, but…she didn't know what to do.

All those times, Quinn, Lola, and Rebecca thought Chase was in love with her, they were right all along. But he never told her, and she remembered that day they met too, and all the days in between that let her ponder the idea herself, but she always convinced herself everyone was wrong, because Chase was Chase, and always her guy best friend, and now he was 5,000 miles away.

Zoey didn't know what to do, but suddenly any interest she had in England, and all the reasons she had for coming in the first place, seemed to evaporate.

I'm in love with her. Those words filled Zoey's head every waking moment of the day. She tried to throw herself into her schoolwork, but nothing could help. Chase would always be the best distraction when she didn't want to think about homework before, but now, she could do literally nothing to stop herself from thinking about him.

The other question she asked herself was, how does she feel about Chase? She knows its impossible for her to hate him, no matter how much she wanted to since she left. He has always been her favorite person in the world. So maybe, just maybe. They had always promised they would let nothing get between them, and they definitely failed at that lately. She still wasn't sure what to do, but she knew what she wanted to do, for nothing else, than for her peace of mind, because suddenly she felt every single mile that was between her and PCA.

The next weekend, she pulled out her phone and dialed.

"Hello Zoey?"

"Hi Mom."

"So how's your second week of Covington been?"

"It's been great, but I have something I need to talk to you about…"

One more week later, Zoey stepped out of the taxi, and once again breathed in the California air back at PCA. She pulled her suitcases along with her and before she knew it, Quinn and Lola were running up to her excitedly.

"ZOEY!"

"Hi!" Zoey dropped her bags to meet them for a hug. She had missed them so much.

"Oh my god! What are you doing here?" Lola demanded.

"I came back!" Zoey smiled brightly. She knew she made the right choice already, Chase aside, she never should have left.

"Are you just visiting?" Quinn asked.

"Do all those gigantic bags look like I'm just visiting?" Zoey pointed behind her.

"EEEE!" Quinn and Lola screamed and hugged her even tighter.

"Ok, ok a girl's got to breathe." Zoey reminded them.

"Sorry, we're just excited." Quinn couldn't stop smiling.

"Don't worry, I am too, but I've got to tell you guys something."

"Yeah, we already know about the meatless tacos," Lola said.

"Meatless tacos?"

"Come on!" Quinn and Lola helped her with her bags, and they walked excitedly back to their room.

"So come on, what do you want to tell us?" Lola asked after they had helped Stacey pack up all her cotton swabs and move out.

"Our lives are boring!" Quinn added.

"Do you guys want to know why I left England and came back to PCA?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah." Quinn and Lola both nodded.

"Sit down." Quinn and Lola sat down obediently while Zoey stood in front of them, she hadn't explained anything to anyone except her parents and even then she left out most of the details, so she really needed her girlfriends' opinions.

"This is kind of big." Now that Zoey was back, she couldn't stop her racing heart or the smile on her face. She knew what she wanted to do, and now that she was so close she could hardly wait, she had finally admitted to herself what she had known all along.

"Oh my god. Did you lose that turquoise top with the spaghetti straps that I lent you?" Lola asked, sounding worried.

"No." Zoey shook her head.

"Let her talk," Quinn ordered Lola.

"Ok," Zoey sat down on the edge of her bed. "A few weeks ago, somebody left their webcam on…by accident."

"Yeah?" Lola and Quinn asked, sounding confused.

"And I kind of overheard something I wasn't supposed to hear. It was Chase, he was talking to Michael and Logan."

"And what did Chase say?" Quinn asked.

"That he's in love with me," Zoey said slowly.

Lola and Quinn turned to each other and smiled. "Well finally!"

"Wait, you heard him say it?" Lola asked.

"Oh yeah."

"Love or in love?" Lola asked.

"In. Very clearly in." Zoey clarified.

"And he doesn't know you heard this?" Quinn asked.

"Nope."

"This is…interesting," Quinn said.

"Yeah, so I have to go talk to him before I do anything else here," Zoey said and walked out of the room.

"Oh my god!" Lola started jumping up and down in excitement.

"I know, what do we do?" Quinn asked.

"Well, obviously we have to go see this right?"

"Of course we do. We've been waiting years for this! Oh wait a minute, Zoey didn't say she's in love with him though!" Quinn realized.

"She came back from England to talk to him, she isn't going to say no, come on we have to go! She's finally seen the light! Even after all this time of Chase being an idiot!" Lola and Quinn sprinted out of the room to follow Zoey.

Chase was sitting on his bed doing his best to read a book, but he was failing miserably at it. Zoey was still all he could think about, every hour of every day, He was such an idiot for sending her away. After he apologized to her and she said she was staying, he had come up with a plan to follow her to England and he was certain that would fix everything, but unfortunately, his parents didn't agree. No matter how much he begged, he couldn't convince them to let him transfer to Covington. So he was stuck at PCA, even though he still had Michael, his girl best friend, and his heart were in England.

Logan and Michael were flying Logan's new remote-controlled helicopter around the room, and cackling like mad, if things were normal Chase was sure he'd be laughing along with them, but nothing would ever make him happy until he could see Zoey face to face again.

There was a knock on the door and Logan landed the helicopter while Michael answered it. Chase didn't even look up from his book.

"Zoey? You're back!" Michael cheered excitedly, finally grabbing Chase's attention.

He glanced up to see Michael with his arms wrapped around a girl in a hug, and when he pulled away, it was her. Zoey was here, she came back. Chase dropped his book on the ground in shock. He stood up from his bed and just froze.

It was Zoey, she looked just as beautiful as ever, and Chase felt the exact same way he always did whenever saw her like all he wanted to do was hug her tight and tell her how much she means to him. But she said she wasn't coming back, but here she was. What had changed her mind? And if she was here, what did that mean for them?

"Hi Michael, I missed you so much." Zoey smiled at him, "I even missed you too Logan."

"Of course you did, see, I knew you'd come back to make out with me," Logan said cockily, but he gave her a hug too.

"Not quite…" Zoey said, and then she looked at Chase. Her favorite person in the entire world, she could do this, she came this far, she could do this. "Um, can two give us some privacy?"

"Of course we can." Michael smiled at her, "I could use some more meatless tacos anyway." Michael smiled at her and then smiled over at Chase one more time before he and Logan left the room.

"Hey." Zoey smiled at Chase.

"Zo…Zoey, you're back at PCA?" Chase asked, nervously.

"Uh-huh." Zoey nodded and sat down on their couch. She patted the seat next to her, inviting Chase to join her.

Chase obediently followed her directions, but he didn't have any idea what was going to happen next, she didn't seem like she was still mad at him, but it was obvious she wanted to say something to him. Chase couldn't help the worst-case scenarios from flying through his head. "I thought you said you wouldn't come back to PCA? Why did you come back?"

Zoey smiled softly, glancing to the side for a moment before meeting his eyes again. She could be honest with herself, and with Chase. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Chase replied. Unknown to both, they both meant so much more than what they said out loud.

OK, here goes, it'll be ok, just like ripping off a band-aid, I can't draw this out anymore. Zoey thought to herself, "And, um, I uh, kind of overheard you say something…" Zoey trailed off, she knew what she wanted to say, but still wasn't sure how to say this to her best friend.

"What do you mean?" Chase still had no clue where she was going with this. If his apologizing to her didn't convince her, what could she have possibly heard that brought her back?

"Well, a few weeks ago, when I was there and you were here…"

"Yeah?"

"I guess you or Michael or Logan left your video chat on…" Zoey grimaced slightly.

"OK…?"

"And I heard you say something…"

"Um, could you be more specific?" Chase still had no clue what she could possibly be talking about. He had been miserable 24/7 without her, but he didn't think the webcam on his computer would pick that up.

Zoey took a deep breath in and let it out. "I heard you say you're in love with me." Zoey smiled.

All the color drained from Chase's face and he froze for a few moments as he turned over her words and really took them in. "Oh." He muttered, "that's uh, pretty specific."

"Uh-huh." Zoey nodded, smiling at the awkward tension that had just filled all the space between them.

"And that's why you came back to PCA?"

"That's why." Zoey nodded.

Oh my god. Chase thought silently to himself, three years of always trying and failing to work up the nerve and that's how she finally finds out? When she's in England? And he had no idea. She finally knows. Wait a minute, she finally knows, and that's why she came back…and she's still smiling at me, maybe just maybe she doesn't hate me, and if she doesn't hate me…

"Chase? Chase?" Zoey reached out and shook his shoulder, "Are you OK?"

"Um, yeah, I um it's just. Never mind. So, you heard me say I'm in love with you." Chase said slowly.

"Yeah." Zoey nodded her head.

"Which leads us to a very interesting question…" Chase trailed off, so apparently, he had already done the hard part of telling her, he could ask her this.

"Which is…?" Zoey asked, but she already knew in her heart where he was going with this.

"Are you in love with me?" Chase asked, his heart was pounding and his palms felt so sweaty as he finally asked her the question he had wanted to know ever since 8th grade. Seeing Zoey pause for a few moments, he couldn't keep himself from nervously rambling. "Feel free to say something before I throw up."

Zoey reached out to gently hold his hand. "Maybe, I came back here to find out," Zoey told him. "I think I could be," she said with a smile.

"I will take that." Chase smiled back at her as all of his anxieties seemed to wash away the moment he heard Zoey giggle at him. He knew he was being dramatic, but as long as he could still see her smile, and hear those words. He would do anything for her.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Zoey asked him while shaking her head.

"Because I am very, very stupid." Chase smiled back, "So now what? "

"Well, Chase, what do you want to do?"

"You know what?" Chase felt a newfound burst of confidence in himself, he knew he was always his best when Zoey was by his side, and he could prove it to her. "I've waited three and a half years for this, I'm dating you, right now." He declared.

"I am all for that plan. Where do you want to go?"

"How about Sushi Rox? What's it they have in England, fish, and chips? I bet you're starving for Kazu's by now. Am I right?

"That sounds amazing Chase." Zoey reached forward and hugged him tightly, and Chase followed suit. "I missed you so much, and I missed your hugs."

"I missed you too. I promise I will never be an idiot or tell you to ever leave again. I want you to be with me forever." Chase paused for a moment, "Um did I say that last part out loud?"

"I think that sounds like a dream come true Chase. The only reason I left in the first place was because of you, and I never want to do anything like that ever again."

"Totally honest, I've been begging my parents nonstop to convince them to let me go to England to be with you. And I was even planning on telling you everything then too, assuming any of that would have actually worked out."

"Well, it's a good thing they didn't. If you weren't at PCA I would be miserable."

"No you wouldn't, you'd still have everyone else around, but I'm sure I would be totally miserable if I was all alone in England. That would have become the new stupidest thing I've ever done."

"It doesn't matter, the important thing is that we're both here now, and there's nothing between us."

"And if I ever do get mad at you for any reason, I promise I will talk to you about why I'm upset, and not be a jerk."

"I promise that too. Chase, I think we both know how important we are to each other. I never want us to fight like that again either."

"You're completely right. I love you Zoey, there I said it, and to your face."

"Now was that so hard?" Zoey teased him.

"No, it was the easiest thing to say in the world."

"You know what Chase? I love you too." Zoey promised him.

"But you weren't sure?"

"I know I am, just being here with you again is the greatest feeling ever."

"I know exactly what you mean. So do you need help unpacking?"

"Sure thing Chase, want to head back to my room? I just got you back and I don't want to leave you yet."

"I think that sounds like a great idea, and then we can get dinner later?"

"It's a date Chase." Zoey promised him.

They walked to the door, but then jumped back after Chase opened it and Lola, Quinn, Michael, and Logan all fell forward from trying to listen through the door.

"So, what's going on?" Lola asked excitedly after everyone had picked themselves up.

Zoey and Chase just smiled at each other and down at their joined hands that were still sending sparks between them.

"You mean you couldn't hear us through the door?" Zoey asked them. "Since I assume everyone knows why I came back, you can be the first to meet my new boyfriend."

"Ok, one, two, three…" Lola counted off before all four of them shouted, "WE TOLD YOU SO!"

"What are you talking about?" Zoey asked.

"All those times we told you Chase is in love with you and you never believed us," Quinn shouted.

"And all those times we told you to just tell her you love her and nothing would go wrong." Michael pointed at Chase.

"OK, we've already established that I've been an idiot, but I won't be an idiot anymore," Chase said.

"And fine I'll admit I was always in denial because Chase was my best friend, but the important thing is that we all know the truth now."

"So, what's happening now?" Lola asked.

"Well, if you must know, after I help Zoey unpack, tonight we'll go get Sushi Rox."

"And this is our first date, so we don't need an audience," Zoey added seeing Lola about to say something.

"Fine, but you will be filling us in on everything when you get back Zoey," Lola ordered.

"Whatever floats your boat. So, do you guys mind?"

"One more thing." Michael held up his hand to stop them from leaving and then all of them joined together in a massive group hug. "We're all happy you're back Zoey, and for you two finally getting together, because I mean seriously, do you two have any ideas how many betting pools there are on campus when either of you would finally say something?"

"What are you talking about?" Chase asked.

"You two were the most oblivious soulmates on the planet, everyone, and I mean everyone knew you would get together eventually, plus there were also betting pools on whether Chase would man up first or if you would buy a clue first," Quinn explained. "Speaking of here you go, Lola."

"Thanks Quinn." Lola happily took Quinn's twenty bucks.

"So I guess Chase sort of did it first. So pay up!" Michael turned to Logan.

"I don't think it counts since Chase didn't even know he told her." Logan crossed his arms.

"But he told her before she made the first move."

"Fine!" Logan handed over a hundred-dollar bill

"OK, we get it, we've both been pretty dumb over the years, but can you let us go now? I have to go pick a cute dress for my date tonight."

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea Zoey." Chase smiled at her.

Chase and Zoey walked past their friends and both felt a measure of relief now that it was just the two of them again.

"Let them talk if they wanna, I'm still the happiest man alive that you're back here, and I finally told you."

"I am too. I love you Chase."