"Logan! What the heck is wrong with you?" Chase shouted angrily from his dorm.
"I bet Keith Finch that I could kiss anyone," Logan said matter-of-factly. Chase raised an eyebrow and Logan went on to say, "and he named Zoey, and I said 'you're on.' So, I won the bet!"
"Yeah, but you still have a big red mark on your cheek!" Chase was so angry he had no idea what he was going to do.
"But at least I just go up and do things while they're still there? She may tell herself she didn't like it, but deep down, she knows that she liked it. She just keeps telling herself to like you. Do you honestly think anyone would fall for you?" Logan said. Chase's face froze in anger. Logan smiled evilly and left the room. Chase lay down on his bed, clenching his fists.
"Sometimes I just wanna... ugh!" Chase grunted loudly with frustration. There was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in!" Chase shouted, restraining his anger. It was Zoey. He sat up and looked at her walk over to his bed. She didn't make eye contact with him.
"I'm sorry," She said softly and quickly. Chase looked at her closer. She still wouldn't look at him.
"Don't be," Chase said, leaning over to her, "Logan is a jerk." Chase didn't raise his voice or try to crack any jokes.
"But I couldn't pull off of him. I tried, but if I really wanted to as bad as I thought I did, I should have been able to," Chase was shocked at how upset Zoey was. He scooted over so that he was sitting behind her with his feet pointed the other way.
"Logan's a muscular guy. He spends hours lifting weights and doing crunches, I don't think anyone could have broke away from him," Chase said, his tone softening with Zoey's. She still didn't turn to him. He hugged her gently. Zoey turned and hugged back, letting out a sigh of relief.
Zoey sat alone in her dorm. She had yelled at Nicole and Dana to go do something else so she could have some alone time. She felt horrible. Zoey had never shouted at her friends before. She was in her pajamas with her hair undone. Her eyes were puffy and red from how many times she had rubbed them. It was times like this that Zoey always noticed somebody was knocking at the door.
"Three, two, one..." Zoey counted down, half expecting someone to actually knock. To her surprise, someone did. "Come in." The door opened and footsteps were heard going over to the bed. Zoey had her back to the door.
"Hey,
Zoe," Dustin said. Zoey sniffled.
"Dustin?" She
asked quietly, sitting up and turning in his direction. He took a
seat on her bed.
"I'm sorry," Dustin couldn't think of anything else to say.
"It's not your fault. Chase forgives me and all, I just feel as bad as I look right now," Zoey said, half-smiling. She gestured to her messy hair, puffy eyes, runny nose, and wet cheeks.
"You look fine," Dustin lied. He had never really tried to comfort his sister before. Zoey gave him a look that said "You have got to be kidding me!", but Dustin nodded. "You really do."
"Thanks," Zoey said, deciding not to argue. She didn't feel like yelling anymore.
"Is...there anything I can get you?" Dustin sounded weird. He rarely talked to Zoey when she was like this.
"Can you bring Nicole and Dana in here?" Zoey responded, feeling the need to apologize.
"Yeah, they'll be here soon," Dustin said, getting up.
"Thanks, Dustin," Zoey said, opening her arms for a hug. Dustin walked over and she gave him a big squeeze.
"No problem. Now hold on," Dustin said, walking out. Zoey sat up straight and wiped her cheeks dry. She fixed her hair a bit, and Dana walked in, followed by Nicole.
"Hey, guys," Zoey said, sounding better. "Sorry for yelling."
"You had every right to yell," Nicole comforted Zoey. "I was being really annoying."
"And so was I," Dana said, like she didn't want to be saying it but said it anyways.
"Can you get some ice cream out of the fridge for me?" Zoey asked, scooting back so that she could rest her head on the wall. Nicole nodded and grabbed out a spoon and the ice cream carton. Zoey took a big bite. It felt good to have something cold in her mouth. "Thanks." Zoey said, feeling as if she was with two servants instead of her friends. "You guys can do whatever you want now, I feel lots better," Zoey lied. It was contagious.
"If you're going to fake it, you may as well smile," Dana said, walking out. Nicole stayed in. It was times like this when Zoey was glad she chose the right best friend.
