CHAPTER 5: UPON ARRIVAL

A/N: Wow! I have made it to chapter 5, finally. Now the gang is arriving at the ski lodge and checking in and everything. When they signed up, the 4 girls were together and the three boys were together. Will sleeping arrangements cause problems?

THANX, REVIEWERS! U ALL SO TOTALLY ROCK MY SOX (even when I'm barefoot)!

Callmemaddy- thanx, u r 1 of my favs 2 and thanx 4 making that last Ch. seem not so bad 2 me. Ur the best! Hugs!

Reader-bsmsgirl-1053-u should not b talking about D and L being 2 alike to like each other, and I m sure u no what I mean. Just b/c ur my triplet doesn't mean u can get away from me (and it doesn't mean I have to b nice 2 u). Apparently it doesn't mean u hafta b nice 2 me either, b/c that review was more honest than I wished... JK- I need a critic. Hugs!

MrsLoganReese- sorry I didn't tell u b4, but awesome pen name! Don't worry, though, I m not acting like competition for him, although I wish… anyway, thanx 4 your review so much, u rule, and thanx 4 making me feel better about Ch. 4

Absolute-darkness- wow, am I the only 1 who thought that chapter sucked? Thanx 4 saying it was cute, but its so short b/c I had writer's block. NEXT CHAPTERS ARE LONGER! Hugs!

Jakusa- thanx a million and I love your stories. U rule!

Aww, you guys rule! U all made me feel so good, boosting my confidence when I was bummed because my writer's block screwed me up. I thought Ch. 4 was awful, b/c basically it was just filler, but u guys just changed my mind. I still think that it's definitely one of my not-so-good works, but it doesn't seem "suckish" anymore (Luv' ya, Natalie!)

DISCLAIMER: I totally forgot this in my last chapter. Whoops. Anyway, I wish I owned Zoey 101, but sadly nickelodeon has that privilege. I also wish I owned the actors (don't worry Natalie, if I did I'd share matt with you, but sorry, no way would I give him to u, not even to either of my triplet sisters, sharing is the best you would get) but they belong to themselves or their parents, or maybe nickelodeon, I don't know, u cant really own people legally can you? I'll stop blabbing, I don't own Zoey 101, as I must constantly be reminded sobs and looks longingly at a picture of the cast

After dinner, it was about an hour to the ski lodge. Dana and Logan were the only ones awake. (I like making people sleep so others can talk privately, however, hint, hint, some might be faking, cough-Nicole-cough--I should get that cough taken care of) Dana was looking out the window every now and then as she read her book. Logan was staring at Dana and whenever she turned her head to look up he'd switch to looking out the window. Dana was only "reading", however--every once in awhile she'd stare at Logan, while he was looking out the window. A couple of times as she tried to concentrate on her book, she thought she felt someone looking at her, but when she looked up, nobody seemed to notice she was there. Logan was just as oblivious that Dana was looking at him every once in a while, although he thought he felt someone looking at him. Finally, Dana broke the silence.

"About that thing from before, with the truth or dare-" she started. Logan looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "I thought you said you wanted to forget about that", he said, raising his eyebrows. "Well" she said saucily, "maybe I changed my mind. Um, anyway, maybe you were right. Maybe I do like you. Is that a crime?" she said accusingly and a bit defensively.

He looked at her strangely and said, "No, but-". Dana cut him off. "Listen, I don't want to hear it if you're just going to say something like you always say, or bragging about yourself, or teasing that I like you, or-" This time Logan cut her off. "You know, if you didn't jump down my throat every time I open my mouth near you, you might know that I'm not always like that. You never give me a chance to be nicer to you because you always have your own guard up. I never feel completely comfortable around you." Dana turned away from him and stared out the window again. Logan spoke up again.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or make you angry or anything." Dana looked at him. "It's okay. I could understand why you would feel like that", she said. "I could be nicer to you", she said carefully. Logan looked a little uncomfortable, but he said "and I could stop being so, you know, self-obsessive and rude." Dana looked thoughtful. "Why don't we make deal", she suggested. "We'll be nicer to each other and give each other more of a chance. We'll try being friends for this trip, so we can enjoy it, and if it works, we'll be nicer to each other all the time. Do we have a deal?" She held out her hand to Logan, who looked at her outstretched hand. He reached out and shook her hand. She looked at her hand connected with his and blushed, thinking about how warm and soft his hand was, and wishing that she could touch his hand more often. She looked up from their hands to find him staring at her, concerned. "Umm, Dana, I think it's safe to let go now", he told her. She blushed even more and gently let go. "I'm sorry", she said, embarrassed. "It's ok," he said.

NICOLE'S POV:

Wow, she really does like him a lot. I wonder if he likes her, though. OMG, I wonder if they want anyone to know about how they're going to be friends. Got to tell Zoey… and hey, wait, we're here!

Back to normal format

"We're here, finally!" Mr. Bender announced to the bus. Dana and Logan shook their friends awake, even Nicole, because she was still faking sleep. They stretched, yawned, and all of their luggage was claimed from the various overhead compartments and the big storage sections under the bus. (A/N: I love coach buses! So much storage!) Then they were ushered off the bus and into the parking lot of the ski lodge where they were staying. They shivered outside, not being used to the cold. (Hello, they're from CA, no duh they're cold, I know how it feels) Once they were all outside, Mr. Bender got his bus's attention and did a head count. Then he brought them inside. A huge sign that read "SKY LIFT LODGE" welcomed them to the lodge.

ZOEY'S POV:

Wow! It's 8:00 now and we're finally here. This is going to be a nice trip, I can tell. We are in the lobby now, and it's decorated so nicely. It looks like a Class A hotel in here. There are chandeliers, fancy furniture, and a huge plasma screen TV! And there's an incredibly hot guy working at the front desk. He must be, like, 23 or something. Whoa! Those are some big slopes out there. I can't believe the size of those windows, either. Hey, over there is a sign. It's the dining room. The sign says:

DINING ROOM:

Breakfast: 6:30 am----- 11:00 am.

Lunch: 12:00 am---- 4:00 pm

Dinner: 5:00 pm------ 9:30 pm

DINERS MUST BE STAYING AT THE SKY LIFT LODGE TO ATTEND MEALS. PLEASE SHOW ROOM CARD TO WAITER/WAITRESS AS PROOF OF RESIDENCE.

Cool. This is so awesome! Oh, Mr. Bender is calling our room numbers now.

Normal format

"Zoey Brooks, Quinn Pensky, Dana Cruz, and Nicole Bristow, room 507." The three girls walked up to where Mr. B. was standing and each received a room card. After all the girls had been called (there was a girls' floor—the fifth floor—and a boys' floor—the sixth floor) they were instructed to go to their rooms, unpack, and curfew was 11. A chaperone would act as a DA for each hallway, making sure everyone was in his or her room. Mr. Bender then read out the hallway chaperones.

"Girls' floor- hallway A, which is rooms 500 through 518- your chaperone will be Coco." Mr. B. continued as Zoey, Nicole, and Dana looked at each other in dismay. Nicole said, "We get on a field trip to get away from school and we end up having the same suspicious DA with a bad attitude? How is this fair?" Dana looked over at Coco, who was busy getting a kid in trouble for something.

"Ok, now I will read the chaperones for the boys' floor. Hallway A, rooms 600 through 618, Rick. Hallway B, rooms 619 through

636, Alex." "Who's Alex?" asked Michael. (The boys were in room 625) Logan pointed to a guy leaning against the wall. He was talking to a girl DA, who was flirting. Nicole looked over at him and said so only their group could hear, "Now that is one hot guy." Dana and Zoey nodded in agreement.

A/N: FINALLY! They are off the stupid bus and at the lodge so they can go to their rooms. I did not know it would take them this long to get there. I mean, come on, it's already chapter 5. Now that I am totally out of my writer's block, I can focus more on writing instead of looking at the computer as if it was an instrument of torture. Writing no longer feels like a chore, which I'm thankful for, because I really do like writing and I want to get this story continued. Anyway, I'll stop blabbing and just continue. Alrighty, then.
The 7 of them brought their luggage into an elevator and set the button to go to the fifth floor. Dana said, "You know, this is a pretty nice place here. I want to explore around a bit, after I unpack." "Well, that won't take long for you, will it Dana, because your ideas of unpacking is dumping your stuff on the floor, throwing it around the room and you're done", Nicole said. Zoey tried to keep from laughing at this and failed. Dana glared at the two of them. Quinn didn't pay attention to them. She was studying the elevator buttons and took out a screwdriver. Dana grabbed it away from her. "I don't feel like being stuck in an elevator, you know that? Leave the buttons alone or I'll screw your buttons..."she growled menacingly. Zoey and Nicole stopped laughing and glanced at each other.

A little bell went off, signaling that the elevator had reached the fifth floor. The girls lugged their things and went to open their room, while the boys rode the elevator one floor higher.

IN ROOM 507

The four girls walked into their room. It was a good-sized, comfortable room. The walls were painted cream and had a border near the ceiling of pine trees, mountains, and ski slopes. Three beds and a sofa bed were in the main part of the room. The beds and the sofa had sheets and blankets that were maroon with gold swirls and splashed of blue here and there. In the back, a little table with four chairs around it had an ice bucket and a coffee maker. One of the walls had a big closet with a sliding The girls checked out the bathroom.

NICOLE'S POV:

OMG! Wow, this bathroom is big! There's a big tub with three jets in it (not a Jacuzzi) that you have to climb down three steps to get into it, it's two feet deep, too! There's a huge vanity mirror with a makeup table, a big sink, a fancy toilet, and an expensive blow dryer... YES! There are four racks of towels, and each rack has a basket at the end, with two mini shampoos, two mini conditioners, two mini soap bars, one mini shower gel, and a washcloth. This is the life!

"No, that's my bed! Get the heck away from it before I suffocate you in the blankets!"

"Dana, calm down! Quinn, you should let Dana have that bed. Trust me, it's easier to give in to her than to fight for it."

"What is that supposed to mean, Brooks?"

Uh-oh. It's never good when Dana starts using last names. I wonder what they're fighting about now. I don't think it was a good idea to have Quinn and Dana share a room. I predict it'll be WW III around here.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked. Honestly, I don't think they can get along for one minute. Quinn and Dana, I mean. Dana is looking at me now. What's with the glare? I didn't do anything to her!

"We're staking out beds", Dana answered. "Zoey wants the one by the closet, I want this one, and I figured you would want the one by the window." "Thanks", I said. I'm surprised she did that. Does she have a nice side? Or maybe she only did that so Quinn would have to sleep on the sofa. "Yeah whatever" Dana said. I'm guessing it was the second choice here. "But anyway, Quinn says that she wants this bed. "Y'know, Quinn, I'm guessing you don't know the rules. Nicole, tell her." "Me? Why don't you?" I said back to her. She gave me a look like 'Do you really want to try that?' Gulp.

"Quinn," I said, "there are a few rules when dealing with Dana. Whatever she wants, she gets. Touch her stuff or wake her up and you'll wish you'd never been born. Tell anyone she did something nice, she'll mess you up. These are general rules. There are other rules for other purposes, or people. For me: no blow-drying in the morning if I want to keep my hair on my head. For Logan: Stay away or die. Except now that I mention that, it doesn't seem like that policy applies anymore." Whoops. Did I just say that aloud? I should- "Keep your big mouth shut, will you, Bristow?" Yeah, that. If I did that, she wouldn't have yelled or used my last name. Bad Nicole, very bad Nicole.

DANA'S POV:

Did she hear my deal with Logan? She must have been faking sleep, that little…Next time, I'm gong to make deals in a soundproof room. After I pound her. Or maybe...nah. I don't want to go to jail.

NORMAL (NO POV):

Zoey and Quinn looked between Dana and Nicole, wondering what Nicole was talking about and why Dana was mad. Dana yanked Nicole into the bathroom and slammed the door. "Well", said Quinn, "I guess I'm taking the sofa bed, then." Zoey nodded.

IN THE BATHROOM:

Dana slammed the door after pulling Nicole into the bathroom. "What did you hear, Nicole?" Nicole looked unconcerned. At this point, she didn't really care what Dana did to her now. "Oh, nothing. You know. Except for you and Logan making a deal to be nicer to each other and possibly become friends. Y'know, Dana, people might start to talk if you and Logan hang out a lot." Dana said, "Well, there was a reason that I didn't make this deal on national TV, Nicole." "Duh", said Nicole. "That must cost like a million bucks or something." "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" she added quickly, because Dana had that look on her face like 'I can't take more stupidity from her'. "Dana, I won't tell anyone, OK? I promise." Dana smiled; it was a real smile this time. "Okay" she said. Nicole looked awkward. All of a sudden, Dana grabbed her and hugged her. Nicole hugged her back, and they let go. Their smiles let each other know that nobody would be finding out about that, either. The two of them left the bathroom.

Dana apologized to Quinn. "I'm sorry for fighting about the beds. I'm territorial and cranky from being on a bus all day. I really am sorry. But remember my rule--tell anyone I did something nice and I'll mess you up." Quinn nodded and all the girls yawned. "It's almost 9 already! Time flies!" said Zoey. The three girls decided it would be good to unpack, so they did. There were two dressers, each with four drawers. Zoey and Dana shared one dresser and Nicole and Quinn had the other. After they had put away some clothes in the dressers, they argued over closet space, finally agreeing to each have a different color hanger for their stuff. There were black, brown, white, and gray hangers. Zoey had brown, Nicole had white, Dana had gray, and Quinn had black. After they were done, they each took a shower and brushed their teeth, putting their bathroom stuff (toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion, etc.) along with the soap and stuff in the baskets. Finally, they were all ready for bed. At 11, Quinn was reading a science magazine, Zoey was writing in her journal, and Nicole and Dana were looking through Seventeen together. Someone knocked at the door.

"Come in!" Zoey yelled. "I could, IF I HAD A KEY!" came Coco's sarcastic voice. The girls rolled their eyes and Zoey got up and opened the door. "Good, you are all here." Coco checked off their names on her chaperone list. "Put away whatever it was that you were doing. It's lights out now. G'night", and she left. The girls 'put away whatever it was that they doing' and climbed into bed, agreeing to check out everything and explore the next day.

A/N: Gotta catch my breath, now. That was a lot of typing and my hands… not gonna bother you with that, you don't care. Neither do I, actually. I promise that chapters will start coming more often, because I have a lot of ideas. That and no writer's block. YAY! I look forward to your reviews. From now on, the next few chapters will be titled day by day, such as Chapter 6 will be Day 1, Chapter 7 will be day 2, and so on. They will be at the lodge for 6 days. Chapter 11 will be Day 6, but will be called The Last Day. If you want, I can continue this after they get back in more chapters for a longer story, or make a sequel. We'll see when we get there. For now, enjoy these next few chapters, coming probably one or two a day.