Chapter Four: Guys Don't Get Heartbroken

Zoey was walking quickly, practically jogging. Chase trailed behind her, trying to keep up. He glanced at his watch as he nearly tripped over his untied shoelaces. Zoey suddenly stopped and Chase ran right into her.

"Whoa," he said, gasping for breath. "Zo, what's the hurry? We have like ten minutes before the bell rings."

"We have to hurry when my little brother is involved in the situation," Zoey said, crossing her arms across her chest. "And why are you so out of shape? I'm beginning to think you don't work out."

"Oh," Chase said, wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. "I work out. Oh yeah, I totally do. It's just… you're fast. Do you work out too?"

Zoey rolled her eyes and grabbed Chase's wrist. "Come on..." She dragged him into the cafeteria where they found Katie mopping up the last of the syrup. Only a couple of people remained and they were standing up, getting ready to leave. Soon Zoey, Chase, and Katie were the only ones left in the cafeteria.

Katie had just finished cleaning up the syrup as Zoey approached her. She smiled and stuck her hand out for Katie to shake.

"Hi, I'm Zoey, Dustin's older sister," she said, introducing herself. Chase stood behind her, trying to catch his breath. "Uh… and that's Chase."

"S-sup?" Chase said, still panting slightly.

Katie smiled. "Um, hi, I'm Katie. How's Dustin? He just disappeared and I thought I might have done something to upset him."

"No, he was just embarrassed," Zoey said, quickly brushing off the matter. "So Katie… you and my brother… pretty close, huh?"

Katie grinned as she pushed her chair in and picked up her lunch tray. "Yes, he was really nice to me." She started walking and Zoey followed.

"So… do you kinda… you know, like him?" Zoey asked, attempting to bring it up casually, but not really succeeding. Chase gave her a look that burned the back of her neck, but she didn't turn around to face him.

"Me?" Katie said as she dumped her dirty tray in a pile of other dirty trays. "Well, yeah, I like him, but…" She giggled. "Not like… you know."

Zoey's heart sank. "Huh? I mean… uh… well…"

"Let's put it this way," Chase said, finally speaking up. "If he asked you out would you say yes?" Now it was Zoey's turn to give Chase a burning glare, but he decided to ignore her like she did to him.

Katie's cheeks were turning pink. "Um… no, well, not on a date, no…. Well, I don't like him… Not like that way anyway. Just friends. I mean… well, okay, well…" The bell rang and Katie felt so relieved that a smile split out on to her face. "Got to go. Bye!"

She rushed out of the cafeteria. Zoey and Chase stood there, staring at each other.

"So…" Chase said. "What do we tell Dustin?"

Zoey sighed. "The truth, I guess." She frowned. "Poor guy. He'll be crushed."

Later that night, Dustin lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His mind was drifting around one thing- Katie Anderson. He sighed dreamily and rolled over on to his side. He wondered what Zoey and Chase had asked her-

"Dustin?" There was a knock on the door and Zoey's head poked in.

"Hey, Zo!" Dustin leaped up to greet her. She smiled and came into the room, taking a seat at his desk. He blinked expectantly at her and folded his hands to wait for the news.

"So…" she said, sounding a little nervous. She jiggled her foot a bit, but quickly stopped. "Um, so, what's up?"

"You tell me," Dustin said eagerly. "What did she say about me? You know at first I thought it was a bad idea, but…"

"Sorry kiddo," Zoey said, looking sad. She didn't want to lie to Dustin like she had before with Quinn… she didn't need to go through another Mark situation. "She only likes you as a friend… But you know more fish in the sea, right?"

Dustin felt crushed. "She… doesn't?"

Zoey felt terrible now. She reached over and pulled him into a hug. "Oh, kiddo, I'm sorry. If I could change things, she would like you and you two could live happily ever after… but I can't change that, can I?" She felt her heart drop lower still when Dustin pulled away from her and forced a smile.

"Oh well," he said, his voice strained. "So she doesn't like me. So what? I mean big deal… right? It's just one girl. Just one stupid girl." He turned his back on his sister. "And besides… it's not like we've known each other for ages or anything and I mean…"

"Dustin…" Zoey stared at the back of his head. "Are you going to be ok with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Dustin mumbled, turning around again. "I'll be fine. No, I AM fine." He forced a laugh which came out as a bit of a half choke, half strangle.

"You sure?" Zoey said, sounding concerned. "I'm here if you want to talk to me about it. I'm a girl I can give you some real advice if you want."

"No," Dustin said quickly. "I think I have to… do some homework. So I'll see you tomorrow, right?" He helped her up and pushed her towards the door. With once last worried glance, she left his room.

Once she was gone, Dustin flopped on to his bed and moaned into his pillow.

"Why doesn't she like me? Why? Is it my hair, is it my teeth, is it-"

The door opened and Zoey poked her head in again. Dustin immediately sat up and pretended to be looking for his Math textbook.

"Left my purse…" Zoey mumbled. She hurried to the desk, snatched up her purse, and left again. Dustin sighed and flopped back down.

He felt so embarrassed that he stuffed his head under his pillow to stop his cheeks from turning red. He felt tears start to form in his eyes and laughed a little in half shock and half disgust.

Guys don't get heartbroken, he thought. Especially not if they just had a crush for a day.