"Hello?"

The front door creaked open and Nicole poked her head in. She pocketed her key and entered the apartment room, closing the door behind her. She was out of breath and her flyaway hair was sticking up all over the place. She took her shoes and jacket off and left them on the floor for the moment. Flicking on the lights, she looked around, hoping to see Zoey asleep on the couch or something.

"Hello?" Nicole called out again. She went to the kitchen, expecting to see Zoey eating a midnight snack or drinking a glass of milk. The kitchen was empty. Nicole frowned and moved along, heading for Zoey's bedroom. The door was shut and Nicole knocked three times before opening it herself.

Zoey was tucked into her bed with the blankets pulled right up to her chin. She was fast asleep, snoring gently. Nicole smiled, feeling relieved. She closed the door and headed for the bathroom to clean up and then go to bed. She leaned against the sink, staring into the mirror and gasping at what she saw. Her face was blotchy and red and her eye was twitching. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she grabbed her toothbrush and turned the sink on.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Nicole went to her bedroom and changed into her cotton pajamas. She crawled into bed and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the thoughts that kept pestering her. She felt her heart start to thump harder when she thought about it. She shouldn't have done that. She should have come home straight away. She should have waited for Zoey. But she didn't and now she was in trouble.

Nicole tossed and turned for a long time before she finally fell asleep. She started dreaming about PCA. An image of the school came up. In front of the school, on his bike, was Chase. Zoey was sitting on a bench, doing her homework, while Chase rode around in circles, wanting her to accompany him to the arcade.

"No, Chase, I have homework," Zoey said, burying her nose in the book. "We'll go to the arcade after I finish." She scribbled something down in her notebook with her pencil. Chase looked at her and smiled. His helmet was sliding off slightly. He readjusted it and rode his bike over to where Zoey was sitting.

"Can I help you?" he asked. "Then we can go to the arcade faster."

Zoey rolled her eyes and laughed. She closed her notebook and shoved it in her bag. She zipped her pencil case open and stuffed her pencils inside of it. Looking up at Chase she said, "Fine. Let's go to the arcade. I can finish my homework later." She lifted her bag up and slung it over her shoulder. Chase grinned and the two of them got on his bike and rode to the arcade.

Nicole turned in her sleep. Her dream continued.

This time the setting was different. It was on the rooftop of a huge apartment building. Zoey was standing there, wearing a wool jacket. The wind was whipping at her face and her hair was flying backwards. With each deep breath, she took one step forward. She was walking very slowly toward the edge of the roof.

"Chase," she whispered. "I'll be with you now."

She jumped off the roof and went hurtling downwards. She was falling, falling, falling towards the speeding cars underneath. Just as she hit her death, someone came running on to the roof. It was Chase and he looked worried and frustrated. He looked around and went to the edge and looked over. That's when he saw her. A crowd had gathered around her body. Blood was running down the road like a river. He gasped and stumbled backwards. No… it couldn't be… She was dead.

Nicole screamed. Then she screamed again. She started to wave her arms and legs around. The door to her bedroom opened and Zoey came running in. She sat down beside Nicole's bed and grabbed her friend's hand. Nicole kept screaming and tossing and turning. Zoey felt scared watching her.

"Nicole!" she cried. "Nicole, wake up!"

Zoey grabbed Nicole's shoulders and started shaking her. Nicole stopped screaming and her eyelids fluttered open. When she saw Zoey she suddenly burst into tears. She sat up in her bed and grabbed her friend into a hug. She kept crying and Zoey patted her back reassuringly. Nicole released her and wiped away her tears.

"Nicole, are you ok?" Zoey asked. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Nicole shuddered and rubbed her arms as if she was cold. "What… what time is it?" she asked, her voice quavering. She looked around her room. She had forgotten to close the curtains last night so sunshine was streaming through, making the room bright and sunny.

"It's 10 in the morning," Zoey said. "I just woke up when I heard you screaming." She rubbed her head and groaned. "I feel awful. What happened last night?" She looked at Nicole with concern. "And are you feeling ok? Why were you screaming?"

The events from the previous night came back to Nicole in a sudden rush. It hurt her head to think about everything. It felt as if a giant boulder had fallen on her stomach. She shook her head and grabbed Zoey's arm. "Let's get breakfast."

After they had both washed up and gotten dressed, they went to the kitchen and sat at the table. Zoey had a glass of orange juice and some toast and Nicole satisfied herself with a bowl of cereal. As she twirled her spoon around the milk, she wondered how she should break the news to Zoey. Should she be casual? No, this wasn't a very casual matter. Did she have to tell her at all? Of course! They were best friends after all.

"Nicole?" Zoey asked as she took a bite of toast. "Will you please tell me what happened last night? I have such a headache. All I remember is that we went to the night club and then next thing I know I wake up to hear you screaming." She frowned.

Nicole took a deep breath. She would have to start at the beginning. She explained to Zoey about the paparazzi swarming Logan and Dana and how Michael and Quinn had attempted to rescue them. Then she explained how Zoey had been too drunk to do anything so everyone but Jake had left her.

"You left me with Jake?" Zoey asked, sounding shocked and hurt.

"Um, yes," Nicole said, looking down into her cereal. She spooned some up into her mouth and then lifted her head again to face Zoey. "Anyway… Logan and Dana got into their car and left and Michael and Quinn got into Michael's golf cart and left…" She sighed. "It was all pretty crazy."

"What about you?" Zoey asked. "You came back for me, right?"

"Um, no," Nicole said, looking down into her cereal again. "You see… Tony was there too. I don't know if you remember because you were drinking pretty heavily. Anyway, Tony came by bus so I gave him a ride. When I dropped him off at his place he invited me in for awhile and I did and…" Her voice trailed off. She cleared her throat. "One thing led to another."

Zoey dropped her toast. "Excuse me?" she said, staring at the cereal interested Nicole. "What does that mean exactly?" She leaned back and crossed her arms, her eyes fixed on her nervous roommate.

Nicole glanced up finally. "Well… to put it simply…" She took a deep breath. "Zoey, I… I think I might be pregnant!" She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as if she expected Zoey to go insane and explode.

There was silence. Nicole opened one eye and then the other. Zoey was sitting across from her with her mouth wide open. Nicole hesitantly leaned over the table to poke her in the arm. "Zoey… Are you ok?"

"Oh…" Zoey closed her eyes. "My…"

"It's not that bad," Nicole said quickly. "I mean, I didn't even take the test yet so I don't even know for sure and I…" She stopped. "You're mad, aren't you?" She shrunk down in her seat so it looked as if she was five years old.

"Mad?" Zoey said, opening her eyes. "No, not mad. Furious is more like it! Nicole that was a totally irresponsible thing you did! I can't believe you! Haven't you ever heard of protection? And how could you just leave me with Jake? Why would you do that?"

"Wait, hold on," Nicole said, holding her hands out. "Are you… worrying about me?"

Zoey stopped her ramble. She stared at Nicole and frowned. "Well, obviously! You're my best friend and I don't want to see you get hurt or anything. You should be married before you have a kid don't you think?"

"Well some people have a child before they get married," Nicole pointed out. "And Zoey- you're worrying about me!" She squealed and jumped out of her chair. "You've broken out of your shell! All those years of not calling and avoiding your friends and now you're worrying about me!" She put a hand to her heart. "I'm so proud."

A smile started to break out on Zoey's face. "Yeah… I have broken out my shell, haven't I? I am worrying about you, aren't I?" She giggled and jumped up to hug Nicole. They were both laughing and grinning and feeling happier than they had in a long time. When Zoey released her, her serious face was back on.

"But Nicole, seriously, you have to go get the test today," Zoey said.

"I will," Nicole promised. They both sat back down to finish their breakfast when Nicole brought up the unanswered question. "How did you get home, Zoey?"

Zoey paused. "I don't know… but I guess if I was left with Jake then he drove me home." She felt her cheeks turn pink. "I guess I should go thank him today." She sighed as she polished off her toast. "Let's go to the supermarket, Nicole. You can buy what you need and if he's working, I'll say thanks."

Nicole nodded her head. After they cleared up the table, they headed for the supermarket. It was a sunny day and Zoey enjoyed walking along with Nicole, sunshine heating up their arms and legs. When they entered the market, a cool rush of air conditioning blew into their face. The two of them went their separate ways, Nicole to buy what she needed and Zoey to go find Jake.

Zoey paused at a rack of paperback books. She picked one up and turned it over in her hands. It was entitled Moving on and Finding Truth. Interested, Zoey flipped to a random page. She started to read. She was so mesmerized by the words that she didn't see Jake sneaking up behind her. When he hit her lightly on the shoulder, she yelped and dropped the book. Jake laughed and picked it up off the floor. He read the title and frowned.

"Interesting choice of reading," he remarked, handing it back to Zoey.

"Oh… right," Zoey said, looking down at her shoes. They were worn out and scuffed. She really needed to get a new pair. "I just wanted to tell you… um… I wanted to say thanks for you know… yesterday and…"

"Oh, taking you home and cleaning up the toilet for you?" Jake smiled and crossed his arms across his chest. "No problem. I don't mind looking after fully grown woman. In fact, it's one of my hobbies."

Zoey gaped at him. "Cleaning up the toilet?"

"You don't think I'd just leave you ankle deep in vomit, do you?" Jake asked, looking surprised. He laughed. "Don't worry about it. And it wasn't really ankle deep- you just… uh, missed the toilet sometimes is all."

Zoey felt her cheeks start to burn. She pressed her hands against them to cool them down. "Oh… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to… well thanks… a lot. I mean… I could've done it, but I really think that… uh… okay… bye."

She started to turn away when Jake grabbed her arm. She looked into his face and saw that he suddenly looked serious. She felt her heart start to melt. Chase always looked like that when he was serious. His eyes flashed in a way that could make Zoey's heart thump ten times louder.

"Zoey…" he said his voice quiet. "I was just wondering about something…"

"Huh?" Zoey seemed to be hypnotized by his eyes.

Jake paused and then shook his head, breaking the trance. "Nothing, forget it. Never mind… I should… uh, get back to work." They both stood there awkwardly. "I guess I'll see you around…?"

"Oh… yeah," Zoey said, nodding her head. "Definitely…"

They both started to walk away when Jake turned and called after Zoey. "Hey… do you… uh, want to have dinner tonight or something?" he asked hesitantly. Zoey turned around to stare at him. Her eyes were large and her mouth was hanging open slightly. She blinked and stared and then nodded her head.

"Great," Jake said, grinning from ear to ear. "I'll pick you up at 6, let's say?" Zoey nodded again and he smiled and walked away. Zoey stood rooted to the spot. Had he just asked her out on a date? No… it was just a friendly dinner between two possible friends. She supposed she should pay since he had already done so much for her.

She bought two ice cream cones and waited for Nicole at the main entrance. She started eating her ice cream which was vanilla flavoured and glanced at her watch. When Nicole finally came, her face was white and pale.

"Zoey," Nicole said quietly. "I'm…"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Zoey gasped and dropped her ice cream.