Disclaimer: Don't own 'em….just playing with 'em for a little bit.
A quarter after midnight, Alex woke up to a light knock on the door. She had fallen asleep on top of the bed, an afghan pulled over her. She glanced at the clock and groaned. It'd be nearly one by the time she got to the shelter.
She opened the door and saw Zoey on the other side, wearing sunglasses to hide her face. "Where the hell have you been," Alex asked, pulling her into the room and shutting the door behind her. "It's a quarter after midnight."
"Party was great," Zoey replied, "How was dinner?"
"Fabulous. Where's the hundred," she asked.
"Here," Zoey said, handing her a handful of twenties. "Thanks again."
"No problem. Can I have the clothes back," Alex asked.
"Gladly," Zoey said. She reached into the athletic bag and tossed them over to the other girl. "Mom and Dad suspect anything?" She flopped down onto the bed, facing towards the wall as she flipped through a magazine.
"Not that I could see," Alex said, "You're supposed to go home this weekend. And call them to say you forgot to call. You started to do homework immediately." She began to pull on the clothes that Zoey had tossed her.
"Why didn't you call," Zoey asked.
"Because the White House isn't exactly listed in the Yellow Pages," she retorted. She jammed the baseball cap onto her head and grabbed her backpack. "I'm dressed."
"Great," Zoey said, "I'll see you around then."
"Yeah," Alex said, "I'll see ya." She cracked open the door, then creeped outside, careful not to awaken the agent sleeping across the hall.
Zoey woke up the next morning to the sound of the phone ringing loudly. She sat up in bed and fumbled for the phone.
"Hello," she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"You forgot to call last night," the insistent voice of her mother said.
"I'm sorry," Zoey said, "I started working on a paper for Hamlet."
"I thought you were on Canterbury tales," Abbey said.
"I am," Zoey said, quickly backtracking. "This is just a final paper."
"Oh," Abbey said, "Are you still coming home to see Ellie this weekend?"
"Yeah. I'll be there Friday afternoon."
"Alright. I've got to got to a meeting now. Take care of yourself and have a good day."
"You too. Give Dad my love."
"Bye sweetheart."
"Bye mom," Zoey said, hanging up the phone. She flopped back on her bed with a smile. Her parents hadn't suspected a thing.
Zoey stopped by the shelter a couple of days later to serve dinner, hoping to see Alex again. She'd managed to come up with a way for them to communicate better.
"Alex," Zoey called, spotting the girl on a cot towards the back.
"What do you want now," Alex asked, marking her place in her book.
"Nice way to greet a friend," Zoey said. "I need your help again."
"Now what," Alex asked, pushing herself up.
"There's this gala thing I need you to go to," Zoey said. "It's in a week."
"So, where will you be?"
"In the Hamptons," Zoey said, "My friends are having a bonfire on the beach."
"So, is that what is about? I get your body double again?" Alex pretended to be irritated, but knew she really wasn't.
"C'me on. You get to wear this great Dolce and Gabana dress and look beautiful," Zoey said, "Plus, there's this hot guy who'll be your date."
"Don't you think someone's going to pick up on the fact that I'm not you at some point in time," Alex asked.
"It worked before," Zoey said with a shrug. "Oh yeah. Thanks for telling me we had switched from Hamlet to Canterbury tails."
"No problem," Alex said with a smirk. "Alright. I'll do it."
"Thank you," Zoey said, reaching forward to hug her. "You're the best."
"Don't get all happy yet," Alex said, "I don't know how to dance."
"Oh, I can show you that," Zoey said. "Also, I set up an e-mail address. It's not checked, so e-mail me there." She handed her a card with the address on it. Alex took it and tucked it into her backpack. "We can start tomorrow."
"Okay," Alex said, "By the way, you better get up to the table. I hear they have meatloaf tonight." She grinned at the grimace on Zoey's face. Everyone knew that the shelter's meatloaf could be lethal at times.