A/n: Well... last chapter was SO awkward to write. But apparently it was good to read so... shrugs

I do not own Drake Bell.

Chapter 7:

"Happy birthday Zoey." Chase kissed her softly. Zoey smiled gently. "We should probably get going." She pouted.
"Do we have to?" She pleaded as he stood up.
"Time for your party." He said pulling on his boxers.
"My first party without Dana." She said, zipping up her skirt, reluctant to actually get out of bed.. "S'gonna be weird." Chase pulled his T-shirt over his head.
"I know." He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her into a hug. Zoey tilted her head and gave an innocent smile.
"Two years we've been together." She said gently. He nodded and raised his hand to her cheek. He pushed her hair behind her ear and stared into her eyes. After two years the spark in their relationship was still very strong... it had not dwindled like it did with most teenage loves.
"Can't really remember not being together..." He whispered softly, leaning forward and kissing her. She leaned against him and he pulled her closer. She pushed him into the wall, never breaking the kiss. Chase understood.
"Nice try Brooks... come on birthday girl. Party time." She pouted again.
"Fine." She huffed. She grabbed her shirt and buttoned it up. She checked her make up and hair were still appropriate.
"You look gorgeous." He assured her. She nodded.

She descended the stairs. Nicole beamed.
"Happy Birthday Zo." She said hugging her friend. Zoey reached backwards and took Chase's hand. Chase squeezed it lightly. Logan looked up from his homework.
"The birthday girl's here!" He said with a smile. He stuffed the offending english work into his bag and stood up. He handed Zoey a gift and a slice of cake. "Nicole made the cake." He reassured. Everyone who knew Logan knew his last cooking attempt had been disastrous, and since then he hadn't tried. This year had been a better year for Logan Reese. Everyone saw it in him. He had his spring back in his step. At 16 years old he was now fully active and almost hyper when he wanted to be. The only thing odd about him was that he had never had a girlfriend, which sparked many rumors amongst the girls about his sexuality.

The gang however knew differently. Logan was in love with a girl he had seen once in the past two years. he sent her a lot of text messages and sometimes spoke on the phone to her, but not often. Diamond Clarke was a very bad girlfriend, yet, she seemed to make Logan happy, so the gang rarely complained. She was still missing. The media, her family, and even Logan, had no clue where she was or why she went. That didn't seem to bother Logan.
"Thanks Logan, Nicole too, this cake is great!" Zoey grinned. She lifed it to Chase's mouth and he took a bite. He nodded.
"Nice work Nicole." She blushed and grinned. Zoey giggled.
"Chase you got icing... right here." She signalled to his mouth. He rolled his eyes and brushed it away. Zoey sat on the sofa. Chase copied and slid his arm around her waist. She smiled and unwrapped Logan's gift. A silver bracelet, with only four links 'Z' 'O' 'E' 'Y'
"Thanks." She leaned across and kissed Logan's cheek. Chase closed his eyes. That was his pet peeve about Zoey. He loved her a lot but she was very friendly, and it sometimes got her into trouble. Boys mistook her kindness for flirting, Logan, Michael and Robert being the exceptions. Chase knew she was only being friendly, but sometimes worried. He got very protective over her. She cuddled back into him.

As Zoey opened the gift from Robert, Quinn's super hot boyfriend, Logan's phone beeped rhythmically.
"Text message from Diamond. She says happy birthday Zo."
"Likewise for her, poor Diamond." Zoey said. "I hope she's having a good day... not being around her family and stuff."
"Well I'll tell her you said so ok." Logan said hitting reply. He slowly tapped 'Happy Birthday from Zoey too. She says she hopes you have a good one wherever you are' He often wondered where she was, but she never said and he never questioned. He found it worked better that way.

'Do I not get a happy birthday from you too :-(' He snickered at the text. Zoey was busy 'thanking' Quinn for her set of glow in the dark nail polishes... that read 'Highly toxic' on the label. She stared at her own polished nails which were bitten to high heavens and gave a vague/frightened smile. Chase made a mental note to destroy them later.
'Of course you do, Happy Birthday gorgeous... having fun?' For a long time there was no word from Diamond, infact they were already onto the karaoke, Zoey having roped Chase into doing a very mangled version of 'Fairytale of New York' with her, before she SMS'd again
'Yeah... Drake threw me a party and stuff so I'm having an awesome day. I miss u tho. Call u l8a. >' Before Logan had time to worry about who Drake was and why he was throwing her a party, he was pulled onto the stage by a slightly intoxicated duo of Lola and Nicole, to sing a drunken 'Summer Nights'

It was exactly a week since Zoey's 17th birthday, Zoey, Chase, Nicole and Lola were cuddled up on the couch, watching chick flicks. When Lola demanded a toilet break, Nicole reluctantly switched off the film. While Lola was in the bathroom, most likely fixing her make up... Nicole paid attention to the adverts... where as Zoey paid attention to Chase. Chase felt very out of place, sat on the three seater, with Zoey on his knee, watching chick flicks. He kissed Zoey's neck roughly, leaving slight marks.
"Can we PLEASE stop watching these lame movies?" He begged.
"Chase..." She whined. She gave the cute pouty look. He gave into her and instead settled on kissing her.
"I'm going to go to the cafeteria... don't worry..." He assured her. "I'll be back." She huffed playfully. He stood up and settled her onto the sofa.

"Ok... as long as you bring me a yoohoo."
"I might be persuaded." He smirked. Zoey dragged him back down to her level and whispered something in his ear. He blushed. "Ok..." He squeaked. "I'm persuaded." And with that he scuttled off.
"What did you promise him?"
"Whatever he wanted." Zoey smirked.
"Ooh kinky." Teased Nicole. Zoey threw popcorn at her.
"Aww shoot, we need a refill." She complained looking at the unpopped kernels in the bowl. She crossed to the microwave, just a few feet away.

Nicole screamed. Lola screamed in response as she entered. Zoey screamed in response to the other girls screams and she threw the popcorn bowl in the air, scattering it everywhere.
"Nicole!" Zoey screeched. Lola crunched on the popcorn in her path as she hurried over to the couch. Zoey abandoned her popcorn attempts to survey what was happening. It appeared to be an advert for NYC lipgloss. "What not your color!" Zoey snapped. Angry at Nicole.
"No No NO!" Nicole breathed. Lola began breathing in and out very deeply.
"They taught this to my cousin in lamaze classes." She added, seeing her friends were looking at her weirdly. "And in... and out... and in... and out."
"She's not pregnant Lola!" Scolded Zoey.
"I'm not..." Nicole said shaking her head. "But Diamond is."
"Diamond! As in Diamond Clarke?" Lola's jaw dropped. Her idol... pregnant at 17. It didn't seem possible.
"Do we know any other Diamond's!" Nicole screeched.

"Calm down, how do you know?" Zoey asked.
"I just saw a commercial for Glossy Magazine... and the cover read 'The Diamond Clarke Story, Disappearances, Marriage and Diapers.' HONEST!"
"Oh my god!"
"Logan's going to kill her!"
"Maybe Logan already knows?" Lola suggested, staring at her friends in an I-hope-I'm-right manner. Zoey shook her head.
"I doubt it... if she were coming back into the spotlight and he knew... he'd have told us." She sighed. "I just can't believe she's pregnant... and MARRIED... You think you know someone."
"And then they run off and get famous." Lola sighed. "Sorry to have to do it to you girls." Zoey and Nicole rolled their eyes. Ever since she had gotten and agent, Lola was no closer to being a star. Lola didn't seem to notice nor did she care.

"Well you know what we have to do don't you..." Zoey said, pulling her purse out of her pocket. Nicole looked confused.
"Call Mothercare?" She suggested.
"No! We sneak off campus... go to the newsagents and buy ourselves a Glossy mag." Zoey said rationally. Lola nodded. Nicole nodded. The three hurried from the room, and off of campus. Chase entered the room moments later carrying a yoohoo. He surveyed the room, TV on, Popcorn all over the floor, Blankets, in a huddled mess infront of the couch.
"What did I miss?" He asked the empty room.

The girls were in such a rush they very nearly knocked people in the streets over. They found the newsagents, found the magazine, found Zoey's purse and Lola paid while the other two leafed through the magazine.

'Missing at 12 years old Diamond Clake made a sparkling reappearance at the age of 15, One more year of hollywood and the teen pop queen was once again nothing more than a twinkle in our eyes. Believed to have been a secret romance gone awry Diamond Clarke has been sighted with her engagement ring. And what a beauty! But her wedding ring is nowhere in sight.'
There was a photo of a girl looking suspiciously like Diamond Clarke, reaching for her purse in a cafe, showing a glittering ring on her engagement finger.
'Rumours of the star's pregnancy were first raised last month after a supposed sighting of her at a Maternity shop in San Diego. A recent pic of the vixen showed a definite bulge to her stomach.'
"Can't the media just leave her alone!" Nicole asked in shock, staring at the photo. She appeared to be in a town centre of some sort, with a shopping trolley. "I'm not even sure that's her."
"It's her, but I don't really see the bump... if she's pregnant she's not very." Zoey sighed. "Oh my god!" She screamed, scanning further down the article.
"What?"
"Guess who they think she's engaged to?" she breathed.
"Who?"
"Drake Bell." The girls stared at each other with wide eyes. No frickin way.

Zoey dived over the back of the couch. She landed in a strange position but didn't care. She had stolen Logan's cell phone... having herself deleted Diamond's number. When she found no 'Diamond' on the phone she searched under 'Dana'. She hit it and paused. Nicole jumped to sit beside her. Lola leaned over her shoulder.
"DIAMOND!" Zoey screamed.
"Speaking and... ouch." Diamond rubbed her ear and held the headset at arms length. Zoey clicked her onto speaker phone.
"Are you engaged?" She demanded.
"To Drake Bell!" Nicole added.
"Are you having a baby!" Lola questioned.
"Stop all talking at once. Now one question at a time PLEASE!" Diamond barked.
"Are...you...engaged... to... Drake... Bell?" Zoey breathed.
"No." Diamond said calmly.
"Are you engaged at all?" Nicole questioned.
"No."

"Are you pregnant..." There was a long pause from Diamond.
"No."
"You sure."
"I'm definitely not pregnant." Diamond reasured them "What's with all the questions?"
"I take it you don't read Glossy?"
"Why would I they only ever lie."
"Ok... So you're DEFINITELY NOT?" Lola stressed.
"100 positive I'm negative ok." Diamond sighed. "Roughly how many people read Glossy?" She asked nervously.
"Um... all of America?"
"And parts of Mexico." Lola added. Diamond groaned.
"I hate those stupid magazines. I've gotta sort this out." And with that Diamond hung up without a goodbye.

"Well... she says she's not." Nicole said, an obvious strain on her voice.
"The question is... do we believe her?" Zoey asked. Lola bit her lip. Zoey sighed. Nicole shook her head. The word of Diamond Clarke meant very little in their eyes.

"We can't let Logan find out." Nicole said decisively a few weeks later. The girls had been leafing through magazines like mad, Lola seemed to have her eyes glued to the pages. Chase had noticed but knew better than to question his girlfriend.
"No." The magazines reports were getting wilder and wilder, saying that Diamond was now in Hawaii on her honeymoon... there were even a few mentions of the word anullment. Diamond had not come into the clear to deny these rumors, thus sparking more. Drake Bell however was adamantly denying any knowledge of it.
'If I'm engaged, nobody's told me. I do know Diamond Clarke but have never dated her or anything else with her'

The girls were now used to hiding their magazines, every time Logan passed them. He was still in contact with Diamond and she didn't seem to be divuldging anything. Her promise of sorting things out didn't seem to be ringing true, until nearly three weeks after the Glossy article first alerting the friends to Diamond's activity. Logan's phone on the table began ringing.
"Logan speaking." He said. "Oh hey..." He signalled with his thumbs and fingers that it was Diamond calling. "MTV? Sure..." He reached for the remote.
"Don't hate me..." Diamond whispered.
"Why would I..." The phone went dead, leaving Logan very confused. He flipped to MTV. Rhys Waring's over jovial face annoyed him.

"And we're live at five with the ho so hot Rhys Waring. We're very pleased to welcome the sparkling re-debut of Diamond Clarke everybody!" Diamond stepped on the stage. She was wearing something very un-Diamond-y. A black silk dress, sparing very little for the imagination. Low cut, high hemmed, high heeled and heavily made up, she strutted onto the stage. She had gained a little weight, the girls noticed instantly, and she had two deep bags underneath her eyes. She looked exhausted. "You look rough."
"Everytime I meet you Rhys you insult me... I'm thinking of taking up the same policy." Diamond said coyly, sitting lady like on the plush chair.
"Ah well... it doesn't take much to insult me does it now?"
"Well, your hair's a mess... your shirts untucked and your fly's down." Diamond smirked as she watched him fidget, nervously trying to fix all of these imperfections.
"You've changed." Rhys commented eventually.
"I've grown up." Diamond shrugged.

"So how's Drake?" The name Drake rang bells in Logan's memory.
"How should I know!" Diamond laughed. "Drake's a cool kid. I've met him a few times... but we're not a thing, never have been, never will be." She shook her head.
"Drake who?" Logan asked in curiosity.
"So what about the rumors that you're engaged." Diamond laughed again. Logan's heart stopped.
"This ring?" She flashed the ice on her left hand. "Not an engagement ring. I was given it for my seventeenth, as a birthday present." She stressed. Logan relaxed.
"And the pregnancy?" Rhys continued to press.
"Um... well there's a little more truth in that one." Diamond cringed as the audience 'oohed' and 'aahed'. "Oh hush!" She snapped. Logan stopped breathing.
"You're pregnant." Rhys said.
"I'm not."
"I'm confused..."

"Hello confused." Diamond said. "I'm not pregnant, but I was."

"Logan! BREATHE!" Ordered Zoey. Lola started the stupid Lamaze breathing.

"You had an abortion?"
"Hell no! Sorry sorry... I shouldn't say hell on national TV... I just said it again didn't I?" Diamond winced slightly in embarrassment.
"You adopted?"
"Would you let me finish my story!" She growled. "No I didn't adopt. Five months ago, I gave birth to twin girls... Angel and Midnight." A woman walked onto the stage and handed Diamond two small children. Both had dark curls and wide chocolate eyes. "This one's Angel..." She indicated to the infant on the left. "And the one with food all down her front is Midnight."
"Beautiful names," Rhys commented.

Logan was doing some quick maths. They were born in June. Meaning they were conceived in September. He had last seen her in October, on her sixteenth birthday. She was already pregnant when she left malibu. She was heavily pregnant whilst filming her last TV show, and must have known she couldn't hide it any longer without hiding herself. Logan gulped. He couldn't believe that she had slept with another, much less not tell him about it.

"So are they healthy and stuff."
"Very, there was hell surrounding the birth and I was really frightened but they're both very bright and they've started talking."
"But to make a baby takes two." Rhys said in confusion, staring at the twins. Midnight reached up and squeezed his nosr, giggling as he pulled back.
"You've only just found that out Rhys?" Diamond asked sounding amused.
"Of course not but... wow."
"So you see why I had to pack up showbiz... I couldn't be pregnant and in the spotlight." She pouted cutely.

"I'm gonna faint." Logan whispered in shock.

"So I ran off to San Diego, hung with my friend Beth... stayed with Drake... Chilled out with my girl Linzee... and other than that."
"Do you intend to come back to fame?" Rhys asked, picking up Angel and smiling at her. Diamond bobbed Midnight on her lap.
"Yes." Diamond promised. "I wanted to spend a year with the girls but, three little birdies told me about these rumors and I had to get them sorted, and now everyone knows well... well." Diamond shrugged. "I might as well live in my own house, with a child-minder, hadn't I."
"Ok that's all we have time for... unfortunately. But there you have it straight from the horses mouth..."
"Who're you calling a horse!" Diamond laughed. Logan clicked the TV off.

A minute later his phone rang.
'Dana calling' read the ID. Logan paused. He leaned across and hit 'cancel.' He didn't want to admit it. But maybe Zoey was right about Diamond Clarke. Maybe she was no good?

A/n: DON'T HATE ME PEOPLE! AND IF YOU'VE FIGURED IT OUT THEN DON'T GUESS THROUGH A REVIEW.
But by all means... do review