A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

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Beginning of April 2006, 2 weeks later

Zoey re-read what she had just typed and fixed a small grammar mistake before continuing on with her history paper. Outside the window people passed by, enjoying the nice spring afternoon, all saying the same thing: you'd be crazy to not be outdoors on a day like today.

The door across the room opened abruptly but Zoey kept clicking away. "…so I told him," Nicole was saying to Lola, apparently mid-way through a story, "that if he wanted to go to the arcade, then fine, but I was not going to play any stupid video games where the goal is to see how many people you can shoot in a minute or less or whatever, and totally waste a perfectly good Friday night."

"So what'd he say?" Lola asked as she sat on the couch and Nicole perched herself on a chair.

"He suggested going to a movie instead, so we're still going out Friday night and now I don't have to hang out in the arcade the whole time," Nicole finished happily.

"Nice," Lola nodded with a smile. She glanced over at Zoey. "Uh, hi Zoey!" she called after a minute. "Zoe?" she repeated after a lack of response.

"Earth to Zoey Brooks!" Nicole shouted.

Zoey waved a hand at them, and a few clicks later, she had saved her paper and turned towards her roommates. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Nothing," Nicole responded. "What are you doing?"

"The history paper," Zoey answered. "I just finished it." She swiveled back to face her laptop and opened another document, and the screen filled with text.

Lola made a face. "It's so nice out! Why are you doing your homework now?"

"I just… felt like it," Zoey said with a shrug, her eyes scanning the page.

"God, I'm growing bored just watching you," Nicole complained.

"Why don't you do your own homework?" Zoey suggested, typing away on her laptop.

"Um… no," Nicole said decisively, shaking her head. "Let's gossip!" she suddenly declared excitedly.

"Oh, good idea, we haven't dished about anyone lately," Lola agreed wickedly, rubbing her hands together. She glanced over at Zoey. "C'mon, Zoey, stop with the homework for a few minutes and talk with us. You've been so wrapped up in school lately."

Zoey nervously fixed her hair as she turned her chair towards her friends. "I've just been… I mean, I want to do well…" She didn't want to admit that she'd been preoccupied ever since spring break with thoughts about one Chase Matthews and how weird he'd been acting around her lately.

"Okay, well, forget about school for a little while!" Nicole commanded, and then smirked as she turned towards Lola. "So, Lola, I saw you talking to that major hottie in our biology class yesterday."

Lola blushed but kept her head high. "Jake is a very nice guy."

"Uh huh. He's also super hot."

"That too," Lola agreed with a giggle. "It's no big deal. Not like you and Rob," she teased.

"Yes, well, Rob is a very nice guy too," Nicole said, mimicking her friend's earlier words. "What about you, Zoe, any cute boys on the horizon?"

Zoey shrugged uncomfortably. "Not… really."

"Oh." Nicole looked disappointed, but bounced back quickly. "Hey, you know who's been acting weirder than usual lately?"

"Who?" Lola asked with interest after taking a sip of water.

"Chase."

"Oh, yeah, totally," Lola nodded.

Zoey perked up a little. "You think so too?" she directed towards her roommates. She'd thought she was the only one who'd noticed Chase's change in attitude.

"Definitely. Ever since spring break he's been so… not-Chase. And Michael is always giving him these weird looks or muttering things to him under his breath. Boys."

"Yeah, you know, he started getting weird after he took my TekMate," Zoey recalled. "And ever since… he wouldn't even tell me what the message said. He said it wasn't mean or anything, but still… what could be important enough that he'd need to delete it without anyone knowing?"

Nicole and Lola shared a look of suspicion with just a hint of similar understanding. Zoey completely missed their significant glances towards each other and continued: "We haven't even hung out together in like a month, and he's my best guy friend. It's like we can't be in the same room alone anymore or something. Has he said anything to you guys?"

"No," was the reply in unison. A jingling cell phone interrupted the conversation, and Nicole grinned as she checked who was calling. "It's Rob," she told the other two, then pushed a button on her not-drowned TekMate and began chatting away. Lola sent her a look of annoyance, so Nicole exited the room.

"So you really don't know why Chase has been acting so weird lately?" Lola asked Zoey the second Nicole had left.

Startled, Zoey replied, "Uh, no… not at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Positive? Not even a little inkling?"

"Yes, I'm positive, with no inklings at all!" Zoey practically shouted, and though she sounded so confident, it was a partial lie; she just didn't want to say anything that was going through her mind.

"Zoey, do you remember that week when I thought I liked Chase? Crazy, I know, and I hate to even think about it," Lola assured her friend, who had suddenly become very quiet. "But he told me he liked another girl from his hometown. That was the reason we didn't go out again."

"Oh." Zoey felt her stomach drop. Another girl? Why did she feel disappointed? "That's… great. For him."

Lola shook her head, frustrated. "Oh my gosh, Zoey! Get a clue! There is no girl from his hometown!"

"Why would he lie?"

Letting out a noise of utter annoyance, Lola flat-out asked: "Zoey, do you like Chase?"

Zoey's eyes grew wide, her eyebrows practically disappearing into her hair, her mouth open a little. Before she could even start to form an answer, Nicole came back.

"Ugh, I hate boys," she announced, flopping down in her previous spot. "Now Rob thinks we should go to a movie and then go to the arcade, and there is just no talking him out of it." She looked between the defiant, but satisfied, Lola, and the panicked, worried Zoey. "Did I miss something?"

"No," Zoey said, regaining composure. "Nothing at all."

Lola only smiled.

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