Hopeless Romantic 86: Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoy!
ashley: It's close now, I promise you!
larabaybee: Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you agree with Lola's plan...
Striypsocks: Hmm tell me if you're right!
Chase awoke with a groan, his head throbbing. He rolled over painfully, and realised he was sleeping on the floor. He jerked slowly up, wincing with the ache in his sore spine. 'Uh, Michael? Logan? O-K,' he added, raising an eyebrow as Michael leapt out from behind the closet door, fiddling with a bright red bowtie. 'Dude, what are you doing?'
'Dude, what are you doing? You're getting married today, man!' He shook his head disdainfully. 'Maybe you'd better go take a shower or something.'
Chase steadied himself on the bedpost. 'Wait a minute. This is the prank, right? It's prom night. I'm pretending to marry Zoey.'
Logan entered the room wrapped in a towel. Catching the last sentences, he condescendingly pinched Chase's cheek. 'Aw, liddle Chasey had a bad dream? You're talking smack, dude. You proposed to Lola last night, remember? You're marrying her – for real.'
Chase stared at him, dumbstruck. 'OK… I am so freaked out right now. Why the hell am I marrying Lola… when I'm in love with Zoey?'
Michael looked around furtively and shrugged. 'Uh, you changed your mind? Anyway, it's too late to back out now. you do have the suit, don't you?'
Chase massaged his eyes. 'WHY is this happening? This is INSANE! It's like some creepy nightmare where everyone's acting weird! Begone, spectres!' He flapped his hands dramatically, then dropped them to his sides. 'You cannot force me to marry someone.'
'Huh-huh, you'd be surprised,' Logan chuckled sinisterly. Chase looked scared. Michael decided to step in, and looked into his friend's eyes. 'Chase, just trust us, OK? You're right, things aren't how they seem. We got something a little funky going on here, and it's all for you and… well, you'll see. I hope. So would you do us a favour and show a little faith!'
Chase looked at both of his friends, then gave an irritated groan. 'Aaarghh! OK, fine. Anything to stop this madness to end. Just so long as I don't really have to marry anyone,' he added quickly.
Logan winked at him. 'No worries,' he smirked, before murmuring in Michael's ear. 'We'll see about that…'
/----------------------------------/----------------------------/-----------------------------------/
Zoey sat in her hanging chair, attached to the ceiling by a hook like an ungainly swing and shaped by the bubble. She was especially fond of it this morning – the rounded sides kept Lola out of her view.
The blushing bride was eagerly trying on the wedding dress that Zoey had been about to wear. It was a little tight on her slim frame, and clashed with her bright yellow and green highlights. She sighed with irritation. 'Nicole, you're the clothes genius. Any chance of salvation here?'
A flattered Nicole leapt up and began loosening zips and ties, pulling out the skirt and pinching at the bodice with expert precision. Lola smiled warmly. 'Thank you, that's so much better! Oh Nicole, Zoey, let's work on your bridesmaid dresses! Nicole, you can take my lilac prom dress… and Zoey… ummmm…'
'It's fine, I won't be coming,' Zoey snapped. These past few days had descended slowly into madness, and she didn't actually care if people thought she was being rude or behaving badly. It didn't even feel real anyway.
Lola raised her eyebrow. 'Um, Zoey, why not? Chase and I really want you there!'
'Oh, Chase and I, now is it? Already a perfect little couple, totally belonging to each other? How sweet.' Zoey snapped.
Lola blinked, shocked at the hurt in Zoey's voice. Though she felt terrible, she knew it was necessary. 'Well, yeah. We are getting married, Zo. Look, you just have to come, I'm sure Nicole and I can find you something…'
'Don't bother,' Zoey said coldly. 'I'm going for a walk. Have a nice life.' Feeling a little overdramatic but justified, Zoey snatched up her bag and stormed out. Nicole looked at Lola, concerned. Lola gave her a thumbs up and grinned. 'I think it's working!'
/----------------------------------/----------------------------/-----------------------------------/
Zoey sat underneath their familiar old tree on campus. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the trunk. The green area was quieter today, with all the seniors inside preparing for prom and the other students in classes and keeping inside, out of the unusually cool and cloudy weather.
Images flashed through her mind, like scenes in a flipbook, animating and coming to life. Her trying to teach Chase Chemistry in ninth grade. Him trying to teach her Biology. The two of them, laughing about Logan and his vanity. The two of them furiously debating whether Spiderman was a better superhero than Batman.
The two of them.
Its alright I never thought I'd fall in love and then
Tears welled in her eyes as she reached into the bag and took out the photo she always kept in the little pocket. It was the only of him she had; unlike Logan, he was pretty camera shy.
Its alright I look to you as my only friend
She looked at it closely. His familiar big, bushy hair, bright black. The witty blue eyes full of laughter and friendliness. The careful smile, always watching out for her.
Its alright I never thought that I could feel this something
Rising, rising in my veins
She squeezed her eyes tight shut, not wanting to think about it. But the memory came unbidden into her mind, the day she took the photo.
Looks like it's happened again
'Hey, Chase, smile!'
He spun round and grinned automatically at the sight of her, then frowned as she lowered her camera. 'Hey, that was low!'
'I had to get a photo of you for my album somehow!' she smiled, coming to sit by him under the tree. 'What's up?'
'Ah, nothing. Crummy History quiz in half an hour, which will be… fun.'
'Have you studied?'
'Uh, well… technically?'
Zoey rolled her eyes and laughed good-naturedly. 'Chase Matthews, you are a disgrace!'
'I know, I know. Hey, give me your brain a sec, I need your organisational skills.' He leaned over jokily and put his hands either side of her head, and then for a weird moment he hesitated, just holding her head and looking at her. She lifted her hands and removed both of his, and they remained on his forearms as she lowered them down to touch her knees. She liked the sense of touching him like that.
But only for a moment. She laughed and hit him lightly on the arm. 'Like you could even fit this brain into that head!' she joked. He smiled, but he didn't look like his mind was on the humour of the situation. He fiddled with his thumb. 'Hey, Zo?'
You always looked like you had something else on your mind
But when I try to tell you, you'd tell me never mind
But darling when I see you, you see me
'Yep?'
'I know… I know, maybe, you think, I'm a bit of a, I don't know, a coward, letting other people get their way all the time…'
'Chase, what? Of course I don't!' she replied, shocked.
'Well, I just wanted to… if you needed me to, Zoey, I'd be the bravest person on earth for you. I'd even box Logan, and he is a mean boxer.' They both smiled at his sudden reverting to flippancy, but that something between them remained. He shrugged. 'Well, I'm here.'
'Of course you are!' the then-Zoey laughed. 'Come on, let's go get an ice cream before your quiz.'
The now-Zoey opened her eyes. 'You're here, huh, Chase? The hell you are!' But she knew she was using her anger to hide something much worse, a sickness in the feeling of her stomach. She'd had someone worth fighting for who thought she was worth fighting for. How rare was that? And she'd lost it.
She scrunched up her fists, furious at herself. How did she let things get this wrong? How did she miss it? It could only be too late.
I wanna tell you that I'll never love anyone else
You wanna tell me that you're better off by yourself
But darling when I see you, you see me
This is not what I'm like
This is not what I do
This is not what I'm like
I think I'm falling for you
I never thought - This is not what I'm like
I never thought - This is not what I do
I never thought - This is not what I'm like
I never thought - I think I'm falling for you
I never thought -
I never thought -
That I could feel this something
Rising, rising in my veins
Looks like it's happened again
And it looks like
I feel this something
Rising, rising in my veins
Looks like it's happened again
