Lola Likes Chase

Zoey was in her dorm trying to fix one of the pictures hanging above her bed, she stepped back to look at it from a distance, and was disappointed that is was still crooked.

She heard the door open and saw Lola walk in out of the corner of her eye.

"Picture's crooked." Lola informed her.

"I heard."

Lola grabbed a Blix out of their fridge and sat on Zoey's bed. "Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Zoey could see she looked both nervous, and excited.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Tell me about you and Chase."

"Me and Chase, we're friends. Why?"

"Just friends?" Lola specified.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

"OK." Zoey said a bit confused. She walked over to the wall again to try and adjust her picture some more.

"Cause I might ask Chase out." Lola revealed.

Zoey froze in surprise for a moment, as her brain tried to replay the words to make sure she heard Lola right.

"Oh yeah?" Zoey asked as she turned around, trying to keep her voice in the same friendly tone. Why did it feel like spiders were crawling up her back all of a sudden? She shivered despite the sunny California heat.

"Unless that would make you feel weird."

Zoey shook her head, "No ask him out, I think it's a great idea."

"OK, thanks Zo, I'm gonna head down to the lounge, play some foosball." Lola smiled like the conversation had never happened.

"Have fun." Zoey called out. She looked around her room, utterly lost and confused, her crooked picture forgotten. Why did the idea of Chase and Lola make her feel so weird? She shook her head and sat on her bed. Chase and Lola. Whatever if Lola wanted to ask Chase out, great like she had just told her, despite many people's assumptions they were just friends. But as far as she knew Chase had never been on a date while she had been at PCA, and other than the Spring Dance last year she hadn't either. So what? Chase would still always be her best friend, she stood back up to try to adjust her picture some more, but her heart was pounding and a pit grew in her stomach that she couldn't ignore no matter how hard she tried. What's wrong with me? Maybe she was getting sick or something. She took some aspirin to try to feel better but nothing helped.

Chase and Lola were sitting outside under a tree studying for biology.

Chase had a flower in his hand to demonstrate. "OK, so photosynthesis is the process by which plants use energy from sunlight to produce sugar. Which converts into…"

"Do you want to go out with me?" Lola asked out of the blue.

"Um…wow. That question had almost nothing to do with photosynthesis." Chase nervously chuckled.

"Is that a no? "

"No, no. ok well, that was a no…I wasn't actually saying no to…wait." Chase took a deep breath to control his rambling. "When did you decide to ask me out?"

"The last time you were tutoring me. Well, I didn't decide right then. I asked Zoey about it first."

"Oh…so… Zoey's ok with you asking me out?" Chase asked slowly.

"Yeah, she said you guys were just friends so it's all cool."

"Yeah, all cool." Chase sighed.

Lola's phone pinged with a text message so she took it out of her bag and looked at it. "Um tell you what, you think about it and let me know if you wanna go out. OK?"

"OK." Chase nodded. "Nice."

"Later." Lola waved as she walked away.

Chase watched her walk away, he had a million thoughts running through his head. Then things got even weirder when Logan and Dustin walked past, but Dustin had his hair all messed up so he looked like a mini Logan, and they were both doing Logan's weird swagger walk that he thought made him look cool. Chase shook his head and took a gulp of Blix. He needed to go find Michael.

When he got back to his room he called out immediately. "Michael!" He rolled his eyes seeing he was too busy jamming out with his headphones in.

"Michael!" he shouted again, still getting no response he pulled the headphones out of Michael's MP3.

Michael looked aghast. "You interrupted tune time!"

"Lola asked me out." Chase said slowly.

"Well my goodness." Michael said, slightly sarcastic.

"Yeah."

"You were right to interrupt tune time." Michael took his headphones out of his ears and stood up.

"Dude this is serious."

"I'm being serious. Lola's hot! Good for you."

"So you think I should go out with her?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

"Yeah well, it does to Zoey too."

"Oh ok," Michael nodded, finally understanding. "I get what this is about. You know for sure Zoey said it was a good idea for you to date Lola?"

"Yep. Lola asked her, you know to make sure it was ok, and Zoey said it was a great idea."

"Look man, sit down." They both sat down.

Michael put his hands together and took a deep breath. "Now listen-"

"You're not gonna ask me out are you?" Chase interrupted.

"No your hair's too bushy for me." Michael rolled his eyes. "Look if Zoey told Lola it was cool to ask you out, then that means…Zoey thinks of you as just a friend." Seeing Chase's long face Michael shifted gears. "But don't get all depressed man, Lola's smokin' You should be psyched she's into you."

"Yeah," Chase nodded halfheartedly.

"You should."

"I know."

"I'm serious."

"OK. But…its Zoey."

"Are you surprised? At the rate you're going you'll probably ask her out in the nursing home when you're all old and wrinkly after her first husband kicks the bucket."

"But why would Lola specifically ask Zoey?"

"Maybe because she has eyes? Dude, I promise, me and Logan have never said anything to anyone, but it is so obvious how close you two are. I bet Lola just wanted to get confirmation that you two aren't dating before she made her move."

"Do people think we're dating?"

"Let's see, 90% of the time Zoey hangs out with a guy, its almost always you, and it's the same thing when you're hanging out the girls, 90% of the time its with Zoey. You guys eat lunch together literally every day, and while the whole group is there a lot, you two are definitely the most consistent."

"OK but."

"No buts, dude, going out with Lola one time isn't gonna make Zoey never like you any more than your current strategy of staying in the friendzone forever. Just go out with Lola, you might like it."

"OK." Chase sighed, "I'll do it." He pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing now?"

"Telling Lola I'll go out with her."

"Good for you. Don't be afraid to have some fun. But not too much fun."

"Very funny Michael."

Chase sent the message, but he couldn't get rid of the pit in his stomach. He knew he should be excited about Lola, but all he could think about was Zoey saying they were just friends.

Zoey and Nicole were studying history later that night, but Zoey couldn't focus if William McKinley was standing right in front of her. All she could think about was Chase and Lola.

"Next question". Nicole said, Zoey was so lost in her own head that she didn't even hear her.

"Um… Zo!" Still not getting any reaction Nicole snapped her fingers.

"Why would Lola want to ask Chase out?" Zoey burst out.

"OK? I thought you said you didn't want to talk about it?"

"I don't."

Zoey shook her head and looked through her textbook. "OK what was the name of President McKinley's wife? The first lady."

"I think her name was…Ida?"

"Can you even picture them going out together?"

"President McKinley and Ida?"

"No Chase and Lola!"

"So you do want to talk about it?"

"No stop bringing it up!" Zoey jumped off her bed and grabbed a different book.

Nicole sighed. "Look, Chase and Lola probably aren't even gonna go out."

"Why do you think that?"

"Cause Lola asked him and Chase said he had to think about it. That's usually a sign a guy wants to say no, but doesn't want to hurt a girl's feelings."

"What? Wait, how do you know this?" Zoey held up her hands to stop her.

"Lola told me."

"Why didn't you tell me? All you ever do is talk about stuff and today you decide it's a good idea to keep your big yap shut?" Zoey shouted.

"Alright what is your deal?"

"I don't know, I'm just worried." Zoey said, much quieter. The weird sick feeling in her stomach hadn't gone away all day no matter what she did.

"Why?"

"Cause…Chase is like my closest guy friend and Lola's my roommate. I just don't want anyone to get hurt."

"You sure that's what's bugging you Zo?" Nicole asked, with a knowing glint in her eye.

"Yeah." Zoey said slowly.

"It's not because it's Chase specifically that has a date?"

"Of course not, why should I care if Chase goes on a date?"

"That's what I'm asking you. Why are you so upset about this?"

"I don't know, it's just Chase is my friend and I care about him, a lot."

"Do you maybe care about him as more than a friend?" Nicole supplied.

"No we're just friends and obviously Chase is probably going to say yes to Lola, he has no reason not to. Lola's cute, and funny, and charming."

"Do you want him to say no? Is it because you like him?"

"I…no…I why would you think that?"

"This is the most upset I've ever seen you, and most of the other times you've been angry have all had something to do with Chase too."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, not counting the many, many, times Logan is a jerk, like when you thought Chase must be in on the bear cam, or when he stole your dance answers."

"That's just because I felt like Chase was being a jerk for no reason, and betraying our friendship. I mean, alright Nicole, I have something to tell you, and it can't leave this room. Got it?"

"Got it, I'll keep my big yap shut."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Zoey smiled in apology.

"It's OK, you know how many times my mom has told me that exact quote, I should get it framed. So anyway, spill girlfriend."

"When I made my time capsule video…"

"Uh huh."

"When I talked about Chase, I talked about how I felt like he maybe likes me, but I wasn't sure, and maybe I even like him back."

"OMG you do like Chase!"

"Shhh! Be quiet!"

"Then why did you tell Lola to ask him out?"

"Because we're just friends, and I feel like he only sees me as a friend too."

"Let's think about this. We know there have been times that Chase has acted like a jerk before right?"

"Yeah, I guess, how do you remember all this?"

"I like to gossip. So we know he acted like a jerk with the whole dance thing, both stealing your answers and getting mad when you chose Glen. And also after he got cut from the play so Logan was the lifeguard, who let's keep in mind, you were supposed to kiss, and didn't he badger you about the time capsule video too?"

"Yes, in all accounts, do you think Chase likes me?"

"Let's see, he's a guy, that will do literally everything you say, hangs out with you at a minimum of two hours every single day unless you are both extremely busy, he's always been on your side whenever Logan is incredibly jerky? How have you not seen this?"

"We've just always been friends, from the first day we met. But now its too late, Chase will probably fall in love with Lola now."

"Why do you think that?"

"Cause Lola's cute, and her acting skills make her a little strange, but there's nothing bad about her, why wouldn't Chase like her, especially if they do start dating? I literally can't think of anything bad about her, except that she's going to be dating Chase. It doesn't matter, I lost my chance. And Chase is so sweet, and kind and if Lola already likes him its only a matter of time before she falls in love with him, like I did. I mean." Zoey embarrassedly broke off from her rant.

"Are you going to say anything then?"

"No I can't they're both two of my best friends, I can't break them up because I might like Chase, and after I gave Lola permission. But its fine nothing has to change between me and Chase."

"OK, then I promise not to say anything either, but you can always talk to me Zo."

"Thanks Nicole."

Lola walked into the room. "Guess what? Chase said yes! How great is that?" Lola smiled.

"So…great." Zoey said, completely flat, why did she feel like her heart just dropped into her stomach?

"That does sound great, so where are you gonna go?" Nicole asked, nervously starting conversation to avoid the awkward silence that just ensued.

Chase was sitting outside reviewing the biology textbook so he'd know what Lola needed to study when he tutored her later. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Zoey walking up to him. He removed his headphones and smiled at her. "Hey, what's up?"

She didn't say anything, just silently held up a tennis racket and ball with a very annoyed look on her face.

"Oh my god." Chase's face fell as he realized what had happened. He checked his MP3 player, it was 5:30.

"A huh."

"We were supposed to play tennis after school."

"At 4:30." Zoey reminded him.

"Alright, I am the worst." Chase admitted. He didn't ever want to let Zoey down, should he still be thinking like that if he was dating Lola? No, of course I should she's still my best friend.

"How did you forget?"

"Well, Lola has her biology test tomorrow and I was making her a list of stuff she needs to know. Look!" Chase picked up the worksheet he was working on. "It's color-coded."

"It's adorable." Zoey said sarcastically.

"You're mad." Chase realized as he stood up.

"Nooo." Zoey sarcastically responded.

"Look, I promise I won't do it again."

"OK" Zoey's smile finally started to make its comeback. "Hey, you wanna go to Sushi Rox and get a spicy California roll?"

"I do." Chase agreed.

"Good." Zoey turned to start walking to Sushi Rox, only to stop in her tracks.

"But, I can't."

"How come?" Zoey turned back around.

"I'm uh seeing a movie on campus with Lola."

"OK busy boy, you let me know when you have some time on your schedule." Zoey snapped back and turned around.

Alright, Chase was a terrible person, his and Lola's first dinner date had been fun, but still, every time he was with her all he could think about was how he wished she were Zoey or replaying Michael's voice saying Zoey only sees him as a friend. Except when he apparently forgot about the plans he had with Zoey. He hated ever making Zoey mad, not just because he didn't ever want her mad at him, but if he could give her the world to make her smile he would. All he could do was watch her walk away, he still could never take his eyes off of her. He promised himself he would find some way to make it up to her. But he also couldn't just cancel on Lola to spend time with Lola if she was his girlfriend. Chase tried to study for a few more minutes but he couldn't focus, all he could see was Zoey angry and disappointed. He finally packed up his stuff and left to go meet Lola at the theater.

Zoey walked off, she had waited for almost a half-hour, and even sent Chase several text messages asking where he was, but nothing. She didn't know why but she was so mad at Chase, angrier than she ever remembered being with anyone besides Logan. It wasn't just that he forgot, she could forgive that, but then he blew her off again to go on another date with Lola, and she had missed him at lunch, he was too busy tutoring then too. Except for classes she hadn't seen him all day.

Was she being a bad friend? Obviously, if Chase and Lola are dating they're going to spend time together, but Zoey didn't expect to be just dumped to the wayside. Or was it the feelings she only just admitted to having, that were making her feel this way? Why did it take until Chase had a girlfriend for her to start seeing him as more than a friend? And now she'll never know what could be, as long as Chase and Lola are dating, she can't do anything.

She knew she shouldn't be surprised, her last serious date was going to the dance last year, and of course, Chase would find a girlfriend eventually, of course, she wouldn't be the only girl that notices him. Chase was cute, and literally the sweetest guy at PCA. Zoey knew he would always do anything to help her, maybe even break up with Lola for her, but she couldn't just break up her friends. She would deal with this on her own, and maybe some ice cream.

Chase was hanging out in the girls' lounge with Lola, she was grabbing a Blix while Chase searched for something interesting to watch on TV, but without much luck so far.

"Here you go. Lola brought him his Blix."

"Thanks," Chase took a refreshing sip.

Lola sat down beside him on the couch, but then a moment later, she scooched over and leaned her head against Chase's shoulder.

Chase tried to relax, but something didn't feel right in his heart. He always liked hanging out with Lola or tutoring her before but this just felt weird. At the movie yesterday, all he could think about was Zoey, frowning at him, and he felt like the worst human being on the face of the planet. And right now, hanging with Lola in the girls' lounge was even worse. He couldn't stop seeing Zoey in every corner, either seeing her disappointment and anger at him, or wishing she was sitting here with her head on his shoulder instead of Lola.

Chase didn't know what to say so he said the first thing that popped into his head to avoid the awkward silence that sprung up. "You know, you girls have a much nicer lounge than we do."

"Thanks."

"Um. So where is everybody?"

"I guess at dinner."

"Oh yeah. So…Hey!" Chase stood up to set his drink on the table in front of them, thankfully making Lola move off his arm. "Do you want to play Would You Rather?"

"I don't know, how do you play?" Lola asked excitedly.

"I give you two insane choices and you have to pick which one you'd rather do."

"OK go!"

"OK, would you rather….be locked in a cage with a wild tiger or lick peanut butter off a hobo's foot?"

Lola looked both confused and slightly disgusted. "What?"

"Which would you rather do?"

"Why would I ever have to choose between being locked in a cage with a tiger or licking peanut butter off a hobo's foot?" Lola asked, shaking her head.

"Well you wouldn't, see that's the fun of it?" Chase tried to remain upbeat but both of them just stopped and stared at each other in dismay.

"You know what?" Chase frowned, "You're right it's a dumb game."

"OK do you want to watch some more TV?" Lola asked.

"Um yeah, I guess."

They tried to watch for a few more minutes, neither having anything to say to each other before Lola grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. She turned to look at Chase. "You're not into this."

"Uhh…what what do you mean?"

"You and me, going out. You aren't into it are you?"

"Well, look I wouldn't say-"

"Who is she?" Lola asked, interrupting his train of thought.

"Who who's who?" Chase asked.

"The girl you like?" Lola clarified. Something about her smile, it wasn't heartbroken at all which would have been Chase's biggest fear, but that question was probably his second-biggest.

"Why do you think I like another girl?"

"Cause I'm smart. Does she go to PCA?"

"Um…yes."

"Do you want me to guess?"

"Um…if you want to. I can't stop you." Chase chuckled nervously.

"It's Zoey isn't it?"

"What, no I mean we're just friends." Chase tried to play it cool, but he knew he was blushing.

"Chase," Lola shook her head in exasperation, "don't you think there's a reason I asked Zoey before I asked you out?"

"Umm, I don't have an answer for that."

"You are both two of my closest friends, but the way you two act with each other, you both claim you're just friends, but I knew there was something there."

"Alright yes, I really really like Zoey, but she obviously only sees me as a friend if she told you ask me out."

"Don't let your hope die, maybe you should ask her out."

"No, I can't do that, because if she knows how I feel, and she doesn't like me back, I don't want to ruin our friendship over my stupid feelings."

"Your feelings aren't dumb Chase, have you talked to Zoey this week?"

"Not as much as usual, I've been too busy doing stuff with you, which has been fun but…I'm really sorry."

"It's cool." Lola reassured him.

"Wait, promise you won't tell Zoey?"

"I promise I won't tell Zoey, I'm just gonna head up to my room."

"Are we still friends?"

"Of course. I tried something new, and it didn't work out, but its totally cool, maybe you should think about trying something new too."

"No, I can't."

"Just think about it. Later." Lola left the lounge.

Leaving Chase sitting on the couch, the knot of tension in his chest that he had been holding most of the week suddenly disappeared. Maybe Zoey will be in the mood for a game of Would You Rather.

"Hey Nicole, where's Zoey?" Lola called out as she entered her dorm room.

"Hi Lola, Chase came by and asked her to play Would You Rather with him, so they'll probably be back in a few hours. So how was your date with Chase?"

"We aren't dating anymore."

"Oh no, I'm sorry."

"It's cool, the feeling was mutual. Chase…OK, I have to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone, especially Zoey."

"That's the second time I've heard that this week, but please, continue." Nicole said, setting down her history notes, and giving Lola her full attention.

Lola sat down on her bed and started to explain, her voice rising with excitement. "So going out with Chase has been fun, but I could tell after our first date Chase wasn't into me at all, and I now know why."

"Why? You're super cute girl."

"Thanks, I know, I finally asked him if he liked someone else and he said yes."

"Wait a minute, is this going where I think it is?"

"Chase does like Zoey."

"I knew it."

"You did?"

"Well yeah, it's pretty obvious. That's the whole reason you asked Zoey's permission in the first place right?"

"Yeah."

"OK, now you can't tell Zoey I said this, but she has been going crazy all week over you and Chase, she's been moody, she hasn't been able to focus on her schoolwork, and I'm the one hearing all about it. The worst thing was when Chase forgot they were going to play tennis. She was so upset, I found her hiding under her blankets eating ice cream."

"Wait does this mean?"

"Zoey finally admitted to liking Chase too. I mean I wasn't one hundred percent sure, like eighty, eighty-five."

"Then why didn't she say that when I asked her?"

"Because it was only after that happened that she started getting jealous and finally admitted it. But she wasn't going to ruin things between you two, and she was also scared if she told Chase he would say no, and their friendship would be ruined."

"OMG they are perfect for each other, Chase literally told me the exact same thing. You know what this means right?"

"No. What?"

"We should so set them up together!"

"How are we going to do that if both of them are too scared to admit their feelings? Even if we trick them into going on a date somehow it's not gonna make them turn on the romance. They're all but joined at the hip most of the time already."

"We just need to come up with the right plan…"

On Saturday the next week, Nicole and Lola were ready to put their plan in motion.

"Got the sushi?"

"Yep.' Nicole gave the lid of the picnic basket a pat. "Can I see the note?"

"Right here."

Nicole read it over, "Wow that's pretty good, if that doesn't make them confess I don't know what will besides us confessing for them. Are Michael and Logan good to go?"

"Yep, Logan's with Chase at the basketball court, and Michael's getting math help from Zoey."

"Why are they helping with this again?" Quinn asked as she finished putting the umbrella in the sand.

"Apparently Chase has been too afraid to tell Zoey he's in love with her since literally the day they met, and so they've known how Chase felt long before we did. They also think he's being ridiculous and annoying since they've been telling him to just do it too." Nicole explained.

"Well, now it's go time." Lola took out her phone and dialed.

"Hello?" Zoey answered.

"Zoey!" Lola screamed into her phone, acting perfectly panicked. "Chase and I were hanging out at the beach, and Chase stepped on a piece of glass and his foot is bleeding all over! Can you come help me carry him to the infirmary? I don't think we can get back to PCA by ourselves!"

"Slow down Lola, stay calm I'm coming. Michael! Chase cut his foot open at the beach, we have to go help him! Do you have anything to wrap his foot up in?"

"Yeah, we have a towel wrapped around it, but it's already bleeding through, hurry! We're sitting under a blue and white striped umbrella!"

"Got it. Just stay calm Lola, we'll be there in a few minutes. Michael! We'll take my Jet X!"

Lola hung up with a smile. "Phase one is done. But we better hurry, we didn't plan on Zoey having her Jet X."

Lola dialed her phone again.

"Hello?' Chase asked.

"Chase! Zoey and I were hanging out at the beach, and Zoey stepped on a piece of glass and her foot is bleeding all over! Can you come help me carry her to the infirmary? I don't think we can get back to PCA by ourselves!"

"Yes absolutely. I'll be right there. Logan, you win! I have to go help Zoey! Where are you exactly?"

"At the beach, under a blue and white striped umbrella."

"Got it. I can probably run there in 10 minutes. Can I talk to Zoey? How is she doing?"

"She's fine for now, we're just trying to stop the bleeding, just get here as soon as possible!"

"Zoey I'm coming!" Chase yelled right in Lola's ear before he hung up.

"Phase two, initiated. Now let's go hide." Lola, Quinn, and Nicole hid behind some nearby rocks and waited for the action to start.

Zoey rode her Jet X to the beach as fast as she dared, zooming around people and even a few cars that were moving too slow for her liking, Michael holding onto her for dear life as she sped on. When she got to the beach she quickly parked, hopped to the ground, and started running. "Come on Michael!"

"I'll be there in a second, I just need to recover from the half a dozen heart attacks you gave me. Remind me never to ride with you when you're driving." Michael panted. Zoey quickly left him in the dust as she sprinted to the umbrella in the distance. Michael instead ran off to where Nicole, Lola and Quinn were already hidden.

When Zoey finally reached the umbrella, she was confused, no one was there, no Chase, no Lola, no one, just a picnic basket with an envelope sitting on top. She picked it up and started to tear it open, while glancing all over for Chase. "Chase! Lola!" She yelled.

"Zoey!" He heard him shout behind her moments before he skidded to a stop, almost crashing into her. "Are you OK? How's your foot? Do you need an ambulance?" He panted, obviously winded, sweat soaking his brow.

"What do you mean? What about your foot?"

"My foot is fine? Lola called me and said you got cut on some glass."

"No that's what Lola told me about you."

"Wait wait wait. What? What's going on?"

"I don't know. I got here and no one else was here just this letter and the picnic basket."

"What's it say then?"

"I don't know." Zoey opened the letter and held it up so she and Chase could read it at the same time.

Dear Chase and Zoey,

Both of you have something you need to tell each other

You both know exactly what we're talking about

But you shouldn't be scared

Both of you are so obvious that everyone at PCA already knows except you two

Don't be stuck inside your head

Follow your hearts

Hopefully you forgive us after this.

Your Friends,

Nicole, Lola, Quinn, Michael, and Logan

"What?" Zoey demanded

"Umm. I have uh?"

"Do you know what they're talking about?" Zoey asked, her heart pounding.

"Um…maybe, do you know what they're talking about?" Chase quietly admitted.

Zoey's heart began to pound even faster than when she thought Chase was hurt. "Possibly. What could you possibly have to tell me? We tell each other everything."

"Well, maybe not quite everything."

"Chase, what is it?"

"I…I'm in love with you Zoey."

"Are you being serious?"

Chase gently took her hands in his, "I have never been more serious about anything in my entire life. I've been in love with you since the moment I saw you, and we became best friends, but I could never tell you how I feel because I didn't want to risk losing you over a stupid crush."

"Chase, I…I'm in love with you too."

"You really mean that? Please tell me you're being serious right now."

"One hundred percent, I wouldn't say I fell for you the moment we met, but over this summer I know we still talked every day, but I missed you. And seeing you again when we came back this year was literally one of the best days of my life. What finally made me realize it was when Lola asked you out."

"What? But you said it was cool."

"I lied, I said that because I had no reason to say no, but then whenever I thought about the two of you dating, I just couldn't stand it. I got jealous for the first time ever, and it only got worse when you were too busy doing stuff with Lola to do anything with me. It was then that I realized I do like you, but you were with Lola now, so obviously, you liked her and not me."

"To be honest, every date I went on, I had fun, but all I could think about was how I'd rather be with you, or feeling like a jerk for missing our tennis game which I was."

"I'm sorry I got so jealous, I acted like a jerk too, but it felt like I was losing my best friend."

"It's ok, but now that I finally told you and the world isn't ending…Zoey will you go out with me?"

"Yes, I will." Zoey jumped forward and wrapped his shoulders in a hug that Chase happily returned.

"So what now?" Chase smiled down at her.

"Let's see what else they packed us. Zoey pulled away and checked the picnic basket, "It's sushi, but way more than the two of us could eat."

"How much you wanna bet they're hiding somewhere, making sure their master plan worked?"

"Hey! You guys can come out now!" Zoey shouted.

A few moments later all their friends crept out from behind some nearby rocks, with nervous smiles on their faces until they noticed Chase and Zoey holding hands.

"Finally it's about time dude!" Michael yelled, running up and giving Chase a pat on the back.

"See I told you it would work out." Lola said

"How long have you guys known, and or had this planned?" Zoey asked.

"Since last week." Lola said, "You two were both being so obvious we finally decided to do something about it."

"We? Who's we? Zoey asked.

"Sorry Zoey, Lola told me Chase liked you, so I told her you liked Chase and we couldn't not help you along." Nicole said.

"We've known since the day you showed up. Chase has been such a wuss this whole time though, it's only because of the Guyble I didn't just spill the beans for him every time he was especially sissy." Logan added.

"What's the Guyble?" Quinn asked.

"It's like the Guy Code that we follow with other guys." Chase explained.

"One of the things is if a guy has a crush, you can tease him about it, but you can't tell the girl if he doesn't want you too." Michael supplied.

"But seeing as you two are both smiling, was this a good thing?" Lola asked.

"Yeah, I suppose I should thank you." Chase admitted.

"See how both of you were being so dumb, now how about we enjoy some sushi." Logan suggested.

"Sounds great." Zoey said.

They all sat down in a circle ready to enjoy their meal. Zoey of course sat right next to Chase, and even leaned against his shoulder. This feels right, she knew in her heart, she did love Chase, and she would forgive her friends for tricking them.

Chase couldn't stop smiling, he finally told Zoey and the world didn't end, and feeling her sitting beside him, still holding onto his hand, this felt right. This felt perfect.