Quarantine
Zoey and Lola had just gotten back to their dorm room right before lunch to find Quinn was looking at something under her microscope, along with a rack of bubbling test tubes sitting beside her.
"Watcha doin' Quinn?" Lola asked while brushing her hair.
"Creating a new germ," Quinn said offhandedly as if that was a perfectly normal thing for a fifteen-year-old girl to be doing in her dorm room.
Lola and Zoey shared a nervous look. They knew they had to pick their battles when it came to science being done in their room, and they both silently agreed that a new germ was definitely something that should not be made where they slept every night.
Lola set down the brush and walked closer to Quinn, "When you say new germ, what exactly do you-?"
"I have no time for full questions!" Quinn burst out.
"Jeeze," Lola said.
"I'm sorry." Quinn shook her head and apologized. "I'm just so whipped up about Mark. I caught him hugging another woman."
"Well, that might not mean anything. I mean, me and Chase hug all the time and it doesn't mean anything besides us being friends." Zoey smiled at Quinn.
"OK, bad example, but it depends on the kind of hug." Lola rolled her eyes so only Quinn could see over Zoey's constant state of denial and obliviousness.
"Was it one of these?" Zoey and Lola gave each other a hug, but still left plenty of space between each other.
"Or was it one of these?" Lola jumped excitedly into Zoey's arms with her legs straddling her hips and both smiled brightly down at Quinn.
"Somewhere in between." Quinn shrugged her shoulders.
"Wait, you're not making this new germ thing to do something bad to the girl who hugged Mark?" Lola asked while Zoey turned to give her a questioning look as well.
"Are you?" Zoey asked again.
"You guys know I would never use science to harm anyone! Except for a mild sting on the butt…" Quinn trailed off a bit quieter.
"Huh? What was that last part?"
"Nothing, I'm working on this to see if I can-" While Quinn was speaking she waved her hand and accidently knocked over the row of test tubes, they all spilled out over the table, whatever was in them mixed together to create an ugly green liquid and started letting off a thick green smoke that quickly filled the room.
"Uh oh," Quinn muttered.
"Uh oh? What's uh oh?" Zoey demanded.
"Quinn, what's going on?" Lola asked.
Quinn was ignoring them though and quickly dialed their phone, which picked up after the first ring. "Hello, biohazard unit?"
"You're calling the biohazard unit?" Zoey asked.
"You know that number by heart?" Lola asked.
"Hi, yes this is Quinn Pensky. Right. No, this time I created a new germ by combining mutant strains of antrocolyx and baciliacocus B. Yeah, uh huh. I accidently let it loose in my dorm room."
"What are they saying?"
"Shh! Uh-huh. Yeah, I can do that." Quinn walked to the hallway for a moment and pulled the fire alarm, and screamed at everyone to leave the building before walking calmly back into the dorm room and shutting the door behind her.
"Will you tell us what's going on!" Zoey shouted.
"Until they can determine whether or not my germ is dangerous, they want us to stay in this room."
"Then why does everyone else get to leave?" Lola demanded.
"We've already breathed the air in here. If the germ is contagious we could infect everyone at PCA."
"Quinn, new rule, whenever get out of here, no more germ experiments in our dorm room!"
"Or how about no germ experiments period!" Zoey suggested instead.
"All of this is just precautionary, with the two strains I was using, there's only a 60% chance that it's even contagious, and only a 20% it's even dangerous at all."
"Sixty Percent? Sixty is a pretty high number Quinn!"
"And so is twenty!"
"So? You guys don't need to act like it's the end of the world."
"Are you sure it isn't the end of the world?" Zoey asked her.
"No." Quinn looked down at the ground, finally seeming a little chastised.
Zoey and Lola continued to pace the room while Quinn cleaned up her spilled test tubes with all the proper safety precautions despite Zoey and Lola's worries and constant questions.
About half an hour later, their door opened, all three girls looked hopefully expecting the biohazard unit, but instead, it was the guys.
"Hello, hello, hello." They all sang like a cheery barbershop trio that didn't fit the girls' moods at all. "Hi!"
"How did you guys get in here?" Lola asked.
"This dorm is on lockdown," Zoey said.
"We know, so we snuck in the backdoor," Chase said, grabbing a Blix from their fridge without a care in the world.
"Chase when I texted you that, it wasn't an invitation." Zoey crossed her arms in annoyance.
"You guys got any gummy worms?" Michael asked, glancing around the room.
"You idiots." Lola said, "We're on lockdown cause Quinn released some kind of crazy germ in our room!"
"We're not allowed to leave until the biohazard team makes sure we're not contagious," Zoey added.
This finally got the guys' attention. Chase put the Blix back, Logan dusted off his seat, and Michael started backing out the door with the other guys following.
"You know I don't need any gummy worms."
"Yeah, he's on a low gummy diet."
"You know what? Just pretend we were never here." Logan said as they all backed out the door. Only to be stopped by the biohazard team shoving them back inside.
Three guys in blue hazmat suits marched in. "Sorry, but you all have to stay in this room." The leader pointed at the other two. "You, start collecting air samples. You, collect 10 CCs of blood from each of these kids."
All six of them glanced around nervously and rubbed their arms as if they could already feel the poke of the needle, then they all glared at Quinn again, who was still acting like this was nothing out of the ordinary.
A few hours later, everyone's arms were no longer hurting, and everyone was trying to do whatever they could find to pass the time. Zoey was playing with clackers, Michael had made himself a cootie catcher, Logan was admiring himself in Lola's mirror, Lola was studying the script for her play, and Chase was walking around, flipping a water bottle between his hands, and Quinn was doing something on the computer.
Out of nowhere Lola suddenly screamed, making everyone else flinch and scream in response. "AAHHHH!"
"What was that?" Chase demanded, picking up his dropped water bottle.
"I'm practicing my scream for my audition."
"Well, thanks for making me pee against my will!" Michael said sarcastically.
"Sorry," Lola looked a little apologetic.
"Lola, I think your scream is already perfect plus you don't want to ruin your voice whenever we get out of here, so how about you just work on all the other parts?" Zoey suggested.
"Fine, I guess I already have all of the lines memorized anyway but I suppose I can be even more memorized. No more screaming until we get out of here, I promise."
"Good, now does anyone have any food, gummy worms or otherwise? I'm still starving." Michael whined.
"Yeah, I do." Quinn walked over to the green cabinet, hanging on the wall.
"You do?" All the boys looked excited at this news.
"Mmhm." Quinn nodded and opened the cabinet to reveal its shelves full of…
"Baby food?" Michael asked.
"Yeah, Quinn loves baby food." Zoey nodded.
"No, way, I'm not eating baby food." Logan declared.
"I'll take a pass too," Chase added.
"Man, I'm so hungry I don't even care." Michael jogged over to the cabinet and started stuffing his face with the baby food. Much to the disgust of everyone else, until they were distracted by Lola screaming again.
"AHHH!"
"Would you quit rehearsing your scream?" Logan demanded.
Lola was curled up in the fetal position on her bed. She pointed in the opposite corner, looking terrified. "I wasn't! There's a huge creepy thing crawling on my bed!"
Quinn walked over nonchalantly. "Ohh that's just Herman."
"Who?" Lola demanded, still looking freaked out.
Quinn reached up and gently scooped the large, hairy tarantula into her hands so now everyone else could see it.
"AHHH!" Everyone else screamed when they saw it. Logan rolled himself off the couch on top of Michael, while Chase and Zoey backed up against the opposite wall and without thinking pulled each other in for a hug.
"Don't do that, you'll scare him!" Quinn shouted at her friends.
"Quinn, how long has that thing been in here?" Zoey asked, still holding tightly to Chase without even thinking about it.
"Since I moved in? What's the big deal? Yes, who's my hairy baby? You are, yes you are." Quinn cooed to Herman.
"The big deal?" Lola muttered under her breath.
Zoey and Chase just shared a look between them. "She's not the best roommate," Zoey admitted. Then they both realized they were still hugging, and a blush colored their faces. They finally let go of each other when Quinn put Herman back in his cage next to her cabinet of baby food.
That was enough to get Michael to slow down, instead of shoving cans down his throat, he grabbed a couple and then walked back to the other side of the room, now eating at a more normal pace after his starvation was tempered, but not erased by the sight of Herman.
"Well, I'm still bored. Want to play Would You Rather?"
"Sure thing Chase." Zoey sat down on her bed and Chase sat right next to her, both trying to ignore their pounding heartbeats from the spider and their hug.
"Would you rather be attacked by one huge hamster or by fifty normal-sized hamsters?"
"How big is the huge hamster?"
"Um, I don't know what's that thing called? A capybara? I actually don't know how big it is. Hey Quinn, how big is a capybara?" Chase called across the room, everyone else was back to doing their own thing at the moment.
"About two feet tall and about 150 pounds. Did you know they also-"
"No thanks Quinn, that's all I needed." Chase stopped her before she shared anything he didn't want to know. "So the giant hamster is two feet tall and 150 pounds."
"Then I would choose the fifty small hamsters."
"And why is that?"
"It sounds like your giant hamster could just sit on me and I wouldn't be able to do anything. The fifty hamsters I can probably deal with as long as they don't get into my hair, then I would be a goner."
"Alright, that's an acceptable answer. Your turn lay it on me."
"Alright, would you rather go skydiving or go in a submarine to the bottom of the ocean."
"Oh, sky diving, no question."
"Really? I would never jump out of a plane."
"Now normally I wouldn't either, but if the other option is a giant tin can below miles of water it's no question. Plus my biology teacher said that we know more about space than we do about the ocean. I don't want to be eaten by a giant Kraken or Moby Dick or Godzilla or something."
"You bring up some good points, you know what. I agree definitely skydiving. Not that I ever plan on actually doing that."
"Why not, I mean I totally agree, you'd probably be the only person in the world that could make me do that."
"Same, I would only do that with you too, just literally everything that could go wrong in that situation, I have big plans in life, I don't want to give them up for something stupid like jumping out of a plane."
"I totally agree. So would you rather…?" Chase started again.
"Do you two have to be so annoying? No one likes that stupid game except for you two." Logan groaned from his spot on the couch.
"We didn't ask for your opinion Logan. So Chase go on."
"OK then, would you rather-"
"Oh, I have an idea"! Lola suggested, hopping down from her bunk. "How about we all play truth or dare? That's a much better game that's actually fun."
"Sure, I'm in," Michael said, sitting up surrounded by empty cans of baby food.
"As much as I love looking at myself in the mirror all day, I'll admit I'm kind of bored, so I could use some entertainment, and I could give you ladies some entertainment too." Logan showed off his signature smolder once again.
"If we play, how about we have a no kissing rule," Zoey said, crossing her arms in Logan's direction.
"But then it's just boring," Logan complained, crossing his arms in return.
"How about you can't dare someone to kiss you, but you can make them kiss someone else," Lola suggested.
"I agree with a no kissing rule. We're all friends here. Plus you know…Quinn has Mark. I agree with Zoey, it would just make the game weird." Chase said, a bit nervously, resolutely not looking at Zoey as he said it.
"How about we vote on it?" Quinn asked, and everyone nodded. "All in favor of a no forcing someone to kiss you, but you can make them kiss someone else?"
Quinn, Lola, and Michael raised their hands. Logan did too after Michael elbowed him with a grunt of annoyance.
"All in favor of a no kissing rule, period?"
Chase and Zoey both raised their hands even though they could see their vote was pointless.
Chase thought nervously to himself that he had just gotten into an even deeper mess from the way Logan and Michael were grinning at him, and Quinn and Lola seemed to be smiling at Zoey.
So they all sat around in a circle. Logan and Quinn sitting on the couch, Zoey and Chase still sitting on her bed, and Lola and Michael each pulled up a bean bag chair.
"Who's going first?" Quinn asked.
"I will." Logan raised his hand. "Lola, truth or dare?"
"Truth. I have nothing to hide."
"OK, then what's the most embarrassing thing you've ever performed on stage?"
"Hmm, oh when Zoey asked me to be Dustin's magic assistant just because all the middle school boys think I'm hot. That wasn't really embarrassing cause its true, but it's just weird. Plus I am a professional, I don't get embarrassed when I'm on stage."
"Fine, I guess I'll take that." Logan rolled his eyes.
"Michael, truth or dare?" Lola asked.
"Dare. Lay it on me."
"OK, go pet Herman." Lola grinned devilishly.
"That giant spider? That thing is like the size of a rat. I'm not touching that thing."
"Relax, Herman is perfectly harmless, he won't bite you or anything. I mean, look at him." Quinn glanced over at the terrarium she had put Herman in. "Isn't he cute?"
"Wow Michael are you being a chicken already?" Logan teased him. "You're almost as bad as Chase."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chase asked.
"I think you know." Logan shot him a knowing look, his eyes shifting between Chase and Zoey sitting beside him.
"What is he talking about Chase?"
"Oh, nothing, he's just being Logan." Chase tried to play if off and Zoey seemed to accept that. Thankfully.
"Yeah, cute. Fine, I'll do it, cause Michael Barret is no chicken. But if that thing bites me and I turn into Spider-Man, I'm blaming you Lola."
Quinn walked over to the corner of the room with Michael and gently took Herman out of his cage and held him out to Michael.
Michael stood as far away from Quinn as possible and slowly stretched his arm out lightly petting Herman with one finger for a few seconds before snatching his hand away again. "There I did it, now put Herman back where he belongs."
"See, aren't you a good boy? Yes, you are, yes you are." Quinn cooed to Herman as she put him away again before returning to the group.
"OK now that that's over, Quinn, truth or dare?"
"Dare. Bring it on."
"Alrighty then, I dare you to prank call Dean Rivers."
"Sure thing." Quinn grabbed the phone and quickly dialed and put her phone on speaker.
"Hello? This is Dean Rivers."
"Hi Dean Rivers, this is Agent Jemma Simmons from the California Biohazard Unit."
"Oh, I'm glad to hear from you, is this about the germ Quinn Pensky created?"
"No it isn't, we are still running our tests, but while our team was on campus we also detected large amounts of dihydrogen monoxide."
"Dihydrogen monoxide? What's that? Is it dangerous?"
"Very. Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless and odorless and accidental inhalation can be fatal, while prolonged exposure to its solid form can cause severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion include excessive sweating and urination, a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting, and electrolyte imbalance."
"Oh no, what can we do? Is this dihydro stuff in the air?"
"Yes, it is quite plentiful in the atmosphere around PCA, especially along the nearby beach. We will continue to monitor the levels while we complete our tests on the brilliantly designed germ Ms. Pensky created. Just let us know if you notice any students or staff experiencing these symptoms."
"Will do Agent Simmons. Call me back if you have more information."
"Of course Dean Rivers, we'll be in touch." Quinn grinned as she hung up the phone finally noticing the whole group's confused and flabbergasted reactions.
"Quinn? That stuff you were talking about, it's not real right? You just made it up. Right?" Zoey asked nervously.
"You guys are so lame. Dihydrogen monoxide. Its water, duh." Logan laughed at them.
"That's right! How did you know that?" Quinn asked, now everyone was looking shocked at Logan who seemed to realize what he said.
"I don't know I probably heard you babbling on about it before and it just randomly got stuck in my brain, I mean who cares about chemistry? Certainly not me."
"So is all that stuff you said about water true?" Lola asked nervously, setting down the water bottle she had been drinking from.
"Yeah. Causes sweating and urination and all that other stuff, if you breathe it in you'll drown. Water is always around us in the air." Quinn listed off.
"OK, that makes sense, at least we only have one stupid science thing to worry about." Michael rolled his eyes. "Good job Quinn, call me impressed. You're up."
"OK, Zoey truth or dare?"
"Hey Quinn, dare her to make out with me." Logan loudly whispered, laughing at Zoey's disgusted face and Chase's glare they shot in his direction.
"I'll go with truth."
"Alright Zoey, if you were stranded on a deserted island with one other person in the room who would you want it to be?"
"Hmm," Zoey scratched her chin as she thought about it. "I'd have to say either Quinn or Chase. Quinn, I know you would probably build a way to get us out of there within a day. But I also know Chase and I work the best together so we'd probably live the longest together. So I'll pick Chase."
"Oh, really Zoey is that all?" Lola asked her.
"Yeah, Chase will always be my first choice." Zoey nodded confidently.
"You'd be my first choice too." Chase nudged her shoulder.
"Alright, Chase, truth or dare?" Zoey turned to him.
"Let's go with dare, give me your best shot Zoe."
"Alright, I dare you to go eat a jar of Quinn's baby food."
"I really recommend the sweet potatoes," Michael suggested.
"My favorite is the mashed peas," Quinn added.
Chase grimaced, "Thanks for the help, but ulk, those sound terrible. But I'll do what I have to do, I guess." Chase walked over and scanned the shelves of baby food until he found one he felt like he could actually stomach.
"So what flavor did you get?" Zoey asked.
"Apple." Chase opened the can and Zoey handed him a spoon. "It's just applesauce, it's just applesauce," Chase told himself while he took his first bite. He really didn't like the mushiness of it but at least it tasted decent, just like normal applesauce like he hoped it would. About two minutes later he was done and threw the can in the trash."
"There I did it. Now Logan, truth or dare?"
"Dare. I'm not a chicken."
"OK, I dare you to go the rest of the time we're stuck in here without looking at yourself in a mirror."
"What? Why? Do you have any idea how much time I do that on a regular day, much less when I'm stuck in here with all of you people?"
"I do know, that's why I dared you. I thought you said you weren't chicken?"
"I'm not, fine." Logan handed over Lola's mirror he had been using before while Zoey and Chase walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall and taped a few sheets of paper over it.
While they were doing so. Michael motioned everyone else to get close to him and he whispered. "OK, now that they've been lulled into a false sense of security, it's time to spring the trap on them."
"Agreed." Lola grinned.
"They aren't going to know what hit them." Quinn giggled, in her best evil scientist laugh.
They kept playing for a while until it was once again Michael's turn. "Chase, truth or dare?"
Something about Michael's grin, he knew he was about to face a choice he had been regretting. That rule Chase and Zoey had tried to create? Why had Zoey been so adamant about it? Hopefully because of Logan. Chase knew why he wanted it, even though half of him wished they didn't have it, even though he knew he himself would never be brave enough to try.
"I'm going to go with truth." To his horror, Michael and everyone else just started smiling brighter at him. Forget Quinn's germ, his life was going to be over in three, two…
"Tell us all the truth, do you like-like someone at PCA and you've never told her?" Michael asked, crossing his arms confidently.
Chase could see Zoey turn her head with a curious expression on her face out of the corner of his eye. He could lie, but he all but guaranteed Logan and Michael would call him out on it anyway. So he just went with the truth, it wasn't everything, so he would still be safe.
"Yes, there is a girl that I like, but I never told her."
"Really?" Zoey asked, looking surprised. "Who is it?" While she was looking at Chase waiting for him to answer she completely missed the eye rolls everyone else was giving her.
"Sorry, I'm only answering one truth at a time," Chase said, his face feeling hot.
"You'd tell me though. Right? I'm your best friend."
"Hey!"
"Girl best friend." Chase and Zoey both clarified to Michael's comedically annoyed expression.
"Maybe someday Zoey, but um not right now."
But Zoey's curiosity was piqued, who could Chase possibly have a crush on, and why wouldn't he tell whoever it was?
So then Chase dared Lola to drink a raw egg, just to see if she would do it like Zoey said she did last year. Without even pausing, Lola grabbed an egg out of the fridge, cracked it into a cup, and gulped it down like it was Blix, to everyone's disgust.
Now Lola picked Zoey. "Zoey, truth or dare?"
Lola and everyone else had been giving her a weird vibe the last few questions. But she still wanted to play. "I pick dare."
"Perfect. I dare you to kiss Chase, on the lips, for at least five seconds."
"Lola? Why would I have to do that? Is this because of you and Quinn's dumb theory?" Zoey tried to act annoyed to hide the sudden nervousness and embarrassment rolling in her stomach.
"What dumb theory?" Chase asked, blushing just as brightly as Zoey felt like she was.
"Nothing you need to worry about. Because I know they're wrong. I don't want to force you to kiss me."
"Well, it is the rules of the game, and you….you don't have to force me to kiss you," Chase said nervously. "It's totally fine, it's just us, and it's just a game. I know it doesn't mean anything."
"Yeah of course it won't." Chase and Zoey both couldn't look each other in the eyes, instead glancing wildly anywhere else around the room.
"Come on just do it already!" Logan groaned.
"What are you waiting for?" Michael grinned.
Still madly blushing, a million thoughts running through both their heads Chase and Zoey both leaned forward and closed their eyes a moment before their lips met. They were both silently counting in their heads, one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand. They both froze at the initial contact, but after a moment, neither could tell who moved first, but they started putting more into it and they realized they were really enjoying it. So much so that they forgot who else was in the room.
"Alright guys, that's been at least five seconds," Lola called out. But they didn't hear her. "Guys!"
They finally both broke apart and seeing each other's eyes, they just started blushing even more.
"Woo, go Chase! Now Zoey feel free to ask me if you want to see a real encore."
"That won't be necessary, you know what, would you look at the time? It's getting pretty late I think we should call it a night." Zoey tried to change the subject and ignore what had just happened because she had no idea what had just happened.
"Yes, I totally agree." Chase nodded along. Both of them scooted as far away from each other as they could while still sitting on the bed, and both did their best to not look at the other.
"I call the couch!" Logan declared seconds before Michael tried to claim it too.
"Dang it, then I claim both of these bean bags!"
"Michael, you don't need both of them. Why can't I use one?" Chase stood up and walked over to him.
"Because…because I need two. If I can't stretch myself out like on a bed my back will be all messed up in the morning. And trust me you do not want to see me when my back gets all wonky."
"Then where am I supposed to sleep?"
"Why don't you ask Zoey?" Michael grinned up at him.
"Whatever you think you're doing, it's not going to work." Chase hissed out under his breath.
"You'll thank me someday," Michael whispered back. "Hey Zoey, Chase needs a place to sleep, have any ideas?"
'Why can't he use one of the bean bags?"
"Because, if I don't use both my back will be all wonky. Trust me."
"Don't expect me to share the couch, in fact, I will pay Chase to have it all to myself."
"Well Chase needs a place to sleep, and he can't sleep on the floor," Zoey said.
"Well, I would offer my bed, but Herman's going to be resting on my pillow, he helps keep the nightmares away."
"Chase can't sleep up here with me, you know I'm a kicker, I'll probably knock him down to the ground in the middle of the night, and we don't want that do we?" Lola finally added.
"So I think that only leaves one logical option." Quinn grinned at Chase and Zoey, both looking terrified at her suggestion.
"No, we don't need to do any of that. I'm fine with the floor." Chase insisted. He was really starting to hate his friends.
"No Chase, it will be fine, you can sleep in my bed tonight. With me." Zoey said, quietly.
"With, with you?" Chase stuttered out, whipping his head back around to look at her.
"Yeah, it's just us, we don't have to make it weird. But none of you will be telling anyone about this, ever." Zoey warned everyone else.
Everyone nodded along solemnly. But Chase still looked nervous.
"Look, Zoey, I'm honestly fine with the floor."
"Chase," Zoey pulled up her orange comforter to the side. "Just get up here. I promise I won't bite."
"I'm not worried about that or anything, but if you insist." Chase chuckled awkwardly. He climbed in beside Zoey and pulled the blankets up to cover them both.
Logan and Michael each got a few borrowed blankets from the girls and Michael walked over to turn out the lights. "Goodnight everyone!" A chorus of goodnights responded and everyone went quiet as they drifted off into sleep.
Or all but two of them did. Zoey's twin bed wasn't the biggest when two people were sharing it. Without talking about it, they had both faced away from each other and tried to leave as much space between them as possible. Which was still only a few inches, but it would have to do.
Chase was so nervous, hearing the gentle rise and fall of Zoey's breathing right behind him both relaxed him, but also made him terrified. When they had been forced to kiss in the game, he knew he felt lost in it. And he was pretty sure Zoey hadn't wanted to stop either, but what did that mean? Could it mean what he wanted it to?
Zoey was silent, but she couldn't sleep. She had several things running through her head. She knew they weren't touching, but feeling Chase's weight on her bed beside her, made her feel weird, not a bad weird, but weird nonetheless like she wanted to close the distance they had decided to put between themselves.
She also couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. What had even happened there? One moment she was being forced to kiss her best friend for a stupid game, and the next she just forgot about everything. She just felt a spark that she couldn't explain. But Chase said he had a crush on someone and there was no way it was her. They were always best friends. That was all. And it was great. She knew that moment wouldn't ever happen again, not that she wanted it to.
Chase finally started to drift off into sleep. But unfortunately, since he had put himself on the very edge of the bed as far away from Zoey as possible, he fell off the bed and to the carpeted floor. "Ow." He groaned.
"Chase?"
Chase rolled over and looked up to see Zoey looking down at him from the bed.
"Sorry, I woke you up didn't I?" Chase whispered so he wouldn't wake up anyone else.
Zoey whispered back, "No, I wasn't sleeping yet. Now come on." Zoey patted the bed.
"I'm really fine with the floor honest."
"Chase get up here." Zoey cut him off. "I know you've said before you can't say no to me, so don't even try."
"Yes, Zoe." Chase nodded. He climbed into bed again and put himself back on the edge, but Zoey was watching him and tugged on his arm.
"What is it Zoe?"
"I told you I'm not going to bite and I don't think either of us is going to sleep if we keep rolling off down to the floor."
"Yeah, and?"
"It's ok to be closer to me." Zoey tugged him over, closer to the middle of the bed while she scooted over herself. "It's just one night," she said before turning herself back over.
"Yeah, one night." Slowly, Chase slid one arm beneath the pillow under Zoey's head and stretched the other arm around over her back to gently rest on her stomach.
"Is this ok?" He asked, heart pounding inside.
"Yeah, it is." Zoey just barely nodded in the darkness. Taking a chance she scooted over the last bit of space separating them, so her back was gently pressed against his chest while butterflies were flying in her stomach. "Is this ok?"
"Ye- Yeah. Totally." Chase said. "Wait, Zoey, before you go to sleep, there's something I need to ask you."
"Sure, what is it Chase? Zoey flipped herself back over so she could face him, suddenly they were practically nose to nose. Both were thankful the other couldn't see their face heating up even more.
"The kiss we had, I know I shouldn't be saying this but I felt something. I don't know what it means or why, but I felt something, something good. Did you feel it too?"
"Yeah, I think I did, like sparks were flying and I didn't want to let go."
"Right exactly. Now I know I might be crazy, but if you liked it, do you by any chance like me, and let me clarify, as more than friends, and if not I totally understand and I'll get out of here right this-"
"Chase, I…I think I do. You know you're the most important person at PCA to me, and yes, maybe even as more than friends, and that kiss was beyond anything I've ever felt before. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, I promise I feel the exact same way."
"You do? But you said you like someone at PCA but you've never told her."
"Zoey," Chase chuckled, "it's you, it's always been you."
"It has?"
"It has. Ever since I first saw you."
"It's been ever since I first saw you too Chase." Zoey closed the distance between them to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Now assuming we aren't going to die from Quinn's germ, once we get out of here, how about we go out, just the two of us? As more than friends."
"I would love nothing more. Except you." Chase grinned back in the darkness. "Goodnight Zoey."
"Goodnight Chase." Zoey flipped herself over one more time so they could resume their previous positions and feeling the other's softly breathing beside them without any separation they both drifted off to sleep within moments.
Bright and early the next morning, the door opened and the biohazard guys walked into the room. "Wake up, rise and shine!" He greeted them. Everyone groggily turned to the door. Chase and Zoey smiled between themselves as they sat up in bed.
"Hey! It's the biohazard guys!" Lola smiled, noticing that they had their masks off, bringing hope to all of them that they could finally leave.
"So what's the deal? Are we diseased or what?" Michael asked.
"Tell me about my germ."
"The germ is harmless." The biohazard guy announced. "Just check in with our medic in the lobby and you are all free to go."
"Yes! Yeah! Woohoo!" They all cheered.
Lola, Quinn, Logan and Michael practically sprinted out the doors while Chase and Zoey kept smiling at each other.
"Good morning Zoe."
"Good morning Chase."
"So are we still on to go out tonight?"
"I would like nothing better. In fact, once we get cleared, how about we spend some time alone, just the two of us? I don't know about you, but I've had enough of everyone else for a while."
"As long as you promise not to get sick of me."
"I could never be sick of you. Let's go." Chase and Zoey hopped out of the bed and ran out to the hallway hand in hand, ready to enjoy their freedom, and the start of something new.