Girls Will Be Boys
Zoey, Lola, and Nicole were all hanging out on the roof of the boys' dorm, soaking up some rays and avoiding all the homework they had to do, but it was forgotten for the moment as they took in the California sun. Until Chase and Logan walked up to them.
"Hey, what are you people doing up on our roof?" Logan asked them. "What are they doing up on our roof?"
"They appear to be lying on chairs," Chase answered.
"Our chairs!" Logan emphasized.
"Why are you all cranky?" Lola asked, glancing up from her magazine.
"Did someone hide your mirror?" Zoey quipped, earning a laugh from Lola and Nicole.
"Funny, now get off our roof!" Logan demanded, pointing at the stairs behind him.
"No." Zoey shook her head.
"We're not bothering you," Nicole added.
"Why should we have to leave?" Lola asked.
"Because this is the guys' dorm, which means this roof is for guys only."
"Chase, tell Logan he's being an idiot," Zoey ordered, she knew he would let them stay.
"Well…I kind of agree with him."
"Thank you."
"Chase!" This got Zoey to sit up and take her sunglasses off. Chase was always with her whenever Logan acted like a jerk. Why would this of all things be something Chase agrees with? "You're really taking Logan's side on this?"
"Well, look, obviously I think its great that you all are here, but sometimes us guys just need a place to be guys," Chase said, but something was going on, he was avoiding looking her in the eye.
"So pull up a chair, burp, we don't care," Nicole said, pulling her sunglasses off too.
"Guys just can't be guys when there's girls around," Logan said.
"Why not?" Lola asked.
"Cause when females hang around males it just causes the males to behave differently. We can't help it." Chase said, but Zoey was more and more sure that Chase was acting weird.
"It's basic biology," Logan added before Zoey had time to complete her thought, so she shot back at him.
"You got a C- in biology."
"Yeah, but who was the best-looking guy in the class huh? That's right, me!"
"Oh trust me, you definitely weren't the best-looking guy in the class," Zoey mumbled under her breath so no one else could hear. But why was Chase so against this?
"I was in that class," Chase mumbled under his breath.
"Your point?" Logan turned to Chase, totally oblivious, just as oblivious as Chase was to Zoey.
"OK, I admit guys do act different when girls are around, but it's not because of nature or biology," Lola said.
"Right, it's dumbness and stupidity." Nicole finished her thought.
"There you go." Zoey nodded her head and smiled, putting her sunglasses back on like she didn't have a care in the world.
"No, you go!" Logan pointed at the stairs behind him.
"No way." Zoey crossed her arms.
"Uh oh, she crossed her arms, it's on now," Lola warned the boys with a smirk.
"Fine, then I'll go tell my dorm advisor to make you leave!" Logan declared.
"Then I'll talk to him too!" Zoey said.
"Me too!" Nicole added.
Zoey and Nicole jumped up from their chairs, grabbed their shirts to pull over their swimsuits, and followed Logan downstairs, leaving Chase and Lola on the roof.
"Really Chase?" Lola demanded.
"What? Yes, I totally agree with Logan on this." Chase crossed his own arms and tried his best determined face. Like Lola didn't know an actor when she saw one or in Chase's case a bad actor.
"Oh really, you don't want three girls coming up here to sunbathe in our swimsuits all the time?"
Chase shook his head. "No, of course, I don't. I'm not Logan."
"But you're acting like him for some reason. So let me put it this way, you don't want Zoey to come to your roof to sunbathe in her swimsuit?" Lola smiled brightly, "Where you could join her whenever you want?"
"No, I don't know what you're talking about. Of course, I'd always love to hang out with Zoey… and you and Nicole too, but the guys need our space."
"You know, if you ever want some alone time with Zoey, Nicole and I could just remember a project we have to do at the last minute, leaving Zoey all alone up here."
"I really don't know what you're talking about," Chase said nervously.
"I'm just saying it might be a good chance for you two to really talk to each other and share some things." Lola still kept her confident grin on her face.
"Lola, just stop, please drop it before Zoey comes back." Chase glanced behind him and whispered nervously.
"Can we have your roof?"
"No, you can't."
"You are so ridiculous, both about your roof and about Zoey," Lola warned him, right before Zoey and Nicole came back with frowns on their faces, while Logan was smiling brightly.
"You heard Seth ladies, grab your stuff and scram."
"We're going, Logan. Come on Lola, we have to go. Unless someone changes their mind?" Zoey walked up to Chase, leaving only a few inches between them. "I'm sure my best friend in the whole world doesn't want me to leave." Zoey looked up at him with a pout and her best sad eyes.
Chase looked down at her and he could feel his resolve crumbling, but before he could say anything, Logan slapped his hand over his mouth. "No way! Not happening, no using your feminine wiles on my roommate!"
"Chase? Please?"
"Don't do it." Logan warned him, slowly taking his hand away, but looking like he was ready to hit back at any time.
"Sorry, Zoe. On this, I really do agree with Logan. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, you know?" Chase shrugged his shoulders. Once again, not looking at Zoey's eyes, because he knew if he did he would break, and he couldn't let that happen.
So the girls trudged back over to their own dorm. Along the way, Zoey asked the other girls, "Do you think Chase is acting weird?"
Lola and Nicole shared knowing looks. "What do you mean Zoey?" Lola asked, trying to act as oblivious as Zoey always was.
"Why on Earth would Chase agree with Logan on something stupid like this? I mean he never goes along with Logan's schemes."
"Or do you mean he's always on your side?" Nicole asked.
"Well," Zoey blushed for a moment, "yeah I guess but don't you think it's weird? Do you think I made him mad or something?"
"Have you done anything recently that could make him mad?"
"No, I don't think so. You know after the election, he specifically said, my roof is your roof. Why would he kick us out now?"
"I don't know what to tell you Zoey, but it is really weird that Chase would ever do something to make you mad. Every time you get mad at him he always gets so panicked like it's the end of the world, plus you are right, I don't think I've ever seen him say no to you before." Nicole admitted.
"Or maybe Logan is blackmailing him with something. I just know this has to be Logan's fault like normal. Can you two think of anything Logan could be using to force Chase to go along with him?"
Again, Lola and Nicole shared a knowing look, but Lola shook her head before Nicole could say anything. "Not that I know of Zoey, I mean he tells you everything anyway right?" Except for one thing.
"Right. I don't know, let's just head to our roof."
"But our roof is suckish!' Nicole complained.
"We can make the best of it Nicole until Chase goes back to normal at least," Zoey promised her.
They tried to make the best of their own roof, but the nearby trees blocked the sun, and also made their roof smell like squirrel pee. They all hated their roof, but Zoey came up with a plan to prove to the guys that guys don't act differently just because girls are around, they just choose to.
It took them a few days to plan everything, but between Lola's acting skills, Zoey's fashion and planning skills, Michael and Nicole's boy knowledge, and Quinn's tech, before long Lola was gone and Steve was ready to take Michael's spot in the guys' room.
"Well, how do I look?" Lola asked, thanks to a padded muscle suit, a wig, a ton of make-up, and some guy clothes Zoey found. Lola now looked like a dude.
"I could almost date you," Nicole said, looking Lola up and down in appreciation.
"Come here baby, give me a kiss," Lola said in her guy voice, puckering her lips and walking closer to Nicole.
"No, no, no, no. Woah back off boy." Nicole laughed, holding her hands out in front of her.
"Michael, what do you think?" Zoey asked.
"It's good, but I don't know, I still think it needs a mustache," Michael said, holding the fake mustache out over Lola's lip.
"Yeah, well it's time for you to stop voting and go check into the infirmary." Nicole reminded him.
"Oh wait a minute, Zoey you should go get Quinn and see if she's ready," Lola said, also reaching out to stop Nicole before she pushed Michael out of the room.
"Yeah, I'll go do that." Zoey nodded and left the room.
"So, if that's all you need from me, I better check in with Nurse Gretchen." Michael smiled.
"Wait, before you go, I need both of your guys' advice on something."
"What is it Lola?"
"In addition to proving Chase and Logan are being idiots, I think we should take this opportunity to finally make Choey a reality just like we all know it should be."
"Good luck with that. Don't you think that's what I've been trying to do since Chase ran into the flagpole when he saw her a year and a half ago? How is now going to be any different?" Michael asked her.
"Well obviously Chase is never going to tell Zoey himself, but Quinn is making our glasses with a camera and a microphone in them so everyone else can see everything too. I.e. Michael how do I get Chase to say he loves Zoey so she can finally see it?"
"Honestly all you really have to do is mention her name, or even better get Logan to mention whoever he's made out with this week, so then that can give you an opening to ask Chase, and I don't know you'll pro- Oh wait a minute, I know the perfect thing!" Michael clapped his hands excitedly. "If you say you think Zoey's cute or say something along the lines of you asking her out, I guarantee Chase will get all defensive and let something slip!"
"And then Zoey can see it." Lola smiled back at him.
"And then I'll have to deal with her though. What will I do?" Nicole asked.
"Exactly Nicole, it will be your job to try to make Zoey finally admit she likes him too, and convince her to talk to him once we're done. I mean we all know she likes him right?"
"Yeah totally." Nicole nodded, "You should have seen her when you and Chase dated that week a few months ago."
"I don't know, I'm a Chase expert, not a Zoey expert, because Chase is MY best friend. Even though I know he'll completely freak out, I totally support this plan, in fact, I should ask Quinn to hook me up with a TV or something so I can watch it while I'm in the infirmary." Michael smiled brightly thinking of all the possibilities.
"We know Michael, so how did Zoey get you to help us?"
"Well, a chance to make my roommates look like idiots, plus Nurse Gretchen." Michael grinned, pulling out his phone to show the girls a picture of Dustin with the new nurse. "And now, Lola if this works and you finally get Chase and Zoey together, I, I don't know, I'll make you a batch of my grandma's ravioli!"
"Don't worry, I am the ultimate actress, nothing will stop me," Lola promised.
Right then Zoey walked back into the room with Quinn in tow. "Alright Michael, Quinn says she has everything ready so you better head to the nurse."
"You got it. Good luck girls." Michael practically skipped out of the room in excitement, for more reasons than one now.
Later that afternoon after Michael had plenty of time to get checked into the infirmary, Lola brought the fake note to Seth, the guys' dorm advisor and everything was still going smoothly as Seth introduced Steve to Chase and Logan.
"So since Michael's gonna be held up in the infirmary for a couple of days, is it cool if Steve here bunks with you guys?"
"Sure, why not." Chase shrugged his shoulders from where he was sitting on the couch with Logan.
"Cool with me."
"Alright, thanks dudes." Lola said, extending her fist in fist bump, the quintessential guy greeting.
"OK, I'll check you guys later." Seth walked out of the room.
"So Steve, Michael's bed's the top bunk over there if you want to set your stuff down." Chase pointed over to the bed.
"Ah, cool." Lola nodded and threw her duffle bag up top.
"Blix?" Logan asked as he dug through their fridge.
"Sure, chuck it," Lola replied, and Logan tossed it over.
"One over here," Chase asked and Logan threw him one too.
"So where you from?" Logan asked.
"Chicago. Go Tigers!" Lola cheered.
"Uh, the Tigers play in Detroit." Chase and Logan both shared confused looks
"Chicago's team is the Cubs," Logan added.
"Uh," Lola knew she should have studied up on sports more before, but Michael had been too busy teaching her how to act like a guy to get into specifics about stuff like that. "Yeah I know, I meant the tigers at the…"
"The Zoo!" Quinn's voice shouted in her ear.
"The Zoo!" Lola finished her sentence, but Chase and Logan were still looking confused.
"The zoo?"
"Yeah, I enjoy animals." She took a gulp of Blix to calm her nerves, this might be a little bit harder than she thought. "Good Blix."
"Yeah, hey, I like your shirt. I'm pretty sure I have one just like it." Chase said. "I haven't seen it in a while though..." Chase glanced at his closet for a moment like he was trying to find it. "I don't suppose you took it?" He joked.
"Oh no, I've had this old thing for years." Lola looked down at the green shirt she was wearing, and her mind started turning this information over, Zoey said she found it somewhere, could that mean…?
Back in the girls' room, both Nicole and Quinn were looking at Zoey questioningly. While Zoey had a light rose dusting her cheeks.
"Zoey, where did you get Steve's shirt?" Nicole asked with a grin.
"Fine, it is Chase's shirt," Zoey admitted, trying to act like it was no big deal, but Quinn and Nicole weren't fooled.
"Why do you have Chase's shirt?" Quinn asked.
"Like a month ago Chase and I were at the beach together one day…" Zoey couldn't help smiling at the memory.
It had been Saturday afternoon, so with nothing better to do, and since all their friends were busy doing other things, Chase and Zoey had decided to just hang out at the beach together. They spent plenty of time just having fun together, throwing a frisbee around, building a sandcastle, and having a splash fight in the water.
When they were getting ready to leave, Zoey had her T-shirt in her hands ready to put it back on to head back to campus when a big gust of wind blew her shirt out of her hand, she tried to grab it again, but missed.
"Chase! A little help here!" Zoey pointed, already getting ready to run after her shirt.
Chase followed her pointing and lunged for the T-shirt, but it flew by him just out of reach so he landed on the soft sand with a loud "Oof!"
Zoey ran after her shirt as fast as she could, but she wasn't fast enough, her shirt finally stopped flying when it reached the water. She only grabbed it after it was already completely soaked through. She wrung it out, but it was still sopping wet, smelling like salt and seaweed already.
She walked back over to Chase who was dusting the newly acquired sand off himself. "Did you get it Zoe?"
"No, it's all wet now," Zoey pouted, "and it's the only shirt I brought with me."
Chase stood silent for a moment before he turned to his own bag and dug out the green T-shirt. "Here take mine."
"Thanks, Chase, do you have another one for you too?"
"No, I just brought the one, but you can take it."
"Are you sure Chase? I don't want to take it if you don't have one."
"It's totally fine, we're just heading back to our dorms anyway. Although you're probably right, I don't want to be attacked by a mob of girls when they catch sight of this much pure manliness." Chase flexed his muscles, making Zoey laugh.
"I'm sure. Thanks Chase." Zoey pulled the T-shirt over her head, hopefully, he didn't notice how she paused for a moment, breathing in the smell of Chase that stuck to the fabric. She didn't know why she did it, she just did it without thinking. When her head popped out, she prayed she wasn't blushing. "So how do I look?"
"I, I would say it looks much better on you than it does on me." Chase swallowed loudly, as he looked her up and down, seeing the shirt was long enough to cover the shorts she was wearing beneath it.
"Thanks Chase," Zoey said, she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks even more for the way Chase was looking at her, so she tried to change the subject by quickly grabbing the rest of their stuff and putting everything except her soaked T-shirt in her own bag. "You ready to go?"
"Yep totally. But you have to promise to protect me from any girls that go crazy when they see me. They won't be in control of their actions." Chase threw his towel and backpack over his shoulders.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you, no other girls will lay a hand on you except me Fuzzyhead." Zoey joked, patting his bushy hair as they made their way back to campus.
Back in the room, Zoey was still smiling as she retold the story. "And I guess I forgot to give it back to him." Zoey shrugged her shoulders, in truth she hadn't forgotten about it, she may have worn it to bed a few times, but something about it, always made her sleep so peacefully, she hadn't even washed it since Chase gave it to her.
"OK then." Quinn and Nicole shared another look between themselves. "I guess it's a good thing you "forgot," Nicole smiled before the three of them turned back to Quinn's computer to watch Lola, they could wait until Lola put her plan into action to start their real digging.
Back in the guys' room, Lola had made it through the rest of Logan and Chase's questions without any other slip-ups, so now they were just hanging out, right now she was playing a video game with Logan, which she unfortunately sucked at, while Chase was working on something at his desk.
"Dude, you suck at this. Have you ever played Call of Duty before?" Logan asked.
"No, can't say I have." Lola had a lot more important things to do than play video games, much less video games that involved shooting zombies in the face, but she knew how to distract Logan, get him to talk about his money. "I don't think I even have half of this stuff at home. How did you guys get so hooked up?"
"That's thanks to me, my dad's Malcolm Reese, super rich, super famous TV and movie producer. Maybe you heard of him?"
"Oh yeah." Lola nodded, being a future Oscar winner, she actually did know quite a lot about Logan's dad and what he did. "He's the executive producer on the new Galaxy Wars movies right?"
"You bet, and thanks to him, I can buy pretty much anything I want."
"Except a $300,000 sports car. Or a $100,000 coin collection." Chase joked from his desk.
"Yeah yeah. That was one time, I still think Dad overreacted on that."
"Says you, you're the one that made Zoey pity you so much, she got me and Lola to do everything for you."
"Right, 'cause Zoey has to make you do things, and you don't just listen to her every word. You know what Chase, I'm proud of you, you finally stood up with me against her. I didn't think you'd actually do it."
"You know why I did it, you just hold up your end of our deal." Chase's joking grin morphed into a slight glare, that Lola made sure to capture with her glasses.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, I made the reservation yesterday."
Lola was intrigued, so there was something going on with Chase. She agreed with Zoey and apparently even Logan was surprised Chase was agreeing with him, but this could be her opening.
"Who's Zoey and Lola? Are they cute? How are the girls here at PCA?"
"Lola, what are you doing?" She heard Zoey's voice in her ear before a moment later after some static Nicole's voice whispered. "Keep going Steve."
"Finally a topic I'm an expert in," Logan smirked and threw his hand over her shoulder. Lola had to fight every urge to put as much distance between herself and Logan as possible and not cringe away from him. "One of the best parts of PCA, we've got babes everywhere."
"Except the roof for some reason," Chase muttered.
"You know what we agreed to. And that's mostly to make a point that we're still in charge here, not the girls." Logan pointed at Chase, "Anyway if you want I can give you a list, trust me I guarantee I have the longest list of girls' numbers at PCA, but you'll have to be careful, some of the names, I was only fifty percent sure of even when I was in the middle of making out with them."
"Cool, but who's Lola and Zoey, are they your friends? Girlfriends?"
"They wish." Logan laughed, "they're both playing hard to get, but I know they want me."
"Trust me Steve, Logan is the last guy at PCA you want advice on girls from."
"Oh no Chase, you are the last guy anyone should take advice from. I can't tell Zoey I love her because if I do she'll hate me." Logan said in a mocking voice.
Yes. Lola couldn't help her excited shiver as she turned to make sure she got exactly what Chase's reaction was.
"Logan!"
"What like Steve wouldn't figure it out anyway once he sees you spend five minutes with Zoey? Honestly, I can't believe she's still clueless."
"Logan you know why I can't tell Zoey I'm in love with her yet, it's too big of a risk."
"If you love her, why don't you tell her?" Lola asked Chase.
Chase sighed, "Because Zoey is my best friend, and I've been in love with her since the day we met, but I know she doesn't see me that way, and I don't want to do anything that would drive her away from me."
"OMG! OMG! OMG! Keep going, this is so good!" Nicole whisper-screamed in Lola's ear.
"I guess those are some valid reasons, Lola admitted, "but why do you love her?"
Chase smiled, "Because she's Zoey, she's not like any girl I ever met before, she's so smart and kind, and pretty. She's one of the few people who are absolutely perfect inside and out. I know I'll tell her someday, hopefully someday soon. But not now."
"Well it sounds like you know her super well, I'm sure she wouldn't hate you if you told her."
"I don't know, I just know I'm nowhere near ready to tell her. So Steve you cannot tell Zoey any of this. You promise?" Chase asked, sounding deadly serious.
"Don't worry Chase, my lips are sealed." Lola kept her face calm on the outside, but her brain was dancing on the inside that her secret plan worked.
"So Steve do you have a girlfriend?" Chase tried to change the subject.
"No, I don't. But I think I saw that Lola girl you were talking about earlier. She's super cute, and an amazing actress."
"Yeah she is pretty hot, like I said, she's just playing hard to get," Logan added his two cents.
"You know, maybe it's just you," Lola suggested. "Want to play another game?"
"You mean do you want me to kick your butt again? It's on Steve."
As they started playing, rather than focusing on killing zombies, all Lola could think about was imagining what was going on in Room 101 right now.
Back in Room 101, Zoey was frozen in shock.
"Because Zoey is my best friend, and I've been in love with her since the day we met, but I know she doesn't see me that way, and I don't want to do anything that would drive her away from me."
Chase, Chase was in love with her? That couldn't be right, could it? Her Chase? Her best friend Chase? She thought back to her time capsule video, when she had finally admitted to herself that she thought he had a crush on her and that she maybe liked him back, but for every moment that made her think they could be more than friends when they looked into each other's eyes, there were just as many times that told her friends were all they were supposed to be.
She was off in space for a moment until Quinn was shaking her shoulder. She turned her head to see Quinn and Nicole both grinning excitedly at her. "Are you alright Zoey?"
"I, I don't know. I mean, it's Chase."
"Come on Zoey isn't it great? Now you finally know." Nicole smiled at her.
"Do you think he's being serious?"
"Well yeah. Why wouldn't he be?" Quinn laughed at her.
"Because it's Chase."
"Don't try to deny you like him too." Nicole pointed at her.
"I don't, I don't know if I do or not, he's always been my best friend." Zoey tried to deny it.
"Don't try to deny you like him. What about that week when Chase and Lola started dating?" Nicole warned her.
"That, that, I wasn't jealous if that's what you're suggesting." Zoey shook her head, both in emphasis, and to try to clear her thoughts.
"That's exactly what I'm suggesting, you acted like a completely different person that week, you were mad at literally everything, and then even more mad at Chase when he forgot your tennis game."
"I, um."
"And also, you really think I never noticed when you woke up in that green T-shirt in the mornings? Even when I know for sure you didn't wear it to bed."
"Sometimes I can't fall asleep, and that T-shirt is super comfy for some reason. Once I'm wearing it I'm usually out like a light." Zoey still tried to keep up the denial.
"I'm sure. Come on Zoey, you weren't supposed to be the difficult one in this scenario." Nicole whined.
"What are you talking about, did you plan this?"
"Yeah, both of you are so in denial that we'd probably graduate before either of you ever said anything. It was Lola's idea to add this to our plan." Nicole said.
"But what do I do now? I need to go talk to him." Zoey stood up from the couch.
Nicole and Quinn both pulled her back down. "No, you can't do that now! If you go down there now, you'll give Steve away, and we still want to prove our point to the guys. You and Chase were just a bonus, plus even more bonus, we know Logan had something to do with Chase acting weird!"
"You thought he was acting weird too?"
Quinn nodded, "Well yeah, he agreed with Logan over you, we all know how weird that is. But Zoey what are you going to do?"
"I, fine when this is over and we prove our point to the guys, I'll talk to Chase."
"And then?"
"Then I don't know. We'll have to wait and see." Zoey chewed her lip in worry at this new stress she had never thought to worry about in a million years. If what Chase said was true, could they finally be what she had dreamed about occasionally the past few months, or could it just be a big mistake, what if something happened that drove them apart? She knew she wouldn't be able to bear not having Chase in her life, but she also knew she couldn't ignore what her heart was telling her anymore.
The girls just kept watching Lola on the computer until eventually, the guys started getting ready for bed. Lola turned the camera off for the night so the girls got ready for bed too.
But tonight, Zoey really couldn't sleep, her head was way too full of all her thoughts and worries, and to make things worse, she didn't have her stolen T-shirt to calm herself down.
The next morning, Zoey rubbed her eyes groggily, she eventually managed to go to sleep at some point, but she still felt tired, she glanced around in confusion at what woke her up when she saw the computer screen showing Chase and Logan running around their room and she remembered everything and her heart started racing even just seeing Chase on the screen.
She yelled for Nicole to wake up and banged on her wall to tell Quinn to get back in the room, and then she realized they had a problem. The guys were forcing Lola to go play water basketball at the pool with them, and if Steve got in the pool everything would be revealed. Well not everything. Zoey thought to herself.
Quinn said she had something in her room that could help them get out of this and Zoey and Nicole hurriedly got dressed and ran on ahead to try to run interference for Lola before she had to get in the water. They started moving even faster when the feed from her glasses cut out.
Zoey and Nicole ran up to the pool, searching for any sign of the guys or Quinn.
"Where's Quinn?" Nicole demanded.
"I don't know, she said she'd be here," Zoey said, glancing around until she caught sight of a familiar head full of busy hair, and suddenly her already racing heart felt like it was pounding even harder. She pointed and then she and Nicole started running around the pool towards Chase, Logan, and Lola.
Then on the opposite side of the pool, Nicole caught sight of Quinn, grabbed Zoey's arm, and pointed just long enough to see Quinn throw something long and red into the water.
"SNAKE!" Kids started screaming and running out of the water as fast as possible. But in the process, a kid ran right into Lola, knocking her into the pool.
Chase and Logan reached down to help her out, but then they realized she looked different, all the make-up was washed away and her wig was floating right next to her, revealing her long brunette hair instead.
"Lola?" Chase asked.
"Hi."
"OK, I am so very confused right now," Chase said, as Zoey and Nicole ran up behind him.
"Somebody start talking!" Logan demanded, pointing at all the girls.
"Well, we wanted to prove to you guys that guys can be guys even with a girl around," Zoey explained, trying to put a friendly smile on her face for Chase at least.
"And if girls make you act different it's just because you're being idiots." Lola crossed her arms in the water.
"Yeah, it has nothing to do with biology," Nicole added.
"Yes it does!" Logan insisted.
"You hung out with "Steve" for a whole day, and did you act any different?" Zoey asked.
"No!" Nicole answered for them.
"You treated me just like a guy."
"Wow, you people really want to hang out on our roof, don't you?" Chase chuckled.
"No, we wanted to prove a point." Nicole crossed her arms.
"But, your roof is really nice." Zoey looked Chase right in the eyes and smiled at him. Even though she was still nervous about what comes next, she had to believe nothing would really change between them.
"And ours is all suckish." Nicole pouted.
"So…?" All the girls smiled up at the guys.
Chase and Logan just shared a look between themselves. "Come on Logan, I think they proved themselves."
"Fine, you can come hang out on our roof again."
"We still have our deal right?" Chase whispered to Logan while the girls were busy helping Lola out of the pool.
"Fine. You did what I asked, I thought taking you away from Zoey would let me win for once, but all it did was make her take you down too." Logan whispered back.
Thankfully it was sunny that afternoon, so of course, the guys' roof was the best place to hang out and catch some rays. And this time, Chase and Logan joined in, even Logan could admit it wasn't that bad having the girls there while he got his tanning time in as well.
Or at least he did until Nicole and Lola both stood up and Lola whispered in his ear. Whatever she said made him stand up too and without any argument, the three of them made their way over to the stairs.
"Hey, where are you guys going?" Chase asked.
"We'll be right back, you two can just stay right there." Lola grinned at them. Laughing a little at Zoey's terrified face behind Chase's back, she was confident everything would work out, and now it was finally time for all her hard work to pay off. And just in case, she told Logan to lock the door to the stairwell to make sure they had plenty of time alone up here, just the two of them.
"So Zoey, need any more suntan lotion or grapes or anything?" Chase asked her.
"No," Zoey sat up and took off her glasses so she could look directly at Chase. "But there's something I need to talk to you about."
"OK, what's up?" Chase asked, popping a few grapes into his mouth.
"So you know how Lola spent the whole day with you guys?"
"Yeah?"
"And we could see everything through her glasses?"
"Yeah? Oh man, you didn't see me changing into my pajamas last night did you?"
"No, we didn't." Lola made sure she wasn't watching you two when you were changing or anything, we wanted to prove a point, not violate your privacy completely.
"Oh, good." Chase calmed down a little. "That day in the locker room was bad enough, actually much worse, I mean, you talk. I'll listen so what's up?"
"So like I said, we saw everything Lola saw yesterday."
"Yeah, and?"
"That includes you saying…that you're in love with me."
"I, I what?" Chase stuttered out as all the blood drained from his face.
"Yeah."
Chase acted devastated and he rushed to explain himself, "No! I had this whole plan. I'm so sorry, I know it's stupid but I thought-"
"No don't worry Chase, I'm glad I know now." Zoey smiled at him.
"You, you are?"
"Yeah, because, Chase…" Zoey took a deep breath before smiling even more, "I'm in love with you too."
"You are?"
"Yeah, do you want to know what I said on my time capsule video at the beginning of the year?"
"Um yeah, sure but what does that have to do with anything?"
"I said I thought you had a crush on me, and I maybe had a crush on you, but like always the more time I spend with you, the more sure I am. I love you Chase."
"I love you too. Zoey." Chase's terrified face slowly morphed into a bright smile.
Zoey smiled back, and she walked over to Chase's side, and he scooted over so they could both squeeze onto the same lawn chair. Chase threw his arm over her shoulder and Zoey leaned her head against his.
"Can I ask you a question though?"
"You can ask me anything Zoe."
"Why were you so against us using your roof? You're always on my side against Logan."
"Yeah, about that…" Chase broke off in a nervous chuckle for a few moments. "So, as I'm sure you're aware, it's your birthday next week."
"Yeah, of course, I know that." Zoey laughed, glancing up at him.
"So I came up with the idea that if I saved up all my money from working this semester, I might have just enough money to take you to Vaccaro's for your birthday, just the two of us, but the more I thought about it, I knew you would want to spend your birthday with everyone, but once I got the original plan stuck in my head, I couldn't let it go. So I asked Logan for a favor that he would help pay for the whole gang to go. And he agreed, with some conditions."
"And what are those?"
"Well, I have to write his English paper for him. That wasn't a big deal, I'm just reusing a paper that I wrote a few years ago, I'm sure it's probably equal to Logan's level right now."
Zoey laughed, "OK, and what else?"
Chase blushed, "He wanted me to support him with anything he does until the day of your birthday, which I think was just his way of saying he wanted me to be on his side for any stupid arguments he starts with you. So when he told me I had to back him up about kicking you girls off the roof, I had no choice."
"Alright I understand, honestly the part that confused me the most was why you were being a jerk like Logan over something so stupid."
"I totally agree it's stupid. And I hated every second of it. In my book, you and the rest of the girls are welcome anytime as long as I'm allowed to join in. My roof is your roof."
"I suppose that can be arranged." Zoey laughed. "But only if you agree to be my boyfriend?"
"Do you even have to ask that question? The answer is always yes, and I promise, I will never choose Logan over you ever again."
"Good answer. And Chase I don't need Vaccaro's to have a good birthday, all I need is you and everyone else there."
"Don't worry Vaccaro's is still on even though you tricked us. Logan already made the reservation. OK totally honest, the second part of my plan was that I would also finally tell you everything that night, of course, I would still probably chicken out like always but it was the plan at least." Chase grinned sheepishly at her.
"Well then, I'm glad I don't have to wait anymore. And I can't wait to eat a hundred dollar lobster, or caviar or whatever rich people food they serve there." Zoey laughed.
"I can't wait either, but all I need is you."
"Me too."
"So was tricking me into saying I love you part of your plan?"
"I had nothing to do with that, I just wanted to prove you and Logan were being idiots. Apparently, all the other girls conspired behind my back." Zoey said. "Like I said, I kind of had a feeling, well more like a hope for a while, but I'm glad they did it since you were taking so long." She grinned up at him.
"You know what? I am too." Chase said, he leaned over and gently pressed his lips to hers for a few moments, when they broke apart they just smiled at each other.
"You know of all the ways I tried to tell you, this has to be the weirdest, and it actually happens, I mean, you spied on me with Lola dressed as a guy, was what finally made me tell you, and I didn't even know it."
"Are you complaining?"
"No, definitely not. I would never complain about you finally knowing, and we can finally be together."
"I couldn't agree more." Zoey smiled.
"Do you think Logan and the girls will come back anytime soon?"
"I hope not, right now, all I need is you."
"All I need is you too Zoey."