Hey all! I know 3 months is a bit of a wait. A few different things have played into the delay of this story. Mainly Hart of a Kinsella.

This chapter does see a small time jump going from November to mid-June. In order to get where I need to be within this one a few time jumps are going to play a huge role in moving forward until I get to where I need to be at.

JustWriter2: I figured it best to reply back here with the PM notifications turned off on the site. I hadn't even thought about giving Zoe her Bat Mitzvah. And when I get to the age for Zoe to have one, it's going to come down to if it's something that I can write, as I have no knowledge about Bat Mitzvah's. And saying that it is something that I really want to give Zoe.

More soon.

Enjoy!

Zoe watched the activity from the table she sat at. Her eyes focusing on how happy her parents were as they danced, smiles plastered on their faces, and she swore she could hear their laughter over the music blasting through the air. She should have been happy, and she is, very happy that her parents are together and she got the family she once thought she had. That wasn't her problem, her problem being that her best friend was being attacked and fawned over by her cousins, and she didn't like it. If that made her jealous than so be it, she wanted his attention, his full attention. That way they could mock the weird dances going on out on the dance floor the more people kept drinking. It's a sight to see, and she couldn't enjoy it because her… well you could say her partner in crime isn't there to poke fun with her.

"What has got you all glum looking?" She turned to look at her small group of friends. She couldn't even tell you which one spoke as she was so far into her own world, wishing the floor would open up and swallow both her cousins.

"You do know he's been trying to find a way out of that situation," George told her, following her gaze. "I tried to help, but I got stuck over there until Harry came to my rescue," he explained, seeing his older brother sneak off with his girlfriend.

"We all know that Wade would rather be talking and enjoying the night with the maid of honor," Lemon smirked, placing her empty cup on the table and grabbing George's hand to dance.

"They're right," Ab softly told her. "Why sit around watching them, when you can go over and get Wade away from them and have fun with your best friend," she said, walking off.

Zoe got up, looking around the party, amazed at how the whole town was out to celebrate the holy union between her parents. Taking a deep breath she headed in the direction of Wade and her cousins. She fake gagged hearing them try to impress Wade with what little knowledge they had over the band he recently started with Meatball and a few other friends. Wade caught sight of her and tried to hold his laughter back, a few chuckles came out.

"Wade isn't even as good as he says he is," Zoe smirked, joining the conversation, getting glares from both of her cousins. "He made my ears bleed last week," she teased.

"Wait until I get my own axe," he smirked, picturing the perfect guitar in his mind, the very one he's had his eye on for a while now.

"You'll be a total shredding machine," Zoe retorted, rolling her eyes, earning herself a cocky look from her best friend.

"Axe?" Vivian asked clearly confused as to what Wade was going on about. "I thought…"

"Seriously Viv?" Winnie sighed, giving her little sister an annoyed look. "Do you not know slang for guitars?"

Wade and Zoe shared a look and snuck off as the sisters got into, one thing leading into another as they started to yell at each other. And they wanted nothing to do with the argument between cousins, and it's been the out Wade's been looking for.

"And that makes me happy that I am an only sibling," Zoe laughed, walking with Wade as they made their way to the other side of the party, avoiding as many people as they can.

"It's not all bad," Wade shrugged. "I get along with Jesse, more than we fight. Really, it's like a built in best friend."

"I'll have to take your word for that," she laughed. "George said you've been trying to flee those two for most the night," she remarked, biting her lip.

"Like you wouldn't believe, they don't know how to take a hint," he sighed, plopping down in the grass, in the shadows of the reception going on. "Where was my best friend, when I needed her the most?" He asked, nudging her shoulder with his own, as she sat down next to him.

"Enjoying my night," she quipped out. Wade shook his head. "What's that all about?" She asked frowning at him.

"I saw ya sitting at the table with that little scowl on your face," he teased.

"Shut up," she muttered, shoving him. "Ever think I was mad about the fact you were keeping my cousins busy, and I wanted to have fun with them?" She asked, looking up at the party where the laughs were coming from.

"If that were even remotely true, you'd be over there with them and not sittin' here next to yours truly," he smirked.

"Yeah well not for long," she mumbled, getting up. She went to walk away, coming to a stop a few feet from him. "Want some cake?" She asked, not looking back at him.

"How can a person skip out on cake?" He asked smugly, draping an arm over her shoulders. "Just don't leave me alone with your crazy cousins," he shuttered.

"I can try, but half the people, here are a bit crazy, and they might sweep me off leaving you to fend for yourself," she teased.

"Not if I can help it," he said lowly, making Zoe laugh as they walked to the table where the cake was mostly cut and on plates for anyone to take.

"Hey, isn't that Harry's girlfriend?" Zoe asked, nodding to where Jesse had an arm around a brunette.

"Is it?" Wade asked, looking around the set up in the middle of town, seeing Harry sitting at a table with his parents and George, looking none to happy. He frowned wondering what it was about, he shrugged because really it wasn't any of his business, though Jesse, he's a different story.

"I swear I saw her leaving with Harry a while ago," Zoe stated with a frown.

"We can always spy on Jesse and find out, like old times," Wade smirked, shoving the slice of cake into his mouth, pulling Zoe behind him.

"Could you have I don't know let me finish my cake at least?" She asked him, pulling her arm free as they rushed in the direction Jesse went.

"Not if we want to catch Jesse," he tossed out.

"I don't think I want to catch them kissing," Zoe said, scrunching her face up.

"Don't you want to know if Jesse and Harry's girlfriend is cheating on Harry?" He asked her, stopping short to see Jesse and the girl talking.

"What if we have it wrong? What if she's cheating on Jesse with Harry? And what are we going to do with the information? It's not like Jesse or Harry is going to believe us," she hissed out.

"We can sort that out later," he frowned. "For now let's figure out what's going on. What's the harm in that?" He asked, sneaking closer to where his brother sat.

"Maybe a little of everything?" She stated, moving to sit next to Wade. "I've got to be crazy to be doing this," she sighed under her breath. Wade gave her a smirk, holding his hand over her mouth hearing his brother start to talk. Zoe giving him a glare.

"I can't do this," Jesse sighed. "He's my best friend, and this hurts me just as much as it does him. Whatever this thing is we can't do act on it. Not now or ever, Jane," Jesse explained, wiping his hands on his slacks.

"You're kidding right?" Jane yelled, standing up. "You told me that we could be together if I broke things off with Harry! You flat out lied to me!" She huffed, laughing. "I should've known it was nothing but a stupid scheme, because Harry couldn't break it off himself," she snorted. "Tell me that's it," she demanded looking at Jesse.

"Why would you think that?" Jesse asked outraged, moving to stand in front of her. "That's not the case. At all," he shouted, running his hands through his hair. He wanted to reach out to her, hold her hands and assure her that he has strong feelings for her, that he just couldn't hurt his best friend like that.

"No?" She asked a bit too innocently. Jesse shook his head. "Then why claim we can be a couple if you didn't intend to keep your promise? Huh?"

"Because I am stupid," he huffed out. "He's my best friend and I can't hurt him like this."

"Yeah, well maybe you should have grown a conscience sooner," she bit out going to walk off, only for Jesse to mutter under his breath and pull her back into him kissing her.

Wade and Zoe looked at each breaking out into a fit of giggles, making their way back to the reception, stumbling over roots as they quickly went not wanting to see anything else.

"Now what?" Zoe asked, out of breath.

"We tell no one about the fact we saw Jesse trying to eat that girl's face off," he said, sending them both into a fit of laughter.

"What's with you dweebs?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them, which only left them laughing harder. "Dorks," Jesse chuckled, walking off. Thinking he better check the punch set out for everyone underage.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Harry asked, watching his friend sniff and taste the punch.

"My brother and his little girlfriend are over there laughing their butts off like they're drunk," Jesse said, pointing behind them. "Wanted to make sure the punch wasn't spiked," he shrugged.

"Maybe they snuck some booze," Harry shrugged, thinking perhaps he could get away with sneaking a bottle or two.

Jesse shook his head. There's no way that his little brother and Zoe, who he did consider a friend even despite the age gap, they wouldn't do something like stealing a bottle of any type of alcohol. At their age things like that wouldn't even register in their little minds. "That's just not them, man."

"Then who knows, they're just kids. Could be anything," Harry shrugged. "Can I have a word with you?" He asked, turning his back on the party behind him.

"What's this about?" Jesse asked with a frown. Afraid to know that his friend found out about what's going on with Jane.

"Don't act so innocent," Harry snarled. "She told me that she had to break up because she just wasn't into me the way she is with you," he spit out.

"Look man, it's not like that," Jesse defended himself.

"Like what? You stealing my girlfriend?" Harry laughed loudly. "Save it," he snarled, turning to walk off, thinking better of it when he spun around and punched his so-called best friend.

Zoe sat on Wade's bed next to Wade himself, voices traveling upstairs to them as Jackie and Earl got to the bottom of the whole fight between Jesse and Harry promoting them to call it an early night and come home, saying the kids needed to get to bed anyway as night was upon them.

Zoe was supposed to stay with her cousins while her parents went on their honeymoon; a week-long cruise. She didn't even pay attention to why she wouldn't be staying with them, when they brought her stuff to the Kinsella home. She didn't complain, knowing she'd have more fun with Wade than she could with her cousins.

"Can we help you?" Wade asked, eyeing his brother up, who leaned on the door frame, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes, actually, you can," Jesse nodded, moving into his brother's room, swinging the desk chair around to slump into it.

"Are you going to spit it out or do we have to guess?" Wade asked annoyed over his brother walking into his room and just to sit in the chair like it's his room. "Seriously, we're supposed to be getting ready for bed." Which they already did. Wade even made a makeshift bed on his floor, leaving Zoe to sleep in his bed.

"I'm getting there," Jesse laughed, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "Curious to know what had the two of you in stitches earlier tonight. Care to share?" He asked looking between the two of them.

It took one glance between Wade and Zoe, and they were laughing; the confused look on Jesse's face didn't help them control their laughter either.

"Just people dancing," Wade said, miming the robot where he sat on his bed. He really didn't want his brother to know the truth, it'd only make an unwanted fight between brothers happen, no use for that to take place, not when Zoe was left in the middle of it.

Zoe shook her head, giving Wade a light shove. "Your brother's right, the dance floor turned into a zoo the later the night grew on," Zoe stated, covering up the fact they had been spying on him and Jane.

"Whatever," Jesse mumbled getting up, not sure if he should believe them or not.

"Jesse," Zoe called out softly, twisting her hands in her lap, finding a dirt speck on Wade's wall to focus on. Jesse raised an eyebrow waiting on Zoe to say what she planned on saying to him. "Why?" She asked him.

"Why what?" Jesse asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I can take that a million different ways. I need you to be a whole lot clearer in what you want an answer to," he told her.

"Why make a move on your best friend's girlfriend?" She asked him, daring to take a look at his tense face. She whipped her head to Wade when he nudged her in the side with his elbow.

"Love," he sighed. "It makes you do stupid things," he shrugged, giving them that as his only answer. It's far beyond complicated for them to understand. They'd get it in a few years.

"I don't think that's true," Zoe told him frowning.

"Isn't that what your mother did?" Jesse asked, shutting his bedroom, feeling guilty for what he said. He'd apologize to Zoe when he knew for sure she's not utterly mad at him.

"Your brother's a jerk," Zoe stated, wiping the lone tear that slipped down her cheek.

"Now you know where I get it from," Wade teased, wanting to make Zoe laugh. And that wasn't the trick in doing so. "He didn't mean it, Zo," he tried.

"Mean it or not he still said it," she softly stated. Her mom did everyone wrong with her actions where her dad and Ethan were concerned, it still didn't mean that love had anything to do with her actions. Or it did, maybe she'd never know the full truth to the situation. All she knew and vowed to do is not be so stupid when she grew up and fell in love. She wouldn't make her mother's mistakes, and she wouldn't do what Jesse did either.

"And if I know my brother the way I do, he's over there trying to think up ways to make it up to you. You're more than a friend in this house; you're pretty much family. Ma adores you happy to have a girl hanging around," he retorted rolling his eyes, Zoe softly giggling at his reaction. "And don't even get me started on how Dad keeps going on about you being this nice influence, and he'd take you as a daughter any day," he dramatically told her.

"And Jesse?" She asked in a small voice.

"Siblings fight don't they?" Wade asked with a smirk. Zoe gave him a small shrug, because what did she really know about sibling behavior. "Trust me Zo, he thinks of you as a sister, one he'll enjoy protecting in a few years," he told her with an eyeroll.

"And what about you?" She asked, looking at him.

"What kind of question is that?" He laughed, taken back she would even ask such a thing. "You're my best friend and there isn't anything that is ever going to change that," he stated, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm always going to care about you."

"I feel the same way about you," she softly told him, breaking the hug. "You're my best friend and I do think of your family as an extended part of my own," she stated.

"Aw Zo, you're gonna make me blush," Wade teased, hiding his face. Zoe snorted, giving him a shove. She burst out laughing hearing the thud he made landing on the floor.

"Lights out," Earl stated, standing in the doorway, an amused look on his face, having seen the small encounter. Wade nodded, getting into his makeshift bed on the floor, Zoe getting under the covers in Wade's bed. "Night," he told them, flipping the light switch off.

Night echoed around the room, as Earl shut the door behind him. They laid in silence for a few minutes waiting for the coast to be clear, using the moonlight to see; Zoe crawled to the foot of the bed, looking down at Wade.

"Wanna tell scary stories?" Zoe asked him.

Wade shook his head, barely making out the scrunched up face of his best friend. "I think I've been scarred watching Jesse and Jane," he muttered. Zoe giggled lightly.

"Your loss," she shrugged, moving to lay back down, pulling the covers up. "Night Wade," she softly whispered.

"Night Zo," he whispered back, rolling onto his side, slipping his eyes closed to sleep.

Zoe sat at the table with Wade and Jackie eating breakfast. Earl had left before the sun rose for work, and Jesse grabbed a banana on his way out the door, saying something about seeing Harry and clearing the whole mess up.

"Anything special planned for the day?" Jackie asked, sipping on her coffee, expecting some sort of trouble from the two at the table.

Wade shook his head, stuffing another bite of waffle into his mouth. His mother quick to reprimand him for stuffing his mouth so full.

"I promised Lemon that I'd hang out with her this morning," Zoe told Jackie. "If that's okay?" She asked. She wasn't quite sure how it all worked with asking Jackie and Earl for things. Her parents had gotten better at letting her run off to hang out with her friends, as long as she came home for lunch or checked in with them if she wouldn't be home until dinner time.

"Totally fine," Jackie nodded. "Have Alice call if you're going to have lunch with them," she told Zoe.

"Will do," Zoe nodded, placing her plate in the sink and taking off to Lemon's house.

"Does this mean I can expect you to come home this afternoon with muddy clothes?" Jackie asked her son.

"Nah, I'm gonna be out in the garage working on my guitar skills," Wade shrugged, finishing his apple juice off.

"I talked with your dad," Jackie told her son, getting him to retake his seat. "We've come to terms with getting you lessons if that's what you want," she said.

"Really?" Wade asked getting excited. Jackie nodded to confirm it's true. "There's a catch isn't there?" He questioned. Something this huge, had to come with a catch.

"Your grades at school can't drop, and you have to stay on top of your responsibilities at home," she told him the conditions.

"Fair enough," Wade nodded. "Why the sudden change? It's just you wouldn't let me learn until I learned how to play the piano." It really didn't make much sense to him right now, he couldn't add it all up in his head.

"I've seen how you are on that old guitar you got from your Uncle, and I've come to realize just how serious you are about playing," Jackie explained to him. "That and you're making the neighborhood cats howl in pain," she teased her son.

"Gee thanks for the boost of confidence, Ma," he laughed. "Really though, thanks for letting me have this," he smiled, kissing her cheek, taking his dirty dishes to the kitchen.

Meanwhile with Zoe, she's having a blast with Lemon, AB and Crickett as they played hopscotch and jumped rope on the sidewalk in front of Lemon's house, enjoying the nice weather, as it wasn't entirely too hot as Summer has yet to fully set in for them.

They stopped what they were doing when they saw Jesse approaching them. He stopped a bit away from them, deciding if he wanted to ruin the fun they were having or if what he had to say could wait. Deciding against interrupting them, he turned and walked back the way he came.

"What's wrong with Jesse?" AB questioned, standing to Zoe's right.

"No idea," Crickett commented. "Come on, let's get back to our game."

"Actually, I have to do something. Will you let your mom know I went back to the Kinsella's?" She asked looking at Lemon. Her friend gave a nod, letting Zoe run off catching up with Jesse. "Hey Jesse, wait up," she called, struggling to catch her breath.

"Something wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he slowed his pace down. Zoe shook her head. "Then it's about what I wanted back there," he sighed, watching her nod. "I'm sorry for what I said last night. I was out of line."

"It's the truth," Zoe shrugged, looking down.

"It still hurt you and I never wanted to hurt you," he said, pulling her into a side hug. "I always wanted a little sister, and I got one," he teased.

"Lucky me," she teased. "Catch you later, Jesse," she told him, entering the garage having spotted Wade sitting on a chair clearly in his own world. "What's with you?" She asked, sitting behind the keyboard, as that's the closest, she could sit to him, without sitting on the floor. She frowned getting no response from him, and him sitting there wearing a creepy looking grin totally freaked her out.

"When'd you get here?" He asked, looking at Zoe after she snapped her fingers in his face.

"A few minutes ago. What's got you in Lala land?" She asked with a laugh. "Must be good for your grin to grow double in size," she remarked.

"I get to take guitar lessons," he beamed. "Do you know how crazy cool that is?" He asked her.

"Don't go turning into a rockstar on me now," she told him, happy that he got to do the one thing he's been wanting to do long before she's known him.

"I could never," he huffed outraged. "And that Zo is a promise I intend to keep," he smirked at her.