Chase was ecstatic that Zoey had asked him to hang out outside of school. And for nonacademic reasons. No girl had ever showed interest in him before. Well, not this kind of interest. They were either asking him for answers to the homework or completely ignoring him. He walked back home with a smile on his face. It didn't fade until he got home, when he came face to face with Mr. Davenport. He didn't look very happy. Chase couldn't imagine why.

"What's up Mr. Davenport. Is something wrong?" Chase asked him. The other man was sitting on the couch and staring at his chemistry project. He had his arms crossed. That was never a good sign.

"Yes, Chase. There is something wrong. Eddie has just informed me that one of your friends was alone in this house for 3 hours. Is that true?" Mr. Davenport asked as Tasha entered the room.

"Technically yes, but nothing happened. She stayed in this room the whole time," Chase explained while Mr. Davenport stood up.

"That's not the point, Chase!" Mr. Davenport yelled angrily.

"What is going on here?" Tasha inquired as she walked over to him and looped her arm through her husband's.

"Chase brought a girl over to the house while he was on a mission, and without asking permission," Mr. Davenport stated.

"Chase brought a girl over! Who is she? What does she look like? Is she pretty?" Tasha was practically jumping with excitement. Chase smiled. At least someone was happy for him.

"Well, she..." he began.

"Again, that's not the point," Mr. Davenport interrupted.

Chase rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, but it's not every day that Chase brings a girl over," Tasha apologized, but she was still bouncing and had a huge smile on her face.

"Thanks, Tasha," Chase praised before he turned back to Mr. Davenport. "So, Mr. Davenport, what is the point?" He crossed his arms; now he was angry as well.

"The point, Chase, is that she could have found the lab at any time within those 3 hours. She could have wandered around the house because she was left alone. She may not have done so this time, but who is to say she won't do it next time? We got lucky. This can't happen again, Chase."

He understood what Mr. Davenport was saying. He really did, but he also thought that he was overacting a little bit. "She's not like that, Mr. Davenport. Besides, even if she did find out, she wouldn't tell anyone."

"You don't know that for certain." Mr. Davenport sighed. "I don't want you to hang out with her anymore."

"Wait. What did you just say?" Chase thought he had heard wrong. He really didn't want to believe what he heard was what had actually come out of Mr. Davenport's mouth.

"You heard me, Chase. I don't want you to see this girl anymore. We have to protect our secret. I have to protect you, Adam, and Bree," Mr. Davenport said as he started walking away.

"You can't keep me from seeing her, Mr. Davenport. I can keep our secret and hang out with her at the same time!" Chase yelled at him. He was being unreasonable.

"We don't know anything about her, Chase. We don't know who she is or why she is so interested in you! Maybe she already knows that you're bionic. Maybe she's just trying to get close to you so she can lure you into a trap! We don't know!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed.

"Because that's the only reason why someone would want to hang out with me? I already told you, she's not like that." Chase was hurt. His so-called father thought that the only reason someone would want to get close to him was because they wanted to expose him and their family. Wow, he hadn't been expecting that.

Mr. Davenport didn't respond.

Tasha came over and gave him a hug.

"Of course, we don't think that. Right, Donald?" They both looked at Mr. Davenport. He stayed silent. "Donald?" He still didn't answer as he began to leave. "Donald! Where are you going?!"

"No means no, Chase. Everyone needs to make sacrifices. You just have to deal with that," He said over his shoulder. Then, Mr. Davenport left the room.

"Don't worry, Chase. I'll talk to him. Everything will be fine," Tasha called back as she ran after her husband.

Chase hoped that she was right. He really liked Zoey and it felt like it could be the start of something new. The start of something great. And Mr. Davenport was set on destroying it. Chase didn't know what to do. So, he sat on the couch and wondered what his next move should be.

Perhaps staying away from Zoey outside of school was best. Mr. Davenport made sure that he always had his way. Chase didn't want to drag her into any of this. Into any of their family drama. He pulled out his phone so he could text her. He smiled as he remembered how much she had liked his case. He wondered how she would take the news. Would she be just as upset as he was? More upset? Would she be happy about it? Relieved? Would she even care?

Chase: Hey, Zoey.
Zoey: Hey, Chase. What's up?
Chase: I think we should talk about tonight.
Zoey: I had a lot of fun. I can't wait to do it again.
Chase: Yeah, but...
Zoey: But what, Chase?

He sighed. He couldn't tell her that his father didn't want him to hang out with her anymore. Maybe, he just wouldn't tell her. And he wouldn't tell Mr. Davenport.

Zoey: Chase? Is everything alright?
Chase: Yeah. We just can't hang out at my house anymore.
Zoey: How come?
Chase: Because... some relatives are coming to stay, and I don't know when they are leaving.

That sounded believable. Right?

Zoey: Okay... Well, we can work at my house for now.
Chase: That sounds great. Can't wait.
Zoey: Alright. See you at school tomorrow.
Chase: Yeah, see you.

Mr. Davenport didn't need to know about this. Chase didn't know what he was so worried about anyways. Zoey was harmless. He was sure of it.

Hey guys and gals! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry I haven't updated in while. I've been super busy with school. Anyway, thanks to everyone who Favorited, Followed, or Reviewed. Thanks for simply reading. I really appreciate it. Let me know what you all think. Or if you just wanna chat, I'm here.