"Summer Rain"
by: XdefyXgravityX
Chapter 2
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"I E O? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, it's quite simple, really." said Quinn. "All I have to do is reconnect the main power circuit to the-"
"No, not that" interrupted a thoroughly frustrated Zoey. She handed Quinn the TekMate so she could read the message. "This!"
Quinn's eyes traveled down the message, and she too looked puzzled for a moment. Then, suddenly, something seemed to click. "Oh!" she gasped. "This TekMate isn't completely repaired yet! The text messages on here must be fragmented or something! Here, let me check something."
She flipped through to the old messages that Zoey herself had sent. "Ok, what was the last text message you sent to Nicole?"
Zoey screwed up her face in concentration, trying to remember. "Uh…oh yeah! Now I remember, it was 'Love the shoes!"
"Looks like I was right then," said Quinn matter-of-factly. "How else could 'Love the shoes!' become 'Ov t hoe'?"
Zoey giggled. "You think you can get the rest of the message?"
"I can try. I'd be surprised if, once I've gotten this thing completely repaired, the message didn't appear in its entirety."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
7:29
7:44
The big red numbers projected themselves across the room. Lola wasn't back from dinner yet; neither was Nicole. Zoey sat at her desk, watching the rain begin to fall in a steady drizzle. She didn't really see it. She was too busy looking at the reflection of the big red numbers on the alarm clock in the mirror by the window.
7:58
It had been over two hours; still no word from Quinn. Zoey was beginning to wonder if she'd ever show up.
8:13
She couldn't take it anymore. She vaulted out of the desk chair, leaving it to spin itself into stillness as she ran out into the hallway. The door of Quinn's room was shut tight, and when Zoey pulled the handle, it remained stubbornly locked.
Instead, she grabbed her PCA sweatshirt from the back of her door, threw it on over her t-shirt and orange pajama pants and headed outside, beginning to make her way across the campus to the boys' dorms.
The evening sun had only just set, and the rain had begun to reign supreme over the darkening sky. It wasn't very heavy yet, just a light drizzle, but the clouds were thickening rapidly and Zoey thought she might have heard a distant clap of thunder. And it looks like a storm's coming…
She reached the boys' dorms and, throwing back her hood, she stepped inside the double doors into their lounge. She saw Michael in the corner, chatting with some friends from the basketball team. He sent her a smile and a small wave, which she quickly returned before heading up the stairs to room 32.
She reached the door and knocked. Almost at once Chase opened the door.
"Oh, hey Zo."
Over Chase's shoulder, she saw Logan messing with what looked like a projector. She looked back at Chase with a knowing look in her eye. "It's not Logan Time, is it?"
"No, he's putting the thing away. You only just escaped-I mean," he amended quickly, catching the death glare Logan was sending his way. "You only just missed it."
She giggled, and he, finally seeming to realize that she was still standing in the hallway, hurriedly moved aside to let her in. Logan looked up from his work. "Hey Zoey."
"Hey."
Chase closed the door behind her and shot Logan a 'get-out-of-here-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you' look. Logan rolled his eyes at him and checked his watch. "I gotta go anyway. I've got a date with Abbie James in 15 minutes." He moved towards the door, punching Chase lightly on the shoulder as he went. They were alone.
Zoey turned to look at Chase and opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it. "So, Quinn fixed your TekMate?"
"Sort of." She said, moving towards the couch and sitting down. He followed, taking a seat on the low coffee table across from her. "She got it about halfway there. But I did read your message."
The tiny flicker of fear that she had noticed hours ago returned to his eyes. "Y…you did?"
"Yeah," she said. "All three letters."
"Huh?"
"I only got a bit of it, since the TekMate isn't fully repaired," she explained. "Which is why I'm here." He looked quizzically at her. She looked at him for a long moment, as if trying to give him a hint. When he remained clueless, she burst out. "Tell me what the message said!"
"I told you, Zo, you'll know when the TekMate's fixed."
"Chase, she gave me the partial message almost three hours ago! Let's face it, it can't be fixed! So you have to tell me!"
"But Zoey-"
"No buts! A promise is a promise!"
"Exactly! We don't know it can't be fixed! Give the girl some time!" He was on his feet now, arms spread wide in a pleading gesture. Looking in his eyes, she saw something there she had never seen before, not from him anyway, added to the fear: it was helplessness. It tugged at her heart, but she wouldn't budge.
"I've given her all day!"
"Zoey-"
"Zoey!"
But this last shout came from neither Zoey nor Chase. They both turned toward the door to see Quinn running inside, her hair and clothes a little damp from the increasingly heavy rain, triumph gleaming in her eyes from behind her slightly fogged-up glasses. In her hand was Zoey's TekMate.
"Logan said you'd be here! It's fixed!" she squealed. "I didn't think it was possible, but I actually did it!" She wiped off her glasses and handed the TekMate to an astonished Zoey. Before she could speak, Quinn had started toward the door again, calling over her shoulder. "No need to thank me! I gotta go, Mark's coming over. We're going to take blood samples and study the molecular genetic structure of the common cockroach together!"
Cockroaches. How romantic.
Zoey eagerly flipped through the messages on her TekMate even as she thought this. She finally came across the message, labeled with today's date, from 'PCAChase'. Her face glowed with triumph. "Yes! Here it is!"
Had she been looking at Chase, she would have seen the tiny speck of fear had grown to full out panic. His eyes darted to the door, and he put on a falsely cheery voice. "Well! It's fixed! Look at that! Guess you don't need me here any more…"
She finally looked up and pointed a threatening finger at him. "You stay RIGHT THERE, Mister!" Her fingers flew across the keyboard, reaching for the 'open message' button, finally hitting it. The message appeared on the screen and, at last, she read it:
THE MESSAGE WAS…
I LOVE YOU.
Her breath caught in her throat. She looked up at him in disbelief and then down at the message again. That was all it took.
There was a sound of pounding footsteps, and when Zoey next looked up, Chase was gone.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
A/N:
Hi there! Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, especially the wonderful PurpleySparklezzx3, to whom I dedicate this chapter (there, you see? waiting has someadvantages...) Lots of drama in this chapter :) School let out early today so I had time to write, but expect a slightly longer wait for the next one. It may be the end, it may not! LOL sorry, don't mean to leave you with all these cliffies. I would tell you, trust me, it's just...I kinda don't know:) Hope you enjoyed chapter 2! REVIEW PLEASE!!
As always,
XdefyXgravityX