A/N: 303 was good! I'm enjoying all the action that's happening in the episodes this season. But, I'm also getting very tired of Joel. His character is funny but, to me, is just really boring. I think we've been getting too much of him because this fic bounces from his POV to Zoe's POV. Anyway, you'll love the ending—it's still a ZW fic. Those are the only characters I wrote for! I don't see this being the way Christmas or New Year's plays out on the show (do they even touch on New Year's? I don't think they do…), but I wanted to update! So, read, review, and enjoy! Thanks for reading! :) XO.

This was, by far, my favorite one-shot to write, yet! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hart of Dixie or the song Just A Kiss. I'm still working on becoming a writer for the show, hehe!

Just A Kiss

…

Joel had just left. Like that. With the snap of the fingers. When she went back to their room, he was gone. His bags were gone. His clothes were gone. All he left was a note.

I'm sorry, Zoe. I just couldn't do it.

She knew that it would be hard for Joel to adjust to Bluebell. She remembered the first day she arrived—no one liked her. But she slowly made friends and started to become someone new…it was a fresh start for her. And she didn't regret anything. She even managed to find romance along the way. When Joel had told her he'd give Bluebell a try, she didn't even know how to tell him how much it would mean to her. Zoe knew that she was falling for him, quickly. She sometimes even thought she had already fallen for him…and it was real love she felt. Her feelings for Joel grew. And when he moved to Alabama for her, that was it; Zoe's mind was made up.

But as he spent each day in the little southern town, it was evident to her that he wasn't fitting in as well as she had hoped, at least that's what she told herself. Maybe she just didn't want to admit that the real reason was that he saw how she and Wade were never really over each other. Of course Lavon was a gentleman to Joel…offering to show him around town, the square, places to eat, his trophies; Lavon couldn't go without showing anybody his trophies. It wasn't Lavon that was the problem, it was Wade. Zoe still felt something for him. And it sickened her to think she couldn't move on with Joel because she was still into her old flame. She and Wade were history. They were done. They shared a special connection and had quite a history but they had both moved on, right? She convinced herself that was the case and tried as hard as possible not to think about him. But whenever she was seated with Joel at the Rammer Jammer, Wade would always find a way to cast her that look. That look got to her; it gave her goose bumps. She realized every time he looked at her that way, her feelings for him always came crawling back. It sucked. She wanted to move on. She wanted to be in love with someone else, someone that was right for her, someone that was already in her life and seated right across from her. She wanted to forget everything about him. Yet, she couldn't. There was some force between the two of them that existed, and no matter how hard she would try to ignore that attraction, it was always there.

She didn't have to ignore it anymore.

Joel noticed it first. He noticed that Zoe was trying less and less to stay away from Wade. It didn't happen right away. When she told Joel that she and Wade once dated he was concerned. But he also trusted his girlfriend. He knew she cared about him, and he trusted her. As the months passed, things became more complicated. He would see them talking at the Rammer Jammer. He would see them talking by the pond near Wade's house. When he mentioned his stray observations to her, she just replied with

"We're friends, that's it."

He wanted to believe her, he really did. He didn't distance himself from her. He made sure they had "quality time" together. He didn't want to lose, Zoe…after all, he had moved to Bluebell for her. He told her how he was feeling—he wanted to be open with her; he thought that was the only way their relationship would really grow. She listened to every word he said with caring eyes and an open heart. She would give him a quick kiss and hug him.

"You won't lose me, I promise."

When the holidays started to roll around he would see her, with Wade, decorating the town square together. They would be hanging garland around the gazebo. She would be standing on a latter, and he would be watching her, in case she fell. There was one instance in which she did—and, as Joel predicted, Wade was there to catch her in his arms. He saw Zoe blush under his intense gaze and smile whole-heartedly at him. When he set her down on the ground, he whispered something in her ear and she replied with a warm hug. It definitely looked to Joel their friendship was starting to re-blossom into something more.

"Why didn't you help us today?" she asked him when they got back to their place.

"Decorating, I guess, isn't my thing."

"Oh, well, you missed out on some fun."

"I saw."

Zoe would look up from her spot on the chair and look at him.

"What does that mean?"

"I saw the way he looked at you."

Zoe would roll her eyes.

"Who, Wade?"

"Yeah."

"I told you, Joel, we're just friends."

He didn't know how much longer he could believe her.

"Friends don't look at each other that way."

She sarcastically laughed.

"You can't honestly be jealous of him."

"Why not? He's got muscle, he's cute, he's strong, he's your type."

"That's where you're wrong. He used to be my type. As in the past…as in not anymore. You're my type now. I love you."

She would look at him sincerely, and he knew she was telling the truth. He felt a little bit better.

He wasn't the type of person to go out and by gifts for someone, but since their relationship was steady again, he wanted to buy her something nice. He didn't have great taste in presents, but he knew his girlfriend. He decided to go with jewelry—it was simple and he knew he couldn't go wrong with it. He bought a nice silver heart shaped necklace for her. He had to admit that even though Bluebell didn't provide a whole lot of inspiration for his books, the town had some nice shops. He wrapped the gift as best he could, setting it down underneath the Christmas tree…the one Zoe insisted on getting. He recommended they go out for dinner that night. He would treat her to a lovely dinner at Fancies. They got cheesecake for dessert and walked around town square after, enjoying the lights surrounding them. He brought her to the archway of the gazebo and held up mistletoe, kissing her softly on the lips. She just smiled.

"Merry Christmas."

He grabbed her hand, and they walked back to their place quietly, letting the silence of the night fill their minds. It was then when he saw Wade. He was sitting on the steps to the front porch. They made eye contact with each other. He let go of Zoe's hand and walked over to Wade.

"Back off, man. She already had her chance with you. You blew it."

"Hey, calm down. I just came to give the Doc somethin'."

"I'll give it to her for you."

He was beginning to loath Wade with every bone in his body. The guy didn't know when enough was enough. He snatched the neatly wrapped box out of his hand and walked away.

"What's that?" she asked him when he returned, tightly clutching the package.

"It's for you," he said, hesitantly, "from Wade."

"What?"

He saw the confusion on Zoe's face. He saw her look at Wade. He just shrugged and walked off into the distance. He handed her the gift.

"C'mon, let's go."

He walked ahead of her. When he realized she wasn't walking next to him, he turned around. He saw Zoe, standing in the moonlight with her hair falling in front of her face, holding a shiny metal object. He couldn't make out what it was at first but then as she walked closer, he could see the locket, crystal clear. He saw her holding it close to her heart.

"What is it?" he asked softly, already knowing the answer.

"It's a locket." Her tone was flat and her eyes were wet. She had been crying.

That's all that needed to be said. He knew what he had to do. He knew that no matter how hard he tried to tell himself that she and Wade were just friends…it wouldn't be enough for him. He couldn't live his life this way. It wasn't Zoe's fault—it was his for tying her down with him for so long. It was obvious to him Wade was the man she wanted to be with. He wouldn't tell her any of this—she needed to figure it out on her own, if she hadn't already. He'd step aside and let her move on, without him, but with the man that she had never truly gotten over.

The Rammer Jammer was packed. The televisions were on, drinks were being served, and the music was too loud…definitely the right way to celebrate New Year's Eve. Zoe wandered through the crowd, heading towards Lavon, who was seated across from AnnaBeth.

"He left."

Lavon looked up when he heard her voice.

"Who left?"

"Joel. He's gone. All he left was a note saying he couldn't do it anymore."

"Couldn't do what?"

She sighed.

"Couldn't stand idly by watching me and Wade exchange looks and realize we were never really over each other."

"Oh."

"But I kept on telling myself that out relationship was beginning to falter because he wasn't fitting in very well."

AnnaBeth gave Zoe a sympathetic smile and walked over to her. She extended her arms and Zoe gladly accepted her warm hug.

"I'm sorry, Zoe," she whispered into her ear. "But maybe it was for the better."

"Yeah, maybe."

She held AnnaBeth close.

"I just really liked him…maybe even loved him. If my feelings for Wade hadn't of gotten in the way, he'd still be here right now."

"You can't control your feelings. Even though you may have loved him, your feelings for Wade were stronger."

She looked at her friend and gave her a reassuring smile. Zoe returned the gesture.

"Everything will get better."

"I know; I'll just miss him."

AnnaBeth nodded.

"I know. At least there's someone else to cheer you up…" she teased, tilting her head towards Wade. He was walking towards them.

"AB, Doc."

"Hey Wade," AB replied.

"Can I borrow her for a sec?"

It took Zoe a few seconds to realize he was talking about her.

"Yeah, borrow her for however long you need to," she replied, winking at Zoe. Zoe scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Wade reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him. The music began to slow down as the countdown to midnight appeared on the television screen.

"Where are we going?" she asked, following along behind him.

"We're goin' to dance."

They found a place in the middle of the crowd, noticing others quickly coupling up for the final countdown.

"I heard the news," he muttered, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her close.

"Yeah, it's Bluebell, I'm sure everyone has."

"I'm sorry."

He gave her a genuine smile.

"Thanks."

She rested her head on his shoulder as they slowly swayed to the music.

"Maybe he just wasn't the right guy."

Zoe looked up at him.

"Or maybe he just wasn't enjoying Bluebell as much as I had hoped."

"C'mon, Zoe, you know that's BS."

"Excuse me?"

"You know why he really left. He couldn't stand the idea that the girl he loved was in love with someone else. He couldn't just watch from afar and accept it. He knew that the only way he could escape what he was feeling was to leave and let the girl he loved be happy."

"Please, you have no idea what he was thinking."

"That's where you're wrong. I do. I used to be in his shoes."

Zoe was taken aback by his response.

"But, you didn't leave. Why?"

"I knew that we'd be pulled back to each other someday. New Year's seems like the perfect time," he said with a smile. Zoe blushed.

Everyone in the Rammer Jammer began counting down.

"19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12…"

"Who's receiving your midnight kiss?" she asked, teasingly.

Wade smirked and looked down at the girl he held in his arms.

"You'll see."

"7-6-5-4-3-2…"

Before the crowd got to one, Wade leaned down and kissed Zoe. It was a slow and gentle kiss, yet it had her weak at the knees. She had missed him. She realized that she wasn't really in love with Joel…she was just in love with the idea of being in love with him and finally being able to move on from Wade. But as the cheers sounded, she realized that was no longer true. She loved the idea of not being over him. Being with Wade was her favorite place to be. And she wanted him to know that.

"I love you," she whispered to him, leaning her forehead against his.

"'Bout time," he chuckled back. "Can we kiss the night away now?"

Zoe smiled. AB was right…everything would get better. Zoe would miss Joel, but Wade would be there. He would always be there. She stood on her tiptoes and brought her lips back to his.

"Yes," she murmured.

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight

Just a touch of the fire burning so bright

No I don't want to mess this thing up

I don't want to push too far

Just a shot in the dark that you just might

Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life

So baby I'm alright, oh, let's do this right, with just a kiss goodnight