Okay, I know I've been gone for a REALLY long time, but I thought you guys deserved some Thanksgiving love. I really have to be thankful that I've got such KIND, FORGIVING readers. Okay, okay!! Put down the pitchforks! Enjoy the chapter!

Quinn's head seemed to have its own pulse, throbbing painfully out of time with the more distant beat of her heart. Light and sound were her enemies now, but, thankfully, enemies she knew how to handle.

She lay under a plethora of blankets; a barrier between herself and the world. A sleep mask stolen from Lola covered her eyes and a pair of sound-blocking earphones rested heavily on her head. She could do nothing about the nausea at the moment, but she vowed upon her claim to science that she'd put her mind to the task the minute she stopped dying. Right now, though, even thinking hurt. She couldn't move or speak. If she could just remain perfectly still...

She fell into a dreamless state of unconciousness as her body gave up. She would not wake until the pain was gone. In the meanwhile, she wouldn't be affected by it.

By ANY of it.

So her body started the waiting game, until her migraine was no more.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I've got BIG news!" Zoey exclaimed, running into the student lounge with her pink PearWorks computer open in her hands. She placed herself stragetically in front of the TV, her face full of barely contained excitement.

Michael, Lola and James stared at her for a long moment. It became clear to them that Zoey was waiting to be prompted. Lola opened her mouth to speak, but Michael beat her to it.

"Well, woman?!" he said impatiently. Lola smacked him on the shoulder. He turned to her. "What? I'm missing my show!"

"Hush!" Lola said with a glare. Michael fell silent and she turned her eyes back to Zoey. "What's the big news?"

Zoey's excited grin grew even wider than before. She looked around, then said, "Logan is in love with Quinn!"

James seemed to be confused by this statement, but he WAS James, after all. He was still very new to the goings-on at PCA. Michael and Lola, however, were unfazed.

"You interrupted my show for that?" Michael said. Lola smacked him again. He grumbled, but nonetheless sent an apologetic look Zoey's way. "...sorry."

"Everyone knows that Logan and Quinn like each other." Lola said patiently.

James looked between the two girls. "Um, I didn't."

Lola looked at him for a moment.

"Yes, well, you're you." she said. James didn't know what to make of this.

"Guys, I'm not talking about LIKE." Zoey said, throwing herself in between Lola and James on the purple couch. The last thing she wanted was a fight between her best friend and her boyfriend. "I'm talking about LOVE."

"Like the way you love me, right?" James said. Zoey looked at him.

"Um, yeah." she said hesitantly.

"How do you know it's love?" Lola asked.

Zoey put her computer down on the coffee table and opened up her e-mail. "Well, since I was late to World Civ this morning, I didn't get a chance to check my e-mail until­--"

"Can we sum this up?" Michael asked with an impatient glance at the muted television. Lola hit him again. "Ow!"

Zoey continued like he hadn't spoken. "Until I got back to the dorm this afternoon. Quinn's got another one of her migraines, by the way."

Lola grimaced to show her sympathy. "Poor thing."

Michael nodded to this.

"Anyways, I had an e-mail from Chase." Zoey said. "I mean, it's not a surprise, since I always do--"

"What do you mean by that?" James asked.

"Huh?" Zoey said.

"You said you 'always' have an e-mail from Chase." James told her.

"What?" Zoey said. She gave him a bewildered look. "That's not important! Look at this e-mail!"

Michael and Lola leaned in to read it, but James got up and left without a word. Zoey groaned and followed him, calling over her shoulder that she'd be back in a minute.

The two on the couch hardly heard, already engrossed in Chase's e-mail.

Hey Zoe,

How're you today? I hope the weather's nice, since all I seem to be getting is more grey skies...

I just got the strangest call. From Logan. I don't know when you're getting this, but he called me today at nearly three in the morning. For you, not for me. He was really confused and upset; you know, at his most vulnerable? I know how hard that is to believe; Logan admitting he's vulerable.

Well, shocker! He wanted my help. Please, hold back your gasps of shock, horror and confusion.

So, I did what any responsible young man would do. I gave him advice I knew he wouldn't follow and turned to the person most likely to... intervene in this type of situation. Zoey, I know you would never meddle in Logan's life, so I'm asking that you show this e-mail to Lola. :D

Logan loves Quinn. Simple as that. He's in love with her. He called me asking for advice and I told him the absolute truth. And then I told him that he'd better deal with it, or else he'll end up like me; in ole Britannia without a paddle. (Trust me, if I had one, I'd be back at PCA by now.)

Thankfully, I know Mr. Reese rather well (Dear god, I'm starting to sound like one of them!), and I'm sure that he won't make a move until he's sure that Quinn won't turn him down. And considering what happened between him and Quinn yesterday, that day may never come.

So, I'm sure Lola's reading this by now. Probably Michael, too. Hi, guys! How are you?

The reason I asked for you guys to read this is... I want you to do something about Logan and Quinn. I know that Logan won't tell her anything until he's got some sort of sign that Quinn feels the same. Now, we all know she does, but he doesn't. And he won't believe that she loves him until he hears it from her mouth.

So I want you to do something about it. Give these two love birds a couple weeks to sort things out on their own. If they don't, start meddling. Don't let them know what you're doing, and, for the love of god, do it gently.

I've got class to get to, but I want updates on the situation.

Loving all y'alls,
Chase :D

Michael and Lola traded looks. They had known that Logan and Quinn had been feeling sparks, but this was definately news.

"Love?" Lola said softly, looking intently at Michael. He tried to ignore her wide, slightly romance-tinged eyes. He knew she was thinking of gooey love stories, in which no one's hair moved and everyone was pretty. "They're in love?"

"Th-that's bad," Michael said. He felt extremely uncomfortable. "If this becomes a whole Chase/Zoey-type situation, I don't think I'll be able to handle it."

Lola made a sour face. "Don't even remind me of that. Those two did not pass through Denialville. They didn't even visit for a bit and come back with souveniers. The townsfolk took one look at them and immediatly made them king and queen."

"And erected statues in their honor." Michael added. Lola grinned and let loose a small giggle. Michael chuckled a bit before an awkward silence wedged its way between them. He was still trying to find a way to break that silence when Zoey came back, looking slightly annoyed.

"So, what'd you think?" she asked, pasting on a smile. Her conversation with James had obviously not gone well. "I'd say that the evidence is concrete enough. We have testament from Chase and, by extention, Logan."

"I hate to say this," Michael said. "But you're right. If Chase could figure this out, it's gotta be simple."

"Hey!" Zoey said. "Just because he's not here to defend himself--"

"No, Zoey," Lola said quickly. "He wasn't saying it to be... too mean... He meant that it took Chase long enough to figure out how you felt about him."

Zoey thought about this, then conceded it was true. But something struck her as odd. "How do you know what Michael meant?"

"I've known him for nearly as long as you have!" Lola said. Michael nodded.

Zoey shrugged and took up her PearWorks computer. She left the lounge and Lola, at long last, un-muted the TV. Michael watched happily for a few moments, until he realized that the credits were rolling on his show.

"Aw, man!" he grumbled. "It was a new episode, too!"

"Catch it on NewTube," Lola said, reaching into the previously unnoticed bowl of foodstuffs in Michael's lap.

Don't yell and scream! This isn't the end! I've just got a lot on my plate, including a new obsession with an AMAZING animation studio in Japan. So, don't expect updates TOO too often. Check out my profile periodically for news on this story. I've got a section devoted to updates on that situation now. I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving, and maybe I'll see about a Christmas present for you, too.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!
Poet on the Run