Author's Note: Oh my god! I haven't updated since February. I am so sorry. I could make some lame excuse, but what good would that do. Instead, I'm just going to thank all of you who are still interested, answer reviews, and post the new chapter. I hope you like it.

To Those Who Reviewed:

HODFAN,

I am glad you liked it. I am planning on incorporating FRIENDS a little more later on because it was the late nineties, and that's what some of them would have been watching. Plus, it's FRIENDS, so yeah.

Yes, Wade and Zoe definitely have some Ross and Rachel-ness to them.

Thank you for reviewing.

Guest Who Reviewed Chapter 1 on Feb 27th, 2015,

I am glad you enjoyed the FRIENDS reference. I was hoping people would, and they seem to.

Maybe. They seem more Ross and Rachel to me, but I'll give it some thought.

He's a teenage boy. Self-awareness, especially when it comes to girls, is not really his strong suit.

Thank you for reviewing.

Guest Who Reviewed Chapter 22 on February 28th, 2015,

That made me happy to read. Thank you. Yes, FRIENDS rocks.

Me too. It seemed kind of out of left field, very forced, and unnecessary, plus AB keeps getting Lemon's castoffs, which seems kind of unfair, but they had their moments.

I do not really like AB and Lavon either, because I did not like that AB did that to Lemon, but they also have their moments. I kind of want her to have her own love interest though, and for some reason, I've always liked the idea of her and Jesse so I agree with you very much on that. I won't say what will happen in my story, but it definitely a real possibility.

I'm not sure. Probably in a little bit. I'm doing a lot of this day by day, and I think they were given some time for the project, so it might take a bit. Right now a lot is going on, but I'll be sure to bring that back into the story.

Thank you for reviewing.

Guest Who Reviewed Chapter 22 on March 2nd, 2015

I'm glad.

Thank you for reviewing.

Guest Who Reviewed Chapter 22 on Apr 8th, 2015,

Thank you.

I know. I am sorry for that.

Thank you for reviewing.

Guest Who Reviewed Chapter 22 on Apr 20th, 2015,

I can't tell you, partially because I don't know yet, and partially because spoilers, but it's nice to know where you stand.

Remember this is not necessarily a Zade story. This story is about the characters Zoe, Wade, George, Lemon, Harley, Brick, and other people in their lives. Who they couple with has yet to be determined. A lot can happen. And remember, Wade and Zoe have not actually known each other very long. Zoe has only been in Bluebell for roughly a month now. What there is or isn't between Zoe and Wade will unravel over time, but we're still early in a story that I hope I can keep going for a while.

That's more the dynamic in the show. Remember that this is not the show. And clearly she feels something for Wade, but there is also George and Jesse, and all that she is going through. It's complicated. That's what makes it fun. I hope you are still able to enjoy it and that you keep reading.

Thank you for reviewing.

Guest Who Reviewed Chapter 22 on Nov 11th, 2015

I just did.

Thank you for reviewing.

Chapter Twenty-Two

"That can't be right." Wade said, taking a closer look at the problem in front of him.

Taylor leaned over to look at his paper. It was nice when she did that; Wade got a good whiff of citrus shampoo.

"Okay, I see the problem."

"I knew I got it wrong." Wade whined.

"That's good though. That you recognized it I mean. You could tell it wasn't right. That's good."

Wade shook his head, "You are way too nice to me."

Taylor smiled. They had been doing this for the past couple days. Wade had talked to Agnes about his shift, getting her to move it an hour later, citing homework as the reason, which she understood. It wasn't even a lie really. In fact, it was the first time in a while that Wade had taken the time to focus on homework. Between football practice, doing his dad's job, looking after his dad, and now his new job at The Butterstick, he did not often have time for the likes of homework. It was weird taking the time to study. And it was studying. Yes, he was here to spend time with Taylor. And yes, they might take a small break and talk if they had the time. Usually though, it was just homework. Both of their schedules were too busy to waste the time, and Taylor was too academic-minded to just leave her homework undone.

"I gotta get to work." Wade said, catching sight of his watch, "I'll see you later." Without really thinking about it, he leant down and pecked her cheek. She didn't seem to mind though.

"You don't have to deal with this, you know." Brick said.

Harley shook his head, "This is both of our problems Brick. We're a team, and this is our Practice."

"That's true, but this was my mistake, or at least, what they're trying to make out as my mistake."

"It wasn't your mistake. CSA is unpredictable. You know this wasn't your fault."

Brick nodded, "It's hard to look them in the eye and tell them … I delivered that child. He was beautiful and innocent." Brick tried to blink back the moisture forming in the corners of his eyes.

Harley put his hand on Brick's shoulder, "We'll get through this together."

Lemon was up late waiting for her father. She had made dinner, but it had gone cold by the time he got in. Under different circumstances, she would have been up for a scolding. After all, it was long past her bedtime. Brick would want her under the covers at least pretending to be asleep. When he got home though, he did not look disappointed in her. His shoulders were slumped and his forehead was creased. Frankly, he just looked defeated.

"I can re-warm some food for you daddy, if you like?"

Brick shook his head. "Thank you Lemonade, I appreciate that, but I think I'm just goin' to go to bed."

Lemon nodded, "Is there anything I can get you?"

Her father shook his head. Then he planted a kiss to her forehead, "You're a good girl, Lemon."

Lemon crawled into bed, cuddling a stuffed pumpkin that she had had since she was six. The burnt out look in her father's eyes haunted her. He didn't deserve this. First her mom walked out on him, and now this …

The world was full of ungratefuls and horrors. Why did things have to be this way?

Wade's alarm had been going off for the past half-hour. It was one of those annoying ones that keeps getting louder the longer it goes. Jesse had been up late studying for a test today, so dealing with his brother's alarm blaring through the house was the last thing he needed. He had planned to sleep in a little, and then rush to school well rested, but instead an insane blaring had woken him. It was ridiculous. He stumbled his way to his brother's door and started pounding. How the hell was Wade sleeping through this?

"You're brother not up yet?" their dad's gravelly voice asked from behind him.

"Yeah. Guy's sleepin' in, actin' like he can afford to take the time off school. Meanwhile, his alarm's wakin' the whole house."

"Didn't wake me. I was up."

Jesse nodded, "Well, I wasn't. My alarm wasn't set for another ten minutes. Come to think of it, it's a little weird he set it this early."

"Well, you know your brother. He's weird like that."

"Wade!" Jesse screamed again, pounding with all his might. He tried the door and found it unlocked. "Wade!" He called again, storming in and shaking his brother.

"What? Who? What?"

"Time for school, little brother. Turn that damn thing off and get dressed, 'cause I'm not your dad."

Wade rolled his eyes and got up. He shifted on his feet for a bit, blinking a couple times. Then he seemed to notice their father standing behind Jesse and his face got a little weird. "Dad? Shouldn't you be sleepin'? You're still healin' up from-"

"I'm dandy son. I was just goin' to run to the store, actually. We don't have anythin' in this house."

Wade's eyes got wide for a millisecond and then he let out a grimace. "Jess, why don't you go on ahead? I'm gonna help dad with his errands."

"Wade's school's in-"

"Hey, it's like you said, you're not my dad, all right. He is, and I'm with him, and he'll make sure I get their okay. Relax, all right?"

Jesse looked from his dad to his brother. Something seemed off. Wade was acting weird and shifty again and their dad seemed … off somehow too. Wade was right; the old man should be sleeping. In fact, that was probably what was wrong. "Wade-"

"Jess, everything's cool man. Dad just needs a little help is all. Don't you have some big test or somethin'?"

The test. That was right. Jesse couldn't afford to be late. Anyway, Wade seemed to have things handled. If it were a big deal, surely Wade would tell him. Jesse pursed his lips and shrugged. Then he headed off, glancing over his shoulder once to see Wade and his dad talking. Everything seemed fine.

Everything was not fine. Harley had been understanding the other night, but Zoe knew it wasn't all okay. The thing was, it was hard to tell, because Harley was busy with the lawsuit. Zoe wasn't quite sure if he was avoiding her, or if he was just busy. It wasn't fair to him. She knew it wasn't fair to him. He clearly just wanted to be a dad, and she wanted to give him that. But she had a dad. What would he say about all this, she wondered. The truth was, she had no idea. As close as they had been, there were so many adult issues they had never had the chance to talk about. As mature as Zoe knew she was for her age, she knew she was still a kid.

At least technically.

While her dad had taken her seriously and respected, he had known that too. Certain topics had been off the table. They had never even had the big "I'm not you're real dad," discussion that Zoe knew had to have been coming. He had to have known. Maybe he had always known, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he hadn't. Her parents had been going through a major break in their marriage, and looking back, Zoe just knew that that was what it was about.

She thought back to the night of the accident, to how they had been fighting …

… Because of her.

They had been fighting because of her, she suddenly realized. The accident … Zoe felt woozy. It had been her fault. The accident had been her fault. If it weren't for her, they wouldn't have been fighting and …

No. She couldn't go there. She couldn't let herself go there. She was doing good. She had friends. She was doing well in school. She wasn't going to screw everything up and fall apart like some child. After all, she had school to get to.

It had taken an eternity, but Wade had finally convinced his dad to get to sleep. The old man had noticed the lack of alcohol in the house, and he was rearing to go out and buy some, but that wasn't happening on Wade's watch.

He had called in sick to his dad's job. There were some sick days in reserve and he would have to babysit his dad a little more carefully until he was fully healed. It was hard enough on a usual day. He had school. He had the extra job. He had Taylor.

That was kind of insane, wasn't it? What was he thinking? It wasn't like he had time for a girlfriend. He barely had time to sleep. As it was he had gotten, like, one hour last night, and then his brother had come barging in and woken him.

It was almost lunchtime by the time he got to school. He decided to hang around outside the cafeteria until it was time to go in.

"Wade?" He turned to see Taylor coming towards him, smiling. "You're not in class?"

"Neither are you." He countered.

Taylor chuckled, "I had to use the restroom." She said, showing him her hall pass. She really was a good girl. A rule follower, this one. Definitely too good for him. "I was just on my way back when I saw you hangin' out here. Thought I'd come say hello."

"Didn't sound like a hello. Sounded more like an accusation."

"Wade-"

"It's cool though, 'cause you were right. I did skip the morning."

She put her hand on his shoulder, "Is everything okay?"

Wade shrugged, "What, you didn't know I was a rebel?"

"I told you. I don't listen to rumors."

"Yeah, well, maybe the ones about me are true." Wade said, his voice a little rough.

"Wade, I wasn't tryin' to accuse you of anythin'. I just wanted to check that you were okay."

"I'm fine. Dandy. Couldn't be better. Now why don't you head back to class like the good girl you are?"

"I'm sorry if you're upset, but there's no reason to take it out on me."

"Well maybe you're the one I'm upset with. That ever occur to you? Maybe I feel like we've been wastin' time all week with this studyin' thing you're so obsessed with."

"I just figured, since we have to study anyway-"

"You have to study anyway. I could care less. Excuse me." Wade walked off, heading he didn't know where. Taylor stood there, looking stunned. He hated the hurt look on her kind face, but it was for the best. What had he been thinking? Taking time to make-out with a girl was one thing, but using up hours on homework for classes he was never going to pass anyway? He had work to do. He had two jobs, and his dad to look after. Plus he needed to sleep. Taylor might be pissed, but it was for the best.

"So, you're mini-me is comin' in soon. You psyched?" George asked.

Wade snorted as he pushed a fry through the glob of ketchup on his paper plate.

It was lunch, a period Zoe now pretty much always spent with George, Wade, and Lemon. Given how much time Wade had been spending with Taylor, she would probably be joining them soon. That thought always made Zoe feel proud. She was like Emma from the Jane Austen book or something, except less annoying. Now Wade and Taylor were a thing and it was all her doing. That was probably why he was late to lunch; he was probably off with Taylor. Although … he had seemed a little agitated when he had first gotten to the lunch table, but it soon dissolved into the carefree Wade they all knew. Sure, he was a little distracted, but that was it. Mostly, he seemed fine. Of course, he had missed the classes they shared this morning, but that was probably just Wade being Wade. Zoe decided to stop overanalyzing, as she was prone to do, and focus on the conversation.

"His mini-who?" Zoe asked.

"Jonah Breeland. Lemon's cousin. He's a year younger than us and he worships Wade. Wants to grow up to be just like him."

Wade snorted again.

"That's your only comment?" Zoe challenged, turning to him.

Wade shrugged, "The kid's okay. And can you blame him if he worships me, I mean, really?" Wade motioned to himself, the implication clear. Zoe scoffed and rolled her eyes, "George is exaggerating though. I mean, the kid likes to spend time with me I guess, and I don't mind most of the time, but it's not like he's planning to murder me so he can take over my life or anything."

"No, he just follows you around, dresses like you, and tries to stand like you. He even had you teach him guitar."

"Because I'm the only guy in the south who plays guitar? For all you know, he's tryin' to be Tim McGraw or someone."

"Lemon, where do you stand on this?" Zoe asked.

Lemon was clearly distracted, but not so much that she didn't know what had been said, "George is right. Jonah worships you."

George smiled at Lemon's validation and pecked her on the lips. She smiled.

"So why is this kid coming into town, anyway?"

"It's his birthday. The whole Breeland gang comes around for birthdays. Aunts and Uncles, cousin Betty-"

Wade started to choke on his chocolate chip cookie. George patted him on the back, "You okay buddy?" Wade just nodded and took a swig from his water.

"So, are we invited to this party?" Zoe heard herself ask. It was the most bizarre thing. Did she want to go? She was hardly the party type these days, but she liked being around these people. Wade, George and Lemon were her friends and being around them was fun. She was having actual fun. Zoe had never thought that that would happen again. Sure, she had a little moment this morning, but she wasn't thinking about that. She wasn't letting herself. Right now, in this moment, she was good.

"Well, the family expects George, obviously, and Jonah would be furious if Wade wasn't there."

"I guess I can make an appearance." Wade said, smirking and puffing out his chest like a proud rooster. Zoe rolled her eyes.

"You could probably come too if you want, although, I don't know if it's what you would call fun."

Zoe shrugged, "It's a party. They'll be cake, and you guys. So long as it doesn't get in the way of my date with Jesse, I'm good."

"Well, when is your date?"

"I'm not exactly sure. He hasn't given me details yet." She turned, "Hey Wade, could you-?"

"No. It's your business. You wanna know somethin' from my brother, I'd thank you to leave me out of it."

"Yes, because you're still suffering so much from last time you helped me. How is Taylor, by the way?"

Wade went red and rapidly changed the subject.

Taylor sat in the library waiting for Wade to show up. She knew it was kind of foolish. After the way he had been acting today, it was highly unlikely that he was planning to come study with her. Still, she held out hope.

It was hard to know how to feel about the whole thing. On the one hand, Wade had been horrible to her, and Taylor knew she deserved better than that. She was not the sort of girl who would let a boy walk all over her. On the other hand, it was clear that something was bothering Wade, and she wanted to be there for him. She understood what it was like when things weren't exactly right in your life. And she didn't want to pry. If the roles were reversed, she knew she would hate that. Then again, she didn't think she would take out her home-life on Wade. It wasn't fair to treat someone that way.

It was clear that her and Wade needed to have a talk, but he didn't appear to be showing up, and she didn't have the time for an impromptu trip to his place. Aside from that, she didn't actually know where he lived.

It would have to be something they dealt with tomorrow at school. Right now, she needed to get home. She had her own family to deal with.

"I'm sorry George, I can't." Lemon said into the phone as she watched her sister's attempts to crawl across the carpet.

"This would be good for you. You need a distraction." George's voice said over the phone.

"I ain't sayin' you're wrong, but I have to watch Magnolia. Daddy, Dr. Wilkes and your dad are all meetin' right now, and lord knows how long that could go. I have a responsibility here." After a couple seconds of silence, Lemon screeched, "George!"

"Look, I get it. I do. It just sucks is all."

Lemon nodded, "Yeah, it does, but there's nothin' I can do. I can't just leave 'er." She winced at those words, a picture of her mother walking out the door forming in her mind.

"All right. Well, how about this weekend?"

"I have Jonah's 13th birthday party, remember? And of all the times for the family to be comin' in to visit. I mean, I know we had this on the books, but-"

"It's not like they know. And it is the kid's birthday after all."

Lemon sighed, "I know." She loved Jonah. She truly did. He was her favorite cousin. While there were some members of her family she would just as soon never see again, most of them she was happy to spend time with. It was just a little less than ideal timing. Aside from the lawsuit, it would be the first time the family was together since Lemon's mother took her oh-so-graceful exit. A lot of the family didn't even know yet. Her dad hadn't been able to tell them; it was too hard to talk about for him. Lemon was not looking forward to this weekend.

"I gotta get goin'. Good babysitters don't spend the whole day on the phone with their boyfriends."

"Okay. I'll call you later."

"Bye."

"Bye."

"So, I passed my test." Jesse said, settling into a seat next to his brother on the couch.

"Good for you." Wade grumbled.

"Somebody's in a mood. Hey, isn't now the time you usually spend with Taylor? Ya know 'studying.' "

"Air-quotes are lame, Jess. Everybody knows that."

"Whatever. Point is, don't you have time with Taylor, and then work?"

"I called out of work for the day, you know, so I could keep an eye on dad and make sure he sleeps."

Jesse shrugged, "He'll be fine. He's been sleepin' all day. Besides, you got an hour before your shift for Taylor time, don'tcha?" Wade shrugged, "What's wrong? Don't tell me she dumped you already?"

Wade let out a growl, and then got up, "I'll be back in an hour!" He called.

Jesse shrugged. Wade was so weird sometimes.

"George, hey. What are you doing here?" Zoe asked. When she saw him coming up the walk, she was tempted to fix her hair, but she had fought the urge.

"I thought I'd stop by and see Lemon. Brought her some ice-cream." He held up the carton.

Zoe nodded, "Oh. I guess I'll go then. Let you guys have, you know, couple time." Zoe had wanted to hang out with Lemon. She had been stuck babysitting Magnolia all week, and Zoe knew that she must have been going out of her mind. But her and George would probably want to be alone.

"You don't have to do that. I'm sure Lemon would be happy for any company above two-years-old."

Zoe smiled, "You are truly a gentleman George Tucker. Most guys would jump at the chance to spend the night alone with their girlfriend."

"Who is Tucker jumpin'?" They both turned to see Wade coming up the walk.

"Let me guess, you're here to keep Lemon company?"

Wade shrugged, "Just for a minute. I got work, but I thought I'd stop off, bring some food." He held up a container filled with pastries from The Butterstick.

"Not sure that counts as food." Zoe said, causing George to chuckle slightly.

"Why don't we all go in? Bring her this three-fold surprise of ours." He said.

Zoe and Wade nodded and George rang the doorbell.

"Hello?" Jesse said through a mouthful of chips.

"Hi." Said a polite voice on the other end, "This is Taylor from school calling for Wade. Is he there?"

Jesse put the bag of chips down, surprised, "Hey Taylor. It's Jesse."

"Oh. Hello. How are you?"

"Fine. I thought Wade was meeting up with you."

There was a pause on the other end, "He was supposed to, but he never showed up."

"Oh … uh … sorry." Taylor didn't say anything, "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation." Don't screw this one up little brother. Jesse thought. It was clear to him that Wade really liked Taylor, and if his brother had finally found a good relationship with a nice girl, he would be an idiot to screw it up. Of course, Jesse knew that Wade could be an idiot when he wanted to be.

"I'm sure there is too." She said, "So I'm guessing he's not home?"

"No, but he should be back soon. He took off from work to look after dad."

"Is your father okay?"

"He had a little accident the night of The Sweetie Pie Dance. He'll be fine, but you know how close he and Wade are. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty scary there for a minute, but by the time Wade got home, everything was okay so I don't know why he's freakin' out."

"Oh. Well, I hope your father's feeling better."

"He'll be fine. I'll let Wade know you called."

"Thank you Jesse. Give my best to your father."

"Will do."

"It was nice of ya'll to stop by an' keep me company-"

"I just came to drop off some food." Wade interrupted, handing over the pastries. Lemon took them eagerly.

"Well, like I was sayin', thank you, but ya'll know you can't stay."

"We could help." Zoe said as she scanned the room.

"Yeah. Let us help you out."

"Guys-"

"Just let us stay for a little bit. If we get in the way, you can throw us out." George said, offering Lemon his most winning smile.

Lemon sighed. "Fine. I was just about to heat up a bottle for Magnolia."

"I can help with that." George said, making to follow her.

"And I'll play buffer so you too don't start makin' out and get distracted."

"And I'll come to stop Wade from making inappropriate comments like that."

"You and what army?"

They all laughed and headed into the kitchen.

Jesse opened the door to his dad's room a crack. The guy was out like the dead. Lord knew what Wade was so worried about. Yes, the clonk on the head had been terrifying, but it was over now, and Wade hadn't even been there for it. Maybe it was a guilt thing. Maybe he felt bad that he hadn't been there. It was dumb though, because everything had worked out fine.

Jesse looked around the room. He rarely came in here. Now that he saw it, he realized it didn't look all that different from how it had looked when their mom had been alive. A lot of her stuff was still over on her side. The closet was full of her clothes. Her dresser was still full two. And his and Wade's "Happy Mother's Day" Handprints were still be proudly displayed.

It was nice that their dad was keeping it like this. Still, it was a little much to take. Jesse tried not to think about their mom much since she'd passed. He had gone to the funeral, but then he had gone out with his friends. He kept busy, kept up with his grades, kept up with his goal to get out of this town. Nobody who lived in Bluebell ever went anywhere or amounted to much. Plus, if he were being honest, the place was full of too many memories.

It was just like this room, full of memories. If Jesse closed his eyes, he was sure he would be able to see her, hear her voice, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to talk about it, or think about it. What was the point? It wouldn't change anything. Time had passed, and he had moved on. Why dwell? Why prolong the pain.

He needed to get out of this room though. In fact, he needed to get out of the house.

Jesse grabbed an umbrella, as it was starting to drizzle, and headed to the library. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, it felt like the place to go.

Magnolia wouldn't stop crying. George was holding her, trying to make her feel comfortable, but the girl was just wailing.

"She sure hates you, huh Tucker?"

"Shut it. Don't you have to get to work?"

Wade looked down at his watch, "Shit." He had let himself get caught up, yet again, in some distraction. What was supposed to be a half-hour visit had turned into three hours somehow. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys-"

Before Wade could finish his sentence, a loud thunderclap came from outside. Wade's eyes widened and he looked towards the window. Lemon approached, looking startled, and pulled back the curtains. There was another thunderclap, this time coupled with a burst of light.

"Shit." Wade said again.

"Could you please stop swearin' in front of my impressionable baby sister?" Lemon said, closing the curtains.

"Lemon, she can't say her name yet. I doubt she could swear."

"Her name's long and-"

"When did it start stormin'? How did I miss this?" Wade said, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"I'm sure Agnes will understand. You obviously can't go out in a storm like that. No customers will be comin' in anyway, so-"

"Lemon, shut up!"

"Hey, don't yell at her." George said, stepping in front of his girlfriend.

Wade didn't respond. Instead, he headed over to the phone and tried to dial his home number, "No signal." He said after several tries.

"Who are you tryin'-?"

"Nobody." Wade looked from Lemon, to George, to Zoe. He grabbed Zoe's arm and pulled her into the other room.

"What's goin' on?" Jesse asked as the librarians and Annabeth flitted nervously around the library. He had been here for a couple hours, and everything had seemed normal, but now-

"Storm protocol. Nothin' to worry about."

Jesse nodded. "You know, I've never been in a library durin' a storm before."

"Well, first time for everythin', I suppose. 'Cause you are stuck here."

Jesse looked outside, "I kinda figured."

"Hey, cheer up." Annabeth said, "Trust me, there are far worse places to be stuck. I mean … all these books…"

Jesse chuckled, "I wasn't complainin'," he said, shooting a smile at her, "This is definitely one of the better places to be."

"Ow. Hey. That's supposed to remain attached, you know."

"Zoe, my dad's at home, alone, bein' … bein' the way he is, and with a head injury."

"Why were you so worried about work when-?"

"I wasn't. I lied. I took time off from The Butterstick to look after him."

"But you haven't been doing that all week. And he's been fine, right?"

"Zoe, there's a storm goin' on out there. A real big storm."

"It's just a little rain-"

"In New York, sure. You've got a bunch of buildin's and lightenin' rods. But out here, a storm like that is somethin' serious. He could really hurt himself. I need to get home-"

"How? If it's really that bad-"

"I don't know. I just …"

"Maybe if you told somebody. Like your brother-"

"No. I don't care how cute you think my brother is, he can't handle this, okay."

"What makes you-?"

"When my mom passed, dad kept goin' on about her, about how much he missed her, bawlin' his eyes out. I'd sit with him. Jess would leave the room."

"But maybe if he knew you needed him-"

"I don't-"

"Wade, you can't handle this alone!"

"I've got to!"

"What are you two yellin' about?" George asked, coming into the room, "You're gonna agitate Magnolia."

"Well, I'll get out of your hair then." Wade said, heading for the door.

"Are you crazy?" George called, but Wade didn't stop. George ran over in front of the door, blocking Wade's path. "Wade, man, stop, okay."

"I can't. You wouldn't understand."

"Wade-"

"I'm going with you!" Both boys turned to Zoe, shocked, "You're right. You do have to get home, but it's no use if you're dead. You can't go alone."

"And what is havin' you by my side gonna accomplish, except that I'd have to of us to worry about, and you don't know nothin' about survivin' a storm like this?"

"I'll go." George said.

"No!" Zoe and Wade both said. They shared a look. Then Wade said, "It's gotta be just me."

"I can't let someone I care about risk their life like this." Zoe said.

"Life is about risk."

"So this is some macho-"

"No, this is not being able to live with somethin' happenin' to someone I care about, when I could have done somethin'." He got closer to Zoe, his eyes pleading with hers. "Please Zoe. You gotta understand. You of all people."

Zoe sighed, "Be careful."

"What … Wade … you can't-"

"We have to let him go." Zoe said.

"What? No. At least let me-"

"He had to go alone."

"Relax Tucker, I'll be fine. I grew up 'round here, remember. 'Snot like it's this Yankee here that's goin'. Take care of the girls for me. I'll be seein' you soon." And with that, Wade was out the door.

Author's Note: So, let's recap. Harley and Brick are being sued for Malpractice. Jonah and the Breeland clan are coming to visit for Jonah's Birthday. Earl has a nasty bump on his head that has Wade all worried and sabotaging his relationship with Taylor. There is a storm. Jesse is trapped in the library with Annabeth. George, Lemon, Zoe and Magnolia are trapped together. Wade is braving the storm because Earl is stuck home alone with a bump on his head and alcoholism. Wow! That's a lot.

So, what do we think?

What's going to happen with Taylor and Wade?

Will Wade be okay? Will Earl be okay?

I decided a while ago that Jonah was going to be a Wade mini-me because we know Jonah is younger because he was talking about picking a fellowship in season two, which means he's, like, a year younger than Zoe. And I was thinking, he's really a lot like Wade, minus the baggage. He's got the whole womanizer, charm thing. So I thought it would be cute if maybe he learned that from Wade. Because we know they were friends. Anyway, I thought it would be fun. This chapter was just a taste. We'll see what happens when the weekend comes, and we have the party. That is assuming there is no great tragedy from the storm, which causes cancelation.

Let me know what you think. Also, Happy New Year!