Hi there,

Salutations all of you PCA Stingrays! DarcyBeDippy85 here with a new chappie that is ON TIME! YAY! So happy about that! Hopefully you are too, I feel like I've been apologizing a lot in these top-tiffs for lateness and length. Not today loyal readers! Not this chapter, anyway! Thank you to any one reading these words right now. You are amazing! Thank you so much RHrGreatness for your review! God bless you for without you this story would be impossible!

"The Collective Trials of a Quinnventor and… Logan"

Chapter 7 – "Walk-a-thon" Part 2

Quick recap…ya know, for those of you not paying attention (shame on you):

Not to mention it's my life and I feel like I need this recap as much as you.

Weeks ago Quinn's heart was broken by her used to be boyfriend. Ever since then there have been several occasions that we've hung out. Not only have we been spending more time together, but we've held hands, we've cuddled, kissed and even on occasion made out. I am not sorry about any of it… not at all. But is it all still new and way weird?

Uh, YEAH!

Quinn Pensky isn't a cheerleader, isn't on the dance team, isn't extremely popular and isn't at all the kind of girl I would usually even think about dating. I'm not saying she's bad, She's one of my best friends. She's intense, brilliant, beautiful; and shockingly she's one those rare finds that are just as fantastic when the lights are off (just kissing and making out in the dark, dirty minded readers). Who would have thunk it? As amazing and unbelievable as it has been getting to know her better, that doesn't change how different and opposite we are. Is it superficial and shallow of me to say that? Probably. But that's who I am! I'm Logan Reese, popular, rich and I have a reputation for being shallow. I'm also known for only dating the hottest most in demand hotties… and up until today that was all still so vital to me. SO IMPORTANT! So even thinking about the possibility of dating anyone that doesn't fit into any of those descriptions is a big deal for me.

It's so huge that I'm even considering it.

Do I realize how petty I sound?

Does sounding petty make it any less true? Don't think so!

I like Quinn, I always have, but to say that she's a bit of a strange edition to my friend clique would be an understatement. She's always been fun, there's never a dull moment around her, but dating her… Do I really want to do that?

Am I really that crazy over-YES! I'm really this insane over my friend. Did you hear the part about her yoga poses? She's so centered, ya know? Grounded and way flexible. That's better than dance team always making me cringe when they keep doing splits or cartwheeling cheerleaders that always seem to kick you instead of impress you (not to mention all of those girls are way too perky, too much caffeine, Quinn's body is her temple, any athlete respects that)? Did you miss the part where she totally rocks at making out? You really gotta start paying better attention.

Geeze, I couldn't even finish that first sentence without answering it already. Yes, we've been getting a lot closer lately and I'm sure that could get better. So now all I needed was for the subject to come up casually in conversation. But I thought there's no way that's gonna happen.

Then I was hiding just out of plain sight with Quinn in one of the prettiest hiding places I know throughout all of campus. Somewhere between making out with her. Not only did I confess that I wanted to date her, but I also was perfectly honest about how embarrassed I am to be dating her.

Unlike any haters who may read this and judge, Quinn understood me perfectly. She told me that she was 'super embarrassed' and 'if anyone she knew found out, she'd die.' I was so glad to hear that she got it, I hugged her-

And that's the very time Michael decided to come intruding on my secret spot harassing me about his stupid CLACKERS. As if I really needed another reason to want to break that stupid toy. This may sound innocent to anyone who wasn't there but Quinn and me were both terrified that Michael could have seen us hugging. So now not only do we have to watch him like a hawk and see if he mentions it to anyone else. We have to prepare for damage control just in case he does know.

We can't swear him to secrecy like we did with Chase. Michael cannot keep secrets, it's like one of those truths everybody knows. We love him, but the dude is a total goof! He's too honest, and he just-CAN'T-KNOW! Not now!

We just got where we can admit to each other that we'd like to date each other. We may never be comfortable enough to say it with a straight face to our friends or classmates.

If Michael did go around telling on us, I could just see the looks we'd get in my mind, the pointing fingers, the laughing and name calling… It just made my skin crawl. Quinn was in the same class as Michael right before her free period (which just so happens to be during my free period too, thank you God). So she is gonna be listening out to see if he knows anything during that class, and I have to listen out in the two classes before that one. Then we're gonna regroup during free period, then again at lunch if we need to. From the look on Quinn's pouty face as she came into view, I could see we were gonna be working through lunch.

"Hey," she greeted half-heartedly.

"Hi," I said sounding a bit more upbeat, "I take it you still have no idea whether or not Michael knows."

"No," she confirmed before sitting next to me, slouching down behind the yellow wall again, just outside of the cafeteria. She crossed her arms looking pretty miserable, "He was talking about us, but I don't know… I can't be sure of anything with the nonsense he tacked around it."

"Well," I said leaning the front of my body just touching the side of hers. It was just leaning into her bubble, I was bracing myself with my elbow penned to the wall behind her. I was trying to be suave, I even played with her hair and started to trail kisses down her neck. Before I put my lips right up at her ear and asked in my sexier voice, "What exactly did you hear him say?"

She took a deep breath and didn't seem to notice what I was doing at all. "He said that he saw you and me hiding behind some bushes and trees studying this morning. He said that either you were bugging me to do your homework for you, or you were afraid to be seen with a tutor. Then he said something about, the way we were acting was like we had something to hide. He wondered what that could possibly be, while he laughed into his hand for a full ten seconds. WHAT am I to make of THAT, I ask you?"

"I don't know, usually if he knows, everybody else would already hear it by now." I said honestly though still getting my flirt on and using my warmest meltiest sexiest voice I know. Have I mentioned how soft her skin is, particular the addictively velvety skin on her neck and shoulders?

Usually this has an immediate effect on Quinn too, when I'm bringing this much game. So the fact that she's still able to carry on this conversation and reply in an annoyed sounding voice. "Well I wish he'd go on and do it at this point because this never ending suspense is getting SO old!"

How is she still that worked up about Michael? Have I lost my edge? That can't be it… no, I think I'll make this a new game. I'm gonna see how long she can keep this up before I've got her completely in my clutches. So after I agree with her, I start to focus solely on my best, most persuasive attention on her neck and shoulders, and I start to notice a slight quickening in her breathing all while she continues to complain and I made slight replies in between when cued.

"I mean… If he's gonna tell everybody, if he's gonna splash our dirty laundry everywhere. Why just hold on to it? It just doesn't make any sense at all."

"Nope, not at all." I agreed.

"Just go ahead and say what you're gonna say, do what you're gonna do and be done with it… you know?"

"I know how you feel." I say nuzzling my nose right against her pulse points. Which drummed against my face so hard, I couldn't stop the smile that curved my lips upwards. I knew she couldn't hold out much longer. She was almost right where I wanted her, but where I wanted her would be when she can't fight it anymore and has to admit to my control over her and the moment.

Quinn carried on, "This suspense… you know th-this kind of stress, is not… It c-ca-can't be a-at all good – so good… Logan?... Logan?"

"Yeah," I asked from the side of her neck.

"W-what are you doing?" She finally asks, some guys make the mistake of striking right here. Thinking that this is all the rule they need, not me, nope. I have learned that it is always better to take my time and wait till she is completely under the spell.

"I'm paying - very close – attention – to everything - that you're saying." I said dotting each dash in that sentence with a kiss.

She laughed, "Yeah right you are?"

"I've heard every word."

"Than what did I say?"

"You were saying that you wish if Michael was going to spill our secrets he'd go ahead and get it over with. You mentioned the suspense, the not knowing, it's all getting to be too much and I couldn't agree with you more-"

"Then why do I feel a 'but' coming on?" Quinn interrupted.

"But-" I said.

She grinned, "Knew it."

"I think the more important thing is what you didn't say." I shrugged.

"What's that?"

"That you are totally stressed and you need to take just a few minutes to ease away all of that tension like I am." I explained.

"Are you calling the stuff you're doing to me 'easing the tension?'" She asked as if I was joking and using finger quotes.

"It's relaxing me." I shrugged.

"So…" she cleared her throat, before putting a finger to my lips, and making me face her. "Let me get this straight. Are you saying that your favorite relaxation technic is a great showing of physical affection? Or are you really saying that your favorite way to unwind after a tough day is driving someone else to the brink of madness with all of that…that-"

"Attention?" I said around her finger and kissing it before I pulled it away from my mouth. "Warmth… care?"

"I was gonna say bothering and bugging me." She said, but she was totally tilting her head back to give me better access as I returned to the same treatment I'd been giving her neck before.

"Yeah, I'm totally convinced this is bugging you when you're moving your head in all the right ways for me to keep going." I pointed out.

"Hey, if this gets you to a happier place, far be it for me to be the one to stop you. If you did want to, stop that is, all you had to do was stop." She managed to say without stuttering but it was with tons of effort not to stutter.

I put my mouth right at her ear and asked, "Do you really want me to stop? Do ya?"

She looked in my eyes and smiled this slow sexy smile before nodding her head ever so slightly "no."

Then she said in a quiet voice that was softer than a breeze, "I appreciate you trying to distract me, but we-"

I cut her off, saying, "No! Michael has already taken up too much of our time today, and he's likely to steal away our lunch time too."

Quinn nodded, before I made her look at me and I said, "Right now, nothing is more important to me than what we have going on here between us. That was what made me tell you this morning that I want to try dating you, ya know. I don't just date anyone?"

"I know," she rolled her eyes, but her smile was so gorgeous the classic showing of irritation was a little unnecessary. "I wouldn't blame you one bit if you wanted to back out after all of this unwanted trouble… All this work and I'm not even a gymnast or a cheerleader or a dating choice that seems at all worthwhile-"

"Hey, watch it, I'm dating the girl you're talking about. And part of her appeal is that it never get's boring around her like it did with… all those other girls you mentioned."

"You're just saying that-"

"You know that I'm not guy, who just makes up a bunch of junk on the spot, that he doesn't even mean."

"No, you're not, which honestly is part of why I said yes." She smiled and I don't know what happened. There was this sweeping feeling that affected me head to toe and suddenly we were kissing. Not the teasing, playfully making her crazy kisses from before either, I mean making out that I felt in my toenails. That is how we remained for the rest of free period.

When we met up for lunch, a few periods later; Quinn had had time to think. (Dangerous, I know) At first I was relieved when she said that she'd developed a plan to get more information out of Michael… until I heard that her big idea of doing this was this whole plot where we stage arguments around Michael to bait him and see if he bites.

I told Quinn I didn't like this idea for THREE big reasons. One being that she's already told me I need more work on improvising stuff, throwing me to the sharks in a pretend squabble with my secret girlfriend. Whose quick-witted and smart (did I mention sexy?) as the day is long does not sound like good practice, it sounds like I'm lining myself up for disaster. Two being, that I think this is dumb and will never work. Lastly, three being that acting in put-on battles with the girl who agreed just this morning to date me. Is likely to turn into real fights, real quick, and it isn't fun fighting her anymore… I think it would hurt too much if I thought that she meant any of the things coming out of her mouth.

Even though I was still more than a little wary, what if Micheal hadn't even seen us embarking- EMBRACING! I mean embracing. This could all be for nothing, but we were determined to figure this out. So we split up and then we marched separately up to that lunch table and put on a great performance… until Michael totally shattered our progress by yelling, "Hey-hey-hey-hey-HEY! Cheese and rice, you guys sound like an old married couple."

We freaked out, flew our separate ways still screaming at one another, and left Michael in our dust. He looked so confused by our anger, I was pretty sure he knew something. I don't know if it's as bad as we think, but Quinn was convinced that Michael KNEW and even though I made out with her nearly the entire lunch period remaining… she was still convinced when we parted ways.

We staged another fight in the next class we had together, and honestly both of us overstepped in our insults a little that second time. So much so, that I was a bit surprised to see Quinn waiting for me in our pre-determined hideout. I had been prepared to do just about anything it took to get her to forgive me, when Quinn stopped me and said, "Logan I'm not upset, it was all acting."

"All of it?" I asked and when she smiled and nodded, I had to admit. "Oh, you're good."

"Thanks for noticing." She smiled pretty proud of herself.

After that, I met up with her after our last period classes for the day and even though we'd both been acting all day and not actually fighting. That doesn't mean we can't pretend make up a little too. It's all for the sake of keeping true to our characters and seriously we're too good at that part of this relationship. Quinn stopped me and said, "Okay, clearly this isn't working out, and clearly we keep burning through all of our time because-"

"We keep making out?" I answered before she could.

"Uh huh, and trust me that is okay, I'm thrilled that you seem to enjoy it as much as I do and it's not a chore."

"Was it a job for… you know, your former Boyfriend?"

"Yeah," she said making a face and shaking her head like she wished she could so easily shake out the memory. "This isn't about him; this is about us. I don't know about you but I tired of not knowing and I don't think my insides can handle much more of this not knowing. So what I think we need to do is march over to wherever Michael is and ask him if he knows."

Before I could stop her we were already all the way nearly to my dorm room and I was still trying to see if we could think of a more tactful way to do this. If he didn't know, he's sure gonna know when we walk up to him and ask if he knows. Since neither of us could think of a thing however, we ended up coming right out and asking Michael if he knew. About us… dating?

What was Michael's reaction to this question?

He laughed! Not just like ha-ha laugh either, no, he was laughing all over the place. He said that we "cracked him up," but he knew that our whole 'dating each other' story was a cover up. He also KNEW what we were really doing was planning a surprise party for his birthday which was only a week or two away…

So we were off the hook, we were so thrilled that when we knew he was gone…. We may have gotten a bit distracted and manage to just shut the door before I started making out with Quinn all over again. Which was celebration enough till dinner time. We even brought up to everyone that we should plan a surprise party for Michael (before Michael joined us of course), but Lisa spoke up saying "Aww but I wanted my little sweet potato all to myself that day. Is it cool if I steal him away for an entire day off campus and we can have a party for him maybe on another day."

Before I could say that was more than cool, Zoey said, "Hey maybe we'll wait till Chase comes back and he can be a part of it."

James even suggested, "Maybe he'll agree to be our big present. What's better than the return of your best friend?"

Lola spoke up and said, "I don't know you guys, if we wrap Chase up in a big box and give him to Michael that fool might think he can keep him."

"Yeah, she's got a point!" We all agreed!

I got to hold Quinn's hand under the table again and even play a little footsy until Michael came to the table. And said, "Uh AH! Nope, you two separate, I've heard way too much of your play acting today."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him before he was picking up the chair that had Quinn in it and walked around the table with her. He sat her down beside Lisa clear on the far side from me, then got James to push her tray to her. She was nearly as far away as she could possibly get. Then he told about how terrible we'd been all day.

When everyone was splitting up (or paring off is more like it), All of the couples disappeared and Lola ran off to go watch the swim team dive. Quinn had followed my lead and hung back just waiting for everyone else to go. Micheal was the last one to leave saying, "Now you two crazy kids play nice now."

We both shook our heads and pretended to go our separate ways but come on… don't you knew better by now? I knew that we wouldn't be getting any work done and there was no one I wanted to goof off with more. So I met up with her in one of the hiding places that she'd suggested. One that had an electrical outlet nearby so we could chill and listen to music too. There were solar powered lanterns pitching a little light over us without being too much and getting us noticed. I don't' know how many hours we spent just looking at the stars when we weren't looking into each other's eyes. How many songs played, how many things we shared or how much of that time was making out, or eskimo kisses, if not snuggling or hand holding. All I know is that I could definitely get used to more days and nights like this one.

If this is what it is like to be with Quinn, I've never been more glad for Mark's stupidity. What an amazing girl he tossed away, and if this is the real her, the true Quinn that I'm getting to know now... She's by far one of the most beautiful people I've ever known. Inside and out, and it has been a true privilege getting to see her like this. I asked her, "Why didn't she let me see this sooner?"

She said in that soft breathless voice she uses when I shock her, and said "I don't know. My only guess is… I was always attached to Mark and you were always dating too. But that doesn't feel right either, maybe I was too afraid to show you before now… before I knew you better too… it's still scary, but I don't know… I feel like we're both so different suddenly."

"Me too, yet not so different at all… it's hard to explain."

"It really is."

I took a breath and said, "I will say though, that if this is what it's gonna be like every day that we're together. That's okay, I only look forward to spending so much more time with you. And letting more of your beautiful colors show themselves." I tucked a stray curl behind her ear and she smiled up at me like I'd given her pure gold. Then she gave me a kiss that was better than that… so I have no idea what will happen next or where this road will take us. All I do know is that I can't wait to find out where it leads and I hope that she's as excited as I am.

That's all for this time, I know it's a shorter chapter but the chapter it's part of was much bigger and longer. Not to mention the fun that is to come, I'm gonna write about some missing moments in the next chapter (perhaps even the chapter after that) PLUS an upcoming chapter will be featuring the epic return of Vince Blake. Oh the fun I'm gonna have with him entering the group and all of the hidden moments that can occur…Oh I'm excited! But that's enough from me, now it's up to you readers, did you like it love it hate it tolerate it let me know! I love hearing from you guys and you seriously keep me going! Hopefully you all enjoyed and this is reaching you all with sunny skies! Much Love!

~DarcyBeDippy85