Zoey is practically buzzing with anticipation when she returns to PCA. There's a gnawing anxiety too, deep under her skin like nothing else she's ever felt before. She tries not to dwell on it, to keep it in the back of her mind, but it only increased over the summer and it's worsening by the second now.

It's the same dorm as always, good old 101, only now Quinn has the double bed and Zoey's taken the top bunk from Lola. In another twist, Logan is one of the first people to greet her, having already helped Quinn carry in her many bags. Zoey watches as they embrace one another, calling each other pet names before running off to, presumably, make out. It only makes the tightness in her chest worse, and for a second she's happy that Vince and Lola broke up over the summer, before reprimanding herself for being so cold-hearted.

She decides to go for a walk, and promptly bumps into James. Despite having agreed to stay friends, they haven't managed to dissipate the awkwardness that formed between them during the last days of the previous semester, and their attempt at chatting feels more like a chore than anything else. No, she didn't have anyone to take to Maui with her, yes she had a good time anyway, but how was his vacation? James is sweet, but she still can't seem to focus properly, finding herself seeing things out of the corner of her eye. She's just about to say goodbye when Logan comes up and grabs her shoulders, steering her away from James and towards the boys dorm. He's rambling about something but she's still catching up when she sees Michael come into view, his arm slung around someone's shoulder. Michael and -

"Hey, Zo," Chase says. All she can do is stare.

"You cut your hair," she says, and is disappointed that she never got to run her hands through his fro, a thought she quickly pushes away. Now, the only curls left fall softly over his forehead. His face looks sharper without the hair framing his face, his jawline and cheekbones more defined. But he holds himself the same way, guitar case still slung over his shoulder.

"Sure did," he says, giving her a quizzical but slightly amused stare. She stares back.

"Zoey, would you please tell Chase to move back into our dorm," Logan says. It takes her a few seconds for the words to sink in.

"Wait, you mean -"

"I asked for a single dorm. I assumed James would be bunking with you guys and I didn't want to kick him out," Chase answers.

"You know about James?" Zoey asks, her eyes wide.

"Michael told me," Chase says, and it doesn't sound like an accusation, doesn't have any emotion at all, really, but it certainly feels like one.

"Yeah, but James also asked to be transferred, so now we're probably get some random weirdo in our room," Logan continues. Chase shakes his head. "Come on! Look, I'll," he swallows like the words cause him physical pain, "I'll let you have the single bed."

"Dude, I have my own single bed," Chase says. "That's the point of having a single dorm." Logan groans in frustration.

"Yeah, but what about my TV? Or the sound system!"

"He has a point," Michael says.

"I survived a semester without it, I'm sure I can again," is all Chase says. "Look, I need to put my stuff down. And frankly, I need a nap so I have the energy for when you badger me about this later." He turns around to head into the dorm, then looks back at Zoey, holds up a hand in a wave.

"Bye, Zo."

He doesn't stumble as he walks, not even once.

Word quickly spreads that Chase is back from England. Every conversation Zoey seems to sit near or stumbles into is about how "Chase got hot" or wondering if there's a potential "love triangle" or how "James still wins for me" or saying "no, he was always kind of hot, just in a cute-dorky kind of way", and soon Zoey is grinding her teeth and spilling her Blix from squeezing the bottle so hard. It isn't much better walking into her dorm. Lola and Quinn look at her expectantly, almost giddily at any kind of potential gossip. Lola is the first to crack.

"So, someone's boyfriend made this year's hot list," she says.

"He's not my boyfriend and he's not hot! He's just Chase," Zoey snaps, and immediately hits her head while trying to sit on her bunk bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Quinn and Lola share a look.

"You're going to have to talk to him at some point," Quinn says gently. Zoey rubs her forehead, trying to get rid of the pain and memory of today.

"Yeah, well, we're both tired," she says. "We have time."

.

Despite her proclamation, days go by with her barely seeing Chase, let alone talking to him. He seems to linger on the edges for a while, as if he doesn't know where he fits anymore. It takes Michael and Logan practically forcing him into a seat by the shoulders for him to routinely start eating lunch with them again, and after that it seems like James seems to become less regular at their table, as if the two can't exist in the same space at the same time. After that, she starts to catch glimpses of Chase with the others: hearing his laughter mix with Michael's; sitting on a bench with Lola, smiling as she performs an over-the-top monologue; playing pool with Quinn and Logan. Once, she even catches him and James talking in the hallway, though she isn't able to hear what they were saying.

It's after Lola mentions that, "Oh yeah, Chase is cool with Vince," that Zoey shuts her laptop lid and gets up without a word, storming towards the boys dorm, curfew be damned. She gives three hard raps to his door, tapping her foot as he slowly opens the door.

"Zoey?"

"Can I come in?" she asks. He frowns.

"It's kind of late and I -"

"Thank you," she says, and pushes past him anyway, her shoulder knocking into his. He sighs and closes the door behind her. He turns around to find her with her arms crossed, glaring at him.

"Are you avoiding me?"

"No," he says. She raises her eyebrows. "Not intentionally, anyway. I was just trying to," he shrugs, "give you space."

"You didn't think being in England for a semester was enough space?" Zoey says. He scrunches a hand in his hair and sits on the bed with a thud.

"The last time I saw you in person, I was a jerk, right? I told you to go to England. Then, in what would probably constitute as certifiable insanity, I decide to go to England to ask you to come back, all the while accidentally declaring my love for you to you. While I'm there, you get your first ever serious boyfriend," Chase says. "Do you see why I thought maybe you needed time?"

"Yeah. That was a lot," Zoey concedes.

"It's been months, practically a year, since I've seen you in person. It's reasonable to think that things have changed. For both of us," Chase says.

"Do you still -"

"I don't know," he says. "Things change. So do people." Zoey nods and swallows hard.

"I still...want to see you," she says. "I missed you."

"I didn't know, I thought it was better to be safe," Chase replies. He offers her a small, lop-sided smile. "But I missed you too." He claps his hands against his thighs and stands up, stretching out his hand for a shake. "Friends?" She looks at his hand.

"Always. Idiot," she says, then grabs his hand and pulls him into a hug. She lets herself bury her face in his shoulder, inhaling the smell of soap and distant cologne that clings to his shirt, and feeling the weight of his arms as they slowly wrap around her waist. He pulls away first, but she reaches a hand up to tussle his hair.

"I'm still allowed to call you fuzzyhead," she jokes. He mock sighs and flicks the hair out of his eyes. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," he says, and gives her a smile.

.

It gets easier after that. Chase relaxes more at lunch, cracks more jokes and sits next to Zoey on the lounges. They start playing noughts and crosses again during class and resume their study sessions outside of it. She asks more about England and waits for him to mention a girl, though he never does and she doesn't know how that makes her feel. She knows girls have asked him out, sees the way they've started to look at him in a way that makes her stomach drop. What couldn't they see before, she wonders, and feels horribly like Rebecca for a moment. But to her knowledge he never says yes, though he flirts with them sometimes, and she knows it's only time.

She doesn't feel as bad about spending time with James either, though he doesn't seem to glow as brightly as he did when they were together. He seems just a little less charming, his jokes ever so slightly duller, but he's nice and they work well together on assignments. Everything's fine, until one afternoon he walks her out of the classroom and into an alcove, giving her a shy but dazzling smile.

"What's up?" Zoey asks.

"I was just wondering...do you want to give us another try?" James says. "I'm happy being friends if you don't but..."

"I - James," she starts.

"Chase said it was ok, if that was what you were worried about," James interjects. She shuts her mouth, taken aback.

"He did?"

"...Yes?"

"I'm sorry, can we continue this conversation later?" Zoey asks, and walks away before James can answer.

She barely thinks as she strides around campus, her books and laptop a dull weight in her arms. She barely sees anyone, doesn't hear her name being called, just walks in search of her target. Eventually, she finds him in the common room playing foosball with Logan, and drags him all the way to her dorm without a word.

"What's going on?"

"Why would you tell James that?" Zoey shrieks, making Chase flinch. Cautiously, he relaxes his shoulders away from his ears.

"Tell him...what?"

"You think it's just ok to meddle in my love life?" she yells again, making Chase wince. "James and I broke up. It's done!"

"And you're fine with that?" Chase asks.

"Yes! Why wouldn't I be?" Exhausted, she flops onto Quinn's bed with a huff, folding her arms over her chest.

"Ok, well, if I'm thinking of the right conversation - which I might not be, because this was months ago and you've also been kinda vague about what this is about," Chase says, "Then all I said was that I wouldn't get in the way if you two dated again...and that I was sorry if I had the first time."

"Kind of hard to get in the way when you're thousands of miles away," Zoey replies, her voice flat. Chase leans against the top bunk bed, flicking the quilt with his fingers.

"Yeah, well, James told me that you were fine until - until he gave you that necklace," Chase admits. "If you felt guilty because of that, I want you to know you shouldn't have. Or shouldn't be." Zoey scoffs.

"He told you that in one conversation and I still don't know if you had a girlfriend at Covington?" she says.

"I didn't," Chase says, bemused. "Look, I wasn't trying to meddle, I just didn't want you being unhappy because of me. I don't particularly want to make James' life miserable either." Zoey doesn't reply, just continues staring up at the ceiling, swallowing and blinking hard. Her body feels heavy, like Chase's presence is weighing down on her even on the other side of the room. His voice feels distant as he asks her if she wants him to leave, and he's almost out the door when she responds.

"I broke up with James," she starts, her voice shaky, "because he wasn't you."

"That still sounds like guilt," Chase says after a pause. Zoey shakes her head.

"I'm still angry at myself that I didn't wait. But I missed you and I didn't want to." The space between her brows creases and she can taste salt in the back of her throat. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Chase says softly. "We're just dumb kids who had too many feelings and too many hormones and we messed up. It's ok. It's done now."

"I don't want it to be," Zoey argues, finally sitting up. She quickly wipes the corner of her eyes. Her voice comes out firmer as she says, "I want to try." Chase opens his mouth, then closes it again, still hovering around the door. Zoey starts walking towards him.

"Please," she repeats. "I want to try. I lov -"

"Don't say it because I will not believe you," Chase says. He closes his head, rests his head against the door. Gently, and a little sadly, Zoey puts her hand against his cheek, and he leans into her touch despite himself. She brushes her thumb over his cheekbone and he opens his eyes, takes her in.

It seems like a bad time for a first kiss. They're still tense and sad and James' shadow continues to hang over them. She shouldn't have left him hanging this afternoon and she doesn't know if Chase has said yes to any of the girls that look at him nowadays. But they lean in anyway and it feels almost inevitable, the way their lips touch and the press of their bodies against each other. It's a surprisingly sweet kiss, chaste despite the hunger that's building inside them. And like that, she stops thinking about James and whether or not they should have kissed in front of the fountain. She stops wondering if she loves Chase and whether it's enough and about what their friendship will be like at the end of this, whether there will be an end or not. All she knows is the feel of him against her, his presence in the room with her, and it's enough.