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[DO I WANNA KNOW]

1.03 || chapter three

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Zoey drums her fingers against her arm as Chris slams against the door of the station in an attempt to open it before frowning a little. "Isn't the lock electronic? What's body slamming it gonna do?" Zoey asks with a frown before glancing out the window briefly when she hears Jess' voice.

"Jess, hey!" Chris calls as he hits the door.

"Chris, stop hitting it." Zoey says incredulously.

"Jessica! Over here!" Sam calls.

"Uh, are you guys having a really weird stroke?" Jess asks as she stops in front of the door.

"Yeah, Jess. That's what this is. A stroke." Zoey responds dryly and Jess just rolls her eyes at her.

"We're stuck in this stupid thing." Chris explains.

"Can you please let us out? Pretty please?" Sam requests and Zoey watches Jess move slightly before the door beeps so Chris could open it as the blonde walks away from the door. 

"Oh. My. God. I thought we were goners. Another ten minutes in there and I would have chewed off my own leg." Chris says as they walk out of the station and Zoey frowns slightly at him, tilting her head.

"Aw, sick, Chris." Sam complains.

"Look, I got a lot of meat on my bones. This is all muscle down here." Chris says and Zoey raises a brow at him with an amused smile.

"Yeah. Right, uh-huh." Sam responds.

"I mean, also unnecessary. I have a bag of chocolate in my bag." Zoey says.

"Yeah, but you're a weirdo who likes white chocolate." Chris argues and Zoey frowns.

"I mean, rude. But also, it'd a mixed bag. Got white, milk and dark." Zoey responds and Chris hums.

"Oh, guess that's not so bad them. Thanks for saving my leg." He says and Zoey hums briefly, tilting her head at him again before he snatches the envelope out of Jess' hand.

"Hey!" Jess complains.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Chris asks.

"Chris." Jess says.

"My goodness," He continues, ignoring her and Jess looks at Zoey and Sam briefly for help but the brunette just shrugs lightly with a smile. "Seems that someone has a lil' crush on our good friend and dear class president, Michael Munroe." 

"Chris," Sam starts.

"And, what kind of sizzling erotica might our Jessica be capable of imagining, I wonder?" Chris continues as if Sam hadn't spoken and Jessica looks over at Zoey again.

"Okay, Jesus. Chris, give it back." Zoey says.

"I'm just curious, Zo. Aren't you?" Chris asks.

"About what little love notes Jessica writes to her boyfriend? No. No, I'm not." Zoey responds.

"What?" Sam asks, looking over at Jessica.

"Mike and Em split.  We're together." Jess explains.

"Whoa, drama." Chris remarks and Zoey hums softly.

"Not really. Pretty clear cut, actually. Em's out, I'm in." Jess responds and Zoey nods a little at Sam when she glances at her. 

"Huh." Sam says softly as Zoey snatches the envelope from Chris with two fingers when he holds it up, holding it out towards Jess.

"Thank you, Zoey." Jess says as she takes it from her. 

"Mmhmm." The brunette hums softly as she pulls her arm back.

"Alright, alright, let's just get up to the lodge already. Getting tired of all this nature and junk." Chris says, holding a hand up briefly.

"I mean, we've got a whole weekend of all this nature and junk but I do like the sound of the lodge." Zoey says, moving to follow him. 

"Uh, you guys go ahead. I'm just gonna wait here for a bit. See who else is coming." Jess explains and Zoey hums slightly.

"Right, sure you've got nothing but kind and benevolent intentions." Zoey remarks lightly.

"Yeah, you mean Mike?" Chris asks.

"What? I mean, you know, whoever." Jess responds and Zoey rolls her eyes.

"Uh huh. Sam?" Chris asks.

"Did you see this view? I mean, holy cow. Sometimes I forget to just stop and take it all in." Sam says and Zoey glances at Chris briefly.

"We should go now before she starts lamenting about trees and squirrels. I wanna get inside and see Josh." Zoey says. 

"Good idea. After you, m'lady." Chris responds lightly.

"Oh, yeah, make me wander off into the scary woods first. You big, strong, protector you." Zoey teases lightly as she walks past him.

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Zoey rubs her arms, glancing around briefly as she walks up the mountain beside Sam, both of them trailing just behind Chris. "You okay?" Sam asks and Zoey glances at her before nodding. 

"Always forget how cold it gets up here. Never remember to bring a thicker coat." Zoey responds and Sam nods a little. 

"Hey, Cochise!" Zoey and Sam both look up the path at Josh's voice. 

"Hey!" Chris responds before the two of them clasp hands for a 'bro hug'. 

"Okay, boys, this is nice and all but can we please, please go inside now?" Zoey asks after a moment and they both look over at her. 

"Zo, you look cold. Want me to warm you up?" Josh asks and she stares at him blankly. 

"Har har." She responds dryly and he grins in amusement. "Indoors. Fireplace." Zoey says before hesitating. "Please?" She adds. 

"Sure, come one." Josh responds before turning to walk up the path. 

"Man, I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it." Chris remarks as they stop and Zoey grumbles softly. 

"Oh yeah? Feels the same to me." Josh responds. 

"Yes. Cold. Why are we standing here?" Zoey complains. 

"Alright, princess, we'll get you inside in a moment." Josh says and she narrows her eyes at him briefly. 

"Oh, come on. You grew up here, though. It probably feels like it's shrinking." Chris counters. 

"I guess that's true." Josh concedes and Zoey crinkles her nose in frustration. 

"Boutta start running laps to keep warm." Zoey mutters to Sam and the blonde glances down as she chuckles softly. 

"When are you gonna install some cell towers up here? I'm getting withdrawals already." Chris complains, holding his phone up slightly. 

"You got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up." Josh offers, holding his hands out slightly. 

"Funny you should say that. Ah, I think I left it in my other jacket. Oops." Chris says as they start walking again. 

"Chris, I don't even believe you currently have a dollar on you." Zoey says. 

"Hey, I paid for the bus here!" Chris argues. 

"Yeah, one of them. I paid for the other for you because you just wandered on like a mad man." Zoey retorts and he frowns. 

"That's not how you treat a lady, Cochise. You should know better." Josh remarks. "I'd have bought your ticket, Zo." Josh says and she raises a brow. 

"Yeah, you damn well better have, Joshua." Zoey responds and he smiles at her briefly before they all continue back up to the house.

Okay, she still wasn't entirely sure what this trip was or why it was suddenly happening after damn near radio silence but at least he really did seem better for it. She hoped, anyway. Because she'd basically spent the last few months doing nothing but worrying about him because she'd gone from seeing him nearly every day to barely getting contact over the phone. Which was the only reason she'd been even remotely willing to come back up this damn mountain.

"Hey, gang! You guys get up here okay?" Josh asks when they see Ashley and Matt sitting outside the lodge. 

"Could have done with some bellboys, but uh hey, can't get everything." Matt responds lightly as he stands and Zoey frowns a little. 

"How much did you bring?" Zoey asks, tilting her head a fraction. 

"Em." Matt responds and Zoey nods a little with a soft 'oh'. 

"Yeah, it was pretty easy," Ashley starts before continuing after a beat. "A little creepy though, I mean, it's just really weird being back here."

Zoey hums softly before moving to sit down on the steps a little further up after Josh and Chris walk up to the door, watching Sam and Matt walk down the path a little. "Yo yo yo! We get things moving up here or what?" Chris asks and Zoey turns to the side a little bit to listen to them talk. 

"Yeah, man!" Josh responds.

"Hey, you doin' alright?" Chris asks, lowering his voice slightly and Zoey glances up at the two of them slightly. "I mean, I know it must be really tough without your sis-"

It wasn't snooping if she was being obvious and they weren't being quiet. 

"Stop." Josh cuts in.

"I just meant that-"

"No, I know what you meant. You know, seriously, I'm over it, and I just want us to have a good time, you know? Like we always used to." Josh says and Zoey frowns a little before softening her expression and offering him a small smile when he glances at her. "You're no better at that."

"I wasn't trying to be discreet. Don't want me to listen, don't have private conversations in front of me." Zoey retorts and he hums before turning to open the front door.

"Dammit, this freaking thing," Josh complains.

"it's iced?" Chris asks.

"What else?"

"Maybe there's another way in." Chris suggests.

"There are a million ways in. They're just all locked." Josh responds and Zoey glances back up at them both, resting her head against the banister. 

"There's gotta be, like, a window round the corner we can get, like- get open or something." Chris suggests.

"Can you just do something before I turn into an ice cube?" Zoey asks lightly.

"Oh, my God! You're dramatic today." Chris responds and she reaches over to pinch his leg. "Ow!"

"Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?" Josh asks, glancing back at them and Zoey frowns a little with an amused smile.

"Josh, I don't think it's breaking in necessarily if you own the place." Zoey responds lightly. 

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's right." Chris agrees, gesturing at the brunette briefly.

"Hey. Not if I don't report you." Josh counters and Zoey raises a brow. 

"Oh, with all this cell service? I'm sure he's terrified." She remarks. 

"Lead the way, Cochise!" Josh says, seemingly ignoring Zoey's remark until he gently flicks her forehead on his way down the stairs. 

"Well, that was rude." She complains.

"You coming, princess?" He asks.

"To climb through a window? No. I'll wait here. Thank you, though." Zoey responds with a smile.

"Don't feel like helping out at all?" Josh asks as Chris stops to talk to Ashley.

"I got Chris here, didn't I? He had your instructions and he still looked lost." Zoey says. "Besides, wouldn't wanna lose my princess title doing the dirty work."

"Zo, I don't only call you that because you like sitting pretty whilst everyone else does the work. You're also very high maintenance." Josh says lightly.

"And yet, you choose to spend time with me, dummy." Zoey responds, scrunching her nose up at him briefly with a slight smile.

"Wouldn't take you any other way." 

Zoey raises a brow at him, tilting her head a little before huffing out a soft laugh. "Careful, Josh. That was almost sweet of you." 

The two of them stare at each other for a beat longer before Josh turns, whacking Chris' arm to pull him out of his conversation with Ashley. "Come on, Cochise."

Zoey rests her arms on her knees as she watches them both walk away, frowning a little before shaking her head slightly, leaning forwards to rest her chin gently on her arms.

"Did you get up here okay?"

Zoey hums softly at the question as she turns her head slightly to look over at Ashley, nodding a little. "Yeah. Chris and I bumped into each other at the bus station so we came up together." Zoey responds and Ashley nods a little. 

"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages." Ashley says suddenly after a beat of silence and Zoey looks back over at her.

"Well, Beth was my best friend. I haven't felt the friendliest." Zoey says after a moment and Ashley hesitates a little before nodding. 

"Do you think this is gonna be awkward?" She asks and Zoey shrugs a little. 

"I don't know. But I assumed you'd be focused on Chris anyway. Maybe a quiet weekend with no parents is exactly the time to do something about that crush you've been sitting on for years." Zoey suggests, watching as Ashley flushes slightly redder.

"You noticed that?" She asks and Zoey raises a brow briefly.

"Yeah, Ash. I noticed that. I'm not blind." Zoey responds.

"Do you think Chris noticed?" Ashley asks.

"No. But he might as well be blind, so that's probably why." Zoey responds, tilting her head a little before smiling at Sam when she spots her walking back up towards them.

"We're not in yet?" She asks.

"Lock's frozen. Boys are on a walkaround somewhere trying to climb through a window to get us in from the inside." Zoey responds as Sam reaches the bottom of the stairs and the blonde nods before offering Zoey a hand to help her up to her feet as Ashley stands. Zoey grumbles softly before gently grasping the outstretched hand, letting the other girl haul her up to her feet. "Thanks, Sammy." 

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