


it's not quite as simple as it used to be

by Silverflare07



Category: Zoey 101
Genre: Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-16
Updated: 2012-05-12
Packaged: 2015-06-24 13:02:03
Rating: T
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,803
Publisher: www.fanfiction.net
Story URL: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7841885/1/
Author URL: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/162654/Silverflare07
Summary: Quinn is left, single and alone, for Spring Break. That is, until Logan offers to let her stay with him in Santa Barbara. Neither of them is really looking for anything, but that doesn't mean they won't find it. An AU look at the start of Quogan.





	1. Chapter 1

I'm back! Or still here I suppose, considering I'm already currently writing another Quogan fic. The inspiration for this literally came to me while I was lying in bed listening to _One Direction_. I don't usually do big AUs like this, I might sometimes bend cannon a little, but I've pretty much snapped it in half here, but I couldn't resist writing this.

Okay, here's the full summary since it would not fit into the description when I was posting this:

Quinn gets dump-broken up with just before Spring Break, leaving her the only student on campus for vacation. That is, until Logan uncharacteristically offers to let her accompany him to his home in Santa Barbara. Now it's just the two of them for the week and if they can manage not to kill each other, they might just find exactly what they've both been looking for. Follows the series up until _Alone at PCA_ then it's totally AU. Quogan.

* * *

><p>"<em>I dunno. We've been dating for a long time now."<em>

SLAM! The basketball hits the backboard with a resounding thud and drops into the basket below, rolling back towards Quinn, who picks it up and throws it again, blinking back the tears that are threatening to fall.

"_Maybe we should take a little break."_

She blinks furiously as she picks up the basketball once again. She throws it as hard as she can, not even worrying about whether it will make it into the net. She has to release all this pent up energy somehow and she refuses to cry. Mark DelFiggalo is not worth her tears.

Her heart betrays her though and she feels her eyes well up as she pictures her now ex-boyfriend. It wasn't fair dammit! Two years of her life (among other things) she'd given up for him. Two years of love and dealing with his rather lack luster approach to everything, including their relationship. And what did she get in return?

The overwhelming urge to hit something and the news that she would once again be single.

She throws the basketball once more, watching with a sort of odd satisfaction as it bounces off the backboard hard enough to shake it and goes sailing over her head. It was nice to pretend that the backboard was Mark's face, even if it didn't really help the situation at all. Stupid no good, lying son of a-

"I thought you'd gotten better at free throws."

A cocky voice breaks her train of thought and Quinn groans. The last person on Earth that she wants to deal with is Logan Reese. She turns to find him standing behind her, the basketball in his hands and a smirk on his face. He tosses the ball casually at the net, his smirk increasing as it goes in with a nearly silent swish. She rolls her eyes and throws the basketball at him before turning away, in no mood to deal with his obnoxious attitude.

"Whatever, Logan."

He must pick up on the sadness in her voice because his tone when he speaks next is quiet and gentle, all traces of sarcasm gone. "Okay." He drops the basketball and takes a tentative step towards her. "Shouldn't you be packing for Spring Break?"

"Nope." She tells him, her voice flat and she sees his eyes widen briefly.

"But you're going to," He pauses, searching for the name of the place Quinn had told them about, "somewhere," he says finally, unable to recall it, "with Mark, aren't you?"

"I'm not-I'm not going anymore." She curses silently as her voice wavers and she swipes furiously at her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere with Mark anymore."

Logan's eyes widen again and she can almost swear she sees concern in them. "Quinn, what happened?"

"Nothing!" She snaps as she continues to try and stop her tears from leaking out. She does not want anyone to see her cry, especially Logan.

But all of a sudden she feels a pair of arms wrap around her and she is suddenly pressed up against Logan Reese as he rubs her back soothingly. "Okay." He tells her simply. "You don't have to tell me what happened."

She knows it must be pretty obvious at this point what has happened, but she doesn't say anything. Instead she just stands there, enjoying the warmth that Logan provides and letting her tears fall. She is too tired of pretending to be fine to worry about the fact that she is showing weakness and too upset to worry about the fact that she is showing it to Logan. Someone is offering her the comfort she'd wanted since yesterday when she'd seen Mark in Sushi Rox and she doesn't have the energy to do anything else but accept it.

oOo

"So what are you going to do for Spring Break?"

Quinn shrugs and accepts the bottle of Blix that Zoey hands her before answering her friend's question. "I don't know. My parents are on a cruise so I can't go home. I guess I'll just have to stay here."

Lola crosses her arms, looking annoyed. "This sucks. Stupid Mark." Quinn frowns at the mention of her ex-boyfriend's name but does nothing else. She's cried all her tears earlier in the day. "I wish we weren't all going home." Lola frowns to match Quinn's.

"It's okay," Quinn assures her, "You guys all go have fun at home. I'll be okay by myself."

Michael shakes his head. "What are you supposed to do if you're the only student on campus?"

Quinn shrugs again. "Who knows. I guess I'll just work on some Quinnventions or something."

"Well, at least Coco will be here…" Zoey trails off as all four friends grimaced. "Yeah, nevermind."

Quinn waves dismissively. "Don't worry about me you guys." She tells them, trying to get them to believe her. "I'll be fine. It's just for a week. I think I can manage."

Lola nods. "Yeah, I know." She frowns again. "I just hate that you'll be here bored all by yourself."

"Hey guys." Logan walks into the lounge and Quinn notices that he's changed his shirt, probably because she'd thoroughly soaked the other one.

"Hey Logan." He and Michael slap hands and the girl's all nod in his direction. "What's up?"

He grins. "Not much. But, uh, Quinn should probably start packing her bags."

They all, Quinn especially, look confused. "What for?" She asks. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You mean you weren't going anywhere."

"Huh?"

"I called my dad and told him you were going to be stuck here at PCA by yourself and he said you could come spend the week in Santa Barbara with us." At his friends' incredulous looks he quickly adds, "You know, if you wanted."

After several moments of silence and shocked expressions from all his friends, Logan crosses his arms. "Fine, don't accept my very kind invitation. Just stay here and bond with Coco."

He stands up to leave when Quinn's voice cut him off. "Wait!" He turns back to face his friends as she continues. "I'm sorry, you just caught us off guard, that's all." He rolls his eyes, but keeps silent. "That's really nice of you to offer. Are you sure I wouldn't just be bothering you though."

He scoffs, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder. "If you were just going to be bothering me than I wouldn't have offered it in the first place."

Quinn doesn't deny the logic in this statement. She does take a few moments to think about it before nodding. "Sure Logan. Thank you."

He grins at them. "No problem. My dad is sending the limo here tomorrow at ten. Meet me by the student drop off area." With that he turns on his heel and walks out of the room, calling "goodbye" over his shoulder.

There's silence for a few minutes after he departs before Zoey, Lola, and Michael turn to face Quinn. "What just happened?" Lola asks.

Her friend shrugs in response before standing up. "I'm not sure. But I guess I'd better go pack."

She exits the lounge, leaving her three friends sharing bewildered looks behind her.

* * *

><p>I honestly cannot believe I've started another fic. I don't usually do chaptered fics and now I've got two in the works. Fortunately, I have them both pretty much planned out so that helps a lot.<p>

Well, let me know what you guys think. As a humble fanfiction author, I live for reviews and feedback.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter two. This fic is going to have probably around 10-12 chapter, and I've already got seven typed up, so don't worry about this story getting abandoned. I'm going to see it through, you guys, even if they _Zoey 101_ fandom is kind of dead.

Enjoy.

* * *

><p>Quinn sighs and zips up her suitcase. She'd finished most of her packing last night, but a few things had had to wait until this morning. She glances at the clock, it's only nine thirty, she still has plenty of time before she needs to head down to meet Logan though, so she isn't worried about it. She sits on her bed and looks around her room. Zoey and Lola have already both left earlier that morning to catch flights back to their respective hometowns and already the room is almost too quiet to bear. She is suddenly very thankful for Logan's offer to let her join him at his home. Even if they don't always get along, at least there will be someone there.<p>

A knock at her door breaks her out of her thoughts. She is surprised to find Logan standing there, holding what appears to be an empty duffel bag. "Hey." he greets as she steps aside so he can enter her room.

"Hi." She eyes the duffel bag (and Logan) rather strangely.

He catches where her gaze is directed and drops the bag at his feet. "I thought it might be a good idea if you brought a bunch of stuff that reminds you of Mark." She raises her eyebrow at this statement and he grins before explaining. "Then, we can light a fire in my family's giant fire pit and burn it. It's supposed to be very therapeutic. That's what my mom always says after a break-up anyways."

Quinn looks at him skeptically. "Well…"

"You don't have to do it." He nudges the duffel bag towards her with his foot. "But pack them anyways. They can sit in a spare bedroom and if you decide to do it, cool. If not, that's cool too."

She doesn't see any harm in this idea. It might even be kind of nice to see Mark, or at least his things, go up in smoke. If she wants to that is. "Okay." She told him finally. "I'm not sure if I want to do it, but I'll bring some stuff. Give me like ten minutes."

He fiddles with her computer while she packs and she appreciated that he seems to understand that she doesn't really want anyone to witness as she put the past two years of her life into a duffel bag, especially since it may be the last time they're ever in her room.

"Okay." He turns to face her once she has finished. "Let's go."

Logan nods, grabbing the duffel bag from her and hoisting it over his shoulder. "Come on, the limo is probably waiting for us."

oOo

They make there way to the student drop off area and find a long white limo waiting for them. "You're dad sent a limo even though there's only two of us?"

Logan nods in response. "Of course. He always sends a limo." He tells her, waving as Chauncey opens and steps out of the limo. "Hey Chauncey!"

"Good day sir." He greets Logan before turning and nodding in Quinn's direction. "It is nice to see you again, Miss Pensky."

Quinn gaps open mouthed for a moment before remembering her manners. Her mouth snaps shut and she smiles lightly at the man in front of her. "Uh, you too, Chauncey."

They climb into the limo, Quinn pulling the door shut before Chauncey has a chance to do it. Logan may be used to being treated like royalty, but Quinn isn't and she finds it kind of unnerving to have everything done for her. She hears their luggage being loaded into the trunk and the next thing she knows, the limo is speeding up PCH and it suddenly occurs to her that she's going to be spending a week _alone_ with Logan.

oOo

Most of the car ride full of silence, neither Logan nor Quinn having much to say. Quinn for the most part is lost in her own thoughts. So many things had happened lately that she is almost thankful for the time to sit and think. Of course, as had been happening lately, whenever she isn't distracted by outside events, her traitorous mind turns to her ex.

She turns to Logan suddenly. "Can I ask you a question?"

He jumps, clearly not expecting her to break the silence. "What?" He takes his head phones out of his ear so he can listen to her properly.

Her eyes look everywhere around the limo before finally settling on him and it occurs to him that she's nervous. His curiosity peaked, he leans closer to her. "What is it?"

"Do you think I'd look good with short hair?" She blurts out the question so quickly that it takes Logan a moment to process it.

"Uh…"

"I mean," she continues to ramble quickly, not giving him a chance to answer, "I know you don't find me particularly attractive in general, but just I was thinking I might cut my hair and was wondering if you think I could pull it off. I mean, not that it really matters I guess, I was just wond-"

He holds up a hand to cut her off and when she's finally quiet he replies. "I think you would look nice with short hair. Why do you want to cut it anyways?"

She looks down at her clasped hands, which are resting in her lap. "I don't know. I guess I just want a fresh start. With the whole Mark thing I mean. Sort of like a new look for a new chapter in my life." She is mumbling by the end and he grins because he thinks her being nervous is actually sort of cute.

"If you really want to cut your hair we can have my stylist do it when we get to my house."

"Really? That wouldn't be too much trouble."

Logan shrugs. "Dave's got to be there for me anyways, so I doubt one little hair cut is going to cause him trouble. Besides, he'll make sure however your hair gets cut looks good. He's a miracle worker." He sees her slightly offended look and cuts her off as soon as she opens her mouth to defend herself. "I'm not saying you need a miracle, Pensky. I'm just saying he's so talented he could make Coco look hot."

She closes her mouth at that, not sure of how to respond so she just turns her head to look out the window. They sit in silence for a few more minutes before Logan takes his ear buds out again and turns his head to face Quinn.

"For the record," he says softly, "I've always found you attractive, just the way you are now."

She doesn't really know how to respond to that either.

oOo

They drive through the gates to Logan's mansion and are greeted by Malcolm Reese and a young man in his early twenties that Quinn has never seen before. Logan leans over to her as she watches them out the window. "That's Dave." Logan tells her. "He usually comes over every morning, but I texted Dad and had him call him in today for you."

"I think my hair cut could have waited until tomorrow morning, Logan."

"No way," Logan shakes his head, "better to get it done right away. Before you have a chance to change your mind."

Quinn shakes her head but doesn't argue. Dave is already here after all so she might as well get it done now. They hop out of the car and Malcolm strolls over to them, smiling. "Hello kids" He greets, pulling Logan into a brief hug before extending a hand for Quinn to shake. "It's nice to see you again Quinn. Welcome to our home."

"Thank you."

Malcolm turns and gestures to the young man just behind him. "And this is-"

"Dave." Said young man interjects, taking Quinn's hand and shaking it as well. "And you must be the young Quinn I'm supposed to be working on today."

Quinn flushes under his gaze. "Yeah, that's me."

Dave's smile is infectious and Quinn can almost feel herself smile back. "Well, you already look great so I'm not sure there's going to be much for me to do." He leans in closer and stage whispers, "I'm beginning to suspect that the Reeses don't think I can handle a challenge."

Malcolm laughs at this. "Or maybe we just don't want you to have to work too hard." He glances down at his watch. "Well, I've got to run. Don't want to be late for my meeting. I'll be back for dinner tonight, you guys behave. And Logan,"

Logan turns to his father. "Yeah?"

"Try not to drive Chauncey crazy."

He smirks. "Can't make any promises."

Behind them, Chauncey rolls his eyes and Quinn wonders if it's always like this when Logan is home. Before she has a chance to think about it any further, Dave claps her on the shoulder and gestures to the house. "Shall we?"

* * *

><p>Okay, that's the end of chapter two. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I've got to be honest, I'm writing this fic half because I was inspired to and half because I recently broke up with my boyfriend of two years and I find writing about my emotions this way to be extremely therapeutic. I'm trying not too make anyone to OoC, but it may happen a little and for that I apologize.<p>

Well let me know what you think. I really love reviews (although don't we all).


	3. Chapter 3

It just occurred to me that I have put a disclaimer in a story in, um, a really, really long time. Obviously I don't own anything I write about. Not _Zoey 101_, not _One Direction_. Not any of it.

Here's chapter three. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Quinn gazes into the mirror as Dave combs through her now wet and washed hair. He meets her gaze and smiles encouragingly at her.<p>

"Nervous?" He asks.

Quinn nods, unable to stop herself. Logan is right though, it's best that she does this right away, like ripping a band-aid off quickly. "A little."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Quinn nods quickly. "Absolutely. I-It's time for a change."

Dave smiles sympathetically. "Boy troubles?"

"Wha?" Her eyes narrow as she tries to figure out just how much Logan has been telling people about what happened between her and Mark.

Her death wish for Logan must be evident on her face because Dave squeezes her shoulder. "No one told me anything. But I am a hairdresser and a gay guy. It's my job to know woman." He winks at her and she can feel her anger evaporating.

"Dave, are you done yet?"

The stylist almost literally leaps in between the chair and the door as Logan walks in. "Get out of here Logan! You can't see her 'til I'm done."

"What? Why not?"

"That's just how it works. You go downstairs and Quinn can make her grand entrance just like in a proper make-over movie."

"What? That's stupid." Quinn can hear the annoyance in Logan's voice and she has to bite back a laugh. "It's just a hair cut."

Dave doesn't even bother holding back his laugh. "Humor me Logan. It's not everyday I get to do this."

"Cut someone's hair?"

"No. Transform a girl and then surprise someone she knows with the finished product!" There is what sounds like a small tussle and Logan being shoved out of the room. "Now get out!"

He is smiling when he returns to Quinn and resumes brushing the tangles from her hair. "Honestly, that boy."

Quinn rolls her eyes. "I know exactly what you mean."

But Dave notices that she doesn't sound nearly as depressed as she did a moment ago, which makes him grin even more. "Now," he takes out his scissors and cuts some of her hair, "is that a good length?"

Quinn leans closer to the mirror so can see her reflection clearly. She is shocked by how much of her hair is missing, but not in a bad way. "Yeah." She tells him finally. "I think that's perfect."

Dave resumes cutting her hair as soon as she has leaned back in the chair. "Oh, and Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry too much about your boy troubles. I think a week here will do you some good."

"I hope so." Quinn confides in him, wondering why it's so easy to talk to a hairdresser that she barely knows. She thinks it's just something about his personality that puts her at ease. She can talk to Dave and it's almost easier than talking to her friends. "I'm really tired of being sad."

Dave smiles encouragingly at her. "You'll see. I bet by the time you leave here you'll be nice and ready to turn on your single girl swagger."

Quinn does laugh at that. And as she watches the pile of hair, her hair, on the floor get larger, she can't help but hope that he's right.

oOo

"Jeez, what is taking so long? It's just a hair cut." Logan grumbles, his arms crossed as he sits on the couch. He's not sure why, but he feels obligated to sit and wait until Quinn is done with her "make-over."

"Sir?"

Logan looks up to find Chauncey standing at the top of the stairs. He gets up and walks over to the bottom step, his arms still crossed. "What?"

"The young lady is ready."

"What? Does she have a ball gown on too?" He rolls his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous sir. You know that we do not have any ball gowns in the house. At least, none in the young lady's size."

"Seriously?" Sometimes Logan can't even believe the things that happen in his own house. "Can I just go up and see her already?"

"I'm afraid you must remain downstairs at the request of Dave." He swears Chauncey is smirking at him and he resists the urge to groan. The sound of a door opening brings his eyes back up to Chauncey.

"It that-"

"Turn around sir."

"What?"

"Dave requests that you turn around until I announce the young ladies presence. He wants to do this in _proper make-over movie fashion_." Chauncey uses air quotes, obviously repeating Dave's instructions verbatim.

"Ugh. It's just a hair cut!" Logan sounds exasperated, but does as he is told anyways. "There! I'm turned around!"

"Very good sir." Chauncey clears his throat and Logan rolls his eyes once more. "Now presenting the newly styled Miss Quinn Pensky."

Logan is half tempted not to turn around, just to ruin this ridiculous scheme that Dave, and Chauncey apparently, seem to have set up. But the temptation to see how Quinn's new hair style looks is greater (he wasn't kidding when he'd said he thought she'd look good with short hair) so he turns around, prepared to, at the very least, give the most exaggerated "oh my god! You've taken my breath away, she is the most gorgeous person on the planet, like ever!" reaction he possibly can.

Instead he finds Quinn smiling shyly at him from underneath side swoop bangs, her face framed nicely by the hair that now just barely reaches her collarbone. She doesn't exactly take his breath away, because it is just a hair cut after all, but he does kind of forget to speak because he's too busy fighting down the blush that is threatening to turn his face into a tomato.

He finds his voice right about the same time Quinn finds the bottom step. "See?" He tells her, backing up so she can follow him into the living room. "Dave does good stuff."

Dave joins Chauncey at the top of the stairs and they both watch as Logan flips on the TV and he and Quinn being arguing about what show to watch. "You know it's your job to monitor this." Dave tells him as Quinn smacks Logan with a couch pillow in an attempt to get the remote.

"My job is to make sure the house stays clean and to see to it that Logan does not sleep all day during his vacation."

"Aw, come on Chaunce!" He slaps Chauncey on the shoulder good-naturedly and chooses to ignore they way the butler rolls his eyes at the nickname. "You need to keep me updated."

"And why is that, sir?"

"Because," Dave grins as he watches the two teens finally settle on a movie, "I've been styling that boy's hair for nearly eleven years now. And I have never seen anything make him speechless."

oOo

Quinn cannot stop gaping at the lavish display of food on the table before her. She doesn't think she's ever seen this much food for so few people before in her life. Logan catches this and grins. "You'd better get used to it, Quinn. For the next week, you are living the life of the rich and famous."

"Sorry I'm late." Malcolm rushes in, interrupting Quinn's response. Malcolm stops as he notices Quinn for the first time. "Quinn, you look lovely."

"Thanks." She smiles politely at Logan's father. This dinner is going to be very awkward for her, but she's hoping Logan and his father have a lot of catching up to do so she won't have to talk much.

"How'd you're meeting go?" Logan asks and Quinn has a sneaking suspicion that he knows how she's feeling, and she can't help but be grateful that he has already deflected the conversation away from her.

"It went great! Better than I'd expected. I'll by flying out first thing in the morning for L.A."

"You won't be around this week?" Quinn almost swears she sees Logan's face fall, but it's only for a moment and than his usual confident smirk is back in place. "Cool."

"Yeah, I need to get started on my newest TV show. Oh, that reminds me." He reaches into his messenger bag, Quinn finds it odd that he'd brought it to the dinner table, and pulls out a CD, handing it to Logan. "I was wondering if you'd listen to this band and tell me what you think. You too." He adds, looking over at Quinn.

Logan flips the CD case over in hands, trying to seem uninterested. "Who are they?"

"A relatively new group. They're called _One Direction_. They're from Europe and I'm thinking about using their music in my newest show, but I want to see what teenagers over here think of them before I do. Just listen to it throughout the week and let me know what you think when you get back to PCA."

"Yeah," Quinn thinks Logan's tone isn't nearly as enthusiastic as he wants it to be, "sure dad. No problem."

"Thanks son."

After that dinner falls into an uncomfortable silence, at least that's how Quinn sees it. She looks down at her lobster and hopes that every family meal Logan's had isn't like this.

The food looks like it's been cooked to perfection, but the awkward silence kind of kills the taste.

* * *

><p>There's chapter three. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought, reviews make my day!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Here's chapter four! Hope you enjoy it. I'm trying to hurry and upload it before I have to go to work, so it's only had a hasty read over to check for typos. SO please forgive if there's an overwhelming amount of them.

* * *

><p>"So…do you play video games?"<p>

Quinn looks over at Logan, her eyebrow raised. "Not really."

"Oh." Quinn looks over at Logan again. She knows this must be weird for him. They hardly ever hung out just the two of them and now they have an entire week together. She wonders if Logan has a library she can lock herself in. She dismisses the thought almost as soon as it pops into her head. Logan is, for once, trying to be nice. The least she can do is try and be nice back.

"Well, I did play a video game once. It was…kind of fun."

Logan perks up at this. "Yeah? What game?" He heads into the kitchen, still able to hear her answer.

Quinn's face scrunches as she tries to think of the title. "Uh, the _Legend of Zelda_, I think."

Logan hands her a bottle of Blix, apple banana, and returns to the couch. "Which one?" He asks, taking a sip of his own Blix.

"Um, there's more than one?"

Logan laughs, but there's nothing mean in it, he finds her obliviousness to "normal" teenage things kind of endearing. "There's like ten or something."

"Oh." Quinn's eyes widen in shock. "Then I have no idea which one I was playing." She confesses.

Logan flips on the TV and hands Quinn a controller. "Oh well. At least you've played a video game before. Come help me kill zombies."

The music pours out the speakers and Quinn looks uncertainly at the controller in her hand. "Um, okay?"

Logan hits start and watches as a horde of zombies rushes at the screen. "Just press the green button to shoot." She does so and a bullet bounces harmlessly off the zombie closest to her.

"Yuck!" She hides her face behind a couch pillow as said zombie reaches her character and begins to, quite graphically, snack on her character's brains. "That is disgusting."

Logan grins. "I know, isn't it awesome?"

She glares at him from over the pillow, but the effect is somewhat diminished because her new bangs are askew from her sudden movement. She sort of reminds him of his great aunt's poodle, the way her hair is falling into her eyes, but he figures it's in his best interests if he keeps his mouth shut about that.

"Okay," He picks up the controller from where she'd dropped it in her rush to get the pillow, "you need to shoot them in the head. They are zombies after all."

Twenty minutes later and Logan is beginning to suspect that Quinn just isn't meant to play video games. She's managed to at least start shooting the zombies in the correct place, but after the first few she keeps getting over whelmed. After her character falls victims to the zombies, and Logan's falls shortly after, for the twelfth time, Logan puts down his controller and sighs. "Maybe we should try something else."

"No." He's taken aback by the determination in her tone. "I'm going to re-kill these zombies if it takes me all day! Show me again how you switch between guns."

Logan grins, partly because of her enthusiasm and partly because he's pretty sure it might actually take them all day, and leans over, pointing out the two buttons she needs to know. He picks up his own controller once more. "Are you sure?"

Quinn nods enthusiastically. "Absolutely. I will not be bested by the undead."

Logan shrugs and hits start. "Okay."

An hour later and she is finally not the worst gamer he's ever met. She's better than Chauncey at any rate. They've managed to hold off the zombies in this latest round, Logan had lost count of many they'd played after the thirtieth one. In fact, they manage to make it to the point where zombies have stopped coming out of the stores and all they have do is kill off the remaining zombies.

"Eat gunpowder, zombie scum!" Quinn shouts and she actually manages to shoot the last one, in the head and everything. "I did it!"

"Nice." Logan congratulates her. "You've finally completed level one." The sarcasm is evident in his voice and she sticks her tongue out at him.

"Ha ha. How many levels does this game have anyways."

"Like fifty."

She glances at the TV then back at Logan, looking sheepish. "Uh, maybe we should play something else."

Logan nods in agreement. "Yeah. I don't think I have enough patience to get you through level two."

Quinn whacks him with the couch pillow once more and he seriously considers having Chauncey hid every pillow in the house until Quinn is gone. She clearly gets way too much enjoyment from hitting him with them. To avoid further injury via pillow, he gestures to the kitchen. "Want some lunch?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." She bumps her hip against his on her way to the kitchen, throwing him off balance, but luckily not onto the floor.

He can't help but watch her hips as she goes. He is a red blooded male after all. And really, it's her fault for drawing his attention there in the first place.

oOo

"Here." Logan hands her a plate before opening up the pizza box in front of them and grabbing himself a slice.

"Thanks." She grabs a slice for herself, letting it sit on the plate and cool, before taking a bite. "I kind of feel bad for massacring all those zombies. I mean, I know it's just a video game, but still."

Logan laughs, taking a bite of his pizza and blanching at how hot it is. "You're like my mom. She kept apologizing to people she ran over the first time she played _Grand Theft Auto_."

Quinn blushes, knowing how silly it must seem. "I mean, I know they're just pixels, but I still feel a little bit bad."

"Well don't. These aren't people. These are emotionless, soulless beings that only look human, sort of."

Her face falls and she gives him a weak, "yeah," before focusing her entire attention on her plate and picking at her pizza. Logan mentally kicks himself, realizing that, while Delfiggalo wasn't a zombie (well probably not), he was sort of emotionless. And naturally Quinn would be hypersensitive to anything that even remotely reminded her of her ex.

He wants to apologize, but can already see her blinking back tears and he doesn't know if he can handle her crying again. So instead he smiles weakly and takes another bite of his pizza, wondering how he can fix this.

oOo

Quinn spends the rest of the day in a Mark-induced funk. She doesn't mean to, she realizes that it's probably rude, but she can't help it. She cries in her room for a little while after lunch, unaware that Logan, who is downstairs watching TV, is acutely aware of where (and why) she has disappeared to.

She eats dinner silently and heads back up to her room as soon as the movie Logan suggests they watch is over. She can feel his eyes follow her up the stairs and she thinks maybe he wants to say something. She's kind of glad when he doesn't though. If she tries to talk about it again, she'll probably end up crying all over his shirt again.

Because one of the worst things about crying over Mark today, was that Logan wasn't there to wrap his arms around her and rub her back in a small attempt to comfort her. And, for some reason, she really misses that. She tries not to think too much about it though, figuring she's not in a good frame of mind to judge any of her emotions, no matter how odd they may seem.

As she changes into her pajamas, she vows to try and be more cheerful tomorrow. She also vows to try her best to not let herself think of Mark, no matter how much she might be reminded of him. She grabs two ponytails and automatically puts her hair into pigtails, almost completely forgetting that she'd lost about two thirds of her hair the day before. She looks at herself in the mirror. Her eyes are still a little red, but other wise it's nearly impossible to tell that she'd spent most of the day crying.

A knock on her door breaks her concentration and she turns just in time to see Logan stick his head in the room. "Hey."

She waves half-heartedly at him and then berates herself because not even five minutes ago she had promised herself to be more cheerful. "Hey." She replies and is pleased to note that she doesn't sound nearly has monotone as she had earlier.

Logan must notice this as well because he gives her a small smile. "Try not to sleep in too late tomorrow. Dad thinks I should show you the "sights of Santa Barbara," which I'm taking to mean the beach because there's not much else to see here."

"Sounds good. We can leave after breakfast if you want. I'll be sure that I'm ready by then." She tries to smile, but it's half-hearted at best. She'll have to work on that tomorrow.

"Good night." He tells her before he disappears from view. "Sleep well."

She smiles as the door closes behind him, this one more genuine. She is actually looking forward to tomorrow, for some reason. She's still too tired to analyze her own feelings though.

"Good night Logan."

* * *

><p>And there's chapter four. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you guys think!<p>

Reviews make my day, so don't be afraid to send one!


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the next chapter. We are officially almost halfway through the story! Not much to say really, except that the ybox 180 and Just Boogie 3 are obviously parodies of the xbox 360 and Just Dance. Neither of which do I own.

Enjoy!

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><p>When Quinn makes it outside the next morning she is surprised to find that instead of a limo, Logan's silver convertible is waiting, Logan already sitting in the driver's seat. He smirks at her, "Hop in Pensky. We've got a lot of city to visit."<p>

"You got your car back?"

Logan grins, patting the steering wheel affectionately. "Yeah. My dad told me that as long as I had my license and didn't bring it to PCA, I could keep it."

"I'm surprised you're not taking the limo, I know how much you love showing off your wealth." Quinn teases, as she climbs into the passenger side.

"Yeah well," Logan shrugs, "It's easier to see the town in a convertible with the top down. Besides," He grins and Quinn surprises herself by thinking it's almost, kind of, adorable. "I really want to take her out."

Quinn shakes her head, but doesn't argue as Logan backs out of the driveway. "So, where are we headed?"

Logan shrugs. "Honestly, no idea. There's some museums and stuff, which you'd probably like."

"You'd be bored to death there though, wouldn't you?"

He shrugs again, which Quinn takes to mean yes, despite what comes out of his mouth. "They won't be that bad. Well probably."

Quinn looks thoughtful before her eyes light up. "Do you have a boardwalk?"

"Yeah, it's full of lots of tourist-y stuff though. You'd really want to do that?"

She nods. "Yeah. I've been to the beach, but none of the beaches by PCA have boardwalks, and they're supposed to be really cool. Plus, you'd probably like that way more than a museum."

"Well," Logan looks over at her, grinning guiltily, "that's probably true."

He turns and heads towards the highway, before he remembers something. "Oh yeah," He rummages in console between the seats before handing Quinn the CD that his father had given them two days ago. "Here. We might as well listen to this and see if there are any good songs."

Quinn pops in the CD, nodding in approval as some nice, upbeat music spills out of the speakers. "Not bad." She admits, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as the wind gets worse as they pick up speed. "Definitely good for driving around with the top down."

Logan looks over at her quickly, glad to see that she seems to be in a better mood than yesterday. It's only a short twenty-minute drive to the boardwalk from his house, but by the time they manage to find a parking spot, they've already listened to most of the CD and Quinn has two favorite songs and even Logan has to admit that he's particularly fond of one of them, and that the rest aren't bad.

Quinn's eyes light up when they finally make it onto the boardwalk, trying to take in everything at once, like a little kid. He's pretty sure she's going to hurt her neck if she keeps trying to make it revolve like that creepy girl from the _Exorcist, _but he has to admit that it's kind of nice to see someone so exited by something that seems so normal to him.

They pass by an arcade and Logan gestures towards it. "Want to try your luck at some other video games?"

She looks at the arcade for a minute before nodding. "Okay, sure."

They make their way inside, both of them turning ten dollars into tokens and Logan spends the next fifteen minutes or so slaughtering Quinn at every game they try. She refuses to give up though. She's much better at most of the other games than she was at the zombie game, which is good because Logan wasn't kidding yesterday, he's pretty sure he doesn't have the patient to try and get her through another level of that game. They're down to their last two tokens and Logan points to a large TV that has an yBox 180 attached to it, _Just Boogie 3_, playing on the screen.

"How about this one. No shooting or bad guys involved." He doesn't tell her that he's a ridiculously good dancer, figuring she'll find out soon enough.

She nods and when he explains the basics of the game, she grins. "Ready?"

He selects a playlist and smirks in her direction. "Oh I am always ready to kick some butt."

She beats him at every song on the playlist. And every playlist that he buys the tokens for after that.

oOo

She breathless from laughter when they finally leave the arcade almost an hour later. "I can't believe you beat me!" Logan cries, for the eighth time, sounding just as indignant as the first time.

Quinn laughs again. "I can't believe you spent nearly twenty dollars in tokens just to try and beat me."

Logan mock pouts. "I had to defend my title as PCA's greatest dancer."

She gives him, what he thinks, is an adorable confused face. "You don't have a title as PCA's greatest dancer."

He pretends to pout some more so she rolls her eyes and starts walking away. "I'm going to finish site seeing. You can stay here and cry if you'd like."

Logan groans and walks quickly to catch up with her. "I wasn't going to cry."

She smirks over at him. "Yeah, sure."

He crosses his arms. "I wasn't!"

Their bickering, although playful, lasts until the reach their next destination, a place that specializes in temporary tattoos. Quinn throws her arm to stop him, before turning back to face the store. "I'm getting one." She tells him. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," he motions to the shop next door, a surfing shop, "I'm going to look in here until you're done."

They part ways and Logan is glad to have a few minutes to himself. He'll never admit it, but part of the reason it had been so easy for Quinn to beat him, the first time at least, was because he'd been too busy watching her twist and wiggle in ways that he hadn't realized she could.

oOo

"Okay," He confesses as they walked back into his house, "the real reason we went site seeing today is because I needed to get you out of the house."

She kind of looks like she's mildly offended, but luckily instead of yelling or hitting him with a couch pillow, she just raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

He leads her upstairs, stopping in front of a door that Quinn is pretty sure belongs to the room that Lola had slept in when they'd come for Spring Break a year ago. "For this."

He opens the door and grins at her gasp of surprise. She's not looking at a spare room anymore. She's looking at, for all intents and purposes, a laboratory. It's not nearly as sophisticated as what she might have found in professional places, but it's equal to, if not a little better than, the step up she has back at PCA.

"Oh my god!" She squeals before running inside and picking up the nearest thing she can get her hands on. "Where did you-when did you-how did you-" she can't seem to settle on a question so finally she just asks, "why?"

Logan shrugs, trying to keep the blush off his face. Quinn is the only girl who has ever made him blush and he kind of hates it, but also kind of likes it, in the weird "I can't really help it" kind of way. "You've just been really sad lately." He finally says. "I don't think any of us have really seen you smile at all for a couple of weeks. I-we've missed it."

She smiles gently, realizing that today she's been happier than she's been in a long time and that strangely, it is all due to the boy who is standing in front of her and refusing to meet her gaze. "I know that my house isn't exactly full of stuff you love to do so, last night, after I saw how miserable you were because of, well you know," he doesn't want to say DelFiggalo name lest it send her into a depression again, "and I figured this would cheer you up."

She catches them both off guard by wrapping her arms around his neck and laughing happily. "Thank you so much, Logan. This is really amazing."

He wraps his arms around her waist for a quick hug, but both break apart after a few minutes, and this time he's not the only one who's flushing. "What, uh, what are you going to do first?" He asks, partly because he's curious and partly because he needs to break the awkward silence that's settled between them.

"Well…" Quinn looks thoughtful for a moment before her eyes light up. "The last time I was here I created that energy drink, Frazz. I think I'm going to try and perfect that. You know, so that it doesn't turn who ever drinks it into a psycho."

"An energetic psycho." Logan agrees, remembering watching Dustin climb an insane amount of stairs.

She turns to the equipment and begins to turn things on and grab ingredients. Logan stands there, not really sure what to do. It occurs to him that she's the only girl who can make him feel awkward too. "I could help, if you want." He says finally. At her incredulous look his eyes narrow. "Hey, I'm pretty damn good at chemistry, remember?" He doesn't even want to think about the fact that he's suddenly proud of this.

Her eyes soften and she nods. "Yeah, I remember." She smiles suddenly. "You can help if you really want. But don't touch anything unless I tell you. We are working with some very unstable elements here."

He looks confused and a little frightened as he says, "I thought we were making an energy drink."

"We are." She confirms, smirking. "Among other things."

* * *

><p>There's chapter five. Hope you guys liked it!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry this took so long to update. I promise I am not abandoning this story. I haven't lost the inspiration for it either. I only have a few more chapters left and I promise I will see this story through to the end. I just got side tracked by two new fandoms and I had a crazy burst of inspiration for them.

Anyways, enough rambling. Here's chapter six! Enjoy!

* * *

><p>They don't actually get to work on anything until the next day. Chauncey calls them down to dinner before they can actually accomplish anything and afterwards Quinn suggests watching a movie because she doesn't want to get sucked into her latest idea and end up staying up all night.<p>

Logan agrees to this because, honestly, a movie sounds cooler than working with Quinn in her lab.

So the lab remains pretty much untouched until the next morning. Logan pops the _One Direction _CD into the stereo and Quinn smiles as the first pop song bounces around the room. She wiggles a little bit but soon abandons her dancing in favor of paying attention to the chemicals in front of her. Logan's glad about this, because he's not sure how much help he'd actually be if he's distracted by her hips.

They work through the rest of the morning. Logan actually doesn't mind it at first. It's sort of fun to watch Quinn create something out a bunch of smaller things. He compares it to directing in his head and that makes it more relatable and interesting for him. She takes apples, bananas, and bunch of chemicals he can't remember the name of and creates an energy drink. His dad takes a story, actors, and a set and creates a movie. Plus, the first two times the CD plays he can distract himself by nodding his head to the music. When the first track starts to replay for the third time though, he starts to get bored.

An interesting, and currently unidentified liquid is sitting next to him in a beaker. He's not sure what it is, but it smells a little like mango and incredibly good. Another unidentified liquid is sitting next to the first and it smells like oranges and it smells incredible too. He thinks Quinn may have accidentally invented one of the best smelling perfumes he's ever come across and he's run into a lot of different perfumes (and girls). So, naturally, he does what anyone would do. He picks up the beaker that smells like oranges and pours some into the beaker that smells like mango.

And Quinn looks over just in time to see him do it.

"No!" she yells as the door starts to open.

She grabs him by the arm and yanks him down onto the floor and underneath the table just as the mixture explodes, coating the room in a light pink foam. They wait a few seconds to make sure no more explosions are coming and then both creep out from under the table and stick their heads just high enough to look over the table and survey the damage.

Logan's not exactly sure how the two liquids created a foam, but it is now currently all over everything except the two of them. A cough from the door draws their attention to the person standing in front of them. Chauncey, like everything else in the room, is covered from head to toe in the foam. Logan and Quinn look at each other nervously before turning back to Chauncey.

"Sorry?" Logan offers sheepishly, he kind of wants to laugh at the site of his butler, but he knows that's probably not a good idea.

Chauncey sighs, as if things often exploded when Logan is around, and uses one finger to clean off his glasses. "Lunch is ready and waiting." He informs them before turning and leaving the room, most likely to go call a cleaning crew to fix the now chaotic room.

Quinn and Logan share a look and watch Chauncey's retreating figure, his back still perfectly black and untouched by foam, before bursting into laughter. "I told you not to touch anything!" Quinn chokes out in between giggles.

Logan stands up, managing to look sheepish once again. "I was bored!"

She shakes her head at him, but she's smiling so he figures he's not in too much trouble. "Lunch?" He offers her his arm and she giggles before accepting it and they make they're way downstairs where a lavish lunch greets them.

There both to busy laughing to realize that their arms remain linked until they reach the table.

oOo

They spend the rest of the day lounging by Logan's pool. One of Logan's favorite things about California is that it's almost always warm enough to go swimming. Logan loves the beach and pools because, well, he loves being without his shirt on. He's got movie star/model good looks and he loves showing them off.

"So is your dad going to be back before we leave?" Quinn asks. She hasn't seen Malcolm Reese since her first night here and she finds it kind of odd because Logan had specifically said that she was invited to spend the week with _us_, and she'd kind of assumed the other half of the _us_ was his father.

Logan shakes his head, scoffing a little. "No. He's still in LA working on his new show."

She can't help but notice that his voice is a little bitter and she reaches over and places her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." His voice is tight, further reinforcing her belief that he is not okay, but she doesn't push it.

Logan's not a particularly open person and if he wanted to talk about it with her, he would.

"Want to go play tennis?" He offers after a few seconds of silence.

"You have a tennis court." She's not sure why she's surprised. He's probably got everything here.

He smirks at her. "Duh. I have everything here."

She rolls her eyes, _of course_. She agrees anyways.

oOo

That evening Quinn returns to the newly cleaned lab and Logan politely opts to spend his time playing video games. It might just be her imagination, but Chauncey looks rather relieved when he over hears this. She doesn't mind though. Logan has been surprisingly nice and likable ever since they left PCA on Saturday, but it's still nice to have time to herself.

She carefully mixes two more ingredients into her new and improved _Frazz_. She smiles as the mixture fizzes slightly, as it was supposed to, before settling down, now a bright blue color. The energy drink is working out much better this time. She's learned a few things since then and her approach to the project has changed considerably.

Speaking of things that seem to have changed considerably…

Her mind drifts to Logan. He'd been surprisingly helpful with handling her break up with Mark. He'd been careful not to mention him and had gone out of his way a few different times to make sure she was distracted and not thinking too much about her ex. He's entire invitation to come visit his home, she's sure, was a way to keep her occupied so that she didn't spend the whole week on campus, alone and moping.

She squeezes the juice from an apple into her _Frazz _and smiles at the now complete energy drink. She'll have to double check and make sure there aren't any unexpected adverse side effects once she gets back to school. She needs one of the lab rats there because she's almost positive that Logan's father would be quite unhappy if his pet rabbit died because of some unforeseen effect of her drink.

She glances at the clock and is surprised to find that it's nearly midnight already. She, surprisingly doesn't feel tired despite the late hour. Of course, as soon as she thinks this, she yawns and her eyes start to droop. Clearly, sleep would be in her best interest. She eyes a few of her other experiments that she has going.

Well…just a little longer couldn't hurt.

oOo

Logan finally manages to tear his attention away from his video games at about 2 a.m. As tempting as it would be to continue playing video games the rest of the evening, well early morning technically, he's aware that he will eventually have to return to school so it's probably in his (and his roommates) best interests if he at least attempts to retain something of a normal sleep schedule.

He climbs the stairs and heads towards his room until the light underneath the door to Quinn's makeshift lab catches his attention. He glances at his watch, even though he already knows the time. She can't possibly still be up…

He opens the door and finds Quinn sitting at one of the tables, her heading resting peacefully on her notes, fast asleep. He grins at the young scientist and heads over to her, making sure to move anything he can't identify well out of his way. The last thing he wants to do is accidentally coat the room in another unidentified substance.

He picks up the sleeping girl carefully, making sure to tuck her head in the crook of his neck, where it's least likely to hit anything. He carries to her room and tucks her into bed, brushing her bangs out of her face as soon as his hands are free.

He almost scoffs at himself as he realizes what he's doing. He's going soft. And for the last person he'd ever expect to go soft for.

He makes his way to his own bedroom and is soon safely tucked in his own bed, still in disbelief over his newfound state of "softness." His last thought before falling asleep is that, scarily enough, he really doesn't mind it.

Especially since it's for Quinn.

* * *

><p>There's chapter six. Only a few more days of Spring Break are left! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!<p>

Leave me a review and let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

Here's the next chapter. I think there's actually only going to be maybe 12 chapters, so we're getting close to the end. Hope you guys are enjoying it so far!

* * *

><p>Logan wakes up the next morning a little later than normal. He stretches and heads to the bathroom, and begins his daily morning routine. Half an hour later he is sitting at his computer, almost completely ready. He logs into <em>FaceSpace<em>, interested to see what his friends have been up to since they'd left for their own homes five days ago. The first thing that really catches his eye however, has nothing to do with his friends who are currently spread across the country.

_Mark DelFiggalo is in a relationship with Brooke Margolin_

Logan's first thought is that he's surprised that DelFiggalo managed to find another girlfriend. Especially one like Brooke Margolin. His second thought is of Quinn and whether or not she's seen this new post. He closes his laptop, completely forgetting to check on his other friends and heads downstairs, hoping that Quinn won't be too upset when he finds her.

She's sitting at the table in the kitchen, eating pancakes that Chauncey has obviously prepared for her, and when she hears him shuffle in she looks up and greets him with a warm smile. He's caught off guard by this. Perhaps she hasn't seen the post yet after all.

"Hey." She greets, nodding her head to the stack of pancakes on a plate in the middle of the table. "There's pancakes if you're hungry."

He nods enthusiastically, he's a teenage boy so he's _always _hungry. "Sweet!" He grabs three pancakes before loading them down with syrup and taking a large bite. "I have to admit, I love Chauncey's cooking."

"Thank you sir." Both teens turn to find said butler standing in the kitchen doorway. "But I am afraid I didn't make those."

Logan looks surprised by this. "You didn't?"

"No sir."

"I did." Quinn tells him, taking another bite of her own pancake. "But thanks for the compliment." She's smirking at him and for some reason he's blushing so instead of retorting like he normally would, he concentrates on making his face return to it's normal (and beautiful) tan color by glaring at her.

She laughs at this and for split second he's pretty sure she can see right through him and that makes him just blush harder. Luckily, she just shakes her head and tells him, "I'm glad you like them. Pancakes are one of the few things I'm really good at making."

He's about to answer her when he's phone goes off, startling them both. He looks down and realizes it's his father and that he should probably take this. He excuses himself, waving the phone lightly as means of explaining why he's leaving. He makes his way towards the living room, flipping his phone open as he does so. "Hey, dad."

His voice trails off and Quinn is left alone in the kitchen with Chauncey and her thoughts.

oOo

Quinn is able to finish eating and clean the mess she made while cooking and Logan still hasn't returned from the phone call with his father. She shrugs it off though, figuring it must be a very important call. It would certainly be an improvement over the silence that had blanketed the only meal she's ever eaten with Malcolm Reese present. She had been starting to think that Logan and his father never talked, which she had found incredibly sad for her friend, so she's glad that she seems to be proven wrong.

Not wanting to bother him, she decides after breakfast to take a walk around the vast grounds that his home sits on. She's seen most of the inside of Logan's house (with the exception of his room), but she's seen surprisingly little of the grounds outside the house. As she makes her way outside she stops to enjoy the way the breeze lifts her now shortened hair. She only takes a minute to enjoy the nice weather before she heads down towards the pool, wondering how big the Reese property actually is.

She doesn't even make it to the pool though. She's stopped short by the image of Logan sitting dejectedly over on the red swing of a swing set he clearly out grew years ago. Cautiously, she approaches him. Obviously, whatever talk he'd had with his father had left him upset and Quinn wasn't sure if he would even want her there. But he'd been there for her when she needed it the most, so the least she can do is offer.

"Hey." She says quietly, sitting down next to him on the blue swing.

He looks over at her and offers her a half-hearted grin. "Hi."

"Is everything ok-"

"Everything's fine." He cuts her off and his voice is tight, a clear indication that he does not want to talk about it.

"O-okay…" She sighs and moves to get up before realization dawns on her face and she settles back onto the swing, using her legs to push her back and forth ever so slightly. "Mark didn't break up with me."

Logan looks up at her, confusion clearly written on his face. She turns to face him and is glad that she's got his full attention. "I mean," she continues to swing lightly back and forth, "he did break up with me. But he didn't just break up with me."

"What?" She can't tell if his confusion is more from the story itself or the fact that she seems to be randomly telling it to him now, of all times.

"A few days before you found my playing basketball…Mark told me he wanted to take a break because we'd been seeing each other for such a long time." She shook her head. "But that wasn't really what he meant." She sighed and turned to face him. "Do you know that I was okay with him wanting to take a break?" At his headshake she smiles slightly. "I figured it was just a guy thing. He needed some time to himself and that it would just be a phase. But Friday, I walked into Sushi Rox and he was there, attached at the lips with Brooke Margolin. He didn't want a break. He wanted a different girlfriend. And I felt like such an idiot for thinking that everything would work itself out in a little while when he'd really been lying about it from the start."

She shook her head, laughing lightly. "But you know what, it turns out I was right. It did work itself out in the end. Just not the way I had thought." She looked up at the sky, pushing her legs a little higher, making her swing back with a little more force. "When I saw Mark's new relationship status this morning, I braced myself for all the pain of our break-up to come back full force. But it's funny, there was this little ache, but it was more like saying goodbye to an old friend that I've outgrown." She turns to face him and smiles gently at look on his face, half disbelief and half awe. "And honestly, I owe that to you."

"You do?" He sounds confused, but she thinks she also detects a little bit of happiness in his voice too.

"Yeah." She nods. "You gave me exactly what I needed, even though I didn't realize it at the time. You made sure I kept my mind off of everything, you gave me a chance to physically start fresh, even though it was just a haircut, and you've been giving me reasons to smile since we left PCA. So thank you. Really."

He smiles. "You're welcome. Not that it's not nice to hear but, uh, why are you telling me all this."

Quinn stands up, turning back to face him, still smiling gently. "So that you could realize that I really am grateful to have you there for me when I really needed someone. And to let you know that if you ever need someone, I'm here to return the favor."

She takes a few steps back towards the house when he calls after her. "My dad is going to be in LA for the next six months."

He gestures to the now empty swing next to him when she turns to face him once again. She walks back and takes her place on the blue swing, turning to him with a look that clearly says she's ready to listen. "I just, he promised to actually be home this spring break." He scoffs. "But that was my own fault for thinking he'd actually keep this promise."

"Logan…"

"I know my dad is busy." He continues. "And I know that he loves me and that he tries to be a good parent usually, but it just seems like he always has some type of business project to take care of. Like he puts his money and being successful before everyone else, including me."

Her eyes soften and when she speaks her tone is tentative. "You do that sometimes too, you know."

His eyes harden and she's afraid she may have made a mistake. "I know." He says finally. "I hate myself when I do that. I just, well I don't have a lot to go on. My dad is kind of the only role model I've ever had and even though I don't want to be like him, I'm usually not sure how to be anything else."

Quinn suddenly leans forward and wraps Logan in a hug. He stiffens underneath her, clearly not used to being so open with her (or anyone), but after a few seconds he relaxes and wraps his arms around her waist. They stay like that for a few minutes and when Quinn finally pulls back they both can't help the rush of disappointment and loss that seems to fill them. Logan shoots her a small half smile before turning back to the house.

"I know that my dad is just doing what he believes is best, but sometimes it would be nice if we could just, you know, do stuff together, like a regular family."

Quinn can feel her heart going out to the boy in front of her. He's never shown this side of himself to her before and she can't help the sudden feeling that surges through her. The one that wants to wrap him in a hug and protect him from what he's feeling. "My family goes camping every summer." She tells him.

"What?" This is the second time he's looked at her like she's sprouted a second head and she mentally barrettes herself because Logan obviously can't read her mind so that probably seemed terribly random to him.

"Every summer," she repeats, hoping to better explain herself, "we spend a week camping. We don't take a lot of money or luxuries, but we spend the week together, doing all kinds of stuff. Canoeing, roasting marshmallows over a fire, singing songs around the fire, typical family camping trip stuff. You should come with us."

He blinks, clearly still trying to digest this information. "Really?"

"Yeah." Quinn nods happily. "Mark was supposed to come with us this year, but since if he did I'd just spend the whole week trying to figure out a way to attract a bear to eat him, it's probably much better if you come. My parents won't mind since they were expecting to bring him anyways. Think of it as my way of repaying you for this." She gestures around her, referring to his invitation to spend the week at his house.

His face blooms into a rare, honestly happy smile, not single trace of a cocky smirk anywhere in it. "Seriously? I think I'd really like that." He pulls her into another hug. "Thanks." He says into her hair.

She grins and realizes something. "You know," she says, and he pulls back just far enough to be able to meet her gaze, but doesn't release his grip on her, "I think I'd like to burn that stuff of Mark's tonight. If you don't mind."

Logan Reese, she decides, really does have a wonderful smile.

* * *

><p>Well there's chapter 7. I'm sorry if the characters seem a little out of character, but I feel like, realistically, they could be like this. Because <em>Zoey 101 <em>was a kid's show a lot of its elements where played up for laughs without going deeper into them so I really think that, Logan could feel what he expressed here and, given that they're supposed to be getting closer (the next chapter is sort of the moment where everything boils over for Quinn and Logan) that it wouldn't be that odd for him to share those feelings with her.

Well let me know what you think. Chapter eight will be up in a few days!


	8. Chapter 8

Oh wow, I am so sorry about the ridiculous delay. You guys are going to think I'm the biggest idiot alive when I tell you what happened. I went through the chapter, proof read it and added my author's notes, like I always do then got it uploaded to my account but not published. Then, just as I was about to publish it, my mom called me and I had to leave to go shopping. And by the time we got back I remembered uploading it and didn't remember that I hadn't published it yet. So this whole time I thought the chapter was uploaded. Again guys, I am so, so sorry.

Here's chapter 8. There's only four more to go after this! Maybe five, but I'm thinking it's only going to be four.

Enjoy!

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><p>"Are you sure you want to do this?" Logan doesn't know why he's so nervous about this. It's really not affecting him in any way so there's no reason to be so nervous. Except, he realizes, that it sort of is, because he's discovered over the course of a week that he <em>really<em> likes Quinn so it's kind of a big deal for him too if she burns her ex's belongings and says good-bye to him once and for all.

Quinn nods and drops the duffel bag in front of the fire pit. "Yes, definitely." She turns to face him, grinning. "I'm ready to be done with Mark DelFiggalo once and for all."

He can't help but grin as he lights the fire. It will take a little while for it to get big enough that it will actually burn anything in her duffel bag, but neither of them minds. It's a beautiful night out and they're both comfortable enough around each other now to just sit in silence and enjoy it. Quinn plugs her iPod into the stereo that's already set up by the fire pit and Logan smirks at her as more _One Direction _pours out from the speakers.

She smiles guiltily at him. "They've really grown on me. I like them, a lot."

Logan shrugs. "They're alright." He's not going to admit that he kind of really likes them too, because, well, he's a guy and he has to keep up some pretenses of manly-ness, even around Quinn.

She shakes her head and laughs and he can't shake off the feeling that she can see right through him. But she doesn't say anything. Instead she just lies down on the grass, looking up at the night sky. He joins her after a minute, because they have time before the fire is ready and he's not really sure what else to do. "I love looking at stars." She confesses.

He turns his head to face her. "Really?"

She nods, still looking at the sky. "They amaze me. How there can be so many and they're all a hundred times bigger than our own sun. And how they can be so beautiful and dangerous at the same time. Not that we really have to worry about being hurt by a star, but, theoretically, if you were ever able to see a star up close, you'd burn up before you even got close enough to touch it."

Logan grins. "You're rambling." He informs her.

She stops and takes a minute to think about his words. She blushes. "Yeah, sorry. You know how I get about science."

"It's fine." He tells her, before glancing at the fire. "I think you can start throwing stuff in there now."

She jumps up, grabbing the duffel bag and digging through it. She comes out with a stack of papers. "Notes." She explains when she sees Logan's curious glance. "That Mark and I wrote each other." She tosses them into the fire and they disappear in a matter of seconds.

She pulls out a sweatshirt that is obviously Mark's, as it's at least two sizes too big for her. "I was going to give this back but," she grins almost deviously, "this will much better." And the sweater joins the notes in the fire.

She empties the rest of the duffel bag into the fire, one item at a time and with each item she can feel her last bits of attachment to Mark slip away, floating into the sky with the smoke. The last item she pulls out is smaller and silver and she can hear Logan's breath catch in his throat.

"Is that-?"

She shakes her head. "It's just a promise ring. He got it for me for Christmas last year. It wasn't anything more serious than that. I don't know if it will even melt in here," she tosses it in anyways, "but it's worth a shot and I certainly don't want it anymore."

"I can't believe I never saw you wear it." He admits.

Quinn shrugs. "I didn't wear it that often to be honest. It's not really my taste. I wore it when we went on dates but otherwise," she shrugs again, "Mark's not really all that observant, so I don't think he even ever noticed."

They stand there in silence just watching the fire dance and flicker. "Thanks." Quinn turns to face him and smiles. "This is was a really good idea."

"You're welcome." They both turn and make their way towards the pool and back to the house. "You should listen to me more often." He shots her a smirk. "I'm usually right."

Quinn rolls her eyes and shoves him playful. He looses his balance only slightly, but it's enough to get him caught in the foam noodle pool toy that he's walking over. She watches half horrified and half amused (okay, partly horrified and mostly amused) as he waves his arms frantically to try and regain his balance. This doesn't work, however, and he falls straight into his family's large swimming pool.

He surfaces a moment later and Quinn's laughter is the first thing that greets his ears. He glares at her from underneath his sopping wet hair, but she is too busy doubled over in laughter to notice it. "Are-are you okay?" She manages to choke out between laughter.

He pretends to grumble, but he's not really mad about it. She offers him her hand to help him climb out and is too busy laughing to realize what a mistake she's just made. He smirks and grabs her hand, yanking her into the pool with him. She shrieks when she pops back up and Logan can't stop laughing. "I'm sorry," he tells her grinning and not sounding sorry at all. "But you walked into that one."

She pretends to be mad, but she knows he's right. She's glaring at him, or he thinks she is, then he realizes she's squinting because her glasses had gotten knocked off when he'd pulled her in with him. "Hold on." He tells her. His pool has lights and he can see the frames sitting on the bottom of the pool beneath them. He dives down and grabs them, surfacing just in front of her.

"Here." He moves some hair out of her face and slips her glasses back onto her face. "Better?" He asks softly.

"Much." She whispers and he's momentarily mesmerized by the way the light from the fire is illuminating her face.

And then he's kissing her with a kind of intensity he has never kissed anyone with before. He's got her pinned against the pool wall and her face cupped in his hands. Her hands go straight for his hand, tangling themselves in his hair and he tries to get as close to her as possible (which is surprisingly difficult since he's treading water). His lips leave hers as he begins planting kissing down her jaw line and then back again. She tastes like coconut flavored lip gloss and a little bit like chlorine, but he honestly doesn't mind because she does this thing with her tongue and he literally looses all ability to think coherently.

This might honestly be the greatest thing he has ever felt in his entire life and he sort of can't believe it took him almost the entire week to do it.

* * *

><p>And there you go! They finally kiss. But don't worry the story isn't over yet!<p>

Send me a review and let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

Here's the next chapter guys! I'm thinking this story will have 12 or 13 chapters total. Not exactly sure, depends on how the next few chapters feel like panning out for me when I write them.

Well enjoy!

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><p>"Meet me in my room after you change."<p>

Quinn slips into her room, after one last quick kiss from Logan. She changes quickly, running a towel through her hair to try and get rid of as much of the moisture as she possibly can. She smiles happily as she lets the warmth of her pajamas seep into her skin. Tonight was certainly not turning out like she'd planned, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying it. If she said she hadn't been feeling something for the group's resident spoiled rich kid this entire week.

Except, she's come to learn that Logan's not a spoiled rich kid. Or well, that's not all he is. He can also be sweet, funny, and smart in his own way. And he's definitely nice to look at. She laughs and shakes her head at her thoughts. It's so unlike her to be this giddy over a guy, and it's _Logan Reese_ of all people. She can't help but feel like they balance each other out though. It's an odd thought to have because, honestly, they haven't even interacted all the much in the three years their group has been friends. But she finds that, when they do, they work together pretty well.

And she likes it.

She makes her way down the hall to where she's pretty sure Logan's room is. It takes her a few tries to find the right room, but when she does find it, she's surprised to see that Logan isn't in it. The door to the bathroom that's connected to his room is open, so she knows he's not in there. She takes a few minutes to look around the room. It's a typical boy's room, walls full of movie posters, most that his dad has directed, and posters of his favorite bands. His got a basketball net attached to his closet door and a laptop sits on his bed. And on his dresser is something that surprises her.

Pictures.

She's never seen pictures on Logan's side of the room at school. She walks over to take a closer look, smiling as she sees that they're all from when Logan is much younger. She laughs out loud at one picture of Logan. He can't be older than five, covered in dirt and holding a daisy out to a pretty blonde woman, who's trying to frown but the laughter is evident in the sparkle in her eyes.

"That's my mom."

Quinn jumps at the unexpected voice behind her. She turns to see Logan standing behind her, holding two cups of hot chocolate. She smiles sheepishly at him, "Sorry. I was just waiting for you and they caught my attention."

Logan shrugs, handing her one of the mugs. "It's cool." He sits on his bed and motions for Quinn to join him. "I don't get to see my mom much, she's always so busy with work. So it's nice to have pictures around. I never bring them to school because, well you know how guys are, it's just not done."

She takes a small sip of her drink, pleased to find it's not hot enough to burn her tongue. "You know Chase and Michael wouldn't make fun of you for that." At his look she laughs lightly. "Okay they might a little at first, but after a few days they'd shut up. Besides, you've seen all the pictures Michael keeps and Chase has some too."

Logan nods, sipping his drink, either not worried about how hot it might be or already aware that it's a good temperature for drinking. "I guess. It's still, I don't know, private I guess. I just have never felt the need to share it with anyone."

She looks down at her lap, feeling guilty for nosing through his things without his permission. Even if they had been sitting on his dresser in plain view. "Sorry." She says again.

"Don't worry about it." Logan grabs her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "For some reason, I don't mind _you_ seeing them."

She looks up, surprised by his words. "Really?"

"Yeah," Logan puts his mug down on his nightstand before reaching over and tucking a stray piece of hair behind Quinn's ear. "Really."

He leans over and kisses her again. It's the total opposite of the intense, searing kisses they shared in the pool. It's slow and sweet and instead of setting Quinn's whole body of fire it makes her melt against him. She's never associated this type of sweetness with Logan Reese before this week, but now it's all she can think about. They break apart a few minutes later and Logan pulls her towards him, letting her settle between his legs and rest up against his chest.

They find a movie they both like on TV and spend the rest of the evening wrapped up in each other, trying to ignore the fact that tomorrow they'll be head back to PCA, back to their friends, and the fact that neither of them really has any idea what that means for whatever this is that they're becoming.

oOo

The limo back to PCA is silent, but it's not the awkward silence that filled the limo at the beginning of Spring Break. It's easy and comfortable. The kind of silence that Quinn can share with Lola and Zoey. She's thankful for it, because she wants to figure out exactly what to say to the boy across from her before she starts talking. A lot has changed over the five days they were away from school and she knows its best if the sort everything out before returning to the many distractions at PCA.

"So…what do we do when we get back to school?" She asks quietly, shyly, after she has a chance to collect her thoughts. Logan turns from the window, facing the brunette genius fully. "Because I think it would be best if we just told our friends right away. They'll probably be shocked, but I know they'll come around and be happy for us even-"

"Quinn." Logan cuts her off and her stomach sinks at his tone of voice. "Look, maybe this isn't such a good idea."

"W-What isn't?"

"This." He gestures between them. "You and me. It's just-" he sighs and runs a hand through his hair, "we run in different circles."

Her eyes narrow. "We have all the same friends!"

"I know! I-ugh! I mean you're the brains and I'm, well I'm not. We're not even supposed to be friends let alone…anything else."

Her chest constricts painfully at his words. "Who says? All the idiots and trollops that we shouldn't even worry about! They only people that should even matter are our friends and I'm sure they'll support us after they get over the initial shock of it!"

"Let it go, Quinn!" His voice is harsh and Quinn sucks in a breath at his tone. "Just let it go."

"Fine." She snarls, willing her eyes to _not _well up. She doesn't need to cry over Logan, he's not worth her tears.

But her traitorous heart cracks, just a little, and she does everything in her power to not let the tears fall. All while mentally berating herself for being stupid enough to ever trust anything that had to do with Logan Reese. She should never have come on this vacation. It was stupid to think that he was offering the invitation just to be kind. It was stupid of her to think that he would want people to know about them, whatever they had been. It was stupid of her to think that he would change for anyone, especially her.

But mostly, it was stupid of her to trust him with her heart.

* * *

><p>Okay, I know that a bunch of you, well those of you who are reading this, probably want to hate Logan. Don't hate him. Well, okay, hate him a little, but don't worry. Things will get better. I could never leave my poor Quinn heart broken for long. And I promise you won't hate Logan when the fic is over. At least, I hope you won't.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Here's chapter 10. There's actually only two more chapters left. And I promise that Quinn and Logan will get their happy ending. Just not in this chapter.

Until then, just enjoy!

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><p>"Are you okay?" Zoey asks, dropping down beside Quinn on the couch in the girl's lounge. "You've been awfully quiet ever since Spring Break."<p>

Quinn nods, but it's half-hearted at best and her eyes don't even leave the TV even though the documentary that's playing right now is so boring even she can't possibly find it interesting. "I'm fine." She doesn't sound find though and Zoey's brow furrows in concern.

"How…was your break?" She ventures cautiously. Quinn has been all but completely silent since returning from Santa Barbara five days ago. She hasn't volunteered any information about her time at the Reese household either, although she must know that both Zoey and Lola are dying to know. The two girls have been anything but subtle about it.

She would have chalked it up to Quinn still being upset about Mark except, according to James and Michael, Logan has been acting the exact same way.

Quinn shrugs. "How do you think it went?" She says by way of answer and Zoey sighs, knowing that's all she'll get from her genius friend for now.

Instead she settles onto the couch, grabbing the remote from a listless Quinn and switching to an episode of _Girly Cow_. She makes a mental note to have Lola help her set up a girl's day this weekend. Quinn looks more depressed than before she left and even if Quinn won't say why, Zoey feels like, as her friend, its her job to help make her feel better. Even if it's only a little bit.

James, Michael, and Lisa join them a few minutes later. Without even thinking about what she's doing, Zoey snuggles up against her boyfriend as he joins her on the couch. She hears Quinn's breathing hitch and when she looks towards her friend she can see that the brunette is trying not cry. Immediately, Zoey pulls away, sending James an apologetic glance. He smiles in return; clearly he knows what she's doing and why she's doing it so he says nothing. The damage has been done, however, and guilt floods through the blonde's system as Quinn quietly excuses herself and slips out of the lounge. Zoey sighs.

"I wish she would talk to us."

Michael nods. "Me too. We can't get anything out of Logan. This is probably the first time in his life that he doesn't want to talk about himself."

"And it's the one time we all want him to talk." James finishes, pulling Zoey close to him again since Quinn has left.

"Should we go after her?" Lisa asks, turning her head to face the door Quinn had gone out.

Zoey shakes her head. "No. She clearly doesn't want to talk about it right now. I think that going after her would just make it worse."

Lisa's eyes shine with sympathy for their friend. "I wish there was something we could do…"

"Me too," Zoey admits while James and Michael both nod in agreement, "me too."

oOo

It isn't until two days later that everything (Quinn) falls to pieces and Zoey and Lola get their answers.

It happens during lunch, which probably makes things the worse; the fact that everyone on campus can see the group and what's happening. It starts off innocently enough. Logan, who has been unusually quiet, just like Quinn, asks said girl if she'll hand him the ketchup for his fries. Instead of dully doing what she was asked before returning to her lunch without so much as a word, which is how she had responded to every request given to her since she'd returned to PCA, Quinn's head snaps up and she sends the rich boy the coldest glare any of them have ever seen her give.

"Are you sure want _my_ ketchup for _your_ fries?" She asks icily. "They don't run in the same circle after all."

Logan visibly flinches at her words and, if that didn't shock everyone enough, the small 'please' that he gives as his only rebuttal does. Quinn, however, only appears to grow angrier at Logan's attempt at being civil. She stands up, shoving the chair behind her violently and slamming her hands down on the lunch table, completely unaware of the attention she is attracting. "Fine!" She snaps. "Take the stupid ketchup! It's not like I really wanted it anyways!"

Zoey has just enough time to think that maybe Quinn isn't actually talking about ketchup and French fries before she's stunned into mental silence once more as Quinn picks up the plastic container of ketchup and throws it as hard as she can at Logan's face.

The genius turns on her heel and leaves the quad before the bottle even makes contact, but no one doubts that she hears the _thud_ as it hits him.

oOo

"Okay, _what _is going on?" Zoey demands as she and Lola burst into room 101 where Quinn is sitting, looking miserable, on her bed. "And don't say nothing because you just chucked a bottle of ketchup at Logan's face-"

"Nice one, by the way." Lola interrupts.

Zoey gives the actress a look that clearly says '_not now!'_ before turning back to face her other friend. "And you've been miserable all week. Talk to us!"

"Yeah, Quinn." Lola moves to sit beside her friend. "What's up?"

There's silence for a few minutes before Quinn suddenly breaks down, crying for all she's worth. "I-I'm sorry!" She gasps, in between sobs. "I know it shouldn't be bothering me this much, but it is!"

Zoey drops down next to her friend, rubbing her back soothingly, while Lola leans over to the nightstand and grabs the crying girl a few tissues. "Want to tell us what happened?"

Quinn takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down before she starts speaking again. "The night before we came back to PCA, Logan kissed me."

Zoey wants to freak out about this. Like _really_ badly. And she can tell by the look on Lola's face that the actress feels the same. For Quinn's sake though, she remains calm. The last thing Quinn needs is for them to freak out about the fact that Logan kissed her, especially since they'd been acting so distant. Clearly, the initial kiss was not where the problem lay. "And?"

"And we, well…" She pauses here, her face flushing. "We might have spent the night making out in his room."

Lola can't help the little squeak that slips out Quinn's last sentence. "No way!"

Quinn nods. "I know it seems crazy," she frowns here, "and I guess it really was. But the whole week he was so nice. Trying to help me forget about Mark. He even had one of the guest bedrooms turned into a small lab so I would have something to distract myself with. And I guess maybe things had been sort of building up the whole week and then he tripped and fell in the pool and pulled me in when I went to help him out and we ended up kissing."

"Then what happened?"

"We went back to his room and just sat on his bed, watching TV and talking. And kissing a little, but it was different than the first kiss." She pauses and looks like she's trying to find the exact words to use. "It was sweeter, gentler, it felt like something more than just a physical thing. I mean after a while it got a little more, well, you know, but for while it was just _nice_."

"So…what's the problem?"

Quinn raises an eyebrow. "You mean you don't see a problem with the fact I was kissing _Logan Reese_?"

Lola shutters at the name. "Well it's weird, I'll give you that. But for your sake I'm concentrating on why you're upset. Not on how you exchanged DNA with pretty boy."

Quinn smiles lightly at her friend's words. "Thanks. I guess." She sighs. "Everything was fine, I guess. Except the next day on the ride back when I tried to see how he wanted to tell you guys about everything he just said we shouldn't do it."

"Be together?" Zoey asks. "He said that? Really?"

She nods. "Yeah. He said we two different people. That we weren't even supposed to be friends let alone anything else." She starts to sniffle as her eyes well up with tears once more. "And I know it's stupid, because it's Logan, of all people, but I don't know, this just really, really _hurts_."

Lola leans over, giving her friend a comforting hug before standing up and making her way to the door. "Where are you going?" Zoey asks.

She turns back to face the two girls still on the bed, her eyes flashing angrily. "To tell Logan exactly what I think of him right now."

"Oh no you're not!" Zoey stands up making her way over to the taller brunette. "Not without me."

Lola smiles wickedly at the blonde beside her. "Good."

"Guys wait!" Quinn stands up as well, joining the other two girls. "You really don't need to do this."

"Yes we do, Quinn." Lola places her hands on her friend's shoulders. "That was a scummy thing he did to you and he's not going to get away with it. Not without a serious butt kicking from Lola Martinez."

"And Zoey Brooks." Zoey adds in.

Quinn smiles gratefully at her friends. "Thanks."

"No problem." Lola tells her.

"We'll be back."

Then both girls are out the door, leaving Quinn alone to collect her thoughts and emotions.

* * *

><p>Here's the end. I know you all are still mad at Logan, but I promise he'll make up for it in the next chapter. This is kind of like his <em>Coffee Cart Ban <em>moment in my story. You know, where he's a jerk because, well he's Logan Reese and he can't change over night. But he'll make up for it. I promise.

Well, let me know what you guys think.


	11. Chapter 11

Well, here's chapter eleven. One more after this. And here's where you guys will finally stop being mad at Logan. And finally figure out why he and Quinn spent so much of Spring Break listening to _One Direction_.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"What the hell is wrong with you?" Logan looks over at Lola from the middle of the basketball court where he, Michael, and James are been playing a game of horse. The look of defeat on his face, made complete by the slowly forming bruise around his eye where Quinn's ketchup bottle had hit, almost makes her stop in her tracks. One thought of how her friend has been crying, clearly heart broken, in their dorm room, however, has her right back on track.<p>

"You," Logan backs away as Lola stalks towards him, Zoey right behind her, "are, without a doubt, the most disgusting excuse for a human being on the planet! There are probably drug dealers with better morals than you!"

"Uh, guys, what's going on?" James speaks up from their left, clearly nervous at the venomous tone and obvious hatred in the pretty actress' voice.

Instead of answering her boyfriend's question, Zoey focuses completely on Logan as well. "Who do you think you are? Messing with Quinn's emotions like that. Especially since she and Mark are on a break." Logan's face hardens at the mention of Quinn's ex-boyfriend and Lola picks up on it.

"Oh, don't even act like you care about Quinn and Mark. You used their break as a chance to just add Quinn to your ridiculous list of girls here that you've made out with. You don't actually give a damn abo-"

"Shut up!" Logan's voice is so low, a growl of pure fury, that Lola actually falls silent. "Shut up!" He repeats, louder this time. "You don't know anything about what happened with Quinn and Mark. You don't know everything that happened. And you most definitely _do not_ know how _I _feel!" He's screaming at this point, but Michael and James are the only ones who aren't so wrapped up in anger that they can appreciate that no one is around to hear it.

"Oh really?" Both girls cross their arms as Zoey speaks. "And how do you feel?"

"Angry that you're little pass at Quinn blew up in your face?" Lola guesses sarcastically.

"Look!" Logan throws the basketball he'd been holding with such force that it ricochets off the ground and out of the court completely. Michael is too engrossed in what is happening to even complain about his lost basketball. "I know I screwed up, okay? I realized I'd made a mistake about five minutes after we got back to school. I've been _trying_ to talk to Quinn but she won't even look at me!"

Everyone is silent as Logan finishes his rant, his breathing ragged and, much to the girls' surprise, his eyes are glassy with tears. "Okay Reese," Lola sighs and can't believe she's about to say this. "Why don't you tell us your side of the story?"

oOo

Quinn sighs unhappily as she tries, and fails, to concentrate on her homework. Not that she really needs to worry about it. She could probably not finish a single assignment for the rest of the year and still pass each and every class (except maybe French, she's never been very good with other languages). But her heart just isn't into the math homework lying before her. Normally school is a great distraction, but right now it doesn't seem like anything is going to be able to take her mind off of the pain her chest. Which makes absolutely no sense to the smart girl.

She'd dated Mark for two years. She'd given more of herself to that boy than she had ever given to anyone. And when he'd left her for another girl it had hurt like hell but she'd still be able to function. What was so different about the week she spent with Logan? What was so different about the roughly sixteen hour period that she'd really let herself feel for the rich boy that it rendered her completely unable to think about anything else?

Why was Logan Reese so special, dammit?

She can feel herself starting to tear up again and she hates the quivering mess that she's become. Zoey and Lola have, for her sake, refrained from mentioning anything about Logan or Spring Break in her presence. They'd come back from their talk with the boy still angry but much calmer than when they'd left. She hadn't felt the need to bring it up either and, while she'd been a little curious as to what Logan might have said or done when they confronted him, she knew hearing it would only make her more upset so, for now at least, she'd refrained from asking.

It didn't help that everyone at PCA, including her friends, seemed to have discovered _One Direction_ over Spring Break as well. Quinn, Lola, and Zoey had all been horrified to find Coco and Stacey in the girl's lounge the evening after Spring Break singing _What Makes You Beautiful. _It seemed that wherever Quinn went she found people talking about, listening to, or singing one of the many songs that she and Logan had spent the past week listening to. Which, now that she thought about it, might be the reason that it was so hard to let go of what had happened.

Well, okay, she'll admit to herself, it's _one_ of the reasons.

She can hear them now, in fact. Someone is blasting their CD at a ridiculous level because the sound floats in from Quinn's slightly open window and she can understand the words clearly. She sighs in frustration because this isn't helping her concentrate at all. She frowns as the sounds of cheering filter in through the music. _Great…_

Groaning, Quinn slams her textbook shut and moves to go get a blix from the mini fridge when Zoey and Lola burst into their room, both talking excitedly.

"Oh my god, _Quinn_!" Lola squeals, grabbing the girl's arm and yanking her towards the door. "You have got to come see this!"

"What?" Quinn pulls her arm back, looking at her friends like they've lost their minds. "What are you talking about?"

"Just come on!" Zoey squeals as well, grabbing one of her arms while Lola regrabs the other.

They drag her out of the dorm and towards the green where Drake Bell had played their freshman year. And there, on a stage surrounded by a good portion of their campus, is the five boys that make up the band that Quinn has been hearing all around campus for the past several days. Her jaw drops as she watches the boys jump around, singing their hearts out. "What-how-when?" Quinn can't actually form a coherent question and Zoey and Lola grin from behind her as she continues watching, wide eyed, as the boys finish up the song they were singing.

"This next song," one of the boys says, Quinn doesn't actually know which one is which, "goes out to Quinn Pensky," Quinn's mouth drops open again at the words, "who, according to the guy who set all this up, is the most amazing girl here at PCA!"

"_I've tried playing it cool  
>But when I'm looking at you<br>I can't ever be brave  
><em>'_Cause you make my heart race._"

Quinn almost stops breathing, because that song, _One Thing_, is one of her favorite songs by the boy band and the only person who could possibly know that is-

"Quinn?"

She spins to her left and sees Logan standing there, looking sheepish and a bit like he expects her to hit him with a condiment again. Which, if she had one, she actually might. Seeing as she is lacking in anything physical throw at him, however, she settles for words. "What do you want?" When he flinches at her still icy tone she knows the words have hit their mark.

"Look, Quinn, please just listen to me."

She narrows her eyes, not really in the mood to listen to anything the boy in front of her has to say. "Why should I?"

"Because I'm sorry, okay!" He blurts out the words so quickly that Quinn can only blink in shock. He takes advantage of her silence and continues speaking. "I'm sorry. I made a huge mistake. You know I can be an idiot. I made a mistake, okay. I was stupid and I made a mistake that cost me the best thing I've ever had."

She opens her mouth, probably to argue his last statement, so he keeps going, not wanting to give her a chance to argue until he's said everything he needs to. "I know it was only a week and that we were only together, or whatever, for like half a day, but it was the first time I'd felt _different_, felt like I'd wanted more. And it scared me and I know that's no excuse for what I did. I get that. I was stupid and I know that flying this boy band that we both like over from Europe and having them perform a concert dedicated to you doesn't even start to make up for what I said and did, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I hugged you on the basketball court and I just want you to understand that I'm sorry and that I'm going to try everything I can to show you that I want to make it up to you."

The chorus of the song starts playing as Logan stops speaking and Quinn is surprised to find that it's the part of the song where the chorus is slowed down. Logan has literally been apologizing for almost an entire song.

"_Get out, get out, get out of my head  
>And fall into my harms instead.<br>I don't, I don't, don't know what it is  
>But I need that one thing"<em>

Quinn just continues to stare at the boy in front of her. Everyone around them is staring too, but neither Quinn nor Logan notice. They're both too focused on each other. Quinn's glare has softened, but her eyes are watering again and, _dammit, _this is not supposed to happen. Not in front of other people. Not at all preferably. She's had quite enough of crying over Logan.

"Please Quinn." Everyone is shocked by the fact the Logan is all but begging to the girl before him. "Just say something"

She shakes her head, swiping at her eyes before any tears can actually fall. "There's really nothing to say." She tells him, her voice cracking and betraying her, showing the boy in front of her just how much he is still affecting her. "I can't-" her voice breaks again and she takes a minute to compose herself, sounding much more sure when she speaks again, "I _won't_ go through that again. I wouldn't do it for Mark and I certainly won't do it for you."

Everyone watches as she turns on her heel and walks away, headed to her dorm and leaving a heart broken Logan behind. There's complete silence for minute, except for the song that just seems like background noise to the boy now. All his friends are looking at him concern evident in their eyes. None of them can blame Quinn for her decision, but it doesn't mean they don't sympathize with Logan. The rich boy takes a deep breath before turning and heading in the opposite direction as Quinn, towards the beach. Everyone else just watches him walk away; barely registering that the song is ending and another is starting up.

"_Yeah, you've got that one thing."_

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><p>There's the big apology. Hope it lived up to everyone's expectations. You know, if anyone had expectations for it to live up to. And I know Quinn didn't initially accept it, and I kind of can't blame her. This is a lot to take in. So let's give Quinn some time to do what she does best and think about this. I did promise a happy ending, after all.<p>

Next chapter is the last chapter. I'll try and have it up shortly.

Well let me know what you guys thought!


	12. Chapter 12

I am so incredibly sorry that this took so long to get up. I was going to write it during the week, but my best friend and her fiancé split and she needed me to be there for her. I swear I didn't forget about this story. There's only this one chapter left, I couldn't leave you guys hanging like that!

Enjoy the final chapter!

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><p>"When I was eleven, my parents took me horse back riding." Logan's eyes widen at the sound of a voice behind him. "Something spooked the horse and I fell off. I broke my arm in three different places and I was convinced that it was the worst pain I could ever possibly experience."<p>

Logan turns to find Quinn standing behind him, looking nervous and sad and a little bit of something else that he can't quite place. He goes to stand up, not really sure what that will accomplish, but knowing that he doesn't want to her to be towering above him like she is, especially not after what had happened earlier. Before he can even get off the sand, however, she moves forwards and settles down next him, facing the ocean.

"And until about two weeks ago I was right." She continues and even though Logan desperately wants to say something, he doesn't because he's afraid if he interrupts her she might never finish. "And then I saw Mark kissing Brooke and it felt like someone had punched me in the gut and even though it wasn't a physical pain it was still the most horrible experience of my life. And then I was convinced that nothing could ever hurt as bad as that. Being lied to and loosing someone I thought I loved all at once."

She turns to face him and he can clearly see the tears that are clinging to her eyelashes. "But it turns out I was wrong again. Because a little over a week later you said what you said and I felt like the whole world was just falling apart. It hurt so much I had trouble breathing." Guilt floods through Logan at her words. "That's why I said what I did earlier."

"Huh?"

Quinn smiles, but it's tight and all Logan wants to do is wrap her in a hug until that smile melts into a more natural, genuine one. "It's not that I don't forgive you. I mean, I was hurt and furious until Zoey and Lola made me go to the green. You flew a boy band halfway around the world for me, Logan. I know you must really be sorry."

"I am." He tells her, hoping she can hear the sincerity in his voice. "I made the biggest mistake of my life that day. And I've been trying to tell you that since about five minutes after you walked away when we got back to campus."

"Zoey and Lola mentioned that when they came to talk to me after I left earlier. I want you to know that I didn't say what I said because I don't forgive you. You made a mistake. You're human. And you're Logan Reese. And even though I know you can be this kind, caring, amazingly sweet guy, I know you can also be hard headed, shallow, and spoiled. And that those things aren't just going to go away or change overnight. But if that was how much it hurt after, what? Twenty-four hours of being something more than friends with you, how much would it hurt if we were serious and it ended? I just don't think I can put myself in a position where I can be hurt like that again. I just don't think I can do it."

"I understand." His voice kind of cracks when he says it, but he can't even be upset about it because any hope he'd had when she'd first shown up on the beach is completely crushed now.

"But…" His head whips around to face her as she continues talking. "I want to try."

"Really?"

She nods. "I talked to Zoey and Lola and they told him how miserable you were and how none of our friends had ever seen you like that. That this was more than just a passing thing for you." His face breaks into a smile because this has managed to be both the best and worst few minutes of his life and he's quite glad that "best" is winning out. "And if you're willing to work on some things with me then I'm willing to give us another shot."

Logan finally does pull her against him, wrapping his arms around her small frame and burying his face in her hair. "Anything." He tells her. "Whatever you need from me, I'll do it."

Quinn returns the hug quickly before pulling back so she can talk to him again. "The most important thing is that I need you to promise that you're going to be in this for real. I'm not saying you have to promise the rest of your life to me. Things might not work out, but if we do break up, it's going to be for a valid reason and not because people are talking about us or making fun of us. No more moments like in the limo ride back to PCA."

Logan nods. He had planned on doing that already, but he's so happy to have another chance that he'd get her the moon if she wanted it. "I can do that."

She smiles again, this time much more easily. "Good. I'm sure there are things I need to work on too-"

"You're perfect." He interrupts her; bring her hand up and kissing the palm of it lightly. "Just the way you are."

She laughs gently. "That's sweet, but I know it's not true. But we'll work on it together, okay?"

He nods eagerly again. "Can I-can I kiss you now?"

Quinn brings her face closer to his, their noses barely brushing. "I'd really like that."

He allows himself another small smile before bringing their lips together, cradling her face in his hands. This past week had been absolute hell for Logan but this makes it all worth it. Because Quinn tastes amazing, feels amazing, just _is_ amazing and Logan already doesn't want to imagine life without her.

And he's going to do everything in his power to make sure he never has to.

oOo

It turns out they do both have to work on things. But it's worth it. They've never been happier and all their friends, although they were weirded out at first, are genuinely happy for them. They fight, like all couples, but they always work it out. Because the fighting sucks, but Logan really likes the making up part.

People talk, _a lot_, for a while after they first announce their relationship. Both Quinn and Logan get disbelieving looks and questions as to what they could possibly be thinking. Quinn politely tells them that they don't know the whole story and ignores any other questions they might have. Logan, less politely, tells them to mind their own damn business and stop being idiots. And he never once thinks about breaking up with her.

He takes her to Vaccaro for their one-month anniversary. They run into Zoey and James there and both couples want some alone time so they eat their meals separately, but they end up splitting a delicious chocolate soufflé at the end of the night and it's a perfect date for all four of them.

He tells her he loves her at prom, holding her close as they sway to some cheesy love song that he's pretty sure he'll never remember the name of. He will remember the way her eyes light up at his words though. And he'll definitely remember the swelling in his heart as she whispers the words back to him before kissing him sweetly.

He proposes to her just before graduation because he's absolutely sure she's the only person he's ever going to want to be with for the rest of his life. She says yes and all of their friends congratulate them and everything about the moment feels perfect and right.

On their last day as high school students Logan thinks back to the very first time they all meet. How it had been over a boys v girls basketball game. That had happened a lot when girls first came to PCA. It sometimes seemed more like a battle of the sexes TV show rather than a co-ed boarding school. And somehow those times seemed simpler. Girls were either the enemy or a nice set of lips, good for the occasional make-out session. He was Logan Reese, playboy extraordinaire. But now some of his best friends are girls and he's Logan Reese, fiancé of the school's valedictorian and the first of his friends to settle down.

So, no, things aren't quite as simple as they used to be.

But Logan wouldn't trade them for all the money in the world.

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><p>Oh my gosh, you guys, this is done. Like officially done. I hope you guys liked it. I know the ending was probably ridiculously cheesy, but I couldn't help myself.<p>

Well, leave me a review and let me know what you think!


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