Teen Ink

Chapter 5

They went on and Zoe enjoyed it all.
The sunset walks and kisses on her doorstep.
But at the same time, it was all too fast for her. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she knew she had to tell him, so finally, she did.
“Hey Chase,” she said softly.
“Hey Zoë,” he said. “So tonight I was thinking…”
“Chase, I love you and you know that,” Zoe said. “But this is all too fast for me. I think we need to take a break and maybe get back to it in a little while.”
“What?” Chase asked. “What…what are you…dumping me? I haven’t even tried really asking you out I…”
“Don’t say anything,” Zoe said. “I just have all these mixed feelings right now, I think this is for the best.”
“No Zoe we can work it out. We can get through it together,” Chase said. “Don’t do this to me.”
She began to walk down the hall, her face streaming with tears, as she walked to out the doors of the school.
“Zoe please I…,” Chase tried calling to her but she never looked back.
He looked in his hand, and there sat the necklace which she dropped in his hand before she left.
“Dude, you okay?” Andy asked as he, Chase and Matt began to walk home.
Staring into his palm, Chase whispered, “She dumped me.”
“Zoe what?” Andy asked.
“She thought I was moving too fast with her, so she dumped me,” Chase said.
“Oh man, I feel your pain,” Matt said. “But we have something to tell you…”
“Later guys,” Chase said, as he turned to go walk along the beach.
“When are we going to tell him?” Matt asked.
“Tomorrow at lunch,” Andy said.
The next day at lunch, Andy, Matt and Chase sat down at their normal table and Chase barely touched his food.
“Look Chase, we’ve kind of known about you and Zoe’s little romance,” Andy confessed.
“Its not like we meant to know, but we were eager,” Matt said. “We saw the notes when you were getting Zoe to go to the dance with you.”
“Well now that’s over because Zoe won’t even talk to me,” Chase said. “Do you know what it feels like? To think you’re a beast because the girl you love thinks you’re trying to force her into a relationship? I love her. I love her with all my heart. And now its all ruined.”
“Wow. That is tough,” Matt said.
“I’ve gotta go and think this over,” Chase said. “But thanks for being truthful even though you knew I’d been untruthful, I apologize. But now, I’ve got some thinking to do.”
As he was in class, all Chase could think of was how to win Zoe back.