Zoe blinked rapidly. She had an English assignment due at 8 am. She quickly continued to type and looked at the clock in the corner of her laptop screen.
"4 am Zoe. Going on your second sleepless night. It's okay. You're okay." Zoe whispered.
She didn't want her dorm mate to think she was crazy. She quickly finished typing and closed her computer. She would print off her assignment after her dorm mate had woken up.
Her mother and father had sent her to an all girls Jewish boarding school after Connor's death. There was a uniform, and daily mass, and prayer circles, and Torah studies, and she didn't get to see Evan as much as she wanted.
As soon as shiva was over, her parents told her what was happening to her. She had locked herself in her room and kicked and screamed but her parents were adamant; their only daughter (and now only child) was going to get part of a Jewish education.
She sat in her bed and looked at the clock. It was getting closer to 4:30. Zoe knew she wasn't getting any sleep so she grabbed her phone.
"Hey. I know you're asleep but I'm not. I miss you so much. Lunch on Saturday?"
Zoe hit send and put her phone down. She knew Evan wouldn't text back until the morning but she was fairly confident that he wouldn't say no. She looked around the dark room and at her dorm mate.
Her dorm mate Charity, in Zoe's opinion, was a bitch. She had blonde curly hair and wore a Star of David around her neck that she would touch every ten seconds as if she was asking God for something. She'd read every part of the Torah and she would read her Siddur every night and she prayed more then Zoe had ever seen. Charity had tried to take Zoe under her wing since Zoe had walked into the building. The only problem was that Zoe couldn't stand Charity. But Charity was relentless. She would drag her friends to sit with Zoe during lunch, they'd sit near her during mass, and Charity had held many prayer sessions in their dorm. But Zoe knew she wasn't going to let Charity go anywhere near her.
"Bitch." Zoe whispered.
She got out of bed and snuck to her backpack. She pulled out her math textbook and notebook and sat on her bed. If she was going to get ahead in math, then it might as well be at 4:30 am.
+++
"Zoe! Come join our prayer circle!"
Zoe looked over and saw Charity, Hope, and Rachel sitting at a table with their prayer beads in hand. Zoe took a small step towards them.
"Come on silly! It'll be fun!" Charity said. Zoe sat down and Charity smirked.
"I'll start." Charity said. The two other girls grabbed Charity's hands and they all bowed their heads.
"Well I want to pray for all the men, women, and children in the Middle East. May God lead them all to safety." Charity said.
"Amen!" Rachel and Hope whispered.
"But I also want to pray for Zoe. I know she's having a difficult time transitioning into this new environment so I pray that God may help make the transition easier." Charity said. Zoe glared at the girls in front of her as Hope looked up.
"Zoe. Who are you going to pray for?" Hope asked.
"What?" Zoe asked.
"Well, we know your brother is sick." Rachel said. Zoe looked down at her hands and felt tears well up in her eyes.
"Maybe you should pray for him? Or maybe your boyfriend?" Charity said. Zoe's head shot up and she glared at the girls in front of her.
"There is nothing wrong with my boyfriend. He doesn't need to be prayed for. And my brother is dead you bitch. And if you bring him up again, I'm going to strangle you with that kabbalah and I'm going to like it!" Zoe hissed.
She stood up and walked away. There were tears pooling in her eyes and she walked to her dorm. She slammed and locked the door and slid down so she was sitting on the ground. She grabbed her phone and considered calling Evan. But what would Evan do? He had texted her back and said he'd pick her up on Saturday at 11:30 and he couldn't wait. Zoe just had to get through today and tomorrow and then she'd be able to see him. There was a knock at the door which Zoe ignored.
"Come on Zoe. Open up." Charity called.
"Go to hell bitch." Zoe said.
"Zoe. We wanted to-"
"Did you not hear me," Zoe stood and opened the door. "I said go to hell. I don't want to talk to you."
"Zoe I came to ask for forgiveness." Charity said.
"I don't really care." Zoe said. Charity pressed her lips together.
"Zoe I think-"
"I don't want to hear it. First you're making fun of my boyfriend and then my dead brother? My God Charity. I knew you were a heartless bitch but you went way too far." Zoe said. She shut the door and heard Charity walk away.
"Evan," She whispered. "Evan I need you."
+++
Zoe didn't sleep. She sat in her bed on Friday night FaceTiming Evan.
"Lucky for us, my roommate isn't here." Zoe said. Evan laughed and Zoe smiled.
"Is she the worst?" Evan asked. Zoe remembered the incident yesterday.
"Evan she's awful." Zoe said. Evan looked at her and sighed.
"Don't be sad Zo. It's not what God would want." Evan joked. Charity walked in as Zoe laughed.
"Hey Zoe." Charity said. Zoe ignored her.
"So where do I pick you up tomorrow?" Evan asked.
"Front door. The sooner I get the hell out of here the better." Zoe said.
"Zoe you shouldn't leave tomorrow! We have confession and I think you could benefit-"
"No Charity. I have nothing I want to atone for. I'm going on a date with my boyfriend who I haven't seen in weeks. But you should go. Maybe they can do something about you being a bitch." Zoe snapped. Evan stated laughing and Charity crossed her arms.
"I gotta go babe. It's getting late." Evan said. Zoe nodded and he smiled.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Zoe said.
"You will see me tomorrow!" Evan said.
"I love you." Zoe said.
"I know you do baby. I love you too." Evan said. Zoe waved and closed her laptop. She unplugged her headphones and grabbed her phone. There was a new text.
Evan💕
"Don't worry about your roommate. Tomorrow will be here before you know it."
Zoe smiled and turned her phone off. She didn't want to wait to see Evan. Charity picked up her prayer book and Zoe internally groaned.
"How many times have you read that?" Zoe asked.
"Very many. It never hurts to read the Siddur." Charity said.
"Ugh, oh my God." Zoe scoffed. Charity tsked at Zoe before flipping a page.
"'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might'. Maybe you should read it." Charity said.
"Maybe if someone just smacked you really hard with that book all the bitchiness will just disappear." Zoe muttered. Charity started to mumble something and Zoe sighed.
"You can't exorcise me Charity." Zoe said.
"I'm not. I'm praying." Charity said. Zoe scoffed.
"Are you kidding me? Are you serious right now?" Zoe said.
"What?" Charity asked.
"I don't need to be prayed for." Zoe shot back. Charity sighed and closed the Siddur.
"Zoe, everyone needs to be prayed for at sometime." Charity said. Zoe looked at her roommate.
"No. Not me. I'm fine. I love my life right now. I don't need anything." Zoe said.
"You're angry. You must not love every aspect of your life." Charity said. Zoe looked at her.
"You're right. I hate it here. This school is probably the worst in the country, I hate it and I miss my boyfriend and I don't want to be in this hell anymore!" Zoe yelled. Charity looked at her.
"This school will grow on you. I didn't love it but after a little while, it grew on me." Charity said.
"I've been here for almost six weeks and I still want to burn the building down." Zoe said.
"Patience is the key." Charity said.
Zoe rolled her eyes and plugged her earbuds into her laptop. She opened a tab and typed in her Netflix information. She wasn't going to listen to Charity preach at her.
She pulled up an episode of Supernatural and resumed the episode she started last night. Charity kept talking and Zoe turned the volume up.
She had started Supernatural a week or two ago, but she was already on the fifth season. She watched the numbers on the computers clock change. She finished the fifth season and was halfway into the sixth when she knew she had to get out of bed. She walked towards the bathroom and her phone dinged. She looked at the screen and saw a text.
Evan💕
"Hey baby, 2 hours until I get to see you!"
Zoe smiled and turned the shower on. She turned her music on full blast and got into the shower. She smiled as the hot water instantly warmed her up. She heard pounding on the door towards the end of her shower and she turned the shower off. She paused her music and dried off, pulling on a pair of black jeans and a white sweater. She opened the door and grabbed her hairbrush. Charity sighed and smoothed her pink skirt.
"I'm off to confession." Charity said.
"It's cute that you assume I care." Zoe said. Charity crossed her arms.
"You know, you could try to be nice for once." Charity said.
"You could stop getting on my nerves for once." Zoe said. She opened her makeup bag and felt Charity watching her.
"I thought you were going to confession." Zoe snapped.
"When will you be back?" Charity asked. Zoe shrugged.
"I don't know mom. Maybe tonight? Maybe tomorrow?" Zoe said.
"Tomorrow? You're going to sleep at his house?" Charity asked.
"Yes. We have sleepovers all the time." Zoe said. Charity looked at her sadly.
"Oh my God. I haven't done anything! Don't worry Charity. I'm still a pure child of God. Jesus Christ, you're like my mother but worse." Zoe said. Charity shook her head.
"I'll be praying for you." She said.
"Okay Rabbi!" Zoe yelled. She heard the door to their dorm slam and she continued to work on her makeup. She heard her phone buzz as she finished and she looked at it. There was a text from her mother.
Mom✨
Your principal thinks you should go to confession. And I think it's a good idea. Please try and go.
Zoe sighed and shut her phone off. She wasn't going to confession. She'd have to go to mass at some point tomorrow and then write a reflection on the Torah reading. She had plans with Evan and she wasn't going back on them. She plugged her curling iron in and focused on the afternoon ahead of her.
+++
"Evan!" Zoe yelled. She ran across the parking lot and into Evan's arms. He lifted her up and hugged her tightly.
"Baby I have missed you so so much." Evan said into her hair. Zoe smiled as he spun her around and kissed her.
"I missed you so so much." Zoe whispered. Evan smiled and hugged her.
"I missed you too baby. You need to dropout of this school and come back." Evan said. Zoe laughed as he pulled at a strand of her hair affectionately.
"I've been trying. It's like hell on earth in there." Zoe said. Evan laughed and opened the passenger side on his car. She got in and he closed the door after her, before walking to the drivers side and getting in.
"Where are we going?" Zoe asked. Evan smiled.
"Trust me. You'll love it." Evan said.
"Why does your car smell like Chinese takeout?" Zoe asked, crossing her arms.
"Jared and I hung out yesterday night and got takeout." Evan said. Zoe looked at him and laughed.
"You're lying!" She said giggling. Evan looked at her and pulled out of the school parking lot.
"I am not lying. Call Jared." Evan said. Zoe pulled Evan's phone out and dialled Jared's number.
"Hansen!"
"Kleinman!" Zoe said.
"Murphy?" Jared asked.
"Shut up this is important." Zoe said.
"Okay shoot Princess. What've you got?" Jared asked. Zoe heard a few clicks of a computer mouse and sighed.
"Did you and Evan get Chinese takeout yesterday night?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Jared asked. Zoe was silent.
"Shut up Jared." And she hung up. She turned to her boyfriend who was smiling.
"What are you hiding?" She asked. Evan smiled.
"Only the best secret. Come on. Are we having lunch or what?" Evan asked. Zoe sighed and sat back in her seat.
"Yes. Where are we going?" She asked.
"I have a surprise for you." Evan said. Zoe smiled and grabbed Evan's hand.
"Now I'm excited." Zoe said.
+++
"What are we doing here?" Zoe asked. She looked at the sign that read 'The Connor Murphy Memorial Orchard'.
"It's all part of the surprise." Evan said gently.
Zoe nodded and let Evan take her hand and guide her into the orchard. She saw a white and red checkered blanket with a cooler and a basket of takeout.
"What's this?" Zoe asked.
"Lunch. Jared and Alana just left. They set it up so the takeout is still nice and hot." Evan said. Zoe smiled and kissed him.
"Evan, it's perfect." Zoe said. Evan looked into her eyes and frowned.
"Zoe. When did you sleep last? You look like you haven't slept in days." Evan asked.
"I haven't slept in four days." Zoe said. Evan looked at her.
"Zoe. You need to sleep. Why aren't you sleeping?" Evan asked.
"Sleep is for the weak!" Zoe said laughing.
"Zoe I'm serious. Baby why aren't you sleeping?" Evan asked gently.
"I can't sleep. Not without you. At least when I went to Medway I could go over to your house when I wanted. Did you know they have a security guard patrolling the hallway after 11 pm? Evan I can't handle that school." Zoe said. She felt the familiar sting of tears and Evan kissed her forehead and hugged her.
"Oh baby. Do you want me to talk to your mom and dad?" Evan asked. Zoe shook her head.
"I already tried. They don't listen. They think I need to stay there and pray." Zoe said.
"But if you're miserable-"
"They don't care." Zoe said. Evan looked at her.
"Baby they can't keep you there if it makes you miserable." Evan said softly.
"My parents don't care." Zoe said just as a softly.
"Okay, the next time you see them you need to tell them how you feel. Stick to your guns babe. Stand your ground. If you want to come home, come home." Evan said.
"First of all, I haven't seen my parents since they dumped me there. Second of all, if I say I want to come home, they'll assume it's just to see Alana and Jared and you." Zoe said. Evan sighed.
"Is there anything I can do?" He asked. Zoe looked over at the blanket and back to Evan.
"Can I stay with you? Tonight?" Zoe asked. Evan nodded.
"Absolutely you can." Evan said. Zoe sighed and he hugged her.
"It's okay babe. You can stay as long as you need." Evan said. Zoe closed her eyes as Evan kissed her forehead.
"Come on my love, takeout awaits." Evan said smiling. Zoe smiled and followed him towards the blanket.
+++
"No! It's a fish!" Zoe argued. Evan shook his head.
"You're delusional! It's obviously a dog!" Evan argued back.
"Evan. See! Fins and a tail. No legs. It's a fish!" Zoe said. Evan sighed.
"Maybe we're looking at two different things." Evan said.
"No I don't think so. But it's a fish!" Zoe said.
"Zoe. It's a dog!" Evan argued. Zoe shook her head.
"No Evan! That cloud looks like a fish!" Zoe said.
"I love you." Evan said out of the blue. Zoe looked at him.
"I love you too." She whispered. Evan looked at her and smiled.
"And whatever you want to do about the school situation, I will support you no matter what. If you want to stay at the school I'll support you. If you want to come home I'll support you." Evan said.
"Okay." Zoe said.
"What do you think you want to do?" Evan asked.
"I want to talk to my mom and dad again. But I want you to be there." Zoe said. Evan nodded.
"Of course I'll be there." Evan said.
"But for now, I want to stay here with you. Because I haven't seen you in a month." Zoe said. She crawled towards him and kissed him. Evan looked at her and smiled.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked softly.
"How lucky I am to have you." Zoe whispered. Evan smiled and kissed her.
"I love you." He said.
"I love you too." Zoe said.
"Do you want to pack up and then take a drive?" Evan asked. Zoe nodded and sat up.
"Where are we gonna go?" Zoe asked.
"I have a few ideas." Evan said with a smirk. Zoe sighed happily and started putting the leftover food into the basket.
"What kind of ideas?" Zoe asked. Evan nudged her and smiled.
"Ideas that you'll like." He said. Zoe sat back in the grass and smiled.
"You've been very vague today." She said. Evan smiled.
"I want everything to be a surprise." Evan said. Zoe smiled and laid back in the grass.
"I'm excited." She said. Evan smiled and sat beside her.
"Good. Because I think you'll love it." Evan said. Zoe smiled and took his hand.
"If you planned it, I'm sure I'll love it." Zoe said. Evan smiled and kissed her hand.
"Now come on! Exciting things await!" Evan said excitedly. He helped Zoe up and picked up the basket. Zoe took his hand and he led her towards his car.
+++
"Woah..." Zoe whispered.
"Yeah..." Evan said.
Evan had taken her to Topiary Park. Zoe remembered when she first told Evan about it. She's heard two girls at her school talking about it and she's instantly Googled it. The statues in the park were from Georges Seurat's painting 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'.
Zoe looked around and smiled.
"Evan this is beautiful." Zoe said. Evan smiled.
"I'm glad you like it." Evan said. Zoe took his hand and smiled.
"I love it. And I love you." Zoe said. Evan smiled and kissed her underneath a topiary umbrella.
"I love you too." Evan said.
"Maybe we should just live here. Then I don't have to go back to school." Zoe said. Evan laughed.
"That would be good. I still think you should talk to your mom and dad. It's October. You've been at that school for almost six weeks." Evan said.
"I'm going home for Simchat Torah. I'll talk to them then." Zoe said.
"When will you be home?" Evan asked.
"My mom and dad are coming to get me at noon on Thursday." Zoe said.
"Are you staying with them for the weekend?" Evan asked. Zoe nodded.
"Okay, then you can talk to them this weekend." Evan said. Zoe nodded and grabbed Evan's hand.
"Come on! I want to see the Topiaries!" Zoe said excitedly. She dragged Evan gently behind her and had a huge smile on her face.
+++
"There's one more thing after dinner. But it's in the living room. I hope that's okay." Evan said. Zoe nodded as he put a grilled cheese sandwich on her plate.
"There you go my love. One grilled cheese sandwich." Evan said. Zoe smiled and sat on the counter. She took a bite of the sandwich and smiled.
"Thank you Evan!" Zoe said happily. Evan smiled and kissed her cheek.
"You're welcome." He said. Zoe stood behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I love you." She whispered.
"I love you too baby." Evan said. Zoe smiled and took a bite from her sandwich.
"This is really good." Zoe said. Evan smiled and put his sandwich on a plate.
"Come on love, the TV awaits." Evan said. Zoe smiled and took his hand.
"What are we gonna watch?" Zoe asked.
"The Little Mermaid." Evan said. Zoe smiled and kissed Evan on the cheek.
"Really?" She asked happily.
"Of course. You didn't think I made you grilled cheese and planned on not watching your favourite movie did you?" Evan asked.
Zoe smiled and Evan led her into the living room. She sat down and Evan put the DVD into the player. She curled into his arms as the movie started.
+++
"Okay, how do you watch The Little Mermaid so many times?" Evan asked.
Zoe didn't respond.
"Zo?"
Evan looked down at her and saw her sleeping against his chest. He smiled and brushed a piece of hair out of her face before kissing the top of her head.
"I love you." He whispered, not wanting to wake her from her much needed sleep.
+++
A/N
Okay so I might've gotten a few things wrong in this one shot so I apologize for that!
The real reason behind this note is that I want to do a twelve days of Christmas thing that leads up to Christmas and everyday (Dear god I hope everyday!) is a new Christmas themed oneshot.
So if you have any cute Christmas ideas send them in because I want to have a bunch written before December comes around because I've got a show that opens in December and it will be easier to just hit publish.
SO PLEASE SEND IN SOME IDEAS!
Xoxo,
Sophie💕