The Couples Return Though Not All Stay

Zack and Chloe were both silently sitting in the front seats of the car as they drove back to the cabin, the closer the got the more worried Chloe felt. No matter how many times she told herself that it was okay, that Ashley was gone and Kurt wouldn't do anything, she just couldn't get over the pit that was in her stomach. Zack, at least, had the luxury of being able to distract himself with driving, though it didn't help much as he too was worried about his girlfriend. It was killing him to see Chloe go from fun-loving and happy to this quiet, scared thing.

Nearly three hours past before they reached the gravel road, Zack glanced over and let out a small sympathetic look as he could see the look of almost dread on Chloe's face. He flicked his eyes up to the rearview mirror and saw Victoria sleeping on Gavin's shoulder, while he let his head rest on hers, sleeping well. "Hey, talk to me, let me know what you're thinking," Zack quietly murmured over to Chloe,

"I..." Chloe breathed back before going quiet again. Zack reached over and rested a hand on her leg, comfortingly rubbing her knee for a moment, "I don't want to talk about it right now, is that okay?" Chloe asked with a sad look,

"Sure," Zack agreed with a small nod. The couple went silent again and remained that way until finally pulling into the cabin's driveway. Zack unbuckled himself and reluctantly turned off the car, he turned his head back to Victoria and Gavin, "Guys, hey, wake up you two, we're back!" He called, waking them from their slumber,

"Hmm?" Gavin groaned out, physically exhausted from his day with Victoria,

"We can get up later Gav, it's night out," Victoria mumbled out, thinking that she was already in her room with Gavin,

Gavin rubbed his eyes and gave Victoria a small shake, "No, Vicky, we're in Zack's car, we gotta get up,"

Victoria's eyes fluttered open and let out a long yawn, her body nearly aching from her workouts with Gavin, "Oh, right..." She nearly grumbled out, "Are we going to Lisa's cabin?" She asked looking over at Zack,

"She never texted me," Zack replied while turning back around, and glancing back to Chloe who silently looked down at her legs. Her hands were locked together, and she hadn't been able even to unbuckle her seatbelt yet, "So I don't know,"

"Well, shouldn't we go ask?" Gavin asked with a shrug, "Like you said earlier, maybe she just forgot to tell us,"

"Yeah..." Zack agreed while he finally saw Chloe reach for her seatbelt, her hand almost trembling. Zack's eyes widened, and he instantly reached over taking Chloe's hand in his, "Guys, could you go and check with her for me? I need to talk to Chloe for a second." Zack quickly asked while looking back at them, "I'd appreciate it,"

"Oh, um, sure thing," Gavin nodded back while Victoria silently looked at Chloe who's head still hung low, though her hand seemed to be squeezing Zack's almost painfully,

"Yeah, Gav, let's go do that." Victoria silently agreed as the two got out of the car,

As soon as the doors closed, Chloe looked over to Zack, "W-What are you doing?" She softly asked, her voice almost breaking,

"Just hold on, and don't worry," Zack calmly replied as he watched his rearview mirror.

Gavin and Victoria walked into the cabin and immediately were met with Madison, Brandon, Lisa and Heather all in the den. Lisa and Madison were both messing on their phones while Heather and Brandon were apparently deadlocked in a heated game of scrabble while music played through Heather's phone in the background, "Hey, look who it is!" Brandon happily said with a wave to the two of them, "Where're the star-crossed lovers?" He joked out while getting up,

"Hey, asshole it's your turn," Heather quickly snapped out with a smirk, "Oh, cool you guys are back," Heather added on now noticing the two as well,

"Where's Zack?" Lisa asked in confusion while putting her phone down,

"Zack and Chloe are outside..." Victoria said in a low voice, "I think Chloe's afraid to come inside,

Madison lowered her phone joining in while everyone else started to look concerned with the news, "Well, um...well, Kurt's not here and he's not gonna be back for a few days, he's staying at the hospital. If someone wants to tell her that," Heather spoke up after a few moments,

Victoria felt some relief for Chloe as well as herself, knowing that both Ashley and Kurt were gone. Gavin let out a nod and looked over to Lisa, "Yeah, I'll tell them in a second." Gavin said to Heather while Lisa raised her brow, unsure why Gavin was looking at her, "Can we go?" He asked after a few seconds,

"Go..." Lisa asked back,

"To your cabin," Gavin replied, "Zack said you'd text him if we could, but we thought you might have forgotten."

"Wait, you four were trying to leave?" Heather interjected in some sadness and confusion,

"It's just for the nights Heather," Victoria assured her, "We just didn't feel comfortable with Kurt and Ashley here...though that seems to have fixed itself,"

"Good thing too..." Lisa's voice suddenly said, "My dad called me, he said he didn't want that many people there while he was gone. I'm sorry guys," She lied causing Madison ever so slightly to shake her head,

"Oh, shit..." Gavin mumbled under his breath, knowing that regardless of Kurt and Ashley being gone, Chloe wouldn't like that,

"Yeah, I'm sorry guys," Lisa sincerely said while Gavin gave her a small nod and turned around. Everyone in the room watched him as he left, though Lisa quickly got up and walked over to the window. She could still see Zack and Chloe's heads as they sat in the car and she felt terrible for not helping them out. When she decided on her own, it was much easier without having to think about this part.

"Don't worry Lisa, it's not like they're gonna be mad at you," Victoria assured the latina who continued to stare out the window sympathetically, "It wasn't your call at the end of the day anyhow."

Gavin walked down the driveway and Zack instantly rolled down his window, both he and Chloe turned to their friend as he leaned over, resting his hands on Zack's door. "Hey, I'm sorry guys...her dad said no," Gavin quietly said while hanging his head, "He just didn't want that many people staying at the cabin, I guess,"

"Shit," Zack sighed while shaking his head. Chloe's lips trembled slightly,

"But, um, well there's good news too, Kurt's gone at least for a few days. So the cabin's empty of anyone who'd give you two problems," Gavin tacked on, trying to sound hopeful,

Zack nodded slowly, knowing that at this moment, it wasn't making much of a difference for Chloe. He felt her hand leave his as she tried to unbuckle herself for the second time. Once again Zack's hand moved, stopping her from completing the action, "No, Chloe, we're not going inside he firmly said while starting his car again.

Chloe looked over at him with a mixture of shock and confusion, "What do you mean?" She asked with a small sniffle,

"Hey, tell the others we'll be back in the morning for a to pack up or whatever, okay?" Zack said to Gavin who tilted his head sadly,

"You two are really gonna leave early?" He asked in a low voice, not wanting to see his two best friends leave so soon,

Zack glanced back to Chloe, "Maybe, we're gonna talk about it, but we're gonna leave for the night." Zack replied, "You and Vicky want to come with?"

"Nah, you two get some time alone," Gavin warmly replied while he gave Chloe a reassuring smile, "Without Kurt and Ashley here, we'll be fine."

"Good," Zack honestly replied while taking his hand from Chloe's and reaching over to Gavin's. The two friends locked hands and Zack gave Gavin a light pat on the shoulder, "Talk to you tomorrow man,"

"Bye Gavin," Chloe nodded with a small wave. Gavin gave them a slightly bittersweet smile and waved back before backing away, allowing them to pull out and head back down the road. Gavin stood watching the car leave for a few moments before sighing and walking back inside.

The moment he entered the house he found all eyes on him, "Where'd they go?" Victoria immediately asked,

"I don't know," Gavin replied with a tiny shrug, "Zack just didn't want Chloe here tonight,"

"So, then they'll be back tomorrow?" Heather asked with a cock of her head,

"Yeah, though I don't know for how long," Gavin answered back,

Lisa's eyes grew a bit wide at Gavin's cryptic words, "What does that mean?" She asked leaning in a little closer to him,

"Just...Zack was talking about packing up," Gavin sighed while nodding his head slightly, "I honestly don't think they'll be able to stay here with all the bad memories,"

Heather bitterly shook her head, now almost furious with Ashley and Kurt for ruining the trip for at least Zack and Chloe. Madison too felt angry over this as the mere thought of someone being too afraid to even enter a building was sickening for her. "That's...so fucked," Madison almost hissed out,

Lisa pursed her lips and started to shake her head, "You know what, no, I'm gonna call my dad back. I'm gonna explain the situation and see if I can change his mind," She said to the surprise of the others, "Just give me a minute." She added on while leaving the room, immediately entering a bathroom to take a few breaths and think things over, trying to figure out if she could get over her own issues to genuinely help someone who needed her.