6.

Zoey was setting up the drinks and cups in the kitchen, poking her head out of the kitchen door every time one of the girls opened the door to invite in more guests.

"Ok," Brooke said, walking over to Zoey. She leaned against the open kitchen window that overlooked the living room. "What's up with you? Why're you just running around the kitchen anxiously?"

Zoey sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm just waiting for Stick, I guess. I asked him to come to this party when I know how he gets at parties, and I guess I'm just anxious about how tonight's gonna go."

Brooke leaned forward and put her hand on Zoey's shoulder. "It's gonna be fine. It's just a normal party, we'll play spin the bottle to Ash her first kiss, and then it'll be over, no incidents or accidents to be anxious about, because you'll be with Stick the whole time to make sure nothing happens. "

Zoey smiled. "Thanks, Brooke. You're a good friend." Brooke shrugged with a smile. "I know."

--

Madison had a few guys sit down around her coffee table to play spin the bottle. Zoey handed Sadie an empty glass soda bottle and sat out of the circle on the couch.

"Your turn Ashley," Sadie said with a smile, handing the bottle to Ashley. Madison smiled at her. "I love that we're making this milestone for you!"

"I love that we're connecting by doing something relatable!" Ashley smiled.

"I'm so proud of you," Brooke pretended to tear up, "This is why I teach."

As soon as Ashley placed the bottle on the table, the front door opened again, revealing the last few guys of the football team with Tad at the front. "Tad in the house!" He announced.

Ashley stared at him in horror and spun the bottle without looking, knocking over a purple drink and spilling it on the white carpet.

"Oh no! My mom's gonna know I had people over, she's gonna kill me! Tonight was such a bad idea," Madison cried before storming off into the kitchen, Sadie and Harper following her. Ashley and Brooke drop down onto the floor to try and rub the stain out.

"Oh no, Madison's going to hate me!" Ashley said. Brooke shook her head. "She's not gonna hate you," At Ashley's look, she reconsidered, "But it's not great."

Zoey jumped off the couch and ran into the kitchen. She crouched and looked around in a few drawers around the sink before sighing in frustration.

"Hey, Zoey," Stick said, standing at the island. Zoey looked up and smiled. "Hey, Stick!" She stood up and leaned on the island next to him, "When did you get here?"

"I came with Tad." Stick handed her a rag, "Did you need this?"

"Oh, thanks, I was looking for this," Zoey said, walking out into the living room. "How'd you find it?"

"I'm really good at finding things," he smiled. Zoey handed the rag to Ashley before looking around. "Where's Brooke? I thought she was supposed to be helping you?"

"She left to make a bigger mess to distract from the mess that I made while I was distracted," Ashley explained.

"Ah, fuck."

--

After containing Brooke, Zoey and Stick were talking in the kitchen. There were a few people around them, but it was significantly less populated than the rest of the house.

"I've been experimenting with new ways to do the team's laundry, and I've found a way to get the jerseys softer than ever!" Stick rambled, gesturing with his soda in his hand. Zoey smiled and shook her head. "All that work and nothing can be done about how bad the team makes them smell."

Stick sighed exaggeratedly. "Nothing can combat the smell of teen athletes." They laughed. Zoey's phone started ringing. She pulled out her phone and saw that the contact was Victor. She accepted the call and put her phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Zoey! Where are you?" Victor shouted, panicked. Zoey furrowed her eyebrows.

"Still at Madison's, why?"

"Ashley's not answering her phone! I told her to keep her phone on and she didn't! Why would she do that unless she was at a party and didn't want me to know!"

"Well we are at a party, but--"

"WHAT!"

Zoey rolled her eyes and spoke over him, "Relax, tío! We're fine, we're still at Madison's and nothing bad is happening. Don't you trust us?"

"That sounds like something someone trying to hide something would say!"

"Tío stop overreacting! We'll be home by 11, bye!" Zoey ended the call with a frown. Stick nudged her foot. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, he's just being dramatic, again," Zoey laughed.

Tad came rushing into the kitchen and hid behind the far side of the island. Ashley came in after him.

"Ooh, drama! Let's hide," Zoey pulled Stick so that they were both behind the fridge. The fridge was tucked next to the sink, but there was just a large open space on it's other side.

"Tad, you can't hide here from Bella all night." Ashley said. Zoey and Stick both winced. "Bella's here?" Zoey whispered.

"I'm not hiding," Tad lied. "I'm, uh, getting some extra squats in."

"She can't be that scary." Bella walked up behind her. "Hi."

"Ah!" Ashley shouted. Zoey laughed at the irony.

"Who are you?" Bella asked rudely. Zoey frowned and grabbed Stick's hand.

"Uh, what?" Stick asked. "Shh! Just, hold me back so I don't fight her," Zoey explained before looking back at the drama before her.

"This," Tad stood up from where he was hiding to face Bella. "Is Ashley Garcia. She's super smart, she has a PhD, and she's building robots to go to Mars. And she's nice, and she might find a way to save life on Earth or she might just find a better way to brush your teeth or something. Who knows?" he ranted.

Zoey was shaking the hand she had interlocked with Stick's out of excitement. "Ooh! That's so cute!"

"What is?"

"Him defending Ashley! They're so gonna get together!"

"Oh." Bella said. "It's nice to meet you." She moved in front of Ashley and pushed her out of the way. Zoey glared at her. Seeing this, Stick gripped her hand a little bit tighter.

"Tad! We had a deal and you didn't hold up your end. Every time we break up I have to explain it to you again!"

Tad looked to Ashley for encouragement before facing Bella again. "I know we have a binding contract on a Jersey Mike's napkin," Zoey looked over to Stick and mouthed 'What?', "But tonight I asked myself, "What do I really want to do?" Bella, what I really want is to stay. Here. We gotta learn how to be in the same room together."

Bella stared at him for a long moment before rolling her eyes. "Fine, whatever." She said, leaving the kitchen.

"That was great, you totally stood up for yourself!" Ashley congratulated. "Wow! I've never won an argument before. That felt... awesome." Tad celebrated. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."

"This is so cute!" Zoey quietly squealed, clutching Stick's hand in both hands out of excitement.

"What? It was all you, you're the one who stood up to her."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"Yeah, I guess you did."

The two of them were staring into each other's eyes. "You have an eyelash," Tad said, stepping closer to her.

Zoey was grinning so widely and gripping Stick's hand so tight, he asked, "Are you ok?"

Zoey laughed and loosened her grip. "Sorry, I'm just so happy for Ashley! She's had the biggest crush on Tad, I'm sure you could tell."

Just as the two were about to kiss, Madison called out, "Circle up everyone! Spin the bottle's starting back up." Tad jumped away from Ashley and slipped away from the group, heading further into the kitchen.

Zoey threw down Stick's hand in disappointment and groaned, walking out of her poor hiding spot and over to the girls.

"Stain's gone," Madison happily announced. "I'm so sorry about your mom's rug," Ashley apologised. "Don't worry. Besides, she's my stepmom. And we cleared everything off the table so nothing can go wrong this time."

"Ah! This is so exciting!" Sadie exclaimed.

"We're gonna get you kissed!"

"Are you ready?"

"Actually," Ashley tried to explain, "I was--"

Tad shut the refrigerator door, holding a large container of spaghetti, "They have spaghetti!" He exclaimed, walking around the island over to them. When he shut the door he revealed a confused Stick, staring at his friend shoveling food into his mouth. Zoey shot him a confused look but he just shrugged and shook his head.

"Tad, come on! We're about to play spin the bottle, more girls will play if you're playing," Madison pleaded. "Please?"

"Well, I don't wanna let anyone down," Tad said, going back to the living room. Stick followed after him holding a plate. "Buddy c'mon, you have to use a plate!"

Zoey laughed at the strangeness of the situation.

"Here, you can even pick what your first kiss tastes like," Madison held up four chapsticks, "Cherry, bubblegum, pink lemonade, bacon."

"Why do you have bacon?" Zoey asked. Madison shrugged, "It's an acquired taste."

The girls handed Ashley the four chapsticks before leaving to the living room to clear it for the game. Zoey leaned against the counter and looked at her with concern. "Hey, Ash, are you ok?"

Ashley took a deep breath before gripping the chapsticks tightly, giving her a smile. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Zoey gave her a look, and she sighed. "Ok, you're right. I'm just sort of beginning to rethink this whole spin the bottle thing."

Zoey frowned. "Ash, if you seriously don't want to do it you don't have to. If you feel like the girls were pressuring you, you have to tell them."

"Can you go get them?"

"Yeah." Zoey left the kitchen and grabbed Brooke off the couch. She nodded her head at Madison from her place gathering people to play the game towards the kitchen, so she grabbed Harper and Sadie.

"Guys, Ashley has something she wants to tell you," Zoey said, leaning against the counter. Ashley took a deep breath before looking at her friends' concerned faces.

"I don't want to play spin the bottle anymore."

"What?" Madison asked. "But we put this whole party on to get you kissed?"

"I'm sorry. I think I only agreed to play spin the bottle because you guys were so excited about it." Ashley confessed. "And you were being so sweet to me, I just wanted to be part of the group."

The girls looked shared looks of understanding with each other before smiling back at Ashley.

"But I realized, I don't want my first kiss to come from some random spin of a bottle, I want it to be romantic. With someone I've had moments with. We'll look into each other's eyes and the whole world will melt away, and we'll remember that moment forever." Ashley fantasized.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Sadie cooed. "I wish my first kiss had been like that."

"Me too. Mine was behind a dumpster," Harper admitted.

"It's ok," Madison said. "Y'know, it's actually kind of cute that you're holding out for a romantic kiss like that." She squeezed Ashley's hand before leaving to go back to the party, Harper and Sadie trailing after her.

Brooke turned to Ashely with a huge smile on her face, "You are so in with these girls!"

They squealed together. Zoey smiled and hugged Ashley tightly. "I am so proud of you for not giving into peer pressure, prima. I know you've never really had to deal with a situation like this before."

"Thanks, prima," Ashley smiled, hugging her back. Zoey pulled back and made an unsubtle face.

"So, if you don't mind?" Zoey glanced back towards the living room. Ashley laughed and shared a look with Brooke. "Are you hoping to land a spin on a certain someone?" Brooke teased.

Zoey blushed and shrugged, backing out of the kitchen to the sound of her friends' laughter. She turned and sat down between the coffee table and the couch next to Madison. The coffee table was crowded, but she noticed that Stick was only sitting a few people to her right.

"Spin the bottle Round 2 is happening!" Madison exclaimed excitedly, placing the bottle on the middle of the table. Tad grabbed it and held it up to Stick. "Hey, Stick. You go first."

Stick held onto the bottle in front of him and his hand was shaking as he stared at in fear.

"You gonna go?" Harper asked. Madison shook her head and smiled at him kindly, "It's ok," She said as she pried it out of his grip. Zoey giggled as he leaned back into the armchair he was sitting against, relieved.

"You did great, man," Tad said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Stick nodded, "Better than I thought I would."

Madison smiled as she handed the bottle to Zoey. She took it from her hands and placed it on the table, careful not to look at anyone as she spun it. Slowly the bottle came to a stop, and she looked at who it pointed to.

It was Stick.

She looked up and met his eyes as she smiled.

Suddenly the front door burst open to reveal her to Victor storming in. Zoey frowned and glared at her uncle. Getting up from where she was sitting, she grabbed the bottle off of the table and threw it at him.

It struck him in the head.

"Ow!" He yelled, grabbing the top of his head. Zoey glared at him and yelled, "¡Qué crees que estás haciendo!"

"¡Estás a un fiesta de beber!" He yelled back. Zoey huffed and grabbed him by the hood of his jacket, dragging him out of the house. He tried to stop her, but found himself surprised when he couldn't. She threw him out the front door and shut it, leaving them both outside.

She walked down the steps and sat on the last step, her arms crossed, tapping her foot, and glaring at the wall in front of her. Victor walked off of the porch and stood in front of her, mirroring her body language.

"Why are you here?" She asked angrily.

"I told you no alcohol! But when I called you, you told me you were at a party! One that I remember neither of you asked permission to go to. And I know what teenagers do at parties!"

"What? What do teenagers do at parties, I'm so curious!" Zoey stood and shouted at him. He hesitated for a second. Then he said, "Don't think I didn't see those red cups!"

"What's in the cups that you're so afraid of? Soda? Water? Iced Tea?"

"Red cups are for booze, everyone knows that."

"I'm sorry that we don't live in the 80's anymore, tío. Nobody at my school drinks, not at parties like these." Zoey sighed. Victor began to look guilty. "I just wish you would've talked to me about this instead of rushing in here and accusing us of underage drinking."

"Well I would have if you hadn't hung up on me and if Ashley would've just answered her phone." He explained, sitting next to her on the step.

"Ashley wasn't answering her phone?" Zoey asked, confused. When Victor shook his head, Zoey let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry, tío. I should've made sure she kept her phone on."

"No, you're not responsible for everything she does. It's not your fault."

After a minute, Victor sighed. "I'm sorry for just bursting in there. I could've called you again, but after spamming Ashley's phone, I was afraid that you wouldn't pick up, then I started thinking the worst."

Zoey rubbed her face in exhaustion before facing him again. "Tío, I'm not gonna just ignore your calls just because I'm at a party."

"I know that, now. I'm sorry."

Zoey stood up and gave Victor a hug. Then she pulled back and gave him a stern look. "You know you're gonna have to have this same talk with Ashley, right?"

Victor sighed before nodding. Zoey walked back up the steps and was about to open the door, "Did I see you playing spin the bottle with Stick?" Victor teased.

"Goodnight, tío!" Zoey yelled before slamming the door. She sighed before looking at what was going on in front of her. Tad and Bella were making out, and Ashley was staring in horror from the kitchen.

Zoey sighed in disappointment. She was really rooting for Tad and Ashley. Zoey walked past them and pushed Ashley back into the kitchen. "C'mon, you don't need to be seeing that right now."

She sat Ashley down at the kitchen table and Brooke sat next to her, rubbing her shoulder. She walked over to the freezer and grabbed a tub of ice cream for her. When she closed the door, she noticed Stick standing a few feet away, awkwardly shuffling his feet.

Zoey set down the ice cream and walked over to him, she held her arms out for a hug and he wrapped his arms around her. "Ugh," She complained, "That was so embarrassing."

"Yeah, it totally looked like you were embarrassed as you dragged your uncle out by his hoodie," Stick laughed. Zoey just groaned and hid her face in his chest.

woah, hey, it's been a while. I made this chapter extra long to make up for it.

if y'all are unfamiliar, I take a long time to update. Get used to that. Also have you guys seen season two of Ashley Garcia???

I'm living for Stick and Brooke in canon! But, nlg, when I get there it's not gonna be the same