Prologue

One week. Seven days. That's how long it had been since she had seen him- and since the first day she'd met him, seven days was the longest she had ever gone without spending any time together They had texted each other, and had spoken on the phone or FaceTimed here and there; when they had FaceTimed they'd often found themselves talking about 'the bake off' they'd sent each other pictures, but none of those things were the same as actually being around him.

It had taken her three days to realise just how much she missed him. The first day she had felt a nagging feeling deep in the pit of her stomach that there was something wrong about her day to day life.

She had easily been able to play that feeling off at first, after all, it had only been one day since she had seen his dark eyes, and charming smile, she thought that maybe it was just her crush playing tricks on her and taking hold of her emotions, controlling her thoughts, feelings, and hormones and having her acting like she was back in high school.

By the second day, that feeling in her gut grew stronger and stronger, and soon she started to miss more and more about him; his soft, smooth voice, his laugh, the aura that he had about him that just made her feel better no matter what kind of day she had been having.

On the second night after a particular text exchange that had made her heart clench when she thought about not seeing him around tomorrow, she decided that she was going to fully submerge herself into her work. She had a bake off to win, and she, along with everyone else on the fourth floor were determined to make it happen.

They owed it to Leif and Joan to win this thing. After all, it had been Leif's idea, that he'd fleshed out with the all too intimidating woman, who would do god knows what to her workers if they lost. That idea had been conceived in the minds of the fourth floor, and had been born there, they had delivered the pitch to the CEO of Sprq Point, he had liked their idea. They were all sure as hell that it was going to stay as their idea, on the fourth floor where it belonged.

The distraction was much needed, and for the most part it worked, though there would still be certain points in the day when she would look up from her desk expecting to see him, his dark eyes, and soft, warm smile that made her smile whenever she saw it, but all she would be met with was an empty chair.

Every time she looked up expecting to see him only to be met with empty space made her heart sink lower and lower to the pit of her stomach, and at that point Zoey couldn't deny it anymore. She missed him, she missed him more than she had ever thought possible.

She wished more than anything that she could be there with him, or that he would change his mind at the last minute and stay here with her. She knew those thoughts were selfish, and that was one thing that she didn't want to be, not when he was the least selfish person she could have ever wished, or hoped to meet.

She knew that him going was what was best for him, for both of them maybe. They needed some time apart to really think things through and think about all the things that had happened between them over the last few months. Everything had been such a whirlwind since she had heard him sing that very first heart song.

Hearing him sing had been what had started this, had she not known his feelings then, none of this would have happened, and wouldn't still be happening now if she could just turn off her power and stop the heart songs for a single day.

That's what they'd argued about wasn't it?

How he kept holding on to things, and couldn't really let them go. That no one really understood why he was where he was right now.

She had regretted those words as soon as they had left her mouth, and though what he had said in return had been harsh, she knew that it's what she needed to hear, what she needed to be told and she knew that no one else around her was going to be as honest as him.

He was honest, everything he had said to her that day had been the truth. Though, at the time, it had only added to her anger, she hadn't been ready to be hit with such hard facts, but now that she'd had time to cool off, she realised it was definitely what she needed.

She knew that she had only acted that way due to her grief and the inability to actually face what was happening and take it all in. But she had never had to accept anything like this before, she had never had to experience anything close to the pain and anguish that she felt right now. She had no idea how she was supposed to handle it.

For months, she and her family had been told that the medication was working, that her father's disease was slowing down and that they were going to have more time with him. In those months they had even found ways to communicate with him, through buzzers and him spelling out words to them on a laptop- all of those things had been good signs, and Zoey had caught herself hoping and praying for a miracle, she had truly believed somewhere deep in her heart, that her father could get better.

He was the strongest and bravest man that she had ever known in her life, and she had seen him overcome so many things in her life, and she was sure that he could fight something like this and win, she had seen him fighting it, and then BAM out of nowhere the bombshell had been dropped on the four of them.

He wasn't getting better, the medication had stopped working and his health would only deteriorate from here on out.

Her grief had soon bubbled over into anger, and she had taken that feeling out on those around her, she had hurt two people in her life that until now she would have never dreamed of hurting. Two people that she had deep, genuine feelings for.

Two people that when her powers had glitched and she'd sang heart songs of her own, had been given two of the most honest performances she had given that day.

She knew that both songs she'd sung had meant very different things, that much was obvious to anyone who listened to them. To anyone who actually soaked in the lyrics and really heard them. She couldn't deny the feelings that she had expressed in either of those songs.

She had sung heart songs to both of them, containing feelings that she desperately needed them to know and that she couldn't hold in any longer. She knew that they shared the same root emotion, albeit different intensities, but that didn't mean she didn't have real and valid feelings for both of them. She just felt those feelings in a different way.

She had sung her feelings to both of them, had opened up about her feelings and had felt herself getting closer to them both, and now, because of her grief and feelings she couldn't properly unpackage and couldn't accept, she had lost them both.

But one loss felt far bigger than the other, it hit her harder than she would like to admit, than she ever would admit, and all she had been able to do for the last seven days was thinking about how they had parted, how they had been so close to something and had ended up with, whatever it was they had now.

She felt worlds away from him now, and she didn't know what she could do to fix things, or make things better, or if she should do anything, or just let things play out naturally. She did know that she needed to see him again, and actually see him, no more FaceTime calls, no more texts, no more dorky pictures that he sent to her to make her laugh when she was feeling low.

He always knew just what to do to make her smile, without her telling him how she felt, he just seemed to know, he had a way of reading her and knowing exactly how she was feeling. She had needed to tell him when she felt alone, or down, he just knew and without prompting had sent her any picture he could that he thought might make her laugh, or at the very least smile. It had worked.

But she needed more than that now. She needed actual closeness, even if all they could have now was friendship. She would take friendship with him over nothing, she would take a simple friendship ahy day of the week if it meant that she could spend time with him again.

Sene days.

That's how long it had been since she had last seen him.

It had been nine days since they'd had their fight, and even after that, when they had seen each other, things had been strained, they hadn't been the way they were before. The words she had said to him, and that he had said to her still clung to her gut and made her ache as she thought about how she had treated him, and for what?

Because she was angry? Because she was grieving and had never had to process a feeling as gut wrenching and mind warping as this? Because she didn't even know how to process a feeling like that?

All she could think about was if she had acted like this while her father was still here, just how was she going to act when he was actually gone? When she couldn't see him anymore? Couldn't hug him or go be with him when she needed a shoulder to cry on?

She dreaded to think about the things she would say and do when that wave of grief finally hit her, and she knew that one day, sooner than she would have ever thought or liked, it was going to hit her. She already felt sorry for the people in her life that would be on the receiving end of her razor sharp, poisonous tongue.

Nine days.

That's how long she'd had to think about the way she had treated him, and how she had treated her, though what he had said to her had definitely been more warranted than what she had said to him, she had been unprovoked. She'd had nine days to apologise for those things, and some days it felt like that's all she had done; apologise, over and over and over again no matter how many times he told her she didn't have to.

No matter how many times he told her that he understood.

Of course he understood, he always did, he always had and Zoey was starting to think that he always would. No matter what she had thrown at him, or how things had played out, even when she had done things she shouldn't have, he had been there for her. He was always there for her.

Seven days.

That's how long it had taken Zoey to realise the weight of what had happened.

Seven days.

That's how long it had taken Zoey to realise just how much she wanted him in her life.

Seven days.

This is going to be canon divergent from 1x10 onward.

Both Zoey/ Max and Zoey/ Simon are tagged in this fic because it will have elements of both of them in it, though I have already made my mind up on what I want the endgame of this fic to be.

The prologue / preface chapter starts ambiguously for a reason.