huh, it had the opposite effect to me. she easily became the 2a/2b girl with quinn. prior to the interlude i didn't really care too much about her, just past experiences as a child growing up and exploring sexuality. but you get to learn so much about her through her diary and watching her actions. she's not an ex who bailed on the mc. they were at a crossroad in life. mc wanted to finish school and go to college and she wanted to pursue what she thought was her dream. she was depressed over her grandmother's passing and she did what she thought her grandmother would have wanted her to do; find her own happiness.
she's always had mc's best interest in mind. she saw emma, who she perceived as a cooler, older person with more life experiences, and modeled her own life experiences with that of emma and bret's. she perceived that emma and bret had a great relationship even after they had broken up; she heard what bret said about giving him space allowed him to heal and grow. zoey only realized her mistake when emma eventually got too paranoid and jealous and did not want the same thing to happen to her. she now realized that even in that small podunk town, she could still have home blindness.
she's talented, saracastic, independent, free-spirited, loyal, and brave. zoey is one one of the few characters that show actual growth. you see her amateur sketches eventually turn into tattooable pieces. even the art in her diary takes a qualitative jump. she knows she made mistakes but she wants to make it right by heading home. i think people are fixated on her "leaving" the mc, but she always wanted the mc to go with her; mc was the one who said he didn't want to go. mc has also stated that he would travel with her etc. in that respect, mc is the one who bailed on her.
