Things get tense in the apartment when Zoe and Jane decide to throw a party to impress a handsome man but can't quite agree on how it should be handled, so they end up at each other's throats. Doug, meanwhile, starts dating a girl to get his play produced.
When Zoe conducts a psychology experiment to study the effects of stress, she uses Jack and Jane as her subjects, but the siblings wind up skewing her results when they start to get along.
Duncan tosses Jack out of the apartment because of his messiness and his extremely annoying girlfriend, and Doug moves in. Meanwhile, Zoe finds adventure in the world of personal ads when her suede jacket attracts attention all over New York.
When Zoe and the gang crash Jane's boss's wild costume party, complete with a live, tiger, Zoe's evil co-worker Penny uses the prank to get Jane fired, and it's up to Zoe to get her friend's job back.
Zoe tells Jane about a dream she had about Jack kissing her. She then kisses Jack but feels nothing. Jack then feels something and wants to kiss Zoe again.''''They kiss again and the both feel nothing.
Zoe gets a shot at being a manager at the restaurant where she works, but first she has to handle a night with only half a staff. Her solution: recruit Duncan, Jack and Jane to help her out.
Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane have started college in New York City and are living on their own, Zoe waiting tables at a Chinese restaurant while attending Columbia. First up: Zoe is concerned that their friendship is in trouble as they start living separate lives.
Zoe aspires to become a writer with the help of a romance novelist, Jane tries to impress a boy by trying to take an interest in his religion, and Duncan volunteers for the Very Exceptional Games, however, he starts competing and winning every race.