Character Analysis
Drunk but Devoted
Heath is Zoey's sorta-ex-boyfriend, and she describes him in conversation as "My almost-boyfriend" (1.8), if that makes sense. What's so unappealing? He's supposed to be pretty hot, but according to Zoey doesn't "want to go out with a guy whose main focus in life has changed from trying to play college football to trying to chug a six-pack without puking" (1.12). And in fairness, Zoey has a point: too much booze and no ambition's no good.
He's not all bad, though, and apparently he didn't used to be such a lout. As Zoey thinks to herself: "No, to be fair to myself I should remember that Heath used to be incredibly sweet, and even now he had his moments. Mostly when he bothered to be sober" (1.52). So he's not a total loser—he's just a loser most of the time these days.
Heath is also not the brightest crayon in the box. When Zoey is hiding her Mark from him, she realizes that he's been drinking at school, and asks if he's crazy. He responds: "Yes I am crazy, 'bout you, baby!" (2.6). Er… thanks? He also apparently can't keep a secret, since he alludes to the fact that he didn't actually cheat on her at a party she'd missed. Smooth.
Between the fact that Heath rarely uses polysyllabic words and his general obliviousness, we're not surprised that Zoey's getting bored with him. She's a pretty smart cookie, after all, while Heath, on the other hand, tends to look "clueless—but that was really his only look" (17.52). It's no wonder she's not drawn to him as she comes into her own.
Overly Dedicated Boyfriend?
When Heath and Kayla come to visit Zoey at the House of Night, though, something changes between them. For one thing, Heath's sweet side reemerges: "Despite his faults, Heath could be really sweet, and he always made me feel completely beautiful" (17.98). So again, he's not all bad.
But then Heath goes a little overboard with the Zoey-adoration, telling her: "You look seriously hot. You've always been beautiful, but now you look like a real goddess" (17.98). And then he kisses her. Impulsive much? Whatever happens next, Heath acts like he's in a trance, and he offers Zoey the blood from his wrist, which she has just scratched.
This is when things get creepy, because goofy, clueless Heath disappears, replaced by zombie-Heath. He moans when Zoey licks his wrist, and he says: "Yes… whatever you want. I'll do whatever you want" (17.111). It's totally weird. Further, he tells her, "I don't mind what you did. I love you, Zoey. More now than I ever have" (17.128). Yeah, something definitely seems off. Heath's words are more than the babbling of a drunk and high football player. Something has clearly changed in how he relates to Zoey… but what?
Then he leaves her a bunch of texts and voicemails, which would sound creepy and stalkerish if they weren't so pathetic. Here's an example of a voicemail:
"Zoey! Okay. You need to call me. Really. And don't be mad. Hey, I don't even like Kayla. She's lame. I still love you, Zo, only you. So call me. I don't care when. I'll just wake up." (25.62)
Okay… it's official: Lover-boy has some codependency issues.
When Heath crashes the Dark Daughters' Samhain ritual, he's too oblivious to realize he's in danger. He tries to pick a fight with Erik, and falls for Aphrodite's dubious charms. Luckily the ghosts Aphrodite summons don't actually eat him, they just terrorize him and claw him up a little. Nefret heals him, saying, "He will recover, and he will remember nothing of this night except that he got drunk and then lost trying to find his ex-almost-girlfriend" (29.3). So Heath gets off easy, even though he could've really gotten hurt.
What's in store for this brainless jock in the future? We'll have to wait and see whether Zoey actually imprinted on him or not. As with pretty much every other character, we're just going to have to stay tuned and keep reading the series to find out.