I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.
Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.
Spring break was finally over. And once everyone had tried to forget about Zack and Cody almost becoming a single entity thanks to a mad scientist, everyone had had a good break. Cody and Bailey had done everything on their list and had a wonderful time doing so. Of course, both were a little confused why no one wanted to join them, but neither minded in the least having all the time alone. Zack had gone to pick up the car that Cody had finally given him, but it hadn't lasted long as it was soon crushed by London's summer wardrobe. Fortunately, insurance would cover it being fixed, but Kurt actually cried when he heard what happened. When Addison had returned back to the ship, she and Woody snuck off by themselves to spend time together in the first stages of their new relationship. London...well...London had been busy going through her new clothes and arguing with sea life around the ship. And on that Sunday before classes were due to resume, everyone was kind of taking it easy.
Zack and Cody were sitting in the Aqualounge watching the Red Sox play an early season contest.
Cody shook his head. "What is wrong with the Sox? I thought with the addition of Carl Crawford and AGon, we'd be unstoppable..."
Zack shrugged. His mind was only half on the game. Maya had called, and her flight had been delayed. She wouldn't be arriving back to the ship until after curfew, and Zack was very eager to see his girlfriend again. "I don't know..."
Cody just looked at his brother and smiled. "I know the feeling..."
Zack looked up at his brother. "Huh?"
Cody laughed. "Don't forget. I can still read your mind and feel what you are feeling..."
Zack sighed. "I'll be glad when the effects of the Corsican fruit finally wears off. There are somethings I'd like to keep to myself. And thoughts of yours I have no desire to know..."
"Like what?"
"Well..."
Before he could continue, they were interrupted by a voice. "There you are, Sweetie...Did I miss anything yet?"
Cody turned with the biggest smile on his face. "Nah...The Sox are just getting routed again."
Bailey sat down next to him. "Again? Have they won a game yet?"
Cody shook his head. "Not yet. But, that's why baseball is a long season. Plenty of time to catch up..."
Bailey grinned. "So, I shouldn't rub it in that my Royals are doing fairly well for a change?"
Cody grinned back. "Go ahead...It won't last!"
"You think so, huh? You willing to bet on that?"
"Oh yeah! Name your terms..."
Bailey smiled. "Hmmm...Let me think. It won't be until October until we know, so how about you carry my books for a week around campus when my Royals come out on top?"
"And when my Sawx prove how wicked awesome they are, you can do the same for me..."
Bailey laughed. "Why is it that your Boston accent only comes out when you are talking about the Red Sox?"
Cody paused. "I don't know..." He grinned. "So what do you say about us going for a bowl of chow-duh?"
Zack shook his head and groaned. Cody turned to face his brother. "Be nice."
"But he didn't..." Bailey paused. "You can still read his mind, huh?"
Cody nodded. "Yeah...I'll be glad when it wears off..."
Zack gave them an incredulous look. "You'll be glad? I'll be glad when my heart stops beating a thousand times a minute, my stomach stops doing somersaults and my palms get sweaty every time you see Bailey..."
Bailey looked at Zack and then at Cody. "Really?"
Cody just nodded and smiled. "Yeah..."
"Awww..." Bailey leaned in and kissed Cody. "I feel those exact same things, Sweetie..."
Zack rolled his eyes. "I'm getting out of here before I get nauseous..." Zack got up to walk away.
Cody grinned at Bailey. "Want to see something funny?"
Bailey nodded. "Sure."
Cody reached down and twisted his ankle, and both watched Zack trip and fall down. Bailey tried not to laugh but was waging a losing battle. "Cody...That wasn't nice..."
Cody was laughing too. "I know...But this is even better than the zombie thing..."
Zack got up and turned to face them with a scowl on his face. "Two can play that game!" He licked his finger and stuck it in his ear before he turned and left the Aqua Lounge. Bailey turned to find her boyfriend shuddering in disgust.
"I should have saw that coming..."
Bailey smiled at him. "Its okay..." She leaned in and gave Cody a passionate kiss. "Better?"
Cody grinned. "Much..."
From the hallway outside the Aqualounge, they heard someone shout. "My toes are curling! Seriously?"
The next day, everyone was back in class for the first time in a week. Most people were not happy to be there at all...except for two sitting in the front row. Zack was still shaking his head when he felt two arms go around his neck.
"Hey, Babe...Did you miss me?" And then he felt a kiss on his cheek. Zack sighed, smiled and turned around.
"Maya! You bet I did!"
Maya slipped into her seat across from Zack. "Good. Did you all have fun over spring break?" She grinned. "Did you talk Cody into giving you the car?"
Zack paused. "Well...Its a long story. You see..."
But before Zack could begin, Tutweiler stood up and began speaking.
"Welcome back from spring break, everyone. I hear some of you have had the adventure of a lifetime, so I hope everyone is ready to get back to finishing your senior years. Anyways, I hope everyone remembers we have a test tomorrow. You had all spring break to study for it..."
Cody and Bailey looked at each other and grinned while everyone else groaned. Zack shot daggers at his brother after reading Cody's thoughts about how much he was looking forward to it. To get some payback, he leaned down and banged his head on his desk. Of course, he had to laugh when Cody yelped out an ouch and held his head. Zack did notice he was get death stares from Cody, Bailey and Tut.
"Zack, no more hurting yourself just so you can cause your brother pain..."
Zack rolled his eyes as Maya looked over at him questioningly. She leaned over and whispered.
"What was that all about?"
Zack sighed. "I'll explain everything later..."
But due to classes, no one had the time to do that until lunch. And as everyone was gathered around a table, Maya finally turned to Zack.
"Alright...Explain."
Zack sighed. "Well, you see. I wanted the car from Cody so bad, I followed him to a biological preserve to keep hounding him about it. Well, turns out I borrowed an expensive submarine and did some damage. One thing lead to another, and Cody and I were banned from it for life. Needless to say, Cody was royally ticked off at me. Turns out there was this other thing called the Gemini Project where they studied twins. Well, long story short, we ended up there. And believe me, this place was creepy. We were surrounded by nothing but twins in matching outfits who all seemed like the shared the same brain..."
Cody shook his head. "That should have been our first clue..."
Zack continued. "Anyways, turns out it was being run by a mad scientist who wanted to merge Cody and I together into one mind..."
Maya gasped. "Are you serious?"
Zack nodded. "When we found out that's what was going on, I knew we had to stay there and free the other twins..."
Cody just gave Zack a look while Maya was impressed. "Really? How brave of you!" She paused. "Why didn't you just call the police?"
Zack shrugged. "Our cell phones had been confiscated. Something about interfering with the equipment..."
Bailey's eyes went wide and she turned to Cody. "That's why you didn't call me!"
Cody nodded. "I was actually in the process of calling you when my phone was taken away from me..."
Bailey sighed. "I should have known you were trying to contact me..."
Cody smiled. "Its okay. I should have explained to you from the beginning why I was going in the first place."
Bailey smiled back. "From now on, I promise to listen when you try to talk to me..."
Zack rolled his eyes. "Anyways. While we had been there, we'd been eating this stuff called Corsican fruit. At first, it caused us to physically feel what the other was feeling. The next step was for us to feel emotionally what the other is feeling. And trust me, with Cody, that was a lot of work. Finally, we were able to read each other's mind..."
Maya interrupted. "You can read Cody's mind?"
Zack nodded. "Yeah, I can..."
Maya paused and turned to Cody. "Think of a number."
Cody thought and nodded.
"Alright Zack, what number is he thinking of?"
Zack looked at Cody and then shook his head. "She said a number. 'e' is not a number!"
Bailey spoke up. "Actually, it is. Its an irrational number with a value of approximately 2.718281828. Its the base of natural logarithms."
Cody just smiled at Bailey while Zack rolled his eyes. But Maya's eyes went wide again. "Was that the number you were thinking of?"
Cody nodded. "Yeah. I picked something you wouldn't ever expect Zack to guess..."
Maya laughed. "Nobody would have...Except maybe Bailey..."
Zack continued. "Anyways. We broke into the lab, but that's when we got caught by the evil dude. We made our escape, but that's when he unleashed his army of twins on us. We escaped by Broseph holding on to a zip line and me holding on to him, and we zipped across the lake..."
Woody interrupted. "Whoa, whoa, whoa...You expect us to believe that Cody...Cody...was able to support his own weight and yours and still hold on to the handles?"
Zack paused. "Well, now that you mention it, it does seem bizarre, but I swear that's what happened..."
Cody sighed. "Adrenaline..."
Bailey rubbed his back. "Doesn't matter. I'm proud of you."
Zack smirked. "I do remember him saying that should put hair on his chest..."
Cody spoke up. "It actually did. Three of them. I call them Larry, Moe and Curly...Curly for obvious reasons...Anyways, we turned and all the twins were in canoes coming after us. Probably looked like the Spanish Armada or the Greeks descending on Troy to reclaim Helen from Paris."
Bailey's eyes went wide. "Wow..."
Zack continued. "Anyways, we ran to escape from them when Cody pointed out a sawmill he thought we could hide in. Of course, there had to be the blades..."
Cody sighed. "Thanks for reminding me. Cutting it close will have a whole new meaning to me..."
"Then we hid out behind some logs thinking we were safe. Naturally, we were wrong. A couple of twins started using a crane to come at us. We climbed this piece of metal and realized we were going to have to jump in the lake to survive..."
Cody smirked. "And thank you again for telling me that you didn't have to outrun them, but only outrun me..."
Maya was enthralled with the story. "What happened next?"
"We jumped..." He smiled. "The whole way down, I was thinking of you, Babe..."
Cody rolled his eyes, but Zack continued. "We thought we had escaped, but that's when we realized we were surrounded. So, we had to surrender. The injected us with something, and we woke up strapped to the boards where everyone found us."
Cody nodded and smiled. "Bailey, Woody and London had shown up to save us."
Maya paused. "So, you both can still read each other's minds and feel each other's emotions?"
Cody nodded. "For now at least. I'm hoping once all traces of the Corsican fruit leave our system, everything will be back to normal."
Bailey checked her watch. "Cody, we have Chemistry in 15 minutes. We need to get going..."
"Sure. See everyone later..."
With that, Cody and Bailey got up to leave. Back at the table, Woody turned to Zack.
"You're lucky, you know that?"
Zack just looked at him. "How so?"
"Think about it. You can read Cody's mind and we have that test tomorrow. The rest of us have to study, but all you have to do is listen as he works out everything in his mind and write down what he does..."
Zack grinned. "Woodchuck...That's brilliant!"
Maya just looked at him. "Zack!"
"Okay, okay...I'll study, and I won't try to...pick Cody's brain...unless I have to..." But Zack sat there grinning just thinking about it.
Meanwhile, in the chemistry lab, Bailey turned to Cody.
"So, I'm taking it Zack's story wasn't 100% factual, huh?"
Cody just looked at her. "What makes you think that?"
Bailey smiled. "I may not be able to read your mind like Zack can, but I like to think I'm pretty good at reading your eyes and facial expressions..."
Cody laughed. "Well, you would be correct..."
"Let me guess, it wasn't Zack's idea to go save the twins but rather yours..."
Cody smiled. "Something like that..."
"Cody...You're a hero! Why didn't you say anything?"
He shrugged. "Zack wanted to look good in front of his girlfriend. I can understand that feeling, so I wasn't going to take it away from him..."
Bailey smiled. "You didn't want to look good in front of yours?"
"Well, by now, you've seen me at my best and my worst. So..."
"We both have. But knowing what you did, it reminds me of one of the reasons I love you so much..." She pointed at his heart. "You have a big heart. You might not always do the right thing, but I know its in the right place..."
"So is yours. And Bails, I'm sorry again about not telling you why I wanted to go to the biology preserve. I guess in my thinking, I thought I could sacrifice one week away from you to ensure the next fours years with you..."
Bailey smiled again. "And I can understand that." She paused. "As long as I'm the only girl of your dreams..."
Cody smiled. "Always..."
Bailey teased him. "So you weren't checking out any of those other twins there?"
Cody shook his head. "Not this twin. I spent most of my down time looking at your picture and thinking of you..."
Bailey sighed. "I should have known better. You would think by now I would have learned my lesson."
"All I ask is that you just talk to me..." He grinned. "And a permanent place in your speed dial would be nice..."
Bailey grinned. "Well, you're number one there now and locked in..." She paused. "When you said 'not this twin', are you saying..."
Cody shrugged. "I don't know of anything for sure, but I know he did spend a lot of time with this girl called Nellie..."
"And I'm taking it that his thoughts while you two were falling toward the water weren't about Maya?"
Cody laughed. "All I heard was...I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
Bailey laughed too. "I can definitely see that. What about you? What were your thoughts?"
"I'm not going to lie. I'm sure that same thought went through my mind. But, I also thought of you. I didn't want to die without seeing you one more time and trying to get you to forgive me. And I also hoped you knew how just how much I love you."
Bailey smiled. "I know. And I hope you know how much I love you too..."
Cody smiled back. "I do..."
"Of course, you know Zack's planning on trying to read your mind tomorrow during the test, right?"
Cody grinned. "I know that too. I just haven't decided how I'm going to deal with it yet..."
"What are you thinking?"
"Well, one line of thinking is to say the wrong answer in my mind while I write down the right one..."
Bailey nodded. "That would do the trick, but you would be setting him to fail. While it would be completely deserved, I think I have a better idea..."
"Lets hear it..."
Bailey leaned over and whispered her idea to Cody. And Cody couldn't help laughing.
"I like it! Its evil while at the same time giving me an out in case Zack gets upset..."
The next morning, everyone was assembled in the classroom in preparations for the exam. Cody and Bailey were reviewing their notes one last time while everyone else was beginning to panic and pray. Well, except for Zack. He just sat in his desk with a smug smile on his face. Before long, Tut entered the classroom and told everyone to put away their things except for their pencils. Cody and Bailey shared one more smile and a wink with each other as Tut began handing out the tests.
Zack wrote down his name and then concentrated on trying to read his brother's thoughts. And that's when he heard it – the theme from Jeopardy. Zack just glared at his brother. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. And that's when he yelled in his own mind for Cody to shut up. And to his relief, he didn't hear it anymore. Zack grinned for a minute until he realized he wasn't hearing anything. Briefly, he thought Cody might have realized what he was doing, but he figured Cody might be so engrossed in the exam not to put two and two together. For the next five minutes, Zack concentrated harder, but still he heard nothing from his brother's mind.
In frustration, Zack smacked his forehead. And that's when he noticed it. Cody didn't flinch a muscle. It was as if he hadn't felt it too. And then a sick feeling fell over him. It was gone. The Corsican fruit had finally worn off. With a look of dread, Zack looked down at his own exam realizing he was truly on his own.
After school was over for the day, Zack was back at his job at the smoothie counter and Cody was at his as towel boy. He was busy folding towels when Bailey came up behind him and whispered in his ear.
"Were you able to do it?"
Cody turned around and made sure Zack wasn't watching them. Once he had, he grinned.
"Your plan worked like a charm. Thank goodness that test wasn't that hard so I could manage to keep my thoughts blank during it. After that, I've avoided Zack as best as I can..."
Bailey grinned back. "That should teach him a lesson."
"I sure hope so. Zack was right about something. I'll be glad when my thoughts are all my own again."
"Yeah?"
Cody nodded. "Yeah..." He grinned again. "I'm just glad he couldn't read my thoughts when I saw you in your prom dress..."
Bailey smiled. "Is that a fact?"
"Of course. I'm only human, and I can't help it that my girlfriend looked that amazingly gorgeous..."
Bailey just shook her head and laughed. "Thanks...I think. You have time to take a break and get a smoothie?"
"Yeah. Kind of dead today anyways..."
They both headed over to the smoothie counter and took seats next to Maya. And immediately, Zack smirked at his brother and shoved the day's sports page at him.
"Looks like the Curse of Codester has struck again..."
Cody frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Zack pointed at an article. "First Kurt Warner, and now Kevin Love. He's out the rest of the year with a groin injury. Good job, Broseph...Why can't you start hanging around the Yankees or the Jets?"
Maya looked up. "Hey!"
Cody skimmed the article. "Well, it looks like its not career threatening and he'll be back next season."
Zack smirked. "He probably injured when you were wrapped around his leg trying to slow him down..."
Cody smirked back. "At least I didn't get my shot blocked my someone's belly button. Besides, I was never got dunked on by any those guys...unlike someone else I know. I would ask you how your date with Woody went, but unfortunately, I have all too good of an idea about that..." Cody put the paper back on the counter and shook his head. "Still..."
Zack nodded. "You're right. It is a bummer. I still can't..." He paused. "Wait a minute...I just read your mind again! Its not gone!"
Cody looked up. "What are you talking about?"
"During the test, I..." He looked over and noticed Maya giving him a look. "I...ummm...accidentally slapped my forehead and didn't see you flinch..."
Cody smiled inwardly. "I guess I was so focused I didn't notice..." He held up the paper. "But this does suck about Kevin Love. He might have me by a foot and over a hundred pounds, but he was a gentle giant. He actually listened to me. All three were really good guys, and I owe them for their words of wisdom..."
Bailey turned to him. "What words of wisdom?"
"They're the ones who convinced me that I had to talk to you and tell you how I really felt. I had just got done talking to them when I called you and you screamed that you were in trouble and needed me. Next thing I knew, I was on the next flight out. I had to make sure you were okay."
Bailey smiled at him. "Then I owe them my thanks then as well. And the fact that you dropped everything to come make sure I was alright means more than I can say..."
Cody just smiled back at her.
Zack rolled his eyes. "Do you two ever give it a rest?"
Cody turned to his brother. "This coming from the same guy who told me to go after Bailey because he had never seen me happier than when I was with her?"
"Awww...Thank you, Zack..."
Maya smiled. "That was very sweet of you, Zack."
Zack grinned. "Well, you know...That's just who I am..."
Maya checked her watch. "Well, my shift starts in a few. I need to go change real quick. Be right back." She leaned up to kiss Zack's cheek before she headed off.
Zack turned and found Cody and Bailey just looking at him.
"What?"
"Well, for what you said to Cody, I'll refrain from telling Maya the truth about your adventure...or about Nellie..."
Zack's eyes went wide before he turned to his brother. "You told her?"
Cody nodded. "I don't keep secrets from Bailey."
Bailey continued. "And I wont tell her or Tut about your plan to read Cody's mind during today's test..."
Zack just looked at her incredulously. "You two knew?"
Cody grinned. "You should be thanking Bailey. My idea was to think the wrong answers. She suggested I just have my mind go blank..."
Zack shook his head. "Unbelievable..."
Bailey grinned. "Consider this our payback for all the pranks you've pulled on us the past three years. What do you say? All even now?"
Zack grumbled. "Fine..."
Cody smirked. "And remember, I'll know if you do try something..."
Just then, Cody noticed someone over at the towel counter. "Be right back..." And with that, he hurried over.
Zack sighed. "Okay, you two got me good. First Moseby, and now you two. I must be losing my touch..."
"Maybe that's a sign that its time to but away your prankish ways?"
Zack just gave her a look. "Why would I want to do that? I just wonder who my targets are going to be next year with Moseby still on the boat and you and Cody away at Yale..."
Bailey just shook her head and sighed.
Zack looked at her again. "You know...I hope you know how lucky you are."
"What do you mean?"
"I've learned a few things by being able to know what Cody thinks and feels. I hope you know just how much he loves you. Global warming and clothes to be pressed aren't all he thinks about. I can feel a sense of peace within him whenever he's with you. When you two were broken up, Cody was absolutely miserable. But since Kettlecorn, its been a complete 180. I meant it when I said he's never been happier than when he's with you. And now, I know it more than ever. I hope when I've known Maya as long as you two have known each other that I feel the same way about her that he does about you. Either way, I know now what I should be looking for..."
Bailey smiled. "Thanks, Zack. I feel the same way about him. I'm just glad we're both done being stupid. While I was miserable during the breakup too, it proved to me that the old saying 'you don't know what you have until its gone' is true. I know what I have now. And I'll never let it go ever again."
Zack nodded. "Good. Because I'll be leaving Cody in your care when you two are off at college. For eighteen years, I've taken it upon myself as his older brother to look out for him. Time to hand the responsibility over to you. Take care of him for me."
"I will."
At that time, Cody returned over and joined them. "What did I miss?"
Bailey smiled at him. "Oh, we were just talking about next year..."
Cody smiled back. "I can't wait. In a few months, we'll be learning in those hallowed halls and walking past those ivy covered walls."
"I know!"
Zack shook his head. "You two are actually welcoming more school when we're finally getting paroled from here."
Cody laughed. "Zack, its like you said. We know what we want, and that's what we're going to do. You'll find what you want to do too..."
"If the car ever gets fixed..."
"It will. But in the future...Read signs a little more carefully."
Zack paused. "You sure you don't need the car?"
Cody smiled and wrapped his arm around Bailey's waist. "I'm sure. I have everything I need right here."
Zack shrugged and noticed he had a customer that he went to take care of.
Bailey smiled at him again. "That was sweet of you to let him have the car."
Cody shrugged. "That car was never me to begin with..." He grinned. "Besides, I don't think a rear wheel drive convertible would be all that useful during a New England winter. And heaven forbid we get a Nor'easter..."
Bailey laughed. "True..." She paused. "Is it just me or is it strange to think that our time here is just about over?"
"I know. I remember coming here thinking it would be the educational experience of a life time...you know, a chance to study oceanography on the ocean. But as much as I've learned at Seven Seas High, I think I've learned even more outside of the classroom..."
"I know what you mean. I look back and picture the girl who first came on board..."
Cody cut her off. "Don't you mean boy?"
Bailey sighed. "You know what I mean. I've changed a lot in the past three years."
Cody nodded. "In some ways, yeah you have. We all have. But in others, you haven't."
"Like what?"
"Well, you're still kind, sweet, beautiful and intelligent. But now, you are more confident and sure of yourself."
Bailey laughed. "Me more confident and sure of myself? What about you?"
Cody smiled. "I found someone who makes me feel its okay to be me."
Bailey smiled back. "I know that feeling. Having someone who fully accepts you, encourages you and loves you makes a big difference."
"You're telling me. As as much as I will miss everything about this place...from seeing Zack, Woody and London everyday to even being the ship's towel boy, I taking the most important thing to me with me next year."
"Yeah?"
Cody teased her. "Of course...I'd never go anywhere without Blankie..."
Bailey's eyes went wide. "Cody!"
Cody laughed. "Just teasing you, Sweetie. You know I was talking about you. As long as I have you with me, I'm ready for whatever life is ready to throw at me next."
"Better...And I agree. No matter what happens next year, we'll have each other."
Cody smiled. "Until that time, I say we enjoy the remaining time we have here. Before you know it, Graduation will be upon us."
The End
AN: Just a one shot to hold over everyone until the end of the week. Until then, I have finals and graduation of my own. And when I come back, everyone can call be Doctor LOL. How scary of a thought is that? Oh well, I will have three stories when I come back. One is the road trip. The other two will be a first for me. I will be doing two stories concurrently - one on the boat and one back in Boston. There will be some crossovers between the two though. I did have another idea for the name of the boat story. How about NKOTB? Using the initials for New Kids on the Block for New Kinds on the Boat. Just an idea though.