By: SubsidedDavisPM
It's a Suite Life
Chapter One: Chasing Maya
Beginning Notes: First and foremost, I do not own the characters, although I can assure you that they will keep their personalities true to themselves. This story will be a continuation of Zack and Cody's life after high school and into college as well as all their friends and family from both television shows. While things might be off to a slow start, I can tell you that college will be a wonderful thing for both Cody and Zack. Yes, Zack will eventually go to college. Well, I believe I have taken up enough time explaining things so, without further ado please enjoy chapter one.
Bright, brilliant sunlight was slowly starting to creep its way over the tall majestic buildings of Boston, Massachusetts and into the shinning windows of the grand Tipton Hotel, casting vast yellows and shimmers of shinning red color into the many rooms, whose occupants, had either forgotten to drop the shades the night prior, or had thought against the idea entirely. One room in particular, which had been completely empty for quite awhile, now housed two teenage boys, both of whom where still fast asleep snoring loudly from either side of the bedroom. Both teens had only been back in Boston for two weeks now, though the room was already starting to show signs of mess and clutter. The boy's suite cases lay opened at the foot of each bed, and different articles of clothing lay scattered about the floor. There were empty cans of soda and chip bags scattered around the floor in front of the television, which had been moved from the living room, which meant that both teens had probably been up late either watching movies or playing video games.
The boy with medium length blond hair rolled over in his bed, a candy wrapper stuck to the side of his cheek as he did so, and let the warmth of the sunlight that had fluttered through the window was over his face. Zack Martin pulled the bed covers back up over his head, his eyes shut tight as he tried desperately to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one too; Maya had been in it as well. In the dream they were both back aboard the S.S. Tipton, and Maya was explaining to Zack that if she had to choose between him and Chad, a country in Africa where she would be helping out with the Peace Corps and not a surfer, she would choose him every time because she was in love with him. Zack wrapped his arm around Maya and pulled her so close to him that their noses were mere inches from each other. They had peered into each others eyes, pulling even closer towards each other so that their lips were now only millimeters apart. Both Zack and Maya had then closed their eyes and had leaned in for a romantic kiss when all of a sudden…
A loud snore issued from the other side of the room causing Zack to sit bolt up right, his wide eyes, darting around the room and the dream was lost to his imagination.
Annoyance was slowly starting to spread across Zack's face as he looked over at the person who was still fast asleep in Cody's bed. Sitting up in his bed Zack reached behind and grabbed one of his pillows which he then lobbed across the room where it made contact with his sleeping friend, Woody Fink's, face.
"Where are the cannons?" said Woody stupidly as he glanced slowly around the room, which to him, was out of focus because he was not wearing his glasses. He began to search for them on his bed side table and after a few moments found them under one of his shirts. Woody pushed them up the brim of his nose and looked around the room.
To anyone aside from himself, especially Cody Martin, Zack's twin brother, the room would have looked as though a bomb had gone off in the center of the room causing clothes and empty soda cans to be cast out all around the room. To Woody though, this was as normal as having fourth helping of Mexican food during "Mexican Mondays" back aboard the S.S. Tipton. Thankfully though for his and Zack's sake Cody had gone with his mother, Carey Martin to visit Bailey and her family in Kansas after graduation. This meant that Woody would not have to sleep on the couch and would be sleeping on a real bed. Had Cody actually seen his room is such a state of disarray, he would probably have had a heart attack.
Woody finally pushed back the sheets and, after sniffing to see if the jeans he had just picked up were acceptable to wear strode out of the bedroom towards the bathroom to take a shower. Zack rolled his eyes as he watched his large friend exit the bedroom.
Zack rolled over in his bed and stared longingly at the picture on his bedside table that was next to the alarm clock that had not worked in years. He picked it up and glanced at the picture inside the wooden frame. In the picture was a handsome blond haired boy with his arm draped around a very beautiful girl with brown hair. Both teens had been sitting on the edge of the hot tub on the sky deck back aboard the S.S. Tipton; they both looked over happy. Zack set the picture frame back down on his bedside table and wondered what Maya was going at that particular moment. Judging by the amount of sun coming into the bedroom through the window on the far side of the bedroom he figured that she was probably still fast asleep. They had not spoken to each other since she had left him broken hearted days before graduation. After that she had returned home to New York, and while she was only a few hours away by train, to Zack, it felt much further. He longed to go see her and straighten everything out. Maya had been the first girl that Zack had ever truly fallen in love with for more than just looks, or money anyway. He had been the heart breaker so many times before that it had felt as though the bottom of his stomach had dropped out when she had broken up with him a few weeks prior.
It had been for the best though right? Maya would be jetting off to Chad at the end of the summer and he, Zack, would be….
He didn't have an answer to that question as he kicked back the sheets and looked for something he could wear today. After a few minutes of hard searching, in which he found the sandwich he had made and forgotten about three days ago, he made his way out into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat.
As Zack walked around the couch into the kitchen he could hear a loud shrill voice coming from the bathroom. Woody was singing again in the shower, and Zack was sure that people down the hall could probably hear his take at singing as well. Zack admitted to himself that he would not be remotely surprised if someone came knocking on the door angrily, requesting that Woody shut his mouth. He was glad that he still had Woody around to keep him company.
With Cody and his mother off visiting Bailey, the hotel suite would have been very different had Woody not been around. Zack could picture himself now sitting on the couch with a sad and depressed look on his face with thoughts of Maya floated in and out of his head. After they had all graduated, Woody had explained to Zack and Cody that whiles his mother would be off visiting her parents out west, he would be stuck in Cleveland with Steve. Zack could tell then by the look on Woody's face that this was not fun at all. So, after much begging and pleading towards his mother, Woody had been allowed to stay with Zack for the summer.
Zack pulled open the fridge and peered around for something to have for breakfast. There was hardly anything left inside the refrigerator so he decided that he would just have a bowl of cereal. At the moment Woody joined him at the table. Zack looked over at him and gawked at him; Woody had his hair wrapped up in one of the bath towels.
"What?" asked Woody upon seeing the look on Zack's face.
Zack merely shook his head at his large friend, who too was pouring himself a bowl of cereal.
Woody added what remained of the gallon of milk to his large bowl of cereal and tossed the now empty jug into the trash can that was leaning up against the fridge. Carrie Martin had given Zack some spending money that he was to use for food for the two weeks that she and Cody would be gone. The only problem was that Zack and Woody had gone through every cent on the first night after Carey and her other son had left for Kansas, and they has slowly started running out of food from the fridge not to mention the fact that all the dishes were starting to pile up.
"So what are we doing today?" asked Woody, as he shoved cereal into his mouth.
Zack just shrugged his shoulders in response towards Woody's question without looking at him as he finished off the last of his cereal.
Woody, though not as bright as his friend, knew when something was nagging at Zack.
"Dude, Maya does not leave for Carl for another month!"
Zack looked confused for a brief moment before correcting Woody.
"You mean Chad right?"
"Whatever, my point is that you are in Boston and she is in New York." said Woody as he waved his hands around and almost knocking his bowl of cereal off the kitchen table.
Confusion fell over Zack's face again.
"Go find her! I know you've been missing her ever since you two broke up. It would take like what, a few hours to get there by train. We could go today if you want; it would give us a chance to get out of here." said Woody.
Zack thought for a moment, Woody did have a point which was rather odd seeing as how it was Woody. It would probably only take about four or five hours to get to New York if they were to take the train. He glanced over his shoulder at the clock on wall and gasped. It was only eight in the morning. If they left now, both teens could be there in time to get some lunch before going to see Maya. Zack still had a little bit of cash left from graduation.
Cody had tried his best to urge Zack to put his money into the bank to build interest, though Zack had not paid any attention to him what so ever. He had bought himself some really nice things he felt he would need later on in life, the most expensive being a top of the line laptop. Cody too had purchased a laptop and while it was not as, "tricked out" as Zack had told him countless times, it did get the job done. The best gift by far had been the cars their father had given them. Upon seeing them, Carey had demanded that they be sent back. Kurt explained that both cars had been paid off in full and that he would personally be covering the insurance until the boys were done with college and had real jobs. Zack had groaned at that comment.
"What if she isn't even there? For all I know, Woody Chuck, she has moved on and found someone else to be her boyfriend. You remember what she said, or hadn't said when I asked how many guy's she had dated before me." said Zack sounding sure of himself, though in the pit of his stomach he was hoping beyond hope that what he was saying was false.
Woody, having just finished his bowl of cereal, got up from the table and walked over to the sink that was stock piled with dished and set his bowl on top as best he could without causing the mountain of dirty dishes to crash to the floor. He figured that one of the many Tipton maids would be along at some point to start cleaning the room. What he did not know was that they had stopped this long ago, having picked up after Zack for too long.
Woody looked down at Zack's vacant expression and exhaled loudly; he was tired of his best friend always looking so down in the dumps.
"Come on we're leaving!" said Woody very loudly, causing Zack to look up at him very suddenly.
"Why?" he asked.
"I am tired of seeing you like this! We are going to find Maya and sort this all out today!" exclaimed Woody as he lumbered off into the bedroom to get his wallet.
Woody walked back into the kitchen and gave Zack a look that said he meant business, and that Zack was to go get his wallet as well.
A small smile spread across Zack's face at Woody determination. Maya had in fact been the greatest thing to ever happen to him in a very long time, so he was grateful that Woody was looking out for him. As though almost instantly, Zack pushed back his chair, got to his feet, and ran off to collect his wallet from his bedroom. He was back within a few seconds and was striding off towards the door; the depression that was etched in his face minutes ago had vanished completely.
"You're right Woody, come on lets go!" said Zack opening the door and walking down the hallway before returning seconds later; Woody had not left the suite at all, and looked as though he was holding back a fit of laughter.
"Let me take a shower and put some pants on first!" said Zack not looking at Woody but making a beeline for the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later, Zack had shampooed his hair thirteen times in the shower, using up Cody's entire bottle of shampoo. They set off down the empty hallway towards the elevator which would take them down to the lobby. Woody hummed along tunelessly as the elevator made its way down towards the lobby.
They saw Esteban flashing them a bright smile from behind the front desk as they walked into the lobby; he was waving his head wildly beckoning them towards him.
"Hello little blond people, and uh not so little people." he said as he looked at Woody who merely grinned back.
Since Mr. Mosby had left a few years back to manage the S.S. Tipton, Esteban had been promoted to the manager of the Tipton Hotel, which to him was a great honor. He had to admit though, with Zack and Cody gone things had indeed quieted down a lot. Still mischief maker's around or not, managing the hotel had been a big responsibility for Esteban, but he was able to do the job very well.
"So, Esteban, how is the married life going for ya?" asked Zack as Esteban gave both teens a hug.
"Oh it is going most wonderfully! I must ask though, what are the two of you doing up so early?" asked Esteban with a confused look on his face.
He did have a point; Zack had never been seen out in the lobby this early before unless he was seen being carted off to school with his brother Cody by the boys mother
"So, might I ask where the two of you are going?" asked Esteban.
"We're off to the big cheese!" said Woody excitedly, bouncing up and down on his heels.
A confused look fell upon Esteban's face at these exact words, while Zack merely looked at Woody dumbfounded. Woody on the other hand wore a bright smile on his face; clearly he had no idea that what he said made no sense what so ever.
"Don't you mean apple?" asked Esteban.
"No thanks, I had cereal for breakfast. Besides, we have to get Zack his lady friend back." said Woody.
For a few moments it seemed as if Esteban had not understood what Woody had just told them. After a few minutes however he began to laugh so loudly that people who were walking through the hotel lobby stopped to see what it was that was so funny. Esteban clutched at his side with one hand while he used his other to support himself with Woody's shoulder.
Zack merely stood his ground and waited for Esteban to be quiet.
"Oh my goodness, that joke was most funny." said Esteban.
"We aren't joking." said Zack his eyebrows raised.
Esteban realizing that he might have struck a cord with the young teen changed his expression at once. It was fault that he found what Woody said to be funny. In the years he had known Zack Martin he had never know the boy to actually want to have a relationship with anyone. Well, there was Maddie, but Esteban thought that was just a small crush Zack had for her.
Woody, who had been looking from Zack to Esteban blurted out.
"Our little Zacky Poo is in love!"
The three friends talked for a couple more minutes before Esteban bid them farewell; the mine up at the front desk was starting to grow. Both teens waved at Esteban and then made their way outside, Norman opening the door for them.
Zack hailed the first taxi that drove by and both teens piled into the backseat. Zack told the driver; a man of Indian decent who was sporting a large beard and handlebar mustache as well as a red turban. Zack sat in silence the whole way to the train station while Woody spent the entire time explaining to the driver what exactly both teens would be doing. The drive took about thirty minutes in which the driver sped away after Woody closed the car door. Zack knew that the driver was glad to see the backs of them in his rear view mirror, though as they made their way into the train station Woody said with a bright smile, "What a nice man!"
They made their way up to the ticket booth and purchased their tickets, and then five minutes later they were boarding the 107 train to New York. Woody, who had never been on a train walked down the narrow isle towards his seat with his mouth slightly agape. Zack who had been on a train many times followed in Woody's wake.
"Dibs on the window seat!" yelled Woody who quickly dived into his seat and pressed his face up against the window glancing around at passersby.
Zack rolled his eyes and took his seat next to Woody.
The train departed a few minutes later and rattled down the track towards New York.
"So, what is your plan?" asked Woody.
Zack shrugged his shoulders at Woody's question.
"No clue, Wood Chuck; I am just going to go with the flow and see what happens." said Zack leaning back and closing his eyes.
On the surface he looked calm, though inside his own head Zack's brain was doing back flips. He was trying to think of the best way to approach the situation. For all he knew, Maya was over him. Could it be that she had a new boyfriend? If she did, he knew that he would look like a complete idiot showing up on her doorstep. He could only hope that Maya was just as upset as he had been about the way they had parted a few weeks ago.
"Flowers!" blurted out Woody.
"What?"
"You should get her flowers or something."
"Why?"
"I don't know girls just like that kind of stuff!" said Woody.
He did have a point, plus out of the two of them Woody was the only one who had a girlfriend. Woody and his girlfriend Addison had started dating a few months before the end of their senior year. Zack, who couldn't believe that Woody had actually landed himself a decent girl, was proud of him. He was then able to have a reason to bring Woody along whenever he and Maya went out on a date. Zack called it double dating.
At about an hour or so into the trip the excitement that had filled Woody's eyes had all but vanished. He was now complaining that it would have been faster to just fly to New York, though the cost would have been a lot higher, when Zack explained that while they were aboard the S.S. Tipton it had taken days to get from place to place.
Woody's retort to that comment was that at least while aboard the ship he could attend the evening all you can eat buffet.
After another few hours a voice came over the intercom and told the passengers that they would be arriving in New York City within the next thirty minutes.
When the train finally came to a stop at Grand Central Station both teens got up and exited the train. They made their way to the nearest map so that Zack could look up the streets. Back when he and Maya had been dating she had given him her address so that he could right to her after graduation. After both teens found a map Zack was able to pin point where Maya's parent's apartment was.
They hailed another taxi; the driver of this one though was a tall African American who was ranting about traffic over his Bluetooth headset. Zack told the man where he wanted to be taken then slumped into the backseat with Woody. Since the man was busy yelling into his headset, Zack did not have to worry about Woody talking to the driver. He could only think that if Woody had been able to talk to the man that they would probably be booted out of the backseat and forced to walk the rest of the way.
During the entire car ride Zack felt as though a large weight had dropped into his stomach. He was getting nervous, something that rarely ever happened to him. He was trying to decide what he was going to do when he finally got to the apartment. Many different thoughts began to play throughout his mind the entire way there. By the time they arrived, it had felt to Zack as if they had only been driving for a few minutes.
The taxi car sped off the second Woody had closed the door.
"This is a lot different then Cleveland." exclaimed Woody has he looked up at the apartments.
"It's worse than Boston!" said Zack, who was trying to squeeze through a group of people who were making their way down the side walk.
Zach glanced up at the apartments that stood before them. They outside of the building was decent looking, there was no signs of graffiti on the sides of the walls or anything of that nature. They both made their way up the steps and inside where they found the stairs and started to climb them.
Woody complained loudly that the place needed an elevator.
After a few more minutes of stair climbing and Woody telling Zack that he was going to pass out at any minute they arrived outside the door of Maya's apartment.
Zack swallowed hard and knocked hard on the door three times.
It was a few minutes before anyone answered though then the door finally swung open it was not Maya who answered. Zack could only assume that the woman standing before him was her mother. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time he had ever met the parents of any girl he had ever dated. Well, they were now broken up but he felt that it still counted for something.
"Who are you?" asked the woman with a confused look on her face.
Her tone was sweet and calm.
"I'm Zack Martin I'm Maya's…"
Should he say boyfriend? He clearly wasn't, and for all he knew Maya had never even mentioned to her mother that she and Zack had ever dated.
"I am a friend of Maya's from school. I was just in the area for a few hours with a friend of mine and thought I would come say hey! I haven't seen her since school." said Zack.
Throughout the entire conversation with Maya's mother, all Woody did was stand there. Zack could see him out of the corner of his eye and for a second wished that he had asked Woody to wait outside; Woody looked so awkward just sanding there silent and motionless.
"I'm sorry, but Maya left for Chad yesterday. She wanted to get a jump start on her work with the Peace Corp so she had her schedule rearranged," said Maya's mother.
It felt as though the bottom of Zack's stomach had dropped out.
She was gone; he was too late to fix it. Clearly she was perfectly fine with how things had ended or she probably would have called him.
"Well, thank you anyway." said Zack sounding defeated.
The woman looked down at both boys for another moment or so before closing the door.
Zack could not believe that she was gone, the only girl that he had ever truly had feelings for, aside from Maddie. He felt a deep pain in his chest as he walked back down the stairs with Woody not far behind him who still had not uttered a single word since they had been inside. Zack pushed open the door and walked out into the bright New York City sunlight, wondering what he and Woody were going to do next.
:END:
