New York State of Mind

By: Riley

Summary – In their final year at NYU, Zack and Cody are aware they need to start thinking about the future and what they're going to do after graduating. Of course, Cody already has his future planned for the next few years but Zack has no ideas whatsoever. He wasn't even sure he was going to get into college in the first place, even after having taken classes at community college. After a visit from some of his best friends, he realizes that there still is a future open for him.

"And we'll continue on with this next week, have a great weekend everyone."

Zack Martin let out a sigh of relief and quickly gathered his books together before bolting out the door of the classroom. Not that he didn't enjoy his psychology class; he actually liked it more than his other classes especially more than those he had in high school. But back in high school, he didn't find anything that had him want to be there, other than woodshop. But then that had been taken away as funding for the class ended and he found himself very engrossed in art work as well, finding a hidden talent in that, which spurned him along in college as well, minoring in the subject while majoring in psychology. However, as glad as he was to finally have something that he felt was right for him the long classes were slowly killing him.

Especially as it was his last class for the week and keeping him from a four day weekend of not having to deal with it. Not having to deal with anything the end of the school year was going to bring him.

"Zack!"

Hearing the familiar voice behind him, Zack turned and lifted his head in a quick nod as Woody Fink, his twin brother's roommate, headed his way. "Woodster," Zack greeted in reply, giving him a high-five. "How's it going? You ready for a few days filled with everything but school?"

"I'm more ready for the taco night we're having in the dining hall tonight," Woody replied, rubbing his hands together. "Not only do is there all you can eat toppings for the taco, but they're also importing the best beans from Mexico for our own burritos!"

Zack grinned over at Woody as they arrived at the street corner. Reaching out, he pushed the button that gave the signal for the light to change. "Woody, you're excited for everything in the dining hall. Even if the water shuts off and all we can eat are paper plates."

"They're very high in fiber," Woody pointed out. His smile widened as he placed his hands on his stomach. "Which is great for digestion and keeping my stomach empty for all of those tacos." Zack laughed loudly, causing Woody to grin. "So c'mon, we need to get going."

"That's not for another two hours."

"I know! But I'm starving. Haven't you ever heard of a pre-dinner dinner?"

Zack laughed again then shook his head as the light changed and he started across the street. Woody fell in step with him. "Sorry, but I think I'm going to pass. I'm meeting up with Cody to—"

"So bring him along!" Woody insisted. "I know he has something about farting, but all guys do it, it's natural. Either that or he has a really shy gut, and that's not healthy either, let me tell you." He waved a hand.

"We already have plans," Zack continued. "But I'll catch up with you later, okay?" He shot his friend a wave before picking up his pace as he went across the street. Once he got to the other side he headed towards his dorm building at a light gait. As he drew closer, he pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed his brother's number.

"Hey Zack. What do you want?" Cody asked impatiently.

Startled, Zack pulled his phone back from his ear and glanced at the screen before putting it back to his ear. "Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning? I was just calling to say that I'm just going to drop my books off in my dorm room and then I can meet you down in the student longue."

"Yeah, no problem. See you then."

Frowning, Zack listened as the dial tone buzzed in his ear and he slowly hung up his end of the phone. He shifted his backpack further up his shoulders and entered the building. He flashed the receptionist his school ID and then went up to his room. Going inside, Zack dropped his backpack to the ground; tossinghis keys onto his desk amongst his cluttered sketches and drawings. He then turned and flopped onto his bed; bringing his arms up to cover his face as a sigh so heavy that it took seconds to finish escaped his mouth. If only life was so simple for him, where all he had to worry about was what sort of food they were going to be having in the dining hall.

No, that was the least of his problems when not knowing what he was going to do to get food after graduation was. It was like everything from middle school to high school was starting to rear its ugly head once more. What was it about his life that always seemed to repeat itself no matter how hard he tried to make different decisions? Even deciding to go to community college before going off to NYU was a last minute decision, after he had started taking night classes when he and Cody had gone to Miami for the summer. That had been a impulsive decision on its own as well, Cody was still a little depressed about not having gotten into Yale and they still had their graduation money burning a hole in their pockets and a trip down to Florida with a stay in that Tipton hotel had been the way to go.

When Cody made the announcement he was going to go to college but take a year off first, Zack initially, was annoyed. Did Cody really feel that he needed to watch Zack all the time, to make sure he didn't become a bum? If that was what he had intended to do, it worked. Zack hated the thought that he had graduated from high school and really had no prospects in life, especially when he knew that all of his friends had all moved on to bigger and better things and he and Cody were just relaxing in the Florida sun day after day. Even when on the phone with their mother, despite how happy she and her father were as they had watched their only sons graduate, he could hear that hint of disappointment in her tone as he told her about what had gone on at the hotel and on the beach.

At least, she noted, they were having fun.

Noticing the distinct lack of excitement in her tone, Zack quickly got to work researching his options and So hearing that there was going to be some classes offered at the community college nearby, Zack opted to take a few and when he had told Cody, he immediately deferred his acceptance to NYU, one of the other hundreds of schools he had been accepted to, and offered his help to Zack as the classes went on, taking a towel boy job at the Miami Tipton in his spare time. And things had gone well, he found something he as interested in and when the next year came around, he went to NYU with Cody and started his education with a major in Psychology and a minor in Studio Art. When he first started college and made friends in Woody, Addison, Marcus, and Maya the reality of graduation was far off from his mind.

Now he was only a couple weeks away with no plans. No jobs lined up, no internships, no idea if he wanted to go to grad school.

Nothing.

And once again, everyone around him seemed to have everything in their lives set up. Cody, who surprisingly had majored in Archaeological studies, already had a job lined up at one of the biggest museums in the country, Maya was going into the Peace Corps, Marcus was going to work on Broadway, Woody was going to culinary arts school to become a chef while Addison was going to attend to become a baker, and he was left in the dust not sure how his work with psychology and studio art was going to help him become anything other than a starving artist.

A starving artist that'll know whether or not the rats in my apartment are squeaking like that because they're hungry or are ready to attack me, Zack thought glumly. He had at least thought about staying in New York, having grown to love the city after the move from Boston. The thought lone made him pause. Great, I don't even know if Cody wants to move in together after we graduate. Guess I should let Mom know I might be moving back home.

The sound of his phone ringing grabbed his attention and with an arm still over his face, Zack reached out with his free hand and blindly reached for it. He picked it up and glanced at the screen for a minute before putting the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" He murmured.

"Where are you?"

"Cody, I know your voice is naturally high and shrill like a girl's, but it gets even worse when you start to yell at me," Zack said, smirking to himself. "Now, calmly, what is it that I've done to annoy you when I haven't even left my room yet?"

"That's the point," Cody said and Zack could see the image of his brother gritting his teeth together. "You were supposed to meet me down here in the student lounge."

Frowning, Zack lifted his arm from his face and turned it around to show the face of his watch then grimaced when he noticed it he had been in his room for almost an hour. Wow, who knew time flew when you were throwing a pity party for yourself. "Sorry, I was taking a nap."

"Let me guess, you late night binges of video games is starting to catch up to you, right?"

"It'll be a sad day when that happens," Zack remarked. He sat up and stretched his arms over his head. "I'll be down in a minute; I just have to get my shoes and my key and stuff." Hanging up the phone again, Zack laid back on his bed for another few minutes before swinging himself up and grabbing his keys off of the desk. He left his dorm and made sure it was locked before hurrying down to the student longue where he found Cody pacing back and forth, alternatively looking at his watch. "You know, you really look like Mom when you do that."

Cody rolled his head towards his older brother and gave him the stink eye before his face relaxed into a smile. "You look like you could some a night out, Zack," he said honestly.

You have no idea, Zack managed a smile back towards his brother before shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket and followed his brother out of the dorm building and the two started off down the street. They walked along in silence for a few minutes before Cody looked over at his brother and flicked his hair from his face and came to a stop, bringing a hand up to shield his face from the spring sun.

"What's wrong?" His question brought Zack to a stop. "I'm getting your twin telepathy distress call." He brought a hand up above his head and wiggled his fingers that caused Zack to laugh. The two hadn't used that sort of instance to their special twin bond since Cody had gone to that summer math camp years ago. Talk about ironic; the time Cody brings it up again is when Zack felt as if he was being left behind.

"It's nothing."

"It's not 'nothing', Zack. I can tell."

"Cody, we're 22. I think by now there might be a little static in our twin-telepathy telephones."

Cody ignored his brother's attempt to change the subject. "If it were nothing, you would be joking and laughing like you usually are. It's when it's something that you become really moody and quiet, if not a bit panicked." Cody then crossed his arms and stared directly into Zack's eyes. Zack mimicked Cody's stance and the two stared each other down for a long, slightly tense moment. Finally, Cody broke down, rolling his eyes lightly as he continued walking once again. "Okay, it's really not fair that you keep winning this thing. One day I'm going to beat you."

"That's impossible little bro." Zack patted Cody good-naturedly on the shoulder, glad the subject was changed. "It's a big brother thing. They're always going to be the ones to win. We're all just too stubborn."

"You can say that again."

Zack reached out and shoved Cody on the shoulder and his twin shoved him back, the two laughing lightly. Cody motioned to the restaurant they were going to be eating at and the two shifted their direction and started inside the building. Cody went in first, holding the door open for Zack. Zack followed his brother into the restaurant and was pulling off his jacket just as the sound of a lot of shouting voices caught his attention.

He turned to the side just in time to get crushed in a hug by Bailey Pickett, who practically jumped onto him. He barely managed to give her a hug back before she was replaced by Max Montgomery and Tapeworm Michaels. Then he grinned as he recognized his other friends that were with them and gave each of them a hug as well; starting with Moose Dano, then going to Crystal Manning, her little brother Aaron, then their cousins Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney Jackson, ending with his girlfriend, Riley, whom he hugged tightly, taking in her bright smile and the way her eyes lit up after seeing him for the first time in nearly six months.

"What…what are you guys all doing here?" Zack asked as he finally backed away from the hug, keeping an arm looped around Riley's waist as he addressed his friends. Bringing his free hand up to his hair, he shook his head as he took in all of his friends from Boston. Were they really there in New York? "When did you get here?"

"Last night," Crystal explained. She motioned over to Moose. "We caught a Red Eye from Kettlecorn."

"We got here a couple days ago, mate," Sydney, whom Zack remembered as the smartest eleven-year-old he had ever met, replied with a cool confidence of now being fifteen. "What with jet lag and everything, we left Aus as early as possible."

"And Tape and I got here this morning," Max said, glancing over at her boyfriend, who smiled back at her. "We met up with Bailey in the airport and came down."

Tapeworm then addressed Zack's other question. "And why wouldn't we come see your guys' graduation? You have to admit, out of everything we've all done together, the most upsetting would be if we missed this." Zack tilted his head to the side and looked over at Cody, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Cody said that it seemed like you were kind of bummed and asked all of us to come out early so we could hang out before the big day," Rhuben, Cody's girlfriend, remarked with a warm smile. "Of course we couldn't say no, yeah?"

"Well, we could," Patrick reminded his sister. "But then we realized we didn't have anything better to do and decided we'd come out anyway." Noah gave his twin brother a disapproving look and whacked him not he arm, causing Patrick to wince and rub at the spot. "I was kidding!"

"We know," Cody agreed with a grin. He motioned to the back of the restaurant where a large table had been set up. "Well, we're sitting back there, why don't we get out of the way so some other people can come in." The group them moved to the back of the restaurant and seated themselves around the large table, a cacophony of laughter and excited conversation immediately starting as they looked over their menus and started to order their food.

Zack, having swallowed a sip of his freckled lemonade, laced his fingers together and rested his hands on his stomach before addressing Crystal, who was sitting across from him. "So how're things going in Kettlecorn? I never thought you would be the kind of girl that would just up and move somewhere all because of a guy." He smirked as Crystal smiled a little and Moose beamed before giving his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. "Especially a guy like Moose, I mean, you could've had Cody if you tried hard enough." He then paused and gave a nonchalant shrug. "The germaphobic, brainy, boring guy that I lovingly like to call my twin."

Cody balled up his napkin and tossed it to Zack, who caught it in his hand and threw it back.

"It was the best place for me to get some experience when it came to food studies," Crystal explained, brushing her hair back from her face. "The horses are just an extra perk that I'm glad that came with the job."

"Mm. Really?" Max gave her friend a teasing smile as Patrick elbowed her in the side. "I thought a certain cowboy had something to do with that decision, too."

Despite the light flush that came to Crystal's cheeks, she smiled back. "That, too," she agreed. "I learned how to train more than the horses."

"That's my girl," Moose agreed, his chest swelling with pride. "She can rope just like any country girl."

Crystal gently shook her head. "The horses all so beautiful; you really should come see it." She then motioned to Bailey, who grinned. "And the Pickett farm has really thrived since the Danos took it over once they moved to Boston."

"Really? The last time we were there it looked like a dilapidated, old—"

Riley reached out and slapped her hand over Zack's mouth, effectively cutting him mid-sentence as Bailey whipped her head around and glared at the blond boy. He quickly recognized his error and pushed his girlfriend's hand away from his mouth before flashing Bailey a bright smile. "I mean, it was very nice. I can understand why it was hard for you to leave it."

"Nice save, dude," Max said sarcastically, causing the table to burst out laughing once more.

The conversation rolled on from there as Max and Tapeworm explained that Tapeworm was going to graduate school in Boston while Max traveled back and forth from the East and West coast as she worked on her dance career, opting not to further her education after high school. Bailey had gone on to Yale for undergrad and had decided to take a year off of studying before applying to grad school at Harvard, though, as she said, she wouldn't be opposed to going to Yale for grad school as well. Moose was working fulltime on the arm as well as having started a rodeo career of which he had already won a few competitions. With Sydney still in school, despite taking some university classes at fifteen years old, as well as Patrick and Noah being in their second year of undergrad, the Jacksons' work on their band had slowed down where Riley was working on a Masters in Creative Media while Rhuben was working on one in Music therapy.

And despite being happy and excited for the ventures that all of his friends was going on, once again Zack felt that familiar twinge that he was the slowest gazelle trying to keep up with the rest of the herd while the strong lion of life was catching up to him quicker than he could get away. Gently slouching in his seat, Zack listened to and contributed to the conversations that went on around him.

Yes, he was excited to graduate. Yeah, right.

No, he didn't know what he was going to do next. Did anyone really?

No, he and Cody weren't sure if they were going to move in together once school was over. Did Cody even know? Did he now want to move in and just isn't saying anything about it yet? Is this when we start to drift apart for the rest of our lives?

Zack, now sitting on the very edge of the conversations that were swirling around him, sat up straight, twisting around behind him and glanced out the window. The sun was still high in the sky and it was going to be a while before it set. If he was going to make sure no one else didn't ask him anymore questions about how he was doing, how he was feeling about graduation, what his plans were for the future, it was to direct their attention to something else. And you were hard pressed to be in New York and not find something to do.

"Do you guys want to have some fun?" He asked, grabbing the attention of the entire table.

"Zack…" Cody said his brother's voice in a warning tone; much like their mother and father would whenever Zack would get that familiar mischievous glint in his eye. A sly smile slid across Zack's freckled face as he crossed his arms. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing that would even come close to what we've managed to do to Moseby while we were at the Tipton, I'm sure," Noah remarked with a fond smile. "I think he really appreciated that wig we got him, to apologize for all of the hair we managed to make fall out of his head."

"You mean that Zack and Cody managed to make fall out of his head," Riley corrected her brother. "We were innocent bystanders."

She barely managed to keep a straight face before she fell into the laughter and snort that her friends gave, shortly before they fell into a series of 'remember when' stories of the things the boys had gotten into; such as the many times Cody had been dressed in drag, to when Zack had become the advice columnist at school, to the time that Cody had shown his very rare sense of greed when the boys had managed to get on the game show Risk It All, amongst all of the tricks and schemes they had done throughout the hotel.

"Anyway, I was going to ask if you guys wanted to go head down to Times Square or go to the Rockefeller Center and go ice skating or something. It's the perfect night for it."

"I've always wanted to go to Times Square!" Sydney cried. "Of all the bloody times we've been to New York, we've never been able to actually sight see very much."

"And Times Square is where the iconic ball drops every New Year's," Bailey added.

"Did you know that the ball has been dropped since 1907 to ring in 1908 and has been going on every year since then except for 1942 and 1943 because of the wartime blackouts?" Cody held up a finger. "Not only that but the technology of the ball has improved to—"

"Hey Cody, guess what?" Zack interrupted.

"What?"

"No one cares."

Cody scowled as Zack got to his feet, reaching for his jacket and shrugged into it. "C'mon, we have all the time in the world. We can be here to the other side of New York City and back within a couple of hours. Cody and I know our way around the city like the back of our hand. Plus, we can get into Rockefeller Center for a good price."

"Ugh." Patrick frowned as his shoulders slumped. "I hate the cold."

"And you can't skate," Tapeworm pointed out.

"Perfect, then that's one thing we don't have to worry about you being freakishly good at and showing the rest of us up," Max added. She leaned over and gave Zack a friendly punch on the arm. "Great idea, dude. Let's go."

With that, the group got up from the table and paid for their food, leaving a generous tip, and left the restaurant. As they walked to the Rockefeller Center, Zack and Cody pointed out some of the tourist sites and places they'd gone to for classes and when hanging out with their friends. Zack trailed behind the group, allowing Cody to take the lead with their pseudo field trip.

Then he felt a hand slip into his and looked to the side to see Riley matching her stride with his. "Hey," she greeted him.

Zack smiled. "Hey." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before looping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him. "So why didn't you tell me that you guys were coming out here?"

"That'd kinda ruin the point of a surprise don't you think?" She poked him in the side, causing his smile to widen. "I mean, I know you can be a bit slow sometimes, Z, but you're not that slow." She then frowned when he turned away. "I've said that a lot before, if it bothers you—"

"It doesn't bother me."

"Good. Now that we have that out of the way..." Riley pulled on his hand as she came to a stop, causing Zack to turn and face her. "What's wrong?" Zack shrugged and she gave him a wry smile. "Don't play dumb, Zack. You're not and it just proves you've forgotten that I studied psychology too."

Oh yeah. He had forgotten she had taken the subject as her minor as well. And up until then he had forgotten that she was an entire school year ahead of him when they were usually in the same year. "Nothing's wrong," he insisted. "Nothing really important, anyway." He watched as Riley raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe me." He phrased it as a statement rather than a question.

"I don't," she agreed. "Only because I know you so well I can tell when you're lying."

"Which is totally unfair because I can never tell when you are."

"That's because I've had a lot of practice of hiding it."

Now Zack tried to change the subject. "Well, I hope that doesn't mean that you were lying whenever you said that you missed me or loved me." He grinned as Riley gently shook her head, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I'm a loveable guy, it has to be hard to leave me each and every time."

"You're right," Riley agreed and then held up a finger. "It's probably going to be the only time that you'll ever hear me say that so I'd engrave it in your memory." She then looked hard at him and turned away. "But if it's not something you want to talk about, then I'm not going to force you to do it." She squeezed his hand, gently swinging their arms between them. "I'm proud of you, you know?"

Now Zack blinked blankly at his girlfriend. "For what?"

"For doing what you thought you never would and proving everyone wrong." She placed her hands on his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes to give him a long kiss. When she pulled away, she gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Talk to Cody."

"How did you…?" Zack trailed off as she gave him a knowing smile and hurried to catch up with their friends.

"How long do you think it's going to take for them to make it even one lap around the ice?" Moose asked, watching with his eyes as Patrick, Noah, and Sydney Jackson wobbled forward on their ice skates, fell to the ground, and clung to the wall of the ice rink during the guys only skate.

"I have no idea," Cody replied and winced as Sydney slipped and crashed to the ice. "But you have to admit, this is funny." He turned backwards on his skates and gently glided, alternatively checking behind him as he went. "Who would've thought that all of that time spent in Boston would've actually been good to us."

"You didn't think moving to Boston was good?" Zack asked. This was the first time he heard anything about it. He remembered when their mother had told them the news about moving from Seattle with their grandmother to Boston to live in the Tipton hotel. Cody had resisted and had become emotional about it for a long time while Zack had been ready to leave to a place that would be their permanent home.

"I'm not saying that. But there was a long time where I wasn't sure," Cody admitted. He shrugged as Tapeworm and Moose pulled ahead on the rink, allowing the twin boys some space to themselves. "Before we met Tapeworm and Max I always wondered what was going to happen since we moved. Apart from Mom getting a great job and living in a place that would be better than anything we could ever imagine, what was the point? So we were moving again, we'd done it so many times that I was ready to pack up and go again as soon as the job fell through. We were being picked on by the Drew Crew and everyone else that doesn't like the new kids…and I was just ready for this place to be exactly like all of the others."

Zack nodded.

"But I guess it's not that different than wondering what we're going to be doing after college," Cody continued, causing Zack to stop so quickly that he fell onto this stomach, arms out-stretched in front of him. "Wow and I thought you were the athletic twin."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Zack pushed himself up to his knees before getting up to his feet. "What makes you think that I'm worried about what's going on after college?" Cody gave him a pointed look. "Twin telepathy?"

"That and because you wear your heart on your sleeve, Zack," Cody reminded him. The two started to skate once more. "Everything you ever feel is evident in your face. Every time I hurt your feelings whenever we're in a fight…you try your hardest not to show it but it's so clear on your face. Every time you're angry after someone tells you that you won't amount to something, every time you're trying not to show that you have some trick up your sleeve. Not to mention that you're a terrible liar."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence, Codester, it really helps." Zack slowed down, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. "Honestly, bro, I'm scared. Once again I don't know what I'm going to be doing next and everyone else is already working on their careers and then there's Zack trying to keep up."

Cody skated in front of Zack and turned his skates to the side spraying slush as he went. "And you think that we know what we're doing?" He laughed a little. "Zack, I wish I was in your position."

"What?"

"I wish I didn't know what I was doing. I wish I didn't have my entire life planned out in front of me. I wish I had time to breathe. Do you know what you can do?"

"Burp for twenty seconds straight?"

"Yes." Cody paused long enough to make a disgusted face before waving it off. He then grabbed onto Zack's shoulders. "You can do whatever you want, Zack. You can take classes and study what you want. You can travel. You can get a job that gives you enough hours to stay afloat and continue on with your hobbies. Or you can make a career out of your artwork and how much you like to play video games. Hell, you could become an architect for all we know." He shook his head. "I wish I could just get some time to breathe but taking any time off would just throw off everything that I've ever done and worked for and it reminds me that I wish I had more time to just goof off and not put so much pressure on myself."

"Oh."

That was really all Zack could say. Besides, he did just say he knows everything I'm feeling without having to say it. Twin telepathy be damned.

"So please, Zack, don't think that you're not getting anywhere in life because you're not doing everything society says is the right thing to do." Cody motioned to the side of the ice rink as the guy's skate ended and the girls came back onto the rink. "And even if you think you don't have anyone on your side there's always someone there to talk to." Zack followed his gaze and now he winced as he spotted Rhuben step onto the ice and fall, bringing Crystal, Moose, Bailey, and Tapeworm down with her. "And laugh at."

"As long as they're not laughing at me," Zack admitted. He looked over at Cody and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Thanks, man."

"You're welcome."

The two came together in a tight hug and as Zack held onto his brother, he knew despite the uncertainty of their future, that everything would be okay. Even if he and Cody weren't going the same direction in life, they would still be there for each other. The hug ended when they heard their friends' loud laughter and Zack started towards them.

"Zack, you know I…"

"I know, Cody. I know. Me too."

The twin boys reached their friends and Cody reached out and grabbed onto Rhuben's hand, bringing her to her feet with one pull. "I thought you said you were bad at bowling, Rhuney," he commented, causing his girlfriend to swat him on the arm.

"It's not funny," She protested in a whiney tone. "I swear by the time I'm done here, my whole ass is going to be purple."

"Well it's your favorite color, so that should be a plus." Cody leaned in and gave her a kiss before grabbing onto her hands and gently skating backwards, pulling her with him. "And think of it this way, you're falling on a lot ice. So that should negate the effects of your bruising." He laughed and squirmed away as Rhuben punched him on the arm. "Ow! You know I bruise easily."

"And now we're even." Rhuben stuck her tongue out at him before tripping on her skate and falling into him.

"Ha! Karma."

"If I believed in karma, I would've been struck by lightning by now."

"Famous last words."

Rhuben smiled as she righted herself, tucking her purple strand of hair behind her ear. 'You're luck I love you."

"I know."

Chuckling, Zack skated around the couple and over to his own girlfriend, who was hanging close to the wall. "Does anyone want to race?" Zack asked as he moved to a clear portion of the ice. "Loser buys the winner a milkshake." He laughed as he was met with a quick shake of Riley's head before holding onto the wall tighter. He then turned back to his friends and addressed them with the question, "anyone want to race?"

"I'm in," Max immediately agreed, moving to Zack's side. "Anything that'll knock your ego down a peg is fun for me." She held up her fist and Zack gave her a fist bump, grinning at her enthusiasm. Despite having broken up years ago, he was glad they were still able to be friends.

Tapeworm and Moose agreed to their participation in the race as well, though Bailey, who stood aside as Sydney clung to her arm for dear life, gazed at Zack in wonder. "Hey, you're smiling," she remarked. "You've been kind of gloomy all night; I was starting to wonder if something was wrong."

"Not with Zack," Sydney contradicted. "He always bounces back from whatever's bothering him."

Zack shrugged as he got into his position on the starting line, stretching his arms. There was no need to say anything. Everyone could see it in his face anyway. He was happy and ready for graduation, excited to see what the world had in store for him.

But for the moment he was ready to win the race.