Broadway
A/N: I have no idea where this came from. It's sort of...original I suppose, lol...This is a one-shot by the way. A bit short and random, but it was just the mood I was in. I actually got really emotional when I was outlining the basis for it...I have no clue why. It's sort of AU, but whatever.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Suite Life or anything pertaining to it.
Summary: Cody is obligated to write an article in his school newspaper about the secrets of a celebrity. It turns out he knows one: London Tipton! When Cody tries to interview her, she seems to have other things on her mind. Will Cody get more secrets than he hoped for?
!#$&()+
"Hmm...what to go on, what to go on--Zack! That was my pizza," Cody Martin scolded his twin brother, Zack, who'd just stolen the pizza off his lunch tray.
"You snooze you lose. Plus, you're all wrapped up in that stupid article anyway," Zack retorted, taking a bite.
"It's not a stupid article. And I'm only wrapped up in the fact that I have to write about secrets of a celebrity, and have no idea where to find one," Cody replied, resting his head in his hand. Zack thought for a moment.
"Well, London's a celebrity. Her dad owns a hotel chain, and people love chicks like that," he suggested.
"That is the stupidest--hey...that's not a bad idea. I'll ask her when we get home," Cody said excitedly.
Little did he know, he was in for one rough interview.
-- At the Hotel, a Few Hours Later --
Zack and Cody had finally reached the end of their school day and headed inside the hotel, Zack practically running up to their suite to jump into his beloved video games. Cody, however, lingered in the lobby, waiting for London to appear.
About ten minutes later, she came hurrying out of the elevator, and Cody assumed she was about to embark on a shopping spree. He couldn't help but notice that something seemed distressing about her demeanor.
Her heavily made-up eyes shifted uneasily around the room, in an almost paranoid fashion. She didn't have on any jewelry or expensive accessories. She looked refreshingly normal, and Cody didn't like it one bit. She looked both stressed out and sad, and Cody was intent on finding out why.
"Something wrong?" He asked her, as she passed him blankly. She turned around, and seemed almost confused, like her mind wasn't all there. Of course, that one observation wasn't out of the ordinary.
"Huh? No...why do you say that?" London lied, not even bothering to hide the anxiety in her voice.
"Because you're acting really strange," Cody answered, concerned.
And he was right on the money. She wasn't the happy, perky, airheaded London Tipton that he was used to.
"I don't know what you mean. Everything's fine...now if you'll excuse me--" London shot back, cutting herself off to turn around.
"Whoa, wait. I was wondering if you could do me a favor," Cody said cautiously, expecting an immediate "No."
"What is it?" London asked distractedly, peering around the room in an awkward manner, as if looking for someone.
Now Cody knew something was terribly wrong. London would never ask that.
"Well, I have this article I have to write for the school newspaper about secrets of celebrities, and you're the only one I know, so..." Cody stated honestly.
"Cody, I really can't right now...I have to go do something," London responded, sounding regretful.
"Of course you do," Cody sighed, crossing his arms and turning away from her. Apparently, London disliked his tone of voice.
"Excuse me?" She asked.
"Of course you need to leave now, just when I need you to do something for me..." Cody trailed off, in an accusatory voice. Well, whatever was troubling London before had now been replaced with Cody.
"Believe it or not, but I have a life too. My errand has nothing to do with you," London retorted, a darkness in her eyes.
"What's the errand?" Cody questioned.
"None of your business," London answered, with a sarcastic smile.
"The only reason it's none of my business is because it doesn't exist. You're only saying you have an errand to get out of helping me!" Cody exclaimed, inching closer to London. London knew she was in for a heated argument. She didn't really feel like having one with Cody at that moment. London said nothing else, but just stared Cody down.
"What is your problem today, anyway?" Cody inquired, in a softer tone than before.
London's bottom lip quivered slightly, but no tears ever came. Instead, she looked to be contemplating something.
"Cody...who took you to your first day of Kindergarten?" London implored out of the blue, causing Cody to look confused.
"What kind of question is that?" Cody asked back, with furrowed eyebrows.
"An important one. Just answer it."
"Uh...my parents. But I don't really see what that has to do with--" he wasn't able to finish.
"Wanna hear who took me? Nobody," London lamented, seating herself on the couch with him sitting beside her.
"I'm sorry," Cody replied. He felt sorry for her...he really did, but he still had no clue where she was going with this.
"For weeks, my dad made such a big deal out of it. All he did was brag about how he was going to walk me into my classroom and meet my teacher and play with me for a few minutes. He promised it would happen. On that morning, though, one of his 'surprise' meetings came up, and he just had to attend. He said he didn't have a choice...but somehow, I knew he was never going to take me to school. I knew he'd find a way out of it somehow. He just hyped it up like that to make it seem like he actually cared," London explained, cramming emotion into every word.
Cody felt his hand cover hers and squeeze it comfortingly, but he had no idea he was even doing it.
"How did you get there?" He asked, hanging on every word she said. He didn't know quite how he knew, but he knew that what London needed right now was for someone to listen. To actually care about what she was saying. To care about her...
"I didn't. I had no first day. Even though I knew my father would back out, it still made me so mad. I ended up running away. I ran for hours and hours...and then I snuck onto a bus in a crowd of people and rode for hours and more hours. I was 6 years old...and you know where I ended up?" London continued, finishing with a glance at Cody.
"Where?" Cody asked, as briefly as possible, for he really only wanted to listen to her. London answered in a happy tone.
"New York. Broadway, to be exact. I just went and sat down on a bench outside one of the theater buildings. Every year since then, I've went back to Broadway on the first day of school and sat in that exact same place."
"Why?" Cody wondered aloud, to recieve a soft chuckle from London.
"Because...for the ten minutes I sat there when I was 6, until a police officer found me, I didn't care about anything. I didn't care about what my dad had done, I didn't think about school or worry about not having any friends...While I sat there, the only thing I thought about was the music coming from the buildings. That was the one time I was ever truly happy," she sighed dreamily.
Cody couldn't help but wonder...
"The only time?" He questioned her sadly.
"At least until I moved into the hotel. When I met Maddie, Carey, Zack and you...I-I felt Broadway again," she replied in a quiet tone, which was met with a smile.
Cody's head was swimming with thoughts.
"I'm glad we could give you Broadway again..." was all he could muster.
"I've never told anyone that story before. I've always wanted to tell someone...but I guess I just never found the right
guy--uh person," London replied, in a perky tone that Cody was happy to know was very like her.
"So, I'm the only one who knows?" He wondered, smiling.
"Yep. You could put it in your article if you really wanted," London told him truthfully, but he shook his head solemnly.
"No. I...I want it to stay between us. It's nice...sharing something with you. Something that no one else knows about," he added.
"Yeah...it is nice. You know, Broadway is really amazing! I'd love it if you'd come with me one day," she replied in a hopeful voice, grabbing his hand.
"I'd like that too..." he replied, interlacing his fingers with hers.
A/N: Aw. Well, at least I thought it was sweet, but what did you guys think? I was thinking of making a companion piece to this where London actually takes Cody to Broadway. Does that sound like a good idea? Only you can decide! Well, I'm off! Luv ya, guys! Ciao!
xoxo Trish