Just An Ordinary, Average Day
Disclaimer: I own neither the Suite Life characters nor the song "You are the One" by O'Jay.
"And through his bold attacks on Trenton and Princeton Washington was able to keep the Revolution from collapsing!" Ms. Tutweiler finished, pleased to see the eyes of her students focused upon her.
Well, the eyes of most of her students, anyway. She had long ago grown resigned to London's lack of focus, but the new addition to her class not only wasn't paying attention, he was distracting one of her best students!
"Cody Martin!" she scolded. "Maybe you could keep your eyes on me instead of on Bailey?"
Bailey blushed in embarrassment, but the tall, leather-clad boy virtually sprawled across his desk showed no signs of shame.
"I could try," he offered doubtfully. "But Bailey's so much prettier," he concluded, glancing back over at her.
"Cody!" she protested, blushing even more.
"Maybe you'd look better if you didn't get your clothes from a poor people's charity," London suggested brightly.
"I don't get my clothes from charity!" the teacher protested, feeling flustered.
"Ms. Tuweiler, I'd like to say that I always pay attention to you, no matter how you look," her other best student announced.
"Thank you, Zack," she said, feeling vindicated for a moment. Then she frowned as she actually thought about what he'd said.
"That's three-thirty!" Cody crowed as the bell rang and Ms. Tutweiler wearily decided she'd done enough for one week. She'd eat a few gallons of chocolate ice cream, spend some time with her cats, and be refreshed and ready for her disruptive pupil when Monday rolled around.
As she sank into the chair behind her desk, her class streamed out the door. Bailey stopped and looked down at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Tutweiler. I'll talk to him. Remember, he's not used to being at an ordinary school."
"Neither am I," the harried teacher sighed. "I hope to work my way up to teaching at one someday."
ΩΩΩΩ
"Cody, you can't keep drifting off like that! You've got to start paying attention in class," she scolded him as they walked along the deck.
"Come on, Bailey! When you're one of the people in the room how can I look anywhere else except at you?"
"And how many girls have you used that line on?" Bailey asked skeptically.
"Dozens!" her boyfriend replied with cheerful honesty. Then he took her hand and looked directly into her eyes. "But in your case I mean it," he assured her in a low, intense voice.
Her hand already warming from his touch, Bailey had to work valiantly to keep from melting. Dagnambit, but he was good at this!
At that instant Zack hurried to their side, holding out a sheaf of paper with protruding, multi-colored tabs.
"Here you go, Cody. When I noticed you were getting distracted, again, I took a second set of notes for you, color-coded according to the importance of the information.
"Thanks, man," Cody said sincerely, accepting the stack of papers. He didn't care much about having notes on Tutweiler's snooze-fest, but he did appreciate his twin's thoughtfulness.
"Why don't Bailey and I go over them with you tonight?" Zack suggested, and Bailey nodded in instant agreement.
Cody bit back a groan at the idea. His brother and girlfriend had apparently taken it upon themselves to act as his unofficial tutors, but the last thing he wanted to do after seven endlessly boring hours of school was study, especially on a Friday night!
Fortunately he had a trump card to play.
"Don't you have another date tonight?" he reminded Zack. How such an important event could possibly slip his brilliant brother's mind was a complete mystery to Cody. Then again, Zack often did seem to have a pretty strange sense of priorities.
"Yeah, but if it's like the last four it'll be over by seven," the older twin replied glumly. "There'll be plenty of time to study afterward."
Cody threw a companionable arm around his smaller sibling's shoulders and pulled his twin's head in close.
"Just remember what I told you," he lectured Zack authoritatively. "Don't show her your work on Fermat's theorem, don't tell her your hypothesis about Zaria's crown, and don't invite her to come to our cabin to make balloon statues of famous historical figures. Just concentrate on getting to know her and having fun."
"But those things are fun!" Zack protested.
"Okaaay, but they're the kind of fun you should save until you really know each other," Cody explained tactfully. "Like when you're already engaged."
"So it looks like it'll be just the two of us studying," Bailey chimed in from Cody's other side.
That sounded a lot better, except Bailey would expect them to actually study during a study date! Ridiculous, but then that was the girl he'd fallen for.
"What, you thought my brother was the only one going out tonight?" he asked, turning toward her. "I'm gonna take you out to dinner so we can celebrate."
"Celebrate what?" Bailey asked curiously.
"My first full week on this ship, and your first full week knowing me," he explained with a cocky grin.
"I'm not sure either of those things are worth celebrating," Bailey shot back, folding her arms. "And you won't be aboard this ship for long if you can't keep your grades up. Wasn't that the deal you made with your Dad?"
Unfortunately it was. Dad had wanted him to attend a real school to prepare for college instead of continuing to be home-schooled. He didn't even want to go to college, much less be stuck in high school! They'd fought furiously about it for days and in the end had finally compromised; he would go to school like Dad wanted, but on a cruise ship rather than on land. That way he'd have plenty of opportunity to party hearty when he wasn't in school, instead of sitting at home bored and alone while Dad and the guys were on tour.
In return, however, he had to get decent grades; otherwise Dad would pull him off the ship and bring him home. It had been an unpleasant prospect to begin with, which he now found downright unbearable; it would mean being separated not only from the twin brother he'd just found, but also from Bailey!
"Okay, you're right," he conceded reluctantly, reflecting ruefully on the annoyance factor of going out with a smart girl for a change. "But we've got all weekend to study. Let's have dinner and afterward we can go for a walk on the Sky Deck and look at the stars. You don't want to miss the full moon tonight, do you?"
He was right, they did have time, and what he was suggesting sounded like an evening she'd enjoy.
"Fine, but on Saturday we're studying!" she said firmly.
"I'll meet you at the Juice Bar at six," Cody promised, leaning in to give her a quick, affectionate peck on the cheek before he went to catch up with another departing student.
"Hey, Woodsman!" Cody called, coming up behind the curly-haired, heavy-set boy. "Ready for another work-out?"
"Again?" Woody whined. "We just lifted yesterday!"
"You have to work out at least two days in a row before you take a break. More, if you want to look like me," Cody bragged matter-of-factly.
"But it's hard!"
"It'll get easier," the other teen promised, "but only if you keep doing it. You told me you wanted to bulk up, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah, after you said being built helps you get girls."
"It does. Of course so do my good looks and charm, but let's work on one thing at a time, kay? See you in the gym in five?"
"I guess," Woody grumbled.
Satisfied Cody headed to the cabin he now shared with his twin brother. After being separated for so long they'd decided to room together, and since Zack was Moseby's pet, the transfer hadn't been hard to arrange.
Actually living together was a different story Cody admitted as he opened the door. A line of tape divided the cabin neatly in half. One side was absolutely spotless, the chest, bed, desk and loom assiduously polished with Lemon Pledge every day, all the clothes ironed and hung up neatly in the closet (even the sweatpants!), the books arranged in alphabetical piles on the desktop and the carpet cleaned weekly with a wet dry vac.
Then on the sane side of the room the bed was unmade, dirty clothes completely hid the floor from view, his rock posters covered every available inch of wall, and he was pretty sure there was a half eaten burrito somewhere in there.
Stripping off his trademark leather jacket Cody also discarded his shirt. Reaching down he rooted around in the piles and pulled out his favorite work-out T-shirt, the one with the skeleton smashing the guitar. He sniffed it experimentally. Yup, good for at least another day, he concluded as he slipped it on.
The door opened and Zack walked in, his eyes sweeping over the rampant chaos of his brother's section of the room in mute despair. He had hoped his twin would absorb the importance of tidiness from living with him, but if that was indeed what was taking place the time it was taking could be measured in geological epochs.
"How can you live like this?" he asked for the sixth time this week.
"Happily," Cody retorted. "I'm heading out to pump some iron; want to join me this time?"
"If I ever need to lift a large amount of weight, I'll use my knowledge of physics to rig a pulley system which will multiply the force I am able to exert and thus circumvent the need for any prior physical conditioning." Zack said loftily. In the face of his brother's utterly blank stare, however, he sighed.
"No, I don't want to come," he clarified.
"Your loss," Cody shrugged. "You should think about it, though. Sound mind in a sound body, right? Didn't some nerd say that once?"
"My body is perfectly sound," Zack insisted.
Walking over to him Cody used only his right index finger to shove his brother down onto the latter's bed.
"Does "perfectly" not mean what I thought it did?" he asked cheekily, staring down at his twin.
"Knowing you, it probably doesn't," Zack riposted from the bed. "You should work more on developing your mind instead of your body."
"That's for tomorrow with my girl. Now it's time to stay in shape, like all real dudes should. You sure you won't come?"
"No thanks," Zack refused. His younger twin shrugged again and left the room.
His twin; he wondered how many years it would be before he got used to those words. Having spent his life as an only child the idea of having a brother at all was startling enough, but a twin!
Yet for all their genetic similarity they were nothing alike, the Yin and Yang of fraternal relations. In fact they were practically natural enemies; back in Boston when Zack had run into guys like Cody he had usually found himself needing to run! And if he didn't run fast enough he generally ended up face down in the nearest garbage can.
It was strange. You'd think people like that would appreciate encountering a good example, someone their age with manners and intellect, but actually it just seemed to make them mad.
With Cody, though, this wasn't an issue. Oh, he teased Zack sometimes, but no more than that. All things considered they were getting along pretty well. Maybe their differences were even for the best; there was so much they could teach each other! Cody had already helped him loosen up and connect better with the fairer sex; hopefully he could improve his sibling's study habits and, well, his personal habits in general.
Even if he couldn't, however, he had discovered rather to his surprise that he liked having a brother, having someone to talk with, someone to look out for and who would look out for him, someone he felt connected to. For all that this was a frighteningly new and frequently aggravating experience, it was one he wouldn't trade for the world.
ΩΩΩΩ
Cody let out a breath as he smoothly bench-pressed a hundred and sixty pounds overhead for his tenth rep. Weight-lifting was something he'd gotten into shortly after he had turned thirteen. Dad always said a lead singer needed to stay buff and so had been lifting for as long as Cody could remember. He had been proud to start lifting along with his father, especially after he'd realized how much easier it made loading and unloading the band equipment, not to mention the benefits it brought with the babes. Then, too, there was something inherently satisfying about pushing yourself physically like this, proving your manliness.
Too bad Zack didn't understand that. His geeky twin could really use some more muscle.
Racking the weight, Cody sat up and vacated the bench to make way for Woody. Circling around he began unloading the bar for the other boy's benefit.
Moseby had insisted he couldn't use the weight bench unless there was someone to spot him. The man was such a freaking stiff! No wonder he and Zach got along so well.
No, that was unfair. Yeah, his brother was wound up way too tight, no doubt, but Zack was a good guy with a good heart. Besides, he had loosened up some already.
Cody's natural instinct was to simply ignore Moseby's rule and he would have too, if he hadn't vividly remembered overhearing what Zack's friends thought of him the first time he was heading down to the ship's weight room. He had therefore approached Woody and Marcus after his twin turned him down, asking if they wanted to work-out together as a kind of peace offering. The former singer hadn't been interested, but Woody had been, after a little persuasion.
"Okay, Woody, it's ready for you," Cody informed his prone partner.
Grunting with the effort and straining valiantly, Woody managed to press the empty bar overhead a full five times before Cody had to help him.
ΩΩΩΩ
Bailey sat on one of the stools in her prettiest dress, but she hadn't ordered anything from the juice bar. Zack was on his date instead of behind the counter, and no one else on the ship had his skill or dedication in preparing drinks, even if did have the high-strung temperament of a true artist.
Much as she liked Zack, it was such a relief to know he had finally decided to turn his romantic attentions elsewhere! The sixteen year-old was smart as a whip, sweet, and happy, but he was also anal to the nth degree, ignorant of almost anything non-nerdy, and just downright peculiar! She was glad to have him as a friend, but even in her wildest dreams she couldn't picture him as her boyfriend. There simply wasn't any attraction there on her part-not like there was with his brother.
And had that development come straight out of the left side of the corn field or what? How on Earth had she managed to fall so hard and fast for Zack's rebellious, bad boy twin? Someone she'd dismissed only a few days ago as "a sexist, obnoxious jerk with no regard for anyone else's feelings"?
A lot of it had to be the fact that, as he'd claimed when they met, he really was the guy she'd been waiting for: tough enough to work the land, yet with a soft heart. It was easy for her to envision Cody baling hay or helping with the harvesting on the farm.
This alone, however, wouldn't have been enough to interest her. It was Cody's earnest desire to buy a birthday present for the twin he'd only recently met which had shown her there actually was a soft heart beating beneath that macho, shallow exterior. That incident had changed the whole way she saw him. She had felt, well, drawn to him and she knew he had felt it too, yet he had pulled back from kissing her out of concern for how Zack would feel!
In that instant she'd been lost, Bailey could admit to herself in retrospect. The knowledge that Cody had already cared deeply enough about his twin's feelings to turn her down rather than risk hurting his newfound brother . . . That was the kind of person she wanted to date.
That didn't mean he was perfect, heck no! He needed to concentrate a lot more in school, he was still self-confident past the point of arrogance, and he had to avoid hurting other's people's feelings. She and Zack were working on the first problem and with a little guidance Cody had made progress on the third.
The second was proving more difficult, yet it was probably the least important of the three. Irritating as his inflated ego could be, she had to admit that there was also something attractive about his belief in himself.
Then she saw Cody coming toward her across the deck, moving with the self-assured swagger which was as much a part of her image of him as his ubiquitous leather jacket and torn jeans.
"Hey, beautiful," he greeted her, flipping his head to get his hair out of his eyes. "Ready to eat?"
"Let's go," she agreed.
Soon they were seated at one of the on-deck tables.
"Order whatever you want," Cody told her extravagantly. "The sky's the limit."
"Why, did you lift Moseby's credit card?" Bailey joked.
Instead of laughing, however, Cody looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"Oh my gosh, you didn't, did you?" she asked in sudden frantic concern.
Cody's guilty grimace maintained itself for another few seconds before dissolving into a smirk.
"Gotcha," he said smugly.
Raising a hand from her menu she swatted him hard on the left shoulder, though not hard enough to keep him from laughing.
"Don't do that!"
"No, the sky's the limit because I finally got my birthday money from Dad. He must've forgotten to send it soon enough for it to get here on time."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Bailey sympathized. That had to be horrible, having your own father forget your birthday that way.
"It's okay," Cody brushed it off, unconcerned. "You wouldn't believe how crazy things are on tour. You're busy every second of the day and when the day is finally done all you want to do is sack out in the nearest bed and sleep."
"Doesn't sound like much fun."
"No, it is," Cody disagreed. "There's a charge in the air when you're getting things set up for a concert, an excitement that doesn't come with anything else. Right before a show, with the fans all milling around and chanting for the band, you feel so alive! It's awesome!"
"What did you used to do while everybody else was preparing for the show?"
"Hey, I prepared right along with them! I unloaded equipment, hooked it up, did the sound check, and plenty of other stuff. Dad always said I was his best roadie."
"Did you ever get to sing?"
To Bailey's surprise Cody's cheeks actually reddened at her question and when he answered it wasn't with his usual volume or certainty.
"No, never onstage. I did sometimes during practice, but I'm not as good as Dad."
"I'd like to hear you sing," Bailey said, and thought it was adorable the way Cody blushed even more!
"So what was it like growing up on a farm?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Well, like being on a rock tour, there's a lot to do. You have to get up before the sun does to get all the chores done on time."
"Now that's what doesn't sound like fun," Cody commented. "All work and no play makes for Dullsville, USA."
"We slip in fun when we can. There's usually a weekly square dance at the Miller's barn."
"I'm pretty sure square dancing is more Zack's thing than mine."
"How would you know if you haven't tried it?"
"Because he's a square and I'm not," Cody answered with grin.
"Very funny," Bailey responded.
"Are you ready to order, or do you need a few more minutes?" the young, dark-haired waitress asked as she appeared at their table. Her name was Lisa, but she was out of high school and Bailey had never really talked with her before.
"We'll need a couple more minutes," she answered the question.
"But please, don't stay away too long," Cody urged Lisa, looking up into her eyes, and she smiled down at him.
Instantly all of the warmth and amusement fled Bailey's face, her expression shifting to what could best be described as angry granite.
"What was that?" she demanded after Lisa had walked away.
"What was what?" Cody asked, with what sounded like genuine puzzlement in his voice.
"That! The whole "don't stay away too long"," Bailey mimicked fiercely.
"It was me being my usual charming self. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
"Yes, I do have a problem with you flirting with another girl while we're on a date!" Bailey said, her voice rising.
"Whoa, calm down!" Cody urged, holding his hands out in a placating gesture. "I didn't know you got jealous so easily."
He was coming on to another girl in front of her, and then he had the nerve to accuse her of being jealous? Oh, it was so on now!
"Jealous?" she asked icily. "Jealous?" she asked again, louder this time.
"Here's your water," Lisa said as she came by and put a glass down in front of each of them, smiling again at Cody.
"Thanks so much," Cody said to her.
"Yeah, thanks. I needed this," Bailey proclaimed. Picking up her glass she stood, splashed the water in Cody's face, and stormed off.
ΩΩΩΩ
Zack was whistling happily as he entered his cabin. His date with Stacy couldn't have gone better and it filled him with new optimism about his Saturday date, not to mention the fact that Stacy wanted to see him again Sunday!
He'd taken his brother's advice, saving the really fun things until they got to know each other better.
The light was already on in the room, and Cody lay stretched out on his bed, hands crossed under his head. Zack started to say something about those boots on the bedspread, but stopped when he saw the dark look on Cody's face. At the moment the middle name on his fake ID suited him perfectly; his expression was absolutely thunderous.
"Bad night?" Zack inquired meekly.
"Yeah, you might say that," Cody snarled. "Bailey completely flipped out on me, threw water in my face, and left when our date was just getting started!"
"Really?" Zack asked. He certainly wasn't the best judge of affairs de el Corazon, but he had thought Bailey and his brother really liked each other. "Why?"
"She got crazy jealous over our waitress! Can you believe it?" Cody raged, sitting up on the bed and perching himself on the edge facing Zack.
"What did the waitress do?"
"Nothing!"
"What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything either; I was just being myself."
Cody had helped him on his date, and now it was time to return the favor. This might be a good time to employ the Socratic Method on his twin, Zack decided.
"Did that involve hitting on the waitress?"
"Yeah, kind of!"
"Why did you do that?"
"That's what I always do; it didn't mean anything!"
"Could it have meant something to Bailey?"
"It shouldn't have! She's the only girl I want to be with."
"If she's the only girl you want to be with, why are you flirting with other girls?"
"It's habit! It's what I've done since I hit puberty! With Dad moving around all the time the only way to go out with a girl was to work fast."
"And flirting with the girls got them to go out with you?"
"A lot of the time it did. Being the son of the lead singer of a rock band helped too."
"And you want to keep finding new girls to go out with you?"
"No! Haven't you been listening? I'm happy with Bailey, or at least I was."
"So you're happy with Bailey, you don't want to go out with any other girls, but you keep flirting with them as though you did?"
"Yes," Cody answered slowly, the anger seeping away from his expression.
"How do you think it makes Bailey feel to see you acting that way?"
"Probably pretty lousy," Cody admitted glumly, his posture having shifted to a hunched over, defensive stance.
"What do you think you have to do now?"
"I have to tell her-I have to tell her I'm sorry."
"There! Now aren't you glad we had this talk?"
The resulting glare felt like it was singeing Zack's eyebrows.
"Or not," he said, turning away to sit down at his desk.
Cody sighed. Like being in a classroom, this was unfamiliar territory to him. He'd never apologized to a girl before; he'd never had to!
Here, however, there was no other choice. Bailey was brilliant, beautiful, fierce and kind; he had learned that after only knowing her for a week, and he badly wanted to get to know her better. This wasn't like all the quick hook-ups he'd had on the road; this was a relationship which could last, at least as long as he was on the ship and maybe even longer! He'd honestly never felt this way for a girl before.
Then, too, the thought that he'd hurt her made him squirm inside with guilt.
Would Bailey even listen to him, though? She's been pretty angry, and in hindsight he could see why. What could he do to make it up to her?
ΩΩΩΩ
London was out and Bailey was grateful for that small mercy. The way she felt now she didn't want anyone around to witness her misery.
How could Cody act like that, and right in front of her!
She'd known from the day she met him that he was a player, but she'd thought he really cared about her. Maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe she didn't mean any more to him than any of the other girls he'd dated.
Had she seen in him what wasn't there? No, that couldn't be; his concern for his brother's feelings had been genuine, she was sure of it. But then why didn't he care about her feelings?
A sharp knock sounded on the door.
"Bailey? Are you in there?"
"Go away, Cody!" she called back.
"No. We need to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you."
There was no answer for a long time and she thought he'd left.
"Then just listen," Cody commanded. "You said you wanted to hear me sing, right? Well, here goes!"
Bailey sat up on her bed, listening to the words coming through the door. Cody had a good singing voice, with excellent tone and pitch, but it was the lyrics which really caught her attention.
From the very start
You filled my heart
With joy and happiness
You bring to me your best
I love you so
And you've got to know
Stay by my side for always
You are the one
I can feel it deep down in my heart
You are the one
You're the only girl for me
Finally love is here
And knowing it's all sincere
With every breath I take
And knowing the love we make
'Cause I need your love
Just to see, just to see me through
I'll be your friend, always, till the end
You are the one
I can feel it deep down in my heart
You are the one
You're the only girl for me
You are the one
I don't think I ever need anybody but you girl
I can feel it deep down in my soul
You are the one
You're the only girl for me
I can feel it all over me
You are the one
You're the only one for me
You're the only girl for me
I don't want nobody
I don't need nobody
I don't want nobody but you
I don't want nobody
I don't need nobody
I don't want nobody but you
Slowly she stood up and opened the door, to see Cody standing in the hall, appearing uncharacteristically nervous.
"That was wonderful," she told him honestly.
"Thanks. I usually have a microphone and five guys on instruments playing, so I wasn't sure how well I'd sound alone."
"Of course!" a voice came from down the hall. Bailey and Cody both looked to see Marcus standing there, visibly excited and joyful.
"That's it! I'll serenade London! How could she resist me then? Thanks, Cody!" Marcus called before disappearing down the corridor.
With the interruption over the two of them simultaneously turned back to each other.
"This doesn't make how you acted tonight okay," she warned him.
He took a deep breath and let it out.
"I know. Bailey . . . I'm sorry for tonight."
"You gotta understand, when I was on the road with Dad we usually didn't stay anywhere longer than a couple of days. I always moved fast with girls because I wasn't going to be there in the morning. This is already the longest relationship I've ever had."
"Seriously?" Bailey asked, dumbfounded. They'd been going out for less than a week!
"Yeah. Bailey, I chose that song because it says how I feel. You are the girl I want, and I'll do my best to stop flirting with anyone else, if we're still dating."
His voice vibrated with uncertainty at the end, and again Bailey found herself touched by how much he obviously cared.
"We're still dating," she confirmed and the smile he turned on her outshone the one he'd given Lisa by about a hundred watts.
"So have you eaten anything yet?"
"No."
"Want to go back to dinner then? Still my treat," he offered.
"Sure!" she agreed, moving into the corridor with him and shutting her door.
And this time I'll make sure we have a dude wait on us," Cody promised her.
"I hope he's really good-looking then," Bailey offered.
The leather-clad teen did a startled double take, and his girlfriend smiled slyly at him.
"Gotcha," she whispered.
ΩΩΩΩ
On the second try dinner and star-watching both went well. Cody and Bailey returned to their cabins content and confident that they were doing the right thing by dating each other. Meanwhile Zack happily contemplated his upcoming dates, Marcus sequestered himself in his cabin to search for the perfect song to woo London, and London almost sank the ship from the added weight when she had her latest purchases air-dropped onto the vessel.
It was definitely an eventful Friday but later, when viewed within the larger context of their total time on the ship, it would turn out to be just an ordinary, average day for the reunited twins.
Notes: For those readers who remain confused, the Zack and Cody depicted here are the twins as they would have been if Cody had been raised by their Dad and Zack by their Mom, the two siblings not even knowing of each other's existence until Cody came to Seven Seas High. This alternate reality was depicted on the show in "The Bermuda Triangle." In my opinion that was without question the finest episode of either Suite Life series, as I was fascinated by its portrayal of radically different twins to the ones we're familiar with, stemming solely from their changed upbringing. I also thought the actors did a terrific job during the episode, Cole Sprouse in particular noticeably altering his body language while playing this "new" character.
Interestingly enough near the end of episode we seemed to see the inherent nature of the characters asserting itself over their nurture, with Zack becoming interested in dating different girls while Cody and Bailey were attracted enough to each other to almost kiss. Of course the twins changed back to their normal selves once the ship left the Triangle, but I wanted to write at least one fanfic story in which things DIDN'T change back (and possibly more). This also gave me the opportunity to answer a few unanswered questions about their different circumstances in this world, something I enjoy doing.
I tried to tell this tale in the spirit of the show; you'll have to judge for yourself whether I succeeded or not.
As for the song, I've never heard it before, but the lyrics seemed very appropriate for what Cody wanted to communicate.