A/N: This chapter is a continuation of the last chapter, except it follows Zack. Just a heads up. R&R

Chapter 3: Roomies

Zack left his brother with a kiss, before running off to find Zane. He quickly turned back to see his brother walking slowly, his head down. "What's going on with him?" Zack thought to go ask him what was wrong, but decided otherwise. "Eh. He's probably just tired." Zack ran to his room to find Zane texting on his phone. "Hey dude. What do you say we hit the arcade? Last day before classes start." Zane looked up and smiled.

"Oh. Well. Umm…Maybe later…" Zane said, distraught. Zack noticed his tone of voice.

"You okay?" Zack sat on his bed. Zane just stared at his phone. "You know, we are roommates. You could talk to me." Zack moved closer to Zane, who was still silent. Zack sat and waited patiently for Zane to say something. "Dude…" A single tear rolled down Zane's face, which took Zack by surprise.

"Zane…crying? He's like…A chick magnet. Tough. Why was he crying?" Zack thought to himself. "Zane. Why are you crying? Tell me." All of a sudden, Zane flew toward Zack, embracing him tightly. "Oh…Umm…It'll all be okay…?" Zack said, confused while rubbing his back. He had no idea what was going on or why Zane was latched on to his abdomen. He just sat there, Zane bawling into his shoulder, assuring him. Just then, Zane pulled off and wiped his eyes.

"Sorry you had to see me like that, Zack…Didn't expect to see someone like me act like that, did you?" Zane said, wiping his face with a tissue. Zack just giggled.

"No. I didn't. Now that I HAVE seen you that way…May I ask why my shirt is soaked with your tears?" Zane just laughed.

"Well…I came on to this ship trying to be someone else. Someone I didn't want to be. I did it to preserve something I had back home." Zane said. Zack immediately was able to relate.

"I know what you're going through. I went through the same thing a while back…Just be true to you. NEVER try changing yourself out of fear." He comforted Zane, who looked as if he were feeling better.

"Why did you try changing yourself?" Zane asked curiously. Zack took a deep breath.

"Well… Back when I doubted myself and my…y'know…sexuality, I felt that I needed to hide it. Keep it secret. So I did everything I thought 'straight guys' would do. I hit on girls, played basketball, the whole nine yards. It worked for a while, but eventually it came back to haunt me. I almost went crazy. So don't do that. If there's something you need to do, then do it." Zack's reassuring words made Zane smile.

"You're a really sweet boy, y'know that?" Zane hugged Zack. "Well…Since you told me you're 'junk', I suppose I should tell you mine. Back home, in NY, I was in a relationship…with another boy. He was SO amazing and I didn't want it to end. Soon, my parents find out about this ship and sending me off and all that nonsense because they didn't like the fact that I was…gay." Zack's eyes bulged out of his head after hearing what Zane had confessed.

"Go on…" Was all Zack could say.

"Since I didn't have any choice, I packed my things and they shoved me on this boat and told me, 'If you don't come back with a girlfriend, expect us to never welcome you here again.'"

"What the hell, man. That isn't right. Dude…I'm sorry you're parents are such…idiots."

"Yea. So basically, I came on the ship a completely different person than I was back home. And you're right. It IS killing me. And to top it all off, the reason why I was crying is because…My boyfriend just broke up with me." Zane's words fell onto deaf ears, Zack still trying to process everything he'd just been told.

"Gay? Boyfriend? What is going on here? Is this the SAME guy that Cody and I were sharing a hot tub with? The same Zane asked us if we had been checking out all the 'hot babes' on the ship?" Zack couldn't understand, but he felt sympathetic toward Zane. "Well listen. You know we're roommates. You can always talk to me if you need to. I know what you're going through and I'd be more than happy to-" Before Zack could finish, Zane tackled Zack and planted a kiss on him. The kiss lasted a good 5 seconds before Zack could realize what was happening, and quickly pushed him off. "DUDE!"

"Zack. You're the sweetest boy I've ever met. The way you were able to just talk me out of my troubles like that. It's sweet and I'll definitely be with you." Zane smiled at a confused Zack.

"Be with you? What are you talking about?" Zack quickly moved himself over to his own bed.

"Well…You ARE gay, right? And you did this stuff because you felt for me, right?"

"Umm…Zane. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, but I don't want to be with you… I CAN'T be with you. It's just…I'm with someone." Zane's expression quickly faded to sadness. "I'm sorry…I'm just trying to be a good friend. I'm sorry."

"No, no. I'm sorry. I was stupid to think that you had any feelings for me. Let's just forget that ever happened. And I promise not to let my feelings for you get in the way of our friendship." Zane went over and hugged Zack.

"It's no problem, dude. Listen…I, uh…I have to go. I have to go find Cody." Zack stood up and headed for the door.

"Hey Zack?"

"Yea?"

"You're boyfriend is a really lucky guy to have you."

"Yea, I guess he is." Zack replied, as he walked out the door.

A/N: I just wanna send my apologies to you guys for so much dialogue. The story has a LOT of developing to do before I can get into anything serious. Don't worry! It's coming! In fact, possibly the next chapter I'll have a little more "action" for you guys! ;) I also wanna say sorry for such short chapters. Like I said, there's a bunch of developing to do. Thanks for reading! R&R