Episode 10

"First Dates and Old Friends"

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Wait...In this story, I created some of the characters, so I will actually own them.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

And as to the ones I create, who they are is up to me, so...

New Haven

The next week passed by fairly smoothly and uneventfully. All day Sunday was spent returning to the grind of studying for their test the next day. And by that Monday morning, Cody and Bailey were sick of looking at the material for their organic chemistry exam. After having studied for it all of fall break and all day Sunday, they were more than ready to take the exam and get it over with. In fact, the only respite they had had from it was the brief break that had taken to do their lab report for their organic lab. By the time they walked into the exam, they were even getting nauseous at the sight of the words 'organic' and 'chemistry.' It was only after they walked out of their test did they finally acknowledge how glad they were that they had studied so hard for it. To say it had been rough was an understatement, but both felt they had been ready for it and did well.

The rest of the week, everyone was more than happy to take it easy. And on Wednesday night, the actual night of Halloween, the four students were more than happy to just take it easy in the girl's room watching classic horror movies on TV. Naturally, neither Tapeworm nor Cody minded at all when their girlfriends buried their faces in their shoulders at particularly scary moments. And by the time it time for the guys to head back to their rooms, both agreed to to their ladies' requests to check under their beds to make sure there weren't any redheaded dolls lying in wait for them.

But instead of heading to bed themselves, Cody and Tapeworm changed into their workout gear and made their way to the Berkeley College gym for their workout. There were no worries about having to wait for the equipment to open up as it was a ghost town down there. And as they were doing their weight training, they had time to talk amongst themselves.

"So...Friday night is your first official date, huh?"

Tapeworm looked up and nodded. "Yeah, it is. I got reservations at that French restaurant you told me about."

Cody nodded. "Sounds good so far. Gertie should like that."

Tapeworm paused and sighed. "I sure hope so. I'm really nervous about it though."

"Why's that?"

"Well, like you said, its our first official date as a couple. I just want it to be perfect..."

Cody grinned. "Don't worry. It will be. After all, you've waited so long for this, and good things come to those who wait."

"I wish I was as confident as you are. What did you and Bailey do on your first ever date?"

Cody paused. "Well, you probably shouldn't try to compare..."

"Why not? What did you do?"

"Ummm..." He paused again. "We kind of sort of went to a Hannah Montana concert in Hawaii..."

Tapeworm rolled his eyes. "Great...No way I can do anything that will compare to that..."

"You have to remember that we were on the boat at the time docked in Hawaii, and Hannah was there for a teen cruise. And all of this was before everything about her having a secret identity came out, and we all realized she had been playing everyone for fools. You have to remember...we were sophomores in high school, so we didn't know any better. Plus, at the time, Bailey was her biggest fan..."

"Still. That was a big first date to have. Actually, it probably set the bar pretty high."

Cody smiled. "True. And to be honest, I don't remember much about the actual concert itself. I was still on cloud nine that I was on an actual date with Bailey. What I do remember is how happy I was that day. And I think you'll have similar memories about yours."

"I certainly hope so..."

"You will. I mean...I'm not blind. I've seen how the two of you have been with each other this week. All the little touches and private conversations when you don't think anyone is watching."

Tapeworm rubbed the back of his head. "You saw those?"

"Yeah, Bailey and I both did. Just remember that you two have a friendship you are basing your relationship off of. Its not like you two are total strangers going out for the first time who know nothing about each other. You've known each other for almost a year now."

"True. Its just different now. Gertie is no longer just a friend of mine. She's my girlfriend. I just don't want things to be weird now. I've loved the first week we've had together, but isn't it what you call the honeymoon period?"

Cody laughed. "Probably, but remember...the honeymoon is only over when you say its over. The was one of the problems Bailey and I had a few years ago. We let the honeymoon phase end and began to take each other for granted. This time, we're on a second honeymoon..."

"But you two have been back together almost two years now."

Cody smiled again. "Yeah, we have. And neither one of us is in any hurry for the honeymoon to end this time. We're a lot wiser now and know to look out for anything that could put a damper on things. Just remember...always talk to and be honest with each other."

Tapeworm nodded. "Thanks." He paused. "So, you two are really headed down to New York for the weekend?" He shook his head. "I still can't believe you guys are friends with Lil' Little."

"Believe it. And yeah, we're heading down to see our friend Marcus and his girlfriend again. They've been bugging us to head back down to hang out with them again since Valentine's Day. We figured this would be a good weekend to do so." He paused and grinned. "So, you two behave yourselves as Bailey and I won't be here to keep you two out of trouble..."

Tapeworm laughed. "Dang it!"

Cody just looked at him. "Whoa...deja vu." He shook his head. "Anyways, speaking of road trips, Yale is playing Harvard up in Cambridge this year the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Why don't you ask Gertie if she wants to come up for that weekend to see some of our old haunts and meet Zack? You guys can stay with us."

"You know...that sounds like a good idea to me. I'll make sure to ask her about it this weekend." Tapeworm grinned. "So, with the girls not around, any words of wisdom for me?"

Cody laughed. "Actually, I do. Allow me to tell you about the wonders and usefulness of the number six..."

Boston

On that Friday afternoon, Zack and Maya once again met up for lunch after Maya's last class of the week and before Zack's last one. And early on, Maya could tell Zack was still hung up on what happened the previous weekend.

"So...you still think you talked to a fortune teller last Saturday?"

Zack sighed. "I don't think I did. I know I did! If I didn't, where did the thirty bucks I had in my wallet go?"

Maya paused. "I don't know. Maybe you spent it at the football game on food and don't remember?"

He shook his head. "No. I only bought a hot pretzel and a drink there. While those cost way too much, it wasn't near thirty bucks. May, I know I talked to a gypsy that night. I don't know where she went, but I remember everything she said clear as day."

"So, you still think there is a tragedy going to hit your family sometime soon?"

He just shrugged. "That's what she said. And I've talked to everyone since then. Everyone is fine. The only thing I can think of is my Dad is due to fly back from Europe after the beginning of the year. But those flights take off and land just fine every day."

"So, you think that's what she was talking about then?"

Zack just gave her a look. "Does that mean you actually believe me now?"

"I believe that you believe that is what happened. So, I choose to believe that it did. But maybe its something else? You know, things do happen from time to time. And you said yourself that she never said someone would actually die."

"I know, but I'm still going to keep my eyes open and be on alert. I'll feel a lot better when Dad is safely back in the States."

"When's he due back?"

"Late January. His band is making a stop in Japan on the way home and then back to Seattle for a few days to see his old stomping grounds."

Maya nodded. "I'm sure he'll be fine. How about we change the subject though to something not so...bleak?"

"And talk about what?"

She smiled. "How about the fact that in two and a half weeks, we get three days off for Thanksgiving? The perk of yesterday being the first means Thanksgiving comes sooner this year."

Zack paused and nodded. "That's true. But I already know I have to work all day the Wednesday before. I'm trying to get my hours in as quickly as I can so I have our reading period and finals week off."

"How is that coming along?"

"Well, these next three weekends, I'm taking those weekend trips I was telling you about before."

Maya shook her head and laughed. "Sounds so rough having to go on those trips and doing nothing again..."

Zack shrugged again. "Actually, these will be different. I have projects or papers due the next three weeks in my non stats classes. It'll give me a chance to get them done in peace while getting paid and building up hours. The way Moseby and I have it figured, I should have my 400 hours done that Thursday before classes end the following Wednesday."

"That sounds like a good thing."

"Yeah, it does." He shook his head and began laughing. "Who would have ever thought that I would be so dedicated to getting my work done early? We both remember how I was in high school..."

She smiled. "Oh, I remember. And as you remember, you weren't the only one who put things off until the last minute. But, we've both gotten a lot better about that. That means we're growing up and maturing."

"People keep telling me that. I guess I'll have to believe it eventually."

"Well, you should because its true. I know I've said it before, Zack, but I am so proud of you."

He smiled back at her. "Thanks." He paused. "But if you ever see me turning into Cody, please smack me! That would totally suck..."

Maya laughed. "Deal. Though, I doubt anyone who knows you two could ever get you two confused nowadays." She paused. "I know Bailey would vehemently disagree with me, but I think I'm sitting with the better twin right now."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

New Haven

Tapeworm was finishing getting ready for his first official date with Gertie and was checking himself out in the mirror in his room. While the jacket and tie were not what he normally would choose to wear, he wanted to look nice and make the night a memorable one. Deciding he looked presentable enough, he grabbed a few things and made his way to the stairwell. One floor up, he knocked on Gertie's door. And when she opened it up, she just smiled at him and whistled.

"My, my...you actually clean up pretty well."

He smiled back. "Well, I figured this was a good enough occasion for me to do so. And if I may say, you look positively stunning tonight."

She kept smiling. "Why thank you, kind sir. So, what do you have planned for tonight exactly?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I made us reservations at the Union League Cafe for eight o'clock. Cody told me it was a really nice restaurant, so I thought it seemed appropriate. I even printed out a copy of their menu for us to look at before we head out." He glanced down at it and frowned. "Uh oh..."

"What? What's wrong?"

Tapeworm sighed. "The menu is in French. Cody failed to mention that part to me. And I don't speak a lick of French. I'm going to look like an idiot trying to order..."

She smiled. "Here. Let me take a look at it. I did take two years of French in high school and two more classes in it last year to satisfy my foreign language requirement. "

He handed her the menu, and she looked at it. And that's when her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! Did you happen to see the prices?"

"Yeah, I did. But I kind of figured this would be a night to splurge a little. Besides, you come from money. I just wanted to take you some place you'd be accustomed to."

Gertie shook her head and laughed. "Dennis, Dennis, Dennis. Yeah, I do come from a family that has a lot of money, but I'm a girl of much simpler tastes."

Tapeworm paused and sighed. "Hence why you're with a guy like me, huh?"

"Absolutely not. I'm with you because I can just be myself with you and I can have fun with you. Did I ever tell you how much fun I had the first night we hung out just the two of us?"

He paused again and frowned. "But that was the night my Patriots beat your Ravens. You had fun that night?"

She laughed again. "Okay, it wasn't the most ideal night ever, but yeah, I had fun..."

He shrugged. "Huh. I kind of figured it would be one of those situations where the phrase 'Other than that, how did you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln' might have fit..."

Gertie rolled her eyes. "Well, the Ravens losing did suck, but I had a lot of fun just hanging out and us being ourselves. We've been doing that this past week too, and I've loved every minute of it."

"So have I, but I figured I should make a big deal out of this. I mean, Cody was telling me that his and Bailey's first date was at a Hannah Montana concert in Hawaii."

"Dennis...we aren't Cody and Bailey. Yeah, their relationship in theory is a good example. But they do what works for them and what they enjoy. This is our new relationship. We should do what works for us and do what we enjoy..." She smiled and teased him. "Besides, if you ever tried to take me to a concert of Hannah's or Miley or whatever she calls herself now or to a concert of Bieber, I promise you I'll break up with you on the spot."

He smiled. "No worries there then. Neither are my cup of tea." He paused. "How about we cancel this reservation then. We had pizza that first night, and if you like brick oven style, I think I know just the place."

She smiled back. "Sounds perfect to me. And afterwards, we can walk down to the movie theater and find something that is playing. Maybe in honor of us getting together at a Halloween Party, we can go see Halloween 3D"

"I've been wanting to see that movie!" He grinned again. "Mind if I head back downstairs and lose the jacket and tie?"

She paused and began laughing again. "While I'm enjoying the view, I don't mind...as long as you don't mind me changing into jeans and something more casual too."

"Deal! I'll be back in fifteen minutes!"

New York City

That same Friday night, Marcus, Courtney, Bailey and Cody were all sitting around in a coffee shop in Greenwich Village, sipping on cappuccinos after having dinner nearby.

"Its about time you two came back to New York City. We were beginning to think that you two didn't like hanging out with us..."

Cody laughed. "No, nothing like that. We've just been really busy with school and everything. And, we spent almost all of last summer working in Boston."

Bailey nodded. "And the breaks I did get, I went home to Kettlecorn to see my family."

Marcus just shook his head at them. "Well, I guess I'll let it slide this time. Just don't make it a habit." He paused. "Speaking of Boston, I understand Maya is back..."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, she showed up the day we got back to Boston after our freshmen years. And she is determined to get Zack back."

Courtney was confused. "Wait. Who's Maya?"

Briefly, the other three filled her in on who Maya was and what had happened between her and Zack right before everyone graduated. Courtney just shook her head.

"Wow..."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah."

Marcus paused. "So, what is the current state of her and Zack's relationship?"

Cody shrugged his shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine. Zack tells me that they've agreed to work on being friends again and see what happens from there."

"And that's all you know?"

"Well, yeah. Remember, I live in New Haven and he lives in Boston. I'm not around Zack all the time to see what is really going on. I can only go by what he tells me. And its not like I have any more Corsican fruit so I can read his mind."

Marcus shook his head and laughed. "I still can't believe I missed all of that..."

Cody shuddered. "I wish I could have missed it..." He paused, smiled and wrapped his arm around Bailey. "But, everything worked out in the end."

Bailey smiled too. "Yeah, it did. And it looks like things have worked out for you two as well."

Courtney just laughed. "I suppose so. So far, he's being a good boy, so I guess I'll keep him around for a while. Marcus has actually been pretty great. He's been real understanding about me having to spend a lot of time studying and doing my school work."

Marcus grinned. "What can I say? The time I do get with you is worth the wait."

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other and shook their heads.

Marcus continued. "And Courtney has agreed to come to the ATL for a few days after Christmas to meet some of my family."

Bailey smiled. "Well, I hope you have as much success with his family as I've had with Cody's. His Mom and Mimi have been wonderful."

Marcus laughed. "Oh, my Nana will love her. I'm just hoping I have better luck at first with her Dad than I hear Cody did with yours."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Mr...Clyde and I had a rough beginning, but we're doing a whole lot better now. We both know that the other loves Bailey and only wants the best for her."

"Well, from what I hear, you have her Grammy Pickett in your back pocket. So, you have someone there who will take up for you."

Courtney shook her head. "Anyways, we're heading back to New York on the 30th. I figured for once in my life, I wanted to be in Times Square and watch the ball drop."

Marcus nodded. "It'll be a first for me too, and it sounded like fun." He paused. "Hey, why don't you guys come down for it too?"

Bailey turned to Cody and smiled. "I would love to do that! What do you think?"

Cody shrugged and smiled. "I guess we'll be back for New Year's Eve then."

"Excellent! Invite Zack to come with you. Maya too if it won't be too awkward."

"I'll mention it to him over Thanksgiving."

"Great. I have plenty of room for everyone to crash at my place afterwards. We can have an after the ball drops party there."

Cody was about to say something when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw two women in their early 40's staring at him. Cody looked back at them in confusion.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"Ben? Why are you acting like you don't know who we are?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. My name's not Ben. Its Cody."

The two women just looked at each other and began laughing. The one with light brown hair turned back to Cody. "Our apologies. You look just like my stepson and Monica's nephew, Ben. You two could be identical twins."

Cody smiled. "No worries. I do have a twin brother, but his name isn't Ben either."

"Well, again, we apologize. You guys have a good evening. Let us buy you guys some cookies to make up for our mistake. I used to work here years ago, so I know they're good."

The four teens nodded, and the two ladies walked off to the counter. Cody took the chance to turn to Bailey and smiled.

"If this Ben guy looks just like me, he must be a very handsome guy..."

New Haven

After the weekend was over, it was back to the grind for had two more weeks of classes before Thanksgiving break began, and naturally, their professors decided those two weeks would be fine times to have exams, papers and projects due. For Cody and Bailey, it meant having another Genetics exam as well as brief four page paper they had to write in Philosophy in response to some of the works of Immanuel Kant. But the one assignment they were actually looking forward to was for their Statistics class. As that Tuesday was the national election day and 2012 was a Presidential election year, they had a project regarding the election results. And on Tuesday night, they were sitting in Cody and Tapeworm's common room watching the results coming in on TV. As they were writing down the information they would need, Tapeworm and Gertie stopped by the room after dinner.

Tapeworm shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day where you two were glued to the TV. You've been watching it since you got back from your lab this afternoon..."

Cody laughed. "Actually, we're doing our homework. We have a stats project based on the election results..."

Bailey laughed too. "And as we both had to vote by absentee ballots because of not being close to our polling places, this is a way for us to feel like part of the action today..." She paused and looked up at Gertie and Tapeworm. "This is the first time I've seen you both together since this weekend. How was the first date?"

Gertie grinned. "I thought it was perfect."

Tapeworm grinned too. "I would have to concur with that."

Bailey smiled. "Glad to hear that." She turned to Cody. "I was right, you know. They do make an adorable couple."

Gertie blushed. "Thanks. So...how do the election results look?"

Cody shrugged. "So far, none of the swing states have been called. So, nothing earth shattering yet. And we expect Obama to get a big push when the far western states like California, Oregon and Washington close their polls in a few hours."

Bailey laughed again. "Its also kind of weird that we knew weeks ago how our home states would go. I'm from Kansas, the home of Bob Dole."

"And I'm from Massachusetts, home of the Kennedy clan."

Tapeworm grinned. "Well, I suspect you both are pretty liberal anyways. I mean...you are at an Ivy League school. This place is dripping with liberal ideology."

"Well, we disagree on some things, but on most issues, we have a unified front. On some things, we do have conservative views, but on others, we are indeed very liberal. So, we don't fit perfectly into any political party platform."

Gertie nodded. "I know what you mean. I wish we lived under something like a parliamentary system that embraced more than two parties."

Tapeworm laughed. "Maybe we should start our own party? We can call it the Sweet Tea Party..."

To be Continued...

AN: Since the next chapter will be posted after the Super Bowl, I'll go ahead and say now I'm predicting a Giants win. They just seem like a team of destiny to me. Now, I will suggest that people keep an eye open for the Matthew Broderick/Ferris Beuller commercial. I saw it on line and thought it was hilarious.