New chapter! :)
ilovesprouse, love-for-bakas, Long story, Whowouldhavethought, KatrinaEagle and Animedog91, thanks so much for the reviews! You guys are awesome!
And love-for-bakas, Animedog91 and That Shy Quiet Girl, thanks for favoriting/story alerting!
Chapter 10 is full of surprises... It's gonna be a bumpy ride from here on out! Lol. Stay tuned!
PS. I do not own the rights to The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. But it would be totally awesome if I did! :P
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Romeo and Juliet Redux
Chapter 10 – What's Going On?
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I made my way over to the elevator, taking my time. I was in no rush to spend time with the girl I practically loathed with every fiber in my body. As my mind started wandering off into the distance, I forgot to look where I was going and crashed into London. Again.
"Zack! Why do you keep doing that?" she asked, dusting off her Arturo Vitali outfit as she got up.
"Sorry London. Guess I was daydreaming again," I told her, not even bothering to set her straight about my name.
"About what?" she asked curiously.
"A boy," I told her, since she already knew I was in love with one.
"Gasp! You like boys too? So does Cody! You two must be telepathetic!" she squealed in amazement before skipping away.
I couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Sure, London could be extremely dimwitted at times. But she meant well. After two years of lecturing from Maddie, she's no longer the self absorbed, egoistical rich girl she used to be. Well, at least not all of the time.
I found myself thinking about Stefani again. The mere thought of her name made me cringe. I opted to take the stairs, knowing it would delay our meeting a little further.
I made my way through the lobby and out the front door. I glanced at my watch, noticing it was still only 8AM. I decided to go to the library for a while to kill some time.
I was surprised to bump into Barbara. But then again, she was the smartest girl in school, so it really wasn't that big of a surprise.
"Hey Cody," she said as she made her way over to me, smiling.
"Hey Barbara," I said as I returned her smile.
"I've been meaning to ask you about something," she began as she motioned towards one of the tables in the back.
"What is it?" I asked as I sat down next to her.
"Have you told Zack how you feel about him yet?" she asked, nearly causing me to fall off my chair.
"You know‽" I asked in complete disbelief.
"Well, you weren't exactly subtle about it. All the staring… I'm surprised no one else has figured it out yet," she said, half smiling at the awkward blush that spread across my face.
"I was that obvious, huh?" I asked her, feeling like a total idiot.
"Or maybe I'm the only one who saw it because I'm so incredibly smart," she gloated before giving me a reassuring smile.
"So no one else knows?" I asked her, still a little worried.
"Not that I'm aware of," she said, making me sigh in relief.
"So... Do you think I'm disgusting?" I asked her, not sure how else to put it.
"Of course not. Although I don't particularly think it's very orthodox. But I know the heart can not be controlled. It loves whoever it wants to, and you just have to deal with it," she said, sounding like she'd given this a lot of thought.
I couldn't believe it. Barbara was so accepting. Just like Maddie. Maybe everyone else would be too.
"Just remember, Cody. The world is a harsh place, full of judgment and hate. A lot of people are going to be against this," she told me, crushing the tiny glimmer of hope I'd just discovered.
"I don't know what to do, Barbara. I just want to be happy," I told her, realizing she was right.
"Just… Tell him," she said, smiling encouragingly.
"You really think I should?" I asked in complete amazement.
"Yes, I do. Just be sure to prepare yourself for the worst," she said as she got up.
I winced at her words. But I knew she was right. She always was.
I gave her a hug and thanked her for the advice.
As she walked away, I remembered my meeting with Stefani. When I looked down at my watch, I saw that it was almost 9:30. I had about 30 minutes left to kill. I started browsing the 'Psychology section', since I wasn't in the mood for anything else.
As I was scanning through the titles, a particular book caught my eye. 'Star Struck – Incest Between Twins…'
'Wow, someone actually wrote a book about this? Maybe I'll find some answers in here,' I thought to myself.
I decided to check it out. I grabbed a few other random Psychology books from the shelf, and proceeded to the front desk. Luckily the librarian didn't scan through any of the titles. I wasn't in the mood for a bunch of awkward questions right now.
I put the books in my backpack before making my way over to Stefani's house. Thankfully it was only a couple of blocks away from the library.
I finally reached my destination 20 minutes later. I went over to ring the doorbell, but before I even had the chance to reach it, the door swung open and Stefani practically yanked me inside.
"Um. Hi," I said, confused.
"Hey. I've been waiting for you," she said strangely. And I could've sworn she winked at me too.
I followed her upstairs, wondering why she was acting so strange. When we reached her room, she pulled out her script and waited for me to do the same. I pulled mine out of my backpack, and looked over at her.
"So. How are we gonna do this?" I asked her, unsure of the strange look on her face.
"Easy. You be Romeo, and I'll be Juliet…" she replied as she slowly walked over to where I was standing.
"Uh. I don't think that's gonna work. I need to practice Juliet's lines too," I pointed out, unconsciously backing away from her.
"I'm not talking about the play, silly…" she said as she started getting closer.
I tried stepping back, but my back was already against the wall.
"What are you doing?" I asked awkwardly.
"Shh," she said as she finally reached me, putting a finger over my lips.
What the hell was happening? I tried to tell her to stop, but I just couldn't find the words. She removed her finger and brought her lips closer to mine. Just as they were about to touch, I yelled the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm gay!" I shouted, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.
Uh oh. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Now the whole school is gonna find out…
"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously.
"Uh, I mean… I'm confused," I tried again, hoping that would sound better.
"You're not making any sense. I thought you liked me?" she said, sounding almost as perplexed as I was.
"I did. But I didn't think you felt the same way. So I moved on," I explained.
"Oh. Sorry," she said as she stared at the floor.
I actually felt bad for her. She seemed so disappointed. But then I remembered. She was supposed to be with Zack. And she was about to cheat on him. With me!
"I can't believe you were about to cheat on Zack! With his own twin brother!" I said, almost yelling.
"What? Didn't he tell you? We're not together anymore…" she said glumly.
Now I was really confused. When did that happen?
"Zack broke up with me," she continued, tears starting to form in her eyes.
Great. What was I supposed to do now?
"Oh," was all that I could manage. "Uh, Stef, I have to go. Doctor's appointment," I lied.
I just had to get out of there. Everything was just so messed up. Why didn't Zack tell me?
I picked up my backpack and made my way towards the door.
"Cody?" I heard her say before turning around. "I'd really appreciate it if we could still be friends."
"Sure," I told her, not knowing what else to say.
I saw an eerie smile spread across her face before hightailing it out of there.
'Jeez. That was seriously weird,' I thought to myself as I started walking back to the hotel.
I checked my watch and saw that it was still only 12 o'clock. I don't know why, but I suddenly felt the urge to pay Ryan a little visit. The shock from the dream had finally worn off, and I felt really bad about letting him down.
But I wasn't ready to be in a relationship with him. Not while I felt this strongly about Zack.
So I made my way over to the St. Mark to break up with my boyfriend…