11: Sharing a secret

Age: 13/14

"But why do I have to go? Can't you just get the information for me?"

Cody threw a withering glance Zack's way before hitching his backpack up his shoulders. "Because it's a project, Zack. A project with a partner. I'm not your partner; I'm not doing your work for you." He rolled his eyes. "And it's just the school library; you're acting like I'm sending you off to some sort of a torture chamber."

Now Zack gave Cody a look. "Libraries are torture. You have to be quiet and the librarian is older and ugly, not young and hot." He threw his hands into the air. "If the librarian looked like Carrie Underwood or Angelina Jolie or even Maddie, I'd spend all my time there."

"Like you can get Angelina Jolie."

"I could if I had the chance."

"Right, like the time that you thought Maddie would date you if you did better at school?"

"Hey, that was foolproof plan which would've worked if I had any interest in science at all. That's the only subject that won't be anything but completely boring."

"And yet it was still a plan that didn't work out." Cody flicked his hair form his face and leveled his brother with an even gaze. "Ergo, it wasn't foolproof, ergo, you're an idiot."

"Ergo, you're a dork for knowing what ergo means." Zack smirked as Cody shot him another withering glance, this time with a roll of his eyes.

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts, Zack gazed wistfully at Liberty Park as they passed the entrance. He could see many kids his age running around, hanging out, skateboarding, and playing soccer. Everything he would rather be doing than spending the entire day at the library looking for information of an obscure history topic he would've preferred to not think about let alone learn. It was when Zack sighed, again, that Cody had enough of his brother's complaining and tried a different tactic.

"I don't know what you're complaining about," Cody remarked. "You've been trying for weeks to get Riley's attention and now you're partnered with her on a project that's going to take some time. At least you get to spend the entire day with her."

"At least I can talk to her," Zack shot back. His smirked widened. "Every time you come around Rhuben it's like your entire face freezes. Trust me when I say it's even funnier than watching you try to play basketball. I haven't seen anyone get hit in the face with their own ball so many times before."

Cody ignored Zack's diss and continued to try and motivate his brother. "Well, think of it like this, now's your chance to get her to see you as anything but the annoying jerk you already are!" He slapped Zack hard on the shoulder, faking a warm smile.

"Yeah, but I'd rather be doing anything but studying." He said studying like it was a disease, making Cody shake his head and mumble something like 'Only four more years' under his breath. Finally, the two arrived at the library and Cody led the way inside.

"Please, at least try," Cody finally said. "I know it's the beginning of the year and I know you hate school more than anything in the world, but I don't want you to fail this year all because of one stupid project. We're not in elementary school anymore. Our teachers aren't going to advance you just because they want to get rid of you." He paused. "If that were the case I would've gotten rid of you a while ago."

Zack scowled and reached out, smacking Cody on the back of the head with the back of his hand, causing Cody to reach out and shove him back. The two glared at each other and walked further into the library where they said they were going to meet the twin girls. As soon as they spotted them Cody hurried over to apologize.

"You're late," Riley commented, looking at her watch.

"I know," Cody said. He pressed his palms together. "I know. I'm sorry. I had to practically drag Zack away from his video game so we could even leave the Tipton. And doing that is a lot harder than you would think."

"Mm, sounds like our brothers, yeah?" Rhuben commented to Riley, who shrugged and smiled in response. Rhuben then held up her hand. "It's not a big deal just as long as we're out of here by three."

"Yeah, whatever," Zack agreed without enthusiasm. "Let's just get this over with." Cody shot him a disapproving glance and left the area with Rhuben trailing along beside him. Zack watched with disdain as they walked away, already engrossed in what they were going to do for their project.

Rolling his eyes, Zack turned back to Riley to find that she already had a notebook opened up and was looking through it. "Look, you probably don't want to be here as much as I do—"

"I don't want to be here with you," Riley quickly interrupted him. "I don't mind being here. Anything to get out of the house for a while," she added under her breath. Then she flipped her hair back from her face and leaned back in her seat. It took a second, and then Zack noticed a strange look come across her face before she started to dig into the pockets of her jean jacket.

Zack smiled back at her. "But you can't get any better company than me, Sweet Thang."

"I beg to differ. And don't call me 'Sweet Thang'." She pulled out a compact mirror and inspected her face.

"Do you prefer babe? Because I'm good with that, too."

"No."

Now Zack's eyebrows rose as Riley arranged her hair down around the sides of her face.

Okay.

Since they had met she did a good job of pretending she wasn't like other girls. (He didn't know many girls that didn't at least find something about him to be attractive). But for the amount of time they had been in school together they had been a bit antagonistic towards each other. Or at least Riley was to him. He did nothing but try to be nice to her, to show her some attention, to make her feel a little special. And she did nothing but shoot him down left and right if not seem to take a page out of Cody's book and made fun of him for just about everything.

"I knew it," Zack declared. Riley put down her compact mirror and gazed at him in confusion. "You're just like all of those other girls who only cares about their appearance. You had me going for a while thinking that you were different."

A light chuckle escaped Riley's lips as she lowered her arms to the table top. "You think I care what you think? I've got bigger things to worry about, mate." She picked up her notebook and dropped it down onto the table with a light clack sound. "Like this project. I don't know about you, but I have to get a good grade on this. I've seen the way teachers act around you and I'm not going to do all of this work by myself. So you go over there, and find this book!" She wrote down the title and shoved it at him. "And bring it back here."

Zack's upper lip curled. "You can't tell me what to do."

Riley's eyes flashed and she smirked. "I just did."

Pressing his lips together, Zack looked around the library. Their area—he wasn't even sure what area of the library it was—was pretty empty. Emptier than he wished it would be; it reminded him he was the only schmuck that was actually spending his weekend studying. The librarian sat quietly at her desk, looking at something on the monitor. She would look up every now and then, her gaze scanning the floor of the library before turning back to her computer. Then there were a few people at the computers nearby, the same science nerds that Cody always hung out with.

Even Tapeworm's not here today and he likes to study as much as Cody does, Zack thought as he shook his head. Why do I have to be here? He looked over at Riley once more, watching as she flipped back and forth through the book that sat in front of her, resting her cheek in her hand. Her hair fell away from her face, giving him a good look at her freckles and blue eyes. And once again he felt attracted to her, not many people could speak to him the way she did and get away with it. (Other than his mother and that certainly was not the same). When he argued with his mother it was disrespectful, when he argued with Riley it was fun. And made him more interested in her.

Finally, she looked up and her eyes shifted when she noticed Zack still sitting in front of her. "What are you still doing here?"

"What book am I getting again?"

"The one I just gave you the title of."

"No, I get that. But what does it have to do with our topic?" He was bluffing; he knew exactly what it had to do with it. History was actually one of his best subjects. But no one else believed he would be good in school so he decided to fake them out. Teachers didn't expect him to do much work or do well and then he would come back later and at least do a good job in that class. He definitely was not an idiot.

Riley blinked at him in surprise. Her eyes widened and then narrowed and her face took in a red hue. Finally, she stood up so quickly that her seat fell to the ground, causing the librarian to turn their way, shushing them loudly. Riley grabbed the sheet of paper from him and walked around the table in long strides. "Boofhead," she muttered as she passed him, along with a few other words. He wasn't sure what they were.

Chuckling to himself, Zack pushed back his seat and got up. He followed Riley as she walked between numerous bookshelves, stopping every now and then to look at her writing and at the signs above the bookshelves. Zack came up behind her and watched for a second, before turning his head to find the exact section she was looking for.

Clearing his throat, Zack said, "I don't know how libraries work in England—"

"—Australia—"she swiftly interrupted.

"—Whatever. But here they have specific sections that show you the books you need. And the book you need is over here." Zack motioned to the side then leaned around Riley to pluck the sheet of appear from her hand and walked into the stacks of books. He found the book they need and turned, holding it out to Riley.

She gazed at him warily, almost glaring at him. "I thought you didn't know what the book had to do with our project," she accused him. "How did you know it was in this section?"

Zack shrugged and smiled, continuing to hold the book out to her. When she grasped the other end of it, clearly to take it back, Zack held tightly onto the book before pulling his arm back, causing Riley to take a few steps forward. He noticed her breath hitch in her throat and her eyes flash towards his face then lower once more. "Because I'm not stupid," he explained. "Any idiot knows how to walk through a library and find a book. It's, like, second grade knowledge."

"I'm surprised you even made it this far," Riley remarked.

Zack smiled. "I get that a lot. Actually, I think it's the same thing every teacher has said to me for the past few years."

He paused, eyebrows furrowing together. He had no idea why he said that. No one else really knew about it. Sure, Cody made jokes but he didn't know how true his jokes were. Nearly every year he and their mother had to go to the principal's office or the guidance counselor's office, or meet with all of his teachers to be sure a studying plan was implemented for him to continue to raise in grades.

And nearly every teacher and said, verbatim, they were surprised he got to their new grade. Especially considering his grades, which were in the solid C range once everything was averaged out, were constantly compared to Cody's straight A-pluses, which would probably be higher if there was the chance. But he still didn't say anything to Cody or any of his friends about it. Tapeworm was just as smart as Cody so it wouldn't help if he tried to talk to him about it and then Max was…an overachiever. Sure, she didn't get the same kinds of grades that Cody and Tapeworm got, but she was good at school. Nearly every school thing that came her way; be it a performance, school work, an activity, or some sort of club, she tackled it head on and excelled.

Even Riley and Rhuben who were now in his classes seemed to be good at just about every subject that came their way; though Riley struggled with science and Rhuben struggled with history. It didn't help that Cody was so willing to help them on everything and yet couldn't be patient enough to help his own brother. Not like you even make it easy for him, Zack reminded himself.

It wasn't his fault that messing with Cody was about one hundred times more fun than actually doing any work.

"That sucks," Riley said and Zack head a tone of sympathy in her voice. "No one should be written off like that."

"I'm used to it. Besides, it's not like you haven't done it." Riley opened her mouth to protest and Zack pushed the book into her hands. "Oh please, don't worry about it. Like I said, it happens a lot. So it's good to surprise people every now and then."

Riley took the book and her arm dropped to her side. She looked at the cover for a minute then looked back up at him once more, loosely crossing her arms. "Like I said, no one deserves to be treated like that. I reckon I know how you feel, yeah? A bunch of boofheads…they think they know me based on the way I dress, the way I look…" she shook her head. "Even people who are the closest to you have their own opinions of you."

"Exactly," Zack agreed. "You see, I knew there was something about you that I liked. Other than being really hot, of course." He started to put his arm around her shoulder. "So why don't you and I just skip this little library adventure that we've got going on and get something to eat. Maybe go see a movie. As much as I'm good looking, I'm even better at dating."

"Something tells me you're not making that up," Riley said. Then Zack's arm landed on her shoulders and her eyes widened. Before she could stop herself she let out a curse and ducked out from underneath Zack's arm with a loud yelp. Startled, Zack jumped backwards, holding his hands up. "Ow! Let go!" She turned away, grasped her shoulder, and winced in pain. A growl escaped her lips as her eyes squeezed shut, still holding onto her arm.

Zack's face screwed up in frustration and annoyance. "I barely touched you."

"It still hurt, you jerk!"

"I'm a jerk for touching you?" Zack demanded. He watched in bewilderment as Riley continued to take steps away from him before walking away. "Geez, I knew women had mood swings but maybe they're even worse when you're from a different country. I mean, you people are supposed to be all laid-back and—"

"You people? What's that supposed to mean?" Riley demanded, whipping around to face him. The force of her turn caused her jacket to blow open and Zack paused. Something Had caught his eye and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. His first thought was that it was a tattoo, but when he wondered why anyone would want that tattooed on their arm. But then again people did some strange things and she had already proven that she had at least one tattoo. But that?

His second thought was that his eyes were playing tricks on him, as they tended to do when he was waiting for time to pass. Or in his dreams when he had millions of girls falling for him while he counted stacks and stacks of money. But he was sure he saw what he saw.

"What?"

At Riley's snap, Zack forced himself to pay attention, taking his gaze away from her arm. "What was that?"

Now Riley's eyes shifted and she stood up straight, steeling herself. Zack recognized it from the times he and Cody and their Dad wrestled. Kurt would always let them think they were going to win before he steeled all of his muscles and they couldn't even budge him. The other time was when he knew he was seconds away from being lectured about something and his body made the involuntary movement as if to defend himself.

"What was what?" she finally asked.

"That thing on your arm."

"I don't have anything on my arm."

Now Zack frowned. He wasn't stupid. He knew he saw something on her arm. Reaching out, Zack tried to grab onto the sleeve of her jacket and Riley quickly backed away again. He moved towards her again and Riley backed away once more, but not fast enough and Zack grabbed onto the sleeve of her jacket. Riley reached up and grabbed onto his wrist, squeezing as tightly as she could.

"I swear to God if you don't let go of me, I'll break your fucking wrist," she hissed.

Normally Zack would've listened to the warning and backed away. Mr. Moseby, who was very short, was scary when he started to glare and growl, but even though this girl was just about his height—if not taller—she was terrifying. Even from the way her eyes flashed he could tell she was serious. But he still wanted to know if he was right.

"Not until I see what's on your arm."

"There's nothing on my bloody arm!"

The two continued to shuffle back and forth, trying to overpower each other. It got to the point that Zack managed to pin Riley against a bookshelf behind her, the force knocking books to the ground that just managed to overpower her cry of pain. It was then Zack looked up to find the librarian standing at the opening of the bookshelves looking at them funny. Quickly, Zack took a step back, holding up his hands as she walked closer.

"Mr. Martin, I've told you time and time again that you need to be quiet in the library, that you are not allowed to have food in here, and that you can't use the school computers to deface the images of our teachers," she said. "However, I didn't believe I needed to tell you about the school's code of conduct in terms of the PDA that's allowed."

"Then obviously you haven't met anyone I've gone out with," Zack quipped. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Riley's eyes glued to the library as she very slowly tried to adjust her jacket back up her arms.

The librarian bristled. "I'm going to keep my eye on you, Mr. Martin."

"You and everyone else in this school Miss. Flannigan, thanks." Zack faked a smile and a wave, waiting for her to leave the room. Then he turned and his eyes widened as he caught sight of what he had thought he'd seen before.

Zack tried to keep his mouth from dropping open but found that he couldn't ignore the urge. His jaw dropped. Hard. So hard and so fast that it ached. But what else was he going to do other than stare at the dark bruises that lined her arms and shoulders. No wonder she was wincing with every move she made.

"It's nothing," She said quickly, still trying to pull up her jacket and wincing the whole way. "I'm just a bit of a klutz."

"I haven't seen you trip or fall ever since I met you," Zack protested.

"You haven't known me that long."

"Long enough." He licked his lips. "What happened?"

"Nothing," She repeated. A worried look came over her face and she turned, chewing her bottom lip. "Nothing happened." She ran her hand through her hair and shrugged. "Haven't you ever fallen before?"

"I've fallen before, but bruises like that I've only ever gotten from my friends when we're playing hockey or something. That's not something you get when you fall over."

Riley loosely grabbed her elbows as she crossed her arms. Her eyes narrowed into slits and she practically spat as she stepped up into his face."Good for you, boofhead, you really aren't as dumb as you look."

"Thanks for the complement." Zack threw out his arm and blocked Riley from walking away from him again. "What happened?"

There must've been something in his voice that proved how serious he was, either that or she was tired of trying to deny it when he continued to insist, because she took a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them again she shrugged and turned away from him, scratching the back of her neck. "So every now and then my Dad gets mad about things. So what?"

"You're telling me your Dad hits you?"

"He just gets mad, it's not a big deal," she repeated.

"I don't think—"

"—Riles?" Zack looked over as Cody and Rhuben poked them head around the stacks and started towards their respective twin. "Dad just called and said we have to get going. He's had something come up and we need to go now or else…" she trailed off as Riley nodded. She ran her hand through her hair.

"I got it," She agreed. "We can go. We've finished all of the research we needed to get. Right?" Her eyes shifted to Zack and bored into his. Zack held his breath, trying to figure out what to say, but he found himself tongue-tied. Finally he just nodded and Riley gave a small nod back. "So we can go. Let me just get my stuff."

Zack started to follow her and Riley stopped, turning back to him. She kept her head ducked down but spoke in an urgent whisper, "You can't tell anyone what I told you," she said.

Zack opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, and closed it again. He didn't know what to say let alone how to process what had just been told her. Finally, he nodded again and Riley continued to look at him before following her sister once more. He couldn't be sure but he thought he saw her smile a little.

"So, are you still bored?" Cody asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Or did you just manage to complete your mission of managing to piss off the entire female population?"

"Not as pissed as some people can get," Zack replied.