Chapter 12

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

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

When they finally left the theater, it was close to 9:30. It was unanimously decided to grab something to eat, and they agreed to hit a pizza place near the cinema that the twins knew. They grabbed a booth, and without thinking, Bailey sat next to Cody and Maya sat next to Zack. After they gave their orders, their food was soon delivered and they ate.

Cody looked up at Zack. "How come we haven't been back to this place in a while. Its pretty good."

Zack smirked at him. "Oh I don't know...I don't exactly have the best memories of our last time here."

Cody frowned. "Really? The last time I remember being here was with Jessica and Janice. I had a blast."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Of course you did..."

Maya and Bailey gave each other a look before Maya turned to Zack. "Why do you have bad memories of this place?"

Zack sighed. "Well, it all started when the Tipton hosted a twins convention. I met this pair of smoking hot English twins, and talked them into going on a double date with us. Of course, Cody had to go and try and ruin things..."

Cody shook his head. "Well excuse me for being heartbroken and in pain..."

Zack looked at his brother incredulously. "Over Irma! You got dumped and were inconsolable one minute and the next minute you were humming O' Britannia!"

Cody chuckled. "Yeah. I guess I was. In retrospect, you were right Zack. I just needed time to get over her. Looking back, I not even sure what I was thinking..."

"See? Codester, there is no girl worth getting all that upset about. A couple of hours and you'll forget about them all..."

Maya glared at Zack while Bailey was curious to see Cody's response considering she knew that he had never gotten over her during their temporary breakup.

Conversely, thirteen year old Cody was thinking about his feelings about Betty. "I don't know, Zack. I guess I'll just have to see what the future holds."

Bailey smiled but decided she wanted to hear more. "So, what happened exactly?"

Zack sighed. "I was on my game, but Cody couldn't hide his depression. I got up to go to the bathroom and told him I expected him to be happier when I got back..."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Go on..."

"Well, when I got back, Jessica and Janice were playing tug of war with Cody arguing over which one of them got to comfort him..."

Cody couldn't help but smile remembering that.

Zack smirked at him again. "And then they told me that a real man wasn't afraid to show his emotions, and they were eating up Cody's pity party completely. I tried to show I was sensitive too, but it didn't work. Instead, they took Cody to a movie and even offered to pay..."

Cody couldn't stop smiling. "Yeah...they did. I went to a movie with two gorgeous British twins as my dates."

Bailey gave Cody a look. She couldn't help it but to feel the pangs of jealousy. Of course, she did remember meeting Jessica and Janice when they came on board the ship. His descriptions of them sure had changed a lot.

Maya began laughing. "I bet that was a sight to see..."

Zack sighed. "I was furious with Cody..." He paused. "But at the same time, I was proud of him."

Cody was surprised. "You were?"

Zack nodded. "That's when I knew for sure that the Martin charm and smoothness with the ladies was alive and strong in you. I still don't see why you don't choose to use it more than you do. You've got the whole Mr. Sensitive, smart, caring, good guy act down pat. Girls love that stuff!"

Cody sighed. "Zack, its not an act..."

Zack just looked at his brother. "Uh huh. You remember the movie we went and saw with them..." He paused again. "The one Mom went with us too?"

Cody smiled. "Yeah, I remember."

Bailey turned to Cody. "What happened?"

Cody shrugged. "Nothing much..."

Cody smirked at his brother again. "Nothing much? You had an English twin snuggling up to you on each arm. I had none!"

Cody laughed. "I know..."

Maya was laughing seeing Zack get so riled up. But at the same time, she had a new respect for Cody. It appeared to her that he could have been just as much of a player as Zack was, but he chose not to be one. At the same time, Bailey was glaring at Cody. She didn't like hearing all of this at all. But she had to keep reminding herself that this all happened before he had met her.

Cody continued. "But I doubt that will happen anymore. I mean, Jessica and Janice moved back to London a few months ago. What are the odds we'll ever see them again?"

After dinner was over, they all decided to walk back to the Tipton since the rain was now gone, and it had turned into a nice evening. And they walked in pairs, a good distance from the other pair. Finally, Maya turned to Zack.

"Okay, explain this to me..."

Zack turned to her. "Explain what?"

"Well, this morning you said you wanted to be an uncle someday, but tonight you admit Cody has the Martin charm as you call it. Which is it?"

Zack sighed. "I like to give Cody a hard time. It makes things easier."

"How so?"

"Well, our whole lives, we've been compared to each other. I guess that comes with the territory with being twins."

Maya nodded. "I can see that."

Zack sighed again. "Well, its not always easy being compared to Cody. He's the good one, the one with good grades, award ceremonies with the mayor, and the one people are expecting a lot out of. Its not easy being in constant comparison to that..."

Maya paused. "I had no idea..."

Zack shrugged. "I'm the one no one expects anything from..."

"That's not true!"

"I know Mom and Dad both love us the same, but its not hard to see that Mom is so proud of Cody. He keeps everything clean, does well, and is her little angel...She even tells people that she is Cody's mother first so people know she's batting .500!"

Maya paused to consider that. "So, that's why you act out. To get attention to make sure your Mom doesn't forget about you..."

Zack looked up at her. "Huh?"

Maya shook her head. "Nothing. Why not just tell your parents how you feel?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Its not like it would change anything. No matter what I do, I'm not ever going to be Cody..."

"Of course you won't be. You're Zack and he's Cody. You're two different people."

Zack sighed. "You wouldn't understand. You aren't a twin. People don't think of us as different people..."

Maya smiled. "Well, I do."

Zack smiled back. "I appreciate that. You'll be one of the firsts. All of my teachers wonder why I can't be more like Cody..." He laughed. "The only ones who don't are my coaches and Mr. Moseby..."

"Really?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, my coaches know Cody sucks, and Mr. Moseby just thinks we are two hooligans."

Maya smiled. "Don't worry. Someday, you'll both meet people who will appreciate you for the unique individuals that you are. You know...Maybe you should tell Cody how you feel."

Zack shook his head. "I can't do that. He'd never let me live it down."

Meanwhile, about twenty feet ahead of them, Cody and Bailey were walking along. Bailey had been thinking, and finally decided to broach the subject with Cody.

"Okay...I'm a little confused. Earlier today, you said not many girls go for a guy like you, but at dinner, it sounded like you were a Casanova."

Cody chuckled. "I was right the first time. The twins were more like the exception to the rule. Besides, they weren't really my type anyways. They were fun to hang out with, but that was about it."

Bailey paused. "You sure seemed to enjoy rubbing it into Zack..."

Cody shrugged. "I don't get many chances to do that, especially in an area that is more his expertise."

"What do you mean?"

Cody sighed. "Well, my whole life, Zack's always been better than me when it came to sports or being popular or dealing with girls. I've always felt like I've been in his shadow in that regard. That's why I enjoy academics and cooking and things like that. There, I can be my own person and I never come up second best to Zack..."

Bailey frowned. "Wow...I had no idea."

"Its hard to be a twin. Its sibling rivalry to the max. Everyone sees you as half of a set. Kind of hard to be an individual."

"But you are your own person..."

Cody huffed. "Yeah, tell that to all of my little league coaches and people in school. They all think I should be able to do things as well as Zack."

Bailey paused to consider that. "So...that's why you enjoyed the one time girls seemed to pick you over him?"

Cody nodded. "Sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

Bailey shook her head. "No, not at all."

"Its just...I don't know. Maybe I thought it helped me get out of that large shadow. And sometimes...I get the feeling that Dad wishes I was more like him and Zack."

Bailey stopped them and put her hands on Cody's shoulders. "I want you to listen to me. You are who you are. Be happy with that." She smiled. "And who you are is pretty great. And the English twins were right...A real man isn't afraid to show his emotions. But, I want you to promise me that you will keep being who you are. Don't ever change who you are because you think people will like you better. Its not worth losing who you really are."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Cody nodded. "Maybe you're right..."

"I am. One day, you're going to meet someone who will appreciate you for exactly who you are. To her, you will be just Cody and not half of a set of twins. She will love you just the way you are and not want you to change for anything in the world. Trust me on that." Bailey paused. "You know...Maybe you should tell Zack how you feel?"

Cody shook his head. "I can't do that. He'd never let me live it down."

To be Continued...