Chapter 21

"Poetic Justice"

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...

Cody and Bailey's Place, the following Friday afternoon

Both Cody and Bailey were immensely grateful that the drama they had in their lives the previous weekend had been disposed of and become a distant memory. In fact, both of them had immensely enjoyed making up after their first real patch of turbulence in their marriage. Unfortunately for them though, they did have much time to bask in that glow as they had to return back to the grind of school and impending exams. While that Saturday evening was a chance for a little alone time together, they had to spend all day Sunday as well as every single moment of free time the following week studying for their two finals in Clinical Epidemiology & Population Health and Health Care Policy. And those two tests would pose a first for them they had had never experienced before in their pursuit of higher educaton. This was going to be a first that in either medical school or college that they would have finals back to back let alone on the same day before. But, as per their usual, they prepared themselves the best they knew how. And by one o'clock on Friday, they both returned home feeling absolutely exhausted and collapsed into their couch.

"Okay, that was not any fun at all. I know you're the one training for a marathon, but I felt like I just ran one myself."

Bailey sighed. "You can say that again. By themselves, neither one of them would have been that bad, but back to back was like playing a doubleheader."

"Yeah, you can now add Ernie Banks to my list of people who are full of it..." Cody shook his head. "Lets play two he says..."

She couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think he he meant medical school exams when he said that. Anyways, look on the bright side - the only active class we still have in progress right now is our Patient/Doctor I one. That's has to a positive, right?"

He nodded. "I guess, but that'll only be through this weekend. Remember, next week we do add Integrated Human Physiology class everyday from 8:30-12:30 and then again from 1:30-3:30 on Tuesday afternoons. And then starting next Thursday, we have Medical Ethics and Professionalism class on those afternoons from 1:30-3:30."

Bailey yawned. "Yaeh, yeah. I say we worry about those next week. I think a nap sounds really good right now."

Cody yawned too. "I concur 100%, Bails. Though, before we do, we should probably get some lunch or else we'll be starving later. We shouldn't through off our metabolism by skipping meals."

Bailey gave him a smile. "Well, all means, if you have the energy to do so, go right ahead and fix us something..."

"Actually, I was just thinking of calling Jimmy John's and ordering us a couple of subs..."

"Oh...Good idea. Order me the usual then."

Cody laughed. "Yes, Ma'am. While I do that though, why don't you go out and check our mail."

She briefly paused and shivered as she remembered how cold it was outside. "How about I call in our order and you go outside and get the mail? I mean...I've already kicked off my shoes and everything..."

He just laughed again. "I knew that was coming...But if I get get frostbite, I'll blame you."

Bailey smiled at him. "I don't think you can get frostbite by being outside for a few minutes. Tell you what though. If you do get a chill, I'll snuggle with you while we nap to get your body heat back up."

He began rubbing his chin. "I seem to remember us doing that once before. And as I recall, I rather immensely enjoyed us doing that." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Alright, you've convinced me. I'll head out, but don't forget, we have something else we have to before this weekend is up."

"I know, and I already sat my bottle of polish remover out on the sink this morning. Your feet will look normal again by the time the day is out."

"Good." Cody paused and smiled. "Have I mentioned yet much more I like it when we have no reason to be mad or upset with each other?"

"If you haven't, then I have." She grinned. "I admit, I hate fighting with you, but I do love making up with you."

"You and me both..." Cody reluctantly forced himself to get up off the couch. "Alright, I'm heading outside now...I guess."

"Don't take too long. The windchill out there is minus ten."

He paused. "Why don't they just say that's how cold it is? Why tell us is ten degrees but feels like minus ten? I care more about how cold it feels to me than how cold it feels to a thermometer."

"Sweetie?"

"Yeah?"

"Go get the mail."

He smiled. "Yes, Dear."

Ten minutes later, Bailey had called in their lunch and was curled up on the couch underneath one of the blankets they kept on the back of it. When Cody finally returned from getting their mail, she could see he was totally engrossed in reading something.

"Is one of our bills wrong again? I don't know how many times I have to tell our cell phone provider that we are now on a family plan instead of two separate accounts."

He looked up with a frown on his face. "I wish that's all this was. Unfortunately, it seems that in addition to the arctic blast outdoors, we also just got a blast from the past."

Upon seeing his expression, she began to worry. "What do you mean? What do you have there?"

Cody walked over and sat down next to her on the couch. "Its a notice from the New Haven Judicial District Court..."

Bailey frowned. "New Haven? Did we have a parking ticket or something else like that that we don't remember?"

He shook his head and sighed. "Again, I wish that's what this was about. You remember our old 'friend', Theo?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, according to this, New Jersey is just about finished prosecuting him. Even though he'll probably be in prison there for a while, it seems Connecticut wants their crack at him ASAP. The prosecuting attorney wants to work out a time for us to head back down there and meet to discuss our future testimony. It seems our hopes of never seeing ol' Theo again may have just been dashed..."

Apley Court, Saturday afternoon

The following afternoon, about three o'clock or so, C.J. found himself looking up at Apley Court on Harvard's campus. Immediately, he began shaking his head and laughing incredulously as to what he was supposed to do that day. He still wasn't quite sure how he had gotten roped into all of this, but he had. In a matter of moments, he would begin the walk upstairs and embark on his part in one of the craziest and most insane plans he had ever heard of in his whole life. And even though the vast majority of him was afraid that something was definitely going to go wrong, a small part of him was actually kind of excited thinking about it all. In all of his years at Stanford, he had never once had the opportunity or desire to do anything like this, but for the first time in his life, he was actually beginning to feel like a real college student. Of course, that might have been because he knew he was about to do something potential really stupid but was going to do it anyways. So, shrugging his shoulders, he headed inside Apley Court and made his way up to Amy and Beth's dorm room. And before could even knock on their door, the door swung open with a very anxious coed giving him a dirty look.

"About time you got here! You're late!"

C.J. checked his watch in confusion. "My watch says its 2:59. You said be here by three..."

"Come on in then..." And once he was inside, Amy took a deep breath. "Sorry about that. I've got a lot of anger pent up inside me right now, and I know I have to supress it and put on an Oscar worthy performance tonight. If I don't, the entire plan I came up with goes up in smoke."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. I think I understand."

"No, I have absolutely no right to be snippy with you at all. If it wasn't for you, Beth and I would still be in the dark about those two creeps. Well, tonight, the female gender gets a little revenge!"

"Well, for everyone's sake, I hope this goes off without a hitch..."

She grinned. "Trust me, it will." She paused. "Before I forget though, how did your finals go yesterday? Bailey said they were pretty grueling back to back."

"She was right. I barely made it home before I crashed. Good thing you postponed doing this until today. There's a good chance I would have fallen asleep in the middle of it."

"Good. No excuses for you today then."

About that time, Beth came out of her room and saw that they had company. And when she saw who it was, she smiled.

"Hey, C.J.! Thank you again for giving us the heads up about those two jerks."

He shrugged. "Not a problem. I have sisters of my own and hope someone would do the same for them. You know, do good things and good things will happen to you."

She laughed. "Karma, huh? I definitely get that. I was a huge fan of My Name is Earl when I was younger. Anyways, I think you're building up beaucoup goodwill for going along with Amy's crazy plan..." She paused. "I knew my roommate was a little devious, but this blew me away."

Amy gave her roommate a look. "Its not crazy, its creative!" She turned to C.J and nudged him. "Right?"

He held up his hands. "I'm not about to get in the middle of a potential argument between you two on this. I'm just here to help."

"Right. Well, lets give you the grand tour of our dorm room, and you can tell me what you think our options are."

C.J. nodded, and that's what they did. And once they were done seeing everything, he paused to think about a possible gameplan. "I think this place will work perfectly. And I think I know exactly what I need to do, but why don't you go over your plan in detail just one more time. Above all, don't leave anything out, and I mean even the slightest of details. It could make or break this entire thing."

So, Amy did. And once she was done, he just shook his head as he looked around the dorm room once again. "Alright, I guess this is doable, but for it to work, you must really think these two guys are complete idiots."

"Of course we do. From what I learned from my sisters over Christmas, all guys are idiots!"

C.J. smirked at her. "Gee...thanks!"

She began laughing. "Hey, no offense, but you're an idiot too. Fortunately, you're one of the good ones."

He paused. "Again...thanks, I think."

"You're welcome. Anyways, we're just holding these two to the same cranial capacity they must think we have. I mean, they must really think were fresh from the farm if they thought they're little plan was going to work. Plus, its apparent they are both cocky as can be. Overconfidence leads to making mistakes."

Beth nodded. "Plus, turning the tables on them and making them the fools will make it all that much sweeter."

C.J. shrugged. "Alright then..." He paused as he thought of one more thing. "Wait a minute! Are you both sure you're RA or dorm master or whatever is going to be okay with all of this?"

Amy grinned. "Of course! When we told her what we were going to do, she even offered to help us in any way she could. In fact, her sister is a professor here on campus, and had been telling her that she's tired of hearing about stories about women on campus being victims. Our RA even said that her sister wants to see if this works so she can use it in one of her classes as an example of retribution and poetic justice."

"If you say so. Speaking of retriubution though, do you two really think you two can be around those two tonight without wanting to beat the living daylights out of them?"

"Oh, I think so..." Beth laughed. "Besides, might as well get another free meal out of it. Now, being able to keep it down afterwards when we have to really start acting is another story."

He nodded again until he thought once more of the giant elephant in the room. "Okay, what happens if these two don't want to follow the script of the plan. I'll be here, but what if something happens before you get back?"

Amy grinned. "Don't worry about that - we can take care of ourselves just fine. Besides having little containers of mace on our key chains, Bailey and Maya kept talking about the self defense classes they took in college. Well, the dean of freshmen set up a series of free classes for freshmen girls to take last semester, and we did."

C.J. gave them both a look before sighing. "Yet another reason not to get on either of your bad sides..."

"Hey, after tonight, we'll both owe you big. Like I keep telling you, getting on either of our bad sides is one thing you don't have to worry about." Amy began laughing. "Well, as long as you don't turn into a butthead like Aiden and Jeremy."

"Point taken. Okay, well, I know what I need to get from home to bring back. When should I be back here tonight and have everything set up?"

"They're supposed to be picking us up at eight. So, you should be safe to come back here by a quarter after. And before I forget, let me give you the spare key to the room. None of this will work if you can't get in here."

He nodded. "Alright, I'll be back by then..." He paused. "But, if the plan looks like its going to fall apart before either of you get back, call me ASAP."

Amy smiled. "We appreciate the concern, but I think we'll be okay."

"I hope so..." C.J. headed for the door. "Well, I guess I'll see you two ladies later on tonight then."

"Yeah, you will. And when you do, that's when all the fun is going to start."

A Movie Theater near Fenway Park

Max and Gabby had decided it was time to secure their 'helpers' for their upcoming move in a couple of months. So, that evening, they invited everyone out to see a movie who didn't already have previous plans. They had chosen a movie that they knew everyone had been anxious to see in hope that everyone would be in a good mood after it was over. They reasoned that the better the mood everyone was in, the more receptive they would be to lending them a hand. So, about eight o'clock, both Zack and Maya and Bailey and Cody arrived at pretty much the same time. And as the guys waited out in the cold to buy their tickets, the ladies headed in to the warmth of the lobby to hit up the snack bar. As they waited and shivered, Zack turned to his brother.

"Well, from the way you two were holding hands when you got her, it looks like you two are pretty much back to normal..." He grinned. "I'm guessing you remembered my advice that she wasn't perfect."

Cody paused before shrugging. "Yeah, for once, you did actually have a valid point there. Neither one of us is perfect though."

"So how long was who in the doghouse?"

He shook his head. "Actually, no one was for no length of time. Last Saturday once I got back home, we sat down and talked about everything that had happened and realized we both made mistakes. We both vowed to try harder the next time to not be idiots again."

Zack gave him an incredulous look. "That's it? No screaming or throwing things or broken bones?"

Cody laughed. "Nope, nope and nope. You see, after my ride home that day on the subway, I had someone put things into perspective for me. After hearing what he had to say, nothing else but making up with Bailey mattered."

"What did he have to say? Was he some kind of psychiatrist or something?" After Cody told him, Zack paused too. "Yeah, I can see what you mean. Something like that would tend to put things into perspective I guess. I should remember that the next time Maya and I have a fight..."

Cody just shook his head and laughed again. "I know I should be used to it by now, but every once in a while, the new improved and mature Zack still finds a way to blow my mind."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..."

"Anyways, the point is Bailey and I are very good now. We can't wait to head to New York City to celebrate Valentine's Day..." He grinned. "In fact, I've already reserved us a room in the hotel across the street from Marcus' building."

"Why would you do something like that? Why pay when you have a free place to stay?"

He gave his brother an incredulous look this time. "Gee, let me think. I could stay in an apartment with a bunch of other people or somewhere else where I can be all alone with me wife? Hard choice there..."

Zack paused to consider that fact. "Good point. You got the number for that place handy?"

Cody laughed again. "I'll email it to you tomorrow."

"Well, if you two are looking forward to some alone time, it really does look like you two are back to what you two consider normal..."

"We like to think so, but we did decide on a few things. For one, all of our future bets must be put in writing where we can stipulate what is and what isn't allowed. Failure to abide by those terms will cause the offending party to forefeit the bet automatically lose."

"What's the fun in that?"

"Well, its something I wish I had insisted on with you back in the day. There would have been no more you trying to change the terms of one our bets after you lost."

"What are you talking about? I would never do anything like that!"

Cody rolled his eyes. "Uh huh..."

Zack paused for a minute. "Speaking of losing bets though, are you ever going to tell me what you she was to get if she won?"

"Nope! And whatever it was she got, it no longer exists anymore."

Zack looked at him in confusion. "No longer exists? Unless it was some kind of food, that makes no sense whatsoever..."

Cody grinned. "Good to see Harvard has improved your critical thinking skills. Now, how about I change the subject to something that won't boggle your mind so much?"

Zack smirked at him. "Such as?"

"Get this. We got a letter yesterday from the courts in New Haven. Seems the district attorney down there is beginning to preparing their case against Theo, and they wanted us to know his case would probably begin sometime late this summer. At that point, we'll have to go back and testify."

"Don't they know you guys are in medical school?"

"We called them and told them about that, and they said they'd try to work around our schedules as much as possible. Bailey called Gertie and Tapeworm too and advised them to call the DA and tell them about their schedules as well."

Zack shook his head. "I was hoping you guys would be done with all of that. I'm kind of glad neither Maya nor I had to testify against that big oaf Bruno a few years ago."

Cody shrugged. "Same here, but we'll do what we have to do. We both want to see justice done."

"Well, knowing Theo, he won't be happy to see you guys again. He's probably been fuming this whole time about you two getting the best of him last time."

"I had the exact same thoughts, but that's another reason we have to do this – to keep him locked up for as long as possible. Hopefully, the next time he breathes free air, he'll have a long gray beard."

Zack nodded. "True..." He paused and grinned. "Look on the bright side though – he's probably already become someone's girlfriend in prison. And this time, his money won't be able to help him."

Cody laughed. "That would prove there is karma..." He paused. "Enough of me though, how are things going with you? Has that Will guy showed his face again? You told me all about that little stunt he tried to pull with that guy Maya new from high school."

"He hasn't yet, but you know it has to be coming at some point. I'm just waiting for him to do something, and then it'll be on like Donkey Kong!"

"What? You're going to throw barrels at him?"

Zack smirked. "You know what I mean!"

"Well, for both of your sakes, I hope he doesn't try anything stupid. Hopefully, he'll just buy a clue and go away."

"That's what Maya's hoping for too. And, if I'm honest, I guess I am too. I kind of like my life to be drama free."

Cody shook his head and laughed. "You and me both, Bro...you and me both." He paused and nodded over at another guy. "Unlike that guy over there. I kind of feel sorry for him."

Zack looked over and frowned. "Why would you feel sorry for him? Do you know him?"

"No, but take another look at him and tell me what you see."

He did and shrugged. "What? Yeah, he's sweating like a pig and acting all awkward, but why should I feel sorry for him?"

"One, pigs don't have sweat glands. Bailey taught us that a long time ago. Two, its about twelve degrees out here. Now, look who's standing next to him and ponder why he would he be sweating so much."

Zack paused and began laughing. "He's on a first date!"

"Exactly! I definitely don't miss that nerve wracking feeling."

"Its my turn to say you and me both..."

Cody gave his brother a surprised look. "You?"

Zack laughed again. "Oh, don't get me wrong. Back in the day, I loved the thrill of the hunt. But I'm so glad I don't have to deal with all the stupid stuff anymore. You've converted me, Bro. I'm happy to be in a committed relationship."

"You better be, or the hunt this time will end with your head mounted up on Maya's wall." He paused as a thought occured to him. "You know, there is something you could do that would drive that Will guy crazy..."

"And what would that be?"

"Put that ring you already have on Maya's finger! You two being engaged would let him know once and for all that she's unavailable!"

Zack just shook his head. "I don't think so. Besides, I've already got a plan of attack for how I'm going to propose to her."

Cody gave him another look. "Okay, this I have to hear!"

Apley Court, about ten o'clock that night

It turns out that Amy had been absolutely correct in her thinking about one aspect of the evening. In her opinion, she had put on an Oscar worthy performance in making Aiden think she wasn't that smart and was actually eating out of the palm of his hand. Certain parts were difficult for her though. Every time he tried to touch her, she pulled away before trying to play coy. In reality though, she was doing everything in her power to resist the urge to shiver or throw up or punch him in the face or all three. After dinner was over though, she threw out her bait and asked him if he wanted to skip the movie and head back to her dorm room. Fortunately, Aiden was so sure of himself that he fell for it hook, line and sinker. When finally they made their way up to her door, she opened it and pretended to try to turn on the lights. And when they failed to turn on, she turned to him with a mock frown on her face.

"Why don't you go ahead inside and get comfortable on the futon. I just need to run downstairs and report this to maintenance."

He grinned. "Can't you do that later? I don't think we'll need the lights..."

She laughed. "Ordinarily, I'd agre. But I want this to be a priority for them. I have some homework I really have to get done tomorrow. I'm pretty sure Harvard professors don't accept no lights as an excuse for not turning in your homework."

Aiden shrugged. "Fair enough..." He grinned again. "But don't take too long though..." And with that, he leaned in and tried to kiss her.

But Amy held him back and grinned back. "Save that for later, Big Boy. In fact, when I get back, I'll join you on the couch. And when I do, don't say a word and just start doing what we both want to do right now..."

His eyes went wide. "You've got it!"

And with that, Amy headed for the staircase. But instead of heading downstairs, she stopped two floors down. Once there, she pulled out her phone and quickly sent a text message.

About five minutes later, Beth and Jeremy made their way up to the dorm room as well. But before Beth opened the door, she felt her cell phone began vibrating indicating she had a text message. Once she looked at it, her eyes went wide. "Oh no!"

He gave her a look. "What? Is your roommate coming back here too?"

She shook her head. "No, they said they were going to a movie, so we should have plenty of time. That text was from our RA. I just remembered I had let someone borrow my notes for my Chemistry class that they just dropped them off down at the front desk. As much as I want to forget about them right now, I should go down and grab them before they get lost or someone tries to steal them. I have an exam in that class this week, and I really need to make sure I have those notes for it."

Jeremy grinned. "Tell you what, why don't you head inside and get comfortable, and I'll run down and grab them for you?"

Beth smiled. "Yeah? You'd do that for little ol' me? Tell you what then. If you'll do that for me, I'll show you when you get back how grateful I am..."

"I'll be back in three minutes!"

She laughed. "Don't go running and fall down the stairs. That would neither one of us any good if we had to take you to the emergency room tonight."

He laughed too. "Well, we wouldn't want that..."

"But, I'll promise you this. When you get back, the door will be unlocked and the lights will be out. I'll be on the futon waiting for you. Don't say a word and come get your big surprise..."

Jeremy's eyes went wild. "Wild horses couldn't stop me!"

And with that, he began running off towards the stairs. Once he was safely out of view, Beth headed down the back stair case and met up with Amy on the second floor.

"Did Aiden buy it?"

"I think so. Did Jeremy?"

"Oh yeah! We should be finding out in about five minutes if you're plan actually worked."

"Don't worry, it will." Amy grinned. "Excellent work though, Larry."

Beth laughed. "You too, Moe. Are Curly and Shemp ready for their parts?"

"He says they are. Hopefully, he'll give us the heads up soon that we can begin Phase 2."

About ten minutes later, both of the girls got the text message that they had been waiting on. Grinning at each other, they headed back up to their room. On the count of three, Amy swung the door open and turned on the lights that had worked all along. And while she did that, Beth brought the Polaroid camera up to her eye and began snapping pictures as fast as she could. In the confusion that immediately followed, both Jeremy and Aiden tried to adjust their eyes to the sudden bright light. And that's when they discovered something that about made them throw up themselves – they had been making out with each other!

Both began stammering in confusion. "What the..."

"You're not..."

Both turned their attention to the doorway when they heard both of the girls beginning laughing their butts off and high fiving each other.

"How about that, Beth? It actually worked! We successfully made fools out of two jackasses!"

Beth kept laughing. "I know, right? I guess we can mark off the states of South Carolina and the District of Columbia from our lists now. I think those are two good places to begin our list of stupid idiots who will have learned the hard way not to mess with us, don't you?"

Amy grinned. "Definitely, but we're still freshmen. If guys continue to be as dumb as these two, we'll easily have the whole list done by the time we graduate!"

Across the Charles River at a Starbucks

The movie was over, and as planned by Max and Gabby, everyone seemed to really enjoy it and couldn't stop talking about it. And since it was not that late when they got out of it, everyone decided to head out and get something hot to drink afterwards. It appeared to be a popular idea as the Starbucks those chose was absolutely packed. After waiting out a large party who seemed to be taking forever finishing their lattes, the six of them swooped in once they finally got up. And as everyone finally sat down, they began to relax and start chatting.

"Alright, that movie totally rocked, didn't it?"

"It was fine..." Cody then grinned. "Plus, Bailey's been wanting to see it for a while now. It was next on her list of movies to drag me to, so I guess its my turn to choose our next one."

Bailey gave him a look. "I don't think so. This was a group outing, so this doesn't count as my choice."

"Huh? What? But..." He sighed realizing it wasn't something worth arguing over. "Yes, Dear..."

She began laughing then. "I was just teasing you, Sweetie. Sometimes, I can't help myself."

Max laughed too. "Bailey, you have him trained so well. Where were you when I could have used you when we were kids?"

Zack just shook his head. "Sickening, isn't it?"

"Well, Maya seems to have trained you pretty good too, so I don't think you have much room to talk!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Gabby spoke up. "While the movie was great, there is actually something else Max and I need to talk to you guys about. We're kind of hoping you guys can do us a big favor."

Maya turned to her. "If we can do it, sure thing."

Zack turned to her with his eyes wide. "Babe! You always ask what the favor is before saying yes!"

Max grinned at him. "Too late! She already said yes! But I promise you its not that bad. It seems that both Gabby and I were not happy with our current living arrangements. And, as coincidentally as it sounds, we both happened to be looking at an apartment at the same complex about a week ago. Well, due to Gabby's celebrity, we were offered a great deal we couldn't turn down. So, we're going to be neighbors, and both our leases begin in mid March.

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks. Now, as for the favor we need, we were kind of hoping you guys wouldn't mind helping us both move in one day over spring break..."

Bailey paused to think. "Well, the first weekend is no good for us as we'll be out of town. But any time during the week and we'll be there..."

Maya nodded. "We should be free too."

Zack sighed as his shoulders slumped. "But I hate moving! This is going to suck!"

Max laughed again. "Before you get too upset, you haven't let me get to the offer we're making you guys. You see, our new places will be just a few blocks south of Fenway. In exchange for helping us out, we're offering to take everyone to a game this summer and host a tailgate before walking to the park."

"Well, I guess that would be kind of cool...if Maddie and Trevor didn't actually live just right across the street from it!"

Cody shook his head. "Ignore him. As much as he's grown up in many facets, the old Zack still lives on in some small ways."

Gabby laughed. "Well, if that's not enough to seal the deal, I think I can top it."

"Oh yeah? I'm listening..."

"How does a free trip down to Rio and all access passes to the first week of the Summer Olympics sound?"

Everyone's eyes went wide upon hearing that. "Are you serious?"

She smiled. "Uh huh..." Gabby went on to explain her meeting with NBC the week before. "I made some extra demands about bringing some friends with me, and they actually agreed to it. They'll even fly us all down in an NBC private plane."

Maya shook her head and laughed. "So that's why they wanted to see you about. Why can't I have meetings like that?"

Bailey spoke up though with a concern. "Will this coincide with school starting back?"

"No worries there. We should be back the Wednesday before school starts back on Monday. And since we start earlier than everyone else, it shouldn't be a problem for anyone else."

Zack grinned. "I'm in! You know, its been a while since I've been to Rio..." He paused to think. "I wonder if I'll be able to find where I crashed my jet pack London got me for that one Christmas?"

Apley Court

It slowly dawned on Jeremy and Aiden that they have been the victims of well thought out prank. And that didn't sit too well with either of them as they shot up off the couch in anger. Slowly, they began walking towards the girls with scowls on their faces. "You two shouldn't have done what you just did!"

"Yeah, we're going to teach you both a lesson you'll never forget!"

And with that, Jeremy grabbed the pictures out of Beth's hand, ripped them up and stuffed them in his pocket. "You might have tricked us, but its time for us to get the treats you promised us!"

Before they got any closer though, they heard a voice from behind them. "I don't think so, fellas! Why don't you two just leave and never bother these ladies ever again?"

Aiden and Jeremy turned to see C.J. standing there, and both began laughing. "Oh yeah? Who's going to stop us? You?"

"You better know karate or some kind of martial arts, dude, because there are two of us! We're going to pound you first, and then we'll teach these other two that lesson!"

"Karate? You two are the Cobra Kai rejects..." C.J. took a deep breath to try to calm himself. "And as for it being two on one, you guys are wrong. The teams are actually pretty even. There are two of you, and I have someone here with me who would love to throw down too..."

They both snickered. "Yeah? Who?"

"Him!" And with that, C.J. whistled. "Now Rufus!"

At that exact moment, Rufus charged out of Amy's bedroom growling and began running straight for the two other guys. And upon seeing the big angry dog about ready to pounce on them, both turned and hightailed it out of the room as fast as they could. Once they were gone, Rufus stopped in mid stride before sitting down and panting.

Amy knelt down next to him and kissed him on the nose. "Thank you again for your assistance, Rufus..." And when he licked her face, she began laughing. "Okay, okay, I know I promised you a burrito too. Don't worry, you'll have it real soon."

C.J. shook his head. "I can't believe that actually worked..."

She smiled. "I told you it would! Have a little faith next time..."

Beth interrupted them. "But it didn't work completely! Yeah, we humiliated them, but they grabbed the only evidence we had of what happened!"

Amy kept smiling. "Not exactly. There was always a backup plan."

"There was? You never told me about a backup plan!"

"Because I needed your reaction to be real..." She turned to C.J. "Did you get everything?"

He nodded. "All of it..." He walked over and picked up a tiny web camera that he had hidden away earlier. "This little thing recorded everything..."

Beth was confused. "How did it do that? It was pitch black in here?"

C.J. grinned. "Easy. This little thing has a night vision lens that captured everything while it was dark. When the lights came on, it switched over to a normal lens. Right now, those two doofuses might think there is no way anyone can find out about this, but they're wrong..."

Amy laughed. "They'll never know what hit them! How soon can you piece the first clip you got and this new one and mail into to every e-mail account in the Harvard system?"

"Oh, probably about ten minutes or so. But I don't dare send it from here."

"Why not?"

"Didn't you see the Social Network? The university could easily track it back to your IP address if I did it here. No, I'll have to send it out over a wifi where they can trace it back to a dead end that can't be linked to any of us..."

"And where can you do that?"

He grinned. "There's a Starbucks down the street. Anyone in the mood for some coffee?"

The ladies both laughed once they realized what he had in mind. "Well, now that you mention it, I could go for a cappuccino. And Rufus can take a nap here while we're gone."

As the three of them we're getting ready to head out of the room, Beth turned to C.J. "Thanks again for all your help. We couldn't have pulled this off without you."

Amy nodded. "Exactly! I don't know how you do it, but you always seem to be there to pull my butt from the fire. You have know idea how much I really appreciate it. After dealing with those jerks, its nice to know there are at least some nice guys around here."

He shrugged and laughed. "I just want to stay off your list of guys to make examples of..."

Amy laughed too. "Don't worry, you won't be on it. California is a big enough state that we should easily be able to cross off somebody else."

"I hope so..." C.J. paused. "Though, I'm not sure if I'd qualify on your list for California or not..."

"Why wouldn't you?"

"I don't know if it makes a difference. While I was raised there and, I was actually born in Seattle..."

To be Continued...

AN: Sorry it took so long to post an update, but I had computer issues. My laptop crashed on me, and I had to take it to get it repaired. Good news is I was able to recover most of the following chapters. Bad news is I lost all edits I had made. I could have swore I saved them, but it is what it is. Oh well.