Living a Nightmare

Disclaimer – I do not own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Boo hoo. –cry-

A/N – PUH-LEASE review.

Chapter 4.. Bad or Suspicious, I'm there for you.

Cody tossed and turned all night. He couldn't get HER off his mind. It was like getting away from a cop in traffic. He just couldn't stop thinking about her. Think of what Zack will think of him.

A traitor.

Just like what Zack said to Cody the night he had his nightmare. "Aaahh! Get away from me! You… You traitor!" Yep. It was still in his mind, next to you-know-who. Cody had been terrified when Zack called him a traitor.

Sure, Zack called Cody a lot of names before. You know, like: Loser, smarty-pants, freak, geek, nerd… Well, you get the point. But, never before has Zack call Cody a traitor. The two brothers were best buddies! Not traitors. So, Cody hoped Zack will never find out about Maddie and call him a traitor. Ever. Again.

When Zack awoke at 7:00 am, he felt like talking to Maddie. He hadn't talked to Maddie in 3 days. It doesn't seem long, but to Zack… Pshh. Three days without seeing his crush is like four hundred thousand years! Zack also maybe wanted to discuss his nightmare to Maddie.

Maybe.

He walked into his and Cody's room and shook Cody. "Cody wake up."

Zack's response from Cody was a quite snore. "Cody… CODY THE HOTEL IS ON FIRE!" Yelled Zack. He grinned.

Cody darted up and started screaming. "Huh? What? WHEN? WHERE? Why?"

Zack started laughing and rolling on the floor. His head bumped the door, well, more like the door bumped his head when the twins' mom busted inside. "Ow…"

Carey yelled, "Where is the fire? Come here, Zack, Cody."

Zack got up from the floor. "Mom. Mom, mom, mom, mom! There's no fire." Carey sighed, loud.

"Zack, don't ever do that again. You scared me so much!" She put her hand to her heart.

"Sorry mom. I just wanted to wake up Cody." Zack confessed.

Cody frowned. "And why didn't you just shake me gently?'

"Tried that. And believe me, it did not work!" Zack muttered. Cody shrugged. "So, what do you want me for, brother?" Cody said sleepily as Carey walked out of the room.

Zack yawned. "I want to go downstairs. I wanna talk to Maddie. Maybe explain my nightmare to her. Maybe."

Cody gulped. He didn't want to see Maddie. He didn't want to think about her. He didn't want to remember her. He knows how much Zack loves her, even though she only feels like being friends. Cody couldn't betray Zack, he promised.

"Uh, I can't." Cody said as an excuse. Zack objected. "Why? I don't want to go alone."

Cody asked, "How come? You always go downstairs and talk to Maddie alone. What's so different this time?" Zack winced. "I-I might need help explaining my nightmare. Might."

Cody gave up. He'd have to face Maddie sooner or later. A boy has got to eat, you know.

Zack waited for Cody to get dressed, which took really long, by the way. "Come on, Cody! Hurry up, you're so slow, you, you slowpoke!" That's another name Zack calls Cody: slowpoke. Cody came out of the bathroom with his vest and jeans on. "I'm sorry, I can't help being slow…"

Zack sighed. "Yeah you can, if you don't want to be slow, be faster! Come on." Zack said while heading out the door.

Cody rolled his eyes at Zack's dumb remark about being faster and said, "Wait, I'm hungry, I want to eat breakfast first!"

"But Cody, I really want to see Maddie… Please, please, please! We'll buy a candy bar when we go see Maddie." Zack begged. Then he mumbled, "That's what you get for waking up so late."

"What was that?" Cody questioned.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. At all."

"Fine, but mom always says that candy—" Cody got cut off by Zack. "Who cares if we have candy for breakfast? We're old enough to choose our own food, right?"

"I guess."

"Okay then, hurry up! Let us head off!" Zack said and once again started heading out the room. Carey came out of the bathroom with her robe on and a towel wrapped around her dripping hair. "Where are you two heading off so early?" Carey asked.

"Oh, we're just going to go downstairs." Zack replied.

"Where downstairs?" Carey asked, sounding so motherly.

"We're going to go see Maddie." Zack said. Carey looked at Cody and said, "Aren't you going to eat, Cody?"

Zack answered for him. "We're just going to get a candy bar, ok? Bye mom, see you later." The two boys ran out of the room.

"What did I say about having candy—Oh never mind." Carey started but stopped and went back into the bathroom.

Downstairs, Zack walked really fast. "Zack, wait up!" Cody quietly hissed. Zack grinned, "What did I say about getting faster? Come on."

Cody rolled his eyesonce againand caught up with Zack. When they were almost at the candy counter, Zack quietly whispered to Cody, "Okay… Now let me do the talking, but when I hesitate, I'll need some help to explain my nightmare. I'm gonna tell her."

Cody answered, "Sure, sure. Okay, let's go." Even though Cody didn't want to see Maddie, he had to act casual and he was doing this for Zack. Also, facing Maddie will not make Zack suspicious.

The twins rang the bell on the candy counter and Maddie turned around. "Hi Zack, hi Cody."

"Hey sweet thang!" Zack said, as he usually does.

Slowly, Cody said, "Hi…"

Maddie, being used to Zack calling her that, replied, "Where have you two troublemakers been? I haven't seen you guys in three days, or something like that… Can I get you anything?"

Since Zack ordered Cody to keep quiet, Zack did all the talking as planned. "No, it's alright. But, I need to talk to you about something. A nightmare I had…"

Maddie looked surprised. "Well, I would love to, but it's not my break yet, I just started my shift. Sorry."

Zack sounded upset. "But it'll only take about five minutes, please… I really, really need to talk about it, it just feels like I have to explain it to you." Zack made a pouting face.

"Well, if you put it that way, spill." Maddie crossed her arms and leaned on the candy counter.

So, it actually took more than five minutes to explain, about nine or ten minutes, due to all Maddie's interruptions. When Zack told Maddie about him saving her life she said, "How was I in danger?" or when Zack told Maddie Cody was the one who tied her up laughed and said, "Cody would never do that, we all know he's only into people his age, unlike some people." Maddie faced Zack at the end of the sentence,

At Maddie's last interruption, about Cody only being into people his own age, Cody knew he had to keep Maddie think that way.

Zack finished telling his nightmare without Cody helping him. At the end, Maddie stood there, stunned. "Wow… And tell me why again you are so afraid?"

Zack didn't like talking about it because for one thing is that he is afraid of losing his 'reputation' and second of all, he just did not like to talk about it.

"Um, I'm afraid of, er, I'm afraid that it's going to come true because, er, it felt, um… Kinda sort of real."

"Okay… Maybe we can fix that." Maddie suggested.

Zack was confused, but relieved that Maddie was willing to help his problem. "And how is that, Maddie?" Zack asked.

Maddie thought for a second or two and said, "Well, I'm not sure. But I can tell you this: I promise if anything comes up, anything bad or suspicious, I'm there for you." Maddie smiled. "But that doesn't mean I'm falling for you."

"Yet?" Zack tried to add.

Maddie ruffled his hair. "Maybe, but I highly doubt that, no offence."

Zack wasn't sad or anything, he tried. But he still likes her. "Darn." Was all he said.

On the other hand, Cody was still quiet. But, the thing that broke the silence was his stomach. Grrrumble.

"Holy cow! Was that your stomach, little bro?" Zack said, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. You said we'd buy a candy bar." Cody replied.

"Well then buy one! Goodness."

Cody hesitated, but then remembered, "I don't have any money." Zack slapped his forehead.

Maddie, who was listening to the twin's conversation, handed Cody a candy bar. "Here, squirt, I'll take care of it." She ruffled Cody's hair like she did with Zack's hair.

Cody felt his blood come to his head so he turned around and ran to the elevator saying, "Thanks, Maddie. Gotta go, um, I forgot I was going to help my mom with that… thing."

"Okay… Well, what are you up to now, Zack?" Maddie asked after the elevator doors closed.

Zack turned to Maddie and said, "I don't know. Summer break can get boring." He paused. "What. Am. I. SAYING? I just remembered, the new video game Aliens Attack is out today! I have to ask mom for some money…" Remembering Maddie was still listening, he said, "Sorry, gotta go. Bye." Zack left the candy counter and head to the elevators.

When Zack entered the room, Carey was on the phone being all excited and Cody was sitting on the couch watching the Science Channel.

Zack plopped down on the couch and faced Cody; "I thought mom asked you to do something for her."

"Er, I know, but… I-I'm on a break. Yeah. Eating my candy bar…" Cody said, puling out the candy bar from his pocket.

Zack shook his head. "Whatever."

When the twins heard the phone click back in place in the receiver, Cody asked, "Who was that?"

"Well," Carey started "It was Kurt and—"

"Dad was on the phone? Why didn't you let us speak to him?" Zack said all excited.

"I'm sorry, he had to go, but he had some good news! His band is going to Egypt to meet this Egyptian Rock band, don't ask, and he got four extra tickets, and that means we get to bring somebody!" Carey exclaimed. "And guess who I had in mind?"

Zack and Cody took turns guessing, and Zack went first: "Esteban?"

"No, don't be ridiculous." Answered the mom.

"Max?"

"No."

"Tapeworm?"

"Uh uh."

"Mr. Moseby?"

"Yeah right."

"London?"

"Psh. She can go there any time." Carey said laughing.

The impatient twins said, "WHO THEN?"

Carey threw her hand in the air and said, "Maddie!"

That's when Zack's smile faded. It was happening.

-Insert break!-

A/N – Sorry, I don't feel like doing review replies… But The Nightmare is taking position! Oh the horror… Dude, this chapter is longer than the others! PLEASE REVIEW!