Disclaimer: I do not own the suite Life of Zack and Cody or any of the characters or anything you might try and sue me with.
College Years
Chapter 2
Could Be
Maddie and Zack talked all afternoon. They talked about Maddie's first 3 years of college, and how senior year was for Zack. They talked about old girlfriends and boyfriends, and they remembered old times. Zack asked why her roommate hadn't shown up and Maddie said, "She's got this fiancé and she moved in with him. She left her clutter here, though." Zack suddenly came up with an idea. He asked, "Hey Maddie, how about going out with me tonight?" Maddie looked stunned. Seeing her expression Zack said, "Just as friends. A friendly dinner between friends." Maddie smiled and told him, "It sounds good. Be back here at 7. I have to finish this paper. After that, I'll show you all around Berkley. Sound good?" Zack nodded and gave Maddie a hug before leaving and going to his own dorm.
He opened the door to his dorm room and was amazed to see that the room was quite large. There was a desk in the back corner with a book case hutch. Another identical desk was in the corner opposite. A bed was to the left of the door with an end table on either side of it. On the right side of the door, a bed was against the wall with one end table. Boxes were stacked up by the bed on the right side, while the left side looked mostly unpacked.
"Thanks for unpacking for me, buddy!"
"I didn't…you're stuff is over there. By the other bed."
"Oh." Zack looked over at the boxes and said, "Well I've got a date with Maddie tonight, so do you think you could like…I don't know…put sheets on my bed…move some of the boxes out of the way? I'll unpack the rest tomorrow."
"Fine. You've got a date with Maddie tonight? Are you sure it's a date? And wasn't what you just came back from a date?"
"Yes, I'm sure it's a date. It's a dinner between friends, and I think that qualifies for a date. I was catching up with her, not out with her."
"No, that doesn't qualify as a date, Zack."
"Oh, quit bringing me down and help me figure out what I'm going to wear tonight."
"You sound like a teenage girl!"
"Well, what can I say? I want to impress her. Now get over here and help me!"
Cody groaned but still went to help Zack with his outfit selection. When they had the outfit picked out, Zack jumped into the shower. Cody rolled his eyes at how silly Zack was being. He was acting like a 13-year-old girl. Cody laughed to himself as he remembered how immature they were when they were 13. Zack sometimes acted like that now. Cody sat down on his bed with a book and waited for Zack to come out of the bathroom they shared.
Zack emerged half an hour later wearing green flannel pajama bottoms and a Pink Floyd T-shirt. Even though they were a very old band, Zack still loved them. Cody looked at him and said, "What happened to the outfit we spent half an hour picking out?" Zack rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not leaving for another hour. I'm going to start unpacking some stuff and I'll change in half an hour. Is that okay with you?" Cody nodded and went back to reading.
Zack unpacked a lot of stuff for his desk and his end table. He found his sheets and put them on the bare mattress with his comforter and pillow. He checked his watch and disappeared into the bathroom with the clothes he and Cody had picked out. Zack was starting to get nervous. What if this whole thing went horribly wrong? What if Maddie still saw him as the 12-year-old Zack Martin who had a silly crush on her? Then again, what if this went perfectly right? What if Maddie had feelings for him? What if he got a kiss? Zack smiled in the mirror and looked at his reflection. His hair was dirty blonde, right past his ears. He didn't put hair gel in it, because that stuff made his hair gooey and sticky and gross looking. Plus, he liked his hair just the way it was. His eyes were blue-green, and went perfectly with his hair. He hoped tonight was going to be perfect. While he was in the shower, he planned out the whole evening. Rather, he dreamed about the whole evening.
He'd pull out her chair at an expensive restaurant. She'd thank him with a kiss on the cheek. They'd talk over dinner about how great their life would be and they would plan their wedding and their whole lives while sipping Sparkling Cider. Zack couldn't help but hope that tonight Maddie would realize her love for him…but he also worried that tonight could be disastrous.
At 7 o'clock sharp, Zack was knocking on Maddie's dorm door. He was dressed in khaki slacks and a black coat with a white t-shirt underneath. Casual, yet classy. Maddie opened the door wearing a blue sparkly dress with spaghetti strap that goes down to the knee. It hugged her in all the right places and Zack was instantly amazed.
"Maddie, you look…you look…amazing."
"You clean up nicely yourself!"
They laughed and Zack held out his arm and Maddie took it willingly. They strode down the dorm hallway together and out to the black mustang Zack had rented.
Zack took Maddie to the nicest restaurant in town, Chez Toi. They picked up their conversation where they had left off that afternoon. Maddie asked about Esteban and London and Zack asked about her new friends here at college. Afterwards, they went for a walk in a nearby park and gazed up at the stars. Zack dropped her off back at her dorm at 11:30. Maddie turned around before going into her room and smiled at Zack. He smiled back and his eyes sparkled. Maddie leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, much like the one she gave him when she said good-bye before leaving more college, but with a lot more passion. She pulled away and said, "Bye, Zack. I'll see you tomorrow." Zack, still stunned by the intensity of the kiss choked out a quick, "Bye, Maddie!" She closed the door with another smile and Zack whispered tom himself, "I love you." He walked to his own room and opened the door slowly, still stunned by the kiss. Cody was still up, reading in a big red chair under the window. Zack plopped on the bed Cody made for him and Cody asked, "Did you have a good time?"
"The best!"
"What happened?"
"We went to this really fancy French restaurant…uh…She Too or something."
"Chez Toi! Oh man, that place is really expensive! How did you ever afford that?"
"Let's just say I have my connections."
"You had a girl waitress didn't you?"
"She wasn't nearly as hot as Maddie, but when sweet thang went to the bathroom, I got out of the check!"
"Tricky."
"And then we went for a walk in the park and looked at all the stars. And then we came back here and she kissed me!"
"No way!"
Zack nodded and said, "Yeah! And thanks for making my bed for me man, I really appreciate it."
"No problem."
Cody closed his book and walked across the room and got into his own bed and said, "Night, Zack."
"Night Cody."
Cody turned out the light as Zack made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed.
The next morning Zack and Cody went to see Maddie and she brought them to where they get schedules. They noticed that neither had any classes on Saturday or Wednesday. Maddie didn't have any classes for the day so they decided to go out for lunch to a famous pizza place, Zack's treat.
Cody liked college. It was challenging, but he didn't have too much trouble. He'd made new friends, and was having fun. The whole thing with Zack and Maddie was scaring him though. Maddie was a junior, and after their sophomore year, she'd be leaving and who knows where she'd go. Cody had to comfort Zack when Maddie left for college, and he didn't want to see his brother heartbroken once she left college. It worried him everyday. Maddie was nice, though. How did he know she would leave him? How did he even know if they were in love? They didn't seem like anything more than friends…well, except for the kissing part. That wasn't friendly like.
Meanwhile, Zack and Maddie's relationship was growing stronger and stronger everyday. Though neither could see it, they looked like a couple, and nobody thought that a 20 year old dating a 18 year old was wrong at all. Zack and Maddie spent every free minute with each other, and their kisses got more and more tender and sweet. Maddie wouldn't admit it, but she was falling in love with Zack. Every time they were together, she felt so happy and so complete. All of her problems soon faded away when she saw his smiling face. Whenever she was afraid of a big test or anything at all, his touch could melt away all of her fears. She never caught herself frowning when she was around Zack. What could she say? He lit up her life.
Zack was in love with Maddie when he was 12 and she was 15. As time went on, he fell head over heels in love with her. As he spent more time with her now, he fell for her in a new kind of way. She was his best friend, and all he ever wanted was to make her happy. He loved her with all of his heart, and he wanted to be around her more than anything. He knew he had to keep his mind on his schoolwork, because the last thing he wanted to happen was to drop out of college and leave Maddie behind. He knew he had to concentrate on school, but he liked spending time alone with her more. Like Cody, it worried Zack that Maddie would once again forget all about him and get on with her life. He loved her and he didn't want to lose her again. He couldn't take that.
Before they knew it, it was Thanksgiving, and Zack and Cody were heading off for Boston for the holidays. The day before they left, Zack went to see Maddie. She opened the door and he was instantly met with a kiss. This no longer surprised Zack, but he still liked it. Maddie ushered him in and he said, "What are you doing for the holidays, Maddie?"
"Nothing. Staying here…studying…that kind of thing."
"Why don't you come back to Boston with us for the holidays? I know Mom would love to see you, and your parents might be glad to see you, too…"
Maddie thought a moment and then said, "I don't know, Zack…"
"Oh come on, Maddie! Please?"
He put on the puppy dog pout and she said, "You know I can't resist the puppy dog pout!"
"Then you'll go?"
"Fine!"
"Great! We're leaving tomorrow morning, 10 AM. We're driving back instead of flying. It's about a 4 hour drive…"
Maddie smiled and nodded and gave him another kiss, ushering him out the door so she could pack. She closed the door and shook her head. Am I falling for him?
The next morning, Cody pulled Zack out of bed at 8 AM. Zack said sleepily, looking at the clock, "What are you doing? Are you crazy? It's 8 in the morning!"
"Yes, and its also two days before Thanksgiving. Traffic is going to be awful, and we should get on the road as soon as possible!"
"I told Maddie not to be ready before 10!"
"Maddie's going?"
"Yeah…did I forget to tell you that?"
"Uh…yeah! Our car might not fit all of her stuff!"
"Don't worry about it, okay?"
Cody shook his head and said, "Get up anyway. When I get back, I better hear the shower going."
Zack started to get up out of bed as Cody left the room and knocked sharply on Maddie's door. She opened and leaned in for a kiss but Cody stopped her and said, "I'm Cody." She instantly stopped and said, "What's up?"
"We have to leave earlier than Zack told you."
"How much earlier?"
"Umm…half an hour?"
"Okay…knock on the door when you're ready."
"Okay."
He left and went back to his room, glad to hear Zack in the shower. He opened the door slightly and said, "Be out of there in 10 minutes, Zack!" He closed the door again and finished packing his stuff.
45 minutes later, all three were on the road. Many long hours later, they arrived in Boston and pulled up in front of the Tipton Hotel. Carey was waiting for them outside and when she saw them pull up in their black Mustang (which Zack conned the rental place into keeping) and she was totally stunned at the car. They hopped out and gave her hugs and then Carey asked, "Who's this?" She pointed to Maddie. Zack said, "This is Maddie, Mom. She's my girlfriend!" Maddie and Carey said at the same time, "Girlfriend?"
A/N-Note #1- Okay, as for the dorms, no…I did not do research on the dorm rooms at Berkley or popular Night Spots. And yes, I do know that dorm rooms are not that big.
Note #2- Thank you reviewers! I felt so special! Not one flame! I got 8 reviews for this chapter, and that's the most reviews I've gotten in one chapter for a long time! Please review!
Note #3- I know it's a little short, but with this story, the chapters will be shorter, but I'll update more often.
Note #4- One more good cliffhanger if I do say so myself! Yay! PLEASE REVIEW!
Hope to hear from ya,
Love,
Dangerous Combonation