Disclaimer: I do not own anything!

College Years

Chapter 4

Answers, Beginnings, and A New Face

Maddie stared at Zack, wondering if she should go with her gut instinct. She took a deep breath and said, "Zack…I like you and everything…but I'm still scared."

"Maddie…if I ever hurt you, I'll kill myself."

"Don't do that."

"If I ever hurt you, I will. I wouldn't be able to live with the fact that I caused you pain. I love you too much. I'd rather die than break your heart."

"Oh, Zack!" Maddie kissed him on the lips. What he'd said threw her over the fence of whether to go out with him or not. She could trust him fully. "Zack…Yes. I'll be your girlfriend."

Zack's eyes lit up and he said, "Really?" Maddie nodded and kissed him again, happier than ever. They heard the elevator ding and the doors open and soon saw Carey, leaving the elevator. She looked from Maddie to Zack, and back again. Zack got up off the floor and stood in front of his mom.

"Are you okay, Zack?"

"Yeah, Mom. I'm fine. Let's do this right." He looked behind him and Maddie nodded, getting up and standing beside him. "Mom. I'd like you to meet my girlfriend…this is Maddie."

Carey smiled saying, "Nice to meet you Maddie! I've heard nothing of the sort about you and I have never met you before!" They all laughed and Carey opened the door of the hotel suite. Everyone went inside, and Zack was surprised that everything looked exactly the same. The same couch was in the same position. The same kitchen appliances were in the same place on the counters. It brought back memories of Zack's earlier days at the Tipton. He remembered the time Jesse McCartney visited the hotel and they played video games. He remembered the time when he taught Maddie how to dance in the living room. He remembered when Max and him had done that dance contest. Everything came rushing back to him, making him feel like he'd been gone for years, instead of just months. Zack walked over to the door that was once his and Cody's bedroom and opened the door. The same mess that had been there when he left was still there. At that moment, Esteban and Cody came through the front door of the suite and Esteban said, "Here you are, Cody! I'll see you later. Mr. Moseby wants me to help the veterinarian's for the Vet's convention carry their pets to their rooms. And I'm allergic to cats…" He trailed off and hurried down to the Lobby to help Mr. Moseby.

The day went by as most did for Maddie and Zack, slowly, but enjoyable. Carey went to bed around 10 and Cody went to sleep at about 11. Maddie and Zack stayed up until 3 in the morning, talking and laughing on the couch. Zack helped Maddie pull out the bed in the sofa and then kissed her goodnight before departing to his own bedroom. Maddie didn't fall asleep until about 4 in the morning. She couldn't stop thinking about Zack, and how happy she was that she had accepted Zack's request. She smiled and drifted off to sleep.

The next few days were full of eating wonderful Thanksgiving meals and spending quality time with all the people they hadn't seen in so long. A few days after they had arrived, Maddie went to go see her parents for the afternoon. Cody and Zack went to go look at new clothes, because their mom convinced them that they needed new clothes for winter. Carey wanted to get them out of the suite so she could have a day to clean up the room after Zack tore through the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. She loved her boys, but they were such pigs.

A few days later, it was time to go back to school. The drive up was long, and uneventful. Maddie drove, wanting to drive the black Mustang, and not wanting Zack to drive. Cody had driven up, and she wanted to give him a break from driving. They left in late afternoon, and traffic was terrible, so they arrived at the school late that night. Zack walked Maddie to her door gave her a kiss, thanking God that he was with her and all of his dreams were coming true.

Cody wasn't taking the whole Maddie/Zack thing well. He was afraid that Zack would get hurt again, and he didn't like Zack when he was depressed. He was also jealous that Zack had found someone. Cody also was starting to have a thing for Maddie, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even himself. Cody's mind wandered once again to Rebecca. The girl he had liked so long ago when he was 12 and she came to the hotel for a beauty pageant thing. He wondered where she was, what she was thinking about, if she remembered him at all, and if her dream of opening an animal clinic had come true. He sighed, remembering how she had given him his first kiss. Zack was ready to blow up when he found out his younger brother had gotten his first kiss before he had. He sighed again, vowing to forget about her.

The next week was bumpy for the new couple. Since, Zack and Maddie were now an official couple, Cody saw less and less of them. Maddie's engaged, and cluttered roommate, Jan, came back and packed up the rest of her stuff and gave Maddie an invitation to her wedding which was in a month. Maddie's birthday was coming up and she kept insisting she didn't want a birthday party, but Zack was planning on throwing her a surprise party.

About a week before Maddie's surprise birthday party was scheduled, Maddie went to Zack's room and knocked on the door. He opened and immediately his face lit up and he said, "Hey, babe! What's up?" She kissed him quickly and came into his dorm room and sat on his bed saying, "Zack, we need to take a break."

"A—A—A break? What do you mean? Do you want to…break up?"

"No, no, no! No! My grades have been suffering, and I know yours are, too. So we need to take a break from spending so much quality time together, and make time for schoolwork. Less play, more work."

Zack started to put and she said, "Oh, stop pouting! We'll still see each other! We'll just see less of each other…"

"I don't want to do work! I want to see you!"

"Yeah, I know…but we can't see each other if you get kicked out of college. Plus, this is my senior year! I need to be concentrating on my school work."

Zack nodded and said, "Alright, that's cool…I need time to plan your part—oops…"

"Zack? What are you planning?"

"Nothing! How about we start this less-play-more-work thing tomorrow. Let's have fun tonight…"

"Fun? Zack, I'm not ready for anything that sexual…"

"Neither am I! I meant let's go out!"

"Oh! Great! Pick me up around 7:30?"

"Sounds good!"

She gave him a kiss and said before leaving, "I will find out what you're up to, Hun." Zack just smiled mischievously. She left the room, glad that Zack didn't pressure her into doing anything. She smiled, thinking about how lucky she was to have such an understanding boyfriend.

Zack had his hands full with schoolwork, Maddie, and her surprise party. He had to charm some information out of her, like who her other friends were, what she wanted for her birthday, and what would she like to do on her birthday. He needed to have more people come that Maddie was friends with, what to tell them to get her, and somewhere for her to go while the party was being set up. It was a lot to handle. Maddie was becoming suspicious, but Zack was able to make her forget about what she was thinking and charm his way out of any tight spot.

Cody hadn't seen Zack for a whole week. It was like he had lost his twin brother to a girl. He was doing very well in school. He had good grades, his papers were good, and he was always on time. He wished he could someone to occupy his time. He was walking back from the car after studying at the library. He was so into his thoughts that he bumped into a brunette girl walking across the parking lot. He immediately helped her pick up the books she dropped and said, "Oh man, I'm so sorry!"

"That's okay."

Cody looked at her for the first time and noticed her sparkling brown eyes and immediately thought of Rebecca. He wasn't sure why. She smiled at him and said, "Hi. What's your name?"

"I'm Cody."

"I knew a Cody once. I met him at a hotel when I was 12."

"That's nice."

"My name's Rebecca."

Cody widened his eyes and said, "What was the last name of the Cody you met."

"Uh, I think it was Martin."

"Oh, wow."

"What?"

"Rebecca…it's me. The Cody from the Tipton."

Rebecca widened her eyes and squealed, "Cody? It is you!"

She kissed him on the cheek and they started walking, talking like they had been friends for years. They reached her dorm and she invited him in. They talked about everything they could think of, especially about the last 6 years of their lives! He found out that she had quit the beauty pageants and decided to go to college and then go to vet school to become a veterinarian. Cody told her of his dream to become a lawyer. She asked why he didn't go to Harvard, and he said he wanted to get his Masters Degree before going after his dream. She thought that was smart of him. They talked all afternoon and then Cody told her he had to get back to his room and study. He gave her his cell phone number and told her to call him later. He left the room, feeling better than he ever had before.

Cody got to his room and opened the door to find Maddie and Zack making out on Zack's bed.

"Euh! That's disgusting!"

"Oh, be quiet, Cody! Just because you can't get a date doesn't mean you can spoil ours!"

"Actually I just met a great girl. Her name is Rebecca. Actually, I already had met her."

"Where'd you meet her?"

"Well, I met her a long time ago at The Tipton. Then I ran into her in the parking lot a few hours ago."

"A few hours ago? Where've you been all this time?"

"In her room?"

"In her room! Good things never happen when you go into the girl's room on the first meeting!"

"Hey, Zack! You stayed in my room for a few hours when you guys first got here. And look where we are now?"

"That's different. I've loved you for 6 whole years!"

"And I've liked Rebecca for 6 whole years."

"It's still different."

"I don't think so."

"Oh shut up, both of you."

Cody told them bye and then left the room again, to leave them to their "date". Cody shivered, wanting to clear the image of Maddie and Zack making out. Then he thought of Rebecca. He thought of her long, brown, curly hair…and her sparkling brown eyes…and her perfectly tanned skin…and how her nose would crinkle when she laughed. He liked everything about her. She was smart, funny, sensitive, and caring. Cody smiled at the thought of her. Then his cell phone rang. He answered and a voice said, "Hey, Cody! It's Rebecca! Do you want to hang out tonight?"

A/N-

Note #1- Thank you SO much reviewers! I love you guys SO much! This is by far my most successful fic. It has more reviews than my 10-chapter fic. I love all of you so much and I wish I could thank you all separately.

Note #2- this chapter is a little short-written. I felt bad about not updating for a while, so I decided to start this chapter ASAP, as I had a bunch of ideas bouncing around my head. I don't know if this Rebecca thing is going to work out or not…it could, it could not…I'm not quite sure. I'm sorry it's so short! I'll write a longer chapter for next time, I promise!

Note #3- Because this chapter was written in a hurry, I didn't have time to research anything…like degree's you can get at Berkeley, different Vet Schools (or the right word for Vet Schools) so, as always, if I make a huge mistake, please let me know and I'll be sure to fix it.

Note #4- Please review and tell me what you think. Be completely honest. I don't like flames, but if you must, you must. Tell me all of your thoughts on this chapter, previous ones, ideas for future ones, or just random thoughts you had while reading. Criticism is welcome!

Hope to hear from ya soon,

Love,

Dangerous Combonation