Thanks for all the reviews, couldn't of done it without you!

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Prelude:

As Zack quickly turned the last screw to the vent in his room, he checked the mirror one last time. His hair looked great.

Perfect for Max.

Hoping nobody heard the clatter of the vent case falling, Zack scurried into the vent. Praying that he'd be there just in time and not to get too dirty in the vents, Zack was on his way. About half way in, he remembered the note. The note that had caused all of these feelings to produce. He reached for his pocket to look at it one more time. But, as he reached…

It was gone.

Zack cursed himself for not being smart enough to check if he had it in the first place. Stupid, he thought, really stupid. Going back would be pointless…he'd have to survive with words alone. After all, there's not much damage that note could do right now…right?

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Esteban hurried into the dining room when a rich smell of garlic and butter perfumed its way to his nose.

"Maddie" Esteban watered "Miss Maddie this smells delicious, how did you ever?"

"Well" Maddie gleamed "Cody did teach me a thing or two about cooking Italian."

"Where is Cody? And for that matter, where is Zack?"

"Oh, well Zack's been in his room for a while, probably sleeping or something, and Cody's in the shower…Oh, darn…I forgot the forks, Esteban, could you grab them, they're on the counter."

Esteban got up and located the forks. But before he got back to the table, something caught his eye. A note. Probably something Maddie had dropped on the floor while cooking dinner. He went to pick it up and give it to Maddie, but something stopped him. Curiosity, maybe. Maddie wasn't as careless as most people, so she wouldn't just accidentally drop it. Esteban turned his head slightly, noting that Maddie was busily scooping up spaghetti into the bowls, and looked back at the note. He picked it up, and started to read.

I've admired you from afar,

We are great friends so it seems,

But I want something more,

From your soul and from my dreams.

I utter each word softly,

As I say what I feel is true,

You are my only hope,

I love you, and I hope you love me too.

Esteban froze in place. The note had to of been for him. Maddie had always said that they were the best of friends. But the note had said more. Much more that he'd realized.

She loves him.

It made sense. All of it makes sense. He could remember the countless times that she had said that he was her only hope. When her parents fumigated her house, who had been there for her. When London needed a lesson about horoscopes, who had Maddie turned to for her right hand man. It was him. The whole time it was him…but…

He'd agreed to do all of those things.

Esteban's eyes shyly turned to Maddie's back in deep thought. Did he love her? Maybe…

Maddie turned around to see why Esteban was taking so long, and found that he was starring strait at her. "What's wrong Esteban?" Maddie questioned "Do I have something in my teeth?"

Esteban quickly returned back to his normal composition "Err…nothing Miss Ma…I mean, no Maddie" Esteban fumbled while sticking the note in his pocket. He grabbed the forks and went back to sit down.

"Well, anyways…" Maddie said with a quizzical look on her face "I was thinking that if we got Zack and Cody to bed early, we could probably sneak down and check out this party…what do you think?"

Esteban thought. Was this some sort of date? It was the valentines dance…what did she want from me, he thought. He needed to know. He had to ask.

Now. Now or never.

"Erm, Maddie?"

"Yeah, Esteban?" Maddie said while taking a bite of food.

"I…I need to…"

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Zack jumped out of the vent from the lobby and looked around. The coast was clear. But, that didn't stop Zack from using the James Bond moves that he just had to use. After a minute of singing the Mission Impossible theme and jumping behind all the couches, Zack snuck into the Ballroom.

He stood up and looked around and checked his watch. 5:45. He had fifteen minutes to figure out what to say to Max.

15 minutes of worry.

But Zack knew what to say. He would tell her the truth. Tell her that when she had kissed him after they won the game at the basketball tournament that he wasn't freaked out.

He'd wanted that kiss all along.

And now, because of how he screwed up the date, they were just friends. But she had changed her mind. Because of the note

The note.

He checked his watch again. Five minutes had past. Suddenly, without warning, a beautiful figure appeared before him. Looking more closely he noted that this figure was accompanied by two friends.

The beautiful figure was Max.

"Hey Zack, is this party cool or what, good thing we came early." Max chirped "I can't wait to show everyone how a real girl dances."

"Uh yeah" Zack fumbled "Uh, listen, maybe I could talk to you for a sec"

"Uh sure" Max nodded while stepping forward, along with tapeworm and Bob

"Um, guys…a little room?" Zack hinted

"Oh sure" Bob agreed "We'll just go get some punch, and then break it down"

"Ha" Max laughed "The only 'breaking down' you two can do is breaking down the entire hotel with your so called 'dance moves'"

Bob and Tapeworm sneered at Max playfully and ran to the punch bowl.

"So" Max began "What's on your mind?"

"Well…uh…you see…"

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Mwahahahaha! I left you with a cliffy,well, actually two! How evil am I? Lol…trust me, the more you read the better and better this gets. Oh, and thanks to Captain lyd for the Orlando bloom idea…lol, priceless.

Also, to clear things up, this story does not connect with the other two stories I wrote, sorry if it confused some people.

-solidgoldheart