.:6:.

Cody stretched his arms over his head as he walked through the front doors of the Tipton hotel.

He noticed Mr. Moseby looking at him funny, nearly diving behind his desk the second their eyes met. It wasn't so strange, Mr. Moseby had been jumpy ever since he and Zack had moved in and started to 'turn his life into a living nightmare' as the hotel manager put it.

If he were being honest, Cody didn't think he and Zack were that bad. Not as bad as Mr. Moseby made them out to be. Sure, the first few months they'd been at the Tipton hotel, they played a lot of pranks. But they didn't have any friends and they were bored and a little lonely. Their mother worked long hours during the day doing vocal warm-ups, leaning new songs—especially said songs Mr. Moseby insisted he learned when a certain hotel guest wanted to hear a certain genre. (Don't get him started on when she tried to sing R&B, struggling to hit the really high notes).

He could still remember the way his face puckered—much like when he ate a very sweet dessert—hearing her practice in the bathroom of the suite, which had better acoustics than the ballroom. Nevertheless, there was only so much time she could put to watching her twin boys when she wasn't working and with them constantly running around and bouncing their energy off each other, it was only a matter of time until something came up.

And even then, Cody was the one who grew out of it quicker. He'd always been a little more responsible, feeling that he was the one who should've been born first, he had the bigger sense of responsibility. But Zack was the ringleader and continued to be so as they grew up and Cody peeled away, focusing more on his academics and burgeoning love life rather than seeing how much he could torture the building staff.

Zack never grew out of it and every now and then continued to create some havoc. Not so much as before, due to his focusing on catching up in school and his treatment, but enough so that Mr. Moseby still deemed blame on both of them by association.

Cody smiled and waved to Mr. Moseby before heading up to the suite. Why bother correcting him? Every now and then he missed the fun and excitement of coming up with a new plan to mess with him a little. So much so that he knew he'd miss the hotel manager if he ever spoke the truth on his threats of moving to a different hotel. The Tipton hotel was nothing without Mr. Moseby, Muriel, Esteban, everyone else that had been there when they moved in.

Crash!

Bang!

Cody jumped when he heard a loud thumping sound from his hotel suite. His smile widened. It wasn't so unusual as of late, now that Arwin was by the suite more often than he was in his basement workshop. The hotel handyman was certainly something else and while it took Cody some time to get used to his mother dating him, he was still fun to be around. What wasn't fun was waking up to the suite without water because Arwin broke some of the plumbing while trying to fix it.

I wonder what it is this time? Cody thought, opening the door and walking inside. He was greeted with the site of what looked like a hose encompassing Arwin's arm, with a washing machine sitting in the middle of the suite. Cody tilted his head to the side, taking in the scene. Arwin stood behind the washing machine, smiling sheepishly, drumming his fingertips on his arm while Carey stood next to him, hands on her hips and shaking her head.

Zack sat on the couch with Riley and Rhuben, all three clutching books and staring up at Arwin, looking like they were doing their best not to burst out laughing lest Carey turned on them as well. Arwin and Carey turned towards Cody as he walked through the door.

"Cody!" Arwin cried, flinging his hands into the air. He ignored the hose that shot off his arm and rocketed across the room, crashing into the window behind him. "Look, Carey, young Cody's home from school." He looked at his watch then walked over to Cody, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Where have you been? We've been worried sick! Zack's back from basketball practice and we have no idea what's been keeping you." He placed his left hand on his hip, his right hand forming into a pointed finger that he wagged into Cody's face. "You have a lot of explaining to do, young man." He planted his hands on his hips, tapping his foot up and down. "One…two…"

"Arwin," Cody and Carey said in unison, holding the same tone of slight irritation.

"Sorry." Arwin turned on his heel and walked across the suit, far from Carey's grasp in case she turned her attention to him.

Carey smiled and shook her head. Then she turned her attention to Cody and asked, "How was your day, sweetie?"

"It was fine," Cody said. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a thin, flat, envelope. Truth be told, it was why he was late coming back from school. He had a late meeting with Mr. Forgess that principal had insisted they have earlier that day. Cody wondered if it was bad, but from the smile on Mr. Forgess's face, Cody discerned it was a good thing. He didn't realize how good, though. "Actually, I was with Mr. Forgess. He, wanted to give me this."

Cody passed the envelope over to Carey, reaching up to grab his backpack straps. He needed to hold onto something to keep himself grounded or else he'd probably pass out from the shock alone. Zack eyed him curiously and Cody smiled back, silently reassuring him that everything was okay. Zack nodded and turned his attention back to his book. Even from where Cody was standing he could tell his brother's eyes weren't paying attention to the words.

Actually, Cody realized, it was like Zack was on another planet. A small smile played on his lips but he, otherwise, didn't look any different. Shifting his weight, Cody leaned to the side a little, then smiled himself, noticing Zack's right hand, hidden beneath the right side of the textbook gently held onto Riley's left, his thumb moving over the skin in a sweeping motion every few seconds. Still, he looked interested when Carey opened the envelope and looked at the paper inside, unable to stifle her gasp of surprise.

"Oh, Cody, you got in?" Carey asked.

Cody beamed. "Yeah, it's official. I got into UMass. Full ride scholarship and everything." Zack, Riley, and Rhuben all made sounds of pleasant surprise when Carey rushed over and enveloped her son in a tight hug. Cody smiled and hugged her back. It was no Yale, of which he was still waiting on a response from, but it was still a good school. It was still another acceptance of the bunch, another big choice he was going to make.

It was what he lived for. Academics, mathematics, and the sciences were his life. Learning new things and continuing to apply it to his life gave him more purpose than he could ever imagine. So even if it was a school he wasn't planning on attending, knowing it was one that wanted him was a boost to his ego. Pushed his self-esteem a little bit higher.

Cody broke out of his thoughts when he heard a higher-pitched crying sound. For a second he wondered if his mother had truly started to sob at the reality her sons were going to be leaving soon. Then he realized another pair of arms were wrapped around him and realized it was Arwin, who was sobbing. He'd always been a good friend of the boys, even more so now that he was dating their mother. He could become emotional at the drop of a hat, this was certainly one of those times. Cody could feel his entire body shaking all the while Arwin held onto him, sobbing his happiness.

"Arwin," Cody mumbled. "I can't breathe." Arwin finally let go of Cody and backed away, pushing his glasses aside so that he could wipe at his eyes. Cody smiled, his eyes moving over to the washing machine that sat in the middle of the floor. "So…what was he?"

"Don't ask," Carey interrupted, lifting a hand. "Seriously, don't ask." She turned back to the paper in her hands and smiled over it. "A full ride to UMass. Cody, this is great."

"That's not all," he said. "With my grades and my clubs, they already want me in the honors science program," he explained. He bobbed his head back and forth. "I mean, yeah, they don't really have honors classes, but they want me to do advanced ones. I have so many credits I could graduate in three years. Two and a half if I studied over the summer."

"That's amazing, sweetie. I'm so proud of you." Carey hugged him once more and turned to Zack. "Isn't that great, Zack?"

"Yeah," Zack quipped. "They already know how much of a nerd he is. He doesn't have to hide it." Carey and Cody both gave him sharp looks and he held up his hands defensively. "I'm just kidding, Cody." He nodded. "It's great, man. I'm proud of you." And he looked away, using his thumbnail to scratch his forehead, Cody saw the flash of insecurity move through his eyes.

Zack had told him about Mr. Forgress misplacing his transcript as well as there being no applications coming in for him. It was late, but it didn't mean it wasn't going to happen. He was just a little bit behind. Honestly, Cody was surprised when Zack had told him while they changed for practice that day.

"So, there's a chance that I might not be able to apply to anything," Zack said suddenly. Cody pulled his tank top over his head and gave Zack a stricken look. He tried to sound upbeat but Cody knew he was more put off by it than he admitted. "There were some schools I'd been looking into but…I could tell Mr. Forgess and Miss. Tutweiller don't really think I can do it."

Cody stared at his brother. He'd never seen him so defeated before. "Come on, Zack, you know there's a lot that you can do," he said.

The corner of Zack's lips turned upwards, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Sure, and I'd probably end up as a janitor at this school," he joked. Then he shook his head. "I'm not telling you so you can fix things, Cody, I'm just saying. Money is an issue, my grades…I don't even know if I can bring them up in enough time to do it." He ran his hand through his hair before bending over to tie his shoes. "Everyone else is getting their acceptances and stuff and I'm sitting here wondering how many more days until Drew actually punches me in the face, finally."

Cody was a little stunned. Zack was never one to be so emotional and as his twin brother spoke in a blasé tone, he knew Zack was really hurting. It just made Cody want to help that much more. "You know I'm always here to help you, Zack. And all of our friends, too."

"And you guys have been helping me."

"There's nothing wrong with taking a year off to work or whatever before going to college. Even going to a community college to—"

"—I'm not going to a community college," Zack interrupted. He lowered his foot from the bench and tied his other shoe. "I already feel dumb as it is—"

"—It's not a dumb thing to go," Cody insisted. He placed his hand on Zack's shoulder. "If you ever want to raise your grades a little bit more, then that's a very smart thing to do. It'd give you better options for scholarships and grants and financial aid…."

"Forget it," Zack interrupted. He held up a hand, cutting Cody off. They were doing a lot of that lately. Cody pushed away his feelings of frustration. He always hated it when Zack didn't listen to him, but with something as important as this…

But Zack was seriously done. He turned on his heel and walked to the court. And he'd played better than Cody had ever seen him. Tapeworm stood by Cody's side, watching him do drills and layups, letting out a low, impressed whistle under his breath. Even Drew stood to the side, watching him. Cody couldn't help but smile. If only Zack truly knew how many different avenues he could take to go to school.

Now, standing in the middle of the suite, Cody still thought that. But convincing him to do something, to see something was always a task in itself. His self-esteem was lower than he'd admit.

"Thanks Zack," Cody said sincerely. "That means a lot." He then turned to Riley and Rhuben, who gave him tight hugs as well. "So, what are you guys up to?" He changed the subject, knowing it would just hurt him more if they kept talking about it.

Besides, he reminded himself. You're still waiting for Yale.

"Other than watching Arwin completely destroy this washing machine, you mean?" Rhuben teased. She kept her hand resting on his shoulder, the other on her hip.

Cody's skin burned where she touched him, he could feel it through his shirt. He could feel his cheeks turn red, hoping it wasn't noticeable to anyone else. "Yeah, other than that," he agreed. "What was he doing, anyway?"

"Trying to prove to your mom that he could actually fix things, mate," Riley said. She nodded her head over to Arwin and Carey, who poured over a set of instructions while Arwin shamefully twirled a wrench in his hands. "He said he wanted to help your mom out, instead of having to send things through the laundry."

Zack snored. "Why not? That's what it's for. Why have a laundry service in a hotel if you don't take advantage of it?" He rolled his eyes. "Especially with how much mom complains about our laundry."

"That's because you still insist on getting your underwear dry-cleaned," Cody pointed out. "And that adds up on mom's bill."

Zack wagged his finger back and forth. "Not unless you take it off before she notices it."

Cody snorted. "Wait until we move out and she has all of those bills to back pay." Zack suddenly looked at him funny and Cody made a face back at him. Then Zack widened his eyes and shifted them towards Rhuben then back to Cody. Then Cody nodded, suddenly getting it. Zack didn't need to say the words Get Lost out loud for Cody to get the point. "Right, well, I'm just going to head down to the business office to get some work done."

"Anything in particular?" Rhuben asked.

"Science mostly."

"Bor-ring," Zack murmured.

Rhuben ignored him. "Reckon you could help me with mine?" She asked, grabbing her bag from the side of the couch. "I've got a couple of things that are stumping me." Cody nodded his agreement, suddenly finding himself unable to use his voice then led her out of the suite. She didn't say anything until the door closed behind them. "Get the feeling he wanted you gone, too?"

"It's not a feeling, it's a way of life," Cody replied, finally able to find his voice. "Zack's always been kicking me out of the suite, even when he was dating Max and every girl before her."

Rhuben chuckled as they went to the elevator. "You think you'll miss him when you go off to school?"

"Um…." Cody stalled, pressing the button to call the elevator.

He'd thought of it time and time again as he moved through the school year and college loomed closer. Half the time he couldn't wait to get away. The other half of the time he felt intense fear and anxiety in leaving.

It was different being twin brothers rather than regular brothers. Regular brothers got on each other's nerves, but were used to being apart with their own friends and having their own interests and their own rooms.

Their own lives.

As they grew up, Cody was the one who wanted to hold onto doing most things with his brother. He was never much of a sports person, though he liked to watch it on TV as much as Zack did. Zack was the one that wanted to shed Cody from his side because of his conscious plight of popularity and getting girlfriends. It hurt Cody at first, but there was always going to be a time where twins had to go their separate ways. So when Cody continued through academics, branching away from sports, he was a little surprised to find Zack didn't try to understand his academic side.

But they couldn't do everything together.

Cody was proud Zack was so good at sports, there was something for him to put his aggression and love of athletics into. Sure, Cody teased him about it time and time again; he was the only one that was allowed to tease Zack about it. Anyone else would probably get…a good, stern talking to. Violence was never his strong suit either. With all that in mind, the idea of living somewhere without his brother scared him, more than he cared to admit.

"That was a very unsure answer," Rhuben pointed out as they stepped in to ride to the lobby.

"That's tough talk coming from the girl who hasn't been away from her sister since she was born," Cody pointed out. Then he noticed Rhuben's demeanor change to one that was significantly more guarded.

"Riles and I used to be a lot closer," She disclosed. "But with everything that happened, we prepared ourselves to be split apart and distanced ourselves from each other." She shrugged. "We're working to get back there, yeah?"

Cody thought about it. He hadn't known her long, if he were being completely honest. Only a few years and from what he'd seen they seemed close. On the other hand, there was a lot she didn't tell him about herself, changing the subject so skillfully that he hadn't noticed until much later. Then there was the bombshell that she was anorexic, too and understood how Zack was feeling and what he was going through.

It shocked him on two fronts; that he hadn't known it was something she struggled with, her own skill of hiding it proving to him how easily Zack could do the same, and that it was something he was shockingly naïve about. (If he were being completely honest, part of him was surprised because…her being anorexic didn't completely fit his image of her).

The elevator doors slid open and Cody stepped out into the hotel lobby, shifting his backpack up his back. "It seems like things are working out," Cody said instead.

Rhuben smiled and nodded, the smile reaching her eyes so that it sparkled. He'd said the right thing, he'd noticed over the years that she seemed to reserve that smile for him. Or else it was wishful thinking as he hadn't quite stopped thinking about her since they'd broken up. Even when he was dating her cousin he wondered if it was better to get back together.

She was the one who broke up with you, remember, Cody reminded himself. Because you pushed her away, trying to learn everything about the abuse she went through and driving her crazy with it. She'd said he was obsessed with treating her like a statistic. And, honestly, she was right. By then he became so focused on learning about it that he'd spouted facts and figures out at her, trying to help her heal and it just made the wound that much bigger. But she kept too many things from him, too many secrets and after a while, he wasn't sure whenever she was being honest or if she was just feeding him a line to keep him away. What she went through for years, it was terrible he had seen some of it first hand, it scared him. It had to be scarier for her as she was living through it, though she always had a smile for him whenever she saw him and that made him feel good. Still, it hung over her like a dark cloud and it affected their relationship more than he thought it would and he felt that it wasn't fair for either of them until she came to terms with it.

Maybe they were both still hurting.

They reached the business office and Cody sat down in the closest empty seat, sliding his backpack down his arm and onto the ground. "So, UMass huh?" She asked, sitting next to him. She dropped her backpack and looked him in the eye. "Doesn't sound like Yale."

"UMass was my safety option," Cody admitted. "In case I don't get in."

"You'll get in, mate, they'd be crazy not to have you."

"There's so many things that can happen, I try not to think about it." He stretched out his legs under the table, accidentally bumping hers. Quickly, Cody brought his feet back and started to gather his homework together, arranging them by subject. "I've got into most of them so far, but I'm still waiting to hear back from a few. Yale's always comes out last."

Rhuben's eyebrows rose in amusement. She reached up, brushing her purple strand of hair from her eyes. "You know that for sure?"

Cody's cheeks flushed. "I may have called and asked the admissions office a few times."

"Figures." She rested her chin in her hand. "Getting a little anxious?"

He'd always liked it when she teased him, but now he was getting a little too hot under the collar. You're just friends, he reminded himself. Nothing more than that. "Maybe a little. But what about you? You've been getting some acceptances."

That made Rhuben's smile fade. "Yeah, a few," she said. "I might do some stuff online. I might go to an actual college. I might…" she let out a low breath.

Cody gently pressed. "Would you go to a college out here?" He curled his fingers around his pen, waiting for the answer. His hands shook. Why was he shaking? Dropping his pen, he busied himself, wiping his palms off on the legs of his jeans."

"Out here. Back home. I haven't decided." Rhuben shrugged. She smiled a little, looking down at her hands. "It's funny, Boston has become 'home' to me just as much as Australia has, though I tried my hardest not to let that happen."

"Oh yeah, I remember." Cody leaned back and folded his arms, smirking at her. "When I first met you, you made sure that you didn't like Boston, you didn't want to be here, and you didn't want to be my friend." The next part suddenly came out, he couldn't stop himself. "Kinda weird to know that, later, we'd start dating."

"Kinda," Rhuben agreed. She turned her head and gave him a cheeky smile. "Then you dumped me for my cousin."

Cody sucked in a breath through his teeth. That was his fault. No way to avoid it.

It was great they could joke about it now, even he and Crystal could joke about it. She was great. But back then he was afraid he'd hurt Rhuben with the way their relationship went.

"Good to know that you're not bitter about it," Cody said. He turned and looked at her, letting out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. This was a long time coming. "I didn't mean to-"

"I know what you meant," Rhuben interrupted. "And I don't know if I said it to you then, but thanks." Her eyebrows lowered into a serious expression. "At the time, I didn't get you were just trying to help me, but I get it now." She motioned to his school supplies. "Just like you helped me with science all the time."

Cody laughed. "Actually, I think that you helped me more than I helped you. Who was the one that figured out the part of the formula I was missing for my laser at the science fair?"

Rhuben smirked at him. "Who was the one who blew up Barbara's volcano and lost the first place prize?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "Do you always have to bring that up?"

"Yes, nong!" Rhuben pushed her purple strand of hair out of her face. "Just like I have to bring up me and Riles dressing you up like a girl to get together with that one shiela-"

"Rebecca," Cody broke in.

"Right." Rhuben cracked her knuckles. "And when we helped you lot play hooky so you could meet Matisse. And when you dyed your hair bright red. And when-"

"And when you kissed me for the first time when I went away to math camp," Cody teased. He smiled when a light blush moved over Rhuben's cheeks as she fell silent. It was a comfortable silence; nothing hanging over their heads, no awkward undertones. It was good to see things on the other foot, she'd teased him enough over the years. "You must have missed me like crazy."

"No, I just got annoyed of only having Zack around," Rhuben swiftly corrected him. "I'd rather listen to nails on a chalkboard or my cat screeching than be around him that long when he's bored." The two laughed. "You know he really missed you, yeah?"

Cody nodded back. He watched her face relax into a serene expression that Cody realized he'd missed.

Having known her since they were both thirteen or fourteen, he could honestly say that she grew up to be very beautiful. When he first met her, she instantly got his attention with her black hair, blue eyes, and mysteriousness. She'd eyed him curiously while Zack and Riley talked and Riley turned Zack down for whatever flirting he'd done. He'd smiled softly at her, to ease the tension of their moving, but she continued to study him with an air of disdain. He didn't know until later that she was trying to determine what kind of person he was.

There were times where Rhuben looked glad to have Cody around and others where it was obvious she didn't want him within two feet of her. He knew now it was nothing personal, but back then it made him wonder what was going on, causing him to think about her more than he thought he would. She'd opened up to him quickly, but there was a part of her that was very guarded and still pushed him away.

She was a mystery to him and it was a mystery that he tried hard to solve.

Cody wiped his hands off on the sides of his jeans; they were suddenly filled with sweat. He looked away when Rhuben turned a questioning glance at him, feeling his face starting to turn red. Why did Mom have to give me her fair skin? He raised his hand and scratched the back of his neck, trying to hide his face. "So, yea, if you want help on anything, I'd be glad to help you out. It'll be like old times, when we did papers and stuff together."

"Only difference being that Zack won't be goofing off, Riles wont' be yelling at him for goofing off, and we don't have to constantly roll our eyes at Zack's pathetic attempt of flirting with her," Rhuben pointed out, causing the two to laugh again. How things changed, now they were kinda-sorta going out and Cody and Rhuben were…

He wasn't quite sure, honestly.

Cody had to look away from her when she looked him in the eye. He always had to look away first under her intense gaze. He hated how she was always able to do that, to be able to look right through him and know what was bothering him even before he had to say anything. Just as much as he loved it.

"So," he asked instead. "What do you want to do first?"

Cody's Log

Zack talked to me a little today. About what happened with Mr. Forgess and Miss. Tutweiller and how things went with that meeting. I think things are getting better between us. I haven't had him admit that he was throwing up before but…that's really hard for him to do, I guess. He always says I'm the more emotional one, the more sensitive but I really think it's him.

There's not much more to report on. The acceptance to UMass is great, especially the money, but like I said, I don't want to go there. It's my safety school. I was to go to Yale and I'm going to go to Yale. But the way Rhuben looked at me when we were talking about it today…I'd love to see that more and more. When Yale's acceptance comes I know she'll really be impressed. And maybe then I can figure out how we can talk to each other about the really important stuff again.

Like…how I feel.

Or maybe at another time. Zack's always saying that I'm too cautious about these things but I can't help it. I need to know all of the facts, I don't want to embarrass myself.

I'm meeting up with Sadie tomorrow and then this weekend all of us are hanging out at Crystal's house to go swimming. Thank God for heated, screened in pools and Mr. Moseby not yelling at us to quiet down. Fingers crossed everything works out.

-CM

A/N: So for those that recognized part of the chapter, it was from my previous one-shot Catching Up. I had realized a long while ago that the one-shot worked better in this series rather than anywhere else. And being able to re-work it for this story now that I've improved in my writing has made it that much better, I think. And, now you see how truly frustrated Cody is getting with Zack not talking to him.

It can't be easy to have your twin brother not want to talk to you, although with the way Zack and Cody related to each other at this stage in their life (reminiscent to that on SLOD) that they may have subconsciously been doing it to themselves.

Please let me know what you thought.

Cheers,

-Riles