.:13:.

He wasn't having fun anymore

Cody spun out of the way of a diving reach for the ball in his hands. Patrick let out a low curse, skidding his feet as fast as he could, but couldn't recover. Cody drove the ball to the basket and made an easy layup. He whooped as it fell, catching it quickly against his chest. He turned back to Zack, who lifted his hand for a high-five, then rested the ball against his chest. "Ready for another?"

Patrick flipped his hair out of his face, hanging in loose strands down to his shoulders from its usual spiky style. He gave Cody the stink-eye before straightening to say, "Mate, shut up."

"You know, I thought people didn't get out of shape until they reached middle age," Zack joked.

Julius made a non-committal sound, bringing a water bottle to his lips. He took a swig then snapped the cap shut with a slap of his palm. "Keep that up and I'm going to roll you over, mate," he said. Cody smiled to himself, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth to hide his amusement while Zack's smile immediately faded, and an air of fear hovered around him. "You just got lucky."

"I don't think lucky is the word, bro," Noah mused, crossing his arms. He tilted his head towards the player's bench where Riley and Rhuben were sitting, folding sheets of paper into intricate shapes. He smirked, exchanging a glance with Julius, who rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

Cody couldn't help but blush. It wasn't like he'd planned the whole thing. He asked Zack if he wanted to practice some basketball, his nerves of the very important games starting to rear its ugly head. Zack, who was someone who would do just about anything other than study, leapt at the chance, ducking out of their mother's gaze as they left the suite to head to the basketball courts at Liberty Park.

It was a completely coincidence that the Jacksons were there as well, Julius—who had recently returned to Boston on a break from school, Patrick, and Noah playing a pickup game of basketball while Riley and Rhuben—who easily admitted they couldn't play to save their lives, and Sydney—who didn't like basketball so much, sat off to the side to watch.

Still, Cody had to admit he played a bit harder and stayed more focus than he typically would. Not because of the added audience, though that was great, but because he wanted to impress Julius a little. The older boy had been a friend of Maddie's and London's since having first come to Boston years ago, dating Maddie shortly after. While Zack held a tiny bit of resentment to him for dating her—which always made Cody roll his eyes, Cody looked up to him. His father was hardly around back then, and Julius treated Zack and Cody liked one of his family, didn't treat him as just a science nerd.

Now that Julius played basketball for his university, Cody hoped to keep his image of not being a science nerd, being able to play with him. "Nah, they're doing a good job," Julius said. "That thing where they…sort of appear on the other side of the court is ace, yeah?" He folded his arms, nodding towards his brothers. "Sort of like how you can move the ball without having to look if the other is there. Bound to help heaps for your tournament games."

"That's what we're hoping," Cody agreed, gently bouncing the ball next to him. He took a step back and tossed the ball towards the basket. It shot through the hoop with a quiet swish. Julius, standing by the hoop, reached out his hand and grabbed it. He bounced-passed it back to Cody and he took it to take another shot. Another basket. Julius passed the ball back to him.

"You nervous?"

"Wouldn't you be?"

Julius chuckled. "I'm always nervous, mate. Just want to do my best, that's all I can ask for." His eyes then shifted to the side and he snapped his fingers loudly. Cody turned to see what he was snapping at and saw Patrick and Noah both backing away from Sydney, who stubbornly held the basketball to his chest. "Leave him alone!" He cried.

"We're not bugging him, we're helping him," Noah denied. "Trying to show him how to shoot a basket."

"I can do it myself," Sydney declared, pout frowning.

Patrick folded his arms. "You don't have to be such a baby about it."

"I'm not being a baby!"

"Syd, you're ten, quit whinging," Julius said. Sydney frowned but nodded, handing the ball back to his older brothers. Julius smiled. "Be glad you don't have any other siblings, Cody. Don't get me wrong, I love my brothers and sisters, but they can be so bloody annoying."

"Spend enough time with Zack and I'm sure you'd feel the same way," Cody replied, making the older boy laugh.

Zack gave a hollow laugh in response and walked off the court. He didn't take offense to Cody's jab. Not at all, there was just something else that unsettled him a little. Something he'd always wanted the answer to but wasn't quite sure how to ask. Now that it was sitting right in front of him, he at least had the opportunity to ask.

Zack went over to the bench Riley and Rhuben were sitting on and announced his presence with a loud sigh. He straddled the bench and leaned forward, watching as Riley rapidly folded sheets of paper with deft movements of her hands. She blew her strands of red hair from her face, frowning in concentration. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Well, I'm not sure what you think it is, Zack," Rhuben said teasingly. "But we're folding paper."

Zack ignored the bit of sarcasm that flowed from her voice as well. How she managed to sound charming and be very clear that she was jabbing at him he never knew. Still, it was after his own heart in the way he teased his brother, so he could take it. Honestly, it was what he liked about his friendship with Rhuben. If he were being honest, he hadn't been a close friend to her before his struggles with anorexia. He spent too much time dating and finding girls to flirt with to do it but having her as a person to talk to when he struggled, it brought them closer.

He enjoyed having those moments where they could sit and talk quietly about their struggles and things they went through. So much so he thought about why he hadn't ended up falling for her and found that their personalities simply didn't match in that way. She was a peacemaker, thought things through before doing them, and was often very mysterious. Though she did have as much of a playful attitude he resonated with well, but was glad Cody brought that side out of her.

"Why?" He asked.

Riley sighed. Whatever it was, was clearing causing her strife. He'd never seen someone look so angry about folding pieces of paper. Or concentrate on it so hard it appeared that one look would have it burst into flames. "It's for my art project and I'm falling behind."

"If you're already that far behind, why would it matter if you don't finish it or not?" Zack asked. "It's just a grade." He blinked and jerked his head back when the twin girls looked at him sharply. Now he knew what it was like for other people to have both him and Cody look at people a certain way. "Geez, I was kidding."

"And clearly you haven't met Uncle Christian," Rhuben agreed. She stood up, brushing off the seat of her jeans. "I'm going to get out of here before I catch it."

"Catch what?" Riley laughed.

"Whatever it is that makes Zack so lazy," Rhuben said. She pressed her fingers to the side of her head in the shape of a gun. "Last thing I need is for Uncle Christian to be up my ass because I decided not to do my homework for once." She laughed and held up a hand saying, "Cheers," when Zack shot her the finger. Then she wandered out onto the basketball court along with her brother and friend.

Riley chuckled, shaking her head. She continued to flip the paper back and forth, folding the pages at a speed Zack couldn't keep up with. She looked up at him with a smile that eased some of his worries. Just some. "What's up, Z?"

He loved it when she called him that.

"Does your brother not like me?" Zack blurted out. He tried to keep calm, cool, and collected. Keep up with the image he represented at nearly all times. The words slipped out before he could stop it. Embarrassed, Zack folded his arms, chewing his lower lip, waiting for her response. She thought for a moment, making Zack's insecurities bubbles up faster than he'd like. "He doesn't like me."

"What makes you say that?" Riley asked. She glanced over at her brother, flipping her hair out of her face. Then an expression of understanding softened her features and she nodded saying, "Because he pays so much attention to Cody, yeah?" She shrugged. "I don't think it helped much that you were always glaring at him for chatting up Maddie."

Zack started to protest then closed his mouth knowing he had no ground to stand o. He let out a long breath through his lips, making the sound of blowing a raspberry. He could've taken that answer at face value, but it was the major problem of being a twin; comparison. There was always a chance they'd be friends with some people and not others, they didn't have to share friends. That was fine. But the insecurity over wondering why people preferred Cody to him—and vice versa—could be crippling.

"He doesn't like me, does he?" Zack repeated the question. He tried to keep calm as Riley took a few moments to think about it. Finally, she tore her eyes away from the paper, which was slowly starting to take shape into something, and gave him her full attention.

"Well," Riley started.

"Do any of them like me?"

"Well—"

"No one in your family likes me, do they?"

"Well—"

"Would you stop saying 'well'?" Zack demanded. He jabbed himself in the chest. "My self-esteem is riding on this. And unlike Cody's, it hasn't been shot to smithereens yet."

Riley laughed. "I'd be able to say more than 'well' if you'd shut up. Hold this." She held out the folded paper to him. He had absolutely no idea what it was but took it anyway. "Honestly?" Zack nodded. "They liked you more as a friend then as my…" she trailed off, unsure of the word to use. Zack waited silently, not wanting to push but hoping to hear some sort of clarification on it. "Then as the guy I'm seeing." He smiled. "You have to admit, Zack, your track record for dating hasn't been bonzer." She shrugged. "Then again, neither has mine, yeah?"

Zack twisted his mouth to the side. "Yeah, you haven't told me about any of them."

"I thought you weren't supposed to talk about your exes when you're seeing someone."

"You know all of my exes."

Riley lifted an eyebrow as she smirked at him. "That's because your exes are either my friend or some of our classmates, or someone I've run into on the streets, or—"

"—I get it," Zack interrupted. So, he'd gone out with a few people. Would anyone else let that go? How much longer was he going to be known by his reputation than who he actually was as a person? In that moment, Zack leveled his gaze to Riley with a sense of heartwarming pride. She'd gone through the same thing when first arriving in Boston four years before. Rumors had swirled around of what she and her family were like before they'd even set foot in the school. The way they acted—standoffish and cagey, which had only been because of the abuse they were hiding—didn't help things very much. As many times as his teachers had implied that Zack wouldn't amount to much due to his laziness, there had been many times they'd warned Riley about her attitude before meeting her.

In this case, Zack had an idea of why her brother or siblings wouldn't really like the idea of them dating. It was the same thing he heard whenever he'd be interested in a girl and her friends would start to whisper in her ear. "They think I'm going to hurt you or something?" He guessed, lowering his voice.

Again, Riley shrugged. "Pretty much."

"I'm not going to do that!" He said it so emphatically, feeling it deep within him. And he'd said the same for Max. He hadn't hurt her, she hurt him. Still, he couldn't be mad at her, couldn't not be friends with her. He truly did care for her and their relationship, wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that. He'd grown up and knew how to be in a relationship. When would anyone else see that? "They know that right?"

"They're just protective of me, Zack," Riley reassured him, pulling her hair behind her ears. "No worries. Julius has never threatened to harm any of the guys I've dated before and neither would the boys," She added, gesturing with her head towards her younger brothers. "I reckon you may be on their shit list for a while, but they wouldn't threaten you. They're your friends, too, don't forget that."

Zack smiled and nodded. Still, he didn't quite believe it. He'd had grandparents, uncles, fathers, and brothers of girls he dated all threaten him in one way or another. "If you don't have her back by…" "If you don't treat her right…" "Don't make me angry…" As far as he was concerned, parents would never like him, he paid not attention to it as it was.

"Hey, bend this right here?" Riley's voice caught his attention and Zack looked down to the paper in his hands that, suddenly, looked like some sort of bird. He looked at the part of the bird—the wing?—she pointed to and he did as he was told.

Zack couldn't help but quip, "Does this mean it's going to turn into a real bird?" Laughing to himself, he moved the bird up and down as if it were really in flight. Then he noticed Riley watching him carefully, something shining in her eyes he couldn't quite place. She looked…happy. Zack felt a smile come to his face, feeling his insides warm. "What?"

"It's not going to take flight, mate, but you do get a wish," she said. She tapped her finger against his. "My project for art was to do make one thousand origami paper cranes. Japanese folklore says if you make all one thousand cranes, then you get a wish."

"Well, if it's your project, you should get the wish then—"

"—You finished it, it's yours." Her eyes flashed mischievously. She leaned towards him, instinctively making him lean back out of the way. His heart raced. How could he be so calm, cool, and collected around girls but then turn into a shaking mess with the one that was easily his closest friend as much as he wanted to be more. "So, what do you want? All the money in the world?"

Zack laughed. He could only be so lucky. Many areas of his life would be easier without having to worry about money. The important things; dates, candy, video games. More importantly that that, his parents didn't have to worry so much about making rent and all the other bills they paid for on what seemed like a daily basis. He turned the crane back and forth in his hands as he thought about it.

What would he wish for?

There's one thing, he thought, flicking his gaze up to meet Riley's once more.

"Well?" She pressed. In anticipation, she rapidly drummed her fingers on the bench.

"I have a few ideas," he replied, honestly. "Just need to figure out which one I want the most." He tossed the paper crane back to her, looking her in the eye. Riley smirked back. "I mean, I don't think it'd be too much to get Megan Fox as a date to prom, do you?" He laughed and leaned out of the way when Riley punched him on hard on the arm. "Ow! What? You said I could use my wish on whatever I want."

"Yeah, I'm revoking that privilege." She tucked the crane under the bench with the others that Zack had noticed was piled up. All in an array of colors, shapes and sizes like a flock of birds that decided to dog pile each other. It made Zack smile.

"You don't need to be so jealous, Ley," Zack teased. He reached out to pinch her cheek, earning a slap to his hand, deflecting it away from her face accompanied with as sharp glare. "I mean, Megan Fox is hot, but even I know she's out of my league."

"Then why'd you say it?"

"To see how you'd react." Riley smiled and looked away. She brought a hand up to scratch her forehead, trying and failing to hide her flushed cheeks. Nevertheless, Zack noticed. He reached out and took her hand, gently running his thumb over her knuckles. "Are you going to our first game?"

"I've got a swim meet that day, but I won't miss it, yeah?"

"Are you going to cheer for me?" His bravado increased when she let out a loud peal of laughter, almost as if she had been thrown off by the question. "You had to have known I was going to ask. I need my personal cheering section."

She rolled her eyes. Of course, that was the normal response he got form her. At first, he'd seen to as a gesture of annoyance, then slowly found it to be accompanied with a smile as time went on. Reaching up, Riley flicked him on the tip of the nose before pointing directly in his face. "You're fucking nuts if you think I'm going to be your personal cheerleader. A supportive friend, maybe."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Just a friend?"

She mimicked his expression. "You don't expect me to prance around with a pair of bloody pom-poms, do you?" She paused. An expression of abject horror came to Riley's face and she waved her hands back and forth. "Scratch that. Scratch that thought."

"Too late, I'm already thinking it!"

"Stop!"

The two were laughing hysterically by that point. Zack held up his hands defensively. "Sorry, once it's in my head, it's hard to get out."

"Then how come your grades fucking suck?"

"Shut up."

Across the court, Cody smiled as he watched Zack and Riley laugh with each other. Nothing made him feel better than knowing his brother was happy. After the rough year he had, he deserved nothing but happiness and success. He shifted his attention back to the hoop in front of him and threw up the ball, smiling as he got another shot in.

"You're on fire today, Cody," Rhuben said, taking Julius's place to catch the ball and pass it back to him. "I reckon, you're going to win your games for sure." Cody smiled and spun the ball in his hands. "Now, if only you could do it for your talent portion of the pageant. I think it'd go over well." Cody took a shot and missed. "Or, maybe not."

"Ha ha." Cody caught the ball as it bounced back towards him. What was he thinking? Agreeing to do the beauty pageant? He hated to put himself on the spot like that, even hated to do public speaking no matter how good he was at it, didn't like allowing himself to have anyone pick fun of him when he knew it was coming. Bullying in the past reared its ugly head more often than he liked. And now he was going to put himself out there for everyone to ogle and make fun of. It's for college, it's for college, he reminded himself. He held the ball out to her. "You want to try?"

Rhuben shook he head, ponytail swinging behind her. "And potentially kill someone? I don't think so." She motioned to Julius, who was then running back and forth on the far side of the court, playing a game with his brothers as they ran to grab the ball from him. Each time they lunged, he'd expertly move the ball back out of the way, making them chase him once more. "Julius has tried many times and even he's given up."

"Excuse me, I'm a tutor, I think I know how to teach someone to play," Cody said. He gently bounced the ball back and forth between his legs. "Knowing the perfect angle to leap from for a lay-up, to conclusively reach the basket."

"Wow." Rhuben reached up to scratch at her temple. Ran a hand through her hair, arranged her purple strands out of her eyes and said, "You really know how to suck the fun out of everything, don't you?"

Cody laughed loudly. He couldn't help it. For once he didn't have to think about everything that was going on; all the upcoming tests, quizzes, papers, applications, acceptances, rejections. Nothing. He just had to have fun. Even if it were for only a few hours. He held the ball out to Rhuben and she reluctantly took it, turning herself towards the basket.

"So, how do you do this?"

Cody wrapped his arms around her and shifted her hands on the ball. He felt his face flush, noticing how close he was to her. Did his best to keep his composure. "You have to keep your hands here, to stabilize for the shot you're going to make."

Movement across the park caught his attention. Cody looked over, noticing someone was walking away from the basketball courts quickly, red hair strewing behind them. The person turned around and Cody's heart sank when he saw Sadie glance at him over her shoulder. She looked angry.

"Like this?"

Rhuben's voice caught his attention and he looked over, barely glancing at her hand placements. Nevertheless, he nodded and mumbled, "Yeah, that's perfect."

His smile was long gone. He wasn't having fun anymore.

A/N: A few moments of romance never hurt anyone. Lol. Patrick, Noah, Sydney, and Aaron become bigger characters with this chapter. Now that the stakes with Sadie are getting a bit higher, there's plenty more action this story is going to see before it ends. I've still got plenty of other Suite Life stories that are coming soon as well so keep an eye out.

As for the guest reviewers. Guest review #2: No worries. The hate review I did ignore because it didn't say anything. Had it had said 'this story sucks because the pacing is slow' or something like that, it'd be something I could pay attention to and change. If they don't like it, they don't like it, it's fine. I don't think the story sucks and I greatly enjoy writing it. I'm glad you continue to read and enjoy the story as it goes on! Thank you for your kind words.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter and I'll update again soon.

Cheers,

-Riles