Moments

Chapter 2

Aboard a train heading to New York

Summer 2011

The train continued to speed across its tracks, bound for the great city of Manhattan. Several passengers were aboard due to the routine of their daily lives; however, three young men were on a different mission. They were on their way to surprise their girlfriends, or in Zack Martin's words, to 'crash' their girl's weekend. Woody Fink and Cody Martin were also with him, silently riding the monstrous vehicle in peace. To their surprise, the car was very quiet, and not a person was speaking. It wasn't one of those trains where you were shoulder to shoulder with a complete stranger, but a nice one that was spacious and comfortable.

The three teens sat in a booth with a table between them. Zack and Cody shared one side while Woody had the other to himself so he could sprawl out and take up all the room he desired. Cody stared out the window as Zack and Woody busied themselves in an intense game of 'Go Fish', both glaring at one other as if daring them to pick the right card.

"Do you have any two's?" Zack asked slowly.

Woody looked at his deck, narrowed his eyes back toward his opponent, and answered, "Go fish."

"Liar!" Zack exclaimed. "I know you have at least two two's, Woody!"

"I do not, cheater!" the bushy haired teen argued. "How would you know?"

"I gave you my two earlier in the game when you asked for it, so I know you have them since we're playing for full stacks! Now, hand it over, Woodmite!"

Woody huffed and threw his cards toward Zack, who was smiling in triumph. Suddenly noticing how quiet his twin was, he asked, "Broseph, you sure you don't want to play?"

"Yup," was Cody's reply as he rested his forehead on the glass window. "I'm sure."

"Dude, are you still upset about Mr. Pickett?" Zack questioned. "I don't wanna sound harsh, but it's been nearly two months, Bro."

Cody's head whipped up fiercely. "He died, Zack! I'm sorry that you don't understand that thoroughly, but it's a pretty big deal! Especially when you have to constantly wake up in the middle of the night to soothe your girlfriend when she's crying!"

Zack's face softened. "I-I'm sorry, Cody... I didn't mean to upset you."

Cody sighed and rubbed his eyes. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just exhausted; staying at Bailey's apartment with her means I don't get sleep, but if I'm not there, she doesn't get sleep."

Woody nodded. "Makes sense."

Cody let out a heavy breath. "Bailey and I are moving to Kettlecorn for a year to help out with the farm."

Woody's eyes widened. "But what about Harvard?"

"Yeah, college is a big thing for the both of you," Zack agreed.

Cody shrugged. "Well, we'll just take a year off until everything goes back to...normal," he struggled with the last word, but only Zack noticed and decided to let it go. Cody continued, "She has more family that's willing to chip in as well, but no one can be there 24/7 with Mrs. Pickett. Bailey and I feel like it's the right thing to do."

"It's going to be weird not seeing you every day, though," Zack admitted as Woody nodded along with his statement.

"But enough about me, what's going on with your lives," Cody asked, trying to lighten the mood from his news.

Woody rolled his eyes. "Steve is making me pay him back the tuition of Seven Seas High. He said something about how going to school on a cruise ship was the stupidest idea he's ever heard of, and that he wants his money back..."

"Dude, that's horrible!" Zack said angrily.

"I agree," Cody stated calmly.

"So, college is on hold for me right now. I can't pay for thatand high school at the same time. My dad knows about the whole thing, and offered me a job at his butcher shop," Woody informed.

"Where's that?" Zack asked.

"Pennsylvania."

"Isn't Addison -?" Cody began, but was interrupted by Woody.

"Yup, she's going to Penn State, and my dad's store is literally four blocks away. So, we'll still get to be with each other!"

"Does she know about this?"

"Nope, I'm going to surprise her when we get to New York," answered Woody with a smile. "How about you Zack?"

Zack shrugged. "Eh, Maya's going to college in New York and I'm staying in Boston to train to be a firefighter... I'd rather be doing that than college, anyways."

"How are things going to work between the two of you then?" Cody asked.

"We have our ways," Zack answered vaguely. He honestly wasn't up for this conversation because he was hoping that things would turn out differently...

Woody just shrugged. "Whatever you say, Dude." He face suddenly twisted. "Oh man, I need to pee. Be right back!"

Their bushy haired friend quickly made his way toward the bathroom, so Cody took the alone time with his brother in advantage. "Zack, I need to tell you something."

"Shoot," Zack responded as he absentmindedly shuffled the deck of cards. Cody opened his mouth and immediately shut it again. Zack rolled his eyes and scolded, "Just spit it out already."

"Bailey's pregnant," Cody announced in a breathy whisper.

Zack stopped shuffling and stared at his younger twin. "What?"

"We're having a baby, Zack," Cody repeated.

"How did that happen?" the older brother asked in disbelief.

Before Cody could answer, Woody walked back up with a look of relief on his face. "Wooh, much better. So, what are we talking about?"

The twins stared at each for a few seconds before Zack came up with, "Nothing important... Just something our mom told us before we left, that's all."

"Oh okay," Woody said, buying the lie.

"Now arriving at Grand Central Station," a voice announced over the intercom.

"That's us," Cody said, eagerly standing up to exit the train.

After leaving the station, the boys walked for about fifteen minutes before they finally stumbled upon Central Park. They looked around the massive green scenery, wondering if they would ever find their girlfriends within the large crowd of people. Woody smiled, pointed straight in front of himself, and exclaimed, "There they are!"

Zack, Cody, and Woody quickly made their way across the oversized lawn. When they reached the spot where the girls had their backs facing them, Zack greeted, "Hello, ladies!"

All three turned around with the most shocked, yet excited looks plastered on their faces.

A/N: XxLadyStrengthxX here! Having so much fun working with Wyn and WoundedHearts on this! XD Thanks for reading and please review as well! :)