The Suite Life Of Speed

by goldjackal17

Maddie takes some time off of school to visit with her friends at the Tipton and to finally tell Zack how she feels about him, but she finds out an interesting fact about her young friend when she arrives. That he now has a passion for the fast life. What will happen when she is introduced to it as well? And Cody and London are together? How did that happen? Read and Find out.

5. Chapter 5: Opening Up 1

Disclaimer: I don't own The Suite Life series, Disney does.

For Reference: I changed the year of the Camaro that Zack won from Richie from a 2008 to a 2010 since when I looked it up the 2008 was only a concept car. I have also updated Chapter 4 to match this change.

Chapter 5: Opening Up part 1, Running Scared

Cody and London stood outside watching the two inside the Camaro through the windsheild. As the watched they saw Zack reach a hand over toward Maddie and both gasped when he pulled her into a searing kiss. Cody however knew one thing, even though his brother had been the one to initiate the contact it would stop once he realized what he was doing. Sure enough not two seconds later Zack's eyes flew wide open and he broke away from Maddie. Opening the driver door Zack stood up out of the car with a scared look on his face.

"Maddie, I'm sorry I shouldn't of done that." Zack said in a hurried tone, "Cody, do me a favor and take both cars and park them for me?" and at that Zack tossed the key to the car at his brother.

"And thank you, London." He followed up with in the same hurried tone, motioning toward the new car she had had dropped off for him, "I'll pay you back out of my next race winnings."

"Zack, don't..." but she was cut off when Zack spun on his heal and ran for the front entrance of the hotel.

Maddie having gotten over the shock of what just happened, had gotten out of the car just as Zack turned on his heel, "Zack wait!" but it was no use he continued for the door and ran inside strait to the elevator. She went to follow only to find her way blocked by Cody.

"Just let him go." the younger twin intoned.

"But..." she was cut off by Cody bringing his hand up and shaking his head.

"He just scared the shit out of himself by doing that. But it is a step in the right direction," he started, "He hasn't made an impulse decision like that in a long time. Your slowly starting to break down the walls he's placed around his heart. He proved that when he kissed you. Just give him some time and if I know him he'll come and talk to you."

She nodded and hung her head, she had thought that she had finally completely broken through to him, but then he had run and she now felt like they were back to square one. Even with Cody's explanation she still felt bad.

"I love him so much." Maddie said as tears started to form in her eyes.

London walked over and wrapped her arms around her friend, "He'll come around." she said, holding her best friend close.

"I just hate to see him like this. He's in so much pain and all I want to do is take it away. I want him to know how much he means to me, and that he can lean on me." Maddie explained through her tears.

"He's scared to take a risk with his heart again."Cody started, "He did it once before and then fate stole her from him."

"Twice." Maddie stated as London released her.

"Huh?" Cody asked.

"He risked his heart twice before." She answered.

"What do you mean?" London looked at her bemused by the statement.

"On the boat, the night before I got off," Maddie looked at them both as she said this, "I hadn't been able to sleep so I had gone up to the Sky Deck..."

Flashback

Maddie stood on the Sky Deck of the S.S. Tipton watching as the ship cut it's path through the waves. The wind blew around her as she looked up at the night sky blowing her loose blonde hair and the dress she was wearing around. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself trying warm up.

"You look cold." said a voice from behind her.

She smiled, she knew that voice all to well after all the times he had hit on her through out the past few years at the hotel. Turning around she was faced with sight of Zack Martin in tan shorts and a Hawaiian shirt leaning against a wall about two feet behind her with half smirk on his face and his arms behind his back. Pushing himself off the wall, he walked over to the railing she had been leaning against and stood beside her.

"A little." she nodded as she turned back to the railing.

"It's a good thing I have this then." He grinned as he produced a jacket from behind his back and draped over her shoulders.

"Thank you." she said as she wrapped it a little tighter around herself and leaned her elbows back on the railing.

"You know Maddie, I've been thinking about what happened between us at Prince Jeffy's castle and I was just wondering..."

She held up her hand to stop him, "We can't, Zack." she stated, meeting his blue eyes with her own brown ones, "Your three years younger then me, it wouldn't be right."

"But Maddie, you kissed me, remember?"

"Yes, I know. I shouldn't have." She nodded as she turned back to stare out at ocean again.

"You shouldn't have? That's all your gonna say? You kissed me and your gonna brush it off because I'm younger then you and saying you shouldn't have?" Maddie could tell he was frustrated, "Maddie, I've known you since I was twelve. I've been in lo..."
She interrupted him again, this time by putting a finger to his lips, "Zack, we need to be rational about this, I'm starting college in a month, and you have what...two more years on board here?"

He nodded at this, but she could still see the protest in his eyes.

"Which means it be long distance. Could you handle that? I know I couldn't." she continued.

"Then I'll get off this damn boat at the next stop and go back to Boston with you." He tried.

"No, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'm not gonna let you give that up for me. It wouldn't be right for me to allow you to do that."

"But I want you, I don't care about staying here. All I care about is you."

"You don't mean that." She stated matter of factually, "What about your brother, and Woody, and all your other friends that are on board?"

"Damn it, Maddie, don't you get it? I'm madly in love with you."

"No your not." she retorted, "It's just a crush, you'll get over it."

"No, I won't. I know you feel something for me." he said taking her chin in his hand and turning her head to face him.

"Zack even if I did, I still wouldn't let give all this up for me." she replied turning her back to him. Taking off the jacket he had loaned her, she handed it back to him.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you feel nothing for me." he challenged taking the jacket.

She didn't accept his challenge, instead she started to walk away from him, "I won't let it happen." she said over her shoulder as she continued away from him.

"It'd be as easy as breathing, you know?" he asked her retreating form.

She could hear the hurt in his voice at her rejection and stopped just short of the staircase that led back down to the ships main deck, "You need to meet someone your own age, someone who can make you their main priority. Just be my friend Zack, that's all I need from you."

"Fine." He nodded his head and turned back railing. She had taken one more glance at him before she had continued down the stairs and from the way his shoulders were shaking she could tell he was crying. She regretted hurting him with another rejection, but in her mind, she had no other choice.

End Flashback

"...needless to say, after I got back to Boston I hated myself for what I did to him. I had broken his heart, and the reason I had given him those excuses was because I, myself was too scared to get in a relationship with him. I knew he was right when he had said that it would be as easy as breathing. The fact was, I had denied that I had had feelings for him for so long, that when he was finally old enough to start understanding what love is that I shot him down before I even gave him a chance. Things were awkward between us for a while after that. But then Maya came along and everything seemed to go back to normal, at least for him. It was at that point that it hit me like a sack of hammers. I was in love with Zack, but it was too late to do anything about it." she concluded.

"You were wrong." Cody stated looking his friend in the eye, "Maya, put him through this ridiculous test before they got together. Trying to make him prove to her he had given up his player ways. If I'm getting what your saying, it hit you right around that time, had you said something, through an e-mail or anything, he would given up on her in a heartbeat."

"That's what I figured, but I thought he'd be better off with her." she replied, "He was still on the boat, and I didn't want to have to put him through the strain of a long distance relationship."

"Then why didn't you tell him how you felt when you found out Maya had broken up with him?" London, who had remained silent till this asked.

"Because I had put myself back into the state of denying it." Maddie answered, "And now I regret not giving into him that night on the ship."

"I can understand that, Maddie. Now you need to tell him that. But only when he comes to talk to you." Cody told her.

"I kind of did." she said tucking a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear, "The words I love you kind of slipped out during an argument we were having on the way back here. I think that's why he kissed me."

"And why he ran. He's still had feelings for you all this time, but he feels like he's betraying Maya's memory by moving on. Which in turn scares the living shit out of him." Cody stated looking over toward the street, "I'll talk to him, he's gonna have to get this race worthy, and if I know him he's gonna want my help." he continued motioning toward the new, white 2009 Mustang that his girlfriend had just bought his brother and was now leaning against.

"Thanks, Cody." Maddie smiled, drying away the last few tears that had escaped her eyes.

"Hey, don't mention it." Cody said giving her a quick hug, "I want to see him happy again and I know, for a fact that you can make him that way and so does he deep down. Here take this and give me hand with these." He handed her the key to the Camaro that his brother had tossed to him when he had ran into the hotel.

"Okay." she nodded getting into the car and starting it up.

"London?" he questioned holding out his hand.

"Oh..." she caught on when she saw his hand up and dropped the keys to the new car into it.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked as he walked over to the driver door.

"I was just thinking, that maybe, had I given up on the spoiled, selfish, stupid rich girl act before I did, maybe I could have helped them a lot more." London replied, shaking her head.

"Hey, things happen for a reason." he said to her as they got into the Mustang and he fired up the engine, "They both had something to learn from this. Now they just need to find their way to each other."

"I guess your right." she looked at him as he pulled away from the curb, with Maddie in tow behind him. They drove the cars into the garage and parked them on either side of Cody's Corvette.

Zack ran to the elevator as fast as he could, dodging around guests in the process, "I can't believe I just did that." he said to himself as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet waiting for the elevator car to arrive, "Damn it, why did I do that?"

*Because you never stopped loving her.* said a small voice in his head.

"Yes I did, I gave up on that when she shot me down on the ship." he told the voice.

*Ha, yeah right. Keep telling yourself that, and hey maybe one day you'll believe it. But I know better.* the voice shot back cockily singing the last four words.

"But what about, Maya and the baby?" he asked.

*Dude, no offense, but I'm gonna be very blunt here, she's dead. She decided to go Africa and leave you behind. I understand it hurts and it's hard to except, and it may even be a little scary, but you know as well as I do, Maya would want you to be happy and the baby would want the same.* the voice answered.

Great, I'm fighting with myself now, God I must be going insane. Zack thought.

*Yeah, you are fighting with your self, over something you shouldn't be. No matter what, you know I'm right. And by the way your not insane.* the voice stated.

"God, What do I do?" he asked.

*Only you can answer that.* and with that the voice in his head went silent.

"Yeah, thanks for nothing." Zack grumbled to the empty elevator as he stepped off of it on the twenty-third floor.

Walking over to his and his family's suite, he opened the door and walked in.

"I really need to figure this out." he said as he closed the door behind him.

"Figure what out?" Carey asked as she came out of the bathroom.

"Oh, hey mom." Zack greeted upon seeing her.

"Hey, son. Now answer the question." she prompted.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed." Zack said, trying to avoid her question he made a beeline for the bedroom.

"Zachary Martin, answer my question!" she promted again, this time a little sterner.

Zack stopped mid stride and cringed at the use of his full name. Turning back to her he relented.

"Maddie said she loved me, and I..." he stopped mid sentence.

"You what?" she asked.

"Well, I...kind of kissed her, but." he replied

"There's a but?" she questioned raising an eyebrow, the smile that had appeared on her face when he had said he kissed Maddie slowly slipping away.

"Yeah, I sort of ran away right after." he finished.

"You didn't?"

He nodded sheepishly.

"Oh, Zack." she pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head, "Why did you run away?"

"I got scared. I'm afraid to put myself out there again. I did once already. I opened up completely. I gave everything, my heart, my soul, my virginity, and for what. What did I get in return?" he asked, "I got nothing, I lost her and a child. I don't know if could handle going through that again. Anyone I've ever had feelings for I've lost."

"What do mean?" his mother questioned.

"Well first there was, Max. I had feelings for her and right before we got on the S.S. Tipton she moved across country. Then there was Maya and you know the story there, I gave her everything and how does fate repay me?" he challenged tears now streaking down his face, "By taking that away from too. I can't allow myself to fall again. If I do, I could loose her too and I don't want that to happen." he finished, his voice breaking on the last part of the sentence.

Carey saw her son's knees start to give out as he was overcome with emotion and she was across the room in a flash wrapping her oldest boy in her embrace. Leading him over to the couch she helped him sit down. Laying his head on her shoulder, she rocked back and forth trying sooth him as his body was rocked with sobs, "I can't loose, Maddie too Mom, I just can't." he cried.

"I know, sweetie, I know." she replied, "But if you don't take a chance, you'll never find out what it's like. You'll never get to experience all that life can offer you."

"I don't know, Mom, I'm so scared right now it's not even funny." he said lifting his head up off his mother's shoulder and wiping some of the tears away, "I don't want loose, Maddie, and I also don't want to betray Maya's memory either."

"Sleep on it. Don't try making your decision right now." Carey intoned cupping her son's cheek with her hand and wiping a stray tear that had escaped away with her thumb.

He nodded, "I think I'm gonna take a shower first though."

Standing up from the couch he walked to his bedroom, grabbed a change clothes, and went into bathroom closing the door behind him. As the bathroom door closed, the front door of the suite opened to reveal three faces, Cody, Maddie, and London all with shocked expressions.

"How much did you hear?" Carey asked the three softly after she heard the water start running.

"Pretty much all of it." Cody admitted, unable to look his mother in the eye.

"Well, now you know why he's so reluctant to put himself out there again." she said looking at the blonde young woman standing about six inches behind her other son, "by the way, you look nice, both of you." she added looking from Maddie to London who had chosen to wear a sparkling pink spaghetti strap top and black short skirt, along with black, high heeled, buckle sandals, as well as a dark blue denim jackett.

The two nodded their thanks before Maddie turnned to leave, "I'll talk to later, Cody. Goodnight Carey." she said over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

"Yep." Cody nodded.

"Night, Maddie." Carey added.

London walked up to him, "I'll see you later tonight?" she asked not sure after what they had overheard if he would want to stay with his brother.

"I don't know yet, I need to check on him. Make sure he's okay, you know?" he replied.

"Yeah, I know." London smiled at him, "That's part of what made me fall in love with you." she continued. Leaning up, she captured his lips in a kiss.

"I love you, London." he said after they broke apart.

"I love you, too." she smiled again, hugged him, and turned for the door.

"I'll text you in a little while to let you know if I'm coming up." he called after her retreating form.

"I'll be waiting." she told him as she walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Zack stood by the door of the bathroom, having just turned the water on. He had heard the front door open as he had closed the bathroom and had done so, so the people who had walked into suite and his mother would think that he was busy. Listening in he had heard their entire exchange. Turning around, he leaned his back against the door, Well not what I thought would happen and not the way I would have chosen for Maddie to find out about everything. Fate, why do you hate me so? He thought as he stripped down and got under the cascading water.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: Well, here's Chapter 5. I hope you all enjoyed it. You know drill, if you liked it enough to shoot me a review, please do. I went a little differently then I had originally planned, but I think it turned out well. If you want a sneak peek at what Zack's new Mustang will look like when he's done, take a look at my profile avatar. It might take a little while, considering I just changed it but trust me when I say it'll be a little while before the finished project is in the story.

Countrygirl19: Thank you again for reviewing, and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know you liked the fact he kissed Maddie, but he's not quite ready to take that full step and open back up just yet.

Killerm1: Thank you for the review, it made me laugh. Didn't quite expect you to comment on the car being blown up, or as you put 'Boom goes the car.' lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and sorry there's no more destruction yet. Give me time though there will be more coming. I can already picture it in my mind. Just stick with me. Here's a small hint for you, be glad I saved the Camaro, LMAO.

And to everyone else reading this: Thanks for giving me a little bit of time out of your day, hope you are enjoying it. And I hope some of you will pop me review to let me know if you are.

Thanks again to everyone, It means a lot to me that your giving my story a shot.

Sincerely, Goldjackal17