Here's chapter 7! :D Again, I'm really sorry about the confusion in the last chapter about accidentally putting Harry Potter names in there! It was an accident, I'm going to try and be more careful about that. C: Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Suite Life.

Zack pulled on his basketball uniform. He tried not to think too much. It was always good to clear his mind before a game. "Dammit," Cody whispered, walking into their cabin and sitting on Zack's bed. His face was paler than usual and his blue eyes were massive.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked.

He shrugged. "I can't find my mouth guard. I think I left it at home."

"So? There are some more in the locker room. Just get a new one when we go down there. Besides, we don't even need to wear mouth guards, it's basketball," Zack reassured.

Cody rubbed his palms together and exhaled deeply. "It won't be the same. I already broke that one in. A new one will be uncomfortable."

He smirked at him. He knew that he really didn't care about the mouth guard. "Cody, you'll be fine. It's just against the girls. How bad can it really be?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "I know. Everyone keeps telling me the same thing. I don't know what's wrong with me. I guess I'm not very good at this."

"Cody, you're just nervous which is completely normal, and you're actually very good. I wouldn't have picked you if you weren't." He rubbed Cody's arm and smiled. He really did not understand why he was so hard on himself.

"I don't want to be a disappointment. People think I suck. I don't want them to be right." Cody didn't look at him. He studied the pattern on Zack's blanket.

"Hey, don't listen to them. You can't let them bother you. You're great, and I couldn't be happier that you are on the team. I know you try your best and that's all anyone can ask for," Cody opened his mouth but Zack quickly added, "and your best is good enough."

Cody laughed. "You know me too well."

Zack stood and stretched. "Hey, that's what twins are for, right?"

Cody got up as well and pulled his shoes out of his trunk. "You don't seem nervous."

"Hey, I am the cool twin aren't I?" Zack teased.

Cody laughed. "You wish." The two of them ran down the hall and onto the Sky Deck. It was buzzing with its usual pre-match excitement. Many classmates came up to them and wished them luck.

Janice casually walked up to them. She smiled sweetly. "Good luck today boys, but I don't think you'll need it."

"Thanks," Cody said. Though Zack's pep talk helped a bit, Cody was still a little nervous.

"Thanks, Janice, and thanks for the idea about single training. I think it really helped," Zack said.

"I don't mind helping friends out. Well, at least not while we're the ones playing each other. See you." She walked away but gave Zack one last smile before leaving the hall.

Cody smirked at him.

"What?" Zack asked.

"She really likes you, Zack."

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a frown.

Cody cleared his voice. "I don't mind helping friends out," he said in a screeching, somewhat high pitched voice with a bad British accent that sounded nothing like Janice.

Zack rolled his eyes. "So? We're friends."

Cody gave him a look. "She wants to be more than that, Zack. Why haven't you asked her to the dance yet?"

Zack turned away. He didn't know why he was stalling. "I don't know. I've just been focused on the game and getting us ready. I'll ask here once it's over, I guess. I hope she says yes."

"She will say yes. You saw the way she looked at you, and I'm pretty sure that you still have drool on your chin," Cody said with a laugh.

"You're so funny, Cody," Zack mumbled sarcastically. They continued to walk towards their table. Holden passed by them with disappointment all over his face.

"He didn't look too happy," Cody whispered.

Zack grinned broadly. It was a good time to say it. "Well, he'll feel better after Bailey asks him to the dance."

"What? She's taking him to the Christmas party?" Cody asked.

Zack pretended to be surprised. "Yeah, he's her first choice. Didn't she tell you?"

He chewed on his lip a bit. "No." He didn't say another word as they reached their table. The rest of the team was already eating. Zack buttered some toast and Cody poured cereal.

"You guys ready?" Woody asked.

"I just want it to be over," Zack said.

"Then I guess you'll have to step up your game because us girls are going to win," Maya said with a smile.

Zack smiled back at her. "In your dreams."

She chuckled. They gazed at each other. Zack felt butterflies in his stomach that had nothing to do with the nerves.

"So, I saw you talking to Janice. Did you ask her to the dance?" Bob asked rather loudly.

Maya looked down and Zack looked at him. "No, but as soon as I do, you'll be the first to know."

"So, Cody, how are you feeling?" Bailey asked, trying to change the subject.

He looked up at her. "I'm fine."

She smiled. "You'll be great. You're an awesome player."

There was something in Cody's eyes that bothered Zack. "Better than Holden?" Cody asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Bailey frowned at him. "Well, obviously you are. You're on the team, and he's not. Did he give you a hard time or something?"

"Forget it," he said, turning away.

"Oh, my Cody bear! You look so sexy in your basketball uniform. You're going to kick ass this morning!" Barbara was practically screaming as she ran to their table. She flopped on his lap and kissed his cheeks and forehead repeatedly.

"Barbara, please, I have a stomach ache," Cody said, pulling away.

Barbara got off his lap and sat next to him. She rubbed his stomach. "Nervous, sweetie?" Bailey was glaring at her again.

"A bit," Cody mumbled.

"Nerves are a good thing. You'll perform better with some adrenaline running through you," Bailey said.

"Bailey's right, Codles. Besides, it will wear off once you really get into it. I'll be cheering you on. I even made a poster!" Barbara screeched with a giggle.

Zack tried not to laugh and couldn't eat another bite of his toast. "I think we should head to the gym."

"Good luck, guys," Marcus said.

"Yeah, you all will be great," Woody added stuffing his face with pancakes.

Barbara gave Cody a big kiss and then kissed his ear. "Codles is my king," she moaned.

Cody's entire face went red. It matched his jersey perfectly. "T-thanks. Thanks, Barbara." She flipped her hair, locked her arm with London's, and headed out the hall. He cleared his throat. "Basketball really gets her excited."

"I can see that," Zack said.

"I think it's disgusting," Maya whispered.

"It doesn't matter. She'll be rooting for you. I will, too," Bailey said. She squeezed his hand. "You don't need luck. You're great already."

For the first time all morning, Cody smiled genuinely. "Thank you." She gave Zack a smile and walked off. Zack smiled back at her.

"Ready to go?" Zack asked Cody.

He was still smiling at Bailey who was walking away. "Yeah, I'm ready."

They walked to the boys locker room.

"Okay, we've been practicing nonstop since school began and what have we been focusing on?" Zack asked his team in the boys' locker room. He could hear the chants and cheers of fellow and opposing classmates in the gym. He did feel a bit nervous. He wanted his year as captain to be a success.

"Keeping low to the ground," a player said answered.

"That's right. We've been working on keeping low to the ground. The reason is that the girls never keep low. They will drag us out there all day if they can. They're hoping to tire us out, but we can't let that happen can we?

"No!" all the players shouted together.

"Good, so play a good game and this will easily be ours. Hands in guys." Zack held his hand out and his teammates joined in. "Guys on three. One, two, three, GUYS!"

The team roared and headed out of the locker room. Cody stayed behind and Maya walked in.

"Wow, you make a great captain, Zack," Cody said before leaving.

Maya took Zack's hand and squeezed it. "You won't beat me."

Zack squeezed her hand back and stared at her. Her uniform looked really good on her. "I know I won't. Show your moves that I taught you, okay?"

Maya suddenly turned a bit red. She licked her lips and said very gently, "Alright, I will."

"Good, I'd like to see it," he said.

She smirked. "We should go."

It was hard, for many reasons, for Zack to focus on the ball. He was proud of his team. Cody was excellent at stealing the ball. He knew that they would win, yet he didn't care. Zack could not stop thinking about his moment with Maya. She was so confusing. One minute it seemed as if she hated him, but other times he was sure that with a bit more time and privacy, they could have been making out.

"Dammit," he breathed. Yes, he loved her. He wanted to walk around the boat with her and talk. He wanted to hold her while they did homework together.

" Zack!" Bob bellowed as passed the ball to him. Zack broke out of his trance and saw Bob steal the ball away from Janice. Bob was a pretty good player. Zack wondered if he and Maya acted out on the urges that Bob had. It made him shudder. Thinking about Bob and Maya having sex made his skin go cold.

The teams were tied 56-56 right now. There were 10 seconds left in the game. He ran towards the net and slam dunked it into the net. The crowd went wild. The game was over. His team had won.

As always, the Sky Deck was booming with laughter and cheers. Zack stood at the Easy Squeezy and watched his teammates and friends re-enact certain moves and re-tell how close it got at times. He tried to enjoy it, but he was so distracted. He noticed Bailey fully engaged in a conversation with Cody and Barbara. She seemed to be trying more. Zack didn't understand why he couldn't be more of an adult about the situation with Bob. His head was throbbing. He left the Sky Deck and walked towards an empty classroom to clear his head.

However, as he opened the door, Janice came out. "Oh, sorry, Zack," she said, moving out of the way.

"It's okay," Zack said.

Janice put a hand on his shoulder. "You played amazingly, but I was worried about you for a second there. You seemed to be out of it."

Zack nervously chuckled. "I was kinda distracted."

She gave him a look. "By what? I hope it was good. It could've cost you the game."

He looked into her large, brown eyes. She was beautiful. He couldn't deny that. He had always thought that she was mysterious in a way even more so than her twin sister, Jessica. "I was thinking about the dance," he lied.

Janice ran a hand through her long, blonde hair. Her hand seemed to disappear in the strands. It wasn't deep and thick like Maya's. "Yeah, I'm so happy that Tutweiller finally caved in. I was one of the people that persuaded her."

"Do you want to go with me?" Zack blurted out before he lost his nerve.

"Pardon?" she said.

He licked his lips. "Sorry, I meant to ask, do you want to go to the dance with me? It doesn't have to mean anything. I just thought-"

"Yes, I'd love to go with you," Janice cut in. "We didn't get the opportunity to dance last time. I'd love to finally get one in."

He smiled. "Well, I suck at dancing, but I'm sure we can work something out." Janice chuckled and tucked hair behind her ear. "I better get back to the party."

"I thought you had to come in here," Janice said confused.

Zack shrugged. "Not anymore," he said. When he did get back to the Sky Deck, it was mostly empty except for Maya and a few others. Bob wasn't there. She was at the railing looking out at the sea.

"Where did everyone go?" he asked, joining her by the railing.

Maya looked at him. "Holden went over to congratulate Cody on a good game. Of course, it wasn't genuine. Then he wanted to speak to Bailey alone."

"About what?" Zack asked.

Maya scrunched her eyebrows. "He asked her to the Christmas dance, and she said yes. Cody wasn't too happy about that. He left. Bailey left. Barbara stormed after him and the party rather died out. I sent Bob to check on him."

Zack noticed how quiet her voice was and how her eyes were fixed on the stars. "Why didn't you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know what to say to him. Bailey didn't do anything wrong, and I wanted to wait for you." She pulled her eyes from the sky and looked at him. Zack had to remind his body how to breathe.

"I just needed to clear my head," he explained.

"I understand that. You played a really good game," she admitted.

"So did you, I mean did you see yourself out there? I almost lost it for my team. Did you see me standing there with the ball? Zack asked.

Maya laughed. "You did seem kind of distracted. It doesn't matter. You won. You're the best player in a long time. Your dad would be so proud of you."

Harry had to look away. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn't think he'd miss his parents as much as he did. "I think about him when I play. I wonder if I make a shot that he would've."

"I'm sure he did. You're a natural. You get it all from him." She put her hand on his shoulder.

Zack couldn't understand how she did it. Maya easily brought feeling out of him. He wanted her more than anything. He didn't understand how he could've been so stupid and clueless before. He had a chance and he blew it. For some reason he couldn't hold it in. Tears skidded down his cheeks. He hardly cried and when he did, it came out of nowhere. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." He continued to wipe tears but more fell. He sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. He felt embarrassed for crying in front of her, but he couldn't help it; he just wanted her so badly.

"Nothing is wrong with you, Zack. It's okay to feel upset. You don't have to be strong all the time," Maya said, wiping a tear that he had missed.

He shivered and took her hand. "You seem to be."

Her bottom lip trembled. "I'm not," she whispered. He held her small hand and stared at her. She stared right back at him fiercely. He wanted to kiss her so badly. Zack couldn't stop himself. He leant forward and so did she. He could hear his heart beating rapidly, and he could have sworn that Maya's breathing was shaky. He was so close…

He heard someone running in and backed away and saw Bailey. She was pale, and her eyes were rather red. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

Maya pulled her hand away and got up. "No, it's okay. I need to go to bed. Th-thank you." She didn't look at him. She ran out. Zack sat down on a lounge chair.

"I'm sorry, Zack. I thought that you'd be in bed by now," Bailey said, sitting down in a chair next to him.

"No. I just needed some air," he answered again. His hands were shaky but his mind was moving so slow. He didn't know what was wrong with him.

Bailey nodded. "I see. Holden asked me to the dance. I said yes."

"Maya told me. I asked Janice. She said yes," Zack said.

"We both have dates," Bailey whispered.

"Yeah," he said flatly.

Bailey looked at him. "And judging by your eyes and by mine, we've both been crying."

Zack stared into the fire. He couldn't take looking at Bailey. "Yeah."

She didn't say anymore. The two of them continued to look out to sea.

Ooo! The dance is coming up soon! ^.^ That's going to be a big chapter! I hope you enjoyed! Chapter 8 will be up ASAP! Maybe even later tonight :o Hehehe! Please review! I love getting them and it only takes like 30 seconds! Again, it keeps me motivated to continue this story! CAILEY AND ZAYA FOREVRER! 3