Chapter 2: A gentle rain

Cody laid on his bed, racking his mind for his answer. Zack hadn't said anything about his plan since their breakfast two days ago. This meant one of two things. Either Zack had completely forgotten about their talk, which seemed quite plausible, or Zack had been thinking hard about this, which would lead to strange results.

He'd find out soon enough, but after looking at the clock, he saw he was almost late for class. As he reached to grab his backpack, his phone began vibrating. Opening it up, he saw a text message from his brother. 'My room Now.'

He wasn't sure what he should do. His brother was right, he wanted to finally win Bailey over, but he was afraid what would happen if she said no. They had a great friendship, and he didn't want to ruin it. He cared about her too much to rush into something they weren't ready for. He'd seen friendships ruined once they reached the romance level and had their first big fight. Even so it might be worth the risk, so he decided to walk across the hall and knock on his brother's door.

"Come in," a voice said and Cody walked into a completely dark room. The younger twin looked around, thinking this might be a set up for one of Zack's pranks. After a few seconds of being kept in suspense, the lights came on, and Zack swirled around in a big black chair to look at Cody. "I see you made it," he said pointing a fork at Cody.

Several logical questions came to the younger twin's mind, which he felt he had to ask, mostly involving his brother's attire. Zack was wearing a fancy suit jacket, black tie, and black top hat. While this seemed unusual to Cody, the fact that Zack was also wearing a swimsuit made absolutely no sense. "Why?" was the only coherent word to come out of the younger twin's mouth.

"This is to illustrate my plan," Zack said. "You see, this suit represents the serious hard working person that you must be to impress Bailey. The swim trunks represent the fun loving person you must be to make her not fall asleep while talking to her."

"And the fork?" Cody asked, fearing the answer.

"Quite simply, that is for eating my breakfast," Zack said as he proceeded to finish his plate of pancakes covered in applesauce, "Thanks for the suggestion by the way!"

"So, what is your plan with Bailey?" Cody asked, trying to focus his brother on the topic at hand.

"Well, we have to strike fast and nab our prize."

"Zack, she isn't just a prize."

"Yah, 'yah, so do you want my help or not."

"Fine, Cody conceded. He knew that Zack was better with girls than him, so he'd have to go along with this for now.

"Okay, so you know how the boat docks in France next Thursday?"

"Yea, what about it?"

"You get partnered up with Bailey when we explore the city, and what better place to make her fall in love than the city of romance."

"I don't know about this, besides, how are you going to make sure I get to go with her?"

"Cody, you underestimate me," Zack said with a smile, "Remember in 8th grade how you always seemed to be paired up with Agnes?"

"Yea, don't remind…wait, you did that?"

"It's amazing how easy most school's computer systems are to hack," Zack said casually.

"So that will get us together, but how to I take this from friendship to something more?" Cody asked, for once admiring his brother's ingenuity.

"Don't worry, little bro, I've thought of everything," he said putting his arm around his brother. "You will lead her through the most romantic night of her life, culminating with a dozen roses on top of the Eifel Tower overlooking the sunset."

"How are you going to manage that?"

"I know people," Zack cryptically replied, "First of all though, on your way through the city you will show her through all the various monuments and historical places."

"Yea, like where the royal family was killed during the French Revolution."

"Something like that, but remember you are trying to woo her, not bore her to death," Zack said, hoping his brother wouldn't ruin this chance he had. Although, if necessary, Zack did have a plan B

"Do you really think this is worth it though?" Cody nervously asked, "I mean, it's not like the kiss in the dream was any more than a peck on the cheek. It's probably not even real."

"Cody, listen to me. Think about it, when something goes wrong, who does she normally talk to?"

"Me,"

"And who has wanted to go out with her since he met her?"

"Me…"

"And who wasn't she with in the dream?"

"Me," Cody said softly.

"See, this is what I think, you know you could lose her if you don't do something fast, and your mind was trying to show that. And how do you know that brief kiss wasn't the start of something more, and I mean a lot more?"

"You really think, they would, you know?"

"It seems unlikely, but if you think about it, you getting someone that hot instead of me would be quite a surprise too."

"Thanks Zack," Cody replied sarcastically.

"Still, you have to go for it. You love Bailey and I'm sure she'll feel the same way about you, in fact she already might. You won't get another chance like this."

"I guess you're right," Cody said, trying to chase his nervousness away. "I can do this. A week from now, I'm going to be Bailey's boyfriend."

"That's what I like to hear."

What have I gotten myself into?