.:Chapter 02:.

Isn't that great?

Zack pulled his backpack out of his locker at the end of a long day. It was just another reminder that education was shoved by down his throat when he wasn't even sure it was what he wanted in the first place. Yes. He at least wanted to graduate from high school, though he wouldn't completely knock the idea of dropping out and getting a GED, but that would essentially be proving everyone right. He had heard for years that he wouldn't amount to much because he couldn't get a good job because he didn't take school so seriously. If that's what everyone thought then why try to prove them wrong? They clearly didn't have any faith in him if that was the point.

Zack had just closed his locker door, when he felt a pair of hands slide over his eyes. He grabbed onto the person's wrists and pulled the hands away from his eyes. Glancing at the charm bracelet that was dangling off the right wrist, he immediately knew that it was Max. Zack smiled to himself and turned around, wrapping his arms around Max's waist and giving her a kiss.

"Zack!" Max punched him hard on the shoulder. Zack winced and grabbing onto what he was sure was going to bruise later. "Dude, I don't want to get another detention from the principal because of 'public display of affection' that are against 'the school code of conduct'. Max's use of air quotes made Zack smirk.

He had study hall and was bored. Max was in science class and knowing that it wasn't her best subject, he talked her into skipping it. How was he supposed to know that the janitor had been called in to clean up a mess in the cafeteria? If he knew it was going to happen, he would have found a better place to make out than the janitor's closet. Even so, he thought that the principal had given them a bit of a harsh sentence; it was really the first time that they had gotten caught. Either way, they had detention for a week because of it. It ended up becoming an inside joke between the two of them. Whenever they passed said closet, they would give each other a sly look and try not to laugh out loud.

Zack's smirk turned into a genuine smile as he took Max's hand. It was strange to him sometimes, to be dating her in such a committed relationship. To be honest, at first, he wasn't even sure if he could be in a committed relationship. He was so into girls as it is that he had more fun with the chase. But when he started to date Max, he understood he appeal and understood why Cody blabbed about his relationship with Barbara. It was a good feeling to know that the person that you were into was yours and that they looked only at you and thought about you and wanted to be able to help you through thick and thin, no matter what was thrown your way.

If it wasn't for the small moment in time that they had broken up, he had never been so happy.

"Ok, but you have to admit, that week of detention was so worth it," Zack said. Max smiled, though she rolled her eyes as well. "See? I told you." His right eyebrows twitched. "Plus, that was, like, the only time that I ever had any of my homework done early. For once, Mom was off my back and I could do whatever I wanted that weekend."

"It wouldn't be a problem if you just continued to work like that," Max pointed out. She wedged her fingers between Zack's and leaned into his side. Using her free hand, she punched him on the other arm, laughing when Zack winced. "And you wouldn't have to complain so much."

"Pshht. Yeah, like that's ever going to happen!" Max gave him a disapproving look, but he ignored it the best he could. She was never one that cared much about school, usually her attention was focused on dancing and up until they were thirteen, being seen as nothing but a tomboy. But after hearing how you could get a degree in pretty much anything you wanted, she started to take her studies that much more seriously. It would have been annoying to Zack if it wasn't that he had his own private tutor.

He had Cody, but that wasn't good enough of a reward for the good grades he could potentially get. Not having to listen to Cody go on and on about Math and Science is reward enough. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. " He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. Then his blue eyes lit up and he gave his girlfriend a charming smile. "Are you coming to my soccer game?"

"Yes," Max said. "But I'm going to be a bit late. Tapeworm said something about him and Cody trying out for basketball and he wants me to be there for support."

Zack let out a breath through his nose, the easiest way for him to show his surprise without actually laughing out loud. It wasn't well received when he expressed his shock towards Cody's news, but now Tapeworm too? Tape wasn't that much better than Cody. Why's he trying out too? More importantly, why didn't Cody tell me that he was going to? Max must have noticed the movement because she shrugged.

"Hey, he's my best friend and I said that I'd go, Dude." She squeezed Zack's hand before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be there after the tryouts are over, don't worry."

Quickly returning to his confident self, Zack puffed up his chest and with fake bravado said, "Who's worried? Our team will definitely win."

Max gave him a sympathetic smile. "Probably out of pity."

Zack laughed his chest deflating. "Probably," he agreed. "The other team's supposed to be really good. I'll see you." He gave Max a kiss on the cheek and hiked his backpack up onto his shoulders, starting off down the hallway and towards the gym. He bumped into Crystal, Patrick, and Noah along the way. Crystal quickly scuttled off, saying that she would come back to watch the game after she picked up Aaron and Sydney from home. Patrick and Noah, who were also on the soccer team, though they were only freshmen, walked with him to the locker rooms.

"So what's the probability that we're actually going to win?" Noah stopped by his locker and jerked the door open. He started to pile his stuff inside, his twin brother's comment of, "probably one to zero," causing him to stop. He leaned back and glanced at Patrick, who was starting the painstaking process of taking down the spikes in his hair. "Pat, one to zero means that we'll win."

Patrick looked confused as he vigorously rubbed his hands through his hair. "Then why do people say it all the time?"

"You're thinking of zero to one," Noah said.

"Same difference," Patrick dismissed.

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"You don't make any sense!"

Zack laughed to himself as he listened to the twin boys bicker back and forth with each other. There were some moments, like this, that he was swiftly reminded of him and Cody when they were younger, they had some of the same personalities. But they had always been different from Zack and Cody as well; they showed their affection for each other a lot easier than Zack and Cody did and weren't really afraid to do so in public. Sometimes Zack liked to think that Patrick and Noah looked up to him and Cody though he wasn't always sure if that was a good thing. Good on my part, but bad for Cody. Zack shuddered at the thought of telling his brother that he liked having him around or that he loved him in front of other people.

They just didn't do that.

"By the way, did you guys know that Cody was going to try out for the basketball team?" Zack pulled off his own t-shirt and was in the process of pulling on his soccer jersey. Once his head became free from the collar, he gauged the raven haired boys' reactions.

"Like, seriously?" Patrick's nose wrinkled.

"Not that it's a bad thing, mate," Noah added quickly. "But…" he crossed his arms over his chest, already fully dressed. "He doesn't seem like the basketball type to me. He's more of a…"

"Nerd?" Zack and Patrick broke in.

"I was going to say he's more of a person that tries to play it safe, but that works too, I guess…" Noah trailed off, looking thoughtful, but didn't say anything else.

At least they agree with me when I say it's weird. Cody has never been interested in sports before so why start now? Zack finished pulling on his soccer uniform, making sure to tie his shin guards on tightly. He wasn't going to make the mistake of having them too loose and be nailed in the shin again. Not after the massive swelling and bruise it left last time. The bright side was that his mother pampered him, not wanting him to go out of his way to get food or something. The downside was that she saw it as a good time to actually get some work done. Thankfully he managed to talk her out of remembering to remind him to do it. Have I always been that good?

Zack left the locker room and headed out onto the soccer field. The opposing team was already there, warming up, and the stands were already mostly filled by the friends and family of the opposing team. Not that it was a problem, the only sports that got a lot of attention at Cheevers High was basketball, swimming, boys lacrosse, and girls soccer. If it wasn't for the rule that you needed to do three seasons of sports until senior year when you could do as little as one, to graduate, he wouldn't have even bothered. However, being one of the best on the team as well and getting the attention was worth it.

Starting up a few drills, as was his job being one of the captains of the team, he dribbled the ball back and forth between his feet before taking a shot on goal. When it missed, bouncing off of the goal post, he darted over to it and drilled his foot onto the ball, shooting it past his goalie's outstretched hands. He smile to himself listening as his teammates cheered him on and gave him slaps on the back. He tried not to let it go to his head, something that his father had warned him about numerous times, but quickly pushed the thoughts away.

He was good and he knew it.

The team moved through all of their warm-up drills and when they were running laps around the field, waiting for the game to start, Zack spotted his friends sitting in the stands, talking animatedly to each other. He kept an eye on Cody and Tapeworm, hoping to figure out whether or not they made the basketball team or if there was any instance that they were upset for being turned down. Zack, usually, was able to feel exactly what Cody was thinking or feeling. He had denied Cody as his brother many times, usually in jest, but their bond of being twins was too hard to miss. There was something strong between the two of them and it was why, being the older twin, Zack had a feeling of always wanting to protect Cody. Even when his little brother had a nightmare, he would be woken up out of his own good dream with a sense of wanting to help his brother. Half the time he didn't even know what was going on, but he still, instinctively, knew.

This time, he couldn't get a good grasp on anything, good or bad and that threw him off a little. Zack shook his head, running around the field one more time. Though everyone else had gone off to do their last minute stretched. Don't worry about it now, Zack. You have a game to, potentially, lose. Just play your best and then set your eyes on the basketball tournament. Finishing up his job, Zack walked back over to the group of his peers and listened as the coach gave out his last minute instructions. Then they were sent off onto the field to get into their positions and start the game. As many had anticipated, the game didn't go well. The Cheevers High soccer team played well, but it was obvious that the other team was better. Every time Cheevers got possession of the ball, it was gone in a matter of seconds.

Despite the setbacks, everyone was trying their hardest. Patrick managed to get a couple of yellow cards for 'unsportsmanlike slide tackling' and even Noah managed to score a goal. Even though Zack was playing his hardest, he knew that he wasn't playing his best. His one goal was a fluke and a bad call, which he was aware of, but he wasn't going to contest it. His practice was much better than that. What the hell is wrong with me? Not even the sounds of his friends giving him support were helping. Not even seeing Sydney and Aaron jumping up and down like jumping beans, which usually made him laugh and smile, amused him. His head was in a sort of fog and it was really taking a toll on him.

He was surprised when the coach called him off the field during the beginning of the second half. Stunned, Zack trudged over to the sidelines and the coach turned and grabbed Zack's shoulder in a tight grip.

"You're going a bit slow today, Martin," he said. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Zack shook his head. "Just…distracted I guess."

"Well, you better go sit on the bench and just to undistract yourself!"

Zack felt his face enflame as he shuffled over and sat down on the bench to watch the rest of the game. Raising his hands to his face, Zack wiped sweat off of his forehead, and then rested his chin in his hands, watching the rest of the game with disinterest. His mind wandered, trying to pinpoint what it was that was really bothering him. Something gnawing deep inside him that he couldn't figure out the source. He was still thinking about it when the game ended, it wasn't as pitiful as they were used to with a final score of nine to three, Patrick, Noah, and Zack having all managed to score a goal at once point. But their defense sucked, plain and simple, it was like they didn't even need a goalie at all.

But the season was over and he could finally focus on what he did best. Zack went back to the locker room with the team, took a quick shower, changed back to his regular clothes, and walked out to meet with his friends in the lobby. He wasn't surprised to see his mother with them; she went to as many games as she could if she wasn't cleaning up their mess in the Tipton.

"You did such a good job," Carey said. She leaned down and gave Zack a kiss on the cheek and a hug, despite him still being damp from the shower. "I'm so proud of you."

"Mom, we lost," Zack reminded her.

"But you still played well," Carey reminded him. She then turned to Patrick and Noah, who were listening to Sydney give the play by play of the game, almost buzzing with excitement over the whole thing. "You boys played a good game, too."

"Thanks Carey," Noah replied politely. Having lived in the Tipton hotel for a while, and being parts of Zack's and Cody's harebrained schemes had the Jacksons traverse from calling her Ms. Martin to Carey pretty quickly and they didn't call her anything else.

"Seriously, you did a good job," Rhuben added. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him curiously. "Before you got taken out, I mean. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Zack said with a warily sigh. His eyes scanned over his group of friends. "So are you going to tell me what happened or am I just going to have to beat it out of you?" He chuckled. "Being put on the bench saved my energy for something."

"Eating, maybe," Riley remarked. She gave him a teasing smile, reaching out and poking him in the cheek. "That just means that you're going to eat twice as much as you usually do at the buffet." He slapped her hand away.

Zack ignored her words and turned to Cody and Tapeworm. "So?" He pressed. "What happened?"

"We made the team," Cody said shyly. He looked like he still didn't believe it. Zack gave his brother a reassuring smile, and made a mental note to talk to him about not knowing of Cody's plan. They were brothers…twins; they were supposed to tell each other everything.

"We got our jerseys and everything," Tapeworm added.

"You should have seen them," Max gushed. She started to talk with her hands, something she did whenever she was excited. "I haven't seen anyone play that well in a long time. They really improved since middle school."

"From what Max told me, the coach already has an idea of what positions you guys will play," Crystal added. She nodded over to Max. "And he's trying to work out a way that the guys and girls basketball teams help each other out more." She and Max were the only girls out of their group that played basketball. Riley and Rhuben liked to play, but only for fun as they weren't particularly good at it (they openly admitted that they're terrible) and Bailey was the equipment manager for the team as well as joining the cheerleaders at some of their halftime shows. "He thinks that you guys could help us get better so it'd be a win all around."

"Wow." Zack nodded.

"That's not the best part," Bailey continued. She was grinning over at both Cody and Tapeworm with as much excitement as everyone put together. But that wasn't surprising. Having come from Kettlecorn when the Pickett family farm had gone under, she was excited with just about anything that Boston had to offer. It was one stop on her 'dream world tour' but she liked it just the same. "The coach even said that they were some of the best players he's seen in a while. And that y'all have a great chance of winning the tournament this year. Isn't that great?"

If Zack understood what the definition of irony was, he would have realized that it had just slapped him right in the face.

"Yeah," Zack finally managed to say. He gave a shaky smile. "Great.

A/N: So, I can't describe full soccer games well, so that's why it was breezed through. Plus, I think you get the point of it with the back and forth thing. Anyway, due to some suggestions, I'm gonna stick with this story mostly being in Zack's third person POV. Other times, if he's not there or not in the scene at all, it'll go to someone else, but won't go into their thoughts. That way I can start showing more characters as the story goes on, instead of having everyone have one or two lines here and there.

Kudos to owlhero for noticing in the last chapter that there was something wrong with Zack before the plot of the story really started. It ties in with what I have planned but it shouldn't be as obvious until I reveal it entirely. (Also, I had put up a trigger warning before, just in case someone was worried about it, but then took it back down hoping that if it becomes a problem, someone will bring it to my attention. So some of you already know what's gonna happen for the most part, but some of you don't).

I hope you guys liked the chapter, things pick up from here.

Cheers,

-Riles