.:Chapter 14:.

The First Game

Zack yawned as his watch went off, giving intervals of beeps which illuminated his part of the room. Opening an eye, he looked at the time and then ran his hands over his face. He hadn't been up that early since his Dad was still around and he, Zack, and Cody would wake up early on the weekend to watch cartoons. His Mom sure got mad, which would set off hers and Kurt's daily fight about how to raise kids, while he and Cody usually sat in front of the TV, continually eating from the cereal box Kurt had given them, blissfully unaware of the hushes tones and tense voices. Zack stared at the ceiling for a few moments; how could they have not noticed the deterioration between their parents? They couldn't have been that oblivious, they didn't particularly try to hide it.

Maybe it was something he and Cody tried not to see, Cody was always the sensitive one and got misty eyed at the thought of anyone being mad at him until Zack had managed to—almost literally—beat it out of him. Zack, on the other hand, used it as a way to get some extra attention the few times he did notice it. Then again, that was before Kurt suddenly and inexplicably stopped coming around and he, Cody, and their Mom moved around the US to find a steady job. Then they had stayed in Seattle for the longest time, living with their grandmother, who took care of them while Carey took multiple jobs; a waitress by day and a lounge singer by night. Even when their grandmother had let them get up early to watch Cartoons Carey didn't get upset and he couldn't really understand why. He was old enough, then, to notice Carey and Kurt didn't get along but tried when they were around their kids.

No wonder Cody is so weepy about this sort of thing, Zack thought. He rubbed his eyes once more. Who knew he would be able to associate waking up so early with a brief childhood memory. If Cody was the sensitive one he probably had thoughts like that all the time. Zack finally reached over and pressed a button on the side of his watch and stopped the beeping. Pulling back the covers on his bed, he swung his legs out and, as quietly as possible, navigated through the room to gather his things. He switched out of his pajamas into a pair of swim trunks, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt. He sat down on the end of his bed and pulled on his shoes, tying them quietly, and then grabbed his key to the suite, his wallet, and his cell phone. He scribbled a note to Cody and his Mom and slipped out of the room as quietly as possible. Carey was asleep on the couch, snoring quietly as Zack tiptoed around her. He paused at the end of the couch and studied his Mom for a moment.

She did nothing but try to help him and Cody have a good life and he caused her nothing but grief through his antics and boredom over the years. It got to the point where he knew she enjoyed being able to try and wrangle the boys in as they grew up, knowing life would be very boring if they didn't threaten to destroy the hotel in some way. Now she had moved her interested to guaranteeing they had a good life and continued to have a good education and he did nothing but snap at her. He felt a little guilt each and every time he did it, just like he felt guilty the countless times he had told her she was a bad mother and he preferred to live with Kurt or she wasn't the fun parent, or she coddled them too much, or she held too tight a reign…the list could go on and on and he felt bad with each instance he was reminded of.

Zack leaned down and gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the note by the side of her head and slid out of the suite, quietly closing the door behind him. Walking to the elevator, he continued to yawn, this time his stomach growled as well, alerting him to the hollow pangs that rolled through his stomach. He frowned, resting his right hand on the front of his sweatshirt, where his stomach would be, and stopped for a moment. He was starting to get used to being hungry in the morning, having cut back on his normally larger portions and eating healthier than his body was used to, that didn't mean he was fully adjusted to it yet. Good thing he had thought to pack a granola bar as well as an energy bar in case he started to get tired again. Zack stepped into the elevator and pushed the button that would take him to the ground floor as he opened up the granola bar and took a tiny bite.

He was still chewing the bite as long as he could as the doors opened and he stepped into the lobby. It was quiet, the only ones who were milling around was Mr. Moseby at the front desk, looking through a reservation book, an older couple who followed Esteban with their bags, and a middle aged man sitting on a couch in the middle of the lobby, reading a newspaper. Zack's lips slowly curved up into a smarmy smile and he sauntered over to the front desk. Mr. Moseby saw him coming and the pleasant smile on his face, ready for anyone who would be coming to check in, instantaneously wilted to a hard frown.

"I already have to deal with you day after day, the early morning is the only time I get some reprieve from you," Mr. Moseby practically growled. Zack's eyebrows ticked upwards as he leaned against the desk. "So what could it be that's made you want to ruin my day this early?"

"Do you ever go to sleep?" Zack ignored Mr. Moseby's sour tone. "I mean, you're here when we wake up, you're here when we're going to go to sleep. Do you ever get some time off?"

Mr. Moseby's face hardened for a moment before it softened. "Not as much as I would like," he admitted. Zack was momentarily surprised; maybe it was the early morning that made him in a better mood. He usually seemed especially crabby in the afternoons. "But Mr. Tipton relies on me to get the job done as he had for years. Starting out with taking care of London and on up to managing the Tipton hotel, Boston."

"Wow." Zack never knew that about Mr. Moseby. He knew he had worked there for a long time, if the ever present throbbing veins and gray hairs he was sure he and Cody managed to give him were any indication. "That's a long time."

"Yes, well, I enjoy my job." Mr. Moseby closed the reservation booklet and looked at Zack with an even gaze. "Was there something I could help you with?" He then looked at his watch. "And you seem to be awake earlier than usual…you're up to something aren't you?"

Zack was only mildly annoyed. I bet Cody wouldn't get this third-degree. "Actually, I'm going to meet a friend to help her with some swimming practice." He rolled his eyes when he noticed Mr. Moseby's slow smirk. "Seriously, don't get so excited about it," he said. But was that advice more towards him or Mr. Moseby? If he was being honest, it was more towards himself. He and Max weren't getting along very well at the moment, he was probably just trying to get through that and avoid talking about their problems by focusing his attention elsewhere. Did that make him a bad person? It just made him confused. "Actually, since you're here, I wanted to know something." He nervously drummed his fingers on the counter top.

"Yes?" Mr. Moseby slightly turned his head away, waiting for whatever request was going to come flying out of Zack's mouth. Some money to pay back someone he had a huge debt with? To warn him he ordered some obscure, gross thing which would potentially scare away the guests? What else could he and Cody come up with? Every time there was something else they managed to throw his way, he started to get less and less surprised and eventually had suite 2350 on speed dial to let Carey know of the scheme the twin boys had gotten into that day.

"Do you still have that position open, to work in the Tipton daycare?" Zack curled his fingers into his palm, nervously chewing on his bottom lip. "Cause I was looking for a job and I thought it'd be good to put on my resume, and I've worked there before so…" he trailed off, waiting for Mr. Moseby's response. He looked him up and down and then reached under the desk, pulling out a clipboard that had a sheet of paper attached to it. Zack glanced at the title and, seeing it was a job application form, his eyebrows shot up, disappearing into the fringe that fell over his forehead. Mr. Moseby rooted around his desk for a pen that wasn't chained by the phone then slid both of them over to Zack. "Wait…you really want to give me the job?"

He didn't expect that.

He thought Mr. Moseby would laugh or harshly push him away, not automatically give him a chance. "Zack, I've known you since you were…about eleven or twelve, and I think I know you well enough hat this point to know that as soon as you're interested in something, you give it your all." His brief smile turned tight lipped. "And while you nearly managed to destroy my hotel and my sanity while doing my yoga class,"—Zack grimaced, then chuckled at the memory of him and Cody racing around the hotel with fishing nets to catch little kids, all just to impress Maddie—"you do have a way with kids, plus you're charismatic so I think that'd really help you as well."

Zack grinned. "Thanks, Mr. Moseby."

"You're welcome." Mr. Moseby used an index finger to push the clipboard closer to Zack. "Now, I just need you to fill out this form and then I'll set you up with a trial period with the kids and if you do well, then I'll give you the job."

"Sweet." Zack picked up a pen and started to fill out the form. He only looked up again when Mr. Moseby asked, "You have the first basketball game of the season tonight, right?"

"Yeah." Zack let out a long breath of air. He hadn't realized he was so nervous for it until it was brought up. It was going to be the first time he played in a new spot, the first time he was going to have to deal with not being the star. And while he could be a pretty vain person, he was still supportive of his brother. That's where he was torn, how long could he support his brother until he was able to focus on himself. Cody was the sort of person that had to be reinforced with positivity as much as possible and even then he was still a bit of a skeptic. Anyone that knew them thought Zack was always naturally confident; sometimes he needed that reinforcement too. "Yeah, I'm excited. We're definitely going to pull out a win. Hopefully this time we'll get to the championship though. We've won a couple of times, but not recently."

"From what I've seen of you playing when you've been terrorizing my guests,"—Mr. Moseby's eyes flashed—"you're very talented. So you shouldn't be worried."

Zack nodded but didn't say anything else. It was weird getting praise from Mr. Moseby out of everyone in the world, but at the same time it was a good sense of comfort. It let him know it wasn't just what people said to him, to make him feel good. It wasn't his mother telling him that, like mothers always had to. It wasn't Cody's opinion—though Zack cared for it a lot as he was his twin—and it wasn't his friends' opinions. Well, he guessed h would call Mr. Moseby a friend. He had been around the twin boys and their mother long enough to be anything other than 'Lardbutt Moseby' or just 'The Hotel Manager' to them. Either way, it made him feel good.

Zack filled out as much of the form as he could then gave it back to Mr. Moseby. He looked at his watch and made a sound at the back of his throat. "Thanks, Mr. Moseby, but I gotta get going or I'm going to be late. I'll see you later." He nodded towards Mr. Moseby and left the Tipton hotel, nearly bumping right into Riley as she stood outside, by the black minivan that was sitting in front of the curb.

"You're late," she said, barely glancing at her own watch.

Zack smiled when he heard her accent, stronger than ever. Only a couple of days back from Australia and she was already stuck in the throes of her hometown. "Just by a few minutes," he defended himself. "Besides, I was just talking to Mr. Moseby about getting that job at the Tipton daycare."

Riley looked surprised for a moment, then her face turned apathetic as per usual. Unless she was excited or happy about something, or if she was downright pissed, she didn't particularly like to show her emotions to anyone. "Really?" She reached out a hand and unlocked the car with the press of a button.

"I just filled out the form, I don't know if I'm actually going to get it," Zack protested, walking around to get into the passenger seat of the car. He closed the door, buckled up, and hunkered down in the seat, moving his mouth into his sweatshirt. He was used to the Boston cold, but he wasn't used to it so early in the morning.

"You will," Riley said confidently, getting into the driver's seat. She leaned forward, turning on the car and put the heat on full blast, moving the air vents directly over towards her. Zack laughed, flicking his blonde hair from his face. To say she hated the cold was an understatement. After buckling herself in, she glanced over her shoulder before peeling out of the parking space and heading down the street. "That's why I brought it up in the first place. You're good with kids, well, with people in general. You just don't give yourself enough credit."

"You mean you don't give me enough credit," Zack teased. He reached out and poked heron the cheek, causing her to turn her head to the side, snapping her jaws close to his finger. Thankfully, he pulled his finger back in enough time to keep from getting bitten. He brought up his hand and rested it on the door, his cheek on his hand as he yawned.

"Excuse me? Who was the one who suggested you get the job there?" Riley defended herself. She smiled a little. "Seriously, though, I'm proud of you." Zack made a snort of disbelief. "Really, mate, I am. I know I don't say it a lot-"

"That's because you don't want anyone to know how you really feel about me," Zack said. He laughed as Riley's smile turned sour, just as quickly as Mr. Moseby's had.

"You see? Its comments like that that mucks things up and make me want to slap you." Riley reached out her right hand, using her left to tightly hold onto the steering wheel, and made a motion to slap Zack on the arm. He reacted quickly and lifted his right hand, shooting it forward at the right moment for his palm to connect with hers in a high-five. The two laughed loudly in surprise.

They were still smiling when Riley pulled up at the gym. Zack followed her out of the car and into the gym as she walked up to the front desk and pulled out a card, swiping it through a card reader. She indicated she had a desk and Zack stepped forward to take the Guest ID card and lanyard. He draped it around his neck and followed her to the pool area where she handed him a stopwatch. Resting his back against the tile wall he glanced toward the upper windows that overlooked the pool. There were four of five guys up there, three older men and two were about his age who was working out. All of them were pretty buff, lifting large dumbbells in bicep and tricep curls, their muscles bulging and straining each time they moved their arms. Zack's gaze moved down to his own arms and he frowned, while definition had been made, it wasn't at the point he wanted yet.

"Are you going to time me or what?" Zack lifted his gaze and flipped over the stopwatch before walking over to the edge of the pool. Riley finished trying her hair back into a ponytail and spat into her goggles. She rubbed it around the edges before pulling it over her head, leaving it hanging around her neck. She then lifted her blue eyes to his. "And I said time me, boofhead, not stare!"

Zack shrugged. "Can't help it, if you were just a teeny bit less attractive it probably wouldn't help much either." Riley lifted her gaze towards the ceiling, shaking her head as she walked towards the starting block. "I saw that smile," he called, his voice echoing off the walls.

"Momentary lapse of judgment, it's not going to happen again," Riley said. She got up onto the starting block and adjusted her goggles on top of her head. "Ok, I'm going to do a couple of laps in freestyle then backstroke then breaststroke then dolphin kick and I want to know my time at the end."

"Got it." Zack scratched the back of his head. "And you do this every morning?"

"Only when it's swim season and if I'm not at home at the beach," Riley said. "And since Rhu and Syd don't like to get up as early, they practice with the team at school and then for an hour or so longer afterwards."

"And people say you're not competitive," Zack teased.

"No, we just like to win at all costs." She pulled the goggles over her eyes and bent over so her fingertips touched the front of the start board. Zack gave her the signal to start and started the stopwatch as she dove into the water. He watched as she went through the different strokes, doing six laps for each one. Zack paced up and back the length of the pool, routinely looking down at the stop watch as he went. As she slowed down, reaching the end of her workout, Zack walked up to the end and kneeled down, waiting for her to slap the wall. Once she did so, he stopped the watch and looked at the time before turning it around for Riley to see.

Riley lowered her goggles and swept water out of her eyes, training her gaze on the numbers on the watch. She gritted her teeth and let out a sound of frustration, slapping the water with her fists. "I could have gone faster than that," she murmured, sulking. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sank down until only her eyes and the top of her head was visible under the water.

"So why didn't you?" Zack teased.

"I got distracted," she murmured, standing up again. Zack's eyes dipped from her face down her neck to her chest then quickly snapped back up to her face. He would be in one hell of a beating if he had been caught. His body already seized up in anticipation. He cleared his throat and twirled the stopwatch around his finger.

"You seemed pretty fast to me," Zack said, hoping he would reassure her a little bit. Still, the slightly puckered look was still on her face as she moved to grab the ladder to climb out of the pool. Now Riley made the snorting sound of disbelief.

"Any girl in a bathing suit would look fast to you considering how quickly you'd be looking at all of them, trying to keep em' in your sights, yeah?"

"How long did it take you to come up with that one? Seems like you've been waiting a while to say it."

"Long enough."

Zack raked a hand through his hair, suddenly feeling very warm. The humidity and the strong smell of chlorine made a wave of nausea run through his body. His stomach moved to the left and while it growled, letting him know the granola bar he had didn't fill him up. That's the point though, right? He winced as his stomach growled again. Maybe I should try eating a bit more and working out harder to overcompensate for it. Zack shook his head and focused his attention on Riley again. "So you spend that much time thinking about me? I knew it."

"Yes, I spend that much time thinking about you." Riley wrapped her arms around the rung of the ladder and leaned back to look at him. "About every embarrassing thing you've ever done since I've known you. So if I start to laugh hysterically for no reason, you know why."

"Ha ha." Zack laughed sarcastically. "You're so funny."

"Ace! My life goal has been made," Riley said. She gave an overly exaggerated fist pump, giving Zack a good view of the fireball and dragon tattoos she had on her right arm.

"Just don't try to make a career out of it," Zack warned her. He reached forward and brushed some of the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear, making sure to have direct eye contact as he smiled at her. She gently flinched at his touch and he could have sworn she turned her cheek into his hand before moving away. "Cause your thoughts of ridicule are bound to change at some point or another."

Riley slowly shook her head, smiling as well. "Why am I friends with you?"

"Because I'm fun, funny, athletic, easy on the eyes, a good kisser, and am better than Cody in every way?"

"Can't say you're modest, either," Riley said. She leaned back and swiped an arm through the water, bringing up a splash that hit Zack in the face. He sputtered and backed up a few paces. Shaking like a dog, he flung water off his body and face.

"Are they here yet?"

Riley laughed as Sydney stood up on his tiptoes, trying to look around the crowd of students that surged through the gym doors. He let out an impatient sigh and placed his hands on his hips, turning back to the girls who surrounded him. Aaron was standing at Sydney's side, his ears directed towards the group of students as well, hoping to be able to hear their voices coming before they appeared.

"Relax Syd, Julius and Maddie are going to be here soon," Crystal said. "Besides, you have to remember Maddie has to come in from New York, so who knows how long it's going to take, depending on when she left this morning. And Julius went to pick her up,"—she started to smile as Rhuben snickered behind her palm—"so I think they may be a bit later than they already planned."

Sydney's nose wrinkled playfully and Aaron clasped his hands over his ears, a stricken look appearing on his face as well. If Sydney had managed to get scared when it came to Sex ED, having gone to the school for most of his classes as opposed to being strictly homeschooled, then everything he learned had been taught to Aaron as well and he didn't particularly have a good view of it as well. But the two boys were only ten years old and while they were mature about almost every other aspect of life, there were going to be a few things showed how childlike they really could be when the stress of doing well academically wasn't shoved in their faces.

"You'd think these two being around Zack and Patrick so much would have made them immune to it by now," Bailey teased. She brushed her hair behind her ears. "I mean, back on the farm, no one talks about guys and girls the way they do here. If y'all weren't working, y'all were going into town with your friends and if you saw someone cute, then you would really only talk to them at rodeos, if they came to your farm to get a cow or a horse, or if y'all hung out at the creek or at the stores in town."

"Is that how you met Moose?" Max's question referred to Bailey's famous ex-boyfriend.

After the first week she had been new to Boston and started to get homesick, she would go on and on about her life back on the farm. And while it was interesting to hear how life in Kettlecorn was different from life in Boston, Montreal, and Sydney respectively there were times where she got stuck on one topic drove everyone crazy and that topic was her ex-boyfriend Moose. From what everyone could tell, he was only her ex due to her having to move, if she was still there, they would probably be together. She had talked about him so much they all probably could tell him everything about himself without having to meet him.

"Naw, Moose and I had neighboring farms so our fathers were basically working together," Bailey said with a wave of her hand. "So we grew up together and I always thought he was kind of cute, and one day he asked me out and we had been going to our school's dances and parties and our friends' barn parties ever since."

"I'm still trying to get to the point where I can understand why his parents named him Moose," Rhuben admitted, causing the group to laugh. She pulled a pair of drumsticks out of her back pocket, something she always seemed to have on her, and drummed the air with them before spinning them around her fingers. "Why couldn't they name him…Bartholomew or something?" This sent another peal of laughter throughout the group. "It would at least give him a chance to have somewhat of a normal name."

"You hush up!" Bailey gently swatted her on the arm and Rhuben leaned away, hiding behind her sister to be sure she didn't get hit. "It's cute." She smiled sweetly, starting to twist back and forth. "I think so, anyway."

Riley smiled and turned to watch the opposing basketball team warm up. They had a lot of taller players and they were making almost every shot on the basket they took. Her mouth twisted to the side as she continued to watch them go through their drills, her eyes narrowing a little. Their best players were usually the last ones to take their shots, probably to show off to those who were watching to let it be known they were the ones that were going to have to be blocked the most. Riley made a mental note of that and turned when Rhuben rushed by her, nearly knocking her over, and raced Sydney over to their brother, Julius Jackson, as he strolled through the doors to the gym with Maddie Fitzpatrick by his side. If London Tipton had been with them as well, then everything would have gone back to when they were younger and everyone was around the Tipton. But once the Jacksons had moved out of the Tipton and into Christian's house, Julius had only been there for a little while before he had gone back to Australia for college.

Maddie had ended up going to NYU for university and true to London form, she had managed to convince her father, Wilfred Tipton, she would have a better future working out in the fashion industry, making a name for herself. She was currently working hard at an internship in LA and was doing well there, from the calls she and Maddie constantly gave each other.

Riley rubbed her side, where she had been elbowed, and did a combination of a bounce and a skip over to Julius to give him a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly, still holding onto him when he set her down, to give Crystal a hug too.

"Move!" Crystal said in a whining tone. "It's my turn!" She pushed Riley out of the way and gave her cousin a hug before the group moved over to Maddie to greet her as well.

"Thank God," Maddie said, laughing in relief. "I was starting to think you guys didn't care I was here." She swung her head, moving her blonde hair out of her face. "How are you guys? You all look so great."

"We're good," Sydney said. He took Maddie's hand and started to drag her around the court and towards the bleachers, swinging his free arm in front of him. Julius laughed and put his arm around Riley's shoulders as she was still clinging onto him and they all followed her. "Ace even. C'mon, Uncle Christian and Carey probably want to see you too."

"Oh!" Maddie raised a hand and waved towards Carey and Christian as they sat at the top of the bleachers. A look of surprise slid onto her face when she spotted Kurt up there as well. "I didn't think Kurt would be coming."

"Well, since the guys got on the team, he's been trying harder to be there. Besides, this is their first game, so I think he'd move a mountain to get here," Crystal explained. She looked to the side and laughed as Rhuben jumped and slapped her hands over her ears as the buzzer sounded on the scoreboard right when they walked under it. Julius laughed loudly at his little sister.

"Geez, Sis, you'd think by now you'd be used to loud noises," he teased, reaching out to tug her ponytail.

"I'm used to loud noises when it comes to music, not things that are purposefully trying to give you a heart attack!" She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest as they reached the bleachers and started to climb up to the top.

"Hey!" Christian stood up and wrapped his arms around his eldest nephew, clapping him on the back then moved over to Maddie to give her a hug as well. "It's good to see you guys. How are things in Oz?"

"Quiet without this lot around," Julius said and ruffled Sydney's hair, who beamed at him, obviously enthralled his brother was going to be spending some time in Boston. "Otherwise, school is going well, I'm waiting back to hear what sort of tests I'm going to be taking when I get back, if they're on independent or set schedule, then I'm out for summer."

"Lucky." Max sighed. "I wish it was summer now, school's already starting to get in the way of everything I want to do." She sat up straight and pointed down to the court as the Cheevers High School basketball team came running out onto the court, taking a few laps around their side of half court. "Look, there they are." Rhuben immediately lifted her digital camera and adjusted the lens, taking a few pictures, the shutter clicking rapidly as she did so. "The team's looking pretty good this year," she noted then pointed again. "Though Cody looks like he's going to fall apart."

Riley followed her finger and noticed with a slight shake of the head that Cody did look nothing short of nervous. He was already sweating, his blonde turning brown hair, matted to his forehead. He wrung his hands over each other. Tapeworm and Zack came by his side and slapped him on the back, saying something to him. Cody then nodded and a determined look came onto his face. He caught a basketball that was passed to him and from the three point line he took a shot on the basket, getting it in cleanly. Riley moved her hands up to cover her mouth as she watched her friends and brothers run back and forth across the court as they warmed up for the game. As sophomores Patrick and Noah were going to be used more as alternates rather than starter players, but they practiced just as hard, to be useful whenever the time came. Just by watching the team run around the court practicing their shooting and passing Riley could see why the positions had been changed around.

Cody being a bit thinner and taller than his brother had a better chance of getting points in as a point guard, and he had a unassuming look so others probably wouldn't take him as seriously until he was able to show his worth. Tapeworm was tall and had long arms and long legs, so anyplace he would be on the court would be helpful. Being closer to the basket he had a better chance of getting a rebound than anyone else. It helped that his long legs increased his speed on the court. She could understand why Zack had been moved to power forward; though he wasn't chubby anymore and his increase in height had evened him out—though his new diet was probably adding on to that—he had a stockier build which would help in the position, he was a very competitive guy, and the determined expression on his face had a way of intimidating other players, letting them know of his drive and passion for whatever activity he was invested in.

I wish he would see this move was better for him rather than having it hang over his head to so much, Riley thought as she watched Zack laugh and goof off with Patrick, dribbling a ball by his side. She tilted her head to the side and made a humming sound when a look of concentration slid over his face and he made the shot, leaving his hand up as he watched it arc in. The look didn't go away until Noah passed another ball to him and it reverted to a smile once again.

"What?" Rhuben turned to face her twin.

"Don't you think it's weird that Zack can easily go in and out of joking around and then going back to being intense?" Riley dropped her hands into her lap, lightly shaking her head. "It's kinda hard to explain, it's like…when he's in the zone he's concentrating on not mucking up to the point that he…doesn't look like Zack?"

"He's always been so serious about sports, though, you have to admit," Rhuben said. She could practically feel her sister's concern radiate from her. It was setting her off a little. "Unless you think something else is wrong?"

"More of a feeling," Riley murmured then rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, most of our feelings are usually right. I just don't want to jump to conclusions because it doesn't look like anything it outwardly wrong." She noticed Rhuben shift in her seat and looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "What?"

"Nothing." Rhuben said after a second, lifting her camera back to her face. "Not yet…anyway."

"Bonzer."

Christian, Kurt, Carey, Julius, Maddie, Riley, Rhuben, Crystal, Max, Bailey, Sydney, and Aaron watched the game intently, cheering for their friends with each pass and play they made. One thing they had to admit was the coach made a good decision having put Cody in the point guard position and Zack in the power forward position. Cody was making nearly every shot that was passed to him as well as his free throws, as the other team started to foul him after seeing his skill. Tapeworm and Zack even got their fair share of assists in, blocking for Cody when the time was needed. At halftime a few of the players were switched out, leaving Zack, Cody, Patrick, and Noah on the court along with Drew. The new lineup worked just as well with Zack and Cody in their positions, Patrick as a shooting guard, Noah as center, and Drew as small forward. It was evident the practices the team had gone through as well as the shifting of positions from tryouts worked well as the game ended with the score of 65 to 24.

Riley cheered along with her friends, jumping to her feet and waving her arms as the final buzzer sounded. She turned and gave Rhuben a double high-five before turning the other way and high-fiving Max as well. Her face hurt from how hard she was smiling. Cheevers High students rushed the court to congratulate the team and the court was crowded for at least a half hour, to which Carey suggested they all wait in the lobby to be able to talk to the boys. Riley turned as a hand was placed on her shoulder and she smiled and nodded up at Kurt when she saw it was him. She and her siblings were not ones who normally liked adults or respected authority until they gained their trust but with Carey and Kurt they had very quickly seen they were nice people and were trying to be good parents to their boys so they found respect in the two at a record's pace.

"Hey Kurt, how ya going?" Riley brushed her red strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm doing great; it's so good to be able to see my boys play." Kurt's smile was nothing short of a smile a proud father could have. "Anyway, I wanted to ask about the guitar you wanted? How's it playing? I haven't used it in a while but I changed the strings and everything before I had Zack bring it back to you."

Riley froze for a second, not sure what he was talking about. Then she smoothly slid her hands into her back pockets and nodded. "It's bonzer," she lied casually, able to tell from the way Kurt's smile widened, he was buying what she was selling. "Definitely one of the better ones I've used. I'm surprised you were willing to part with it."

"Yeah, well, I have plenty others and if it was going to go to someone, I'm glad it was one of my boys' friends. I really wanted Zack or Cody to have it, like I had given them my signature guitar for Christmas that one year, but they never really seemed to pick it up-"

"I heard my name," Zack announced the boys' arrival. The group came to life, immediately jabbering away as they exchanged hugs with Zack, Cody, Tapeworm, Patrick, and Noah.

Zack immediately headed over to Maddie, his eyes lighting up when he spotted her. "Hey Sweet Thang, he greeted her, causing her to throw her head back and laugh. "How are you doing?" He opened his arms wide and Maddie laughed again before stepping into them and giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm great, Zack, thanks." Maddie beamed at him and lightly pressed her finger to the tip of his nose. "Look at you, all grown up and playing for a winning team. I'm impressed."

Zack shrugged modestly. "I am to please."

Congratulations, hugs, and pats on the back went around as everyone talked a mile a minute about their win. The first win of the season and as Cody said, he hoped it would continue as long as possible.

"All you have to do is study the stats of the other team as games approach," Sydney spoke up. "Especially considering the players who would probably be in the newspaper for their accomplishments in the sport as well." He nodded over to Aaron. "Aaron and I can do it for ya."

"That'd be a great help, actually," Tapeworm said, shifting his bag up his shoulders. "I mean, this team may have been that bad, but not all of them are going to be this bad if we get to the tournament."

"Don't worry, we'll get there and we'll win," Max said confidently. She looped her arm through Zack's and stood on her tip-toes, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Zack, although his eyes showed that he was thoroughly confused, smiled and turned his head, giving her a proper kiss. Tapeworm grimaced, turning his head away.

Riley averted her gaze from the two, scratching her forehead to hide the frown that graced her lips, and then focused on her brother for a moment. Patrick was frowning as he grabbed a towel out from his bag and placed it over his head, wiping off some excess sweat. "Smatter, bro?"

Patrick hesitated a moment. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about the game, what I could have done better." Riley lowered her left eyebrow, raised her right, crossed her arms over her chest and stared hard at her brother. Patrick sighed and lowered his voice. "I'll tell you later, Sis, promise."

"No worries," Riley replied slowly. She pulled a hand through her hair and let out a short sigh. It seemed like everyone seemed to have a secret of some sort and it was already starting to make her worry. And when she worried, she didn't stop until the problem was solved.

"Hey, Bro, I need to ask you something."

Noah opened an eye and lifted his head from his pillow. He glanced at the other side of the dark room and saw Sydney and Aaron were still sound asleep as they had been after getting back from the basketball game and after their family had a big dinner along with Julius. Sitting up, Noah noticed Patrick was out of his own bed and was sitting on the end of Noah's, a hand outstretched as if to shake his shoulder again. Noah glanced at his phone for the time and looked at Patrick once more. "What's up?"

"In the locker room, during the game and after…did you notice something off about Zack?" Patrick ran a hand through his hair, now hanging to his shoulders rather than being spiked up as it normally was. "I don't mean to freak out over nothing, especially considering I don't know if he was just playing hard but-"

"Oh." Noah nodded. "You mean his throwing up?" He scratched the side of his neck as Patrick nodded as well. "I mean, he was playing really hard. I think he's really trying to show the coach he can be a captain or something, since they haven't been announced yet." Noah shook his head as he spoke, bringing his fingers up to his lips, gently pressing them together. His eyes narrowed for a moment. That may have been a bit too convenient…then again, Zack was practically retching the moment they had gotten off court at half time. He barely sat through the coach's suggestion for the next half when he leapt up from the bench and raced towards the toilet stalls.

It was after the game that was the cause for alarm. Zack had been his jovial self as usual, messing around with the guys, throwing towels at one another and spraying each other with water bottles as they got dressed back in their street clothes. Noah was sitting on the bench, a foot up on the edge as he tied his shoes. He ducked as Patrick rolled up a towel and moved to make a whipping motion to crack him on the head. At Noah's duck, the end of the towel struck the metal locker, making a loud clanging sound.

"I didn't realize everyone acted like a bunch of Neanderthals in a locker room," Cody said. He turned from his locker and made a show of spraying disinfectant in his locker and around his space. Even Tapeworm, who had managed to outgrow some of his old quirks, had laughed at Cody's antics. "I thought it was just a joke."

"What's a joke is you spraying disinfectant in here." Zack swiped the can from Cody's hand and tossed it back into his locker. "I mean, we're in the locker room now. Which is a man's world." He raised a hand for a high-five as he passed a freshman, heading towards his own locker. "And here, we are in the world of jock straps, athlete's foot, and BO." With that, he lifted his arm and shoved Cody's face into his armpit.

Cody let out a yell and pushed himself out of Zack's grasp. He grabbed the can of disinfectant and sprayed his face before lifting Zack's arm and spraying his armpit. Zack coughed and waved a hand in front of his face, then Cody grabbed him in a headlock and the two whirled around, bashing into lockers, laughing and yelling at each other as they did so. Noah laughed and shook his head, those two were always grappling with each other in some way, shape, or form. It reminded him of him and Patrick. Noah glanced over at his brother as he pulled his shirt over his head, then leaned over and picked up his towel, balled it up, and heaved it at the back of Patrick's head, hitting him with full force.

"Hey!" Patrick whirled around and started towards his brother, who held his hands up, ready.

"Enough," Tapeworm chided. "We already have one set of twins fighting, we don't need another."

Noah flipped his silver bangs out of his face and turned back to his locker to dry his face. Always the quietest one out of the group, he was an observer. So he watched as Zack and Cody let go of each other before high-fiving. Noah's eyebrows knitted together as he watched Zack check his arms in the small mirror he had taped to his locker door, flexing and unflexing his muscles, rubbing the lump that appeared and disappeared. Zack then brought his hands down and placed them on his stomach, poking it for a second before twisting his mouth to the side. Noah turned back to his own locker and tossed his extra towel aside, then pulled his own shirt over his head before his sweatshirt and beanie. Even in the locker room he could feel a draft somewhere, causing goose bumps to line his arms.

As he stepped back and closed the door, he caught glimpse of the back of Zack's shirt turning the corner, heading towards the toilets again. He exchanged glances with Tapeworm, who was at the end of the row, and he shrugged. The boys all picked up their bags and started to leave the locker room. They hesitated in the doorway, waiting for Zack. When he finally left the locker room to catch up, he looked a little tired, although he gave a good-natured smile before popping a piece of gum into his mouth.

At the time, Noah hadn't thought it was weird…and he still didn't, not really. He had seen people run races; half-marathons, marathons, and triathlons and seen them spew before they hit the finish line. Some of the biggest athletes probably had befallen the same fate before they started juicing up on steroids. Noah suddenly understood Patrick's concern.

"Does it remind you of-"

"Pretty much," Patrick interrupted.

Noah frowned, shaking his head once more. "Zack's not that stupid. You and I both know that. We all played really hard today, he probably just ate too much today and his body couldn't handle the pressure the other team put on us." He picked up his pillow, making a show of fluffing it. Besides they were teenagers, there was always going to be something going on. Now that he thought about it, Cody had been acting a bit weird too. Maybe being part of a sports team rather than watching from the sidelines was really starting to put a lot of pressure on him. Especially now that he had one of the most important positions and all eyes were watching him. The whole school had buzzed when Cody had been announced as point guard over Zack; he must have been embarrassed about it. If not anxious, he had looked like he was going to be the one to throw up before the game even stared. The pre-game pep talk in the locker room didn't help much, as each word came out of the coach's mouth, Cody started to shake harder.

He was probably the only one who noticed it, before they had gotten onto the court anyway. Noah always noticed things about other people in minutes they didn't notice about themselves until years down the line. It was something he enjoyed about being quieter, but it was harder to do that; to watch and sit back, detached, when it was his friends. Noah glanced at his watch again. It was too late to think about it.

"Now, if you don't mind, I want to get some sleep. Unlike some other people I know, I don't spend hours on my appearance."

"You wish you looked as good as me," Patrick boasted.

"We're twins," Noah corrected. "Better yet, all six of us and Crys look alike. So I'd watch what you say." He turned back around, holding onto the corner of his pillow behind his back. "Especially with that big fat mouth of yours." He turned the pillow around and swung it forward; smacking Patrick in the face so hard he was knocked off the bed and onto the floor. The resounding thud caused Sydney and Aaron to shoot awake.

"What was that?" Aaron mumbled, his blonde hair sticking up in all directions.

"You're gonna pay for that." Patrick jumped back onto his bed to grab his pillow before launching himself on top of his brother, walloping him on the side of the head as he did so. Noah let out a bark of laughter which was strangely louder than his normally quiet voice, and hit Patrick back. In a matter of moments they had brought Sydney and Aaron into the game as well, grabbing the attention of Riley, Rhuben, and Crystal, having barged into their rooms and expanding the fight as well.

Their laughter echoed throughout the night despite Christian's and Julius's cries of protest. Once you got them going, it was nearly impossible to stop them until things broke. It was the only reason Christian had started to stock up on lamps, bedside tables, and picture frames.

Much like Mr. Moseby would do with the Tipton hotel when Zack and Cody were around.

Before going to sleep, Zack pulled out his notebook and wrote down his list for the day:

Things I've eaten today:

Breakfast

-Granola Bar

-Half of energy Bar

-Water

Lunch

-One hot dog

- Banana

-Milk

Dinner

-One serving of rice

-Single serving of pork chop

-One serving of green beans

A/N: I needed to have a good, moment between Zack and Riley and with everyone in general to balance out from the recent angsty-dramatic chapters, so I hope you guys liked that. And I showed more of Patrick and Noah! Yay! Now I just need to work more with Sydney and Aaron for the younger ones.

Oh and I'm sorry if the positions and the guys that I have playing them for basketball doesn't make sense or isn't right, I don't know a lot about basketball and I'm learning as I go along with this story so please bear with me.

I'll update again soon.

PS - My sisters' and my second book Four of A Kind has been published. Check it out (put this into your web browser without spaces -) amzn .to / 19 JLXkn

Cheers,

-Riles