.:Chapter 17:.

Trust Me, Suspicions Rising…

"OW!"

"Wake up, Ri-Ri!"

Riley opened an eye and rolled over to see Sydney lying on her bed beside her. He laughed; his voice nearly drowned out by the shower water running, and reached out a hand towards her. He lifted her other eyelid so both of her blue eyes were glaring at him. Riley briefly wondered if anyone would miss her baby brother if she managed to kill him for waking her up in such a rude manner. Nonetheless, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and sat Indian style, running her hand over her face.

"You slept longer than usual," Sydney commented. He grabbed his feet and started to rock back and forth. "Julius told me to wake you up."

Riley's lower jaw moved to the side. Of course. No matter how long he's gone he was always the big brother and always the oldest whenever he was around. Not that she resented it in the slightest, it was hard to get used to it whenever he was gone. Riley raked a hand through her hair and smiled gently at her youngest brother. "Did he say anything about jumping on me, boofhead?"

"No," Sydney admitted. "But I figured it'd be funnier than waking you up by tickling the bottom of your feet." Dimples slices into Sydney's cheeks as he smiled. "I mean, my face is too cute to be kicked in the morning. If it was Patrick that was waking you up, then by all means, go ahead."

"You're evil, Little Man," Riley said.

"I have five older siblings, where do you think I got it from?" Sydney teased. He cocked an eyebrow. "I mean, judging my genetics alone it was bound to happen." Riley laughed again before dropping back onto her pillows, resting her arms over her eyes. Sydney reached out and poked her on the cheek. "Why didn't you go swimming today?"

"Day off," Riley remarked. She could afford a day off, and a day away from Zack's distractions. Not from her, thank god, or else she would have drowned him more than once. But he had been looking away, a faraway look coming to his face, or else he would zone out, still holding onto the stop watch. It was frustrating more than anything else; especially considering she wasn't sure how good her time was whenever he would mess it up. "And you better be glad I'm sleeping in later than usual, I usually don't sleep, remember?"

"Yeah," Sydney said slowly, his voice hitching in his throat for a moment.

Riley noticed but chose not to address the subject. She tucked her hair behind her ears and leaned towards him. "Did you eat?" Sydney nodded. "Finish your homework from last night?" He nodded again. "Punch Pat on the arm for me?" Sydney laughed and nodded. "Brush your teeth?" Sydney opened his mouth wide and leaned forward, blowing his breath into her face. Riley's nose wrinkled and she leaned back, internally cringing at the wet feeling. "Glad I didn't ask that when you had morning breath," she said, waving a hand in front of her face. She reached out and gently pushed Sydney on the forehead. "Get out so I can get dressed."

"Ok!" Sydney rolled off the bed and padded out of the room. A second later she could hear the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing, a few seconds later the sound of the toilet flushing, and then Noah's scream as the bathroom door opened and closed again and Sydney came tearing down the hallway, laughing as he went.

Riley chuckled as she gathered her clothes together and got dressed. After tying her shoes, she checked her watch to see that she didn't have a lot f time before they were going to leave to walk to school. Grabbing her phone from her bedside table, Riley flew out of her room and down the stairs, to the kitchen. Julius, who was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper, looked up and gave her a warm smile. Rhuben and Crystal were sitting at the table as well, polishing off bowls of cereal. Riley leaned over and gave her older brother a kiss on the back of the head as she passed him.

"You go off to college and you turn into an old man?" She teased, walking over to the fruit bowl and grabbing an apple.

"It's one of the few quiet moments that I'm going to get in this house, so I figured I may as well jump on it," Julius replied. He folded up his newspaper and placed it aside, steepling his fingers and tapping his fingertips together. "But I hear that things at the Tipton hotel aren't as noisy as usual."

"Ever since they left they brought it all here," Crystal remarked. "And trust me, we didn't want it." She joked.

"Your lives would have continued to have been dull and boring if we didn't come around," Rhuben said with a full mouth, finishing a bite of cereal. She looked up at Riley, lifting her bowl to her mouth. "Was that Pat that got flushed out of the shower?"

"No," Riley corrected her. She took a large bite of her apple, moving the chunk to the right side of her mouth so she could continue eating and speak at the same time. "Either way don't be surprised if you can't find Syd later." She held up a finger. "Just a warning."

Julius chuckled, shaking his head back and forth. "Some things never change around here," he commented. His eyes squinted for a moment before he took in the three girls. "Do you all still hang out with Zack and Cody as much as you used to. Now that you're not living at the Tipton?"

"Number one reason why I'm glad I don't have a big brother," Crystal remarked.

"No, but your dad is close enough, mate," Riley pointed out. Crystal shrugged and nodded, acknowledging that it was true. Christian had a habit of being a friend and a father to his daughter and son, to the pint that he sometimes had trouble distinguishing between the times when he should be serious or easy-going with them. When it came to his daughter dating, he was usually fairly relaxed about it, up until he thought too much about the consequences of dating and became the sort of man that would carry the proverbial shotgun.

Rhuben finished drinking the milk from her cereal bowl and swallowed before giving her brother a pointed look. Standing up from the table to clear her dishes she addressed him. "If there's anything in particular you want to ask you may as well ask instead of playing dumb. It's not a good look for you."

"I'm just saying…" Julius licked his lips as he thought about what he was going to say next. "What I've learned from being away from you guys while going to school is that it's pretty easy to miss someone," Julius said mysteriously. "And I get that feeling a lot, having to be surrounded by Mum's and Dad's legacy and everything."

Riley nodded, trying to push down the familiar feeling of sadness that started to form a thick lump in her throat. She didn't particularly think about the fire and what had happened to her parents a lot, usually wanting to keep those feelings locked away for a time where she wanted to have happy memories. However, there were many times where she found herself zoning out, thinking about it as long as she allowed herself to. Sometime she found herself waking up in the middle of a quiet sob, tears running down her face. Other times she got irrationally angry at something that would remind her of them, it only got worse when she would lash out at someone for no reason, only because she was in a bad mood and they were in a bad place at a bad time. It didn't help whenever she went home she would have people continuously go up to them and say how sorry they were about what happened.

Sorry.

Yeah, right.

The last thing she needed was people feeling sorry for her. In fact, Riley was getting mad just thinking about it. She clenched her jaw together so hard it started to ache, a temple throbbed, and she could feel her face starting to flush. Riley clenched her hands into fists, her right hand crushing her apple in her hand as she did so. Great.

"And I've learned that time if fleeting and I want to make sure that you surround yourselves with good people," Julius continued. "Whether it be friends…boyfriends…"

"I knew it was going to get to that point," Riley said. She waved a hand. "No worries, bro. Compared to all of the other people we've been with,"—she motioned between herself and Rhuben—"anyone from Boston is going to be a God send." She chucked what was left of her apple into the trash can and went to the sink to wash her hands. Once they were done she flicked the excess water off and dried it off with a towel.

Picking up her backpack she walked out of the kitchen, trying to leave the memories of her parents behind.

But no matter how hard she tried, it always seemed to come back and haunt her.

"Hey, Riles, did you hear anything about if we have anything due over Christmas break?" Bailey leaned against the locker on Riley's right after school.

Riley gathered her things in her backpack and carefully closed her locker door. She thought for a long moment, trying to push through everything that had been said in the day. She barely remembered any of it, knowing vacation was only a matter of one basketball game and one two school days away. Then there was Christmas break and they didn't have to worry about anything school related for almost a month. After the morning she had, it was exactly what she needed. Unfortunately the dark cloud of her parents' death had hung over her head, making it hard for her to focus in any of her classes. She was sure her participation grade had dropped significantly and it probably didn't help that she had talked back to one teacher when she didn't want to answer a question. Then there were the stare sand whispers around her, wondering what was going on and why she was suddenly being so difficult.

Once again, her biggest insecurity, her anger, was rearing its ugly head. Whenever she got the point that she was mad, it was very hard for her to get out of it. She held onto that feeling as long as she possibly could before it suddenly fizzled out or something diverted her attention away from it. There were many different things she did that would tire her out and keep her from thinking about it; boxing usually helped, a little bit of MMA, anything that let her hit something be it a punching bag or a body shield.

"I don't know," she finally said. "Come to think of it, I don't particularly remember anything from any of our classes. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible." She tilted her head to the side. "Didn't help much that we started to get some more things piled on with each class."

"I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting, but I can't be sure."

"Yeah, you're forgetting that Cody and I are going to beat you in the science fair," Rhuben said from Riley's other side. She pushed her purple strand of hair behind her ears, her eyes flashing s she continued. "I think you need to put that somewhere on your list." Riley laughed and high-fived her sister in triumph at the burn.

"Ha ha." Bailey rolled her eyes before she matched Rhuben's mischievous smile. "And you say that now, but when you see the project I've been planning, you're going to eat your words." She tapped her finger with her chin. "How about we make a friendly wager over this?"

"I'm listening," Rhuben said mysteriously.

"You want to make a bet over a science fair?" Riley's eyebrows ticked upwards. She glanced back and forth between her sister and her friend. "Just so I'm clear about this whole thing."

"Yes, because we need a witness," Bailey said. She thought for a moment before her lips curled. "How about the winner gets fifty bucks as well as the other person carrying their backpack for the rest of the school year?"

"Considering you get the trophy along with that…I'll take that bet," Rhuben said. She swung out her hand and slapped it into Bailey's giving it a firm shake.

"You two are nuts," Riley said with a light laugh. She stepped back and closed her locker door spotting Zack, Cody, and Crystal coming down the hallway. "Hey guys," she greeted them before her eyes rested on Zack. "You're still alive after coming out of the principal's office?"

"I thought he said the next time he saw you in there you were going to be suspended or something," Bailey added.

"Only if I did something wrong," Zack defended himself, crossing his arms over his chest. "And this time, surprisingly, I didn't." He flicked his hair out of his face. "No, some of my teachers and the guidance counselor wanted to talk about my grades." He shrugged, sticking out his lower jaw for a fraction of a second before smirking. "No big deal, I got em' off my back for another month or so."

"What about when report cards come in?" Crystal reminded him.

"I don't know…" Zack glanced at the ceiling as he thought about it. "I might go the same route I always do." He lowered his gaze, now grinning evilly, his face stretching with the effort of the smile, his freckled nose wrinkled, his blue eyes lighting up. "Take Cody's and copy it."

"Uh, I don't think so," Cody said. He shifted his backpack, turning it around so that he had his arms wrapped tightly around the blue fabric. "I know when you copy then and I made a fool proof plan so you'll get caught this time." He scowled, looking at all of the girls around him, his eyes widening for sympathy. "Did you know he took my report card in first grade and traded it with his? I got a note sent home to Mom saying I was a trouble maker because of him."

"Codes," Riley said gently. She reached out a hand and patted him on the cheek before resting her arm round his shoulders. "That was in first grade," she said quietly. "It was years ago. Get over it. Besides,"—she tickled his cheek with her fingertips, causing him to laugh and bat her hand away—"we all know that you'd probably have a heart attack if it ruined your, what, 5.0 GPA?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Riley spotted Zack roll his eyes and gently shake his head, turning away from his twin brother.

"Seriously, mate, nothing can hurt it now," Rhuben added with a teasing smile. "No matter how paranoid you get about it. Cody took the teasing in stride. He knew no matter how much the others teased him and made fun of his constant need for perfection that he really was trying to make a good future for himself and that was commendable. They didn't know anyone else that worked as hard as Cody did. She stuck out her hand and Cody slapped his palm against hers. The two closed their hands in a tight grasp, lifted their arms up, and then bumped fists.

"Thanks Rhu, that really helps," Cody said. Though his voice held a tone of sarcasm, he gave her a warm smile, keeping his eyes on her a moment longer than needed before, skillfully averting his gaze.

"Except for losing the science fair," Bailey said in a sing-song voice.

"Who cares about the stupid science fair?" Zack's nose wrinkled again. "It's just a competition for nerds that want to show off how smart they are and gloat in everyone else's faces when they win a stupid trophy." He threw his hands into the air. "Look at me; I'm so good at math and science that I won a trophy." He lowered his arms and gulped when Cody and Bailey rolled their eyes and Crystal and Rhuben glared at him. Zack held up his hands defensively, taking a step back away from the two girls. "Hot nerds," he said quickly. "Some are hot nerds. You two are hot, you break the stigma."

"As charming as ever, Zack," Crystal commented.

"I try." Zack beamed.

All of a sudden a calm, tense silence slid over the group. Riley looked over to see Max and Tapeworm had joined them. She twisted her mouth to the side, and watched as the two glanced at each other before looking at the group again. Who was the one that should speak up first? Was there really any bad blood still between them? Riley hadn't been there when Max and Zack had their, what was being called 'legendary' fight, but she had heard about it and it wasn't that pretty. Truthfully, having talked to Zack after their breakup, she didn't get the feeling that he was mad at her at all. He seemed like he didn't particularly care, as if he saw it coming, which was a bit strange to her. How could you be with someone for so long and feel nothing when you broke up in such a loud and public way. He seemed to care more about the reason they were breaking up and who was in the right, then breaking up in general.

Riley, on the other hand, hated relationship drama as much as she hated unnecessary drama in general. If you were having a problem in your relationship, you tried to work it out and if it didn't work out, then you ended it. She didn't have any patience for cheaters, people that whined about what they didn't like about their significant other, or whined in general. Then again, I am kind of cynical to the whole thing.

"Hey guys," Max greeted, breaking the silence. She shifted her backpack up her back and absentmindedly reached up to grab her pigtails, twisting them around her fingers. She chewed her lower lip but maintained a steady gaze with everyone.

"You all going to the basketball game?" Tapeworm added.

"Definitely," Zack was the first one to speak up. Max looked surprised for a moment before relaxing into a smile. "I mean, you girls are always coming to cheer us on, why would you think we wouldn't do the same?"

"Besides, we all know that the girl's team is better than the boys," Riley added with a wink over towards her friend. Crystal put her arm around Max's shoulder and pulled her into her side, the two girls smiling with pride. "That's been proven since, like, the dawn of time, mate."

"I bet to differ," Tapeworm said.

"Just because you've got some moves now, Tape, doesn't mean she's wrong," Rhuben said. She laughed and looked at her watch. "Actually, we should all probably head towards the gym soon or else we won't get good seats for the game." She turned back to Crystal. "Uncle Christian's coming, right?"

"If he doesn't forget? Yeah." Crystal shook her head, her bright blue strand of hair bobbing along with her movements. "He has an afternoon class today that ends twenty minutes before the game starts, so that should be enough incentive for him to watch his only daughter play." She thumped herself on the chest. "Just know that if he does he's going to get an earful from me."

The group laughed and started to part ways, moving to gather their last minute things before going off to the gym. Riley followed Zack to his locker as he let out a mixture of a groan and a sigh and ran his hands through his hair. "So what was that?" She asked.

"What was what?" Zack pulled open his locker door and took a step back, allowing the contents of his locker to spill all over the floor. There were half eaten pieces of food, empty containers, sweatshirts, jackets, t-shirts, shorts, shoes, books, papers, folders, and a mess of other junk that created a pool around Zack's feet. Zack opened his backpack and started to dig through the messy pile.

"That thing that you did with your eyes," Riley continued. "As in, rolling them when we were joking about Cody's grades."

"Honestly I think he takes them too seriously," Zack said. "I mean, all the power to him, he's really great at it. But I get kind of tired of listening to it day after day." He paused, his eyebrows slamming together, as if he was confused about admitting it.

Riley slowly nodded. She could understand his hesitation about being open like that. When she had sat and talked with him a little bit about his breakup at the harbor, they had sat in silence for a long time just enjoying each other's company. And Riley was mildly surprised that she did enjoy his company. When he was more like himself and not the player that most people saw when they were around him, it just made things easier to talk. She didn't think she would ever tell him about her ex boyfriends and it slipped out as easily as if she said it was windy outside. The fact that he didn't push the topic made her feel good too. Better than any of the compliments he had given her.

Maybe because we're finally acting like friends more than anything else, Riley thought. She stood up straight, crossing her arms over her chest. "Does this have to do with your grades by any chance?" Zack bobbed his head back and forth. "I knew it."

"So the principal says that I may be in danger of being able to graduate on time," He finally said. "Not that most people didn't see it coming anyway, I mean, what with all of the study halls I have now. I've been trying to pull them up, but nothing really seems to be working." His shifted his gaze over to her. "Speaking of work, where were you this morning? I actually forced myself to get up early and you didn't show."

"Sorry," Riley apologized. "I overslept."

"Oh so you can use that as an excuse and I can't?" Zack looked offended as if he couldn't fathom why he was the one that had it used against him. It was usually his go to excuse whenever he didn't want to do something in the morning. His bleary eyed blank stare in some of their first classes was the only testament to that.

"No," Riley said. She smirked, gently twisting herself back and forth. "And I'd get away with it anyway, because I'm awesome."

"Oh really?" Zack cocked an eyebrow, a challenging look coming to his face.

"Really."

"Really?" Zack reached out and started to poke his fingers into her sides, running from her ribs to her hips. Riley backed up a few spaces, twisting and turning as he tickled her, laughter tearing from her throat. "Really? Who's awesome now?"

"Stop!" Riley protested. She slapped his hands away, backing away another step. "Zack, stop!"

"Fine." Zack held his hands up defensively and turned back to his locker. "It doesn't matter; I was just lifting weights anyway." He started to sift through the pile, taking out a few books every few seconds. He stopped and picked up a sandwich and turned it this way and that as he looked it over. Riley's upper lip curled as she studied the food in his hand. It hadn't turned green or started to fuzz, but it looked as stiff as a board. Zack sniffed it for a second then shrugged, tossing it back into his locker. Riley's eyes narrowed for a moment as she looked over his form, his muscle tone had increased recently, so much so that a lot of people were looking at him differently. Even she found herself giving him one more look or two.

But there was something nagging her and she couldn't quite put her feeling on it.

"Anyway," Zack continued. "What was with your bad attitude this morning? You seemed really out of it."

"Yeah…" Riley trailed off, her eyes narrowing for a second. "I wasn't having a good morning. Just remembering stuff I didn't want to remember. " Her voice suddenly became very bitter. She could hear it as the words came out her mouth as well as sense it from the way Zack tensed. It was a conversation that he always seemed to avoid with her, her parents' death and her abuse she and her siblings suffered from the hands of their foster father. The man that had brought them to Boston as well as the Tipton hotel. He was long gone now, but the pain was still there, the scars were still there and weren't going any time soon. "Anyway, I've been thinking and our arrangement. That I'm going to be helping you with the guitar and that you're helping me with swimming means we're going to be spending a lot of time together."

Zack grinned. Gathering his stuff together, he pushed it back into his locker and forced the door shut, locking it with his combination lock. It bulged at the seams as if just the odor from Zack's possessions was trying to force its way out. "I know, isn't it great?" He pointed to himself. "I mean for me, more than for you."

Riley chuckled, pushing his hand away, causing Zack's smile to widen. She continued, "And it made me realize that if we are going to spend that much time together then I may as well make the best of it."

Zack looked at her suspiciously. There were about a million ways things could go based on that one sentence alone and he was sure it wouldn't end well for him. "So I should expect put downs and teasing and everything we normally do right?" He scratched the side of his neck. "Cause I don't know about you, but I actually enjoy that sometimes. I mean, the pissed off look you get on your face when I beat you at your own game is hysterical."

Riley briefly looked away from him. "That and me actually being nice to you." Zack raised a skeptical eyebrow. Riley raised and lowered her right shoulder in a shrug. "Hey, I had to grow up sometime." She gave him a long look. "Feelings change."

"So you're saying that you don't hate me now?" Zack tired to keep the hope out of his voice, but he cringed, easily detecting it.

"I never hated you," Riley corrected. "In fact, to be honest, the only reason I was so mean to you before, since we met was because Robert said that we couldn't have friends." Zack's smile faded and he gave her his full, undivided attention. "If we had friends, it would distract us from our work." She continued to hold him in her long look. "Just one of the many manipulating things he had managed to hold over us. But you and Cody were the best friends we've had in a while and we thought of you as friends long before we actually told you. I only kept up with it because, one; it was a habit, and two; I wasn't sure if you really wanted to be my friend, just wanted to date me, or if you just liked me for my fame."

"I did," Zack said. "All three reasons, actually." Riley gave him a slightly withering look before it her face relaxed once more. Zack shifted his backpack onto his right shoulder, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why are you telling me this? I figured you would go to your grave before you said anything about what Robert had done to you guys."

"I'm not sure even I know the answer to that, mate," Riley admitted. "It felt like the right time, I guess." She placed her hands on her hips. "But don't think you could ever use it against me, though. I'd hit you so hard that you'd forget you were a twin if you even tried."

"There's the girl I was looking for!" Zack's smile came back, this time reaching his eyes. He turned on his heel and the two started to walk towards the gym. "Don't get me wrong, a nice Riley would be cool. But I personally don't think you'd really be you. And I can't go a day without hearing your dulcet tones finding a way to make fun of me, Sweet Thang."

Riley rolled her eyes and shoved Zack hard enough that he crashed into a locker and bounced off, the momentum of his heavy backpack swinging him around. The two laughed and continued to the gym, falling into step with a bunch of other students that otherwise wouldn't go to a sporting event. The girls basketball and soccer teams were one of the better teams in the school that garnered enough audience participation that made up for the otherwise lackluster games. Sydney pushed his way out of the crowd with Aaron by his side.

"Riley?" Aaron asked politely. "Can I have some money for the concession stand?" He elbowed Sydney, who had started giggling to himself, in the side and shushed him before turning his sightless eyes back over to his cousin. "Please?"

"Whatever you want, I'll pay for it," Zack broke in. "I was going to get something anyway." He turned and scanned the stands for a minute. "Cody and them are over there?" He pointed before taking the boys over in the direction of the stand. Riley walked around the side of the court and up into the stands with her family and friends.

"Did Syd ask you for money?" Rhuben asked as Riley approached them. She was sitting at Cody's side, leaning into him and pointing down to the floor before Riley came up to them. When Riley nodded, Rhuben laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, he asked me for money too." She motioned behind her to Patrick and Noah. "Before we got here, Aaron asked those two for money and they gave them some too."

Riley shook her head, tucking her red strand of hair behind her ear. "That conniving little…" She held up her hands before reaching out and pushing Cody's upraised knees apart, moving into the space that was created. She leaned back against his chest, resting her arms on his legs as Cody leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. "Thankfully, I didn't give them anything; Zack took them to the concession stand."

"Well, with the three of them over there, there might not be any good left," Patrick said.

"Then we're stuck with their sugar high," Noah added.

"Or Zack's puking it all back up," Cody said. His face distorted into an unpleasant look and he shuddered. Riley could feel it through her body. She exchanged a glance with Rhuben and the two smiled. They remembered the baseball game that must have given Cody the flashback. They had been invited to the Red Sox—Yankee game from a Yankee player that checked into the hotel and Zack had eaten so much that he puked on Cody's shoes. Of course the night had only gotten worse after that when Mr. Moseby had mistakenly caught the fly ball that would have made the Red Sox win.

"That's what happens when you don't have the stomach equipped to eat more than two hot dogs," Tapeworm said, proudly patting his stomach. Everyone laughed along with him before they started clapping and cheering as the girls' basketball team stormed the court. "C'mon, Crys! C'mon, Max!" Tapeworm called.

"Go girls!" Patrick added.

Zack, Aaron, and Sydney climbed up the bleachers at that moment, settling into their seats. Sydney and Aaron looked like kings; their arms filled with soda, candy, and large bags of popcorn. Zack held a half empty bottle of soda in his hand. "Diet?" Cody questioned, reading the label. "Since when do you drink diet?"

"They were out of their normal stuff," Zack said with a defensive edge to his tone. He lifted the bottle. "It actually tastes better than you would think." Riley could see a strange look flash over his face as he rested a hand on his stomach. Then it disappeared as he leaned forward, placing he bottle on the ground. Resting his arms on his thighs, Zack clasped his hands together and stared intently at the girls as they ran around the court, passing basketballs back and forth.

"Ri-Ri," Sydney whispered, leaning into her.

"What?" Riley turned to look at him.

"When we were coming back from the concession stand, Zack stopped at the water fountain," Sydney said. Riley gave him a look, silently asking the importance of tat detail. "He poured out half of his soda."

What I ate today

Breakfast

-Power Bar

-Orange

-Yogurt

Lunch

-Hamburger

-Fries

Snack

-Half a bottle of diet soda

Time spent at the gym today

-2 hours

Weight loss to date:

Thirteen pounds

Gained Muscle to date:

Four pounds

A/N: Don't worry, I'm not ignoring the girls' basketball game, you're going to see it in the next chapter. I just wanted to have a bit of a cliffhanger. And some good/happy moments with all of the characters are coming, though I've had little instances here and there. I'm going to show Christmas in this, so that's coming soon as well. I plan on having this story at about 35 chapters or so, so at some point there's going to be some other little time jumps to move things along.

I hope you guys liked the chapter. I've been working on it all day and there were some things that gave me more trouble than others, but I like the way it turned out. Especially since you can see some things change between Zack and Riley as well as get a sense of true friendship with the teenagers.

I'll update again soon.

Cheers,

-Riles